Béu : Chapter 5

..... ké, bò and hí

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These are 3 little nouns that have become grammatical particles also.

Below are the words with their original meaning.

ké = result, consequence

bò = case, example, instance

hí = source, origin

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Now while these words are still used as nouns, they have developed a longer form ... possibly to reduce ambiguity with the particulate usage.

ké => kegozo = result, consequence ... (gozo = fruit)

bò => bozomba = case, example, instance ... (somba = to sit)

hí = => hidito = source, origin ... (dito = point, dot)

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... the apodosis marker ké

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This particle is mandatory for the main clause in an "if sentence"

This particle comes before the "consequence clause" (main clause). Usually English does not require a particle here although "then" is sometimes optionally used in this position.

Mandarin has a mandatory particle in this position. "jiù"

By the way ... kepe = apodosis

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... the protasis marker bò

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This word means "if". "If" is used to introduce a conditional sentence in English. A conditional clause always comprises two clauses ( usually called protasis and the ??? )

The béu the verbs in both clauses in the sentence should be in the subjunctive. For example ...

bò jìs london ... ké jàs glasgow = If you go to london (then) I will go to Glasgow

Actually the bò clause and the ké clause can be in any order (as they can be in English) ...

ké jàs glasgow ... bò jìs london ... = If you go to london (then) I will go to Glasgow

When the speaker has a lot of doubt that the condition will be met, bola is used instead of bò

When the speaker has very little doubt that the condition will be met, he would use kyu? instead of bò. When this happens the ké is dropped.

By the way ... bope = protasis ??

bò is also a complementizer ... that is, it is equivalent to "that" in the sentence "I think that she is very beautiful"

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Notes on translating "whether" ...

Sometimes you get an English "whether" sentence translated using bò and ké ...

bò myìs lú jù ... ké tomorrow jàr dublin = whether you like it or not, I am going to Dublin tomorrow

Note that the protasis verb is in its subjunctive form and the ???? verb is in its indicative form.

However this is a bit unusual, normally bò and ké are not considered necessary. So ....

myìs lú jù ... tomorrow jàr dublin = whether you like it or not, I am going to Dublin tomorrow

... the agent marker hí

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béu has a passive form, achieved by infixing -w.

When you have a passive, the agent can optionally be given. When given it is preceded by the particle hí.

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..... How words change class

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... Adjectives => Nouns

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gèu = green : geumai = greenness

naike = sharp : naikemi = sharpness

Note ... the affix changes depending on whether the word is a monosyllable or a non-monosyllable.

Note ... gèu can also mean "the green one". You can tell from context whether it is an adjective or a noun. All adjectives behave likewise.

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... Adjectives (and nouns) => Verbs

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gèu = green : geudo = to greenify, to turn green, to become green.

naike = sharp : naikedo = to sharpen, to become sharp

keŋkia = salty : keŋkido = to salt, to add salt

Note ... when the adjective ends is a diphthong (and is non-monosylabic) the last vowel is dropped.

??? = bicycle : ???do = to bicycle

For example ...

(pà) geudari = I have turned green

(pás) geudari ʃì = I have turned it green

ós geudori ʃì = She turned it green

Note ... in the above example the A argument can't be omitted. If it was the meaning would be "it turned green".

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Note ... dó by itself is a verb meaning "to do". All other monosyllabic verbs beginning with a single consonant have diphthongs for their infinitive form.

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... Verbs => Adjectives

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.. The passive participle

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The passive participle is formed by affixing -wai to the infinitive. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludwai = written

solbe = to drink : solbwai = drunk (not in the sense of intoxicated)

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludwai = the one that is written => a note

solbwai = "that which has been drunk"

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.. The active participle

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Sometimes also called the habitual participle.

