Completive clauses, non-completives and relative clauses

 

A completive is expressed with the recursive particle "CiCiz".

I believe that X  = X CiCiz pradun na

I wonder if X = X CiCemh tl'ąmądą na

Vocabulary

 

Pronouns :

en - I

tl'e - you (sg)

re - he, she, they (sg) (animate)

se - it (inanimate)

aman - we (formal)

man - we

etluì - you (pl) (formal) 

tl'uì - you (pl)

erem - they (animate) (formal)

rem - they (animate)

sem - they (inanimate)

ror - self (anaphor)

ço - demonstrative pronoun (that, this, these, those)

mor, meror - anaphor posessive 

men - my, mine

metle - your, yours

mere - his, her, hers, their, theirs (sg)

meśe - its

memhan - our, ours

metluì - your, yours (pl)

merem - their, theirs (animate)

meśem - their, theirs (inanimate)

motl - a lot

hama - little, few

t'aim - too much

iphruì - the others, the other one (here, i- is no longer analysed as an article regarding declension)

ibhuì - everyone

p'iron - each other

Determiners :

definite-Noun + iç - this, that, these, those ....

Noun + ari - any, some ...

noun + mhiri - no ...

motl - a lot of ..., many ...

hama - few ...., a little ...

t'aim - too much/many ...

bìlh - all

beç - every, each

Conjunctions :

be - and

na - verb connector

uì - or

iamh - but

Interjections :

mą? -  what? (clarifier, used in moments of incomprehension)

mhi - no

sai - yes

c'ara - hi there

Ìnìtomą nas/naś/mas/maś - Thank you

Adverbs :

mhi - not

am - no more

çar - now

so - very, so

aim - too

motl - a lot

hama - little, few

t'aim - too much

haia - even

Nouns :

madras - school

bera - woman

t'ana - younger sister

ela - older sister

duru - younger brother

ośuì - older brother

truì - story, history

eram - tongue, language (langue)

paras - dog

zam - world

uì - man

dina - lunch

çil - house, home

c'el - room

borar - bath

c'elbebhrar - bathroom

t'ar - hour

melh - wolf

paramelh - sunset

melhapras - sunrise

ari - bird

c'osu - food

lhirilh - song

hiliś - music

moci - drink

tleri - skin

leti - year

bruno - heat

braduì - boy

brade - youth

dril - book

pradi - faith

nima - name

onilh - death

rudililh - birth

nenuz - child

tlenaz - girl

zrurez - blood

tl'umuì - murder

tl'ula - island

p'emi - country

minì - cat

bromi - speech, language (langage)

lągel - water

trìso - bread

ąrape - beauty

śimì - time

alu - pain

citu - sadness

eci - ear

mila - love

drela - strength

pili - red

muda - colour

mąda - question

mądalh - problem

paroge - importance

trade - wife

'upo - husband

trąso - road, path

pagą - farm

pagąrì - farmer

darbą - clothing

çruce - church

tubha - pool

opis - writing

mariçtan - heart

çilpezril - library

t'izoma - body

tritregi - education

mir - wall

tl'uìmhmir - gate

tl'uìmh - half

miritai - fight

miri - war

ama - mother

ana - grandmother

iluì - father

prapa - grandfather

tranì - uncle

trerì - aunt

tągi - cousin

ìnìtì - happiness

t'ihi - family

uzenuì - male

ubheruì - female

tl'otrąze - sex

mimta - fruit

mim - egg

trebas - apple

banana - banana

tunu - chest

ubrigì - sickness

tlora - flower

t'oma - thing

caci - leg

buru - head

hegì - hand

dance  - tara

t'anuro - limit

milhçamh - contact (typically inflected in the plural)

friend - çamh

milh - link

symptom - ubrigotoma

biçą - life

bicątoma - experience

nobì - help

tepuì - person

community - tepuìtoma

tl'amatoma - prevention

ìnì - goodness, good

tl'ì - evil (n)

ìnìtoma - gratitude

mar - gift

martoma - donation

su - fire

sutoma - burn

tl'uçe - temple

praditoma - religion

tl'amhphradi - heresy

tl'amhphradirì - heretic

catoma - existence

catomarì - a being

berì - a human

ìntanuro - respect

ìntanurotoma - dignity

martlamh - rights

ega - truth

egatoma - reason

marmehatoma - conscience (gift-of-existence)

t'ihitoma - brotherhood

braga - action, event

bragatoma - treatment

Verbs : 

mham - to eat

im - to see (conjugated on the radical "he-")

mhìm - copula

tl'am - to rain

śam - to fear

sum - to kill

erem - to know, to be acquainted with (connaître)

ram - to know (savoir)

prezam - to understand

maram - to tire, fatigue

cam - to be (state)

saram - to be sat

c'osum - to cook

irum - to walk

lam - to want to (+verb)

iam - to go

onum - to die

tl'umum - to kill

mocum - to drink

drilam - to read

lhiram - to sing

rudilum - to be born

pradum - to believe, think (opinion)

nimam - to name, call (using the passive : to be named/called)

bragam - to make, do 

bromum - to speak, say, talk, tell

alum - to hurt (only transitive in Neram)

eciam - to hear

gobam - to want (+noun)

milam - to love

mudam - to change (transitive)

mhidum - to change (intransitive)

mądam - to ask, inquire

'upom - to marry

tlelam - to think, ponder

darbam - to wear

opisem - to write

tritrìm - to learn

tl'uìmhum - to halve

miritam - to fight

taram - to dance

pricam - to stay, remain, be left

t'anurum - to reduce, limit, lower

milhçamham - to contact

tl'ąmądam - to wonder

biçam - to live

biçątomam - to experience

nobìm - to help

ubrigam - to fall ill, get sick

ubrigum - to infect

tl'amam - to prevent

maram - to give

martomam - to donate

ìnìtomam - to thank

t'am - to have, possess

sutomam - to burn (transitive)

sutomum - to burn (intransitive)

