Conlang fluency thread

[Dē Graut Bʉr]

Sil qineg mahŋu ndaay, qantaba qitshayelŋu.
/sil ˈʔinəɣ ˈmahŋu ⁿdaːj | ˈʔantaba ʔiˈt͡sʰajəlŋu/

sil

here

qineg

rain

mah-ŋu

happen.PFV-TEL

ndaay,

also,

qanta=ba

now=CONTR

qi=tshayel-ŋu

it=stop.PFV-TEL

We had some rain here as well, but it’s stopped now.

Kangurusaaseqqaaput mariara? Piqaakkaa qiina kaarsitsimaa?
Rain in Australia? What's happening to this world?

[bradrn]

Sil qineg mahŋu ndaay, qantaba qitshayelŋu.
/sil ˈʔinəɣ ˈmahŋu ⁿdaːj | ˈʔantaba ʔiˈt͡sʰajəlŋu/

sil

here

qineg

rain

mah-ŋu

happen.PFV-TEL

ndaay,

also,

qanta=ba

now=CONTR

qi=tshayel-ŋu

it=stop.PFV-TEL

We had some rain here as well, but it’s stopped now.

Kangurusaaseqqaaput mariara? Piqaakkaa qiina kaarsitsimaa?
Rain in Australia? What's happening to this world?

Sɨtni ērawesānta.
/sɨtˈni ˈeːraweˌsaːⁿta/

|sɨtnɨ

Sydney

əʷ-e-riaʷ-weʷ-tanta|

3s.O-NP-INT-HAB-rain

It often rains in Sydney.

(‘Especially around this time of year’, I should add, but it’s late at night, and it takes so long to translate anything into this language that I’m rapidly becoming convinced that it’s impossible to speak fluently at all…)

[Rounin Ryuuji]

俺れ党しい雨。
いによれ すくしい あまい あり。
Inyore sukushi ame.
[í.ɲi̯ó̞ᵝˑ.ɺè̞ s̪ʉ́ᵝ.kʰʉ́ᵝˑɕì ɐ̞́ˑ.mè̞ ɐ̞́ˑ.ɾ̪ʲì]
1sg|informal.definite enjoy.ADJECTIVAL-DESCRIPTIVE rain.INDEFINITE

J'aim le pluie.
[ʒɛ̃ː l̪ɛ pʎɥiː]
1sg-CLITIC.LIKE.1sg def-art.CONCRETE.OBLIQUE rain.OBLIQUE-SINGULAR

"I like rain."

[masako]

na panan ue nyahin mitsuk me yasan nukumpa
/na ˈpaːnan wɛ ˈɲaːɦin ˈmiːt͡suk mɛ ˈjaːsan nuˈkuːᵐpɑ/
1sg rain-ACC or.EXCL snow-ACC fix.attention.on-NEG but wind-ACC dislike-much
I don't mind the rain, or the snow but I very much dislike the wind.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

(Ineshîmé)
之れ党せず風は焉ほっい？
のれ すくせず ていじ どゑ ほっい？
(Scientific): Nore sukusezu teja doyo hoi?
(Novelistic): Noré sukusézu téja doyo hoy?
[n̪ó̞ᵝˑ.ɺè̞ s̪ʉ́ᵝ.kʰʉ́ᵝˑ.s̪è̞.z̪ʉ̀ᵝ t̪ʰé̞ˑ.ʑɐ̞̀ d̪ó̞ᵝˑ.jò̞ᵝ xó̞ᵝˑ.ì]

("Proper" Kokori)
Pourquoi non aimes-tu le vaunt?
[puɾ'ko̯a n̪õːn̪͜ 'ɛː.mə.tʃy l̪ɛ võːt̪]

(Ineshîmised Kokori)
ぷろこうは のん えひめきゆ や゙ を゙ん？
Pourquoi non aimes-tu le vaunt?
[pʰʉ́ᵝɺ'kó̞ᵝˑ.wɐ̞̀ n̪ò̞ᵝn̪ 'é̞ː.mɘ̀.cɕỳᵝ l̪è̞ vó̞ᵝn]

"Why don't you like the wind?"

[masako]

nya yano yasan nkumuha
/ɲa ˈjaːno ˈjaːsan ᵑkʊˈmuːhɑ/
for avoid wind-ACC be.difficult-AUG
Wind is the most difficult to avoid.

