The Kebreni Language

The Kebreni Language

Unlike Verdurian, whose grammar is not too far from European models, Kebreni has a grammar which deviates any way it can from English. I'm particularly proud of the verbal system.
You can decipher the map names using the lexicon.

You'll need a Unicode font and browser to properly see the characters. If you can't see them, you can read the pre-Unicode file.
--Mark Rosenfelder

Context
Phonology
Morphology
Verbs * Pronouns * Numbers * Derivational morphology
Syntax
Parameter order * Noun phrases * Adjectives * Conjunctions * Locative verbs * Questions * Complex sentences
Example
Sound changes
Lexicon

Context [To Top]

The Monkhayic family of languages, though now restricted to Kebri and the southwestern corner of Dhekhnam, was once spoken throughout the Plain, and indeed has left its linguistic traces heavily on the map of the Plain. The Mishicama ocean, the Ctelm mountains, the Svetla, Menla, Vesi, Meuna, and Efrat rivers, the nations of Ismahi, Azgami, Koto, Melináe, and Érenat, lake Como, the Arosd delta, and the cities of Kebropol, Lädau, Avéla, Ydamai, Raizumi, Nuveta, Kereta, Mituré, Gödo, Mogör, Melahdo, Trezhda, Mabola, and Pelym all have Monkhayic names.

The first states of men in the Plain were Monkhayic: Como and Meṫaiu on the upper Svetla, established about Z.E. -1150. By the time they appeared, men had lived in the Plain for twenty thousand years, and the Monkhayic peoples were divided into dozens of mutually incompatible languages. The Plain in Z.E. 287

Civilization and trade spread the prestigious dialects of the cities, and just before the Eastern invasion we are aware of three major speech varieties: that of Okiami and Meṫaiu in the south, that of Davur along the lower Svetla, and that of Agimbea and Newor along the Serea and the Mishicama littoral.

The Easterners pushed the Monkhayic peoples (those who were not absorbed) north and east (-375). Refugees from Davur established the kingdom of Davrio on Kebri.

Most of these lands were conquered by Munkhâsh (440), except for the littoral (reorganized as Leziunea) and Kebri.

The continental Monkhayic peoples (and, for about two centuries, even Kebri) were incorporated into the Cađinorian empire as it pushed back and ultimately destroyed Munkhâsh (1667), and though the Monkhayic languages persisted throughout the entire classical area, colonization and Cađinorization eventually replaced Monkhayic languages everywhere except two areas, Kebri (plus some regions of Érenat and, till recently, the island of Koto) and Monkhay, the mountainous southwestern corner of Dhekhnam.

The relationship between Kebreni and Monkhayu (both the languages and the peoples) has been obscured by long isolation. In addition, Kebreni has been highly influenced by Cađinor, Ismaîn, and Verdurian, and has borrowed from languages further afield, the Kebreni being great seafarers; while Monkhayu is heavily influenced by Dhekhnami, Caizuran, and Sarroc.

"Monkhayu", which has given its name to the language family, simply means "the people"; compare Kebreni neḣada.

Meṫaiun [To Top]

This grammatical sketch concentrates on Kebreni, but also relates what is known of its ancestor, the Monkhayic language of the littoral.

Following Verdurian scholars, we will call it Meṫaiun, after the state of Meṫaiu— although the language of pre-invasion Meṫaiu was actually a southern Monkhayic language.

This is certainly the most rickety of the ancient languages presented in this volume, not excluding proto-Eastern. To begin with, there are no direct ancient attestations; the Monkhayic peoples were illiterate, and remained so till the Cađinorians conquered them. The problem is compounded by the extreme distance between Monkhayu and Kebreni; only a few hundred cognates can be identified.

Our sources for Meṫaiun are as follows:

Attestations from ancient Cuzeian and Cađinorian sources: lines of poetry, borrowed words, names of historical figures, word lists from the few Cađinorian writers who interested themselves in the peoples of the littoral or of Sarnáe.
Place names, attested in ancient or modern times.
Reconstructions based on the dialects of Kebreni, which are quite divergent, especially in the remoter areas: Kernoia, the valleys of Érenat, and Koto (whose language still has uses in the courts and temples).
Information from Monkhayu.

Note that reconstruction based on Kebreni and Monkhayu gives not Meṫaiun but proto-Monkhayic, which predates it by two milennia or more.

Meṫaiun may be taken as an idealized form of the Monkhayic language of Kebri and the littoral, some time before the Munkhâshi invasion. I say ‘idealized’ because none of our sources are completely satisfactory. The Cađinorians were not linguists, and adapted the Monkhayic words to the sounds of Cađinor in order to write them down; while the reconstructions are biased toward the eastern area. Still, the overlap of the two methods is large and reassuring, and where divergences are systematic they can be taken as belonging to western and eastern dialects of Meṫaiun.

Phonology [To Top]

The sounds of modern standard Kebreni are as follows.

Kebreni is written using the Verdurian alphabet, using the letters shown.

c is a true palatal stop /c/, and should not be confused with any sort of affricate.

ś, though it's written using the Verdurian š, is a dorso-prepalatal fricative [ɕ], the same as the Polish ś or Chinese x. One recipe for producing it is to start with a sh and add more palatal friction to it— say sh, think [ç]. ź is the voiced equivalent.

The h is pronounced as in English (and Old Verdurian), while ḣ is a palatal fricative /ç/, as in German ich.

k is pronounced like a Verdurian c /k/, not a k /q/. Kebreni has sensibly used Cađinor's two back stop symbols for two points of articulation, but the points are moved up a stop.

ŋ is sometimes considered a phoneme in Kebreni; it's written ng, as in ingarei. Some dialects say [ŋg] instead.

Long aa is often written ä, as in Verdurian.

Doubled consonants (as in linna 'lord') are drawn out, as in English pen knife, not penny.

Stress is placed on the last syllable if it ends in a consonant, otherwise on the second-to-last vowel: Kébri, Kebropól, paḣár, Leléc, śaída, nizýru, Raazám, mýgu, paúśte, kulséu, ingaréi. Since stress is completely predictable, it is never indicated orthographically.

Kebreni is a syllable-timed language— one where each syllable takes up an equal amount of time— rather than a stress-timed one like English, where stresses occur at roughly equal intervals. Unstressed syllables in Kebreni retain their clear vowel sounds.

The sounds of Meṫaiun are reconstructed as follows:

labial dental palatal velar vowels
stops p t k i u
b d g
fricatives f ṫ s č ȟ e o
v z j γ
nasals m n a
liquids l r
semivowel w

This schema should be viewed as our best guess; it is certainly wrong in spots, and phonetic interpretations are quite uncertain.

We have little idea how č was pronounced. The Kebreni reflex is ś. We use č because this is its reflex in Verdurian names inherited from Meṫaiun. In Cađinor it was usually written t, tr, or ts, suggesting a palatal stop or affricate.

Morphology [To Top]

Only verbs (including predicate adjectives) have a true inflectional morphology; nouns and attributive adjectives are not inflected, and the remnants of inflection among the pronouns are not synchronically salient. However, there is a productive derivational morphology.

Verbs [To Top]

Kebreni verb inflection is quite different from that of the Eastern languages such as Verdurian. Verbs are not inflected for person, number, or tense. Rather, the chief categories of inflection are aspect, politeness, volition, and effect.

In addition, inflection is accomplished by vowel interchange, vowel change, and infixing, not by affixation.

Aspect (imperfective and perfective)

The citation form of the verb is the imperfective:

kanu I see, you see, he was seeing...
diru I work, you work, he was working...
sudy I am called, you are called...

The final -u is not part of the root; it's a grammatical ending. It dissimilates to -y when the last vowel of the root is u, as in sudy.

To form the perfective you switch the last two vowels. (This relationship holds for all the other forms described below, as well.)

kuna I have seen, I saw...
duri I have worked, you worked...
sydu I was once called...

Perfective forms are used for completed actions, no matter what time they occur. Thus you'd use the imperfect diru for "I was working", because you weren't done yet; and the perfective kuna for "I will read it", if you mean you'll read it and finish.

An explicit time may always be indicated with adverbs:

Paḣar kanu pol.
Tomorrow you will see the city.
Paḣar kuna pol.
Tomorrow you will have seen (everything in) the city.

Note that Kebreni transitive or ditransitive verbs, used with one less noun phrase, express a passive meaning. Thus

Melaḣ kuna neku.
The king saw the cat.
Neku kuna.
The cat was seen.
Nyne ḣouźi aisel. The girl lost the key.
Aisel ḣouzi. The key is lost.
Gymu sudy kulseu 'Ḣulo'.
We call the commander 'Idiot'.
Kulseu sudy 'Ḣulo'.
The commander is called 'Idiot'.

Schematically:

NP Vo NP = S V O
NP Vo = O V
NP Voo NP NP = S V O O
NP Voo NP = O V O

Some English verbs work this way as well; but all Kebreni verbs do.

Falte śenen truśe lyḣ. Your boy broke the window.
Lyḣ truśe. The window broke.

Volition

To form the volitional, add an initial e, voice the initial consonant (if any), then switch the first two vowels (that is, the added e- plus what was the first vowel of the root). A final -y returns to -u.

agenu I intend to see, I will see, see! (volitional, uncompleted action)
agune I intended to see, I will have seen (volitional, completed action)
ideru I intend to work, I will see, work!
idure I intended to work, I will have worked...
uzedu I intend to call, I intend to be called...
uzude I intended to call / no longer be called...

The volitional forms emphasize that the agent consciously intends the action (imperfective) or the result (perfective).

Pucso mabu.
I kicked the dog (perhaps accidentally).
Obucse mabu.
I kicked the dog (on purpose).

It is frequently used for a future event (lahu 'come' → alehu 'I will come'), and by extension as an imperative: alehu 'come!' Neither of these extensions is permitted with nonhuman subjects.

There is no word for 'want' as an independent lexical item; some volitional expression must be substituted. Often in fact this is agenu 'want to see', but other verbs are used as appropriate:

Impuźeu agenu bonnezi!
The publisher wants (lit. wants-to-see) the story!
Linna ezeḣepu gembadi?
Does His Lordship want (lit. want-to-eat) breakfast?

If the verb begins with a vowel, insert an h before the vowel switch: adnedu 'I added it' → ahednedu 'I added it on purpose'. (Eśu 'to not be', discussed later, inserts v instead, for historical reasons.)

Polite forms

karynu I see, you see, he sees (uncompleted action)
kurina I have seen, you've seen, he's seen (completed action)
agerynu I intend to see, I will see, see! (volitional, uncompleted action)
agurine I intended to see, I will have seen (volitional, completed action)

Polite forms express deference toward a superior, or politeness to an equal. They are used with nobles and royalty, employers, military superiors, parents, in-laws, teachers, and so on. In addition the middle and upper classes use it with each other; but man and wife, siblings or cousins, or very close friends do not.

Ḣem cyryru? Do I know you, sir?
Alerihu! Please come!

Note that the politeness applies to the listener, not to the referent.

Kulseu, falaute mabu furina; neḣat obucrise.
Commander, your dog is dead; a man kicked (it).

Polite forms are made by inserting -ri- within the verb root, before the last consonant; -ry- if the vowel in the next syllable is a u. The infix may divide a consonant cluster: kulsu 'command' → kulrysu.

In addition there are a few suppletive forms; e.g. badu 'eat' has the polite form sehepu; tasu 'do' has the polite form soru, and so on. (Do not add -ri- to the suppletive forms; they are already polite.)

Positive effect

The benefactive implies that the given action benefits the speaker in some way:

keni someone sees, to my benefit
deri someone works for me
sidi someone is called, and it helps or flatters me
syṫi someone provides to me

It is formed by fronting the stem vowel (a → e, o →e; u → y, y → i, i → e, e unchanged) and changing the final -u to -i. The perfective, volitional, and polite forms are formed according to the usual rules.

The stem vowel is the last vowel of the root; e.g. pansyru 'someone kisses' → pansiri 'someone kisses me'. (Verbs with stem y, like this one, have identical perfective and imperfective.)

To indicate that the action was performed for the benefit of the listener, the infix -ni- is added before the final consonant of the root:

kenini someone sees, to your benefit
deniri someone works for you

Compare:

Ḣazum diru keda. Hazum is working on the house.
Ḣazum deri keda. Hazum is working on my house.
Ḣazum deniri keda. Hazum is working on your house.
Kulseu nuzi melaḣ. The commander spoke to the King. (from nizu, speak)
Kulseu nize melaḣ. The commander spoke to the King on my behalf.
Kulseu ninize melaḣ. The commander spoke to the King on your behalf.

