Béu : Chapter 3 : The Noun: Difference between revisions

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== ..... The ergative marker and word order==
{{Deletion|Staigard|Well I have moved all the data somewhere else}}


..


In English it is  the order of the verb and the participants involved with the action (arguments) that shows who did what to who. In '''béu''' the order of the verb and the arguments does not give this information. Rather the form of one argument changes. The argument which initiates the action is given the suffix -'''s'''. For example ...


'''glás bàu timpori''' = The woman has hit the man
db-g7
 
'''glá bàus timpori''' = The man has hit the woman
 
By the way, we will call "that which initiates the action" the A argument, and "that which is affected by the action" the O argument. This terminology is used for convenience (after the manner of RMW Dixon).
 
But what about a verb that takes only one noun : an intransitive verb (we will call this lonely noun the S argument).
 
In most languages the S argument is marked the same way as the A argument. However in a minority of languages the S argument is marked the same way as the O argument. These are called ergative languages.
 
'''béu''' is an ergative language. About a quarter of the world languages are ergative or partly ergative.
 
In English only 2 orders are found. Namely ... SV and AVO ...  (V = verb). However in '''béu''' you have what is called "free word order". This means that you can come across the following 8 orders ... SV, VS, AVO, AOV, VAO, OVA, OAV and VOA.
 
But actually in a piece of discourse, it is most likely that the S or A argument are old information and probably the topic (the thing that you have been going on about for some time). In '''béu''' the topic is dropped and so the 8 sentence types shown above collapse into 3 sentence types. Namely ...  V(s), O V(a) and V(a) O<sup>*</sup>
 
<sup>*</sup>  V(s) represents a verb marked for the person/number of the S argument and V(a) represents a verb marked for the person/number of the A argument.
 
------
 
Note on ambitransitive verbs ...
 
In English there are some verbs that sometimes take one participant and sometimes involve two participants. For example "knit" or "turn". In English you know if the verb is appearing in its intransitive form if an extra argument turns up after the verb (that is ... an O argument has turned up) ... S and A appear the same in English.
 
Similarly in '''béu''' there are some verbs that sometimes take one participant and sometimes take two participants. For example '''mekeu''' "knit" or '''kwèu''' "turn". In '''béu''' you know if the verb is appearing in its intransitive form if an extra argument turns up with the ergative marker -'''s''' attached (that is ... an A argument has turned up) ... S and O appear the same in '''béu'''.
 
------
 
Further notes on nomenclature ...
 
Dixon calls "knit"/'''mekeu''' an ambitransitive verb of type S=A or an [S=A ambitransitive verb].
 
I call "knit"/'''mekeu''' an ambitransitibe verb of type "one unaffected argument" or an [unaffected ambitransitive verb].
 
For "knit" the preverb argument<sup>*</sup> is either S or A .... For '''mekeu''' the unaffected argument is either S or A.
 
Dixon calls "turn"/'''kwèu''' is an ambitransitive verb of the type S=O or an [S=O ambitransitive verb].
 
I call "turn"/'''kwèu''' an ambitransitibe verb of type "one affected argument" or an [affected ambitransitive verb].
 
For "turn" the affected argument is either S or O .... For '''kwèu''' the naked argument<sup>**</sup> (i.e. no -s) is either S or O.
 
<sup>*</sup>It is also the unaffected argument.
 
<sup>**</sup>It is also the affected argument.
 
..
 
== ..... Possession & Existence==
 
..
 
The verb '''yái''' (to have, to own) indicates possession when used as a transitive verb. For example ...
 
'''jonos yór ama''' = John has an apple
 
'''jenes wèu dè yór''' = Jane owns that car
 
However '''yái''' is similar to '''mekeu''' and '''kwèu''' in that it can sometimes appear with only one participant. When this happens '''yái''' is acting as a verb of existence<sup>*</sup>. For example ...
 
