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Definitions:
Aradynu: The language spoken by the invading Tua.
Hiladynu: The language spoken by the pre-Tua inhabitants of Tuadem.
Kwenydynu: The language that finally resulted from the mix when spoken by both Ara and Hilatua, as codified by the Priests. It’s essentially a conlang, based on philosophical/theological ideas.
Tuadynu (the Common Tongue): The natural language resulting from the mix of Aradynu and Hiladynu, as naturally spoken.
General Notes
When the Ara invaded Tuadem, they and the previous inhabitants (the Hilatu) developed a pidgin to allow communication. Because the proto-Tua quickly established dominance, their language, Aradynu, became a prestige language. It therefore provided the majority of the vocabulary of the pidgin, although many of the prepositions were taken from the previous language, Hiladynu. Because of the numerical superiority of the Hilatu, however, the grammar, while simplified as all pidgins are, was influenced by that of Hiladynu. For instance, the new language was without either gender or cases, and verbal tenses, moods, and aspects of verbs were now expressed periphrastically, with pronouns required to indicate person. The new language soon creolized into Tuadynu, also called “the Common Tongue.” This became the standard language of the land.
Kwenydynu, on the other hand, was a deliberately created language, a “conlang.” As the philosophy and technology of the Powers developed, practitioners felt a need to better express what thy knew and how to say it. They needed a language which could express things more precisely that the Common Tounge. For instance, they came to believe that reality was about what happened rather than things, and that relationships between things was of vital importance. The first led to the VOS sentence order – first say what happened, then what or who it happened to, and only then what or who did it. Direct and indirect objects were even seen as part of the verb, which they immediately followed. (This was distinct from Tuadynu, which was SOV.)
The desire to be precise led to a large number of prepositions, tenses, moods, and aspects. These had been considered to be unimportant in Tuadynu, and that language continued to lack them.
To speak Kwenydynu required speakers to understand the universe and how the Powers work in order to know what words to use and how to construct a sentences. They were also required to concentrate their thoughts.
So by speaking in Kwenydynu, one was speaking in the way the Cosmos acts. Ones thoughts became ordered in the same way the Cosmos was ordered, and one’s actions flowed along with those of the Cosmos. They didn’t oppose the natural order, were instead aided by it.
Because of this, it was discovered to be an effective way of dealing with the Powers. The Cosmos was organized from and by the Powers, so speaking and thinking in Kwenydynu, and expressing magical thoughts in it, allowed intentions to be written into the Cosmos and thereby be made manifest.
Kwenydynu naturally came to be seen as a sacred tongue (Kwenydynu’s literal meaning), and thus appropriate for speaking to the Sypekdho vy. It was even believed by many (but not those who worked closely with the Powers and knew its history) to be the language the Sypekdho vy spoke among themselves, although it was also believed that they could understand Tuadynu. Prayers and myths were therefore written primarily in Kwenydynu, and these formed The Book of Hymns. They were also translated into Tuadynu, and sometimes written in it, although these were considered less powerful. People who didn’t actually speak Kwenydynu knew short prayers in it, however, which they used like mantras, even though they didn’t always know their meanings.
Tuadynu, of course, continued to evolve, as natural languages do. Kwenydynu, however, was fossilized as the religious language, and did not.
With the loss of central authority, however, a Tuadynu literature is developing. This has its origins in what might be called “village poetry.” Travelling musicians are creating larger epics, which serve as a force against the ones that are leading to the breakup of Tuadynu.
In Tuadynu, tenses and aspects have become suffixes, rather than separate particles, affecting the accent. The same is true with the plural. There is no difference between the inherent and adherent possessives in Tuadynu.
As one might expect, in both Tuadynu and Kwenydynu words relating to war, weaponry, and domesticated horses come from Aradynu. Words for agriculture and many religious concepts, objects, and acts come from Hiladynu.
Hiladynu was definitely non-Indo-European. It does not seem to be related to any surviving language.