The active participle is formed by affixing -ana to the infinitive. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludana = "writing" or "fond of writing"

solbe = to drink : solbana = drinking

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludana = the one who is always writing => writer/author

solbana = "he who drinks" or "a drinker"

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.. The present participle

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The present participle is formed by affixing -la to the infinitive. HOWEVER in this case the final vowel of the infinitive is not deleted. Rather it is kept but if it is a diphthong it drops its second half. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludala = "writing just now"

solbe = to drink : solbela = "drinking at this moment"

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludala = "the one writing just now" or just "the writer"

solbela = "the one now drinking" or just "the drinker"

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.. The participle of obligation

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Actually the form solbe by itself can be a participle when it qualifies a noun. For example ...

moʒi solbe = the water that must be drunk

toili kludau = the book that must be written

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludau = that which must be written => an (school) assignment

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... Verbs => Nouns

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Actually verbs in their infinitive form can be considered nouns also. For example ...

dó = to do, to make ... but it can also be translated as "deed" or "action".

If an action can result in (or be strongly connected to) some physical object. In that case the name of the physical object is derived from the verb by deleting the final vowel of the infinitive and adding "u". For example ...

dó = to make, to produce : dú = a product, an artifact

nàu = to give : nù = a gift

solbe = to drink : solbu = a drink

The -u ending always gives a countable noun ... also tangible, sort of.

To produce uncountable nouns the suffix -van is often used. For example ...

nauvan = tribute, tax

dovan = products

solbevan = drinks

yái = to have : yaivan = possessions, property

glà = to store : glavan = reserves

Note ... yú is not a noun, but a particle that indicates possession, occurs after the "possessed" and before the "possessor.

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... Nouns => Adjectives

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keŋko = salt : keŋkia = salty, having salt : keŋkua = not salty, lacking salt

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..... Word building

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Many words in béu are constructed from amalgamating two basic words. The constructed word is non-basic semantically ... maybe one of the concepts needed for a particular field of study.

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In béu when 2 nouns are come together the second noun qualifies the first. For example ...

toili nandau (literally "book" "word") ... the thing being talk about is "book" and "word" is an attribute of "book".

Now the person who first thought of the idea of compiling a list of words along with their meaning would have called this idea toili nandau.

However over the years as the concept toili nandau became more and more common, toili nandau would have morphed into nandəli.

Often when this process happens the resulting construction has a narrower meaning than the original two word phrase.

There are 4 steps in this word building process ...

1) Swap positions : toili nandau => *nandau toili

2) Delete syllable : *nandau toili => *nandau li

3) Vowel becomes schwa : *nandauli => *nandə li

4) Merge the components : *nandə li => nandəli

The above example is for 2 non-monosyllabic words. In the vast majority of constructed words the contributing words are polysyllables.

The process is slightly different when a contributing word is a monosyllabic. First we look at the case when the main word is a monosyllable ...

wé deuta (literally "manner soldier")

1) Swap positions : wé deuta => *deuta wé ........ there is no step 2

3) Vowel becomes schwa : *deuta wé => *deutɘ wé

4) Merge the components : *deutə wé => deutɘwe

And the case when the attribute is a monosyllable ...

mepe hí (literally "form origin")

1) Swap positions : *hí mepe

2) Delete syllable : *hí pe .......................................... there is no step 3

4) Merge the components : *hí pe => hipe

And the case when the attribute ends in a consonant ...

megau peugan ... "body of knowledge" "society"

1) Swap positions : *peugan megau

2) Delete syllable : *peugan gau

3) Vowel before the final consonant becomes schwa :*peugan gau => *peugən gau

4) Merge the components :*peugən gau => peugəŋgau

And the case when the main word has a double consonant before the end vowel ...

kanfai gozo ... merchant of fruit

1) Swap positions : *gozo kanfai

2) Delete syllable : *gozo fai ............................. Note kan is deletes, not just ka

3) Vowel before the final consonant becomes schwa :*gozo fai => *gozə fai

4) Merge the components :*gozə fai => gozəvai

There are no cases where both contributing words are monosyllables.

Note ...

1) the schwa is represented by a dot.

2) the consonant before the schwa takes its final form

3) the consonant after the schwa takes its medial form

When spelling words out, this dot is pronounced as jía ... meaning "link".

Notice that when you hear nandəli, deutɘwe or peugəŋgau you know that they are a non-basic words (because of the schwa).

