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<h1><a name="contents">The Kebreni Language</a> • <span style="font-family: 'VerdurianNormal';">Kebren nizgu</spans> </h1>
<blockquote>
<a href="#Context">Context</a>
<br><a href="#Phonology">Phonology</a>
<br><a href="#Morphology">Morphology</a>
<br> <i><font size=-1>
<a href="#Verbs">Verbs</a> •
<a href="#Pronouns">Pronouns</a> •
<a href="#Numbers">Numbers</a> •
<a href="#Derivational">Derivational morphology</a>
</font></i>
<br><a href="#Syntax">Syntax</a>
<br> <i><font size=-1>
<a href="#Parameter">Parameter order</a> •
<a href="#NP">Noun phrases</a> •
<a href="#Adjectives">Adjectives</a> •
<a href="#Conjunctions">Conjunctions</a> •
<a href="#Locative">Locative verbs</a> •
<a href="#Questions">Questions</a> •
<a href="#Complex">Complex sentences</a>
</font></i>
<br><a href="#Xforms">Transformations</a>
<br> <i><font size=-1>
<a href="#xFocus">Focus</a> •
<a href="#xSub">Subordination</a> •
<a href="#xNom">Nominalization</a> •
<a href="#Causative">Causative</a> •
<a href="#VPAnaphor">VP Anaphor</a> •
<a href="#Gapping">Gapping</a> •
<a href="#Clefting">Clefting</a> •
<a href="#XLight">Light verbs</a>
</font></i>
<br><a href="#Semantic">Semantic fields</a>
<br> <i><font size=-1>
<a href="#Time">Time</a> •
<a href="#Measures">Measures</a> •
<a href="#Names">Names</a> •
<a href="#Letters">Letters</a>
</font></i>
<br>Examples •
<a href="#Example">Inside and Outside</a> •
<a href="#Elope">Shall we elope?</a>
<br><a href="#Sound">Sound changes</a>
<br><a href="#Lexicon">Borrowings</a>
<br><a href="kebrenilex.html">Lexicon</a>
</blockquote>
<center><IMG Align=Top SRC="Kebri-Map.jpg" title="Kebri"></center>
<i><br/>Unlike Verdurian, whose grammar is not too far from European models,
Kebreni has a grammar which deviates any way it can
from English. I'm particularly proud of the verbal system.
<p>You can decipher the map names using the lexicon.
The map shows borders as of Z.E. 3480.
<br>--Mark Rosenfelder</i>
<hr>
<font face="Gentium">
<h2><a name="Context">Context</a></h2>
The <b>Monkhayic</b> family of languages, though now restricted to Kebri and the southwestern corner of Dhekhnam, was once spoken throughout the Plain, and indeed has left its linguistic traces heavily on the map of the Plain. The Mišicama ocean, the Ctelm mountains, the Svetla, Menla, Vesi, Meuna, and Efrat rivers, the nations of Ismahi, Azgami, Koto, Melináe, and Érenat, lake Como, the Arosd delta, and the cities of Kebropol, Lädau, Avéla, Ydamai, Raizumi, Nuveta, Kereta, Mituré, Gödo, Mogör, Melahdo, Trežda, Mabola, and Pelym all have Monkhayic names.
<p>The first human states in the Plain were Monkhayic: <b>Como</b> and <b>Meťaiu</b> on the upper Svetla, established about Z.E. -1150. By the time they appeared, men had lived in the Plain for twenty thousand years, and the Monkhayic peoples were divided into dozens of mutually incompatible languages.
<IMG Align=right SRC="287.gif" width=352 height=285 title="The Plain in Z.E. 287">
<p>Civilization and trade spread the prestigious dialects of the cities, and just before the Eastern invasion we are aware of three major speech varieties: that of <b>Okiami</b> and <b>Meťaiu</b> in the south, that of <b>Davur</b> along the lower Svetla, and that of <b>Agimbea</b> and <b>Newor</b> along the Serea and the Mišicama littoral.
<p>The Easterners pushed the Monkhayic peoples (those who were not absorbed) north and east (-375). Refugees from Davur established the kingdom of <b>Davrio</b> on Kebri.
<p>Most of these lands were conquered by Munkhâsh (440), except for the littoral (reorganized as <b>Leziunea</b>) and Kebri.
<p>The continental Monkhayic peoples (and, for about two centuries, even Kebri) were incorporated into the Caďinorian empire as it pushed back and ultimately destroyed Munkhâsh (1667), and though the Monkhayic languages persisted throughout the entire classical area, colonization and Caďinorization eventually replaced them everywhere except two areas, <b>Kebri</b> (plus some regions of Érenat and, till recently, the island of Koto) and <b>Monkhay</b>, the mountainous southwestern corner of Dhekhnam.
<p>The relationship between Kebreni and Monkhayu (both the languages and the peoples) has been obscured by long isolation. In addition, Kebreni has been highly influenced by Caďinor, Ismaîn, and Verdurian, and has borrowed from languages further afield, the Kebreni being great seafarers; while Monkhayu is heavily influenced by Dhekhnami, Caizuran, and Sarroc.
<p>'Monkhayu', which has given its name to the language family, simply means 'the people'; compare Kebreni <i>neḣada</i>.
<p>This document describes the <b>standard Kebreni</b> of the 3400s, in particular that of Kebropol. A separate page on modern Kebreni and its variant in Śaidahami will come later. The lexicon covers both versions; hopefully it will be clear that terms like “quantum mechanics” were not used in the 3400s.
<p>Some of the more notable <b>features</b> of Kebreni:
<ul>
<li>Verbs are not inflected by number, tense, or person, but by aspect, politeness, volition, and aspect. Their morphology makes heavy use of vowel interchange and infixing.
<li>Pronouns are divided into pejorative, neutral, and deferential forms.
<li>There is a single subordinator used for adjectives, possession, and relativization.
<li>The ancestral number system is base 18. (Almeans have 10 fingers and 8 toes.)
<li>Adjectives can be seen as simplified verbs and participate in some of their morphology.
<li>There are no prepositions, but rather locative verbs.
</ul>
<h3><a name="Meťaiun">Meťaiun</h3>
This grammatical sketch concentrates on Kebreni, but also relates what is known of its ancestor, the Monkhayic language of the littoral.
<p>Following Verdurian scholars, we will call it <b>Meťaiun</b>, after the state of Meťaiu— although the language of pre-invasion Meťaiu was actually a southern Monkhayic language.
<p>This is certainly the most rickety of the ancient languages presented on this website, not excluding proto-Eastern. To begin with, there are no direct ancient attestations; the Monkhayic peoples were illiterate, and remained so till the Caďinorians conquered them. The problem is compounded by the extreme distance between Monkhayu and Kebreni; only a few hundred cognates can be identified.
<p>Our sources for Meťaiun are as follows:<ul>
<li> Attestations from ancient Cuzeian and Caďinorian sources: lines of poetry, borrowed words, names of historical figures, word lists from the few Caďinorian writers who interested themselves in the peoples of the littoral or of Sarnáe.
<li> Place names, attested in ancient or modern times.
<li> Reconstructions based on the dialects of Kebreni, which are quite divergent, especially in the remoter areas: Kernoia, the valleys of Érenat, and Koto (whose language still has uses in the courts and temples).
<li> Information from Monkhayu. </ul>
Note that reconstruction based on Kebreni and Monkhayu gives not Meťaiun but proto-Monkhayic, which predates it by two milennia or more.
<p>Meťaiun may be taken as an idealized form of the Monkhayic language of Kebri and the littoral, some time before the Munkhâshi invasion. I say ‘idealized’ because none of our sources are completely satisfactory. The Caďinorians were not linguists, and adapted the Monkhayic words to the sounds of Caďinor in order to write them down; while the reconstructions are biased toward the eastern area. Still, the overlap of the two methods is large and reassuring, and where divergences are systematic they can be taken as belonging to western and eastern dialects of Meťaiun.
<h2><a name="Phonology">Phonology</a></h2>
<p>Kebreni is written using the Verdurian alphabet, using the letters shown.
The <b>consonants</b> are as follows:
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0">
<td></td>
<td width="70"><i>labial</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>dental</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>palatal</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>velar</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>glottal</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>stops</i></td>
<td><b>p b</b> <br/><tt>p b</tt></td>
<td><b>t d</b> <br/><tt>t d</tt></td>
<td><b>c</b> <br/><tt>c</tt></td>
<td><b>k g</b> <br/><tt>k g</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>fricatives</i></td>
<td><b>f v</b> <br/><tt>f v</tt></td>
<td><b>ť s z</b> <br/><tt>ť s z</tt></td>
<td><b>ḣ ś ź</b> <br/><tt>ḣ ß #</tt></td>
<td></td>
<td><b>h</b> <br/><tt>h</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>nasals</i></td>
<td><b>m</b> <br/><tt>m</tt></td>
<td><b>n</b> <br/><tt>n</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>liquids</i></td>
<td></td>
<td><b>l r</b> <br/><tt>l r</tt></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p><b>c</b> is a true palatal stop /c/, pronounced by touching the tongue to the top of the palate. If you can’t do it, you can substitute [tʃ]. Verdurian speakers should not confuse it with [k].
<p><b>k</b> is pronounced like Verdurian c <tt>c</tt> /k/, not like its k <tt>k</tt> /q/. Kebreni has sensibly used Caďinor's two back stop symbols for two points of articulation, but the points are moved forward one step.
<p><b>ť</b> is the same as the <i>th</i> /θ/ in English <i>thin</i>, the unvoiced version of Verdurian ď <tt>∂</tt>.
<p><b>ś</b>, though it's written using the Verdurian š <tt>ß</tt>, is a dorso-prepalatal fricative [ɕ], the same as Polish ś or Chinese x. One recipe for producing it is to start with a sh [ʃ] and add more palatal friction to it— say sh, think [ç]. <b>ź</b> is the voiced equivalent.
<p>The <b>h</b> is pronounced as in English (and Old Verdurian), while <b>ḣ</b> is a palatal fricative /ç/, as in German <i>ich</i>. <b>h</b> must be pronounced word-finally (e.g. <b>sih</b>), but not before a consonant (<b>sihzar</b>).
<p><b>ŋ</b> is sometimes considered a phoneme in Kebreni; it's written <b>ng</b>, as in <b>ingarei</b>. Some dialects say [ŋg] instead.
<p>Doubled consonants (as in <b>linna</b> ‘lord’) are drawn out, as in English <i>pen knife</i>, not <i>penny</i>.
<p>The <b>vowels</b>:
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0">
<td></td>
<td width="70"><i>front</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>central</i></td>
<td width="70"><i>back</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>high</i></td>
<td><b>i</b> <br/><tt>i</tt></td>
<td><b>y</b> <br/><tt>y</tt></td>
<td><b>u</b> <br/><tt>u</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>mid</i></td>
<td><b>e</b> <br/><tt>e</tt></td>
<td></td>
<td><b>o</b> <br/><tt>o</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><i>low</i></td>
<td></td>
<td><b>a</b> <br/><tt>a</tt></td>
</tr>
</table></blockquote>
<b>y</b> is a mid vowel, IPA [ɨ], right between <b>i</b> and <b>u</b>. Verdurians mispronounce it as <b>ü</b>, which at least is better than [i]. Kebreni <b>u</b> is a very back vowel (as opposed to English where it is somewhat fronted).
<p><b>e o</b> have a wide phonetic range, but it’s safe to pronounce them [ɛ o].
<p>Vowels can adjoin; there is no good case for considering these separate phonemes.
Long <b>aa</b> is often written <b>ä</b> <tt>ä</tt>, as in Verdurian.
<p><b>Stress</b> is placed on the last syllable if it ends in a consonant, otherwise on the second-to-last vowel: <b>Kébri, Kebropól, paḣár, Leléc, śaída, nizýru, Raazám, mýgu, paúśte, kulséu, ingaréi</b>. Since stress is completely predictable, it is never indicated orthographically.
<p>Kebreni is a <i>syllable-timed</i> language— one where each syllable takes up an equal amount of time— rather than a stress-timed one like English, where stresses occur at roughly equal intervals. Unstressed syllables in Kebreni retain their clear vowel sounds.
<p>The sounds of <b>Meťaiun</b> are reconstructed as follows:
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><td><td><b> labial </b> <td><b>dental</b> <td><b>palatal</b> <td><b>velar</b>
<td bgcolor="#C0FFC0">
<td colspan=3><b>vowels</b>
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0" rowspan=2><b>stops </b> <td>p <td>t <td> <td>k <td><td>i <td><td> u
<tr><td>b <td>d <td><td>g
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0" rowspan=2><b>fricatives </b> <td>f <td>ť s <td>č <td>ȟ <td><td>e <td> <td>o
<tr><td>v <td>z <td>j <td>γ
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>nasals </b> <td>m <td>n <td><td><td> <td><td>a
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>liquids </b><td> <td>l r
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>semivowel</b> <td>w
</table></blockquote>
<p>This schema should be viewed as our best guess; it is certainly wrong in spots, and phonetic interpretations are quite uncertain.
<p>We have little idea how <b>č</b> was pronounced. The Kebreni reflex is ś. We use č because this is its reflex in Verdurian names inherited from Meťaiun. In Caďinor it was usually written t, tr, or ts, suggesting a palatal stop or affricate. Note also Cad. <i>atrabion</i> ‘emperor‘ > <i>*ačabion > aźban</i>.
<h2><a name="Morphology">Morphology</a></h2>
Only verbs (including predicate adjectives) have a true inflectional morphology; nouns and attributive adjectives are not inflected, and the remnants of inflection among the pronouns are not synchronically salient. However, there is a productive derivational morphology.
<h3><a name="Verbs">Verbs</a></h3>
Kebreni verb inflection is quite different from that of the Eastern languages such as Verdurian. Verbs are not inflected for person, number, or tense. Rather, the chief categories of inflection are <b>aspect</b>, <b>politeness</b>, <b>volition</b>, and <b>effect</b>.
<p>In addition, inflection is accomplished by vowel interchange, vowel change, and infixing, not by affixation.
<h4>Aspect (imperfective and perfective)</h4>
<p>The citation form of the verb is the <b>imperfective</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>kanu</b> I see, you see, he was seeing...
<br><b>diru</b> I work, you work, he was working...
<br><b>sudy</b> I am called, you are called...
</blockquote>
<p>The final -<b>u</b> is not part of the root; it's a grammatical ending. It dissimilates to -<b>y</b> when the last vowel of the root is <b>u</b>, as in <i>sudy</i>.
<p>To form the <b>perfective</b> you switch the last two vowels. (This relationship holds for all the other forms described below, as well.)
<blockquote>
<b>kuna</b> I have seen, I saw...
<br><b>duri</b> I have worked, you worked...
<br><b>sydu</b> I was once called...
</blockquote>
<p>Perfective forms are used for <b>completed</b> actions, no matter what time they occur. Thus you'd use the imperfect <b>diru</b> for 'I was working', because you weren't done yet; and the perfective <b>kuna</b> for 'I will read it', if you mean you'll read it and finish.
<p>An explicit time may always be indicated with adverbs:
<blockquote>
<p><b>Paḣar kanu pol. </b>
<br>Tomorrow you will see the city.
<br><b>Paḣar kuna pol. </b>
<br>Tomorrow you will have seen (everything in) the city.
</blockquote>
Note that Kebreni transitive or ditransitive verbs, used with one less noun phrase, express a passive meaning. Thus
<blockquote>
<p><b>Melaḣ <grn>kuna</grn> neku. </b>
<br>The king saw the cat.
<br><b>Neku <grn>kuna</grn>. </b>
<br>The cat was seen.
<p><b>Nyne <grn>ḣouźi</grn> aisel. </b>The girl lost the key.
<br><b>Aisel <grn>ḣouzi</grn>. </b>The key is lost.
<p><b>Gymu <grn>sudy</grn> kulseu 'Ḣulo'. </b>
<br>We call the commander 'Idiot'.
<br><b>Kulseu <grn>sudy</grn> 'Ḣulo'. </b>
<br>The commander is called 'Idiot'.
</blockquote>
<p>Schematically:
<blockquote>
NP V<font size=2>o</font> NP = S V O
<br>NP V<font size=2>o</font> = O V
<br>NP V<font size=2>oo</font> NP NP = S V O O
<br>NP V<font size=2>oo</font> NP = O V O
</blockquote>
<p>Some English verbs work this way as well; but all Kebreni verbs do.
<blockquote>
<p><b>Falte śenen <grn>truśe</grn> lyḣ. </b>Your boy broke the window.
<br><b>Lyḣ <grn>truśe</grn>. </b>The window broke.
</blockquote>
<h4>Volition</h4>
<p>To form the volitional, add an initial <b>e</b>, voice the initial consonant (if any), then switch the first two vowels (that is, the added <b>e</b>- plus what was the first vowel of the root). A final -<b>y</b> returns to -<b>u</b>.
<blockquote>
<b>agenu</b> I intend to see, I will see, see! (volitional, uncompleted action)
<br><b>agune</b> I intended to see, I will have seen (volitional, completed action)
<p><b>ideru</b> I intend to work, I will see, work!
<br><b>idure</b> I intended to work, I will have worked...
<p><b>uzedu</b> I intend to call, I intend to be called...
<br><b>uzude</b> I intended to call / no longer be called...
</blockquote>
<p>The volitional forms emphasize that the agent consciously <b>intends</b> the action (imperfective) or the result (perfective).
<blockquote>
<p><b><grn>Pucso</grn> mabu. </b>
<br>I kicked the dog (perhaps accidentally).
<br><b><grn>Obucse</grn> mabu. </b>
<br>I kicked the dog (on purpose).
</blockquote>
<p>It is frequently used for a future event (<b>lahu</b> 'come' → <b>alehu</b> 'I will come'), and by extension as an imperative: <b>alehu</b> 'come!' Neither of these extensions is permitted with nonhuman subjects.
<p>There is no word for 'want' as an independent lexical item; some volitional expression must be substituted. Often in fact this is <b>agenu</b> 'want to see', but other verbs are used as appropriate:
<blockquote>
<p><b>Impuźeu <grn>agenu</grn> bonnezi! </b>
<br>The publisher wants (lit. wants-to-see) the story!
<p><b>Linna <grn>ezeḣepu</grn> gembadi? </b>
<br>Does His Lordship want (lit. want-to-eat) breakfast?
</blockquote>
If the verb begins with a vowel, insert an <b>h</b> before the vowel switch: <b>adnedu</b> 'I added it' → <b>ahednedu</b> 'I added it on purpose'. (<b>Eśu</b> 'to not be', discussed later, inserts <b>v</b> instead, for historical reasons.)
