This text is part of the first Inverse Relay, in which the previous participant sends you a text in your own conlang. There are no grammar notes or glossaries passed along; after all, it's your language! :) We made it a requirement of participation that your language be well-documented, either online or in documents that you emailed to the previous participant before the start of the relay. As such, only relatively mature conlangs were involved in this Inverse Relay.
The original Asha'ille text was written by Elliott Lash on August 3rd, 2007. I translated from his Asha'ille into Kamakawi, David Peterson's conlang on August 5th. The analyzed Asha'ille that you see on this page, however, is the "corrected" Asha'ille that I wrote, based on Elliott's text. I have included explanatory paragraphs interspersed between the sentences.
The Asha'ille text has been updated to reflect the spelling reform that occurred after the relay.
My Kamakawi contains much the same kind of errors as does Elliott's Asha'ille. I will link to David's analysis when he puts it online.
Orthographic
Asha'ille
[1] Ayana ne en̤i jho sarn. [2] Keyanu ne rékretîl. [3] Pithevni vesaer kunath esún k'. [4] Jhor en̤i t'îroyî. [5] Arîn kénjeni ne das chiróm, [6] kret vesîk mirv kuna k', t'ves kénkeni n'om. [7] Én'i ne chipal shola te nyaiòl. [8] Vel en̤i mirv cchiyan 'sa mleni ejh. [9] Dirshavejh sshak vëp esejh énîllev n'yaiòl k'? [10] Sshavni sshak kénkeni ne das chiróm! [11] Sshavejh sshak mirvenil nom [12] vedá vesaer mlecîm feilán, mlunsa eseire k'kedá.English
[1] This is a story about a boy. [2] Once upon a time, [3] the boy rested beneath night sky. [4] He was a nightwatcher. [5] He was trying to be able to see all the stars, [6] but then came night, and he couldn't see them. [7] He began to feel sad and melacholy. [8] A young woman came to him (she was his beloved). [9] She said, "Why are you feeling melancholy?" [10] He said, "I can't see all the stars!" [11] She said, "They should come [12] from beneath their house's darkness."Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's)
[1] Ayana n'eni jho sarn. [2] Keyanu ne rékretil, [3] pas pithevni vesaer kunath esún ke. [4] Jhor'iroyi t'eni. [5] Arin kénjeni ne das chiróm, [6] kret'vesik mirv kuna k', t'kénkeni nom. [7] Eisarvni énillev ne shola te nyai'ol. [8] Mirv cchiyan vel'eni k' (jhor'cchiyan t'ejhsa). [9] Dirshavejh ssha vëp'esni énillev ne nyai'ol kep? [10] Sshavpeni ssha kénkeni ne das chiróm! [11] Sshavpejh ssha mirvenil [12] vedá vesaer eseire mlo feilán kedá k'.Kamakawi (Mine)
[1] I ikeve'a popataki. [2] [3] Ka helaumi lea e'i ele uomoko. [4] Ke lea i pelinute uomoko. [5] Ke mata lea i uila inivie tou uoi, [6] e ka ale uomoko ko, e ka mata lea i uamo tou oku. [7] Ke hekopu lea i kelea. [8] Ka ale eine poke nea i taketuli oipataki ko. [9] Ke ulaya nea ti, "A kopu ia i kelea koku ai." [10] Ka hekala lea ti, "A mata ei i uila inivie tou oku!" [11] Ka hekala nea ti, "Au male mimu uamo [12] popale kolu."Parts of Speech Legend
- Q
- question
- adj
- adjective
- adv
- adverb
- asp
- aspect
- conj
- conjunction
- cop
- copula
- deix
- deixis
- mi
- modifier
- mood
- mood
- n
- noun
- part
- particle
- pl
- plural
- poss
- possessive
- pro
- pro-form
- prsn
- person
- quo
- quotation
- v
- verb
Interlinear
orthographic version |
morphemic breakdown |
IPA pronunciation |
part of speech |
translation |
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): translation |
Kamakawi (Mine): translation |
Ayana | ne | en̤i | jho | sarn. |
ayana | ne | en̤i | jho | sarn |
ɑˈjɑnɑ | nɛ | ɛnːˈi | ʒo | sɑɹn |
deix | art | pro | cop | n |
SUBJECTS | OBJ | self | yes | boy |
This is a story about a boy. | ||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Ayana n'eni jho sarn. | ||||
Kamakawi (Mine): I ikeve'a popataki. |
While in almost all other cases ne en'i is contracted to n'i, the ayana deixis word does not contract the ne.