'''yór''' ??? = there is a God
 
'''glavan yór''' = don't forget the reserves
 
Notice that '''yái''' is marked as agreeing with a third person singular subject. However this subject never appears.
 
However it is more usual for this verb to convey existence in a certain place rather than just general existence as in the above two examples.
 
In '''béu''' the place is grammatically an adverb qualifying '''yái''' hence it must follow directly after the verb. For example ...
 
1) '''yór ʔupain bode''' = "there are small birds in the tree" or possibly "there are small birds in a tree"
Notice that in English, it is common to rearrange the above sentence to "in the tree there are small birds" with no change of meaning.
 
This is not possible in '''béu'''. However (with a change of meaning) it is possible to say ...
 
2) '''bode yór ʔupain''' = "the small birds are in the tree"
 
And the following example has the exact same meaning as the above ...
 
3) '''bode (sùr) ʔupain''' = "the small birds are in the tree"
 
And we can modify the above with a quantifying and get ...
 
4) '''è bode (sùr) ʔupain''' = "some small birds are in the tree" ... which means exactly the same as 1)
 
<sup>*</sup>English has no verb of existence as such, but uses the phrase "there is", "there are" etc. etc.
 
So to recap ...
 
1) and 4) ... existence relative to position ... indefinite object
 
2) and 3) ... existence relative to position ... definite object
 
A degree of redundancy is no bad thing.
 
I guess '''yái''' could be called an affected ambitransitive verb ... but a bit of a strange one as in no real way can the possessed or the "existing thing" be called affected. On second thoughts ... better to not call it an affected ambitransitive verb ... better call it a word with two separate meanings ... one transitive and one intransitive. Of course the two separate meanings are related to each other ... it is not just by chance that the two meanings are both expressed as '''yái'''.
 
..
 
== ..... Definiteness==
 
..
 
Actually the two common orders usually found in transitive sentences ( O V(a) and V(a) O ) are used to code definiteness. For example ...
 
1) '''glá timpori''' = he hit the woman (the woman is known to the addressee and (probably) known to the speaker)
 
In the above example the noun comes before the verb and is taken as definite. However If a noun comes after the verb it is indefinite  ...
 
2) '''timpori glá''' = he hit a woman (the woman is unknown to the addressee, whether she is known to the speaker is unspecified)
 
'''béu''' also has two other kinds of indefinite ...
 
3) '''timpori é glá''' = he hit some woman (the woman is unknown to the addressee and unknown to the speaker)
 
4) '''timpori glá fana''' = he hit a certain woman  (the woman is unknown to the addressee but known to the speaker)
 
'''fana''' literally means known. However the who that does this "knowing" can sometimes be a bit hazy. For example ...
 
She wants to marry a certain Norwegian ?? ... in this case the Norwegian is unknown to the addressee, presumably "she" is doing the "knowing", so in this case we would say whether the Norwegian is known to the speaker is unspecified.
 
So to recap ...
 
1) If the NP is before the main verb => NP known to addressee
 
2) If the NP is after the main verb => NP unknown to addressee
 
3) If the NP has '''é''' in front of it => NP unknown to speaker
 
4) If the NP has '''fana''' after it => NP known to speaker (or at least known to somebody ... you must consider the wider context) ... ('''fana''' = known ... '''fàu''' = to know)
 
..
 
== ..... Pronouns==
 
..
 
Below are the pronouns for the S or O arguments. This form can be considered the "unmarked form".
Pronouns are different from normal nouns in that their tones go from low to high as well the -'''s''' suffixation for the "unmarked" => "marked for ergativity" transition.
 
..
 
{| border=1
  |align=center| me
  |align=center| '''pà'''
  |align=center| us
  |align=center| '''yùa'''
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| us
  |align=center| '''wìa'''
  |-
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''gì'''
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''jè'''
  |-
  |align=center| him, her
  |align=center| '''ò'''
  |align=center| them
  |align=center| '''nù'''
  |-
  |align=center| it
  |align=center| '''ʃì'''
  |align=center| them
  |align=center| '''ʃì'''
    |}
 
..
 