Negative effect

The antibenefactive implies that the given action harmed the speaker in some way. It's very common in the mouths of Kebrenis and essential for mastering colloquial speech.

kona someone sees, to my loss
dyra someone works against me
soda someone is called, and it harms or insults me
suṫa someone provides at my expense
kano someone saw, has seen, to my loss
dary someone worked against me
adery someone purposely worked against me
oseda they purposely call him that to spite me
loriha someone is coming to harm me (polite form)

It is formed by backing the stem vowel (a → o, e → o, i → y; y → u, u → o, o unchanged) and changing the final -u to -a. The perfective, volitional, and polite forms are formed according to the usual rules.

Mabu fano. The dog went and died on me.
Ḣem dyra. I'm killing myself by working.
Kona hem. He watched me (in order to hurt me); he's spied on me.
Obeka. Oh, fuck me.

Again, -ni- can be infixed to indicate that the action was performed to the harm of the listener.

Kulseu nyniza. The commander is speaking against you.
Lelec pocnisa? Is Lelec kicking you?

Subordinating form

The subordinating form is used when there is another verb in the sentence. It's formed by moving the final vowel of the verb before the final consonant and adding -te. A labial stop becomes dental and a voiced stop becomes unvoiced before the -te (so m → n, p/b/d → t, g → c, z → s, etc.).

kanu 'say' → kaunte 'saying'
diru 'work' → diurte 'working'
kulsy 'command' → kulyste 'commanding'
mimu 'deal' → miunte 'dealing'
ciḣcu 'praise' → ciḣucte 'praising'

This form has several uses. One is with auxiliary verbs, or any verb which takes another verb as a possible object. The -te form appears before the main verb, and after its objects:

Melaḣ kaunte elecu. The king is able to see you.
Kulseu gorkreha kaunte maru. The commander is probably reading the ledger.
Tarautte hilu? Do you like to dance?
Ḣem diurte luha. I came (in order) to work.

The negative in Kebreni is an auxiliary verb, eśu (polite natu):

Ḣem Ḣazum cyurte eśu.
I don't know Hazum.
Ḣazum kulseu kriuḣte uśe.
Hazum won't kill the commander tomorrow.
Paḣar lauhte natu?
Aren't you coming tomorrow? (polite)

Note that volitional, politeness, and aspect inflections normally apply only to the main verb. One can make such finicky distinctions as the following--

diurte lahu was/is coming to be working
diurte luha came to be working
duirte lahu was/is coming to work (and finish)
duirte luha came to work (and finish)
diurte alehu is intending to come to work
iderute lahu is coming intending to work

—but these are rare even in writing; normally only the base form (i.e. diurte) is used, and inflections are applied only to the auxiliary. Semantically, they are considered to apply to the auxiliary + verb combination— e.g. for diurte alehu the intention is taken to apply to both the coming and the working; while for diurte luha the entire action— coming to work— is taken as being completed.

Another usage of the -te form is as a gerund or modifier. The subordinated verb suggests the manner in which the main action was performed, or simply names a following or resulting action.

Kulseu kaunte nuzi.
The commander spoke watchfully (or, while watching).
Nyne pabautte taradu.
The girl was laughing and dancing.
Ťazu mabu kriḣute pucso.
They kicked the dog to death.
Ḣulo ciḣucte diurte eśu.
The fool works without praising (God).

Finally -te is used to form relative clauses. In this usage volitional, aspect, and effect inflections (but not politeness infixes) can be applied to the subordinating form. Note that the clause precedes the modified noun.

Neḣat duri keda.
The man worked on the house →
[Diurte keda] neḣat alehu pahar.
[work-SUB house] man come-VOL tomorrow
The man [who worked on the house] will come tomorrow.
Kulseu nazy neḣat.
The commander spoke against me to the man →
[Kulseu nayste] neḣat sudy Kalum.
[commander spoke-ANTIB-SUB] man name Kalum
The man [the commander spoke to against me] is named Kalum.
Melaḣ baku nyne.
The king is fucking the girl →
[Melaḣ baukte] nyne ḣilu ḣente mabu.
[king fuck-SUB] girl likes my dog
The girl [the king is fucking] is fond of my dog.

There is no relativizing pronoun. Note that if the subordinated verb is preceded by a subject, as in the last two sentences, the head of the clause must be taken as a direct or indirect object; if the verb begins the clause, as in the first example, the head must be the subject of the clause. Schematically:

NP Vte NP = [S V] O
Vte NP NP = [V O] S

If the head noun refers to a place or time, the phrase is equivalent to a when or where clause in English— again, these pronouns do not appear in Kebreni:

[vaac mygu moiutte] haḣc
the valley [where the blue ox was found]
[pocuste melaḣ] re
the day [when I kicked the King]

Conjugation table

For complex forms, form the (anti)benefactive first, then the volitional, then the perfective, then the listener suffix -ni, then (if there's no suppletive form) the polite -ri-, then the subordinating -te.

Ellipses indicate that variations (the imperfective and the two volitional forms) are being left out.

'see' 'work' 'call' 'laugh' 'kick' 'command' 'not'
Neutral imperfective kanu diru sudy pabadu pocsu kulsy eśu
perfective kuna duri sydu pabuda pucso kylsu uśe
volitional imp. agenu ideru uzedu abebadu obecsu ugelsu eveśu
volitional perf. agune idure uzude abebuda obucse ugulse evuśe
polite imp. karynu diryru suridy pabarydu pocrysu kulrisy natu
polite perf. kurina duriri syrydu paburida pucriso kylrysu nuta
vol. pol. imp. agerynu ideryru uzerydu abebarydu obecrysu ugelrysu anetu
vol. pol. perf. agurine idurire uzuride abeburida obucrise ugulrise anute
Benef. benef. imp. keni deri sydi pabedi pecsi kylsi eśi
benef. perf. kine dire sidy pabide picse kilsy iśe
vol. ben. imp. egeni ederi yzedi abebedi ebecsi ygelsi eveśi
vol. ben. perf. egine edire yzide abebide ebicse ygilse eviśe
benef. polite kerini... deriri... syridi... paberidi... pecrisi... kylrisi... neti...
benef. 'you' kenini... deniri... synidi... pabenidi... pecnisi... kylnisi... eniśi...
Antib. antib. imp. kona dyra soda paboda pocsa kolsa ośa
antib. perf. kano dary sado pabado pacso kalso aśo
vol. antib. imp. ogena ydera ozeda abeboda obecsa ogelsa oveśa
vol. antib. perf. ogane ydare ozade abebado obacse ogalse ovaśe
antib. polite korina... dyrira... sorida... paborida... pocrisa... kolrisa... nota...
Subord. subordinating kaunte diurte suytte pabautte pocuste kulyste euśte
subord. perf. kuante duirte syutte pabuatte pucoste kyluste ueśte
sub. vol. imp. ageunte ideurte uzeytte abebautte obecuste ugeluste eveuśte
sub. vol. perf. aguente iduerte uzyette abebuatte obuceste uguleste evueśte
Deriv. one who does kaneu direu sudeu pabadeu pocseu kulseu
'participle' kaina diera suida pabaida pocisa kulisa
action kani deri sodi pabadi pacsi kolsi

Pronouns [To Top]

pejorative ordinary deferential

person sing plural sing plural sing plural

1 (I, we) cin źum ḣem gymu —

2 (you) kuḣ fal falau

3 (he, she, it, they) vuḣ ṫaḣ ṫaza vep vybu

There are three sets of pronouns in Kebreni, which imply contempt, neutrality, or deference toward the referent.

The pejorative first person forms (cin, źum) are humilifics, used to refer to oneself when speaking with a superior; the remaining pejorative forms (kuḣ and vuḣ— one does not bother with any number distinction) are used to refer to those of lower classes (or, of course, to insult someone by referring to them as inferiors).

The deferential second person form falau is an honorific, used to refer to a listener or listeners who are social superiors; its use roughly correlates with the use of the polite forms of verbs. Note that the third person forms (vep, vybu) express deference to the person referred to, not (unlike polite verbs) to the listener. There are no deferential first-person pronouns.

For all of these pronouns, possessive forms can be made by adding -te (which forces a preceding labial stop to assimilate): ḣente 'my (ordinary)', falaute 'your (deferential)', vuḣte 'his/her/its/theirs (pejorative)'.

It must be emphasized that pronouns are optional, and indeed to be avoided, in Kebreni. They are used only when necessary for clarity. For direct address, in fact, it's preferable to use honorifics and titles:

Linna, agenu gembadi?
Lord, [do you] want [your] breakfast?

Demonstratives

'This' and 'that', as adjectives, are gem and kuri (the relation to 'one' and 'two' is obvious, but the direction of semantic borrowing is not!): gem nyne 'this woman', kuri palaźnu 'that thorn-bush'.

As standalone pronouns these become gente 'this one' and kurite 'that one'. (This is actually a standard nominalizing use of the clitic -te with adjectives.)

Myra 'here', tomo 'there', źada 'now' and bada 'then' function as adverbs.

Interrogative pronouns

The standard interrogative anaphora are:

śava who, what
śete which (of what quality)
aśeve why (a volitional form of śava: i.e., 'wanting what?')
ciźe how, in what way
śanu where (locative verb)
śere when
bigynte how much, how many

Unlike in English, the interrogative anaphora cannot be used in relative clauses. Subordinated clauses usually have no explicit subordinator at all. See Complex sentences below for examples.

Quantifiers and indefinite pronouns

Quantifiers are ordinary adjectives, and like any adjectives are nominalized with -te.

fyn none
fynte nothing, no one
biha some, any
bihate something, someone, anything, anyone
kum many, much
kunte many things, many people
orat all, every
oratte everything, everyone

There are no words meaning "everywhere", "sometime", and so on; instead one uses expressions like biha re 'some day', orat hami 'every land', fyn haḣcte zani 'in every valley', etc.

Numbers [To Top]

The Meṫaiun counting system was based on counting on fingers and toes— the 10 fingers and 8 toes of an Almean.

1 grem (related to 'this')
2 kuri (related to 'that')
3 dama
4 γakaȟ ('almost (a hand)')
5 amua ('hand')
6 migrem amua ('with-one hand')...
9 γakaȟ kuri ('almost two (hands)')
10 kuramua ('two hands')
11 poc pinaȟ ('down to the feet')
12 mikuri kuramua ('two hands with two')
14 mipoc kuramua ('two hands with a foot')
15 migrem mipoc kuramua ('two hands with a foot with one')
18 oranda neȟad ('entire man')
324 dikumi (related to kumi 'many')
5832 ṫeleṫ

Under the influence of Cuêzi and Cađinor, a decimal system was adopted; but the Kebreni numbers from 1 to 19 still show their origins in the Meṫaiun system:

1 gem 11 pinaḣ
2 kur 12 migram
3 dam 13 midakram
4 hak 14 mipoc
5 amma 15 mipokemai
6 migem 16 mipokurai
7 migur 17 hakraida
8 midam 18 raida
9 hakur 19 raigemai
10 kram 20 kur kram

The numbers from 21 to 99 are formed on the model [tens] kram [digits]-ai: 21 = kur kram gemai, 37 = dam kram migurai. In fast counting, kram is omitted.

It's still possible to count by 18s: raida, kuraida, dam raida...

dygum (from dikumi) has become the word for 100, while myga '1000' was borrowed from Cuêzi. The same basic model is followed: 487 = hak dygum midam kram migurai, 3480 = dam myga hak dygum midam kramai.

There are two ways of numbering noun phrases: by inserting the number before the noun, or by subordinating the noun and following it with the number:

dam kyr laḣ or kyr laḣte dam
three green fields

The subordinated form is more formal, and is preferred in writing, or with very long numbers.

The suffix -eḣ (-ḣ after vowel) forms ordinal numbers: gemeḣ 'first', raidaḣ 'eighteenth'.

Derivational morphology [To Top]

Nominalizers

With adjectives, nominalizations with -gu name the abstract quality; with nouns and verbs, they generally name a countable action, result, or associated entity.

kanu 'see' → kangu 'vista'
boṫynu 'fight' → boṫengu 'battle'
syh 'strong' → sygu 'strength'
śen 'honorable' → śengu 'honor'

With nouns and verbs, -au (Meṫ. -adio) is an abstract nominalizer, comparable to our -tion; with adjectives it names an object with the given quality.

adnedu 'add' → adnedau 'addition'
kanu 'see' → kanau 'vision'
maru 'be probable' → marau 'probability'
melaḣ 'king' → melaḣau 'royalty, kingship'
ty 'round' → tyau 'tube, pipe'

For simple actions, a name for an instance of the action can be formed by lowering the last root vowel (i, y → e; e, o → a; u → o, a unchanged) and adding -i:

riḣu 'count' → reḣi 'count, counting'
pocsu 'kick' → pacsi 'kick'
taradu 'dance' → taradi 'dance'
źynu 'go' → źeni 'departure'
kulsy 'command' → kolsi 'command'

The suffix -nu, usually accompanied by raising of the last root vowel (a → e, e → i, o → u, others unchanged) names a concrete thing related to the root object or action.

gyru (Meṫ. ger-) 'rise' → hernu (Meṫ. gerno) 'stair'
kam 'oak' → kamnu 'acorn'
muk 'new' → muhnu 'news'

To pluralize a noun, you follow the formula (X)V1C(V2) → (X)V1C[+vcd]V1. The status of pluralization in Kebreni is quite different from languages such as Verdurian and English, where it is obligatory and grammaticalized. It is an optional derivation in Kebreni; it can be thought of as forming a collective noun— 'a unit formed by more than one X.'

hami 'land' → hama 'lands, large area, nation'
neḣat 'man' → neḣada 'people'
cai (Meṫ. kiodi) 'mountain' → cadu (Meṫ. kiodo) 'mountain range'
beź 'grape' → beźe 'bunch of grapes'
lore 'horse' → loro 'team of horses'

-na is an augmentative; -iḣ is a diminutive.

