Conlang Relay 25/Ronc Tyu

Ronc Tyu text

Hun tenc nonc źù htroa.
Dzó lùo tyuc mé ne rei sru xan ban tsì lea ngoun màc.
Nonc yao tei rei dzó pec ndźei trén tsèi gyào tśi zúc tò kòun twinc.
Kè trà zrin xan yoc, o tśi myen myen mic ndźù gonc téc runc mba pínc gźí kwò ke myèc yu ne.
Nonc tei rei dzó ràe nù tenc xan pec bí kónc tyòu Tánc.
Ne hláo ndźei trén tsèi gyào tśi ao tyòu Tánc?
Nonc tei rei dzó pec nyu pou Tánc suo wínc, o tśi dwao té té suo mbèin ngoun kinc gao kù mba pínc.
Yéi ko ne hic tenc Tánc ngóu mbzac-rigéi!
Nonc tei rei dzó tsin tenc brec pyè san tśi wuo wuo ngóu ki no.
Pyè yéi hsoc tác kàc nànc lá Tánc yao.
Tśi ntrèc hxanc kàc srùn gambàn nic tsac tac tśi.
O ki mbzac-rigéi léi naonc nggéc gwàonc kwò nic rec tac tśi.
O ta ki xéa nonc piec ràe nù tenc xan pec tyòu no.

Translation

English translation of Ronc Tyu text

It was clear that the girl was very much scared.
She said to me worriedly that a fox had come into the village today.
The girl also said that she didn't know why it was sneaking around here.
But the fox might be hungry, and it had been searching for something near the large hollow oak tree behind my house.
The girl said that she really hoped the fox wouldn't eat Tánc.
I asked: Why would it want to eat Tánc?
She said that she hadn't seen Tánc at the pond, and he would often sit in a nest within that hollow oak tree.
Only then I realized that Tánc was a masked duck!
The girl said she believed that her grandfather's soul lived on in this bird.
Her grandfather had also been given the name Tánc.
He had once been hurt and carried a long scar on his left shoulder.
And this masked duck had a big white spot on his left wing.
And because of this, the girl really hoped that the fox would not eat the bird.

English translation of previous text

(Angosey, by Daniel Bowman)

She was obviously scared.
She said to me (urgently) that there were some crabs in my house.
She also said that I really didn't know why they were located there.
They seemed to want to eat something.
They opened the refrigerator.
She said that she really hoped they weren't eating Temas.
I asked: Why would Temas be in the refrigerator?
She said that he wasn't located in the big bowl.
I realized that Temas was a big fish.
She said that she really did not want the crabs to eat the fish.

Interlinear gloss

Hun

obvious

tenc

SUB

nonc

girl

źù

afraid

htroa.

lose

It was clear that the girl was very much scared.

Dzó

same.A

lùo

worry

tyuc

talk_about

mé

PASS\tell

ne

1SG

rei

QUOT

sru

INDEF.A

xan

fox

ban

today

tsì

come_to.1

lea

enter

ngoun

inside

màc.

village

She said to me worriedly that a fox had come into the village today.

Nonc

girl

yao

also

tei

say

rei

QUOT

dzó

same.A

pec

NEG

ndźei

know

trén

which.I

tsèi

reason

gyào

REL.I

tśi

3A.SG

zúc

walk

tò

silent

kòun

move_around

twinc.

here

The girl also said that she didn't know why it was sneaking around here.

Kè

but

trà

exist

zrin

HYP

xan

fox

yoc,

hungry

o

and

tśi

3A.SG

myen

look

myen

look

mic

turn_around

ndźù

search

gonc

food

téc

LOC.DYN

runc

beside

mba

SGV

pínc

oaks

gźí

ATTR\hollow

kwò

ATTR\big

ke

behind

myèc

SGV\village

yu

of

ne.

1SG

But the fox might be hungry, and it had been searching for something near the large hollow oak tree behind my house.

Nonc

girl

tei

say

rei

QUOT

dzó

same.A

ràe

wish

nù

really

tenc

SUB

xan

fox

pec

NEG

bí

catch

kónc

bite

tyòu

eat

Tánc.

NAME

The girl said that she really hoped the fox wouldn't eat Tánc.

Ne

1SG

hláo

request

ndźei

know

trén

which.I

tsèi

reason

gyào

REL.I

tśi

3A.SG

ao

want

tyòu

eat

Tánc?

NAME

I asked: Why would it want to eat Tánc?

