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 |
Dust | . | Steel-kun |
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
Vowels: IPA i e ɛ æ u ɑ ɤ ʌ y ø ɵ œ romanization i e eh a u ah ul uh y ol o el
Consonants: IPA ts t k d g m n f v θ s z ʃ ʒ ɬ ɮ x ʎ romanization c t k d g m n f v th s z sh zh sl zl x j
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-/.
1. Root words 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 (t, k, c, m, n).
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.
Syntax
- default OVS word order
- 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
Verbs
Marked on the verb (agglutinating suffixes)
- aspect
- valency changing operations (voice, applicatives) (optional)
Template: root-aspect-(valency)
Aspect markers for verbs are obligatory. If you want to explicitly mark tense, then you have to use a mood auxiliary.
durative -feh continuous -sho gnomic -um habitual -eht perfective -da
Auxilliary verbs
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
nolk -- decimal point (both bases)
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
Numbers
Decimal:
0 -- tim
1 -- dec
2 -- fam
3 -- vulc
4 -- sluht
5 -- zlik
6 -- shen
7 -- zhat
8 -- kulk
9 -- guhn
10 -- znek
100 -- thnolt
1000 -- vmelt
Senary:
0 -- tyt
1 -- dolk
2 -- felt
3 -- vyk
4 -- slolc
5 -- zlelc
6 -- xek
36 -- folt
216 -- zhelt
Decimal point (both): nolk
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
See also: Zhetammeht Delgemnocah
[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