Relocation

I have relocated this blog to my new Conlangs Blog, at sliv-conlang.blogspot.com.

This will allow me to post stuff about my other conlangs as well.

I will no longer post anything here.

Καтαᴧυ

Following in the footsteps of David J. Peterson, whom I deeply respect, I will post cat related words, sentences and photos of my two cute cats (Noortje and Streepje) every tuesday! This will help increase my vocab, as well as allow me to keep posting on a consistent basis.

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

Καтαᴧυ is a combination of καтιc ("cat") and -αᴧυ, the suffix meaning "-day" (from καᴧυ). Coincidentally, it is also a slight anagram of ακтαᴧυ, the word for the second day of a week, or "tuesday", named after the God of War, Aκтοр. Furthermore, he is the god of felines.

And now, for some introduction:

My cats are named Noortje and Streepje, or Нοртα Cтрeπακε, they are around 10 years old, enjoy being petted, love being fed and spend whole days sleeping on beds, in gardens or in baskets of freshly washed clothing.

On here you see Streepje, named after his many stripes (I guess), relaxing in a small sunlit part of our back garden.

And here is her sister, Noortje (supposedly named when Sweden was playing football, but I was 5 or 6 at the time, so I can not verify that). Isn't she cute? She's just about to sprint to the kitchen, having smelled my father opening a package of minced meat. I think they are secretly spoiled by my mother when she's cooking.

Oh, and if you're thinking that they look so much a like, I can tell them apart perfectly well. Not only by the little stripe/speck next to the nose that Noortje has and Streepje hasn't (ironic, eh?). I can tell by looking only at their tail, their hair, their meowing, the way they move etc. On top of that, one can ofcourse tell by their completely different characters. Noortje is quite shy, whereas Streepje will just pounce your lap and demands you to sit still, being utterly surprised when you actually move for something as trivial as sipping your tea. How rude some guests can be.

And know, a test! Which one is sleeping (or pretending to sleep, as another photograph taken moments later reveals) contentfully in this picture?

Journey through Lurionas (Story)

I am going to write a story in lurioneski, both to improve my vocabulary and to further work out my conworld and conreligion. It is written by a Karvokan called Παυcαнιο (Pausanio; reference, anyone?) son of Fastizar ("thickface"). I'll post the first few lines here, where he explains why he is making his journey.

Παцcαнιοц Φαcтιzαрοцι Καрцοκαα

by Pavsanio Fastizarovi from Karvoka

Ποιᴧειc мε eκεκαcтрαc цαтαυн мε тαтιεн διεн ποιωнтιεн "ἑδε" ἁυтιεc αнαᴧeгοнтιεc "нε οιδιc?" Ι eαнαᴧeгω "гαр нε οιδω." Mεтα ὡc нε πειнοнтιωc ιнοc, цαᴧтε ῾eι ᴧαнгει ᴧeгοмα, αυтрιωc ᴧυрιοнωc cмικрυ οιδωмα.

(...)

Many had asked me why I did this journey, "or", answering themselves, "don't you know?" I answered "because I don't know." Because they didn't understand, [I said] that we, although we speak one language, know so little of the other luriones.

(...)

---
Edit: more paragraphs of this story will be posted under the tag 'diu'.

Λυрιοнιε Тeωнυ - Lurion Religion

The lurion religion is a polytheism, consisting of 7 main gods (тeec), 2 hypergods (αβωнтeec; 'top gods') and maybe some subgods (βαᴧιцωнтeec; 'below gods').

First, there was only nothing and the god of 'nothingness', Нαο. Then, there was everything and the god of everything, Eo. For ages, Нαo and Eo kept replacing eachother out of existence. Finally, there was balance and the god of balance, Δрαгο. From him came the other 6 gods:

Xωтαнο was the earth and the planets. On this earth Cιцο, air, formed. Then, Ἱδοр, water, and from this soil came the flora and fauna, Ἁcмο. To the humans did Eο give intelligence and the god Mαο, and Нαο gave them war and the god Aκтοр.

