# Láadan/Láadan Grammar Reference
## Letters in Láadan

| Letter | Pronunciation | IPA |
| a | father | /ɑ/ |
| e | bell | /ɛ/ |
| i | big | /ɪ/ |
| o | hope | /o/ |
| u | moon | /u/ |
| th | think | /θ/ |
| zh | pleasure | /ʒ/ |
| sh | shine | /ʃ/ |
| lh | - | /ɬ/ |
| b | aback | /b/ |
| d | dream | /d/ |
| h | high | /h/ |
| l | wealth | /l/ |
| m | him | /m/ |
| n | month | /n/ |
| r | red | /ɹ/ |
| w | weep | /w/ |
| y | you | /j/ |
Notes
A. Words cannot end with the letters "h", "w", or "y".
B. Split up double-consonants with the letter "e".
Example: hesh = grass, hoth = place, hesh+e+hoth = heshehoth = park.
C. Split up double-vowels with the same accents with the letter "h".
Example: ra = not, en = understand, ra+h+en = rahen = misunderstand
D. Two vowels next to each other are only allowed if one of them is accented.
Example: Láadan, Aáláan

## Accented Vowels

A letter with an accent mark gets pronounced with a slightly higher pitch, and slightly more emphasis.
* Low tone – Example, /lō/ or /lò/
* High tone – Example, /ló/
With two vowels side-by-side, there can be an accent on the first vowel or the second vowel. These have different sounds:
* Loó – /lǒː/
* Lóo – /lôː/

## Pronouns

Pronouns can be neutral, though if a gender is assumed it is generally feminine.
| Voice | Singular | Plural, 2 to 5 | Plural, 6 or more |
| First Person ("I") | Le | Lezh | Len |
| Second Person ("You") | Ne | Nezh | Nen |
| Third Person ("He", "She") | Be | Bezh | Ben |

### Beloved, honored, or despised

You can change the pronouns to match some feeling about who you're talking about:
* Beloved - change the "e" vowel with "a". la, lazh, lan, ba, bazh, ban, na, nazh, nan
* Honored - change the "e" vowel with "i". li, lizh, lin, bi, bizh, bin, ni, nizh, nin
* Despised - add "lhe-" to the beginning. lhele, lhelezh, lhelen, lhebe, lhebezh, lheben, lhene, lhenezh, lhenen

## Speech Act Morpheme

At the beginning of a phrase, a sentence marker is added to indicate what kind of sentence it is.
| Speech Act Morpheme | Description |
| Bíi | Indicates a declarative sentence (usually optional) |
| Báa | Indicates a question |
| Bó | Indicates a command; very rare, except to small children |
| Bóo | Indicates a request; this is the usual imperative/”command” form |
| Bé | Indicates a promise |
| Bée | Indicates a warning |

### Extensions

You can attach a suffix to each of these in order to further specify the speaker/writer's intentions:
| Láadan | Description |
| -(None) | Said neutrally |
| -d | Said in anger |
| -th | Said in pain |
| -li | Said in love |
| -lan | Said in celebration |
| -da | Said in jest |
| -de | Said in narrative |
| -di | Said in teaching |
| -du | Said in poetry |
| -ya | Said in fear |

## Evidence Morpheme

An evidence marker is added to the end of a sentence. If there are several sentences strung together and context is clear, these can be omitted from additional sentences.
| Evidence Morpheme | Description |
| wa | Known to speaker because perceived by speaker, externally or internally |
| wi | Known to speaker because self-evident |
| we | Perceived by speaker in a dream |
| wáa | Assumed true by speaker because speaker trusts source |
| waá | Assumed false by speaker because speaker distrusts source; if evil intent by the source is also assumed, the form is “waálh” |
| wo | Imagined or invented by speaker, hypothetical |
| wóo | Used to indicate that the speaker states a total lack of knowledge as to the validity of the matter |

## Content Words and Function Words

Láadan does not have traditional verbs, nouns, and adjectives, as in English. There are two types of words: Content words, and Function words.
Most content words can be used as both verbs and nouns. (“Dance”, “Dancing”, would both be “Amedara”).
Verbs and adjectives are the same class of words. (“Red”, “To be red”, would both be “Laya”).