<h4>Polite forms</h4>
<blockquote>
<b>karynu</b> I see, you see, he sees (uncompleted action)
<br><b>kurina</b> I have seen, you've seen, he's seen (completed action)
<p><b>agerynu</b> I intend to see, I will see, see! (volitional, uncompleted action)
<br><b>agurine</b> I intended to see, I will have seen (volitional, completed action)
</blockquote>
<p>Polite forms express <b>deference</b> toward a superior, or politeness to an equal. They are used with nobles and royalty, employers, military superiors, parents, in-laws, teachers, and so on. In addition the middle and upper classes use it with each other; but man and wife, siblings or cousins, or very close friends do not.
<blockquote>
<p><b>Ḣem <grn>cyryru</grn>? </b>Do I know you, sir?
<br><b><grn>Alerihu</grn>!</b> </b>Please come!
</blockquote>
<p>Note that the politeness applies to the listener, not to the referent.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kulseu, falaute mabu furina<; neḣat obucrise.</tt>
<br><b>Kulseu, falaute mabu <grn>furina</grn>; neḣat <grn>obucrise</grn>. </b>
<br>commander / you-SUB dog die-PERF-POL / man kick-PERF-POL
<br><i>Commander, your dog is dead; a man kicked (it).</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Polite forms are made by inserting -<b>ri</b>- within the verb root, before the last consonant; -<b>ry</b>- if the vowel in the next syllable is a <b>u</b>. The infix may divide a consonant cluster: <b>kulsu</b> 'command' → <b>kulrysu</b>.
<p>In addition there are a few suppletive forms; e.g. <b>badu</b> 'eat' has the polite form <b>sehepu</b>; <b>tasu </b>'do' has the polite form <b>soru</b>, and so on. (Do not add -<b>ri</b>- to the suppletive forms; they are already polite.)
<h4>Positive effect</h4>
<p>The <b>benefactive</b> implies that the given action <b>benefits the speaker</b> in some way:
<blockquote>
<b>keni </b>someone sees, to my benefit
<br><b>deri</b> someone works for me
<br><b>sidi </b>someone is called, and it helps or flatters me
<br><b>syťi </b> someone provides to me
</blockquote>
<p>It is formed by fronting the stem vowel (<b>a → e, o →e; u → y, y → i,</b> <b>i → e, e</b> unchanged) and changing the final -<b>u</b> to -<b>i</b>. The perfective, volitional, and polite forms are formed according to the usual rules.
<p>The stem vowel is the last vowel of the root; e.g. <b>pansyru</b> 'someone kisses' → <b>pansiri</b> 'someone kisses me'. (Verbs with stem <b>y</b>, like this one, have identical perfective and imperfective.)
<p>To indicate that the action was performed for the benefit of the <b>listener</b>, the infix -<b>ni</b>- is added before the final consonant of the root:
<p><b>kenini</b> someone sees, to your benefit
<br><b>deniri</b> someone works for you
<p>Compare:
<blockquote>
<p><b>Ḣazum diru keda. </b>Hazum is working on the house.
<br><b>Ḣazum <grn>deri</grn> keda. </b>Hazum is working on my house.
<br><b>Ḣazum <grn>deniri</grn> keda. </b>Hazum is working on your house.
<p><b>Kulseu nuzi melaḣ. </b>The commander spoke to the King. (from <i>nizu</i>, speak)
<br><b>Kulseu <grn>nize</grn> melaḣ. </b>The commander spoke to the King on my behalf.
<br><b>Kulseu <grn>ninize</grn> melaḣ. </b>The commander spoke to the King on your behalf.</b>
</blockquote>
<h4>Negative effect</h4>
<p>The <b>antibenefactive</b> implies that the given action <b>harmed the speaker</b> in some way. It's very common in the mouths of Kebrenis and essential for mastering colloquial speech.
<blockquote>
<b>kona </b>someone sees, to my loss
<br><b>dyra</b> someone works against me
<br><b>soda </b>someone is called, and it harms or insults me
<br><b>suťa </b> someone provides at my expense
<p><b>kano </b> someone saw, has seen, to my loss
<br><b>dary </b> someone worked against me
<p><b>adery </b> someone purposely worked against me
<br><b>oseda </b> they purposely call him that to spite me
<p><b>loriha</b> someone is coming to harm me (polite form)
</blockquote>
<p>It is formed by backing the stem vowel (<b>a → o, e → o, i → y; y → u, u → o</b>, <b>o</b> unchanged) and changing the final -<b>u</b> to -<b>a</b>. The perfective, volitional, and polite forms are formed according to the usual rules.
<blockquote>
<b>Mabu <grn>fano</grn>. </b>The dog went and died on me.
<br><b>Ḣem <grn>dyra</grn>. </b>I'm killing myself by working.
<br><b><grn>Kona</grn> hem. </b>He watched me (in order to hurt me); he's spied on me.
<br><b><grn>Obeka</grn>. </b>Oh, fuck me.
</blockquote>
<p>Again, -<b>ni</b>- can be infixed to indicate that the action was performed to the harm of the <b>listener</b>.
<blockquote>
<b>Kulseu <grn>nyniza</grn>. </b>The commander is speaking against you.
<br><b>Lelec <grn>pocnisa</grn>? </b>Is Lelec kicking you?
</blockquote>
<h4><a name="verbte">Subordinating form</a></h4>
<p>The <b>subordinating</b> form is used when there is another verb in the sentence. It's formed by moving the final vowel of the verb before the final consonant and adding -<b>te</b>. A labial stop becomes dental
and a voiced stop becomes unvoiced before the -<b>te</b>
(so <b>m → n, p/b/d → t, g → c, z → s,</b> etc.).
<blockquote>
<b>kanu </b>'see' → <b>kaunte </b>'seeing'
<br><b>diru </b>'work' → <b>diurte </b>'working'
<br><b>kulsy </b>'command' → <b>kulyste </b>'commanding'
<br><b>mimu </b>'deal' → <b>miunte </b>'dealing'
<br><b>ciḣcu</b> 'praise' → <b>ciḣucte</b> 'praising'
</blockquote>
<p>This form has several uses. One is with <b><i>auxiliary verbs</b></i>, or any verb which takes another verb as a possible object. The -<b>te</b> form appears before the main verb, and after its objects:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Melaḣ kaunte elecu.</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ <grn>kaunte</grn> elecu. </b>
<br/>king seeing VOL-able
<br/><i>The king is able to see you.</i>
<p><tt>Kulseu gorkreha kaunte maru.</tt>
<br><b>Kulseu gorkreha <grn>kaunte</grn> maru. </b>
<br>commander ledger seeing be.probable
<br><i>The commander is probably reading the ledger.</i>
<p><tt>Tarautte ḣilu?</tt>
<br/><b><grn>Tarautte</b></grn><b> ḣilu?</b>
<br/>dancing like
<br/><i>Do you like to dance? </i>
<p><tt>Ḣem diurte luha.</tt>
<br/><b>Ḣem </b><b><grn>diurte</b></grn><b> luha.</b>
<br/>I working come-PERF
<br/><i>I came (in order) to work.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>The <b>negative</b> in Kebreni is an auxiliary verb, <b>eśu</b> (polite <b>natu</b>):
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ḣem Úazum cyurte eßu.</tt>
<br/><b>Ḣem Ḣazum <grn>cyurte</grn> <grn>eśu</grn>. </b>
<br/>I Hazum knowing not.be
<br><i>I don't know Hazum.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣazum kulseu kriuḣte uße.</tt>
<br/><b>Ḣazum kulseu <grn>kriuḣte</grn> <grn>uśe</grn>. </b>
<br/>Hauzm commander killing not.be-PERF
<br><i>Hazum won't kill the commander tomorrow.</i>
<p>
<tt>Paḣar lauhte natu? </tt>
<br/><b>Paḣar <grn>lauhte</grn> <grn>natu</grn>?</b>
<br/>tomorrow coming not.POL
<br/><i>Aren't you coming tomorrow? (polite)</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Note that volitional, politeness, and aspect inflections normally apply only to the main verb. One can make such finicky distinctions as the following--
<blockquote>
<b>diurte lahu </b>was/is coming to be working
<br><b>diurte luha </b>came to be working
<br><b>duirte lahu </b>was/is coming to work (and finish)
<br><b>duirte luha </b>came to work (and finish)
<br><b>diurte alehu </b>is intending to come to work
<br><b>iderute lahu </b>is coming intending to work
</blockquote>
<p>—but these are rare even in writing; normally only the base form (i.e. <b>diurte</b>) is used, and inflections are applied only to the auxiliary. Semantically, they are considered to apply to the auxiliary + verb combination— e.g. for <b>diurte alehu</b> the intention is taken to apply to both the coming and the working; while for <b>diurte luha</b> the entire action— coming to work— is taken as being completed.
<p>Another usage of the -<b>te</b> form is as a <b><i>gerund</b></i> or modifier. The subordinated verb suggests the manner in which the main action was performed, or simply names a following or resulting action.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kulseu kaunte nuzi.</tt>
<br/><b>Kulseu <grn>kaunte</grn> nuzi. </b>
<br/>commander watching speak-PERF
<br/><i>The commander spoke watchfully.</i>
<p><tt>Nyne pabautte taradu.</tt>
<br/><b>Nyne <grn>pabautte</grn> taradu. </b>
<br/>girl laughting dance-PERF
<br><i>The girl was laughing and dancing.</i>
<p><tt>ˇazu mabu kriḣute pucso. </tt>
<br/><b>Ťazu mabu <grn>kriḣute</grn> pucso. </b>
<br/>they dog killing kick-PERF
<br><i>They kicked the dog to death.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣulo ciḣḣucte diurte eßu.</tt>
<br/><b>Ḣulo <grn>ciḣucte diurte</grn> eśu. </b>
<br/>food praising working not-IMPF
<br><i>The fool works without praising (God).</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Finally -<b>te</b> is used to form <b><i>relative clauses</b></i>. In this usage volitional, aspect, and effect inflections (but not politeness infixes) can be applied to the subordinating form. Note that the clause precedes the modified noun.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Neḣat duri keda.</tt>
<br/><b>Neḣat duri keda. </b>
<br><i>The man worked on the house </i> →
<p><tt>Diurte keda neḣat alehu pahar. </tt>
<br/><b>[Diurte keda] neḣat alehu pahar.</b>
<br>[work-SUB house] man come-VOL tomorrow
<br><i>The man [who worked on the house] will come tomorrow. </i>
<p><tt>Kulseu nazy neḣat. </tt>
<br/><b>Kulseu nazy neḣat. </b>
<br><i>The commander spoke against me to the man </i> →
<p><tt>Kulseu nayste neḣat sudy Kalum.</tt>
<br/><b>[Kulseu nayste] neḣat sudy Kalum.</b>
<br>[commander spoke-ANTIB-SUB] man name Kalum
<br><i>The man [the commander spoke to against me] is named Kalum. </i>
<p><tt>Melaḣ tigu nyne.</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ tigu nyne. </b>
<br><i>The king is screwing the girl </i> →
<p><tt>Melaḣ tiugte nyne ḣilu ḣente mabu</tt>
<br/><b>[Melaḣ tiugte] nyne ḣilu ḣente mabu.</b>
<br>[king screw-SUB] girl like I-SUB dog
<br><i>The girl [the king is screwing] is fond of my dog. </i>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no relativizing pronoun. Note that if the subordinated verb is preceded by a subject, as in the last two sentences, the head of the clause must be taken as a direct or indirect object; if the verb begins the clause, as in the first example, the head must be the subject of the clause. Schematically:
<blockquote>
<p> NP V<b>te</b> NP = [S V] O
<br>V<b>te</b> NP NP = [V O] S
</blockquote>
<p>If the head noun refers to a place or time, the phrase is equivalent to a <b>when</b> or <b>where</b> clause in English— again, these pronouns do not appear in Kebreni:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>[vaac mygu moiutte] haḣc</tt>
<br><b>[vaac mygu moiutte] haḣc</b>
<br>[blue ox find-SUB] valley
<br><i>the valley [where the blue ox was found]</i>
<p><tt>[pocuste melaḣ] re </tt>
<br><b>[pocuste melaḣ] re </b>
<br>[kick-SUB king day
<br><i>the day [when I kicked the King]</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Conjugation table</h4>
For complex forms, form the (anti)benefactive first, then the volitional, then the perfective, then the listener suffix <b>-ni</b>, then (if there's no suppletive form) the polite <b>-ri-</b>, then the subordinating <b>-te</b>.
<p>Ellipses indicate that variations (the imperfective and the two volitional forms) are being left out.
<table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><td><td><td><i>'see'</i> <td><i>'work'</i> <td><i>'call'</i> <td><i>'laugh'</i> <td><i>'kick'</i> <td><i>'command'</i> <td><i>'not'</i>
<tr><td rowspan=8 bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>Neutral</b> <td><i>imperfective</i> <td>kanu <td>diru <td>sudy <td>pabadu <td>pocsu <td>kulsy <td>eśu
<tr><td><i>perfective <td>kuna <td>duri <td>sydu <td>pabuda <td>pucso <td>kylsu <td>uśe
<tr><td><i>volitional imp.</i> <td>agenu <td>ideru <td>uzedu <td>abebadu <td>obecsu <td>ugelsu <td>eveśu
<tr><td><i>volitional perf. <td>agune <td>idure <td>uzude <td>abebuda <td>obucse <td>ugulse <td>evuśe
<tr><td><i>polite imp.</i> <td>karynu <td>diryru <td>suridy <td>pabarydu <td>pocrysu <td>kulrisy <td>natu
<tr><td><i>polite perf. <td>kurina <td>duriri <td>syrydu <td>paburida <td>pucriso <td>kylrysu <td>nuta
<tr><td><i>vol. pol. imp.</i> <td>agerynu <td>ideryru <td>uzerydu <td>abebarydu <td>obecrysu <td>ugelrysu <td>anetu
<tr><td><i>vol. pol. perf. <td>agurine <td>idurire <td>uzuride <td>abeburida <td>obucrise <td>ugulrise <td>anute
<tr><td rowspan=6 bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>Benef.</b> <td><i>benef. imp. </i><td>keni <td>deri <td>sydi <td>pabedi <td>pecsi <td>kylsi <td>eśi
<tr><td><i>benef. perf. <td>kine <td>dire <td>sidy <td>pabide <td>picse <td>kilsy <td>iśe
<tr><td><i>vol. ben. imp.</i> <td>egeni <td>ederi <td>yzedi <td>abebedi <td>ebecsi <td>ygelsi <td>eveśi
<tr><td><i>vol. ben. perf. <td>egine <td>edire <td>yzide <td>abebide <td>ebicse <td>ygilse <td>eviśe
<tr><td><i>benef. polite</i> <td>kerini... <td>deriri... <td>syridi... <td>paberidi... <td>pecrisi... <td>kylrisi... <td>neti...
<tr><td><i>benef. 'you' </i><td>kenini... <td>deniri... <td>synidi... <td>pabenidi... <td>pecnisi... <td>kylnisi... <td>eniśi...
<tr><td rowspan=5 bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>Antib.</b> <td><i>antib. imp.</i> <td>kona <td>dyra <td>soda <td>paboda <td>pocsa <td>kolsa <td>ośa
<tr><td><i>antib. perf. <td>kano <td>dary <td>sado <td>pabado <td>pacso <td>kalso <td>aśo
<tr><td><i>vol. antib. imp.</i> <td>ogena <td>ydera <td>ozeda <td>abeboda <td>obecsa <td>ogelsa <td>oveśa
<tr><td><i>vol. antib. perf. <td>ogane <td>ydare <td>ozade <td>abebado <td>obacse <td>ogalse <td>ovaśe
<tr><td><i>antib. polite</i><td>korina... <td>dyrira... <td>sorida... <td>paborida... <td>pocrisa... <td>kolrisa... <td>nota...
<tr><td rowspan=4 bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>Subord.</b> <td><i>subordinating</i> <td>kaunte <td>diurte <td>suytte <td>pabautte <td>pocuste <td>kulyste <td>euśte
<tr><td><i>subord. perf. <td>kuante <td>duirte <td>syutte <td>pabuatte <td>pucoste <td>kyluste <td>ueśte
<tr><td><i>sub. vol. imp.</i> <td>ageunte <td>ideurte <td>uzeytte <td>abebautte <td>obecuste <td>ugeluste <td>eveuśte
<tr><td><i>sub. vol. perf. <td>aguente <td>iduerte <td>uzyette <td>abebuatte <td>obuceste <td>uguleste <td>evueśte
<tr><td rowspan=3 bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><b>Deriv.</b> <td><i>one who does</i> <td>kaneu <td>direu <td>sudeu <td>pabadeu <td>pocseu <td>kulseu
<tr><td><i>'participle' <td>kaina <td>diera <td>suida <td>pabaida <td>pocisa <td>kulisa
<tr><td><i>action <td>kani <td>deri <td>sodi <td>pabadi <td>pacsi <td>kolsi
</table>
<h3><a name="Pronouns"><font color="#000060">Pronouns</a> <font size=-1><a href="#contents">[To Top]</font></font></a></h3>
<blockquote><table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><td>
<td colspan=2><center>pejorative
<td colspan=2><center>ordinary
<td colspan=2><center>deferential
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0"><td>person
<td>sing
<td>plural
<td>sing
<td>plural
<td>sing
<td>plural
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0">1 (I, we)
<td><b>cin</b>
<td><b>źum</b>
<td><b>ḣem</b>
<td><b>gymu</b>
<td colspan=2><center>—
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0">2 (you)
<td colspan=2><center><b>kuḣ</b>
<td colspan=2><center><b>fal</b>
<td colspan=2><center><b>falau</b>
</tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#B0E8B0">3 (he, she, it, they)
<td colspan=2><center><b>vuḣ</b>
<td><b>ťaḣ</b>
<td><b>ťaza</b>
<td><b>vep</b>
<td><b>vybu</b>
<td></tr>
</table></blockquote>
<p>There are three sets of pronouns in Kebreni, which imply contempt, neutrality, or deference toward the referent.
<p>The <b>pejorative</b> first person forms (<b>cin, źum</b>) are humilifics, used to refer to oneself when speaking with a superior; the remaining pejorative forms (<b>kuḣ</b> and <b>vuḣ</b>— one does not bother with any number distinction) are used to refer to those of lower classes (or, of course, to insult someone by referring to them as inferiors).
<p>The <b>deferential</b> second person form <b>falau</b> is an honorific, used to refer to a listener or listeners who are social superiors; its use roughly correlates with the use of the polite forms of verbs. Note that the third person forms (<b>vep, vybu</b>) express deference to the person referred to, not (unlike polite verbs) to the listener. There are no deferential first-person pronouns.
