amiu - "linguist"

[pauraque_bk]

For ellen_fremedon:



ammíiuaú naý nrúl "I know language"

X-SAMPA (ignoring tone): [ {m:iIU{u n{1 nr\ul ]

Since Ellen does indeed know language, I'm going to get a little denser with my explanations on this one, so bear with me.

ammíiuaú "that which is spoken"

The root verb here is mí "to speak deliberately". m- and -i indicate no actor and no target, respectively. a- and -u together form a circumfix indicating a restrictive, object-head relative clause. mí doesn't have an object in this sentence, so the whole clause is understood to be a nominal formation -- such is the fate of the Headless Relative in Amíu. (If you're guessing that the word "Amíu" itself is a form of this clause, you're right.) -aú is the first person marker; our new noun is now assigned the first person.

naý "knowledge; understanding"

'Understanding' is classed with the emotions, so its written form gets the emotional determinative, the nose. The phonetic is /nai/ "tree". (I have to admit this is a pun on my part -- tree of knowledge.)

nrúl "I have it"

This is the main verb. The root is rúl "to have deliberately". n- indicates a second-person actor (the speaker, in this case). The zero suffix indicates a first person target -- it must be ammíiu. The only word left is naý; it is the object of nrúl.

So, in the most literal terms, we're saying "I deliberately have knowledge directed at that which is deliberately spoken". But a much better translation would be "I know language" or "I'm a linguist"!

As always, I'm open to requests for icons, examples, explanations, anything. Next up will be "tracing mansions" for spican.

Edited to correct my X-SAMPA.

Comments

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

The coolness continues. I never comment on these, because all I can do is stare at my screen and ooooh and ahhhhh and try to follow the grammar. ^_^ But as I've recently enrolled in a Words in the World class (replacing sociology!!! WOO HOOO!!!!), I feel the need to make a request.

My current favourite word is 'schadenfreude,' the malicious enjoyment of others' pain. I would greatly appreciate an icon. >:D

And another oooOOooh aaAAaahhh moment - this language is so PRETTY!!!!<3 <3 <3 !!! yummy swirly caligraphy, contrasted with the structure of the straight lines......... *much staring in awe*

Re:

[pauraque]

Mm, semantics. <3

Schadenfreude is one of my favorite words too. It could be paraphrased as 'passive sadism', I think. Stay tuned; you're in line after spican.

Re:

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

sw33t.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

So, in the most literal terms, we're saying "I deliberately have knowledge directed at that which is deliberately spoken".

I love this. I love it to itty bitty pieces. I am going to go icon this and gaze upon the perfect geeky shininess of its headless relative clause.

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[whimemsz.livejournal.com]

What they (gender unknown) said. This is one of the best and most creative conlangs I've ever seen, Eo, right up there with Noyahtukah and the Cadhinorian langs. I'm awestruck.

(And ellen_frememdon, I just wanted to say that I love your name :D )

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[pauraque]

Thank you! I've certainly been inspired by our colleagues from the ZBB. Noyatukah is one of my favorite conlangs, so your comparing mine to it is a great compliment. :)

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[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

(And ellen_frememdon, I just wanted to say that I love your name :D )

Thanks! So do I *g*.

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[pauraque]

Hee! Glad you approve. I hope I didn't muck up the linguistic terminology too much (I know I said perifix when I meant circumfix, which I've already, um, fixed). Everything I know about linguistics I've learned from books and the internet, so I'm sure I make mistakes -- if you ever see me messing up, don't hesitate to tell me.

[spican.livejournal.com]

"I deliberately have knowledge directed at that which is deliberately spoken"

I love "deliberately have knowledge"--what a cool distinction! Have you borrowed that from any language you know?

And whee, I'm up next! :)

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[pauraque]

I can't think of any language that uses the distinction in quite that way, so it may well be an invention of my own. The limited verb system was the original "conlang bunny" for Amiu, so the deliberate/nondeliberate distinction was one of the first things I decided on -- long enough ago that I don't really remember how I got the idea.

[darkkitten1.livejournal.com]

I would love an icon that says "sailor" ever so much!

This writing is so beautiful. Wow. I've been following these posts avidly. I don't have any technical expertise, but I used to invent languages all the time in high school. They weren't anything like as complex as Amiu, and the most complex were based on Latin. I also had a very simple one that barely had inflections and worked off context for almost everything, which my best friend and I used to speak a bit to each other. I made up one language with its own alphabet; if I can find a sample, I'll scan and post it for your amusement. So neat to find others who amuse themselves thus, especially when they know way more about what tey're doing. *g*

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[pauraque]

I would love an icon that says "sailor" ever so much!

Sure! Funnily enough, I was just working out the nautical terminology.

I made up one language with its own alphabet; if I can find a sample, I'll scan and post it for your amusement.

Please do; I'd love to see it. I've been making languages and alphabets since I was a kid, with varying degrees of complexity and realism. My friends and I used one of them as a secret code too. :)

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

[falls down and dies from OMG this is cool]

(hi. surfed in from the land of ellen_fremedon. hope you don't mind.) i'll get in the queue, if i can, with a request for something cool and language-related. (ellen has "linguist", but how about "philologist"? "i love word(s)"?)

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[pauraque]

Okay, will do! In case you were interested, I've just posted another finished request, this one for spican.