Break Down
Melan: the state of being calm
Adan: the state of being angry
Pronunciation
The "e" in melan is pronounced as "eh" such as in then
The "a" in melan and both the "a"s in adan are pronounced "ah" as in the slang term Ma for mother.
Expansion
It should be noted that melan is merely the state of being calm, there will be no expression for the act of becoming calm or making another calm. That is, the concept of calm will only exist in the noun varient and not the verb varient. So, instead of saying, as in English, that you will "calm them down" you would have to say that you will "make them calm." Adan works the same way, as will most states of emotional being.
To combine this with the previous lesson in greetings, to ask someone why they are angry you would say:
Na adan'en
Literal: You (are) the state of being angry why?
Conversational: Why are you angry?
As with English, when it comes to feelings, the what and why are mostly interchangeable as asking "why" can also be expressed as "what made you."
For example
Na adan'en: Why are you angry?
Na adan'al: What made you angry?
Both questions are expressing the same concept because they will receive the same answer. What caused the individual being questioned to become that state.
So, a converstion might begin:
1: Kreesh, na ma'al? [Hello, how are you?]
2: Adan! [Angry!]
1: Na adan'en? [Why are you angry?]
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Please and Thank You
Break Down
Gree: Thanks, a standard expression of gratitude.
Shen: Please.
Pronuncation
Gree: the double "e" indicates a strong "e" sound as is found in the words pea or free.
Shen: the "e" is pronounced in the same was as the word "then."
Expansion
It should be noted that, unlike the English language where "please" can come at the beginning or end of a sentance such as in the following examples:
Please, buy milk.
Buy milk, please.
Shen should always come at the end of the sentance since it is an additive item to the main subject of the sentance.
Shen can stand alone in the assumptative response sense. For example:
[Do you want me to get milk?]
Shen.[please]
The "get milk" part of "Please get milk" is dropped in conversation but assumed to be the subject of the "please" given the context
Gree can come at any part of the sentance as an expression of gratitude is a standalone subject unto itself. In English you would have:
Thank you, I needed that.
I needed that, thank you.
Here the "for doing that" is dropped from the expression of gratitude and assumed, but it is still a different subject from the expression of need for the thing to have been done.
The best way to put it is that Gree, like "Thanks" in English can be it's own seperate sentance whereas Shen cannot except in the assumptative response described above.
You can say:
Thank you. That was nice of you. OR Thank you, that was nice of you.
You cannot say:
Please. Get me milk.
The correct form is:
Please, get me milk.
Gree: Thanks, a standard expression of gratitude.
Shen: Please.
Pronuncation
Gree: the double "e" indicates a strong "e" sound as is found in the words pea or free.
Shen: the "e" is pronounced in the same was as the word "then."
Expansion
It should be noted that, unlike the English language where "please" can come at the beginning or end of a sentance such as in the following examples:
Please, buy milk.
Buy milk, please.
Shen should always come at the end of the sentance since it is an additive item to the main subject of the sentance.
Shen can stand alone in the assumptative response sense. For example:
[Do you want me to get milk?]
Shen.[please]
The "get milk" part of "Please get milk" is dropped in conversation but assumed to be the subject of the "please" given the context
Gree can come at any part of the sentance as an expression of gratitude is a standalone subject unto itself. In English you would have:
Thank you, I needed that.
I needed that, thank you.
Here the "for doing that" is dropped from the expression of gratitude and assumed, but it is still a different subject from the expression of need for the thing to have been done.
The best way to put it is that Gree, like "Thanks" in English can be it's own seperate sentance whereas Shen cannot except in the assumptative response described above.
You can say:
Thank you. That was nice of you. OR Thank you, that was nice of you.
You cannot say:
Please. Get me milk.
The correct form is:
Please, get me milk.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Step 1: Basic Greeting
Kreesh, na ma'al.
The most basic concept known to man(polite man anyways): Greetings, how are you?
Break Down
Kreesh: A basic, neutral greeting. I think the closest translation of this concept would be the British "Cheers." It's a greeting, a toast, a goodbye. But, it can be used similar to "Hey" in that it can be used to get the attention of someone. For example, "Kreesh! Don't touch that!"
Na: You. And, despite the common tendancy in non-English languages to have differing forms of "you" depending on the relative rank or relation of the other, I think for now we'll settle with the single word for the concept of "the other I am directly addressing."
Ma: feelings, temperament, state. This concept may be expanded upon later if the need arises.
'al: What, in questioning context. From my basic study of the language, in Japanese to indicate a statement is actually a question you end it with "ka". My memory may be off about that. This is similar. When you want to ask someone what something is, you add on 'al. So in the context of the sentance above ma'al means literally "state what" or conversationally "what is the state of."
Pronuncation
Kreesh: the double "e" indicates a strong "e" sound as is found in the words pea or free.
Na: a long "a" sound as is found in the words water or ma.