Keyanu | ne | rékretîl. |
keyanu | ne | rékretîl |
kɛˈjɑnu | nɛ | ˈɹɛkɹɛtɪl |
n | art | n |
TIME | OBJ | long ago |
Once upon a time, | ||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Keyanu ne rékretil, |
Pithevni | vesaer | kunath | esún | k'. | ||
pithev | -ni | vesaer | kuna | -îth | esún | ke |
piˈθɛv | ni | vɛˈseɹ | ˈkunɑ | ɪθ | ɛˈsun | kɛ |
v | prsn | adv | n | adj | n | adv |
rest | (self) | under | night | ADJ | sky | (end-ADV) |
the boy rested beneath night sky. | ||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): pas pithevni vesaer kunath esún ke. | ||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ka helaumi lea e'i ele uomoko. |
Because the time deixis already established that we are in the past tense, pas is not necessary. It's not ungrammatical, but it's stylistically non-standard.
Jhor | en̤i | t'îroyî. | |
jhor | en̤i | te | îroyî |
ʒoɹ | ɛnːˈi | tɛ | ɪˈɹojɪ |
cop | pro | conj | n |
EQUIV | self | and | nightwatcher |
He was a nightwatcher. | |||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Jhor'iroyi t'eni. | |||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ke lea i pelinute uomoko. |
There is much cultural significance surrounding the word îroyî. Discussion of this term and the associated cultural practices belongs in the Culture section of this site, but that document has not actually been written yet. :P Since there is no such discussion around the îroyîm̤da, Elliott would have had no way of knowing this particular word's significance. Even so, the rest of this text fits surprisingly well with Cresaean culture.
Arîn | kénjeni | ne | das | chiróm, | |||
arîn | kénîllev | -j- | -ni | ne | das | chiró | -îm |
ˈɑɹɪn | ˈkɛnɪlɛv | ʤ | ni | nɛ | dɑs | ʧiˈɹo | ɪm |
part | v | part | prsn | art | adj | n | pl |
try | see | able | (self) | OBJ | all | star | PL |
He was trying to be able to see all the stars, | |||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Arin kénjeni ne das chiróm, | |||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ke mata lea i uila inivie tou uoi, |
The -j- modifies the verb it binds to, in this case kénîllev. If you wanted to say that the boy was able to try to see (a funny phrasing, but maybe what you want to say if it was previously unclear whether the boy was blind, or wounded), you would say arînjo kén'i.
Note that this means jejherî́dîm can attached to certain adverbs, such as arîn, so long as an epenthetic -o is added.
kret | vesîk | mirv | kuna | k', | t'ves | kénkeni | n'om. | |||||
kret | vesîk | mirv | kuna | kesîk | te | ves | kénîllev | -k- | -ni | ne | no | -îm |
kɹɛt | ˈvɛsɪk | miɹv | ˈkunɑ | ˈkɛsɪk | tɛ | vɛs | ˈkɛnɪlɛv | k | ni | nɛ | no | ɪm |
conj | conj | v | n | adv | conj | conj | v | part | prsn | art | n | pl |
but | then | come | night | (end-then) | and | while | see | unable | (self) | OBJ | it | PL |
but then came night, and he couldn't see them. | ||||||||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): kret'vesik mirv kuna k', t'kénkeni nom. | ||||||||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): e ka ale uomoko ko, e ka mata lea i uamo tou oku. |
A minor, and undocumented, grammatical error: te cannot conjoin two independent clauses; you must use t'ves instead.
