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[sineconlang]

EXECUTIVE DECISION(S)

Síne is the language of magic in the universe of imperfectmaps.tumblr.com I am dropping “sha” from the singulars and the apostrophes joining the words.

[sineconlang]

In an alternate universe JRR Tolkien fell in love with Classical Nahuatl and Mohawk instead of Finnish and Welsh, and now conlangers think polysynthetic conlangs are boring and overdone, and every unoriginal fantasy knockoff has characters with meaningless stereotypical "Elvish" names like Huichalōtl and Rakenhetá:ke.

[sineconlang]

Sha’lisse khenilye

Shah-lee-seh khen-il-yeh, liquid of anger or whiskey. 

[sineconlang]

Sha’milyeíne’e.

“I’m baby” in Síne. (literally: I’m a dear little thing.)

Shah-meel-yeh-ee-neh-eh. 

[sineconlang]

Lexember 2019-13

cīmri = thirteen <- temi (to exceed, go beyond) + -zi

hāciri = fourteen <- ha (two) + temi-zi

pswāciri = fifteen <- pho (three) + temi-zi

Thirteen is called cīmri since it is the first number to go beyond the base twelve. Similarly to real world western culture, this also makes it an unlucky number in Magwa superstition. For example, being a nomadic people, the Magwa avoid staying in one place for more than twelve days (at those who still lead a traditional life).

On the thirteenth day of the year, a great bonfire is lit and people play very loud and dissonant music to ward off evil spirits. This tradition also spread to Magwan music in general, making it, at times, very uncomfortable to foreign ears. As a result, many neighbouring cultures use Magwan music as a metaphor for unpleasant sounds.

Hāciri and pswāciri, meaning “ going two/three beyond”, while not being perceived as unlucky in general, are sometimes used humourously as extra unlucky numbers, espeacially in the term “fourteenth child”, which refers to an unusually unlucky person.

[sineconlang]

Lexember 2019-7

swakpūkrusa = secret; nominalization of

swak~pūkru = to hide <- spok'i (to cover) + pok'uzu (to hide); both from the root pok'i

[sineconlang]

Lexember 18: gimma

Today was very difficult. I have been putting off working with this root for a few days now, because I just couldn’t get my head around it. Istatikii gimma means “hairpin”, and somehow the Old Pahran form is identical. There’s also no obvious way to split it up, so somehow, Istatikii has a simple root for “hairpin”, and it seemed a cop-out to say it was just always “hairpin”.

Now, being a specialized term, it’s not too easy to look up inspiration. Clicks doesn’t have “hairpin” as a concept, and most of the STEDT entries don’t link to etymologies. Wiktionary showed a lot of languages just have compounds of “hair” + “pin”, though a few derive a simple root from “fork” – which is interesting, but I imagined these hairpins as single spikes, not forked.

Eventually, as I just left this word in my brain for a while, trying to think of methaphors or thoughts, I started thinking about animal parts, then hit on the idea of “fang” being the Old Pahran source. And that’s where I landed.

gimma ni fang What came to me after that was that there is an old legend, possibly going back to the time of Old Pahran itself, of a hero who slew a great serpent and took one of its fangs for a hairpin. Naturally, this serpent was enormous, bigger than a house, but it’s fang works as a hairpin because mythology doesn’t have to make sense.

Now this legend could be a truly ancient oral story, or it could be a later invention via folk etymology. In any case, the sense “fang” actually still exists in Istatikii, and I think sister languages will have “fang” or “tooth” for this word as well.

[sineconlang]

Lexember 8: tiki

tiki va to call or sing (as a bird) An imitative sound for birdsong, which later becomes tiki “to sing” in Istatikii and ends up being applied to humans.

I really should make this the call of a specific bird, but I’d need more time to work that out.

[sineconlang]

I sat down at 12 pm thinking I’d write and then I developed my conlang instead

I put a base-8 number system in it. But not an elegant one. And it’s... really been something.

[sineconlang]

Contar di 1 pa 10

Una = One (1)

Doi = Two (2)

Troa = Three (3)

Cvatru = Four (4)

Çinca = Five (5)

Sez = Six (6)

Sete = Seven (7)

Oqu = Eight (8)

Nuva = Nine (9)

Den = Ten (10)

[sineconlang]

Lexember 10: gartas

gartas vs be burning, feel a burning sensation < gar “fire” + tas “feel”

This is the source of Istatikii gaatas “to feel (sensation)”. Yeah, it got watered down a bit.

[sineconlang]

Lexember #12

-_- Another quick simple root.

syprell- /syprɛl:/

syprelle, -alla, -ello “Third.” Contrasts with cor “three” which, like the other cardinal numerals, was borrowed into Terretten via the neighboring Vausynon. Syprellé fem. pl. The triangle of stars orbiting closely around the northern axis.