Below are the pronouns for the A  arguments (i.e. the marked for ergativity arguments).
 
..
 
{| border=1
  |align=center| I
  |align=center| '''pás'''
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''yúas'''
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''wías'''
  |-
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''gís'''
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''jés'''
  |-
  |align=center| he, she
  |align=center| '''ós'''
  |align=center| they
  |align=center| '''nús'''
  |-
  |align=center| it
  |align=center| '''ʃís'''
  |align=center| they
  |align=center| '''ʃís'''
    |}
 
..
 
'''jè''' and '''jés''' are the second person plural forms.
 
'''yùa''' and '''yúas''' are first person exclusive forms. That is they exclude the person being talked to.
 
'''wìa''' and '''wías''' are first person inclusive forms. That is they include the person being talked to.
 
There is one other pronoun ... the reflexive pronoun '''tí'''. This is always an O argument. Notice that it is the only O argument with a high tone.
 
There is a strong tendency for it to come after the A argument. For example ...
 
'''jono tí timparu''' = john has not yet hit myself
 
This particle can be amalgamated to the infinitive to give a reflexive infinitive. For example ...
 
'''timpa''' = to hit ... '''titimpa''' = "to self-hit"/ "to hit oneself"/"to hit yourself"
 
..
 
== ..... The '''pilana'''==
 
..
 
We have just mentioned the ergative case. In total there are 17 cases of course (if you were to include the unmarked case as well you have 18 different forms). They are called the '''pilana'''<sup>*</sup>.
 
These are suffixed to a noun and show how that word stands in relation to the rest of the sentence.
 
<sup>*</sup>The word '''pilana''' is built up from ;-
 
'''pila''' (v) = to place, to position
 
'''pilana''' (a, n) = positioning, the positioner
 
..
 
=== ... Specific Location===
 
..
 
The first 8 define location.
 
1) -'''pi''' = in
 
2) -'''la''' = on
 
3) -'''mau''' = above, over, on top of
 
4) -'''goi''' = below, under, underneath, beneath
 
5) -'''ce''' = this side of
 
6) -'''dua''' = beyond, at the far side of
 
7) -'''bene''' = right, at the right hand side of
 
8) -'''komo''' = left, on the left hand side of
 
Now these are used to give a location with respect to some object. For example …
 
'''nambopi''' = in the house
 
'''nambomau''' = on the house, over the house
 
Note ... in a lot of situations, where "on" would be used in English, "above" is used in '''béu'''. For example ...
 
John is on the mountain = "'''jono''' ('''sòr''') mountain'''mau'''"  not "'''jono''' ('''sòr''') mountain'''la'''"
 
..
 
=== ... Roll===
 
..
 
The next 4 define the roll that the noun plays in the sentence.
 
11) -'''tu''' = with, using
 
12) -'''ji''' = for, for the benefit of
 
13) -'''s''' = “the ergative case”
 
14) -'''wo''' = about, with respect to
 
'''bàus glaji nambo bundori kontotu''' = the man built the house for the woman with a hammer
 
'''gala bauwo catura''' = the women are talking about the man
 
There are a number of words which end in '''n'''. For example '''gan''' or -'''van''' are quite common derivational suffixes.
 
For these words, the suffix is -'''os'''. For example ...
 
???
 
..
 
=== ... Motion===
 
..
 
The next 2 specify motion.
 
9) -'''-n''' = to
 
10 -'''fi''' = from
 
Now these are used to give a motion with respect to some object. For example …
 
'''nambon''' = to the house
 
'''nà nambo jutu''' = to the big house
 
'''nambovi''' = from the house
 
For words ending in '''n''', the suffix is -'''on'''. For example ...
 
..
 
=== ... Hybrids of motion & position===
 
..
 