Én'i | ne | chipal | shola | te | nyaiòl. | |
énîllev | -ni | ne | chipal | shola | te | nyaiòl |
ˈɛnɪlɛv | ni | nɛ | ˈʧipɑl | ˈʃolɑ | tɛ | njɑi̯ˈʔol |
v | prsn | art | adj | n | conj | n |
feel | (self) | OBJ | half | sadness | and | melancholy |
He began to feel sad and melacholy. | ||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Eisarvni énillev ne shola te nyai'ol. | ||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ke hekopu lea i kelea. |
A more literal "fixing" of Elliott's Asha'ille would have been: Eisarvni ne énîllevon done shola nyaiòl. However, a more fluent translation of He began to feel sad and melancholy should use chipal with its incipient meaning.
Also, note that when an -îllev verb is shortened, it really wants an attached conjugation added, even if no subject change has happened since the last verb. While it's grammatical to say just én, for instance, it sounds funny, like something a foreigner would say.
Vel | en̤i | mirv | cchiyan | 'sa | mleni | ejh. | ||
vel | en̤i | mirv | cchiyan | alun- | -sa | ml-ml | -ni | ejh |
vɛl | ɛnːˈi | miɹv | ʧə̆ˈʧijɑn | ɑˈlun | sɑ | ml | ni | ɛʒ |
adv | pro | v | n | mi | mi | poss | prsn | n |
toward | self | come | young woman | PREV | 1 | (intangible possession) | (self) | beloved |
A young woman came to him (she was his beloved). | ||||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Mirv cchiyan vel'eni k' (jhor'cchiyan t'ejhsa). | ||||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ka ale eine poke nea i taketuli oipataki ko. |
Two things are non-standard — though completely grammatical — with Elliott's above translation. First, a one-word adverb (vel'en i) stylistically wants to precede the verb. Second, the parenthetical comment about the subject is more fluently translated as a description of the subject, either via egik or the more colloquial alunsa, used above in my version of the translation.
Presumably, Elliott's use of the pronoun ejhsa in place of the noun ejh, beloved, dear, was an accident on his part.
Dirshavejh | sshak | vëp | esejh | énîllev | n'yaiòl | k'? | ||||
dirshav | -ejh | sshak | vep | ¨ | esv | -ejh | énîllev | ne | nyaiòl | kep |
diɹˈʃɑv | ɛʒ | ʃə̆ˈʃɑk | vɛp | ɛsv | ɛʒ | ˈɛnɪlɛv | nɛ | njɑi̯ˈʔol | kɛp | |
v | prsn | quo | adv | Q | asp | prsn | v | art | n | adv |
ask | (beloved) | (end-quote) | because | Q (ablaut) | PRG | (beloved) | feel | OBJ | melancholy | (end-because) |
She said, "Why are you feeling melancholy?" | ||||||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Dirshavejh ssha vëp'esni énillev ne nyai'ol kep? | ||||||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ke ulaya nea ti, "A kopu ia i kelea koku ai." |
The word ssha is meant for direct quotations that do not end a sentence/utterance. The word ká'sshak ends such an embedded quotation. If the quotation ends the sentence, the word sshak is used instead. I didn't document this anywhere, however, so Elliott had no way of knowing this rule.
I assume that, in Elliott's translation where the girlfriend (or whatever) asks the boy why esni énillev, I am feeling, he actually meant for her to be asking the boy why he was feeling down. The ssha(k) introduces a direct quotation, and as such is relative to the speaker's perspective. So, she should have said esejh énillev, beloved is (you are) feeling.
Sshavni | sshak | kénkeni | ne | das | chiróm! | ||||
sshav | -ni | sshak | kénîllev | -k- | -ni | ne | das | chiró | -îm |
ʃə̆ˈʃɑv | ni | ʃə̆ˈʃɑk | ˈkɛnɪlɛv | k | ni | nɛ | dɑs | ʧiˈɹo | ɪm |
v | prsn | quo | v | part | prsn | art | adj | n | pl |
say | (self) | (end-quote) | see | unable | (self) | OBJ | all | star | PL |
He said, "I can't see all the stars!" | |||||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Sshavpeni ssha kénkeni ne das chiróm! | |||||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ka hekala lea ti, "A mata ei i uila inivie tou oku!" |
The past tense marker on the verb, -p-, is not necessary here. While normal verbs' changing of tense does need to be "reset", the tense within a direct quotation is assumed to be in the present relative to the overall tense, and so doesn't actually change the default tense of the main narrative.
