|
|
|
| ||||
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.
|
Context
Phonology
Morphology
Verbs • Pronouns • Numbers • Derivational morphology
Syntax
Parameter order • Noun phrases • Adjectives • Conjunctions • Locative verbs • Questions • Complex sentences
Semantic fields
Time • Measures
Example
Sound changes
Lexicon
The first states of men in the Plain were Monkhayic: Como and Meťaiu 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.
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 Meťaiu in the south, that of Davur along the lower Svetla, and that of Agimbea and Newor along the Serea and the Mišicama 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 Caďinorian empire as it pushed back and ultimately destroyed Munkhâsh (1667), and though the Monkhayic languages persisted throughout the entire classical area, colonization and Caďinorization eventually replaced 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 Caďinor, Ismaîn, and Verdurian, and has borrowed from languages further afield, the Kebreni being great seafarers; while Monkhayu is heavily influenced by Dhekhnami, Caizuran, and Sarroc.
'Monkhayu', which has given its name to the language family, simply means 'the people'; compare Kebreni neḣada.
Following Verdurian scholars, we will call it Meťaiun, after the state of Meťaiu— although the language of pre-invasion Meťaiu 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 Caďinorians 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 Meťaiun are as follows:
Meťaiun may be taken as an idealized form of the Monkhayic language of Kebri and the littoral, some time before the Munkhâshi invasion. I say ‘idealized’ because none of our sources are completely satisfactory. The Caďinorians were not linguists, and adapted the Monkhayic words to the sounds of Caďinor in order to write them down; while the reconstructions are biased toward the eastern area. Still, the overlap of the two methods is large and reassuring, and where divergences are systematic they can be taken as belonging to western and eastern dialects of Meťaiun.
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.
Ť, seen as ť in the text on this page, is the same as the th /θ/ in English thin, the unvoiced version of Verdurian ď.
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 Caďinor'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 Meťaiun are reconstructed as follows:
labial dental palatal velar vowels stops p t k i u b d g fricatives f ť 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 Meťaiun. In Caďinor it was usually written t, tr, or ts, suggesting a palatal stop or affricate. Note also Cad. atrabion ‘emperor‘ > *ačabion > aźban.
In addition, inflection is accomplished by vowel interchange, vowel change, and infixing, not by affixation.
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:
Note that Kebreni transitive or ditransitive verbs, used with one less noun phrase, express a passive meaning. ThusPaḣar kanu pol.
Tomorrow you will see the city.
Paḣar kuna pol.
Tomorrow you will have seen (everything in) the city.
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.
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:
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.)Impuźeu agenu bonnezi!
The publisher wants (lit. wants-to-see) the story!Linna ezeḣepu gembadi?
Does His Lordship want (lit. want-to-eat) breakfast?
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.)
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
syťi 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.
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
suťa someone provides at my expensekano someone saw, has seen, to my loss
dary someone worked against meadery someone purposely worked against me
oseda they purposely call him that to spite meloriha 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?
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 'see' → kaunte 'seeing'
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]
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 |
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 ťaḣ ťaza 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?
'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.
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 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.
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 ťeleť
Under the influence of Cuêzi and Caďinor, a decimal system was adopted; but the Kebreni numbers from 1 to 19 still show their origins in the Meťaiun system:
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.
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
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'.
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'
boťynu 'fight' → boťengu 'battle'
syh 'strong' → sygu 'strength'
śen 'honorable' → śengu 'honor'
With nouns and verbs, -au (Meť. -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 (Meť. ger-) 'rise' → hernu (Meť. 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 (Meť. kiodi) 'mountain' → cadu (Meť. 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 Meťaiun 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
Meťaiun -(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'
Kaťinaḣ 'Caďinas' → Kaťynum 'Caďinorian'
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'
ťanu 'harm' → aťane '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:
suťy 'provide' → suťarei '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. suťeu 'provider, storekeeper'):
ingarei 'tavern' → ingareu 'tavernkeeper'
From toponyms and nobles' names we learn of a vowel-harmonizing honorific prefix me- in Meťaiun: Monȟado (Monkhayu), Mičiaγama (Mišicama), meneula (Menla), meleȟ 'king', myvun 'leader'. It's also seen in Meťaiu, Meuna, Mevost, Metōre. The prefix is not seen in modern Kebreni, and usually disappears in cognates: Śahama 'Mišicama', neḣada 'the people'.
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 Meť. 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'
suťy 'provide' → suiťa '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 Meťaiun, is no longer productive:
zewi 'loyal' → zatewi 'disloyal, treasonous'
čiam- 'aproach' → čatiam- 'move away from'
An adjective can be negated with bu- (borrowed from Caďinor):
doḣt 'correct' → budoḣt 'incorrect'
gauryr 'pure' → bugauryr 'impure'
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:
suťarei 'store' → suťarei tasu 'shop'
zeveu 'friend' → zeveu tasu 'be friendly'
ťiron 'market' → ťiron 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.
Linna Kalum, gente boťeneu 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 boťeneu 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
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
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 ťaniḣte 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.
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
ťaniḣte 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 Meťaiun. However, they do seem to be predominantly SOV.
