Virtual Verduria

Munkhâshi

© 2010 by Mark Rosenfelder · zompist.com

IntroductionBackgroundHighlights

PhonologyStressPhonotactics

Verbal morphologyRankThe simple presentPastFutureNegativeIterativeDirectionAffixesSubordinatorsAdjectivesAdjectivizers
Nominal morphologyTensePossessionPejorativesDiminutives and augmentativesDerivational affixes
DeicticsQuantifiersNumbersPrepositions

Sentence orderTopic and comment NP orderAppositives Auxiliaries
QuestionsYes-no questionsInterrogatives NegativesCoordination
SubordinationSentential objectsRelative clauses CausativesAdverbialsTime clausesThe calendarPlace clausesReason clauses

ExamplesLiturgyA Munkhâshi life
Lexicon


Introduction

Background

Munkhâshi (lok Munkhâsh) was the standard language of Munkhâsh, the ktuvok empire which was established in Z.E. -1360 in Demóshimor, the land between the two ktuvok habitats of Ereláe. The ancient name is Tmôtimor, ‘first home’, reflecting the fact that the Demoshi were the first humans in the empire, thus aways ranked above later conquests.

It’s a member of the Eynleyni language family; the name derives from ênleno ‘remote relative’, a term that reflects the Demoshi awareness that these were related peoples.

The empire slowly grew to rule all the Eynleyni peoples, and invaded Eretald in force in 440. They conquered most of the Monkhayu and Caďinorians and besieged Eleisa, but were slowly pushed back— a process that created the Caďinorian empire. They were expelled from Eretald in 1150, but engineered a resurgence in the 1600s, intervening in Xengiman as well. This provoked an alliance of the Caďinorians and Tžuro which finally destroyed the ktuvok empire and occupied the ktuvok swamps (1667).

See Munkhâsh in the Almeopedia for a fuller history
See “A Munkhâshi life” for a picture of classical Demoshi peasant society.
There were really several ancient Eynleyni languages; the state language was that of Demóshimor, but the one that was most familiar to the Caďinorians was that of the western Eynleyni, who inhabited what is now Sarnáe. This accounts for the discrepancy— unfortunately echoed in early Almeology— between proper names in this document and as reported in previous works, e.g. Kenshil vs. Khêvnil, Korkâsh vs. Korgâkh.

Highlights

Some highlights of Munkhâshi: Outsiders have often supposed that Munkhâshi is “the language of the ktuvoks” and was taught to the Eynleyni. However, the languages are known to precede the empire, and indeed there is evidence that they’re distantly related to the Qarau languages. The ktuvoks have their own languages; indeed, it’s said that these differ between Etmekâshdak and Etmekâshlim, the two ‘great wetlands’. Ktuvok speech is often described as whistling or sibilant, and it may be that Munkhâshi phonology has been modified under its influence.

The word ktuvok is not, as one might expect, Munkhâshi; it derives from Elkarîl. The Munkhâshi term is gotalh ‘holy ruler’.

Phonology

The sounds below are reconstructions, and thus precise phonetic and allophinic details are unavailable. The major sources are these:
labial dental palatal velar     vowels   
stops p t ch k i u
b d j g e o
affricates ts dz ê ô
fricatives th dh sh zh kh â a
nasals m n
liquids w l lh r
Most likely ch j were affricates [tʃ dʒ] rather than palatal stops [c ɟ], but they mostly pattern with the stops. (We also know that when morphological processes produce t + sh, the result was ch, e.g. zhêt ‘any’ + shil ‘place’ = zhêchil ‘anywhere’.

It’s clear that ts dz were affricates, but as neither Caďinor nor Cuêzi have any, their descriptions are somewhat fanciful. They certainly contrasted with ch j. The simplest interpretation is [ts dz].

We know that th dh kh had very similar values to Caďinor, thus [θ ð x]. We have attestations of sh transliterated š [ʃ] in Axunašin, e.g. Šulčei for Shultlhe ‘Forbidden Sea’.

Very likely w derives from an earlier *ph [f] or [ɸ].

Lh was likely a voiced lateral fricative [ɮ]. Both Caďinor and Cuêzi sources comment on the difficulty (and ‘ugliness’) of the sound. Dhekhnami sources give instructions on how to say it that are somewhat confused, but show that it’s not the same as modern tl [ɬ].

The vowels ê ô are fairly clearly [ɛ ɔ], as Cuêzi sources distinguish them though Caďinor sources merge them. Cuêzi Munxeas suggests [æ] for â.

There are no diphthongs; if one threatens to occur due to affixation, a -w- is inserted.

As there is no h sound, h always forms part of a digraph. (Digraphs have been used for Munkhâshi for the last thirty years of Almeology, mostly in order to make Munkhâshi/Dhekhnami words easily distinct from Verdurian. They do not reflect the nature of the Demoshi alphabet.)

Some Almean scholars assume that at least some modern Eynleyni features can be dated to the Munkhâshi period— e.g. the change of r to y after stops. But this is to confuse the comparative method with a time machine. We have no direct evidence for such early dates and often evidence against (e.g. the Caďinor attestation of Trêlag ‘Tyellakh’ as Trelagos).

Stress

Stress is generally placed on the first syllable of the root; thus:
Múnkhâsh
Tmótimor
ktúthen
‘please come’
jápachum
‘cried a lot’
dhméki
‘lake’
ínwisho
‘girl’
inínwisho
‘girls’
ultsár
‘mayor’
púdagno
‘Caďinorian’
bôtóchil ‘entrance’
Námpapshimnam ‘Axunai’
The suffix -álh is stressed; thus Gelálh, gotálh ‘ktuvok’.

As stress is predictable I usually indicate it only in geographical terms, which appear in contexts where a knowledge of Munkhâshi roots can’t be presumed: e.g. Tmótimor, Shkónodo.

Phonotactics

Syllables are generally of the form
(sh)C(C)(R)V(F)
where R is one of the liquids l r lh w, and F excludes the fricatives and affricates in the chart (i.e. ts/dz can’t occur syllable-finally, but ch/j can).

If an initial cluster appears, neither can be ch j, and the first can’t be a liquid.

A single vowel never occurs as a syllable, but the pattern

VC
occurs where the consonant is limited to nasals, liquids, or fricatives— a set that only partially matches the F class above. (Note that final fricatives are also found in the verbal conjugation.)

A peculiarity of Munkhâshi is that it allows clusters with unassimilated voicing contrasts, as in pdhot ‘be shamed’, gshum ‘be noisy’. This is explicitly noted by observers from Eretald, but they’ve all been assimilated or simplified in Dhekhnami.

Morphology

Munkhâshi has a fairly complicated morphology, expressing many things by affixes (including infixes) that other languages express via syntax.

Verbal morphology

Verbs include what we’d call adjectives.
Verbal morphology includes a fairly complex number of methods: consonant mutation, partial reduplication, vowel harmony, infixing, and affixing.

Rank

Instead of person, Munkhâshi verbs inflect by rank (gmêchmu) There are five gradations in all, which we will simply call grades A through E. They are relative not absolute, so even slaves use all five grades.
Rank in Munkhâshi society could be a treatise in itself; but the general rules are these, in order of importance: Munkhâshi were practiced with rules of rank (and they are actually more complicated than I’ve laid out here), and could instantly calculate the relative ranks of any number of parties. Some examples: The simplest case: two people are speaking. Then: The rank hierarchy is such that one never really has a peer— of two people, one will always be superior. As a corollary, in the two-speaker scenario, the B and D forms never refer to a third party, and thus there is no need for personal pronouns or personal inflections.

Occasionally A and C are used instead; naturally, this has the implication that the higher-ranked party has no superiors. This is typical when addressing gods or ktuvoks. (If the ktuvok initiated the conversation, however, it will normally use B forms.)

As soon as a third speaker joins the conversation, strict speech hierarchy cannot be maintained— we would need seven forms to separate all the gradations of rank, and only five are available. Generally C forms are used for the middle-ranking speaker, reserving A and E for other parties superior or inferior to all the speakers.

With four speakers the top-ranking speaker can use A forms; and with five, of course, each speaker has their own form.
More complex situations are approximated to the simple cases by grouping people together. Some examples:

If a person from one of these groups needs to be singled out, names are used (including by that person).

Animals and physical objects always use form E. It’s also conventional to refer to iliu using the E form. (There is never any occasion to speak to an iliu in Munkhâshi.)

By the rules given, two persons of different kukukla will each consider the other inferior. In practice minor rules were used to establish a mutually understood rank—if there was really nothing else to go by, whoever spoke first would take the higher rank.

Though all Munkhâshi are conscious of rank, it’s perhaps most emphasized and most cruel among children. Women are also notorious for enforcing the pecking order among themselves. Perhaps the only area of life where the tyranny of gmêchmu is relaxed is among soldiers on active duty, for whom within-unit camaraderie is more important.

The simple present

The baisc Munkhâshi tense is the simple present. Semantically, it’s closest to our present progressive: e.g. poch = ‘D is thinking’. (To simplify the glosses, I will simply treat the grade names as nouns. ‘D is thinking’ simply means that the D rank grade is being used. It might refer to myself, to yourself, or to a third party; see the discussion on Rank just above.)
‘be’ ‘want’ ‘think’ ‘be near’ ‘cry’ ‘be cold’
A.s khrath krith wrosh roth zhrash thrêsh
B.s khath krith wosh roth zhash thêsh
C.s khat krit woch rot zhach thêts
D.s kat krit poch rot jach têts
E.s gat grit boch rot jach dêts
A.d khratha krithi wrosho rotho zhrasha thrêchê
B.d khatha krithi wosho rotho zhasha thêchê
C.d khata kriti wocho roto zhacha thêtsê
D.d kata kriti pocho roto jacha têtsê
E.d gata griti bocho roto jacha dêtsê
A.p khrathâ krithu wroshe rothe zhrashâ thrêchô
B.p khathâ krithu woshe rothe zhashâ thêchô
C.p khatâ kritu woche rote zhachâ thêtsô
D.p katâ kritu poche rote jachâ têtsô
E.p gatâ gritu boche rote jachâ dêtsô
The citation form (shown in red) is the D grade singular (D.s).

Singular grades. The basic idea is that higher ranks soften the sounds, either by fricativization or rhotacism. (The principle behind this seems to be that fricativization makes people sound more like ktuvoks.)

Most verb roots (D forms) begin and end with unvoiced stops. If a transformation can’t be applied, it isn’t— e.g. dhek ‘be pure’ already begins with a fricative, so its D and C forms are identical; note the defective conjugation of rot ‘be near’.