Non-Indo-European features of Kwenydynu which may have their origins in Hiladynu include:
1. No cases.
2. Mutations for changing the function of a word.
3. Reduplication for emphasis.
4. No distinction between adjectives and adverbs.
5. Prepositions used for tenses.
The vocabulary is mostly Indo-European. The words are based on a variety of forms, almost randomly it seems. Thus some are based on the root form, but others on the nominative singular (nouns) or present (verbs).
Some changes that occurred to form Kwenydynu words from Aradynu ones are:
1. When a PIE word begins with a vowel, an "h" has intruded. This is so except for very small words, particularly prepositions, many of which are Hiladynu in origin. Except for these, Hiladynu words appear to have begun with consonants.
2. Consonantal groupings in the middle of IE roots tend to disappear.
3. Consonantal groupings at the beginning of words are separated by an unstressed vowel ("y"), except for Cj, Cw, and Cl. Since a Vr combination is considered to be a variation of the vowel (and is written that way in the Tua alphabet), VrC combinations remain unchanged.
4. Endings of “b,” “d,” “g,” “k,” “p,” and “t” become “v,” “dh,” “gh,” “kh,” “f,” and “th,” respectively.
5. rV combinations become Vr.
6. "Sk" becomes "sh."
7. A final "nd" or "nk" becomes "ng".
8. "eu" becomes "u."
9. Final consonants of case endings are eliminated. Thus an -os ending becomes simply “o,” as does “-om;” “-is” becomes “i.”
What all this means is that except for Cw, Cj, Cl, and VrC there are no two consonant combinations within syllables. Some combinations, such as "c" and "dzh", while actually two sounds, are none the less considered to be one sound.
The dialect of Indo-European that formed the basis of Kwenydynu’s lexion is a western one. In the case of Indo-European words that begin with an optional “s” (such as *(s)koitros) the form used is that without the “s” (thus “koitor,” “clear”). An interesting exception is the name for a god, “Sypekdho.” This is based on the root *(s)pek-, “to watch over,” which has entered Kwenydynu in the form “pekh.” The fact that the “s” is present indicates that the Ara carried the “s” form in with them. It would seem from that that the Ara did not want to change a word of such sacredness much. They did, of course, modify it to the point of adding the “y,” but this would not have been a conscious change but rather a result of the pronunciation habits of the Hilatua. The extreme age of this word is shown not just by the presence of the “s” but also by the form of the agental ending.
Mutations
Other than the importance of verbs, the most striking feature of Kwenydynu is the existence of mutations, which serve as indicators of word type. Verbs are considered the basis of all words (except prepositions and particles) and other types are formed from them by mutation.
A verb typically begins with what the Tua would consider a "soft" consonant: a voiceless, a fricative, a sibilant, or an "h". To form a noun the verb is "hardened" - it is voiced or roughened in some way. To form a modifier, the noun form is then softened again to a different form than the original verb.
The exact correspondence between a root verb and the noun formed from it is more a matter of intuition than rule. When there is more than one possible noun that can be formed from a single verb, in some cases these nouns are formed by different mutations (and thus these forms become standardized).
The mutations are arranged in families that overlap to an extent. There are also sub-families. The progression of sounds in these groupings are not always linguistically comprehensible, but are often merely conventions.
1. The "g" family
a. h-kh-k-g
b. h-gh-g
2. The "d" family
a. h-th-t-d
b. dh-th-d
3. The "j/z" family
a. h-j-zh-dzh
b. h-sh-s-z
c. zh-z
4. The "l" family: h-lh-l-ll
5. The "b" family
a. f-v-b
b. f-p-b
6. The "n" family
a. f-v-mj-m-n-d
b. f-v-mw-m-n-d
c. mj-nj-n-d
d. mw-nw-n-d
7. The "r" family: h-rh-r-rr
8. The "w" family: h-wh-w-v
It is important to note that these families are not formally delineated in Kwenydynu, nor are the words formed from them. Except for the words standardized as explained above, it is theoretically possible to use a different one of the choices in the families with sub-families each time a word is used. In practice, however, standards are arising at the time of the book, but since there is neither grammar nor dictionary they have no official standing. The closest thing to an authority is the Book of Hymns. The forms used there are usually followed, although this is not always possible, since the Book of Hymns does not itself always use the same variant.
