Old Skourene

Lenani-Littoral

The first invasion took place around -50 Z.E., displacing the Mei peoples. The invaders gave the country its name, Skouras, and spread first to the littoral, then to the Mnau peninsula, and then across the southern sea to Gurdago.

(All the letters in Skouras have their IPA values; so the first syllable rhymes with stow, not with scow or sue.)

For more on the history and culture of the Skourenes, see the Historical Atlas of Skouras, or on a lighter note, the Skourene Culture Test.

The second invasion was that of the Tžuro, who originally lived in the eastern half of the Lenani plateau. On fire with the new religion of Jippirasti, they invaded Skouras in the 1600s. Around 3000, the Tžuro state of Jaešim colonized the southwestern portion of Arcél, creating the nation of Fananak.

The invasions serve to classify the languages of the family:

• the first invasion produced the Littoral subfamily;
• the second produced the Tžuro;
• those who stayed on the Plateau became the Lenani subfamily.
  

The exiles also called themselves the Uṭandal (‘the Strong’), and it’s convenient to use this name rather than Skourenes for the post-Jippirasti Littoral peoples.

The major languages in the family are these; there are also half a dozen minor languages.

LENANI
     Old Lenani+, Lenani, Karimi, Lumbani
TŽURO
     Babureni+, Šureni, Jaešeni, Fananaki
LITTORAL
     Old Skourene+
    EASTERN
         Gelihurendi, Šijinti, Uṭandal, Barmundi
    WESTERN
         Gurdagor, Didburir

Old Skourene

Skouras and the littoral were never united under one government— though this was the aspiration of one group or another throughout the period— and the language was thus subject to great regional variation. This document describes the most prestigious variety, the language spoken in the great cities of the Šinour delta— Engidori, Iṭili, and Imuṭeli— in the classical period, Z.E. 300-900.

(The names and areas of the major OS dialects are the same as those of the variants of the writing system, and can be seen on map 827 in the Historical Atlas of Skouras.)

It can be taken as the ancestor of all the modern Littoral languages, east and west, including Gurdagor— though the remoter areas (Rudeŋ, Jecuor, Šiji) preserve some oddities and vocabulary that must date back to sister languages. An example is the name Barmund; it was the equivalent of OS Ṭarmand ‘southern people’.)

Old Skourene has several distinctive features:

• Verbs are declined largely by changing the vowels within an unchanging triconsonantal root.
• Most nouns, including everyday words, are derived from verbs; there are standalone nouns, but these form a small closed class.
• The case structure is ergative/absolutive rather than nominative/accusative.
• There is no subordination per se; instead, OS uses a wide array of conjunctions.
• Its writing system is a mixture of morphemographs (there is a glyph per root) and a very stripped-down syllabary.
  

The phonology is somewhat idealized, being based on reconstruction from modern dialects, borrowing behavior, infuriatingly vague comments from OS grammarians, and the OS writing system. The only really problematic aspect is the exact nature of the third column of consonants. Retroflex is the best guess, but palatal and even aspirated stops are remoter possibilities.

To produce retroflex stops, start with the tongue on the alveolar ridge behind the teeth, and slip it upwards. The tip may end up curled backwards (which is what ‘retroflex’ means). However, it shouldn’t end up on the top of the palate (that’s the place for palatals). If you’re American, your r may be retroflex. If your tongue points upward from its rest position, you’re in business— just move it forward a bit and you’ve got OS ṭ and ḍ. If your tongue points downward and is pulled into the back of the mouth, you have a bunched r instead.

OS r in the delta dialect was an approximant, but seems to have been a flap in other areas (e.g., it ended up as a flap in Gurdagor).

English t/d/n/s/l are alveolar, with the tongue touching the ridge behind the teeth; make sure you pronounce the OS t/d/n/s/l as dental, with the tongue touching the teeth, for maximum contrast with the retroflexes.

OS had some formidable clusters (e.g. kpasriukka, ŋoknlun). Some of these were subject to assimilation consistently enough that it can be assigned to the OS period:

• combinations of dental and retroflex stops assmilate: *ḍadḍu → ḍaḍḍu
• inital stops agree in voicing: *kḍeba → kṭepa, *gtira → gdira
  
• a velar nasal assimilates after a dental stop: *udŋa → udna
  

There is no phonemic retroflex nasal, but n next to a retroflex consonant was very likely retroflexed.

N before g was not velarized; don’t pronounce Engidori as *Eŋgidori.

Any two distinct vowels can be concatenated; but two identical vowels are separated by an inserted r— e.g. a + a = ara.

The general stress rule is that it comes after the first consonant in the root. As this requires identifying what the root is, this will be discussed in more detail below.

Verbal Morphology

OS verbs have several dimensions of variation:

• four case paradigms: absolutive, ergative, ergative/absolutive, and reflexive
• subject/object information: person, gender, and number
• five moods: perfect, intentive, desiderative, metutive, and imperative
• four aspects: unmarked, inceptive, durative, and cyclical
• Meanings can be modified by over two dozen verb prefixes.
  

The system is complicated enough that a conjugation utility can be useful.

There are also nominal derivations; indeed, the vast majority of OS nouns are derived from verbs; the non-derived nouns are a small closed class.

Gender

OS doesn’t have lexical gender, as in French or Verdurian; it has natural gender, like English. That is, gender isn’t a fact about words, but a fact about referents.

There are four genders, which can be divided into two overall categories, sentients and non-sentients.

• Sentients (or persons) include humans, other intelligent species such as the iliu and elcari, gods and supernatural beings. These are divided into
  • masculine, for adult males in these categories, or for mixed groups
  • feminine, for females and children
• Non-sentients include everything else. These can be divided into
  • animate, for animals, and more broadly, for anything conceived of as able to act on its own— notably including bodily organs, fire, running water, cities and countries, and the weather. Abstractions regarded as active (e.g. epuneka ‘fate’) work as animates.
  • inanimate, for things that are not regarded as acting on their own.

By our standards, the Skourenes were fairly generous about assigning sentiency or animacy. From their perspective, of course, we are extremely narrow about these things!

Gender is not always expressed; when it is, the distinction made is not always fourfold. Sometimes only sentients and non-sentients are distinguished; sometimes masculine/feminine/non-sentient.

A tour of the root

ṭelpum	it was written
ṭelup	I wrote
ṭuloup	we will write
aiṭlope	they made me write
ṭeilop	he was always writing
inṭulup	I may try to write
ṭlepa	document
aṭelop	writer
ṭilap	pen
uṭalpas	the art of writing
aṭalpi	written
gauṭulip	you write clumsily
nilṭulrap	she can write

For ease in discussion, it’s convenient to name the positions within the root; we will refer to the three consonants as C1, C2, C3, and the positions adjacent to them as P0, P12, P23, P4. Thus instead of saying “an -a- inserted between the second and third consonants signals a noun” we can say “an -a- in P23 signals a noun”.

Some examples:

P0	C1	P12	C2	P23	C3	P4
	ṭ	e	l		p	u
ai	ṭ		l	o	p	e
	ṭ		l	e	p	a
	ṭ	i	l	a	p
u	ṭ	a	l		p	as

There are a small number of biconsonantal roots, which will be discussed later.

Now that we’ve defined the positions we can state the stress rule:

• Stress is placed at P12.
• If there’s nothing there it moves to P23 instead.
• Prefixes are never stressed.
  

Ergativity

The window broke.
The boys broke the window.

• experiencer (subject of intransitive)
• actor (subject of transitive)
• patient (object of transitive)
  

• Actors and experiencers have the same case, nominative. This is easiest to see with pronouns: compare I danced with I hit my brother. However, it affects syntax as well: both appear before the verb, as subjects, and both trigger 3s verb agreement (compare The window breaks vs. The man breaks the windows).
• Patients have their own case, the accusative— compare My brother hit me. Syntactically, they appear after the verb, as objects.
  

So aknó brisre.
Soî sefoi brisrü so aknám.

• Experiencers and patients have the same case, the absolutive. Semantically, this is more sensible than our system: the window, for instance, obviously has the same role in both sentences.
• Actors have their own case, the ergative. (As a mnemonic: the name comes from the Greek ergon ‘work’, as in ‘ergonomic’. The ergative is the one who’s doing the work.)
  

Some sample OS sentences:

Bakşu tostim. The window broke.
Bakoşu tostim immolnimi. The boys broke the window.
Bakoş immolnimi. The boys broke something.

• The syntactic case always matches the semantic roles: the recipient of the action, tostim ‘window’, always appears in the absolutive; the actor immolnimi ‘boys’ always appears in the ergative.

• Both nouns trigger verb agreement: the absolutive argument appears on the verb as the ending -u; the ergative appears on the verb as the infix -o-.

• Sentence order is typically VAE, that is, verb-absolutive-ergative. When both arguments appear we can think of it as VOS.

• Either argument can be omitted in OS. In the third example the absolutive is left out, something we can only do awkwardly in English, by supplying a dummy argument. Note that the missing argument no longer triggers verb argument: the absolutive -u is omitted from the verb.
  

Lexical effects

Often, though, we have a pair of verbs where OS has one: rise / raise; fall / drop; die / kill, come / fetch. These will be one verb and one concept in OS; this may take some getting used to. The transitive generally has a causative meaning, though as we’ll see OS has a causative as well.

We also have verb pairs which have about the same meaning, but differ in transitivity: I listened vs. I heard the sound; I studied vs. I learned algebra. These pairs are also single verbs in OS, with our subject expressed in the ergative; if a patient is present it’s as usual placed in the absolutive.

If we have no separate intransitive verb, we use the passive. For instance, we can say The mother nurtures the child but there’s no simple verb for what the child is doing; we have to say The child is nurtured. In OS there is; the child melnu, which has none of the indirectness of our passive.

The four paradigms

• Absolutive, used when only an absolutive noun is present, as in Bakşu tostim ‘the window broke’.

• Ergative, used when only an ergative noun is present, as in Kisn immolnim ‘the boy spoke’.

• Absolutive/ergative, used when both absolutive and ergative arguments are present, as in Bakoşu tostim immolnimi.

• Reflexive, used for self-acting or reciprocal actions— in our terms, when the subject and object are identical.
  

Absolutive paradigm

The absolutive can always be used alone, with no ergative ‘subject’, even for transitive verbs. E.g. Ṭelpum ṭlepa, which we have to translate more verbosely as ‘The document was written’ or ‘Someone wrote the document’.

(This is the most basic verb tense in OS, but the glosses are past tense. Technically this is the perfect mood. We’ll see how to refer to present events later on.)

		be heard	break	fall	be lit up
I	-e	kisne	bakşe	targe	şebre
I-f	-et	kisnet	bakşet	target	şebret
you-m	-a	kisna	bakşa	targa	şebra
you-f	-at	kisnat	bakşat	targat	şebrat
you-du	-as	kisnas	bakşas	targas	şebras
he	-u	kisnu	bakşu	targu	şebru
she	-ut	kisnut	bakşut	targut	şebrut
it	-um	kisnum	bakşum	targum	şebrum
we-excl	-ep	kisnep	bakşep	targep	şebrep
we-incl	-eg	kisneg	bakşeg	targeg	şebreg
you-pl	-ag	kisnag	bakşag	targag	şebrag
they	-i	kisni	bakşi	targi	şebri
they-f	-it	kisnit	bakşit	targit	şebrit
they-ns	-im	kisnim	bakşim	targim	şebrim

• The absolutive endings are always placed in P4.
• The basic endings are
  1st person -e
  2nd person -a
  3rd person s. -u, pl. -i
• Gender can be distinguished by adding a suffix:
  • Add -t for feminine referents. Using the feminine in 1s and 2s is rare, generally restricted to writing where the gender of the speaker and listener is not obvious.
  • Add -m for non-sentients, but only in the 3s and 3p. (In stories where animals talk, they use the first and second person forms as if they were human; but in the third person they require the -m.)
• A dual is formed in the 2s by appending -s. A 3s dual -us is sometimes found.
• In the 1st and 2nd persons, pluralization is indicated by affixes -p or -g.
  • In the 1p, the first indicates exclusive we (‘I and others, not you’), the second inclusive we (‘I and you’).
  • Think of the -g as implying ‘you’. Thus it’s used for the 2p, and for the inclusive ‘we’, which includes ‘you’.

