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<h2><font color="#803800"><a name="contents">Elkarîl</a></font></H2>
<img src="elkaril.gif" align="left"
<a href="#introduction"><b>Introduction</b></a> * <i><font size="-1">
<a href="#history">History</a>
<a href="#unusual">Unusual features</a>
<a href="#cultural">Cultural notes</a></font></i>
<br><a href="#phonology"><b>Phonology</b></a> * <i><font size="-1">
<a href="#phonological">Phonological constraints</a>
</font></i>
<br><a href="#Morphology"><b>Morphology</b></a> * <i><font size="-1">
<a href="#Prefixes">Prefixes</a>
<a href="#Adjectivizers">Adjectivizers</a>
<a href="#Nominalizers">Nominalizers</a>
<a href="#Attitudinals">Attitudinals</a>
<a href="#Anaphora">Anaphora</a>
<a href="#Modifiers">Modifiers </a>
<a href="#Pluralizers">Pluralizers </a>
<a href="#Emphasis ">Emphasis by length</a>
<a href="#Colors">Colors</a>
<a href="#Vowel">Vowel continua</a>
<a href="#Locatives">Locatives </a>
<a href="#Numbers">Numbers</a> </font></i>
<br><a href="#Syntax"><b>Syntax</b></a> * <i><font size="-1">
<a href="#Word">Word order</a>
<a href="#Case">Case analysis</a>
<a href="#Reductive">Reductive cases </a>
<a href="#specific">Notes on specific verbs</a>
<a href="#Assignment">Assignment anaphora</a>
<a href="#Object">Object anaphora</a>
<a href="#Relativization">Relativization of nouns</a>
<a href="#Subordination">Subordination within prepositional phrases</a>
<a href="#entire">Subordination of entire sentences</a>
<a href="#Negatives">Negatives</a>
<a href="#Questions">Questions</a>
<a href="#Time">Time </a>
<a href="#calendar">The calendar</a></font></i>
<br><a href="#Examples"><b>Examples</b></a>
<br><a href="elklex.htm"><b>Lexicon</b></a>
<br><a href="elkwrite.htm"><b>Writing system</b></a>
</i>
<hr>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a name="introduction">Introduction</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h3>
Elkarîl is the language of the elcari of the Elkarin Mountains west of Eretald. It is the best-known non-human language of Ereláe.
<p>(Philological notes: <i>elkar</i> is literally `the making people'. I write <i>elcar</i>, plural <i>elcari</i>, because this is the form of the word in Verdurian. I avoid the translation `dwarf' since it imports too many associations from terrestrial legends. <i>Elcarin</i> is the Verdurian adjective, relating to the people or culture, and I use it as the English adjective too. <i>Elkarîl</i>, or in full <i>bbêthu elkarîl, </i>is what the elcari call their language; the Verdurian is <i>Elcarrhon</i>. Finally, <i>Elkarinor</i> is the Barakhinei name for this elcarin kingdom; the elcari call it <i>Khatelyên</i><b> </b>after its capital.)
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="history">History</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Elcarin languages are very ancient, and change only very slowly. To our knowledge, all the elcarin languages of Ereláe are related. That of the Diqun Bormai is mutually intelligible with that of Elkarinor, if speakers are given some time to acclimate. (<i>Diqun</i> is in fact a borrowing from Elkarîl; it means `cobalt ore'.) And from historical records we find that the language of 15,000 years back differs very little from contemporary speech.
<p>More striking yet, the language of the nearer <b>múrtani</b> is demonstrably related to Elkaril-- though it has changed faster, and there is now little superficial resemblance between the languages.
<p>In part, this extraordinary resistance to change is due to elcarin longetivity: lifetimes average 300 years, and individuals may reach the age of 600. Since maturation takes little longer than for humans-- about 30 years-- the young are never numerous, and relate principally to adults rather than to each other. Beyond this, we may note that the elcari never seem to use language as a social marker or as a vehicle of fashion. Elcarin groups distinguish themselves by dress or artistic style, but not by speech.
<p>As well, the elcari revere their own speech, which they believe was imparted to them directly by Khemthu-Nôr. If (say) <i>met</i> is God's own word for `dawn', far be it from a mere mortal to change it.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="unusual">Unusual features</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Elkarîl is similar to human languages, in that it's based on vocalization, has a relatively fixed phoneme set and lexicon, and so on; but it has some rather unusual features.
<p>It employs a large number of single-phoneme affixes, which allow some fairly frightening consonant clusters: <b>gnqêtkh </b>`despised father'; <b>p-t</b><b>ñ</b><b>êchôngmsh </b>`and full of iron ore'
<p>Though most words can be analyzed as a sequence of phonemes, the language makes semantic use of some continuous phonetic variables, such as frontness, tongue height, or length of articulation.
<p>There are no personal pronouns; however, variables can be arbitrarily and explicitly assigned.
<p>Verbs don't morphologically indicate tense (that is, time of action) or the perfect (that is, completed action), nor are there any subjunctive or evidential inflections.
<p>Default categories are often narrower than in human languages. E.g. where we would say `tree', an elcar must specify <b>ngach </b>`conifer' or <b>bosh</b> `deciduous tree'. And where we have `hill' and `mountain', Elkarîl has ten words:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><b>shôph</td>
<td></b>an isolated hill or mesa</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>châbb</td>
<td></b>a hill (among other hills)</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>geth</td>
<td></b>foothill; a hill connecting to mountains beyond</td>
<td><b></td></tr>
</b><tr><td><b>bad</td>
<td></b>a mountain shorter on one side (e.g. because it leads to a plateau)</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>jôph</td>
<td></b>an isolated mountain</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ñ</b><b>am</b><b></td>
<td></b>a low mountain (among others the same size)</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>rakh</td>
<td></b>a high, steep mountain, part of a range</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>têkh</td>
<td></b>a ridge of mountains (or a very long mountain)</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>mông</td>
<td></b>a low mountain among high ones; a pass</td>
<td></td></tr>
<tr><td><b>kugg</td>
<td></b>a very high mountain peak in a high range</td>
<td></td></tr>
</table></blockquote>
Where human languages analyze events (to use English terminology) in terms of subject, action, object, Elkarîl rigorously separates physical and mental events, with a set of case roles for each level.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="cultural">Cultural notes</a></font></a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<img align=right border=0 title="Rather romanticized picture of an elcar smith"
alt="Rather romanticized picture of an elcar smith" src="smith.jpg">
Since elcari are in effect an alien race, unknown to terrestrial humans, it may be helpful to briefly sketch elcarin society; this may help clarify some of the features of the language and lexicon. (Their biology has been described elsewhere.)
<p>The elcari live almost exclusively in mountain regions, preferably in great stone cities (<i>khat</i>) which extend deep into the earth. They are experts in <b>mining and metallurgy</b>, and to humans they are primarily known as builders, miners, jewellers, armorers, and blacksmiths; indeed, they may travel into human territories to offer these services, though they never stay long.
<p>They grow <b>crops</b> in the valleys and footills-- in Elkarinor, wheat, rye, oats, beans, carrots, turnips, wild rice, grapes, berries, olives, and fruit trees, as well as flax and hemp for textiles. They have kept sheep and goats for milennia, and acquired chickens, cattle, and horses from men. (Their horses are perhaps better called mountain ponies, small enough for elcari to ride, and adapted to the mountains.) They freely trade with men and ilii for other goods.
<p>They are <b>egalitarian</b> by nature; though they enjoy luxuries, they consider human hierarchies to be foolish, and they have no servants or even employees (though younger elcari assist older family members). They willingly organize in order to create buildings or excavations, to mine, to make laws, to trade with their neighbors, to deal with natural disasters, and to go to war, but these enterprises (<i>ddux</i>) are never permanent, and their leaders (<i>nnôn</i>) are elected. There is a king (<i>tely</i>), but the position is largely ceremonial, except in wartime.
<p>There is no permanent government, but there are frequent councils (<i>ggêj</i>) which meet to address problems and hear complaints; an agreement in council (<i>ggêjêju</i>) is effectively a law, and not lightly broken. There is no police force; instead, crimes are brought before the council, which dispenses judgment (if there's no clear culprit, a commission is appointed to find the perpetrator).
<p>If this sounds a bit libertarian, it should be understood that elcari have a very strong sense of <b>community</b> (<i>murth</i>) and collective action. An elcar doesn't like to be permanently subordinate to anyone, but also prefers not to act or live alone. To want to accumulate things only for oneself, or to lord it over others, is considered perverse.
<p>The elcari are not very devoted to <b>intellectual pursuits</b>. Their studies are usually practical-- chemistry, metallurgy, agronomy, architecture, medicine, genealogy; about their only abstract interests are astronomy and mathematics. They believe in one god, <b>Khemthu-Nôr</b> (`First Spirit'), but have no public worship and little theology. Their chief diversions are games of all sorts and music, generally accompanied by drinking and gossip. Their passion, however, is making things, from houses to jewelry, from drawings to sculpture to furniture to clothing. All of these are to be made as beautiful and ornate as possible. (Elcarin tastes do <i>not</i> run toward Zen simplicity.)
<p>Elcari come to maturity in about thirty years, but live to over 300. As a corollary, <b>children</b> make up only a small fraction of society, and child-raising is only a short phase or two in an elcar's life. (Infant mortality is extremely low among elcari.) Probably because of this, elcar males and females are much less differentiated than humans, biologically and socially. There are no sex restrictions on profession, although males (being slightly stronger) do more of the heavy excavation, while females are usually the metallurgical experts. Relationships are long-lasting but not lifelong, and same-sex relationships are not considered remarkable.
<p><b>To humans</b> who know them, elcari are plodding, pedantic, stubborn, pragmatic, emotionally cool, and maddeningly slow to change. They are loyal friends, fierce when attacked, and very noisy when drunk, as they frequently are (though some of this may be for show; you rarely see an elcar sick or passed out from drinking). To elcari, humans are volatile, imprecise, bafflingly obsessed with hierarchies and rites, usually clumsy and tacky in their manufactures, easily damaged, and worryingly violent.
<p>They respect the <b>ilii</b> for their ancient history, but make fun of them for being devoted to stories and poetry (which bore elcari if they're not short); and they are entirely out of sympathy with their interest in nature. Nature, to the elcari, is only a raw material.
<h3><font color="#803800"><a name="phonology">Phonology</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h3>
<center><img src="elkcons.gif"></center>
The `doubled' consonants are actually voiced <b><i>implosives</b></i>. These are formed by making the oral occlusion and lowering the larynx; air thus moves `backwards', and the sound can only be maintained momentarily, while the air held in the mouth is exhausted. I indicate the implosives with doubling both because the IPA abbreviations are not always available, and because the elcarin alphabet writes them this way-- which in turn is because they developed out of phonetic doubled consonants.
