Conlang Relay 15/Mirexu

by Amanda Babcock Furrow

Text

ifwefu neatarbepukopu lupsia ajaelup

ifwefu tidu nultitei kjeluapasep, tidu nisozhutei luapasep. pulkoa attijukwiv. ti jedeweso isewedu luapasep. ti apukop. pukowetei kjemni jutjurausapu kujufemerusap. kwipwena kjeataduirupse ti vapasesep. ti siwedu lutepu reapasep. tigi kjeankehisepi tia anatjurausadep. pulok femeruresapu kjedarauresapu tameluskisuresapu aletamlusap.

Smooth translation

One sees the way that they dance

One moves not with their music, but with their voices. They have studied dance. They move with creativity and possibility. They dance. Their style of dancing is the happiest and most beautiful. Because they do not have learning they can move. They circle and move as one. That they are unable not to try makes them happy. The dances are more beautiful, more unsaddening, more complex, and different.

Interlinear

ifwefu

ne-

at-

a-

rbepuko

-p

-u

lupsi

-a

aj-

a-

el

-up

N

REL-

3pl.erg-

PR-

V

-IMP

-ADJ

N

-ACC

3sg.m.erg-

PR-

V

-IMP

ifwefu	ti	-du	nulti	-tei	kje-	lu-	a-	pase	-p
N	3pl	-OBL	N	-3pl.poss	NEG-	COM-	PR-	V	-IMP

ti	-du	nisozhu	-tei	lu-	a-	pase	-p
3pl	-OBL	N	-3pl.poss	COM-	PR-	V	-IMP

pulko	-a	at-	ti-	jukwi	-v
N	-ACC	3pl.erg-	PT-	V	-PERF

ti	jedewe	-so	isewe	-du	lu-	a-	pase	-p
3pl.nom	N	-CONJ	N	-OBL	COM-	PR-	V	-IMP

ti	a-	puko	-p
3pl.nom	PR-	V	-IMP

pukowe	-tei	kjem	-ni	jutjurausa	-p	-u	ku-	jufemerusa	-p
N	-3pl.poss	N	-3sg.n.poss	V	-IMP	-CONJ	FUT-	V	-IMP

kwipwe	-na	kje-	at-	a-	duiru	-p	-se
N	-SUB.OBL	NEG-	3pl.erg-	PR-	V	-IMP	-ADVCLAUSE

ti	v-	a-	pasese	-p
3pl.nom	REAS-	PR-	V	-IMP

ti	siwe	-du	lute	-p	-u	re-	a-	pase	-p
3pl.nom	N	-OBL	V	-IMP	-CONJ	SUBS-	PR-	V	-IMP

ti

-gi

kje-

a-

nkehise

-p

-i

ti

-a

an-

a-

tjurausade

-p

3pl

-SUB.NOM

NEG-

PR-

V

-IMP

-COMP

3pl

-ACC

3sg.n.erg-

PR-

V

-IMP

pulok	femeruresa	-p	-u	kje-	darauresa	-p	-u
N	V	-IMP	-CONJ	NEG-	V	-IMP	-CONJ

tameluskisuresa	-p	-u	a-	letamlusa	-p
V	-IMP	-CONJ	PR-	V	-IMP

Key

3pl

third person plural

3pl.erg

" " " ergative

3pl.nom

" " " nominative

3pl.poss

" " ", possessive

3sg.m.erg

third person singular, male, ergative

3sg.n.erg

third person singular, neuter, ergative

3sg.n.poss

" " " ", possessive

ACC

accusative case

ADJ

adjectival relative clause ending

ADVCLAUSE

adverbial clause ending

COM

comitative/instrumental role marker, agrees w/argument in oblique case

COMP

subordinate complement clause ending

CONJ

conjunctive ending

FUT

future tense

IMP

imperfective aspect

N

noun

NEG

negation

OBL

oblique case (agrees with role marker on verb)

PERF

perfective aspect

PR

present tense

PT

past tense

REAS

reason clause agreement marker (agrees with adverbial clause)

