Sajem Tan

Sajem Tan or Common Honey is a collaborative conlang started in November 2015 by members of the CONLANG mailing list.[1] [2] As of 29 December 2015, the phoneme inventory and romanization have been decided along with some of the phonotactics, a few words have been coined and a few simple sentences written; work on the native script, syntax and morphology are proceeding.

As the language and its documenation grow, we will separate these into subpages.

Creation Myth

The Sajem Tan community is based on the following creation myth, posted by Shanoxilt Cizypij on 30 November 2015:

So very long ago, during gray and overcast days past, Thunder rumbled. From the shaken sky tumbled Thunder's noises and with them Rain. By the fallen Rain, Flower was nourished and River was filled. Upon its web, between Flower and Stone, Spider gathered Rain. When Rain ceased and Thunder silenced, Bee gathered Flower's pollen. Bee then flew away to its hive to make our Common Honey. Upon the hive came Bear who so loved our Common Honey that it shared with all who would sample. Witnessing all this, from atop Stone, Bird declared, "May this recur until all our tribe partakes of Common Honey."

Roles

The characters in this myth are also the titles or roles of members of the community:

Thunder	phonology	Samantha Tarnowski
Rain	morphology	Asher Drummond
Spider	syntax	Jim Henry
Flower	semantics	Brett Williams
Stone	orthography	Daniel Swanson
River	pragmatics	James Constable
Bee	corpus	Jim Henry
Bear	pedagogy	Jon Michael Swift
Bird or the swift feathered one	supervision	Shanoxilt Cizypij
Ants	other members of the community	Scott Hamilton, Mia DeSanzo, Noelle Morris et alia
Tree	.	James Hyett

Each of the roles has certain taboos as well as responsibilities for the development of the language. For instance, Bee cannot refer to the swift feathered one by name. Bear and Bird must speak in the third person, and Flower in the second.

Phonology and romanization

IPA	romanization
i	i
e	e
ɛ	eh
æ	a
u	u
ɑ	ah
ɤ	ul
ʌ	uh
y	y
ø	ol
ɵ	o
œ	el
ts	c
t	t
k	k
m	m
n	n
f	f
s	s
ʒ	zh
ɮ	zl
x	x
ʎ	j
θ	th
v	v
z	z
ʃ	sh
d	d
g	g
ɬ	sl

The only allowed coda consonants are voiceless plosives and nasals. Any consonant by itself is allowed in onset; the only atttested clusters are fricative + homorganic nasal, e.g. /vm-/, /zn-/.

See below under "self-segregating morphology" for more restrictions on the forms roots and affixes can take.

Syntax

• default OVS word order (probably variable if we have case marking)
• relative clauses before their head nouns
• auxiliary verbs after main verbs
• adjectives before nouns
• postpositions (for whatever we aren't marking with case, including some weird stuff that other languages mark with verbs); postpositional phrases precede what they modify
• several grammatical particles that introduce neologisms and their initial definitions, or words being used in new senses

Morphology

• Self-segmenting morphology
• Agglutinating
• Dependent marking
• Case endings for oblique roles
• Lots of applicatives
• No noun classes
• Minimal declension/conjugation classes
• Minimal irregularity

Rain's proposals for self-segregating morphology, as amended by Bee and Stone:

1. Root words are to consist of zero or more C(C)V syllables followed by a C(C)VC syllable, containing a restricted subset of vowels: ol, e, el, i, a, ul, uh, y

2. Suffixes and particles are to consist of one (C)V(C) syllable using the other vowels not used in content roots: o, ah, eh, u

3. The final consonant of a syllable can only be a nasal or unvoiced plosive.

4. If a syllable begins with a consonant cluster, the first consonant must be a fricative and the second a nasal at more or less the same point of articulation. E.g. fm-, vm-, sn-, zn-, shn-, thn-, etc.

Rain's verb morphology proposals of 30 December:

Marked on the verb (agglutinating suffixes)

• aspect
• valency changing operations (voice, applicatives) (optional)

Template: root-aspect-(valency)

Auxiliary verb (following the verb, as per the Spider's weave - i.e. syntax)

• optional
• root indicates mood
• optional suffixes for tense

Template: mood-(tense)

Aspect markers for verbs are obligatory. If you want to explicitly mark tense, then you have to use a mood auxiliary.

Aspects:

• durative (this includes instantaneous actions)
• continuous
• gnomic
• habitual
• perfective

-fe would be durative

Tenses:

• remote past
• mid past/indeterminate past
• immediate past
• non-past

Later, the swift feathered one proposed vowel mutation for tense. Bee suggested this vowel mutation chart:

Nonpast                         ol       i
immediate past                  el       e
mid past/indeterminate past     y        a
remote past                     uh       ul

That is, the nonpast dictionary form of an auxiliary verb would have "i" or "ol" while inflected past forms would keep the same consonants but change the vowel as above.

