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<H1>Šureni <img src="illo/shureni.png" align="absmiddle"></H1>
<p><b><a href="#Introduction">Introduction</a> </b>
<p><b><a href="#Phonology">Phonology</a> </b><i>
- <a href="#Vowels">Vowels</a>
- <a href="#Consonants">Consonants</a>
- <a href="#Clerical">Clerical pronunciation</a>
- <a href="#Stress">Stress</a>
- <a href="#Orthography">Orthography</a></i>
<p><b><a href="#Morphology">Morphology</a> </b><i>
- <a href="#Verbal">Verbal morphology</a>
- <a href="#Nominal">Nominal morphology</a>
- <a href="#Pronouns">Pronouns</a>
- <a href="#Numbers">Numbers</a> </i>
<p><b><a href="#Syntax">Syntax</a></h2> </b><i>
- <a href="#Sentence">Sentence order</a>
- <a href="#Definite">Definiteness and demonstratives</a>
- <a href="#Be">To be</a>
- <a href="#NP">NP order</a>
- <a href="#Yesno">Yes/no questions</a>
- <a href="#Negatives">Negatives</a>
- <a href="#Tense">Tense and aspect</a>
- <a href="#Adverbs">Adverbs</a>
- <a href="#Possession">Possession</a>
- <a href="#Ditransitives">Ditransitives
- <a href="#Conjunctions">Conjunctions</a>
- <a href="#Prepositions">Prepositions</a>
- <a href="#Interrogatives">Interrogatives</a>
- <a href="#auxiliaries">Conjugated auxiliaries</a>
- <a href="#Double">Double-participle auxiliaries</a>
- <a href="#Relative">Relative clauses</a>
- <a href="#Placetime">Place and time</a>
- <a href="#Passives">Passives</a>
- <a href="#Causatives">Causatives</a>
- <a href="#Comparatives">Comparatives</a></i>
<p><b><a href="#Semantic">Semantic fields</a> </b><i>
- <a href="#Kinship">Kinship</a>
- <a href="#Names">Names and titles</a>
- <a href="#Greetings">Greetings</a>
- <a href="#Profanity">Profanity</a> </i>
<p><b><a href="#Sample">Sample texts</a> </b><i>
- <a href="#Waiting">Waiting for the Train</a>
- <a href="#Lon">Lon and Šaj</a>
- <a href="#Dinners">Dinner with Šaj</a> </i>
<p><b><a href="tzhuro.html">Classical Tžuro</a></b>
<p><b><a href="tzhurolex.html">Lexicon</a></b>
<h2><a name="Introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<img align="right" src="illo/SE Erelae 3678.png">
This document describes the Šureni language, the language of Šura and one of the three working languages of the Democratic Union (DU).
<p>Šureni is part of the <b>Tžuro</b> branch of the <b>Lenani-Littoral</b> family that also includes Old Skourene, the Uṭandal languages, and Lenani. This in turn is part of the <b>Southern</b> superfamily which includes Wede:i, Cuolese, Mei, and Fei.
<h3>Šureni and Tžuro</h3>
Šureni is descended from Classical Tžuro (CT), which is <a href="tzhuro.html">described in a separate document</a>. CT is defined as the language of the Jippirasti classics, especially the <i>Čelepa s Atej (Emperor’s Book)</i>, completed in 2391 under the Anajati Tej. The Jippirasti scripture, the <i>Baburkunim</i>, is also included, but as it dates to the 1600s it has many archaisms. Thus CT is almost 1300 years old, and decidedly different from modern Šureni.
<p>This statement must be immediately qualified, because the standard literary language is still deemed to be CT. Indeed, even in the 3600s, Šureni writers pride themselves on writing in “the same language as Babur”… even though they now have to take a high school course to read their prophet.
<p>The language spoken at home and on the street is <b>Spoken Šureni</b> (SŠ), and differs from the standard in many ways— phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon.
<p>The actual contemporary written language is <b>Literary Šureni</b> (LŠ), which is a compromise between CT and SŠ— or a set of compromises, depending on register. A newspaper advice column will be full of modern syntax and slang; a scientific paper has even more neologisms and a stilted style of its own; a book on theology may be much closer to CT, though it is never, whatever its writer may think, identical to it.
<p>In addition, writers constantly use CT words, quotations, or stylistic quirks, and innovate new constructions following CT norms.
<p>Almost none of the sound changes found in SŠ are represented in LŠ: the writing system, <b>tettir</b>, is still that of CT. However, more phonetic renderings are common in slang.
<p>As I noted in the CT grammar, all this will be familiar to students of Latin, Arabic, or Chinese. (Or French, in terms of orthography.)
<p>A language description is centered in <b>time and place</b> as well. For time, ‘now’ is Z.E. 3678. SŠ varies by region, and arguably is a separate language in Jaešim and in Fananak; in this sketch SŠ refers to the speech of Jippirim, capital of Šura.
<p>For most people the language is simply <b>mel si Tžuro</b> ‘the speech of the Tžuro’; the simplest way to refer to CT is <b>mel si Babur</b>. If you wanted to admit, perhaps temporarily, that language changes, you can refer to LŠ as <b>jatnemi mel</b> ‘today’s speech’. You can say <b>šureni mel</b> ‘Šureni speech’, most often if it’s important to distinguish it from other modern varieties.
<h3>Overall plan</h3>
I will cover phonology, morphology, and syntax as I normally do. However, the approach throughout will be to explain what has changed since CT, and thus it is advisable to read the corresponding CT section first.
I have not provided a separate lexicon. Modern words are entered in the CT lexicon.
<p><i>—Mark Rosenfelder, March 2025</i>
<h2><a name="Phonology">Phonology</a></h2>
In this section I will use <blu>blue</blu> to represent SŠ pronunciations. There is no standard for representing these in <b>tettir</b>, outside of linguistics. As <b>y</b> is already used in my romanization for the semivowel [j], and Šureni has no front rounded vowels, I’ve used <blu>y</blu> instead of [j] for SŠ.
<h3><a name="Vowels">Vowels</h3>
Let’s begin with the vowels, as these have changed the most.
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td width="40px"> front</td> <td width="40px"> </td> <td width="40px"> </td> <td width="40px"> </td> <td width="40px"> back</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> high</td> <td> <b> i</b> </td> <td> <b> ɪ</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> ʊ</b> </td> <td> <b> u</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> closed</td> <td> <b> e</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> o</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> open</td> <td> <b> ɛ </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> ə</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> ɔ </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> low</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> æ</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> a</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
The most striking sound change in SŠ is the development of what we might call vowel grades.
<ul>
<li>Stressed vowels diphthongized in the first syllable (or after initial a-, i-)
<blockquote>
<b>i</b> > <blu>əy</blu>: <b>kini</b> > <blu>kəyn</blu>, <b>ikina</b> > <blu>ɪkəyn</blu> <br/>
<b>u</b> > <blu>wə</blu>: Šura</b> > <blu>šwər</blu> <br/>
<b>e</b> > <blu>ey</blu>: <b>nelet</b> > <blu>neylɛʔ</blu> <br/>
<b>o</b> > <blu>oʊ</blu>: <b>kome</b> > <blu>koʊmɛ </blu> <br/>
<b>a</b> > <blu>æ</blu>: <b>mali</b> > <blu>mæl</blu>
</blockquote>
<li>Other stressed vowels are unchanged: <b>Babur</b> > <blu>bəbur</blu>
<li>Unstressed vowels are reduced:
<blockquote>
<b>i</b> > <blu>ɪ</blu>: <b>ikeba</b> > <blu>ɪkeyb</blu> <br/>
<b>u</b> > <blu>ʊ</blu>: <b>Udan</b> > <blu>ʊdæn</blu> <br/>
<b>e</b> > <blu>ɛ</blu>: <b>Lenan</b> > <blu>lɛnæn</blu> <br/>
<b>o</b> > <blu>ɔ</blu>: <b>momah</b> > <blu>mɔma</blu> <br/>
<b>a</b> > <blu>ə</blu>: <b>atej</b> > <blu>əteyj</blu>
</blockquote>
<li>Final -<b>a</b> and -<b>i</b> were lost.
<li>Final or unstressed -<b>ai</b> > -<blu>a</blu>, -<b>au</b> > <blu>o</blu>.
</ul>
The precise phonetic details differ by dialect; these are characteristic of Jippirim. E.g. the diphthongization is not present in the northern third of the country, while in Dusilim you get i < <blu>ɨy</blu>, u > <blu>wʉ</blu>.
Prepositions and particles are treated as unstressed. Thus <b>si Šura</b> ‘of Šura’ is <blu>sɪšwər</blu>.
<p>Here’s part of one of the CT sample texts, as written and <blu>as pronounced today</blu>. I’ve indicated the stressed syllable with an acute accent.
<blockquote>
<b>Atéj súč áva, néjo atéj čralúga?</b>
<br/><blu>əteyj swəč æv, neyjɔ əteyj črəlug?</blu>
<br/><b>Yaumálar súč níštig tarát an Jippirasútum, kór ŋók yára. (Gók niderága atéj nrurúnum, híŋ nižraráŋum.)</b>
<br/><blu>Yomalr̥ swəč nəyštɪk terat ɛn Jipɪrasutm̥, koʊr ñoʊk yær. (Goʊk nɪdɛrag əteyj nrʊrunm̥, ȟiŋ nɪžrəraŋm̥.)</blu>
<br/><b>Níšti, atéj súč itikíluj adép téŋ igošápau si jéŋu, sóga gomarál súč jéŋui ŋúllar, ŋúllausu súč itíki.</b>
<br/><blu>Nəyšt, əteyj swəč ɪtɪkilʊj ədeyp teyŋ ɪgošapo sɪ jeyŋʊ, soga gɔməral swəč jeyñʊ nwəlr̥, nwəlosʊ swəč ɪtəyk</blu>.
</blockquote>
I won’t represent actual pronunciation in my examples, as it is largely predictable from the standard spelling.
<h3><a name="Consonants">Consonants</h3>
The consonantal system of SŠ is almost identical to that of CT:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> labial</td> <td> lab-dent</td> <td> alveolar</td> <td> palatal</td> <td> velar</td> <td> glottal</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> stops</td> <td> <b> p</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> t</b> </td> <td> <b> č</b> </td> <td> <b> k</b> </td> <td> <b> ʔ</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> b</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> d</b> </td> <td> <b> j</b> </td> <td> <b> g</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> fricatives</td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> f</b> </td> <td> <b> s</b> </td> <td> <b> š </b> </td> <td> <b> ȟ </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> v</b> </td> <td> <b> z</b> </td> <td> <b> ž </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> nasals</td> <td> <b> m</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> n</b> </td> <td> <b> ñ</b> </td> <td> <b> ŋ </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> liquids</td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> l</b> </td> <td> <b> y</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> r</b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
Double consonants are no longer lengthened.
<p>The dental series has moved back to the alveolar ridge, rather as in English. However, dental pronunciation is still common in northern Šura.
<p><b>r</b> is flapped [ɾ].
<p>Syllable-initial <b>h</b> was strengthened to [x], which I’ve written <blu>ȟ</blu>; syllable-final <b>h</b> was lost. However, a final <b>h</b> protected an <b>a</b> or <b>i</b> from deletion: compare <b>momah</b> > <blu>mɔma</blu>, <b>Šura</b> > <blu>šwər</blu>. A word like <b>lidah-ur</b> is written as if <b>lidah</b> ended in a consonant, but it’s pronouned <blu>ləydər</blu>.
<p>Though early-onset voicing is still characteristic of Šureni, the distinction between <b>tž</b> and <b>č</b> has been lost; both sound like [tʃ].
<p>Beginning a syllable, <b>ŋ</b> is pronounced <blu>ñ</blu>, except before a syllabic vowel. It’s <blu>n</blu> before [<blu>w</blu>].
<p>Final -<b>č</b> > <blu>t</blu>, <b>j</b> > <blu>d</blu> in unstressed syllables: <b>nebatsič</b> > <blu>nɛbatsɪt</blu>, <b>nakluj</b> > <blu>næklʊd</blu>.
<p>Final -<b>t</b> or -<b>d</b> > <blu>ʔ</blu>, -<b>g</b> > <blu>k</blu> in unstressed syllables: <b>nelet</b> > <blu>neylɛʔ</blu>, <b>ništig</b> > <blu>nəyštɪk</blu>.
<p>Final nasal + C loses the final consonant: <b>Kurund > <blu>Kʊrwən</blu>, anaŋk > <blu>ənæŋ</blu></b>. The C is restored in derivations: <b>Dahnand</b> > <blu>dənæn</blu>, <b>Dahnandiu</b> > <blu>dənændyʊ</blu>.
