Munkhâshi

Introduction — Background —Highlights

Phonology — Stress —Phonotactics

Verbal morphology — Rank —The simple present — Past — Future — Negative — Iterative — Direction — Affixes — Subordinators — Adjectives — Adjectivizers
Nominal morphology — Tense —Possession — Pejoratives — Diminutives and augmentatives — Derivational affixes
Deictics — Quantifiers — Numbers — Prepositions

Sentence order — Topic and comment — NP order — Appositives — Auxiliaries
Questions — Yes-no questions — Interrogatives — Negatives — Coordination
Subordination — Sentential objects —Relative clauses — Causatives — Adverbials — Time clauses — The calendar — Place clauses — Reason clauses —

Examples — Liturgy —A Munkhâshi life
Lexicon

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.

Borders as of Z.E. 600 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:

The language is VSO, and is consistently head-first (e.g Engel alh ‘an Englishman’).
The language and culture are notable for incorporating a non-human value system. For instance, words that are highly negative to us— reptilian, swampy, scaly, head tentacle— have strong positive connotations. The Thinking Kinds are named from a ktuvok perspective: e.g. jôtil ‘worshipper’ = human, tujno ‘paddler’ = iliu (an insult to their swimming ability).
The counting system is octal, in line with the eight fingers of ktuvoks.
There are no personal pronouns; instead there is a five-rank hierarchy applied to both verbs and deictics. This is largely expressed via consonant mutation.
A peculiarity of Munkhâshi, which has spread to Sarroc, is that both auxiliaries and main verbs within a clause are conjugated.
There is a rich system of pejoratives. One way to create a despective, borrowed from occultism, is to say it backwards.

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:

reconstruction from modern Eynleyni languages (plus Sarroc whose stock of borrowings is large enough to show regular correspondences)
contemporary Caďinorian and Cuzeian descriptions
some difficult passages in Dhekhnami tomes on magic describing what is evidently an archaizing pronunciation
a very few words also attested in Tžuro sources; these mostly serve to limit wild conjectures

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:

Ktuvoks and gods outrank humans.
In any institution (army, temples, workshops, etc.) superiors outrank inferiors.
Each generation outranks the next.
Insiders (of any group) outrank outsiders, when addressing members of the group or within the group’s territory.
Males outrank females.
Among women, married women outrank unmarried ones, and those with children outrank the childless.
Within an age cohort (kuklag), members are ranked by strength— think of the pecking order of birds.
- Among children, this correlates with age.
- Among adults, or children of the same age, physical size is a good proxy.
- The outcome of a fight or intimidation display supersedes these rough tests.
- Backers add to one’s own strength. So Draco Malfoy’s rank would be calculated by including Crabbe and Goyle.
- Implied backers count too; the chief corollary is that elite status increases strength. (You’d be unwise to physically challenge an elite member even if they’re alone, as they’ll have their minions deal with you later.)

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:

A teacher outranks all his students; among the students, the males rank first, in their pecking order, then the females in theirs.
A boy outranks all his sisters, and his younger brothers; but not his mothers or aunts. When he grows up, a younger brother might come to outrank him, if the brother is stronger.
Within your clan or work unit (kukla; the term applies to divisions of a village, army, or other institution), the members outrank similar members of a rival unit. (On the other hand, rank trumps insiderdom: a unit leader (ulkuk) from another kukla outranks you and the rest of your kuklag.)

The simplest case: two people are speaking. Then:

A is used to refer to third parties superior to both speakers
B is used to refer to the superior speaker (both by himself and by his interlocutor)
C refers to third parties intermediate in rank between the two speakers
D is used to refer to the inferior speaker (again, by both parties)
E is used to refer to third parties inferior to both speakers

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:

Parents speaking with their children: parents = B, children = D.
An extended family get-together: each generation gets a form, usually B/C/D, but A and E are used if the generational range is large enough.
A challenge (gdêkmu): the fighters are B and D, but reverse if the challenger wins; the spectators use A/C/E depending on status.
A classroom: teacher = B, students = D.
Two groups are negotiating: the superior group’s leader = B, the inferior group’s leader = C, all their subordinates = D.
A ktuvok is inspecting the troops: ktuvoks = A, officers = B, soldiers = D.

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.)

