a-world-of-conlags-blog

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

ë kaðkas: wä gagélis. = I don't know what we have. This is a phrase you would use to express to a friend or romantic interest that you are not sure what kind of bond you share. You don't know where your relationship stands because you couldn't possibly know what the other person is thinking or feeling. (Edit: This phrase also has the basic meaning of its direct translation. For example; "I don't know what we have to eat.")

gélsa salga gönim. (or) salga gön. = Have a blessed future. (or) Blessed future. While this phrase can be used to wish someone good luck, good fortune and good blessings, it is often used to mean that you do not expect to see someone for a very long time or that you do not expect them to be a part of your life much longer, and you wish them many great blessings and prosperity in the future that is soon to be apart from your own.

közél kaðis dam lau gönikiþ ütrame. = No one knows that which lies in Future's hand. This phrase is meant to represent the philosophical ideal that no one can ever truly know what is to come. We can guess, and we can even have insights, but we can never know the true outcome of the future. Very few things are set in stone. Most of our reality is based on our own actions and lessons leaned.

darśül = "The tiniest glint of light in the darkest of darkness." While this word has no direct English translation (that I know of), it does represent the metaphor stated above. In that way, it represents the philosophy that even in the worst of times and most terrible of situations, there is always hope and the possibility for goodness and positive change.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

A very special word in Amaran is baśüb. It has no direct English translation, but it essentially means "To digest, take in and take to heart all of what a person is saying, but have no words with which to respond for there seem to be no words to express just what you feel." It can have a positive, negative or neutral connotation, but the context of the dialogue will usually tell you how it is meant. If context isn't enough an indication, then tone of voice almost always will be.

To say that you feel this way, you say, "ë baśüs." It's almost like saying, "I'm speechless," but the meaning is quite different. For example, I am currently in a deep romance that has escalated beyond words, and i seem often to be saying, "ë baśüs." He will express his love and gratitude, but I cannot find the words to return that love without sounding like a ditto.

In another situation however, let's say two people are arguing. There could be such a strong emotion that cannot be ignored, but it also has no words. "ë baśüs," would work perfectly in that situation. All of the emotions are wrapped into that phrase, and among closely connected people, the meaning is perfectly understood.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Some sleep related words:

Amaran: zégzi zégbréŋk lund nokt kám / zégkám zégśa / noktśa English: bedtime bedroom moon night bed dream Notes: -The transliterations of the Amaran versions are zégzi = sleep-time zégbréŋk = sleep-room zégkám = sleep-bed zégśa = sleep-vision noktśa = night-vision - ŋ is pronounced like ng in pang - The word kám means bed in any use of the words. zégkám, however, specifically means a sleeping bed.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran: ë kjarkas: þau gapénsis ëme! English: I don't care what you think of me!

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

The wonderful confusion of direction and objects in Amaran

I've mentioned the use of Dative and Accusative in Amaran. However, these cases come at a price. That price is the fact that they are sometimes interchangeable and that, on occasion, what seems interchangeable will actually cause a lot of confusion to someone who knows the language outright. That said; I'd like to point out "direction", as I've come to call it, and how it affects the use of the cases. (Be prepared to not understand anything.)

Generally, the Accusative case is that of the Direct object, the thing to which the action is actually happening. For example; "Jenny hit the ball." The ball has been hit by Jenny! However, the Dative case deals with the Indirect object, the thing the describes where an action might occur. To further the example; "Jenny hit the ball in the park." The park did not receive the action, so it is dative! These sentences were pretty clear about what's what. Many sentences are! However, we then come to the more confusing sentences like, "Tom went to the theater." Technically, Tom went himself. There is no stated accusative object. In Amaran however, certain verbs have a direction to them. The word go is considered to be a forward action. It coincides with the word to or toward. By the rules of Amaran if there is no stated accusative, the coinciding object that would normally be dative can be accusative. Knowing that go is forward we can change theater to the accusative case! Not let's say we add to this sentence. "Tom went to the theater in London." It might seem a little confusing, but remembering that go is forward we can assume that theater can be accusative while London will remain dative.

We then have the word to be and all of its conjugations. Directionally speaking, to be is considered to be stationary. It doesn't move. In that way, objects preceded prepositions like in, at and on can become accusative! Though it is good to note that when to be is the verb used, it is generally more appropriate to continue the use of the dative case.

Another thing I should note is the variation in dialect. Depending on whom you speak with, these rules might change a bit. Some people, for example, fancy that go is actually an away verb! That said, they tend to make what you're leaving behind the accusative object. Others, and these are the really fun ones, use these rules conditionally to match what they have in their own head. For example, if their main focus is that they went from something, then they treat go as an away verb. However, if they focus on the fact that they went to something, they treat go as a forward verb! Luckily, most of those people include the prepositions rather than leave them out. This is also a good time to note that it is most common to leave out prepositions when the meaning behind a sentence seems obvious. Sadly, this doesn't always work out, though it's not too difficult to clear up confusion.