<p>Final unstressed -<b>um</b> > syllabic <blu>m̥</blu>. Thus <b>jeŋum</b> > <blu>jeyŋm̥</blu>.
<h3><a name="Clerical">Clerical pronunciation</h3>
People usually deplore sound change when they’re aware of it. In theory the very pronunciation of Babur was sacred— but of course no one knew exactly what it was, and everyone’s assumption was that the speech of the capital in their youth <i>was</i> how Babur talked. When linguists made reconstructions of spoken CT— based on the writing system itself and borrowings into other languages— they were attacked as anti-religious.
<p>Still, it was possible to oppose just the <i>most recent</i> changes. Clerics especially, but also some stage actors, cultivated these differences:
<ul>
<li> A higher pronuncation of stressed <b>i</b> and <b>u</b>: <grn>ɪy</grn> and <grn>wʊ</grn> rather than <blu>əy</blu> and <blu>wə</blu>.
<li> The missing final -<b>i</b> was pronounced as <grn>ɪ</grn>. (But final -<b>a</b> stayed lost.)
<li> Syllable-initial <b>ŋ</b> is pronounced <grn>g</grn>.
<li> Final -<b>um</b> pronounced <grn>əm</grn>— i.e. with a muddy vowel but a distinct stop.
<li> <b>č j</b> were pronounced <grn>ts dz</grn>. <b>Tž</b> was pronounced <grn>č</grn>.
<li> Initial <b>h</b> was <grn>ç</grn> rather than <blu>ȟ</blu>.
<li> If emphasizing a word— and clerics loved to emphasize words— unstressed vowels were not reduced.
</ul>
Linguists pointed out, to no avail, that this was not an accurate representation of any particular time period, and that there was never a time when <b>Jippirimiu</b> pronounced <b>č j</b> like that.
<p>Here’s a comparison of part of the sample above in ordinary and clerical pronunciation:
<blockquote>
<b>Níšti, atéj súč itikíluj adép téŋ igošápau si jéŋu, sóga gomarál súč jéŋui ŋúllar, ŋúllausu súč itíki.</b>
<br/>
<blu>Nəyšt, əteyj swəč ɪtɪkilʊj ədeyp teyŋ ɪgošapo sɪ jeyŋʊ, soga gɔməral swəč jeyñu nwəlr̥, nwəlosʊ swəč ɪtəyk.</blu>
<br/>
<grn>Nɪyštɪ, əteyj swʊts ɪtɪkilʊdz ədeyp teyŋ ɪgošapo sɪ jeygʊ, soga gɔməral swəts dzeygu nwʊlr̥, gwʊlosʊ swʊts ɪtɪykɪ.</grn>
</blockquote>
This special pronunciation sounded more and more comic in the 3600s, and now survives only among character actors.
<h3><a name="Stress">Stress</h3>
Stress normally falls on the last syllable of the root, as in CT.
<p>However, the endings of participles are stressed. This produces variations something like Indo-European vowel grades:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> inúja</b> </td> <td> <blu>ɪnwəj</blu></td> <td> knowledge</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> yenúj</b> </td> <td> <blu>yenuj</blu></td> <td> causes to know</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nujútu</b> </td> <td> <blu>nʊjut</blu></td> <td> known</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<h3><a name="Orthography">Orthography</h3>
The writing system has not changed, except in details of letterforms. (I’ll get back to this later.)
<p>Prepositions, some particles, and auxiliaries are now written as part of the associated word. E.g. <b>yav azezini</b> ‘to the students’ would be written in CT as
<blockquote>
yav a ze zi ni
</blockquote>
but is now written
<blockquote>
ya va ze zi ni
</blockquote>
This also affects speech: the cliticized word is never stressed.
(A few bolder publishers have reissued the classics with this spelling change, which is considered easier to read. But many prefer to read CT with the original spelling.)
<p>I’ve said that the <b>sound changes</b> of SŠ are not reflected in writing, but this requires caveats. When a sound change causes loss or merger, people get uncertain about their spelling. So these errors are common, and are correlated with education:
<ul>
<li> Missing final -<b>a/i/u</b>
<li> Final -V<b>r</b> written with the wrong vowel
<li> Missing consonants in a final cluster
<li> Missing final -<b>h</b>
<li> Missing double consonants
</ul>
Lower-class characters may be purposely represented with such errors. The ear of the writers is not always to be trusted; evidence from recordings is that the sound changes went much farther up the social scale.
<p>By the middle 3600s, even in formal LŠ, the -<b>u</b> of particples was not written, nor the final -<b>a/i</b> in numbers, quantifiers, prepositions, and conjunctions.
<h2><a name="Morphology">Morphology</a></h2>
So I don’t have to repeat this everywhere: it’s <i>always correct</i> to use CT forms directly. Religious writers are so used to CT that it deeply affects their own writing, but a little CT sounds grand and formal in any kind of writing or speechmaking.
<p>I must note that just because CT was widely known doesn’t mean that it was mastered. Rather as people know about <i>thou</i> and -<i>eth</i> in early modern English but don’t know when to use them, Šureni generally don’t know how to properly use the ergative-absolutive verbs, or the dual, or the old aspect system.
<p>By the late 3600s CT began to sound old-fashioned and even difficult, and respectable non-CT models could be followed instead.
<h3><a name="Verbal">Verbal morphology</h3>
<h4>Participle paradigm</h4>
In SŠ, the participle paradigm has entirely taken over from the conjugation paradigm.
<p>In speech the passive participle has lost its final -<b>u</b>— this is one of the few sound changes that are reflected in writing. Thus <b>jiŋuŋu</b> ‘eaten’ > <b>jiŋuŋ, nebubu</b> ‘taught’ > <b>nebub, stutu</b> ‘cleaned’ > <b>stut</b>. (This doesn’t apply to participles used as substantives, e.g. <b>nebubu</b> ‘curriculum’.)
<p>In addition, the auxiliary <b>ši</b> ‘be’ has cliticized to the verb, which devoices any final consonant in the participle. Thus:
<blockquote> <b> Čelep nebup-šu.</b> <br/>
book read.pass-be.3s<br/>
<i> The book was taught.</i> <p>
Aneb nebat-šu čelep.<br/>
<b> cleric read.act-be.3s book</b> <br/>
The cleric teaches the book.<br/>
</blockquote>
As these will be so common, I’ve glossed the passive participle as “pass” and the active participle as “act”.
The choice of participle determines active vs. passive. Tense and person are shown by the auxiliary. A full conjugation:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td colspan="5"> <b>Active</b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> Present</td> <td> </td> <td> Past</td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td></td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nebat-sič </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪt</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-si </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbats </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> nebat-sač </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsət</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-ša </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatš </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nebat </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbat</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-šu </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsʊ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nebat-sid</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪd</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-sris</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪs</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> nebat-siš </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪš</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-srim </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪm</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> nebat-suš</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsʊš</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-srum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsʊm</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td colspan="5"> <b>Passive</b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> Present</td> <td> </td> <td> Past</td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td></td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nebub-sič </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪt</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-si </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbups </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> nebub-sač </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsət</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-ša </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupš </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nebubu </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbub</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-šu </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsʊ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nebub-sid</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪd</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-sris</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪs</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> nebub-siš </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪš</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-srim </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪm</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> nebub-suš</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsʊš </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-srum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsʊm</blu></b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<ul>
<li> The dual has been lost, except for the you + I form which has been reinterpreted as an inclusive <i>we</i>.
<li> The plural <i>you</i> form has been lost, due to the development of polite pronouns.
<li> The clitic is not expressed in the 3s present.
</ul>
See the CT grammar for complications in forming the participles.
<p>For usage notes see the Syntax section, but note that the “past” forms are normally completive, and the “present” forms are normally imperfect.
<h4>Negative paradigm</h4>
To negate the verb you add -<b>ga</b>. The loss of final -<b>a</b> has resulted in some fusion, so I’ll list all the forms:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td colspan="5"> <b>Active</b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> Present</td> <td> </td> <td> Past</td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td></td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nebat-si-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪk </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-ši-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatšɪk</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> nebat-sač-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsəg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-ša-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatšəg</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nebat-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbag</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-šu-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatšʊg</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nebat-sid-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-sris-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪz</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> nebat-siš-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪž </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-srim-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsɪŋ </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> nebat-suš-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsʊž </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebat-srum-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbatsʊŋ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td colspan="5"> <b>Passive</b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> Present</td> <td> </td> <td> Past</td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td></td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> <td> <i> written</i> </td> <td> <i> pronounced</i> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nebub-sič-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪj</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-ši-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupšɪg</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> nebub-sač-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsəj</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-ša-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupšəg</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nebubu-suč-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbubsʊg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-šu-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupšʊg</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nebub-sid-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-sriz-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪz</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> nebub-siš-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪž </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-sriŋ-ga </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsɪŋ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> nebub-suš-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsʊž </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nebub-srum-ga</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɛbupsʊŋ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
Often the only trace of the -<b>ga</b> ending is voicing of the final consonant of <b>ši</b>.
<h4>Conjugation paradigm</h4>
As Šureni are convinced that they are writing Classical Tžuro, they will freely use the conjugation paradigm in quotations and proverbs, and when imitating classical models. In literature, the conjugated past is used for past events. Here are the forms for <b>nebi</b> ‘teach’:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> Active</td> <td> written</td> <td> pronounced</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nib </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nib</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> nab </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu></blu>næb</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nub </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nub</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nzib</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɪzib</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> naib</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nayb</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> naub</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nawb</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> Passive</td> <td> written</td> <td> pronounced</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> nebi </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>neyb/neyps</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> neba </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>neyb/neypš </blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> nebu</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>neybʊ</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> nebis</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>neybɪs</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> nebim</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>naybɪm</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> nebum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>naybm̥</blu></b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
In LŠ the two variants are active vs. passive: “I taught” vs. “I was taught.” This can be seen as a reinterpretation of the CT ergative vs. absolutive. The mixed forms (e.g. <b>nabi</b> ‘you taught me’ are not used in LŠ.
<p>Note the similarity of the passive forms to the past forms of the participle paradigm. In SŠ the -<b>s/š</b> endings are applied by analogy to the 1s/2s to keep them separate.
<h4>Imperative</h4>
The imperative, as before, is the bare verb root: <b>neb!</b> ‘teach!’ This is the only place the bare verb root is used. It can take the negative: <b>neb-ga!</b> ‘don’t go!’
<p>Some speakers apply the 2s form <blu>ət</blu> from the active present participle, producing <blu>neybət</blu>. This is considered lower class and ‘incorrect.’
<p>A common genteelism is to use the bare active participle: <b>nebat!</b> (Or <b>nebat-suš</b> when addressing multiple people.)
<p>The imperative can be used with an explicit first or third person subject: <b>min mef!</b> ‘let me think’; <b>anebur mef!</b> ‘let the teacher think’
<h4>Prefixes</h4>
These prefixes are still productive, though there are also synthetic alternatives:
<ul>
<li> <b>u</b>- for future actions
<li> <b>ye</b>- is causative
<li> <b>ni</b>- indicates ability or permission
<li> <b>pa</b>- indicates inability or forbiddenness
<li> <b>jo</b>- indicates obligation
<li> <b>go</b>- indicates that the action is being undone
</ul>
These are normally applied to the participle, not to <b>ši</b>, but especially in SŠ, or with multiple verbs, the prefix may migrate to the auxiliary.
The antipassive <b>o</b>- is no longer used.