## Identifier Case

Láadan does not have a verb for “to be”, as in English. If you want to state [noun A] is [noun B], any verb will be left off and the subject and identifier will be used:
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi le with wa. | I am a person. | Bíi (I declare) le (I) with (person) wa (perceived by me). |

## Object Case

Use the “-th” suffix to mark the object in a sentence.
An object is an item being acted on. In the sentence “I ate rice.” – Rice is the object. In Esperanto, this would be “Mi manĝas rizon”, where rice (rizo) has an object marker -n.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi ulanin le Láadaneth wa. | I study Láadan. | Bíi (I declare) ulanin (to study) le (I) Láadaneth (Láadan+object) wa (perceived by me). |
Notes:
* If an act can only go one way (I can learn Láadan, but Láadan cannot learn me), the object marker is not necessary.
* Remember that double-consonants get split up by an "e". (Láadan+e+th)

## Degree markers
### Neutral degree markers

| Láadan | Description |
| -hel | to a trivial degree; slightly |
| -hil | to a minor degree; rather |
| (none) | to an ordinary degree |
| -hal | to an unusual degree; very |
| -hul | to an extreme degree |
| -háalish | to an extraordinary degree |
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Báa íthi bo? | Is the mountain tall? | íthi = tall, bo = mountain |
| Bíi íthihul bo wa. | The mountain is extremely tall. (Neutral) | |

### Negative degree markers

| Láadan | Description |
| -hele | to a troublesome degree |
| -hile | to a severe degree |
| -hule | to an intolerable degree |
| -shule | an unbearable degree, would cause a catastrophic event; used as an emergency form. |
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Báa íthi bo? | Is the mountain tall? | íthi = tall, bo = mountain |
| Bíi íthihule bo wa. | The mountain is extremely tall. (Negative - it's awful that it's tall!) | |

### Positive degree markers

| Láadan | Description |
| -théle | to a pleasing degree; fine |
| -thíle | to a more-than-pleasing degree; excellent |
| -thúul | to an extraordinarily pleasing degree; magnificient |
| -thúle | to the furthest degree of pleasingness possible; perfect |
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Báa íthi bo? | Is the mountain tall? | íthi = tall, bo = mountain |
| Bíi íthithúul bo wa. | The mountain is extremely tall. (Positive - it's great that it's tall!) | |

### Interrogative degree markers

The interrogative marker, "-haba", can be used to ask "to what degree?"
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Báa íthi bo? | Is the mountain tall? | íthi = tall, bo = mountain |
| Báa íthihaba bo? | How tall is the mountain? | |
(Amberwind (2012), Láadan Lessons, p. 295)

## Duration markers

A Duration marker can be added to the beginning of a verb.
| Láadan | Description |
| na- | to start to... |
| ná- | to continue to... |
| ne- | to repeat... |
| no- | to finish/complete... |
| nó- | to cease to... |
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi eril nóhulanin le wa. | I've stopped studying. | eril = past, ulanin = to study |
| Bíi eril nahulanin le wa. | I've begun studying. | |

## Repetition marker

A Repetition Morpheme can also be used to specify a pattern in which something is done.
| Láadan | Description |
| bada | repeatedly, at random |
| badan | repeatedly, in a pattern over which humans have no control |
| brada | repeatedly, in a pattern fixed arbitrarily by human beings |
| bradan | repeatedly, in a pattern fixed by humans by analogy to some phenomenon (such as the seasons) |
| bradá | repeatedly, in what appears to be a pattern but cannot be demonstrated or proved to be one |
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi hal le brada wa. | I work regularly. | hal = work |

## Pluralization

The prefix “me-” is used to indicate plural. However, it is used on the verb – not the noun.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi áya with wa. | The woman is beautiful (my perception). | Bíi (I declare) áya (beautiful) with (person/woman) wa (perceived by me). |
| Bíi meháya with wa. | The women are beautiful (my perception). | Bíi (I declare) meháya (plural+beautiful) with (person/woman) wa (perceived by me). |

## Adjective with noun

If you want to modify a noun by combining it with an adjective, you add the “wo-” prefix on both the adjective and the noun.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi hal with wa. | The woman works. | hal (work) with (woman) |
| Woháya wowith | Beautiful woman | |
| Bíi hal woháya wowith wa. | The beautiful woman works. | |
| Bíi adal wobalin wohothul wi. | The old grandmother sews. | |

