Béu : Chapter 5
-co or có : pilana najauva ... (the fourteenth pilana)
means "about" as in "they talk about him".
How concepts relate to nparts of speech
beu? differs slightly from English, in that the primary form of most words relating to body states are verbs. For example ;-
to be bored, boredom | joze |
to be interested in, to be in the groove | ?? |
to be happy/glad | ʔoime |
to be sad/unhappy | heuno |
to be health/strong | k k |
to be weak/sick | k k |
to be afraid | k k |
to be in a panic | k k |
to be hysterical | k k |
to feel guilty/ashamed | k k |
to be grubby, to feel dirty | k k |
to be horny | k k |
to be nervous | k k |
to be under tension/stress/strain | k k |
to be anxious | k k |
to be in pain, to ache | k k |
to be hungry | k k |
to be thirsty | k k |
..... Word building
Many béu words can be analysed as being constructed from more basic elements.
We have given the structure of the béu noun phrase already (see ??). If a phrase consisting of the head plus a genitive or the head plus an adjective occur together many times and/or their meaning starts to take on nuances which are more than the sum of the two constituant elements then the two words coalesce . When 2 words coalesce ;-
1) The genitive suffix n is dropped
2) The first syllable of the first word is dropped.
3) The remainder of the first word is affixed to the second word.
Here are some examples ;-
gxx = | to raise .............................. | gonai = | a machine | gonai gxx.n = | "a machine of levitation" | => | gxxnai = | a lift or an elevator |
glxx = | to rise | tagu = | a tool | tagu glxx.n = | "a rising tool" | => | glxxgu = | a ladder |
nandau = | a word | toili = | a book | toili nandau.n = | "a book of words" | => | nandauli = | a dictionary |
limba = | a tongue or language | myega = | a body of knowledge, | myega limba.n = | "the study of language" | => | limbaga = | linguistics |
a subject |
Word or -DAU
du = | to do, an action, a deed ............... | nandau = | a word .................... | nandau du.n = | "a word of action" | => | dudau = | a verb |
cwipa = | an object, a thing(physical) | nandau = | a word | nandau cwipa.n = | "a word of an object" | => | cwipadau = | a noun |
sài = | a colour | nandau = | a word | nandau sài.n = | "a word of colour" | => | saidau = | an adjective |
Person or -BU
ww = | a country ............................................ | glabu = | a person .................... | glabu ww.n = | "a person of country" | => | wwbu = | a compatriot |
xx = | to compete, to struggle | glabu = | a person | glabu xx.n = | "a person of competition" | => | xxbu = | a capitalist |
yy = | to share | glabu = | a person | glabu yy.n = | "a person of sharing" | => | yybu = | a socialist |
zz = | the same ?? | glabu = | a person | glabu zz.n = | "a person of the same" | => | zzbu = | a communist |
Fellow or -PEU
ampeu = a fellow, a peer, someone of the same social status as you
vv = | a womb | ampeu = | a fellow, a mate .......... | ampeu vv.n = | "a fellow of womb" | => | vvpeu = | a womb-mate, a twin |
ww = | a class | ampeu = | a fellow | ampeu ww.n = | "a person of class" | => | wwpeu = | a classmate |
xx = | year | ampeu = | a fellow, a mate | ampeu xx.n = | "a year fellow" | => | xxpeu = | somebody born in the same year as you |
yy = | a name | ampeu = | a fellow, a mate | ampeu yy.n = | "a fellow of name" | => | yypeu = | a namesake, somebody with the same name as you |
zz = | aim, objective, a purpose, a cause | ampeu = | a fellow, a mate | ampeu zz.n = | "a person of the same objective" | => | zzpeu = | a comrade |
Subject or -GA
Book or -LI
Tool or -GU
Machine or -NAI
Belief/theory or -GAI
Wagon or -???
Building or -???
Side or -KA
daka = side
aibaka = a triangle
ugaka = a square
idaka = a pentagon
elaka = a hexagon
etc. etc.
Area/Station or -KAU
dakau = area, face
ugakau = a tetrahedron
elakau = a cube
ezakau = an octahedron
ajaukau = a dodecahedron
ajauzakau = an icosahedron
Volume/Room or -KAI
dakai = volume, room
moʃikai = water room = bathrooom
= bedroom
= cookroom
= livingroom
= store room
You can name the regular shapes in 4 dimensions.
idakai = a 5-cell
ezakai = an 8-cell
ajaugakai = a 16-cell
uvaukai = a 24-cell
apaukai = 120-cell
agaivaukai = 600-cell
Professional or -???
