Nunevati: My personal "Oh God, why?" language

I haven't been on here for quite some time, I know. I've been busy with some stuff involving friends, religion, job hunting, and the preservation of my sanity (i.e. vacation). I also started a new blog, The Valhalla Experiment, which focuses on one of my other hobbies: food. Feel free to check it out at valhallaexperiment.blogspot.com.

But I have been conlanging. It helps me catch those tiny details that have the potential to create major plot holes in the process of writing my novel. And since I'm very easy to bore, I began developing an entirely new language during the plane flights to and from New York. It's called Nunevati.

About Nunevati

Nunevati is a language spoken by the Nunevati people who inhabit the frozen north of Rijavvid, known as Nunevatia. Nunevatia is the only province of Rijavvid without a central Rijan government or even a Rijan religious majority, the result of the repeated failure of attempts to colonize and "civilize" the "savage" and "barbaric" Nunevati people. Because of this, Nunevatia is a haven for political and religious dissenters, and is used as a penal colony for those who find themselves on the wrong side of Rijan law.

Contrary to what Rijan anti-Nunevati propaganda would have you believe, Nunevati society is peaceful and very civilized, designed as the true utopia to counter Rijavvid's dystopia. Despite having a central government, much of the legislation passed in the province is done so by popular demand. There is a class system, but its design is a lateral one, based on function rather than an inherent hierarchy, and thus, is largely egalitarian.

The Nunevati people value knowledge and wisdom most highly, as it is the only way to truly better society and the world as a whole. The Nunevati language reflects this, and is designed with the purpose of enlightened discourse foremost in mind. This being said, the real reason I began Nunevati is because it is the biggest linguistic challenge I have undertaken to date, being the most complex language I ever have, and probably ever will, create.

Gender of Nouns

The vast majority of natural languages (and even most constructed languages) have a simple, sex-based gender system for nouns and adjectives, composed of the categories "masculine," "feminine," and often "neuter." (Languages such as English and Spanish, in order to further simplify things, have largely omitted the latter category.) Taking a page from the Native American languages described by John Wesley Powell in his On the Origin of Language, I decided to spice things up a bit. Therefore, Nunevati categorizes noun gender based on the sentience of the noun in question, rather than the inherent sex (or lack thereof). The gender categories are as follows, named for my own convenience rather than any desire to actually name them:

• Sentient, which actually refers to all living things. The Nunevati believe that all things which are alive are sentient. The "sentient" category is further subdivided into three groups:
• Sentient-locomotive, or "sentient-mobile," encompasses all living beings that are capable of locomotion, including humans (both men and women fit into the same gender category, which necessitates the use of different prefixes for "man" and "woman," but more on that later).
• Sentient-non-locomotive, or "sentient-sessile," living beings incapable of locomotion, such as plants and some mollusks.
• Sentient-abstract, which contains concepts which are not necessarily alive nor even tangible. The word for "God" fits into this category, along with "Love," "Death," "War," and "Hatred."
• Non-sentient, which is home to all other nouns and inanimate objects.

Gender Suffixes

Sentient

• Mobile:  -aff
• Sessile:  -ama
• Abstract: -az

Non-sentient:  -erra

Examples

Love                                      amataz

Human                                  emanaff

Man                                      lo'emanaff

Woman                                 la'emanaff

Pig                                        zaniaff

Broom                                  eskerra

House                                   kasaverra

Death                                   Moriaz

God                                      Jumaz

Tree                                     mevama

In addition, adding the suffix 'ka will make a noun plural.

Pronouns

1st person-singular:      Au-

1st person-plural:        Vira-

2nd person-singular:   Voth-

2nd person-plural:      Vozhe-

3rd person-singular:   Makh-

3rd person-plural:      Mannah-

Pronouns are always capitalized. Pronouns also carry suffixes; if the noun to which the pronoun is referring is an idea, for example, the pronoun would be "Makhaz."

Levels of Intensity of Statements

And now we get to the fun part. This is why I call Nunevati my personal "Oh God, why?" language. This is tricky for people to grasp because the grammar of the sentence doesn't factor into the equation when determining level of intensity--the content is what matters.

There are seven different "levels of intensity" for declarative sentences (three positive, three negative, and one neutral), as well as one level apiece for imperative and interrogative sentences.