Whether or not these gods actually exist in my conworld, I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter, for the only way I will use them, is in myths and stories.
The 7 gods have the ability to become antropomorf, thus take the shape of humans. There are also mythological creatures that are antropomorf, for instance minotaurs (βοцαнтрec) and satyres (мεκαнтрec).

Here is a summary about the 7 тeec.

Δрαгο
God of Balance
He wears a robe and a hood, and has dragon wings on his back. When in battle, he might also have a dragons head, making him a δрαгαнтεр, i.e. a man with the head and wings of a dragon.

Xωтαнο
God of Earth and Death
He is a βοцαнтεр, a man with the head of a bull. He wears only a δοрιнιε ᴧυрιαδ (dorinian luriad*), and carries a double-faced axe, that he uses to open the skulls of the deceased (by age or disease) to let their soul be absorbed by the earth. Xotano collects these souls and returns them to Drago.

Aκтοр
God of Fire and War
He is a καтαнтεр, i.e. he has the head of a tiger or panther. He wears a dorinian luriad or trousers. He carries a sword in one hand. Victims of war should be cremated (not buried).

Ἱδοр
God of Water and Wealth
When he is in the water, he might be a ποcκαнтεр (a man with a fish's tail). When on land, he wears trousers and a naupilan luriad. He carries a sword and a shield. Men that die on sea should be delivered to the sea.

Cιцο
God of Air, Light and Crafts
He is a цιδαнтεр; he has the head and wings of a bird (often falcon). He wears trousers and a lutian luriad, and carries a bow and arrow.

Ἁcмο
God of Nature, Life and Beauty
The youngest of the gods, he has the appearance of a 16 year old boy, although sometimes he is a мεκαнтεр (having goat's legs). He always wears a hood and often a robe, to prevent mortals from becoming enchanted by his beauty. He is often accompanied by a falcon or a sparrow. He carries a knive and sometimes ropes.

Mαο
God of Night and Wisdom
He wears trousers or is a cεрπαнтεр (i.e. has a snake's tail), a lutian luriad and sometimes a cape. He carries a spear, which he sometimes throws from the sky (i.e. lightning).

(* For more information about the luriad - the lurion national clothing - please read the post above this one.)

Introduction to my Conworld

I'm working on a conworld as a setting for Lurion, here's a crude drawing I made (with pencil, finishing touch with the pc); click for a bigger version.

Basically, Lurion is spoken in the Λυрιοнαc (Lurionas), which is not so much a country as the name the citizens of numerous cities and villages call the lands they live in. Everyone that is not from the Lurionas is considered a βαрβαрιc (barbaris, i.e. barbarian). The places outside Lurionas are generally called the Βαрβαрαc.

There are four cities or ποᴧεc (poles) so far: Lutia, Dorina, Naupila and Karvoka. Lutia is the most scientific and philosophical; Dorina is quite a military city; Naupila is a trading city with enormous docks; the area around Karvoka is quite cold.

The Luriones do not often come in contact with the Fartes, let alone the Gerimes, when they do it most likely is to battle, although some trading does occure.

More will follow on these cultures as I develop it.

Participles

Forms

Any verb can be substantivised (is that a word?) very easily, i.e. by adding the affix -οнт and a noun/adjective suffix.
E.g.: ειδι ("he sees") > ειδοнтιc ("he who sees / the see-er"); гυнαc δεδαcεc ("women will (hopefully) have given") > δεδαcοнтιαc гυнαc ("the women who (hopefully) will have given").

Also, infinitives can be turned into nouns (and adjectives) simply by adding a neuter suffix. Here, the nominative and accusative are the same as the infinitive:
-ειн
-ειнου
-ειнει
-ειн

Use

Participles are used in many more cases that most modern natlangs. For instance, participles can be used as any wordgroup in a sentence, i.e. subject, object etc.
Also, participle adjectives can be used to give extra information about any wordgroup in a sentence.

Verb moods: Imperative, Infinitive and Coniunctive

Verb have a number of moods, including the indicative, imperative, infinitive and coniunctive. I will go through these four here.

Indicative

No specific affix.

Is used to state actions in the present, past or future. Also used to describe habits.