[jal]

Sof bwis a nays, oba bik gel me res losa ting.
A gentle breeze is nice, but a big storm can destroy many things.


JAL

[Dē Graut Bʉr]

Vinniaatut aperlarsitsimamarilaavi.
Wind can cause it to rain horizontally.

Aaq, pitaasikkuttaput pitaasirsitsimaa maranua "aperlaq".
Yes, my language has a word for "horizontal rain".

[masako]

to tolo ka
way path Q
How's it going?

[Rounin Ryuuji]

悪みて あず。
(をるみて あず。)
Worumite azu.
[wó̞ᵝ.ɺʉ̀ᵝ.mᶣíˑ.t̪ʰè̞ ɐ̞́ˑ.z̪ʉ̀ᵝ]
"They aren't bad at all."

悪みず 期ら、ほ~~~ひ！
(をるみずとくら、ほ~~~ひ！)
Worumizu tokura, ho~~~i!
[wó̞ᵝ.ɺʉ̀ᵝ.mᶣíˑ.z̪ʉ̀ᵝ t̪ʰó̞ᵝˑ.kʰʉ̀ᵝ.ɺɐ̞̀ | xó̞ᵝːːːì]
"Not bad times, wooooo!"

[jal]

Mi fada moda day dis ya nay. Im af nayn-ten-et yeh. Fo sat, im af fet mayn an neba in no mi-dem no longga wen pwaya yeh-dem, oba im ja api an nahf no pen.
My grandmother (from father's side) died tonight. She was 98. Unfortunately, she had dementia and didn't recognize us for years, but she was happy and didn't have pain.


JAL

[Rounin Ryuuji]

冬の詩時！
(ふい𛀁゙ の うた とうこ！)
Feuil no Uta Toko!
[ɸʷø.íʎ ꜜn̪o̞ᵝ ʉ́ᵝˑꜜt̪ʰɐ̞ t̪ʰó̞ᵝˑꜜ.kʰo̞ᵝ]
winter.GEN poem time
"Winter Poem Time!"

Poem:

More: show

葉ら 秋にけ 彼期
霜ら 芝らっを
覆ひ、 華来ゐけく
ししか 冬 今 来時。
————————————————
ふわら あきにけ せとうく
しぼら しばらっを
おひ、いさくゐけく
ししか ふい𛀁゙ いわ くとうこ。
————————————————
Fara aschĕnike setoku
Shibora shibara wo
Oi isakikeku
Shishika feuil iwa kutoko.
————————————————
[ɸʷɐ̞́ˑꜜɾ̪ɐ̞ ɐ̞ꜜ.ʃɘ.ɲíˑꜜcʰe̞ s̪e̞.t̪ʰó̞̞ᵝˑꜜkʰʉᵝ]
[ɕi.bó̞ᵝˑꜜɾ̪ɐ̞ ɕi.bé̞ˑꜜɾ̪ɐ̞ wo̞ᵝ]
[ó̞ᵝˑꜜwi i.s̪ɐ̞.c͡çʰíˑꜜcʰe̞.kʰʉᵝ]
[ɕi.ɕíˑꜜkʰɐ̞ ɸʷø.íʎ ꜜiˑꜜβɐ̞ kʰʉᵝ.t̪ʰó̞ᵝˑꜜkʰo̞ᵝ]

(A few modifications, and a few changes in notation, have occurred since last I posted anything.)
————————————————
leaf.PLURAL change-colour-in-autumn.EVENTIVE-PERFECT.PAST DISTAL.instance
frost.PLURAL grass.PLURAL.ACC.DEFINITE
cover.INFINITIVE bloom.INFINITIVE.PAST.come
only.EMPHATIC winter at-such-a-time come.time
————————————————
"When leaves have changed
"And frost, grasses,
"Has covered, then bloomed,
"Only then is it winter's time to come."

Or, perhaps more poetically:

When leaves have chang'd their colours,
And grasses frosted over
With icy blooms, then only
Is it the time for winter.