Ergative paradigm

		listen	break	drop	light up
I	-u-	kisun	bakuş	tarug	şebur
you-m	-i-	kisin	bakiş	tarig	şebir
you-f	-ri-	kisrin	bakriş	tarrig	şebrir
he	--	kisn	bakş	targ	şebr
she	-ra-	kisran	bakraş	tarrag	şebrar
it	-ḷa-	kislan	bakḷaş	tarḷag	sebḷar
we-excl	-obu-	kisobun	bakobuş	tarobug	şebobur
we-incl	-ou-	kisoun	bakouş	taroug	şebour
you-pl	-oi-	kisoin	bakoiş	taroig	şeboir
they-mf	-o-	kison	bakoş	tarog	şebor
they-an	-ḷo-	kislon	bakḷoş	tarḷog	şebḷor

• The ergative infixes are always placed in P23.
• The basic infixes are
  1st person -u-
  2nd person -i-
  3rd person none
  These are not the same as the absolutive endings!
• Gender is indicated in the 2s or 3s by infixing -r- for feminine and -ḷ- for animate referents immediately after C2. (In the 3s, insert -ra- / -ḷa.) Again, this is optional, and rare in the 2s. It is sometimes (but rarely) applied to the 1s: kisrun etc.
  Animate -ḷ- changes to -l- after a dental consonant (t d s n l).
  There’s no expression of inanimate gender: inanimates are precisely those things that can’t do anything. If you find yourself wanting to use the ergative for inanimates, you’re probably writing bad OS. E.g. an inanimate thing can’t “go” anywhere; it must be brought.
• There is no dual.
• Pluralization is accomplished by infixing -o- immediately after C2. Exclusive we uses -ob- instead.
• Very rarely the feminine -r- is used in the plural— e.g. kisroin ‘you (women) listened’. 3p animate -ḷ- is more common.
  

Ergative/Absolutive paradigm

	subject
object	I	you-m	you-f	he	she	we-excl	we-incl	you-pl	they
me		kisine	kisrine	kisne	kisrane	kisobune	kisoune	kisoine	kisone
me-f		kisinet	kisrinet	kisnet	kisranet	kisobunet	kisounet	kisoinet	kisonet
you-m	kisuna		kisrina	kisna	kisrana	kisobuna	kisouna	kisoina	kisona
you-f	kisunat	kisinat		kisnat	kisranat	kisobunat	kisounat	kisoinat	kisonat
you-du	kisunas	kisinas	kisrinas	kisnas	kisranas	kisobunas	kisounas	kisoinas	kisonas
him	kisunu	kisinu	kisrinu	kisnu	kisranu	kisobunu	kisounu	kisoinu	kisonu
her	kisunut	kisinut	kisrinut	kisnut	kisranut	kisobunut	kisounut	kisoinut	kisonut
us-excl	kisunep	kisinep	kisrinep	kisnep	kisranep	kisobunep	kisounep	kisoinep	kisonep
us-incl	kisuneg	kisineg	kisrineg	kisneg	kisraneg		kisouneg	kisoineg	kisoneg
you-pl	kisunag	kisinag	kisrinag	kisnag	kisranag	kisobunag			kisonag
them	kisuni	kisini	kisrini	kisni	kisrani	kisobuni	kisouni	kisoini	kisoni
them-f	kisunit	kisinit	kisrinit	kisnit	kisranit	kisobunit	kisounit	kisoinit	kisonit

• The blank cells in the chart are those where subject and object are the same; you don’t use ergative/absolute forms for these, but reflexives (next section). Forms like kisranut ‘she listened to her’ do exist, but their meaning is always non-reflexive; that is, it doesn’t mean ‘she listened to herself’.

• The he column is identical to the absolutive paradigm— that is, there’s no formal distinction between kisne ‘he listened to me’ and kisne ‘I was listened to’.

• To save space I’ve left out animate and inanimate referents. They’re simply combinations of the absolutive and ergative affixes we’ve seen, e.g. kislanum ‘it (animate) listed to it (inanimate).
  

kisuna	I listened to you (m).
kisobunas	We (excl) listened to the two of you.
bakşum	He broke it.
şebḷareg	It lit us (incl).
terilet	You (m) touched me (f).
dirobuşi	We (excl) allied with them.
geşorag	They ruled you people.

Reflexive / Reciprocal paradigm

		hear oneself	break oneself	drop oneself	light oneself up
I	-ei	kisnei	bakşei	targei	şebrei
I-f	-eṭ	kisneṭ	bakşeṭ	targeṭ	şebreṭ
you-m	-ai	kisnai	bakşai	targai	şebrai
you-f	-aṭ	kisnaṭ	bakşaṭ	targaṭ	şebraṭ
you-du	-aş	kisnaş	bakşaş	targaş	şebraş
he	-ui	kisnui	bakşui	targui	şebrui
she	-uṭ	kisnuṭ	bakşuṭ	targuṭ	şebruṭ
it	-uim	kisnuim	bakşuim	targuim	şebuim
they-du	-uş	kisnuş	bakşuş	targuş	şebruş
we-excl	-eip	kisneip	bakşeip	targeip	şebreip
we-incl	-eḍ	kisneḍ	bakşeḍ	targeḍ	şebreḍ
you-pl	-aḍ	kisnaḍ	bakşaḍ	targaḍ	şebraḍ
they	-iri	kisniri	bakşiri	targiri	şebriri
they-f	-irit	kisnirit	bakşirit	targirit	şebririt
they-ns	-irim	kisnirim	bakşirim	targirim	şebririm

• Historically these were formed by adding -i- after the vowel of the absolutive endings; but this caused retroflexion of the following consonant, if any, with loss of the i.
• The third person dual is alive and well: kisnuş ‘the two of them listened to each other’.
• Reflexive action is still an action, and thus unavailable to inanimates. The -m endings thus correspond to animates.
• The singular always has a reflexive meaning. The dual and plural are usually reciprocal, except for verbs of personal care (e.g. slat- ‘wash’).

kisnei	I heard myself.
kisnai	You (m) heard yourself.
kisnuṭ	She heard herself.
kisnaş	The two of you listened to each other.
kisneip	We (excl) listened to each other.
kisneḍ	We (incl) listened to each other.
kisnaḍ	You all listened to each other.
kisniri	They listened to each other.

Mood

There are four other moods. The descriptions below are simply a first approximation; the full usage of the verb is best explained after all the forms have been presented, and I therefore discuss it farther on, under Syntax.

• The intentive is formed by changing the stem vowel in P12 to u. Its base meaning is intention: someone intends to do something. As such it’s often used for the future tense, but it may correspond to our progressive, and even to our first-person imperatives. E.g. the second example below may also be glossed ‘I intended to listen’, ‘I’m listening’, ‘I was listening’, ‘Let me listen.’
  

kusne	I intend to be heard
kusun	I intend to listen
turga	You intend to fall
bukş	He intends to break (something)

• The desiderative is formed by changing the stem vowel to a (if it’s already a, to au). Its base meaning is that the action is desired: gandu ‘may he come’, ‘I hope he’ll come’, ‘he wants to come.’
  

kasne	I want to be heard
kasun	I want to listen
taurga	You want to fall
baukş	He wants to break (it)

• The metutive is formed by changing the stem vowel to o. It expresses a fear of a possible negative consequence: moŋl! ‘(I’m afraid) he may speak!’ ; bokşu ‘it may be broken’; gonode ‘(with my luck) they’ll summon me.’
  

kosne	I’m afraid of being heard
kosun	I’m afraid to listen
torga	You’re afraid to fall
bokş	He’s afraid of breaking (it)

• The negative is formed by deleting the stem vowel. Negative verbs are thus shorter than positive ones, which is enough of a rarity on Earth that language universals have been proposed against it. It can be used to negate any of the other moods.
  

ksne	I don’t/didn’t/won’t hear
ksun	I don’t/didn’t/won’t listen
trga	You don’t/didn’t/won’t fall
obkşu	He doesn’t/didn’t/won’t break it

The ‘regular’ form for the 3s ergative-paradigm negative would be C1C2C3— that is, a form with no vowels at all. By convention the absolutive 3sm -u is added— in effect we say ‘he didn’t break it’ rather than just ‘he didn’t break’— and normally o- is prefixed as well: thus obkşu above.
 
• The imperative is used for direct orders. It’s formed with u in P0 and nothing in P12, and the appropriate ergative infix or absolutive ending: uksne ‘may I be heard!’ uksoin ‘listen, all of you!’ udntu ‘let him go.’ Commands to oneself or to one’s group, however, are expressed as intentives.
  Some imperatives are unpronounceable even by the facile-tongued Skourenes; in this case an epenthetic -u- may be inserted in P12, as in the last two samples. (Technically, as we’ll see below, this creates an inceptive imperative: ‘begin to fall!’)
  

uksne	hear me!
uksinut	listen to her!
uturga	Fall!
ubukş	Let him break it!

Aspect

• The durative is formed by adding a. Its basic meaning is that an action extends in a solid block of time: dearke ‘I cried and cried’, karalteg ‘we slept for hours’.
  

kiasne	I was heard for a long time
kiasun	I listened for a long time
tararga	You kept falling

• The inceptive is formed by adding u. It focusses on the beginning of the action. As such, it often indicates a change of state, and this may replace separate verbs in English: merṭu ‘he rode’, meurṭu ‘he mounted’.
  

kiusne	I began to be heard
kiusun	I began to listen
tauga	You began to fall
baukş	He began to break (it)
şeubru	It was lit (e.g. set aflame)

• The cyclical is formed by adding i. Its basic meaning is that an action was repeated or habitual. Unlike the durative, it implies that the action was not continuous, but recurred at intervals.
  

kirisne	I was heard over and over
kirisun	I listened many times
tairga	You fell several times
baikş	He kept breaking it
şeibru	It was illuminated again and again

mood	aspect	example	gloss
perfect	unmarked	ṭelup	I wrote
	durative	ṭealup	I wrote and wrote
	inceptive	ṭeulup	I began to write
	cyclical	ṭeilup	I often wrote
intentive	unmarked	ṭulup	I intend to write
	durative	ṭualup	I intend to keep writing
	inceptive	ṭurulup	I intend to start writing
	cyclical	ṭuilup	I intend to write over and over
desiderative	unmarked	ṭalup	I want to write
	durative	ṭaralup	I want to keep writing
	inceptive	ṭaulup	I want to start writing
	cyclical	ṭailup	I want to write over and over
metutive	unmarked	ṭolup	I’m afraid I’ll write
	durative	ṭoalup	I’m afraid I’ll keep writing
	inceptive	ṭoulup	I’m afraid I’ll start writing
	cyclical	ṭoilup	I’m afraid I’ll write over and over
imperative	unmarked	uṭlip	write!
	durative	uṭalip	keep writing!
	inceptive	uṭulip	start writing!
	cyclical	uṭilip	write over and over!

Verb prefixes

These can be divided into several classes.

Causative

bakşum	It broke
bakuşum	I broke it
aibakşe	He made me break (it)

Aibakşi tostimi molnimil ŋagetorul.
caus-break-3s-3p window-gen-def boys-def potter-def
The potter made the boys break the window.

Inanimates can never cause anything.

Manner

prefix	meaning	example
me-	pretense; doubt	mekisun	I pretended to listen
nil-	knowledge, ability	nilseatre	I know how to swim
in-	attempt	inkisun	I tried to listen
gam-	clumsiness	gammendu	he walked clumsily, he stumbled
ŋre-	falsity	ŋrenulin	he spoke wrongly, he lied
kpa-	wrongness	kpaguaşreg kpanulin	We are misruled he spoke wrongly, he was mistaken
bun-	neglect to do, almost do	bunḍişinu	you overlooked it
ukḷu-	despective	ukḷuṭiarku	he was lurking (ṭirk- ‘stand’)
kus-	in a superior way	kussemritu	she outran him
ru-	quickly, urgently	rurugnda!	come quickly!
ṭis-	into pieces	ṭisbakşum	it broke into pieces
ḍam-	completely, wholly	ḍamşeabrum	it was entirely lit up
ŋok-	stop	ŋokmende	I stopped walking
piŋ-	undo	piŋgitrum	it was destroyed
pum-	help	pumsaulrat	she wants to help clean
min-	back	mindanteg	we went back
mek-	here	mekuḍriḍum!	bring it to me here!
ḍim-	there	ḍimmenidut?	did she walk there?