<p>For all of these pronouns, possessive forms can be made by adding -<b>te</b> (which forces a preceding labial stop to assimilate): <b>ḣente '</b>my (ordinary)', <b>falaute</b> 'your (deferential)', <b>vuḣte </b>'his/her/its/theirs (pejorative)'.
<p>It must be emphasized that pronouns are optional, and indeed to be avoided, in Kebreni. They are used only when necessary for clarity. For direct address, in fact, it's preferable to use honorifics and titles:
<blockquote>
<tt>Linna, agenu gembadi?</tt>
<br><b>Linna, agenu gembadi? </b>
<br>lord / eat-VOL breakfast
<br><i>Lord, [do you] want [your] breakfast?</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Demonstratives</h4>
<p>‘This’ and ‘that’, as adjectives, are <b>gem</b> and <b>kuri</b> (the relation to ‘one’ and ‘two’ is obvious, but the direction of semantic borrowing is not!): <b>gem nyne</b> ‘this woman’, <b>kuri palaźnu </b>‘that thorn-bush’.
<p>As standalone pronouns these become <b>gente</b> ‘this one’ and <b>kurite</b> ‘that one'. (This is actually a standard nominalizing use of the clitic -<b>te</b> with adjectives.)
<p><b>Myra</b> ‘here’, <b>tomo</b> ‘there’, <b>źada</b> ‘now’ and <b>bada</b> ‘then’ function as adverbs.
<h4><a name="Interrogative">Interrogative pronouns</a></h4>
<p>The standard interrogative anaphora are:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> śava</b> </td> <td> <tt> ßava</tt> </td> <td> who, what</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> śete</b> </td> <td> <tt> ßete</tt> </td> <td> which (of what quality)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> aśeve</b> </td> <td> <tt> aßeve</tt> </td> <td> why </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> ciźe</b> </td> <td> <tt> ci#e</tt> </td> <td> how, in what way</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> śanu</b> </td> <td> <tt> ßanu</tt> </td> <td> where (locative verb)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> śere</b> </td> <td> <tt> ßere</tt> </td> <td> when</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> bigynte</b> </td> <td> <tt> bigynte</tt> </td> <td> how much, how many</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<p>Unlike in English, the interrogative anaphora cannot be used in relative clauses. Subordinated clauses usually have no explicit subordinator at all. See <a href="#Complex">Complex sentences</a> below for examples.
<h4>Quantifiers and indefinite pronouns</h4>
<p>Quantifiers are ordinary adjectives, and like any adjectives are nominalized with -<b>te</b>.
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> fyn</b> </td> <td> <tt> fyn</tt> </td> <td> none </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> fynte</b> </td> <td> <tt> fynte</tt> </td> <td> nothing, no one</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> biha</b> </td> <td> <tt> biha</tt> </td> <td> some, any </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> bihate</b> </td> <td> <tt> bihate</tt> </td> <td> something, someone, anything, anyone</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> kum</b> </td> <td> <tt> kum</tt> </td> <td> many, much </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> kunte</b> </td> <td> <tt> kunte</tt> </td> <td> many things, many people</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> orat</b> </td> <td> <tt> orat</tt> </td> <td> all, every </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> oratte</b> </td> <td> <tt> oratte</tt> </td> <td> everything, everyone</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<p>There are no words meaning ‘everywhere’, ‘sometime’, and so on; instead one uses expressions like <b>biha re</b> ‘some day’, <b>orat hami</b> ‘every land’, <b>fyn haḣcte zani</b> ‘in every valley’, etc.
<h3><a name="Numbers">Numbers</a></h3>
The Meťaiun counting system was based on counting on fingers and toes— the 10 fingers and 8 toes of an Almean.
<blockquote>
<table>
<p><td>1 <td><i>grem</i> (related to 'this')
<tr><td>2 <td><i>kuri</i> (related to 'that')
<tr><td>3 <td><i>dama</i>
<tr><td>4 <td><i>γakaȟ</i> ('almost (a hand)')
<tr><td>5 <td><i>amua</i> ('hand')
<tr><td>6 <td><i>migrem amua</i> ('with-one hand')...
<tr><td>9 <td><i>γakaȟ kuri</i> ('almost two (hands)')
<tr><td>10 <td><i>kuramua</i> ('two hands')
<tr><td>11 <td><i>poc pinaȟ</i> ('down to the feet')
<tr><td>12 <td><i>mikuri kuramua</i> ('two hands with two')
<tr><td>14 <td><i>mipoc kuramua</i> ('two hands with a foot')
<tr><td>15 <td><i>migrem mipoc kuramua</i> ('two hands with a foot with one')
<tr><td>18 <td><i>oranda neȟad</i> ('entire man')
<tr><td>324 <td><i>dikumi</i> (related to <i>kumi</i> 'many')
<tr><td>5832 <td><i>ťeleť</i>
</table>
</blockquote>
<p>Under the influence of Cuêzi and Caďinor, a decimal system was adopted; but the Kebreni numbers from 1 to 19 still show their origins in the Meťaiun system:
<blockquote>
<table>
<p> <td>1 <td><b>gem </b> <td>11 <td><b>pinaḣ </b>
<tr><td>2 <td><b>kur</b> <td>12 <td><b>migram </b>
<tr><td>3 <td><b>dam</b> <td>13 <td><b>midakram</b>
<tr><td>4 <td><b>hak </b> <td>14 <td><b>mipoc </b>
<tr><td>5 <td><b>amma</b> <td>15 <td><b>mipokemai </b>
<tr><td>6 <td><b>migem</b> <td>16 <td><b>mipokurai </b>
<tr><td>7 <td><b>migur</b> <td>17 <td><b>hakraida </b>
<tr><td>8 <td><b>midam</b> <td>18 <td><b>raida </b>
<tr><td>9 <td><b>hakur</b> <td>19 <td><b>raigemai </b>
<tr><td>10 <td><b>kram </b> <td>20 <td><b>kur kram </b>
</table>
</blockquote>
The numbers from 21 to 99 are formed on the model <i>[tens]</i> <b>kram</b> <i>[digits]</i>-<b>ai</b>: 21 = <b>kur kram gemai</b>, 37 = <b>dam kram migurai</b>. In fast counting, <i>kram</i> is omitted.
<p>It's still possible to count by 18s: <b>raida, kuraida, dam raida</b>... This can be a nice way to hide a price increase: rather than charging 4 <b>alať</b> for ten, you charge 8 <b>alať</b> for eighteen.
<p><b>dygum</b> (from <i>dikumi</i>) has become the word for 100, while <b>myga</b> '1000' was borrowed from Cuêzi. The same basic model is followed: 487 = <b>hak dygum midam kram migurai</b>, 3480 = <b>dam myga hak dygum midam kramai</b>.
<p>There are two ways of numbering noun phrases: by inserting the number before the noun, or by subordinating the noun and following it with the number:
<blockquote>
<b><grn>dam</grn> kyr laḣ</b> <i>or</i> <b>kyr laḣte <grn>dam</grn> </b>
<br>three green fields
</blockquote>
<p>The subordinated form is more formal, and is preferred in writing, or with very long numbers.
<p>The suffix -<b>eḣ</b> (-<b>ḣ</b> after vowel) forms ordinal numbers: <b>gemeḣ</b> 'first', <b>raidaḣ </b>'eighteenth'.
<p>The suffix <b>-nu</b> is used for fractions: <b>kuirnu</b> 1/2, <b>dainnu</b> 1/3, <b>haiknu</b> 1/4, <b>ammanu</b> 1/5, <b>migemnu</b> 1/6, etc.
<p>Arithmetic expressions:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>3 + 2 = 5 <br/> dam eḣc kur zaru amma </tt> <br/>
<b>dam eḣc kur zaru amma</b> <br/>
three and two exist five <br/>
3 + 2 = 5
<p><tt>7 – 2 = 5 <br/> migur kur fuuste zaru amma </tt> <br/>
<b>migur kur fuuste zaru amma</b> <br/>
seven two lacking exist five <br/>
7 - 2 = 5
<p><tt>3 ° 4 = 12 <br/> dameḣte hak zaru migram </tt> <br/>
<b>dameḣte hak zaru migram</b> <br/>
third four exist twelve <br/>
3 x 4 = 12
<p><tt>12 ^ 4 = 3 <br/> migrameḣte haiknu zaru dam </tt> <br/>
<b>migrameḣte haiknu zaru dam</b> <br/>
twelfth 1/4 exist twelve <br/>
12 / 4 = 3
</blockquote>
As in Verdurian, multiplication and division are expressed using ordinals. Note the double marking: <b>dam</b> 3 > <b>dameḣ</b> 1/3 > <b>dameḣte</b>.
<h3><a name="Derivational">Derivational morphology</a></h3>
<h4>Nominalizers</h4>
<p>With adjectives, nominalizations with -<b>gu</b> name the abstract quality; with nouns and verbs, they generally name a countable action, result, or associated entity.
<blockquote>
<b>kanu</b> see → <b>kangu</b> vista
<br><b>boťynu</b> fight → <b>boťengu</b> battle
<br><b>syh</b> strong → <b>sygu</b> strength
<br><b>śen</b> honorable → <b>śengu</b> honor
</blockquote>
<p>With nouns and verbs, -<b>au</b> (Meť. -<i>adio</i>) is an abstract nominalizer, comparable to our -<i>tion</i>; with adjectives it names an object with the given quality.
<blockquote>
<b>adnedu </b>add → <b>adnedau</b> addition
<br><b>kanu</b> see → <b>kanau</b> vision
<br><b>maru</b> be probable → <b>marau</b> probability
<br><b>melaḣ</b> king → <b>melaḣau </b>royalty, kingship
<br><b>ty</b> round → <b>tyau</b> tube, pipe<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>For simple actions, a name for an instance of the action can be formed by lowering the last root vowel (<b>i, y → e; e, o → a; u → o, a </b>unchanged) and adding -<b>i</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>riḣu</b> count → <b>reḣi</b> count, counting
<br><b>pocsu </b>kick → <b>pacsi</b> kick
<br><b>taradu </b>dance → <b>taradi </b>dance
<br><b>źynu </b>go → <b>źeni </b>departure
<br><b>kulsy </b>command → <b>kolsi </b>command<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>The suffix -<b>nu</b>, usually accompanied by raising of the last root vowel (<b>a → e, e → i, o → u, </b>others unchanged) names a concrete thing related to the root object or action.
<blockquote>
<b>gyru </b>(Meť. <i>ger</i>-) rise → <b>hernu </b>(Meť. <i>gerno) </i>stair
<br><b>kam</b> oak → <b>kamnu</b> acorn
<br><b>muk </b>new → <b>muhnu </b>news<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>To <b>pluralize</b> a noun, you follow the formula (X)V<font size=2>1</font>C(V<font size=2>2</font>) → (X)V<font size=2>1</font>C[+vcd]V<font size=2>1</font>. The status of pluralization in Kebreni is quite different from languages such as Verdurian and English, where it is obligatory and grammaticalized. It is an optional derivation in Kebreni; it can be thought of as forming a collective noun— ‘a unit formed by more than one X.’
<blockquote>
<b>hami</b> land → <b>hama </b>lands, large area, nation
<br><b>neḣat</b> man → <b>neḣada </b>people
<br><b>cai</b> (Meť. <i>kiodi</i>) mountain → <b>cadu</b> (Meť. <i>kiodo</i>) mountain range
<br><b>beź </b>grape → <b>beźe </b>bunch of grapes
<br><b>lore </b>horse → <b>loro </b>team of horses<b>
</blockquote>
<p>-na</b> is an augmentative; -<b>iḣ</b> is a diminutive.
<blockquote>
<b>ḣir</b> long → <b>ḣirna</b> very long
<br><b>siva </b>sand → <b>sivana </b>desert
<br><b>lezu</b> forest → <b>Lezyna</b> Leziunea = big forest
<p><b>zeveu </b>friend → <b>zeviḣ </b>little friend
<br><b>tada</b> father → <b>tadiḣ </b>dad
<br><b>nyne</b> maiden → <b>nyniḣ</b> little girl<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>-<b>eu</b> names a <b>person</b> who does the action, comes from a place, or has a certain quality:
<blockquote>
<b>kulsy</b> command → <b>kulseu</b> commander
<br><b>taradu </b>dance → <b>taradeu </b>dancer
<br><b>Verdura </b>Verduria → <b>Verdureu </b>Verdurian
<br><b>zev</b> loyal → <b>zeveu</b> friend
</blockquote>
<p>The Meťaiun equivalent was formed by replacing the final root vowel of the verb with -<b>u</b>- and suffixing -<b>i</b>. This formation is found in a few old words:
<blockquote>
<i>γis-</i> cure → <i>γusi </i>(<b>hus</b>) doctor
<br><i>brin- </i>watch → <i>bruni </i>(<b>brun</b>) shepherd
</blockquote>
<p>-<b>ec</b> has about the same meaning, but specifically names a feminine referent. Kebreni is usually not concerned to do so (e.g. <b>melaḣ</b> means both king and queen), but may use -<b>ec</b> in a few cases where the occupation is chiefly female (e.g. <b>maḣec</b> ‘prostitute’) or where it’s desired to refer to a couple without awkwardness— e.g. a dance manual describing a duet may refer to the <b>taradeu</b> and <b>taradec</b>. The suffix is most commonly used to form girls’ names.
<blockquote>
<b>lele</b> cute, pretty → <b>Lelec </b>
<br><b>lezu </b>forest → <b>Lezec</b>
</blockquote>
<p>Meťaiun -<i>(γ)umi</i>, whose Kebreni reflex is -<b>um</b>, named someone who lives in a particular place; it's related to <i>γami</i> 'land': thus <i>limiγumi</i> 'highlander'. As a productive prefix, it has been replaced by -<b>eu</b> in Kebreni; but -<b>um</b> is still found in personal names and in inhabitant-names of very old cities:
<blockquote>
<b>kal </b>bee → <b>Kalum
<br>śogu </b>ridge → <b>Śogum
<br>Laadau</b> → <b>Laadum </b>person from Laadau
<br><b>Kaťinaḣ </b>Caďinas → <b>Kaťynum </b>Caďinorian<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>A manufacturer of something is named with -<b>teu</b> (a reduced form of <b>taseu</b> 'maker'):
<blockquote>
<b>nabira </b>ship → <b>nabirateu </b>shipwright<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>Given a verbal root CVX<font size=2><sup>n</sup></font>, the formula VC[+vcd]VX<font size=2><sup>n</sup></font><b>e</b> names a <b>tool</b> which accomplishes the action, or a substance which exemplifies it (contrast -<b>eu</b>, which is always a person):
<blockquote>
<b>paźu </b>cut → <b>abaźe </b>knife
<br><b>ťanu </b>harm → <b>aťane </b>weapon
<br><b>treḣ</b> black → <b>etreḣe </b>ink<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>The suffix -<b>eśa</b> creates a concrete nominalization of an adjective: an object having the quality named by the adjective:
<blockquote>
<b>gem</b> one → <b>geneśa </b>primacy (among interested parties), lien
<br><b>ḣir </b>long → <b>ḣireśa </b>street<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>-<b>arei</b> names a <b>place</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>suťy</b> provide → <b>suťarei</b> store
<br><b>lore</b> horse → <b>lodarei</b> stable (with dissimilation)
<br><b>nizu</b> speak → <b>nizarei </b>forum<b></b>
</blockquote>
<p>The proprietor or manager of such a place is named with the suffix -<b>areu</b> (unless there already exists a simple form with -<b>eu</b>, e.g. <b>suťeu</b> 'provider, storekeeper'):
<blockquote>
<b>ingarei </b>tavern → <b>ingareu</b> tavernkeeper
</blockquote>
<p>From toponyms and nobles' names we learn of a vowel-harmonizing <b>honorific </b>prefix <b>me</b>- in Meťaiun: <i>Monȟado</i> (Monkhayu), <i>Mičiaγama</i> (Mišicama)<i>, meneula</i> (Menla), <i>meleȟ</i> 'king'<i>, <i>myvun</i> 'leader'. </i>It's also seen in Meťaiu, Meuna, Mevost, Metōre. The prefix is not seen in modern Kebreni, and usually disappears in cognates: <i>Śahama</i> 'Mišicama', <i>neḣada</i> 'the people'.
<h4>Adjectivizers</h4>
<p>The subordinator -<b>te</b>, attached to a single word, in effect turns it into an adjective.
<blockquote>
<b>keda </b>house → <b>kedate</b> domestic
<br><b> neḣada </b>people → <b>neḣadate </b>popular
<br><b>diru</b> work → <b>dirte </b>relating to work
</blockquote>
<p>Attached to expressions referring to people, including pronouns, it serves as a genitive:
<blockquote>
<b> falau </b>you → <b>falaute </b>your
<br><b>nyne</b> maiden → <b>nynete </b>maiden’s
<br><b> Verdureu </b>Verdurian → <b>Verdureute </b>Verdurian’s
</blockquote>
<p>An adjective related to a geographic expression is formed with -<b>en</b>:
<blockquote>
<b>Kebri </b>Kebreni → <b>kebren</b> Kebreni
<br><b>Ernaituḣ</b> Érenat → <b>ernaituhen</b> Érenati
</blockquote>
<p>The infix -<b>n</b>- + final -(<b>y</b>)<b>r</b> gives an adjective meaning 'having the quality of X' or 'liable to X':
<blockquote>
<b>boḣtu </b>water → <b>bontur </b>wet
<br><b>men</b> hill → <b>mennyr </b>hilly
<br><b>ḣulo </b>idiot → <b>ḣunlor </b>idiotic
<br><b>zeveu</b> friend → <b>zevenur</b> friendly
<br><b>kriḣu </b>kill → <b>krinḣyr</b> murderous
<br><b>pabadu</b> laugh → <b>pabandyr</b> amusing
</blockquote>
<p>The infix -<b>su</b>- gives an adjective meaning 'made of X':
<blockquote>
<b>siva</b> sand → <b>sisuva</b> sandy
<br><b>ḣeda</b> stone → <b>ḣesuda</b> stony
<br><b>kam</b> oak → <b>kasum </b>oaken
</blockquote>
<p>The meaning of an adjective may be intensified by infixing -<b>u</b>- before the last consonant, or diminished by infixing -<b>i</b>-:
<blockquote>
<b>ḣir</b> long → <b>ḣiur </b>very long, <b>ḣiir </b>not long
<br><b>śaida </b>beautiful → <b>śaiuda </b>breathtakingly beautiful
<br><b>śe </b>small → <b>śei </b>tiny
</blockquote>
<p>A similar process can be seen in Meť. <i>nauni</i> 'young man', <i>niune</i> 'young woman' (but it's obscured by sound change in Kebreni: <b>nen, nyne</b>).