The last 2 define motion and position. They are sort of hybrids.
 
15) -'''lna''' = onto
 
16) -'''lfe''' = off
 
They have the forms '''alya''' and '''alfe''' when they must precede a NP.
 
..
 
=== ... General Location===
 
..
 
The next is a “general locative”.
 
17)  -'''ʔi''' = at, on, in
 
'''glá (yú) pà ( sòr ) namboʔi''' = My wife is at home
 
'''flovan (yú) gì ( sòr ) pazbaʔi''' = Your food is on the table
 
'''jwado ( sòr ) ʔupaiʔi''' = The (big) bird is in the tree
 
'''boloŋgai ( sòr ) flovanʔi''' = the flies are on the food
 
..
 
=== ... The parts they play===
 
..
 
'''pilana''' of location phrases (i.e. nouns with 1 -> 8 or 15) can be considered adjectives if they come after a noun and adverbs if they come after a verb. They must come after a noun or a verb. Sometimes they come after the copula<sup>*</sup>. In this case they are adjectives. Now often the copula is dropped ... but if this dropping results in any ambiguity it can be readily "undropped".
 
'''pilana''' of motional phrases (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 16 or 17) can be considered adverbs. They can come in any position because it is understood that they are qualifying the verb.
 
'''pilana''' phrases defining sentence rolls(i.e. nouns with 11, 12, 13 or 14) can come anywhere. They are considered nouns.
 
<sup>*</sup>Notice that in English, you can either say ... "a bird is in the tree" or "in the tree is a bird"
 
In '''béu''' only '''jwado (sòr) ʔupain''' is valid ... also note that in this case '''jwado''' is not definite because it is left of the verb. That rule doesn't work with the copula.
 
..
 
=== ... The two forms of the '''pilana'''===
 
..
 
In all the above examples the noun that the '''pilana''' qualifies is a single word. However when the '''pilana''' qualifies a NP the '''pilana''' is not a suffix but appears as an independent word. This particle comes before the NP. For example …
 
'''nambodua''' = beyond the house
 
'''dùa nambo yinkai hauʔe''' = beyond the house of the pretty girl
 
Below are the forms that the '''pilana''' take when appearing as independent words ...
 
1) '''pí''' = in
 
2) '''là''' = on
 
3) '''máu''' = above
 
4) '''gòi''' = below
 
5) '''cé''' = this side of
 
6) '''dùa''' = beyond, at the far side of
 
7) '''bene''' = the right hand side of
 
8) '''komo''' = the left hand side of
 
9) '''tú''' = with, using
 
10) '''jì''' = for
 
12) '''só''' = “the ergative case”
 
11) '''wò''' = about, with respect to
 
13) '''ná''' = to
 
14) '''fì''' = from
 
15) '''alna''' = onto
 
16) '''alfe''' = off
 
17) '''ʔí''' = at, in, on
 
..
 
=== ... '''pilana''' truncation in the script===
 
..
 
Another thing that sets the pilana apart from other particles, is that they are never written in full. Whether appearing as affixes or independent words, the vowels are always dropped.
 
[[Image:TW_224.png]]
 
——————————————————————————
 
?? OK two chapters later we introduce the relativizer and then show how the ‘’’pilana’’’ affixes to the relativizer ??
 
..
 
== ..... Correlatives==
 
..
 
{| border=1
  |align=center| '''juvan'''
  |align=center| nothing
  |align=center| '''juda'''
  |align=center| nowhere
  |align=center| '''juku'''
  |align=center| never
  |align=center| '''jubu'''
  |align=center| nobody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''ivan'''
  |align=center| anything
  |align=center| '''ida'''
  |align=center| anywhere
  |align=center| '''iku'''
  |align=center| anytime
  |align=center| '''ibu'''
  |align=center| anybody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''evan'''
  |align=center| something
  |align=center| '''eda'''
  |align=center| somewhere
  |align=center| '''eku'''
  |align=center| sometime
  |align=center| '''ebu'''
  |align=center| somebody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''uvan'''
  |align=center| everything
  |align=center| '''uda'''
  |align=center| everywhere
  |align=center| '''uku'''
  |align=center| always
  |align=center| '''ubu'''
  |align=center| everybody
  |}
 
[[Image:TW_288.png]]
 
These correlatives are always written in their shorthand form. See the chart above.
 