Me- indicates doubtfulness in the absolutive paradigm (mekisne ‘I may not have been heard’), but falseness or fakery in the ergative (mekisun ‘I pretended to listen’).

Associated action

prefix	meaning	example
mne-	walk	mnemoirmeg	we’re walking in a circle
tim-	cut	tiuḍeḍugu	I cut it in half
bau-	speech	baugime	he insulted me (= bit with words)

Associated object

prefix	meaning	example
les-	water	leskeşgut leskuşuga	she drowned I greet you (= bring you water)
ksa-	heat, light	ksaşodme ksaḍeske	I’m dizzy from the heat it’s faded (= whitened by light)
ŋol-	food	ŋolburusug	I’m hungry (= lack food)
una-	clothing	unatisipe	he tore my clothes
nos-	money	nosḍaraḍum	I paid for it (= money-took it)
ḍoŋ-	baby	ḍoŋuslritu!	wash the baby!
um-	head or face	umboŋke	I have a headache
bol-	hair	bolbuldei	I’m going to comb my hair
teḷ-	by hand	teḷgenudum	I made it by hand
gan-	by foot	gantarasgut	she was barefoot

Nominalizations

That we can form all these nominalizations doesn’t mean that we should. Proper OS style prefers verbs wherever possible— e.g. “I fight and they cannot stop me” rather than “My fighting technique is unstoppable”. See Avoiding copulation below.

• Process: eCuCeCa
  This is a general nominalization naming a process, activity, or ability.
  

ekusena	listening, hearing
eṭulepa	the writing process
egutera	creation
ekureka	fighting, combat
eguşera	government, rule
emulena	nurture, mothering
emuŋela	speaking, (the facility of) speech
emusepa	thinking; concern, worry

• Instance: CCiuCCa
  A single instance of the action. In English the same word is often used for both process and instance, but the instance takes an article (compare ‘thought’ with ‘a thought’).
  

ksiunna	an act of listening
ṭliuppa	a writing session
gdiurra	the formation of a single object
kriukka	a fight
gşiurra	a governmental act
mliunna	a nurturing action
ŋiulla	utterance
msiuppa	thought, idea

• Art: uCaCCas
  Specifically names an art, skill, or science.
  

ukasnas	listening skills
uṭalpas	writing
ugatrasa	pottery
ukarkas	the art of war
ugaşras	a ‘gubernatorial’ (vs. a senatorial) state
umalnas	the art of nurturance, parenting skills
umaŋlas	oratory
umaspas	logic

• Resulting object: CCeCa
  An object (or at least a speech act) resulting from the action.
  

ṭlepa	document, essay
gdira	pot, vessel
mŋela	a speech, a discourse
msepa	subject, topic
gşera	regime, administration

• Patient: CoCCim
  A person or object that undergoes the action. (By contrast with the previous transform, this should be a person if possible; if not, it’s less concrete; compare gdira, gotrim.)
  

kosnim	a sound
ṭolpim	text
gotrim	the form or shape of something
korkim	opponent
goşrim	subject (of a ruler)
molnim	child
moŋlim	addressee, audience
mospim	ward, protégé

If desired, these can be made explicitly feminine by changing the final -m to -s; e.g. mospis ‘female ward’, molnis ‘girl’.
Recall that the OS feminine includes children; this is occasionally relevant— e.g. goşris could be used for ‘a child subject’. Where the word implies non-adult status, however (e.g. molnis, mospis), it refers to actual girls.
• Actor: aCeCoC
  A person that does the action.
  

akeson	listener
aṭelop	writer
agetor	potter, creator
akerok	fighter
ageşor	ruler
amelon	mother
ameŋol	speaker
amesop	thinker

These can optionally be turned into female referents by adding a final -t; e.g. aṭelopt ‘female writer’, akerokt ‘female fighter’, ameŋolt ‘female speaker’. Again, where semantically appropriate, these can refer to children as well.
• Device: CeCCeC
  An object that performs the action. This is never a person, though it could be an animal, e.g. ŋessem ‘bull, stud’.
  

kessen	a recording device, perhaps magical
ṭellep	a writing device
getter	mold
kerrek	a recalcitrant or dangerous machine
meŋŋel	a speaking device
messep	robot

• Tool: CiCaC
  A tool or object used to execute the action. Many basic nouns in OS derive from verbs using this transform.
  

kisan	ear
ṭilap	pen
gitar	potter’s wheel
kirak	weapon
gişar	staff (Skourene symbol of authority)
milan	breast
miŋal	mouth
misap	heart (for Skourenes, the organ of thought)

• Place: CCaCali
  A place where the action is performed.
  

ṭlapali	scriptorium
gdarali	pottery shop
krakali	arena
gşarali	throne room, court
mlanali	foster home, orphanage
mŋalali	auditorium
msapali	study, a thinker’s private room

• Absolutive participle: aCaCCi
  Something acted upon. Similar to our past participle, but not always passive in meaning— e.g. agandi means ‘(someone) coming’.
  

akasni	heard
aṭalpi	written
agatri	formed, shaped
akarki	fought
agaşri	ruled
amalni	nurtured
amaŋli	spoken to
amaspi	thought about or cared for

• Ergative participle: iCCCeC
  Something which acts; similar to our present participle.
  

ikksen	listening
iṭṭlep	writing
iggter	forming
ikkrek	fighting
iggşer	ruling
immlen	nurturing
immŋel	speaking
immsep	thinking

ḍairḷoḍ	they keep bringing it	amber
gitra	you were formed	wax
guṭḷi	they will be glad	good omen
kusni	they will be heard	language
Miligenḍi	they were summoned; they came	(city name)
ḍadnim	they are inside	intestines
guşouri	we rule them	hinterland
ṭailuadni	they want to keep living in the sea	iliu
goşpa	it tires you	far
nuilmim	they will cyclically shine	moons
mianum	it is always below	floor
gairoukum	we cyclically sprinkle it	cumin
muḍureg	we will be whole	federation
gidori	they protected them	military honors
raḍḍoug	we have finished harvesting	harvest festival
usṭişum	(you) solve it!	puzzle

There are also irregular derivations:

maŋ- fear	→	moŋ coward
dem- go upward	→	idma more
ḍed- be a brother	→	ḍod brother
meld- be a sister	→	mald sister
pasn- be a man	→	pisan ten
sirm- crawl	→	surm reptile

Biconsonantal verbs

For biconsonantal verbs, the positions are named P0 C1 P12 C2 P3.

• The absolutive and reflexive paradigms work as usual, since they’re applied with suffixes.

• The ergative and ergative/absolutive paradigms discard the stem vowel and replace it with the ergative infixes. (The exception is the 3s null infix; here, just leave the stem vowel alone.)
  

	kisn- listen	ḍer- rot	gim- bite	riŋ- sing	ŋeḍ- recline
abs (1s)	kisne	ḍere	gime	riŋe	ŋeḍe
erg (1s)	kisun	ḍur	gum	ruŋ	ŋud
abs/erg (1s/2s)	kisuna	ḍura	guma	ruŋa	ŋuda
refl (1s)	kisnei	ḍerei	gimei	riŋei	ŋeḍei
erg (3s)	kisn	der	gim	riŋ	ŋeḍ

• For the intentive, desiderative, and metutive moods, prefix the verb with the mood vowel (u-, a-, or o-), and delete the stem vowel (if it hasn’t been replaced by an ergative infix).

• The negative is formed by duplicating the initial consonant and inserting -o- in between.

• The imperative merges with the intentive.
  

	kisn- listen	ḍer- rot	gim- bite	riŋ- sing	ŋeḍ- recline
Absolutive (1s)
intentive	kusne	uḍre	ugme	urŋe	uŋde
desiderative	kasne	aḍre	agme	arŋe	aŋḍe
metutive	kosne	oḍre	ogme	orŋe	oŋḍe
negative	ksne	ḍoḍre	gogme	rorŋe	ŋoŋḍe
Ergative (1s)
intentive	kusun	uḍur	ugum	uruŋ	uŋuḍ
desiderative	kasun	aḍur	agum	aruŋ	aŋuḍ
metutive	kosun	oḍur	ogum	oruŋ	oŋuḍ
negative	ksun	ḍoḍur	gogum	roruŋ	ŋoŋuḍ

• If there’s no overt mood, the aspect vowel (-a/u/i-) is inserted before C2— that is, after the stem vowel or ergative prefix, whichever occupies P12. (This produces a few mergers— e.g. goim could be ‘you-pl bit’ or ‘they habitually bit’; only context can disambiguate these.)
• If there’s a marked mood, insert the aspect vowel after the mood vowel.
  

	kisn- listen	ḍer- rot	gim- bite	riŋ- sing	ŋeḍ- recline
Absolutive (1s)
durative	kiasne	ḍeare	giame	riaŋe	ŋeaḍe
inceptive	kiusne	ḍeure	giume	riuŋe	ŋeuḍe
cyclical	kirisne	ḍeire	girime	ririŋe	ŋeiḍe
Ergative (1s)
durative	kiasun	ḍuar	guam	ruaŋ	ŋuad
inceptive	kiusun	ḍurur	gurum	ruruŋ	ŋurud
cyclical	kirisun	ḍuir	guim	ruiŋ	ŋuid
With aspects (1s)
Absolutive (1s)
dur + int	kuasne	uaḍre	uagme	uarŋe	uaŋḍe
incep + desid	kausne	auḍre	augme	aurŋe	auŋḍe
cycl + metut	koisne	oiḍre	oigme	oirŋe	oiŋḍe
Ergative (1s)
dur + int	kuasun	uaḍur	uagum	uaruŋ	uaŋuḍ
incep + desid	kausun	auḍur	augum	auruŋ	auŋuḍ
cycl + metut	koisun	oiḍur	oigum	oiruŋ	oiŋuḍ

• The prefixes work as usual; the prefixes appear before the mood/aspect prefixes if any.

• The pattern for the nominalizations can be seen in the following table.
  

	kisn- listen	ḍer- rot	gim- bite	riŋ- sing	ŋeḍ- recline
Process	ekusena	eḍera	egema	ereŋa	eŋeḍa
Instance	ksiunna	ḍiurra	giumma	riuŋŋa	ŋiuḍḍa
Art	ukasnas	uḍaras	ugamas	uraŋas	uŋaḍas
Resulting object	ksena	ḍrera	gmema	reŋa	ŋeḍa
Patient	kosnim	ḍorim	gomim	roŋim	ŋodim
Actor	akeson	aḍeroṭ	agemoṭ	areŋoṭ	aŋeḍoṭ
Device	kessen	ḍerreḍ	gemmeg	reŋŋer	ŋeḍḍeŋ
Tool	kisan	ḍiraḍ	gimag	riŋar	ŋiḍaŋ
Place	ksanali	ḍarali	gamali	riŋali	ŋaḍali
Abs. participle	akasni	aḍari	agami	araŋi	aŋaḍi
Erg. participle	ikksen	iḍḍer	iggem	irreŋ	iŋŋeḍ

• Number (singular, dual, plural)
• Case (absolutive, ergative, genitive)
• Definiteness (indefinite, close definite, remote definite)
  

The citation form— the form you’ll find in the lexicon, and the one the other forms are all built from— is the absolutive singular indefinite.

Noun stress:

• If a noun derives from a verb, it follows the verb stress rule (thus tébbeḍ, amélon, krákali, ukásnas, kísan, Agéşoram, Gúṭḷeli).
• If not, it’s stressed on the vowel following the first consonant in the root (thus Skínor, kúḷiŋ, máḍaŋ, Ṭísuram, Iṭíli).
• The word eŋ ‘city’and its derivatives are stressed on the e: éŋi, éngidori.