<p>-<b>i</b><i>C</i><b>a</b> where -<i>C</i> is the final consonant of the root, or -<b>e</b>C<b>a</b> after -<b>i</b>-, means 'that has been Xed'. This sounds like a past participle, but it is never a verbal form, nor can it even be used predicatively; it can only be used to modify a noun, or as a nominalization.
<blockquote>
<b>nizu </b>say → <b>nieza </b>spoken
<br><b>suťy</b> provide → <b>suiťa </b>provisions;
<br><b>kulsy </b>command → <b>kulisa</b> what is commanded, lexicalized as ‘fleet’
<br><b>nabru </b>sail → <b>nabira </b>what is sailed, i.e. a ship
</blockquote>
<p>The suffix -<b>lecsu</b> (from <b>lecu</b> 'can'), added to a verb, means equally 'that can be verbed' or 'that can verb'; context generally indicates which.
<blockquote>
<b>badu </b>eat → <b>badlecsu </b>edible
<br><b>źaiźigu</b> marry → <b>źaiźiglecsu</b> marriageable, nubile
<br><b>treśu </b>break → <b>treślecsu </b>breakable
</blockquote>
<p>The infix -<b>at-</b>, used to produce antonyms in Meťaiun, is no longer productive:<i></i>
<blockquote>
<i>zewi</i><b> </b>loyal → <i>zatewi</i> disloyal, treasonous
<br><i>čiam- </i>aproach → <i>čatiam- </i>move away from
</blockquote>
<p>An adjective can be negated with <b>bu</b>- (borrowed from Caďinor):
<blockquote>
<b>doḣt </b>correct → <b>budoḣt </b>incorrect
<br><b>gauryr</b> pure → <b>bugauryr </b>impure
</blockquote>
<h4>Verbalizers</h4>
<p>Nouns can be fairly freely converted into verbs by adding -<b>u</b> (replacing a final vowel):
<blockquote>
<b>dyrḣi </b>credit (entry) → <b>dyrḣu </b>(enter as a) credit
<br><b>nabra </b>sail → <b>nabru </b>sail
<br><b>alat </b>silver coin → <b>aladu </b>spend money
</blockquote>
<p>A syntactic alternative, to use the verb <b>tasu </b>'do', is extremely productive, especially for vague nonce forms:
<blockquote>
<b>suťarei</b> store → <b>suťarei tasu </b>shop
<br><b>zeveu </b>friend → <b>zeveu tasu </b>be friendly
<br><b>ťiron</b> market → <b>ťiron tasu </b>go to market
</blockquote>
<p>The suffix -<b>s</b>- forms verbs with the meaning 'to use X (in the obvious way)' or 'to act like X':
<blockquote>
<b>poc</b> foot → <b>pocsu </b>kick
<br><b>bry </b>eye → <b>brysu </b>keep an eye on
<br><b>śemu </b>fish → <b>śemsu </b>swim
<br><b>mygu </b>ox → <b>mycsu </b>haul
</blockquote>
<p>The infix -<b>ma</b>- means 'to make X' or 'to acquire X':
<blockquote>
<b>syl</b> dark → <b>symalu</b> darken
<br><b>hazik </b>proud → <b>hazimaku </b>make proud
<br><b>kur </b>two → <b>kumaru </b>split
<br><b>śemu </b>fish → <b>śemamu </b>fish
<br><b>alat </b>silver → <b>alamatu</b> scrounge up cash
</blockquote>
<p><b>Locative verbs</b> can be prefixed to verbs, often with the effect of specifying a direction or purpose for the action. Often an abbreviated form of the locative is used.
<blockquote>
<b>ebu</b> be away from + <b>diru</b> work → <b>ebdiru</b> take off work
<br><b>dynu</b> be above + <b>riḣu</b> count → <b>dyrḣu</b> count as a credit
</blockquote>
<p>These expressions derive from a subordinated verb: <i>eupte diru →</i> <i>ebdiru</i>.
<h2><a name="Syntax">Syntax</a></h2>
<h3><a name="Parameter">Parameter order</a></h3>
Kebreni, lacking case marking or articles to signal case relationships, uses word order instead. The basic word order is S<grn>V</grn>O:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Linna Kalum, gente boťeneu a#ei#irygu falaute nyniḣ.</tt>
<br><b>Linna Kalum, gente boťeneu <grn>aźeiźirygu</grn> falaute nyniḣ. </b>
<br>lord Kalum / this soldier VOL-marry-POL your-DEFER daughter-DIM
<br><i>Lord Kalum, this soldier wants to marry your daughter.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣazum, linna agenu hus.</tt>
<br><b>Ḣazum, linna <grn>agenu</grn> hus.</b>
<br>Hazum / lord see-VOL doctor
<br><i>Ḣazum, the Lord needs a doctor.</i>
</blockquote>
See the <a href="#xFocus">section on Focus</a> for alternatives.
<h4>Indirect objects</h4>
<p>Kebreni makes no morphological distinction between direct and indirect objects. One or both can appear after the verb, or be fronted for emphasis. The indirect object follows the direct object if both are given.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kulseu ḣuvy ve#a taradeu.</tt>
<br><b>Kulseu ḣuvy veźa <grn>taradeu</grn>.</b>
<br/>commander give-PERF bottle dancer
<br><i>The commander gave the bottle to the dancer.</i>
<p><tt>Nyne mugeu ḣuvy ßemu. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Nyne</grn> mugeu ḣuvy śemu. </b>
<br/>girl youngster give-PERF fish
<br><i>The girl was given a fish by the young man. </i>
<p><tt>Íemu nyne muḣa.</tt>
<br/><b>Śemu nyne muḣa. </b>
<br/>fish girl sell-PERF
<br><i>As for the fish, the girl sold it.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Another way of putting this is that verbs like <b>ḣyvu</b> 'give' are <i>ditransitive</i> in Kebreni, like <b>sudy</b> 'call (someone) (something)'.
<p>Schematically:
<blockquote>
NP V NP = S V O
<br>NP NP V = O S V
<br>NP V NP NP = S V O O
<br>NP NP V NP = O S V O
</blockquote>
<h4>Verbs of movement</h4>
<p>The destination of a verb of movement is not morphologically marked in Kebreni; it's treated as an indirect object.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Linna, #yrynu Laadau. </tt>
<br/><b>Linna, źyrynu <grn>Laadau</grn>. </b>
<br/>lord / go-POL Laadau
<br><i>Lord, we're going to Laadau.</i>
<p><tt>Kuri ťaniḣte neḣat lahu #umte keda? </tt>
<br/><b>Kuri ťaniḣte neḣat lahu <grn>źumte keda</grn>? </b>
<br/>that annoying man come we-SUB house
<br><i>Is that annoying man coming to our house?</i>
<p><tt>Ime#yny ßemu tada. </tt>
<br/><b>Imeźynu śemu <grn>tada</grn>. </b>
<br/>bring-VOL fish father
<br><i>Bring a fish to your father.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>However, the source of a movement is indicated using a locative verb (discussed <a href="#Locative">below</a>):
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Laaven eupte lahu eḣc bohru. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Laaven</grn> <grn>eupte </grn>lahu eḣc bohru. </b>
<br/>Laaven from-SUB come and stink
<br><i>They're coming from Laaven and they stink.</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="NP">Noun phrases</a></h3>
<h4>Order</h4>
<p>Modifiers— including adjectives, numbers, relative clauses and locative expressions— always precede the noun:
<blockquote>
<p><b>kur <grn>mabu</grn> </b> two dogs
<br><b>gem śaida hazigai <grn>nyne</grn> </b> that beautiful and proud maiden
<br><b>ťaniḣte <grn>neḣat</grn> </b> an annoying man
<br><b>kaunte melaḣ <grn>mabu</grn> </b> a dog that looks at a king
<br><b>sivana śaunte <grn>turgul</grn> </b> the battalion near the desert</b>
</blockquote>
<p>Kebreni's strong modifier-modified order would lead a linguist to suspect that it was once an OV language, which has changed, perhaps, under the influence of Verdurian. The evidence is equivocal; we do not have many actual texts in Meťaiun. However, they do seem to be predominantly SOV.
<h4>The -<i>te</i> relativizer</h4>
<p>The root meaning of -<b>te</b> is to reduce an expression to an attribute. It reduces a noun or noun phrase to an adjectival expression, a verbal expression to a subordinate clause.
<p>With a single noun (or pronoun), a -<b>te</b> expression has an adjectival or possessive quality:
<blockquote>
<p><b><grn>falaute</grn> gem </b> one of you
<br><b><grn>tadate</grn> zevu </b> father's friend
<br><b><grn>neḣadate</grn> nizarei </b> the people's forum
<br><b><grn>kedate</grn> zivan </b> the inside of the house (lit. the house's inside)
</blockquote>
<p>The same can be said of longer expressions that are themselves -<b>te</b> expressions:
<blockquote>
<p><b><grn>falaute gente</grn> mygu </b>the ox belonging to one of you
<br><b><grn>Kalunte tadate</grn> zevu </b>Kalum's father's friend
<br><b><grn>neḣadate</grn><grn> </grn><grn>nizareite</grn> dirau </b>the work of the people's forum
</blockquote>
<p>With more complex expressions -<b>te</b> functions like a relative clause:
<blockquote>
<p><b><grn>dama rete</grn> ebdiru </b>a three-day holiday; a holiday that's three days long
<br><b><grn>ḣulo tauste</grn> melaḣ </b>a king who acts like an idiot
<br><b><grn>keda ziunte te</grn> mygu </b>the ox that's in the house</b>
</blockquote>
<p>Finally, a -<b>te</b> clause can stand on its own, meaning 'the one(s) which...':
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Fal buda Kazumte be#e eḣc ḣem buda Lelecte. </tt>
<br/><b>Fal buda Kazumte beźe eḣc ḣem buda <grn>Lelecte</grn>.</b>
<br/>you eat-PERF Kazum-SUB grape and I eat-PERF Lelec-SUB
<br><i>You ate Kazum's grapes and I ate Lelec's.</i>
<p><tt>Ruḣi Avelaḣ eupte lauhte? ˇaḣ miry. </tt>
<br/><b>Ruḣi <grn>Avelaḣ eupte lauhte</grn>? Ťaḣ miry.</b>
<br/>count-PERF Avéla from-SUB coming / 3s rich
<br><i>Did you count the one who comes from Avéla? He's rich.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Existence and equivalence</h4>
<p>There is no verb 'to be' in Kebreni; the closest equivalent is <b>zaru </b>'exist, be there'.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Dama gegeu zaru, eḣc dama ve#a zaurte eßu. </tt>
<br/><b>Dama gegeu <grn>zaru</grn>, eḣc dama veźa <grn>zaurte eśu</grn>.</b>
<br/>three servant exist / and there bottle existing not
<br><i>(Lit.) Three servants exist, and three bottles do not exist.
<br>There's three servants and three missing bottles.</i>
<p><tt>Boťengu ziunte ciḣica ingarei zura. </tt>
<br/><b>Boťengu ziunte ciḣica ingarei <grn>zura</grn>. </b>
<br/>Boggola being.in praised tavern exist-PERF
<br><i>In Boggola there used to be a praiseworthy tavern.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no verb 'have' either; <b>zaru</b> with effect inflections serves for this.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Keda, kur gegeu, eḣc ßemu zeri.</tt>
<br/><b>Keda, kur gegeu, eḣc śemu <grn>zeri</grn>.</b>
<br/>house two servant and fish have-BENEF
<br><i>I have a house, two servants, and a fish.</i> (Lit, they exist for my benefit.)
<p><tt>Lelena lelena nyne zeniri. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelena lelena nyne <grn>zeniri</grn>.</b>
<br/>cute-AUG cute-AUG girl have-YOU-BENEF
<br><i>You have a very, very cute daughter.</i> (Lit., she exists for your benefit.)</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Negative effect inflections are used when the possession is disadvantageous.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Keda eupte symanlur kangu zora. </tt>
<br/><b>Keda eupte symanlur kangu <grn>zora</grn>.</b>
<br/>house from-SUB boring view exist-ANTIB
<br><i>I have a boring view from my house.</i>
<p><tt>Paru ziunte cuka zonira. </tt>
<br/><b>Paru ziunte cuka <grn>zonira</grn>.</b>
<br/>lip being.in pimple exist-YOU-ANTIB
<br><i>You have a pimple on your lip. </i>
</blockquote>
In the third person, the locative verb <b>śamu</b> is used instead:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Lelena nyne ßamu kulseu. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelena nyne <grn>śamu</grn> kulseu.</b>
<br/> cute-AUG girl be.around commander
<br><i>The commander has a very cute daughter.</i> (Lit., she is near him.)</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Or you can use possessive expressions, e.g.:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kulseute pabandyr lore zaru. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Kulseute</grn> pabandyr lore zaru.</b>
<br/>commander-SUB amusing horse exist
<br>(Lit.) The commander's amusing horse exists.
<br><i>The commander has an amusing horse. </i>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no attributive 'be' at all; to say that X is Y you normally simply adjoin the two noun phrases.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ḣente tada be#arei eḣc baba taradeu. </tt>
<br/><b>Ḣente tada beźarei eḣc baba taradeu.</b>
<br/>I-SUB father vintner and mother dancer
<br><i>My father is a vintner and my mother is a dancer.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>To say that X belongs to the class Y, you can use <b>sudy</b> 'be called':
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Erankraḣ sudy kraḣ. </tt>
<br/><b>Ebrankraḣ sudy kraḣ. </b>
<br/>cinnabar nam mineral
<br><i>Cinnabar is (lit. is called) a mineral.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>To reveal that X is actually Y, one can use the expression X Y<b>ai</b> <b>gensu</b> 'X and Y are one'; the opposite can be indicated with <b>kursu</b> 'be two, differ':
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Linna, kriḣu loreai genrysu. </tt>
<br/><b>Linna, kriḣu loreai <grn>genrysu</grn>. </b>
<br/>lord / killer horse-AND be.one-POL
<br><i>My lords, the killer is— the horse.</i> (Lit., the killer and the horse are one.)
<p><tt>Falte tada eḣc taradeu kursu. </tt>
<br/><b>Falte tada eḣc taradeu <grn>kursu</grn>. </b>
<br/>you-SUB father and dancer be.two
<br><i>Your father is no dancer.</i> (Lit., your father and a dancer differ.)</b>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Adjectives">Adjectives</a></h3>
<h4>Attributes</h4>
<p>Adjectives used attributively appear before the noun, without modification: <b>śaida seť</b> 'a beautiful jewel'; <b>ťaniḣte źem ḣulo</b> 'an annoying old idiot'.
<h4>Predicates</h4>
<p>As predicates they are a bit more complicated; in effect they are partially converted into verbs. No copula is used. In the simplest form, the adjective simply appears after the noun, in verbal position:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kriḣeu #em. </tt>
<br/><b>Kriḣeu <grn>źem</grn>. </b>
<br/>killer old
<br/><i>The killer is old.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>The politeness infix -<b>ri</b>- must be used in the same situations it would be used on a verb:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Falte nyne ßaida.</tt>
<br/>you-SUB girl beautiful
<br/><b>Falte nyne śaida. </b>
<br><i>Your daughter is beautiful</i>. (ordinary)
<p><tt>Falaute nyne śairida.</tt>
<br/><b>Falaute nyne <grn>śairida</grn>. </b>
<br/>you.POL-SUB girl beautiful-POL
<br><i>Your daughter is beautiful.</i> (polite)
</blockquote>
<p>The predication is negated using the auxiliary <b>eśu</b> and the subordinator -<b>te</b>, as with verbs, and other auxiliaries may be used as well:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Gem mabu #ente eßu. </tt>
<br/><b>Gem mabu <grn>źente eśu</grn>. </b>
<br/>this dog old not
<br><i>This dog is not old.</i>
<p><tt>Melaḣ miryte maru. </tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ <grn>miryte maru</grn>. </b>
<br/>king rich be.probable
<br><i>The king is probably rich.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Adjectives which already end in -<b>te</b> do not add it again:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Falau ťaniḣte eryßu! </tt>
<br/><b>Falau <grn>ťaniḣte eryśu</grn>! </b>
<br/>you.POL annoying not-POL
<br><i>You are not annoying, sir!</i>
</blockquote>
<p>A perfective can be formed by appending -<b>u</b> (replacing a final vowel if any) and interchanging it with the previous vowel. Use -<b>y</b> instead if the latter is also a -u-.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kriḣeu ßaudi. </tt>
<br/><b>Kriḣeu <grn>śaudi</grn>. </b>
<br/>killer beautiful-PERF
<br><i>The killer is no longer beautiful.</i> (Cf. <i>śaida</i> 'beautiful')
<p><tt>Falte nyne mycu. </tt>
<br/><b>Falte nyne <grn>mycu</grn>. </b>
<br/>you-SUB girl young-PERF
<br><i>Your daughter is no longer young.</i> (Cf. <i>muc</i> 'young']</b>
</blockquote>
<p>Predicate adjectives are not inflected for volition or effect.
<h4>Substantives</h4>
<p>An adjective can be used as a substantive by suffixing -<b>te</b>: <b>syhte</b> 'the strong (ones)', <b>kyrte</b> 'the green (ones).'
<p>The subordinated form may also appear attributively; in this form and position it can be interpreted as a one-word relative clause.
<p>Note the difference between:
<blockquote>
<b>nyyl nabira </b>a slow ship
<br><b>nyylte nabira </b>a ship that is slow
<br><b>nyylte </b>a slow one
</blockquote>
<h4>Comparatives</h4>
<p>There is no morphological comparative. A comparative 'X is more Q than Y' is formed using an expression that literally means 'As opposed to Y, X is very Q.'
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Cadec ceuste polte nyne leule. </tt>
<br/><b>Cadec ceuste polte nyne leule. </b>
<br>hill-girl opposing city-SUB girl cute-AUG
<br><i>A city girl is cuter than a hillbilly girl.</i>
<p><tt>Bodu ceuste ßemu bontuurte eßu. </tt>
<br/><b>Bodu ceuste śemu bontuurte eśu. </b>
<br>frog opposing fish wet-AUG-SUB not
<br><i>A fish is not wetter than a frog.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead of <b>bontuurte eśu</b> 'not very wet' we could say <b>bontuir</b> 'little wet'; but the negative expression is preferred in speech, where the difference from <b>bontuur</b> 'very wet' is not marked.
<p>Note that where we use comparative forms Kebreni often uses the augmentative or diminutive forms: <b>nyul lore</b> 'slower horses', literally 'very slow horses'. Reduplication is also found, especially in speech: <b>kasus kasus re</b> 'a windy, windy day'.