ḣir 'long' → ḣirna 'very long'
siva 'sand' → sivana 'desert'
lezu 'forest' → Lezyna 'Leziunea = big forest'
zeveu 'friend' → zeviḣ 'little friend'
tada 'father' → tadiḣ 'dad'
nyne 'maiden' → nyniḣ 'little girl'

-eu names a person who does the action, comes from a place, or has a certain quality:

kulsy 'command' → kulseu 'commander'
taradu 'dance' → taradeu 'dancer'
Verdura 'Verduria' → Verdureu 'Verdurian'
zev 'loyal' → zeveu 'friend'

The Meṫaiun equivalent was formed by replacing the final root vowel of the verb with -u- and suffixing -i. This formation is found in a few old words:

γis- 'cure' → γusi (hus) 'doctor'
brin- 'watch' → bruni (brun) 'shepherd'

-ec has about the same meaning, but specifically names a feminine referent. Kebreni is usually not concerned to do so (e.g. melaḣ means both king and queen), but may use -ec in a few cases where the occupation is chiefly female (e.g. maḣec 'prostitute') or where it's desired to refer to a couple without awkwardness— e.g. a dance manual describing a duet may refer to the taradeu and taradec. The suffix is most commonly used to form girls' names.

lele 'cute, pretty' → Lelec
lezu 'forest' → Lezec

Meṫaiun -(γ)umi, whose Kebreni reflex is -um, named someone who lives in a particular place; it's related to γami 'land': thus limiγumi 'highlander'. As a productive prefix, it has been replaced by -eu in Kebreni; but -um is still found in personal names and in inhabitant-names of very old cities:

kal 'bee' → Kalum
śogu 'ridge' → Śogum
Laadau → Laadum 'person from Laadau'
Kaṫinaḣ 'Cađinas' → Kaṫynum 'Cađinorian'

A manufacturer of something is named with -teu (a reduced form of taseu 'maker'):

nabira 'ship' → nabirateu 'shipwright'

Given a verbal root CVXⁿ, the formula VC[+vcd]VXⁿe names a tool which accomplishes the action, or a substance which exemplifies it (contrast -eu, which is always a person):

paźu 'cut' → abaźe 'knife'
ṫanu 'harm' → aṫane 'weapon'
treḣ 'black' → etreḣe 'ink'

The suffix -eśa creates a concrete nominalization of an adjective: an object having the quality named by the adjective:

gem 'one' → geneśa 'primacy (among interested parties), lien'
ḣir 'long' → ḣireśa 'street'

-arei names a place:

suṫy 'provide' → suṫarei 'store'
lore 'horse' → lodarei 'stable' (with dissimilation)
nizu 'speak' → nizarei 'forum'

The proprietor or manager of such a place is named with the suffix -areu (unless there already exists a simple form with -eu, e.g. suṫeu 'provider, storekeeper'):

ingarei 'tavern' → ingareu 'tavernkeeper'

From toponyms and nobles' names we learn of a vowel-harmonizing honorific prefix me- in Meṫaiun: Monȟado (Monkhayu), Mičiaγama (Mishicama), meneula (Menla), meleȟ 'king', myvun 'leader'. It's also seen in Meṫaiu, Meuna, Mevost, Metōre. The prefix is not seen in modern Kebreni, and usually disappears in cognates: Śahama 'Mishicama', neḣada 'the people'.

Adjectivizers

The subordinator -te, attached to a single word, in effect turns it into an adjective.

keda 'house' → kedate 'domestic'
neḣada 'people' → neḣadate 'popular'
diru 'work' → dirte 'relating to work'

Attached to expressions referring to people, including pronouns, it serves as a genitive:

falau 'you' → falaute 'your'
nyne 'maiden' → nynete 'maiden's'
Verdureu 'Verdurian' → Verdureute 'Verdurian's'

An adjective related to a geographic expression is formed with -en:

Kebri 'Kebreni' → kebren 'Kebreni'
Ernaituḣ 'Érenat' → ernaituhen 'Érenati'

The infix -n- + final -(y)r gives an adjective meaning 'having the quality of X' or 'liable to X':

boḣtu 'water' → bontur 'wet'
men 'hill' → mennyr 'hilly'
ḣulo 'idiot' → ḣunlor 'idiotic'
zeveu 'friend' → zevenur 'friendly'
kriḣu 'kill' → krinḣyr 'murderous'
pabadu 'laugh' → pabandyr 'amusing'

The infix -su- gives an adjective meaning 'made of X':

siva 'sand' → sisuva 'sandy'
ḣeda 'stone' → ḣesuda 'stony'
kam 'oak' → kasum 'oaken'

The meaning of an adjective may be intensified by infixing -u- before the last consonant, or diminished by infixing -i-:

ḣir 'long' → ḣiur 'very long', ḣiir 'not long'
śaida 'beautiful' → śaiuda 'breathtakingly beautiful'
śe 'small' → śei 'tiny'

A similar process can be seen in Meṫ. nauni 'young man', niune 'young woman' (but it's obscured by sound change in Kebreni: nen, nyne).

-iCa where -C is the final consonant of the root, or -eCa after -i-, means 'that has been Xed'. This sounds like a past participle, but it is never a verbal form, nor can it even be used predicatively; it can only be used to modify a noun, or as a nominalization.

nizu 'say' → nieza 'spoken'
suṫy 'provide' → suiṫa 'provisions';
kulsy 'command' → kulisa 'what is commanded', lexicalized as 'fleet'
nabru 'sail' → nabira 'what is sailed', i.e. a ship

The suffix -lecsu (from lecu 'can'), added to a verb, means equally 'that can be verbed' or 'that can verb'; context generally indicates which.

badu 'eat' → badlecsu 'edible'
źaiźigu 'marry' → źaiźiglecsu 'marriageable, nubile'
treśu 'break' → treślecsu 'breakable'

The infix -at-, used to produce antonyms in Meṫaiun, is no longer productive:

zewi 'loyal' → zatewi 'disloyal, treasonous'
čiam- 'aproach' → čatiam- 'move away from'

An adjective can be negated with bu- (borrowed from Cađinor):

doḣt 'correct' → budoḣt 'incorrect'
gauryr 'pure' → bugauryr 'impure'

Verbalizers

Nouns can be fairly freely converted into verbs by adding -u (replacing a final vowel):

dyrḣi 'credit (entry)' → dyrḣu '(enter as a) credit'
nabra 'sail' → nabru 'sail'
alat 'silver coin' → aladu 'spend money'

A syntactic alternative, to use the verb tasu 'do', is extremely productive, especially for vague nonce forms:

suṫarei 'store' → suṫarei tasu 'shop'
zeveu 'friend' → zeveu tasu 'be friendly'
ṫiron 'market' → ṫiron tasu 'go to market'

The suffix -s- forms verbs with the meaning 'to use X (in the obvious way)' or 'to act like X':

poc 'foot' → pocsu 'kick'
bry 'eye' → brysu 'keep an eye on'
śemu 'fish' → śemsu 'swim'
mygu 'ox' → mycsu 'haul'

The infix -ma- means 'to make X' or 'to acquire X':

syl 'dark' → symalu 'darken'
hazik 'proud' → hazimaku 'make proud'
kur 'two' → kumaru 'split'
śemu 'fish' → śemamu 'fish'
alat 'silver' → alamatu 'scrounge up cash'

Locative verbs can be prefixed to verbs, often with the effect of specifying a direction or purpose for the action. Often an abbreviated form of the locative is used.

ebu 'be away from' + diru 'work' → ebdiru 'take off work'
dynu 'be above' + riḣu 'count' → dyrḣu 'count as a credit'

These expressions derive from a subordinated verb: eupte diru → ebdiru.

Syntax [To Top]

Parameter order [To Top]

Kebreni, lacking case marking or articles to signal case relationships, uses word order instead. The basic word order is SVO:

Linna Kalum, gente boṫeneu aźeiźirygu falaute nyniḣ.
Lord Kalum, this soldier wants to marry your daughter.
Ḣazum, linna agenu hus.
Ḣazum, the Lord needs a doctor.

To mark focus, a constituent is moved to the front of the sentence. With compound sentences, the constituent in focus may serve as subject and object both in the sentence; context usually serves to keep the meaning clear, without any unusual syntax or the insertion of pronouns.

Muk boṫeneu sudy Kamum, eḣc kulseu ḣilu.
The young soldier, [he] is named Kamum, and the commander likes [him].
Linnate nyne gegeu miźynu gembadu.
As for the lord's daughter, the servants are bringing breakfast [to her].

Note that when there are two noun phrases before the verb and no object after it, the first must be the object. If there's just one noun phrase before the verb, it's both subject and focus.

Hus nynete baba agenu źe.
As for the doctor, the girl's mother wants to see him too.
Nynete baba agenu hus źe.
As for the girl's mother, she wants to see the doctor too.
Neḣat guma mabu.
Man bites dog. (focus unmarked or on 'man')
Mabu guma neḣat.
Dog bites man. (focus unmarked or on 'dog')
Neḣat mabu guma.
As for the man, the dog bit him. (focus on 'man')
Mabu neḣat guma.
As for the dog, the man bit him. (focus on 'dog')

Schematically:

NP V = S V
V NP = V O
NP V NP = S V O
NP NP V = O S V

Indirect objects

Kebreni makes no morphological distinction between direct and indirect objects. One or both can appear after the verb, or be fronted for emphasis. The indirect object follows the direct object if both are given.

Kulseu ḣuvy veźa taradeu.
The commander gave the bottle to the dancer.
Nyne mugeu ḣuvy śemu.
The girl was given a fish by the young man.
Śemu nyne muḣa.
As for the fish, the girl sold it.

Another way of putting this is that verbs like ḣyvu 'give' are ditransitive in Kebreni, like sudy 'call (someone) (something)'.

Schematically:

NP V NP = S V O
NP NP V = O S V
NP V NP NP = S V O O
NP NP V NP = O S V O

Verbs of movement

The destination of a verb of movement is not morphologically marked in Kebreni; it's treated as a second object.

Linna, źyrynu Laadau.
Lord, we're going to Laadau.
Kuri ṫaniḣte neḣat lahu źumte keda?
Is that annoying man coming to our house?
Imeźynu śemu tada.
Bring a fish to your father.

However, the source of a movement is indicated using a locative verb (discussed below):

Laaven eupte lahu eḣc bohru.
They're coming from Laaven and they stink.

Noun phrases [To Index]

Order

Modifiers— including adjectives, numbers, relative clauses and locative expressions— always precede the noun:

kur mabu two dogs
gem śaida hazigai nyne that beautiful and proud maiden
ṫaniḣte neḣat an annoying man
kaunte melaḣ mabu a dog that looks at a king
sivana śaunte turgul the battalion near the desert

Kebreni's strong modifier-modified order would lead a linguist to suspect that it was once an OV language, which has changed, perhaps, under the influence of Verdurian. The evidence is equivocal; we do not have many actual texts in Meṫaiun. However, they do seem to be predominantly SOV.

The -te relativizer

The root meaning of -te is to reduce an expression to an attribute. It reduces a noun or noun phrase to an adjectival expression, a verbal expression to a subordinate clause.

With a single noun (or pronoun), a -te expression has an adjectival or possessive quality:

falaute gem one of you
tadate zevu father's friend
neḣadate nizarei the people's forum
kedate zivan the inside of the house (lit. the house's inside)

The same can be said of longer expressions that are themselves -te expressions:

falaute gente mygu the ox belonging to one of you
Kalunte tadate zevu Kalum's father's friend
neḣadate nizareite dirau the work of the people's forum

With more complex expressions -te functions like a relative clause:

dama rete ebdiru a three-day holiday; a holiday that's three days long
ḣulo tauste melaḣ a king who acts like an idiot
keda ziunte te mygu the ox that's in the house

Finally, a -te clause can stand on its own, meaning 'the one(s) which...':

Fal buda Kazumte beźe eḣc ḣem buda Lelecte.
You ate Kazum's grapes and I ate Lelec's.
Ruḣi Avelaḣ eupte lauhte? Ťaḣ miry.
Did you count the one who comes from Avéla? He's rich.