Denoting each level of intensity is a suffix that every conjugated verb in the statement must carry, regardless of whether or not it is the "main verb." Suffixes set apart from the intensity suffixes with an apostrophe, such as 'mai and 'tai, denote tense. 'Mai is conditional, while 'tai is preterite, for example.

Declarative Sentences

1st Level--for strongly negative emotions and opinions; the first level is the highest level on the intensity spectrum that a negative statement can attain.

     Suffix: -yirah

     Makhaz eveyirah'tai ma haarakhaz luka inzeh ma yaamzehkaz nai ma Segway.

     ("That was the worst idea since the advent of the Segway.")

2nd Level--a somewhat weaker level of intensity for negative sentences.

     Suffix: -ahm

     Em Auhaff nekt'weldeahm'mai eym gohnerra, perchaziaz'ka nekt'eveyahm konstituazka.

     ("Although I would never carry a gun, restrictions on firearms are not constitutional.")

3rd Level--more neutral, but still decidedly negative.

     Suffix: -oira

     Ma sakyerra evehoira'tai sakmaltaz, aak Makherra evehoira'mai godmanerra.

     ("The food was edible, but it could have been better.")

4th Level--neither positive nor negative; for truly neutral statements.

     Suffix: -aula

     Auhaff nekt'teneyaula ninka malahaz ein ma taalaz ninvah.

     ("I have no opinion on the matter whatsoever.")

5th Level--more neutral, but still decidedly positive.

     Suffix: -lykta

     Em Auhaff nekt'shazlykta trogoherra'ka, Auhaff imfilykta nyn mariuanama tevlykta evem   legekozham.

     ("Although I don't do drugs, I agree that marijuana should be legalized.")

6th Level--the median level of intensity for positive sentences.

     Suffix: -meitz

     Au lautmeitz'tai ma filmerra.

     ("I enjoyed the film.")

7th Level--the strongest level of positivity that a sentence can attain.

     Suffix: -kauteh

     Makherra evekauteh'tai ma khoserra godteilerra inzeh pahnerra korterra.

     ("That was the greatest thing since sliced bread.)

AMARBWI: "Makál"

"Makál" kaf Stephen Crane

"Makál," ekalta-el uru-kuv'raku,

"Sa uru-gam, ara-akbát koskate,

Urók ré-el ek-lev,

Okt fenta tá-mitzkil-ek-uzu-lev,

Kestig-etz a-gita kalta éswar."

"Makál," ekalta-el uru-kuv'raku,

"Sa uru-háfke, ara-serset,

Uru-nákte, uru-kapez;

Okale mesé-el ek,

Pé ne'kat teté-el

A-vit kuv kaskel-ek-uzu."

I make-el u-kuv'raku taf-té,

Elek makál sa-el la-lev,

Uru-háfke, ara-serset,

Uru-nákte, uru-kapez;

I ne'kat teté-el

A-vit kuv kaskel-ek-uzu.

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"Truth" by Stephen Crane

"Truth," said a traveller,

"Is a rock, a mighty fortress;

Often have I been to it,

Even to its highest tower,

From whence the world looks black."

"Truth," said a traveller,

"Is a breath, a wind,

A shadow, a phantom;

Long have I pursued it,

But never have I touched

The hem of its garment."

And I believed the second traveller;

For truth was to me

A breath, a wind,

A shadow, a phantom;

And never had I touched

The hem of its garment.

AMARBWI: Pronouns and "Esh"

Presently, Amarbwi is an extremely underdeveloped conlang. I would love to say I was using "1st person singular," "2nd person plural," etc. in place of the pronouns to sound like I know more about what I'm doing than I actually do, but the truth is, I hadn't invented them yet. So I thought up some pronouns and a new verb a few minutes ago, because that's what I like to do to relax--I make up words and share them with people.

ESH ("TO HAVE")

La eshé     I have

Ev esha     You have

Les/Las/Ek eshk     He/She/It has

Ika shesh     We have

Vila eshi     You all have

Wosk eshek     They have

And, of course, the prefixes and suffixes are the same.

Les eshk-el a-renka.

He had a book.