<h4>Adverbs</h4>
<p>Before a verb, the -<b>te</b> form of an adjective serves as an adverb:<i></i>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Nyne <grn>nyylte</grn> taradu. </b>The girl was dancing slowly.
<br><b>Linna <grn>hazikte</grn> nuzi. </b>The lord spoke proudly.
</blockquote>
<p>This form can follow the verb if it would not be confused with an object: <b>nuzi hazikte</b> is all right, but <b>taradu nyylte</b> would mean 'danced a slow one'. It can be fronted for emphasis, but only by placing it in its own subclause with <b>tasu/soru</b> 'do':
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ḣazikte tauste linna nuzi. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Hazikte tauste</grn> linna nuzi. </b>
<br/>proud-SUB doing lord speak-PERF
<br><i>Proudly the lord spoke.</i> (Lit., Doing proudly, the lord spoke.)
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Conjunctions">Conjunctions</a></h3>
Kebreni has two ways of saying <i>and</i>, with slightly different meanings: <b>eḣc</b>, which appears between the conjoined constituents, and -<b>ai</b>, which attaches to the second constituent, voicing a final consonant and replacing the final vowel of a diphthong.
<p>Applied to two (or more) modifiers, -<b>ai</b> forms an intersection, <b>eḣc</b> a union, of the meaning of the modifiers. For instance, <b>muk syh neḣatai</b> and <b>muk syh eḣc neḣat </b>both mean 'the young and strong men'; but <b>muk syh neḣatat</b> means the men who are both young and strong (the intersection of 'young men' and 'strong men'), while <b>muk syh eḣc neḣat </b>means the young men and the strong men (the union of 'young men' with 'strong men').
<p>The third logical possibility is a disjunction— the men that are young or strong but not both— and this corresponds to <b>ga</b> 'or': <b>muk ga syh neḣat</b> 'the old or the young men (but not both)'.
<p>Similarly, applied to separate words, -<b>ai</b> implies that both conjoints describe the same referent(s) or action, <b>eḣc</b> that they are separate, and <b>ga</b> that only one applies:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ḣem falaai inezu.</tt>
<br/><b>Ḣem falaai inezu. </b>
<br/>you I-AND speak-VOL
<br><i>You and I (as a unit or team) will speak.</i>
</blockquote>
(Here the referents are not the same. When the conjoints are obviously distinct, the meaning is that they form an indissoluble team, acting together.)
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ḣem eḣc falau inezu. </tt>
<br/><b>Ḣem eḣc falau inezu. </b>
<br/>I and you.POL speak-VOL
<br><i>You will speak, and I will speak.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣem ga falau inezu. </tt>
<br><b>Ḣem ga falau inezu. </b>
<br/>I or you.POL speak-VOL
<br><i>Either you will speak, or I will speak.</i>
<p><b>nyne taradeai </b>
<br><i>the girl and the dancer (who are the same), the girl dancer</i>
<br><b>nyne eḣc taradeu </b>
<br><i>the girl and the dancer (who are two separate people)</i>
<br><b>nyne ga taradeu </b>
<br><i>the girl or the dancer (but not both)</i>
<p><b>Palec symalu ťaniḣuai. </b>
<br><i>Palec bores and she annoys (all at once, simultaneously).</i>
<br><b>Palec symalu eḣc ťaniḣu. </b>
<br><i>Palec bores and she also annoys (two different attributes).</i>
<br><b>Palec symalu ga ťaniḣu. </b>
<br><i>Either Palec bores, or she annoys (not at the same time).</i>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Ga</b> is thus an exclusive or. There is no conjunction that has the meaning of inclusive or (X or Y or both, X and/or Y), but, as in English, one can add the 'and' case explicitly:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Melaḣ pabadu ga fanu ga kur soru.</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ pabadu ga fanu <grn>ga kur soru</grn>. </b>
<br/>king laugh or die or two do
<br><i>The king will laugh or die or both (lit. 'or do the two (of them)').</i>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no conjunction 'but'— which, linguistically, is an 'and' with a built-in implication of surprise or contrast. These connotations must be explicitly indicated in Kebreni.
<h3><a name="Locative">Locative verbs</a></h3>
What we would express with prepositions is expressed using <b>locative verbs</b> in Kebreni, such as <b>zinu</b> 'be in or on', <b>nevu</b> 'be in the middle of'. These can be used as regular verbs:
<blockquote>
<tt>Mygu zinu keda!</tt>
<br/><b>Mygu <grn>zinu</grn> keda! </b>
<br/>ox be.inside house
<br><i>The ox is inside the house!</i>
<p><tt>Raazam neryvu haḣc. </tt>
<br/><b>Raazam <grn>neryvu</grn> haḣc. </b>
<br/>Raizumi be.middle-POL valley
<br><i>Raizumi is in the middle of the valley</i> (polite).
</blockquote>
<p>Most of them in fact <i>are</i> regular verbs— e.g. <b>foru</b> 'follow', used as a locative verb with the meaning 'be behind', <b>mitu </b>'use' or 'be with'. The others were also once regular verbs, but are no longer used in their original meanings.
<p>More frequently a locative expression is used as a modifier or an adverbial; these are subordinate clauses in Kebreni. The locative verb conventionally ends the expression, although its parameter is technically a direct object (more evidence, perhaps, for Meťaiun's OV nature):
<blockquote>
<p><b>ingarei ziunte </b>inside the tavern
<br><b>re neuvte </b>in the middle of the day
<p><b>[ḣir zeveu eupte] lyr muhnu </b>
<br>sad news [from an old friend]
<p><b>[lim men fourte] keda </b>
<br>the high hill [in back of the house]
<p><b>[melaḣ miutte] linna </b>
<br>the lords who support the king
<p><b>[[kaldu ziunte] gem bakte kal ] ḣulo </b>
<br>an idiot [without one fucking bee [in his hive]]
</blockquote>
<p>These expressions are so frequent that they are phonetically degraded. The -<b>u</b>- is often lost, or combines with a preceding -<b>i</b>- or -<b>e</b>- to form -<b>y</b>-, and the final -<b>e</b> may be lost as well, yielding such forms as <b>zynt'</b> 'inside' or <b>fort'</b> 'in back of'.
<p>English has at least one verb that acts like a locative verb— 'contain'. Kebreni locative verbs all act like 'contain'. Compare:
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td><tt>Kona zinu ciḣta</tt> <td><tt>ciḣta ziunte</b>
<tr><td><b>Kona <grn>zinu</grn> ciḣta</b> <td><b>ciḣta <grn>ziunte</grn> </b>
<tr><td><i>The money is in the box</i> <td><i>in the box</i>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr><td><tt>Ciḣta zadinu kona</tt> <td><tt>kona zadiunte </tt>
<tr><td><b>Ciḣta <grn>zadinu</grn> kona</b> <td><b>kona <grn>zadiunte</grn> </b>
<tr><td><i>The box contains money</i> <td><i>containing money </i>
</table>
</blockquote>
<p>The most common locative verbs, and the abbreviations used in derivations from them, are shown below, with some examples:
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td><b>brynu
<td>bry
<td></b>facing, before, about
<td><i>keda bryunte </i>'in front of the house', <i>kriidi bryunte</i> about books'
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>dynu
<td>dy
<td></b>up, on top of, over
<td><i>cadu dyunte</i> 'over the mountains'
<td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ebu
<td>eb
<td></b>out (of), off, (away) from
<td><i>Kebri eupte</i> 'outside Kebri'
<td></tr>
<tr><td><b>cezu
<td>cez
<td></b>against, despite
<td><i>źaiźega ceuste </i>'against the marriage'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>foru
<td>for
<td></b>behind, in back of
<td><i>keda fourte </i>'behind the house'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>fuzu
<td>fu
<td></b>without
<td><i>śemu fuuste </i>'without a fish'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>mitu
<td>mi
<td></b>with, using; supporting
<td><i>abaźe miutte</i> 'with a knife'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>nevu
<td>ne
<td></b>in the middle of, among, through, during
<td><i>nabira neufte</i> 'in the middle of the ship', <i>mur neufte</i> 'for an hour'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>ponu
<td>po
<td></b>below, under
<td><i>broga pounte</i> 'under the table'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>śadamu
<td>śada
<td></b>far (from)
<td><i>pol śadaunte </i>'far from the city'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>śamu
<td>śa
<td></b>around, surrounding, near
<td><i>turgul śaunte</i> 'surrounding the battalion'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>vekru
<td>vek
<td></b>as, like
<td><i>gauryr vekurte</i> 'like a virgin'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>zinu
<td>zi
<td></b>in, inside, at, on(general locative)
<td><i>laḣ ziunte </i>'in the field', <i>men ziunte </i>'on top of the hill', <i>ťiron ziunte</i> 'at market'<i>
<td></i></tr>
<tr><td><b>zadinu
<td>zadi
<td></b>containing, including
<td><i>seť zadiunte </i>'containing a jewel'<i>
<td></i></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<b>Time</b> metaphorically flows not forward but downward in Kebreni:
<blockquote>
<p><b>mur dyunte </b>an hour ago (lit., up an hour)
<br><b>mur pounte </b>an hour later, after one hour (lit., down an hour)
</blockquote>
<p>One can flow with a <b>river</b> or against it; expressions of support work the same way.
<blockquote>
<p><b>Tama miutte </b>with (down) the Serea
<br><b>Tama ceuste </b>against (up) the Serea
<br><b>melaḣ miutte/ceuste </b>for/against the king
</blockquote>
<p>Finally, note that interrogative 'where' is a locative verb:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Syna ßanu?</tt>
<br/><b>Syna śanu? </b>
<br/>waterfall where
<br><i>Where is the waterfall?</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Questions">Questions</a></h3>
<h4>Yes-no questions</h4>
<p>Yes-no questions are indicated with intonation alone:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Lahu?</tt>
<br/><b>Lahu?
<br/></b>Are you coming?</i>
<p><tt>Ḣulo, mi#unte ḣitane eßu? </tt>
<br/><b>Ḣulo, miźyunte ḣiťane eśu? </b>
<br/>idiot / bringing sword not
<br><i>Idiot, you didn't bring your sword?</i>
</blockquote>
<p>A positive question is answered by repeating the verb or by contradicting it with the negative auxiliary <b>eśu</b>; there are no words for 'yes' or 'no'.
<blockquote>
<p><b>Lahu. </b><i>Yes, I'm coming. </i>
<br><b>Eśu. </b><i>No, I'm not coming.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>To agree with a negative question, you again repeat the verb, which of course is the negative auxiliary <b>eśu</b>; to disagree with it you use the main verb:
<blockquote>
<p><b>Eśu. </b><i>Yes, I didn't bring it. </i>
<br><b>Miźynu. </b><i>No, I did bring it.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Tag questions are formed with <b>eśu</b> (polite <b>natu</b>), without subordinating the main verb:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Laadum ßemuste lecu, eßu?</tt>
<br/><b>Laadum śemuste lecu, eśu? </b>
<br/>Laadau-MAN swimming know.how / not
<br><i>Someone from Laadau knows how to swim, doesn't he?</i>
<p><tt>Melaḣ karynu ḣem, natu?</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ karynu ḣem, natu? </b>
<br/>king see-POL I / not.POL
<br><i>The King will see me, won't he?</i>
</blockquote>
<p>It should come as no surprise that a negative tag-question is formed by appending the non-negative main verb:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Fal fuuste kona eßu, fuzu? </tt>
<br/><b>Fal fuuste kona eśu, fuzu? </b>
<br/>you lacking money not / lack
<br>You don't have any money, do you?</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Question words</h4>
<p>Unlike in English, question words are not fronted; they remain in the syntactically appropriate spot:
<blockquote>
<p><tt> Fal cyru ßava? </tt>
<br/><b>Fal cyru <grn>śava</grn>? </b>
<br/>you know who
<br><i>Who do you know?</i> (Lit., you know who?)
<p><tt>Maḣu ßava loreai? </tt>
<br/><b>Maḣu <grn>śava</grn> loreai? </b>
<br/>sell-PERF what horse-and
<br><i>You sold the horse and what else?</i> (Lit., you sold what and the horse?)
<p><tt>Oteurte lore zeveu ßanu?</tt>
<br/><b>Oteurte lore zeveu <grn>śanu</grn>?</b>
<br/>VOL-acquire-SUB horse friend where
<br><i>Where's this friend of yours who wants a horse? </i>
<p><tt>Kuna ßete ßemu? </tt>
<br/><b>Kuna <grn>śete</grn> śemu?</b>
<br/>see-PERF what kind fish
<br><i>What kind of a fish did you see?</i> (Lit., you saw what-kind-of fish?)
<p><tt>Kylsu bigynte ladu? </tt>
<br/><b>Kylsu <grn>bigynte</grn> ladu? </b>
<br/>order-PERF how many olive
<br><i>How many olives did you order?</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Complex">Complex sentences</a></h3>
See also the section on <a href="#verbte">Subordinating form</a> under <i>Verbs</i>.
<h4>Sentences as objects</h4>
<p>Verbs such as <i>say</i> or <i>know</i> can take sentences as objects. If the object is in its usual place, after the verb, no special syntactic marking is employed:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Cyru Verdureu ameḣu baba. </tt>
<br/><b>Cyru [Verdureu ameḣu baba].</b>
<br/>know [Verdurian VOL-sell mother]
<br><i>We know [that Verdurians would sell their mothers.]</i>
<p><tt>Kulseu nizeu turgul zinu kuri ßogu. </tt>
<br/><b>Kulseu nizu [turgul zinu kuri śogu].</b>
<br/>commander say [battalion be.at that ridge]
<br><i>The commander says [the battalion is on that ridge.]</i>
</blockquote>
<p>If it's desired to front the sentential object, it should be followed by <b>gente</b> 'this one' or <b>kurite</b> 'that one':
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Verdereu ameæu baba gente cyru? </tt>
<br/><b>[Verdureu ameḣu baba] gente cyru?</b>
<br>[Verdurian sell-VOL mother] this-one know?
<br><i>That Verdurians would sell their mothers, do we know this?</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Adverbial conjunctions</h4>
<p>The conjunctions <b>eḣc</b> and <b>ga</b> can be used for entire sentences:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Melaḣ zinu ingarei eḣc ingareu zinu ḣyr. </tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ zinu ingarei <grn>eḣc</grn> ingareu zinu ḣyr.</b>
<br/>king be.in tavern and tavernkeeper be.in castle
<br><i>The king is in the tavern, <grn>and</grn> the tavernkeeper is in the castle.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣilu inga ga ingarei ziunte ßaida nyne diru. </tt>
<br/><b>Ḣilu inga <grn>ga</grn> ingarei ziunte śaida nyne diru.</b>
<br/>like wine or tavern being.in beautiful girl work
<br><i>Either he likes the wine, or a beautiful girl works in the tavern.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Other relations between sentences are expressed by more specialized conjunctions. These are often expressed by adverbial clauses in English. Thus English <i>adverb X (adverb) Y</i> becomes <i>X (conj) Y </i>in Kebreni:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Melaḣ kaaryru perma falau yḣervu ḣifane.</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ kaaryru <grn>pema</grn> falau yḣeryvu ḣiťane.</b>
<br/>king return-PERF-POL when you VOL-give sword
<br><i><grn>When</grn> the king returns, you will give him your sword.</i>
<p><tt>Melaḣ kaurte natu he# falau oteryru ḣiitiru.</tt>
<br/><b>Melaḣ kaurte natu <grn>heź</grn> falau oteryru ḣiitiru.</b>
<br/>king returning not-POL if.then you VOL-take-POL sash
<br><i><grn>If</grn> the king does not return, (then) you will take his sash.</i>
<p><tt>Ḣem ḣou#i kriida immi konarei mengu. </tt>
<br/><b>Ḣem ḣouźi kriida <grn>immi</grn> konarei mengu.</b>
<br/>I lose-PERF mortgage-SUB paper because.of.that bank whine
<br><i><grn>Because</grn> I lost the mortgage document, the bank is whining.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>The conjunction is considered to modify the first (X) clause. To second clause can however be fronted if a demonstrative is left in its place:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Konarei mengu, ḣem ḣou#i gemeßate kriida immi kurite. </tt>
<br/><b>Konarei mengu, ḣem ḣouźi gemeśate kriida <grn>immi kurite</grn>. </b>
<br/>bank whine / I lose-PERF mortgage-SUB paper / because that.one
<br><i>The bank is whining, because I lost the mortgage document.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>'To do X in order to Y' is expressed by placing X in the volitional and subordinating Y:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Alamute aeladu. </tt>
<br/><b>Alamaute aeladu. </b>
<br>get-money-SUB spend-money-VOL
<br><i>In order to get money, you must spend money.</i>
<p><tt>¸yunte Kebropol ḣem oteru lore. </tt>
<br/><b>Źyunte Kebropol ḣem oteru lore.</b>
<br>go-SUB Kebropol I acquire-VOL horse
<br><i>I want to get a horse in order to get to Kebropol.</i>
</blockquote>
<h4>Relative clauses</h4>
<p>As noted under <a href="#Interrogative">Pronouns</a>, interrogative pronouns cannot be used as relative clauses (that is, to form subordinate clauses).
<p>Where English would use 'what', 'who' 'where', or 'when', Kebreni uses the subordinating form of the verb:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>¸ai#iute kulseu taradeu ḣiulte eßu. </tt>
<br/><b>[Źaiźiute kulseu] taradeu ḣiulte eśu.</b>
<br/>[marry-PERF commander] dancer liking not
<br><i>The dancer [who married a commander] doesn't like him.</i>
<p><tt>Cuka miute gente eveßu. </tt>
<br/><b>[Cuka miute] gente eveśu.</b>
<br/>[pimple having] that.one VOL-not
<br><i>I don't want the one [who has a pimple].</i>
<p><tt>Y#enu hamaida nyne tarautte ingarei </tt>
<br/><b>Yźenu [hamaida nyne tarautte] ingarei.</b>
<br/>VOL-go [stripped girl dancing] tavern
<br><i>I want to go to the tavern where the naked girls dance.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>An English sentence with relative 'why' will be expressed using <b>immi</b> 'because' in Kebreni:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>¸yunte Laadau immi cyurte eßu. </tt>
<br/><b>[Źyunte Laadau immi] cyurte eśu.</b>
<br/>[going Laadau because] knowing not
<br><i>I don't know [why he's going to Laadau].
<br>(Lit., I don't know because he's going to Laadau.)</i>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="Xforms">Transformations</a></h2>
Transformations can be thought of as little machines that take one sentence and turn it into something else, for some purpose. E.g. our Passive transformation turns an active sentence into a passive one, which focuses on the object affected rather than the agent. Some of the above syntax (e.g. negation) would also count as transformations.