Existence and equivalence

There is no verb 'to be' in Kebreni; the closest equivalent is zaru 'exist, be there'.

Dama gegeu zaru, eḣc dama veźa zaurte eśu.
(Lit.) Three servants exist, and three bottles do not exist.
There's three servants and three missing bottles.
Boṫengu ziunte ciḣica ingarei zura.
In Boggola there used to be a praiseworthy tavern.

There is no verb 'have' either; zaru with effect inflections serves for this.

Keda, kur gegeu, eḣc śemu zeri.
I have a house, two servants, and a fish. (Lit, they exist for my benefit.)
Lelena lelena nyne zeniri.
You have a very, very cute daughter. (Lit., she exists for your benefit.)

Negative effect inflections are used when the possession is disadvantageous.

Keda eupte symanlur kangu zora.
I have a boring view from my house.
Paru ziunte cuka zonira.
You have a pimple on your lip.

Third-person possession can only be indicated by possessive expressions, e.g.:

Kulseute pabandyr lore zaru.
(Lit.) The commander's amusing horse exists.
The commander has an amusing horse.

There is no attributive 'be' at all; to say that X is Y you normally simply adjoin the two noun phrases.

Ḣente tada beźarei eḣc baba taradeu.
My father is a vintner and my mother is a dancer.

To say that X belongs to the class Y, you can use sudy 'be called':

Ebrankraḣ sudy kraḣ.
Cinnabar is (lit. is called) a mineral.

To reveal that X is actually Y, one can use the expression X Yai gensu 'X and Y are one'; the opposite can be indicated with kursu 'be two, differ':

Linna, kriḣu loreai genrysu.
My lords, the killer is— the horse. (Lit., the killer and the horse are one.)
Falte tada eḣc taradeu kursu.
Your father is no dancer. (Lit., your father and a dancer differ.)

Adjectives [To Index]

Attributes

Adjectives used attributively appear before the noun, without modification: śaida seṫ 'a beautiful jewel'; ṫaniḣte źem ḣulo 'an annoying old idiot'.

Predicates

As predicates they are a bit more complicated; in effect they are partially converted into verbs. No copula is used. In the simplest form, the adjective simply appears after the noun, in verbal position:

Kriḣeu źem. The killer is old.

The politeness infix -ri- must be used in the same situations it would be used on a verb:

Falte nyne śaida.
Your daughter is beautiful. (ordinary)
Falaute nyne śairida.
Your daughter is beautiful. (polite)

The predication is negated using the auxiliary eśu and the subordinator -te, as with verbs, and other auxiliaries may be used as well:

Gem mabu źente eśu.
This dog is not old.
Melaḣ miryte maru.
The king is probably rich.

Adjectives which already end in -te do not add it again:

Falau ṫaniḣte eryśu!
You are not annoying, sir!

A perfective can be formed by appending -u (replacing a final vowel if any) and interchanging it with the previous vowel. Use -y instead if the latter is also a -u-.

Kriḣeu śaudi.
The killer is no longer beautiful. (Cf. śaida 'beautiful')
Falte nyne mycu.
Your daughter is no longer young. (Cf. muc 'young']

Predicate adjectives are not inflected for volition or effect.

Substantives

An adjective can be used as a substantive by suffixing -te: syhte 'the strong (ones)', kyrte 'the green (ones).'

The subordinated form may also appear attributively; in this form and position it can be interpreted as a one-word relative clause.

Note the difference between:

nyyl nabira a slow ship
nyylte nabira a ship that is slow
nyylte a slow one

Comparatives

There is no morphological comparative. A comparative "X is more Q than Y" is formed using an expression that literally means "As opposed to Y, X is very Q."

Cadec ceuste polte nyne leule.
hill-girl opposing city-SUB girl cute-AUG
A city girl is cuter than a hillbilly girl.
Bodu ceuste śemu bontuurte eśu.
frog opposing fish wet-AUG-SUB not
A fish is not wetter than a frog.

Instead of bontuurte eśu 'not very wet' we could say bontuir 'little wet'; but the negative expression is preferred in speech, where the difference from bontuur 'very wet' is not marked.

Note that where we use comparative forms Kebreni often uses the augmentative or diminutive forms: nyul lore 'slower horses', literally 'very slow horses'. Reduplication is also found, especially in speech: kasus kasus re 'a windy, windy day'.

Adverbs

Before a verb, the -te form of an adjective serves as an adverb:

Nyne nyylte taradu. The girl was dancing slowly.
Linna hazikte nuzi. The lord spoke proudly.

This form can follow the verb if it would not be confused with an object: nuzi hazikte is all right, but taradu nyylte would mean 'danced a slow one'. It can be fronted for emphasis, but only by placing it in its own subclause with tasu/soru 'do':

Hazikte tauste linna nuzi.
Proudly the lord spoke. (Lit., Doing proudly, the lord spoke.)

Conjunctions [To Index]

Kebreni has two ways of saying and, with slightly different meanings: eḣc, which appears between the conjoined constituents, and -ai, which attaches to the second constituent, voicing a final consonant and replacing the final vowel of a diphthong.

Applied to two (or more) modifiers, -ai forms an intersection, eḣc a union, of the meaning of the modifiers. For instance, muk syhai neḣat and muk eḣc syh neḣat both mean "the young and strong men"; but muk syhai neḣat means the men who are both young and strong (the intersection of 'young men' and 'strong men'), while muk eḣc syh neḣat means the young men and the strong men (the union of 'young men' with 'strong men').

The third logical possibility is a disjunction— the men that are young or strong but not both— and this corresponds to ga 'or': muk ga syh neḣat 'the old or the young men (but not both)'.

Similarly, applied to separate words, -ai implies that both conjoints describe the same referent(s) or action, eḣc that they are separate, and ga that only one applies:

Ḣem falaai inezu.
You and I (as a unit or team) will speak.

(Here the referents are not the same. When the conjoints are obviously distinct, the meaning is that they form an indissoluble team, acting together.)

Ḣem eḣc falau inezu.
You will speak, and I will speak.
Ḣem ga falau inezu.
Either you will speak, or I will speak.
nyne taradeai
the girl and the dancer (who are the same), the girl dancer
nyne eḣc taradeu
the girl and the dancer (who are two separate people)
nyne ga taradeu
the girl or the dancer (but not both)
Palec symalu ṫaniḣuai.
Palec bores and she annoys (all at once, simultaneously).
Palec symalu eḣc ṫaniḣu.
Palec bores and she also annoys (two different attributes).
Palec symalu ga ṫaniḣu.
Either Palec bores, or she annoys (not at the same time).

Ga is thus an exclusive or. There is no conjunction that has the meaning of inclusive or (X or Y or both, X and/or Y), but, as in English, one can add the 'and' case explicitly:

Melaḣ pabadu ga fanu ga kur soru.
The king will laugh or die or both (lit. "or do the two (of them)").

There is no conjunction 'but'— which, linguistically, is an 'and' with a built-in implication of surprise or contrast. These connotations must be explicitly indicated in Kebreni.

Locative verbs [To Index]

What we would express with prepositions is expressed using locative verbs in Kebreni, such as zinu 'be in or on', nevu 'be in the middle of'. These can be used as regular verbs:

Mygu zinu keda!
The ox is inside the house!
Raazam neryvu haḣc.
Raizumi is in the middle of the valley (polite).

Most of them in fact are regular verbs— e.g. foru 'follow', used as a locative verb with the meaning 'be behind', mitu 'use' or 'be with'. The others were also once regular verbs, but are no longer used in their original meanings.

More frequently a locative expression is used as a modifier or an adverbial; these are subordinate clauses in Kebreni. The locative verb conventionally ends the expression, although its parameter is technically a direct object (more evidence, perhaps, for Meṫaiun's OV nature):

ingarei ziunte inside the tavern
re neuvte in the middle of the day
[ḣir zeveu eupte] lyr muhnu
sad news [from an old friend]
[lim men fourte] keda
the high hill [in back of the house]
[melaḣ miutte] linna
the lords who support the king
[[kaldu ziunte] gem bakte kal ] ḣulo
an idiot [without one fucking bee [in his hive]]

These expressions are so frequent that they are phonetically degraded. The -u- is often lost, or combines with a preceding -i- or -e- to form -y-, and the final -e may be lost as well, yielding such forms as zynt' 'inside' or fort' 'in back of'.

English has at least one verb that acts like a locative verb— 'contain'. Kebreni locative verbs all act like 'contain'. Compare:

Kona zinu ciḣta ciḣta ziunte
The money is in the box in the box
Ciḣta zadinu kona kona zadiunte
The box contains money containing money

The most common locative verbs, and the abbreviations used in derivations from them, are shown below, with some examples:

brynu bry facing, before, about keda bryunte 'in front of the house', kriidi bryunte about books'

dynu dy up, on top of, over cadu dyunte 'over the mountains'

ebu eb out (of), off, (away) from Kebri eupte 'outside Kebri'

cezu cez against, despite źaiźega ceuste 'against the marriage'

foru for behind, in back of keda fourte 'behind the house'

fuzu fu without śemu fuuste 'without a fish'

mitu mi with, using; supporting abaźe miutte 'with a knife'

nevu ne in the middle of, among, through, during nabira neufte 'in the middle of the ship', mur neufte 'for an hour'

ponu po below, under broga pounte 'under the table'

śadamu śada far (from) pol śadaunte 'far from the city'

śamu śa around, surrounding, near turgul śaunte 'surrounding the battalion'

vekru vek as, like gauryr vekurte 'like a virgin'

zinu zi in, inside, at, on(general locative) laḣ ziunte 'in the field', men ziunte 'on top of the hill', ṫiron ziunte 'at market'

zadinu zadi containing, including seṫ zadiunte 'containing a jewel'

Time metaphorically flows not forward but downward in Kebreni:

mur dyunte an hour ago (lit., up an hour)
mur pounte an hour later, after one hour (lit., down an hour)

One can flow with a river or against it; expressions of support work the same way.

Tama miutte with (down) the Serea
Tama ceuste against (up) the Serea
melaḣ miutte/ceuste for/against the king

Finally, note that interrogative 'where' is a locative verb:

Syna śanu?
Where is the waterfall?

Questions [To Index]

Yes-no questions

Yes-no questions are indicated with intonation alone:

Lahu? Are you coming?
Ḣulo, miźyunte ḣiṫane eśu?
Idiot, you didn't bring your sword?

A positive question is answered by repeating the verb or by contradicting it with the negative auxiliary eśu; there are no words for 'yes' or 'no'.

Lahu. Yes, I'm coming.
Eśu. No, I'm not coming.

To agree with a negative question, you again repeat the verb, which of course is the negative auxiliary eśu; to disagree with it you use the main verb:

Eśu. Yes, I didn't bring it.
Miźynu. No, I did bring it.

Tag-questions are formed with eśu (polite natu), without subordinating the main verb:

Laadum śemuste lecu, eśu?
Someone from Laadau knows how to swim, doesn't he?
Melaḣ karynu ḣem, natu?
The King will see me, won't he?

It should come as no surprise that a negative tag-question is formed by appending the non-negative main verb:

Fal fuuste kona eśu, fuzu?
You don't have any money, do you?

Question words

Unlike in English, question words are not fronted; they remain in the syntactically appropriate spot:

Fal cyru śava?
Who do you know? (Lit., you know who?)
Maḣu śava loreai?
You sold the horse and what else? (Lit., you sold what and the horse?)
Oteurte lore zeveu śanu?
Where's this friend of yours who wants a horse?
Kuna śete śemu?
What kind of a fish did you see? (Lit., you saw what-kind-of fish?)
Kylsu bigynte ladu?
How many olives did you order?

Complex sentences [To Index]

See also the section on Subordinating form under Verbs.

Sentences as objects

Verbs such as say or know can take sentences as objects. If the object is in its usual place, after the verb, no special syntactic marking is employed:

Cyru [Verdureu ameḣu baba].
We know [that Verdurians would sell their mothers.]
Kulseu nizu [turgul zinu kuri śogu].
The commander says [the battalion is on that ridge.]

If it's desired to front the sentential object, it should be followed by gente 'this one' or kurite 'that one':

[Verdureu ameḣu baba] gente cyru?
[Verdurian sell-VOL mother] this-one know?
That Verdurians would sell their mothers, do we know this?

Adverbial conjunctions

The conjunctions eḣc and ga can be used for entire sentences:

Melaḣ zinu ingarei eḣc ingareu zinu ḣyr.
The king is in the tavern, and the tavernkeeper is in the castle.
Ḣilu inga ga ingarei ziunte śaida nyne diru.
Either he likes the wine, or a beautiful girl works in the tavern.