<p>The Elkarîl writing system can be seen as featural: there are base letters <b>p t ch k q</b>, with modifications to indicate voicing, implosivization, and fricativization. (There are separate graphemes for the nasals and liquids.) The transcription follows suit to some extent, but if you prefer, you may write (say) <b>khemthush</b> `spiritual' as <img src="elkkhem.gif" align="absmiddle">, or <b>dduchegg </b>`noble human' as <img src="elkduch.gif" align="absmiddle">. To match the orthography, I should have written <b>b</b> as <b>mp</b>, <b>d</b> as <b>nt</b>, etc.-- a system which would seem perfectly reasonable to Greeks, but not to anyone else.
<p>The <b>ch</b> and <b>j</b> sounds are really affricates [tsh dzh]. The `palatal' label is historical-- these sounds once were palatal stops-- as well as phonological: in terms of the structure of the language, they pattern with the stops. The initial [t] and [d] in the affricates are <i>not</i> dental, but alveolar, very close to the position of <b>sh</b>.
<p>The unvoiced stops are slightly aspirated (e.g. [p<font size=1><sup>h</sup></font>]), as in English, while the voiced stops are fully voiced, as in French.
<p>I considered using <b>qn</b> for the voiced uvular stop, but settled on <b>x</b>-- with some trepidation, since I'm not aware of any language that uses <i>x</i> this way. However, with a fairly full consonantal system I preferred using a simple letter to another, unusual digraph, and IPA <font size=1>G</font> has the defect that it can't be capitalized.
<p>Fricative <b>ph</b> is labial [<font face="Symbol">F</font>], like Japanese <i>f, </i>not labiodental. I've used the digraph to match the Elkarîl alphabet, for consistency with the other fricatives, and as a reminder that the sound is not the same as English [f].
<center><img src="elkvow.gif"></center>
The <b><i>vowels</b></i> can be pronounced as in Barakhinei (i mach<b><i>i</b></i>ne, e caf<b><i>é</b></i>, ê b<b><i>e</b></i>t, â b<b><i>a</b></i>ck, î b<b><i>i</b></i>t, u gn<b><i>u</b></i>, o t<b><i>o</b></i>te, ô c<b><i>augh</b></i>t, a f<b><i>a</b></i>ther); but this is only an approximation: <b><i>no vowels are rounded</b></i>. E.g., <b>u</b> is the same as Japanese u, IPA reversed-m.
<p>English <i>bit</i> is more fronted than <b>î</b>, which is a central vowel, a bit lower than <b>i</b> and <b>u</b>, but higher than our schwa.
<p>Stress is always on the first syllable. Unstressed syllables are pronounced clearly, without vowel reduction.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="phonological">Phonological constraints</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font> </h4>
There are very few phonological constraints in Elkarîl; elcari can pronounce just about any consonant combination-- though they avoid diphthongs. (For physiological reasons, two implosives can't occur in a row.) There are also some voicing and place of articulation assimilations among compounds.
<p>Morphemes are usually of the form CVC; this helps in isolating the root when one encounters a highly inflected form.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Orthography">Orthography</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<A HREF="elkwrite.htm">The Elkarîl writing system is described here.</a>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a name="Morphology">Morphology</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h3>
Elkarîl has no inflections per se (except perhaps the anaphoric inflections)-- that is, there are no obligatory affixes that indicate grammatical roles-- but it has a large and healthy derivational morphology.
<p>A peculiarity of Elkarîl is the large number of single-phoneme affixes, including all the prefixes.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Prefixes">Prefixes</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>p-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">and<i></i></td>
<td><b>b-</b> before voiced consonants <br><b>gan p-chan</b> brother and sister <br><b>rum b-maqh</b> green and white</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>ch-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">feminine</td>
<td><b>chan</b> sister; <b>chelkar</b> female elcar, <b>chnqêt</b> mother, <b>chnnem</b> mare<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>g-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">masculine</td>
<td><b>gan</b> brother; <b>gelkar</b> male elcar, <b>gnqêt</b> father, <b>gnmum</b> bull<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>n-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">agentive</td>
<td><b>m-</b> before p/b/bb/ph<br>
<b>nmak</b> invader; <b>nqêt</b> parent; <b>nmum</b> cow (= mooer);also turns adjectives into a person with that quality: <b>nrêl</b> child<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>ng-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">foreign, non-elcarin</td>
<td><b>tely</b> elcarin king --> <b>ngtely</b> foreign ruler <br><b>ngqaraju</b> iliu or human writing system<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>q-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">one repetition</td>
<td>The word itself implies `one'.<br><b>ñêm</b> write --> <b>qqqñêm</b> write four times;
<b>qqmit</b> three days<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>t-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">not; undo; negative</td>
<td><b>telk</b> destroy, <b>tlex</b> forget, <b>tôt</b> no<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>[+fric]-<b></b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">diminutive</td>
<td><b>khun</b> cute little jewel; <b>shan</b> little sister, <b>khan</b> little brother<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>â-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">possessive</td>
<td><b>âgan</b> brother's, <b>ântung </b>the idiot's<b></b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Adjectivizers">Adjectivizers</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-r</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">adjectivizer</td>
<td><b>rântur</b> bloody, <b>nôr</b> first, <b>khemthur</b> spiritual<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-îl</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">`genitive plural' </td>
<td>belonging to a group (-<b>ly</b> after vowels):<br><b>elkarîl</b> elcarin, <b>xelyîl</b> of the clans<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-sh</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">full of, having the quality of</td>
<td><b>shopsh</b> wise, <b>ñêlsh</b> fiery, <b>ddarsh</b> harmful<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-ch</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">locative</td>
<td><b>met</b> dawn --> <b>mech</b> at dawn; <b>bel</b> sky --> <b>belch</b> in the sky; <b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-ban</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">counter-, anti-</td>
<td><b>murthan</b> against the community<br><b>jêjban</b> disagree; <b>xîqh</b> itch --> <b>xîqhban</b> scratch<b></b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Nominalizers">Nominalizers</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-a</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">nominalization (act or process)</td>
<td><b>elka</b> creation, <b>qhêsha</b> shortness, <b>pekha</b> anger<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-u</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">nominalization (result)</td>
<td><b>khemthu</b> spirit, <b>ebdu</b> excavation, <b>bbêthu</b> language, <b>lyatu</b> gift, <b>qîlu</b> the inside<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-m</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">substance for making</td>
<td><b>kunm</b> substance for making jewels; <b>ngông</b> metal --> <b>ngôngm</b> ore;
<b>dâq </b>enter --> <b>dâqm</b> door; <b>mêph</b> ferment --> <b>mêphm</b> yeast<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-uq</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">substance derived from another (or from a process)</td>
<td><b>lyuch</b> tar --> <b>lyuchuq</b> pitch; <b>phesh</b> cotton plant --> <b>pheshuq</b> cotton cloth;
<b>ñun</b> breast --> <b>ñunuq</b> milk; <b>tuph</b> swamp --> <b>ktuphuq</b> swamp thing (ktuvok); <b>bar</b> sharpen --> <b>baruq</b> axe<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-êb</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">upper or earlier part </td>
<td><b>mitêb</b> morning, <b>panêb</b> bow, <b>xôpêb</b> an animal's back<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-îd</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">central part </td>
<td><b>mitîd</b> mid-day;<b> lôp </b>organ --> <b>lôpîd</b> vagina<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-ôg</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">lower or later part </td>
<td><b>mitôg</b> afternoon, <b>panôg </b>stern, <b>xôpôg</b> underside<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-iph</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">half</td>
<td><b>cher</b> 144 --> <b>cheriph</b> 72<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-oj</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">another one</td>
<td><b>gelkoj </b>another female<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-ox</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">yet another</td>
<td><b>ndophox </b>yet another child<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-(r)idd</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">jewel or stone</td>
<td><b>rîmidd</b> beryl, <b>qênidd</b> amethyst; <br><b>qich </b>sun --> <b>qichidd</b> gold metal<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>(ng)ông</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">metal</td>
<td><b>ñîjông</b> bronze, <b>khulông</b> cinnabar; <br><b>tñêch</b> reveal --> <b>tñêchông</b> iron<b> </b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>dde-</b>[+fric]<b></b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">child or follower</td>
<td><b>Ddekhanmech</b> one from Ganmech's clan<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>pê</b>-[+vcd]<b></b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">room, place</td>
<td><b>pêddut </b>market, <b>pêdely</b> throne room, <b>pêxuth </b>smeltery<b></b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Attitudinals">Attitudinals</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-ên</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">great</td>
<td><b>rîmidd</b> beryl --> <b>rîmiddên</b> emerald; <b>xelyên</b> Great Clan<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>egg</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">noble, refined</td>
<td><b>kunegg</b> noble jewel; <b>Beliddegg</b> one of the moons<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-e,</b> -[stop]<b></b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">honorific </td>
<td>(= homorganic stop after fricatives or nasals)<br> <b>gnqête</b> esteemed father, <b>gand</b> esteemed brother<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-kh</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">deprecative</td>
<td><b>nmurthankh</b> múrtany, <b>nqîltênkh</b> dirty rotten thief, <b>nmêrkh </b>drunkard<b></b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Anaphora">Anaphora</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>qeb-</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">anaphoric assignment</td>
<td>(see <a href="#Syntax"><i>Syntax</i></a>)<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-V<b>t</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">anaphoric reference </td>
<td><b></b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Modifiers">Modifiers </a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-th</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">repetitive</td>
<td><b>in</b> stay --> <b>inth</b> reside; <b>mur</b> cooperate --> <b>murth</b> community;
<b>jar</b> desire --> <b>jarth</b> love<b></b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>d</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">causative</td>
<td><b>lema</b> reason --> <b>lemad</b> justify; <b>rul</b> old --> <b>ruld</b> age; <b>lush</b> water --> <b>lusht</b> rinse; <b>ggîn</b> if --> <b>ggînd</b> suppose</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>[+back]<b></b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">opposite</td>
<td>Verbs of motion or transfer are reversed by backing the vowel: <br> <b>pit</b> come --> <b>put</b> go;
<b>dâq</b> enter --> <b>daq</b> exit; <b>bbêth</b> speak --> <b>bbôth</b> listen;
</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Pluralizers">Pluralizers </a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Insert <b>-q</b> if the noun ends in a vowel, but <b>-m</b> if it ends in <b>-u</b>.