As an example of the way in which these families are used, "to milk" is "melgo". "Milk" (the noun) is "nelgo". "Milky" (and at least potentially "milkily") is "njelgo". It could also be "nwelgo", although "njelgo" is preferred. This demonstrates several principles of Kwenydynu. First, the verb is considered the first form. Second, the modifier is based on the noun form rather than the verb form. Third, there are sometimes several choices for a mutation, but one is frequently the preferred one.
Prepositions
Prepositions describe relationships between nouns. They can be temporal, spatial, or figurative. They follow the verb and precede the noun to which they refer. They are also used as verb tenses, in which case they precede the verb.
Prepositions can not be mutated.
No distinction is made between time and space; "in" a house ("ny domo") is the same as "in" (Kwenydynu uses this rather than "on") a day ("ny hamer").
There are actually two words for "in," one from Proto-Tua ("en") and one from Hiladynu ("so"). They are used interchangably, except that "en" is the only one used for the present tense.
Syntax
Word order is very rigid. The only exception is that a noun preceded by a preposition which shows its function in the sentence may be put after the verb for emphasis.
The basic word order is VP + SP. That is, the verb comes first, and the object is considered to be part of that verb.
In a more expanded form:
(Mood) + (Tense) + Verb + (Adverb) + (Object) + (Object modifier) + (Subject) + (Subject Modifier). This makes Kwenydynu look like a VOS language, which is a very rare kind. However, that is an illusion from the point of view of a native speaker. The primary element in a sentence is a verb, but the object is considered to be part of the verb, since the object is a necessary part of describing what is going on. From a Kwenydynu point of view, then, the order is OV.
Relative clauses
Many constructions that in English would be relative clauses are handled by the moods in Kwenydynu. Others that in English would require the use of a pronoun are expressed as adverbial phrases. For example:
"The man I see." -- "Wiro nas dho sam". Literally, "The man on see I."
"The man whom I saw" -- "Wiro py nas dho sam". Literally, "The man past-tense on see I."
"The man who sees me." -- "Wiro en dho sam." Literally, "The man in sees me."
Verbs
There are no morphological changes for tense, mood, or person. Tenses are formed with prepositions. Although it is easiest for English speakers to think of the tenses and moods as modifying the verb, it in fact modifies the entire sentence, except in cases where there is a subordinate clause with its own tense. However, nouns, or even adjectives, can have their own tense where it differs from that of the verb.
"Sy" ("to be") is only rarely used with a modifier. Instead a verb form is used which is a softened form of the modifier. For example, instead of "An sy makhit sam" for "I am ticklish", common usage is "An vakhit sam". Of course, the belief is that the softened form was the original. "Sy" is mostly used with a noun. "I am a man" is thus "An sy wiro sam". It is at least theoretically possible to say "An whiro sam", but that is not done in practice.
Since adjectives are considered to be modifications of verbs, all adjectives have a verbal form. In most cases, this can be translated as “be [adjective].” For instance, “kwijeto” is “happy,” and it’s considered to have been formed from “khwijeto," "be happy,” and there’s as a noun form “gwijeto,” which means “happiness.”
The most common way of saying “X is Y” is to use the verb: “Be-Y X.” So “The man is happy” would most commonly be expressed as “Khwijeto poma” “Be-happy man.” However, it’s possible to express it as “Sy kwijeto poma,” “Is happy man.” A third way to express this is to use the noun form with the verb “have;” Have Noun Subj.” So we would have “Rhai gwijeto poma” “Has happiness man.”