Other relations between sentences are expressed by more specialized conjunctions. These are often expressed by adverbial clauses in English. Thus English adverb X (adverb) Y becomes X (conj) Y in Kebreni:

Melaḣ kaaryru pema falau yḣeryvu ḣiṫane.
When the king returns, you will give him your sword.
Melaḣ kaurte natu heź falau oteryru ḣiitiru.
If the king does not return, (then) you will take his sash.
Ḣem ḣouźi kriida immi konarei mengu.
Because I lost the mortgage document, the bank is whining.

The conjunction is considered to modify the first (X) clause. To second clause can however be fronted if a demonstrative is left in its place:

Konarei mengu, ḣem ḣouźi gemeśate kriida immi kurite.
The bank is whining, because I lost the mortgage document.

"To do X in order to Y" is expressed by placing X in the volitional and subordinating Y:

Alamaute aeladu.
get-money-SUB spend-money-VOL
In order to get money, you must spend money.
Źyunte Kebropol ḣem oteru lore.
go-SUB Kebropol I acquire-VOL horse
I want to get a horse in order to get to Kebropol.

Relative clauses

As noted under Pronouns, interrogative pronouns cannot be used as relative clauses (that is, to form subordinate clauses).

Where English would use 'what', 'who' 'where', or 'when', Kebreni uses the subordinating form of the verb:

[Źaiźiute kulseu] taradeu ḣiulte eśu.
The dancer [who married a commander] doesn't like him.
[Cuka miute] gente eveśu.
I don't want to see the one [who has a pimple].
Yźenu [hamaida nyne tarautte] ingarei.
I want to go to the tavern where the naked girls dance.

An English sentence with relative 'why' will be expressed using immi 'because' in Kebreni:

[Źyunte Laadau immi] cyurte eśu.
I don't know [why he's going to Laadau].
(Lit., I don't know because he's going to Laadau.)

Example [To Index]

This selection, from a newspaper article by Śenum Polyr, shows the typical romantic, slightly defensive Kebreni patriotism. It is given in transliteration with an interlinear translation, then in a free English translation.

In the interlinear translation, for brevity, I've used the English possessive or gerundive to represent subordinating forms of nouns and verbs, respectively. However, I've used verbal forms to translate locative verbs; prepositions would misrepresent the structure of Kebreni.

Writing addressed to the world in general (stories, essays, textbooks, news articles) generally does not use the polite forms. When the writer has a specific audience in mind (speeches, petitions, personal letters, sermons), polite forms are used. They are not used in religious language or in legal documents--not signs of disrespect for gods or negotiation partners, but of the age of such language, predating the grammaticalization of politeness.

Zivan eḣc eban

Uneitsu Kebri. Nuutsi śava?
think-VOL Kebri. think-PERF what?

Haḣc ziunte sylgu, luda kuguynte men, boḣtunate geira ṫaupte yvyre.
valley being-in shadow, olive-tree filling hill, sea's sound lapping boats.

Nuitu ziunte kanu hazik pol, nabirateu eḣc konarei eḣc ingarei miutte,
mind being-in see proud city, shipbuilder and bank and tavern using,

geru kebrite ceirate lyyr zauguai, ansu śaida kebren nynete ḣir mova,
hear kebri's song's sadness glory-and, feel beautiful kebreni girl's long hair,

debru falte haḣc ga falte noḣa ziunte tauste iźele, Kebri ziunte dynyr.
taste your valley or your island being-in making cheese, kebri being-in top.

Fal kebren immi nuitsu orat kurite.
you kebreni because think all that-NOM.

Verdureu nuitsu, kebri zikanu gente: ingu, ladute gezu, nabira eḣc zateuguai.
verdurian think, kebri mean this-NOM: wine, olive's oil, ship, and enmity.

Gymu ḣiḣunte Ruḣtyrte rema hami, toryuvte Ťeḣnam hami, moreo aścaite melaḣ bryunte ledeu.
we burning arcaln's bridge land, trading dhekhnam land, moreo ashcai's king facing rival.

Oratte ceuste, nana miutte, tasu oradam ziunte dynyr ingu,
all-NOM opposing, methods using, make world being-in top wine,

Kelenor Luiśorai ceuste ḣauv miuryai.
celenor luyshor-and opposing good-AUG rich-AUG-and.

Gensi eḣc gennisi. Kanu gymu oradam vekurte:
same-for-me and same-to-you. see us world seeming:

bucuelecsu cynaute kumbehsu meclau.
irreducible experience's miscellaneous mixture.

Ebaneu kanu bemaś miutte— gente ceuste, gymu kaunte euśte źaite ṫaza kanu.
outsider see caricature with— this-NOM opposing, we seeing not-SUB things they see.

Bobabeu nuituste eśu ḣymu kunnar.
drunkard thinking not-PRES drinks too-much.

Kanarei gemeḣ doḣtte eśu, kureḣ doḣtte eśu:
viewpoint first right-SUB not, second right-SUB not-PRES :

neḣatte źaite miutte, nenkanyr kanarei zaurte eśu.
man's thing having, objective viewpoint existing not.

Inside and outside

Think of Kebri. What do you think of? You think of the shadows on the valleys, the hills carpeted by olive trees, the sound of the sea lapping against boats. You see in your mind the proud cities, with their shipbuilders and banks and taverns, hear the sadness and glory of Kebreni songs, feel the long hair of beautiful Kebreni girls, taste the particular cheese made in your own valley or island--the best on Kebri. You think all this because you are Kebreni.

To the Verdurians, Kebri means these things: wine, olive oil, ships— and enmity. We are the land which burned the Arcaln Bridge, the land that trades with Dhekhnam, the rival before the king of Moreo Ashcai. And at the same time, somehow, we make the finest wine in the world, better and richer than that that of Célenor or Luyshor.

It is the same way with each one of us. We see ourselves as a world— a jumbled mixture of irreducible experience. Outsiders see us in caricature— but may also see what we do not see: the drunkard never thinks he drinks too much. Neither point of view is the correct one; with human things, there is no objective viewpoint.

Sound changes [To Top]

The following sound changes can be postulated between Meṫaiun and Kebreni.
C = any consonant
F = front vowel

CC → C		treggeur → treḣyr
[+fric] → [-fric]	/ _[+liquid]	Davrio → Dabru, ȟras → kraḣ
e → y	/ C,#_Cu	keruna → kyruna
i → y	/ C,#_Cⁿu	kijur → kyźur
g → x	/ _F	geilas → ḣilaḣ
g → γ	/ _C	mogdo → moγdo → mohdu
r → i	/ g_	grem → giem → gem
s, z → [+velar]	/ _[+stop], _#	γask → haḣc, girilas → ḣirilaḣ
k → c	/ _i	vaiki → vaac, kiodi → cai
ai → aa		Laita → Lädau
oi → e		Awoilas → Avelaḣ
au → e		saumi → sem
Fu → y		briu → bry, neuli → nyl
io → a	/ _C	kiodi → cai
o → u	/ _(Cⁿ)#	mog → muk, arosd → ruḣt
w → v		Newor → Nevur, Awoilas → Avelaḣ
ȟ → ḣ		ȟam → ḣam
[+vcd+stop] → 0	/ V_F	kiodi → cai, Dobauron → Doerun
i → 0	/ _V	lesio → lezu
[-vcd+obs] → [+vcd]	/ V_V	sifa → siva, Gutein → Gudin, Laita → Lädau
e → 0	/ _ i, a	geilas → ḣilaḣ, Leziunea → Lezyna
i → 0	/ C_#	raisi → raas
r → 0	/ C_#	godri → godr → god → got
č → ś		Čengo → Śengu
j → ź	/_	jindor → źindur
γ →h		γask → haḣc, mogdo → moγdo → mohdu
k → c	/ by x, ś	γask → haḣk → haḣc
n → i	/ _[+dental]	čanda → śaida
m → n	/ by [+dental]	admettan → adnedan, ȟamsifa → ḣansiva
h → 0	/ _x	moggeur → moγxyr → mohxyr → moxyr
n → 0	/ _s	tanso → tasu
[+stop] → [-vcd]	/ _#	vaiki → vaaci → vaac, mog → muk

Curiously, the voicing of medial consonants (e.g. demettan → demedu) seems to be an areal feature, shared with Ismaîn and the Avélan dialect of Verdurian.

Lexicon [To Top]

The first column gives the Kebreni word; the second is the Meṫaiun equivalent, if any.

Kebreni and its ancestor Meṫaiun have been in close contact with Cuêzi and the Cađinorian languages for close to four milennia, and there has been extensive borrowing in both directions.

Meṫaiun borrowings into Cuêzi include geōre ‘castle’, nîdo ‘wheel’, nêsei ‘parley’, auōni ‘treaty’, navera ‘sail’, ancua ‘sea serpent’, girin ‘ibis’, sêori ‘octopus’, buras ‘sponge’, crinu ‘papyrus’, execu ‘lentil’, ladu ‘olive’, mexera ‘type of herb’, ciotīro ‘type of flower’, talāuas ‘orange’, xariu ‘luck’, trîgo ‘soot’.

Meṫaiun borrowings from Cuêzi include aviza ‘university’, numygur ‘hermit’, kriida ‘paper’, eri ‘map’, ris ‘pen’, gunaḣ ‘hero’, eklura ‘sensual abandon’, kelun ‘bronze’, mardaḣ ‘iron’, lidaḣ ‘steel’, fadora ‘fountain’, myga ‘thousand’, pery ‘flaid’, yra ‘type of flower’, alaṫ ‘silver coin’.

Meṫaiun borrowings into Cađinor include Agireis ‘the sea goddess’, evranȟras ‘realgar’, ȟamsifa ‘sulfur’, laitondos ‘brass’, paṫeta ‘calomine’, baita ‘barrel’, cora ‘riverboat’, tindigeda ‘anchor’, ṫeiba ‘bow’, pinda ‘stern’, siobostos ‘brine’, burasos ‘sponge’, dauris ‘seagull’, akulua ‘shark’, raiȟ ‘crab’, moreia ‘tuna’, noṫonis ‘salmon’, busmitrio ‘pearl’, citro ‘lemon’, bidno ‘grapevine’, vinos ‘wine’, moruṫ ‘carrot’, palaznos ‘gorse’, seṫa ‘silk’, viđora ‘type of flower’, mapola ‘poppy’, suber ‘cork’, peida ‘type of vine’, kariu ‘happiness’, and dozens of toponyms.

Meṫaiun borrowings from Cađinor include adnedu ‘add’, demedu ‘subtract’, bina ‘list’, leraḣ ‘understanding’, aken ‘clear’, ḣiitiru ‘sash’, aladaḣ ‘grammar’, preḣtura ‘history’, kaadau ‘magic’, ygunit ‘knights-and-kings’, kraze ‘rose’, kridu ‘write’, ledu ‘compete’, lureḣ ‘beautiful’, lyḣ ‘glass’, ciḣta ‘box’.

Kebreni borrowings into Verdurian include

financial and accounting terms like andedau ‘profit’, demedau ‘loss’, dürí ‘credit’, pória ‘liability’, porui ‘debit’, gëméša ‘mortgage’, gocrea ‘balance sheet’; lagu ‘income’, žüngu ‘expenditures’; sutam, cürnu, alat, sülcona ‘types of coins’
commercial words like susaré ‘shop’, tuyo ‘pipe’;
nautical terms like culisa ‘fleet’, culso ‘admiral’, nabro ‘ship captain’, navira ‘ship’, čirnu ‘deck’, sefo ‘boy’;
general words like bakt ‘terrible’, lür ‘woe’, řulo ‘clown’, zevu ‘pal’, vučemu ‘flounder’.

Kebreni borrowings from Verdurian include

technological terms like aisel ‘key’, beh ‘essence’, cuelu ‘calcine’, skalea ‘gas’, impuźu ‘print’, uvere ‘fashion’, źuśni ‘lace’, śeveḣka ‘leggings’, leidi ‘lens’; otedit ‘watch’, keṫnai ‘factory’;
cultural terms like bemaś ‘cartoon’, kona ‘money’, lic ‘trial’, meika ‘school’, raline ‘play’, tuta ‘newspaper’;
religious and philosophical words like aźcita ‘monastery’, nieron ‘holy’, ripriroda ‘philosophy’, kuraiyr ‘logic’, razum ‘mind’;
grammatical terms, mostly loan-translated; e.g. maźeu ‘trustee’ is used for ‘pronoun’ based on V. promevec
general words like pruso ‘inn’, meclu ‘mix’, feśu ‘soirée’, fauśu ‘cram’, śekśe ‘cocoa’.

There are also many calques (loan-translations) from Cađinor or Verdurian, such as babate namar for ‘galena’, from mira plomei ‘mother of lead’; or zibiśu for ‘entail’, from imfayir, both formed from ‘in’ + ‘be necessary’; or miebeu for ‘disciple’, ‘one who leaves in support of (his beliefs)’, based on profäsec; or mitecau for ‘company’, based on cumbutát ‘those with a common goal’.

For borrowings into Ismaîn see the Ismaîn lexicon.