Dual grades. The dual is formed affixing a copy of the root vowel:

S(S)VS → S(S)VSV
Plural grade. The plural also affixes a vowel, but of opposite frontness to the root vowel:
i ←→ u
e ←→ o
ê ←→ ô
a ←→ â
Which rank do you use if an action was taken by multiple parties? Easy— the highest applicable one; but apply dual or plural as needed semantically. Thus krithi ‘want.B.dual’ really means that two people wanted something, and at least one of them is B rank.

Past

Insert -pa- before the final consonant; but the infix is mutated (fricativized for AB, voiced for E)
‘be’ ‘want’ ‘think’ ‘be near’ ‘cry’ ‘be cold’
A.s khrawath kriwath wrowash rowath zhrawash thrêwash
B.s khawath kriwath wowash rowath zhawash thêwash
C.s khapat kripat wopach ropat zhapach thêpats
D.s kapat kripat popach ropat japach têpats
E.s gabat gribat bobach robat jabach dêbats
This infix (and those discussed below) doesn’t change the stress: khráwath ‘A was’, khráwatha ‘A (dual) were’.

Future

Like the past, but using - instead (mutated by rank).
‘be’ ‘want’ ‘think’ ‘be near’ ‘cry’ ‘be cold’
A.s khrathôth krithôth wrothôsh rothôth zhrathôsh thrêthôsh
B.s khathôth krithôth wothôsh rothôth zhathôsh thêthôsh
C.s khatôt kritôt wotôch rotôt zhatôch thêtôts
D.s katôt kritôt potôch rotôt jatôch têtôts
E.s gadôt gridôt bodôch rodôt jadôch dêdôts

Negative

An invariable -ru- is infixed before the final consonant.
‘be’ ‘want’ ‘think’ ‘be near’ ‘cry’ ‘be cold’
A.s khraruth kriruth wrorush roruth zhrarush thrêrush
B.s kharuth kriruth worush roruth zharush thêrush
C.s kharut krirut woruch rorut zharuch thêruts
D.s karut krirut poruch rorut jaruch têruts
E.s garut grirut boruch rorut jaruch dêruts
The infix appears after the past or future infix.

The infix can be altered to -ri- to form a dubitative, which can be used for doubtful or unlikely events: karit ‘D probably isn’t’; krithôritho ‘B (pl.) are unlikely to want’.

Iterative

Reduplication of the first syllable (first consonant only, including its mutation, plus first vowel), expresses a repeated or habitual event.
‘be’ ‘want’ ‘think’ ‘be near’ ‘cry’ ‘be cold’
A.s khakhrath kikrith wowrosh roroth zhazhrash thêthrêsh
B.s khakhath kikrith wowosh roroth zhazhash thêthêsh
C.s khakhat kikrit wowoch rorot zhazhach thêthêts
D.s kakat kikrit popoch rorot jajach têtêts
E.s gagat gigrit boboch rorot jajach dêdêts
The main syllable retains the stress: khakhráwathâ ‘A (pl.) were repeatedly being’.

Direction

Any of the prepositions may be prefixed to a verb before the root. Examples (showing the direction prefix in blue, tense/negative infixes in green):
tot go
tot enter
gotot exit
dzuntot return
khintot leave
nektot cross
thowath B went in
dzundorut E doesn’t return
nekthrothôruth A (dual) will not cross
thothopat C (pl.) kept entering

Affixes

The meaning may be refined further using affixes.
1    request (for superiors) -en kthuthen please come
order (to inferiors) or- orktut! come!
2 accidental -ap ktupatap accidentally came
diminutive wi- wirot be kind of near, wijach cry a little
intensive -um japachum cried a lot
inceptive me- mejach begin to cry, mechip begin to shoot
wrongly, badly pne- pneknik kill wrongly (e.g. the wrong person)
forbidden shun- shuntot go where or when it’s forbidden
foolishly, clumsily gip- giptsin walk clumsily, gipjach cry like a fool
carefully wor- wortsin walk carefully
3 active participle -il kritil wanting
passive participle -ug kritug wanted
You can have one affix from category 1 and one from 2, or one from 2 and one from 3. Thus ormechip ‘begin to shoot!’, mechipil ‘beginning to shoot’, but *ormechipumug.

If it’s uncertain whether someone or something will obey, use -en whether or not the agent is superior— e.g. dhmelen ‘let it rain’. (If you exhort yourself, however, use or- since it’s assumed you’ll obey youself: orpôch! ‘let me think!’)

Subordinators

These will be explained in the Syntax section, but are listed here for completeness. These must occur before any other prefixes.
then (time) ga-
there (place) dwun-
because of bin-

Adjectives

Predicative adjectives are verbs— e.g. chot ‘be small’, tek ‘be black, rich, or full’, rot ‘be near’. These are conjugated exactly like any other verb, with full rank forms.
Jobat tlar.
small.E.past city
The city was small.
The present or past participle form is used for adnominals: e.g. inwino chotil ‘a small boy’; nam rotil ‘a nearby country’, jôtil knikug ‘a murdered human’. These are not conjugated; just use the base (D) form.

The -il form can also be used as an adverb, following the verb.
wi- weakens the sense of an adjective: wichot ‘smallish’; witek ‘blackish’. The suffix -êsh seems to have started with a similar meaning (cf. the Dakêsh ‘westerly’ mountains), but came to have a connotation of disdain or fakeness— tujêsh ‘iliu-ish = Cuzeian’.

A causative is formed with initial ôth-: ôthchot ‘make small’, ôthtek ‘blacken’, ôthrot ‘bring near’.

Adjectivizers

Nouns can be fully adjectivized by suffixing -kat ‘be’. E.g. inwi ‘child’ forms inwikat ‘be childish’.
To form adnominals, however, use the suffix -do: inwido ‘childish’ (not *inwikatil).

Nominal morphology

Nouns have singular, dual, and plural forms:
‘estate’ ‘lake’ ‘skirt’ ‘human’ ‘bone’ ‘girl’
singular trêm dhmeki bêdha jôtil tsak inwisho
dual trêmêt dhmekit bêdhat jôtilit tsakat inwishot
plural têtrêm dhedhmeki bêbêdha jôjôtil tatsak ininwisho
The dual is formed by duplicating the last vowel of the root (if it ends in a consonant), then adding -t.

The plural is formed like the verbal iterative— by reduplicating the first syllable (first consonant of a cluster only). If the root begins with a vowel, the initial VC is duplicated instead. The stress remains on the main syllable: tatsák, inínwisho.

Tense

The past infix -pa- and the future infix -- can be applied to nouns, to indicate that the description applied in the past or future but not the present:
peksho wife
pekpasho ex-wife
paksho wife-to-be, fiancé
ultlar mayor
ultlapar former mayor
ultlar future mayor
kmêchno superior
kmêpachno former superior

Possession

Posession refers to the five ranks, not to persons. It’s indicated by suffixes:
A    -khol
B -the
C -nan
D -din
E -wên
pekshothe B’s wife
pekshodin D’s wife
bêdhawên E’s skirt
trêmkhol A’s estate
What if multiple people own it? Linguistically, they don’t— the convention is to apply the suffix for the highest rank involved. So if a husband and wife are talking, both would use rêgthe ‘B’s house’ for their house. If you’re talking to a ktuvok, ‘our estate’ is trêmkhol ‘A’s estate’, i.e. his estate.

These forms can also be prefixed to pet ‘speak’ in order to refer to speaking with the appropriate form, eg. thepet ‘speak using the B form’. (Compare French tutoyer ‘address someone with tu’.)

Pejoratives

Munkhâshi has a number of morphological means to express disdain, mockery, and disrespect. These can be combined, but don’t overdo it— the combinations tend to express humorous outrage rather than anger. Apply the transformations in the order shown— e.g. peksóooshogân, not *peksogâaangân; tsakdzakkadz not → kats → *gats.

It’s also possible to use expressions of respect (e.g. rank conjugations, the divine/ktuvok suffix -álh, or ul- ‘lord’) ironically or mockingly. If you’re a foreigner, you’re normally called a gonamno; if you hear gono it’s a mild insult, but gonowálh expresses great anger or contempt. Also common are insults or curses like blawetálh ‘shit-god’, ulgêg ‘lord fuck’; these are so common that they’ve been taken by outsiders to be actual gods.

Diminutives and augmentatives

The diminutive is -ag, the augmentative -dzu. These can express size alone (tsiplag ‘little bird’, randzu ‘big bull’), rank (cheknodzu ‘big brother’, cheknog ‘little brother’), disdain (gonog ‘little foreigner’, knâknodzu ‘big idiot’), or even affection (inwig ‘kid’).

Affection is tricky in Munkhâsh. The ktuvoks don’t experience sexual love as we do (mating is an expression of value not romance, and there is no intercourse), and human love is considered a base mammal sort of thing, approached with mockery and shame.

Friendship is more respected, but recall that there are no equals in Munkhâshi society— the closest word to ‘friend’ is timno ‘companion’, etymologically a fellow soldier or worker. A sort of macho jesting— a fratboy or salesman atmosphere— can be found within a kuklag (age cohort), but rank never goes away— you can never call a higher-ranking friend timnog. Your boss (tâkno) might not require obsequiousness, and if you’re bold you might call him dâkno to his face, but tâknog would be asking for a beating.

It’s acceptable to be affectionate to children and animals (and in private, to your lover or spouse). In any case affection is more expressed by tone of voice than by linguistic markers.

Inferiors are often given nicknames, based on the sound of their names or other factors.

Derivational affixes

These may be applied to verbal as well as nominal roots.

Locative: -shil

dshugwa seagull → Dshugwashil name of an island
koch rest → kochshil camp
kwêt deliver → kwêchil quay
blawet shit → blawechil dung heap
Males -no, females -sho:
pek marry → pekno husband, peksho wife
tsan be beautiful → tsanno handsome man, tsansho beautiful woman
tmôt be ancient, Demoshi → tmôtno Demoshi man, tmôtsho Demoshi woman
Note that these are not applied to animals, nor to ktuvoks or gods.

