From: tuff@ellis.uchicago.edu (Geoff Tuffli)
Subject: ARTICLE: Ohs Language, draft copy, suggestions?
Reply-To: tuff@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 23:41:52 GMT

LANGUAGE IN THE OHS EMPIRE (v.4)

Pronunciation:
	jh	s as in measure (in standard linguistical terms, it is zh)
	jn	said as a dipthong
	lj	said as a dipthong
	a	ah
	o	oh
	e	eh
	i	ee
	u	oo
	oh	said like "ho" except said deeper in your throat, with
			a stronger "oh" sound, somewhat like huffing the
			sound
	ssh	said as a dipthong, start by making an "ss" sound then
			merge it into a "sh" sound
	ae	ah-eh, not quite a dipthong, still two distinct sounds
	eo	eh-oh, not quite a dipthong, still two distinct sounds
	ie	ee-eh, not quite a dipthong, still two distinct sounds
	ue	oo-eh, not quite a dipthong, still two distinct sounds
	x	z, the only word this is used in in modern usage is
			"xund", or "unicorn"
	g	g as in goat
	ts	ts as in cats
	th	always soft, as in thin (as opposed to the th in there)
	c	gutteral ch is in the Scottish pronunciation of ch in
			loch, a very uncommon sound
	ah	said like "ha" except huffing slightly as you say it,
			making it softer
	ih	said like "he" except huffing slightly as you say it,
			making it softer
	j	j as in jester
	

	NOTE: there is no stress, pitch is used to emphasize or convey
		subtler emotion


Grammar:
	The language has no real distinction between a noun and an adjective.
An -i ending is usually the ending of a word or compound word. So, two words,
huni (meaning horse, association with horses, or horse-like) and dasi (meaning
soldier, fighter, or warrior) could be combined to hundasi or dashuni (note
that "dashuni" would be pronounced das-huni, not dash-uni). Hundasi, thus,
means horse-warrior, or a mounted soldier.

	In addition, there is no real pluralization, so hundasi could mean
a single horseman or an army of them, or horsemen in general. Expressing
plurals relies on attaching to it a word indicating number, either the exact
number, or, more commonly, a general one roughly analogous to English's
"few", "some", and "many", though somewhat more precise.

	Compound words can be made up of more than two parts. So, the word
raki (meaning bow) could be added to hundasi to form the word "hunrakdasi"
or "rakhundasi" or "hundasraki". In actual practice, it should be noted that
only one of these possible combinations is used for a particular word. So,
a horseman is always referred to as "hundasi", not as "dashuni", though if
you were to use the latter compound, you would be understood, although it
would sound odd to the listener.

	Generally, those words which do not take the -i ending are arranged
in a slightly different manner. They are grouped as if they were an adjective
in front of a noun. This is also sometimes used to emphasize a particular
aspect of the compound word. So, the commander of the horsemen in an army
(tarni means lord, approximately) would likely be referred to as the Tarn
Hundasi. Note that in this case, the -i ending was stripped from tarn. The
most relevant aspect of the compound word, if one exists, is placed near the
beginning, so Tarn Hundasi would emphasize that the more important aspect
was the Tarn-ishness, and only after that they were of horsemen. One could
also call such a person a hundastarni, with this de-emphasizing the fact that
they are a commander, and placing more importance on their connection with
horseman-ness.


	Verbs do not have, by themselves, any tense or reference to the
subject. There is one form, and the only way you can tell its tense is by
context or by the presence of another word that indicates when it happens.
Noun/Adjectives can be made into verbs by the addition of an ending "sh",
that, if the Noun/Adjective ends in a consonent, is instead "ash". Forming
a verb this way usually indicates "the process of". So the word for mask,
"sha", could be made into the verb "to mask" by adding -th to form "shash".
	
	In important note is that there is no verb "to be", rather in the
absence of another verb, it is assumed.


	All verbs, even those without Noun/Adjective roots, end in -sh.