Past: Py
Past Ending: Wy (“at, reaching”)
Past Originating: Pro (“from”)
Past Continuing: Pythi (Past + “during”)
Present: En (Freqently omitted, esp. before "sy") ("In")
Present Ending: Nas ("On")
Present Originating: Au ("Away From")
Present Continuing: Thi (“During”)
Future: Da ("To")
Future Ending: Lo ("Beyond")
Future Originating: Anga ("Into")
Future Continuing: Shos (“Again”)
&nb sp; Tense Emphatic - Reduplicated tense. For example, "Enen"--"In the present, not otherwise."
An Ending tense is one where the action indicated began earlier than the basic time, but ended in the basic time. An Originating tense is one in which the action indicated begins in the basic time and continues on from that. The simple tense may be translated either by the English simple tense or the English progressive; the incompleteness of the Ending and Originating tenses does not equate to the progressive.
If the tense is the same throughout an instance of connected text it is usually given only before the first sentence. Tense is also omitted in prayers, poems, and stories unless the tense varies from the historical present. Poems may, however, use the tense, and even include it before every sentence, for aesthetic reasons. If there is a modifier indicating the time an action occurred, the tense (if a simple one) is omitted. Thus “Gwem gyzhes sam,” “I went yesterday,” literally “Go yesterday I.”
Indefinite time Nu
This tense is used in prayers and stories to describe the present time within the composition. The English equivalent is the past tense. It is also used in religious compositions to show that an event is not considered to have happened at any particular time. In such compositions it may be combined with the continuent preposition "Ci", to indicate an event that is considered to be existing at all times. “Ci” may also be used on its own.
Imperative Opi (“at”) (Not always used; subject unecessary if understood.)
Polite Imperative Kwopi ("Kw" (subjunctive) + "At") Necessary imperative “Llopi” This is used by a superior to an inferior. Note that it is the same as a combination of the preferential mood and “opi.”
The future is used only for cases in which it is extremely likely that the future event will indeed happen. If such a certainty is not possible, a subjunctive is used instead.
If the tense is the same throughout a sentence it need only be given once, even if there is more than one verb. The tense is frequently omitted if it is the same as the preceding sentence or is understood. Tense is also omitted in prayers, poems, and stories unless the tense varies from the historical present. If there is a modifier indicating the time an action occurred, the tense (if a simple one) is omitted.
Moods:
Active Tense + verb
Passive Tense + verb + "Nas" ("On") + object + "Haga" (Agental With) + subject. There need not be a subject.
Declarative:
&n VTense + Ver + VMod + DO + DO Mod. + "no" + Ind. Obj. + IO modifier +Subj. +Subj. Mod. (Unlike the English "to,:" the indirect object identifier "no" is not optional.)
Imperative:
Opi + VTense + Verb + VMod. + Prep. + Ind. Obj. + IO Mod. + Dir. Obj. + DO Mod. (Subject understood. May be included after Verb Mod. if not. Note that an imperative sentence may be in any tense.)
Interrogative:
If a question word (who, what, etc.) is used, it replaces the subject in the declarative word order. If no question word is, the sentence starts with "Kwas" and then follows the declarative order. With "kwadh," "when," a tense is not normally used.
"Kwo(m)" tense + verb. This a modified form of the the interrogative prefix with an extended form before consonants.
Conditional - When this, then that. Condition + "Shem" + result. For example, "Whenever he comes home I see him"--Nas fo shem dho sam." If the conditional and hypothetical are both used the meaning becomes "if this, then that." For example, "If he comes home I will see him"-- "Kwen nas fo shem dho sam."
Emphatic "Pif" + tense + verb. (Possibly a reduplicated "opi.")
Preferential Llo. This mood can essentially be translated as “if things are as they should be, either from natural law, other law, or simply my own desire, VERB will happen.” It is most easily translated as “should.”
Opative “Mo” (“towards”) This represents desire.
Iterative “Caha” (“over”). Repeated action.
Reportative “Sha" This is used when someone is reporting an action without taking responsibility for it. It may be used for quotations, or for something like the English expression “They say that...”