Going from D to A, we have the progression
SVS → FVS → FVF → FrVF
where S → F indicates that a stop is fricativized. Differences at each gradation are bolded. (Note ch j → sh zh; same with ts dz. p → w for the initial only.)
In the A form, an r is inserted after the initial.
If there’s an initial cluster, the progression becomes
SSVS → SFVS → SFVF → SrVF
Affricates count as a single consonant: tsuk ‘know’ is SVS not SSVS.
In the E grade, voice the first consonant(s).

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 -tô 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

bôtot enter

gotot exit

dzuntot return

khintot leave

nektot cross

bôthowath B went in

dzundorut E doesn’t return

nekthrothôruth A (dual) will not cross

bôthothopat 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 -tô- 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

paktôsho wife-to-be, fiancé

ultlar mayor

ultlapar former mayor

ultlatôr 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.

Substitute a more insulting term, or a metonym:
nâk mouth → kthe hole
kukla work unit → dhlêk flock
tlekmi horse → jadh dog
dhmel it’s raining → pshim it’s pissing
jômro leg → tsak bone
redna foot → guy, dude
châm ass → woman
jêtsêt shoes → upper-class person
katsuk hair → rabble, commoners (as they didn’t shave)
Many of these were so commonly used that they became the standard word in Dhekhnami.
Voice the initial (note that this is the same operation as in forming the lowest rank verbs) and optionally front the vowels:
peksho wife → beksho
pdhotno Qarau → bdhetno
tlar city → dlâr
tsak bone, leg→ dzak
Reduplication of the last syllable, with the previous syllable stressed and drawn out, expresses mockery. This can be intensified by reduplicating the entire word.
pekshóoosho wifey-wife
tujnotúuuujno iliu-shmiliu
Add the suffix -gân or the (extremely negative) prefix wum-:
pekshogân damn wife
chotno shorty → chotnogân friggin’ shorty
wumpeksho goddamn wife
Saying a word backwards expresses contempt with a tinge of occult power, as this originates in magical incantations. (Such words can violate phonotactics, which may or may not affect the pronunciation.)
ontoch shorty—affricates are not internally reversed
ontêng wretch— that’s [ng] not [ŋ]

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; tsak → dzak → kadz 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 8^x

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

bô 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 bô. 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:

single-word adverbs, e.g. nashrê ‘always’, shêk ‘too much’, lhôt ‘at least’
active participles, which function like our -ly adverbs: gnâtil ‘quickly’, gshumil ‘noisily’
prepositional phrases: bô lâchmât ‘in summer’, shêb ultlar ‘by order of the mayor’
clauses, discussed below

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

bô 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 # x^{8 =}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)

	labial	dental	palatal	velar	vowels
stops	p	t	ch	k	i	u
stops	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

	‘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

tot	go
bôtot	enter
gotot	exit
dzuntot	return
khintot	leave
nektot	cross

bôthowath	B went in
dzundorut	E doesn’t return
nekthrothôruth	A (dual) will not cross
bôthothopat	C (pl.) kept entering

1	request (for superiors)	-en	kthuthen please come
1	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
3	passive participle	-ug	kritug wanted

	‘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

peksho	wife
pekpasho	ex-wife
paktôsho	wife-to-be, fiancé

ultlar	mayor
ultlapar	former mayor
ultlatôr	future mayor

kmêchno	superior
kmêpachno	former superior

pekshothe	B’s wife
pekshodin	D’s wife

bêdhawên	E’s skirt

trêmkhol	A’s estate

	AB	C	D	E
this one	wikho	wiko	piko	biko
that near one	shithe	shite	chite	jite
that far one	shoj	shoj	tsoj	dzoj

now	eral
then (near pres.)	megle
then (farther)	pakwe

	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

	x	8x	be xth	1/x	8^x
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

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

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	6512 + 664 = 3456
plhek-tseb zh plhek-dlhek zh kapaj	6512 + 664 + 24 = 3480
enki-khdagne	4*4096 = 16384
dhak-najêt	2*32768 = 65536

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

tnur	between
nek	across
go	outside
bô	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

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

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

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

want to	krit
fear to	kloch
can	gpuk
must	tmêt
learn	kmap
do	pol
almost do	shnektut

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

moreover	zhmen
or	wamen
then	mêgmin
however	ôlmen
therefore	râj
because	tnish
likewise	tlochmen

	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