	The word order is: subject - (indirect object) - object - verb
(Poetry, by the way, is almost always designed so as to rhyme from the
_beginning_ of a phrase, rather than the end.) Clauses can be added on
one after another with only a short pause seperating them from one another.

	Adverbs are not used at all. To indicate, for example, that an
action is done "quickly", one merely adds the necessary word onto the
subject. "Kabi", meaning "quickly", added to "oshash" or "to become
civilized", would create the verb "to become civilized quickly", or
"kaboshash".


Vocabulary:
	The following is a list of the vocabulary that I have come up with.
I intend to update it and expand it as I have time.

	ANIMALS
dubogula - dragon
xund - unicorn
preothai - a non-poisonous spider about 1 foot in diameter that builds
		amazingly intricate and extensive webs.
uma - a large sea turtle about 12 feet in diameter that has been used as
		a beast or burden.
kapati - a flying, poisonous snake. The poison is paralytic.
huni - horse
pai - a small bird, somewhat like a sparrow
resethi - seagull
likai - mouse
bothark - a huge, lumbering omnivorous creature about 20 feet long covered
		by huge bony plates and several lines of spikes on its face.
		Though not bright, it is exceedly vicious, and very strong.
		They are sometimes used in much the same way as bulls are in
		Spain.
kedishi - jackal
prei - spider
kapi - snake
manisi - cat
tibi - fish
jhasi - human
kebi - rat
sasshai - sheep
elenbi - cow/bull
nename - goat
pochai - pig/hog

	CLOTHING:
kutari - a long-sleeved tunic commonly worn by nobles or on formal occassions.
		Usually has woven into it stylized representations of animals
		or other simpler designs. It extends over the hips.
panakutari - a short-sleeved kutari that is designed to be worn with a sath.
sath - a white dress-like garment worn underneath a panakutari. It extends
		to the wrists and down to the ankles. While it can be worn
		by both sexes, it is usually only worn by women. Like a kutari,
		it is slid over the head.
umari - pants. They split on either side for a few inches, and necessitate an
		underbelt to hold them on. An overbelt is usually worn over
		the kutari itself.
tasmatashi - soft leather boots of a kind commonly worn in the Ohs Empire. The
		soles of the feet are made of specially hardened leather that
		is segmented into several overlapping pieces to make the entire
		footwear easier to walk in. It can go as low as the ankle or
		as high as just below the knee.

	NATURE:
sejn - cliffs or escarpment
marn - sea or ocean
separai - swamp, fens, or marshland
lebai - water
ani lebai - river
ani - movement or flow
korgo - earth or soil
batami - wind
shimiasi - sand storm
iasi - sand
gari - rock
ejhakiladani - inferno
ejhake - warmth or heat
dani - fire
potam - fertile soil or loam
talati - forest or woodland
lati - wood

	COLORS:
soti - rust red or blood red
tosoti - orange
kosoti - orangish-pink
ketina - light blue
lei - deep blue
paryani - yellow
ithilyai - purple
gloi - black
parai - white
shintisayaki - gold
kothoi - tan or brown
kelji - light green
hanalji - forest green

	MILITARY:
raki - longbow
mavi - skilled or skillful
mavraki - elite longbow soldiers of the Ohs Empire
dasi - soldier, warrior, or fighter
hundasi - elite dragoons of the Ohs Empire
shei - weapon used by the hundasi, it is a double-ended sword-spear with
		four spikes angling out of a right angle below the blade
		on one of the ends.
losshi - army (100,000 soldiers or 10 daumshi)
dalosshi - host (all of the losshi raised for a campaign)
losshil - grand host
pakimi - battlegroup (10 soldiers)
dapakimi - cohort (100 soldiers or 10 pakimi)
umshi - legion (1000 soldiers or 10 dapakimi)
daumshi - regiment (10,000 soldiers or 10 umshi)
imnak - sword (two-handed grip, relatively short lengthed blade)
thei - axe used in the Ohs Empire, has a triangular blade, one side of which
		lays face-on the shaft.
panathei - axe the size of a small dagger
korojhi - spear, used only in the Imperial armies, not in any of the House
		forces.
yomak - blood