Affixing nouns (indefinite)

		‘realm’	‘mother’	‘wax’	‘arena’	‘writing’
sing.	abs	tebbeḍ	amelon	gitra	krakali	ukasnas
	erg	ittebbeḍ	ŋamelon	iggitra	ikrakali	ŋukasna
	gen	tebbeḍi	ameloni	gitrai	krakaliri	ukasnai
pl.	abs	tebbeḍe	amelono	gitrar	krakalir	ukasnara
	erg	ittebbeḍe	ŋamelono	iggitrar	ikrakalir	ŋukasnara
	gen	tebbeḍu	amelonu	gitrau	krakaliu	ukasnau

• The ergative is formed:
  • If the noun begins with a single consonant, by prefixing the word with iC1. That is, the initial consonant is doubled.
  • If it begins with two consonants, by prefixing it with i-.
  • If it begins with a vowel, by prefixing it with ŋ-.

• The genitive is formed by suffixing -i in the singular, -u in the plural. As usual, i + i = iri and u + u = uru.

• The plural is formed:
  • If the noun ends in a consonant, by suffixing the last vowel in the root.
  • Otherwise, by suffixing -r.

    (We can reconcile these two rules by supposing that in the ancestral language, a final vowel was doubled, with the usual -r- insertion between identical vowels: *gitrara; the final vowel was then lost.)

• If the noun ends in -as or -is, remove the -s before applying the above rules. E.g. Skouras → erg. Isskoura, gen. Skourai.

Vowel-changing nouns (indefinite)

		‘document’	‘ear’	‘sea’	‘temple’	‘city’
sing.	abs	ṭlepa	kisan	ṭal	ṭisu	eŋ
	erg	iṭṭlepa	ikkisan	iṭṭal	iṭṭisu	ŋeŋ
	gen	ṭleipa	kisain	ṭail	ṭirisu	eŋi
pl.	abs	ṭlopa	kison	ṭol	ṭusu	oŋ
	erg	iṭṭlopa	ikkison	iṭṭol	iṭṭusu	ŋoŋ
	gen	ṭleupa	kisaun	ṭaul	ṭiusu	eŋu

• The ergative is formed in the same way as for affixing nouns.
• The genitive is formed by infixing -i- in the singular, -u- in the plural, after the last non-final vowel in the root (or to put it another way, before the final consonant of the root). As usual, i+i = iri, u+u = uru.
  A subclass of vowel-changing nouns forms the genitive in the same way as affixing nouns; eŋ is an example. These are noted in the lexicon.
• The plural abs. and erg. are formed by backing the last vowel: i/o → u, a/e → o.
  

• The resulting object (CCeCa) and tool (CiCaC) nominalizations are always vowel-changing.
• The relatively few nouns which aren’t derived from a verb (often recognizable by being biconsonantal) are vowel-changing; cf. ṭal, ṭisu above.
• Adding the -ṭi- diminutive (see below) to a vowel-changing noun makes it affixing.
• Borrowings (e.g. the Skinor river, Aksun, Deṭubori) are always affixing.
• Anything not predictable by these rules is indicated in the lexicon.
  

Definite forms

• The close definite suffix is normally -ul.
• After a vowel, it’s just -l.
• If the noun ends in plural -r, change this to -ḷ instead.
• If the noun ends in -as or -is, change these to -atul, -itul instead.
  

		‘writing’	‘wax’	‘document’	‘ear’
base		ukasnas	gitra	ṭlepa	kisan
sing.	abs	ukasnatul	gitral	ṭlepal	kisanul
	erg	ŋukasnal	iggitral	iṭṭlepal	ikkisanul
	gen	ukasnail	gitrail	ṭleipal	kirisanul
pl.	abs	ukasnaral	gitraḷ	ṭlopal	kisonul
	erg	ŋukasnaral	iggitraḷ	iṭṭlopal	ikkisonul
	gen	ukasnaul	gitraul	ṭleupal	kiusanul

• The remote definite suffix is normally -aŋ.
• After a vowel, it’s just -ŋ.
• If the noun ends in -as or -is, change these to -ask, -isk instead.
  

		‘writing’	‘wax’	‘document’	‘ear’
base		ukasnas	gitra	ṭlepa	kisan
sing.	abs	ukasnask	gitraŋ	ṭlepaŋ	kisanaŋ
	erg	ŋukasnaŋ	iggitraŋ	iṭṭlepaŋ	ikkisanaŋ
	gen	ukasnaiŋ	gitraiŋ	ṭleipaŋ	kirisanaŋ
pl.	abs	ukasnaraŋ	gitraŋ	ṭlopaŋ	kisonaŋ
	erg	ŋukasnaraŋ	iggitraŋ	iṭṭlopaŋ	ikkisonaŋ
	gen	ukasnauŋ	gitrauŋ	ṭleupaŋ	kiusanaŋ

The remote definite can be seen as an obviative: ṭlepaŋ ‘the other document’.

These can be also seen as demonstratives, and in fact historically that’s what they are: ‘this document / that document’. If you have no specific noun in mind, you can use the generic mam ‘thing, item’— e.g. mamul ‘this one, mamaŋ ‘that one’.

The precise manner of using the definite forms varied by region:

• In the delta they were used much as in English.
• In the southeast (and therefore in Gurdago) they were less used, generally only to avoid confusion.
• In the southwest they’re very frequent, used more as in French.
• In the far north they’re not used at all.
  

Diminutives

ḍel river → ḍeṭil brook
konşim galley → koṭinsim rowboat
misan grass → misaṭin stubble
surm reptile → suṭirm insect
greḍa house → greṭiḍa hut

1. Take the accented syllable only (including final consonant)
2. Change dentals to retroflexes, and velars to labials.
3. Raise a (if any) to e.
4. Add a copy of the vowel to the end of the word

aŋesom father → meşe daddy
amelon mother → meḷe mommy
ḍod brother → ḍoḍo
mald sister → meḍe
adenom male lover → ḍene
domim female lover → ḍomo
biraḍ buttocks → biri tushie

Adjectives, more or less

• Descriptive affixes, such as -ram ‘great’ -ikt ‘cold’; these never stand alone, but simply extend the meanings of nouns.
• Associative nouns, such as skourand ‘Skourene’, komand ‘eastern’; these are derived from nouns and can be used as substantives, but can also be used appositively much like adjectives.
• The participles, which are similar to associative nouns but are derived from verbs instead.
• Descriptive verbs, such as şilp- ‘be fat’; these are simply verbs, though they have no ergative forms.
  

Descriptive affixes

Suffixes

suffix	miŋal harbor	ḍel river	norşis maiden	ṭisu temple	dreşa alliance	krakali arena
-ram great	miŋarram	ḍerram	norşisram	ṭisuram	dreşaram	krakaliram
-sok white	miŋalsok	ḍelsok	norşissok	ṭisusok	dreşasok	krakalisok
-eli good	miŋaleli	ḍeleli	norşiseli	ṭisueli	dreşeli	krakaleli
-naku new	miŋalnaku	ḍelnaku	norşisnaku	ṭisunaku	dreşanaku	krakalinaku

• If the (absolutive singular) noun ends in -i or -a and the suffix begins with a vowel, the -i or -a is suppressed.
• If the noun ends in -as, the -s is suppressed: Skouranaku ‘new Skouras’.
  

Infixes

suffix	miŋal harbor	ḍel river	norşis maiden	ṭisu temple	dreşa alliance	krakali arena
-iḷt beautiful	miŋaliḷt	ḍeliḷt	norşiḷtis	ṭisiḷtu	dreşiḷta	krakiḷtali
-urg dark	miŋalurg	ḍelurg	norşurgis	ṭisurgu	dreşurgi	krakurgali
-ikt cold	miŋalikt	ḍelikt	norşiktis	ṭisiktu	dreşikta	krakiktali
-arṭ green	miŋalarṭ	ḍerarṭ	norşarṭis	ṭisarṭu	dreşarṭa	krakarṭali

For nouns derived from triconsonantal verbs, the infix is added after C3. When C3 is the last consonant, as in miŋal and dreşa, this looks like the last rule; but compare norşis and krakali. The -is and -ali are sufixes, so the infix must precede them.

Descriptive affixes are applied after case changes and pluralization, but before the definite suffixes. Thus ṭisurram ‘great temples’, tebbeḍiram ‘of a great realm’, but ṭisurramul ‘the great temples’, tebbeḍiramul ‘of the great realm’.

Verbalizations

ḍemn- blacken
ḍegr- darken, make evil
ḍeḷt- beautify
ḍenk- renew, renovate

Ḍunku Skouras ŋageşor. The ruler will renew Skouras.
Ḍeltut norşis. The girl has become beautiful.

Nominalizations

• An abstract noun eCeCa ‘the state of being —’.
  erema greatness, eneka newness, ereḍa size, erega darkness

• A patient CoCim ‘someone who is —’; feminine CoCis.
  romim great man, nokim new man, roḍim giant, rogis dark woman

• An associated or typical object CCeCa ‘something —’.
  mema a great thing, nkeka a novelty,
  rḍeḍa a large thing, rgega a dark thing
  

Associative nouns

Skouras → skourand Skourene
Ṭisutra → ṭisutrand
Guṭḍaku → guṭḍakuro Gurdagor
Aksun Axunai → aksunaro Axunemi
Ḍabriŋ Jeor → ḍabriŋik Jeori
Namal → namalasp
boḍ west → boḍand westerner

isskourand the Skourene (sg. erg.)
ḍabriŋiki a Jeori’s (sg. gen.)
skouranda the Skourenes (sg. abs.)

ŋortim ḍabriŋik Jeori merchandise
eŋ komand an eastern city
ameşodol aksunaro the Xurnese women

Participles

(The patient and actor nominalizations (goşrim ‘subject’ and ageşor ‘ruler’) are similar, but imply a more permanent or inherent state, which is why they’re often lexicalized as names of titles and classes of people. An iggşer might be someone who finds themselves leading in a temporary or abnormal situation.)

As substantives, the participles are declined normally:

ipplen kind one (sg. abs.)
ipplene the kind ones (pl. abs.)
ŋaḍaltir the beautiful ones (pl. erg.)

ageşor ipplen kind ruler (lit., a ruler, a kind one)

-iḷt beautiful → ḍeḷt- beautify → aḍaḷti beautiful one

ŋaḍalti a beautiful person (erg.)
norşis aḍaḷti a beautiful girl
kennek aḍaski whitewashed wall

Descriptive verbs

Şolpe. I’m fat. (metutive)
Şulpa. You’re fat. (intentive)
Şiulpu. He started to get fat. (inceptive)

Possessive suffixes and pronouns

suffix	gloss	example
-ŋop	my (m.)	greḍaŋop ‘my house’
-ŋot	my (f.)	atesoŋŋot ‘my husband’
-goş	your (s. m.)	aŋesomgoş ‘your father’
-goṭ	your (s. f.)	nriuddagoṭ ‘your dance’
-san	his	eŋsan ‘his city’
-sat	her	teralsat ‘her hand’
-lek	its	msanalilek ‘its pasture’
-dor	our	ṭretador ‘our country’
-beş	your	smepabeş ‘your law’
-sir	their	sortimşin ‘their clothes’
-lim	their (an.)	gimagşam ‘their teeth’

A noun with possessive is considered definite; the definite and remote suffixes can’t be added to it.

As with any descriptive suffix, these can be turned into causatives, e.g. ḍedr- ‘make or become ours’. Compare:

Ḍedru eŋul. The city became ours.
Dedouru eŋul. We made the city ours.

	s.		pl.
1	ḍeŋŋipa	I (m.)	ḍeddira	we
	ḍeŋŋita	I (f.)
2	ḍeggişa	you (m.)	ḍebbişa	you
	ḍeggiṭa	you (f.)
3	ḍessina	he	ḍessira	they (m/f)
	ḍessita	she
	ḍellika	it	ḍellima	they (an.)

As usual, the absolutive participle can be used as a substantive or appositive: aḍaŋti ‘my (f.)’, aḍabşi ‘your (pl.), etc. These have an emphatic force, so we might think of them as meaning ‘mine, my own’, ‘yours, your own’, etc.

