Tolakiso: Difference between revisions
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Some common types of compounding are as follows: | Some common types of compounding are as follows: | ||
*N+N Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is qualified and made specific by [noun]), e.g. ''railroad'' | |||
*V+N Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is incorporated as an argument of [verb]), e.g. ''pickpocket'' | |||
*N+V Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is qualified by [adjective]-{{sc|part}}), e.g. ''green tree'' | |||
*V+N Endocentric Compounds ([adjective] is similar to [noun]), e.g. ''tree-green'' | |||
*V+V Endocentric Compounds ([verb] is qualified or given distinctions by [verb]), e.g. ''to start to read'' | |||
*N+N Copulative Compounds (a hybrid, combination, or mixture of [noun] and [noun] (and [noun]...)), e.g. ''saltwater'' | |||
*V+V Copulative Compounds (a hybrid, combination, or mixture of [adjective] and [adjective] (and [adjective]...)), e.g. ''bittersweet'' | |||
*V+V [[WP:Serial_verb_construction|Serial Verbs]] ([verb] and [verb] (and [verb]..) all take the same subject and are inflected as a single unit to express a series of actions) | |||
*Appositional Compounds (various [noun]s and [adjective]s can be joined together to give different descriptions of the same referent), e.g. ''child-actor'' | |||
Note that these various compound types can sometimes be combined for further distinctions, giving very long compound words. This is not common, however. | Note that these various compound types can sometimes be combined for further distinctions, giving very long compound words. This is not common, however. | ||
==Sample Translations== | ==Sample Translations== | ||
Each of the following [[WP:Translation|translations]] from [[WP:English|English]] to Tolakiso will include the original text, the translated text, a [[WP:List_of_glossing_abbreviations|gloss]] of the translated text, and a retranslation of the text back to English. | Each of the following [[WP:Translation|translations]] from [[WP:English|English]] to Tolakiso will include the original text, the translated text, a [[WP:List_of_glossing_abbreviations|gloss]] of the translated text, and a retranslation of the text back to English. |
Revision as of 20:56, 7 August 2012
Tolan Tolakiso | |
Pronunciation: | ['to.la.ˌki.so] |
Spoken in: | Tola, Tolan Empire |
Conworld: | Kalna |
Total speakers: | None |
Genealogical classification: | Kalnaean
|
Writing System: | Tolan Syllabary |
Basic word order: | SVO |
Morphological type: | Agglutinating |
Morphosyntactic alignment: | Nominative-Accusative |
Created by: | |
Ian Cook | August 1, 2012 |
Tolan (Tolakiso ['to.la.ˌki.so]) is an ancient language which was once spoken on the continent of Seran in the region of Tola and by the Tolan Empire on the planet of Kalna. Tolan is the only member of the Seranic language family to survive after the Tolan Empire conquered and ruled Seran. However, its descendants were all influenced by the other languages of the various regions.
Tolan is typologically highly agglutinative, although it shows occasional fusional and isolating characteristics. It modifies and inflects nouns (though nominative and accusative are shown through word order), pronouns, and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. There are twelve noun cases, and verbs conjugate to show four moods, three tenses, two voices, and three aspects.
Phonology
Primary stress on Tolan words is always given to the first syllable in the word. Secondary stress is usually placed on alternating syllables thereafter, but it is often such a small stress that it is barely noticeable. In compound words, each component after the first receives secondary stress on its first syllable.
Tolan has five vowels, however there is some allophony based on the different regions in which Tolan was spoken. Allphones are shown in parentheses below.
Vowels | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | ||||||
High | i [i] | (i) [y] | u [u] | |||||||
Near-high | (i) [ɪ] | (u) [ʊ] | ||||||||
High-mid | e [e] | o [o] | ||||||||
Mid | (e) [ə] | |||||||||
Low-mid | (e) [ɛ] | (o) [ɔ] | ||||||||
Near-low | (a) [æ] | |||||||||
Low | a [a] | (a) [ɑ] |
All vowels are analyzed as occurring within the time frame of one mora Therefore, doubled vowels are treated as a sequence of two identical vowels, rather than as a long vowel. Two different vowels in sequence are treated as distinct syllables, rather than as a diphthong.