## Negation

To make a sentence negative, put “ra” immediately after the verb.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi u áath wa. | The door is open. | Bíi (I declare) u (open) áath (door) wa (perceived by me). |
| Bíi u ra áath wa. | The door is not open. | Bíi (I declare) u (open) ra (not) áath (door) wa (perceived by me). |
You can also negate other words by prefixing it with "ra". For instance:
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi rahu áath wa. | The door is closed. | Bíi (I declare) rahu (closed) áath (door) wa (perceived by me). |

## And/Or

"i" is used for "and".
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi yod i rilin le wa. | I eat and drink. | Bíi (I declare) yod (eat) i (and) rilin (drink) le (I) wa (perceived by me). |
"e" is used for "or".
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi néde le thuhal e thuzh wa. | I want candy or cake. | Bíi (I declare) néde (want) le (I) thuhal (candy) e (or) thuzh (cake) wa (perceived by me). |

## Yes/No Questions

When asking yes/no questions, the word order will be the same, but “Báa” (question type-of-sentence marker) will be used instead of “Bíi”, and you leave off the evidence marker.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Báa thal ne? | Are you good? | Báa (Question) thal (good) ne (you)? |
"Yes" is "Em".
"No" is "Ra".

## Interrogative Questions

In English, we have words like who, what, when, where, why…
In Láadan, who/what/when/where questions still begin with “Báa”. The third person pronoun “be” is used in place for what is being asked about (or a plural form), and the suffix “–báa” to mark it as what we’re asking about.
| Láadan | English | Vocabulary |
| Báa áya bebáa? | What is beautiful? | áya = beautiful, bebáa = they+question |
| Báa yod ne bebáath? | What are you eating? | yod = to eat, -th = Object marker |
| Báa sháad ne bebáadi? | Where are you going to? | -di = Goal marker |
| Báa hal ne bebáaden? | Who do you work with? | -den = Association marker |
| Báa lalom ne bebáawáan? | Why are you singing? | -wáan = Reason-cause marker |

## Tenses

In a sentence, you can add tenses like "ril" (now), "eril" (past), to clarify the time which the action happened. Here is a list of tenses:
| Láadan | English | Sample Phrase | Translation |
| eril | past | Báa eril yod ne? | Did you eat? |
| aril | future | Báa aril yod ne? | Are you going to eat? |
| ril | present | Báa ril yod ne? | Are you eating (now)? |
| eríli | far past | Báa eríli yod ne? | Did you eat long ago? |
| aríli | far future | Báa aríli yod ne? | Will you eat, far in the future? |
| rilrili | hypothetical | Báa rilrili yod ne? | Would you eat? |

## Embedding sentences

Once you're comfortable with basic sentence structures, you may want to include one sentence in another. For example, "Did you know that [grandma died]?", where "Grandma died" is its own sentence, but is included in a larger sentence.

### Embed statement: -hé

The "-hé" marker can be used to embed one statement within another statement. "-hé" will be added to the last word in the internal sentence.
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi áya le wa. | I am beautiful. | áya = to be beautiful |
| Bíi lith le [áya lehé] wa. | I think that I am beautiful. | lith = to think |
| Bíi lith be [áya lehé] wa. | She thinks that I am beautiful. | |

### Embed question: -hée

This marker can be used to embed a question within a sentence. The external sentence can also be a question, or it can be a statement. "-hée" will be added to the last word in the internal sentence.
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi áya le wa. | I am beautiful. | |
| Bíi lith be [áya lehée]? | Do you think that I am beautiful? | |
| Bíi lothel ra le [áya lehée] wa. | I don't know whether I am beautiful or not. | lothel = to know |

### Embed relative clause: -háa

A relative clause modifies a noun. With the statement and question embedding markers above, the internal sentences are relatively standalone ("the rain is cold." "do you think that [the rain is cold]?"). Here, however, the relative clause will modify the sentence as a whole.
| Láadan | English |
| Bíi an behid witheth wa. | He knows a woman. |
| Bíi lalom with wa. | The woman sings. |
| Bíi an behid [lalom witheháath] wa. | He knows a woman who sings. |
(Amberwind (2012), Láadan Lessons, p. 295)