Also when you see nandəli or deutɘwe, peugəŋgau written you know that they are non-basic words (because of the dot).

However when you come across hipe it is not immediately obvious that it's a non-basic word.

This method of word building is only used for two nouns. Other classes of word can sometimes combine, but they don't use this method.

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..... And Or

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In the last chapter we said that when 2 nouns come together the second one qualifies the first.

However this is only true when the words have no pilana endstuck. If you have two contiguous nouns suffixed by the same pilana then they are both considered to contribute equally to the sentence roll specified. For example ...

jonos jenes solber moʒi = "John and Jane drink water"

In the absence of endstuck pilana, to show that two nouns contribute equally to a sentence (instead of the second one qualifying the first) the particle lè is placed between them.

This is one of these words that is never written out in full but has its own symbol. See below ...

Another similar particle is lú meaning "or". Its also has a special symbol. See below ...

jene byor solbe moʒi lú ʔazwo = "Jane can drink water or milk" .... is it jene or jenes ???

jonos jenes kuri auva sadu lè aiba ʔusʔa faja dí = John and Jane have seen two elephants and three giraffes this morning. ???

In béu as in English If it is obvious to the listener that a string of nouns are going to be given then they can be annunciated with just a slight pause between them. However lè must always separate the last from the second last. But having lè between every member of a list is also permissible.

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..... Bicycles, Insects and Spiders

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wèu = vehicle, wagon

weuvia = a bicycle

weubia = a tricycle

Perhaps can be thought of derived from an expression something like "wagon two-wheels-having" or "wagon double-wheel-having" with a lot of erosion.

Notice that the "item" that is numbered (i.e. wheel) is completely dropped ... probably not something that would evolve naturally.

There are not many words in this category.

joduʒia^* = spider

jodulia = insect

jodugia = quadraped

joduvia = biped

nodebia = a three-way intersection ... usually referring to road intersections.

nodegia = a four-way intersection

nodedia = a five-way intersection

nodelia = a six-way intersection ... and you can continue up of course.

^*jodu = animal ... from jode = to move

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..... Word order

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The components of a clause ( i.e. verb, subject and object) can occur in any order.

béu uses this freedom to show definiteness. Namely if a NP comes after the verb, then the speaker reckons the listener does not know WHICH NP he is talking about.

Furthermore, to indicate to the listener that he himself is not acquainted with the NP, he will slip in the particle é before the NP.

So ... the speaker places a NP before or after the verb depending on the listeners (the second person) acquaintance with the NP.

Also the speaker (the first person) can place the particle é before the NP to show he (the first person) also is unacquainted with it.

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..... Polar question and focus

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A polar question is a question that can be answered with "yes" or "no".

To turn a normal statement into a polar question (i.e. a question that requires a YES/NO answer), we stick the particle ʔái on the end of the sentence.

ʔái is neutral as to the response you are expecting.

To answer a positive question you answer ʔaiwa "yes" or aiya "no". For example ...

glá (sòr) hauʔe ʔái = Is the woman beautiful ? .......... If she is beautiful, answer ʔaiwa, if she isn't answer aiya.

To answer a negative question you can not use ʔaiwa or aiya but must repeat the whole sentence in either the negative or the positive.

glá sorke hauʔe ʔái = Isn't the woman beautiful ? .... If she is beautiful, answer glá sòr hauʔe, if she is not answer glá sorke hauʔe

Sometimes it is permissible to drop everything except the verb (which of course incorporates the negative element).

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To bring a word into focus you put cù in front of it. For example ...

Statement ... bàus glaye nori alha = the man gave flowers to the woman

Focused statement ... bàus cù glaye nori alha = It is the woman to whom the man gave flowers. (English uses a process called "left dislocation" to give emphasis to a word).

Statement ... bàus yé glá hauʔe nori alha = the man gave flowers to the beautiful woman

Focused statement ... bàus yé cù glá hauʔe nori alha = It is to the beautiful woman that the man gave flowers to.

Any argument can be focused in this way. In fact the verb can also be focused using this method.

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To question one element in a clause, you have cù in front of the element and ʔái sentence final.