There are two honorific nominalizers, -alh for gods and ktuvoks (related to ‘a, one’; i.e. ‘the One who...’), ul- for humans (and a few gods):

got rule → gotalh ktuvok
gel be holy → Gelalh chief god
tlar city → ultlar mayor
kuk work → ulkuk team leader, sergeant
The active participle -il can be used as a noun, though this is more likely to be a tool than a person:
jôt worship → jôtil human
khâsh be rich → khâshil rich person
pnak thrust into → pnakil pitchfork
An object or substance with a given quality is formed with -la, using the (voiced) E form of the verb:
bat snow → batla snow
nêk across → nêkla bridge
pmêk be flat → bmêkla platform
A process (including an instance of that process) is named with -mu, using the E form:
knik kill → gnikmu killing
mets be good → metsmu goodness
ptêt connect → bdêtmu connection

Deictics

There are no personal pronouns in Munkhâshi; instead there are a set of deictics which agree with the rank system used on verbs. However, the A/B ranks are merged, and there are no dual or plural forms:
AB C D E
this one wikho wiko piko biko
that near one shithe shite chite jite
that far one shoj shoj tsoj dzoj
That is, if Shikhar is using D forms and his superior Umno is using B forms, then both can use piko to refer to Shikhar and wiko to refer to Umno.

The other forms need not correspond to speakers; they can include things in the environment. (Recall that inanimate things always take E forms.)

There may be more referents than speakers, and fortunately more distinctions are available than just the ranks. As seen in the table, referents may be distinguished by distance: nearby (piko), a little ways away (chite), far off (tsoj). Educated speakers often adopt the perspective of the highest-ranking speaker, so if Shikhar and Umno are not right next to each other, Shikhar might be chite instead.

In addition the derivational affixes -no (male), -sho (female), and -shil (place) may be applied. Thus one could distinguish wikono ‘this male’, wikosho ‘this female’, or bikoshil ‘this place, here’ vs. jiteshil ‘that place, there’ vs. dzojil ‘that place yonder’.

There is also a form niko that refers only to clauses; see Subordination below.

For time there are separate words:

now eral
then (near pres.) megle
then (farther) pakwe
Pakwe refers to a time farther from the present, megle to one closer to it. Thus pakwe is earlier when it comes to the past, later when it comes to the future.
The deictic adjectives are:
this mim
that (here) num
that (yonder) tlor

Quantifiers

The basic quantifiers appear after the noun. The nominal forms are mostly derived, with some suppletion:
adj god/ktuvok person thing place
any, one alh ulalh zhêtno zhêtla zhêchil
two etgat uletgat dhakno dhakla
some lhôr ullhôr lhôrno lhôrla lhôrshil
many pwat pwatno pwatla pwachil
all, every shê shêno shêla shêshil
none prashi prashino prashila prashil
The -no forms are specifically male, and female -sho forms exist as well. Munkhâshi had a habit of ignoring women— one may say Jarul prashino ‘there’s no one there’ of a house with women in it— but if one wants to explicitly include the women, it’s best to include both forms, e.g. shêno zh shêsho ‘all the man and all the women’. Etgat can also be used as a substantive for a male/female couple, as opposed to dhakno which refers only to two men.

Again, the time words are unrelated:

sometimes tlatsa
always nashrê
never ôkpa

Numbers

The numeric base is eight, as ktuvoks have just eight fingers.
x 8x be xth 1/x 8x
0    shpêm tat
1 tat baj tmôt baj
2 dhak bajat wôk rêm dlhek
3 kach kapaj kachkat knuksha tseb
4 enki empaj enkikat jôkre kdhagne
5 kri kribaj krikat ôshkri najêt
6 plhek plhepaj plhekkat ôshplhek tsiklho
7 pnat pnapaj pnatkat ôshpnat shtôt
8 baj dlhek bajkat ôshbaj urjô
The ordinals are verbs, and are regular from ‘be third’ on. The adnominals differ however: tmôtil ‘first’, wôkil ‘second’, then #-do. Thus pekshonan kachdo ‘my third wife’.

There are special forms zhdat 9 and zhdak 10. Other two-digit numbers follow the formula zh , thus:

baj zh kach 8 + 3 = 11
baj zh enki 8 + 4 = 12
baj zh plhek 8 + 6 = 14
bajat zh enki 16 + 4 = 20
kribaj zh kri 40+ 5 = 45
pnapaj zh tat 56+ 1 = 57
Higher numbers are formed by adding -, separating digits with zh; thus:
kach-dlhek 3*64 = 192
kach-dlhek zh kach 3*64 + 3 = 195
kach-dlhek zh bajat zh kach 3*64 + 16 + 3 = 211
plhek-tseb 6*512 = 3072
plhek-tseb zh plhek-dlhek 6*512 + 6*64 = 3456
plhek-tseb zh plhek-dlhek zh kapaj 6*512 + 6*64 + 24 = 3480
enki-khdagne 4*4096 = 16384
dhak-najêt 2*32768 = 65536
The basic arithmetic operations:
plhek zh dhak ‘and’ 6 + 2
plhek pelkho dhak ‘without’ 6 - 2
plhek ruch dhak ‘against’ 6 x 2
plhek lit dhak ‘for’ 6 / 2

Prepositions

tnur between
nek across
go outside
in
khin away from
kir toward, to
dzun back to
shne in front of, next to
ukki in back of, behind
kwar above
pôch below
lhât with (accompanying)
prênat using
pelkho without
tezhat around, surrounding
tdhi containing, including
jan of, belonging to
lit for, for the purpose of
ruch against
shêb by order of
oma through
shmal north of
lim east of
dak west of
trêl south of
thom to the right of
gmôr to the left of
nêch like, as
These can be used as prefixes on a verb, or as the head of a prepositional phrase.

The ordinary time preposition is . Time moves towards us, so khin is ‘before, until’, kir is ‘after, since’.

Comparatives use kwar/pôch:

Knok Shikhar kwar Thkikil.
tall.D Shikhar above Thkikil
Shikhar is taller than Thkikil.

Knok Shikhar kwar ininwino shê jan kuklagdin.
tall.D Shikhar above pl-boy every of clan-dim-poss.D
Shikhar is taller than all the boys in his age cohort (i.e. he’s the tallest).

Syntax

Sentence order

The basic sentence order is VSO:
Threwap gotalh tujno.
eat.A.past ktuvok iliu
The ktuvok ate the iliu.

Topic and comment

Moving things before the verb topicalizes them; that is, it’s a place for old information. If the element is the subject or object, a deictic should be left in its place:
Gotalh threwap wikho tujno.
ktuvok eat.A.past this.A iliu
As for the ktuvok, it ate the iliu.

NP order

The noun always comes first, followed by numeral, quantifier, adjectives, deictics, then prepositional phrases or relative clauses:
mrimno alh a peasant, some peasant
mimrimno enki four peasants
mrimnot etgat both peasants
mrimno mim this peasant
mimrimno shê all the peasants
mimrimno plhek lhôr some of the six peasants
mrimno knâkil stupid peasant
mrimno knâkil mim this stupid peasant
mrimnot etgat knâkil both of the stupid peasants
mimrimno plhek shê knâkil mim all six of these stupid peasants
mrimno shne eret the peasant by the river
mrimno tlachil shora the peasant who grows wheat

Appositives

Nouns giving a name, title, direction, composition, or origin can be simply added to the NP:
êrêt Orum the river Orum
papnân Dakêsh the Dagêsh mountains
Tmôtimor dak west Demóshimor
pritno Umno Master Umno
ultlar Umno Mayor Umno
lhutrêm knir gold necklace
rêg plâtru wood house
lok Munkhâsh the speech of Munkhâsh
mrimno Trelag a Tyellakhi peasant
Note that origins are given using locative nouns, not person nouns or adjectives: don’t say *lok Munkhâshdo or *mrimno Trelagno.

Anything else should use an adjective form or a prepositional phrase; Munkhâshi is far less tolerant of noun modifiers than English is:

ultlar jan Orumnâk mayor of Ornakh
apktsem jan Munkhâsh the Munkhâshi army
kukla jan apktsem an army unit
tlachil lit jukmu school of medicine
zhikne prênat gshê fire arrow
tlar shne êrêt river town

Auxiliaries

Munkhâshi auxiliaries are separate verbs that follow and modify the main verb, e.g.:
want to krit
fear to kloch
can gpuk
must tmêt
learn kmap
do pol
almost do shnektut
Unusually, both verbs are conjugated.
Wewakh kriwath gotalh.
mate.A.past want.A.past ktuvok
The ktuvok wanted to mate.

Kmât tmêt piko lhôb.
win.D must.D this.one.D enemy
You must defeat the enemy.

Pshot gpuruk piko Ulgâsh.
stop.D can.D.not this.one.D Ulgâsh
You cannot stop Chaos.

Munkhâshi is scrupulous about which verb is negated; there is no Negative Hopping as in English. Tot tmêrut ‘must-not go’ means that there is no obligation, and this can’t be substituted for Torut tmêt ‘must not-go’ (the obligation is to not go).

(Munkhâshi authorities like to forbid, not to permit. Not-obliged is about the closest you can get to ‘may’.)

Questions

Yes-no questions

Questions use a combination of topicalization and an auxiliary; pol ‘do’ must be used if no other is present. The subject is fronted together with the auxiliary:
Wowal gotalh threwap tujno?
do.A.past ktuvok eat.A.past iliu
Did the ktuvok eat the iliu?

Gpuki tutujno matâ?
can.E-pl pl-iliu swim.E-pl
Can iliu swim?

Tmêthê wikho litndek inwithe?
must.B-dual this.one.B sacrifice.B child-B
Must we sacrifice our child?
(note B agreement throughout, matching the higher-ranked speaker)

Wothôl wikho thothôth kir nrinmu?
do.B.fut this.one.B go.B.fut to dance
Are you (B) going to the dance?

Potôl piko totôt kir nrinmu?
do.D.fut this.one.D go.D.fut to dance
Are you (D) going to the dance?

The question is answered with appropriate forms of the auxiliary: Wothôl ‘Yes, B is going’; Potôrul ‘No, D isn’t going.’
There are two ways of asking a negative question; compare
Pol piko jaruchum?
do.D this.one.D cry.not-intensive
Do you not cry a lot? (i.e. “you don’t cry” is true?)

Porul piko jachum?
do.not.D this.one.D cry-intensive
Don’t you cry a lot? (i.e. “you cry” isn’t true?)

or if you really want to be confusing:
Porul piko jaruchum?
do.not.D this.one.D cry.not-intensive
Don’t you not cry a lot? (i.e. “you don’t cry” isn’t true?)
Your answer relates to the auxiliary alone.
question answer meaning so you cry?
Pol piko jaruchum? Pol. Right, “I don’t cry” is true don’t cry
Porul. Wrong, “I don’t cry” is false cry
Porul piko jachum? Pol. Wrong, “I cry” is true cry
Porul. Right, “I cry” isn’t true don’t cry
Porul piko jaruchum? Pol. Wrong, “I don’t cry” is true don’t cry
Porul. Right, “I don’t cry” is false cry
To put it another way, if you repeat your interrogator’s auxiliary you are agreeing with the implied statement.