-bu -bo n water (in toponyms)

-du -do n town (in toponyms)

abaźe apače n knife [‘cutter’]

adnedau n addition; profit

adnedu v add [Cađ. admettan]

Aḣimba Agibna n an ancient kingdom centered on the lower Serea; V. Ažimbea. [the name of the Meṫaiun sea goddess; with augm. -na; cf. Cađ. calque Agireis]

aḣnu asnu n donkey, ass

aisel n key [Verd. ansel]

aken akni a clear, evident [Cađ. iacnis]

akluva akluwa n shark

aladaḣ n grammar [Cađ. aluatas]

aladu v spend money

alamatu v scrounge up cash, get a little money

alaṫ alaṫi n a silver coin [Cađ. alaṫis]

amma amua n hand; num five

anaḣ anas n duck

angen a eastern

angu angu n east

ankuva ankuva n sea snake, eel

ansu ams- v touch or feel (with the hands) [‘hand’ + -s-]

aśeve pron why, what for [volitional form of śava ‘what’: thus ‘wanting what?’]

aṫana aṫana n army [collective of ‘weapon’]

aṫane aṫane n weapon [‘harmer’]

Avelaḣ Awoilas n An ancient kingdom opposite Kebri; also its capital, the modern Avéla [‘treaty field’]

aviza avisa(r) n university, academy [Cuêzi avissār]

avon awoni n agreement, treaty

avunu awun- v agree

aźcita n monastery [Ver. ažcita]

baada baita n barrel

baba baba n mother

bada bata adv then, at that time

badi n meal

badu bat- v eat (polite = seḣepu)

badlecsu a edible

bakte a fucking

baku v fuck

bal bal n fox

batronau n relaxation

batronu batron- v relax [ant. of bronu ‘tire’]

beh n essence; (alchemy) spirit [Old Verd. beḣ]

bemaś n caricature, cartoon [Verd. bemáš]

beźarei n vineyards, wine maker

beź bej n grape

beźe beje n bunch of grapes

biha beiȟa a some, few, any

bihate pron something, someone, anything, anyone

bigynte beihakumi pron how many, how much

biisu bins- v list, register, record

biśu bič- v (with sub. verb) must, have to; (alone) be necessary

bina bina n list, register, record [Cađ. bineia]

biźnu bijno n grapevine [‘grape’ + nom. -nu]

bobabeu n drunkard

bobabu v wobble, stagger [synaesthetic]

bodu bodo n frog

boguida bokunda a tomb [from bokud- ‘bury’]

bogudu bokud- v bury

bohru bogr- v stink

boḣtu bosto n water

boḣtum bostumi n iliu [‘sea-inhabitant’]

bomiźiru bostomičiro n pearl [‘water silver’, or perhaps ‘iliu silver’]

boḣtuna n sea [‘great water’]

bongryr a stinking, stinky

bonnezi n story [‘thing-say’]

bontur a wet

bonu bono n thing, object

boṫeneu n soldier

boṫengu boṫengo n battle

boṫynu boṫen- n fight

broga broca n table

broida bronda n storm [imitative]

bronu bron- v tire, fatigue; be tired

brun bruni n shepherd [‘watcher’]

bry briu n eye

brynu brinu v look at, watch; face; loc v facing, in front of, before, about

brynizu v describe, talk about [bryunte ‘about’ + nizu ‘speak’]
bryniunte [nezi] adjective

brysu v (slang) eye, keep an eye on

bucuelecsu a irreducible, unalloyed, essential [cf. cuelu]

bucy bukiu a nasty, horrible [‘vomitous’]

budoḣt -doȟti a wrong, incorrect

bugauryr a impure, no longer virginal

buk buk n vomit

buraḣ buras n sponge

cadeu n mountain man, hillbilly

cadu kiodo n mountain range

cai kiodi n mountain

caiźiru kiodičiro n a type of flower [‘mountain-white’]

ceḣnu kiesn- v defend [formation from kies- ‘oppose’]

ceira n song

ceirau n music

celu n tea [from Belesaowa čae lu ‘tea beverage’, čae from Uytain tsai]

ceru kiaur- v sing

cezu kies- v oppose; loc v be against, despite
kurite ceuste despite that; however, but

ciḣcu kisk- v praise

ciḣta kista n small box [Cađ. cista ‘box, trunk’]

cin pron I, me (humble) [weakening of ḣem?]

ciru kir- v stand

cirnu n platform, deck [‘thing for standing on’]

citru kitro n lemon

ciźe kiče pron how

cuelu v (chem.) calcine; reduce to its elements [Verd. čuelan]

cuka n dot (esp. on clothing); pimple [Verd. čuca ‘spot’]

cynau n experience, perception

cynu kin- v feel, perceive, experience [from kanu ‘see’]

cyru kiur- v know (person, thing, or fact)

Dabru Davrio n the ancient name for Kebri [from Davur]

daga daga n north

daḣen a northern

dainnu num one third

dam dama num three

daśi n fall, drop

demedau n subtraction; loss

demedu v subtract [Cađ. demettan]

debru devr- v taste

der dauri n seagull

diḣ deis n snow

diḣdaśi n snowfall

dirau n work

diru deir- v work

Doerun Dobauron n founder of Meṫaiu, the first kingdom of the Plain. [meaning unknown, and suspiciously Cađinor in form.]

doḣt dosti a right, correct

dośu doč- v fall, drop

duḣtu dust- v fear

dygum dikumi num hundred (in Meṫaiun, 324 = 18 * 18)

dynu diun- loc v be up, on top of, over

dynyr a upper; the best or finest

dyriḣa n asset, advantage [‘what is credited’]

dyrḣi n credit [‘up-count’]

dyrḣu v count as a credit, add to the credit ledger

dyvan diuwan n top, upper part

eban epwan n outside, outer part

ebaneu n outsider, foreigner

Ebdicai n a city on Kernoia [‘off Snow Mountain’]

ebdirau n holiday

ebdiru v leave off working, take a holiday [‘off work’]

ebra evra a red

ebrankraḣ evranȟras n cinnabar [‘red mineral’, which is the meaning in Meṫ.]

ebu ep- v leave, avoid; loc v be out (of), off, (away) from

eda eta n leaf

edar a leafy

eḣc esk conj and

eklura eȟlura n perversion, sensual abandon, hedonism [Cuêzi exlûra ‘sin’— a preoccupation of Cuzeians outside their country]

eklurei n place of sensual pleasures (wine, food, plays, music, nude dancing, gambling, etc.)

Ektezivun Ektesifon n Ctésifon, Žésifo [Cađ.]

eri aurisonda n map [Cuêzi]

erizondau n cartography

Erivilaḣ n Ervëa, Cađinorian emperor [Cađ Aerivileas]

Ernaituḣ Erenantos n Érenat [Cađ.]

Ernaituḣen a of Érenat

eśu weč- v to not be (negative auxiliary verb; polite form is natu)

etreḣe etrege n ink [‘blackening tool’]

fadora fatora n fountain [Cuêzi fatōurrâ]

faḣt fasti a dry

fal fal pron you

falau pron you (deferential) [fal + nominalizer]

fanu fanu v die

fauśu v cram (for a test) [Ver. fálšuec]

feśu n soirée, fancy party [Ver. fëšo ‘ball’]

firu feiro n bath
firu tasu take a bath

foru foru v follow; loc v be behind or in back of

fudu fut- v boil

fuga fukai a deep

Fugaaźi Fukai ȟaičei n Fugäži lake in Kebri [‘deep lake’]

fuzu fus- v lack, miss; loc v be without

fyn funi a no, none

fynte pron nothing, no one

fyru feuro n baths; spa, resort; also a city in Kebri [augmentive of feiro]

ga grau conj or

gamu gam- v bite

gar gari a clean

gauryr a pure; virginal; n virgin [intensive of ‘clean’ + adjectivizer]

gegeu n servant

gegu graug- v serve
Egenirigi! At your service!

geira n sound [‘(something) heard’]

gem grem num one; pron this (needs following noun)

gembadi n breakfast [‘first meal’]

gemeḣ gremeȟ a first

gemeśa n lien; primacy among heirs or interested parties

gente pron this one

gensu gremsu v be united; be one; be the same, not differ

geru gaur- v hear, listen

geṫ gauṫ n dawn

Geṫmene Gauṫmene n the Ctelm mountains [‘hills of dawn’]

gezu gauso n oil

gonarei n habitation, settlement, colony

gonu gonu v cultivate; settle, inhabit

gorkreha n weighing; balance sheet [‘heavy-test’]

gorkrege n ledger, accounts book [plural of gorkreha]

got godri a thick, dense [alteration of gori]

Gudin Gutein n the greatest of the kings of ancient Davur (c. -600)

guh goγ n fire

gunaḣ ekunas n hero [Cuêzi ecūnas]

gur gori a heavy

gymu gemu pron we, us

gyru ger- v raise, rise

habut γabuti n bear [‘honey-eater’]

hada γata n skin

hadar γatari a unlucky

hadargu γatarigo n unluck

haḣc γask n valley

haiknu num one fourth, a quarter

hak γakaȟ num four [‘almost (a hand)’]

hakraida γakaȟ oranda num seventeen [‘almost the whole (man)’]

hakte adv almost, nearly

hakur γakaȟ kuri num nine [‘almost two (hands)’]

hamadu v strip (clothes, bark, husks, peels); to be bare

hamaida a stripped, peeled; naked

hamauda a barren [intensive of hamaida]

hami γami n land

har γari a lucky

hargu γarigo n luck

hat γati n honey

Hazigami Ghasikami n Azgami [‘land of the proud’]

hazik γasik a proud

heź γauči conj X heź Y = if X, then Y

hus γusi n doctor [‘healer’]

hyzu γis- v heal, cure

ḣaaźi ȟaičei n lake

ḣam ȟam n hot springs, baths

ḣamavau n blessing

ḣamavu v bless [‘make good’]

ḣansiva ȟamsifa n sulfur [‘spring-sand’]

ḣav ȟawi a good

ḣavigu ȟawigo n goodness, virtue

Ḣazum Ȟaskumi n Kebreni name [‘valley-man’]

ḣeda geda n stone

ḣem gem pron I, me

ḣerne gerne n staircase

ḣernu gerno n stair

ḣesuda a stony

ḣiḣnu gisn- v burn

ḣiitiru gintiro n sash (esp. as emblem of legitimacy) [Cađ. guintro]

ḣilu ȟeilu v like, be fond of (the archaic meaning is ‘desire’)

ḣir giri a long, longstanding

Ḣirem Miȟirem n the planet Ȟírumor [Elkarîl l Ŋokhrem, with the initial syllable reinterpreted as the honorific]

ḣirin girein n ibis [‘longish’]

Ḣiraaźi Giri ȟaičei n Hiräži lake in Kebri [‘long lake’]

ḣireśa n street

ḣiṫane giraṫane n sword [‘long weapon’]

ḣoizu ȟonj- v lose, be lost

ḣulo n idiot

ḣunlor n idiotic

ḣygu eȟeku n lentil

ḣymu ȟem- v drink

ḣymvur a generous [‘giving’]

ḣyr geur n castle

ḣyvu ȟuw- v give

ibiḣte n bed [‘sleeper’]

immi inwei conj because; the reason why

impuźeu n printer, publisher

impuźu v print [Verdurian impuyan]

ingarei n tavern

ingareu n tavernkeeper

ingu ingo n wine

iźele ičaule n cheese [related to čiul ‘milk’ either by an obscure derivational process, or by borrowing from another dialect]

iźicse n cushion (used in place of chairs in traditional Kebreni culture) [nominalization of sit]

kaadau n magic [Cađ. aletes caedel ‘high discipline’]

kaam kaimi n spirit, godling [dim. of kaumi ‘god’]

kaaru kair- v return, come back

kadrigu kadrigo n happiness
Kum kadrigu A general salutation

kahaba n coffee [Moreo Ašcai kahawa]

kahabarei n coffeehouse, café

kal kal n bee

kaldu kaledo n hive [‘bee town’]

Kalum Kalumi n Kebreni name [‘bee-lander’]

kam kam n oak

kamnu kamno n acorn

kanarei n viewpoint; watchtower [‘see-place’]

kanau kanadio n vision, observation

kangu kango n vista, view; a reading (of a book)

kanu kan- v see, watch, read

kas kazi n wind, breeze

kasum a oaken; also a Kebreni personal name

kasus a windy

kat kadri a happy

Kaṫinaḣ Kaṫinas n Cađinas; the Cađinorian empire [Cađ.]

kaṫynum kaṫinumi n Cađinorian (person)

kaṫynyr a Cađinorian

kau koadu n riverboat [‘fast thing’]

ke koi a fast

kebren a Kebreni
kebren nizgu the Kebreni language
kebrente nizu to speak Kebreni