Mood markers only affect the following verb; subsequent ones return to the indicative.
Participles
Present participles are formed with “no (“on”) + verb.” Past participles are formed with the adjective form of the verb preceded by “njo” (“behind”). Future participles are formed as “vigh (“forward”) + verb. Participles can be formed from intransitive verbs, in which case they are to be translated with a pronoun phrase.
Examples:
The man who walked was happy.
Py kwijeto njo kengh poma.
Past tense particle + be happy + past participle marker + walked + man.
Participles can have other modifiers: subjunctive, optative, progressive, etc. The appropriate particle follows the tense particle. For example:
The many who was walking was happy.
Py kwijeto njo wy kengh poma.
Past tense particle + verb + past participle particle + past ending particle + walk + man.
Gerunds are just participles.
Kwenydynu doesn’t have infinitives. Where English would use an infinitive, a participle is used. For instance, “I love to walk” would be “Lhuv no gheng sam” “[Love present participle particle] walk I.”
Auxiliary verbs (can, need, want) are followed by participles. "I can sing."--"Magh no somen sam."
This construction is used to express the immediate future, what in English would be formed with “going to.” Such a sentence begins “sy en naikh” (“to be” plus the present participle of “to become”), followed by a subsidiary verb. “I am going to sing” – “Sy en naikh an somen sam.”
Nouns
Many nouns are formed from verbs. They may be formed by several methods:
1. Resultant nouns (nouns that arise as a result of an action) may be formed by adding "po-" as a prefix.
2. Objective nouns (nouns upon which an action is performed) may be formed by adding "na-" as a prefix.
3. Gerundal nouns are formed by preceding a verb stem with "e(d)".
4. Agental nouns are formed by adding -(o)th(o) as a suffix.
5. Most nouns, are formed by moving to the "high" end of the consonant series to which the beginning sound of the verb belongs. Nouns that we would translate as having a "-ness" at their ends are formed by moving to the top of the consonant series.
There are no genders or cases. However, living beings are considered to have a gender for purposes of replacement by pronouns. The female form is standard except for animals with horns, antlers, or tusks, and certain plants. Case is indicated by sentence order and by prepositions. Genitive case is formed by putting the possessor in front of the possessed, with "rhai" ("to have") between them, if the possessed is adherent, and "sy" ("is") if it is inherent. Thus "wiro rhai hekwo," "the man's horse," but "wiro sy rymo," "the man's arm."
Plurals of nouns are formed by following the noun with "vy." This a separate word, not an inflection, and as a result it does not affect the accent pattern of the original word. Plurals are not necessary when a modifier is used that indicates plurality. Thus "widha" ("the tree"), "widha vy" ("the trees), "widha ter" ("three trees"). This applies to numbers and to other modifiers such as "misa" ("most"), "megha" ("many"), "kokom" ("all"), etc.
Another particle, "sha," is used to imply great multiplicity. In this sense it means "as many as possible, under the circumstances." It may be used, for instance, in addressing a group: "wiro sha, opi kwa sam" means "all of you men, come with me." It is used as well in non-specific contexts to mean "all that is at all possible." For instance, "sy gweter Hyhavertor swa": "There are four (and only four) High Priests." Note that in this case "four," ordinarily "kweter," is being treated as the subject of the sentence, and thus becomes a noun, "gweter." Even if the accompanying number is used as a modifier, "sha," unlike "vy," may still be used.
An interesting use of this is found in the Book of Hymns, where "zy sha" is used to mean "the Universe;" that is, "all that is (and can be)." A parallel construction is "thotho sha," "all that is done (and can be done)." A combination of these, "zy kwe thotho sha," means "absolutely everything."
Nouns can have tenses. For instance, "py mynati zhe domo fo" means "he thought about a house," but "mynati zhe py domo fo" means "he thinks about a house which no longer exists."