Interrogatives

The general interrogative is lhach, which replaces any NP. If it queries the subject, it’s fronted:
Lhach wet pudagno?
who talk.C Caďinorian
Who is talking to the Caďinorian?
Since the identity of the person is unknown, their rank is too. You try to use one that’s not presently in use— often C, as shown. You can guess, however— e.g. using bet (talk.E) for the verb suggests that the talker is low-status, wreth (talk.A) that they’re high-status.

If the subject is not animate, always use E:

Lhach dzat omala lit bôtochil?
who block.E tube for entrance
What’s blocking the intake pipe?
Non-subjects are left in their original syntactic location:
Krit lhach?
want.D who
What do you want?

Gat lit lhach gnêmmu mim?
be.E for who command this
Who is this order for?

Bôdlhabatâ lilikchanil trêl lhach?
invade.past.E-pl barbarians south who
We were invaded by barbarians from the south of what?

Places are queried with ruju, times with zhan, also fronted:
Ruju dobat gêgilgan?
where go.past.E fuck-ing-pej
Where did that little fucker go?
Zhan tôpach kthe?
when perceive.past.D hole
When did you learn about the hole?

Negatives

Simple negatives are formed by negating the verb:
Mreparutâ gshê.
start.past.neg.D-pl fire
We didn’t start the fire.
The negative pronouns require negative verbs; after all, the event didn’t happen. As the subject is null it automatically gets the lowest rank, E.
Mrebarut prashino gshê.
start.past.neg.E nobody fire
Nobody started the fire.
A mixed subject is an exception, but the rule for the verb is still simple: it gets -ru- iff the event didn’t happen.
Kniwakh shasharnôlno dhak zh têtrêlagno kach zh tôtmôtno prashi.
kill.past.B pl.Sarnáe-man two and pl.Tyellakh-man three and pl.Demoshi-man none
The mayor executed two Sarnáeans, three Tyellakhi, and no Demoshi.

Coordination

The basic conjunctions:
and zh
or wa
These can be used to tie together any constituents of the same type within a sentence:
jêtsêt zh dedretda
shoes and hats
Engel knâkil zh pninil
a foolish and stinking Englishman
pthun zh kmoth
B listened and mocked
But entire clauses must be connected by one of these:
moreover zhmen
or wamen
then mêgmin
however ôlmen
therefore râj
because tnish
likewise tlochmen
Tliwath khulno dzankho jan shkhima mêgmin mechapal Engel.
cut.past.B sorcerer throat of pig then incep-be.D.past Englishman
The sorceror cut the pig’s throat and then the Englishman appeared.
A conditional is formed using the dubitative and râj ‘therefore’. (Note that the dubitative can coexist with tense infixes.)
Prurik tsanno râj twen.
find.D.dubit handsome-man therefore be.fortunate.D
If you find a handsome man, you are fortunate.

Subordination

Sentential objects

If the object of a verb is a complete clause, it simply appears in object position:
Wosh jits.
think.B crazy.D
I think you’re crazy.

Krêwam ulmekha tote; nek êrêt kakzhakno.
order.A.past lord-branch go.D-pl across river pl-soldier
The commander ordered the soldiers to cross the river.

The clause can be fronted, if niko is left in its place:
Tote nek tnurla kakzhakno, krêwam ulmekha niko.
go.D-pl across road pl-soldier order.A.past lord-branch that.idea
The soldiers should cross the road, the commander ordered.
Same thing if the clause serves as a subject and there is no object. Note that E forms are used for the main verb.
Gdurur tseko drun tetlednadzu.
expect.E.not fight.D-pl back pl-mole-big
It’s unusual for the icëlani to fight back.

Pshakâ shêtsu pupudagno dwen niko.
dead.D-pl entirely pl-Caďinorian lucky.E that.idea
The Caďinorians being all dead, that’s fortunate.

The niko transformation is required if the clause serves as subject and there is also an object; but the subclause may be either fronted or backed:
Kruth gotalh, ngêpat niko ultsar.
come.A ktuvok annoy.E.past that.idea mayor

Ngêpat niko ultsar kruth gotalh.
annoy.E.past that.idea mayor come.A ktuvok
It annoyed the mayor that the ktuvok was coming.

Relative clauses

The participles are used to form relative clauses. Compare:
Pmôth chukno inwi.
heal.B physician child
The physician heals the child

→ chukno pmôtil (inwi)
physician heal-act.part (child)
the physician who healed (the child)

→ inwi pmôtug (chukno)
child heal-pass.part (physician)
the child who was healed (by the physician)

The choice of participle tells you the case role of the head noun. E.g. here the -il ending tells you that it’s the physician who’s doing the healing:
Chôpam chukno pmôtil (inwi).
hug.past.D physician heal-act.part (child)
I hugged the physician who healed (the child).
The participle can be marked for tense, negative, iterative, direction, or with any of the usual affixes; the only thing not allowed is the consonant mutation for rank. These are all optional, though, and should be left out if they’re easily recoverable from context.
pmôpatil who healed previously
pmôrutug who wasn’t healed
popochil who kept thinking
bôtotil who was entering
wipmôtil who healed a little bit
shuntotil who went where it was forbidden
mepmôpatug who began to be healed
gippmôtug who was badly healed
Rank can be indicated, but using the possessive markers, not consonant mutation:
pmôpilkhol A’s healing
pmôpilthe B’s healing
pmôpugnan C’s being healed
pmôpugdin D’s being healed
worpmôtôpilwên E’s carefully being healed in the future
These words are good reminders of the stress pattern: always on the root syllable, pmô(t)- or to(t)- in the examples above.

Causatives

The prefix ôth- makes a verb into a causative. The full transformation is:
C causes [V S O] → ôthV C S ruch O
Thus:
Klupam mrimno pnakildin.
drop.D.past peasant pitchfork.D
The peasant dropped his pitchfork.

Ôthkluwam kzhakno mrimno ruch pnakildin.
cause-drop.B.past soldier peasant against pitchfork.D
The soldier made the peasant drop his pitchfork.

Rik inwino.
sleep.D boy
The boy is sleeping.

Ôthrikh litndekno inwino.
cause-sleep.B priest boy
The priest puts the boy to sleep.

Note the change in rank on the verb; the verb takes the rank of the causer.

Adverbials

Adverbials modify the meaning of the sentence. They’re normally placed just after the verb. There are several types: They can be fronted for emphasis, or moved to the end of the sentence if they’re imporant new information.

Datives fall under this category; they use the preposition kir ‘to’:

Ndhepak kir ulkhakshe kwêtno wachala.
give.C.past to captain merchant tablet
The merchant gave the clay tablet to the captain.

Time clauses

A time clause is a normal sentence with the verb prefixed with ga-. It's normally placed at the end of the sentence (unless it’s just a word or two).
Kluwam ruch nampa gotalh.
fall.A.past on head ktuvok
The ktuvok fell on his head.

Kmopat Shikhar ga-kluwam ruch nampa gotalh.
laugh.D.past Shikhar sub-fall.A.past on head ktuvok
Shikhar laughed when the ktuvok fell on his head.

Threwap ga-kmopat gotalh Shikhar.
eat.A.past sub-laugh.D.past ktuvok Shikhar
The ktuvok ate Shikhar when he laughed.

A time clause can also modify an NP referring to time:
bô lâchmât ga-mekruwath pnurat
in early.summer sub-begin-come.past.A young.ktuvok
during the summer when the young ktuvok arrived

The calendar

While we’re discussing time, days (tetnelet) are grouped by eights (tneledzu ‘eightday’, comparable to a week) and sixty-fours (dlhek, simply the word for 64). A year consists of five dedlhek, beginning in the spring:
name season Verdurian
1    jupmu spring 1 olašu to 10 cuéndimar
2 lâchmât early summer 11 cuéndimar to 18 calo
3 ircho late summer 19 calo to 1 želea
4 zhgatmu fall 2 želea to 10 šoru
5 zhmat winter 11 šoru to 20 bešana
That makes 320 days, leaving one monthless tneledzu at the end of the year, known as the tneledzu pelkho ‘eightday without (a month)’, dedicated to religious holidays and spring cleaning.

The Almean year (dshan) is about 328.2 days; this was not taken in to account by the Munkhâshi calendar, so it would drift through the astronomical year at a rate of 20 days in a century. When this became inconvenient for agriculture, extra tetnelet pelkho would be declared— enough days to bring jupmu back in line with the beginning of the planting season.

Place clauses

Place clauses work like time clauses. The subordinator is dwun-:
Dhgibak zhêkwe kennog.
outsmart.E.past rabbit hunter-dim
The rabbit outsmarted the little hunter.

→ Kthuthi mônge dwun-dhgibak zhêkwe kennog.
come.B-pl forest where-outsmart.E.past rabbit hunter-dim
We’ve arrived at the forest where the rabbit outsmarted the little hunter.

Reason clauses

The subordinator bin- means ‘because’:
Mrôpak bin-gwôpach kinno.
lose.D.past because-weak.D.past hunter
The hunter lost because he was weak.
If it’s in the dubitative or the future it’s ‘in order to’.
Kin piko bin-ôthchatôl dretda.
hunt this.one because-make-exist.D.fut hat
He’s hunting in order to make a hat.

Examples

Liturgy

This is about as close as we have to a Munkhâshi text. We have Dhekhnami versions of Gelalhist rituals (see the Dhekhnami grammar for the current version of this text), and these are very close to Caďinorian reports, so it’s clear that this portion of the liturgy is very ancient.

Throughout the passage rank assignments are simple: the priest and other humans are D, the ktuvoks B, and the gods A.

The gods form a microcosm of Munkhâshi society: Gelálh represents the ktuvoks, Tsôkálh represents women, Ulgâsh the army, Korkâsh the metallurgists, while Kumnatnâk and Chakprashi represent both the natural world and those who directly work with it (farmers, herdsmen, fishermen, sailors, as well as the ktuvoks whose food is largely marine).