<p>For a brief intro to transformations, see <a href="vergram.html#Transformations">the Verdurian grammar</a>. For a longer one, see <a href="xurnash.htm#trans">the Xurnese grammar</a>. And for a whole book, see my <a href="syntax.html"><i>Syntax Construction Kit</i></a>.
<h3><a name="xFocus">Focus</a></h3>
<p>To mark <b>focus</b>, a constituent is moved to the front of the sentence. With compound sentences, the constituent in focus may serve as either subject or object in the sentence; context usually serves to keep the meaning clear, without any unusual syntax or the insertion of pronouns.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Muk boťeneum, sudy Kamum, eḣc kulseu ḣilu. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Muk boťeneu</grn> sudy Kamum, eḣc kulseu ḣilu.</b>
<br/>young soldier / name Kalum / abd commander like
<br><i>The young soldier, [he] is named Kamum, and the commander likes [him].</i>
<p><tt>Linnate nyne gegeu mi#ynu gembadu.</tt>
<br/><b><grn>Linnate nyne</grn> gegeu miźynu gembadu.</b>
<br/>lord-SUB daughter servant bring breakfast
<br><i>As for the lord's daughter, the servants are bringing breakfast [to her].</i>
</blockquote>
<p>Note that when there are two noun phrases before the verb and no object after it, the first must be the object. If there's just one noun phrase before the <grn>verb</grn>, it's both subject and focus.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Hus nynete baba agenu #e. </tt>
<br/><b>Hus nynete baba <grn>agenu</grn> źe.</b>
<br/>doctor girl-SUB mother VOL-see also
<br><i>As for the doctor, the girl's mother wants to see him too..</i>
<p><tt>Nynete baba agenu hus #e. </tt>
<br/><b>Nynete baba <grn>agenu</grn> hus źe.</b>
<br/>gilr-SUB mother VOL-see doctor also
<br><i>As for the girl's mother, she wants to see the doctor too.</i>
<p><tt>Neḣat guma mabu. </tt>
<br/><b>Neḣat <grn>guma</grn> mabu.</b>
<br/>man bite-PERF dog
<br> <i>Man bites dog.</i> (focus unmarked or on 'man')
<p><tt>Mabu guma neḣat. </tt>
<br/><b>Mabu <grn>guma</grn> neḣat. </b>
<br/>bite-PERF dog man
<br><i>Dog bites man.</i> (focus unmarked or on 'dog')
<p><tt>Neḣat mabu guma. </tt>
<br/><b>Neḣat mabu <grn>guma</grn>. </b>
<br/>man bite-PERF dog
<br><i>As for the man, the dog bit him.</i> (focus on 'man')
<p><tt>Mabu neḣat guma. </tt>
<br/><b>Mabu neḣat <grn>guma</grn>. </b>
<br/>bite-PERF man dog
<br><i>As for the dog, the man bit him.</i> (focus on 'dog')
</blockquote>
<p>Schematically:
<blockquote>
NP V = S V
<br>V NP = V O
<br>NP V NP = S V O
<br>NP NP V = O S V
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="xSub">Subordination</a></h3>
Some of this is repeated from above, for completeness. Subordination turns a sentence into a modifier. E.g.:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Nyne a#ei#igu. </tt>
<br/><b>Nyne aźeiźigu.</b>
<br/>girl VOL-marry
<br><i>The girl wants to get married.</i>
<p>> <tt>a#ei#iucte (nyne)</tt>
<br/><b>aźeiźiucte (nyne).</b>
<br/>VOL-marry-SUB (girl)
<br><i>(the girl) who wants to get married</i>
</blockquote>
The relative clause can be headless; or to put it another way, the subordinated phrase can be used as an argument NP:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kalum gennyr nizu a#ei#iucte. </tt>
<br/><b>Kalum gennyr nizu <grn>aźeiźiucte</grn>.</b>
<br/>Kalum only speak VOL-marry-SUB
<br><i>Kalum only talks to those who want to get married.</i>
</blockquote>
The use of the <b>-te</b> form with auxiliaries can be seen as extension of this: the entire subordinated sentence is the subject of the auxiliary. Compare:
<blockquote>
<table><tr><td>
<p><tt>Boß maru. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Boś</grn> maru.</b>
<br/>failure be.likely
<br><i>Failure is likely.</i>
</td> <td width="40"> </td> <td>
<p><tt>Kalum boßte maru. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Kalum bośte</grn> maru.</b>
<br/>Kalum failure-SUB be.likely
<br><i>It’s likely that Kalum will fail.</i>
</td></tr></table>
</blockquote>
The subordinated sentence modifies a noun. But it can also modify an entire sentence, in which case it’s placed before the verb (exactly like <b>-te</b> adverbs):
<blockquote>
<p><tt>a#ei#iucte toryveu Nyne Kebropol #uny. </tt>
<br/><b>Nyne Kebropol <grn>aźeiźiucte</grn> źuny.</b>
<br/>girl Kebropol VOL-marry-SUB go-PERF
<br><i>Wanting to get married, the girl moved to Kebropol</i>
</blockquote>
In this usage, if there is an object (not merely an additional modifier), the construction is usually fronted or backed.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>¸i#uicte toryveu, nyne Kebropol #uny. </tt>
<br/><b><grn>Źiźiucte toryveu</grn>, nyne Kebropol uźuny.</b>
<br/>marry-SUB trader / girl Kebropol go-PERF-VOL
<br><i>The girl moved to Kebropol in order to marry the trader.</i>
</blockquote>
The subordinated sentence can be the object of a preposition (locative verb). This is one occasion where two <b>-te</b> forms may adjoin.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Gymu ibreni pombaadarei bihate faunte fuuste. </tt>
<br/><b>Gymu ibreni pombaadarei <grn>bihate faunte fuuste</grn>.</b>
<br/>we explore-BENEF-VOL sub-cellar anyone dying lacking
<br><i>We’re going to explore this dungeon without dying.</i>
</blockquote>
This includes <b>vekru</b> ‘like, as’, which is a locative verb in Kebreni:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Cin kriutte leriucte eßu Mykneu kriutte vekurte. </tt>
<br/><b>Cin kriutte leriucte eśu <grn>Mykneu kriutte vekurte</grn>.</b>
<br/>I-PEJ write-SUB can-SUB not Mykneu-SUB write-SUB as-SUB
<br><i>I can’t write like Mykneu writes.</i>
</blockquote>
This can of course be shortend to <b>Mykneu vekurte</b> ‘like Mykneu’.
<p>As shown above, a subordinated sentence may be followed by <b>immi</b> to express purpose. Cf. <b>aźeiźiugte immi</b> ‘because she wanted to marry’.
<h3><a name="xNom">Nominalization</a></h3>
How do you turn a sentence into an NP? Since Kebreni has a hammer (<b>-te</b>), it uses it for this nail too. Compare:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Ma#iga dyvuti Verdereu. </tt>
<br/><b>Maźiga dyvuti Verdereu.</b>
<br/>Maźiga beat-PERF Verdurian
<br><i>Maźiga beat the Verdurians.</i>
<p>> <tt>Ma#igate (Verdureu bryunte) dyveti </tt>
<br/><b>Maźigate (Verdureu bryunte) dyveti</b>
<br/>Maźiga-SUB (Verdurian facing) victory
<br><i>Maźiga’s victory (i.e. beating) over the Verdurians</i>
<p>> <tt>Verdureu bryunte dyveti </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu bryunte dyveti</b>
<br/>Verdurian facing victory
<br><i>victory over the Verdurians</i>
</blockquote>
The former object, if given, is properly marked with <b>bryunte</b>. However, if no confusion is likely and the subject is not given, this can be left out: <b>Kebropol źynau</b> ’departure for Kebropol’; <b>kahaba ḣemi</b> ’the drinking of coffee’. But: <b>Maźigate kahaba bryunte ḣemi</b> ’Maźiga’s drinking of coffee’
<p>This works with person nominalizations too: <b>Verdureute dyviteu</b> ‘the victor over the Verdurians’. As only the object can be referred to, <b>bryunte</b> is omitted.
<h3><a name="Causative">Causative</a></h3>
There are two ways of forming causatives. One uses the <A href="#Complex">sentential object construction</a>:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Lelec somura (mabu buda akennu). </tt>
<br/><b>Lelec somura [mabu buda akennu].</b>
<br/>Lelec cause-PERF [dog eat-PERF evidence]
<br><i>Lelec made the dog eat the evidence.</i>
</blockquote>
The other is to promote the causee to direct object of the main clause, and use the subordinating form for the subclause:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Lelec somura (akennu baudte) mabu. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelec somura [akennu baudte] mabu.</b>
<br/>Lelec cause-PERF [evidence eating] dog.
<br><i>Lelec made the dog eat the evidence.</i>
</blockquote>
Though the meaning basically is the same, this is more direct— here, it confirms that the causation was intentional and not accidental.
<h3><a name="VPAnaphor">VP Anaphor</a></h3>
The verb <b>foru</b> ‘follow’ is used as a conjunction ’thus’. It can be used as a verbal anaphor, replacing an entire VP; for this it reverts to being conjugated as a verb, but should be understood as ’did thus’ rather than ’followed’.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Mabu buda sus, eḣc neku buda sus. </tt>
<br/><b>Mabu buda sus, eḣc neku buda sus.</b>
<br/>Mabu eat-PERF mouse / and cat eat-PERF mouse
<br><i>The dog ate a mouse, and the cat ate a mouse.</i>
<p>> <tt>Mabu buda sus, eḣc neku furo. </tt>
<br/><b>Mabu buda sus, eḣc neku <grn>furo<grn>.</b>
<br/>Mabu eat-PERF mouse / and cat follow-PERF
<br><i>The dog ate a mouse, and the cat did too.</i>
</blockquote>
In this sense <b>foru</b> can be conjugated normally. E.g. here volitional <b>...ofure</b> would mean ‘...and the cat wanted to.’
<p>The verb may be supplied as a conversational response.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>—Cin ikrude kuri kriidi. </tt>
<br/><b>—Cin ikrude kuri kriidi.</b>
<br/>I-PEJ write-PERF-VOL that book
<br><i>”I wanted to write that book.”</i>
<p><tt>—Furo? </tt>
<br/><b>—Furo?</b>
<br/>thus-PERF
<br><i>”And did you?”</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Gapping">Gapping</a></h3>
In a conjunction of the form "X verbs Y and W verbs Z", the identical verb can be deleted.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Verdureu toru Yndana, foru gymu toru Angenvari. </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu <grn>toru</grn> Yndana, foru gymu <grn>toru</grn> Angenvari.</b>
<br/>Verdurian take Téllinor / therefore we take Angenvari
<br><i>The Verdurians are taking Téllinor, so we are taking Angenvari.</i>
<p>> <tt>Verdureu toru Yndana, foru gymu Angenvari. </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu <grn>toru</grn> Yndana, foru gymu Angenvari.</b>
<br/>Verdurian take Téllinor / therefore we take Angenvari
<br><i>The Verdurians are taking Téllinor, so we are taking Angenvari.</i>
</blockquote>
Note that this is an instance of <b>foru</b> as conjunction ‘thus’, not as a VP anaphor!
<p>Very similarly, if two conjuncts share an object, it can be omitted in the second sentence. (Not the first, as would be more likely in English.)
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Verdureu hantoru Nam immi gymu ceḣnu Nam. </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu hantoru <grn>Nam</grn> immi gymu ceḣnu <grn>Nam</grn>.</b>
<br/>Verdurian invade Nan because.of.that we defend Nan
<br><i>Because the Verdurians are invading Nan, we are defending Nan.</i>
<p>> <tt>Verdureu hantoru Nam immi gymu ceḣnu. </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu hantoru <grn>Nam</grn> immi gymu ceḣnu.</b>
<br/>Verdurian invade Nan because.of.that we defend
<br><i>The Verdurians are invading, so we are defending, Nan.</i>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Clefting">Clefting</a></h3>
As <a href="##Parameter">noted above</a>, a constituent can be fronted for emphasis. This can be extended with the verb <b>zaru</b> ‘be there’:
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Kalum uḣemu ingu. </tt>
<br/><b>Kalum uḣemu ingu.</b>
<br/>Kalum drink-VOL wine
<br><i>Kalum wants to drink wine.</i>
<p>> <tt>Ingu zaru, Kalum uḣemu. </tt>
<br/><b>Ingu zaru, Kalum uḣemu.</b>
<br/>wine exist / Kalum drink-VOL
<br><i>It’s wine that Kalum wants to drink.</i>
<p>> <tt>Kalum zaru, uḣemu ingu. </tt>
<br/><b>Kalum zaru, uḣemu ingu.</b>
<br/>Kalum exist / drink-VOL wine
<br><i>It’s Kalum that wants to drink wine.</i>
</blockquote>
Naturally you’d have <b>Kalum zaurte eśu...</b> for ‘It’s not Kalum who wants to drink wine.’ Colloquially this can be simplied to <b>Kalum eśu...</b>
<h3><a name="XLight">Light verbs</a></h3>
Often an intransitive verb can be turned into a transitive with what is in effect a dummy object. It doesn’t really change the meaning, so stylists advise against it, but it’s quite common.
<blockquote>
<p><tt>Lelec nyylte taruda. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelec nyylte taruda.</b>
<br/>Lelec slow-SUB dance-PERF
<br><i>Lelec slowly danced.</i>
<p>> <tt>Lelec nyylte taruda taradi. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelec nyylte taruda <grn>taradi</grn>.</b>
<br/>Lelec slow-SUB dance-PERF dance
<br><i>Lelec slowly danced a dance.</i>
</blockquote>
The verb can then be replaced with <b>tasu/soru</b> ’do’. In this case, any adverb modifying the original verb moves to the dummy object.
<blockquote>
<p>> <tt>Lelec tusa nyyl taruda. </tt>
<br/><b>Lelec <grn>tusa</grn> nyyl taradi.</b>
<br/>Lelec do-PERF slow dance
<br><i>Lelec did a slow dance.</i>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="Semantic">Semantic fields</a></h2>
<h3><a name="Time">Weekdays</a></h3>
The names of days of the week (<b>mery</b>) are calqued from Caďinor.
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td><b>hamare</b> </td><td>scúreden </td><td>country</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>cymure</b> </td><td>širden </td><td>moon</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>sovundre</b> </td><td>fidren </td><td>night</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ozurre</b> </td><td>calten </td><td>sun</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>boḣture</b> </td><td>zëden </td><td>sea</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ťiron</b> </td><td>néronden </td><td>market</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>seḣepre</b> </td><td>ceďnare </td><td>eating (i.e. feast)</td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<h3>Months</h3>
The months (<b>cymu</b>) are somewhat looser calques on Caďinor.
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td><b>muccymu</b> </td><td>olašu </td><td>new month</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>śonsi</b> </td><td>reli </td><td>sowing</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>seḣapna</b> </td><td>cuéndimar </td><td>celebration</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>aḣimba</b> </td><td>vlerëi </td><td>goddess Vlerë</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>geḣgu</b> </td><td>calo </td><td>heat</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ede</b> </td><td>recoltë </td><td>harvest</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>forźynau</b> </td><td>yag </td><td>hunt</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>ḣela</b> </td><td>želea </td><td>calm</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>zavec</b> </td><td>išire </td><td>planet Išire</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>sylgo</b> </td><td>šoru </td><td>shadow</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>rikas</b> </td><td>froďac </td><td>cold wind</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>varu</b> </td><td>bešana </td><td>ending</td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
The leap day is called <b>forźycisa</b>, a calque on Ver. <i>kasten</i> ‘hidden day’.
<h3><a name="Measures">Measures</a></h3>
The <b>traditional</b> system for measuring <b>length</b>:
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0">
<td><i>Unit</i>
<td><i>Relation</i></td> <td><i>In hui</i></td> <td><i>Metric</i></td>
<td><i>Etymology</i> </td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>śenu</b> </td>
<td>1/12 huiḣ</td> <td>0.02083</td> <td>1.98 mm</td>
<td>smallness</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>huiḣ</b> </td>
<td>1/4 hui</td> <td>0.25</td> <td>2.38 cm</td>
<td>dim. of <i>hui</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>hui</b></td>
<td>base</tD> <td>1</td> <td>9.525 cm</td>
<td>finger</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>zeta</b></td>
<td>5 hui</tD> <td>5</td> <td>47.625 cm</td>
<td>arm</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>neḣagu</b></td>
<td>3 zeta</tD> <td>15</td> <td>1.429 m</td>
<td>body</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>lore</b></td>
<td>2 neḣagu</tD> <td>30</td> <td>2.858 m</td>
<td>horse</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>prozma</b></td>
<td>1/125 kaamza</tD> <td>63.68</td> <td>6.065 m</td>
<td>(Caď.) pace</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>kaamza</b></td>
<td>125 prozma</tD> <td>7,960</td> <td>758.19 m</td>
<td>(Caď.) size of Caema temple</td>
</tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
The Kebreni <b>kaamza</b> is slightly larger than the Verdurian <i>cemisa</i>: 758.19 m rather than 758 m. The <b>prozma</b> is cognate to the Verdurian <i>proma</i>, but the Kebreni found it more useful to make it 4 times larger.
<p><b>Area</b> is measured in <b>prozmana</b>, which are 100 square <b>prozma</b>, i.e. 3678.2 m² or 0.37 hectare.
<p>In 3615 Kebri adopted a <b>decimal</b> measurement system. It adopted the international Xurnese System instead in 3636, but the older system persisted in many domains.
<p>The basis of the system was the <b>hui</b>, unchanged at 9.525 cm. Rather than using prefixes, new names were created for the derived units:
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr bgcolor="#B0E8B0">
<td><i>Unit</i>
<td><i>Multiplier</i></td> <td><i>Metric</i></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>śeiḣ</td>
<td>1/100</td> <td>0.9525 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>śeina</td>
<td>1/10</td> <td>9.525 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>hui</td>
<td>1.0</td> <td>9.525 cm</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>linniḣ</td>
<td>10</td> <td>95.25 cm</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>linnu</td>
<td>100</td> <td>9.525 m</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><b>leḣos</td>
<td>10000</td> <td>0.9525 km</td>
</tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
Informally, <b>hui</b> is sometimes used for <b>mein</b>, the 7.6 cm unit that is the basis for the Xurnese system.
<h3><a name="Names">Names and titles</a></h3>
The Kebreni, at least in modern times, have two names, a personal name (<b>ťirunu</b>) and the family name (<b>źante</b>), in that order.