Imperative

-εтι for singular and dual;
-εтε for plural;
-υcтε for general advise

Is used to give orders or give advise. The plural form is used for all groups (thus more than one person/object), except when the subject is dual, e.g. (a pair of) eyes, legs, partners etc. The general form is used to advise people unknown to the speaker/writer, for instance in manuals or cooking books.

Infinitive

-ειн

Is used to describe the action on itself, e.g. Нιтω παнxοιн. - "I like to eat". The infinitive is actually a participle noun. (Also have a look at this post.)

Coniunctive

-e- or lengthening the root-vowel; e.g.: ἁπтω > ἁπтeω and cтω > cтαω (resp.)

Is used to state wishes, irrealities and possibilities.

Verb tenses

There are 9 tenses in Lurion, combining 2 elements, time and state.

Praesens, Aorist and Futurum (Present, Past and Future)
Simple, Imperfect and Perfect

The time-part is very easy; praesens is used for actions in the present, aorist in the past and futurum for actions that will (or might) happen in the future.

The state-part is a bit more complicated. Simple is used for describing (consecutive) actions, imperfect for continuous actions and perfect for completed actions.

Praesens and Simple have no affices.
Aorist adds the prefix e-, futurum the suffix -εc.
Imperfect adds the suffix -εн, perfect a reduplication of the first syllable (e.g. δω > δεδω).

E.g.:
eδεδω - "I had given" (past perfect)
οιοιcιc - "You (sg) will have thought" (future perfect)
eοιδαнιтε - "You (pl) were knowing" (past imperfect)
It must be noted that the latter is highly unusual, because it is quite odd to 'know continuously'. Something like "although you knew" would be translated as цαᴧтε eοιδιтε.

Lets look at the semantical differences between the tenses:

Λeгω, δω e φεᴧιω. - "I speak, I give and I (make) love."; these are all habits.
Eᴧeгω, eδω e eφεᴧιω. - "I spoke, I gave and I loved."; these are 3 actions in chronological order.
Λeгω e οιнω. - "I speak and I am thinking"; i.e. 'I speak while I am thinking'.
Δεδωмι ᴧυβрεн e ᴧeгω. - "I have been given a book and I speak"; i.e. 'I speak, (while) having/owning a book'.

Noun and Adjective Conjugations

The conjugations of nouns and adjectives are pretty much the same, with a couple of exeptions.

		g	m	f	n
sg	nom	ιc/ι	ο	α	-/ε
	acc	ιн	οн	αн	εн
	gen	ου	ου	α	ου
	dat	ει	oι	αι	ει
pl	nom	ec	oc	αc	εc
	acc	εc	oc	αc	εc
	gen	ωc	ωc	ωc	ωc
	dat	οιc	οιc	αιc	ειc

The general singular nominative nouns end in -ιc, adjectives in -ι, neuter sg. nom. nouns can end in a lot of ways, adj. in -ε.
The genitive is stressed, e.g. гυнα as in gúna is nominative, as in guná, it is genitive.

Also, all adjectives can be formed from nouns by adding the infix -ι-. E.g.: гυнα (woman) > гυнιι (female, feminine).
Where conjugations overlap, for instance in the plural genitive -ωc, and the gender must be specified, an infix can be added to nouns, being -ο- for masculine, -α- for feminine and -e- for neuter words. E.g.: гυнοωc, meaning 'male woman', i.e. a very feminine man, a 'queer' (as an insult to homosexuals, although my conpeople are most unlikely to make such an insult) or sometimes a transvestite.

Common neuter nom. sg. conjugations are -ε, -υ and -εр. The latter turns into -р in all cases except the nom. sg., e.g. ᴧυβεр, ᴧυβрεн (book).

There is also a dual, which has for all genders the same 4 suffices. More on the dual later, as it also involves some explanation.

Cases explained

Lurion has 4 different cases, all quite commonly known.

Nominative
Used to indicate the subject and all nouns and adjectives that are attributes to the subject.

Aᴧεκcαнδεр Meгιι нe ᴧeгι. - Alexander the Great said nothing.

Accusative
Used to indicate the object and its attributes. Also, it is used after verbs and prepositions to indicate direction and goal.