Tolan uses only twelve consonants. None of the plosives or fricatives are voiced, and there are no affricates. Voiced plosives and fricatives will be heard as allophones for their unvoiced counterparts.
Consonants | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bilabial | Labiod. | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alv. | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||
Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ||||||||||||||
Plosive | p [p] | t [t] | k [k] | |||||||||||||
Fricative | f [f] | s [s] | h [h] | |||||||||||||
Approximants | w [w] | y [j] | ||||||||||||||
Flap or Tap | r [ɾ] | |||||||||||||||
Lateral Approximant | l |
The basic syllable structure is (C)V(n) where "C" is any consonant, "V" is any vowel, and "n" is the letter "n". This can create long strings of vowels, all of which are considered separate syllables, but can not create any consonant clusters.
Orthography
The Tolan language is written using the Tolan Syllabary.
Grammar
The Tolan language is highly inflected, often through agglutination, but sometimes shows fusional and isolating tendencies. The morphosyntactic alignment is nominative-accusative, but unlike any other cases, neither nominative nor accusative are marked morphologically, being distinguished only by word order. There are twelve other distinct noun cases.
Verbs are highly inflected, though they are not marked for person. They are, however, inflected for four moods and three tenses, two voices, and three aspects.
Nouns
Tolan does not distinguish gender in any nouns or pronouns.
Cases
Tolan has fourteen noun cases: four grammatical cases, six marginal cases, and four locative cases.
Tolan Cases | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case | Glossing Abbr. | Suffix | English prep. | Example | Translation |
Grammatical | |||||
Nominative | nom | - | - | rami | house |
Accusative | acc | - | - | rami | house |
Dative | dat | -ti | to | ramiti | to (a) house |
Genitive | gen | -sa | of/-'s | ramisa | of (a) house |
Marginal | |||||
Vocative | voc | - | O | rami | O house |
Instrumental | inst | -ko | with/using | ramiko | using (a) house |
Benefactive | ben | -hin | for | ramihin | for (a) house |
Causal | cau | -te | because of | ramite | because of (a) house |
Comitative | com | -ru | with | ramiru | with (a) house |
Abessive | abe | -ya | without | ramiya | without (a) house |
Locative | |||||
Lative | lat | -we | to | ramiwe | to (a) house |
Adessive | ade | -mo | at/in/on | ramimo | at (a) house |
Ablative | abl | -han | from | ramihan | from (a) house |
Prolative | prol | -fu | through/via | ramifu | through (a) house |
Note that neither the nominative nor the accusative take a morphological suffix. Instead, these cases are determined by word order. A noun is distinguished as nominative if it is located before the verb, and as accusative if it is located after the verb.
Plurals
Nouns do not decline to show plurality. Unmarked nouns have no number, and the specific number is left ambiguous. This is called transnumeral. To specify the number of a noun, a number or another modifier must be used. For example:
- Ken enma unfa
- one cl17 sheep
- One sheep
- One sheep
- Yuwa enma unfa
- some cl17 sheep
- Some sheep
- Some sheep
- Liten enma unfa
- many cl17 sheep
- Many sheep
- Many sheep
In the above examples, unfa is the Tolan word for "sheep" while enma is the noun classifier for most non-human mammals.
Definiteness
Tolan does not have any articles, and thus nouns have no inherent way to express definiteness. Instead, this is expressed using demonstratives and numbers. For example:
- Mui
- man
- (A/The) man
- (A/The) man
- Ken onru mui
- one cl15 man
- A man or One man
- A man or One man
- Kanso onru mui
- this cl15 man
- This man
- This man
- Onru mui
- cl15 man
- Men (in general)
- Men (in general)
In the above examples, mui is the Tolan word for "man" while onru is the noun classifier for humans.