The first column is a contraction of '''jù fanyo''', '''í fanyo''', '''é fanyo''' and '''ù fanyo''' ('''fanyo''' = thing)
 
The second column is a contraction of '''jù dá''', '''í dá''', '''é dá''' and '''ù dá''' ('''dá''' = place)
 
The third column is a contraction of '''jù kyù''', '''í kyù''', '''é kyù''' and '''ù kyù''' ('''kyù''' = time/occasion)
 
The last column is a contraction of '''jù glabu''', '''í glabu''', '''é glabu''' and '''ù glabu''' ('''glabu''' = person)
 
The non-contracted forms are still used, usually when emphasis is wanted.
 
There is another row in the above table.
 
[[Image:TW_289.png]]
 
This is the plural equivalent of the third row of the table above. The emphatic form of the above series would be ...
 
'''è fanyo''', '''è dá''', '''è kyù''' and '''è glabu''' .... if these elements were under<sup>*</sup> the main verb, it would be more normal to use ...
 
'''fanyoi''', '''nò dá''', '''nò kyù''' and '''glabua''' .... and actually, if any word from the third row of the main table came under the main verb, you could just use ...
 
'''fanyo''', '''dá''', '''kyù''' and '''glabu''' ... in this position you have probably a 50% chance of coming across '''evan''' and a similar chance to come across '''fanyo''' ... the same with '''eda''', '''eku''' and '''ebu'''.
 
One interesting point is ... well for example '''ubu''' can mean "each person" and "all the people". If '''ubu''' was the S or A argument there could be one of two verbs in a SVC. One would have the meaning "to do together"/"to cooperate" and the other would have the meaning "to work alone". If '''ubu''' was the O argument or has some other roll in the sentence there is a partical that can be put in above<sup>*</sup> '''ubu'''. This particle means something like "individual" or "independent" and would disambiguate the meaning of the '''béu''' sentence.
 
<sup>*</sup>I was going to say 'after" and "before", however as the '''béu''' writing system is vertical I thought I should get in the spirit of things and use "under" and "above".
 
..
 
=== ... The sandaunyo===
 
..
 
The '''sandaunyo''' is similar to the '''fandaunyo''' but built around a '''sandau''' as opposed to a '''fandau'''.
 
'''sandau''' = a verbal noun, an infinitive, a maSdar .... whatever you want to call it. Ultimately derived from the word '''sanyo''' which means "an event". ('''fanyo''' and '''sanyo''' are equivalent to the Japanese "mono" and "koto"). The word for "verb" is '''jaudau'''. Of course there is a one to one relationship between the '''jaudau''' and the '''sandau''' (as in English if you have an infinitive verb form, you are of course going to have a corresponding finite verb form).
 
In the '''sandaunyo''' there are fixed word orders. They are VS and VAO. If there are any adverbs or locatives they follow the S or the O. For example ...
 
..
 
'''somwo pà''' = "my sleep"
 
'''timpa báu glà''' = the man's hitting of the woman ... Note that '''báu''' does not have the ergative suffix -'''s'''
 
'''solbe pà moze pona sacowe rì kéu''' = My drinking the cold water quickly was bad
 
'''timpwa glà''' = the woman being struck ... Note ... to form an passive, you infix '''w'''.
 
'''solbwe moze rì kéu''' = The drinking of the water was bad
 
..
 
== ..... The '''hipeza'''==
 
..
 