<h4>Auxiliaries</h4>
Several verbs have retained their conjugated forms and are used as auxiliaries:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> ši ‘be’</td> <td> </td> <td> nirni ‘have’</td> <td> degi ‘go’</td> <td> </td> <td> vanki ‘camp’</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> Present</td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> sič </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>səyč</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nirin </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɪrin </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> dirig </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dɪrig</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vinik </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vɪnik</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> sač </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>sæç</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> naran</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nəran</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> darag</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dərag</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vanak</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vənak</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> suč </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>swəč </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nurun</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nʊrun</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> durug</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dʊrug</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vunuk</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vʊnuk</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> sid</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>səyd</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nidin</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɪdin</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> didig</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dɪdig</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vidink</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vɪdin</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> siš </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>səyš </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> naron</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nəron</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> daril</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dəril</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> varink</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vərin</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> suš</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>swəš </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> narun</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nəron</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> darul</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dərul</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> varunk</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vərun</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> Past</td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> ši</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>šəy</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nirn </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nəyrn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> dig </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dəyg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vink </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vəyn</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> ša </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>šæ</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> narn</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nærn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> dag</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dæg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vank</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>væn</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/she</td> <td> <b> šu </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>šwə</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nurn</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nwərn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> dug</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dwəg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vunk</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vwən</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we incl.</td> <td> <b> sris</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>srəys</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nzirn</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nɪzirn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> dzig</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dzəyg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vzink</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vɪzin</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> we excl.</td> <td> <b> srim </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>swəm</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> nairn</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nayn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> daig</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dayg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vaink</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vayn</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> they</td> <td> <b> srum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>swəm</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> naurn</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nawn</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> daug</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>dawg</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> vaunk</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>vawn</blu></b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
In addition these verbs have 3s forms only:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td colspan="2"> nuji ‘know’</td> <td colspan="2"> grami ‘grab’</td> <td colspan="2"> sači ‘be right’</td> <td colspan="2"> gohi ‘be wrong’</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> Present</td> <td> <b> nuj </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nwəj</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> grum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>gwəm</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> suč </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>swəč </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> guh</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>gwə</blu></b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> Past</td> <td> <b> nuruj</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>nʊrwəj</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> gurum</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>gwərm̥</blu></b> </td> <td> <b> suruč </b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>sʊruč </blu></b> </td> <td> <b> guruh</b> </td> <td> <b> <blu>gʊrwə</blu></b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<h3><a name="Nominal">Nominal morphology</h3>
The base patterns for plurals are the same as CT:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> e.g.</td> <td> singular</td> <td> </td> <td> plural</td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> -[euo]C</td> <td> king</td> <td> <b>ajjos</b></td> <td> <blu>əjoʊs</blu></td> <td> <b>ajjoso</b></td> <td> <blu>əjoʊsɔ </blu></td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> -[ia]C</td> <td> sea</td> <td> <b>čal</b></td> <td> <blu>čæl</blu></td> <td> <b>čal</b></td> <td> <blu>čæl</blu></td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> -[aei]</td> <td> wheat</td> <td> <b>mahi</b></td> <td> <blu>mæi</blu></td> <td> <b>mahiu</b></td> <td> <blu>mæʊ</blu></td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> -[ou]</td> <td> god</td> <td> <b>jeŋu</b></td> <td> <blu>jeyŋʊ</blu></td> <td> <b>jeŋum</b></td> <td> <blu>jeyŋm̥</blu></td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
In speech the loss of final -<b>a/i</b> makes some forms (like <blu>čæl</blu>) ambiguous. By convention you can supply a final -<blu>ʊ </blu>to disambiguate, much as French speakers sometimes pronounce a “silent” final -<i>e</i> as [ə].
<p>This becomes more of a problem with the genitive -<b>i</b>, which is therefore avoided in favor of the preposition <b>si</b>. But many common expressions retain the ‘genitive’ form, with or without final -<b>i</b>: <b>man(i) mafali</b> ‘national senate’.
<p>The inflected demonstrative –<b>(u)r</b> now has a definite meaning: <b>mahir</b> > <blu>mæȟɪr </blu>‘the wheat’. Note that after a consonant it's pronounced <blu>r̥</blu>: <b>ajjosur</b> > <blu>əjoʊsr̥</blu> ‘the king’. (It’s striking that -<i>r</i> also marks the definite in Mei. Though the suffixes are cognate, the meaning in CT was demonstrative.)
<h3><a name="Pronouns">Pronouns</h3>
<h4>Personal pronouns</h4>
These are used more frequently than in OS, especially as objects, since these are no longer marked on the verb.
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> s</td> <td> pl</td> <td> poss</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> I</td> <td> <b> min</b> </td> <td> <b> minum</b> </td> <td> <b> smin</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> you</td> <td> <b> teŋ </b> </td> <td> <b> teŋe</b> </td> <td> <b> steŋ </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> he/it</td> <td> <b> so</b> </td> <td> <b> sono</b> </td> <td> <b> so</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> she</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> </td> <td> <b> soŋ </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> soŋ </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> polite</td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> so(no)</b> </td> <td> <b> so</b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<b>Mini</b> ‘we’ has merged with <b>min</b>, so <b>minum</b> has developed by analogy. This is an old enough change that it’s accepted even in formal writing.
<p>From about 2900, <b>sono</b> ‘they’ has been used as a polite form of ’you’. The highest-rank pronoun <b>zal</b> is highly marked as CT and avoided in republican Šura.
<p>The <b>possessive</b> suffixes can be used in LŠ (e.g. <b>čelepali</b> ‘my book’, <b>čelepala</b> ‘your book’), but since final -<b>a/i</b> are lost, they can’t really be used in SŠ. Instead the new forms above are used, deriving from prepositional phrases with <b>si</b>. Thus <b>čelepa smin</b> ‘my book’, <b>čelepa so</b> ‘his book’. The same forms are used for the plural, so <b>smin</b> also means ‘our’.
<p>Standalone <b>so</b> is pronounced <blu>soʊ</blu>; possessive <b>so</b> is <blu>sɔ</blu>.
<h4>Demonstratives</h4>
CT had just one set of demonstratives; this has been extended into a three-way distinction using the prepositions <b>taj</b> ‘near’ and <b>rut</b> ‘away’:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> adjective</td> <td> noun</td> <td> place</td> <td> time</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> this</td> <td> <b> taj</b> </td> <td> <b> martaj</b> </td> <td> <b> čertaj</b> </td> <td> <b> nertaj</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> that near</td> <td> <b> čer</b> </td> <td> <b> mar</b> </td> <td> <b> čer</b> </td> <td> <b> ner</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> that far</td> <td> <b> rut</b> </td> <td> <b> marrut</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<h4>Interrogatives</h4>
The basic interrogatives:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> which</td> <td> <b>au</b></td> </tr>
<tr> <td> who</td> <td> <b> avir</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> what</td> <td> <b> av</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> where</td> <td> <b> aval</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> when</td> <td> <b> aunem</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> how</td> <td> <b> audeg</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> why</td> <td> <b> avar</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> how much</td> <td> <b> aumerg</b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
Note the new distinction between <b>avir</b> ‘who’ and <b>av</b> ‘what’, replacing CT <b>ava</b> ‘who/what’.
<h4>Quantifiers </h4>
The quantifiers are nearly unchanged from CT:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> adjective</td> <td> noun</td> <td> place</td> <td> time</td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> none</td> <td> <b> let</b> </td> <td> <b> lettir</b> </td> <td> <b> čelet</b> </td> <td> <b> nelet</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> one</td> <td> <b> mo</b> </td> <td> <b> mot</b> </td> <td> <b> čemmo</b> </td> <td> <b> nemmo</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> other</td> <td> <b> gok</b> </td> <td> <b> gokkir</b> </td> <td> <b> gokali</b> </td> <td> <b> neŋgok</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> some/any</td> <td> <b> biv</b> </td> <td> <b> bivvir</b> </td> <td> <b> bivali</b> </td> <td> <b> nembiv</b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> many/much</td> <td> <b> kuš </b> </td> <td> <b> kuššir</b> </td> <td> <b> kušali</b> </td> <td> <b> neŋkuš </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> all/every</td> <td> <b> an</b> </td> <td> <b> anat</b> </td> <td> <b> čegali</b> </td> <td> <b> neman</b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
‘Some’ is now usually written <b>biv</b> rather than <b>biva</b>. There has also been some regularization of the indefinite pronouns: <b>bivat > bivvir, čegan > čegali</b>. Ironically the last is found in the <i>Baburkunim</i>, so it’s a marker of very old or very new Tžuro.
<p>LŠ has innovated <b>kušga</b> ‘few’ and <b>moga</b> ‘not a few’, <b>degar</b> ‘that way’.
<h3><a name="Numbers">Numbers</h3>
Šureni uses both decimal and duodecimal numbers. The duodecimals work as in CT.
<p>Even in the 3400s, Šureni scientists got used to using decimal in order to read and apply Eretaldan science and mathematics. This became crucial with the adoption of the Xurnese System in 3618. Scientific works use decimal only. (This applies to Mei as well.) This led to its widespread use in manufacturing, journalism, and government regulation. On the other hand years, pricing, bookkeeping, and most everday uses are duodecimal.
<p>The decimal system is closely based on the duodecimal:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> </td> <td> unit</td> <td> 10n</td> <td> 10n</td> <td> nth</td> <td> 1/n</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 1</td> <td> <b> mo</b> </td> <td> <b> pis</b> </td> <td> <b> pis</b> </td> <td> <b> ništ</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 2</td> <td> <b> ŋok</b> </td> <td> <b> pisŋok</b> </td> <td> <b> sič </b> </td> <td> <b> lešp</b> </td> <td> <b> drajut</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 3</td> <td> <b> dej</b> </td> <td> <b> pisdej</b> </td> <td> <b> ez</b> </td> <td> <b> lend</b> </td> <td> <b> nej</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 4</td> <td> <b> dal</b> </td> <td> <b> pisdal</b> </td> <td> <b> je</b> </td> <td> <b> dale</b> </td> <td> <b> jret</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 5</td> <td> <b> biŋ</b> </td> <td> <b> pisbiŋ</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> jom</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 6</td> <td> <b> mah</b> </td> <td> <b> pismah</b> </td> <td> <b> bon</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 7</td> <td> <b> momah</b> </td> <td> <b> pismomah</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 8</td> <td> <b> dag</b> </td> <td> <b> pisdag</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 9</td> <td> <b> dejmah</b> </td> <td> <b> pisdejmah</b> </td> <td> <b> for</b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> <td> <b> </b> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> 10</td> <td> <b> pis</b> </td> <td> <b> sič </b> </td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
(<b>Momah, dejmah</b> ‘7, 9’ are pronounced <blu>moʊma</blu>, <blu>deyma</blu>.)
<p>The names of the powers of ten are simply the Xurnese System prefixes. The next two are <b>ter</b> 1012, zey 1015. In older sources Mei <b>ezo</b> ‘thousand’ and <b>bonu</b> ‘million’ are found, as well as <b>pisluj</b> ‘big 10’ for 100.
<p>Two-digit numbers can be named with the CT formula <tens> <b>a</b>-<units>, e.g. <b>pismah a-dej</b> ‘63’. But the <b>a</b>- is normally omitted in decimal numbers (<b>pismah dej</b>), and increasingly with duodecimals (<b>mogbiŋ pis</b> = 5T12 = 70.
<p>Numbers precede nouns (<b>ŋok čelepau</b> ‘two books’), and this forms powers of 10 too: <b>ŋok sič</b> ‘200’. These can be followed by a two-digit number: <b>ŋok sič pismah dej</b> ‘263’.
<p>For larger numbers you divide the number into triplets:
<blockquote> <b> pisdag dej bon / mah sič pisŋok biŋ ez / dag sič pisbiŋ mah</b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six hundred ten-two five thousand / eight hundred ten-five six<br/>
<i> 83,625,856</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
You can leave out <b>sič</b>:
<blockquote> <b> pisdag dej bon / mah pisŋok biŋ ez / dag pisbiŋ mah</b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six ten-two five thousand / eight ten-five six<br/>
<i> 83,625,856</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
You can also stop the sequence after each digit:
<blockquote> <b> pisdag dej bon / mah pisŋok biŋ ez</b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six ten-two five thousand<br/>
<i> 83,625,000</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> pisdag dej bon / mah pisŋok</b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six ten-two<br/>
<i> 83,620,000</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> pisdag dej bon / mah</b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six<br/>
<i> 83,600,000</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Any digit can be <b>fasak</b> ‘zero’, but it’s only necessary if it’s the tens digit:
<blockquote> <b> pisdag dej bon / mah fasak biŋ ez </b> <br/>
ten-eight three million / six zero five thousand <br/>
<i> 83,605,000</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The decimal point is <b>ner</b> (literally ‘then’). The numbers after the decimal can be read in three ways: as a string of single digits, as doublets, or as triplets. E.g:
<blockquote> <b> dej ner / mo dal mo biŋ dejmah ŋok </b> <br/>
three then / one four one five nine two<br/>
<i> 3.141592</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> dej ner / pis dal / pis biŋ / pisdejmah ŋok </b> <br/>
three then / ten four / ten five / ninety two<br/>
<i> 3.141592</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> dej ner / mo pisdal mo / biŋ pisdejmah ŋok </b> <br/>
three then / one forty one / five ninety two<br/>
<i> 3.141592</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="Syntax">Syntax</a></h2>
As with morphology, it’s always possible to use CT constructions directly, such as the conjugation paradigm. See the CT grammar for how these work.
<p>Green is used in this section to highlight the word class or morpheme I’m talking about.