Notes on the composition:

More: show

I'm still developing the poetic style for this language, but I did have an idea that it used both end-rhyme and consonance (and possibly assonance, but the vowel sounds end up repeating a lot anyway). It doesn't quite use the language normally — a few particles that would normally be in there are dropped where they would be understood (notably, two nouns are simply juxtaposed more often in stylised poetic language than in speech, foregoing の no altogether, unless it's wanted for its sound or to fill space). The alliteration also isn't perfect, though isakikeku shows off all the allophones of /k/ in a tidy little package. The form 来時 (kutoko) is a poetic contraction of 来る時 (kurutoko, the time at which something comes). The poem also ends in a noun phrase without the copula. A null copula isn't unheard-of in daily speech, but it isn't nearly as common in Ineshîmé as In spoken Japanese — a spoken form of the last line would probably be ししか 今 冬の 来る時 在り — Shishika iwa feuil no kurutoko ari — but casting it like that would throw off the rhyme scheme and metre.

The frequency of plural markers is not, conversely, a poetic device — they're quite common and productive, in both speech and writing. The language also marks for definiteness, but no instances of marking for it appear here.

I'm also working on developing how an auxiliary く (ku), meaning roughly "so happen that" or "come about that", implying an event that incidentally happens, or, in the past, "come to be that" (often with the sense that some form of duress caused it), and it gets used a few times in here, especially with 華来ゐけく isakikeku — "[when it] comes about that [frost has] bloomed".

[hwhatting]

I like it!

[jal]

My grandmother (from father's side) died tonight. She was 98. Unfortunately, she had dementia and didn't recognize us for years, but she was happy and didn't have pain.

Wen pwaya de, di bori sahfis kariyon. It a nays sahfis. Nes mi-dem wok ina pwosecem twoh bori gwon.
Yesterday was the funeral. It was a nice service. Afterwards we walked in procession to the cemetery.


JAL

[Rounin Ryuuji]

I like it!

暖しい 其しい辞ら！
(あたたしい けのけとうら！)
Atatashi kyoshi kitora.
[ɐ̞.t̪ʰɐ̞́ˑꜜt̪ʰɐ̞.ɕʰi c͡çʰi̯ó̞ᵝˑꜜɕʰi c͡çʰi.t̪ʰó̞ᵝˑꜜɾ̪ɐ̞]
warm.ADJECTIVE.ADNOMINAL MESIAL-DEMONSTRATIVE.ADJECTIVE.ADNOMINAL word.PLURAL
"Thank you!" (literally, "Warm, those words (are)!")

[hwhatting]

My grandmother (from father's side) died tonight. She was 98. Unfortunately, she had dementia and didn't recognize us for years, but she was happy and didn't have pain.

Wen pwaya de, di bori sahfis kariyon. It a nays sahfis. Nes mi-dem wok ina pwosecem twoh bori gwon.
Yesterday was the funeral. It was a nice service. Afterwards we walked in procession to the cemetery.

My condolences.
(I don't know yet how to say that in Tautisca, and I don't have much time for conlanging right now).

[jal]

My condolences.

Bles yu.
Thank you.


JAL

[Rounin Ryuuji]

More winter poem-ing:

More: show

雪露ら 降る、
火 ぴこう-ぴ-ぴこう 致、
氷 璃へ 見す、
椿花ら 咲う。

疼ふ木 珂実、
碧 蘿蔓、
玖空 晩 、
銀星はら 来ゐく。
————————————————————————
えぎつゐい゙ら おりる、
ほ ぴこう-ぴ-ぴこう す、
つうゑ こぽうりへ みす、
さゆざけらい ねう。

ひふけ あかいじぶ、
あゑじ 𛀁゙へろつる、
あゆじそうら ゆる、
しほぼしいはら くゐく。
————————————————————————
Ho piko-pi-piko su,
Ejĕtiya oriru,
Tyō kopori e misu,
Sayuzakĕra inyu.

Hiyuki akejĕbu,
Ayojĕ liêrtsuru,
Ayujĕsora yuru,
Shōboshiyara kiku.
————————————————————————
[xó̞ᵝˑ pʰᶣíˑꜜkʰo̞ᵝ pʰᶣiˑ.pʰᶣíˑꜜkʰo̞ᵝ s̪ʉ́ᵝˑ]
[é̞.ʒɘ.t̪ʰʲíˑꜜjɐ̞ o̞ᵝ.ɾ̪ʲíˑꜜɾ̪ʉᵝ]
[t̪ʰʲi̯ô̞ᵝː kʰo̞ᵝ.pʰó̞ᵝˑꜜɾ̪ʲi ꜜje̞ mᶣíˑꜜs̪ʉᵝ]
[s̪ɐ̞.jyᵝ.z̪ɐ́ˑꜜkʰɘ.ɾ̪ɐ̞ íˑꜜɲi̯yᵝ]