Avoiding copulation

In general, if you find yourself wanting to say that something “is” something, you’re not thinking in OS. Think about how to express the thought using a verb, instead— even if the nouns you want to use exist in the lexicon. Using English examples and sometimes stretching the language:

English style	OS style
This is amusing	This amuses me
He’s rich	He has become rich
My house is here	I live here
He is the ruler	He rules
I’m happy	I rejoice
That’s a lie!	You’re lying!
He’s dead, Jim	He just died, Jim
We are at war	We have begun to fight
My son is worthy	I praise my son
She’s ready for marriage	She has matured
I’m a storyteller	I habitually tell stories
I have orders	They ordered me
I am a parent	I’m raising children
He’s the Lord’s advisor	He advises the Lord
He is naked	He undressed
She’s a hottie	She attracts me
This is my father	Meet my father
I am 24 years old	I lived 24 years
That’s a great idea	I admire your idea
This is a ‘saddle’	We call this a ‘saddle’
You are a wonder	I marvel at you
This is my answer	I reply thusly

There is an existential verb tirṭ-, so that one can say e.g. tiarṭu eŋ koimdaraŋu ‘there existed a city in the east’. Gand- ‘come’ is also used existentially. Generally, however, it’s better to use a locative for this; see below.

Quantifiers

• As an affix: e.g. molnimdoḷ ‘every boy’.
• The patient nominalization CoCim forms an indefinite pronoun; e.g. ḍolim ‘everybody’.
• With time expressions, especially ḍus ‘day’; e.g. ḍusdoḷ ‘every day = always’, but note also pastdoḷ ‘every year’
  

Root	Forms	Meaning
-ṭas		no, not
	ṭosim	no one, nothing
	ḍusṭas	never
-moṭ		one
	moṭim	someone, an individual
-gog		other, another
	gega	another thing, something else
	gogim	another thing or person
	ḍusgog	another day, some other time
-bab		some, a few
	beba	something
	bobim	someone
	ḍusbab	some day, sometime
-kuş		much, many
	koşim	many people
	ḍuskuş	many days, often
-doḷ		each, every
	doḷim	everyone, everything
	ḍusdoḷ	always

The pronouns in -im must be inflected by case: e.g. ibbobim ‘someone (erg.)’.
Other useful expressions of time include aṭi ‘now’ and sas ‘already’.

Numbers

The numbers from 1 to 6 are unanalyzable roots; pisan ‘10’ is a variation of pasn- ‘to be a man’, and 7 to 9 and 11 are formed by subtraction— e.g. 9 = 1 [from] 10. Morg ‘12’ seems to be a contraction of mar + ḍog ‘six-two’.

	unit	x12	x144	12x	1/x
1	moṭ	morg	geld	morg	ḍmeṭa
2	ḍog	morḍog	geldog	geld	ḍega
3	ded	morḍed	gelded	ruŋ	ḍneḍa
4	darṭ	morḍart	geldarṭ	demum	ḍreṭa
5	bim	morbim	gelbim	tolkim	ḍbema
6	mar	mormar	gelmar	geldroḍ	ḍmera
7	depsan	morḍeps	geldeps	ruŋroḍ
8	darg	mordarg	geldarg	demumroḍ
9	mopsan	mormops	gelmops	tolkimroḍ
10	pisan	morpisn	gelpisn	geldram
11	momug	mugeld	geldruŋ	ruŋram
12	morg	geld	ruŋ	demumram

A multidigit number can be expressed, majestically, by concatenating the full forms of each digit: e.g. 5293 (base 12) = ruŋbim ḷa-geldog ḷa-mormops ḷa-ded.

• If there are no zeroes, this can be abbreviated by reducing all the conjoined numbers to the unit name.
  5293 = ruŋbim ḍog mopsan ded

• If there are zeroes, the digits on either side must have their full multiplier.
  5093 = ruŋbim mormops ded
  5203 = ruŋbim geldog ded
  5290 = ruŋbim ḍog mormops
  5200 = ruŋbim geldog
  5090 = ruŋbim mormops
  5003 = ruŋbim ded
  

5 + 2	bim idma ḍog
5 - 2	bim imna ḍog
5 * 2	bim diliri ḍog
5 / 2	bim kunkiri ḍog

For the first six numbers, there are verbs ‘to make n; divide into n parts’: ḍemṭ-, ḍeḍg-, ḍenḍ-, ḍerṭ-, ḍebm-, ḍemr-. The first six fractions are nominalizations of these verbs.

Further fractions are made by numbering the word tniussa ‘fraction’. e.g. tniussa depsan ‘1/7’, tniussa momug ‘1/11’. A ratio is expressed as e.g. tniussa ded kunkiri darg ‘3/8’.

The Skourenes were well trained for arithmetic; in trading they had to deal not only with currency conversions but different bases, since the Jeori used base 6 and the Axunemi used base 10. They learned the Jeori and Axunašin numbers in order to calculate using these bases.

Names

Name	Meaning
Baulunrada	she will calm you with speech
Bolbsgu	he will not lack hair
Doḷsurriki	you (f.) will please them all
Ḍamnualmu	he will shine wholly
Ḍodsians	he counselled (his) brother
Ḍolbunodu	they all will marvel at him
Ḍuaptai	you will always make yourself strong
Ḍurunsu	he will become rich
Gangşpu	his foot does not tire
Geŋmunda	you will walk in the forest
Kamopa	we expected you
Krolakurilim	they will not weaken you, you will weaken them
Kurran	she will attract
Kuskurki	he will outfight them
Mandaŋoḍu	the people want to obey him
Menidep	you accompanied us
Mianṭep	we are rejoicing
Mneutiḍe	you will walk alongside me
Nilşugla	you know how to be great
Nosḍururiḍ	he will acquire money
Nuiktui	he will win many times
Nusrinep	you (f.) will take care of us
Pgomu	they won’t defeat him
Pilobus	we sacrificed
Pualran	She will always be kind
Sianisep	you continually advised us
Sinatşugla	you will be great with the sword
Suŋka	you will succeed
Tuşurat	we are attached to you (f.)
Ṭalḍaga	you were born by the sea
Ṭelpulgag	his hand will support you
Umḍultat	her face will be beautiful
Uruŋḍep	we will begin to rest

Noun phrases can also be used as names; these are less likely to be unique.

Name	Meaning
Anakti	first one
Anesodram	great hunter
Apelog	sustainer
Bika	silver
Greḍakos	fine house
Guṭḷi	good omen
Ikkren	beautiful one
Ksenilam	like gold
Ḷordis	dancer
Maḍaṭiŋ	jewel
Nreşuşta	rose
Riuŋŋa	song
Teralepṭ	strong hand
Ḍişaneli	good eye
Ḍodeli	good brother
Ḍonsim	rich man

Word order

The default sentence order is VAE (verb-absolutive-ergative):

Kisni asenoso ŋageşorul.
listened-3s-3p advisor-pl governor-def
The governor listened to his advisors.

Modifiers to a noun (e.g. numbers, genitives, appositives) follow it.

Tense

As a slightly jocular summary, we might say that OS asks three questions of any action in order to assign the tense:

• Is it done yet? If so, use the perfect.
• If not, is someone taking care of it now? If so, use the intentive.
• If not, would we like it done? If so, use the desiderative.
• If not, use the metutive.

The perfect

Kirouki. We fought them.
Gauşte I fell in love.
Melrane ŋameşodul. This woman raised me.
Meŋlut tosgitul. Someone spoke to the naked woman.

The other moods

• The intentive expresses will: the action is intended by the actor.

  Its prototypical meaning is to express what someone is trying to do right now, or intends to do in the future: dunte ‘I’m going, I will go’; kurouk ‘we mean to fight’.

  Combined with the perfect, it expresses the actors’ state of mind, and thus corresponds to our past progressive:

  Gendi durki, lit. ‘They came, they will cry’ = They came crying.

• Our first-person imperatives are usually expressed as intentives: muspe ‘let me think!’ dunteg ‘let’s go!’

  It’s the vaguest of the imperfect moods— after all, most actions are intended by someone. As such it can be used for most present actions, much like our present progressive.

  Surutu degarṭa. I’m wearing a green dress.

• The desiderative expresses desire; the metutive expresses fear. To the Skourenes desire and fear were apparently less of a guarantee of results than intention: the two moods function something like a subjunctive or irrealis, separated by whether the action is viewed positively or not.

  They may be used literally to refer to desire or fear: dante ‘I want(ed) to go’, donta ‘I’m afraid you’ll go’.

  Normally the feelings are those of the speaker; but speaking to someone one may take their point of view (torga ‘you could fall!’); and in a narrative they refer to the viewpoint character (torgu ‘he was afraid of falling’).

  By extension, they’re used for uncertain or future events that no one is responsible for (i.e., they’re no one’s intent). If the effect is positive or neutral the desiderative is used (paltu ‘it will rain (if all goes well)’, otherwise the metutive (soḷgu ‘it may get dark’).

Specialized aspects

• The durative perfect is used for long-term states, true in the past as well as the present: meallaneg iṭṭalul ‘the sea nurtures us’.
• The inceptive perfect can be used for actions begun in the past and still going on: kiurkeḍ ‘we began to fight each other’, thus ‘we’re fighting’.
• The cyclical perfect can be used for actions which have occurred many times in the past and continue to do so: neimtum koimdaiŋut aşebortul ‘the sun rises in the east’.
  

Verb sequencing

(It could also be argued that the connectors are all subordinators. Since they include simple concatenation and all have the same syntactic form, it’s simpler to consider them akin to conjunctions.)

The simplest case is where two or more verbs share the exact same arguments. They can simply be concatenated, using the clitic ḷa- (aḷ- before a vowel):

Nemratut ḷa-lenradut ḍogimsat ŋamelonul.
lift-3sf-3sf and-comfort-3sf-3sf baby-her mother-DEF
The mother picked up and comforted her baby.

Nemratut ḍogimsat ŋamelonul ḷa-lenradut.
lift-3sf-3sf baby-her mother-DEF and-comfort-3sf-3sf
The mother picked up her baby and comforted it.

Changing arguments

Lenradut ḍogimsat ŋamelonul ḷa-naḷraşu atesonsat.
comfort-3sf-3sf baby-her mother-DEF and-praise-3sf-3s husband-her
The mother comforted her baby and praised her husband.

Nemratut ḍogimsat ŋamelonul ḷa-naḷşut ŋatesonsat.
lift-3sf-3sf baby-her mother-DEF and-praise-3s-3sf husband-her
The mother picked up her baby and her husband praised it.

What if the a referent’s role changes between sentences? First and second person arguments cause no confusion, of course; one can string together almost any number of predicates with no confusion:

Guşutat ḷa-guşrite ḷa-nuḷuşat ḷa-daunumat.
love-INT-2sf-1sm and-love-INT-1sm-2sf and-praise-INT-2sf-1sm and-sex-DESID-2sf-1sm
I love you and you love me and I praise you and I want to sleep with you.

Meŋralu ḷa-kisnut ḷa-dantu ḷa-benkut.
speak-INT-3sf-3s and-listen-INT-3s-3sf and-go-3s and-stay--3sf
She spoke to him and he listened to her and he went and she stayed.

Serḍu aŋeşoṭul ŋanesonul ḷa-sepu.
hit-3s-3s thief-DEF watchman-DEF and-go-3s
The watchman hit the thief and he left.

The antipassive

Aiserḍu aŋeşoṭil anesonul ḷa-sepu.
CAUS-hit-3s thief-GEN watchman-DEF and-go-3s
The watchman hit the thief and left.

Serḍu aŋeşoṭul ŋanesonul aḷ-aiŋiriştu romimil.
hit-3s-3s thief-DEF boy-DEF and-CAUS-steal-CYC-3s noble-GEN-DEF
The boy hit the thief who was robbing the noble.

Other options

Ŋişṭum ŋiraşul ŋaŋeşoṭul ḷa-sepu.
steal-3sin-3s money-DEF thief-DEF and-go-3s
The thief stole the money and left.

