ngurá (noun): bottom, lower part (of); anvil.
tiráng aca ngurá-lártettárut
wound.MID.PERF I bottom-leg.ILL.DEF
“I was wounded in the lower part of [my] leg”
Search
Archive
Conlangers' Blogs
Conlanging Websites
Tags
Meta
High Eolic word of the day: ngurá
High Eolic word of the day: tarúcatam
tarúc- (transitive verb), imperfective tarúcatam: to hold close to oneself, be close to (something), be pressed against.
tarúc-ettám sutúndalut va yat ava crambes
press.against-IMPERF.1.TRANS cliff.ACC.DEF and then COP.COMPL storm.ESS
“I pressed myself against the cliff until the storm was over”
High Eolic word of the day: tassácam
tassá- (transitive verb), imperfective tassácam: to demand, ask (for something).
ca tassá-mÃm calendalut varándangut mbe rÃcam cal
I demand-COND.TRANS money.ACC.DEF father.EL.DEF and kill.PERF.TRANS I.ACC
“my father would kill me if I asked him for [more] money”
The verb tassácam may take an oblique in the elative case, which is understood as the entity being asked or demanded to give (as in the example above, with varándangut ‘father’ in the elative).
The Divine Will – The Opening (Callambut)
Callambut
[‘The Opening’; introduction to Percándarcassut (Divine Will) of Callútut (1091-1035), completed 1128. As the founding text of Calutist Olerism, the Divine Will is a general discussion of themes from the Taršemâ (the Olerist holy book) and includes a number of stories and parables, as well as specific legal precepts (which the Taršemâ mostly avoids). In conceptual terms, Divine Will emphasizes asceticism and is strict towards non-believers, but also promotes equality between genders and ethnicities/races.]
I. Listen: He who looks from beyond the Stars is here. This I say because of what has transpired to me, what my blue-eyed mind has grasped.
II. I have seen how the world is shaped and none can question this. For I have read the words of people from beyond the mountains and in their words lies the truth of the stars. The Exalted Words have been spoken seven times [1] and we have heard them, and another [2] has spoken of them and we have heard them. But it is said that the One-Eyed[3] still lurks beyond in the darkness. And He who looks from beyond the stars – the Master, him who we call Ulársa – calls upon you. He is here among us and hidden. [4] He is beyond the stars and present in all his burning glory. He is the King; He is Merciful; He is the Glorious. He makes us gold and warm and prosperous; He calms the sky and strikes down our enemies.
III. But the One-Eyed still lurks beyond in the darkness.
IV. And if you should turn towards him, woe shall become you, for He is blind to those that turn away from Him.
V. And you are the Star-Children, [5] and if you realize this you should turn toward Him.
VI. But for those who do not come to know, the Merciful is a fist. [6]
VII. If you know, do not forget.
VIII. If you do not know, turn towards Him.
IX. If you have come to know, He shall be merciful to you.
X. And even if you have known and have repelled Him, He shall be merciful if you lament it. [7]
XI. But be warned: for the One-Eyed still lurks in the darkness.
XII. And fear of Him has given me courage to write these exalted words. For do not the courageous grow from cowards who have touched [their] death[s]? Do not those who have tasted darkness do whatever they can to drink of the light?
XIII. Listen: He who looks from beyond the Stars is here. And indeed he shall not have mercy for the wicked; but he shall have mercy for you who know, and for those who lament, and for all the Star-Children.
———–
You can listen to a recording of Verses V and VI here: callambut
———-
Notes:
[1] TinÃndacindúyel in the original. Although Callútut refers to the books of the TarÅ¡emâ, the concept was later reinterpreted by the scholar-king Marcut VIII., who used the term to entitle his prescriptive grammar of High Eolic (the first ever written). Marcut was probably invoking the Divine Will, but more importantly sought to reaffirm the link between High Eolic and Olerism – which was already rather strong, given the language’s effective genesis in religious texts.
[2] This refers to Rînayh (990-1013), the founder of Rinalist Olerism, which was the first Oleric creed to spread beyond Trevecian borders.