The names of the Six Gods became demons to the Caďinorians, e.g. Tsôkálh became Zukde the wife of the demon Kezul; Ulgâsh became ulgaš ‘chaos’. The implied estimation of the Six Gods’ character is perhaps not entirely mistaken: Munkhâshi religion teaches that the Six Gods are the source of disasters, and that they would be malevolent towards humanity if it were not for the intercession (jukmu) of the ktuvoks as well as frequent sacrifice.

Ktuti bikoshil bin-jôtôt piko rurumálh plhek.
come.D-pl this.place because-worship.D.fut this.one.D pl-god six
We come here to worship the Six Gods.

Ndhewakho gogotálh jajaklakhol, zhmen shushukhi lit jôjôtil.
give.B.past-pl pl-ktuvok pl-name-poss.A and iter-intercede.B-pl for pl-human
The Masters taught us their names and constantly intercede for humans.

Khathâ gogotálh rurumálhdin, tlochmen khrathâ rurumálh plhek rurumálhthe.
be.B-pl pl-ktuvok pl-god-poss.D / likewise be.A-pl pl-god six pl-god-poss.B
The Masters are our gods; the Six Gods likewise are gods to the Masters.

Shral kwar shêla Gelálh munil; dmarip jôtil shoj râj jajadôrul.
exist.A above everything Gelálh mighty.act.part / see.E.dubit human that.far.one.A therefore live.E.fut.not
Above all is Gelálh the mighty; a human who sees him will not live.

Shoj shneshral Tsôkálh ôthtsôpakil pôch tlhe rurumálh lhim.
that.far.one.A next.to-exist.A Tsôkálh bear.A.past-act.part below sea pl-god other
At his side is Tsôkálh who bore the other gods under the sea.

Khrath Ulgâsh rumálh jan gdirmu zh dzômmu, zhmen ôthshral shkitil Korkâsh.
be.A Ulgâsh lord of war and destruction / and create.A be.cunning-act.part Korkâsh
Ulgâsh is the lord of war and destruction, Korkâsh the crafty creator.

Nrith Kumnatnâk rapne ôththepil zh nrith Chakprashi tlhekâsh tmôtil.
own.A Kumnatnâk soil make-eat-act.part / own.A Chakprashi sea ancient-act.part
The fertile soil belongs to Kumnatnâk, the primeval sea to Chakprashi.

Ôthshtinen lilitndekmu shithe; ôthshtinen jujukmu jan gogotálh shithe.
make-favorable.D-request pl-sacrifice-poss.D that.one.A / make-favorable.D-request pl-intercession of pl-ktuvok that.one.A
May our sacrifices please them; may the prayers of the Masters please them.

Ôthprothen piko zh tsrôrumen; ôthshrothen gmikmukhol.
protect.A-request this.one.D and destroy.D.not-request / make-less.A-request anger-poss.A
May they protect us and not destroy us; may their anger abate.

Bobwote bin-katâ kakatsuk gwôchil.
iter-stray.D-pl because-be.D-pl pl-hair weak-act.part
We are prone to sin, being weak animals.

Orjôtê piko gogotálh bin-trathôwâ prênat dhnala rurumálh piko.
order-serve.D-pl this.one.D pl-ktuvok because-see.A.fut-pl using mercy pl-god this.one.D
May we be fitting servants of the Masters so the gods look kindly on us.

A Munkhâshi life

This is simply an adaptation of part of my sketch of the life of Shikhar, a typical Demoshi peasant of about Z.E. 1400.

Shikhar means ‘rock’; Thkikil ‘outsmarting’. Munkhâshi names are generally natural objects or admired qualities.

As there are only two agents in the passage, they’re assigned ranks B and D. Note the reversal at the end when their respective ranks change.

Ktêpak bô tnelet alh Shikhar Thkikil kawatil inwino jan dadshan tlochil bin-shthithômô.
challenge-past.D in day Shikhar Thkikil be.past-act.part boy of years same-act.part because-wrestle.B.fut-dual
“Wrestle” is in the dual, as there are two participants, but it agrees in rank with the most superior.
One day Shikhar challenged Thkikil, a boy his own age, to a wrestling match.

Mêt gdêpmu kwar mambatmu jan pôpôchno; râj ôthroto wikho pwatno.
be.serious.E challenge / above pl-push of pl-inferior-man / therefore make-near.B-dual this.one.B many-man
A challenge is a serious thing, much more than a routine beatdown of an inferior; so they attracted a crowd.

Ktiparum Shikhar; shnektupat tlatsa ôthtlêparup inwino lhim zhmen mrupach tlatsa khin dzotmuthe.
fight-past.D-intensive Shikhar / near-come.past.D sometimes make-move.D.past.not boy other / moreover wriggle.D.past sometimes away capture-poss.B
Shikhar fought furiously— several times he felt close to immobilizing the other boy, and several times he wriggled away from a hold himself.

Mrôpak pshotil, ôlmen plêwash Thkikil.
lost-past.D end-act.part / however be.gracious-past.B Thkikil
He lost, finally, but Thkikil was gracious about it.

Klhêwath, “Ktipar metsil, Bekhar.”
say-past.B / fight-past.D good-act.part goat
He said, “You did good, Goat.”

“Gpuk tlêp; ôlmen shtêruk dhman munmudin.”
can.D move.D / however be.enough.D.not merely strength-poss.D
“You got the moves; you’re just not strong enough.”

Klhêwath ‘Bekhar’ bin-widloch glhêtla ‘Shikhar’.
say.B.past goat because-similar.E.past word Shikhar
Goat was his nickname, because it sounded like Shikhar.

Chipam kir dedlhek lhôr gtêkmu wôkil zhmen kmâpat.
ask.B.past after pl-64 some challenge second-act.part moreover win.D.past
Rank doesn’t change within a sentence, so ‘win’ still uses the D form.
Several months later he got a rematch and won it.

Wikwarthowath bô gmêchmu jan ininwino; klowap kâshno.
dim-above-rise.B.past in hierarchy of pl-boy / feel.B.past great-man
He had advanced a rank in the boys’ hierarchy; he felt like a hero.

Plêwarush kmâpil wikho nêch Thkikil.
be.gracious.past.B.not win-act.part this.one.B like Thkikil
He was not as gracious in victory as Thkikil had been.

Pwâwakh shêk thewewath kir kmêpachno zh ôthklhêwath piko ruch jakla chalil.
enjoy.B.past too.much B-speak.B.past to rank.past-man and make-speak.B.past that.one.D against name exist-act.part
It was too much of a pleasure to use the higher-rank forms of speech to his former superior, and make him call him by his right name.

Lexicon

To save space, only the D form of verbs is indexed. If you’re looking up a verb beginning with a fricative or voiced consonant, remember the consonant mutations.