<p>Personal names may be just about any appropriate noun or adjective (<b>Syna</b> ‘waterfall’, <b>Miry</b> ‘rich’, <b>Caiźiru</b> ‘type of flower’), but are often formed with nominalizations: e.g. <b>kal</b> ‘oak’ > masculine <b>Kalum</b>, feminine <b>Kalec</b>; <b>Ḣileu</b> ‘devotee’.
<p>Family names often indicate a geographic origin, specific (<b>Kotor, Nynoḣu, Nevurte</b>) or vague (<b>Lezum</b> ‘of the forest’, <b>Vaarum</b> ‘of the coast’, <b>Ebaneu</b> ‘foreigner’). Profession names are common: <b>Kopureu</b> ‘distiller’, <b>Lazum</b> ‘farmer’, <b>Seťarei</b> ‘silk workshop’. Yet others derive from nicknames or other qualities: <b>Pansyr</b> ‘loveable’, <b>Voiteu</b> ‘blind’, <b>Cymure</b> ‘(born on) širden’.
<p>A full title comes between the names: <b>Zauvum linna Tivatemeu</b> ‘Zaauvum, lord Tivatemeu’; <b>Sygec dibira Oriśaga</b> “prime minister Sygec Oriśaga’, <b>Śogum ziedu Numygur</b>, ‘lieutenant Śogum Numygur’. On second reference you omit the personal name. Unlike in Verduria, nobles do not have separate family and title names.
<p>Eleďî normally but not always take Elenico names— rarely Cuzeian ones. These have been adapted from Old Verdurian (rather than directly from Greek, or from Verdurian):
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b>Masculine</b></td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Agusto</td> <td> Filemo</td> <td> Klemen</td> <td> Nikano</td> <td> Timoťeu</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Akulaḣ</td> <td> Filipo</td> <td> Koḣmo</td> <td> Nikolo</td> <td> Tito</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Alekso</td> <td> Gaho</td> <td> Korneu</td> <td> Oano</td> <td> Tomeu</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Ämilo</td> <td> Gamaleu</td> <td> Kuro</td> <td> Osef</td> <td> Tuḣiko</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Antono</td> <td> Gavrel</td> <td> Lavreno</td> <td> Pavlo</td> <td> Tuḣon</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Apelen</td> <td> Gregoro</td> <td> Lazaro</td> <td> Petro</td> <td> Ťadeu</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Apolo</td> <td> Gyrgo</td> <td> Lino</td> <td> Rufo</td> <td> Ťamano</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Äron</td> <td> Helaḣ</td> <td> Lukano</td> <td> Sameu</td> <td> Ťanel</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Atipaḣ</td> <td> Heso</td> <td> Lukaḣ</td> <td> Savlo</td> <td> Ťaro</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aťam</td> <td> Ḣisforo</td> <td> Marko</td> <td> Sergo</td> <td> Ťavid</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aťano</td> <td> Ida</td> <td> Maro</td> <td> Sevaḣtan</td> <td> Ťemetro</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aťra</td> <td> Ikovo</td> <td> Martino</td> <td> Silaḣ</td> <td> Ťonuso</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Avräm</td> <td> Ilo</td> <td> Mato</td> <td> Simon</td> <td> Ťydoro</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Egeno</td> <td> Ison</td> <td> Maťeu</td> <td> Solomon</td> <td> Varnavaḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Emaneu</td> <td> Isäc</td> <td> Meliťec</td> <td> Sosťen</td> <td> Vaťolomeu</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Eraḣto</td> <td> Isu</td> <td> Miḣäl</td> <td> Stefano</td> <td> Vasileu</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Ezekaḣ</td> <td> Kefaḣ</td> <td> Moso</td> <td> Sumon</td> <td> Venamen</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Felics</td> <td> Kläťo</td> <td> Naťaneu</td> <td> Timeu</td> <td> Zaḣaraḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b>Feminine</b></td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Agaťe</td> <td> Evgeni</td> <td> Luka</td> <td> Reveka</td> <td> Ťedora</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Äkatrine</td> <td> Fernike</td> <td> Luťi</td> <td> Roťe</td> <td> Ťerasi</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aleťe</td> <td> Foive</td> <td> Luťuka</td> <td> Ruťa</td> <td> Ťorka</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aleksa</td> <td> Hagne</td> <td> Margite</td> <td> Sarra</td> <td> Varvara</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Ämila</td> <td> Helena</td> <td> Mari</td> <td> Sofi</td> <td> Vaťolomec</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Anna</td> <td> Ḣarma</td> <td> Martina</td> <td> Suntiḣ</td> <td> Vasilec</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Angela</td> <td> Ḣloe</td> <td> Melani</td> <td> Susana</td> <td> Verena</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Antona</td> <td> Ila</td> <td> Miḣäla</td> <td> Tadec</td> <td> Vernike</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aťana</td> <td> Iriḣ</td> <td> Natali</td> <td> Taviťa</td> <td> Vetriksa</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Aťera</td> <td> Käkila</td> <td> Oana</td> <td> Timoťec</td> <td> Zaḣara</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Elisveta</td> <td> Kläťa</td> <td> Persiḣ</td> <td> Trufäna</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Esťera</td> <td> Koḣma</td> <td> Petra</td> <td> Ťamariḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Eva</td> <td> Ksena</td> <td> Priska</td> <td> Ťanela</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Evnike</td> <td> Loiḣ</td> <td> Raḣeli</td> <td> Ťara</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<h3><a name="Letters">Letters of the alphabet</a></h3>
The Kebreni alphabet, in order, with the letter names:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <tt>u</tt></td> <td> u</td> <td width="80px"> u</td>
<td> <tt>ť</tt></td> <td> ť</td> <td> ťen</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>a</tt></td> <td> a</td> <td> a</td>
<td> <tt>z</tt></td> <td> z</td> <td> zaḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>o</tt></td> <td> o</td> <td> o</td>
<td> <tt>t</tt></td> <td> t</td> <td> ten</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>e</tt></td> <td> e</td> <td> e</td>
<td> <tt>ß</tt></td> <td> ś</td> <td> śe</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>i</tt></td> <td> i</td> <td> i</td>
<td> <tt>#</tt></td> <td> ź</td> <td> źe</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>y</tt></td> <td> y</td> <td> y</td>
<td> <tt>r</tt></td> <td> r</td> <td> ra</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>k</tt></td> <td> k</td> <td> ek</td>
<td> <tt>h</tt></td> <td> h</td> <td> hoť</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>p</tt></td> <td> p</td> <td> pe</td>
<td> <tt>l</tt></td> <td> l</td> <td> la</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>c</tt></td> <td> c</td> <td> ceḣ</td>
<td> <tt>m</tt></td> <td> m</td> <td> me</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>b</tt></td> <td> b</td> <td> be</td>
<td> <tt>f</tt></td> <td> f</td> <td> faḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>g</tt></td> <td> g</td> <td> geḣ</td>
<td> <tt>n</tt></td> <td> n</td> <td> ne</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>d</tt></td> <td> d</td> <td> dah</td>
<td> <tt>v</tt></td> <td> v</td> <td> vaḣ</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <tt>s</tt></td> <td> s</td> <td> saḣ</td>
<td> <tt>ḣ</tt></td> <td> ḣ</td> <td> ḣik</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
A pitfall for Verdurians: <tt>ß #</tt> <b>ś ź</b> are the same letterforms as Verdurian <b>š ž</b> but appear in a different place in the alphabet. Programmers solved this problem for themselves, but created one for the users, by giving these characters different code points.
<h2><a name="Example">Example</a></h2>
<h3><tt>Zivan eḣc eban</tt> • Zivan eḣc eban • Inside and outside</h3>
This selection, from a newspaper article by Śenum Polyr, shows the typical romantic, slightly defensive Kebreni patriotism. It is given in transliteration with an interlinear translation, then in a free English translation.
<p>In the interlinear translation, for brevity, I've used the English possessive or gerundive to represent subordinating forms of nouns and verbs, respectively. However, I've used verbal forms to translate locative verbs; prepositions would misrepresent the structure of Kebreni.
<p>Writing addressed to the world in general (stories, essays, textbooks, news articles) generally does not use the polite forms. When the writer has a specific audience in mind (speeches, petitions, personal letters, sermons), polite forms are used. They are not used in religious language or in legal documents--not signs of disrespect for gods or negotiation partners, but of the age of such language, predating the grammaticalization of politeness.
<p>
<tt>Uneitsu Kebri. Nuutsi ßava?</tt><br/>
<b>Uneitsu Kebri. Nuutsi śava? </b>
<br>think-<font size=2>VOL</font> Kebri. think-<font size=2>PERF</font> what?
<br><i>Think of Kebri. What do you think of?</i>
<p><tt>Haḣc ziunte sylgu, luda kuguynte men, boætunate geira ťaupte yvyre.</tt><br/>
<b>Haḣc ziunte sylgu, luda kuguynte men, boḣtunate geira ťaupte yvyre. </b>
<br>valley being-in<font size=2> </font>shadow, olive-tree filling hill, sea's sound lapping boats.
<br><i>You think of the shadows on the valleys, the hills carpeted by olive trees, the sound of the sea lapping against boats.</i>
<p><tt>Nuitu ziunte kanu hazik pol, nabirateu eḣc konarei eḣc ingarei miutte,</tt><br/>
<b>Nuitu ziunte kanu hazik pol, nabirateu eḣc konarei eḣc ingarei miutte, </b>
<br>mind being-in see proud city, shipbuilder and bank and tavern using
<br><i>You see in your mind the proud cities, with their shipbuilders and banks and taverns, </i>
<p><tt>geru kebrite ceirate lyyr zauguai, ansu ßaida kebren nynete ḣir mova,</tt><br/>
<b>geru kebrite ceirate lyyr zauguai, ansu śaida kebren nynete ḣir mova, </b>
<br>hear kebri's song's sadness glory-and, feel beautiful kebreni girl's long hair
<br><i>hear the sadness and glory of Kebreni songs, feel the long hair of beautiful Kebreni girls, </i>
<p><tt>debru falte haḣc ga falte noḣa ziunte tauste i#ele, Kebri ziunte dynyr.</tt><br/>
<b>debru falte haḣc ga falte noḣa ziunte tauste iźele, Kebri ziunte dynyr.</b>
<br>taste your valley or your island being-in making cheese, kebri being-in top
<br><i>taste the particular cheese made in your own valley or island— the best on Kebri.</i>
<p><tt>Fal kebren immi nuitsu orat kurite. </tt><br/>
<b>Fal kebren immi nuitsu orat kurite.</b>
<br>you kebreni because think all that-NOM
<br><i>You think all this because you are Kebreni.</i>
<p><tt>Verdureu nuitsu, kebri zikanu gente: ingu, ladute gezu, nabira zateuguai. </tt>
<br/><b>Verdureu nuitsu, kebri zikanu gente: ingu, ladute gezu, nabira zateuguai. </b>
<br>verdurian think, kebri mean this-<font size=2>NOM</font>: wine, olive's oil, ship, enmity-and
<br><i>To the Verdurians, Kebri means these things: wine, olive oil, ships— and enmity. </i>
<p><tt>Gymu ḣiḣunte Ruḣtyrte rema hami, toryuvte ˇe˙nam hami, Moreo Aßcaite melaḣ bryunte ledeu.</tt>
<br/><b>Gymu ḣiḣunte Ruḣtyrte rema hami, toryuvte Ťeḣnam hami, moreo aścaite melaḣ bryunte ledeu.</b>
<br>we burning arcaln's bridge land, trading dhekhnam land, moreo ašcai's king facing rival.
<br><i>We are the land which burned the Arcaln Bridge, the land that trades with Dhekhnam, the rival before the king of Moreo Ašcai.</i>
<p><tt>Oratte ceuste, nana miutte, tasu oradam ziunte dynyr ingu, </tt>
<br/><b>Oratte ceuste, nana miutte, tasu oradam ziunte dynyr ingu, </b>
<br>all-<font size=2>NOM</font> opposing, methods using, make world being-in top wine,
<br><i>And at the same time, somehow, we make the finest wine in the world,</i>
<p><tt>Kelenor Luißorai ceuste ḣauv miuryai.</tt>
<br/><b>Kelenor Luiśorai ceuste ḣauv miuryai.</b>
<br>celenor luyšor-and opposing good-<font size=2>AUG</font> rich-AUG-and
<br><i>better and richer than that that of Célenor or Luyšor.</i>
<p><tt>Gensi eḣc gennisi. Kanu gymu oradam vekurte: </tt>
<br/><b>Gensi eḣc gennisi. Kanu gymu oradam vekurte: </b>
<br>same-for-me and same-to-you. see us world seeming:
<br><i>It is the same way with each one of us. We see ourselves as a world— </i>
<p><tt>bucuelecsu cynaute kumbehsu meclau. </tt>
<br/><b>bucuelecsu cynaute kumbehsu meclau. </b>
<br>irreducible experience's miscellaneous mixture
<br><i>a jumbled mixture of irreducible experience.</i>
<p><tt>Ebaneu kanu bemaß miutte— gente ceuste, gymu kaunte eußte #aite ťaza kanu. </tt>
<br/><b>Ebaneu kanu bemaś miutte— gente ceuste, gymu kaunte euśte źaite ťaza kanu. </b>
<br>outsider see caricature with— this-<font size=2>NOM</font> opposing, we seeing not-<font size=2>SUB</font> things they see
<br><i>Outsiders see us in caricature— but may also see what we do not see:</i>
<p><tt>Bobabeu nuituste eßu ḣymu kunnar. </tt>
<br/><b>Bobabeu nuituste eśu ḣymu kunnar. </b>
<br>drunkard thinking not-<font size=2>PRES</font> drinks too-much
<br><i>the drunkard never thinks he drinks too much.</i>
<p><tt>Kanarei gemeḣ doḣtte eśu, kureḣ doḣtte eßu: </tt>
<br/><b>Kanarei gemeḣ doḣtte eśu, kureḣ doḣtte eśu: </b>
<br>viewpoint first right-<font size=2>SUB</font> not, second right-<font size=2>SUB</font> not-<font size=2>PRES</font>
<br><i>Neither point of view is the correct one</i>
<p><tt>neḣatte #aite miutte, nenkanyr kanarei zaurte eßu.</tt>
<br/><b>neḣatte źaite miutte, nenkanyr kanarei zaurte eśu.</b>
<br>man's thing having, objective viewpoint existing not
<br><i>with human things, there is no objective viewpoint.</i>
<h3><tt><a name="Elope">Aße#ynu?</tt> • Aśeźynu • Shall we elope?</a></h3>
This extract is from a 3467 play, <i>Aśeźynu? (Shall we elope?)</i>, by Kusire Mykneu. The hero, Kalum, has fallen in love with a lord’s daughter, Sylec Broida— who however has been promised to her father’s old attorney. In this scene Kalum works up his nerve to ask her father for her hand. However, he does not speak well when he’s nervous, and he’s particularly prone to mix up words with similar-sounding ones.
<p>You can learn some common expressions from this dialog, as well as how to use the polite and pejorative forms.