### Comparison

Note the difference between using "-hé" and "-háa":
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi dom le [hal withehé] wa. | I remember that [the woman works]. | dom = to remember |
| Bíi dom le [hal witheháa] wa. | I remember the [woman that works]. | |

## Passive Voice Marker -shub

Maybe you want to describe what is happening in a more passive voice; for example, changing "Jane coveted the treasure" (active), "The treasure was coveted by Jane".
The first version, we would order it something like:
Speech-act-morpheme verb subject object evidence-morpheme
Where the subject is Jane and the object is the treasure.

### Passive sentence with an Agent

In order to change the original active sentence to passive move the subject, which is the Agent doing the action, (Jane) after the verb and the object (treasure) immediately before the verb. The object is now in the focus position.
| Step | Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Active | Bíi eril yod le thuzheth wa. | I ate cake. | eril = past, yod = eat, le = I, thuzh = cake |
| Passive, with Agent | Bíi eril thuzheth yod leshub wa. | The cake was eaten by me. | |

### Passive sentence without an Agent

You would also add the suffix -shub onto the end of the subject (Jane).
If your sentence does not have an Agent subject (The treasure is coveted), then you will still move your object before the verb, and add the -shub suffix to the verb.
| Step | Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Active | Bíi eril yod le thuzheth wa. | I ate cake. | eril = past, yod = eat, le = I, thuzh = cake |
| Passive, no Agent | Bíi eril thuzheth yodeshub wa. | The cake was eaten. | |

## Preposition-like Markers

In Láadan, there are no prepositions. Instead, there are suffixes added to the end of words.

### Goal Marker: -di

This is similar to the “to” preposition. Append “-di” to the goal. (“I am going to the store” – store would be the goal).
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi aril sháad le anawehedi wa. | I’ll go to the grocery store. | Bíi (I declare) aril (later) sháad (come/go) le (I) anawehedi (grocery store+goal) wa (perceived by me). |

### Source Marker: -de

This is similar to the “from” preposition. Append “-de” to the source. (“I came from home” – home would be the source).
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril sháad le bethede wa. | I came from home. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) sháad (come/go) le (I) bethede (home+source) wa (perceied by me). |

### Association Markers: -den, -dan

This is similar to “with”. There are two forms of with: “-den” (neutral), and “-dan” (with pleasure).
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril im le ruledan wa. | I travelled with a cat. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) im (travel) le (I) ruledan (cat+with-pleasure) wa (perceived by me). |

### Instrument Marker: -nan

This is similar to “with” or “per”, denoting a tool being used to accomplish a task. The suffix is “-nan”.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth bathanan wa. | I ate cake with a spoon. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) yod (eat) le (I) thuzheth (cake+object) bathanan (sppon+with) wa (perceived by me). |

### Beneficiary Markers: -da, -dá, -dáa, -daá

This marker is for when you’re doing something “for” someone or something else. There are a few variations:
| Suffix | Meaning |
| -da | voluntarily |
| -dá | by force, against X’s will. |
| -dáa | obligatorily, as by duty |
| -daá | accidentally |
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi ril hal le hothuleda wa. | I work for the grandmother. | Bíi (I declare) ril (now) hal (work) le (I) hothuleda (grandmother+for-voluntary) wa (perceived by me). |

### Location Markers: -ha, -ya

This is similar to the preposition “at”. To denote location in space, use “-ha”. To denote location in time, use “-ya”.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril hal le hohaleha wa. | I worked at the office. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) hal (work) le (I) hohaleha (office+at) wa (perceived by me). |
| Bíi aril hal le háasháaleya wa. | I will work at morning. | Bíi (I declare) aril (later) hal (work) le (I) háasháaleya (morning+at) wa (perceived by me). |

### Manner Marker: -nal

To denote a manner with which something is done, use the marker “-nal”.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril amedara le áyanal wa. | I danced beautifully. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) amedara (dance) le (I) áyanal (beautiful+manner) wa (perceived by me). |

### Reason Marker: -wáan

To mark a reason, add the suffix “-wáan”.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril yime be óowamidewáan wa. | She ran because of the dragon. | Bíi (I declare) eril (ealier) yime (run) be (she/he/it) óowamidewáan (dragon+reason) wa (perceived by me). |