Classifiers
Noun classifiers, also called measure words, are independent lexical items which are used to classify the referent of countable nouns according to their meaning. This is done any time a noun is being modified by a demonstrative or a number. These classifiers are also used as third-person pronouns. The Tolan language has a total of 78 noun classifiers.
Tolan Noun Classifiers | ||
---|---|---|
CL# | Classifier | Usage |
cl01 | ra | Generic classifier |
cl02 | wori | Generic classifier, naturally occurring in pairs |
cl03 | un | Generic classifier, naturally occurring in threes |
cl04 | ki | Generic classifier, naturally occurring in fours |
cl05 | punyin | Generic classifier for groups |
cl06 | yilen | Long, thin objects |
cl07 | unsan | Group of long, thin objects |
cl08 | pan | Flat objects |
cl09 | pun | Group of flat objects |
cl10 | hon | Round objects |
cl11 | finu | Group of round objects |
cl12 | mu | Small, grain-like objects |
cl13 | fon | Group of small, grain-like objects |
cl14 | innon | Objects which can be rolled up |
cl15 | onru | Humans |
cl16 | rope | Group of humans |
cl17 | enma | Most non-human mammals |
cl18 | enko | Group of most non-human mammals |
cl19 | rasi | Cats and dogs |
cl20 | wan | Groups of cats and dogs |
cl21 | an | Birds and bats |
cl22 | unnin | Groups of birds and bats |
cl23 | tonyo | Reptiles and amphibians |
cl24 | nen | Groups of reptiles and amphibians |
cl25 | ifu | Other land animals |
cl26 | into | Group of other land animals |
cl27 | on | Whales, dolphins, sharks, and fish |
cl28 | anre | Groups of whales, dolphins, sharks, and fish |
cl29 | yenne | Other aquatic animals |
cl30 | epe | Group of other aquatic animals |
cl31 | hoken | Flying insects |
cl32 | tanfen | Group of flying insects |
cl33 | sonli | Non-flying insects |
cl34 | len | Group of non-flying insects |
cl35 | puwo | Trees |
cl36 | lun | Group of trees |
cl37 | hanwi | Flowers |
cl38 | won | Group of flowers |
cl39 | pe | Other plants and fungi |
cl40 | le | Groups of other plants and fungi |
cl41 | akon | General food |
cl42 | wehu | Groups of general food, sections of a meal, courses |
cl43 | enyan | Slaughtered meat |
cl44 | uyun | Small fruit |
cl45 | sahi | Group of small fruit |
cl46 | tuma | Large fruit |
cl47 | lo | Vegetables |
cl48 | tako | Group of vegetables |
cl49 | nanyon | Herbs and spices |
cl50 | ho | Baked food |
cl51 | irun | General liquids |
cl52 | wofun | Drinkable portions of liquid |
cl53 | uyi | Rivers and large bodies of water |
cl54 | pemi | Land formations |
cl55 | iwen | Meteorological phenomena, volcano eruptions, and earthquakes |
cl56 | sin | Celestial bodies |
cl57 | min | Buildings and other large, immobile, man-made objects |
cl58 | witin | Portions of land, property, and countries |
cl59 | in | Sea, air, and space vehicles |
cl60 | usan | Land vehicles |
cl61 | nitu | Tools and machines |
cl62 | pa | Containers |
cl63 | ori | Piles |
cl64 | amu | Stacks |
cl65 | wuyu | Rows |
cl66 | munta | Weapons, armors, other tools of war, and magic |
cl67 | rin | Arts |
cl68 | ane | Colors and sounds |
cl69 | talin | Languages and parts of languages such as words |
cl70 | fona | Books and other texts |
cl71 | si | Wool, hair, fur, clothing, blankets, sheets, towels, fabrics, and things made from fabrics |
cl72 | fansin | Classes and lessons |
cl73 | okan | Fire and explosions |
cl74 | ito | Emotions, sensations, dreams, states, ideas, and supernatural/spiritual entities |
cl75 | eso | Time |
cl76 | setu | Distance and directions |
cl77 | nolo | Position, turn, and order |
cl78 | fi | Occurrances, number of times, degrees of temperature and angles |
Pronouns
The pronouns in Tolan are inflected much in the same way that their referent nouns are.
Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns are used as substitutes for proper or common nouns.
Personal Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
Singular | |
no | I |
ta | you |
sahu | he/she/it |
yu | one (generic) |
Plural | |
wonia | we |
ontu | you |
moni | they |
wu | they/*ones (generic) |
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
pawi | each other, one another |
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
honti | oneself, himself, myself, etc. |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
kanso | this |
kansoni | that |
The demonstrative pronouns are also used as determiners.
Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
suro | restrictive |
fasi | non-restrictive |
- No iweto muiti suro wuna unfa.
- I.nom search.pres-prog man.dat rstr.pro have.pres sheep.acc
- I am looking for a man who has a sheep.
- I do not have a specific man in mind, but the group of "men" is restricted to the subset of men who have a sheep.
- I am looking for a man who has a sheep.
- No iweto muiti fasi wuna unfa.
- I.nom search.pres-prog man.dat nrstr.pro have.pres sheep.acc
- I am looking for a man who has a sheep.
- I have a specific man in mind, and the information that he has a sheep is extra.
- I am looking for a man who has a sheep.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
saki | what |
sakionru | who (literally "what person") |
sakan | when |
sana | where |
saen | why |
satu | how |
sahe | which |
sama | whether |
The interrogative pronouns can also be used as determiners.
Note that the pronoun saki can be prefixed to any of the noun classifiers in the same way as sakionru.
Indefinite Pronouns
The indefinite pronouns are a list of all pronouns that do not fall into any of the categories above.
Interrogative Pronouns | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
yen | any |
yen-cl | anyone/anybody/anything |
yuwa | some |
yuwa-cl | someone/somebody/something |
na | all |
na-cl | everyone/everybody/everything |
kan | none |
ka-cl | no one/nobody/nothing |
fai | other/another |
powa | each |
tesi | either |
tesiko | neither |
patu | enough |
rosan | too much |
kun | both |
niki | several |
hoke | such |
Note that most indefinite pronouns can be prefixed to any of the noun classifiers in the same way as yen, yuwa, na, and kan.
Verbs
Tolan verbs are conjugated through an extremely regular process of agglutination. They are inflected to show four moods, three tenses, two voices, and three aspects. Verbs do not inflect to show person in any way.
Verb Inflections
Tolan Conjugation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inflection | Glossing Abbr. | Suffix | |||
Tense-Mood | |||||
Present-Indicative | prs | - | |||
Past-Indicative | pst | -he | |||
Future-Indicative | fut | -hu | |||
Imperative | imp | -ka | |||
Present-Conditional | prs.cond | -sa | |||
Past-Conditional | pst.cond | -se | |||
Future-Conditional | fut.cond | -su | |||
Present-Subjunctive | prs.sjv | -fa | |||
Past-Subjunctive | pst.sjv | -fe | |||
Future-Subjunctive | fut.sjv | -fu | |||
Voice | |||||
Active | - | ||||
Passive | pas | -wi | |||
Aspects | |||||
Perfect | prf | -(e)n | |||
Progressive | prog | -to | |||
Habitual | hab | -ru |
The verbal infinitive is formed as simply an unmarked verb (as though in the active present indicative) with the addition of the preposition ni.
Note that although a verb can take only one tense-mood and can take only one voice, it can have any combination of aspects. Further, the tense-mood, voice, and aspects can all be added together to add more meaning to the verb. For example:
- ni ye
- inf carry
- to carry
- to carry
- No ye.
- I.nom carry.prs
- I carry.
- I carry.
- No yeheto.
- I.nom carry-pst-prog
- I was carrying.
- I was carrying.
- No yehun.
- I.nom carry-fut-prf
- I will have carried.
- I will have carried.
- No yehuwintoru.
- I.nom carry-fut-pas-prf-prog-hab
- I will have been being carried (habitually).
- I will have been being carried (habitually).
Tenses
There are three tenses in Tolan.
- Present: The present tense corresponds to the English present tense. It is the unmarked tense of a verb.