<p>
<tt> KALUM (tastauste). Din Linna. Linna Broida. Falaute reikau vatar tra#agu.</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM (tastauste). Din Linna. Linna Broida. Falaute reikau vatar traźagu.</b> <br/>
Kalum / trying / hon. lord / lord Broida / you.POL-SUB meeting endless pleasure<br/>
<i> KALUM (practising). Sir Lord. Lord Broida. What a pleasure it is to meet you. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Kaunte lerycu falaute zizavaute baadarei?</tt> <br/>
<b> Kaunte lerycu falaute zizavaute baadarei?</b> <br/>
seeing can-POL you.POL-SUB famous cellar<br/>
<i> Could I see your famous wine cellar? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Luriha falaute nyne fourte. Falaute nynete amma fourte.</tt> <br/>
<b> Luriha falaute nyne fourte. Falaute nynete amma fourte.</b> <br/>
come-POL-PERF you.POL-SUB daughter following / you.POL-SUB daugher-SUB hand following<br/>
<i> I've come for your daughter. For your daughter's hand. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Ehemarybu kurite, fynpila.</tt> <br/>
<b> Ehemarybu kurite, fynpila.</b> <br/>
VOL-POL-give.up that.one naturally<br/>
<i> If you wish to give it up, of course. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Falau cyurte, cin reuriki falaute nyne. Ga ťaḣ cyru? Eßu he# ḣavna.</tt> <br/>
<b> Falau cyurte, cin reuriki falaute nyne. Ga ťaḣ cyru? Eśu heź ḣavna.</b> <br/>
you.POL knowing / I.PEJ meet-PERF-POL you.POL-SUB daughter. or 3s know? not if.then good-AUG<br/>
<i> As you know, I've met your daughter. Or does he know? Perhaps it’s better if he doesn’t. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Cin reuriki nynete baba. Eßu, cinte baba reuriki falaute #ai#eiga ßaida nyne miutte.</tt> <br/>
<b> Cin reuriki nynete baba. Eśu, cinte baba reuriki falaute źaiźeiga śaida nyne miutte.</b> <br/>
I.PEJ meet-PERF-POL girl-SUB mother / no / I-gen mother meet-PERF-POL you.POL-SUB spouse beautiful daughter with<br/>
<i> I’ve met the girl’s mother. No, my mother met your wife, your wife and your beautiful daughter.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Batrounte bißu, amma miutte tauste bißu.</tt> <br/>
<b> Batrounte biśu, amma miutte tauste biśu.</b> <br/>
relaxing must / hand with doing need<br/>
<i> I must relax, have something to do with my hands. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> (Tourte kriidi) Zizavaute melaḣte sabareite lic. Kurite bißu.</tt> <br/>
<b> (Tourte kriidi) Zizavaute melaḣte sabareite lic. Kurite biśu.</b> <br/>
taking book / famous king-SUB court-SUB lawsuit / that.one need<br/>
<i> (Taking a book) Famous royal court cases. Just the thing. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Linna kruḣite nynete neßameu lic. Dynyr, dynyrna.</tt> <br/>
<b> Linna kruḣite nynete neśameu lic. Dynyr, dynyrna.</b> <br/>
lord kill-PERF-SUB daughter-SUB suitor lawsuit / excellent excellent-AUG<br/>
<i> The case of a lord who murdered his daughter’s suitor. Excellent, excellent.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA (zi#yynte). Úamenivi.</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA (ziźyynte). Ḣamenivi.</b> <br/>
broida / entering / bless-YOU-BENEF<br/>
<i> BROIDA (entering). Greetings.</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM (piisa). Orat kem! Úamenirivi, Broga linna,, Bryga linna,, Broida linna.</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM (piisa). Orat kem! Ḣamenirivi, Broga linna— Bryga linna— Broida linna.</b> <br/>
Kalum / surprised / all god / bless-YOU-BENEF-POL / table lord / trousers lord / Broida[storm] lord<br/>
<i> KALUM (surprised). Omigosh! Greetings, Lord Table. Lord Trousers? Lord Broida. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Falaute oste reikau vatar tonzurgu.</tt> <br/>
<b> Falaute oste reikau vatar tonzurgu.</b> <br/>
you.POL-SUB later-SUB meeting endless softness<br/>
<i> What a softness it is to meet you at last. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Gente ḣav kriidi natu? Cin kaunte lericu.</tt> <br/>
<b> Gente ḣav kriidi natu? Cin kaunte lericu.</b> <br/>
this.one good book not.POL / I.PEJ reading can-POL<br/>
<i> Is this a good book? Perhaps I could read it.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA.Falai ßava?</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA.Falai śava?</b> <br/>
Broida / you-and who<br/>
<i> BROIDA. And you are?</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Kamul, falaute vanau. Kalum. Kalum Patolen.</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Kamul, falaute vanau. Kalum. Kalum Patolen.</b> <br/>
Kalum / Kamul / you-POL-SUB rulership / Kalum / Kalum Patolen<br/>
<i> KALUM. Kamul, your majesty. Kalum. Kalum Patolen. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Cinte #ai#eiga reuriki faulaute baba. Natu, kurisa nan.</tt> <br/>
<b> Cinte źaiźeiga reuriki faulaute baba. Natu, kurisa nan.</b> <br/>
I.PEJ-SUB spouse meet-POL-PERF you.POL-SUB mother / not.POL / other way<br/>
<i> My wife met your mother. No, the other way. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Vuḣ reuriki falaute #ai#eiga gemaḣarei ziunte nyne gauryrte nn gauvte.</tt> <br/>
<b> Vuḣ reuriki falaute źaiźeiga gemaḣarei ziunte nyne gauryrte nn gauvte.</b> <br/>
3s.PEJ meet-POL-PERF you.POL-SUB spouse bakery being.in daughter virgin-SUB um with-SUB<br/>
<i> She met your wife at the bakery, virgin your daughter, er, with your daughter. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA. Teťeugte, mugeu. Yḣemu bihate.</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA. Teťeugte, mugeu. yḣemu bihate.</b> <br/>
Broida / shuddering / youngster / VOL-drink something<br/>
<i> BROIDA. You are nervous, young man. Have a drink.</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Fyrre ḣymu, lintana#. Cin inezu ßava?</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Fyrre ḣymu, lintanaź. Cin inezu śava?</b> <br/>
Kalum / never drink / wisdom / I.PEJ VOL-say what<br/>
<i> KALUM. I don't drink, your honor. What am I saying? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Úymu orat re. (Úymu.) Kurite varyr gem re.</tt> <br/>
<b> Ḣymu orat re. (Ḣymu.) Kurite varyr gem re.</b> <br/>
drink every day / drink / that.one final this day<br/>
<i> I drink every day. (Drinks.) That was it for today. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Sire, cinte linna, y#enu. Natu, i#e#ycrisu.</tt> <br/>
<b> Sire, cinte linna, yźenu. Natu, iźeźycrisu.</b> <br/>
thanks / I.PEJ-SUB lord / VOL-go / no.POL / VOL-wait-POL<br/>
<i> Thank you my lord, I should be going. No, wait.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA. Eḣelu, ßenen. Úente #ai#eiga amukna.</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA. Eḣelu, śenen. Ḣente źaiźeiga amukna.</b> <br/>
Broida / calm-VOL / young.boy / I.SUB spouse explain-PERF<br/>
<i> BROIDA. Calm yourself, boy. My wife has explained. </i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> Inezu Sylec bryunte.</tt> <br/>
<b> Inezu Sylec bryunte.</b> <br/> <grn>
speak-VOL Sylec facing<br/>
<i> You wish to speak about Sylec.</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Kurite, ßylnu bryunte— Sylec bryunte! Vep falaute nyne, natu?</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Kurite, śylnu bryunte— Sylec bryunte! Vep falaute nyne, natu?</b> <br/>
Kalum / that.one / breast facing / Sylec facing / 3s.POL you.POL-SUB daughter / no.POL<br/>
<i> KALUM. Yes, about breasts— about Sylec! She is your daughter, no? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Eḣc cin... varyr tra#agu... inerizu kurite he#... vep nurizi a#ei#igu?</tt> <br/>
<b> Eḣc cin... varyr traźagu... inerizu kurite heź... vep nurizi aźeiźigu?</b> <br/>
and I / final pleasure / VOL-say-POL that.one if.then / 3s.POL VOL-say-POL VOL-marry<br/>
<i> And I am— I have the pleasure to be— if I could just say... has she said she wants to marry? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Nyne nizu, natu? Vybu kum zibor#yr gem re.</tt> <br/>
<b> Nyne nizu, natu? Vybu kum ziborźyr gem re.</b> <br/>
girl say / not.POL / 3p.POL much pushy this day<br/>
<i> Girls do, don’t they? So headstrong, these days.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Kurite, kentegu. Icegu falaute amma, a#ei#igu. A#ei#irigu. </tt> <br/>
<b> Kurite, kentegu. Icegu falaute amma, aźeiźigu. Aźeiźirigu. </b> <br/>
that.one / holiness / VOL-ask you.POL-SUB hand / VOL-marry / VOL-marry-POL<br/>
<i> Yes, your worship, I would like to ask for your hand. Let us marry. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA. Nohu fal zikanu,,</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA. Nohu fal zikanu...</b> <br/>
Broida / think you mean<br/>
<i> BROIDA. I think you mean...</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Vatar doḣtau, vepte amma. Nynete. Brynurizi gemaḣarei?</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Vatar doḣtau, vepte amma. Nynete. Brynurizi gemaḣarei?</b> <br/>
Kalum / endless rightness / 3s.POL-SUB hand / girl-SUB / mention-PERF-POL bakery<br/>
<i> KALUM. You’re so right, her hand. The girl’s. Did I mention the bakery?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA. Tasu ßava, mugeu?</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA. Tasu śava, mugeu?</b> <br/>
Broida / do what / youngster<br/>
<i> BROIDA. What do you do, youngster?</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Úavte tasu, cinte linna. Nizu falau vatar tra#agu.</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Ḣavte tasu, cinte linna. Nizu falau vatar traźagu.</b> <br/>
Kalum / good-SUB do / I.PEJ-SUB lord / speak you.POL endless pleasure<br/>
<i> KALUM. I am doing well, my lord. It’s a pleasure to talk to you.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> BROIDA. Zikanu, fal foru ßete dirau?</tt> <br/> <grn>
<b> BROIDA. Zikanu, fal foru śete dirau?</b> <br/>
Broida / mean / you follow which career<br/>
<i> BROIDA. I mean, what is your business?</i> <br/> </grn>
<br/>
<tt> KALUM. Cinte dirau! Fynpila, linna, adnedeu zeri. Foru toryvau.</tt> <br/>
<b> KALUM. Cinte dirau! Fynpila, linna, adnedeu zeri. Foru toryvau.</b> <br/>
Kalum / I.PEJ-SUB career / naturally / lord / entrepreneur exist-BENEF / follow commerce<br/>
<i> KALUM. My work! Yes, lord, I am a businessman. I engage in trade. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<tt> Ziḣiraute inezu, gegu kulisa. Úyngu miutte— diru ingarei ziunte.</tt> <br/>
<b> Ziḣiraute inezu, gegu kulisa. Ḣyngu miutte— diru ingarei ziunte.</b> <br/>
precisely VOL-say / serve fleet / beverage with / work tavern being.inside<br/>
<i> That is to say, I serve the Navy. With drinks— I work at the bar.</i>
<p>
Lord Broida is not a severe man, but the lowliness of Kalum’s station, and his extraordinary clumsiness, do not make a good impression. He cannot agree to the marriage, at least here in Act 1.
<h2><a name="Sound">Sound changes</a></h2>
The following sound changes can be postulated between Meťaiun and Kebreni.
<br>C = any consonant
<br>F = front vowel
<table>
<tr><td>CC → C <td><td>treggeur → treḣyr
<tr><td>[+fric] → [-fric] <td>/ _[+liquid] <td>Davrio → Dabru, ȟras → kraḣ
<tr><td>e → y <td>/ C,#_Cu <td>keruna → kyruna
<tr><td>i → y <td>/ C,#_C<font size=2><sup>n</sup></font>u <td>kijur → kyźur
<tr><td>g → x <td>/ _F <td>geilas → ḣilaḣ
<tr><td>g → γ <td>/ _C <td>mogdo → moγdo → mohdu
<tr><td>r → i <td>/ g_ <td>grem → giem → gem
<tr><td>s, z → [+velar] <td>/ _[+stop], _# <td>γask → haḣc, girilas → ḣirilaḣ
<tr><td>k → c <td>/ _i <td>vaiki → vaac, kiodi → cai
<tr><td>ai → aa <td><td>Laita → Lädau
<tr><td>oi → e <td><td>Awoilas → Avelaḣ
<tr><td>au → e <td><td>saumi → sem
<tr><td>Fu → y <td><td>briu → bry, neuli → nyl
<tr><td>io → a <td>/ _C <td>kiodi → cai
<tr><td>o → u <td>/ _(C<font size=2><sup>n</sup></font>)# <td>mog → muk, arosd → ruḣt
<tr><td>w → v <td><td>Newor → Nevur, Awoilas → Avelaḣ
<tr><td>ȟ → ḣ <td><td>ȟam → ḣam
<tr><td>[+vcd+stop] → 0 <td>/ V_F <td>kiodi → cai, Dobauron → Doerun
<tr><td>i → 0 <td>/ _V <td>lesio → lezu
<tr><td>[-vcd+obs] → [+vcd] <td>/ V_V <td>sifa → siva, Gutein → Gudin, Laita → Lädau
<tr><td>e → 0 <td>/ _ i, a <td>geilas → ḣilaḣ, Leziunea → Lezyna
<tr><td>i → 0 <td>/ C_# <td>raisi → raas
<tr><td>r → 0 <td>/ C_# <td>godri → godr → god → got
<tr><td>č → ś <td> <td>Čengo → Śengu
<tr><td>j → ź <td>/_ <td>jindor → źindur
<tr><td>γ →h <td><td>γask → haḣc, mogdo → moγdo → mohdu
<tr><td>k → c <td>/ by x, ś <td>γask → haḣk → haḣc
<tr><td>n → i <td>/ _[+dental] <td>čanda → śaida
<tr><td>m → n <td>/ by [+dental] <td>admettan → adnedan, ȟamsifa → ḣansiva
<tr><td>h → 0 <td>/ _x <td>moggeur → moγxyr → mohxyr → moxyr
<tr><td>n → 0 <td>/ _s <td>tanso → tasu
<tr><td>[+stop] → [-vcd] <td>/ _# <td>vaiki → vaaci → vaac, mog → muk
</table>
Curiously, the voicing of medial consonants (e.g. <i>demettan → demedu</i>) seems to be an areal feature, shared with Ismaîn and the Avélan dialect of Verdurian.
<h2><a name="Lexicon">Borrowings</a></h2>
<p>Kebreni and its ancestor Meťaiun have been in close contact with Cuêzi and the Caďinorian languages for close to four milennia, and there has been extensive borrowing in both directions.
<p>Meťaiun borrowings <b>into Cuêzi </b>include <i>geōre</i> ‘castle’, <i>nîdo </i>‘wheel’, <i>nêsei</i> ‘parley’, <i>auōni</i> ‘treaty’, <i>navera</i> ‘sail’, <i>ancua</i> ‘sea serpent’, <i>etêia</i> ‘flower‘, <i>girin</i> ‘ibis’, <i>sêori</i> ‘octopus’, <i>buras </i>‘sponge’, <i>crinu </i>‘papyrus’, <i>execu</i> ‘lentil’, <i>ladu</i> ‘olive’, <i>mexera</i> ‘type of herb’, <i>ciotīro </i>‘type of flower’, <i>talāuas</i> ‘orange’, <i>xariu</i> ‘luck’, <i>trîgo ‘</i>soot’.
<p>Meťaiun borrowings <b>from Cuêzi</b> include <i>aviza</i> ‘university’, <i>numygur</i> ‘hermit’, <i>kriida </i>‘paper’, <i>eri</i> ‘map’, <i>ris </i>‘pen’, <i>gunaḣ </i>‘hero’, <i>eklura</i> ‘sensual abandon’, <i>kelun</i> ‘bronze’, <i>mardaḣ</i> ‘iron’, <i>lidaḣ</i> ‘steel’, <i>fadora</i> ‘fountain’, <i>myga</i> ‘thousand’, <i>pery</i> ‘flaid’, <i>yra</i> ‘type of flower’, <i>alať </i>‘silver coin’.
<p>Meťaiun borrowings <b>into</b> <b>Caďinor</b> include <i>Agireis </i>‘the sea goddess’, <i>evranȟras</i> ‘realgar’, <i>ȟamsifa</i> ‘sulfur’, <i>laitondos</i> ‘brass’, <i>paťeta</i> ‘calomine’, <i>baita</i> ‘barrel’, <i>cora </i>‘riverboat’, <i>tindigeda</i> ‘anchor’,<i>ťeiba </i>‘bow’, <i>pinda </i>‘stern’, <i>siobostos</i><i></i>‘brine’, <i>burasos </i>‘sponge’, <i>dauris</i> ‘seagull’, <i>akulua</i> ‘shark’, <i>raiȟ</i> ‘crab’, <i>moreia </i>‘tuna’, <i>noťonis</i> ‘salmon’, <i>busmitrio</i> ‘pearl’, <i>citro</i> ‘lemon’, <i>bidno </i>‘grapevine’, <i>vinos </i>‘wine’, <i>moruť</i> ‘carrot’, <i>palaznos </i>‘gorse’, <i>seťa </i>‘silk’, <i>viďora</i> ‘type of flower’, <i>mapola </i>‘poppy’, <i>suber </i>‘cork’, <i> peida</i> ‘type of vine’, <i>kariu</i> ‘happiness’, and dozens of toponyms.
<p>Meťaiun borrowings <b>from Caďinor</b> include <i>adnedu </i>‘add’, <i>demedu</i> ‘subtract’, <i>bina </i>‘list’, <i>leraḣ</i> ‘understanding’, <i>aken </i>‘clear’,<i> ḣiitiru</i> ‘sash’, <i>aladaḣ</i> ‘grammar’, <i>preḣtura</i> ‘history’, <i>kaadau</i> ‘magic’, <i>ygunit </i>‘knights-and-kings’, <i>kraze</i> ‘rose’, <i>kridu </i>‘write’, <i>ledu</i> ‘compete’, <i>lureḣ ‘</i>beautiful’, <i>lyḣ</i> ‘glass’, <i>ciḣta</i> ‘box’.
<p>As Caďinor is the scholarly language of Eretald, there are also borrowings directly into Kebreni, e.g. <i>zen</i> ‘sign‘, <i>hurisum</i> ‘hominid’, <i>sekaťora</i> ‘century’. These can be identified in the lexicon by the lack of a Meťaiun word.
<p>Kebreni borrowings <b>into</b> <b>Verdurian</b> include <ul>
<li> financial and accounting terms like <i>andedau</i> ‘profit’, <i>demedau</i> ‘loss’, <i>dürí</i> ‘credit’, <i>pória</i> ‘liability’, <i>porui</i> ‘debit’, <i>gëméša</i> ‘mortgage’, <i>gocrea</i> ‘balance sheet’; <i>lagu </i>‘income’, <i>žüngu </i>‘expenditures’; <i>sutam, cürnu, alat, sülcona </i>‘types of coins’
<li> commercial words like <i>susaré</i> ‘shop’, <i>tuyo</i> ‘pipe’;
<li> nautical terms like <i>culisa</i> ‘fleet’, <i>culso</i> ‘admiral’, <i>nabro</i> ‘ship captain’, <i>navira</i> ‘ship’, <i>čirnu </i>‘deck’, <i>sefo</i> ‘boy’;
<li> general words like <i>bakt</i> ‘terrible’, <i>lür</i> ‘woe’, <i>řulo</i> ‘clown’, <i>zevu</i> ‘pal’, <i>vučemu</i> ‘flounder’.</ul>
<p>Kebreni borrowings <b>from Verdurian</b> include <ul>
<li> technological terms like <i>aisel</i> ‘key’, <i>beh</i> ‘essence’, <i>cuelu</i> ‘calcine’, <i>skalea</i> ‘gas’, <i>impuźu</i> ‘print’, <i>uvere </i>‘fashion’, <i>źuśni</i> ‘lace’, <i>śeveḣka</i> ‘leggings’, <i>leidi</i> ‘lens’; <i>otedit</i> ‘watch’, <i>keťnai</i> ‘factory’;
<li> cultural terms like <i>bemaś</i> ‘cartoon’, <i>kona</i> ‘money’, <i>lic</i> ‘trial’, <i>meika</i> ‘school’, <i>raline</i> ‘play’, <i>tuta</i> ‘newspaper’;
<li> religious and philosophical words like <i>aźcita</i> ‘monastery’, <i>nieron</i> ‘holy’, <i>ripriroda</i> ‘philosophy’, <i>kuraiyr</i> ‘logic’, <i>razum</i> ‘mind’;
<li> grammatical terms, mostly loan-translated; e.g. <i>maźeu</i> ‘trustee’ is used for ‘pronoun’ based on V. <i>promevec</i>
<li> general words like <i>pruso</i> ‘inn’, <i>meclu</i> ‘mix’, <i>feśu</i> ‘soirée’, <i>fauśu</i> ‘cram’, <i>śekśe</i> ‘cocoa’.</ul>
<p>There are also many <b>calques</b> (loan-translations) from Caďinor or Verdurian, such as <i>babate namar</i> for ‘galena’, from <i>mira plomei</i> ‘mother of lead’; or <i>zibiśu</i> for ‘entail’, from <i>imfayir</i>, both formed from ‘in’ + ‘be necessary’; or <i>miebeu</i> for ‘disciple’, ‘one who leaves in support of (his beliefs)’, based on <i>profäsec</i>; or <i>mitecau</i> for ‘company’, based on <i>cumbutát</i> ‘those with a common goal’.
<p>For borrowings into <b>Ismaîn</b> see <a href="ismain.htm#Lexicon">the Ismaîn lexicon</a>.
<p>Many thanks to <b>Josef Wolanczyk (Pedant)</b>, who very ably created hundreds of additional words for Kebreni and Meťaiun as well as a considerable number of translated texts.
<h2><a href="kebrenilex.html">Lexicon</a></h2>
<br>
</font>
<hr>
<i>© 1998, 2022, 2024 by Mark Rosenfelder</i><br>
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