<h3><a name="Sentence">Sentence order</a></h3>
The default sentence order in LŠ/SŠ is S<grn>V</grn>O:
<blockquote> <b> Ažraŋ <grn>hasat-šu</grn> annemi.</b> <br/>
trustee read.act-be.3s daily<br/>
<i> The Trustee read a newspaper.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
To focus on the newspaper, use the passive instead:
<blockquote> <b> Annemi <grn>hastut-šu</grn>.</b> <br/>
daily read.pass-be.3s <br/>
<i> A newspaper was read.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In CT you had to omit the previous subject, but this can now be supplied with the preposition <b>taj</b> (literally ‘next to’):
<blockquote> <b> Annemi <grn>hastut-šu</grn> taj ažraŋ.</b> <br/>
daily read.pass-be.3s next.to trustee<br/>
<i> A newspaper was read by the Trustee.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The participle paradigm (which is exclusively used in LŠ) never used the topicalization rule of CT. It was nominative-accusative in CT and remains so in Šureni.
<h3><a name="Definite">Definiteness and demonstratives</a></h3>
CT had only one demonstrative, the –<b>(u)r</b> suffix. This has become a marker of definiteness. Cf.:
<blockquote> <b> Aŋok smin kaštut-šu paran.</b> <br/>
editor of-1s kill.pass-be.3s man<br/>
<i> My editor killed a man.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Aŋok smin kaštut-šu <grn>paranur</grn>.</b> <br/>
editor of-1s kill.pass-be.3s man-def<br/>
<i> My editor killed the man.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The rules are looser than English’s conventions on <i>the</i>. The essential idea is the same: it answers the question “<i>which</i> man” by asserting that it’s the man the speaker and hearer are talking about (or can deduce from the context— e.g. we know that there’s a human being in the scene). But:
<ul>
<li> If the man is referred to multiple times, the definite suffix is optional on later references.
<li> It’s more likely to be omitted for the subject, e.g. <b>ažraŋ</b> ‘trustee’ in the previous examples.
</ul>
For demonstratives, a three-way distinction is made with separate words:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b>paran taj</b></td> <td> ‘man next.to’</td> <td> = this man</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b>paran čer</b></td> <td> ‘man there’</td> <td> = that man, not far</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b>paran rut</b></td> <td> ‘man outside’</td> <td> = that man yonder</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<b>Taj</b> and <b>rut</b> are prepositions, and these are short for <b>taj min</b> ‘by me’, <b>rut min</b> ‘far from me’. You can also say <b>taj teŋ</b> ‘by you’, <b>taj so</b> ‘by him’, etc. You can’t do this with <b>čer</b>.
<p>It isn’t always clear in LŠ whether –<b>(u)r</b> is being used to mark definiteness, or (as in CT) as a demonstrative. Likewise, people reading CT often take the demonstrative as a definite; often this makes no difference, but sometimes it does.
<h3><a name="Be">To be</a></h3>
<b>Ši</b> ‘to be’ is part of the participle paradigm; on its own it’s the copula. It’s optional in the 3s.
<blockquote> <b> Aŋok smin <grn>(suč)</grn> akušap.</b> <br/>
editor of-1s be.3s man<br/>
<i> My editor is an idiot.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
As an independent verb, <b>ši</b> is fully stressed, so <b>sič</b> ‘I am’ is <blu>səyč</blu>, not the clitic form <blu>sɪt</blu>.
<p><b>Existentials</b> now use the verb <b>degi</b> ‘go’: present <b>dralu</b>, past <b>degu</b>. These are not conjugated by person.
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Dralu</grn> lidah taj salat.</b> <br/>
go-pres train next.to platform<br/>
<i> There’s a train at the platform.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Tret Babur, <grn>degu</grn> igalna.</b> <br/>
before Babur / go-past confusion<br/>
<i> Before Babur, there was confusion.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In CT <b>degi</b> implied a recent arrival, but this doesn’t apply to Šureni.
<h3><a name="NP">NP order</a></h3>
General NP order:
<blockquote>
number quantifier adjectives noun demonstrative possessor PP
</blockquote>
Thus:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maral</grn></b> </td> <td> a girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maralur</grn></b> </td> <td> the girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> biv <grn>marala</grn></b> </td> <td> some girls</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> an <grn>maralar</grn></b> </td> <td> all the girls</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maral</grn> smin</b> </td> <td> my girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maral</grn> si aneb</b> </td> <td> the teacher’s girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> dal <grn>marala</grn></b> </td> <td> four girls</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nidiram <grn>maral</grn></b> </td> <td> a beautiful girl </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nidiram a nimeraf <grn>maral</grn></b> </td> <td> a beautiful and smart girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> dal biv nidiram <grn>marala</grn></b> </td> <td> some of four beautiful girls</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maral</grn> čer</b> </td> <td> that girl</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> <grn>maralur</grn> rut Pelih</b> </td> <td> the girl from Pelihi</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
Adjectives generally precede the noun in LŠ, but may follow it in conventional expressions.
<h3><a name="Yesno">Yes/no questions</a></h3>
The colloquial way to ask a question is with the tag <b>gohu</b>. This meant ‘that is wrong’ in CT and was used to answer ‘no’, but now it just marks a question, without presuming either a yes or no answer.
<blockquote> <b> Aŋokur smin kašat paran <grn>gohu</grn>?</b> <br/>
editor-def 1s.gen kill.act man Q<br/>
<i> Did my editor kill a man?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Even more colloquial is to use <b>guh</b> (past <b>guruh</b>), another form of the same word, which as an auxiliary expresses doubt. It leans toward the answer ‘no’.
<blockquote> <b> Aŋokur kašat <grn>guruh</grn> paran?</b> <br/>
editor-def kill.act wrong-3s.past man Q<br/>
<i> The editor didn’t kill a man, did he?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The tag <b>ye</b> is still used, with a presumption that the answer is probably yes:
<blockquote> <b> Aŋokur kašat-šu paran <grn>ye</grn>?</b> <br/>
editor-def kill.act-be.3s man or<br/>
<i> The editor killed a man, didn’t he?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
‘Yes’ is <b>taj</b>, ‘no’ is <b>let</b>. Or you can answer <b>sač</b> for ‘probably yes’, <b>guh</b> for ‘probably no.’
<h3><a name="Negatives">Negatives</a></h3>
<p>Verbs are negated with the final clitic -<b>ga</b>. (This causes a good deal of fusion; see the Morphology section.)
<blockquote> <b> Aŋok smin kašat-šu-<grn>ga</grn> paran.</b> <br/>
editor of 1s kill.act-be.3s-not man<br/>
<i> My editor didn’t kill a man.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
A negated question works as usual:
<blockquote> <b> Aŋokur kašat-šu-<grn>ga</grn> paran <grn>gohu</grn>?</b> <br/>
editor-def kill.actw-be.3s-not man Q<br/>
<i> Didn’t the editor kill a man?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Taj</b> agrees with the negation (“that’s right, he didn’t”), <b>let</b> denies it (“wrong, he did kill”).
<h3><a name="Tense">Tense and aspect</a></h3>
The past forms are normally completive, the present ones progressive. E.g.:
<blockquote> <b> Hasat-si čelepar.</b> <br/>
read.act-be.past.1s book-def<br/>
<i> I read the book (completely).</i>
<p><b>Hasat-sič čelepar.</b><br/>
read.act-be.pres.1s book-def <br/>
<i>I am (still) reading the book.</i><br/>
</blockquote>
The past form without the <b>ši</b> clitic implies a progressive meaning:
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Hasat</grn> čelepar, garat-si.</b> <br/>
read.act book-def / sleep.act-be.past.1s<br/>
<i> I was reading the book when I fell asleep.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
This is most commonly used, as above, to indicate what was in progress when something else happened. It can be used standalone, but as the participle alone does not indicate the subject, this may have to be supplied:
<blockquote> <b> Min <grn>hasat</grn> čelepar nentret.</b> <br/>
1s read.act book-def yesterday<br/>
<i> I was reading the book yesterday.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
As the copula usually disappears in the 3s, 3s sentences can be ambiguous in this respect: <b>Lon hasat čelepar</b> could be “Lon read the book” or (with another verb) “Lon was reading the book when…”
<p>The present can be said to extend some time into the future.
<blockquote> <b> Manitir degat-suš jat Ornah.</b> <br/>
icëlani-pl-def go.act-be.past.3p to Ornakh<br/>
<i> The icëlani are going to Ornakh.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
This might mean that they’re on the way as we speak, or that they’re leaving soon.
<p>Something can be explicitly assigned to the future with the prefix <b>u</b>-. Again, the bare verb implies completion, and the absence of <b>ši</b> makes the meaning progressive.
<blockquote> <b> Uhasat-sič čelepar.</b> <br/>
fut-read.act-be.pres.1s book-def<br/>
<i> I will read the book (completely).</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Min <grn>ugarat</grn> an nem.</b> <br/>
1s fut-sleep.act all day<br/>
<i> I will be sleeping all day.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Also see <a href="#auxiliaries"><i>Auxiliaries</i></a> below, for more options.
<h3><a name="Adverbs">Adverbs</a></h3>
Adverbs are now regularly formed using the clitic -<b>deg</b>, e.g. <b>pažih-deg</b> ‘slowly’.
<p>The suffix is not stressed, so this is pronounced <blu>pəžidɛk</blu>.
<h3><a name="Possession">Possession</a></h3>
The conjugated verb <b>nirni</b> ‘have’ is used for possession:
<blockquote> <b> Nirin margluj. Ava naran?</b> <br/>
have-1s computer / what have-2s<br/>
<i> I have a computer. What have you got?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Possession is also expressed with the preposition <b>si</b>, thus <b>ŋadim si asarn</b> ‘the cook’s lover’. There are special forms for the pronouns: <b>ŋadim smin</b> ‘my lover’. This can be stated using the copula:
<blockquote> <b> Ŋadim suč si asarn.</b> <br/>
lover be.pres.3s of cook<br/>
<i> The lover is the cook’s.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The CT genitive is still common in formal expressions: <b>mani čeg</b> ‘the state of the nation’. This construction is avoided in speech because the final -<b>i</b> has been lost: <b>Lon</b> and <b>Loni</b> are pronounced alike (as <blu>loʊn</blu>).
<p>An exception is kinship terms and body parts: you say <b>Loni maral</b> ‘Lon’s daughter’ or <b>Loni ješe</b> ‘Lon’s eyes’ rather than <b>maral si Lon, ješe si Lon</b>. Less educated speakers take this as a simple appositive, and thus say e.g. <b>jeŋu tor</b> ‘god’s hand’ rather than the proper <b>jeŋui tor</b>.
<h3><a name="Ditransitives">Ditransitives</a></h3>
Verbs like <b>braji</b> ‘give’ have two objects. One or both can be given:
<blockquote> <b> Anaŋk baraj-šu <grn>navatur valatutja biga</grn>.</b> <br/>
conner give.act-be.past.3s victim-def fake coin<br/>
<i> The con man gave the victim a false coin.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ŋaraš-si <grn>jaraŋ</grn>.</b> <br/>
buy.act-be.past.1s record<br/>
<i> I bought a record.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ŋaraš-sač <grn>min</grn> gohu?</b> <br/>
buy.act-be.pres.2s Q<br/>
<i> Did you buy me (something)?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Either can be passivized:
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Navatur</grn> barjud-šu valatutja biga.</b> <br/>
victim-def give.pass-be.past.3s fake coin<br/>
<i> The victim was given a false coin.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Jaraŋ</grn> ŋaršuš-si.</b> <br/>
record buy.pass-be.past.1s <br/>
<i> A record was bought.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Valati</b> ‘name’ works this way too, as in CT.
<blockquote> <b> Šureniur valarat-suž <grn>teŋu so Jippir</grn>.</b> <br/>
Šureni-pl-def name.act-be.pres.3p god of-3 Jippir<br/>
<i> The Šureni call their god Jippir.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Valatut-sič <grn>Balar</grn>.</b> <br/>
name.pass-be.pres.1s Balar<br/>
<i> My name is Balar.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In CT <b>kini</b> and <b>mali</b> both meant ‘speak’, but the former had a person as a direct object and the latter an utterance. In LŠ both work are ditransitives, but <b>kini</b> has specialized to ‘complain’.