A '''hipeza''' could be translated as "infinitive phrase"
 
Now a '''hipe''' is a type of nouns. So when determiners etc. etc. are added on they must conform to the rules for regular NP's.
 
However they differ in that they never take plurals and are never possessed (that is followed by '''yú''' ).
 
Now on occasion S, O and A arguments must appear in a '''hipeza'''.
 
Now in the '''hipeza''' '''béu''' is quite strict on how these arguments can be added.
 
1) The S or A argument (if it exists or is mentioned) must come before the '''hipe'''. It is preceded by '''hí''' (the same particle that indicates the agent in the passive construction)
 
2) The O argument (if it exists or is mentioned) must come after the '''hipe'''. It is followed by '''jwìa''' (possibly related to '''jwèu''' ... "to endure" ( but if it was this would mean this construction takes two subjects ??)
 
Often in fast speech, '''hí''' and '''jwìa''' are dropped, but they are always available to make things clear.
 
----------
 
English has quite a number of different ways of including S, O and A arguments with the infinitive. See below ...
 
1) Attila's destruction of Rome
 
2) Rome's destruction (by Attila)
 
3) The destruction of Rome (by Attila)
 
-----
 
Tie in the participle phrase (equivalent to Dixon's complement clause)  ???
 
???  Other argument relating to time, place and manner come after the S, O and A arguments ... not sure where these arguments come in, if in fact they are allowed. ???
 
..
 
== ..... Punctuation and page layout==
 
..
 
The letters in a word are always contiguous, that is there is always a line running right through the word. Writing is firstly from top to bottom and secondly from left to right.
 
Between words there is a small break in the line. See the figure below ...
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_204.jpg]]
 
..
 
When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, this small break would be indicated by '''dù'''
 
 
Between some words there is a "gap/void" ?). This represents a pause. A pauses in English is represented by a comma, a colon or a semicolon. Whenever an orator draws breath, this will be reflected in the writing by a "gap/void". Also there are occasions where the grammar of '''béu''' demands a "gap/void" (for example when reading out items in a list<sup>*</sup>, or between two noun phrases that are contiguous).
 
Presumable in English, commas originally were always used for pauses in speech. However nowadays in English many pauses are not represented in any way (presumably in these cases when it is not necessary for reading comprehension). Also in English, in a surprising amount of times, unnecessary commas are inserted. In '''béu''' the use of "gap/void" in text has a one-to-one correspondence to pauses in speech. 
 
<sup>*</sup>When listing items, '''béu''' is similar to English ... there is pause between every item except the last two items. Between these items, '''béu''' has '''lé''', English has "and".
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_282.png]]
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_205.jpg]]
 
..
 
When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, the gap/void is indicated by saying ???
 
 
Single gaps are very common. Occasionally you can have "double gaps" and even "treble gaps". These rare creatures represent "pregnant pauses" which are sometimes used for comic effect.
 
When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, a "double gap" is rendered by '''bauva''' "gap/void", a treble gap by '''baiba''' "gap/void".
 
Note the single point used in the "double gap" and the pair of points used in the "treble gap".
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_202.jpg]]
 
..
 
There is also a punctuation mark called the "sunmark" ( '''kòi''' = sun ). This is basically a full-stop. The "sunmark" has double the diameter of '''omba''' ('''omba''' means "circle" and is used as a decimal point).
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_201.jpg]]
 
..
 
 
There are also punctuation marks called "moonmark" ( '''dèu''' = moon ). These are basically brackets. The opening one is called "moonmark" '''damau''' and the closing one is called "moonmark" '''dagoi'''. Direct speech is enclosed in "moonmarks". These bits of direct speech are also highlighted. Usually the first speaker's words are highlighted in blue and the second speaker's words are highlighted in yellow. The highlighted area is lozenge shape. Every "textblock" the protagonists are reset ??. In a story,  after the scene is set ... that is the time of speaking and the identity of the speakers have been established, then their names are dropped from the text and the '''kloi''' "speak" is also dropped. However somebody reading the text out loud would give this information from their understanding of the situation.
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_278.png]]
 
..
 