### Purpose Marker: -wan

Mark the purpose with “-wan”.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril sháad be hohaledi halewan wa. | She went to the office to work. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) sháad (come/go) be (she/he/it) hohaledi (office+goal) halewan (work+purpose) wa (perceived by me). |

### Cause-to marker: dó-

| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi yod le wa. | I am eating. | yod = to eat |
| Bíi dóyod le mideth wa. | I am feeding the animal. | mid = animal |

### Possessive Marker: -tha, -thi, -the, -thu, -tho

There are several forms of the possessive marker:
| Suffix | Meaning |
| -tha | by reason of birth |
| -thi | by reason of chance |
| -the | for unknown or unacknowledged reason |
| -thu | the false (“partitive”) possessive, as in “a dress of velvet” |
| -tho | other (purchase, gift, law, custom, et cetera) |
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
| Bíi eril láad le shinehal nethoth oyinan wa. | I saw your computer. | Bíi (I declare) eril (earlier) láad (perceive) le (I) shinehal (computer) nethoth (you+object+possessive) oyinan (eye+with) wa (perceived by me). |

### Path marker: -mu

Let's say that we want to say that we're going from point A to point C, by going *through* point B. In this case, we'd mark point B as the "path", using the *-mu* marker.

### Examples

| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi sháad le wa. | I'm coming/going. | sháad = to come/to go, le = me |
| Bíi sháad le bethedi wa. | I'm going home. | beth = home |
| Bíi sháad le hohalede bethedi wa. | I'm going home from the office. | hohal = office |
| Bíi sháad le bethedi heshehothemu obe wa. | I'm going home through the park. | heshehoth = park, -mu = path marker, obe = through |
| Bíi sháad le bethedi wilimu óobe wa. | I'm going home along the river. | wili = river, óobe = along |
| Bíi sháad le bethedi oódóomu yil wa. | I'm going home (via) under the bridge. | oódóo = bridge, yil = under |

## Noun Declensions

Additional detail can be added to words, such as emotions (happiness, anger, etc.). By adding on to these words, using the first and second declensions, you can encode more information in a single word, instead of having to formulate lengthy sentences to describe your current state.

### First Declension: For reasons...

| Láadan | Description |
| -i | for no reason |
| -e | for good reason(s) |
| -o | for foolish reason(s) |
| -u | for bad reason(s) |
| -(e)he | despite negative circumstances |
(Suzette Haden Elgin (1988), A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan, Second Edition, p. 132)
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
| Bíi loláad le thena | I feel joy, for good reasons | loláad = to perceive internally |
| Bíi loláad le thehena | I feel joy, despite negative circumstances | |
| Bíi loláad le nena | I feel contented, for good reasons | |

### Second Declension: Blame/reason...

The second declension can be used to specify reason, blame, and futility of the statement. You can essentially answer three questions with each suffix:
* There is a reason that I feel this way: (True/False)
* There is someone to blame for this situation: (True/False)
* There is something that can be done about the situation: (True/False)
In the table below, "T" symbolizes "True", and "F" symbolizes "False".
| | -ara | -ala | -ama | -ana | -ina |
| Reason | T | T | T | T | F |
| Blame | T | T | F | F | F |
| Futility | T | F | T | F | F |
Anger: bara, bala, bama, bana, bina
(Suzette Haden Elgin (1988), A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan, Second Edition, p. 133)
| Láadan | English |
| Bíi loláad le bala | I feel angry, there is a reason, there is someone to blame, and it is not futile. |