<h3><a name="Conjunctions">Conjunctions</a></h3>
The list of conjunctions is similar to that of CT:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> am</b> </td> <td> and (before a consonant, a)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> ye</b> </td> <td> or</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> hiŋ</b> </td> <td> but</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> hiŋit</b> </td> <td> however, although</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> marga</b> </td> <td> but not, certainly not</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> zun</b> </td> <td> therefore</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> kor</b> </td> <td> because</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> ret</b> </td> <td> then, next</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> gotot</b> </td> <td> despite</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> taj</b> </td> <td> besides, in addition</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> yan</b> </td> <td> moreover, even more so</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> yanye</b> </td> <td> yet, even so, but still</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> sog</b> </td> <td> except, unless</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> jo</b> </td> <td> relativizer</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
As in English, the omitted subject of a conjoined clause is the same as in the first conjoint. E.g.:
<blockquote> <b> Ažraŋ maral ŋamaš so, ret serav.</b> <br/>
trustee speak-act wife of-3 / then leave-act<br/>
<i> The trustee spoke to his wife, then left.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The listener will understand that the trustee spoke and then left. In CT the second sentence would be conjugated and ergative (<b>ret sevu</b>) and would be taken as meaning the wife left.
<p>In addition, there are some correlative conjunctions, used in pairs:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> mo… ŋokye</b> </td> <td> either… or (exclusive or)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> mar… gotot</b> </td> <td> though… yet</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> marga… yan</b> </td> <td> not… but </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> marga… marga</b> </td> <td> neither… nor</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> mar… yanye</b> </td> <td> not only… but also </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nertaj… zun</b> </td> <td> now that… then</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> jo… ret</b> </td> <td> if… then</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nemmo… zun</b> </td> <td> once… then</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nejo… zun</b> </td> <td> given… then</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<blockquote> <b> Marga fsarak-sid, marga pajud.</b> <br/>
neither lose-act-be.1pi / neither conquer-pass<br/>
<i> We will not fail, neither will we be conquered.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The sample also shows that the clitic <b>ši</b> can be omitted if the subjects are the same.
<h3><a name="Prepositions">Prepositions</a></h3>
The main prepositions:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> bagat</b> </td> <td> behind, in back of</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> duk</b> </td> <td> on top of</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> durav</b> </td> <td> across</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> gotot</b> </td> <td> against, despite</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> in</b> </td> <td> compared to; like, as</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> jat</b> </td> <td> in, inside; to, toward</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> jir</b> </td> <td> at (a time)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> kor</b> </td> <td> because of</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> min</b> </td> <td> under, below </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> pit</b> </td> <td> after (in time), since</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> rut</b> </td> <td> out of, outside; from (a place)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> saraj</b> </td> <td> up to, until, just reaching</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> si</b> </td> <td> of (before a vowel, s)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> taj</b> </td> <td> next to, near, alongside, with (accompanying); by (an agent)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> tarat</b> </td> <td> in front of</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> teŋ</b> </td> <td> above, over</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> tot</b> </td> <td> using, with (instrumental)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> tret</b> </td> <td> before (in time), until</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> yav</b> </td> <td> for, because of, in order to</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
<b>Tot</b> is used with languages, and <b>mel</b> can be omitted: <b>tot šureni</b> ‘in Šureni’, <b>tot vredurai</b> ‘in Verdurian’, <b>tot Tžuro</b> ‘in Tžuro’.
<p>The object of the preposition can be omitted; in that case append -<b>deg</b> ‘way’:
<blockquote> <b> Derag jat daldeg. </b> <br/>
walk-act in garden <br/>
<i> He walked into the garden. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Derag jatdeg.</b> <br/>
walk-act in-way<br/>
<i> He walked in.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Interrogatives">Interrogatives</a></h3>
Most interogatives, as in CT, appear at the end. However, <b>ava</b> ‘who’ and <b>avir</b> ‘who’ as the subject appear in subject position:
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Ava</grn> uyeverad ašapur?</b> <br/>
who fut-caus-wake.pres convener-def<br/>
<i> Who will wake the Convener?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Savviri yav-suš <grn>avir</grn>?</b> <br/>
elcar-pl want-be.3p what<br/>
<i> What do the elcari want?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="auxiliaries">Conjugated auxiliaries</a></h3>
A handful of verbs are still conjugated, used as auxiliaries. We’ve already met <b>ši</b> ‘be’, which forms the unmarked past and present.
<p>You can use <b>degi</b> ‘go’ in its place to indicate intention or a promise. (By contrast future <b>u</b>- simply places an event in time.)
<blockquote> <b> Valat <grn>dirig</grn> fsevvu smin.</b> <br/>
find-act go-1s son of-2<br/>
<i> I promise I’ll find your son.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Vanki</b> ‘sojourn’ indicates that something was done repeatedly, habitually, or insistently.
<blockquote> <b> Jejeraš <grn>vink</grn> an brajaliur.</b> <br/>
search-act sojourn-1s all bar-pl-def<br/>
<i> I repeatedly searched all the bars.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
There are also auxiliaries which conjugate in the third person only, with an evidential sense:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td> <i> verb</i> </td> <td> <i>basic meaning</i></td> <td> <i>meaning as an auxiliary</i></td> <td> <i>negated auxiliary</i></td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nuji</b> </td> <td> know</td> <td> deductive or assumptive</td> <td> it must not be</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> grami</b> </td> <td> grab</td> <td> change in state</td> <td> it hasn’t happened</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> sači</b> </td> <td> be right</td> <td> certainty, emphasis</td> <td> it didn’t happen</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> gohi</b> </td> <td> be wrong</td> <td> uncertainty</td> <td> it’s likely</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
Don’t get hung up on the literal meanings— Šureni are excitable and prone to overstate things. E.g. <b>nuji</b> may merely mean that the speaker wishes that the thing was true— or worse yet, that he knows that you want it to be true.
<p>The basic meaning of <b>nuji</b> is that we can deduce that it’s true:
<blockquote> <b> Akašt jadderag <grn>nuruj</grn> tot tasatur.</b> <br/>
killer enter-act know-3s.past using window-def<br/>
<i> The murderer must have entered by the window.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
There is always an implied reason (e.g. “the door was not disturbed and there is no other entrance”), but it can be quite loose, e.g. “this is the way things always work”:
<blockquote> <b> Lidahur derag <grn>nuj</grn> tret biŋ.</b> <br/>
train-def go-act know-3s before five<br/>
<i> The train will arrive by five.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Note that this is the another way of talking about the future. Despite the implied certainty of ‘know’, it always implies less reliability than the simple future (<b>uderag</b>).
<p>The negative applies to the main verb, not the auxiliary. That is, this sentence
<blockquote> <b> Akašt jadderag <grn>nuruj-ga</grn> tot tasatur.</b> <br/>
killer enter-act know-3s.past-not using window-def<br/>
<i> The murderer can’t have entered by the window.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
is also a deduction, this time that the murderer didn’t use the window. If you really want to deny the deduction (“it’s not the case that we can deduce that”), you add the auxiliary <b>guh</b> ‘be wrong’ (<b>jadderag nuruj guh</b>).
<p><b>Grami</b> emphasizes that a change has occurred, or an event has ended. It’s similar to the English perfect, or Mandarin 了 <i>le</i>. Since the LŠ past tense is usually completive, you may wonder what’s different. Compare:
<blockquote> <b> Hasat-šu čelepar si Nejar.</b> <br/>
1s read.act-be.3s book-def of Nejar<br/>
<i> I read Nejar’s book..</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Min <grn>hasat gurum</grn> čelepar si Nejar.</b> <br/>
1s read.act grab-3s.past book-def of Nejar<br/>
<i> I have read Nejar’s book.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The first sentence is unmarked and merely informative; it might be used to say what you did today. The second sentence is used when there is some obvious present relevance: it may imply “…so you don't have to tell me about it” or “…so I can finally write that review.”
<p>Note that the 3rd person auxiliaries don’t give the subject, so a first or second person subject must be explicitly provided. An alternative is to use both auxiliaries: <b>Hasat-šu gurum</b>…
<blockquote> <b> Lidahur <grn>derag</grn> jir biŋ.</b> <br/>
train-def go-act at five<br/>
<i> The train arrived at five.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Lidahur <grn>derag gurum</grn> jir biŋ.</b> <br/>
train-def go-act grab-3s.past at five<br/>
<i> The train did arrive at five.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Here <b>grami</b> indicates that the arrival of the train is unexpected or was in doubt.
<p><b>Grami</b> is not used, as the English perfect can be, to indicate that something occurred before the time of the narrative. Rather, use the adverb nembiv ‘sometime’:
<blockquote> <b> Kevriu <grn>nembiv</grn> derag-srum jat Zalnaram.</b> <br/>
Kebreni-pl sometime walk-act-be.3s.past in Iliažë<br/>
<i> The Kebreni have walked on Iliažë.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The negative denies the change of state, usually as a way of emphasizing that something is not yet done, contrary to our expectations or wishes:
<blockquote> <b> Lidahur <grn>derag gurum-ga</grn> jir biŋ.</b> <br/>
train-def go-act grab-3s.past-not at five<br/>
<i> The train didn’t arrive at five (as we thought it would).</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Sači</b> is used to emphasize that something really happened:
<blockquote> <b> Lon kororaš suruč adim so.</b> <br/>
Lon throw-act true-3s.past lover of.3s<br/>
<i> For real, Lon dumped her boyfriend.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The negative is equally certain that something didn’t happen:
<blockquote> <b> Lon kororaš suruč-ga adim so.</b> <br/>
Lon throw-act true-3s.past-not lover of.3s<br/>
<i> For sure, Lon hasn’t dumped her boyfriend.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Gohi</b> literally means ‘be wrong’, but as an auxiliary it merely expresses strong doubt.
<blockquote> <b> Lon <grn>biraš guruh</grn> iyesača.</b> <br/>
Lon experience-act wrong-3s.past rectification<br/>
<i> Lon surely didn’t have therapy.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The negative reduces but doesn't remove the doubt— i.e. the event is more likely than not:
<blockquote> <b> Lon biraš guruh-ga iyesača.</b> <br/>
Lon experience-act wrong-3s.past-not rectification<br/>
<i> Lon probably had therapy.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Double">Double-participle auxiliaries</a></h3>
Some verbs, though used with other verbs, do not retain conjugated forms in LŠ. They thus follow the participle paradigm, producing sentences with two participles.
<blockquote> <b> Ašap <grn>maral yav</grn> ajatkinur.</b> <br/>
convener speak-act want-act ambassador-def<br/>
<i> The Convener wishes to speak to the ambassador.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The same construction is used for sentential arguments. This is similar to CT, but the auxiliary now stays where auxiliaries always do, right after the verb.
<blockquote> <b> Mafallir <grn>tarak jišat-šu</grn> jesrudur.</b> <br/>
senator drink-act seem-act-be-3s.past poison-def<br/>
<i> It appears that the Senator drank the poison.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
If you want a pronominal subject, or the past tense, you use the <b>ši</b> clitics on the auxiliary.
<blockquote> <b> Tarak jišat-<grn>sič</grn> dimad steŋ.</b> <br/>
drink-act seem-act-be.1s glass of-2<br/>
<i> I appear to have drunk your glass.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
An adjective can be used in place of the auxiliary participle; it can even take <b>ši</b> clitics.
<blockquote> <b> Mafallir <grn>tarak paderag-šu</grn> jesrudur.</b> <br/>
senator drink-act impossible-be-3s.past poison-def<br/>
<i> It’s impossible for the Senator to have drunk the poison.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Relative">Relative clauses</a></h3>
It’s still possible to subordinate an entire sentence using <b>jo</b>:
<blockquote> <b> Jejeraš-sič paranur <grn>jo kašat-šu aŋesum smin</grn>.</b> <br/>
seek-act-be.1s man-def sub kill-act-be-3s.past father of-1<br/>
<i> I seek the man who killed my father.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In CT the <b>jo</b> clause attached to the sentence as a whole. Now it normally attaches to the NP:
<blockquote> <b> Paran <grn>jo kašat-šu aŋesum smin</grn> nurun mah draga.</b> <br/>
man-def sub kill-act-be-3s.past father of-1 have-3s six finger-pl<br/>
<i> The man who killed my father has six fingers.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In LŠ it’s common to omit <b>ši</b> clitics in the subclause: the subclause in the first example would normally be expressed <grn>jo kašat aŋesum smin</grn>.
<P>The copula is often omitted as well, producing subclauses like <b>jo nidiram a nimeraf</b> “that (are) smart and beautiful.” This has a slight distancing effect, and <b>jo</b> X sometimes has the sense “that is said to be X”.