<blockquote><table>
<br><tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Affix</i></td>
<td><i>Meaning</i></td>
<td><i>Notes and examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>êj</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">dual</td>
<td><b>elkarêj </b>a pair of elcars, <b>nqêtêj</b> parents, <b>xajêj</b> one's eyes</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-âj</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">quartal</td>
<td><b>xelyênâj</b> the four great clans, <b>putuqâj</b> the four directions</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>-<b>aj</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">plural</td>
<td><b>elkaraj </b>elcars; <b>nqîltêmaj</b> burglars</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>-aju</b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">complete set</td>
<td><b>qog </b>bone --> <b>qogaju</b> skeleton; <b>qara</b> letter --> <b>qaraju </b>alphabet; <b>tîch</b> stair --> <b>tîchaju</b> staircase</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Emphasis">Emphasis by length</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Where we might use stress to emphasize a constituent, Elkarîl uses length, for both vowels and consonants. This can have several meanings:
<ul>
<li>topicalization
<li>intensification of meaning
<li>seriousness of intent
</ul>
The degree to which the sound is drawn out is variable, and correlates with the meaning desired. E.g. <b>rul</b> `old', <b>ruul</b> `quite old', <b>ruuul</b> `very old', <b>ruuuuuul</b> `incredibly ancient'.
<p>Unlike our word stress, this length emphasis is indicated orthographically (by lengthening the character involved).
<p>Note that individual consonant morphemes may be effected; this is particularly effective with the despective -<b>kh</b> and the repetitive -<b>th</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>inth</b> <i>stay</i>
<br><b>inththth</b> <i>stay a long long time</i>
<br><b>khilkhkhkhkh</b> <i>an ugly, ugly, ugly red</i>
</blockquote>
<p>In general Elkarîl lacks attention-focussing transformations (e.g. clefting or passivization). To draw attention to a component, its pronunciation is drawn out.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Colors">Colors</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
There are nine basic color terms, each of the form C<b>i</b>C, which are modified in a predictable pattern to form 45 terms.
<ul>
<li>Backing the vowel indicates deeper, more intense colors (<b>khil</b> `red' --> <b>khul</b> `maroon')
<li>Lowering it indicates greater white-saturation (<b>khêl</b> `pink')
<li>The form C<b>a</b>C is a darker form of the highest-saturation shade (<b>khal</b> `dusty rose'), with the exception of <b>maqh</b>, which extends the series to white
</ul>
<center><img src="elkcolor.gif"></center>
<br>There is also a general term <b>ddil</b> which describes saturation in general: e.g. <b>ddul</b> `very dark', <b>ddêl</b> `very light'.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Vowel">Vowel continua</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
The colors as well as many oppositional adjectives use the vowel space as a continuous phonetic variable. That is, there is not just one word in between <b>khul</b> `maroon' and <b>khil</b> `red'; the precise degree of redness is indicated by the frontness parameter (or tongue height, between <b>khil</b> and <b>khêl)</b>.
<p>Similar series include:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><b>rul</b> old</td>
<td><b>ril </b>mature</td>
<td><b>rêl</b> young</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>qhush </b>long</td>
<td><b>qhish </b>medium size</td>
<td><b>qhêsh </b>short</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>rung </b>strong</td>
<td><b>ring </b>medium strong</td>
<td><b>rêng </b>weak</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>jul</b> very early</td>
<td><b>jil </b>on time</td>
<td><b>jêl </b>very late</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>bbêj </b>neurotic</td>
<td><b>bbij </b>crazy</td>
<td><b>bbuj </b>totally<b> </b>insane</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>gêm </b>few</td>
<td><b>gim </b>some</td>
<td><b>gum </b>many</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<font size=1>
<p></font>Some adjectives use only the first part of this scale, in effect distinguishing only intensities, rather than an opposition; e.g. <b>tuq</b> `very tart' - <b>tîq</b> `tart' - <b>tiq</b> `mildly tart'; <b>phur</b> `hot' - <b>phîr</b> `warm' - <b>phir</b> `lukewarm';<b> ting</b> `slow' - <b>tîng</b> `stupid' - <b>tung</b> `idiotic'.
<p>These scales are continuous but informal and subjective. That is, they offer a graduated scale between (say) <b>rul</b> `very old' and <b>rêl</b> `very young', but they don't correspond to absolute measures. A typical usage is to nuance one's own or another's judgment: "He's [50% between <b>rul</b> and <b>rîl</b>]." "No, no, he's [60% between <b>rul</b> and <b>rîl</b>]."
<p>The `unmarked' value (in linguistic terms) is the middle one (-<b>i-</b> when the full scale is used; <b>î</b> for the short scale). Neutral nominalizations use this middle term: e.g. <b>ringa</b> is `strength' as a general quality; compare <b>runga</b> `strongness, the state of being strong' and <b>rênga</b> `weakness'. (In English one end of the scale is unmarked: `strength' is ambiguous between the name of the whole scale, and the name of one end of it.)
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Locatives">Locatives </a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
A general locative can be indicated by modifying a noun: <b>tâguch</b> `in the house', <b>ñekhch </b>`on the table', <b>pêggumch</b> `at the workshop'.
<p>For more precision, prepositions are used (<b>qîl-tâg</b> `inside the house'), and for even more accuracy, the prepositions are phonetically deformed (<b>dil-ñekh</b> `on my side of the table to my left'). The basic locative prepositions are:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><b>pîl</b></td>
<td>general locative</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tîl</b></td>
<td>on the surface </td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>qîl</b></td>
<td>inside</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tqîl</b></td>
<td>outside</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>kîn</b></td>
<td>above</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>chîn</b></td>
<td>below</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tîn</b></td>
<td>across from</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p>Each of these can be modified according to the following rules:
<ul>
<li><b>Voicing</b> the initial consonant indicates position to the <b>left</b>
<li><b>Palatalizing</b> the final consonant indicates position to the <b>right</b>
<li><b>Backing</b> the vowel indicates position <b>away</b> <b>from</b> the referent
<li><b>Fronting</b> the vowel indicates position <b>closer to</b> the referent
</ul>
<p>Here's a diagram showing the variations of <b>tîl</b> `on':
<center><img src="elkprep.gif"></center>
<ul><li>Thus <b><font color="# 0 0ff">dîl</b></font><b>-ñekh</b> means `on the left side of the table'; <b><font color="# 0 0ff">tul</b></font><b>-ñekh</b> means `on the table opposite me'; <b>tily-ñekh</b> means `on my side of the table to my right'.
<p><li>Similarly, <b><font color="# 0 0ff">gîn</b></font><b>-ngach</b> is `above the tree toward the left'; <b><font color="# 0 0ff">kun</b></font><b>-ngach</b> is `far above the tree'; <b><font color="# 0 0ff">kiñ</b></font><b>-ngach</b> is `just above the tree to my right'.
<p><li>Modifying <b>met</b> `dawn', these words give the cardinal directions: <b><font color="# 0 0ff">tul</b></font><b>-met</b> `east', <b><font color="# 0 0ff">dîl</b></font><b>-met</b> `north', <b><font color="# 0 0ff">tily</b></font><b>-met</b> `southwest', etc.
</ul>
Though they cannot be written in our transcription (they can be in Elkarîl), vowels between <b>u / î / i</b> can be used to indicate finer distinctions.
<p>The general locative<b> pîl</b> is almost never used unmodified (it would be equivalent in meaning to the <b>-ch</b> modifier). Instead, its derivatives are used:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td></td>
<td><b>pul</b> `in back of'</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>bîl</b> `to the left of'</td>
<td></td>
<td><b>pîly</b> `to the right of'</td>
</tr>
<td></td>
<td><b>pil </b>`in front of'</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p>Any of the prepositions can be turned into--
<ul>
<li>a noun with -<b>u</b>: <b>pulu</b> `the back'; <b>qîlu</b> `the inside'
<li>an adjective or adverb with -<b>ur</b>: <b>dâqm pul<font color="# 0 0ff">ur</b></font> `the back door'; <b>pit</b> <b>qîl<font color="# 0 0ff">ur</b></font> `come inside'
</ul>
<p>Prepositions can be adjoined to indicate a <b><i>direction or path</b></i>: <b><font color="# 0 0ff">pilpul</b></font> `front to back'; <b>xil <font color="# 0 0ff">bil-puly</b></font><b>ur</b> `walk from the near left to the upper right', <b><font color="# 0 0ff">tultil</b></font><b>-met</b> `from east to west'.
<p>To indicate movement, two prepositional phrases can be adjoined, source then destination: <b>put <font color="# 0 0ff">qîl-ggud tul-geth</b></font> `walk from inside the forest to the top of the mountain'. If it's desired to give only the source, append <b>-ban </b>`counter-' to the preposition: <b>put <font color="# 0 0ff">qîl-ban-ggud </b></font>`walk out of the forest'.
<p>The verb <b>roch</b> `carry' is used as a non-locative preposition: <b>roch-ndem</b> `with a hammer, carrying a hammer'; <b>roch-char</b> `(armed) with a sword'. By extension we have <b>troch</b> `without': <b>troch-qhôsh</b> `without a worry, careless'.
<p>The adjective sequence <b>jul</b> `very early' --> <b>jêl</b> `very late' is also used for <b><i>time prepositions</b></i>:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><b>jul-tam</b></td>
<td>long before summer</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>jîl-tam</b></td>
<td>before summer</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>jil-tam</b></td>
<td>during summer</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>jel-tam</b></td>
<td>after summer</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>jêl-tam</b></td>
<td>long after summer</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p>These combine well with the prefix <b>q</b>- `once': <b>jîl-qqqmit</b> `four days ago'.
<p>Duration is expressed much as paths in space are: <b>jîljel-met</b> `for a whole day', literally `before-after day'; <b>jil-min jel-tam</b> `from early spring till the end of summer'.
<p>The locative suffix can also be used for general position in time: <b>tamch</b> `during summer', <b>mech</b> `at dawn'.
<p>To express <b><i>support or disfavor</b></i>, use the prepositions <b>chîn </b>`below' and <b>tîn </b>`across', modified if desired by the the `proximity to speaker' continuum:
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><b>tun</b></td>
<td>greatly opposing</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tîn</b></td>
<td>opposing</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tin</b></td>
<td>slightly against</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>chun</b></td>
<td>slightly in favor</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>chîn</b></td>
<td>in favor</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>chin</b></td>
<td>very much in favor</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Numbers">Numbers</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Elkarîl numeration is 12-based.