[çi.jýᵝˑꜜc͡çʰi ɐ̞.cʰé̞ꜜʒɘ.bʉᵝ]
[ɐ̞.jó̞ᵝˑꜜʒɘ ʎíˑꜜje̞ɾ̪.t̪͡s̪ʲýᵝꜜɾ̪ʉᵝ]
[ɐ̞.jýᵝꜜʒɘ.s̪ó̞ᵝˑꜜɾ̪ɐ̞ .jýᵝˑꜜɾ̪ʉᵝ]
[ɕo̞ᵝː.bó̞ᵝˑꜜɕi.jɐ̞́ꜜɾ̪ɐ c͡çʰíˑꜜkʰʉᵝ]
————————————————————————
fire ONOMATOPOEIA do.PREDICATIVE
snow.dew(=snowflake).PLURAL fall.PREDICATIVE
ice glass LATIVE make-oneself-look.PREDICATIVE
camellia.flower.PLURAL bloom.PREDICATIVE

sting.tree(=holly) ruby.berry
emerald hedera.vine
sapphire.sky night
silver.star.DEFINITE.PLURAL come.INFINITIVE.come
————————————————————————
(Literal)
"A fire will crackle,"
"Snowflakes will fall,"
"Ice will look like polished glass,"
"Camellia flowers will open."

"(With) Ruby holly berry,"
"Emerald ivy-vine,"
"(And) Sapphire-skied night,"
"The silver stars will soon appear."
————————————————————————
(Poetic-ish)
"The flame will crackle 'piko'
"And drifting down come white snow
"The ice as polish'd glass glow
"And winter roses blooms show..."

"With ruby holly-berry
"And em'rald-colour'd ivy
"In sapphire night soon-shining
"Will come the starlight silv'ry."
————————————————————————

More compositional notes —

More: show

I think these seven-syllable lines suit the language well, and that this would be considered a sort of "seasonal" or "light"-verse, since it treats on familiar subjects, exalting them — note the comparison of winter colours to gemstones and silver — rather than anything very grave or serious (culturally-speaking, there is a fondness for domestic comfort, and perhaps a bit of idealisation of it). It also uses the language rather lightly, not taking into account syllable weight (more "proper" poetry would count long vowels and coda consonants as their own morae), and tending not to rhyme the same morpheme with itself (note that su — "do", and misu, which contains su are used as a rhyming pair. Kokori-derived vocabulary, like 蘿 (liêr — "hedera, ivy") would probably be avoided in more "classical" styles, simply because it wouldn't have existed when such styles were created. The archaic word for "hedera", 碧蔦 (ayojĕtsuta), is, however, referenced by 碧 (ayojĕ) being used as a descriptor.

The language, incidentally, rhymes incredibly easily, and it (rather obviously) proved impossible to translate that directly into English.

I think these lines are a little closer to the normal spoken language than before, too — juxtaposing descriptors and nouns is quite common, especially if there is perceived to be some sort of intimate connection between them (though adjectival morphemes might be used if some specific further meaning needed to be expressed, either by conjugating the adjective, or through the selection of the adjectival morpheme — -ひ (-i) for most generic adjectives, though -け (-ki) is used in some cases, especially when the attribute has been somehow added; しい (-shi) describes typically how the speaker feels about something (though it's also used generically with colours); -か (-ka) tends to imply an attribute that's the result of a process, possibly one still ongoing.

Also, possibly interestingly, the language uses three characters obsolete in Japanese — 𛀁, historically "ye", which is used almost exclusively with the voiced marking, 𛀁゙ to write the syllable li, and also ゐ (historically "wi", now often pronounced identically to ゆ "yu") and ゑ (historically "we", now often pronounced identically to よ "yo"); ゐ and ゑ are also used in the sequences くゐ ("ki", as opposed to き "chi", among other contextual readings) and くゑ ("ke", unambiguously, as opposed to け, which is often kyo initially and medially, or ki terminally in non-monosyllables). I should probably make a chart of how these "Tesséki" (as they're internally called) work.