Word count: 853

Munkhâshii Dhekhnami Cat Gloss
akme ôkwe n falcon, hawk
alh at # a, an, one; (as nominalizer for gods/ktuvoks) supreme
Alka Awka n male name
althak awthak n fox
ankna aŋŋa n hand
ap af n horde, mass
apktsem awksim n army [‘spear-horde’]
badno badhno n father
badnomu badhnomo n parenthood; family
baj bazh # eight
bajat bajath # sixteen [dual of ‘eight’]
barkh barkh n ford
Barkhran Baykhan n a city on a tributary of the Tmekh [‘ox ford’]
bât bath v snow
bâtla badla n snow
bdêtmu brêtwo n connection
bdhotmu bedhôtwo n shame; nakedness, nudity
bêche beje n skin
bêdha bedha n skirt
bekhar beçar n goat
bgenla beginla n door
biko bigo pron this one (E)
bikoshil bigoshiw pron here
bin- + because of
bingmêchmu n privilege
bilhe bitle n louse
bitsmu bitsmo n flight; freedom
blawechil blawejiw n dung heap
blawet blawth n shit
blêchmu blêchwo n politeness, graciousness; condescension
blhikla bligra n dream
blutla bludla n mill
blutmu blutwo n milling; assimilation (of conquered peoples)
bmêkla bemêgla n platform, stage
bmêkmu bemêkwo n flatness
bnakla benôgla n cape (of land); extrusion, point [nom. of ‘thrust into’]
bnichmu benichwo n smell, odor
bnim benim v stink
bnitmu benitwo n acquisition; goods from another trêm
bnutmu benutwo n service
bo prep in, inside
bômron bômwon v penetrate [‘grow inside’]
Bômrondo Bômwôndo n a city on the Orum [‘(city for) reaching the interior’]
bôtlhat bôtlath v invade [‘attack inside’]
botmu bôtwo n security, safety
bôtochil bodojiw n entrance
bôtot bodoth v enter [‘go inside’]
brêkmu bwêkwo n architecture, construction
brêkna bwêçna n face
britmu bwitwo n administration, governance
bunmu bônwo n heat
bwâkmu bwôkwo n enjoyment
bwênmu bwenwo n cleanliness
bwotmu bwôtwo n wandering; sin
bzhapmu gzhapwo n shudder, shiver
chak tsakh v name
Chakprashi Tsakhwashi n a goddess, associated with the sea [‘no-name’]
chal tsaw v be (existential), exist; there is/are
chachal live [‘keep existing’]
chalil tsaliw a true, real [‘existing’]
charulil tsaruliw a false, incorrect [‘not-existing’]
châm tsêm n ass, buttocks
chama tsama n night
chamashê tsamashe a nightly; nocturnal
chatme tsatwe n ash, ashes
cheket tsegeth n rapids
chekno tsêçno n brother
cheksho tsêkso n sister
chên tsen n place, location
chênalh tsenat n temple [‘place’ + divine/ktuvok nominalizer]
chidha tsidha n tooth
chika tsiga n sand
chim -tsim v ask for, request
chip tsif v shoot or fire (projectiles)
chir tsir v be light
chite tside pron that one (proximal)
chôm tsôm v hug, fondle
chôn tsôn v be dark
chot tsoth v be small, little; short
chotno tsôthno n shorty, dwarf
chuk tsukh v pray for, intercede; care for (medically)
chukno tsukhno n shaman, physician
chun tson v pull, tug
chup tsuf v sow
chur tsor v be slow
chut tsuth v help, assist
dak dakh n west
Dakêsh Dagêsh n Dagêsh mountains west of Demóshimor [‘westerly’]
Dakêshlim n the region between the Dagêsh and the western ktuvok swamps— modern Visecra
dapmu dapwo n seizure
darat darath n island
ddhata dhada n dust
dgunno zhghôno n rower, oarsman
dgunla zhghônla n oar
dhak dhakh # two
dhakla dhôgla pron a pair of things
dhakno dhakhno pron a couple, a pair (men)
dhaksho dhôkso pron a couple, a pair (women)
dharach dharash n silver
dhek dheç v be pure
dhekálh dhegat n chief priest in a town or trêm
dhekmu dhêkwo n purity
Dheknam Dhêçnam n Dhekhnam [‘pure land’]
dhepmu dhêpwo v eating
dhewush dhwosh n flax
dhlêk dhlêç n flock, herd
dhman dhman adv only, merely
dhmeki dhmeçi n lake
dhmel dhmew v rain
dhmella dhmêwla n rain
dhnala dhnala v mercy, compassion, blessing
dhnêsh dhnêsh n pattern; tattoo
dhôch dhôsh n robe, wrapped upper garment
dhnuda dhnora n mold (for making things), model
din + D possessive affix
ditna zhithna n seed
dlachmu dlachwo n education, apprenticeship
dlhek dleç # 82 = 64; two-month period (eight eightdays)
dlhukmu dlôkwo n honor
dlatmu dlatwo n bow; submission
dlêpmu dlêpwo n movement, action
dlochmu dlôchwo n sameness
dnakla denagla n setting (of an astronomical body); sunset
dnakmu denakwo n oldness, age
dnatmu denatwo n heaviness
drabma jyabwa n horseradish
drêchmu jyêchwo n alliance, coalition
drinmu jyinwo n strangeness, weirdness
drun jyon adv back, in revenge or opposition
dretda jyêthda n hat, headgear
drôchmu jyôchwo n need, lack
dshan jan n year
dshanshê janshe a yearly, annual
dshodo joro n sky
dshugwa jôgwa n seagull
Dshugwashil Jôgwashiw n an island off the coast of Visecra [‘seagull place’]
dwêkmu dwêkwo v saving, rescuing
dwidha dwidha n wing
dwun- + place subordinator
dzankho zankho n throat
dzêjshil zêjiw n mine
dzênmu zênwo n usage
dzêpwe zêpwe n edge, border
dzerag zeragh n shirt, blouse [‘tight’ + dim.]
dzil ziw n clothes, clothing
dzipmu zipwo n song, singing
dzoj zozh pron that one (E distal)
dzojil zojiw pron there (distal)
dzôkmu zôkwo n birth
dzômmu zômwo n destruction, ruin
dzôpto zôfto n fish; also includes iliu and šipomi
dzotmu zôtwo n capture; (wrestling) hold
dzun zon prep back to
dzunbetmu zombetwo n response, answer
dzunpet zombeth v respond, answer [‘speak back’]
empaj impazh # 32 [‘four-eight’]
Engel iŋgew n Englishman
ênle enle n remote relative (farther than first cousin)
ênleno enleno n Eynleyni (i.e. a people related to the Demoshi)
enki inçi # four
eral eraw pron now
êrêt erêth n river
etgat êgath pron both, a couple, a pair (male and female)
etgat êgath n pair, couple
etme êtwe n wetlands, swamp
etmekâsh êtwegash n ktuvok habitat [‘great wetlands]
Etmekâshdak Êtwegashdakh the western ktuvok habitat
Etmekâshlim Êtwegashlim the eastern ktuvok habitat
ga- + time subordinator
gâka gaga n cliff
gân gên + pejorative suffix
gankri gaŋkhyi n heart
gdêkmu (rushkêkwo) n challenge, provocation
gdirmu gzhimu n war
gditmu gzhitwo n desire
gêg gêgh v fuck
gêgil geghiw n fucker, bastard
gel gew v be holy, numinous, frightening
Gelalh Gelat n the chief god of Munkhâshi paganism
gedha gedha n raven
gip- + foolishly, clumsily
glaja glaja n spring (of water)
glhêtla glêdla n word, sentence
glêtu gleshu n ankle, wrist
glipla glibla n breath, air
glishmu glizmu n quiet, calm
glochmu glôchwo n fear
glopmu glôpwo n feeling
gmâtmu gwatwo n victory
gmêchmu gwêshmu n rank, hierarchy
gmôr prep to the left of
gmikmu gwikwo n anger
gnêshmu gnêshmu n badness, evil
gnâtmu gnatwo n quickness, speed
gnêchil gnejiw n wilderness [‘empty place’]
gnêt gnêth v be white; empty; wan; poor
gnêtno ŋêthno n poor person; wretch (general insult)
gnêmmu gnêmwo n order, command
gnikmu gnikwo n killing
gnokmu gnôkwo n size
go go prep outside
gonamil gonamiw a foreign
gonamno gonavno n foreigner
gono n foreigner (more disrespectful)
gopan goban v send out, launch (e.g. an invasion) [‘go out’]
Gopando Gobando Govanro, a city at the mouth of the Shkónoro [‘launching’, i.e. place where invasions are launched]
got goth v rule, dominate, master (used of gods or ktuvoks)
gotalh godat n ktuvok [‘master’ with divine/ktuvok ending]
gotilno goshiwno n (human male) master, member of the elite
gotilsho goshiwso n (human female) mistress, member of the elite
gotmu gôtwo n divine rule, mastery
gotochil godojiw n exit
gotot godoth v exit
grêpla ghyêbla n drink
gpuk gepukh v can, is able to
gshê je n fire
gshum gom v be noisy
Gshumag Gshomagh n a tributary of the Shkónoro [‘little noisy’]
gwêtmu gwêtwi n delivery; goods for export outside the trêm
gwôch gwôsh v be weak, wimpy
gwôchno gwôshno n wimp
ichto ishto n feather
ingo iŋgo n wine [Meṫ.]
Ingonam Íŋgonam n Kebri [‘wine place’]
inwi iwni n child
inwikat iwnigath v be childish
inwino iwnino n boy
inwisho iwniso n girl
ircho iycho n late summer (third dlhek of the year)
jach dzash v cry
jadh dzadh n dog
jalmu dzawmu n life, existence
jakla dzôgla n name
jan dzan prep of, belonging to
jêts dzêts n shoe, boot
jimla -jimla n request
jinkwe dzinkwe n neck
jipla dzibla n projectile [‘shoot’ + nom.]
jirmu dziymo n lightness
jite dzide pron that one (E proximal)
jiteshil dzideshiw pron there (proximal)
jits dzits v be crazy, mad
jôkre dzôghye # 1/4
jômro dzômwo n leg
jônmu dzônwo n darkness
jôt dzôth v worship, serve (ktuvoks or gods)
jôtil dzoshiw n human
jôtmu dzôtwo n worship
jotsu dzotsu n viper (a poisonous snake)
jukmu dzôkwo n medicine; intercession
jupmu dzupwo n sowing; spring
jutmu dzutwo n help, assistance
kach kash # three
kadhin kadhin a Cađinorian (after the conquest)
Kadhinash Kadhinash n Cađinas (after the conquest)
kakha kakha n eye
kapaj kabazh # 24 [‘three-eight’]
kâsh kash v be great or proud
kâshno kashno n great man, hero
kat kath v be (predicative)
katsuk katsukh n hair, fur; rabble, commoners
katsukdo katsukhdo a furry, hairy; (metaphorically) ragged, poorly done
katsukil katsugiw n mammal (must have fur, thus does not include ktuvoks, iliu); insulting term for humans [‘fur’ + adj.]
kdhakle gzhôgle n morning
kdhagne gzhaghne # 84 = 4096
kembe kimbe n ear
ken kin v hunt
kenno kinno n hunter
Kenshil Kinshiw n a city along the Tmêkh [‘hunting place’]
kêttra kêchya n village
Khachal Khajaw n male name
khakshe khôkshe n boat
khâsh khash v be rich, prosperous
khâshil n rich person
khekke çêçke n savanna, scrubland
khet çeth n farm
khin çin prep away from
khinkat çiŋkath v be far away
Khmâth Çemath n a river in Demóshimor
khnik çeniç v snore
khol khow + A possessive affix
khul khuw n magic, arcane power
khulno khono n magician, sorceror
khulsho khoso n female magician, sorceress
kich çish v know (things), know how
