Next (Atas)

Vocabulary

All digraphs (except Cw- and Cy-) are unit phonemes; ll represents a retroflexed dental with lateral release [d`l], j is [dZ], ch is [tS]; final q is pronounced [ʔ]. Vowels: è is anywhere between [E] and [æ]; ò is [O]; ÿ is barred-i [1]; r is a retroflexed central vowel, like [3^] in rhotic English her.

The tones are: h = high, f = high-falling, m = mid, l = low, r = low-rising.

ay^h one
baw^h great, imposing, magnificent
bèw^l to teach
chÿng^f to know (things)
dÿ^r there is not; (naw) dÿ + VB 'not [supposed] to VB'
dah^l woman
daw^h pron. 2nd pers.sing.
day^l to give, bestow, endow
-de (suffix, takes tone of preceding word) plural marker
di-da: (mh) rejoice, have pleasure
di^l (prep.) locative-- in, at, on etc.
diw^l motion, movement
do:ng^r to play, do-do:ng (l-r) (adverbial)
duÿh^l existence, life
duÿng^l guts, innards
duh^h to answer, respond
dzih^r to sing
dzo^l dead
e ya (lh) (part.) well now, well then
eq^m (conj.) and
fiw^m nasty, horrible, vicious; twisted, perverted
ga^m male
gr^m to do, act
guÿng^l story
he: ^h interj. to call attention
hi^l personal article (here, what follows in "..." is a personal name/title/epithet)
ja^l (interrog) what?
jih^l ear
jong^r to dance
ko^m (part.) question marker (precedes, may follow)
kuÿ^f (n.) question
kwa^h same as, equivalent; ADJ kwa N 'as ADJ as N'
lah^m to cut off, remove by cutting
lay^f (lit. 'things') pron., what, that which...
leng^m quick, rapid
llang^r beautiful
llaq^r to tell (story), narrate
loy^r the human body
mo^m 1st pers. sing pronoun
mr^l (conj.) when, while
nÿ^m there is
naq^m to hide
naw^l not
ngwa^m real, genuine
nyang^h to eat
o^l (dem.) that
pèng-ting (hm) comrade, associate
peq^m (vb) to perk up, prick up
pu:ng^m reason, cause
qa:q-tay (mh) "heart, soul"
sÿq^f pron. 1st pers.pl.
sa:ng^l throw away
sèw^m to watch, look at, observe
shÿng^f long ago
sho^h rel.pron, who, which, that
shoq^m to open up
-so (emphatic part., takes preceding tone)
su:q^m rule
tÿng^m (conj.) but
tay^f child
treq^m to rip (redup, intensive)
tri^h (adv) then
tsa^h skin
-u (part., takes preceding tone) just, only
wa:q^f (interj.) cry of pain, amazement
xwe^h to murder, kill violently
ye^m pron. 3rd pers.sing.masc.
yeh^l pron. 3rd pers. sing. fem.
yung^r moor, wasteland

Gwr (*)

Roger Mills

Ring A

ay^h nÿ^m guÿng^l kwa^h duÿh^l

he:^h mo^m pèng-ting-de^h-m-m, peq-peq^m-m jih^l he:^h!
hi^l "day^l baw^h su:q^m" llaq^r bèw^l lay^f chÿng^f.

ay^h shÿng^f nÿ^m ga^m tay^f sho^h fiw^m, eq^m llang^r dah^l.
o^l tay^f sèw^m dah^l yeh^l dzih^r dzi-dzih^l-r eq^m do-do:ng^l-r jong^l-r, tay^f di-da:^m-h qa:q-tay^m-h.

tÿng^m tri^h o^l ye^m xwe^h o^l dah^l wa:q^f ! leng-leng^m-m diw^l, ye^m tre-treq^m-m tsa^h, lah^m tsa^h, shoq^m yeh^l, nyang^h duÿng^l..... eq^m sa:ng-u^l-l dzo-loy^l-r di^l yung^r.

e^l ya^h, ko^m ja-so^l-l sÿq^f gr^m ko^m? sÿq^f naw^l dÿ^r chÿng^f lay^f mo^m gr^m tri^h. eq^m o^l pu:ng^m mo^m naq^m lay^f chÿng^f, naw^l duh^h mr^l daw-de^h kuÿ-de^f

A certain true-to-life story

Hey! My comrades, prick up your ears! Hey!
The Lawgiver will tell of what he knows.
Once there was a vicious/nasty boy, and a beautiful woman.
The boy watched the woman while she was singing. She sang, and danced playfully, and it pleased the boy in his heart.
But then-- O my god!! --he murdered the woman! With a sudden motion, he ripped at her skin, he flayed her, laid her open and ate her innards, and just threw the corpse away in the wastelands.
Well now, whatever did we do, eh? We are not to know what I did then. Therefore I keep hidden what I know, and I do not answer your questions.

Interlinear

(not supplied in the relay version)

ay^h nÿ^m guÿng^l kwa^h duÿh^l
one there.is story real equal/same life

he:^h mo^m pèng-ting-de^h-m-m, peq-peq^m-m jih^l he:^h!
INTJ 1sg comrade-PL, perk.up ear INTJ

hi^l "day^l baw^h su:q^m" llaq^r bèw^l lay^f chÿng^f.
PERS.ART "give great law" narrate teach things (he) know

ay^h shÿng^f nÿ^m ga^m tay^f sho^h fiw^m, eq^m llang^r dah^l.
one long.ago there.is male child REL horrible, and beautiful woman.

o^l tay^f sèw^m dah^l yeh^l dzih^r
that child watch/observe woman she sing

dzi-dzih^l-r eq^m do-do:ng^l-r jong^l-r, tay^f di-da:^m-h qa:q-tay^m-h.
(she) R-sing and R-playful(ly) dance, child rejoice/have.pleasure "heart/soul".

tÿng^m tri^h o^l ye^m xwe^h o^l dah^l wa:q^f !
but then that 3sg/masc. murder that woman INTJ

leng-leng^m-m diw^l, ye^m tre-treq^m-m tsa^h, lah^m tsa^h, shoq^m yeh^l, nyang^h duÿng^l.....
R-sudden motion, 3/masc R-rip skin, cut.off skin, open.up 3/fem, eat innards....

eq^m sa:ng-u^l-l dzo-loy^l-r di^l yung^r.
and throw.away-just dead-body LOC wasteland

e^l ya^h, ko^m ja-so^l-l sÿq^f gr^m ko^m?
well then, Q what-EMPH we do Q

sÿq^f naw^l dÿ^r chÿng^f lay^f mo^m gr^m tri^h.
we not there.is.not know things I do then.

eq^m o^l pu:ng^m mo^m naq^m lay^f chÿng^f, naw^l duh^h mr^l daw-de^h kuÿ-de^f
and that reason, I conceal things know, not answer when 2PL question-PL

Notes on grammar

Gwr is SVO, Adj-N but adj. may also be put in a relative clause following the N. (1)
Possessor-possessed-- there is a optional poss.marker, not used here.
Noun plural may be indicated with optional suffix -de.
Highly analytical, there is almost no morphology, so it's pretty straightforward I think (at least for the moment; it's still gestating) and doesn't need an interlinear. It's tonal. Serial verbs are common. Pronoun subjects may be omitted.

Footnote (not sent to Patrick)

(1) Actually, the title seems to violate this rule, doesn't it. Perhaps, when I have really formalized the grammar, it will turn out that if other modifiers precede the noun, and the adjective is "heavy"-- i.e. a compound or phrase-- then the order can be inverted. As I said, the language is still gestating. Almost all of this vocabulary is new; very little of it occurred in my original +/- 200 word list.