Alternatively you can dispense with the cù and put the ʔái directly behind the element you want to question. For example ...

cù bàus glaye nori alha ʔái = Is it the man that has given flowers to the woman ?

bàus ʔái glaye nori alha = Is it the man that has given flowers to the woman ?

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..... Content questions

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English is quite typical of languages in general and has 7 content question words ... "which", "what", "who", "where", "when", "how" and "why".

béu has 7 content question words also ...

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nén nós	what
mín mís	who
kái	"what kind of"
láu	"how much" or "how many"
nái	which

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nós and mís are the ergative equivalents to nén and mín.

There is a strong tendency for nén nós mín and mís to be sentence-initial.

There is a tendency for the NP's containing kái, láu and nái to be sentence-initial.

kái and nái come after the nouns they ask about.

láu comes before the noun it asks about.

"when" is represented by kyù nái (which occasion) ... "where" by dá nái (which place)

"how" is represented by wé nái (which way) ... "why" by nenji (for what)

The pilana are added to the content question words as they would be to a normal noun phrase.

Here are some example ...

Statement ... báus glaye nori alha = the man gave the woman flowers

Question 1 ... mís glaye nori alha = who gave the woman flowers ?

Question 2 ... minye bàus nori alha = the man gave flowers to who ?

Question 3 ... nén bàus glaye nori = what did the man give the woman ?

Question 4 ... yé glá nái bàus nori alha = the man gave the flowers to which woman ?

Question 5 ... só bàu nái glaye nori alha = which man gave the woman flowers ?

Question 6 ... alha kái báus glaye nori = what type of flowers did the man give the woman ?

Question 7 ... láu alha báus glaye nori = how many flowers did the man give the woman

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Note ... In English as in about 1/3 of the languages of the world it is necessary to front the content question word.

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..... Mmmh

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I	pás	só pà	we	yúas	só yùa
		we	wías	só wìa
you	gís	só gì	you	só jè
he, she	ós	só ò	they	só nù
it	ʃís	só ʃì	they	ʃís	só ʃì

Noun		Particle for a headless relative clause
kyù	occasion, time	kyù	"the time that", when
dá	place	dà	the place that
kài	sort, type	kai.a	"the type that", "as"
làu	amount	lau.a	the amount that

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The particle for an ergative headless relative clauses about things or persons is so.a ( maybe this can be considered a contraction of só ʃì à or só ò à ... by the way, these two forms are never found )

The particle for a non-ergative headless relative clauses about things is ʃi.a (this can definitely be considered a contraction of ʃì à ... the form ʃì à is never found although it is valid by the rules of grammar)

The particle for a non-ergative headless relative clauses about persons is o.a (this can definitely be considered a contraction of ò à ... the form ò à is never found although it is valid by the rules of grammar)

The head of headless relative clauses about people ... ò à or só ò à ... nù à or só nù à ... well actually any pronoun can be patterned like this.

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The house cell

In the Christian religion, for the average adherent, the hour spent in church on Sunday represents the main obligation ... in terms of time anyway. Of course most Christians support their church financially and often their devotion results in some socialising with their fellows believers. This socializing usually has the aim of doing good-works but of course people enjoy socializing and these get-togethers often supply moral support with respect to personal problems and probably there is mutual re-enforcing of beliefs and a feeling of "solidarity" with respect to life's problems and the rest of the world in general.

The main time demand for a beuki is not sitting in a church listening to sermons but privately reading. This reading is done in a special room called a "cell". The volumes containing the body of knowledge that is considered "canonical" is read.

This reading is the most basic obligation however and most also go in for other "duties" such as dietary restrictions and prescribed daily excercise routines (to some extent at least). Many also volunteer time and money to the many activities which are proscribed by béu to promote personal happiness and social cohesion (these activities are actually designed to have the results (mentioned in the above paragraph) which seems like a chance by-product of certain Christian practices).

Other sections will go into detail about the duties touched on above. However this section is only about how the requirement to spend a certain time each day, reading the body of knowledge that béu considers "canonical" * affects the architecture of the typical béu followers place of residence.