AMARBWI: A Break from RIjan

Rijan is not the only conlang I've been working on. There are others, including Tyr-Alta, Nevaki, Rofniri, and Amarbwi, although Rijan has been taking up the majority of my time. As I start focusing more on these other conlangs, I'll preface the title of each non-Rijan post with the name of the language in caps (as I've done here). I've started translating Genesis 11:1-9 (the Tower of Babel excerpt) into Amarbwi, but I decided that that isn't the best way to introduce the fledgling language (especially since I've not recorded much of what I've been doing, and I need to write some things down somewhere or I'll forget them).

Amarbwi is the vernacular* language spoken in Amarbwa**, a region of Rijavvid. In its most basic form, it's a series of mono- and disyllabic sounds with prefixes and suffixes tacked on (we'll be using ? for glottal stops between vowels). For instance, let's look at the conjugation of the verb "to be."

TO BE (SÁT)

1st person singular:  SE
2nd person singular: SAK
3rd person singular: SA
1st person plural: SÉVU

2nd person plural: SAKVU
3rd person plural: SÁVU

SUFFIXES DETERMINE TENSE:

Preterite: -EL
Imperfect: -AIK
Future: -KU
Command: -AK
Conditional: -Ét


ARTICLES ARE PREFIXES:

A (m): URU-
A (f): ARA-
The (m): U-
The (f): A-

I ka a-gita sa?el kuv itz e'res'vu. ~Genesis 11:1


*Rijan is the standard trade language spoken across Rijavvid; each country/region has its own vernacular.
**I'm still working on that geography lesson I promised a while back.

Orivu 11:1-9

Genesis 11:1-9. Those of you who read the Bible--or are fellow conlangers--know that those verses tell the story of the Tower of Babel. For those of you who don't, it goes like this:

In the beginning, all of humankind spoke the same language. That way, things got done a whole lot easier. But then, a group of people from the East, while travelling, finds a plain in the land of Shinar ("Synear" in the version I translated; "Zhynaar" in Rijan), and the people think, "What a perfect place to build a tower! Its top will reach up to the heavens." And so they start to build. Well, God sees this, and he doesn't like his creations' cockiness one bit. So he decides he's going to mix up the languages spoken by the people and scatter them across the earth.

I translated the Tyndale version (published in 1536), because--and don't ask me why, because I have no earthly idea--I can't stand using King James.

1. Inde teld za gi evovia nach aan linkwa.
2. Inde kuan senn'li vineni nach za eztra, vizieni a tyrala uan za tyrra nach Zhinaar inde kuudu vifani.
3. Inde a'seen zavalani: vinek*, vol'khazrazezar ynaat inde zu vol'pyrezar cin fyyra. Raai ynaat evoviu senn petru inde yll evovia senn valka.
4. Inde zavalani: vinek, vol'ojasazar u lugahu inde u tuurenu nin za ekra vol'lokareva kur za ezakkra. Inde vol'khazrazezar a'nuz a naam, evek vol'evozar djazhmavda atz luda teld za gi.
5. Inde zu Diev vineviu dejaa par viziem zu lugahu inde zu tuurenu nin zai filyrra nach Adam par'ojasani.
6. Inde zu Diev zavalaviu: viziek, zai rijani evon aan inde tenen aan linkwa nach senn teld. Inde istu inihani shazom, inde necht'vol'arren nach teld nin elekkeni shazom.
7. Vinek, vol'dejpuurozar inde meklazar senn linkwa, eki aan necht'khazharuzovu nin u'ni zavalavu.
8. Raai zu Diev a'senn djuzhmaviu nach kuudu uan teld za gi. Inde senn'li arren ojasazhka zu lugahu.
9. Raai zu na'evu Babel avair'zu Diev kuudu meklaviu za linkwa nach teld za gi. Inde avair'zu Diev nach kuudu a'senn djazhmaviu atz uan teld za gi.