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td></td>
<td><i>digit</i></td>
<td><i>x12</i></td>
<td><i>x144</i></td>
<td><i>x1728</i></td>
<td><i>1/x</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">1</td>
<td><b>nô</b></td>
<td><b>path</b></td>
<td><b>cher</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth</b></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">2</td>
<td><b>qêj</b></td>
<td><b>pathêj</b></td>
<td><b>cherêj</b></td>
<td><b>ggêthêj</b></td>
<td><b>qiph</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">3</td>
<td><b>tîx</b></td>
<td><b>path-tîx</b></td>
<td><b>cher-tîx</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-tîx</b></td>
<td><b>thîx</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">4</td>
<td><b>qâj</b></td>
<td><b>pathâj</b></td>
<td><b>cherâj</b></td>
<td><b>ggêthâj</b></td>
<td><b>qhâj</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">5</td>
<td><b>nquj</b></td>
<td><b>path-nquj</b></td>
<td><b>cher-nquj</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-nquj</b></td>
<td><b>benquj</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">6</td>
<td><b>rin</b></td>
<td><b>cheriph</b></td>
<td><b>ggêthiph</b></td>
<td><b>lyôjiph</b></td>
<td><b>berin</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">7</td>
<td><b>mpêq</b></td>
<td><b>path-mpêq</b></td>
<td><b>cher-mpêq</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-mpêq</b></td>
<td><b>bempêq</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">8</td>
<td><b>quth</b></td>
<td><b>path-quth</b></td>
<td><b>cher-quth</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-quth</b></td>
<td><b>bequth</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">9</td>
<td><b>tîgg</b></td>
<td><b>path-tîgg</b></td>
<td><b>cher-tîgg</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-tîgg</b></td>
<td><b>betîgg</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">10</td>
<td><b>thôq</b></td>
<td><b>path-thôq</b></td>
<td><b>cher-thôq</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-thôq</b></td>
<td><b>bethôq</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">11</td>
<td><b>mpôq</b></td>
<td><b>path-mpôq</b></td>
<td><b>cher-mpôq</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth-mpôq</b></td>
<td><b>bempôq</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0">12</td>
<td><b>path</b></td>
<td><b>cher</b></td>
<td><b>ggêth</b></td>
<td><b>lyôj</b></td>
<td><b>phath</b></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p>The <b><i>powers of 12</b></i> are more orderly than they seem.
<ul>
<li>The basic pattern is <i>power-multiplier</i>, e.g. <b>path-quth</b> `12 x 8'.
<li>The dual and quartal suffixes are used when the multiplier is 2 or 4: <b>cherêj</b> `two gross'.
<li>Half of the next higher power (that is, a multiplier of six) is expressed using the -<b>iph</b> suffix: <b>cher</b> `144' --> <b>cheriph</b> `72'.
</ul>
<p>Other special numbers: <b>mem</b> `zero', <b>mach</b> `18', and the higher powers of 12 <b>pathên</b> 12<font size=1><sup>5</sup></font>, <b>cherên</b> 12<font size=1><sup>6</sup></font>, <b>ggêthên</b> 12<font size=1><sup>7</sup></font>, <b>lyôjên</b> 12<font size=1><sup>8</sup></font>, <b>pathegg</b> 12<font size=1><sup>9</sup></font>, <b>cheregg</b> 12<font size=1><sup>10</sup></font>, <b>ggêthegg</b> 12<font size=1><sup>11</sup></font>, <b>lyôjegg</b> 12<font size=1><sup>12</sup></font>. Higher powers are expressed by the formula <i>ordinal-of-the-twelves</i>, e.g <b>machr-pathîl</b> 12<font size=1><sup>18</sup></font>, <b>path-nqujr-pathîl</b> 12<font size=1><sup>60</sup></font>.
<p><b><i>Higher numbers</b></i> are formed by concatenation, <i>lowest</i> digits first:
<blockquote>
<b>tîx cheriph</b>
<br><i>three half-12<font size=1><sup>2</sup></font> = 63<font size=1><sub>12</sub></font> = 75</i>
<p><b>pathêj cher-tîgg</b>
<br><i>12-dual 12<font size=1><sup>2</sup></font>-nine = 920<font size=1><sub>12</sub></font> = 1320</i>
<p><b>nquj path-mpêq cherâj ggêth-mpôq</b>
<br><i>five 12-seven 12<font size=1><sup>2</sup></font>-quartal 12<font size=1><sup>3</sup></font>-eleven = B475<font size=1><sub>12</sub></font> = 30580</i>
</blockquote>
Numbers follow their nouns: <b>char-mpêq</b> `7 swords'. Pluralizers are not used when an explicit number is given (unless it's the collectives themselves that you're counting: <b>ninthâj-tîx</b> `3 couples').
<p><b><i>Ordinals</b></i> are formed with the -<b>r</b> adjectivizer: <b>nôr</b> `first', <b>nqujr</b> `fifth'. <b><i>Negative</b></i> numbers are formed with <b>-ban</b>: <b>qêjban</b> `-2'.
<p><b><i>Decimal</b></i> numbers, which elcari are equally familiar with through trade, are formed by applying the `foreign' prefix <b>ng</b>- to all numbers except for multipliers. Ten is not *ngthôq, as one might expect, but <b>ngpath</b>. The `half' forms are not used. Thus:
<blockquote>
<b>ngqêj ngpath-nquj ngcher-quth ngggêthâj</b>
<br><i>two ten-five hundred-eight thousand-quartal = 4852</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a name="Syntax">Syntax</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h3>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Word">Word order</a></font></h4>
Elkarîl is <b><i>verb-initial</b></i>, and largely <b><i>head-first</b></i>:
<ul>
<li>nouns precede adjectives: <b>ntât khath</b> `loyal friend', <b>ngot lôr</b> `big head'
<li>nouns precede relative clauses: <b>ntât dda putît add</b> `a friend who's leaving'
<li>prepositions precede their objects: <b>tîl-ngot</b> `on top of the head'
<li>Compounds follow this rule too: e.g. <b>jôggngot</b> `turnip' = `root' + `head' = `headroot'.)
</ul>
There is no distinction between adjectives and adverbs: the same word can be placed after a noun or a verb.
<blockquote>
<b>bbêth qhêsh </b> <i>to speak briefly</i>
<br><b>rôpm qhêsh </b><i>a short wall</i>
<br><b>gtely nôr </b> <i>the first king</i>
<br><b>lem nôr </b><i>to think firstly</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Case">Case analysis</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Human languages typically analyze verb parameters into <i>experiencer, actor</i>, and <i>patient</i>; e.g.:
<blockquote>
<i>The window (= experiencer) broke.
<br>The child (= actor) broke the window (= patient).</i>
</blockquote>
These roles are reflected in syntax. <i>Accusative</i> languages, for instance, group experiencer and actor together as nominatives (that's "subjects" to you English speakers), while patients are accusatives ("objects"). <i>Ergative</i> languages slice up the roles differently, but use the same analysis: experiencers and patients are absolutives, while actors are ergatives.
<p>The basic questions of this analysis are
<blockquote>
"What happened?"
<br>"Who did it?"
<br>"What was affected?"
</blockquote>
Elkarîl is based on a different and somewhat more complex analysis. The basic questions are:
<blockquote>
"What happened at a physical level?"
<br>"What did it happen to?"
<br>"What was the immediate cause?
<br>"What was this for?"
<br>"Who desired it?"
</blockquote>
The basic case categories are thus <i>action, experiencer, causer, purpose, intender</i>. These are not indicated morphologically, but by sentence order. The formula for a prototypical Elkaril sentence is:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Action</font> (experiencer causer) <font color="#40C0f0">Purpose</font> (intender)</b>
</blockquote>
(This color coding will be used throughout this section.)
<p>Some examples:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Têm</font> miphuq xib <font color="#40C0F0">phishd</font> nduggsh.</b>
<br><i>broke window hand escape prisoner <br>The prisoner, intending to escape, broke the window with his hand.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Lyît</font> kun ndem <font color="#40C0F0">lyat</font> Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>faceted jewel hammer gift Stormcloud <br>Stormcloud used a hammer to facet a jewel as a gift.</i>
</blockquote>
As the English translations indicate, we can certainly express the same ideas. At a surface level, the difference is in what is grammaticalized. At a deeper level, Elkarîl carefully distinguishes the physical and mental aspects of an event, and never mixes the two.
<p>To look at it a different way, where we have one class of actions, verbs, Elkarîl has two, physical actions (<b>kupu</b>) and mental or spiritual states (<b>lithu</b>), and two classes of actors, physical objects (<b>nkup</b>) and persons (<b>nlith</b>).
<p>An action can be <b><i>purely</b></i> <b><i>physical</b></i>, in which case it has only the <i><font color="#0000ff">Action</i></font><i> (experiencer causer)</i> roles. Note that the experiencer is what we'd call the object, so the order of these simple sentences is what we'd consider to be VOS:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Phiphth</font> lush shikh. </b>
<br><i>ruffled water wind
<br>The wind ruffled the water.</i>
</blockquote>
The experiencer of the action may be a thinking being--
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Qop</font> Thulbelidd bôchiq.</b>
<br><i>hit Moonlight apple <br>The apple fell on Moonlight.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Mîth</font> ktuphuq char.</b>
<br><i>died ktuvok sword. <br>The ktuvok was killed with a sword.</i>
</blockquote>
--though the preference is to refer to body parts or other physical objects.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Qop</font> ngôt âThulbelidd bôchiq.</b>
<br><i>hit (head Moonlight's) apple<br>The apple fell on Moonlight's head.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Qith</font> gguk âktuphuq char. </b>
<br><i>pierced (heart ktuvok's) sword <br>The sword pierced the ktuvok's heart.</i>
</blockquote>
However, the causer role can <i>never</i> be a person; it must be a merely physical object, though this can again be a body part or a possession:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Qith</font> gguk âktuphuq char ânkich. </b>
<br><i>pierced (heart ktuvok's) (sword fighter's)<br>The fighter's sword pierced the ktuvok's heart.</i>
</blockquote>
Such sentences seem incomplete to an elcar; it's preferred to add the <b>mental</b> level: what the mental event was, and whose it was.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Qop</font> ngôt âThulbelidd bôchiq <font color="#40C0F0">tînsh</font> nrêl.</b>
<br><i>hit (head Moonlight's) apple mischief child
<br>The child, acting out of mischief, made an apple fall on Moonlight's head.
<br>Or just: The child dropped an apple on Moonlight's head.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Qith</font> gguk âktuphuq char <font color="#40C0F0">qhôk</font> nkich. </b>
<br><i>pierced (heart ktuvok's) sword murder fighter
<br>The fighter killed the ktuvok with his sword.</i>
</blockquote>
Often there are doublets of words, action and purpose, e.g.
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td><b><font color="#0000ff">mîth</b></font> `die' <td>vs. <td><b><font color="#40C0F0">qhôk</b></font> `kill, murder'
<tr><td><b><font color="#0000ff">cheng</b></font> `be made' <td>vs. <td> <b><font color="#40C0F0">elk</b></font> `create'
<tr><td><b><font color="#0000ff">phurd</b></font> `heat up' <td>vs. <td> <b><font color="#40C0F0">durd</b></font> `cook'
<tr><td><b><font color="#0000ff">jên</b></font> `have' <td>vs. <td> <b><font color="#40C0F0">ñ</b></font><b><font color="#40C0F0">ap</b></font> `own'
</table>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Phurd</font> jik ngêl <font color="#40C0F0">durd</font> chninth.</b>
<br><i>heat meat fire cook wife
<br>The wife made the meat hot with fire in order to cook it.</i>
<br>Or just: The wife cooked the meat with fire.