<P>In CT nonrestrictive clauses began with <b>a jo</b> or <b>taj jo</b>. In LŠ this is no longer a rule: the following sentence could be either restrictive or nonrestrictive (though it’s probably the former):
<blockquote> <b> Maral-ši ŋamaš <grn>jo kušap min</grn>.</b> <br/>
talk-act-be.1s woman sub hate-act 1s<br/>
<i> I’m talking to a woman who hates me. OR …a woman, who hates me.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
There are two ways to make it clear that a clause is nonrestrictive. First, <b>jo</b> can be replaced with <b>taj</b>:
<blockquote> <b> Maral-ši ŋamaš, <grn>taj kušap min</grn>.</b> <br/>
talk-act-be.1s woman also hate-act 1s<br/>
<i> I’m talking to a woman, who hates me.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Second, the clause can be either fronted or backed.
Nefat ŋamaš ŋorak-suč min, <grn>jo kušap min</grn>.
crazy woman beat-act-be.1s 1s / sub hate-act 1s
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Jo kušap min</grn>, nefat ŋamaš ŋorak-suč min,.</b> <br/>
sub hate-act 1s / crazy woman beat-act-be.1s 1s <br/>
<i> A crazy woman, who hates me, attacked me.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Placetime">Place and time</a></h3>
Place and time expressions are essentially the same as in CT. They are largely pronouns or prepositional phrases and can appear either fronted or backed.
<blockquote> <b> Jir nensov, kerab-sid lidahur.</b> <br/>
during evening / wait-act-be.1pi train-def<br/>
<i> In the evening, we wait for the train.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ava varank yav jat Meros?</b> <br/>
who reside-act want-act in Sevisor<br/>
<i> Who wants to live in Sevisor?</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In CT a place clause should use <b>nejo</b> ‘when’ and a time clause <b>čeŋo</b> ‘where’. These are still proper, but they can both be replaced with <b>jo</b>:
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Jo Bičika uitarak</grn>, nigaraj-sid-ga.</b> <br/>
sub Academy fut-fall / can-rest-act-be.1pi<br/>
<i> When the Academy falls, we cannot relax.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Koriŋur derag <grn>jo yav</grn>.</b> <br/>
lion-def go-act sub want-act<br/>
<i> The lion walks where it wants.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The last sentence, as we saw in the last section, could also be interpreted <i>The lion, that wants, walks</i>. In this case that doesn’t make much sense, but if there is confusion, use <b>čeŋo</b> instead.
<h3><a name="Conditionals">Conditionals</a></h3>
The CT <b>jo…ret</b> construction can still be used, but <b>ret</b> alone suffices:
<blockquote> <b> Hasat-ša čelepar, <grn>ret</grn> sač janas.</b> <br/>
read-act-be-past.1s book-def / then be-2s rich<br/>
<i> If you had read the book, you would be rich.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Pačirag-šič, <grn>ret</grn> aŋok smin saraj-ga.</b> <br/>
live-act-be-1s / then editor of-1s do.act-not<br/>
<i> If I am alive, my editor is not.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
As in CT, there is no irrealis, nor the sort of tense changes that English uses.
<P>Using auxiliaries besides <b>ši</b> can change the meaning:
<blockquote> <b> Teŋ hasat suruč čelepar, <grn>ret</grn> usač janas.</b> <br/>
2s read-act right-past.3s book-def / then fut-be-2s rich<br/>
<i> (Because) you read the book, you will be rich.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Teŋ hasat guruh čelepar, <grn>ret</grn> sač janas.</b> <br/>
2s read-act wrong-past.1s book-def / then fut-be-2s rich<br/>
<i> You probably didn’t read the book, or you’d be rich.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In the last example, note that the consequence is still stated as if the event did occur. It’s only the use of <b>guruh</b> that makes it clear that it (most likely) did not.
<P>Deductions still use the <b>nejo…zun</b> construction.
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Nejo</grn> sač anmani, <grn>zun</grn> sarak-sač kinaliu.</b> <br/>
when be.2s socialist / therefore enjoy.act-be.2s meeting-pl<br/>
<i> If you are a socialist, you love meetings.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Passives">Passives</a></h3>
As noted above, an active sentence becomes passive by changing from the active to the passive participle.
<blockquote> <b> Dahnandiu <grn>ŋorak-suš</grn> manur.</b> <br/>
Dhekhnami-pl attack.act-be-3p nation-def<br/>
<i> The Dhekhnami attacked the country.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Manur <grn>ŋokuk</grn> (taj dahnandiu).</b> <br/>
nation-def attack.pass (near Dhekhnami-pl)<br/>
<i> The country was attacked (by the Dhekhnami).</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
As there is no ergative in LŠ, there is no antipassive.
<P>Where the lexicon marks an ergative sense as (e), that is expressed using the active, while the absolutive sense uses the passive. E.g. <b>Itrarak-ši čelepar</b> ‘I dropped the book’, <b>itrakuk čelepa</b> ‘the book fell.’
<h3><a name="Causatives">Causatives</a></h3>
Causative <b>ye</b>- applied to an intransitive verb X creates a transitive verb ‘make X’:
<blockquote> <b> Nellir neral.</b> <br/>
airplane fly.act <br/>
<i> The airplane is flying.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Amajam <grn>ye</grn>neral nellirur.</b> <br/>
pilot caus-fly.act airplane-def<br/>
<i> The pilot flew the airplane.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
With transitives, it creates a ditransitive. The causee is stated before the object.
<blockquote> <b> Ašvar ŋokjeraš tašitir.</b> <br/>
writer review-act man paper-pl-def<br/>
<i> The writer is reviewing the manuscript.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Aŋok <grn>ye</grn>ŋokjeraš ašvarur tašitir.</b> <br/>
editor caus-review-act man writer-def paper-pl-def<br/>
<i> The editor is making the writer review the manuscript.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
An alternative is to use the preposition <b>kor</b>:
<blockquote> <b> Ašvar ŋokjeraš tašitir <grn>kor aŋokur</grn>.</b> <br/>
writer review-act man paper-pl-def because editor-def<br/>
<i> The writer is reviewing the manuscript because of the editor.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The prepositional phrase can be fronted, which makes the assertion stronger. Note that the definiteness marker
moves to the causee, an indicator that the semantic subject is the causer.
<blockquote> <b> <grn>Kor aŋok</grn> ašvarur ŋokjeraš tašitir.</b> <br/>
because editor-def writer-def review-act man paper-pl-def <br/>
<i> The editor is making the writer review the manuscript.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Comparatives">Comparatives</a></h3>
The CT comparatives with <b>in</b> ‘like’, <b>ten</b> ‘above’, <b>min</b> ‘under’ are still used, especially in formal writing:
<blockquote> <b> Nak ašap isor (suč) <grn>ten itikir</grn>.</b> <br/>
new convener smart be.3s above last-def<br/>
<i> The new Convener is smarter than the last one.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
However, an adective inflected with -<b>luj</b> is now interpreted as a comparative, not just an intensifier. Alone, in fact, it is superlative: your <b>kodaliluj</b> child is your oldest, a <b>šajiluj</b> movie is the best. Note that -<b>luj</b> is not stressed, so it’s pronounced <blu>lʊd</blu>.
<p>As such this new comparative can replace “X <b>ten</b>”:
<blockquote> <b> Nak ašap <grn>isorluj</grn> (suč) itikir.</b> <br/>
new convener smart-er be.3s last-def<br/>
<i> The new Convener is smarter than the last one.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
You can compare events or situations with <b>ten/min</b> as well:
<blockquote> <b> Savvirir yegeraj suč šalama <grn>ten čehandiur</grn>.</b> <br/>
elcar-pl make-act be.3p ship-pl above Čeiyu-pl-def<br/>
<i> The elcari make ships better than the Čeiyu.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="Semantic">Semantic fields</a></h2>
<h3><a name="Kinship">Kinship</a></h3>
The CT grammar describes the ancient Tžuro kinship system, practiced when the Tžuro were nomads living in the Lenani plateau. The key element was the <b>fsava</b> or clan, whose heart was a set of women, grandmothers and mothers and daughters, who lived together with their young children.
<p>Men wandered the plateau for herding, trading, and raiding. Once they married, they divided time between their own <b>fsava</b>and their wife’s. As only motherhood was certain, men’s heirs were their sister’s children rather than their own. In old age they settled back into their home <b>fsava</b> (where their sisters lived) as respected elders.
<p>Once the Tžuro conquered Skouras— and the Skourenes had been converted to Jippirasti and to speaking Tžuro— this lifestyle disappeared. But it was the world described in the <i>Baburkunim</i>, and thus had cultural influence long past the time it was practiced.
<p>In modern Šura, there are four terms than can be translated ‘family’:
<ul>
<li> <b>fsava</b>, the clan, direct descendant of the ancient ones
<li> <b>tajeiu</b>, your relatives, what we’d call the extended family
<li> <b>sigreja</b>, the household— whoever lives in one house or apartment
<li> <b>itena</b>, literally ‘marriage’: the married couple; in many contexts this included children
</ul>
The trend of the last two millennia has been to move social, economic, and legal power down the list. Today the basic social unit is the <b>itena</b>, but as late as the 3500s people lived in multi-generation households where the elders had overarching authority— following the dictates of the <i>Baburkunim</i>.
<p>The <b>fsava</b> was male-led, but in practice dominated by women, as they comprised the unchanging core of the settlement. Husbands came from outside and belonged to their own <b>fsavau</b>.
<p>After the conquest of Skouras, what mattered was the extended family, equivalent to the Skourene <i>bsepa</i>, but called <b>tajeiu</b> (‘cousins’). The <b>tajeiu</b> was essential in an urban trading society, because it provided a far-flung network of people you could trust, as well as a social safety net.
<p>The family names of Šureni apply to <b>tajeiu</b>, and remain matrilineal. In theory everyone with one family name belongs to the <b>tajeiu</b>, but in practice it doesn’t extend beyond great-grandmothers (in the city) or great-great-grandmothers (in the country). Beyond that people are <b>tajja tajeiu</b>, remote relatives. You are not supposed to marry within the <b>tajeiu</b>, but you can marry a <b>tajja tajei</b>.
<p>The clerics who dominated Šura in the 3500s were abominably sexist and insisted that men governed the <b>sigreja</b>. Ironically, when people stopped living in <b>sigrejau</b>, this left women with more legal powers than men in the <b>itena</b>. They had authority over child-rearing, they could freely divorce and engage in business, they controlled their own money and property, and in case of divorce the legal presumption was that they got the house, on the age-old Jippirasti tenet that a woman’s <b>gej</b> (tent) was her sacred domain. Men had to fight for more legal equality in marriage.
<p>The result of all this was a simplified system of kinship names:
<blockquote> <table>
<tr> <td> <b> asev</b> </td> <td> grandfather; also, head of a sigreja</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> ŋasev</b> </td> <td> grandmother</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> maran</b> </td> <td> mother</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> ŋesu</b> </td> <td> father</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> sovei</b> </td> <td> aunt (or great aunt)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> nujat</b> </td> <td> uncle (or great uncle)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> met</b> </td> <td> sister</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> joh</b> </td> <td> brother</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> tajei</b> </td> <td> cousin (anyone else your age in the extended family)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> sadat</b> </td> <td> son</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> maral</b> </td> <td> daughter</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> mori</b> </td> <td> niece (any other young female)</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <b> meti</b> </td> <td> nephew (any other young male)</td> </tr>
</table> </blockquote>
The <b>fsavau</b> still exist; in form they are simply groupings of <b>tajeiu</b>. In the cities this is simply informational, but it has some meaning in rural regions: there is some friendship and solidarity within a fsava, and occasionally ancient feuds between <b>fsavau</b>.
<h3><a name="Names">Names and titles</a></h3>
The personal name (<b>valat si jejit</b>) often derives from CT, though immigration has led to a large number of Xurnese, Mei, Cuolese, or more exotic names.
<p>As noted, the family name (<b>valat si tajeiu</b>) refers to the <b>tajeiu</b> and is that of the mother. These names arose from an array of disambiguators: locations, professions, personal qualities, nicknames.
<p>The corollary is that a husband has a different family name. The convention is that he uses both. E.g. <b>Akab Lonti</b> marries <b>Kačri Dakaši</b>, so he is called <b>Akab Lonti si Dakaši</b>, and often just <b>Akab si Dakaši</b>.
It’s not uncommon to reuse names within a <b>tajeiu</b>, which creates ambiguities. The usual expedient is to use the words <b>kodali</b> (elder) and <b>mor</b> (younger), e.g. <b>Akab Lonti kodali</b>. If the elder dies, the adjective is not supposed to be used, though it may persist for years.
<p>Titles follow the name, so if Akab becomes a judge he’s <b>Akab Lonti adep</b>.