If it’s not possible or not desired to change case roles to make everyone match up, the clitic ge- (g- before a vowel) can be used instead; this has the same meaning as ḷa- but explicitly suspends case role expectations. E.g::

Serḍu aŋeşoṭul anesonul ge-sepu.
hit-3s-3s thief-DEF watchman-DEF plus-go-A3s
The boy hit the thief and he (the boy) left.

Often we want to introduce a referent in one clause, typically as an absolutive, and focus on it in the next, typically as an ergative. This is done using the topicalizer kau- (kam- before a vowel).

Bilobutu Ṭisutrand kau-nankep.
find-1p-3s Ṭisutran topic-cheat-3s-1p
(Lit.) We found the Ṭisutran; as for him, he cheated us. We found the Ṭisutran who had cheated us.

In both cases, the most natural English translation is with a relative clause; the ge- example above might also be translated The boy hit the thief, who left. Still, in OS there is no formal process of relativization— that is, the use of a pronominal element referring explicitly to a preceding referent.

Logical connectors

prefix	before vowels	meaning
ḷa-	aḷ-	and (concatenation)
kla-	kaḷ-	or (disjunction)
ŋa-	aŋ-	but (contrast, surprise)
nsul-	nsul-	therefore (logical effect)
kru-	krum-	because (logical cause)
ṭou-	ṭom-	for (purpose)
gre-	grel-	for (exchange)
aṭi-	aṭiḷ-	when, while (at the same time as the main action)
mur-	mur-	until, before (end time of the main action)
de-	nd-	since, after (beginning of the main action)
aḷde-	ḷand-	then, next (sequence in time)
nen-	nen-	as (metaphor)
şiu-	şim-	only, except (limitation on main action)
ṭas-	ṭas-	except; (after negatives) not even, including
laŋ-	laŋ-	there (introduces an event at a mentioned location)
kau-	kam-	topicalizer (promotes previous absolutive)
ge-	g-	case reset

Gauşrutu kru-paralnet.
incep-love-1sf-3s because-dur-kind-3s-1sf
I fell in love with him because he was kind to me.

Ḷilirde mur-nemtut aşebort.
cycl-dance-1px until-rise-3sf sun
We often danced until the sun rose.

Dirinmet şiu-tesnet.
cycl-sex--3s-1sf only-marry-3s-1sf
(Lit.) He had sex with me only (when) he married me.
We had sex only once we were married.

Ŋa-bakşeip ṭou-ḍelnum sekketsan.
but-break-refl-1px purpose-assist-3s-3sin taxes-his
However, we divorced for tax reasons.

Bedre de-sepat. / Beadre de-seapat.
wake-1s after-leave-2sf / dur-wake-1s after-dur-leave-2sf
I woke after you left. / I’ve been awake since you left.

Ḷiardeg mur-ḍusnemtu. / Ḷirdeg mur-ḍusmentu.
dur-dance-1p before-sunrise / dance-1p before-sunrise
We danced until dawn. / We danced before dawn.

Saŋkum psiukkasan nsul-mindntu aŋ-inbuştu boiḍunru nen-bşti ḍodrim.
successful-3sns expedition-his therefore-back-go-neg-3s but-attempt--int-travel-3s westward as-dur-go-neg-3p us-people
(Lit.) His expedition was successful / therefore he did not return / but tried to travel westward / as people do not go
His expedition was so successful that he did not return, but decided to travel farther west than anyone had gone.

Reported speech and thought

Korlu molnimul kau-nulnum.
metu-sicken-3s boy-def topic-tell-3s-3sin
Lit. The boy sickened / he said it
The boy says that he is sick.

Nulnum immolnimul ḷa-korlu.
tell-3s-3sin boy-def and-sick-3s

Direct speech can be handled the same way—

“Korle,” ge-nulnum immolnimul.
metu-sicken-1s and-tell-3s-3sin boy-def
Lit. I sickened / the boy said it
“I’m sick,” the boy said.

“Korle,” ḷa-nulnum mamaŋ immolnimul.
metu-sicken-1s and-tell-3s-3sin that boy-def
Lit. I sickened / the boy said it
“I’m sick,” the boy said.

Comparatives

Nuasni goşrimi ŋageşorram nen-mualranit molnimi ŋamelon.
dur-care-3s-3p subject-pl ruler-great as-dur-nurture-3s-3p child-pl mother
A great ruler cares for his subjects as a mother nourishes her children.

Nuasdi goşrimi ŋageşordor nen-ikkuḷiŋ.
dur-hunt-3s-3p subject-pl ruler-our as-lion
Our ruler preys on his subjects like a lion.

Şulpu ageşordor nen-gerrek.
int-fat-3s ruler-our as-pig
Our ruler is as fat as a pig.

Superlatives are expressed the same way, with the addition of -doḷ ‘every’:

Ḍoansum Engidori idma nen-eŋdoḷ.
dur-be.rich-3sin Engidori more as-city-every
Engidori is the richest of cities.

Location

Daraŋum ḍeilul eŋul.
located-dur-3sin river-gen-def city-def
The city is on the river.

Udnu msapalirisan aŋesom.
located-int-3s study-GEN-his father
Father is (presently) in his study.

Ŋulsum roz ŋaŋesom udaŋ msapalirisan.
eat-int-3s-3sin apple father located-int-3s study-GEN-his
Father is eating an apple in his study.

(It wouldn’t be incorrect to say udnum msapalirisan with an absolutive 3s-in subject; this would match ‘apple’. This would focus attention on the apple; we might translate the sentence Father is eating the apple (that’s) in his study.)

Directions and short common geographical terms are prefixed to the verb; in effect the combined verb becomes an adverbial. E.g. koimdaraŋu ‘in the east’, geiŋdaraŋu ‘in the forest’, ṭaildaraŋu ‘at sea’. (I’ve used the durative 3s form for these to emphasize the commonality; but they must agree with their subject in case and person.)

Motion toward is expressed using the verb ner- ‘move (toward)’; motion away using sep- ‘depart’, using the same rules as daŋ-.

Unrep eŋil. Uspep şoḷmimil.
move-int-1px city-gen-def / leave-int-1px ship-gen-def
We’re going to the city. We’re leaving the ship.

There are no prepositions in OS; instead, there is a set of more specific locative verbs, such as:

dem-	be above
men-	be below
telk-	be on top of
ḍadŋ-	be inside
kart-	be before
sipt-	be after
dird-	be in front of
taḍ-	be next to
didm-	be far from
gerd-	be between
saln-	be in the middle
marm-	be around
geḍl-	be beside

luḷ	here
ḍumak	there

Instrumentals

Suruḍu ṭeḷḷeki ukḷuṭorkimul.
intent-hit-1s-3s shovel-gen lurker-def
I’ll hit the villain with a shovel.

It’s bad form to use an instrumental derived from the main verb— e.g. ṭiḷuk ṭeḷḷeki ‘I dug using the shovel’, utnisum tennesi ‘cut it using the knife’. Though these sentences are fine in English, they sound redundant in OS; the instrumental can simply be omitted.
A measurement is a type of instrumental:

Siatmum mneida darg greḍal.
dur-measure-3sin pace-gen eight house-def
The house is 8 paces long.

Time

Benkep ḍuis darṭ daŋep eŋi.
stay-1pex day-gen four located-1pex city-gen
We stayed in the city for four days.

Questions

Ḍariḍum-si rilar?
bring-2s-3sin Q kindling
Did you bring kindling?

Ŋurşum koṭinşim-si?
int-buy-3s-3sin rowboat Q
He wants to buy a boat?

	abs	erg.	gen.
masc.	abeg	ŋabeg	abegi
fem.	abegis	ŋabegis	abegiri
non-sentient	bogim	ibbogim	bogimi

Ŋalsum şresa ŋabeg?
desid-eat-3s-3sin cake who
Who wants cake?

Guşitut abegis?
int-love-2s-3sf who-f
Which girl are you in love with?

Ḍerḷagu aŋetotul ibbogim?
make.evil-3sin-3s trader-def what
What made the trader evil?

Şagḷaḍ rark abegi tellak riummai?
shit-3sns dog who-gen on-3sns carpet-gen
Whose dog shit on the carpet?

Salitum bogimi mianum?
clean-2s-3sin what-gen floor
What did you clean the floor with?

Ukḷubunriku ḍodgoṭ tou-supriku?
intent-annoy-2sf-3s brother-your.sf for-intent-what-2sf-3s
(Lit.) You’re annoying your brother because of what-are-you-doing?
Why are you annoying your brother?

Ḍişinu ṭailuadnil sadiŋu? Senru?
see-2s-3s iliu-def where-2s-3s / whither-3s
Where did you see the iliu? Where was it going?

The verb sakş- asks about the quantity or extent of something: Sukşum koṭinsimul? ‘How much is the boat?’

As manner is not grammaticalized in OS, there is no standard way of asking how something was done. If you want to ask (say) ‘how did the prisoner escape?’, you will have to rephrase: where is the prisoner? why is he not here? who allowed it, the prisoner escaping?

Negatives

Şbourum riullal.
neg-light-1p-3sin fire-def
We didn’t light the fire.
Or, I won't light the fire. Or, I don't want to. Or, I fear to.

The negative words listed under Quantifiers, including the negative suffix -ṭas, must be used with the negative mood:

Gndu ṭosim. Klte ḍusṭas. Ŋlisum ṭagṭas.
neg-come-3s nobody / neg-sleep-1s never / neg-eat-2s-3sin fish-none
No one is coming. I never sleep. I won’t eat any fish.

Gnidum-si unaŋellemgoş? Aḷde-bsigum-si?
neg-bring-2s-3sin Q blanket-your / then-neg-lack-2s-3sin Q
You’re not bringing your blanket? You won’t miss it?

Guḍobuli ageşorodor ṭas-aŋeloto.
support-1pex-3p ruler-pl-our / not-dictator-pl
We support our rulers, except dictators.

Nnobuki skouranda ṭas-Guṭḷeliki.
neg-cheat-1pex-3p Skourenes / not-Guṭḷeliki We do not cheat Skourenes, not even people from Guṭḷeli.

Example: 1. Usṭişum Paurṭuti -- Lazybones’s Puzzle

However, it was felt that puzzles and games developed the mind, and there were many collections of these. This one, unsigned, dates from Engidori from about Z.E. 650.

Paurṭut means ‘lazy (child)’, and is a nickname rather than a given name. We find him in other anecdotes and stories as well; he is something of a folkloric character. Though usually disdained for his laziness, he is sometimes admired for finding clever ways to avoid work.

Looking at the numbers, remember that OS uses base 12, not base 10.

Ṭou-piraṭ naurranim Ippaurṭut giurra morḍog ḷa-ded, ḷa-satramim diḷaig moṭ.
for-game / incep-desid-want-3sf-3pin cube 24 and-3 Lazybones / and-desid-measure-3sf-3pin finger-gen one
Feminine forms are used, implying that Paurṭut is a child (of either sex).
For a game, Paurṭut wanted 27 cubes one finger’s width each.

Nirranum giurra ḷa-satmum diḷaig ded ḷa-ḍetşum.
have-3sf-3sin cube / and-measure-3sin finger-gen three / and-make.blue-3sin
OS resists reifying colors and other qualities. ‘Blue’ exists only as a suffix -toş and a verb detş- ‘be(come) blue’.
He had a cube measuring 3 fingers, which was painted blue.

Tinrasum giurral aḷde-niurranim giuṭirra morḍog ḷa-ded; ḷa-nulidum daŋum goḍlimi babtoş kla-babburn.
cut-3sf-3sin cube-def / then-have-3sf-3pin cube-dim 24 and-3 / and-know-2s-3s exist-3pin side-pl- some-blue or-some-wooden
The idiom noun-pl quant-x kla-quant-y, where quant is a quantifier, gives the composition of a group in terms of qualities x and y. We’ll see this again below with ḍega ‘half’.
He cut the cube into 27 cubes; but of course some sides were blue, some were wood color.

Ḍeutraşim giuṭirraḷ şiu-goḍlimmoṭ giurraudoḷ.
incep-make.blue-3sf-3sin cube-dim-pl-def / only-side-one cube-pl-gen
He began painting the cubelets blue, one side of one cube at a time.