- Past: The past tense corresponds to the English simple past, indicating a past action which is complete.
- Future: The future tense corresponds to the English future tense, indicating a future action which is yet to take place.
Moods
There are four moods in Tolan.
- Indicative: The indicative mood is used for factual statements and positive beliefs. It is the unmarked mood of a verb.
- Imperative: The imperative mood expresses commands, requests, prohibitions, and permissions.
- Conditional: The conditional mood refers to a hypothetical state of affairs or an uncertain event that is contingent upon another set of circumstances. It is often used in conjunction with the subjunctive mood in if... then statements.
- No yesa sahu eo ta wuofa sahu.
- I.nom carry-prs.cond it.acc if you.nom make-prs.sjv it.acc
- I would carry it if you were to make it.
- Subjunctive: The subjunctive mood is used in subordinate clauses to express various states of unreality such as wish, emotion, possibility, judgment, or opinion.
Voices
There are two moods in Tolan.
- Active: The active voice is used when the subject of a sentence is the agent of the verb.
- Passive: The passive voice is used when the patient of the verb is promoted to the subject.
Aspects
There are three aspects in Tolan.
- Perfect: The perfect aspect expresses the present relevance of past events or actions.
- Progressive: The progressive aspect expresses that an incomplete action is in progress at a specific time.
- Habitual: The habitual aspect expresses that an action or event is habitual or recurring.
Verb Negation
To negate a verb, precede it with the particle ka. For example:
- No ka ye.
- I.nom not carry.prs
- I do not carry.
- I do not carry.
Interrogatives
A question can be formed either by using a specific question word (i.e. an interrogative pronoun or determiner) or by adding the particle sen to the end of a sentence. It can also act as a preposition for the word in question to add emphasis or clarification about the question. For example:
- Sakionru wuna unfa?
- what-cl15.nom have.prs sheep.acc?
- Who has a sheep?
- Ta wuna unfa sen?
- you.nom have.{{sc|prs]] sheep.acc int?
- Do you have a sheep?
- Sen ta wuna unfa?
- int you.nom have.prs sheep.acc?
- Do you have a sheep?
- Ta sen wuna unfa?
- you.nom int have.prs sheep.acc?
- Do you have a sheep?
- Ta wuna sen unfa?
- you.nom have.prs int sheep.acc?
- Do you have a sheep?
Adjectives
There is no distinct category of adjectives in Tolan. Instead, adjectives are expressed as verbs which mean "to be _____". For example:
- No uyan.
- I.nom be.happy.prs
- I am happy.
- I am happy.
These can be conjugated into the participle to be used more as an adjective following the noun it modifies. For example:
- Kanso unfa uyanso
- that sheep.nom be.happy.part
- That happy sheep (it would translate literally to *That being-happy sheep)
- That happy sheep (it would translate literally to *That being-happy sheep)
For comparison, adverbs and adverbial phrases which modify the adjectival verb are used.
Adjectival Comparison | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
anrin | very |
wa | so |
hu | that/than |
eu | least |
so | less |
kana | little/few |
wa kana hu | as little as |
wa liten hu | as much as |
liten | much/many |
tome | more |
iwa | most |
These are placed after the verb they modify. For example:
- No uyan anrin.
- I.nom be.happy.prs very
- I am very happy.
- I am very happy.
- No uyan tome.
- I.nom be.happy.prs more
- I am more happy, or, I am happier.
- I am more happy, or, I am happier.
- No uyan so hu ta.
- I.nom be.happy.prs less than you.nom
- I am happy less than you, or, I am less happy than you.
- I am happy less than you, or, I am less happy than you.
- No uyan wa liten hu ta.
- I.nom be.happy.prs so much than you.nom
- I am as happy as you (it would translate literally to I am happy as much as you).
- I am as happy as you (it would translate literally to I am happy as much as you).
Depending on the usage, these also may come after any other adverbs or other words which are modifying the adjectival verb. For example:
- No uyan anrin keho.
- I.nom be.happy.prs very often
- I am often very happy.