Kebri Kevrei n Kebri

Kebropol n the capital of Kebri [‘Kebri metropolis’]

keda keta n house

kedate a domestic

kelun kelon n bronze [Cuêzi celôn]

kem kaumi n god

kemu kaumu n the gods; the Divine, God

kemute a divine

Kemucai Kaumu kiodi n the highest mountain on Kebri [‘gods mountain’]

kente a holy, sacred

Kernoḣa Kernoγa n the island of Kernoia west of Kebri, and its main city. (The Verdurian name derives from Cađ. Kernoȟa, from the Meṫaiun.) [‘green island’]

keṫnai n factory [Ver. keđnáe]

kima n madness [‘godded’, i.e. possession by a god]

kimate a crazy, mad; (slang) cool

kodu koto n snail; Koto island

kolsi n command

Komuh Komuγ n lake Como in Svetla [prob. ‘god-place’ in a southern Monkhayic language; cf. kem]

kona n money [Old Verd. konna]

konarei n bank [‘money place’]

kraḣ ȟras n mineral

kram kuramua num ten [‘two hands’]

kramaḣ n mine [back-formation from kramaḣu]

kramaḣeu n miner

kramaḣu v mine, seek minerals [‘acquire minerals’]

kraze krase n rose [Cađ.]

kreha ȟreγa n test

kriḣu kreiȟ- v kill

kriida krinda n paper, document [Cuêzi crindas, from crinu ‘papyrus, from Meṫ.]

kriidi n book [plural of ‘paper’]

kridnu n desk [‘writing object’]

kridu kriv- v write [Cađ crivan; but Keb. altered to match kriidi]

krynu krinu n papyrus plant

kugumy kukum- v fill, throng(out); loc v throughout, everywhere within [reduplication of ‘many’]

kuirnu num one half
kuirnu suiṫum a coin worth 1/2 suiṫum
kuirnu (alaṫ) a coin worth 1/2 alaṫ

kuḣ koȟ pron you (pejorative)

kulisa n fleet [‘what is commanded’]

kulseu n commander of a fleet

kulsy v command; order

kum kumi a many, much

kumaru v split [‘make two’]

kumbehsu a miscellaneous, compound [‘made of many essences’]

kun kun a hawk, falcon (Ver. sokol)

kunnar adv too much [‘much’ + augmentative + -yr]

kunte pron many things or people

kur kuri num two

kuraida kurioranda num thirty-six [‘two eighteens’]

kuraiyr n logic; essay, treatment [Ver. curayora]

kursu kursu v differ, not be the same

kuri kuridi pron that (must be followed by a noun)

kurite pron that one

kusi kusi a merry, joyful

Kuveza Kuwezea n Cuzei [Cuêzi Cuêzaye]

kuvezum kuwezigo n Cuzeian [Cuêzi Cuêzigo]

kuvezyr a Cuzeian

kyr keru a green

Laadau Laita n city in Kebri

Laadum Laitumi n person from Laadau

Laaven Laiwen n a town in Kebri (a city in ancient times)

ladu ladu n olive

lahau n arrival, coming

lahgu n income [concrete nominalization of ‘come’]

lahu laγ- v come

laḣ las n field

lazum lasγumi n farmer

lecu leki- v can, is able to, knows how to

ledeu n rival, competitor

ledu laut- v compete with [Cađ. lautan]

leidi n lens; glasses

leita lenta n wood

leisuta a woody, wooden

lele laule a cute (Meṫ. ‘pretty’)

Lelec Lauleki n Kebreni woman’s name [‘pretty’ + fem.]

leraḣ lerias n understanding, perception [Cađ. lerias]

leraḣu v understand, perceive

Lezec Lesieki n Kebreni woman’s name [‘forest’ + fem.]

lezu lesio n forest

Lezyna Lesiunea n an ancient kingdom in the littoral [‘big forest’]

lic n lawsuit, trial [Ver. ličy]

lidaḣ lidas n steel [Cuêzi ulidas]

lim limi a high

linna limina n lord, lady [‘high’ + augmentative]

linnar a noble, lordly

lodarei n stable

lore lorade n horse

loreźir lorajeiri n a mythological horse with wings and eagle’s head; later extended to other monsters [‘horse-eagle’]

loreźirte a monstrous

loro n team of horses

loźu loj- v walk

luda luda n olive tree

luva luwa n deer

lureḣ a fair, attractive (of things) [Cađ. lures ‘beautiful’]

luviḣ n fawn

lyḣ n glass, window [Cađ. leus]

lyr liur a sad, nsadness

maboda mapota n poppy

mabu mabo n dog

maḣec mageki n prostitute

maḣi n sale

maḣu mag- v sell

mamu mam- v suckle, give suck [interpretation of baby talk]

marau n probability

mardaḣ mavardas n iron [Cuêzi mavordas]

Mardaḣyr n Kebreni king of 20th century; chased out Cađinorians [‘ironish’]

maru mar- v be probable, be likely

maźeu n trustee, steward; (grammar) pronoun

maźgu n trust, responsibility

maźu mač- v trust, count on

meclau n mixture

meclu v mix [Verd. meclir]

Megemeḣ Megemeȟ n the first man; the mythical founder of the Meṫaiu people [hon. + ‘first’]

mehru megr- v lean, totter
mehurte [nezi] relativizer (Cađ. grammatical term for numbers, conjunctions, locatives)

meika n school (of artists), genre [Ver. menca]

melaḣau melaȟadio n royalty, kingship

melaḣ melaȟ n king (or queen)

melaḣte a royal

memu meim- v nourish, grow [dim. of mamu ‘suckle’]

melim meilim a nourishing; fertile; also Kebri’s principal river [from meim-]

men men n hill

mengu v whine

mennyr n hilly

mera meγra n meřa, a slightly bitter herb

Meṫaahu Meṫaiγo n Meṫaiu, the first kingdom of the Plain. Cađ. Meṫaiu (V. Metau) probably comes from a southern language which had lost the γ. [Of unknown meaning, except that the me- is an honorific.]

Meṫeru Meṫauro n Lake Bérunor [honorific + ‘gold’]

Meźena Mečena n a personal name (and an ancient king) [hon. + ‘honor’]

miebeu n disciple [‘leaves in support’; calque on Ver. profäsec]

midam midama amua num eight [‘hand with three’]

midakram midama kuramua num thirteen [‘two hands with three’]

migem migrem amua num six [‘hand with one’]

migram mikuri kuramua num twelve [‘two hands with two’]

migur mikuri amua num seven [‘hand with two’]

mimaru v make rich, become rich [miry + -ma-]

mimu mim- v make a deal, find a way out or around an obstacle

Minyne Miniune n the first woman, the wife of Megemeḣ [hon. + ‘maiden’]

mipoc mipoc kuramua num fourteen [‘two hands with a foot’]

mipokemai num fifteen [‘fourteen and one’]

mipokurai num sixteen [‘fourteen and two’]

mirigu mirigo n riches, wealth

miry miriu a rich, prosperous

mitecau n company, corporation [calque on Ver. cumbutát]

mitu meit- v use; loc v with, using, having

miźiru mičiro n silver [hon. + ‘white’]

miźiruna n platinum [‘silver’ + augm.]

miźynu meijen- v bring, take (with) [‘go with’]

moḣca moska n clam

moitu mont- v find, be found

Monȟado n the Monkhayic people. A southern dialect form Monȟaro was borrowed into Cađinor as Moȟnaru (V. muhnar), and itself became modern Monkhayu.

mora morea n tuna

morṫiḣ moruṫ n carrot

mova mowa n hair

mugeu n young man

muḣu mug- v buy [rel. to maḣu ‘sell ’]

muhnu mogno n news, tidings [‘new thing’]

muk mog a new, young

Munḣaś Munȟač n Munkhâsh [Munkhâshi]

mur mor n hour

myga mekua num thousand [Cuêzi mēcua]

mygu meuko n ox

myra meura adv here

mycsu v lug, haul

myvun meuwuni n leader, governor [from ‘lead’, with honorific]

nabira n ship [‘what is sailed’]

nabiratei n shipyard

nabirateu n shipbuilder [‘ship-maker’]

nabreu n ship captain

nabra navra n sail

nabru v sail

nahra nagra n shrine, holy place

nan nani n path, way

nana n route, method(s), procedure [collective of nan ‘path’]
nana miutte somehow or another

nadani natani n obstacle [antonym of ‘path’]

namar namari n lead (metal)
babate namar galena [‘mother of lead’; calque from Ver.]

natu v negative auxiliary (polite)

nega nauka n ancient times

negi nauki n pioneer, ancient (person)

neisi nensei n council, delegation; ancient meaning ‘parley’ [from nis-]

neḣat neȟad n man, person

neḣada neȟada n people [cf. Monkhayu, which adds the honorific, and suggests that the -e- here is epenthetic]

neḣadate n popular, people’s

neku neko n cat

nem naum a clear

nemanec n homosexual [‘acquirer of boys’]

nen nauni n young man [cf. nyne, related by vowel alternation]

nengar a ancient [from nega]

nenkanyr a objective [‘clear-seeing’]

nenyne a lesbian [‘boy-maiden’]

nieron a holy, sainted (in Eleđe contexts). Often spelled nëron, Verdurian style. Before women’s names, nierona or nërona. [Verd. nëron]

neva newa n middle, center

nevu new- loc v be in the middle of, be among [from neva]

Nevur Newor n an ancient country which once occupied the Mišicama littoral; Cađ/V Neuor. [‘middlish’]

nevurum Neworγumi n an inhabitant of Neuor

nezi n word; phrase, expression, saying [nom. of nizgu ‘speech’]
e-nezi, i-nezi, a-nezi, ri-nezi, ni-nezi, te-nezi the volitional, benefactive, antibenefactive, polite forms, listener forms, subordinators, in general

nitnu nidno n wheel [‘roll-thing’]

nizarei n forum

nizgu nisgo n speech, language

nizu nis- v say, speak. Forms of this verb are also used to name verb forms; e.g. nuzi ‘simple perfective’, nyriza ‘polite antibenefactive’
nuzu the perfective in general
Nirize! Thank you (for your words)!

nori n cleaning, washing

noṫon noṫoni n salmon

nuitsu nunts- v think

nuitu nunto n mind, brain

nuitukanu nuntokan- v imagine [‘mind-see’]

numygur numikuri n hermit; schismatic, usually isolated religious fanatic [Cuêzi numīcuras ‘prophet’; this was Meṫ. meaning too]

nuru nur- v wash, clean

nydu nid- v roll

nyne niune n maiden, girl, young woman; daughter [cf. nen]

nyniḣ n young girl; (young) daughter

nyyl neuli a slow

nyvu nuw- v throw, toss; (slang) fire

onaa onai n sister

oradam orandami n world; Almea [‘all-land’]

orat orand a entire, whole, all, every

oratte a everything, everyone

otedit n pocket watch [Ver. ontediđa]

ozur osuri n sun

pabadu papat- v laugh

pabandyr a funny

pacsu n kick

paḣar paȟar adv tomorrow

palaźnu palajno n thorn-bush (Monkhayu cognate = ‘gorse’)

Palec Paleki n Kebreni woman’s name

parsu v kiss

pansyr a dear, lovable

pansyru v love

paru pioro n lip

paṫeda paṫeta n calamine, zinc carbonate, used in making brass

paźu pač- v cut

pema pauma conj when, while, during

pery pauriu n flaid [Cuêzi]

pida peida n a vine whose flowers yield a bitter oil used to flavor beer

piḣtu peist- v sleep

piit pindi n tail

pinaḣ poc pinaȟ num eleven [‘down to the feet’]

poc poki n foot

pocsu v kick

pol poli n city, metropolis

ponu pon- loc v be below, under, or on the bottom of

ponyr a lower; the worst or shoddiest

porye n liability, disadvantage

porḣi n debit [‘down-count’]

povan powan n bottom, lower part

preḣtura prestura n history [Cađ. plestura]

pris preisi a healthy, good for you

pruso n inn, guest-house; resort [Verd. ‘inn’]

raas raisi n pine tree

raaḣ raiȟ n crab

Raazam Raisami n Raizumi, capital of Ismahi [‘pine land’]

raḣta riosta n a type of flower (with small, blue petals)

raida oranda neȟad num eighteen [‘entire man’]

raigemai num nineteen [‘eighteen and one’]

raline n play, drama [Ver. ralinë]

razum n mind [Ver.]

re ribe n day

rema rema n bridge

ric reiki a cold

riḣi n a counting or reckoning

riḣgu n cost, price

riḣu riȟ- n count, reckon
riuḣte [nezi] number, numeral

ripriroda n philosophy, science

ris risi n pen [Cuêzi]

riźa rija n eel

ruḣt arosd n river delta [cf. Arosd, ancient name of Eärdur delta]