</blockquote>
Value judgments are almost always restricted to purpose elements. The physical action portion of a sentence will always sound rather neutral in tone. (This doesn't indicate any reluctance among the elcari to judge. They're happy to, but it must be done in the purpose portion of the sentence.)
<p>A sentence may contain <b><i>only the </b></i><b><i><font color="#40C0F0">Purpose</b></i></font><b><i> (intender)</b></i> roles; this is useful for describing intentions or mental states:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#40C0F0">Pekh</font> gninth.</b>
<br><i>anger husband<br>The husband is angry.</i>
<p><b><font color="#40C0F0">Elk</font> nelkkun.</b>
<br><i>create jeweller <br>The jeweller wanted to create something. </i>
<p><b><font color="#40C0F0">Qhôk</font> ktuphuq.</b>
<br><i>murder ktuvok <br>The ktuvok intends to murder someone.</i>
<p><b><font color="#40C0F0">Jarth</font> Tarkhum p-Thulbelidd.</b>
<br><i>love (Stormcloud and-Moonlight) <br>Stormcloud and Moonlight are in love.</i>
</blockquote>
Such sentences never imply an action. In the examples, for instance, we don't know if the jeweller ever actually created anything, or the ktuvok succeeded in his murderous intentions.
<p>As there are many kinds of actions, there are many <b><i>kinds of purposes</b></i>: immediate or long-term ends, emotional states, attitudes, rationales.
<blockquote><table>
<tr><td><i>Cloudrain put the jewel in a sack</i></td>
<td><i>stealing it.<br>to sell later.<br>as revenge.<br>because he was poor.</i></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
In many cases it will appear to a human that a step is missing. If the above variants all describe a single act, only the first (<i>"...stealing it"</i>) makes it explicit that the action is a theft. On the whole this reaction derives from our expectation that an event has one label, not two. Elcari are interested in what happened and why; the `why' can be fairly abstract, and they are used to filling in the details. If necessary, however, purposes can be conjoined.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Reductive">Reductive cases </a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
The role of causer is optional:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Têm</font> miphuq <font color="#40C0F0">phishd</font> nduggsh.</b>
<br><i>broke window escape prisoner
<Br>The prisoner, intending to escape, broke the window.</i>
</blockquote>
However, if an action is given, an experiencer must be supplied; if it's unknown, use the anaphor <b>phim</b> `something' (or one of the <a href="#Object"><i>object anaphora</i></a>).
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Cheng</font> phim jôm <font color="#40C0F0">lyat</font> Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>make thing marble gift Stormcloud
<Br>Stormcloud is making something out of marble as a gift.</i>
</blockquote>
If a purpose is given, an intender must almost always be supplied (exceptions will be noted below). If it's unknown, use the anaphor <b>rij </b>`someone':
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Thup</font> pôtaj <font color="#40C0F0">ddar</font> rij.</b>
<br><i>slid rocks harm person
<Br>This rockslide happened because someone wants to harm us.</i>
</blockquote>
If several indefinites are involved, use the suffixes -<b>oj</b> and -<b>ox</b>: <b>rijoj</b> `someone else'; <b>phimox</b> `yet another thing'.
<p>Often the experiencer is the same as the intender; in this case the suffix <b>-ît</b> can be added to either the action or the purpose instead of repeating the noun phrase:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Ggaqh</font> gnrêl <font color="#40C0F0">murd</font>ît.</b>
<br><i>laugh maiden cooperate-same</i>
<br><b><font color="#0000ff">Ggaqh</font>ît <font color="#40C0F0">murd</font> gnrêl. <font color="#ff 0 0">
<br></font></b><i>laugh-same cooperate maiden
<Br>The maiden laughed out of a sense of solidarity.</i>
</blockquote>
<b><i>Imperatives</b></i> are usually expressed as explicit requests:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Chît </font>Tarkhum qgrîtgget <font color="#40C0F0">rap</font> Thulbelidd.</b>
<br><i>wear Stormcloud pants request Moonlight
<br>Moonlight requests Stormcloud to put on some pants.</i>
</blockquote>
If time is limited, the purpose can be omitted, but this sounds rather peremptory:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Jikh</font> nukiph baruq.</b>
<br><i>chop beam-middle axe
<br>Chop the middle beam down with an axe!</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="specific">Notes on specific verbs</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Bodily actions and movements can have a person as experiencer:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Tômth</font> p-<font color="#0000ff">tird</font> Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>ate and-washed Stormcloud
<Br>Stormcloud washed himself and ate.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Xil</font> Tarkhum tqîl-khak qîl-ggud</b>
<br><i>walked Stormcloud out-city in-forest
<Br>Stormcloud walked from the city to the forest.</i>
</blockquote>
If the object of a bodily action is someone else, a purpose and intender must be specified:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Tird</font> nrêl lush <font color="#40C0F0">xad</font> Thulbelidd </b>
<br><i>washed child water care Moonlight
<Br>The child washed with water under Moonlight's care.
<Br>Or just: Moonlight washed the child.</i>
</blockquote>
Bodily states and positions are stative if no causer is specified, otherwise dynamic:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Gam</font> Tarkhum. / <font color="#0000ff">Gam</font> Tarkhum xôp.</b>
<br><i>lies Stormcloud / lies Stormcloud body
<Br>Stormcloud is lying down. / Stormcloud lies down.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Mêrkhd</font> Tarkhum. / <font color="#0000ff">Mêrkhd </font>Tarkhum mêphuq.</b>
<br><i>wasted Stormcloud / wasted Stormcloud beer
<Br>Stormcloud is wasted. / Stormcloud got blasted on beer.</i>
</blockquote>
With verbs of <b><i>sense perception</b></i>, the experiencer is the perceiver; the cause is the object perceived.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Miph</font> p-<font color="#0000ff">bbôth</font> Thulbelidd chnmum.</b>
<br><i>saw and-heard Moonlight cow</i>
<br>Moonlight saw and heard the cow.
</blockquote>
The elcarin semantic analysis is opposite ours: for us, "I see the cow" is an action of mine upon the cow; in Elkarîl, the cow is causing perception in me. (Similarly, we consider that we are eating food; to the elcar, the food causes us to eat.)
<p>For sensory verbs, animals can be causers; but persons cannot: to say "Stormcloud saw his brother" you must say something like <b><font color="#0000ff">Miph</b></font><b> Tarkhum <u>xôp âgan</b></u>, literally "<u>Brother's body</u> caused Stormcloud to see."
<p><b><i>Dialog</b></i> is usually reported with the verb<font color="#0000ff"> </font><b><font color="#0000ff">bbôth</b></font> `hear', which works like any sensory verb: the hearer is the experiencer, the utterance or other sound is the causer. The speaker is usually given in the purpose.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Bbôth</font> gnqêt xomaj <font color="#40C0F0">jund</font> Shikhpêt.</b>
<br><i>hear father words compassion Nightwind
<Br>Father heard compassionate words from Nightwind
<br>Or: Nightwind spoke compassionate words to father.</i>
</blockquote>
The verb <b><font color="#0000ff">bbêth</b></font> `speak' can be used instead, with the speaker as experiencer (and usually as intender too, using the <b>-ît</b> suffix):
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Bbêth</font> gnqêt tôt <font color="#40C0F0">pekh</font>ît.</b>
<br><i>speak father no angry-same
<br>Father angrily said "No."</i>
</blockquote>
The particles <b>bbê... êbb</b> are used, for <b><i>quoted speech, </b></i>in the causer position:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Bbôth</font> Shikhpêt <u>bbê</u> qum npêth lyôru <u>êbb</u> <font color="#40C0F0">shobad</font> Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>hear Nightwind " suffer neighbor sickness " inform Stormcloud
<Br>Stormcloud said to Nightwind, "The neighor is sick."</i>
</blockquote>
(For indirect speech, use <b>dda... add</b> instead.)
<p>If there's no initial verb and experiencer, <b><font color="#0000ff">Bbêth</b></font><b>ît</b> `the speaker said' can be understood:
<blockquote>
<b><u>Bbê</u> <font color="#0000ff">on</font> mbam qil-tâg <u>êbb</u> <font color="#40C0F0">qaphd</font> chan.</b>
<br><i>" exist goat in-house " complain sister
<br>"Your goat is in my house," sister complained.</i>
</blockquote>
<b><i>Giving</b></i> is expressed with <b><font color="#0000ff">mox</b></font><b> </b>`receive', plus a purpose element specifying the type of exchange (e.g. <b><font color="#40C0F0">bor</b></font> `exchange', <b><font color="#40C0F0">ddut</b></font> `sell', <b><font color="#40C0F0">qîltêm</b></font> `steal') or its purpose.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Mox</font> Tarkhum phan <font color="#40C0F0">lyat</font> dduch.</b>
<br><i>receive Stormcloud canoe gift human
<Br>Stormcloud received a canoe as a gift from a human.
<br>Or just: A human gave Stormcloud a canoe.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Mox</font> Thulbelidd mbam pêdduch <font color="#40C0F0">rild</font> Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>receive Moonlight goat (at-market) raise Stormcloud
<Br>Stormcloud got a goat at the market for Moonlight to raise.</i>
</blockquote>
(This is stretching the concept of `causer'-- but a language's case structure has to be shoehorned to fit sometimes. Consider English sentences like "I miss you"... not exactly an action I am performing on you.)
<p>A reciprocal exchange can be expressed using conjoined phrases:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Mox</font> nxilmech maqhidd <font color="#ff0000">b-</font><font color="#0000ff">mox</font> elkar ñêmuq <font color="#40C0F0">tât</font><font color="#0000ff"> </font>rijêj.</b>
<br><i>(receive iliu diamond) <font color="#ff0000">and</font> (receive elcar book) friendship both
<br>An iliu gave an elcar a book in return for a diamond, out of friendship.</i>
</blockquote>
<b><i>Existence</b></i> is an action, <b>on.</b> Another major function of our copula `to be', <b><i>classification</b></i>, is considered a judgment, and can be expressed like this:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">On</font> qichidd <font color="#40C0F0">qurd </font>qîl-kunmegg-nquj.</b>
<br><i>exist gold classify among-elements-noble-five
<Br>We classify gold among the five noble elements. </i>
<br>Or just: Gold is one of the Five Noble Elements.