Ma'al: both "a"s have a long "a" sound. So "ma" is pronounced as you would the English slang term Ma for mother. It should be noted that the presence of an apostrophe indicates a verbal stop and restart. As a whole Ma'al should be pronounced: Ma all.
Translation
Literal: Greeting, you feeling what?
Conversational: Hello, what are you feeling?
Concept: Hello, how are you?
Expansion
Since I'm introducing the concept of 'al as the questioning what, I thought it would behoove me to expand upon this a little with similar concepts.
'en: Why, in questioning context. Pronounced like the letter N.
'or: How, in questioning context. Pronounced like the or as in either/or.
'an: When, in questioning context. Pronounced with a long a.
're: Where, in questioning context. Pronouced in the Japanese style.
"Who" will probably not follow this convention.
Na ma'al: What (are) you feeling?
Na ma'en: Why (are) you feeling (like this)?
Na ma'or: How (are) you feeling (what you are feeling)?
Na ma'an: When (did) you (experience this) feeling?
Na ma're: Where (are) you (experiencing this) feeling?
The last example, for where, is a bit of a misleading one as you would never ask someone, say in response to them saying they are happy, where they are feeling happy. It would be a very strange conversation to have:
1: Kreesh! [Hello!]
2: Kreesh! Na ma'al? [Hello! how are you?]
1: [happy]
2: Na ma're? [Where are you happy?]
1: [In my heart]
The most basic concept known to man(polite man anyways): Greetings, how are you?
Break Down
Kreesh: A basic, neutral greeting. I think the closest translation of this concept would be the British "Cheers." It's a greeting, a toast, a goodbye. But, it can be used similar to "Hey" in that it can be used to get the attention of someone. For example, "Kreesh! Don't touch that!"
Na: You. And, despite the common tendancy in non-English languages to have differing forms of "you" depending on the relative rank or relation of the other, I think for now we'll settle with the single word for the concept of "the other I am directly addressing."
Ma: feelings, temperament, state. This concept may be expanded upon later if the need arises.
'al: What, in questioning context. From my basic study of the language, in Japanese to indicate a statement is actually a question you end it with "ka". My memory may be off about that. This is similar. When you want to ask someone what something is, you add on 'al. So in the context of the sentance above ma'al means literally "state what" or conversationally "what is the state of."
Pronuncation
Kreesh: the double "e" indicates a strong "e" sound as is found in the words pea or free.
Na: a long "a" sound as is found in the words water or ma.
Ma'al: both "a"s have a long "a" sound. So "ma" is pronounced as you would the English slang term Ma for mother. It should be noted that the presence of an apostrophe indicates a verbal stop and restart. As a whole Ma'al should be pronounced: Ma all.
Translation
Literal: Greeting, you feeling what?
Conversational: Hello, what are you feeling?
Concept: Hello, how are you?
Expansion
Since I'm introducing the concept of 'al as the questioning what, I thought it would behoove me to expand upon this a little with similar concepts.
'en: Why, in questioning context. Pronounced like the letter N.
'or: How, in questioning context. Pronounced like the or as in either/or.
'an: When, in questioning context. Pronounced with a long a.
're: Where, in questioning context. Pronouced in the Japanese style.
"Who" will probably not follow this convention.
Na ma'al: What (are) you feeling?
Na ma'en: Why (are) you feeling (like this)?
Na ma'or: How (are) you feeling (what you are feeling)?
Na ma'an: When (did) you (experience this) feeling?
Na ma're: Where (are) you (experiencing this) feeling?
The last example, for where, is a bit of a misleading one as you would never ask someone, say in response to them saying they are happy, where they are feeling happy. It would be a very strange conversation to have:
1: Kreesh! [Hello!]
2: Kreesh! Na ma'al? [Hello! how are you?]
1: [happy]
2: Na ma're? [Where are you happy?]
1: [In my heart]
Cultural Experiment 1
OK, quick intro. It's been in my head to see what goes into the development of a language. What words, expressions, structures evolve first and what comes later. What do (a) people need to communicate verbally. What trappings of modern evolved language form can be dropped and eschewed.
Of course, building a new language isn't going to be easy. I'm thinking this will progress like a standard [insert language here] 101 course. Start with basic words, concepts, and phrases and evolve the language as the need or urge for new concepts arises. This means I need your help. I'm not going to come up with equivalents for every word in Websters. So, if you want to see a new word drop me a line and I'll think of something. As this progresses and my imagination starts to dry up, I may ask for input for translations for words and concepts.
Basically, I'll try to get this started and then see how things go from there.
Of course, building a new language isn't going to be easy. I'm thinking this will progress like a standard [insert language here] 101 course. Start with basic words, concepts, and phrases and evolve the language as the need or urge for new concepts arises. This means I need your help. I'm not going to come up with equivalents for every word in Websters. So, if you want to see a new word drop me a line and I'll think of something. As this progresses and my imagination starts to dry up, I may ask for input for translations for words and concepts.
Basically, I'll try to get this started and then see how things go from there.
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