In a normal narrative, everything is written in "textblocks".
 
 
[[Image:TW_270.png]]
 
(Please note ... the light lines surrounding the "textblocks" are not real. They are just there to assist me drawing)
 
..
 
This is the first page in a "chapter". Notice the symbol at the top left hand side of the first "textblock". This is called a "heavy tile".
 
Textblocks fit in between "rails" about 4 inches apart. The width of a block should be between 60% and 90% <sup>*</sup> of the block height. Of course it is best to start a new block when the scene of the narrative changes or there is some discontinuity of the action, but this is not always possible. Then you just must arbitrarily split the text into two blocks. The standard practice is to stretch the text a bit so that the tops and bottoms of every column line up with their neighbours. XXXXXX
 
There is no way to split a word between two lines (as we can do in the West by using two hyphens). A "sunmark" must be next to the last word in a sentence (it can not go to the start of a new column by itself) However if a "sunmark" fall next to the bottom rail, then the next column will begin with a "sunmark". This is purely due to a love of symmetry.
 
The first text block starts at the top left (as you would expect). The second textblock starts below where the first text block stops. In fact the vertical space between the stop and the start of the two textblocks is equal to the horizontal "interblockspace" (see the figure above).
 
If the last "sunmark" of a "textblock" falls next to the bottom rail (as indeed happens with the very first "textblock" of the "chapter", then this "sunmark" is changed into a symbol called a "bottom tile". If a "textblock" ends in a "bottom tile", then what is called a "top tile" will appear before the first word of the next "textblock". This is purely due to a love of symmetry. Note that the "top tile" is exactly the same as the "bottom tile".
(Actually in modern printing techniques, the text in complete "textblocks" can be stretched to prevent the final "sunmark" falling on the bottom rail)
 
When you come to the end of the page (you will have some sort of margin of course and not go all the way to the edge), you simply continue the block on the LHS of the next rail (or page). Below is the second page of the chapter. This page continues on from the page above.
 
..
 
[[Image:TW_271.png]]
 
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In every textblock, one word or short noun phrase is highlighted in red. The shape of the highlighted area is rectangular with rounded edges. Usually a noun is chosen and the more iconic the better. Statistically these highlighted words tend to come towards the beginning of the "textblock".
 
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There are two sizes for books. For all hardback books the size is about 8 inches by about 11 inches. For all paperback books the size is about 5 inches by about 8 inches. They are stored as shown in the figure below.
 
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[[Image:Books.png]]
 
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Unlike books produced in the West, these books are held with the spine horizontal when being read. The hardback page has two "rails" per page (i.e. three dark lines).
 
On the paperback book, the title is written on the spine and on the front of the book. On the hardback book the title is written on the front, also there is a flap that slides into the spine. However when the book is stored on a shelf, it is pulled out and hangs down. Hence the hardback books can be easily located, even when they are in the bookshelf.
 
 
A book will be divided into chapters. A chapter will have a number and usually a title as well. Either at the end of the book or just after the chapter, there will be a page, in which all the highlighted words for a chapter are listed in order. Instead of referencing things by page number, things are reference by chapter and textblock (indictated by the highlighted word(s) ).
 
Any particular word in a book can be reference by 5 parameters ...
 
1) "title of book"
 
2) number of the chapter
 
3) the highlighted word(s)
 
4) the number of the sunmarks counted. Actually they are counted backwards ... from the final "sunmark" of the "textblock". Note ... all "sunmarks" are counted, even the ones next to the top rail.
 
5) the number of the word. This is also counted backwards (i.e. the final word of the sentence is word "1" ... and so on)
 
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<sup>*</sup> Occasionally very narrow blocks can not be avoided. And of course in mathematical/scientific tracts the tracts are all over the place ... interspersed with diagrams and what have you.
 