<p>The head of a hierarchy is entitled to a respectful adjective: <b>nujat</b> ‘wise’ for clerics, <b>ižraŋai</b> ‘honorable’ for nobles and kings, <b>ništi</b> ‘first’ for politicians and business people. So if Akab is chief justice, he’s called <b>ništi Akab Lonti adep</b>. If the title is not unique (cf. ‘king’, ‘convener’), he is addressed as <b>ništi</b> rather than <b>adep</b>.
<p>Finally, the region may be added to a title. So about the maximal designation for a person is:
<blockquote> <b> ništi Akab Lonti kodali si Dakaši adep si Jippirim</b> <br/>
first Akab Lonti old of Dakaši judge of Jippirm<br/>
<i> Akab Lonti of Dakaši, chief justice of Jippirim</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Greetings">Greetings</a></h3>
In early modern times, the typical greeting sequence looked like this:
<blockquote> <b> A: Kor Jipppir degi.</b> <br/>
because Jippir walk.1s<br/>
<i> Thanks to Jippir I have arrived.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>B: Jippir pundim.</b> <br/>
Jippir bless.3s>1p<br/>
<i> Jippir blesses us.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> A: Sigreja steŋ audeg?</b> <br/>
household of-2 how<br/>
<i> How goes your house?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>B: An minum gačat-siš.</b> <br/>
all 1p happy-be.1pi<br/>
<i> All of us are content.</grn></i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Compare the first two lines to the greetings in the CT grammar: these are an extremely brief recapitulation of ancient hospitality ceremonies, in pure CT. Other pious expressions can be substituted (e.g. <b>Jeŋuli suč zal</b> ‘Our God is great’), but there is no need to refer to present circumstances; e.g. you can use the “I have arrived” line even after waking up in your own home.
<p>The second exchange is needed only outside one’s own household (i.e. you don’t use it with your spouse or children). Usually you ask about someone’s family, but this can be personalized, e.g. if you know the name of the person’s spouse. Again, the pragmatics are ignored: “everyone is content” even if you’re sick and miserable.
<p>Until the mid-3500s, if you were speaking to— or were— someone important, you could be far more flowery. One way of doing this was to exchange appropriate quotes of scripture. In pop culture, people who didn’t know much scripture were reduced to using inappropriate quotations:
<blockquote> <b> E ŋajjosli, kuhmerg nidiram sač! Jippir mul am asti.</b> <br/>
oh queen-1s / that.much beautiful be.2s / Jippir spoke-3s and listen-1s.past<br/>
<i> My Queen, how ravishing you look. Jippir spoke and I listened.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Here the joke is that <b>Jippir mul am asti</b> is the formula spoken after any quotation from the <i>Baburkunim</i>, and it’s the only scriptural line the speaker knows.
<p>Within the household, or with very close friends, greetings were much simpler:
<blockquote> <b> A: Ipandau, e johhirli.</b> <br/>
blessing-pl / oh friend-1<br/>
<i> Blessings, my friend.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>B: Kuljat a gačat.</b> <br/>
health and happiness<br/>
<i> Health and happiness.</grn></i> <br/>
</blockquote>
The same exchange could be used when leaving.
<p>In the 3600s this sort of exchange was extended to the workplace and the street, though some insisted on making it more religious (e.g. <b>Ipandau si Jippir</b>, “blessings of Jippir”).
<p>Students and workers developed even more informal greeting, and these spread widely:
<blockquote> <b> A: Raži, nemur audeg?</b> <br/>
Raži, day-def how<br/>
<i> Raži, how are things?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>B: Pan mar, Areg.</b> <br/>
hello there / Areg<br/>
<i> Hi there, Areg.</grn></i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Note that the first sentence is not an actual inquiry and isn’t answered. However, it could be repeated to continue the conversation, and this time gets an answer, which may be blandly positive (e.g. <b>Šajideg</b> ‘well’) if the other person doesn’t care to give details.
<h3><a name="Profanity">Profanity</a></h3>
In modern English the most potent words refer to bodily functions. In Šureni, as in medieval Europe, they are religious. This remains true even for those who no longer accept Jippirasti.
<p>One of the strongest is <b>stuja</b>, literally ‘unclean’, but it encompasses all the 36 forms of <b>istuja</b> ‘sin’, from blasphemy to perversion to cowardice to bodily excretions to eating unclean animals. Naturally calling someone an <b>astuj</b> ‘sinner, unclean person’ is a dire insult. The religious and the physical senses ramp each other up: the sense of bodily grossness is reinforced by the idea of immorality or perversion; the ethical condemnation is reinforced by the association with grime, snot, and excrement.
<p>Perhaps more potent is <b>gostu</b> ‘expiator’. It was pious to expiate one’s sins against another; but the way to do it was to offer humiliating personal service to the one sinned-against. One could do things to a <b>gostu</b> that would normally themselves be <b>stuja</b>. In an odd way a sinner could be pitied or ignored; a <b>gostu</b> is officially recognized as a sinner who deserves (even needs) ill treatment. And though being a <b>gostu</b> is more shameful than merely being called one, the latter is much more of an insult, just as <i>being</i> a bastard is bad luck, but being <i>called</i> a bastard is serious.
<p>One of the sources of <b>istuja</b> was <b>karad</b>, dead things like corpses and carrion. Naturally <b>karadig</b> is ‘hateful, vile’, but more vivid— it brings up an image of dead decaying flesh. Animals that chiefly eat carrion were <b>karadjirag</b> ‘carrion-eating’; this is one of the worst things you can call someone.
<p>A general insult is <b>papit</b> ‘pagan’, or <b>tejja</b> ‘outside the tej.’ In CT these are more likely to be used literally, pointing to pagan practices abhorrent to Jippirasutum, like magic or mixed-sex nudity; they’re also used within each <b>pita</b> or division of Jippirasti about the scandalous things other <b>pitau</b> do. In LŠ they were more often used for general immorality. <b>Goteŋu</b> ‘godless’ is used much the same way.
<p>Of course, bodily functions stll make vivid metaphors. Strong terms include <b>yeŋoki</b> ‘fuck’, <b>musah</b> ‘shit’, and <b>huj</b> ‘snot’. Note that the latter two, because of the association with <b>istuja</b>, are stronger.
<p>The Tžuro have not been nomadic for centuries, but the <i>Baburkunim</i> makes nomadic life familiar and prestigious, so some potent terms derive from nomadism. <b>Yeŋoki</b> was originally used of mating horses. <b>Tensu</b> is a castrated horse, but is used much like ‘wimp’ or stronger terms. <b>Yesig</b> ‘like horse’s blood’ is used for anything gross. <b>Kodali</b>, the normal LŠ word for ‘old’, originally referred to a useless old horse. <b>Soŋka</b> meant a stout working horse, but is the slang term for ‘boss.’
<h2><a name="Sample">Sample texts</a></h2>
<h3><a name="Waiting">Waiting for the Train</a></h3>
This is an extract from <b>Ikeba Lidah</b> <i>(Waiting for the Train),</i> by Raži Nejar, published in 3554.
For a literary character, Jali’s problem is quite simple: he’s finished a trip to Jintej and wants to take the train home to Jippirim. But the train is delayed for some reason.
<p>At first the consequences are mild. Jali wanders round the station, talking to other delayed travelers. There are arguments, an increasingly worried search for food, and a running gag about the malfunctioning faucet in the men’s restroom. The train is delayed till the next day, and the passengers have to turn the station into a temporary hostel.
<p>From there, as the delay stretches into days, things only get more complicated, and then surreal. The passengers get involved with eccentric locals; there’s an impassioned hunt for the stationmaster; two passengers fall in love and get married; more passengers arrive, including an elcar, an iliu, and most exotic of all, a very demanding Verdurian who speaks no Šureni. There is a rumor that the train has only one carriage, and the stationmaster holds a contest to see who will be allowed to depart. One passenger opens a shop to sell things to the others; another, taking a long-term view, opens a mortuary.
<p>In the final paragraph, the train arrives, and all the friendships and intrigues immediately stop: everyone is involved only with their newspapers until the train arrives in Jippirim.
<p>Nejar’s style of comedy is reliant on the extended anecdote— nothing ever goes according to plan, inanimate objects are rebellious, people try to help and make a mess of it. Deeper meanings have been delved out (the train as God, or technology), a fact which enormously amused Nejar.
<p>The sample is from the first chapter, when the delay was measured in hours.
<p>Nejar writes in a fairly colloquial style; when he approaches CT (in other passages) it is for parodic effect.
<blockquote> <b> Dralu igeča si ikeba, hiŋit kušga suš nuladig. </b> <br/>
go.3s.pres art of waiting / though few people be.3p proficient<br/>
<i> There is an art to waiting, though few are proficient. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Jir ništi dahi, yana ništi jira, žonsajig suč-ga.</b> <br/>
in first minute-pl / moreover first hour / important be-3s-not<br/>
<i> In the first minutes, even the first hour, it doesn’t matter. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Poporaš vank, derag, bogodud.</b> <br/>
boil-act sojourn.2s / walk-act grind-pass<br/>
<i> You fume, you pace, you are bored. </i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<b>Vanki</b> in place of <b>ši</b> makes these actions repeated. Note the easy mixing of active and passive.
<blockquote> <b> Anat serak degar; ava niderap?</b> <br/>
everyone do-act thus / who can-judge-act<br/>
<i> Everyone does the same; who can judge?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Jo ikeba tajaraj saraj neme, jiraš-sač igečar ye fasakur so.</b> <br/>
sub waiting extend-act touching day-pl / see-act-be.2s art-def / or absence-def of-3<br/>
<i> It’s when the wait stretches into days that you see the art, or lack of it. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Poporaš a derag nisač-ga jat an ŋok jirau gohu? Ufsakuk-sač.</b> <br/>
boil-act and pace-act can-be.2s-not during all two hour-pl Q / fut-lose-pass-be.2s<br/>
<i> You can’t fume and pace for two whole hours, can you? You would exhaust yourself. </i> <br/>
</blockquote>
“You can’t pace” would be <b>Nipoporaš sač-ga</b>, but the verb prefix migrates to the auxiliary when there are conjoined participles.
<blockquote> <b> Nikiran-sač saččeggirir ye amanda steŋ, hiŋ nijinčirag aumerg?</b> <br/>
can-complain can-be.2s authority-pl-def or companion-def-pl of-2 / but can-last.2s how.much<br/>
<i> You can complain to the authorities or to your fellow victims, but how long can that last?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Jotrorat-sač jat iaumefa jo ničigug.</b> <br/>
must-adopt-be-2s in plan sub can-stand-pass<br/>
<i> You must settle into a regime that is sustainable. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Balarlujur suč-ga gošajat ye ifadra, kor ibaŋar čirag.</b> <br/>
ideal-def be.3s-not patience or acceptance / because harm-def continue-act<br/>
<i> The ideal is not patience or acceptance, for the injury is ongoing. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Suč in iminpopoša si girda: jiri sač ŋašati, hiŋ jat minluj ibraja.</b> <br/>
be.3s like simmering of pot / still be.2s aflame / but at low-er setting<br/>
<i> It’s like simmering a pot. You remain outraged, but at the lowest setting. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Bivaraj sač sak jiri, stujamaral sač-ga moto jo suš-ga stuja, jo suš gusuč navata.</b> <br/>
try-act be.2s pleasant still / blaming be.2s-not person-pl sub be.3p-not sinful / sub be.3p perhaps victim-pl<br/>
<i> You try to remain pleasant, without blaming those who are not responsible, who are perhaps themselves victims.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Yan šuč-ga mo idega inidega?</b> <br/>
moreover be.3s-not one happening opportunity<br/>
<i> Besides, is not any experience also an opportunity? </i> <br/>
</blockquote>
At the rhetorical high point, Nejar switches to the CT way of asking questions.
<blockquote> <b> Biv moto si čertaj suš gusuč ansaraj, yana kalan. Maral ye nensarav avar-ga?</b> <br/>
some person-pl of here be-3p maybe interesting even attractive / talk-act or flirt-act why-not<br/>
<i> Some of the people here look interesting— even attractive. Why not talk or flirt?</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ikeba čeg si rutali— lettir ništig nempit suč jo sajud čertaj.</b> <br/>
waiting space of boundary / nothing important be.3s tomorrow sub do.passive here<br/>
<i> Waiting is a liminal space— nothing done here will mean anything tomorrow. </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Taj saraj sač-ga, ret bogodud sač tejjadeg, a mar suč-ga deg si pata.</b> <br/>
anyway / do-act be.2s-not / then grind-pass be.2s godlessly / and that-thing be.3s-not way of living<br/>
<i> Besides, if you do nothing you’ll be bored shitless, and that is no way to live.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Lon">Lon and Šaj</a></h3>
Lon and Šaj are comics characters, from <b>Nirššu jat sarak</b> <i>(A flower in the snow),</i> a comic by Ŋatreč Yorani, which began in 3667 and ran for more than forty years, following Lon as she aged in real time. The story is known for its huge cast and bittersweet tone, softened here and there by some magic realism. As one reviewer put it, “It’s like receiving a letter every month from an old friend, a sad lovely girl who never gets on as well as you’d like her to.”