De-ḍetraşim goḍlim morg ŋa-delrad ḷa-nilaukşim goḍlimi giurraudoḷ ḍegatoş kla-ḍegaburn.
after-make.blue-3sf-3sin side twelve / but-decide-3sf desid-suffice-3pin side-dim-pl cube-pl-gen-each half-blue or-half-wooden
But after painting 12 sides, he decided that it was sufficient if each cube was half blue and half not.

Saukşim goḍlimi ḷa-ḍtraşim?
how.many-3pin side-pl / and-neg-make.blue-3sf-3sin
How many sides does he still have to paint?

• A related puzzle: how many cubes did Paurṭut paint? (I hope you didn’t answer morḍog ḷa-ded; the answer is morg ḷa-depsan.)
• If Paurṭut hadn’t been so lazy, he would have made the cubes entirely blue. How many wooden sides would he have to paint, in total? (Answer: mormops.)
  

2. Ṭisutrand -- The Ṭisutran

The first woman is obviously an iliu (ṭailuadni). These were fairly well known to the Skourenes— it was easier to get to the iliu enclave north of Feináe than to Axunai. However, this area was not exotic enough to form the basis of a cautionary fantasy; Ḍodsians therefore places her far to the west, past where the known world ended in Luduyn. There actually is an iliu enclave on the southern coast of Ereláe, in Jagai, though it’s unlikely that Ḍodsians actually knew this.

Syntactic notes are placed after the glosses and before the translation. If a mood is not named, it’s perfect; e.g. “and-bring-3s-3pns” should be taken as the perfect “and he brought them”.

Şuḷm boiḍudaŋ iṭṭisutrand ḷa-ḍarḍim kirok ḍiran ḷa-şketa ḷa-sortimikos ḷa-ŋartim ḷa-ḍaurḍim reller ḷa-bika ḷa-ḍairḷoḍ.
int-sail-3s west-gen-locate-3s Ṭisutran and-bring-3s-3pns weapon-pl and-tin and-wine and-clothes-pl-fine and-trade-3s-3pns and-bring-incep-3s-3pns spice and-silver and-amber
OS does not have double accusatives; it can’t directly say ‘he traded X for Y’, but ‘he traded X and brought Y.’
A man from Ṭisutra sailed to the west, bringing weapons, tin, wine, and fine clothing, which he traded for spices, silver, and amber.

Saŋkum psiukkasan nsul-dntu unru Ṭisutrai aŋ-inbuştu boiḍunru nen-bşti ḍodrim.
successful-3sns expedition-his therefore-return-neg-3s int-go-3s Ṭisutra-gen but-attempt--int-travel-3s west-go-3s as-dur-go-neg-3p us-people
The generalized ḍodrim ‘people’ can be taken here as meaning ‘we Skourenes’.
His expedition was so successful that instead of returning to Ṭisutra he decided to travel farther west, beyond the lands that anyone knows.

Neru ṭretai mirḍok aḷ-ekurenairam ŋa-barasgi mandimi— ŋa-maraspum mur-girput ameşod, kau-kuarran nen-illenis ḷa-şuagluṭ nen-ikkuḷiŋ, ḷa-karaḷraşim tişaptoş ḷa-bul kau-şeabrim nen-riulla.
come-3s land-gen remote and-beauty-gen-great / but-dur-lack-3p people/ but-dur-think-3s-3sin / until-encounter-3s-3sf woman / topic-dur-int-attract-3sf as-goddess / and-proud-3sf-refl as-lion / and-had.inalienably-3sf-3pin skin-blue and-hair / topic-dur-glow-3pin as-fire
The woman does not possess her skin and hair like she does her house; she enjoys the use of them. These are two different verbs in OS, nirn- and kalş-.
“Without people” is— like almost everything else— a subclause, literally “though it continually lacked people.”
He came to a remote land of great beauty, yet empty of people, or so he thought till he encountered a woman, lovely as a goddess, proud as a lion, with blue skin and hair the color of fire.

Srratim sortimi şiu-sirat ḷa-maḍaṭiŋ.
wore-neg-3sf-3sns clothes except-belt and-jewel-pl
She wore no clothing except a belt and jewelry.

Gauştut ogpu ḷa-ŋirimput ṭou-tasnut.
incep-love-3s-3sf wait-neg-3s / and-cyc-beg-3s-3sf / for-desid-marry-3s-3sf
Ogpu is literally ‘he didn’t wait’; without a connector, it’s an adverbial— “at once”.
He fell in love with her at once, and begged her to become his wife.

Şmrapu ŋa-inmindaintu ḍusdoḷ inneirum luiṭ laŋ-daraŋut ḍaradnut greiḍaḍarkos ḷa-ŋirimput.
neg-consent-3sf-3s / but-back-attempt-cycl-go-3s day-every go-3s meadow-gen / there-dur-reside-3sf dur-inside-3sf house-gen-stone-fine / and-cyc-beg-3s-3sf
She refused, but every day he returned to the meadow where she lived in a fine stone house, and pleaded with her.

Oŋlsu ŋiraş ḷa-ḍeandum ŋiraşul ḷa-ḍaurḍum kru-garaştut.
eat-neg-3s / and-dur-scorn-3s-3sin money and-acquire-3s-3sin / because-dur-love-3s-3sf
He did not eat, and he scorned the riches he had won, he was so enamored of her.

Dedimu ḍaḍḍut, ŋa-nelranum aḷ-udni ṭreitasat ḷa-gba utrlum nilam ḷa-gba unuşṭ ḷa-gba udunmut ameşod şiu-tosnissan.
after-long soften-3sf but-say-3sin-3sf / and-imper-reside-3p land-gen-her / and-not imper-touch-3s-3sin gold / and-not steal-3s / and-not sex-3s-3sf woman except-wife-his
The reported commands are simply expressed as imperatives.
Finally she relented, but she said that they must live in her land, and that he must never touch gold, nor steal, nor make love to any woman but his wife.

Şamput agaṭḷi kru-ḍadŋ ṭreital ḍuşnum nilammoṭ, aḷ-adaŋimoṭ şim-ameşodtoşul, aḷ-greḍamoṭ şim-aḍasni.
agree-3s-3f glad-part / because-inside-3s land-gen-def neg-see-3s-3sin gold-one / and-resident-one except-woman-blue-def / and-house-one except-hers
He gladly assented, for in this land he had seen no gold, nor any inhabitant but the blue woman, nor any house but hers.

Aḷde-dinmut, ḷa-ŋaraktim molmsat idma nen-ameşoddoḷ ṭaildoḷ, ḷa-deanḍim milonsat idma, ḷa-niadpum medsat idma.
then-sex-3s-3f / and-dur-warm-3pin lip-pl-her more as-woman-every world-gen / and-dur-soft-3pin breast-pl-her more / and-dur-active-3s body-her more
The particle idma stands in for the whole repeated nen- clause in the last two comparisons.
Then she made love to him, and her lips were the warmest of any woman in the world, her breasts the softest, her body the liveliest.

Daraŋi taraḍi past geld ḷa-ḍspi ḍusṭas kau-ŋsomi molnimi.
live-dur-3p together-dur-3p year 144 / and-age-neg-3p never / topic-sire-neg-3p-3p child-pl
They lived together for one hundred years, never aging, and having no children.

De-past geld ḷa-ḍus baurukpu ṭisutrandul.
after-year 144 and-day incep-desid-wander-3s Ṭisutran
After a hundred years and a day, the man from Ṭisutra felt the urge to wander.

Mendu goşpa sepu greiḍasan, de-bakpu ḍus mar aḷ-aibiltum greṭiḍitsai kau-telkum saip.
walk-3s far leave-3s house-gen-his / after-wander-3s day six / and-caus-find-3s hut-small-gen / topic-on.top-3sin mountain-gen
He walked far from his house, and after a week’s travel he came to a small hut on a mountain peak.

Diardut greṭiḍai bararḍut ameşod taraḍut riullai.
dur-front-3sf hut-gen / dur-sit-3sf woman / dur-next.to-3sf fire-gen
Before the hut a woman sat before a burning fire.

Karalraşum buldimşalg ḷa-ḍug nilaim ḷa-tişap ḷa-şeabrum nen-maki; ḷa-tirṭum degasat reḍirimuşt; ḷa-ḍamkearnut.
dur-have.inalienable-3sf-3sin hair-long-brown and-eye-pl gold-gen / and-skin and-glow-3sin as-wheat / and-made-3sin robe-her linen-gen-red / and-wholly-dur-attract-3sf
She had long brown hair and golden eyes, and skin the color of wheat; her robe was red linen; she was altogether lovely.

Serratim merrem nilaim, ḷa-moŋa ḷa-merreme miḍaim nilaim, ḷa-serratum bolḍellet nilaim ḍadnim burul.
wear-3sf-3pin circlet gold-gen and-earring-pl and-circlet-pl wrist-gen gold-gen / and-wear-3sf-3sin crown dur-in-3sin hair-pl-gen-her
She wore a gold necklace, golden earrings and bracelets, and a gold crown in her hair.

Nelnum, “Ḷa-nuarrinum nilam nen-mukrişum, nsul-ḍuansat!”
say-3s-3sin / and-desid-have-2sf-3sin gold as-int-that.extent-2sf-3sin / therefore-int-rich-2sf
Makş- ‘to be to an extent’, when it qualifies another verb, takes the same verb form. We may translate ‘...to have gold to the extent you do.’
“You must be a rich woman indeed to have so much gold,” he told her.

“Şuş!” ḷa-nelranum. “Mekoakşum nilam nen-ukḷumisan.
pff / and-say-3sf-3sin / here-metut-dur-spread-3s gold as-weed
“Pff! It is as common as weeds in these parts,” she told him.

Surrutum nilamdoḷul kla-piŋurrunum naurinum, şiu-nd-uḍriḍum dlenal nuilmimi nen-searitum mneṭa-gre-mneṭa.”
int-wear-1sf-3sin gold-all-def / but-int-un-have-1sf-3sin int-incep-have-2s-3sin / only-after-imper-bring-2s-3sin metal-def moon-gen / as-dur-wear-2s-3sin weight-for-weight
Literally, “I wear all this gold, I give it / you take it, after you bring metal of the moons, as you wear it, weight for weight.”
“I will give all I wear for its weight in the moon-metal you are wearing.”

Bika gre-nilam— dildum ḷa-mnegḍlum!
silver for-gold cheap-3sin / and-neg-pass-3s-3sin
Silver for gold— this was a bargain he could not pass up!

“Ukmripe,” ḷa-delnum.
imper-wait-2sf-1s / and-say-3s-3sin
“Wait here,” he said.

Minbiştu şolmimisan ḷa-teḷḍarḍum bikakuş ḷa-patku ḷa-teḷḍarḍim ḍairḷoḍsanbab ḷa-reller.
back-travel-3s ship-gen-his / and-gather-3s-3sin silver-much / and-whim-3s / and-gather-3s-3pin amber-gis-some and-spice
He travelled back to his ship, gathered much silver, and on a whim gathered some of his amber and spices as well.

Aḷde-mnebiştu ḍuis mar neru greṭiḍitsai ameşodi.
then-walk-travel-3s day-gen six / move-3s hut-small-gen woman-gen
Then he walked the week’s journey back to the woman’s hut.

Ḍimgendu ḷa-suanrar uatraḍ riullai.
there-come-3s and-intent-dur-cook-3sf / intent-dur-next.to-3sf fire-gen
When he approached, the woman was cooking on her fire.

Pirsut aṭi-ḍişranu, ḷa-paurragim mombik giṭḷut ḷa-ḍarḍim.
smile-3sf / when-see-3sf-3s / and-incep-inspect-3sf-3pin thing-pl-silver / delight-3sf / and-bring-3s-3pin
She smiled when she saw him, and looked with delight at the silver items he had brought.

“Kearnim nsul-bundu atesoŋŋot,” ḷa-nelranum.
beauty-3pin / therefore-intent-marvel-3s husband-my.f / and-say-3sf-3sin
“My husband will be amazed at their beauty,” she said.