Agent, force, patient and experiencer marked by word order (agent and force after the verb, patient and experiencer before the verb)

Morphological cases

-zheh	focus/source
-thot	recipient/beneficiary
-gu	instrmental I -- tools that fit in the hand
-vah	instrumental II -- tools too big to hold in the hand, and intangible tools like software
-kahm	comitative
-vmeh	genitive

Lexicon

cehk -- particle indicating the following is a neologism or nonce word

cehsh -- particle indicating the following is a neologism or nonce word [archaic, xref "cehk"]

cejym -- OCD; to obsessively organize minute details

con -- particle indicated that the following word is a transliteration and may not be phonotactically valid

culjim -- ant

culjimdin -- anthill

dec -- decimal 1

delgem -- select; curate; anthologize

dic -- auxiliary verb: indicative

din -- home; hive; etc.

divolm -- thunder; phonology

dolk -- senary 1

doln -- to make a loud, deep sound; to grumble; to rumble

don -- sounds like the phoneme sequence, e.g. don zelzeln = sound of a bee

fam -- decimal 2

felt -- senary 2

femek -- mind; thought; noetic

femektholk -- discovered by telepathy

fmyvu -- to make; to create [archaic, xref "fmyvuhk"]

fmyvuhk -- to make; to create

folt -- senary 36

gajin -- pure awe

gamyk -- tree; one that produces

golm -- auxiliary verb: be obligated to

guhn -- decimal 9

gulslim -- nourish

gyn -- worker

jafin -- melodrama

jafinmeht -- melodramatic

jaxin -- plastic or wooden chair, especially one that has been mass-produced

jelk -- full

jidolk -- Flower

jikin -- wiki

jit -- auxiliary verb: must; vital; necessary

jizlet -- Quizlet

ke -- and [archaic]

keh -- and

kem -- to shake; to cause to vibrate; (with no explicit subject) to shake; to vibrate (intransitive)

kic -- carefully discerned through protracted study (evidential adverb)

kizhul -- bee [archaic, xref "kizhult"]

kizhult -- bee; harvester [xref "znolc"]; storyteller

kizhultdin -- beehive

kolthic -- the joy and exhaustion that comes after final exams are over

kulk -- decimal 8

kut -- feels like the phoneme sequence, e.g. kut xigeldifigeldit = all over the place, higgledy-piggledy

ma -- to thank [archaic, xref "man"]

man -- to thank

met -- falling, collapsing, tumbling (chaotic falling, like an stone bouncing many times as it falls down a hill, or a vase breaking when it hits after a simple ballistic fall)

moln -- tribe

molt -- auxiliary verb: not

muhc -- that which cities, forests, and hives have in common, a community

muhshim -- to be cool/awesome

muhzl -- that which cities, forests, and hives have in common, a community [archaic, xref "muhc"]

nacen -- also

nanym -- dispatch, especially for military purposes

navnyc -- upon

nymem -- clumsy

om -- particle to carry conjugations for con, don, kut, shehn, and tahn, e.g. kut xigeldifigeldit omum culjimah = the ants are all over the place / disorganised

sajem -- common; communal; public

sesuht -- to sing boisterously, especially music that is disliked; to sing Let It Go

shasholc -- to partake

shehn -- feels like, e.g. shehn simem = the feeling of peace, quiet

shelsheln -- River; pragmatics

shen -- decimal 6

shik -- auxiliary verb: be able to

sholmak -- between

simem -- (adj) silent, quiet, calm, sleepy [xref "thneduht"]

shan -- hearsay (via a living person) (evidential adverb)

shelgin -- to perceive

slah -- particle indicating the following word is being used in a new sense

slin -- fight

slingyn -- warrior; Klingon

slnuhm -- (adj) gray; grey; dull; indeterminate; incomplete; boring; plain; numinous

slolc -- senary 4

sluht -- decimal 4

sluln -- based on faith/beliefs/subjective experiences (evidential adverb)

slet -- traditional knowledge; lore (evidential adverb)

snat -- learned via seconday/tertiary/etc. sources, especially writings (evidential adverb)

sno -- postposition: in the time of; during

snym -- cloud

snymmeht -- cloudy; overcast

solm -- fast; swift; quick (of moving objects, e.g. "the feathered one is *solm*") [xref "theln"]

suhzhnolm -- pleasant

sulfekahslifazhislitikesixahsloldolshyc -- cookie

sulslem -- nectar

tah -- honey; vomit; language; (with verb affix(es)) to speak; to vomit [archaic, xref "tan"]

tahn -- sounds like, e.g. tahn divolm = the sound of thunder

tan -- honey; vomit; language; (with verb affix(es)) to speak; to vomit

tahzluv -- utterance; short speech; sentence; dollop of honey [archaic, xref "tanzlulc"]

tanzlulc -- utterance; short speech; sentence; dollop of honey

telzlnoln -- Rain

tetan -- flying snail (picture)

thefahm -- stone [archaic, xref "thefam"]