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The above shows the plan view of a "cell" : the room in which the reading of the "canonical" works is done. There is usually a cell in every family dwelling. It is a requirement that the cell is perfectly square and is windowless. Also the only lighting permitted is two oil lanterns fitted over either shoulder of the "reader" to cast light over the top of the lectern.

Behind the door is situated the bookcase that contain the "tomes" that constitute the béu canon. It is attached to the wall as opposed to standing on the floor. It can also be recessed into the wall.

Facing the door there is a large tapestry (a poster would also do). The image is usually of an awe-inspiring view of nature. However colourful fractals or geometric patterns are also quite common.

The rectangular object is a lectern. And behind the lectern is a comfy seat. And either side of the seat (above on the wall) are two lanterns.

As can been seen, the seat and the lectern are quite low. The chair is legless and the usual method is just to cross your legs on the floor just to the front of the seat.

It is common to excercise and bathe before doing your daily reading. Also many change into loose robes of a light blue colour, before entering the cell.

On the wall facing the lectern is "the shelf".

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Below is shown a robe that is optionally put on before entering the cell to read. It is light blue ... quite similar to a robe that an Egyptian peasant would wear.

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Below is shown the shelf attached to the wall facing the reader. About 4 or 5 feet of the ground. It is in the shape of an ellipse from which a third has been cut off from the depth, allowing it to be flush with the wall. In the middle is a small naked flame in a glass. Either side of the are two oblong vases with flowers. On the extremities (over the focuses) are two objects d'art. (the support or supports for the shelf are not shown)

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Below is shown one of the lanterns. Obviously to prevent fire these ate placed in fairly substantial brackets connected to the wall.

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Other items sometimes found in the cell ...

The books are meant to be read in 20 minute sittings and there is ofter an egg-times that counts out about 20 minutes. Usually about 6 inches high and kept on a special indentation on the lectern

A large glass goblet filled with marbles. They are numbered and come in different sizes. Used for keeping a record of what chapters have been read. All the marbles from one book would have the same size and colour. Perhaps inside the lectern is a large wooden tray with indentations. One indentation for every marble. When the goblet is empty and the tray is full, the course of study has been completed.

Large cards. A bit like playing cards but bigger and more solid. Each with intricate designs on it. Usually some sort of fancy box for them as well. These are for keeping a record of what chapters have been read.

Obviously if you have the cards you won't need the goblet and vice versa.

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• At the present time, the body of work that is considered "canonical", consists of 15 volume (at the present time)s. However unlike other movements ... in béu, there is actually a mechanism for updating and improving these "proscribed books". The very opposite to every other religion. Every other religion has shown a strong instinct to hastily gather a body of script together and then to "set it in stone" ... well that is a by-product of our mental make-up. Hopefully the results of a more deliberate method will also be considered worthy of reverence ( or a little consideration at least :-) ).

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The "canon"

Well there is the main volume of course ???

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Then there is the 5 volumes containing the "5 main subjects".

History ... I have temporarily made Jared Diamonds book, "Guns, Germs and Steel" canonical (until the proper tome can be written of course).

Mathematics ...

Chemistry ... (maybe 30 % of the pages of this book will be given over to organic chemistry)

Physics ... Actually more comprising what I would call Engineering Science ( motion of bodies, forces and their direction within a bridge, etc. etc. )

The language of Béu ... actually a broader linguistic course

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Then there is the 5 volumes containing the "5 minor subjects".

Human Physiology/Health ... maybe about 10 % of the pages of this book will be given over to how other animals do things (after first explaining how the human body does things of course)

The Civil Society which surrounds the beuki ... for example banking system, mortgages, local government, central government, tax, how the tax money is spent etc.etc.

Geology ...

Geography ... physical shape and how countries interconnect ... populations and population growth ... stage of development ( country by country or region by region )

Accounting/economics ...

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We soon get on to "practical" subjects, such as metalwork, which is not really suited to be learnt solely from a book. So no more subjects needed ... better to restrict them to 10.

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Then there is the x volumes concerning behaviour. (That is interpersonal relations)

General behaviour ... I have temporarily made Dale Carnegie's book, "How to win friends and influence people" canonical (until the proper tome can be written of course).