- I am often very happy.
- No uyan keho anrin.
- I.nom be.happy.prs often very
- I am happy very often.
- I am happy very often.
- No uyan keho wa liten hu ta.
- I.nom be.happy.prs often so much than you.nom
- I am happy as often as you. (it would translate literally to I am happy often as much as you).
- I am happy as often as you. (it would translate literally to I am happy often as much as you).
Adverbs
A common way to derive adverbs is by adding the suffix -li to an adjectival verb. For example:
- ni uyan → uyanli
- inf be.happy → be.happy-adv
- to be happy → happily
- to be happy → happily
- ni su → suli
- inf be.quick → be.quick-adv
- to be quick → quickly
- to be quick → quickly
Adverbs can be modified for comparison in the same way that adjectives can.
- uyanli anrin
- be.quick-adv very
- very quickly
- very quickly
- uyanli tome hu ta
- be.quick-adv more than you
- more quickly than you
- more quickly than you
Numerals
The cardinal numbers for one through ten are given below.
Cardinal Numbers | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
sunen | zero |
ken | one |
hi | two |
en | three |
wo | four |
ri | five |
yi | six |
lin | seven |
men | eight |
fan | nine |
nan | ten |
Further numbers are compounded in the form of [tens digit]-i-[ones digit]. However, some are slightly irregular when put in this format.
Cardinal Numbers, cont. | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
naniken | eleven |
nanihi | twelve |
nanien | thirteen |
hin | twenty |
hiniken | twenty one |
ena | thirty |
enniken | thirty one |
wona | forty |
woniken | forty one |
rina | fifty |
riniken | fifty one |
yin | sixty |
yiniken | sixty one |
lina | seventy |
liniken | seventy one |
mena | eighty |
meniken | eighty one |
fana | ninety |
faniken | ninety one |
The higher numbers are given below.
Cardinal Numbers, cont. | |
---|---|
Tolan | English |
sukan | (one) hundred |
nasun | (one) thousand |
tolima | (one) million |
tohilima | (one) billion |
toenlima | (one) trillion |
towolima | (one) quadrillion |
torilima | (one) quintillion |
toyilima | (one) sextillion |
tolinlima | (one) septillion |
tomenlima | (one) octillion |
tofanlima | (one) nonillion |
tonanlima | (one) decillion |
Each of these words will be separate words from the smaller digits which come after, but they are suffixed to any modifying digits which precede them. For example, 200 is hisukan but 102 is sukan hi. For further illustration:
- 573,924
- risukan liniennasun fansukan hiniwo
To make a number into any type of numeral other than cardinal, a particle is placed after the number.
Other Numerals | ||
---|---|---|
Type | Tolan Particle | English Examples |
Ordinal | fa | first, second, third... |
Partitive | ke | whole, half, third... |
Multiplicative | mun | once, twice, thrice... |
Collective | su | pair, dozen... |
Distributive | ma | singly, one-by-one, in pairs, two-by-two... |
Sentence Structure
Since nouns are not marked for the nominative or accusative cases, this must be shown through word order. Therefore, sentences must be in SVO order, where the noun before the verb is the subject in nominative and the noun after the verb is the object in accusative. Nouns in other cases, however, can be placed anywhere due to their case markings.
In a noun phrase, any determiner present is first, any modifying number present is second, the noun's classifier if present is third, and the noun itself is fourth. Adjectives then follow the noun they modify (including nouns in the genitive case), and adverbs follow the verbs that they modify. Adpositions are prepositional.
Lexicon
Tolan has a highly productive system of agglutination for derivation by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words. There is also a highly productive system of compounding.