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==..... Number symbols==
 
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Numbers are never written out in full. As if in English you never came across the word "seven" but also came across "7". Actually in '''béu''' there are two ways to write "7" depending on what environment you find yourself..
 
Within a textblock they are written vertically (to fit in with everything else) and are headed up by a symbol that looks like "Z". After that the number is written using the symbol for the consonant part of the basic numbers (i.e. 1 -> 11). The symbol for '''h''' is used for inserting zeroes in the textblock form (this '''h''' symbol would never be pronounced).<sup>*</sup>. Magnitude is dependent on position.
 
When not in textblocks ( i.e. when on part of a page or a blackboard given over to manipulating mathematic expressions) numbers are expressed by symbols that are based on the Western Mathematical Tradition. This is called the "free form" of the number.
 
Below is how five numbers (given previously in NUMBERS) would appear in both forms.
 
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[[Image:TW_284.png]]
 
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It can be seen that the free form is written horizontally while the textblock form is written vertically.
 
If you have a number string more than three digits long you must have at least one "magnitude" word. The magnitude words and symbols are given below.
 
[[Image:TW_286.png]]
 
The circle is the '''béu''' decimal point. The other marks are equivalent to the comma's that we use to divide up large numbers into blocks of three digits. However instead of only having comma's and decimal points to divide up the number, we have 7 symbols.
 
Actually all the magnitude numbers are also common nouns as well. These are given on the right-hand-side.
 
To demonstrate the use of the magnitude words I will introduce a long number. I haven't worked out how to express it in base ten, but in base twelve it is ...
 
1,206,8E3,051.58T,630,559,62 ... where T represents ten and E represents eleven
 
In '''béu''' it would be pronounced ... '''aja huŋgu uvaila nàin ezaitauba wúa idauja omba idaizaupa yanfa elaibau mulu idaidauka ʔiwetu elaivau dù''' ... notice that all the magnitude words are spoken out.
 
Below is how this number is written in textblock form. 
 
[[Image:TW_273.png]]
 
Amd below is how this number is written in free form. 
 
[[Image:TW_275.png]]
 
The 7 magnitude words extend the range of numbers expressible. Remember that '''béu''' only actually has words for 1-> 1727. But even with the help of magnitude words, the number range expressible in '''béu''' restricted.
 
In textblock form a number is aways finished of with one of the three symbols given below ...
 
[[Image:TW_287.png]]
 
These are called exactness words. They are also spoken out when reciting a number.
 
The "trunkated" symbol means that some digits have been lopped off, rather being rounded up or down. For example, if you expressed "pie" as 3.1415 you would use the trunkated symbol (actually 3.1416 is closer to the actual number than 3.1415).
 
It should be quite obvious what "exact" means. "approximate" has a rather loose meaning ... basically anything not "exact". The "trunkated" and "approximate" symbols are both usually spoken as '''daula''', There is a more exact technical expression for trunkated (???) but you hardly ever come across it.
 
Below are some more symbols used in mathematics. Obviously these symbols would be used in a free form area (i.e. the free form part of a page)
 
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[[Image:TW_279.png]]
 
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Note ... The symbol for four is not circular. It seems to "sag" ... it is bigger at the bottom than at the top ... not exactly egg-shaped either but ...
 
<sup>*</sup>If you had a leading zero you would use the word  '''jù'''. 007 would be '''jù jù oica''' (three words). To deal with a telephone number, you would lump the numbers in threes (any leading zero or zeroes by themselves though) and outspeak the numbers. If you were left with a single digit (say 4) it would be pronounced '''agai'''. If you were to pronounce it '''uga''', it would of course mean 004. Also you would probably add the particle '''dù''' at the end. This means "exactly" (or it can mean the speaker has finished outspeaking the number).
 
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== ... Index==
 
{{Béu Index}}

Latest revision as of 00:28, 4 December 2015

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