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.
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.Boťengu 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 used attributively appear before the noun, without modification: śaida seť 'a beautiful jewel'; ťaniḣte źem ḣulo 'an annoying old idiot'.
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 ťaniḣte 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.
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
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'.
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.)
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:
(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 falaai inezu.
You and I (as a unit or team) will speak.
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 ťaniḣuai.
Palec bores and she annoys (all at once, simultaneously).
Palec symalu eḣc ťaniḣu.
Palec bores and she also annoys (two different attributes).
Palec symalu ga ťaniḣu.
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.
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 Meťaiun'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:
Time metaphorically flows not forward but downward in Kebreni:
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', ťiron ziunte 'at market' zadinu zadi containing, including seť zadiunte 'containing a jewel'
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?
Yes-no questions are indicated with intonation alone:
Lahu? Are you coming?
Ḣulo, miźyunte ḣiťane 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?
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?
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?
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 ḣiťane.
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.
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.)
hamare scúreden country cymure širden moon sovundre fidren night ozurre calten sun boḣture zëden sea ťiron néronden market seḣepre ceďnare eating (i.e. feast)
The leap day is called forźycisa, a calque on Ver. kasten ‘hidden day’.
muccymu olašu new month śonsi reli sowing seḣapna cuéndimar celebration aḣimba vlerëi goddess Vlerë geḣgu calo heat ede recoltë harvest forźynau yag hunt ḣela želea calm zavec išire planet Išire sylgo šoru shadow rikas froďac cold wind varu bešana ending
The Kebreni kaamza is slightly larger than the Verdurian cemisa: 758.19 m rather than 758 m. The prozma is cognate to the Verdurian proma, but the Kebreni found it more useful to make it 4 times larger.
Unit Relation In hui Metric Etymology śenu 1/12 huiḣ 0.02083 1.98 mm smallness huiḣ 1/4 hui 0.25 2.38 cm dim. of hui hui base 1 9.525 cm finger zeta 5 hui 5 47.625 cm arm neḣagu 3 zeta 15 1.429 m body lore 2 neḣagu 30 2.858 m horse prozma 1/125 kaamza 63.68 6.065 m (Caď.) pace kaamza 125 prozma 7,960 758.19 m (Caď.) size of Caema temple
Area is measured in prozmana, which are 100 square prozma, i.e. 3678.2 m² or 0.37 hectare.
In 3615 Kebri adopted a decimal measurement system. It adopted the international Xurnese System instead in 3636, but the older system persisted in many domains.
The basis of the system was the hui, unchanged at 9.525 cm. Rather than using prefixes, new names were created for the derived units:
Unit Multiplier Metric śeiḣ 1/100 0.9525 mm śeina 1/10 9.525 mm hui 1.0 9.525 cm linniḣ 10 95.25 cm linnu 100 9.525 m leḣos 10000 0.9525 km
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.
Uneitsu Kebri. Nuutsi śava?
think-VOL Kebri. think-PERF what?
Haḣc ziunte sylgu, luda kuguynte men, boḣtunate geira ťaupte 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 luyšor-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 ťaza 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.
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 Luyšor.
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.
| 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 |
Kebreni and its ancestor Meťaiun have been in close contact with Cuêzi and the Caďinorian languages for close to four milennia, and there has been extensive borrowing in both directions.
Meťaiun borrowings into Cuêzi include geōre ‘castle’, nîdo ‘wheel’, nêsei ‘parley’, auōni ‘treaty’, navera ‘sail’, ancua ‘sea serpent’, etêia ‘flower‘, 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’.
Meťaiun 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’, alať ‘silver coin’.
Meťaiun borrowings into Caďinor include Agireis ‘the sea goddess’, evranȟras ‘realgar’, ȟamsifa ‘sulfur’, laitondos ‘brass’, paťeta ‘calomine’, baita ‘barrel’, cora ‘riverboat’, tindigeda ‘anchor’,ťeiba ‘bow’, pinda ‘stern’, siobostos‘brine’, burasos ‘sponge’, dauris ‘seagull’, akulua ‘shark’, raiȟ ‘crab’, moreia ‘tuna’, noťonis ‘salmon’, busmitrio ‘pearl’, citro ‘lemon’, bidno ‘grapevine’, vinos ‘wine’, moruť ‘carrot’, palaznos ‘gorse’, seťa ‘silk’, viďora ‘type of flower’, mapola ‘poppy’, suber ‘cork’, peida ‘type of vine’, kariu ‘happiness’, and dozens of toponyms.
Meťaiun borrowings from Caďinor 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’.
As Caďinor is the scholarly language of Eretald, there are also borrowings directly into Kebreni, e.g. zen ‘sign‘, hurisum ‘hominid’, sekaťora ‘century’. These can be identified in the lexicon by the lack of a Meťaiun word.
Kebreni borrowings into Verdurian include
Kebreni borrowings from Verdurian include
There are also many calques (loan-translations) from Caďinor 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.
Many thanks to Josef Wolanczyk (Pedant), who very ably created hundreds of additional words for Kebreni and Meťaiun as well as a considerable number of translated texts.
