Zompist Bboard Again

I think I'll leave <tr> for now -- my lexicon is organised by Old Heláin roots so it makes sense to use the spelling that better reflects the OH here -- but will keep in mind that I might want to change it later.

I'm editing my reference grammar to print (not publish, just put onto normal printer-paper in a binder for personal use) and can't decide when to use hyphens. Which seems better?

The suffixes -éid, -éin, -éis, -éiv (Old Heláin -idi*, -ini*, -ise*, -ive*) have -i- rather than -ei- in their stem.

If a verb begins with h-, an e-prefix is omitted; however, the h- itself is omitted when adding the inchoative prefix, which is an- before a vowel and otherwise a-.

An alternative frequentative suffix -enai is equivalent to -ena e/i.

OR

The suffixes éid, éin, éis, éiv (Old Heláin *idi, *ini, *ise, *ive) have i rather than ei in their stem.

If a verb begins with h, an e prefix is omitted; however, the h itself is omitted when adding the inchoative prefix, which is an before a vowel and otherwise a.

An alternative frequentative suffix enai is equivalent to ena e/i.

The former (with the hyphens) is much easier to read.

bradrn wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:18 am The former (with the hyphens) is much easier to read.

Agreed.

I'm leaving all the many hyphens in place.

I need to settle on a number for 5. For many years it was tangei, but all other plurals end in -a, so I altered it to tanga, forgetting that tanga already meant 'symbol, glyph' (< tag 'be arranged; mean'). I know some homonyms are naturalistic but I think this would just be confusing.

1-6 are seir twara cwara bressa (tanga?) vara. It's a base-six system except that 10 and 15 are 'twice five' and 'thrice five'. So it might work to derive a word for 'five' even though other numbers mostly aren't derived.

(edited to add:) I am acquainted with a very imaginative six-year-old who tells me sometimes about his imaginary world. I asked him what the word for 'five' in his land was, and he reported that it is seorlandas, 'in Old [Child's Name] Language, which was spoken in 1995.' Perhaps the Heláin for 'five' will be langa or landa.

ancoráv, erannen arreaiye Abrames ellu talfinis il, tainiros: Abram, andár m’ una. tea son m’age fi medarre antalam’ adanne.

seu aián Abrame: Al Arir, ñunnus so mur fiem, anire undenire, u dendarren e setelinis Eliesare Damascuside cu?

u aián Abrame: ammu, ñunt so mur denithes unem; faiye tea cleritheon setelinis il con sedendréid.

faiye, erannen arreaiye tul, tainiros: unteá con medendréid, fiu dendár mepareilfenithe.

u fefennen tu er ecistes ellu, u aián e: fin e mur teiglad ellu iñ, uc incít melien, eciteisfe min i mur. uc aián e tul: dhu teá taldenithoran mec.

fiu tetalthennen Arre tur, u erancinten i tullu indi. (Gen. XV.1-6)

I liked reading this. Thanks for posting.

rotting bones wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2026 2:30 am I liked reading this. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for reading! (:

I must admit that I have attempted understanding and reading the poems to myself, and I can say that it certainly is pleasing to the ear. good work!

/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/ wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2026 12:05 pm I must admit that I have attempted understanding and reading the poems to myself, and I can say that it certainly is pleasing to the ear. good work!

Thank you!

I've gotten busy with other writing and haven't done much on Heláin for a while. But I will come back to it sooner or later.