</blockquote>
The comparison class is part of the judgment, and thus comes after the purpose. A prepositional phrase after the experiencer, by contrast, helps define what we're classifying:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">On </font>nmurthankh <u>roch-lyatu</u> <font color="#40C0F0">qurd</font> qîl-ntabankh.</b>
<br><i>exist múrtany with-gift consider among-enemy-despect.
<Br>A múrtany bearing a gift is still a dirty enemy.</i>
</blockquote>
When no intender is given, as in the examples, the judgment is understood to apply to all reasonable elcari. An explicit intender can always be supplied.
<p>A similar construction can be used for <b><i>attribution</b></i>:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">On </font>char <font color="#40C0F0">qurd</font> qîl-barsh.</b>
<br><i>exist sword consider among-sharp
<br>The sword is sharp.</i>
</blockquote>
It's more usual, however, to use a verb of perception:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">On</font> char barsh <font color="#40C0F0">shob</font> gan. / <font color="#0000ff">Miph</font> gan char barsh. </b>
<br><i>exist sword sharp know brother / see brother sword sharp
<br>Brother knows there's a sharp sword. / He sees the sharp sword. </i>
</blockquote>
<b><i>Comparisons</b></i> are expressed with special verbs <b>mish</b> `be less than', <b>mîsh</b> `be as much as', <b>mush</b> `be more than'. The full formula is much like a classification, except that the preposition used is <b>tîn</b> (literally `across'):
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Mush</font> elkar rênga b-ggaltha <font color="#40C0F0">lemêj</font> tîn-dduch</b>
<br><i>more elcar strength and-endurance compare to-human
<br>An elcar is stronger and more durable than a human.</i>
<p><b><font color="#0000ff">Mish</font> Shikhpêt khipa <font color="#40C0F0">lemêj</font> gnqêt tîn-Khalmat.</b>
<br><i>less Nightwind loveliness compare father to-Roseflower
<br>Father thinks Nightwind is less pretty than Roseflower.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Assignment">Assignment anaphora</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
There are no personal pronouns, nor are verbs inflected for person. Normally speakers (first) refer to themselves by name or title; in generalized contexts (e.g. an essay addressed to an unknown person) one may make use of terms like <b>mbbêth</b> `the speaker', <b>nñôm</b> `the reader'.
<p>For brevity, one makes use of explicit variables: any of the eight outer vowels. (-<b>ît</b> is reserved for grammatical reference within a sentence, as explained above.) These are assigned with the suffix -<b>qeb</b>V<b>t</b>. For instance <b>chanqebat</b> can be interpreted `(someone's) sister, who I'll now refer to using the <b>a</b> variable.'
<p>After the assignment, -V<b>t</b> (using the assigned vowel) added to a verb means that the experiencer or intender is the given referent.
<blockquote>
<b>Bbôth chnqêt<font color="#ff0000">qebut </font>lemad chan<font color="#0000ff">qebat.</font></b>
<br><i>hears mother-<font color="#ff0000">assign-U</font> justify sister-<font color="#0000ff">assign-A</font>
<br>Sister <font color="#0000ff">(= A)</font> gives explanations to mother <font color="#ff0000">(= U)</font>. </i>
<p><b>Mox<font color="#0000ff">at</font> ñunuq qhôsh<font color="#ff0000">ut</font>.</b>
<br><i>receive<font color="#0000ff">-A</font> milk concern<font color="#ff0000">-U</font>
<br>Out of concern, <font color="#ff0000">U</font> gives <font color="#0000ff">A</font> a glass of milk.</i>
</blockquote>
Variables can of course be used for inanimate referents, and with prepositions: <b>pul<font color="#ff0000">ut</b></font> `behind U'.
<p>A variable assignment stays in force till it's overruled by another use of <b>-qeb-</b> with the same vowel. In a conversation, assignments are binding on all participants-- if the above example were spoken, another speaker could continue with the same variables.
<p>(There are practical limits on how long one can remember eight variables-- though these are somewhat longer for elcari than for humans. As a rule of thumb, once a conversation ends, the assignments are in force for about an hour.)
<p>The suffix can be applied to a noun to indicate possession: <b>gan<font color="#0000ff">at</b></font> `A's brother'. Note that one could immediately assign a variable to the brother: <b>gan<font color="#0000ff">at</b></font><b><font color="#008000">qebot</b></font> `A's brother <font color="#008000">(= O)'</font>.
<p>Explicit assignments are sometimes omitted, especially in speech. One simply names a new referent and immediately begins using the -V<b>t</b> suffix.
<p>Learners sometimes overuse the variables. Not every referent needs a variable. Within reason, referents can be understood by omission (e.g. in a passage where there's only one person referred to anyway).
<p>If two people are talking, they will very often assign variables to each other. The effect is something like our personal pronouns (<i>"A wants to borrow Ê's chisel." "Ê wonders where A's own chisel is." "A left A's chisel at Ê's house; doesn't Ê remember?"</i>); but note that each participant is using the same assignments-- they don't switch back and forth depending on who's speaking, as "I" and "you" do. (Elcari who don't talk much to humans often have trouble with our pronouns.)
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Object">Object anaphora</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Supplementing the anaphoric inflections are a set of words which may be regarded as fairly abstract nouns, or as fairly concrete pronouns.
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Anaphor</i></td>
<td><i>Gloss</i></td>
<td><i>Examples</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>nîk</b></td>
<td>a long thin object</td>
<td>pen, rod, scroll, tube</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>pîj</b></td>
<td>a long hooked object</td>
<td>crook</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>dîk</b></td>
<td>a flat rectangular object</td>
<td>tray, book, shelf</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tîp</b></td>
<td>a flat circular object</td>
<td>plate, ring, bracelet, gear</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>xîk</b></td>
<td>a flat object of other shape</td>
<td>triangle, starfish, pentagon, kite</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>kîd</b></td>
<td>a rectangular box</td>
<td>brick, trunk, box</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>qîb</b></td>
<td>a spherical object</td>
<td>knob, ball</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>chîp</b></td>
<td>an irregular solid shape</td>
<td>jewel, hatbox</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>gît</b></td>
<td>a body-part shape</td>
<td>glove, helmet, shoe, breastplate</td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<br>These words can be modified in several ways:
<ul>
<li>the vowel varies continuously from <b>u</b> to <b>î</b> to <b>i</b> to indicate <b><i>overall size</b></i>:
<br><b>tup</b> large plate
<br><b>tîp</b> medium-sized plate
<br><b>tip</b> small plate<br>
<li>initial fricativization indicates a <b><i>miniature</b></i> object:
<br><b>thîp</b> coin shape
<br><b>qhîb</b> bead
<br><b>phîj</b> a tiny hook<br>
<li>an infixed -<b>r</b>- before the vowel indicates <b><i>softness</b></i>:
<br><b>nrîk</b> e.g. a rope, a finger
<br><b>trup</b> e.g. a towel or sheet
<br><b>qrîb</b> a squishy ball<br>
<li>an infixed -<b>l</b>- after the vowel indicates <b><i>hollowness</b></i>:
<br><b>nîlk</b> tube
<br><b>kîld</b> rectangular box
<br><b>thîlp</b> a ring<br>
<li>an infixed -<b>n</b>- before the final consonant indicates <b><i>thickness</b></i>:
<br><b>nînk</b> a thick rod
<br><b>dînk</b> book-shaped object
<br><b>tump</b> a big wheel or thick disk<br>
<li>a repeatable prefixed<b> q</b>- indicates a <b><i>repetition</b></i> of the basic shape:
<br><b>qnîk</b> two rods in any orientation: a bundle, a cross, a scissors
<br><b>qqtip</b> a formation of three rings<br>
<li>the suffixes -<b>oj</b> and -<b>ox</b> refer to a second or third object of the same kind:
<br><b>tîpoj</b> another rod-shaped thing
<br><b>qîbox</b> yet another ball-shaped thing<br>
<li>the division suffixes <b>-êb, -îd, -ôg</b> can be used to indicate the upper, central, or lower <b><i>portion</b></i> of an object:
<br><b>nukêb</b> the top portion of the big rod
<br><b>dîkîd</b> the center of the plate
<br><b>qilbîd</b> the inside of the little hollow ball
<br><b>thîlpôg</b> the bottom part of the tiny ring<br>
<li>the suffix <b>-iph</b> indicates a <b><i>half-object</b></i>:
<br><b>tîlpiph</b> a circular arc
<br><b>qîlbiph</b> a hollow half-sphere, such as a bowl
</ul>
These words are typically used where we'd use `it', `that', `that thing', `something of such-and-such a shape'. They're normally used for manufactured things, rather than (say) natural objects. They offer enormous precision, especially combined with the extended locative prepositions.
<p>For instance, a human might tell another, <i>"Put that thing in the other one over there."</i> An elcar would prefer to say
<blockquote>
<b>Chung <font color="#0000ff">tîlpiph</font> qîl-<font color="#0000ff">tulpiphoj</font> tuly-<font color="#0000ff">qdunk</font> rapat.</b>
<br><i>put (plate-hollow-half) in-(plate-hollow-half-large-other) (on-far-right)-(second-tray-big-thick) request A
<Br>A requests you to place this medium-sized bowl inside the larger one you'll find on the far right of the second big shelf.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Relativization">Relativization of nouns</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
You relativize a clause by embedding it within the particle pair <b>dda... add</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>Mox Tarkhum phan lyat dduch</b>
<br><i>receive Stormcloud boat gift human
<Br>The human gave Stormcloud the boat</i>
<br><b>--> Mîth <font color="#0000ff">dda</font> mox Tarkhum phan lyat dduch <font color="#0000ff">add</font>.</b>
<br><i>die <font color="#0000ff"> `(` </font>receive Stormcloud boat gift human<font color="#0000ff"> `)'
<br></font>The human that gave Stormcloud the boat is dead.</i>
</blockquote>
Hopefully, context will make it clear that the human, not Stormcloud or the boat, is dead. If not, the noun can be moved before <b>dda</b>, and the subordinate verb inflected with -<b>ît</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>On dduch <font color="#0000ff">dda</font> mox Tarkhum phan lyatît <font color="#0000ff">add</font>.</b>
<br><i>exist human <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>receive Stormcloud canoe gift human<font color="#0000ff"> `)'</font>
<br>The human that gave Stormcloud the boat is here.</i>
<p><b>On Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">dda</font> moxît phan lyat dduch <font color="#0000ff">add</font>.</b>
<br><i>exist Stormcloud <font color="#0000ff"> `(` </font>receive Stormcloud canoe gift human <font color="#0000ff">`)'</font>
<br>Stormcloud, who was given a boat by the human, is here.</i>
</blockquote>
You can subordinate further; if you end up with multiple referents, you can use the variable assignment anaphora. Note also that if you have parallel subordinate clauses, <b>dda...add dda...add</b> can be abbreviated <b>dda... b-dda...add</b>.