Ruḣtyr n Arcaln, Verduria’s fortress [‘Arosd castle’]

sa sio n salt

saabau n justice, jurisdiction

saabeu n judge

saabi n judgment, sentence; punishment

saabu saib- v judge; (archaic) decide

sabarei n court; also, name of a town in Kebri [‘judgment place’]

saboḣtu siobosto n brine; (figuratively) the sea [‘salt water’]

seḣepu v eat (polite)

seheu n apprentice sailor [‘(rope) climber’]

sehu seγ- v climb

seṫ siṫi n jewel

seṫa seṫa n silk

sisuva a sandy

siva sifa n sand

sivana sifana n desert

skalea n gas [Ver. scaleia]

sobu sop- v extend, stretch, reach

soru sor- v do, make, become (polite)
Sire! Thank you (for your actions)!

sovun sowon n night

sudy suti- v name, be named

suh soγ n priest, monk

suir suber n cork (tree or substance)

suiṫa n provisions

suiṫum suiṫumi n a gold coin [‘provider’, a king’s name]

supnu n point (of land), cape [nominalization of sobu]

sutnu sutno n name [nominalization of sudy]

suṫarei n grocery store
suṫarei tasu go shopping

suṫeu n storekeeper

suṫy suṫ- v provide, furnish

syḣku siusk- v twist, turn

syḣkur a twisty, crooked

sygu seugo n strength

syh seuγ a strong

syl siul a dark

sylgu sylgo n shadow

sylkona n a large coin made of emur (silver-tin alloy) [‘dark money’]

symalu v darken; bore

symanlur a boring

syna seuna n waterfall

śadamu čatiam- v retreat; loc v be far (from) [‘approach’ + ant. infix]

Śahama Mičiaγama n the Mišicama ocean [‘around the lands’]

śaida čanda a beautiful

śamu čiam- v approach; loc v be around, surrounding; be near

śansi n swim

śanu loc v to be where (anaphor)

śar čior a brown; the name of the Edon river

śava čawa pron who, what

śe čau a small

śekśe n cocoa [Ver. šekšek]

śen čeni a honorable, noble, praiseworthy

śenen n boy [‘small young-man’]

śemamu v fish

śemu čaumo n fish

śensu v swim

śengu čengo n honor [‘honor’]

śere čawa ribe pron when, at what time

śete pron which, of what quality [śava + -te]

śeveḣka n stockings, leggings [Ver. ševesca]

śin čini n woman

śiru čiro a white

śiste n guitar [Ismaîn çişte]

śogu čoko n ridge

Śogum Čokumi n Kebreni name [‘ridgelander’]

śyl čiul n milk

śylnu ciulno n breast [‘milk’ + -nu nominalizer]

tada tata n father

tale talaw n orange

Tama (Me)tama n the Serea river. In Kebreni also called the Sera. [from tamu ‘open’: i.e. the wide(-open) river]

tamu tam- v open

taradi n dance

taradu tarat- v dance

tasu tans- v do, make, become (polite = soru)

tazgu n act, action
tazugte [nizgonu] verb

tec teki n target, goal

temnu temno n door; port, harbor [‘opening’]

tere taure n south

teren a southern

tiidu tind- v stop, stay

tiiḣeda tindigeda n anchor [‘stay-stone’]

tiga tika n spike, thorn

tigeśa n cactus

tiva teiva n west

tiven a western

tomo tomon adv there

toru tor- v take (into one’s possession), acquire

toryvau n trade, commerce

toryvu torȟuw- v trade [‘get-give’]

treḣ tregi a black

treśu treč- v break

treślecsu a breakable, fragile

trihnu trigno n soot [‘black object’]

tuḣu tuȟo n fate, destiny

tur turi n brother

turgul n battalion

tuta n newspaper [Ver. tutanél]

ty tiu a round

tyau n tube, pipe [‘round thing’]

tynu tinu n berry

ṫaḣ ṫas pron he, she, him, her, it

ṫaniḣte a annoying

ṫaniḣu v annoy, bother [‘harm’ + dim.]

ṫanu ṫan- v hurt, harm

ṫap n lap, plop [imitative]

ṫaza ṫasa pron they, them

ṫeleṫ ṫeleṫ num (rare) 5832 (= 18³)

ṫeru ṫauro n gold

ṫesuru a golden, made of gold

ṫiba ṫeiba n head; bow (of ship)

ṫiron ṫeiron n market

ṫyr ṫeuri n octopus

uvere n fashionable outfit; fashion [Ver. uverë ‘clothes’]

uveira a fashionable, dressy [from uvere]

vaac vaiki a blue; n the name of the Vesi river (Cađ. Vaecis)

Vaacaźi Vaiki ȟaičei n Väcaži, a lake in Kebri [‘blue lake’]

vaar waari n edge, coast [dim. of ‘end’]

vaaren a coastal

vanu wan- v lead, rule, govern

vari n end

varu war- v end, finish

veṫe weṫe n beard

varyr a last, final, ending

vekru veȟr- v seem, appear to be; loc v as, like

vep web pron he, she, it (deferential)

Verdura Verduria n Verduria [Cađ.]

verduren a Verdurian
verduren nizgu the Verdurian language

verdureu n Verdurian

veru waur- v fly [extended form of wur- ‘flow’]

veźa wauča n bottle

viṫoda viṫota n type of flower

voimatu v deceive, fool [‘make blind’]

voit vondi a blind

voiteu n blind person

vuḣ pron he, she, it, they (pejorative)

vuḣt vosd a flat; n plain

vucemu n flounder [‘flat fish’]

vunau n civilization [from vunu, on the model of Verd. řusulát]

vunaute a civilized

vunu wunu n government, leadership [collective of ‘leader’]

vur wuri n river [‘flower’]

vuru wur- v flow

vybu webu pron they (deferential)

vyreu n sailor [‘boat man’]

vyru wir- v float [from wur- ‘flow’]

ygunit ekunit n game of knights-and-kings [Cađ., from Cuêzi]

yra iura n type of flower [Cuêzi yoreta]

yvyre n boat [‘floater’]

zadinu zatein- v contain, include, comprise; loc v containing, including [zein- + antonymous infix]

zaru zioru v exist; (with effect inflections) is owned

zateugu n enmity, disloyalty, rebelliousness

zatev zatewi a disloyal, rebellious [zev + antonymous infix]

zateveu n enemy; rebel

zaugu n glory

zauv a glorious [augmentative of ‘shiny’]

zav zavi a shiny, bright

zavu v shine, be bright

zeugu n loyalty

zev zewi a loyal

zevau n friendship

zevenur a friendly

zeveu n friend

zibiśu n entail [‘in’ + ‘be necessary’; calque on Ver. imfayir]

zikanu v mean, imply [‘say inside’]

zinu zein- loc v be in, inside, at, on (general locative)

zivan zeiwan n inside, inner part

źada jata adv now

źadana adv already, yet [augmentive of ‘now’]

źaite jante n thing; subject

źaiźega jianjeka n marriage

źaiźigu jianjik- v marry

źaiźiglecsu a marriageable, nubile

źan jian n family

źe je adv too, also

źega jeka n knot; tie, link

źehu jeγ- v ride

źem jaumi a old

źemeu n old man

źeni n departure

źigu jik- v link, knot, combine

źihnu n wagon, carriage [from ‘ride’]

źiman jiman n ground, soil; floor

źir jeiri n eagle

źum pron we, us (humble) [weakening of gymu]

źuśni n lace [Ver. žusni]

źycsu jiks- v sit

źynau n departure, going

źyngu n expenses, expenditures [concrete nominalization of ‘go’]

źynu jen- v go

	labial	dental	palatal	velar	vowels
stops	p	t		k	i		u
stops	b	d		g
fricatives	f	ṫ s	č	ȟ	e		o
fricatives	v	z	j	γ
nasals	m	n				a
liquids		l r
semivowel	w

		'see'	'work'	'call'	'laugh'	'kick'	'command'	'not'
Neutral	imperfective	kanu	diru	sudy	pabadu	pocsu	kulsy	eśu
	perfective	kuna	duri	sydu	pabuda	pucso	kylsu	uśe
	volitional imp.	agenu	ideru	uzedu	abebadu	obecsu	ugelsu	eveśu
	volitional perf.	agune	idure	uzude	abebuda	obucse	ugulse	evuśe
	polite imp.	karynu	diryru	suridy	pabarydu	pocrysu	kulrisy	natu
	polite perf.	kurina	duriri	syrydu	paburida	pucriso	kylrysu	nuta
	vol. pol. imp.	agerynu	ideryru	uzerydu	abebarydu	obecrysu	ugelrysu	anetu
	vol. pol. perf.	agurine	idurire	uzuride	abeburida	obucrise	ugulrise	anute
Benef.	benef. imp.	keni	deri	sydi	pabedi	pecsi	kylsi	eśi
	benef. perf.	kine	dire	sidy	pabide	picse	kilsy	iśe
	vol. ben. imp.	egeni	ederi	yzedi	abebedi	ebecsi	ygelsi	eveśi
	vol. ben. perf.	egine	edire	yzide	abebide	ebicse	ygilse	eviśe
	benef. polite	kerini...	deriri...	syridi...	paberidi...	pecrisi...	kylrisi...	neti...
	benef. 'you'	kenini...	deniri...	synidi...	pabenidi...	pecnisi...	kylnisi...	eniśi...
Antib.	antib. imp.	kona	dyra	soda	paboda	pocsa	kolsa	ośa
	antib. perf.	kano	dary	sado	pabado	pacso	kalso	aśo
	vol. antib. imp.	ogena	ydera	ozeda	abeboda	obecsa	ogelsa	oveśa
	vol. antib. perf.	ogane	ydare	ozade	abebado	obacse	ogalse	ovaśe
	antib. polite	korina...	dyrira...	sorida...	paborida...	pocrisa...	kolrisa...	nota...
Subord.	subordinating	kaunte	diurte	suytte	pabautte	pocuste	kulyste	euśte
	subord. perf.	kuante	duirte	syutte	pabuatte	pucoste	kyluste	ueśte
	sub. vol. imp.	ageunte	ideurte	uzeytte	abebautte	obecuste	ugeluste	eveuśte
	sub. vol. perf.	aguente	iduerte	uzyette	abebuatte	obuceste	uguleste	evueśte
Deriv.	one who does	kaneu	direu	sudeu	pabadeu	pocseu	kulseu
	'participle'	kaina	diera	suida	pabaida	pocisa	kulisa
	action	kani	deri	sodi	pabadi	pacsi	kolsi

	pejorative		ordinary		deferential
person	sing	plural	sing	plural	sing	plural
1 (I, we)	cin	źum	ḣem	gymu	—
2 (you)	kuḣ		fal		falau
3 (he, she, it, they)	vuḣ		ṫaḣ	ṫaza	vep	vybu

1	grem (related to 'this')
2	kuri (related to 'that')
3	dama
4	γakaȟ ('almost (a hand)')
5	amua ('hand')
6	migrem amua ('with-one hand')...
9	γakaȟ kuri ('almost two (hands)')
10	kuramua ('two hands')
11	poc pinaȟ ('down to the feet')
12	mikuri kuramua ('two hands with two')
14	mipoc kuramua ('two hands with a foot')
15	migrem mipoc kuramua ('two hands with a foot with one')
18	oranda neȟad ('entire man')
324	dikumi (related to kumi 'many')
5832	ṫeleṫ

1	gem	11	pinaḣ
2	kur	12	migram
3	dam	13	midakram
4	hak	14	mipoc
5	amma	15	mipokemai
6	migem	16	mipokurai
7	migur	17	hakraida
8	midam	18	raida
9	hakur	19	raigemai
10	kram	20	kur kram

Kona zinu ciḣta	ciḣta ziunte
The money is in the box	in the box
Ciḣta zadinu kona	kona zadiunte
The box contains money	containing money

brynu	bry	facing, before, about	keda bryunte 'in front of the house', kriidi bryunte about books'
dynu	dy	up, on top of, over	cadu dyunte 'over the mountains'
ebu	eb	out (of), off, (away) from	Kebri eupte 'outside Kebri'
cezu	cez	against, despite	źaiźega ceuste 'against the marriage'
foru	for	behind, in back of	keda fourte 'behind the house'
fuzu	fu	without	śemu fuuste 'without a fish'
mitu	mi	with, using; supporting	abaźe miutte 'with a knife'
nevu	ne	in the middle of, among, through, during	nabira neufte 'in the middle of the ship', mur neufte 'for an hour'
ponu	po	below, under	broga pounte 'under the table'
śadamu	śada	far (from)	pol śadaunte 'far from the city'
śamu	śa	around, surrounding, near	turgul śaunte 'surrounding the battalion'
vekru	vek	as, like	gauryr vekurte 'like a virgin'
zinu	zi	in, inside, at, on(general locative)	laḣ ziunte 'in the field', men ziunte 'on top of the hill', ṫiron ziunte 'at market'
zadinu	zadi	containing, including	seṫ zadiunte 'containing a jewel'