Derivation
Derivational Affixes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Derivation | Gloss | Part of Speech Change | Affix | Usage |
Agentive (Active) Participle | part | V → V | -so | [verb]ing participle |
Agentive Nominal | anom | V → N | -son-cl-yo | agent of [verb]/[verb]er |
Patientive (Passive) Participle | ppart | V → V | -pu | [verb]ed participle |
Patientive Nominal | pnom | V → N | -pun-cl-yo | patient of [verb] |
Dative Nominal | dnom | V → N | -ti-cl-yo | indirect object of [verb] |
Genitive Nominal | gnom | V → N | -sa-cl-yo | owner (or other relation) of object of [verb] |
Instrumental Nominal | inom | V → N | -ko-cl-yo | tool or method of [verb] |
Benefactive Nominal | bnom | V → N | -hin-cl-yo | benefactor of [verb] |
Comitative Nominal | conom | V → N | -ru-cl-yo | one who [verbs] with the subject |
Causative Nominal | caunom | V → N | -te-cl-yo | one who is the cause of [verb] |
Abessive Nominal | abnom | V → N | -ya-cl-yo | one who doesn't [verb] with the subject |
Lative Nominal | lnom | V → N | -we-cl-yo | destination or goal of [verb] |
Adessive Nominal | adnom | V → N | -mo-cl-yo | location where [verb] is done |
Ablative Nominal | abnom | V → N | -han-cl-yo | location from which [verb] is coming |
Prolative Nominal | pronom | V → N | -fu-cl-yo | route of [verb] |
Collective Locative | colloc | N → N | -wokan | location with lots of [noun] |
Relative Adjective | reladj | N → V | -ki | to be related or pertaining to [noun] |
Compositional Adjective | comadj | N → V | -inu | to be made or composed of [noun] |
Semblance Adjective | semadj | N → V | -fuwa | to be similar to or resemble [noun] |
Rich Adjective | richadj | N → V | -lian | to have much or [noun] |
Poor Adjective | pooradj | N → V | -on | to lack [noun] |
Augmentative | aug | N → N | -oka | large [noun] |
Diminutive | dim | N → N | -ika | small [noun] |
Pejorative | pej | N → N | onku- | shows bad feelings for [noun] |
Laudative | lau | N → N | onti- | shows good feelings for [noun] |
Frequentative Adjective | freq | V → V | -uyu | to do [verb] often, or to be [adjective] often |
Standard Action Verb | stav | N → V | -ku | to use [noun] in a typical way |
Instance Noun | inst | V → N | -ri | instance of [verb] happening |
State Noun | stan | V → N, N → N | -pi | abstract quality of [adjective] or [noun] |
Collective Noun | coln | N → N | -kin | [noun] and company |
Prenoun | pre | N → N | we- | before [noun] |
Postnoun | post | N → N | han- | after [noun] |
Misverb | mis | V → V | ku- | to [verb] poorly or wrongly |
Unverb | un | V → V | tin- | to reverse [verb] |
Reverb | re | V → V | me- | to [verb] again |
Becoming Verb | becv | N → V, V → V | -ata | to become [noun] or [adjective] |
Membership Noun | memb | N → N | -yon | member, follower, participant, or inhabitant of [noun] |
Doctrinal Noun | doct | N → N | -itu | organization, doctrine, or system of membership of [noun] |
Noun Market | mrkt | N → N | -ela | place where [noun] is sold |
Descendant Noun | desc | N → N | -eri | offspring or descendant of [noun] |
Vocational Noun | vocn | N → N | -pan | one who is occupied with [noun] professionally or by hobby |
Worth Adjective | wrth | V → V | -usin | worthy of being [verb] |
Quality Adverb | qual | V → A | -li | with the quality of [adjective] |
Compounds
Each of the elements of a written compound word can optionally be separated by hyphens to make its meaning more clear, particularly if a compound is very long. Compound words are formed through the simple process of concatenation. However, in most cases it is the word as a whole which declines or conjugates, not merely the head (this is similar to words like the English verb to pickpocket, as by completing this action you are pickpocketing, not *pickingpocket).