<p>It's also possible to place a simple noun phrase within the relativizers; this serves as an apposition or parenthetical:
<blockquote>
<b>Bîdth chnrêl p-Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">dda</font> nebd <font color="#0000ff">b-dda</font> jiiiich <font color="#0000ff">add</font>.</b>
<br><i>date girl and-Stormcloud<font color="#0000ff"> `(` </font>miner<font color="#0000ff"> </font><font color="#0000ff">and- `(' </font>u-u-ugly <font color="#0000ff">`)'</font>
<Br>Daughter is dating Stormcloud, a miner, who's very very ugly.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Subordination">Subordination within prepositional phrases</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Prepositional phrases can be relativized using the similar formula
<blockquote>
<i>preposition <b>dda</b> clause <b>add</b></i>
</blockquote>
This is the usual way of indicating <b><i>time</b></i> relationships:
<blockquote>
<b>Ñôm Tarkhum</b>
<br><i>read Stormcloud</i>
<br><b>Pit nxilmech <font color="#0000ff">jil dda</font> ñôm Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">add </font>bîdît.</b>
<br><i>come iliu during <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>read Stormcloud <font color="#0000ff">`)` </font>visit-same
<Br>Stormcloud was reading when the iliu came to visit.</i>
</blockquote>
<b><i>Reasons</b></i> are stated using the preposition <b>qhir</b>. (Compare <b>tqhir</b> `despite, although').
<blockquote>
<b>Pekh Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">qhir dda</font> qhut mêphuqît <font color="#0000ff">add.</font><i></i></b>
<br><i>angry Stormcloud because <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>spoil beer-same <font color="#0000ff">`)` </font>
<Br>Stormcloud is angry because his beer is spoiled.</i>
</blockquote>
You can also reverse the order of the two components and add the reversing suffix <b>-ban</b> to the preposition. (This is the Elkarîl logic; to us, it's a different construction using a different conjunction, `therefore'.)
<blockquote>
<b>Qhut mêphuqît <font color="#0000ff">qhir-ban dda</font> pekh Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">add.</font><i></i></b>
<br><i>spoil beer-same anti-because <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>angry Stormcloud <font color="#0000ff">`)` </font>
<Br>His beer is spoiled, so Stormcloud is angry.</i>
</blockquote>
If you replace <b>qhir</b> with <b>ggîn</b>, the entire statement becomes hypothetical:
<blockquote>
<b>Pekh Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">ggîn dda</font> qhut mêphuqît <font color="#0000ff">add.</font><i></i></b>
<br><i>angry Stormcloud if <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>spoil beer-same <font color="#0000ff">`)` </font>
<Br>Stormcloud will be angry if his beer is spoiled.</i>
<p><b>Qhut mêphuqît <font color="#0000ff">ggîn-ban dda</font> pekh Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">add.</font><i></i></b>
<br><i>spoil beer-same anti-if <font color="#0000ff">`(` </font>angry Stormcloud <font color="#0000ff">`)` </font>
<Br>If his beer is spoiled, then Stormcloud will be angry.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="entire">Subordination of entire sentences</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Some intentions (e.g. <b>qôch</b> `want', <b>piph</b> `fear', <b>shob</b> `know', <b>qot</b> `order', <b>tînd</b> `oppose', <b>rap</b> `request') can take another intention as an object. In these cases, the subordinating particle <b>li</b> is used.
<blockquote>
<b>Têm miphuq lemth nrêl <font color="#0000ff">li</font> chnqêt qôch.</b>
<br><i>(break window ruminate child) <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> mother want
<br>Mother wants the child to think about (his) breaking the window.</i>
<p><b>Shôgth Tarkhum mêphuq kônît <font color="#0000ff">li </font>ban Shikhpêt.</b>
<br><i>drink Stormcloud beer enjoy-same <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> oppose Nightwind
<br>Nightwind is against Stormcloud (enjoying himself by) drinking any more beer</i>
<p><b>Bbôth dduch dubu muk Chithkhîl <font color="#0000ff">li</font> qot gtely.</b>
<br><i>listen human babble try Redfeather <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> order king
<br>The king orders Redfeather to try listening to the human's babbling.</i>
</blockquote>
If both intenders are the same, the -<b>ît</b> suffix can be used on the second one.
<blockquote>
<b>On Shikhpêt jar Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">li</font> shob<u>ît</u>.</b>
<br><i>(exist Nightwind attraction Stormcloud) <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> know-same
<br>Stormcloud knows that he's attracted to Nightwind.</i>
<p><b>Pit chnqêt shobd Tarkhum <font color="#0000ff">li</font> kephad<u>ît</u>.</b>
<br><i>come mother know-cause Stormcloud <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> intend-same
<br>Stormcloud intends to learn if mother arrived.</i>
</blockquote>
Judgments about a state of affairs use the same construction. (These judgments are assumed to be the speaker's, if no intender is given.)
<blockquote>
<b>Ebd nmurthankhaj makît <font color="#0000ff">li</font> shuk.</b>
<br><i>(dig múrtany-plural invade-same) <font color="#0000ff">sub</font> possible
<br>It's possible that the múrtani are tunneling in order to invade.</i>
</blockquote>
Note that some compound verbs in English are ordinary action/purpose sentences in Elkarîl, e.g. <b>bêth</b> `can', <b>kôn</b> `enjoy':
<blockquote>
<b>Phuch Tarkhum bêthît.</b>
<br><i>swim Stormcloud can-same
<br>Stormcloud can swim.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Negatives">Negatives</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
The clitic <b>têt</b>- (an emphatic form of lexical <b>t-</b>) is used to negate any element of a sentence.
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Têt</font>-têm miphuq baruq.</b>
<br><i>not-break window axe
<br>The axe didn't break the window.</i>
<p><b>Têm <font color="#0000ff">têt</font>-miphuq baruq. </b>
<br><i>It wasn't the window that the axe broke. </i>
<br><b>Têm miphuq <font color="#0000ff">têt</font>-baruq. </b>
<br><i>It wasn't the axe that broke the window. </i></b>
</blockquote>
Words like `nothing' <b>têt-phim</b> and `no one' <b>têt-rij</b> are simply negations of the positive anaphors:
<blockquote>
<b>Miph Shikhpêt <font color="#0000ff">têt</font>-phim.</b>
<br><i>saw Nightwind not-thing
<br>Nightwind saw nothing.</i>
</blockquote>
Note also <b>jil-têt-mit</b> `never', literally `during no day'. (<b>Têt-mich</b> isn't the same; it would mean `not during the day'.)
<br>If the purpose is negated, the action is still assumed to have happened.
<blockquote>
<b>Qith nqîltêm char <font color="#0000ff">têt-</font>kephad Shikhpêt.</b>
<br><i>pierce thief sword not-intend Nightwind
<br>Nightwind didn't mean to stab the thief (but she did).</i>
</blockquote>
Compare the same sentence with action rather than purpose negated:
<blockquote>
<b><font color="#0000ff">Têt</font>-qith nqîltêm char kephad Shikhpêt.</b>
<br><i>not-pierce thief sword intend Nightwind
<br>Nightwind meant to not stab the thief.</i>
</blockquote>
This implies that the action didn't happen (the thief wasn't stabbed), and this non-action was the purpose of the intender. (If we know or it's been stated that the thief <i>was</i> stabbed, the statement means that Nightwind intended for this not to happen.)
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Questions">Questions</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
The clitic <b>nal-</b> is used to question any element of a sentence.
<blockquote>
<b>On chan <font color="#0000ff">nal</font>-jar Tarkhum.</b>
<br><i>exist sister <font color="#0000ff">Q</font>-attraction Stormcloud
<br>Is Stormcloud attracted to sister?</i>
<p><b>On chan jar <font color="#0000ff">nal-</font>Tarkhum. </b>
<br><i>Is it Stormcloud that's attracted to sister? </i>
<br>On <font color="#0000ff">nal-</font>chan jar Tarkhum. </b>
<br><i>Is it sister that Stormcloud is attracted to? </i>
</blockquote>
The response can be simply<b> ôt</b> `yes' or <b>tôt</b> `no'.
<p>The interrogative anaphor <b>nan</b> can be used in place of any constituent-- verbs, noun phrases, even prepositions; this is a way of asking that the listener supply the missing information.
<blockquote>
<b>Buly mbêm tîl-nguth qîltêm <font color="#0000ff">nan</font>? </b>
<br><i>lost sheep in-meadow steal <font color="#0000ff">Q</font>
<br>Who stole the sheep from the meadow?</i>
<p><b>Buly <font color="#0000ff">nan</font> tîl-nguth qîltêm galkh? </b><i>What did the thug steal from the meadow?</i></b>
<br><b>Buly mbêm tîl-<font color="#0000ff">nan</font> qîltêm galkh? </b><i>Where did the thug steal the sheep from?</i>
<br><b><font color="#0000ff">Nan</font> mbêm tîl-nguth? </b> <i>What happened to the sheep in the meadow?</i>
<p><b>Buly mbêm tîl-nguth <font color="#0000ff">nan</font> galkh? </b>
<br><i>lost sheep in-meadow <font color="#0000ff">Q</font> thug</i>
<br>What was the thug trying to do that resulted in the sheep being lost from meadow?
<p><b>Buly mbêm qîltêm galkh <font color="#0000ff">qhir nan</font>? </b>
<br><i>lost sheep steal thug because <font color="#0000ff">Q</font>
<br>Why did the thug steal the sheep?</i>
</blockquote>
To ask the listener to supply a description, the form <b>nansh</b> is used: <b>elkar nansh</b> `what kind of elcar'; also note <b>nanch</b> `in what place or time?'
<p>`To ask a question' is <b>nand</b>, literally `to make <b>nan</b>'.
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Time">Time </a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
Unlike human languages, Elkarîl does not grammaticalize either time or aspect. A sentence like
<blockquote>
<b>Ñôm Tarkhum ñêmuq.</b>
<br><i>read Stormcloud book</i>
</blockquote>
could mean any of
<blockquote>
<i>Stormcloud read a book.
<br>Stormcloud was reading a book.
<br>Stormcloud has read a book.
<br>Stormcloud is reading a book.
<br>Stormcloud will read a book.</i>
</blockquote>
In general, the elcari feel about these distinctions as a Chinese speaker might feel about the Indo-European insistance on showing plurals, or as some English speakers feel about Esperanto's accusative <b>-n</b>: why do you people insist on cluttering up <i>every sentence </i>with a distinction I'm not interested in? It's almost always obvious, and when it's not I'll say so!
