Creating a Fantasy Language: Lesson 4

Lesson 4: New concepts in grammar
(Creating a fantasy language: (Lesson 1, Rationale, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, Lesson 4, Choosing words, Creating an Alphabet)

In our last lesson for creating a fantasy language, we built on rules we already had by adding more of the same.

Now let’s try something entirely new:

It gave her a flower for her hair.

New concepts:

two objects (her, a flower)

possessive case (her hair)

Grammar-lovers will know that her in it gave her is a dative-case noun. Everyone else knows that her is another noun in the sentence, the person to whom the flower is given.

In my language, dative pronouns gain the suffix –s (or –es to nouns that it’s otherwise hard to add an –s to).

We’ll put the person to whom something is given after the thing that is given.

It gave for her hair a flower to her.

Now possessive case: I’ll add a –p suffix to create possession. In nouns ending with a consonant where that isn’t easily spoken, it will be –ip, -op, or -ap.

ot (it)

itis (her, dative)

a (ne)

laksh (to give)

Merin (flower)

fle (for)

Stiton (hair)

itop (her, possessive, for neuter noun)

(What)(to whom)(for what purpose/other prepositional phrases)(verb)(thing given)

It (to) her for her hair gave a flower.

ot itis laksho fle itop Stiton ne Merim.

Try another, just to get the hang them.

Charlie gave his mother a flower.

laksh (to give)

ne (a)

Merin (flower)

mother (chenin)

Charlie (to) his mother gave a flower.

Charlie atip Cheninis laksha ne Merin.

I (female) stole an apple from my father.

iko (I, female)

bork (to steal)

ne (a/an)

Munoch (apple)

du (from)

ikap (my, for masculine noun)

Chanan (father)

I from my father stole an apple.

iko du ikap Chananos borki ne Munoch.

Now combine with another rule, using phrases you’ve used before:

He under the table stole an apple from his father.

at (he)

uz (under)

ke (the)

hoskon (table)

bork (to steal)

ne (a)

Munoch (apple)

du (from)

at-p (his)

Chanan (father)

He under the table, from his father stole an apple.

at a’uz ke aHoskon, du atop Chananos borka ne Munoch.

And use new phrases with the same concepts:

The dog (neuter) with a tail accepted from you (masc) its collar.

ke (the)

ne (a)

du (from)

you (ut)

wufon (dog)

ot-p (its)

Donparlan (collar)

vesh (with)

sota (tail)

drigoh (to accept [as in, to allow to be given])

The dog with a tail, from you accepted its collar.

ke wufon ovesh ne oSota, du utas drigoho otap Donparlan.

By now, you should have vocabulary for all your pronouns. I still haven’t addressed me or my. Let me fix that:

ikop/akop/okop: my

ikos/akos/okos: me (dative case, such as “he gave me a dog” or “he stole from me an apple”)

ikon/akon/okon: me (objective case, such as “my father handed me to my aunt”)

And of course, I want to practice.

The dog without a tail gave me a flower.

veshra (without)

sota (tail)

wufon (dog)

ke (the)

Merin (flower)

ne (a)

laksh (to give)

ikos (me, dative)

The dog without a tail (to) me gave a flower.

ke wufon oveshra ne oSota, ikos laksho ne Merin.

What new concepts did you create for your language this go-around? Post a sentence and translation!

Vocabulary so far:

Verbs
san: to drop	nansan: to put down	nansanko: to lie down	ko: self	koma: self-aware
uzko: to be sick	kopalli: to self-reprimand	palli: to reprimand	del: to create	laksh: to give
borr: to roll	syl: to cast magic	der: to cause	bork: to steal	dragoh: to accept
Prepositions
uz: under	tep: on	elti: into	el: in	ti: to
du: from	vesh: with	veshra: without
Nouns
sylpana: the magic source	pana: lake	cortan: ball	hoskon: table	fodratan: anger
witkin: chair	bason: floor	fodrishin: hostility	dupon: bowl	Merin: flower
stiton: hair	chenin: mother	chanan: father	munoch: apple	wufon: dog
donparlan: collar
Pronouns
ut: you (subject)	ot: it (subject)	ako: I (male)	iko: I (female)	utu: you (object)
ata: him	iti: her	oto: it (obj)	at: he	it: she
ikop/akop/okop: my	ikos/akos/okos: me (dat.)	ikon/akon/okon: me (obj.)
Articles
ke: the	ne: a
Adjectives
fodrish: hostile
Numbers
kes: one	des: two	tres: three	fes: four	res: five
ses: six	pes: seven	les: eight	nes: nine	doc: ten