[3] The concept of the ‘One-Eyed’ (Tarvárut) is very important to Olerism in general, but central to Callútut’s interpretation of it in particular. The One-Eyed (or the Enemy: Varingándut in High Eolic) is the embodied form of temptation that makes believers and others turn against the teachings of the Deity. The One-Eyed is usually portrayed as a one-eyed eagle, which makes it extremely ambiguous, given that the Deity Himself is also usually iconized as a single eye. The underlying ambiguity – even anxiety – that the One-Eyed and the Deity are one and the same is even more pronounced in Calutist Olerism, given its strong grounding in pre-Olerist Eolic beliefs, which concentrated on a number of deities with dual (either opposite or complementary) aspects that always had to be invoked and respected simultaneously, at the risk of incurring the god’s wrath.
[4] Curáyervarsándes in the original. Another central Calutist concept, the idea of the ‘present-yet-hidden’ (curáyervarsán) deity is possibly another reference to pre-Olerist dualist beliefs. For Callútut, the Deity is omnipresent and perfectly accessible, but only if one specifically follows Olerist precepts. This contrasts with the more general Oleric concept of the “Eye beyond the Veilâ€, which hints at ultimate incomprehensibility of the Deity – only accesible through prophetic mediation – even for fully-fledged believers. For Callútut, on the other hand, the “Eye beyond the Veil†is only one aspect of the full nature of the Deity. His ultimate motives may be incomprehensible, but His proximate glory and protection will always be clearly realized by those who believe in Him.
[5] In Olerism, ‘Star-Children’ (Mbá-yarutúyel) are all those that are able to worship the Deity and thus achieve protection from Him. Most contemporary understandings – apart from the militant Batanist sect – equalize the Star-Children with all humanity.
[6] Ãcaput ngúya rambúndes in the original. This is probably one of the most famous quotes from Divine will, and encapsulates Calutism’s severity toward unbelievers. Its equation of mercy with aggression also appears slightly self-contradictory, and has engendered numerous fierce theological debates regarding its true meaning.
[7] a-cellásarimbám in the original. The concept of ‘the Lamenters’ (sána cellásarettám, ‘those who lament [continuously]’) – or those who turn back to the Deity, having forsaken Him in the past – is an important one for Olerism in general. Rinalism in particular hinges on an extremely inclusive interpretation of ‘lamentation’, including predicting ultimate salvation for those who heard enough about the Deity during their lifetimes, even if their clouded proximate desires may have lead them to reject Him. Calutism, on the other hand, takes the notion much more literally, and indeed interprets ‘lamentation’ rather strictly: those who had rejected the Deity in the past are required to pursue very strict religious duties in order to be considered proper Olerists.
———–
Original text in High Eolic:
I. Seya nungú: sána núma ngúrnam artangá ngúya curás. Yarsupa’ mál issáyat civa más cer sána pasacálassut parnendám.
II. Ngúrnam sanúsalut sácendur váta máca ndevásÃm. Ceyá sirámendám tinál mácar núma cártangá va civa catúrarutassut matinámecut. Tururcat TinÃndacindúyel yarsingá va len tambárendám va ndevà yasendám va sen tambárendám. Nduttá yarsas issa sen cavá Tarvárut núma lunámbis yullambemec? Arcat sána núma ngúrnam artangá mbe sána ngúya tárcesut mbe sána littándatam mál Ulársacut yallásam rattil. Ngúya curáyervarsándes lendevis. Núma ngarangav artangá va tiná ngarangav tandavelás. Ngúya Rándesut mbe Yácapes mbe ngúya Tandesut. Hámbervarcá sen racú lendes márang va társes va cránartá cerindárc mbe racát lepangettárc máru.
III. Arcá cavá Tarvárut núma lunámbis yullambemec.
IV. Lecá ratti ngúrnimbám numál trunár ce ruyúndimbám ndemál mbettá se’ ngúrnam tallucemec.
V. Arcá ratti ngúya Mbáyarutúyes ivá parnimbá’ mbe ngúrna’ mál.
VI. Tanda mácar-túca parnimbám mbet Ãcaput ngúya rambúndes.
VII. Sána parnisam tassá parúcam.
VIII. Sána ta parnisam tassá se’ ngúrnam.
IX. Mbe ngúrnav sána parnendám sen ácapur.
X. Mbe ngúrnav sána parnendám ivá ruyúndassúm ras ácapur a-cellásarimbám.
XI. Mbe súyerú: cavá Tarvárut núma lunámbis yullambemec.
XII. Mbe carápamárangut civa nurmes issá ca tÃrenam cátinÃndacindalá. Nduttá rassá nurmes carápang sána nducendám hullangal? Nduttá sána nducendám yullambal ngemársám naná nget arcá lungarsám arnal?