Nonc

girl

tei

say

rei

QUOT

dzó

same.A

pec

NEG

nyu

see

pou

find

Tánc

NAME

suo

LOC.STAT

wínc,

pond

o

and

tśi

3A.SG

dwao

do_often

té

sit

té

sit

suo

LOC.STAT

mbèin

nest

ngoun

inside

kinc

hole

gao

amid

kù

that

mba

SGV

pínc.

oaks

She said that she hadn't seen Tánc at the pond, and he would often sit in a nest within that hollow oak tree.

Yéi

then.PST

ko

barely

ne

1SG

hic

realize

tenc

SUB

Tánc

NAME

ngóu

COP

mbzac-rigéi!

masked_duck

Only then I realized that Tánc was a masked duck!

Nonc

girl

tei

say

rei

QUOT

dzó

same.A

tsin

believe

tenc

SUB

brec

spirit[POSS]

pyè

grandfather

san

related_to

tśi

3A.SG

wuo

live

wuo

live

ngóu

COP

ki

this

no.

bird

The girl said she believed that her grandfather's soul lived on in this bird.

Pyè

grandfather

yéi

then.PST

hsoc

PASS\give

tác

possess

kàc

carry

nànc

name

lá

build

Tánc

NAME

yao.

also

Her grandfather had also been given the name Tánc.

Tśi

3A.SG

ntrèc

long_ago

hxanc

PASS\hurt

kàc

carry

srùn

scar

gambàn

ATTR\long

nic

on

tsac

SGV\shoulders

tac

left_of

tśi.

3A.SG

He had once been hurt and carried a long scar on his left shoulder.

O

and

ki

this

mbzac-rigéi

masked_duck

léi

PASS\decorate

naonc

characterized_by

nggéc

spot

gwàonc

ATTR\white

kwò

ATTR\big

nic

on

rec

wing

tac

left_of

tśi.

3A.SG

And this masked duck had a big white spot on his left wing.

O

and

ta

by

ki

this

xéa

knowledge

nonc

girl

piec

wild

ràe

wish

nù

really

tenc

SUB

xan

fox

pec

NEG

tyòu

eat

no.

bird

And because of this, the girl really hoped that the fox would not eat the bird.

Vocabulary

word	morphology	type	meaning
ao		v.tr	want
ban		adv	today
bí		v.tr	catch, capture
brec		n.a.poss	spirit, soul, personality
dwao		v.it	do often, do several times, do every now and then
dzó		pron	the same one (animate)
gao		pp.n	in the middle of
gonc		n.i.coll	food; meal
gyào		pron	(relative pronoun, inanimate)
hic		v.tr	realize, become aware of
hláo		v.tr	ask, plead, request (sth.)
htroa		v.it	lose, fail; very (when used in a SVC with a negative quality verb)
hun		v.aux	it seems, it is obvious
kàc		v.tr	bear, carry
ke		pp.n	at the rear of, behind
kè		cj	but, however (used with clauses)
ki		det	this, these
kinc		n.i	the space within a hollow tree
ko		adv	only, merely, barely, just, simply
kónc		v.tr	bite
kòun		v.it	move around, go (nowhere in particular), roam, wander
kù		det	that, those
lá		v.tr	build, create (in SVC also used as a coverb to introduce result nouns)
lea		v.tr	go into, enter
lei	PASS léi	v.tr	decorate, adorn
lùo		v.tr	be worried about
màc	SGV myèc	n.i.coll	village (SGV: house)
mba		qu	(singulative particle)
mbàn	ATTR gambàn	v.it	be long
mbèin		n.i	nest (of birds or other animals)
mbzac		n.a	duck, goose
me	PASS mé	v.tr	tell, say towards
mic		v.it	turn around
myen		v.it	look (atelic/stative)
nànc		n.i	name
naonc		v.tr	be characterized by
ndźei		v.tr	know, be acquainted with (cf. French connaître)
ndźù		v.tr	search for
ne		pron	(1st person singular)
nggéc		n.i	speckle, stain, colored spot
ngóu		v.tr	be (copula; in SVC also: progressive aspect)
ngoun		pp.n	in, inside
nic		pp.n	at, on
no		n.a	bird
nonc		n.a	girl, daughter
ntrèc		adv	long ago
nù		adv	really, indeed
nyu		v.tr	see
o		cj	and, also (used with clauses)
pàonc	ATTR gwàonc	v.it	be white, be pale
pec		v.aux	not, be not
piec		v.it	be wild, be fierce; be highly involved emotionally (in SVC)
pínc		n.i.coll	oak forest (SGV: oak tree)
pou		v.tr	find, discover
pyè		n.a	grandfather
ràe		v.tr	wish, hope
rec		n.a	wing
rei		cj	(quotative complementizer, introduces reported speech)
rigéi		n.a	mask
runc		pp.n	near, beside, close to
san		pp.n	socially related to
soc	PASS hsoc	v.tr	give
sru		det	(indefinite determiner, animate)
srùn		n.i	scar
suo		pp.v	at, on (static locative)
ta		pp.n	by, with, because of
tac		pp.n	to the left of
tác		v.tr	have, hold, own, possess
Tánc		n.a	(a male name)
té		v.it	sit
téc		pp.v	near, around (dynamic locative)
tei		v.tr	say, speak
tenc		cj	(complementizer)
tò		v.it	be calm, be silent
trà		v.it	exist (used with VS word order)
trén		det	which? (interrogative inanimate)
troc	SGV tsac	n.a.coll	shoulders, upper back
tsèi		n.i	reason, explanation, motivation
tsì		v.it+	come, approach (towards speaker)
tśi		pron	(3rd person animate singular/singulative)
tśí	ATTR gźí	v.it	be hollow
tsin		v.tr	believe, trust
twinc		adv	here
tyòu		v.tr	eat
tyuc		v.tr	talk about, discuss
wínc		n.i	pond, small lake
wò	ATTR kwò	v.it	be big, be large, be tall
wuo		v.it	breathe, be alive
xan		n.a	fox
xanc	PASS hxanc	v.tr	hurt, injure, harm
xéa		n.a.coll	knowledge, insight, intuition, wisdom
yao		adv	too, also, as well
yéi		adv	then (in the past)
yoc		v.it	be empty, be hungry
yu		pp.n	of, belonging to, associated with
zrin		cj	(complementizer, hypothetical; indicates speculative information)
zúc		v.it	walk
źù		v.it	be fearful, be afraid