kir çir prep to, toward
Kirlimla Çiylimla n a city on the eastern Demoshi coast [‘eastward thing’]
klal klaw n lion
klhab klav n pine
klhêt klêth v say, state (object is speech act)
klip klif v breathe
klish klish v be quiet
kloch klosh v fear
klol klol(ash) v shout, yell
klop klof v feel
klukâ kluga n grass
klukâdo klugaro a grassy; name of an island in the Forbidden Sea
klum klom v fall, drop
kmano gemano n grandfather
kmap gemaf v learn
kmapno gemafno n student
kmasho gemaso n grandmother
kmât gemath v defeat, beat, win
kmêba gemeba n smoke
kmêch gemêsh v outrank, be superior to
kmêchno gemêshno n superior, someone higher in rank
kmêk gemêç v break; destroy by accident, torture to death
kmik gemiç v be angry, mad
kmits gemits v scratch
kmot gemoth v laugh; mock
kmur gemor v place, put, set down
knâk genakh v be foolish or stupid
knâkno genakhno n fool, idiot
knât genath v be fast, quick
knêm genem v order, command
knêsh genêsh v be bad or evil
knik geniç v kill, execute
knir genir n gold
knok genokh n be big, large,tall
knuksha genôksha # 1/3
koch kosh v rest, stay, camp
kochshil kôchiw n camp
kor kor n spider (a favored animal)
Korkâsh Koykash n a god; a city on the Shkónoro [‘proud spider’]
koto kodo n center, middle
kótodo Kodoro a central; name of a Demoshi city
kotochama kodojama n midnight [‘center night’]
kpat kwath v burn, be on fire
krâk khyakh v rasp, grate
kri khyi # five
kribaj khyibazh # forty [‘five-eight’]
krit khyith v want, desire
krêp khyêf v drink
krok khyokh v forage, live by hunting and gathering
krokil khyoçiw n the Monkhayu [‘foragers’]
kshama kshama n waterfall
Kthalogh Kshalogh n Naunai, the smallest moon
kthe kthe n hole
ktech kshesh v be dry
ktêk (rushkêç) v challenge, provoke
ktir kshir v fight, go to war
ktsem tsim n spear
ktur kshor v be expected, normal
kturur khsowor v be unexpected; ambush
ktut kshuth v come
kuk khukh v work, labor
kukla khôgla n clan-like division of a trêm; team, work unit, group, squad
kuklag n age cohort within a kukla
kukno khukhno n worker, team member; private (non-officer)
kumna khuvna n snake
Kumnag Khuvnagh n a city on the Shkónoro [‘little snake’]
Kumnatnâk Khuvnakh n name of a god associated with the earth [‘old snake’]
kwar gway prep above
Kwarálh Gwarat n Ënomai, the sun [‘above’ + divine nominalizer]
kwarkoch gwaykosh n noon [‘rest above’]
kwartot gwaytoth v climb, rise
kwêchil gwejiw n quay, unloading dock
kwêt gwêth v deliver, send (to another trêm or to a city)
kwôk gwôth v hit
kzhak zhakh n sword
kzhakno zhakhno n swordsman, soldier
labne lavne n type, kind, class
lâchmât lachwath n early summer (second dlhek of the year)
lajwar lajwar n lapis lazuli
lakte lakhte n back
lachna lashna n people, population
latwe latwe n hill
Látwenam n the old name of Mrátnonam [‘hill country’]
Lênân Lenên n Lake Lenan [Lenani]
letni lêthni n fruit
lhach tlash pr who, what
lhât tlath prep with (accompanying)
Lhekher Tleçer n a tributary of the Shkónoro (V. Lëbo)
Lheja Tleja n female name
lhekta tlêçta n reed
lhektakath tlêkath v be rude or impertinent [‘be reedy’, i.e. tall and weak]
llepna tlêfna n snail
lhikna tliçna n animal
lhim tlim a other, another
lhôb tlôv n enemy
lhôk tlôkh v be easy
lhôkmu n ease
lhôr tlôr q some
lhôrla tlôyla pron some things
lhôrno tlôyno pron some men
lhôrshil tlôyshiw pron some places
lhot tloth v be yellow
lhôt tlôth adv at least
lhu- tlu- + showing, sign of
lhuba tluba n path, trail, way
lhuk tlukh v die
lhukmu tlôkwo n death
lhutrêm tluchyêm n collar [‘showing the chrem’]
likcha liçcha n saddle
likchanil liçchaniw a barbarian
likchano liçchano n barbarian, nomad, esp. Coruo and Sainor (non-Jippirasti) [‘saddleman’]
lim lim n east
lit lith prep for, for the purpose of
litndek lithdeç v sacrifice [‘give-for’]
litndekno lithdêçno n priest [‘sacrifice-man’]
litndekmu lithdêkwo n sacrifice
lok lokh n tongue; speech, language
lok Munkhâsh Munkhâshi language
lonka lônka n wall
madhe madhe n oak
makma môkwa n shell
Mantu Manshu n male name
marin marin n corn (maize)
mat math v swim
mbat mebath v push; haze, pick on inferiors
mbatmu mebatwo n pushing; hazing
mbits mebits v be dirty
mbitsla mebitla n dirt, dirtiness
me- + inceptive
mechal mejaw n appear; come to be, come into existence [inc. + ‘be’]
megle mêgle adv at that time, later
megmen cj then, subsequently
mekha meça n branch; legion, corps— the military arm of a trêm
mekna mêçna n belly, stomach
melho mêtlo n scale
melhodo mêtloro n any scaly animal: reptiles, amphibians, ktuvoks
a scaly; (metaphorically) elegant, smooth, well done
mêt mêth v be serious, grave, important
mêtmu mêtwo n importance, seriousness, gravity
mets mets v be good
metsmu mêtswo n goodness
mewek mewêç n root
mim mim pron this
Minedh Minedh n a river in eastern Dhekhnam
Minedhil Minedhiw n a city on the Minedh
misho miso n mother
mônge môŋge n forest, woods
mor mor n home; homeland
Morrinwe Môyinwe n river passing through the Sarcainor marshes [‘home-source’]
mots mots v be green
mrach mwash v be at high tide
mrachmu mwachwo n tide
mrap mwaf v stab, pierce
mrat mwath v steal
mratmu mwatwo n theft
mratno mwathno n thief
Mrátnonam Mwádhonam n name of NW Demóshimor [‘thief-land’]
mrima mwima n field
mrimno mwivno n peasant
mret mweth v start, begin
mrik mwiç v buzz, be noisy
mrôk mwôkh v lose, be defeated
mron mwon v grow; reach
mrôt mwôth v be fat, thick
mruch mwosh v wriggle, wiggle
mruja mwoja n maize beer
mun mon v be strong, be mighty
Munkhâsh Mônkhash n Munkhâsh [‘strong-rich’]
munmu mônwo n strength, might
mutre muchye n coyote
nadh nadh n trousers
najêt najêth # 85 = 32768
nâk nakh n mouth; delta
nam nam n land, country
nampa nappa n head
nampálh nappat n the ktuvok who owns a trêm [‘head’ + -álh]
nampapshim nappashim n Axunemi [‘piss-head’, i.e. blond]
Nampapshimnam n Xengiman; Axunai (when it was a major empire)
nan + C possessive affix
nar nar v be red
nashrê nashye pron always
nat nath v live, reside, inhabit
natmu natwo n place of residence
ndap nedaf v hold, contain
ndapla nedabla n container
ndek nadeç v give, offer; instruct, teach
ndekmu nadêkwo n gift, offer; instruction
ndit nzhith v own, possess
nditmu nzhitwo n ownership, possession
ngêt aŋgêth v annoy, bother, be annoying
ngit aŋgith v be brave, bold
ngitmo aŋgitwo n bravery, courage, valor; boldness
nêch nêsh prep like, as
nêk nêç prep across
nêkla nêgla n bridge [‘crosser’]
nernêk nêynêç n sheep
niko nigo pron that (refers to clauses only)
nrak nyakh v hide
nrakla nyagla n hiding place; lair, den
nrin nyin v dance
nrinmu nyinwo n dance
nrip nyif v toss, fling
nrocha nyoja n pumpkin, gourd ; (mil.) target
nrukta nyukhta n slime, crud
num nom pron that (proximal)
ôkpa ôkhpa pron never
ôlmen ôwmin cj however
oma oma prep through
omala omala n pipe, tube
or- + imperative
Orum Orom n the major river in Demoshimor
Orumnâk Ornakh n the capital of Dhekhnam [‘Orum mouth’]
ôsh- ôsh- + fraction
ôshbaj ôshbazh n 1/8
ôshkri ôshkhyi n 1/5
ôshplhek ôshweç n 1/6
ôshpnat ôshnath n 1/7
ôth- ôs- + causative
ôthchal ôstsaw v make, create [‘cause to be’]
ôthchot ôstsoth v lessen, reduce, abate [‘make small’]
ôthdhak ôzdhakh v divide [‘make two’]
ôthjalmu ôzdzawmu n creation, crafting
ôthkpat ôskwath v burn, set on fire
ôthmun ôzmon v strengthen; fortify, build up [‘make strong’]
ôthmunla ôzmônla n fort, castle
ôthpoch ôspôsh v convince, persuade [‘make think’]
ôthpot ôspoth v protect, guard [‘make safe’]
ôthpwên ôspwen v clean, wash
ôthrak ôzrakh v be initiated as an adult, come of age [‘make young’, i.e. become a rakno or rakso]
ôthrakmu ôzrakwo n initiation
ôthrot ôthyoth v bring near, attract [‘make near’]
ôthshkêp ôshkêf v tear [‘make torn’]
ôthshtin ôsshin v please, assuage, mollify [‘make favorable’]
ôththep ôthef v feed [‘make eat’]
ôthtsôk ôstsôk v bear, give birth
pakdhe pâdhe n barrier; the Ctelm mountains
Pakdhedak Pâdherakh n the Ctelm to the west of Sarnáe
Pakdhetrêl Pâdhechyow n the Ctelm to the south of Sarnáe and Tyellakh
pakwe pôkwe pron then, earlier
pan pan v throw, launch
pashino pashino pron no man, no one
pdhot bedhoth v be shamed or shameful; be naked
pdhotno bedhôthno n Qarau [‘naked man’]
pdhótnonam Bedhódnam n Qaraumia
pecha peja n blood
pek peç v marry, mate
pekno pêçno n husband
peksho pêkso n wife
pelh pet n tree
pelkho pêwkho prep without
pet peth v talk to, speak to
piko pigo pron this one
Pipra Pibwa n female name
pits pits v fly; be free
pken pekin v open
plakne plakhne n bark (of tree); hide (of animals)
plâtru plachyu n wood
plêch plêsh v be gracious or polite; be condescending
plhek plêç # six
plhepaj plebazh # 48 [‘six-eight’]
plhik (bo)pliç v dream
plhul pluw n worm
plik pliç v be bitter
plut pluth v mill, grind; assimilate (conquered peoples)
pmêk bemêç v be flat
pmôt bemôth v heal; solve, fix
Pnacha Benaja n female name
pnak benakh v extend, thrust into
pnakil benaçiw n pitchfork
pnân benên n mountain
pnapaj bembazh # 56 [‘seven-eight’]
pnat benath # seven
pne- bene- + wrongly, badly
pnich benish v smell
pnit benith v acquire, procure
pnôk benôkh v follow
pnuk benukh v bite
pnurat benorath n immature ktuvok
pnut benuth v serve, work for
pnutno benuthno n servant
poch posh v think
pôch pôsh prep below
pôchno pôshno n inferior, someone lower in rank [‘below-man’]
pol pow v do
pot poth v be safe, secure
prashi pwashi q none
prashil pwashiw pron nowhere
prashila pwashila pron nothing
prêk pwêç v build, construct, erect