thefam -- stone; writing; orthography

thefammeht -- stony; rocky

thefnolm -- bear

theln -- fast; quick(ly) (of processes/actions other than motion verbs, e.g. "*Kizhul* coins words *theln*") [xref "solm"]

thek -- to scribble; to scrawl

thneduht -- (noun) silence; ominous stillness; void

thnolt -- decimal 100

tho -- to scribble; to scrawl [archaic, xref "thek"]

tholk -- direct sensory evidence (evidential adverb)

thom -- particle linking a nonce word or word used in a new sense with its gloss or definition

tim -- decimal 0

tyt -- senary 0

vaslnulm -- cease

vith -- bird [archaic, xref "vithit"]

vithit -- bird; overseer

vithitdin -- twig-woven home of the swift feathered one

vmelfelc -- wisdom; silliness

vmelt -- decimal 1000

voln -- understood through the reversal of a previously deep belief (evidential adverb)

vulc -- decimal 3

vyk -- senary 3

vynit -- long (time); slow; delayed

xamatin -- the frustration of realizing that one has inadvertently invalidated or undone an accomplisment

xanoln -- to greet

xaslem -- glide; transition smoothly

xaxat -- to laugh

xek -- senary 6

xo -- particle indicating that the following word is archaic

xulkat -- fun; grammar; climbing; the enjoyment of challenges

zamen -- to hope

zan -- to be

zatenym -- troop; group; platoon

zatheln -- spider; silkworm

zhasik -- (noun) sky; canopy of a forest; ceiling of a cave (but not of a house)

zhat -- decimal 7

zhelt -- senary 216

zhetam -- pollen; semen

zhimahn -- feather [archaic]

zhiman -- feather; long lustrous hair

zhuhzhim -- dust; a floating particle; something that settles down or doesn't

zhuhzhuhm -- to fly

zlelc -- senary 5

zlik -- decimal 5

zlislym -- creepy; skeleton

zlulc -- lump; dollop (of a substance); instance (of something more abstract)

zlolzhit -- poop (thanks, thunder's sister)

znek -- decimal 10

znenan -- tale; story

znim -- falling; to fall (unconstrained motion under influence of gravity)

znolk -- day

znolc -- to gather; to collect

znols -- to gather; to collect [archaic, xref "znolc"]

Suffixes

-ah -- plural

-da -- perfective aspect

-eht -- habitual aspect

-fe -- durative aspect [archaic, xref "feh"]

-feh -- durative aspect

-kah -- suffix for "energetic" and/or "coffee"

-kahf -- suffix for "energetic" and/or "coffee" [archaic, xref "kah"]

-meht -- having a surfeit or plenitude of something

-noc -- the end state or product of an action (suffixes to verb root, not to inflected verb)

-so -- derivational suffix: an entity having the thing referred to by the stem, e.g. zhiman "feather" > zhimanso "feathered one"

-sho -- continuous aspect

-sun -- passive voice

-um -- gnomic aspect

-zhum -- noun derivational suffix, indicates a pet

-zhut -- to cause to be

Pronouns

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
inanimate	theh	vu	zo
vegetal	thu	vo	zeh
animate	seh	zhu	zlo

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
inanimate	thehs [archaic]	vuzh [archaic]	zozl [archaic]
vegetal	thuzl [archaic]	vos [archaic]	zehzh [archaic]
animate	sehth [archaic]	zhuv [archaic]	zloz [archaic]

Evidentials

Evidentials are declared as adverbs. Nouns may be agglutinated before the adverb to create compound evidentials with more specific meaning (e.g. "femektholk").

slet -- traditional lore, known by many subjects or ascertained from a now-dead person

shan -- hearsay via a living person

tholk -- direct sensory evidence

thec -- deduced from sensory evidence

thef -- deduced from sensory evidence [archaic, xref "thec"]

snat -- learned via seconday/tertiary/etc. sources, especially writings

voln -- understood through the reversal of a previously deep belief

sluln -- based on faith/beliefs/subjective experiences

kic -- carefully discerned through protracted study

femektholk -- discovered by telepathy

Corpus

[2015-12-25]

Kizhul mafe Vith.

ke solm Zhimahnso mafe Kizhul.

tahzluv znolsfe Kizhul.

[2015-12-29]

sajem tah thofe thefahm.

[2016-01-08]

cehsh sulslem thom "nectar" znolcfeh kizhult.

[2016-01-12]

thekeht Thefam.

sulsem znolcsho Kizhult.

[2016-04-07]

Vu xanolnfeh Vithit.

Tools

A Github repository of tools can be found at https://github.com/mr-martian/Sajem_Tan

Phonotactics Checker: http://mr-martian.github.io/Sajem_Tan/check.html

Random text/sentence generator: http://mr-martian.github.io/Sajem_Tan/randsen.html

Root lists: http://pastebin.com/0S5GsiqP http://pastebin.com/mVr9trze