	ENDINGS:
-l/il - the most
-ka - lacking or without

	TIME:
atana - year of 320 days
mesthia - time it takes for Ea to pass by a particular point on the Jovian
		planet it circles - works out to about 40 days.
para - week of 8 days
yundi - day

	ENTERTAINMENT:
radi - dancer or entertainer
mavi - skilled
mavradi - acrobatic dancer-mimes who wear masks and are noted for their
		incredible skill at dancing/acrobatics and their habit of
		never speaking and going masked most of the time.
sha - mask
jhugoloroiri - travelling jugglers/stage-magicians
papadai - the colored rubber balls used by jhugoloroiri in their acts
foditei - court bard, serves a respected position, often also a Lord's
		advisor, and often as well as the historian and even at
		times as a teacher of ethics and morality.
tastraba - drum
pelipe - flat-harp

	SORCERY and the MYSTERIES:
shadu - spirit, soul, or animus
shaduka - one who is without soul, souless
sae - mana, the intangible power omnipresent that sorcery taps as a source
		of enery
saemavi - a sorceror
saemavil - the most competent sorceror; the title is usually reserved for
		the ritual-master of the House of the Unicorn.

	DESCRIPTIVE NOUNS:
panai - short or brief
spiristi - tall, high, or proud
spiristika - humble
sshasi - happy or pleased
sshasika - grim
chayuli - angry
chayulil - enraged
chayulika - calm
falji - long distance or time
kabi - quickness or quickly

	CONSTRUCTIONS:
kohn - home, den, or place-of-retreat
vatani - fortified place, castle, or wall
amani - road
zelati - bridge

	PARTS of the BODY:
eshi - back of head or skull
patani - face
mei - eyes
saspi - ears
koton - belly or abdomen
garaki - chest or ribs
haspiki - fingers or hand
temdi - arms
karei - tongue
listhimiki - legs

	PRONOUNS:
hami - me, I, us, or we
tomi - you
kari - he, she, it, them, or they

   ** To make pronouns possessive, merely integrate them into
      object that is being possessed. So "my horse" would be
      said, "hunhami" **


	INDICATIVES:
oi - this or these
ai - that or those

   ** These can be used alone, as in, "I want THAT," or they
      can be used in combination with a word. So in the phrase,
      "I want THAT TUNIC," the object would be "kutaroi" **


	INTERROGATIVES:
kanaputai - what
manaraputai - who
tokiputai - where
hokonoputai - why
patanaputai - when
teloijhuputai - how or in what way
na - ending after a verb to indicate that the sentence is a query

   ** "Whose" would be formed by combining "manaraputai" and 
      the appropriate object. So "whose house" would be
      "kohnmanaraputai" **

   ** "Where is this", for example, would be "tokiputai" and
      "oi" for "This is where?" or "Oi tokiputai na?" **


	CONJUNCTIONS and OTHERS:
pa - and
ka - or
chan - if
eba - no or wrong ("nothing" would be "ebai")
kaba - yes or correct ("something" would be "kabai")

	POSTPOSITIONS:
kot - while
sham - to
peloki - from
chessh - within
ben - on
taman - under
kras - over
yas - around

   ** These all function as prepositions, except
      for that they all are placed at the end of
      a word or clause rather than the beginning
      as it is in English **


	TIME RELATIONS:
charn - before or earlier (past)
karn - after or later (future)
tok - now (present)
barana - still