One great example of a sentence where the preposition would be left out would be anything using the verb take. Take is considered to be an away verb. That said, you don't need to include the from which dignifies the direction because it can already be assumed. That said; "Jenny took the cookie from the cookie jar" would actually be said a bit more like, "Jenny took cookie cookie-jar" keeping in mind that cookie would be accusative with a special ending and cookie-jar would be dative with a different suffix ending. The sentence would make perfect sense when spoken correctly in Amaran, even without the prepositions. (Also not that the was removed in both places. That is, again, because articles are only used to stress a point.)

Direction isn't the most fun thing to figure out at first, but once you start to understand it, it's actually not that difficult to work with!

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Personal pronouns as posessives!

Possessive form one ëþ - My þauþ - Your hédaþ - His zédaþ - Her njédaþ - Nes daþ - Its wäþ - Our gléþ - Their Possessive form two ëþa - Mine / My own þauþa - Yours / Your own hédaþa - His / His own zédaþa - Hers / Her own njédaþa - Nes / Nes own daþa - Its / Its own wäþa - Ours / Our own gléþa - Theirs / Their own Notes: In Amaran, much as in English, there are two special forms of the Genitive case, or the possessive form. I find it hard to express the distinction between the two forms, but the usage is very similar to that of the two forms in modern English. For example: My dog is black. -- ëþ tok fäs tüsa. The black dog is mine. -- tüsa tok fäs ëþa. I want a black dog of my own. -- ë kërdis ëþa tüsa tokim. I want my own black dog. -- ë kërdis ëþa tüsa tokim. (same as previous) Vocabulary: Dog -- tok Black -- tüs Want -- kërdib

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran: ë kjarkas: þau gapénsis English: I don't care what you think Notes: A lot of words in Amaran, especially some of the first few words I made that have stuck through to present, are based on words from various languages. Some have minor pronunciation change, and some are complete twistings of the original words. Meanwhile others are base-words from other languages that just receive Amaran prefixes and suffixes. In the above text, we have a few examples. - kjar, meaning care, is an obvious twist on the sound of the English word (which would be kär if written as it would be in Amaran.) - ë and þau, two very common personal pronouns, are obviously based on numerous related European languages. I, jeg, ég, Ich are all related to ë (sounding like ee in green). Thou, tu, du, þu all relate to þau (th as in thing + ow as in town). - and péns has romantic roots. At first, it came directly from Spanish pensar, but I later discovered a deeper Latin base. **To note; I've been making these languages since I was 16. I didn't know much about language beyond written and verbal modern English, basic Spanish and a handful of German words. At the time, the closest understanding I had to etymology was a few cognates shared among the above languages. I hadn't realized the deeper connections among those and other languages.**

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran: ë kërdis: ë gélik watäm anjarme! English: I wish I had money for music! Note: No, seriously...

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Personal Pronouns as Objects

Subjective (Direct Object) ëm - Me þaum - You hédam - Him zédam - Her njédam - Nem dam - It wäm - Us glém - Them

Dative (Indirect Object) ëme - Me þaume - You hédame - Him zédame - Her njédame - Nem dame - It wäme - Us gléme - Them

Notes: In Amaran, Direct and Indirect objects of sentences are distinguished from one another through sound. In English, the objective cases are grouped into a single form, as witnessed above. In fact, in the rest of English beyond personal pronouns, there is no distinction whatsoever between Nominative (the subject), Accusative (the direct object) and Dative (The indirect object). Many other languages, such as German, change their words to meet particular tenses. In German for example; articles (the, that, a, none etc) and adjectives (like happy, bubbly or wonderful) change the way they are said to meet certain conditions much as is witnessed in Amaran. Unlike German, however, Amaran does not bother with genderized nouns. Even if a word is of a particular gender, it is always treated the same. I very much like the distinction between objective forms, and while it can sometimes be confusing in translation from a simple language like English, it can be very useful in a variety of ways. It can help make sentences shorter. It can help make the purpose of a phrase clearer, and it can help add a little variation to speech.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Hællan! for kommast Winter! Þa endouring seazon kommast jæde. Ond weo mostto rædî eos. Neo bæst tîma forto pennsan forto qæstan ond forto reastan. Neo weo mostto sleapon tîl kommast Spreong.

Hail! for Winter comes! That enduring season comes now. And we must ready ourselves. Now is the time to think to quest and to rest. Now we must sleep until Spring comes.