<p>I used Lon and her father Šaj in <i>Almea: Industrial Age</i> as specific examples of the impact of modernity in Šura (and Almea as a whole). This comparison is not itself taken from the comic, but shows off LŠ pretty well.
<blockquote> <b> Šaj saraj gokja išanka in ŋesu so; Lon jat andeg nak ijora.</b> <br/>
Šaj do-act same work like father of-3s / Lon in wholly new realm<br/>
<i> Šaj did the same work as his father; Lon is in a completely new field.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Though these are comparisons of time periods, they’re also comparisons of living people, so the present tense is used. As most of the sentences are 3s, the copula is mostly omitted.
<blockquote> <b> Lon yeniran namigur tajjadeg ten Šaj.</b> <br/>
Lon receive-act money-def far-way above Šaj<br/>
<i> Lon makes far more money than Šaj ever did.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Tajluj amanda si Šaj jat tajeiur; Lon jat šivinali.</b> <br/>
Near-est companion-pl of Šaj in family-def / of Lon in university<br/>
<i> Šaj was closest to his relatives in the extended family; Lon to her university friends.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
In many of these comparisons, like this one, the verb is omitted from the second part as it’s identical to the first.
<blockquote> <b> Šaj vanak jat gokja im jo tajeiu so vanak suš jir patai gede; Lon govanak šu jat Murap si Belšay.</b> <br/>
Šaj live-act in same city sub family of-3s live-act be.3p.past during year-gen hundred-pl / Lon move-act be.past.3s to Murap of Belšai<br/>
<i> Šaj lived in the same city his family had lived in for hundreds of years; Lon moved to Murap, in Belšai.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj maral modeg mel si Tžuro; Lon jir an nem mele si Meros a Lenan.</b> <br/>
Šaj speak-act only speech of Tžuro / Lon during every day language-pl of Sevisor and Lenan<br/>
<i> Šaj speaks only Šureni; Lon uses Mei and Lenani in everyday life.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj pit dajdeg nebubur si Babur. Lon pit Nak Isačar jir pata a nertaj drajutei.</b> <br/>
Šaj follow-act mild-way teaching-pl-def of Babur / Lon follow-act new truth-def during year-pl and now half-believer <br/>
<i> Šaj was a mild but firm believer in Jippirasti; Lon followed the New Truth for awhile and is now agnostic.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj saraj šigumur ret miral tajeiu ye aneb; Lon ayesač.</b> <br/>
Šaj experience-act trouble-pl-def / then talk-act family or cleric / Lon psychiatrist<br/>
<i> If Šaj had problems, he consulted his family or a cleric; Lon would pursue iyesača.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
See <i>Kinship</i> for the specific meaning of <b>tajeiu. Iyesača</b> ‘rectification’, developed by Akeb Nakali, is the Almean equivalent of psychiatry.
<blockquote> <b> Šaj hasat lenaur tot Šureni; Lon varam pitžalasa si jahai rut an mantaf.</b> <br/>
Šaj read-act story-pl-def tot Šureni / Lon watch-act shows of TV from all continent<br/>
<i> Šaj read Šureni novels; Lon watches TV shows from the whole continent.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj šu bačut modeg nemmo; Lon nembiv bivaraj kuš nusana rut andraga Komer.</b> <br/>
Šaj be.past.3s drunk only once / Lon someday try-act many drug-pl from entire Almea<br/>
<i> Šaj was only drunk once; Lon has tried numerous drugs from all over Almea.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Modeg mo ŋatžek jišat taj Šaj; Lon raudgaraj tžekdeg jat zurali si Lenantih a diram ajoŋo so tret tasan.</b> <br/>
Only one f-naked see-pass next.to Šaj; Lon sunbathe-act naked-way on beach of Lenan-lake and sex-act boyfriend-pl of-3s before marriage<br/>
<i> The only woman Šaj saw naked was his wife; Lon sun-bathes nude on the shores of Lake Lenan and slept with her boyfriends before marriage.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj jenač šu savvir; Loni soŋka mot.</b> <br/>
Šaj meet-act be.3s.past elcar / Lon-gen boss one-person<br/>
<i> Šaj never met an elcar; Lon’s boss is one.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj bagattir jir karakluj gotot Dahnand; Lon meraf jo Tappimosa jodiraš taj mar.</b> <br/>
Šaj reservist during war against Dhekhnam / Lon think sub DU must-ally next.to that.one<br/>
<i> Šaj was a reservist in the war against Dhekhnam; Lon thinks the DU should ally with it.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Yav Šaj zrunoi man si ašanka suč jo balarja hiŋ inirač, a Vredura iyenda si tappa; Lon jišmeraf ŋokur mana zalsu a nibaŋag.</b> <br/>
to Šaj Xurnese state of workers be-3s sub flawed but inspiring / and Verduria model of democracy / Lon consider-act two-def nation-pl fascist and dangerous<br/>
<i> Šaj grew up thinking of Xurno as a flawed but inspiring workers’ state, and Verduria as a model of democracy; Lon thinks of both as dangerous fascist powers.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
Note the subordinate clause consisting solely of adjectives.
<blockquote> <b> Šaj pit jo mejjašapa a moŋkčipi stuja; Lon nurun ŋokur.</b> <br/>
Šaj believe-act sub tattoo-pl and earring-pl unclean / Lon have-3s two-def<br/>
<i> Šaj believes that tattoos and earrings are immoral; Lon has both.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Loni maral duravi, mar galan Šaj.</b> <br/>
Lon-gen daughter trans / this thing confuse-act Šaj<br/>
<i> Lon’s daughter is trans, which befuddles Šaj.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaji ŋesu kaštut šu kor kulher, jo nertaj dugdevuv taj ačaska a gobaŋug taj yavgenkede.</b> <br/>
Šaj-gen father die-pass be.past.3s because tuberculosis / sub now prevent-pass next.to injection-pl and treat-pass next.antibiotic-pl<br/>
<i> Šaj’s father died of tuberculosis, which is now largely prevented by injections and treated by antibiotics.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj fadar iyejora si Fananak taj Tappimosa; yav Lon mar gožaraŋluj isajar si Tappimosa neman.</b> <br/>
Šaj support-act takeover of Fananak next.to DU / to Lon that.thing shameful-est action-def of DU always<br/>
<i> Šaj supported the DU’s takeover of Fananak; Lon thinks it was the most shameful thing the DU ever did.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj hasat torašdeg mel si Babur; Lon jišmeraf mar gotoraš, a legdiraj šureni mel toraš jatnemi.</b> <br/>
Šaj read-act easy-way speech of Babur / Lon consider-act that.one difficult and prefer-act Šureni speech easy and today-gen <br/>
<i> Šaj can easily read Classical Tžuro; Lon finds it difficult and prefers an easygoing written Šureni based on how the language is presently spoken.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Šaj sarak modeg šureni ijiŋa; Lon sarak taj nelami a siyaboi.</b> <br/>
Šaj like-act only Šureni food / Lon like-act also Nanese and Siadese<br/>
<i> Šaj only really likes Šureni food; Lon is fond of Nanese and Siadese cuisine.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Yav Šaj lujluj niješap naŋka suč bonda karakluj; yav Lon igonulada si šejkomer kor amatuti jejoko ye perun žanak ye lonnujai trotutum ye bivvir jo nak a kalajluj.</b> <br/>
for Šaj big-est can-paint catastrophe be.3s huge war / for Lon destruction of ecosphere-def because fusion rocket-pl or Perunic magic or chemistry-gen weapon-pl or something sub new and bad-est<br/>
<i> To Šaj, the biggest imaginable catastrophe was a major war; to Lon, the destruction of the ecosphere due to nuclear war, garlotá, chemical weapons, or something new and even worse.</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h3><a name="Dinners">Dinner with Šaj</a></h3>
This is a transcript from an issue of <b>Nirššu jat sarak</b>. Lon has come over to her father’s house to cook dinner for the two of them. I’ve put Lon’s dialog in black, Šaj’s in <grn>green</grn>. These are good examples of everyday SŠ with no attempt at following CT norms.
<p>I can’t do justice to Yorani’s illustrations, but she is both very precise and very expressive. Her lines are deceptively simple: she doesn’t need that many because each one is in the right place. In this scene Lon goes very slowly from happy to annoyed to angry— the latter emotion punctuated, in the last panel, but her waving her cutting knife.
<blockquote> <b> Lon: Yenad-sič ŋalsu. Šun taj halau.</b> <br/>
start-act-be.1s dinner / beef next.to green-pl<br/>
<i> Lon: I’m going to start dinner. Beef with vegetables.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Šaj: Au halau? Gosarak-sič narmiti.</b> <br/>
which green-pl / dislike-act-be.1s bean-pl<br/>
<i> Šaj: What vegetables? I don’t like beans.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Dralu let narmiti.</b> <br/>
go-pres none bean-pl.<br/>
<i> Lon: There’s no beans.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Ye yoranigi čer… yanada.</b> <br/>
or tree-ish-pl that.near / broccoli-pl<br/>
<i> Šaj: Or those tree things… broccoli.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Dralu pagača kerak a lokoš.</b> <br/>
go-pres root.vegetable-pl millet and onion <br/>
<i> Lon: It’s carrots, millet, and onions.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Braj-ga hačis jatdeg.</b> <br/>
put-not garlic in-way<br/>
<i> Šaj: Don’t put garlic in it.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ŋene, suč sanbarajdeg audeg jo mane neman saran-šu.</b> <br/>
dad / be.3s exactly recipe sub mom always cook-act be.3s-past<br/>
<i> Lon: Dad, it’s exactly the recipe Mom used to make.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Nujat-sič. Jomaral-ši neman, braj-ga hačis jatdeg.</b> <br/>
know-act-be.1s / must-say-be.1s.past always / put-not garlic in-way<br/>
<i> Šaj: I know. I had to tell her every time, don’t put garlic in it. </grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Neman gohu?</b> <br/>
always Q<br/>
<i> Lon: Every time? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Panad-šu hačis. Nisaran bivvir yav soŋ jo yav.</b> <br/>
love-act garlic-def / can-cook-act-3s.past some-thing for 3sf sub want-act<br/>
<i> Šaj: She loved garlic. She could cook some for herself if she liked.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Saran gajali jaraŋ si hačis yav soŋ ye?</b> <br/>
cook-act side plate of garlic for 3sf or<br/>
<i> Lon: She made a side dish of garlic for herself? </i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Taj.</b> <br/>
yes<br/>
<i> Šaj: Yep.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Mar… mar mo jatjašap.</b> <br/>
that.thing / that.thing one idea<br/>
<i> Lon: That’s…. that’s an idea.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Jarah aval? Meraf jišat-ši so.</b> <br/>
Jarah where / think-act see-act-1s.past 3sm<br/>
<i> Šaj: Where’s Jarah? I thought I’d see him.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Soŋ, ŋene.</b> <br/>
3sf dad<br/>
<i> Lon: Her, Dad.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Taj suč, soŋ.</b> <br/>
yes true-3s 3sf<br/>
<i> Šaj: Oh yeah, her.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Yav-sič derag-suč jat kinali s idirša.</b> <br/>
want-act-be.1s go-act-be.3s to discussion of support<br/>
<i> Lon: I want you to go to that support group.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Avar? Kor Jarah maralig gohu? Ajjos asev steŋ šu maralig.</b> <br/>
why / because Jarah girlish Q / Ajjos uncle of-2s be.3s.past girlish<br/>
<i> Šaj: Why, because Jarah is girlish? Your uncle Ajjos [King] was girlish.</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Lon: Marga maralig, yan maral.</b> <br/>
not girlish / indeed girl<br/>
<i> Lon: Not girlish, a girl.</i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> <grn>Valarat-srim Ŋajjos.</b> <br/>
name.act-be.1px.past queen<br/>
<i> Šaj: We called him Ŋajjos [Queen].</grn></i> <br/>
<br/>
<b> Ŋene! Asev šu yan kiyas, marga duravi!</b> <br/>
dad / uncle be.3s.past indeed gay / neither trans<br/>
<i> Lon: Dad! Uncle was gay, not trans!</i> <br/>
</blockquote>
<h2><a href="tzhurolex.html">Lexicon</a></h2>
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