The Middle English version goes as follows:

1. And all the world was of one tonge and one language.
2. And as they came from the east they founde a playne in the lande of Synear and there they dwelled.
3. And they sayd one to a nother: come on let us make brycke ad burne it wyth fyre. So brycke was there stone and slyme was there morter
4. And they sayd: Come on let vs buylde vs a cyte and a toure that the toppe may reach vnto heauen. And let vs make us a name for perauenture we shall be scatered abrode over all the erth.
5. And the LORde came downe to see the cyte and the toure which the childern of Ada had buylded.
6. And the LORde sayd: See the people is one and haue one tonge amonge them all. And thys haue they begon to do and wyll not leaue of from all that they haue purposed to do.
7. Come on let vs descende and myngell theire tonge even there that one vnderstonde not what a nother sayeth.
8. Thus ye LORde skatered them from thence vppon all the erth. And they left of to buylde the cyte.
9. Wherfore the name of it is called Babell because that the LORDE there confounded the tonge of all the world. And because that the LORde from thence skatered them abrode vppon all the erth.

Source: www.omniglot.com

Titles

We all have titles. Whether it be President, Doctor, King, or just Father, Mother, or Daughter, we're something to someone else. In English, titles come before a person's name, like "President Barack Obama" or "King George III." But in Rijan, the title comes after the name. Observe:

Barack Obama Manazhu     "President Barack Obama"
Morne Patryyn                  "Godfather Death"

Familial terms count as titles as well. As an example, let's set up a family situation here. If my name were Richard, and my father's name were John, my mother's Constance; and if I had an elder brother named Pat, a younger one named Connor, and a twin sister named Ruth, the way I would describe my family would be like this:

Evoz Richard.
I am Richard.

Malya evovu John Paterru.
He is John, my father.

Damya evova Constance Materra.
She is Constance, my mother.

Istu rijan evovu Pat Su'vraterru.
This man is Pat, my elder brother*.

Isu evovu Connor Ju'vraterru.
This is Connor, my younger brother.

Ista juva evova Ruth Vraterra.
This girl is Ruth, my sister.

Uan za optyl nach myya patru, evoz Richard Filyrru.
To my da, I am his son Richard.




Titles in Rijan can get pretty complex and long-winded.

George Manarakku'Treiju nach Ainglizhja     means "King George III of England."

...which isn't very long, but it can get like this:

Zhoshanath Manarakka nach zai Nevaki inde za Filyrra nach Zhaemas

which means...

Queen Susannah of the Nevaki** and Daughter of James.

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*Su' and Ju' are prefixes meaning "elder" and "younger," respectively. They can be left off, but are helpful when describing the relative age of an individual. Materra, Paterru, Vraterru and Vraterra can also be shortened to Matra, Patru, Vratru, and Vratra.

**The Nevaki are an ethnic group residing on the fictional continent of Rijavvid, for which I constructed the language. I suppose I'll have to cover Rijan geography, politics, culture, and religion in later entries.

Anziitu!

Sorry I haven't posted in a week. School started for me on Monday, and between AP classes, club business, driving lessons and a new job, I haven't quite been able to make time to post. (Well, that's not entirely true, but I'm utilizing the spare time I do have to meditate and catch up on sleep so my stress levels don't leave me with ulcers.)

GERUNDS

For those who are not familiar with the term, a gerund (in terms of the English language) is a verb with the ending -ing, used as a noun.

For example:

Plants make their own food by taking energy from sunlight and other sources and converting it into sugar.

Mary finds reading to be an enjoyable activity.

Now, let's take that second sentence about Mary, and translate it into Rijan.

Amaret penseva nin liezhka evovu* a shaaza imfita.

[lit. Mary thinks that reading is an activity enjoyable.]

*Gerunds in Rijan are ALWAYS masculine.

A Rijan verb is turned into a gerund by dropping the -m from the infinitive form and adding -zhka.

Avlazhka--Talking

Comozhka--Eating

Viziezhka--Seeing

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The -zhka ending is also used when talking about "this, not that." Rijan doesn't have a stand-alone word for not; a sentence is made negative by adding the prefix necht' to a conjugated verb. So, we have to rework the grammar to say "this, not being that."

For example:

Life is the future, not the past.

The verb being used is "to be." So the Rijan translation is, as is shown in my post about the Wizard's Rules:

Vikaza evova za batuula, necht'evozhka zu pazaad.

[Life is the future, not being the past.]

The verb doesn't necessarily have to be "to be," however:

Mary likes dogs, not cats.

Amaret imfitova hundai, necht'imfitozhka elyykai.

[Mary likes dogs, not liking cats.]