<p>There are several ways to indicate an explicit time:
<ul>
<li>Time locatives: <b>mech</b> `at dawn'
<li>Prepositional phrases: <b>jil-ggon</b> `before winter', <b>jel-qmit</b> `two days from now'
<li>Adverbs (placed immediately after the verb): <b>julur</b> `earlier', <b>bbôm</b> `next'
<li>A subordinate clause (see <a href="Relativization"><i>Relativization</i></a>)
</ul>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="calendar">The calendar</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h4>
The elcari divide the year into six parts (<b>qur</b>):
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Name</i></td>
<td><i># days</i></td>
<td><i>Gloss</i></td>
<td><i>Terrestrial equivalent</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>ggon</b></td>
<td>55</td>
<td>winter</td>
<td>Dec. 21 - Feb. 21</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>min</b></td>
<td>55</td>
<td>early spring</td>
<td>Feb. 21 - Apr. 21</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>gely</b></td>
<td>54</td>
<td>late spring</td>
<td>Apr. 21 - Jun. 21</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>tam</b></td>
<td>55</td>
<td>summer</td>
<td>Jun. 21 - Aug. 21</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>ther</b></td>
<td>55</td>
<td>early fall</td>
<td>Aug. 21 - Oct. 21</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>shêq</b></td>
<td>54</td>
<td>late fall</td>
<td>Oct. 21 - Dec. 21</td>
<td><b></td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
Each of these in turn can be divided into three 18-day periods (<b>mach</b>) using the division suffixes: e.g. <b>ggonêb, ggonîd, ggonôg</b>. The four days left over are the two solstices <b>Mitggon</b> and <b>Mittam</b> and the two equinoxes <b>Mitmin</b> and <b>Mitther</b>, which are holidays and not considered part of any <b>mach</b>.
<p>The day (<b>mit</b>) is divided into eight periods (<b>mitqur</b>).
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="E0E0A8"><td><i>Event</i></td>
<td><i>Period</i></td>
<td><i>Gloss</i></td>
<td><i>Terrestrial equivalent (at equinox)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0" rowspan=3><b>met</b><br><br> </td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">dawn</td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"><b>6 a.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>metôg</b></td>
<td>early morning</td>
<td>6 - 9 a.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>mitêb</b></td>
<td>late morning</td>
<td>9 - 12 a.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0" rowspan=3><b>mit<br><br> </b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">noon</td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"><b>12 noon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>mitôg</b></td>
<td>early afternoon</td>
<td>12 - 3 p.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>motêb</b></td>
<td>late afternoon</td>
<td>12 - 3 p.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0" rowspan=3><b>mot<br><br> </b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">dusk</td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"><b>6 p.m.</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>motôg</b></td>
<td>early evening</td>
<td>6 - 9 p.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>pêtêb</b></td>
<td>late evening</td>
<td>9 - 12 p.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="E8E8B0" rowspan=3><b>pêt<br><br> </b></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"></td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0">midnight</td>
<td bgcolor="E8E8B0"><b>12 midnight</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>pêtôg</b></td>
<td>nighttime</td>
<td>12 - 3 a.m.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>metêb</b></td>
<td>before dawn</td>
<td>3 - 6 a.m.</td>
<td><b></td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a name="Examples">Examples</a></font> <font size="-1"><a href="#contents">[Top]</a></font></h3>
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="Riddles">Riddles</a></font></h4>
Elcari are very fond of riddles (<b>khâsh</b>). Here are two classic ones; the first made its way into the Cuzeian <i>Count of Years</i>.
<blockquote>
<b>On qîl-pan qurd qîl-bôq.</b>
<br><i>exist in-boat consider among-danger</i>
<br><b>On qîl-shêl qurd qîl-nqîltêm.</b>
<br><i>exist in-pocket consider among-thief</i>
<br><b>On qîl-rochm qurd qîl-ntât.</b>
<br><i>exist in-barrel consider among-friend </i>
<p><i>In a boat, I'm a danger;
<br>in a pocket, I'm a thief.
<br>In a barrel, I'm your friend.</i>
</blockquote>
(Answer: <b>xim</b>.)
<blockquote>
<b>Ruch phimqebat tul-kugg p-têt-jênat lek.</b>
<br><i>climb thing (=A) on-away-peak and-not-have-A foot </i>
<br><b>Pitat qîl-tâgu p-bbôth rij têt-têph.</b>
<br><i>come-A in-house and-hear person no-sound</i>
<br><b>Tonat qîl-kîld, p-pakhd kîld xib p-onat bbôm</b>
<br><i>not-exist-A in-box, and-open box hand and-exist-A then</i>
<br><b>Nan môbêj ggîn dda tonat add?</b>
<br><i>what-do egg-pair if `(` not-exist-A `)'</i>
<p><i>I climb the mountains, but I have no feet.
<br>I come inside the house, but made no sound.
<br>I'm not inside a box, but open it and there I am.
<br>Without me, what would those two eggs do?</i>
</blockquote>
(Answer: <b>thulu</b>; the two eggs are the <b>xajêj</b>)
<h4><font color="#803800"><a name="C">An anecdote</a></font></h4>
As an aid to comprehension, assignment inflections are shown in <font color="#008000">green</font> (note that they are used both in the narrative and the dialog), and subordinators and logical connectives in <font color="#000080">blue</font>. It's worth comparing the interlinear translation with the freer rendering below, to get a feel for how things are expressed in Elkarîl.
<br><i></i>
<blockquote>
<b>Bbêth elkar<font color="#008000">qebat</font> <font color="#000080">bbê</font> jên chninth<font color="#008000">atqebet</font> lênguqaj qôch<font color="#008000">et</font> <font color="#000080">êbb</font> qaphd<font color="#008000">at</font>.</b>
<br><i>speak elcar <font color="#008000">(=A)</font> <font color="#000080">"</font> have wife<font color="#008000">-A (=E) </font>luxury-plural want-<font color="#008000">E</font><font color="#000080"> "</font> complain-<font color="#008000">A</font> </i>
<br><b><font color="#000080">Bbê</font> jên<font color="#008000">et</font> chîtm lêng p-pên lêng p-kun lêng qôch<font color="#008000">et.</font> </b>
<br><i><font color="#000080">"</font> have-<font color="#008000">E</font> clothes fine and-rooms fine and-jewels fine want-<font color="#008000">E</font>. </i>
<br><b>Ggum<font color="#008000">at</font> mitqur-tîgg mich ngîmban<font color="#008000">at</font> <font color="#000080">ggîn-ban dda</font> mun<font color="#008000">et</font> jil-têt-mit <font color="#000080">add</font> <font color="#000080">êbb</font>.</b>
<br><i>work-<font color="#008000">A</font> period-nine day-in provide-<font color="#008000">A</font> <font color="#000080">anti-if `(`</font> happy-<font color="#008000">E</font> at-no-day <font color="#000080">`)' "</font></i>
<br><b>Bbêth ntât<font color="#008000">qebut</font> Pôtggal <font color="#000080">bbê</font> mîsh chninth<font color="#008000">utqebôt</font> bokha lemêj<font color="#008000">ut</font> tîn-chninth<font color="#008000">at</font> b-jên<font color="#008000">ut</font> khuph <font color="#000080">êbb</font> jund<font color="#008000">ut</font>.</b>
<br><i>speak friend (=<font color="#008000">U</font>) Hardrock <font color="#000080">"</font>same wife-<font color="#008000">U</font> (=<font color="#008000">Ô</font>) greed consider-<font color="#008000">U</font> to-wife-<font color="#008000">A</font> and-have-<font color="#008000">U</font> trick <font color="#000080">"</font> compassion-<font color="#008000">U</font>.</i>
<br><b><font color="#000080">Bbê</font> mox<font color="#008000">ôt</font> qichidd-xukh p-têt-qichidd. </b>
<br><i><font color="#000080">" </font>receive-<font color="#008000">Ô</font> gold-false and-not-gold. </i>
<br><b>Mox rij phim lyat rijoj <font color="#000080">ggîn-ban</font> <font color="#000080">dda</font> têt-miphngat <font color="#000080">add</font>. </b>
<br><i>receive someone something gift someone-else <font color="#000080">anti-if `(` </font>not-examine <font color="#000080">`)'</font>. </i>
<br><b>Thesh qichidd-xukh phat<font color="#008000">ut</font> p-qôch<font color="#008000">ôt</font> <font color="#000080">qhir-ban</font> <font color="#000080">dda</font> jên<font color="#008000">ôt</font> <font color="#000080">add</font>; mun rijêj <font color="#000080">êbb</font>.</b>
<br><i>find gold-false easy-<font color="#008000">U</font> and-want-<font color="#008000">Ô</font> <font color="#000080">anti-because `(` </font> have-<font color="#008000">Ô</font> <font color="#000080">`)'</font>; happy both. "</i>
<br><b>Bbêth chninth âPôtggal jil-tam <font color="#000080">bbê</font> doph nrêl lôpdoph<font color="#008000">ôt</font> jel-xâriph<font color="#000080"> êbb</font>.</b>
<br><i>speak wife of-Hardrock in-summer " born child womb-<font color="#008000">Ô</font> after-year-half "</i>
<br><b>Bbêth<font color="#008000">ut</font> <font color="#000080">bbê</font> on bung! Muuun<font color="#008000">ut</font> <font color="#000080">qhir dda </font>on<font color="#008000">ut</font> qurd qîl-gnqêt <font color="#000080">add êbb</font>.</b>
<br><i>speak-<font color="#008000">U</font> <font color="#000080">"</font> exist marvelous! ha-a-appy-<font color="#008000">U</font> <font color="#000080">because `(` </font>exist-<font color="#008000">U</font> classify among-father<font color="#000080"> `)' </font>"</i>
<br><b>Bbêth<font color="#008000">ôt</font> <font color="#000080">bbê</font> qîl-gnqêt-xukh <font color="#000080">êbb</font> ôd<font color="#008000">ôt</font>.</b>
<br><i>speak-<font color="#008000">Ô</font> <font color="#000080">" </font>among-father-false <font color="#000080">"</font> correct-<font color="#008000">Ô</font></i>
<p><i>An elcar complains that his wife wants too many fine things.
<br>"She wants fine clothes, fine rooms, fine jewels. I could work twenty-five hours a day and never make her happy."
<br>"My wife is the same, but I have a trick," says his friend Hardrock. "Instead of gold, I give her fool's gold. Who looks closely at a gift? It's easy to find, and she has all she wants-- we're both happy."
<br>During the summer, Hardrock's wife announces that she's pregnant.
<br>"Oh, wonderful!" he says. "I am very happy to be a father!"
<br>"A fool's father," his wife corrects him.</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a href="elklex.htm">Lexicon</a></font></h3>
<h3><font color="#803800"><a href="elkwrite.htm">Writing</a></font></h3>
<hr>
<i>© 2002 by Mark Rosenfelder</i><br>
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