~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~

A poem welcoming Winter in a very underdeveloped conlang called "Lovehaven's English." Lovehaven is an English name for avrivörd, the great vessel of the zërtzélit. This vessel, which doubles as Amara in later tales, is inhabited by English speaking peoples whose English changes significantly whilst the civilization grows and develops. For these people, the changing seasons are very important, and likewise is this prosy poem greeting Winter, the enduring season.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Personal Pronouns (nominative)

ë - I þau - You héda - He zéda - She njéda - Ne da - It wä - We glé - They

Note: In the world from which Amaran comes, the genders of many creatures follow a three gender system (hence the extra personal pronoun). In this system; hézélit (males) carry one half of a zygote in an external reproductive organ very similar to that of Earth males. njézélit (nemales) carry the other half internally in what is similar to ovaries but which secretes the reproductive cells similarly to men. Lastly, zézélit (females) are those within whom the gametes become a zygote. She harbors the zygote through pregnancy but produces no reproductive cells of her own. Among most three gendered species, the zézélit are the ones who cater towards nurturing, teaching and overall raising of children. hézélit are usually broader and more muscular, so they are often laborers and brute force as well as farmers. zjézélit are mostly learn, agile and limber. Because of this, they are generally hunters, gatherers and often share the work of farming with hézélit. These roles, of course, are not a universal rule. They are simply the best use of natural skills and attributes. It should also be noted that among many amarazélit and zërtzélit there is a belief that the three gender system represents the three compositions of life; Mind, Body and Soul. njézélit are generally revered as the Mind for they are often more intelligent, witty and have vast banks of knowledge. hézélit are usually seen as Body for they are the brute force of the body and they rely heavily on the bounds of their physical self. zézélit are thus revered as the soul. Their genetic code plays no part in the birth of a child, but their nature, their love and the way they raise children plays a huge role in the emotional health, guidance, life path and adulthood of their children. Of course, this is again not a universal belief! Among some cultures, the roles are swapped. Among other cultures, such beliefs are unheard of. This is just meant to lay a foundation for a greater understanding of some Amaran vocabulary. Also note that njéda and njézél are not representative of the neuter case! Neutral or unknown genders are represented as it or da. According to some tales, an Earth human who once attempted to learn one of the zërta laglaðit had his tongue cut out by a very insulted njéparlüva when he mistook the njé prefix as neuter!

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran: þau gafïgis? English: How are you feeling? How are you? (lit: You how-feel?)

Notes: fïgib means feel as in have emotion. It does not mean feel as in touch. When answering the question "how are you", you always respond adverbially. For example, instead of "I am sad" you say, "I sadly feel."

Example responses: Amaran: ë bwélïn fïgis. ë kövlïn fïgis. ë glüklïn fïgis. ë dástlïn fïgis. English. I am good. (lit: I well feel.) I am bad. (lit: I badly feel.) I am happy. (lit: I happily feel.) I am sad. (lit: I sadly feel.)

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

To coincide with the post about trees; There are two words for forest in Amaran. Bosk (sounds like boss with a k at the end) means forest the same way it is meant in English. The word is derived originally from Spanish bosque though its true roots are those of the Spanish word itself. The other word for forest refers only to xalit (the tall mushroom-like "trees" of the world from which Amaran comes). The word for such a forest is xal~bïr meaning "Xal field" or "Field of xalit".

Note: bïr means field. It is pronounced very similarly to buyer.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran: nän, rët r gön English: Past, Present and Future

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

In the world from which Amaran is meant to come, there exist great tree-like plants. These, which look like mushrooms, are called xalit (or xal in the singular form). *note that x sounds like ch as in chicken* On Earth, we have trees. The Amaran word for tree is tau which sounds like town without the n. Also on Earth, we have special trees, trees which we revere and consider sacred. Such trees are known in Amaran as ðrasilit (or ðrasil in the singular form). The word ðrasil is derived from the ending of Yggdrasill, the great tree of life in Norse Mythology. Now, in our world, Drasill / Drasil ordinarily does not stand alone and actually has a different meaning. However in Amaran, ðrasil is a word to represent any sacred, special or revered tree. Another important word to know would be zékrïnðrasil which means Grandmother Tree. Some types of trees, in Amaran, share their English names. Some examples are: Oak = ök Ash = áś Maple = mäpel Aspen = áspen / áspén / áspin (depending on how you pronounce he e) However, one type of tree whose name is not universal to Amaran is Birch. In Amaran, Birch are called by a multitude of names. berx (From English Birch) bjerk (From Icelandic Björk) berk and björga or bäjörga of which the last two are used to refer to ðrasila berxit (Sacred Birch Trees).

Note: ðrasila only refers to sacred trees. The word for sacred in general is salga which comes from salg meaning blessing, sanctity, sacredness etc.

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran nokt r édon English Night and Day

[a-world-of-conlags-blog]

Amaran émig English Magick