prêkla pwêgla n building
prênat penath prep using
prêp pwêf v be prone, be lying down; (incep.) lie down
prit pwith v administer, govern (on behalf of the ktuvoks)
pritno pwithno n (human male) master, member of the elite
pritsho pwicho n (human female) mistress, member of the elite
pruk pwokh v find
pshak kshakh v be dead
pshap kshaf v shudder, shiver
pshêk kshêç v touch
pshim kshim v piss, urinate
pshimla kshimla n piss
pshot kshoth v stop, halt
pshuk kshukh v vomit
ptêt pshêth v lead to, connect
ptik pshiç v esteem, value
ptun pshon v listen, hear
pudag poragh n pigeon, dove
pudagil poraghno a Cađinorian
Pudagnam Poraghnam n Cađinas
pudagno poraghno n Cađinorian [from their unorganized fighting, like scared pigeons]
pudagsho porôkso n Cađinorian woman
pun pon v be hot
pwachil bwajiw pron many places
pwâk bwakh v enjoy
pwat bwath q many
pwatla bwadla pron many things
pwatno bwathno pron many men
pwên bwen v be clean
pwot bwakh v wander, stray; sin (seen as a lack of direction)
pwuch bwosh v fart
rak rakh v be new or young
rakla ragla n rising (of an astronomical body); sunrise, dawn
rakmu rôkwo n newness, youth
Raknam n Sarnáe (before Cađ. conquest) [‘new land’]
rakno rakhno n young man
raksho rôkso n young woman, maiden
râj razh cj therefore
ran ran n cow, bull, ox
rapne rafne n ground, soil, earth
redna rêdhna n foot; (insulting) guy, bloke
rêg rêgh n house
rêkshe rêkshe n fog
rêl rôw n cousin
rêlno rôwno n male cousin
rêlsho rôwso n female cousin
rêm rêm # 1/2
rik riç v sleep
rikla rigla n bed
rinwe rinwe n source
rish rish n home
roch rosh v be dull, blunt
rochmu rôchwo n dullness, bluntness
rôgne rôghne n turnip
rokam rogam n breast
rojam rojam n cotton
rokni rôkhni n guts, intestines; seat of lower emotions
rot roth v be near
rotmu rôtwo n nearness
ruch rush prep against; marker of original object in causatives
ruchsheno ruchino n bandit, gangster [‘against everything’]
rumálh romat n god
Rurumálh plhek the Six Gods, the Munkhâshi pantheon
ruju ruju pron where
shak shakh v tie
shaklha shôkla n desert
shaklhanil shôklaniw a Tžuro
shaklhano shôklano n a Tžuro or Lenani [‘desert person’]
Shalha Shatla n female name
Sharnôl Shaynow n Sarnáe (after Cađ. colonization) [Sarroc Sarnaw]
Sharnôlno shaynôwno n Sarnáean
shê she q all, every
shêb shêv prep by order of
shech shêsh n peak, summit
shêgtha shêksha n tail
shêk shêç adv too much
shêla shela pron everything
shêno sheno pron every man, everyone
shêshil sheshiw pron everywhere
shêtsu shetsu adv all of them, entirely, to a man
shich shish n leaf
shikhar shiçar n rock, stone
shikhardo shiçaydo n rocky
-shil + place
shit(h)e shide pron that one (AB/C proximal)
shkat shkath v harvest, reap
shkêp shkêf v be torn, be ragged
shkhima çima n pig [imitative of squeal]
shkit çith v be cunning, clever
shkono shkono n earth magic
Shkónodo Shkónoro n the main river of Sarnáe [‘earth.magic’ + adj.]
shmal shmaw n north
shmats shmats v smear
shmet shmeth n poncho, tunic
shne shne prep in front of, next to
shnechal shnejaw v accompany, be a helpmeet [‘be next to’]
shnektut shnegzhuth v approach, (as auxiliary) almost do [‘come near’]
shoj shozh pron that one (ABC distal)
shora shora n wheat
shpât shwath n be sitting; (incep.) sit down
shpêm shwêm # zero
shpôt shwôth v be solid
shtêk shtêç v be enough, sufficient
shtêt shtêth v shange, vary
shtim (rushim) v wrestle
shtin shin v be favorable, tranquil, well-disposed
shtôt chôth # x8 = 2,097,152
shul- sho- + forbidden
Shultlhe Shôtle n the Forbidden sea
tabmi tabwi n valley
Tabmishil Tabwishiw n a city on the Khmath [‘valley place’]
Tabmit Tabwith n Carhinnia (ancient name) [‘pair of valleys’]
tachi taji n deer
tâk takh v lead (a team), manage, boss
taklhi tôkli n afternoon
tâkno takhno n (male) boss
tân tên n water
tândo têndo n watery
tap taf v seize, take
tat tath # one
tatha tadha n bay, gulf
tdhi dhi prep containing, including
tek têç v be black; be full or rich
telgra têwgha n nose
tênka tênka n ice
tênkano tênkano n elcar [‘ice man’, seen as living in high mountains]
têts têts v be cold
tezhat jath prep around, surrounding
Thagma Thôgwa n male name
the the + B possessive affix
thep thef v eat
thom thôm prep to the right of
thkik çiç v outsmart, outdo
tik shikh v be thin
tim shim v march; travel for work (e.g. trading)
timno shivno n companion, mate (originally ‘fellow soldier/trader’)
tits shits v be sharp
tkun shkhôn v row
tlach chash v raise (crops or children), grow, educate
tlachil chajiw n school
tlachno chashno n teacher
tlap chaf v be standing; (incep.) stand
tlar char n city, town
tlarnampa chaynappa n capital [‘head town’]
tlat chath v bow down, submit
tlatsa chadza pron sometimes
çir tlatsa eventually, after some time
tleche cheje n ktuvok’s head frill; (metaphorically) reach, glory
tlechedo chejero a frilled; glorious, important
tledna chêdhna n mole
tlednadzu chêdhnadzu n icëlan [‘big mole’]
tlekmi chêkwi n horse
tlekmino chêkwino n horseman, rider
tlekmisho chêkwiso n horsewoman, female rider
tlhat tlath v attack
tlhe tle n sea, ocean
Tlhekâsh Tlegash n the Mišicama ocean [‘great sea’]
tlhuk tlukh v honor
tleno chino n beer
tlêp chêf v move
tlit chith n cut
tloch chosh v be the same
witloch be similar
tlochmen chôchwin cj likewise, in the same way
tlor chor pron that (distal)
tluk chukh v remove
tmap demaf v see, watch
Tmêkh Demêç n the Tmekh river in central Dhekhnam
tmêt demêth v must
tmilho demitlo n plateau
tmôt demôth v be first or ancient; an ethnonym (be Demoshi)
tmôtil demôshiw a ancient, primal; first; Demoshi; a city in Demoshimor
Tmôtimor Demóshimor n a region of Dhekhnam [‘Demoshi-home’]
tmôtno demôthno n a male Demoshi
tmôtsho demotso n a female Demoshi
tnâk denakh v be old
tnat v be heavy
tnek deneç v be blue
tnelechê neleje a daily; during the daytime
tnelet neleth n day
tneledzu nelêdzu n eightday (‘week’) [‘big day’]
tneldezu pelkho ‘monthless week’ at the year’s end
tnetna denetha n one of the two brighter moons
Tnetnanum Denêthnom n Iliažë, the brightest moon
Tnetnatlor Denêtlor n Iliacáš, the second-brightest moon
tnip denif v count
tnipno denifno n accountant, record-keeper
tnish denish cj because
tnur denor prep between
tnurla denôyla n road [‘betweener’]
tôch tôsh v perceive, notice; learn about
tot toth v go
totmu tôtwo n departure
trêch chyêsh v ally with
trêl chyow n south
Trêlag Chyelagh n Tyellakh (the Almeological spelling is the local pronunciation) [‘little south’]
trêlagno chyelaghno n Tyellakhi
trêlkrit chêkhyith n magnet [‘want north’]
trêm chyem n the estate or territory of a single ktuvok
trin chyin v be strange, weird, eerie
trôch chyôsh v need, lack
tsach sash v march
tsak sakh n bone
tsan san v be beautiful
tsanno sanno n handsome man
tsansho sanso n beautiful woman
tsaple sable n jewel, gem
tsat sath v block, obstruct
tseb sev # 83 = 512
tsêj sêzh v mine
tsek seç v fight
tsên sên v use
tser ser v be tight
tsêta seda n egg
tsiklho siklo # 86 = 262144
tsin sin v walk
tsip sif v sing
tsipla sibla n bird [‘sing-thing’]
tsit sith v be variegated in pattern, like a snake’s skin
tsoj sozh pron that one (distal)
tsôk sôkh v be born
Tsôkálh Sogat n a goddess, wife of Gelálh [‘great bearer’]
tsôm sôm v destroy, ruin
tsor sor n harness
tsot sôth v capture; (wrestling) hold
tsuch sush v rot, spoil
tsuk sukh v know (persons), be acquainted with
tsum som v be loud
tuj shuzh v paddle, splash around
tujêsh shujêsh a Cuzeian [‘iliu-ish’, i.e. iliu wannabes]
Tujêshnam Shujêshnam n Cuzei
tujêshno shuzhno n Cuzeian
tujno shuzhno n iliu [‘paddler’, as they were considered inferior swimmers to the ktuvoks]
tujsho shuzho n ilisea, iliu female
twachak dwajakh n stream, brook
twasha dwasha n tip, end, butt
twêk twêç v save, rescue
twen dwin v be lucky, be fortunate
twerun dweron v be unlucky, be unfortunate
twenmu dwinwo n luck
twipla dwibla n cloud
ukki uççi prep in back of, behind
ul uw + lord
ulalh pron anyone (god, ktuvok)
uletgat pron a couple, a pair (god, ktuvok)
Ulgâsh ogash n name of a god, associated with war [‘proud lord’]
ulkêttra okêchya n village chief
ulkhakshe okhôkshe n ship or boat captain
ulkuk okukh n sergeant (lowest-level officer)
ullhor pron some gods/ktuvoks
ulmekha omeça n commander of a mekha (corps or legion)
ultlar ôtlar n mayor [‘city lord’]
ultnipno onifno n chief acountant
ultrêm ochyêm n governor; chief human administrator of a trêm
umno uvno n iron
Umnorinwe Uvnorinwe n a river in western Demóshimor [‘iron source’]
urjô ôyjo # 88 = 16,777,216
uta uda n star
utadzu udadzu n planet [augm. of ‘star’]
wa wa cj or
wacha waja n clay
wachala n clay tablet used for accounting purposes
wamen wamin cj or (for clauses)
welha wêtla n stake, pole
wên + E possessive affix
werga wêyga n bread
wetla wêdla n lizard
wi- wi- + diminutive (weakens meanings of verbs)
wiko wigo pron this one (C)
wikwartot v rise one step [dim. of ‘rise’]
wôkil woçiw a second; again
wôk wôkh v be second
wor- wor- + carefully
wum- wôm- + extreme pejorative prefix
zh zh cj and
zhan zhan pron when
zhdak # ten [‘and two’]
zhdat # nine [‘and one’]
zhdêtmu zhdêtwo n change, variation
zhgatmu zhgatwo n harvest; fall, autumn
zhêchil zhejiw pron anywhere, somewhere
zhakla zhôgla n rope
zhakmu zhôkwo n knot, fastening
zhêkwe zhêgwe n rabbit
zhêtla zhêdla pron anything, something
zhêtno zhêthno pron anyone, someone (m.)
zhikne zhiçne n arrow
zhmat zhmath n winter
zhmen zhmin cj and, moreover (for clauses)

Virtual Verduria