XIII. Seya nungú: sána núma ngúrnam artangá ngúya curás. Mbettá ‘rcat ácaput ngúrnucám sunúcalá vahá sen ácaput ngúrnucám rattil sána parnisam va sána cellásarettám va sána se’ ngúya na-Mbáyarutúyes.
Spatial and motion cases in High Eolic
I’ve decided to provide a short summary of the forms and functions of the seven spatial and motion cases in High Eolic. Most of what follows is taken from my High Eolic Grammar (available as a PDF here), but in a compressed and (hopefully) more approachable form.
0. Summary of the spatial and motion cases
In addition to its seven “basic” cases (nominative, genitive, benefactive, accusative, essive, sociative, and vocative), High Eolic also has seven cases dealing with location and direction. Like all cases in High Eolic, these are marked by suffixes on nouns, and are as follows:
- antessive: -tan (vicinity; origin)
- elative: -ang (movement from, from under, or away from)
- inessive: -emec (location in or under)
- illative: -ettár (movement into or towards)
- delative: -acir (movement down from)
- superessive: -únin (location on or above)
- sublative: -evis (movement on or onto; distribution)
Although the core implications of these cases are spatial and directional, they also have other uses (including marking periods of time), as detailed in the sections below. Moreover, they can be combined with adverbs/particles in order to convey more specific meanings with regard to location and direction.
1. Antessive
The antessive case is marked by the suffix -tan. It denotes location in front of, along,
or near the marked nominal:
(1)   rÃc már párund-a-tan-ut
kill.PERF.MID he/she house-0-ANTESS-DEF
“he/she was killed in front of [his/her] houseâ€
The adverb carnat ‘near, nearby’ may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place near or in the general vicinity of, rather than directly in front of, the marked nominal:
(2)   rÃc már carnat párund-a-tan-ut
kill.PERF.MID he/she nearby house-0-ANTESS-DEF
“he/she was killed near [his/her] house†[= somewhere in the neighborhood]
The adverb mbúrat ‘along, along the side of’ may be used to mark a process more explicitly as taking place along the length or side of a nominal in the antessive:
(3)   len nandára-c mbúrat lahess-a-tan-ut
we walk-IMPERF.1 alongside river-0-ANTESS-DEF
“we walked by the riverâ€
The antessive is also used to mark the location (‘origin’) from which a directed action takes place, as in the following examples:
(4)  ngúrn-av nu-sangánd-ut callang-es curá-tan
see-IMPERF that-dog-DEF cow-ESS near-ANTESS
“That dog looks like a cow from here.â€
(5)  ras racát-a cettá-s-am núm-a-lahess-a-tan
MIR enemy-INDEF shoot-IMPERF.NON1-TRANS other.side-0-river-0-ANTESS
“Enemies are shooting from across the river!â€
This usage of the antessive may sometimes overlap with that of the elative (see below), although the antessive seems to be preferred in transitive clauses where the syntactic subject is not itself moved in the action, but merely directs or initiates the movement.