Sshavejh | sshak | mirvenil | nom | |||
sshav | -ejh | sshak | mirv | -enil | no | -îm |
ʃə̆ˈʃɑv | ɛʒ | ʃə̆ˈʃɑk | miɹv | ɛnil | no | ɪm |
v | prsn | quo | v | mood | n | pl |
say | (beloved) | (end-quote) | come | should | it | PL |
She said, "They should come | ||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): Sshavpejh ssha mirvenil | ||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): Ka hekala nea ti, "Au male mimu uamo |
This last sentence is the one I'm least confident in translating; all the others were very straightforward, being essentially correct. This sentence, however, makes the most sense in context if I assume Elliott forgot to add a subject to the girl's quotation: Elliott's mirvenil..., I (or you, depending on context) should come..., probably meant to be mirvenil nom ('sa chiróm)..., they (the clouds) should come....
vedá | vesaer | mlecîm | feilán, | mlunsa | eseire | k'kedá. | |||||
vedá | vesaer | ml-ml | -ec | -îm | feilán | ml-ml | alun- | -sa | eseire | ke | kedá |
vɛˈdɑ | vɛˈseɹ | ml | ɛk | ɪm | feˈlɑn | ml | ɑˈlun | sɑ | ɛˈseɹɛ | kɛ | ˈkɛdɑ |
adv | adv | poss | prsn | pl | n | poss | mi | mi | n | adv | adv |
from | under | (intangible possession) | 3SN | PL | house | (intangible possession) | PREV | 1 | darkness | (end-ADV) | (end-from) |
from beneath their house's darkness." | |||||||||||
Asha'ille (Elliott Lash's): vedá vesaer eseire mlo feilán kedá k'. | |||||||||||
Kamakawi (Mine): popale kolu." |
I believe this is the first case of embedded possesion: their house's darkness. Their house would be mlecîm feilán; their darkness would be mlecîm eseire; the house's darkness would be mlo feilán eseire. I had no documented case of combining possessives, so Elliott's way of handling it makes perfect sense.
But I think I'll coin a new way of doing things, in this case. A cumbersome but grammatical way of getting the point across will be mlecîm feilán, mlo feilán eseire, literally their house, the house's darkness. The more fluent, "normal" phrasing will be mlecîm feilán, mlunsa eseire, literally their house, its darkness. The ability for alun- words to be combined with the ml-ml is new to Asha'ille grammar.
Glossary
¨ | Q. | Q (ablaut) |
alun- | mi. | PREV |
arîn | part. | try |
ayana | deix. | SUBJECTS |
cchiyan | n. | young woman |
chipal | n. | sprout |
chiró | n. | star |
das | adj. | all |
dirshav | v. | ask |
-ec | prsn. | 3SN |
-ejh | prsn. | (beloved) |
ejh | n. | beloved |
en̤i | pro. | self |
-enil | mood. | should |
énîllev | v. | feel |
eseire | n. | darkness |
esún | n. | sky |
esv | asp. | PRG |
feilán | n. | house |
-îm | pl. | PL |
îroyî | n. | nightwatcher |
-îth | adj. | ADJ |
-j- | part. | able |
jho | cop. | yes |
jhor | cop. | EQUIV |
-k- | part. | unable |
ke | adv. | (end-ADV) |
kedá | adv. | (end-from) |
kénîllev | v. | see |
kep | adv. | (end-because) |
kesîk | adv. | (end-then) |
keyanu | n. | TIME |
kret | conj. | but |
kuna | n. | night |
mirv | v. | come |
ml-ml | poss. | (intangible possession) |
ne | art. | OBJ |
-ni | prsn. | (self) |
no | n. | it |
nyaiòl | n. | melancholy |
pithev | v. | rest |
rékretîl | n. | long ago |
-sa | mi. | 1 |
sarn | n. | boy |
shola | n. | sadness |
sshak | quo. | (end-quote) |
sshav | v. | say |
te | conj. | and |
vedá | adv. | from |
vel | adv. | toward |
vep | adv. | because |
ves | conj. | while |
vesaer | adv. | under |
vesîk | conj. | then |