Husband <--> Wife ... I have temporarily made Nancy Van Pelt's book, "Highly Effective Marriage" canonical (until the proper tome can be written of course).

Employee <--> Employer ... There was a very good book by two guys with Dutch sounding names ... published at least 20 years ago ... I can not remember or find the book at the moment.

Child <--> Parent ... ???

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Then there is a smallish book about First Aid

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These canonical book are not set in stone however. There will be a mechanism for updating them.

Maybe this seems like a contradiction of terms ... a canonical body of work, yet mere mortals are allowed to change it. Well for some reason it is accepted by the beuki. Of course the scholars who update the work are very respected and there is a lot of conferring done before any update (also "any" bickering about what to update, is kept well out of the public eye).

The food complex

Many of the delights of life are found in the company of fellow human beings. Especially like-minded human beings. A lot of the customs of béu are designed especially to help people find that delight, to make them feel as if they are part of something bigger than any individual, to feel as if they are part of a community. The following is a tradition that has been designed with this in mind.

Every 3 seasons everybody is expected to get together with one other person and invite 2 strangers to dine (usually it will be to a home of one of the inviters). This is arranged by the local town hall. It is to facilitate meeting people that live near to you but that you do not know well. It is meant to be an enjoyable occasion for all involved. Only the 4 people should be present. Sometimes the hosts are siblings, sometimes a couple and sometimes friends. Usually the invitees do not know each other very well ... but sometimes they are a couple. Obviously some people are not into this sort of thing so they shouldn't be forced ... but they should be encouraged to be both hosts and guests.

The parish flags

béu country is divided into "parishes". These are rural communities of 10,000 -> 50,000 people (urban areas have are distinct from rural areas and have a very different administrative structure).

The parish boundaries follow geographical features, such as streams and ridges etc. However the shape of a parish approximates to a hexagon. In fact in a total featureless landscape it would be a hexagon.

The rim banners

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Each parish has 6 banner-rows along its boundaries. A banner-row consists of 17 banners about 10 m apart. Each banner is made from a pole about the girth of an adults arm or leg. Each pole is about 7.5 m high and the top 5 m of the pole has an orange banner. The cloth of the banner is about 1/3 m wide. When about half the original cloth has been weathered away the cloth should be replaced, best to do an entire banner-row at on time. These banner-rows are normally placed in prominent positions. They can be anywhere along a boundary, but it isn't considered good to have the gap too small or too big between any neighbouring banner-rows.

In sparsely populated areas you get what is called a super-parish. They are around 10 times the size of a normal parish (but their population falls within the 10,000 -> 50,000 limit). These super-parishes have 2 barrier-rows per side(that is 12 in total), and each banner-row has 19 banners. All these banner dimensions are about 15% to 20% bigger than normal.

The outer banners

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About 2/3 of the way out from the parish centre there are what are called the spoke banners arranged in banner-rows. There are 4 of these banner-rows and each has 11 banners. Again these are in prominent positions and/or well visible from roads. Again they should be quite spread out from each other.

Each of there banner-rows, instead of delineating the parish boundary, point towards the administrative centre of the parish, the kasʔau.

(For a super-parish there are 8 banner-rows with 13 banners each)

The inner banners

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About 1/3 of the way out from the parish centre there are what are called the spoke banners arranged in banner-rows. There are 3 of these banner-rows and each has 5 banners. Below is what a banner looks like.

Again each of these banner-rows is pointing to the kasʔau.

(For a super-parish there are 5 banner-rows with 7 banners each)

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..... Index

1. Introduction to Béu
2. Béu : Chapter 1 : The Sounds
3. Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun
4. Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
5. Béu : Chapter 4 : Adjective
6. Béu : Chapter 5 : Questions
7. Béu : Chapter 6 : Derivations
8. Béu : Chapter 7 : Way of Life 1
9. Béu : Chapter 8 : Way of life 2
10. Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
11. Béu : Chapter 10 : Gerund Phrase
12. Béu : Discarded Stuff
13. A statistical explanation for the counter-factual/past-tense conflation in conditional sentences