	CONDITIONS of BEING:
lanami - sleep or sleeping
gebrani - growing
panagebrani - shrinking
palari - falling
ko - thought or thinking
loi - entrance or entering
lamani - gift or giving
ahsi - glowing
ahsika - dampened
manai - possessing or holding (implies non-permanence and/or non-ownership)
matai - pregnant
esatsi - sick
elebi - love or loving
nalabi - doing
dardani - sight or seeing
pelebi - play or playing
ueni - movement or moving

   ** Distinguishing whether someone "is grown" as opposed to
      someone "growing" is done by using different sequences.
      "Growing" is used as a verb, by adding "-sh" to the root.
      That someone "is grown" is done by using the "grown" as
      the object and adding a present tensesual marker ("tok").
      So, to say that "I am grown" or "I am grown, now" you
      would say, "Tok hami gebrani". "I am growing" would be
      said, "Hami gebranish". **

	OTHER WORDS
pahn - bowl
ohrti - tong-like eating utensil used in the Ohs Empire
daparathei - knife (intended mostly for an eating utensil)
borga - horns
kepichi - saddle
hadri - map
pohthi - banner


More Grammar:

	Possessives: Possessives can be accomplished in two different ways.
The first has already been explained, and is only used with pronouns. Horse,
"huni" and me or my, "hami" can be combined in this way to mean "my horse",
or "hunhami". The second way is slightly more complex.
	The expression 'la- is stuck after the possessor and before the
object. Furthermore, the -i ending on the possessor is deleted (which is
where the ' comes from. So, "my horse" could, in addition to "hunhami", be
expressed by saying: ham'la-huni. This can be extended even farther, for
example, if you wanted to say "my horse's saddle" you could say either
"hunham'la-kepichi" or "ham'la-hun'la-kepichi".
	In cases where the noun does not end in -i, there are two ways to
deal with this, depending upon whether the word ends with "la" already or
with some other ending. If the word ends with "la", such as in the word for
dragon, or "dubogula", than the 'la- expression is changed to be-. To indicate
"the dragon's horns" you would thus say: dubogulabe-borga. Note that the
apostraphe is not used, as there is nothing to be replaced.
	In all other cases where the word ends in something other than -i,
the expression becomes merely la-. So the phrase for "the drummer's horse"
would be: potastrabala-huni.
	The expression 'la- is in fact an expression of location, as opposed
to expressed ownership. If you wish to make the distinction between owning
something as opposed to merely possessing it, use the empression 'za- in place
of 'la-. In cases where the word ends in "za" already, the za- is retained,
unlike 'la-.

	Examples: to say "The horse you are riding is mine" in order of
			most frequently used to least...

		1) Huntomi ham'za-huni.
		2) Tom'la-huni ham'za-huni.
		3) Huntomi hunhami.
		4) Tom'la-huni hunhami.

Vocabulary (continued):

	CELESTIAL BODIES
ea - the name of the world
pelava - the name of the yello-green gas giant planet that Ea circles
zara - the sun (it appears smaller than our own due to the distance)
puloi - the small moon that orbits between Ea and Pelava
krasshei - the third moon of Pelava (including Ea)
mern - the fourth moon of Pelava (including Ea)
merna - the fifth moon of Pelava (including Ea)
toarn - a moon

	NUMBERS
ebai - nothing, none, or zero
sor - one
hak - two
be - three
nem - four
pajhni - five
lar - six
laman - seven
sutei - eight
fan - nine
osshla - ten
pulassha - hundred
hinasshra - thousand
kloi - (multiplier indicative)

    ** Examples: 10 osshla
		 15 osshla pajhni
		 32 be-kloi-osshla hak
		 109 pulassha fan
		 820 sutei-kloi-pulassha hak-kloi-osshla
		 3116 be-kloi-hinasshra pulassha osshla lar **

    ** Examples of Counting: Four moons.
		 There are four moons.
		 (Moons four are.)
		 Toran nem.

		 Look at the four moons.
		 (You moons-four look.)
		 Tomi torannem meish.
		     NOTE: "meish" is "mei" (eye) + "sh" (verb-ending) **

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