## Compounding

As in English, compounds are usually head-final. That is, a mid-(e)math animal-building is a kind of building (a ‘stable’), not a kind of animal. A bud-(e)halid clothing-competition = ‘masquerade’ is a kind of competition, not a kind of clothing.
There are a small number of exceptions, though. A bud-(e)shun clothing-ceremony is "ritual clothing", not a kind of ceremony. Similarly dale-shun object-ceremony = ‘ritual object’. Od-obeyal cloth-gold is a kind of cloth decorated with gold, not a kind of gold (though this may be a metaphor).
The word hoth, place, works head-finally in the regular way; dutha-hoth heal-place is ‘hospital’, hesh-(e)hoth grass-place is ‘park’, etc. However, as the prefix ho-, it becomes head-initial. ho-zhazh is ‘airport’ (a place of planes=zhazh), and ho-hal is ‘office’ (hal = work).
Verb-noun compounds usually have verb-object semantics: di-shóo-dal tell-happen-things = ‘to tell the news’. The verb-object compound can point to an external meaning: wida-dith carry-voice means "telephone" (=that which carries the voice). Another compound order is modifier-verb: óoma-sháad foot-go = walk, go by foot. Of course, the same works for adjectives: muda-(h)éthe pig-clean is a kind of clean (a half-assed clean state). Modifier-verb order can lead to, effectively, an ‘inverted’ object-verb order: oba-(h)éthe body-clean is to clean one’s body, to take a shower or bath (but it’s being encoded as a kind of cleaning; cp. English ‘housecleaning’ vs. ‘clean the house’).
As when inflecting words, consonant clusters are resolved with an -e-:
* hal work + zhub insect = halezhub ‘ant’
And vowel clusters are resolved with -h-:
* ezha snake + ith light = ezhahith lightning bolt
Vowel clusters can be allowed if it’s the same vowel with different tones (the only kind of vowel cluster present in Láadan):
* rá- not + alehale music = ráalehale musically deprived
But different vowels or longer sequences get the -h- even with different tones:
* muda pig + éthe clean = mudahéthe pig-clean.
* owa warm = úuzh bedding = owahúuzh ‘blanket’.
When the junction point of a compound repeats the same phonemes, they usually merge into one:
* rumad + doni hide-dirt → rumadoni (‘dig’), rather than *rumadedoni.
* óoya + aáláan heart-wave = óoyaáláan (‘pulse’), rather than *óoyahaáláan.
In some cases whole syllables may be dropped:
* wil let + oba body + mina move → *wilobamina → wilomina ‘to perform, act’ (as in theatre)
Or the coda (ending) of the last syllable of the first word may be dropped, combining it with the next word:
* wíyul breath + aáláan wave → wíyulaáláan → wíyaáláan ‘respiration rate’
This seem to be especially common when the consonant is repeated:
* oba body + bedi learn → obabedi → obedi ‘to acquire a skill’
Here, the repetition-dropping process removes an entire echoing sequence, preserving the two high tones of lámála:
* odama lips + lámála caress → *odamalámála → odámála ‘kiss’
Parallel compounds (without head, as in Chinese) take the infix -i- ‘and’:
* dim-i-dim box-and-box = ‘cupboard’
* bod-i-bod line-and-line = ‘computer program’
* ban-i-bel = give-and-take
Compare these semantics with simple reduplication, which may take the usual -e- to separate consonants:
* hul-e-hul [extreme degree sufix]-[extreme degree suffix] = heck yes, emphatic yes
* hath-e-hath time-time = forever, eternity
Parallel compounds (with -i-) suggest repetition, iteration, while reduplication suggests large degree, magnification.
Degree suffixes like -hal ‘to an unusual degree’ are used to coin words:
* bod line + -hal [unusual degree] = bodehal ‘rod’
* tham circle + -hal = thamehal ‘globe, planet’
* sháad come, go + -hul [extreme degree] = sháadehul ‘grow transcendentally’
* yul wind + -hul = yulehul ‘hurricane’
The negative morpheme/sound lh is usually added to the start or end of a word. It can be temporary/inflectional:
* awith ‘baby’
* lhawith or awithelh ‘this darned baby’
And it can also be compounded into new words (derivational):
* ada laugh, lhada scorn
* ranahá drinker, ranahálh alcoholic
Instead of affixing lh, an 'l' inside the word can mutate into 'lh':
* bediloth knowledge lesson, bedilhoth useless knowledge lesson
* lol feeling of community, lolh oppressive feeling of community
* éholob threat, éholhob very malicious threat
This lh-mutation also works for on-the-spot, temporary coinages:
* éelen grapes; éelhen these darned grapes
In the following word, an infix -lh- between morphemes seems to cause a vowel to echo:
* dó strong, rado weak; dó-rado dominate; dó-lh-orado dominate with evil intent.