2. Elative
The elative case is marked by the suffix -ang. It denotes the subject’s movement from or from the underside or lower reaches of the marked nominal, and occurs most frequently in intransitive clauses:
(6)   ca-varánd-ut taranda-p trecá-ng-ut
my-father-DEF escape-PERF city-EL-DEF
“my father escaped from the cityâ€
The adverb ráya ‘under, below’, also occurring as a nominal prefix ra-, may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place from the underside of or from ‘below’ the marked nominal:
(7)   racát-á lersá ráya cárt-ang-á (= ra-cárt-ang-á)
enemy-PL come.PERF under mountain-EL-PL
“the enemies came from below the mountainsâ€
A secondary function of the elative is to mark reasons for processes:
(8)   linger-á narnatá-v sárt-ang
banner-PL flutter-IMPERF wind-EL
“the flags were fluttering in the wind†[= because of the wind]
Nominals in the elative are also used to mark continuous periods of time:
(9)   már sicánd-arav-am ngúyend-al rúleng-ang
he/she trade-ITER-TRANS wheat-ACC summer-EL
“He/she [always] trades in wheat during the summer [every year].â€
This can also occur metonymically, i.e. to denote a status, role, or occupation in a way analogous to a time period:
(10)   lurcá-m mál mercand-ang carn-ur-a-láya-r
meet.with-TRANS he.ACC officer-EL time-GEN-0-two-GEN
“I met with him twice during [his time as] an officer.â€
3. Inessive
The inessive is marked by the suffix -emec. It denotes location inside or under the
marked nominal:
(11)   rÃc már párund-emec-ut
kill.PERF.MID he/she house-0-INESS-DEF
“he/she was killed in [his/her] houseâ€
Again, ráya or ra- may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place under or below the marked nominal:
(12)   rÃc már ráya mbuca-mec
kill.PERF.MID he/she under tree-INESS
“he/she was killed under a treeâ€
Nominals in the inessive are also used to mark single points in time:
(13)   lurcá-m mál ung-a-náh-emec-ut
speak.with-TRANS he/she.ACC day-0-second-INESS-DEF
“I spoke with him/her on the second dayâ€
The inessive may also have an inceptive meaning when used with nouns that denote periods of time, leading to potential ambiguity that can obly be resolved from context:
(14)   már sáta lapá-rav Arandál-ettár rúleng-emec
he/she FUT go-ITER Arandála-ILL summer-INESS
“he/she will be going to Arandála when summer begins†OR “at some point in the summerâ€
For further specification of timeframes, additional particles or adverbs must be used. For example, to specify that an event happened “before Xâ€, the adverb tayat ‘earlier’ must be used together with the appropriate noun in the inessive:
(15)   crunga tayat nandára-yis ettÃs-emec
today earlier walk.around-IMPERF.NON1 sunrise-INESS
“he/she was walking around today before sunriseâ€
As with the elative, metonymic use of the inessive is also possible:
(16)   lurcá-m mál essát mercand-emec
meet.with-TRANS later officer-INESS
“I met with him after [he had become] an officer.â€
4. Illative
The illative is marked by the suffix –ettár. It denotes movement to, into, towards, or towards the underside of the marked nominal:
(17)    ca-varánd-ut taranda-p rengáva-ttár
my-father-DEF escape-PERF foreign.place-ILL
“my father escaped to a foreign landâ€
Yet again, ráya or ra- may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place toward the underside of or toward ‘below’ the marked nominal:
(18)  racát-á lersá ráya cárt-ettár-á
enemy-PL come.PERF under mountain-ILL-PL
“the enemies came under the mountains†[= to a place below the mountains]
A secondary function of the illative is to mark purposes for actions or changes of state of the subject of a clause. Note that such use implies strictly a change in the syntactic subject, rather than any other argument:
(19)    taná-p ma-ring-al-ut társ-ettár
abandon-PERF his-wife-ACC-DEF rich-ILL
“[he] abandoned his wife [in order for him [!] to become] richâ€
Some verbs also take an indirect object in the illative, especially verbs that imply some form of movement towards the object:
(20)    nilissá-m tiral mattár
send-PERF.DITRANS something.ACC he/she.ILL
“I sent something to him/herâ€
(21)   már sind-am calend-al-ut cattár
he/she ask-PERF.DITRANS money-ACC-DEF I.ILL
“he/she asked me about the money†[= ‘conveyed to me’ a question about the money]
With the verb lersácam ‘arrive, come to’, the illative appears to mark the direct object, suggested by the use of transitive morphology on the verb while no other verbal argument (apart from the subject) may occur:
(22)   lersá-m trecá-tár-ut
arrive-TRANS city-ILL-DEF
“I arrived to the cityâ€