Mi fada moda day dis ya nay. Im af nayn-ten-et yeh. Fo sat, im af fet mayn an neba in no mi-dem no longga wen pwaya yeh-dem, oba im ja api an nahf no pen.
My grandmother (from father's side) died tonight. She was 98. Unfortunately, she had dementia and didn't recognize us for years, but she was happy and didn't have pain.

JAL

I'm sorry to hear that. Allow me to express my condolences in English, not having fictive vocabulary or cultural context enough to describe it in Ineshîmé or Kokori. I have an idea that funerary practices in both cultures are very limited and intimate, and that death isn't often spoken of openly.

[hwhatting]

More winter poem-ing:

Wit tan haiman sandétin tau wuscu.
PRTC ART-F.SG.ACC wintery-F.SG.ACC poem-SG.ACC like-PRES.ACT.1SG
I like your winter poem.

Wit is wirus wérus potis taifus naudiafus fai. (Ceu yas ampulliten ceu yas nisolbeten mochai).
PRTC be-PRES.ACT.3SG.CLIT man-SG.NOM true-M.SG.NOM lord-SG.NOM ART-F.PL.DAT need-PL.DAT PRON.REFL.3Pers. Or PRON.3PL.F.ACC
satisfy-INF or PRON.3PL.F.ACC suppress-INF can-PRES.ACT.3SG
A true man is the master of his needs. He either is able to fulfill them or to suppress them.

A saying of St. Ambrósis. It is frequently quoted without the second part.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

More winter poem-ing:

Wit tan haiman sandétin tau wuscu.
PRTC ART-F.SG.ACC wintery-F.SG.ACC poem-SG.ACC like-PRES.ACT.1SG
I like your winter poem.

爾れ 良しい 人 在り。
けのれ よしい ひゆとう あり。
Kinore yoshi hyuto ari.
[c͡çʰi.n̪ó̞ˑꜜɾ̪e̞ jó̞ᵝˑꜜɕʰi çi̯ýᵝˑꜜt̪ʰo̞ᵝ ɐ̞́ˑꜜɾ̪ʲi]
2pn.PRONOMINALISER good.SUBJECTIVE-ADJECTIVAL.ADNOMINAL person COPULA.PREDICATIVE
"You're a nice person."

Wit is wirus wérus potis taifus naudiafus fai. (Ceu yas ampulliten ceu yas nisolbeten mochai).
PRTC be-PRES.ACT.3SG.CLIT man-SG.NOM true-M.SG.NOM lord-SG.NOM ART-F.PL.DAT need-PL.DAT PRON.REFL.3Pers. Or PRON.3PL.F.ACC
satisfy-INF or PRON.3PL.F.ACC suppress-INF can-PRES.ACT.3SG
A true man is the master of his needs. He either is able to fulfill them or to suppress them.

真な 夫 己の 要井の 楫 在り。彼れ 其っを 充わしてが、飲みてが、得。
まな おを おによの いるゐの かじ あり。せれ けっを みつわしてが、のみてが、う。
Mana ō onyore no iri no kajĕ ari. Sere kyo wo mitashite ga, nomite ga, u.
[mɐ̞́ˑꜜn̪ɐ̞ ô̞ᵝː o̞ᵝ.ɲi̯ó̞ᵝˑꜜɾ̪e̞ n̪o̞ᵝ íˑꜜɾ̪ʲi n̪o̞ᵝ kʰɐ̞́ˑꜜʒɘ ɐ̞́ˑꜜɾ̪ʲi || s̪é̞ꜜɾ̪e̞ c͡çʰi̯ó̞ᵝˑꜜwo̞ᵝ mᶣíꜜt̪ʰɐ̞.ɕʰíˑꜜt̪ʰe̞ gɐ̞ | n̪o̞ᵝ.mᶣíˑꜜt̪ʰe̞ gɐ̞ | ʉ́ᵝˑ]
true-ADJ.IRREGULAR man self.GENITIVE need.well(=needs).GENITIVE steering-apparatus COPULA.PREDICATIVE || DISTAL-DEMONSTRAIVE.PRONOMINALISER MESIAL-DEMONSTRATIVE.ACCUSATIVE fulfil.SEQUENTIAL-GERUND or swallow(=suppress).SEQUENTIAL GERUND or be-able.PREDICATIVE.
"A true man is the master (lit. rudder) of his own needs (lit. source of need). He (lit. "the former") will be able to fulfill or to suppress (lit. "swallow") it (lit. "the latter")."