Some common types of compounding are as follows:
- N+N Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is qualified and made specific by [noun]), e.g. railroad
- V+N Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is incorporated as an argument of [verb]), e.g. pickpocket
- N+V Endocentric Compounds ([noun] is qualified by [adjective]-part), e.g. green tree
- V+N Endocentric Compounds ([adjective] is similar to [noun]), e.g. tree-green
- V+V Endocentric Compounds ([verb] is qualified or given distinctions by [verb]), e.g. to start to read
- N+N Copulative Compounds (a hybrid, combination, or mixture of [noun] and [noun] (and [noun]...)), e.g. saltwater
- V+V Copulative Compounds (a hybrid, combination, or mixture of [adjective] and [adjective] (and [adjective]...)), e.g. bittersweet
- V+V Serial Verbs ([verb] and [verb] (and [verb]..) all take the same subject and are inflected as a single unit to express a series of actions)
- Appositional Compounds (various [noun]s and [adjective]s can be joined together to give different descriptions of the same referent), e.g. child-actor
Note that these various compound types can sometimes be combined for further distinctions, giving very long compound words. This is not common, however.
Sample Translations
Each of the following translations from English to Tolakiso will include the original text, the translated text, a gloss of the translated text, and a retranslation of the text back to English.
Schleicher's Fable
Schleicher's Fable is an artificial text which was composed by August Schleicher in his version of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language in 1868. Schleicher was the first scholar to compose a text in Proto-Indo-European.
Schleicher's Fable by August Schleicher
On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses". The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool". Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.
Kianika Selakeresa Aguseta Selakerete
Sa oenmo, ken enma unfa hekotaya tenahe yuwa enma run, ken enma manfaheto heni omuso, ken yeheto faanla fenhuso, i ken yeheto mui suli. Unfa minihe runti: "Ennou nosa konu no, tenato mui suro pinto run". Run minihe: "yooka, unfa, ennou woniasa konu wonia sakan wonia tena kanso: mui, anlio, wuo hekotako samin enyuso hontihin. I kansoni unfa ka wuna hekota". Sakan unfa minyahe kanso, sahu unkohe feuni ironwe.
story-dim Schleicher-gen August Schleicher-cau
on hill-ade, one cl17 sheep.nom wool.abe see-pst some cl17 horse.acc, one cl17.nom pull-pst-prog wagon.acc be.heavy-part, one.nom carry-pst-prog load.acc be.large-part, and one.nom carry-pst-prog man.acc be.quick-adv. sheep.nom say-pst horse-dat: "heart.nom I-gen hurt.pres I.acc, see.pres-prog man.acc rstr.pro drive.pres-prog horse.acc". horse.nom say-pst: "listen.imp, sheep.voc, heart.nom we.gen hurt.pres we.acc when we.nom see.pres this.acc: man.nom, master.nom, make.pres wool.inst clothing.acc be.warm-part self-ben. and that sheep.nom not have.pres wool.acc". When sheep.nom hear-pst this, it.nom flee-pst in grassland-lat.
Schleicher's Little Story by August Schleicher
On a hill, a sheep without wool saw some horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a large load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: “My heart hurts me, seeing a man who is driving horses”. The horses said: “Listen, sheep, our hearts hurt us when we see this: a man, master, makes with wool warm clothing for himself. And that sheep does not have wool.” When the sheep heard this, it fled into the grassland.
The North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind and the Sun is one of Aesop's Fables by the ancient Greek slave and storyteller Aesop.
The North Wind and the Sun by Aesop
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.
Aweamumire i Sei Isopate
wind.voc-north and sun.voc Aesop-cau
Northwind and Sun by Aesop
The King and the God
The King and the God is a text by S. K. Sen loosely based on the "king Harishcandra" episode of Aitareya Brahmana and translated into Proto-Indo-European.
The King and the God by S. K. Sen
Once there was a king. He was childless. The king wanted a son. He asked his priest: “May a son be born to me!” The priest said to the king: “Pray to the god Werunos”. The king approached the god Werunos to pray now to the god. “Hear me, father Werunos!” The god Werunos came down from heaven. “What do you want?” “I want a son.” “Let this be so”, said the bright god Werunos. The king's lady bore a son.
The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel is a story from the Book of Genesis which tells of how God spread the peoples of the world throughout the earth and gave them distinct languages.
The Tower of Babel
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.