9. Mar01 Text

Text

* mærrancuqpæk

* mæncubdak qlokti tinocvæk

* pxix mægonnuxk tarrazhok doko bandi korgaba

* til tisefhax mæjvitix mnex

* til tisexfo titmux bon fumæxkiti; barga bailiko basenta kosemne dirdekba

* baala basenta dimbaya yasco yalke; dæl fudintakya

* tinodro mækmitik

* tiala tiilik tinocvæ bamba konoknakba tiselgoko dæl mæmti

 

English Translation

I keep getting sick.

I’m waking without fear.

Rapidly, you’re approaching me while I sleep all day.

Your wishes guide you while you dream.

Your hidden emotions must not know anything;

I recognized all the images within the dream.

That image was a dark road; I may have not seen the road.

I’m being controlled by sadness.

That fear inside me caused by my touching the demon may exist.

 

Grammar and Vocabulary

Mar01 is non-configurational and uses indexing rather than the methods found in natural languages (such as case marking).

 

ORTHOGRAPHY

Note: The written text may have ambiguities not present when spoken.

 

MORPHOLOGY

Words are either inflected predicates or uninflected particles. The format of a predicate is as follows:

Index-Voice-Polarity-TAM-Derivation-ROOT-Argument1-Argument2-Argument3

When an Index is present (for Complement predicates and phrase constituents), one of the argument slots is precluded according to Voice, except that Complements keep all their argument slots. The Voice values are:

0-        active  (Index <= Argument1)

se-      passive          (Index <= Argument2)

no-      marks Complement

Voice Examples:

di-kto-x-ti        “You said it”,

ba-kto-ti          “one who says it”,

ti-se-kto-x       “what you said”,

ko-no-kto-x-ti  “your saying it”.

The index values appearing here are ti, ko, ba, and ya.

Each Argument is either a pronominal, an index value (same as above), or unused. The pronominals are:

-k         1st person singular

-x         2nd person

Argument1 is typically agent-like or a subject or locatee. Argument2 is typically patient-like or a location. Argument3 doesn’t appear in this text!

When Argument2 appears on a quantity word, it represents the whole of which Argument1 is the part.

Negative polarity is fu-; positive polarity is 0.

Primary predicate forms are marked for absolute tense:

mæ-    present

di-        past

Other predicate forms may be marked for relative tense or aspect:

0-        stative (static)

0-        aoristic (dynamic)

ta-        progressive (dynamic)

 

Derivationals include:

go-      autocausative

ncu-     inchoative

rra-       iterative

SYNTAX

Phrase constituents are linked by Index value and don’t have to be contiguous. Phrases containing no quantity predicates are singular (with exceptions that don’t apply here). Index values are redefined for each sentence (the beginning of a sentence is marked * in this text).

There are no clauses, but sentences can be subdivided by conjunctions.

Particles include:

bon     epistemic necessity

dæl     epistemic possibility

PRAGMATICS

When a phrase appears before it’s referred to, it will usually be definite; if it appears after, it will usually be indefinite. The focused part of a phrase, if any, will appear last.

——————————————————————————–

Predicates

ala       Pron    that/those, over there

bda     Scal     awake

cvæ    Tran+  fear, afraid

do       Pron    (duration)

dro      Tran+  sad

fha       Tran     wish

ili          Rela    in, inside

jvi        Tran     guide

kmi      Tran     control

kna      Tran     touch

l           Quan   (plural)

lgo       Tran     make, cause

lke       Inhe     road, path

m         Rela    (copula)

mba    Inhe     demon

mne    Tran     dream

ndi       Inhe     day

nnu      Rela+ near

nta       Tran     see

pxi       Scal     fast

qlo       Tran     lack

qpæ   Scal     sick

rde      Tran     know (person, how)

rga       Quan   all, every

sco      Scal     dark

tmu      Tran     move (figurative only)

xfo       Triv      hide

xki        Tran     know (fact)

zho      Exte    sleep

 

Additional Notes

Mar01 is still under development, hence “Version 1”. There’s one bit of grammar in this translation that I may change, but I don’t expect the structure of the text to be affected otherwise. The orthography (and maybe even the phonology) may be replaced in future versions, but I’m generally pleased with the 2 weeks’ work.