Δαн ειδι καтιн нιтιιн. - Daan sees the nice cat.

Παтрο ιι Γαᴧᴧιαн. - Father goes to France.

Genitive

Used to indicate possession and to indicate origin and reason.

Єιδιc καтιн мου? - Do you see my cat?

Zeнιc Aφрικαα ιι. - The foreigner comes from Afrika.

Dative

Used to indicate indirect objects and location, enviroment, method and tools.

Δω φοβυεн мεтαι. - I give fruit to mother.

Λeгεc ᴧαнгει zeнιει. - They speak in a foreign language.

Єιδεтι ὁπευ. - Look with your eyes.

Ofcourse, some words might feature exceptions etc, but these are the general rules.

Genders explained

There are 4 genders in Lurion, being General, Masculine, Feminine and Neuter.

Masculine and Feminine are quite simpel: they are used to indicate the physical gender of a creature. For instance παтрο (father) is masculine, and мεтα (mother) is feminine. Also, Feminine is used for geological names, e.g. Ἁрᴧεмα (Haarlem) or Βрιтαннια (Brittain, Lurion's common name for the UK).

General is used to indicate living creatures without specifying their physical gender, for instance jobs, animals and last names, e.g. δαмκιc (servant), κυнιc (dog) and Ιнт'Цεᴧδ (In 't Veld).

Neuter is used for everything else, for instance objects, languages or concepts. E.g.: ὁικe (house), ᴧυрιοнεcκι (Lurion) and εтεгκε (wire, but also metaphorically thread or blog).

Lurion's genders are very interchangeable, and this is way normally only the General or Neuter is shown in lists of words. For instance, βοc (cow), βοцο (bull), βοцα (cow (f)).

Verb declensions

The verb declensions are the same for all tenses. Here are the active and passive declensions:

Active
-ω
-ιc
-ι
-οмα
-ιтε
-εc

Passive
-οмι
-εтαc
-εтα
-εтοн
-εтαтε
-εтοн

For instance, the 3rd person singular passive of ᴧεгειн ("to say"; root: ᴧεг-) is ᴧεгεтα ("he is said"), and the 2nd person plural active of мεнειн ("to be"; root: мεн-) is мεнιтε ("you are" (pl.)).

Alphabet and Phonology

Edited as of June the 26th.

Let us start with the alphabet and phonology of Lurion. As you might guess, it is ancient greek based, so a lot of graphemes might look the same. However, some are not, for instance the ε, which is a short E (e.g. as in 'let') in Lurion, but is a long E in ancient greek (e.g. as the 'a' in 'make').

The phonemes are shown in IPA.

Consonants

Π, π - [p]
Β, β - [b ]
Т, т - [t]
Δ, δ - [d]
Κ, κ - [k]
Γ, г - [g]
М, м - [m]
Н, н - [n]
Λ, ᴧ - [l]
Р, р - [r]
Φ, φ - [f]
Ц, ц - [v]
C, c - [s]
Z, z - [z/dz/tz]
X, x - [x]

῾ - [h]

Vowels


A, α - [a] [ɐ]
E, e - [e]
Є, ε - [ɛ] [ə]
Ι, ι - [i:] [ɪ]
Ο, ο - [o] [ɔ]
U, υ - [y] [ʏ]
W, ω - [o:]
Capital, small - [long/stressed] [short/unstressed]

When a vowel is followed by more than one consonant or when it is the last vowel, it is short, if it is followed by one consonant or none, it is long. The E and W are always stressed.

Diphthongs

οι, υι, αι - [oj], [uj], [aj]
ει [ɛi]
ου [u ]
αυ [ʌʋ]
ευ [ø]

Therefor, these are not diphthongs:
ωι [o.i], eι [e.i], ωυ [o.y], eυ [e.y]

Lurion

Here I will add information on my new conlang, Lurion, as I am working it out.

Lurion is inspired by (ancient) greek, but is also heavily a priori.

Please tell me if the letters below turn up as spaces or blocks or something different than they are supposed to.

δαφ'εрοр῾εмzцἑὁἱ῾UἹἉzπᴧᴧᴧ

Thank you for your interest.