Pronouns
I -> Sam
You (s.) -> Wo
He -> Fo
She -> Soth
It, One -> Van
We inclusive -> Wa
We exclusive -> Na
We double -> Dwa
You plural -> Wy
You double -> Tywy
They (m.) -> Fa
They (f.) -> Sath
They (n.) -> Va
The possessive is formed as if they were ordinary nouns.
No reflexive form is used unless needed for emphasis.It is formed by intensifying the pronoun (Sysam, Wywo, etc.).
The referential pronoun
This is the term used in Kwenydynu for the word Kwengdynu"dad", best translated in English as "each other." For instance, "They saw each other"--"Wes dhoh dad foma dad."
Modifiers
Modifiers follow the thing modified. There is no distinction between adjectives and adverbs; adjectives are modifiers which follow nouns and abverbs are modifiers which follow verbs.
If a modifier is preceded by "sy" that indicates that a specifically inherant quality is being described. A specifically adherent quality can be preceded by "nas." Neither of these is very common except in philosophical discussions.
Verbs become object modifiers merely by following a noun and operative adjectives by being preceded by "en." Nouns become modifiers by changing the initial consonant to an unvoiced or fricative form. Verbs may also be changed to modifiers by going through the noun phase first, of course.
The comparative is formed by adding the particle "vy" (the same as the plural marker for nouns) after the modifier.
Superlatives are formed by adding the particle "sha" (the same as the multiple marker for nouns) after the modifier.
Modifers may have tenses. For instance, ‘py mynati zhe domo raudho fo" means "he thought about a red house," but "mynati zhe domo py raudho fo" means "he thinks about a house which is no longer red."
Negation
A "ne" at the beginning of the sentence modifies everything in the sentence. If a single element is negated but the sentence as a whole is positive, "ne" is used as a modifier. Compare "ne rhai neleg sam," "I don't have milk" with "rhai neleg ne sam," "I have no milk." In the first sentence the emphasis is on the lacking, while in the second it is on the thing which is lacked. Both may be used at the same time to emphasize the negating; "ne rhai neleg ne sam," "I don't have no milk," is perfectly grammatically in Kwenydynu, and means, "I am not in possession of particularly milk."
Articles
There are no articles.
Conjunctions
And -> Adh.
And -> Kwe. This is used between nouns in a list, and "adh" is used to link other types of words, or phrases. For instance, "Py somen adh wev fo" -- "he sang and danced," but "Py sy somentho kwe wevtho fo" -- he was a singer and a dancer."
Or -> Ol.
And/or -> Dor.
Either/or -> Lol...lol. Used when it is wanted to emphasize alternatives. Examples: "Either he or she did it."--Wes je ho lol fom lol when. " "Either he did it or she did it."--"Wes je ho lol fom ho lol when ho."
Numbers
Numbers are treated as modifiers, following the thing modified. They may also be used as nouns. If they modify a noun no plural is needed on the noun.
Cardinals: .............................. Ordinals:
1 - Sem ................................... Semto, Pair
2 - Dwo ................................... Dwo
3 - Ter ..................................... Terto
4 - Kweter .............................. Kweto
5 - Penekh ................................ Penyko
6 - Swekh ................................. Sweto
7 - Sepytem ............................. Septo
8 - Keto ................................... Keto
9 - Newem ............................. Newemo
10 - Dekem ............................ Dekemo
11 - Deksem .......................... Deksyemto
12 - Dekydwo
13 - Dekyter
20 - Dwotem (or Wikimti) .... Dwotemto (or Wikimto)
21 - Dwotemsem
30 - Tertem
40 - Kwetem
50 - Penytem
60 - Swetem
70 - Sepytem
80 - Ketotem
90 - Newetem
100 - Deketom
1000 - Ghesel
Dozen: Zherkh (actually 13, rather than 12)
Question Words
Who -> Kwo
What ->Kwe
Why (purposal) -> Kwes
Why (causal) -> Kwer
When -> Kwadh
Which -> Kwoko
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