“Sunrurum aṭi ŋliussasan, kla-kumpu.”
intent-cook-1sf-3sin meal-his / but-int-delay-3s
“I am cooking his dinner now; but he is delayed.”

Sigum plesa ṭisutrandul ḷa-saranrum ḷa-ḍeskum şliuppai ḷa-sigum nen-punspiutta, nsul-ḍamŋolbausig.
smell-3s-3sin beef Ṭisutran-def / and-cook-3sin / and-white-3sin fat-gen / and-smell-3sin / as-procession / therefore-wholly-incep-hunger-3s
The man smelled the cooking beef, white with fat, fragrant as a temple festival, and was overcome with hunger.

Nelnum, “Aḷ-uḍşinim, ḷa-ḍauruḍim riullamna aḷ-gneka aḷ-şreta aḷ-gairoukum.”
say-3s-3sin / and-imper-see-2sf-3pin / and-bring-1s-3pin pepper and-salt and-coriander and-cumin
“Look, I’ve brought pepper and salt and coriander and cumin,” said the man.

“Uḍbriḍim udriŋim ŋolḍreinagoṭ, aḷ-uŋlrus utuḍat.”
imper-add-2sf-3p imper-inside-2sf-3p stew-gen-your.f / and-imper-eat-1s imper-next.to-1s-2sf
“Add some of them to your stew and let me eat with you.”

Şamrapu, ḷa-ḍamsanrar rellerisan, ḷa-ŋelos toḍ.
agree-3sf-3s / and-wholly-cook-3sf spice-gen-his / and-eat-3p together-3p
The instrumental is expressed as a genitive immediately following the verb.
The woman agreed, and finished cooking with his condiments, and they ate together.

“Bunruda,” ḷa-nelranum. “Udnum ḍerreḍugoş bogimgog?”
int-marvel-1sf-2s / and-say-3sf-3sin / int-inside-3s bag-pl-gen-your what-other
Note that the ‘other’ quantifier can be added to the interrogative pronouns.
“You are a man of wonders,” she told him. “What else is in those bags of yours?”

Ḍişnum ḍairḷoḍul adarbi aḷ-aŋarni kau-şeabrum nen-aşeboṭir kla-nilam kla-riulla.
show-3s-3sin amber-def and-polished and-murky / topic-dur-glow-3sin / as-sun-dimin or-gold or-fire
He showed her the amber, polished, translucent, some glowing like little suns, some like gold, some like fire.

“Narrunim momu,” ḷa-nelranum.
desid-have-1sf-3p thing-pl-def / and-say-3sf-3sin
“These things I desire too,” she said.

“Ŋa-barasrugum nosḍreḍadoḷ ṭas-mamul.”
but-lack-1sf-3s payment-all / except-thing-def
“But I have no payment to offer but this.”

Aḷde-tasratum degasat ḷa-barraḍim terolsan telk-milonsat.
then-open-3sf-3sin robe-her / and-put-3sf-3pin hand-pl-his on-breast-pl-her
And she opened her robe and placed his hands on her breasts.

Ḍişranum şampum, ḷa-dinmut ḍiurakuş taḍut riullaisat.
offer-3sf-3sin accept-3s-3sin / and-make.love-3s-3sf hour-gen-many beside-3s-3sf fire-gen-her
The lack of connective on şampum binds it closer to the previous verb, making it an aspect of a single action: “she offered + he accepted”
He accepted her gift, and they made love beside her fire for hours.

Aḷde-teḷḍarḍum nilam ḷa-nirranum, aḷde-mindantu ḍuis mar neru greiḍasan; sararkum ŋriuttasan ḷa-maraspum triulla meulmsat.
then-gather-3s-3sin gold / and-give-3sf-3sin / then-return-3s day-gen six / go.to-3s house-gen-his / dur-please-3s-3sin sale-his / and-dur-remember-3s-3sin touch lip-gen-pl-her
Afterward he gathered up the gold she gave him, and returned the week’s journey to his own home, pleased with his trade, and still feeling the taste of her lips.

Aṭi-mindantu ŋa-barasgum greḍaḍar ḷa-barasgut tosnissan ṭas-bol ṭas-ganbeta.
when-return-3s / but-dur-lack-3sin house-stone / and-dur-lack-3sf wife-his / not-hair / not-foot-sign
‘Lack’ is effectively negative, so ṭas- reinforces it rather than introducing an exception.
But when he returned, there was no stone house, nor any sign of his wife, not even a hair or a footprint.

Kussiptum minmaspum ḍamşmiuppasan.
out-after-3s-3sin remember-3s-3sin promise-his
Too late, he remembered his promise.

Ŋa-terlum nilam, ḷa-ŋiştum ŋliussa gogimi, ḷa-dinmut tosnisgog.
but-touch-3s-3sin gold / and-steal-3s-3sin meal other.person-gen / and-sex-3s-3sf wife-other
But he had touched gold, and stolen another man’s meal, and slept with the man’s wife.

Mspu idmaṭas, kru-ḍamterlim past geld de-basgim, ḷa-targu ḍumak ḷa-keşgu.
neg-think-3s more-not / because-wholly-touch-3s-3pin year 144 / after-miss-3s-3pin / and-fall-3s there / and-die-3s
The middle section is literally “Because the 144 years completely touched him, after they missed him [before]”.
This was his last thought, for the hundred years which had not touched him now swept over him in a minute, and he fell down on that spot dead.

3. Agedor Skourandul -- Protector of the Skourenes

The imperial idea was in the air— the Jeori emperors Toma:un and Suma:un had recently conquered half of the Ezičimi states, and it was not long before Axuna would begin its march to empire. (Toma:un appears in the text in its Old Jeori form Tamon.) The Skourenes knew the Jeori well— they were longtime trading partners and rivals, and were frankly considered a little backward. Skourene ships were bigger, faster, and more powerful; Skourene armies were hardened by centuries of war. The right man in the right city could surely surpass the Jeori achievement.

Eŋŋuloşum seemed to many— certainly to everyone in his hometown of Meŋeland— to be that man. In 795 he supported the rebellion of Iṭili against Engidori. Engidori sent an army to punish him; he ambushed it along the Gerredtar, the south road, and cut it to pieces. A few years later he attacked Papliopagimi and whipped it and Engidori again.

The passage is written in the dialect of Meŋeland, not that far from the delta standard, but with a few peculiarities, e.g

• the interrogative particle is -su instead of -si
• the ergative is indicated by a particle ŋu- rather than iC/ŋ-
• dant- ‘go’ has been pressed into service as a future tense prefix det-
  

Pagmu tebbeḍram ŋu-Tamon boṭşinkos Ḍabriŋi ḷa-pamdi ḍabriŋikil.
conquer-3s-3s empire-great Toma:un king Jeor-gen / and-benefit-3s-3p Jeori-pl-def
Pamd- ‘help’ is a regionalism; the delta standard is ŋeml- ‘benefit’.
Toma:un, the ruler of Jeor, conquered a great empire for the Jeori.

Det-gandu abeg nen-kuḷiŋaŋ kau-pamdi skourandal?
fut-desid-come-3s who like-lion-that / topic-benefit-3s-3p Skourene-pl-def
The connector kau- promotes the absolutive subject of ‘come’ into the ergative subject of ‘benefit’.
Who will be a similar lion among the Skourenes?

Det-ŋasmeg ŋu-abeg ḷa-det-ḍarmeg ṭou-mandram?
fut-desid-raise-3s-1p who / and-fut-desid-make.great-3s-1p purpose-people-great
The first verb has the connotation ‘raise as a father’; the agent form aŋesom, in fact, is the word for ‘father’.
Who will raise us into a great nation?

Nalunu Eŋŋuloşum-su, kau-pagmu Guṭḷeli, ḷa-ṭuḍu Iṭili, ḷa-ḍamrelu Engidori?
desid-refer-1s-3s Eŋŋuloşum-Q / topic-conquer-3s-3s Guṭḷeli / and-free-3s-3s Iṭili / and-destroy-3s-3s Engidori
Literally, ‘Do I want to refer to...?’; this is comparable to our rhetorical ‘Is it not...?’
Ḍamrel-, literally ‘wholly burn’, is another regionalism; the standard is piŋgitr- ‘destroy’.
Is it not Eŋŋuloşum, the conqueror of Guṭḷeli, the liberator of Iṭili, the destroyer of Engidori?

Inkirku-su ŋu-ṭretamoṭ? Pagmu-su ŋu-ŋelotmoṭ?
resist-3s-3s-Q city-one / defeat-3s-3s-Q general-one
Has any city resisted him? Has any general defeated him?

Det-baunaraludu-su agedorram skourandul?
fut-desid-dur-name-1p-3s-Q protector-gen Skourene-gen-pl-def
Will he not be called the Great Protector of the Skourenes?

Neither logographs nor a syllabary fit Old Skourene. Individual lexical forms were too numerous to create separate glyphs for, while lexemes (e.g. kisn-) were too broad. And the formidable syllable clusters and diphthongs of OS (e.g. bgiuşşa, ḍspi) made a simple syllabary impossible.

The solution was a mixed system: each word was represented by a logograph representing the lexeme, plus a syllabic representation which merged all the consonants. E.g. ṭuloup ‘we will write’ would be represented by a logograph ṬLP and syllabic glyphs $u-$o-u$, while ṭlepa ‘document’ would use the same logograph plus syllabic glyphs $$e-$a. The syllabic representation need not specify the actual consonants, since these are implied by the logograph.

The logograph was known as a peşşep ‘signifier’, the syllabic representation as a triutta ‘spelling’. The word derives from the convention that one could say a triutta out loud by using t for all the consonants—— e.g. tu-to-ut for the first example above. A cluster was represented by tr, so the second example was spelled tre-ta.

A single syllabic glyph is a triuṭitta. The full set of triuṭittar is shown at right. (There are no three-consonant glyphs; if necessary, just ignore the extras: ḍspi is spelled tri.)

Peşşepe are written right to left. The triuttar are written normally written right to left underneath them, but they’re also sometimes written to the left of the peşşep, top to bottom. A Skourene would read the first line of the chart at right as u-o-i-e-a!

The samples are shown in color because the prototypical medium for the Iṭilik script is painting (as that for Chinese characters is brushwork, while medieval European calligraphy, and thus our typography, are based on writing with a bias-cut quill). Handwritten symbols at first closely matched the painted versions, but over the centuries were simplified and stylized much faster.

There were something over 700 peşşepe; but less than half of these were completely independent graphemes. Symbols could be combined to create a peşşep, or adapted from a similar-sounding root: e.g. the glyph for nals- ‘fly’, a picture of a hawk, was used for naḷş- ‘honor’ as well, with the addition of a ribbon (i.e. a mark of honor).

Geographical names, especialy foreign ones, were something of a problem. For some old borrowings glyphs were devised; e.g. that for Skouras was a stylized picture of a river (also used for ḍel ‘river’), plus some stylized hills. For newer borrowings the usual expedient was to borrow a word with the same consonants; e.g. Aksun uses the glyph for kisn- ‘hear’, with a special initial triuṭitta that indicates that the word is a toponym.

By the way, the representation of Skouras, tro-u-ta-at, illustrates two fine points in writing triuttar:

• Wherever possible, use a CV triuṭitta rather than VC.
• Since OS does not permit long vowels, the implied -aa- can be reduced to a single vowel.

Other cities adopted the Iṭilik system, but felt free to change the actual glyphs, in order to make it harder for outsiders to read one’s accounting or trade secrets. The result was a plethora of alternate scripts, one for each major city and its colonial empire.

By historical accident, from about 700 to 1000 Skouras was dominated by three different cities all using variations of the script of Guṭḷeli: Guṭḷeli itself, Meŋeland, and Kuḷiŋibor. This therefore became the standard script in the littoral; in Skouras proper, the Iṭilik script was the standard (to a somewhat lesser extent).

After the Tžuro invasion, most of the variants were removed from competition. Gurdago— yet another variant of Guṭḷeliki— had simplified its script; this influenced but did not replace the standard script in the littoral. This modified script is the ancestor of the modern Uṭandal and Gelihurendi scripts.

Lexicon