ìntanuram - to respect

crem - must, to have to (hecru-/hicru- = should)

bragatomam - to treat

Adjectives :

imharanom - tired

citom - sad

drelom - strong

brunom - hot

pili-mudom - red

parogom - important

ąną - big

ìgì - small

ìnìtom - happy

ubrigom - sick

prom - other

mhedrelom - mild, weak

nobom - helpful

ìn - good

berom - human

Numerals (grammatically function like determiners) :

0 - çero

1 - ham

2 - p'i

3 - t'ar

4 - c'om

5 - phra

6 - has

7 - aiz (or aizman)

8 - or (or orman)

9 - tl'araman

10 - lhotl

11 - agape

12 - p'as

13 - lhotar

14 - lhocom

15 - lhophra

16 - lhohas

17 - lhaizman

18 - lhorman

19 - p'ilhomaham

20 - p'ilhotl

21 - p'ilhom

22 - p'ilhopi

23 - p'ilhotar

24 - p'ilhocom

25 - p'ilhophra

26 - p'ilhohas

27 - p'ilhaizman

28 - p'ilhorman

29 - p'ilhotlaraman

30 - t'arlhotl

... (the following decades are based on the model used for the 20s)

100 - ha'uìn

End particles and question words

 End particles are one of Neramese’s peculiarities. They always come at the end of a clause, and convey specific pieces of information. They are portmanteau morphemes. For a phrase to be valid, it must contain a verb and an end particle. Otherwise, it is an interjection, a vocative, or something similar.

There are 10 simple end particles in Nerám. C represents a consonant that is replaced with a number/person marker.

- CaC - objective non-factive

- CuìC - factive (I saw/heard that...)

- CeC - subjective (expresses belief, doubt with negation)

- soC, śoC - imperative

- CìC? - binary question

- lhaC? - what (subject argument)

- Calh? - what (object argument)

- haiC? - who? (subject argument)

- Caih - who? (object argument)

- piCuC? - when?, if (hypothetical)

- zeCuC? - where?

- śaCuC? - why? 

-  śaCaC? - because

- laCuC? - how?

- CiCiz - completive 'that' particle

- CiCemh - completive 'if' particle (of in Dutch, jestli in Czech)

- CiCom - relative particle

3 of them are base end particles whereas 7 of them are question particles.

How does C work?

C is replaced with information regarding the nominative and accusative arguments. For motion verbs with non-accusative y arguments, they are treated like verbs without a second argument.

- Completives are treated like 3rd person singular (I think that X = X ...iz pradun na)

Morphological information :

1st person singular : 'n'

2nd person singular : 's'

3rd person singular : 't' for nominative or atmospheric arguments and Null for accusative arguments (or 't' in 2nd argument of recursive and relative particles)

1st person plural : 'm'

2nd person plural : 'ś'

3rd person plural : 'tl'

Anaphoric second argument : '-r'

The nominative argument (x) is the first C. The accusative argument (y) is the second C.

- Passive constructions are built as though there was only an accusative argument.

- Atmospheric verbs take a glottal stop like 3rd person singular nominative

- The copula does not take a second argument. 

EXAMPLES :

I eat you : mhã nas.

I eat : mhã na.

It rains : tl'a ta

He sees her : he ta

He sees you : he tas

You see him : hes sa

They see themselves : hetl tlar

He sees himself : he tar

The school sees the woman : he imhadras ibhera ta

The school sees the women : he imhadras ibhera tatl

The schools see the woman : hetl imhadras ibhera tla

The schools see the women : hetl imhadras ibhera tlatl

The women see themselves : hetl ibhera tlar

The woman is seen : he ibhera a

Versus

The woman sees : he ibhera ta

I am seen : he an.

I see : hen na

I am a woman : is (en) bera na

The woman is me : "is ibhera en 'a" and not "*is ibhera (en) 'an" (second arguments are not permitted)

I am Armand and this is my story : is n-Armã na be is ço içruì men ta

The woman ate (and I saw it) or I saw the woman eat : mhu ibhera tuì

The woman ate : Mhu ibhera ta

I think the woman ate : Mhu ibhera te

Eat! : Mhas so!

Did the woman eat? : Mhu ibhera tì?

What did the woman eat? : Mhu ibhera talh?

What ate the woman? : Mhu ibhera lha?

Who did the woman eat? : Mhu ibhera taih?

Who ate the woman? : Mhu ibhera hai?

When did the woman eat me? : Mhu ibhera pitun?

When did I eat the woman? : Mhun ibhera pinu?

Lenition

 

Many onset consonants (at the beginning of the lexeme) undergo lenition under certain morphological circumstances.

Stops :

m -> mh

b -> bh

p -> ph

t -> ç

d -> z

s -> ś

l -> lh

c -> h

When does lenition occur? (3) :

- After a definite article

- After any prefix that indicates a prefix

- After any negative particle (on a verb without an augment (the augment removes the lenition))