5. Delative
The delative is marked by the suffix –acir. It denotes movement down from, from the top of, or from above the marked nominal:
(23)   racát-á lersá cárt-acir-á
enemy-PL come.PERF mountain-DEL-PL
“the enemies came down from mountainsâ€
The adverb yerang ‘above, high above’ may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place from the above of or from a place higher than the location of the marked nominal:
(24)   racát-á lersá yerang tassánd-acir-ut
enemy-PL come.PERF above fortress-DEL-DEF
“the enemy came down from above the fortress†[= from a place higher than where the fortress is located]
Some verbs also take indirect objects in the delative, especially verbs that imply an effort to keep a distance between the direct and indirect object on part of the subject:
(25)    rattás-á nú-rem-árte le-cunda-c-ut racá-cir-á
soldier-PL protect-ITER.NON1-IMPERF.DITRANS our-land-BEN-DEF enemy-DEL-PL
“Soldiers protect our land from [our] enemies.â€
(26)    már mbá-rem-árte mbuttá-c marn-acir
he/she guard-ITER.NON1-IMPERF.DITRANS sheep-BEN wolf-DEL
“he/she guards sheep from wolves”
6. Superessive
The superessive is marked by the suffix –únin. It denotes location on, on the top of, or above the marked nominal:
(27)  rÃc már mbÃrand-únin
kill.PERF.MID he/she hill-SUPERESS
“he/she was killed on a hillâ€
Again, the adverb yerang may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place above the location of the marked nominal:
(28)  rÃc már yerang trecá-y-únin-ut
kill.PERF.MID he/she above city-0-SUPERESS-DEF
“he/she was killed above the city†[= at a place higher than where the city is located]
7. Sublative
The sublative is marked by the suffix –evis. It denotes movement onto, towards the top of, or to a place above the marked nominal:
(29)   racát-á lersá cárt-evis-á
enemy-PL come.PERF mountain-SUBL-PL
“the enemies came up to the mountainsâ€
Again, the adverb yerang ‘above, high above’ may be used to more explicitly mark a process as taking place toward a place higher than the location of the marked nominal:
(30)   racát-á lersá yerang tassánd-evis-ut
enemy-PL come.PERF above fortress-SUBL-DEF
“the enemy came up to above the fortress†[= to a place higher than where the fortress is located]
A noun in the sublative with the prefix núm– ‘other, other side’ can mark a process as taking place over or across somewhere:
(31)   ca terang núm-a-crávind-evis-ut
I jump.PERF other.side-0-stream-SUBL-DEF
“I jumped over the streamâ€
A further function of the sublative is to mark distribution of the process across the surface of the marked nominal, within a context characterized by it, or among instances of it:
(32)  livárn-is súrev-ut cirn-evis
carry.MID-IMPERF water-DEF man-SUBL
“the water was carried ‘among the men’†(= “the men took turns to carry the waterâ€)
This usage is especially frequent in poetic speech, often as an alternative to more conventional transitive constructions:
(33)  rÃc máca rattás-evis
kill.PERF.MID they warrior-SUBL
“[some] of the soldiers were killedâ€
High Eolic word of the day: hursen
hursen (noun): high, tall, prominent.
lecá yallándut capápam hursend-alut
and.so hero.DEF fight.PERF.TRANS highest.ACC.DEF
“and then the hero fought the highest man [among them]”
The word hursen is used to mark entities of exceptional or prominent height in comparison to others, and is used especially for people and mountain peaks. When definite (as in the example above), it can also denote “the highest in a group”.
High Eolic word of the day: tarnácam
tarná- (transitive verb), imperfective tarnácam: to follow, walk behind; to be a vassal or subject of (someone).
tána yanár tarná-sÃm lámbahundalut racátevis
only weak follow-POT.NON1.TRANS pious.false.ACC.DEF enemy.SUBL
“only the weak among our enemies would follow the false religion”
High Eolic word of the day: curúram
curút- (transitive verb), imperfective curúram: to reach, walk to, travel to.
essát len curút-am lahessalut certangemec
later we reach.PERF-TRANS river.ACC.DEF night.INESS
“we reached the river late at night”
High Eolic word of the day: mallar
mallar (noun): meal, dish.
yat civa mallar-urces yácindalungatecut pandurvem
then become.COMPL dish-seven.ESS meal.wedding.BEN.DEF brother.GEN.DEF
“there were seven dishes at my brother’s wedding dinner”
High Eolic word of the day: tirángaram
tiráng- (transitive verb), imperfective tirángaram: to wound, injure; to knife, stabbed.
ca-rupercánder tayat tiráng-ucá rattamec
my-NEG.wish.SOC earlier injure.MID-POT.1 battle.INESS
“I do not wish to be injured before the battle”