Idiomatic serial verb constructions

SVC	type	meaning	comments
bí kónc tyòu	svc.tr	prey on	(lit. 'catch, bite, and eat')
myen mic ndźù	svc.tr	search intensively	(lit. 'look, turn around, and search')
tò kòun	svc.it	sneak	(lit. 'be silent and move around')

Grammar notes

Nouns

• Nouns can be animate or inanimate, countable or collective, and optionally or obligatorily possessed.
• Countable nouns refer to single entities, and may inflect for plural number. However, there are no plural forms in this text.
• Collective nouns refer to a collection of items by default, and may inflect for singulative number if only one single member of the collection is referenced. Singulative forms which occur in this text are given in the wordlist. A few collective nouns form their singulatives periphrastically with a separate particle.
• Obligatorily possessed nouns must be followed immediately by their possessor, without any explicit marking. Optionally possessed nouns form possessive phrases with a preposition.
• Compound nouns can be formed head-initially. Both nominal and verbal roots may be used in the modifier position of such compounds.

Verbs

• Verbs inflect for passive voice and for the attributive (a kind of participle, which makes up for the fact that Ronc Tyu does not have a lexical class of adjectives). All passive and attributive forms which occur in this text are given in the wordlist.
• Reduplicating a verb root indicates habitual, iterative, or continuative aspect.

Prepositions

• Ronc Tyu distinguishes between two types of prepositions: Adnominal prepositions (pp.n) refer only to noun phrases (e.g. "the tree on the hill"), whereas adverbial prepositions (pp.v) always refer to the clause (e.g. "I'm standing on the hill"). Adnominal prepositions may be nested within an adverbial prepositional phrase.

Syntax

• The basic word order is SVO, with occasional exceptions (for example in existential statements).
• Phrases are typically head-initial, with modifiers following their heads.
• Ronc Tyu frequently uses serial verb constructions (SVC) consisting of two or more verbs to describe complex actions and situations, with the component verbs typically appearing in the chronological order of subevents. Some common collocations have a slightly idiomatic meaning, but most of the SVC instances in this text should be fairly transparent. A few idiomatic SVC are given in the wordlist.
• Some types of SVC can also serve a grammatical purpose, for example describing cause-event relationships or adding modal or aspectual information.
• Most SVC have the shape NP₁ V V (V) (NP₂), with all verbs sharing the same subject NP₁ (and, where relevant, the same object NP₂).
• Certain verbs can also be used as coverbs, functioning in a way similar to adpositions or conjunctions, introducing oblique arguments or subclauses.
• Subjectless verbs followed by a complementizer are sometimes used to make impersonal general statements.

Links

A more elaborate grammatical description of Ronc Tyu can be found at http://akana.conlang.org/wiki/Ronc_Tyu