[sineconlang]

Lexember Day...???

I'm bad at this. How about I post a Lexember word every day that I remember? Everybody ok with that? Anybody gonna stop me? Cool.

Fellish [ˈfelˌliʃ] (noun): sorrow, tear

Plural: Vellish [ˈvɛlˌlɪʃ]

If you haven't picked up on it by now, the method for turning a singular noun into a plural in Sarelian is to add voicing onto the initial consonant. I don't know if this is a method for pluralizing in any natural languages, but I thought it would be an interesting method to use, and my goal is not necessarily a naturalistic language.

Notable exceptions include the character for [ʔ], which changes to the character for ∅, and [n], which changes to [ŋ]. Words that begin with [l],[ɾ],[j], and [w] typically either undergo umlaut or epenthesis to mark plurals, or simply use the same form for singular and plural.

There is a dual form in Sarelian, using the particle /e-/prefixed to the singular form of the noun. Thus, 'efellish' translates to 'two tears' or 'two sorrows'

[sineconlang]

Lexember #15

#verylate

acastre, -a, -o “Fourth.”

[sineconlang]

Shelesh Word of the Day

“The mountains of my homeland shine joy in my heart.”

kas - adj, adv, conj - far, away, away from

kashiil - n - mountain, tall high peak

tam - adj, conj, prep - close, nearby, toward

tanji - adv, adj, n - here

[sineconlang]

22nd Lexember

Caresm /kaˈʀɛzm̩/ [kɐˈʀɛzɐm] Lent, Lententide

< named after the forty days Jesus spent in the desert. From Vulgar Latin quarēsima, from Latin Quadrāgēsima “Lent”, literally “fortieth”. Traditionally a period of penitence and abstinence.

Jusc oy, Rom foy prohibið ig taisson sein pasct durant Caresm.

Hitherto, Rome had banned badger from being eaten in Lent.

/ʒiˈxɔj | ˈʀɔm fɔj ˌpʀohiˈbɪθ aj teˈsɔn sin ˈpaxt diˈʀant kaˈʀɛzm̩/

[ʒɪˈxɔj | ˈʀɔm fɔj ˌpʀohɪˈbɪh aj tɪˈsɔn sɪm ˈpaht dɪˈʀaŋ kɐˈʀɛzɐm]

[sineconlang]

I was bored so i decided to translate "I Am Moana" into my conlang, Wupéospré

Wun tér ik?

Ik liébi id isla vér mus

Buss ik dori dad sé tun

Ti pulé mék

Ik tér da johtér ta dad vila bos

Wo téro kovatjun sétravaér

Ran Ékploréanan dad érdé

Ran kaléan

Ik ludiat um omis tun dér

Ik hébi grohat mus

Buss dor ést mus mer grohunk tun un

Ti pulé sta

Béka dad kalé hébé allér badéat ot mék

Ti ést Lis dad tid kat sull ris ond vallén

du ol dip ot id hart ond du sull rémidu

Ta wast méi kom

Ik nowi dad wég

Ik tér Sékina

Who am i?

I love my island very much

But i adore the sea too

It pulls me

I am the daughter of the town leader

We come from voyagers

They explored the earth

They call

I lead us all to here

I have grown much

But there is much more growing to do

It pulls still

Because the call has always been in me

It is as the tide that rises and falls

You are deep in my heart and you will remind

Of what may come

I know the way

I am Moana

/wuːn teɪr aɪk/

/aɪ laɪeɪbaɪ aɪd aɪslɑː veɪrɑː muːs/

/buːs aɪk doʊraɪ dɑːd seɪ tuːn/

/taɪ puːleɪ meɪk/

aɪ teɪr dɑː joʊteɪr tɑː dɑːd vaɪlɑ boʊs/

/woʊ teɪroʊ koʊvɑtjuːn seɪtrɑvɑeɪr/

/rɑːn eɪkploʊreɪɑːnɑːn dɑːd eɪrdeɪ/

/rɑːn kɑːleɪɑːn/

/aɪk luːdaɪɑːt uːm oʊmaɪs tuːn deɪr/

/aɪk heɪbaɪ ɡroʊɑːt muːs/

/buːs doʊr eɪst muːs meɪr ɡroʊuːnk tuːn uːn/

/taɪ puːleɪ stɑː/

/beɪkɑː dɑːd kɑleɪ heɪbeɪ ɑːlleɪr bɑːdeɪɑːt oʊt meɪk/

/taɪ eɪst laɪs dɑːd taɪd kɑːt suːl raɪs oʊnd vɑːlleɪn/

/duː oʊl daɪp oʊt aɪd hɑːrt oʊnd duː suːl reɪmaɪduː/

/tɑː wɑst meɪaɪ koʊm/

/aɪk noʊwaɪ dɑːd weɪɡ/

/aɪk teɪr seɪkaɪnɑː/