REL

relative clause

SUB.NOM

nominative case in subordinate clause

SUB.OBL

accusative/oblique case in subordinate clause

SUBS

substitutive role marker, agrees with argument in oblique case

V

verb

Glossary

a

accusative case

a

present tense marker

aj

3rd person singular male ergative agreement marker

an

3rd person singular neuter ergative agreement marker

at

3rd person plural ergative agreement marker

darauresa

to be sadder

du

oblique case ending

duiru

to have

el

to see

femeruresa

to be more beautiful

gi

nominative case ending in subordinate clauses

i

subordinate complement clause ending

ifwefu

someone

isewe

possibility

jedewe

creativity

jufemerusa

to be the most beautiful

jukwi

to study, to master

jutjurausa

to be the happiest

kje

negation marker

kjem

type, style

ku

future tense marker

kwipwe

learning, study

letamlusa

to be different

lu

comitative role marker

lupsi

manner, way

lute

to move in a circle

na

accusative/oblique case ending in subordinate clauses

ne

relative clause prefix

ni

3rd person singular neuter possessive ending

nisozhu

voice

nkehise

to be able not to try

nulti

music

p

imperfective aspect marker

pase

to move

pasese

to be flexible, to be able to move

puko

to dance

pukowe

dancing

pulko

a dance

pulok

dances, plural

rbepuko

to dance in some manner

re

"acting as" role marker (can't remember the name for this)

se

adverbial clause ending

siwe

being one, a unit

so

conjunctive suffix for nouns

tameluskisuresa

to be more complex

ti

3rd person plural pronoun

ti

past tense marker

tei

3rd person plural possessive ending

tjurausade

to make happy

u

adjectival relative clause ending

u

conjunctive suffix for verbs

up

imperfective aspect marker (after consonants)

v

reason clause agreement marker on main verb

Grammar

Verbs are marked for: agreement with certain types of subordinate clause; negation; agreement with any ergative argument; agreement with non-third-person absolutive arguments; agreement with each oblique argument; tense; and aspect. Verbs frequently contain many derivational morphemes which are not given separately above for time and space reasons. The verb paradigm is as follows:

[ ADV ] [ NEG ] [ ABS ] [ ERG ] [ OBL [ OBL ...] ] TENSE verb-base ASPECT

Verbs may form subordinate clauses in the following ways:

• adverbial clauses: the adverbial clause marker -se is appended to a fully declined verb. Its arguments take on subordinate clause suffixes. In the main clause, an agreement morpheme is prefixed to the verb complex.
• complement clauses: the complement clause marker -i is appended to a fully declined verb. Its arguments take on subordinate clause suffixes. In the main clause, the appropriate agreement for a third person singular neuter argument is used (usually null, as complement clauses are usually not agents).
• relative clauses: the relative clause marker ne- is prefixed to a verb with core argument agreement, tense, aspect, and optional negation, but no oblique arguments or subordinate clause agreement markers. If an external head exists, the adjectival marker -u is appended. The position relativized is that of the absolutive argument.

Verbs may combine through conjunction if they share all arguments (and therefore also degree of transitivity) and tense. All but the final verb are marked for aspect and negation only, and the conjunctive ending -u appended. The final verb is an ordinary fully declined finite verb.

Nouns and free pronouns show nominative/accusative alignment, in contrast with the absolutive/ergative alignment of verb agreement. Since the ergative and absolutive agreement markers on the verb are really incorporated pronouns, any standalone pronoun agreed with by such a marker will not appear. However, as absolutive third person pronouns are not marked on the verb, they do appear either in the accusative as objects of transitive verbs, or in the nominative (with null case ending) as subjects of intransitive verbs. Nouns with the oblique case ending have their role marked on the verb. In subordinate clauses nominative nouns take the subordinate nominative ending, and accusative and oblique nouns take the subordinate oblique ending.

Nouns may be possessed. If this is the case, instead of their case ending they have a possessive suffix. They will be preceded by their possessor (unless it is a pronoun which has been subsumed by a verb agreement marker), on which their case will be marked. Agreement on the verb is with the possessor, but the actual argument is the possessed noun.

Nouns in the same case and to which all the same arguments (adjectives, relative clauses, possessors) apply may form conjunction by all but the first noun having the conjunctive noun suffix -so instead of a possessive or case suffix.

The derivational verb prefix rbe- is used to create relative clauses of manner. For example, if "sosu" is "to sleep", "ti asosup" is "they sleep", "[...] atarbesosup" is "they sleep-in-manner [...]", then "neatarbesosup" is "how they sleep" and "neatarbesosupu lupsi" is "the way that they sleep".