Tradesman or -???
Shop or -???
Seller or -???
Stuff or -???
Metal or -???
Water or -ZE
Air/gas or -???
Group or -???
Member or -???
Disease or ???
hikai = disease
Fish or -???
Trees or -???
Fruit/nuts or -ZO ... 27
We do not want a "unit", "boat".
⁕⁕nandauli is a good example of béu word building. toili = book, nandau = word, toili nandaun = book of words. However if two words such as these geudidau means extended word. It is also a good example of an extended word, in itself.
geuda is a verb meanbéuing to extend in one direction (usually not up). geudo is an noun meaning an extension or appendix. geudi is an adjective meaning extended.
nandau geudi = extended word ... now when a noun and a following adjective occur together a lot (and maybe take on a meaning slightly different) the concept they represent is normally upgraded to a word, by deleting all but the last CV (consonant vowel) in the first word, and sticking this CV on to the end of the second word.
Hence we get geudidau. In theory there is no limit to the combinations that can occur. However in practice (outside of technical language) there are slightly under a hundred different CV's, and the number of elements that every CV can combine with, varies from 3 or 4 up to about 40.
In English we have a number of common endings, such as "-ism", "-ology", "ist", etc. etc. In béu the end-stuck CV's can be thought of as equivalent to these English endings : the main difference is that this word building process is much more prevalent in béu.
The CV -dau (from nandau) is found in combination with a number of other elements. For example ;-
Note that in the last example, the meaning of the extended word has shifted a bit with respect to the meaning of the original words.
It is possible to extend further an extended word. For example ;-
kaza is an adjective meaning compicated and also is a noun meaning "a complicated thing" or "a complex".
kaza cwipadaun = a complex of a noun => cwipadauza = a noun phrase
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
Units
We discussed a little about "units" in chapter 2 under the noiga section.
Now we will discuss béu units (jada) more fully.
The unit of distance is the yí (3.68 km) ... this is actually the radius of the earth divided by 100012.
The unit of height is the hú (2.13 m) ... this is actually the yí divided by 100012.
The unit of weight is the wó (5.6 kg) ... this is actually (the weight of water in a cube with every side one hú long) divided by 100012.
The unit of area is the náu (7,839 m2) ... this is actually (the area of a square with every side one hú long) multiplied by by 100012.
The unit of temperature is the mái (87 degrees Kelvin). This makes the temperature of the human body equal to 3 1/2 units.
Also 3.0 mái is -12 degrees celsius and 4.0 mái is 75 degrees celsius. As the temperature of the air is nearly always between these two limits, when people discuss the weather, they normally drop the "3".
The unit of time is the dé (24 hours).
The unit of angle is the ombada (360 degrees).
The unit of speed is the són (0.15333 km/hour)
The above units are not normally written out in full. But they have special symbols as given below.
Now we must lay down how the unit word interacts with the number and with the 7 number "placeholders". This must be defined for both speech and notation.
Well first of, if the number is such that it is next to the "decimal point", then in pronouncing the measurement, omba is replaced with the units being used. For example hú is the unit used to measure height (it equals 2.237 mtr). My height (1.8 mtrs) would be pronounced hú apaijauza. A height of 4.037 mtrs would be pronounced as aja hú apaijauza. (see the chart above to see how this would be written down).
Now if the number doesn't occur next to omba but on one side of a placeholder, then the unit is placed on the opposite side from the placeholder.
If the number occurs on both sides of a placeholder, then the unit is place at the very front.
The above two rules apply to both pronounciation and notation.
Our SI system uses magnitude words which are prefixed to the unit of measurement (for example "kilo" in kilometre). béu also has magnitude words (the seven already given) but they are inserted into the number itself. It is a bit similar to the way we use comma's to separate a long number string into groups of three digits.
If the amount occurs both side of a "placeholder" but not next to the "decimal point", then hí is pronounced (and written) before everything.
STICK A CHART IN HERE ... HI 23 ?IWETU 45 ... ?IWETU 45 HI ... HI 23 ?IWETU
Index
- Introduction to Béu
- Béu : Chapter 1 : The Sounds
- Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun
- Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
- Béu : Chapter 4 : Adjective
- Béu : Chapter 5 : Questions
- Béu : Chapter 6 : Derivations
- Béu : Chapter 7 : Way of Life 1
- Béu : Chapter 8 : Way of life 2
- Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
- Béu : Chapter 10 : Gerund Phrase
- Béu : Discarded Stuff
- A statistical explanation for the counter-factual/past-tense conflation in conditional sentences