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Old Hyksos, was: Re: Tiny lexicon languages, was: Ritual languages

From:Boudewijn Rempt <bsarempt@...>
Date:Thursday, June 17, 1999, 15:29
Dear people,

I've been rather negligent in answering my mail (and preparing a TrueType
font for Pablo) today and yesterday, but it was in a good cause: I've
scribbled a little description of the Old Hyksos magical language. It
will shortly be available from my website in glorious html, but I want
to present the text version (made with Lynx) to you now. So, John, it
hasn't killed me, but you can see for yourself what it entailed. And,
Nik, it's about 30kb - about fifteen pages! And that's without the gaming
information. This is purely a linguistic description.

For more information, please go to:
http://www.telebyte.nl/~afzien/queeste.htm (all in Dutch!).


     _________________________________________________________________

                                 Old Hyksos

   Old Hyksos is the native language of the dragon population of
   Lamutria, Heraldinia and the Mist Countries. It is also the language
   used by mages to build their spells. The language has a small
   vocabulary, a mere twenty-four words. There are three suffixes that
   change the meaning of those twenty-four words. In addition, negation
   of a word often produces a distinct meaning. For instance, while cepra
   means 'animal', ne cepra means 'plant.' The language has obviously
   been inspired by Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea novels.

   As Old Hyksos is used by mages, the lexicon is graded. There are
   fifteen degrees, ranging from the third pupil who knows a handful of
   words to the first archmage who knows all and can build permanent
   pentangles, the Old Hyksos equivalent of poetry. The appropriate level
   is indicated in the - alphabetic - lexicon.

Acknowledgements

   Irina Rempt, who has corrected my errors - although the remaining
   errors are my own creativity, and Frank Rieter, who has taught me all
   the Old Hyksos I know, apart from the bits I have taught myself.

Abbreviations

   1    first person
   s    singular number
   p    plural number
   VERB verb
   NCM  non-committal
   ADJ  adjective

Phonology

   Old Hyksos cannot be said to possess a distinct phonology, but a quick
   scan of the lexicon shows the following inventory, with the letters
   used in the transcription in the place of the IPA signs:
Consonants

                      bilabial alveolar palatal velar glottal

voiceless stops       p        t                k/c
voiced    stops       b        d                g
nasal     stops       m        n
trill                                           r
voiceless fricative   f        s                      h
voiced    fricative   v        z
approximant           w        l        j

   The letter x represents the sequence /ks/. The letters qu represent
   the sequence /kw/. Depending upon the dialect of Old Hyksos (Hyksos or
   Sarapis), the letter g can either be pronounced as a voiced velar
   stop, or as a voiceless velar fricative. A word-final /h/ is not
   pronounced, nor is /h/ pronounced in the sequence /hr/.
Vowels
              front  central  back
close         i/y             u
close-mid     e               o
open-mid      e               o
open          a               a

   Whether e, o and a are pronounced close or open depends on the
   syllabification of the word. There are no special stress rules in Old
   Hyksos, the uttering of spells is stressful enough in itself, and
   often leaves the mage down and out.

Morphology

   Old Hyksos has three suffixes, the verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB, the
   non-committal suffix <-es> NCM and the dependency suffix <-as> DEP.
   Vowel-final root forms (including roots ending in /h/) lose their
   final vowel if an suffix is appended.

  The verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB

   The productive verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB is used to form verbs
   from nouns. The resulting form however can have an idiosyncratic
   meaning which, while remaining within the semantic sphere of the
   nominal form, still is different enough to necessitate mentioning the
   verbal form separately in the dictionary. Verbal forms formed with the
   verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB exercise a direct influence upon the
   surroundings of the speaker, according to his intention and to the
   structure of the magical language.

1.  jappa quot.ex    quot.
    1s    thing.VERB thing
    I change the <thing> into a <thing>. (Where the
    thing in question has been specified by the mage.)

  The non-committal suffix <-es> NCM

   The productive non-committal suffix <-es> NCM forms verbal forms from
   the nominal roots of the language. However, in contrast to the
   verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB, verbal forms formed with the
   non-committal suffix <-es> NCM do not exercise any magical influence
   upon the surroundings of the speaker. The non-committal suffix <-es>
   NCM is preferred by dragons. Utterances in which the non-committal
   suffix <-es> NCM is used do not fatigue the mage.

2.  jappa moren.es ne  jappa.
    1s    love.NCM NEG 1s
    I love the other person.

   Of course, a more thorough morphemic analysis of the non-committal
   suffix <-es> NCM and the verbalizing suffix <-ex> VERB, reveals a
   verbalizing suffix <-e>, a committal suffix <-x> and a non-committal
   suffix <-s>.

  The adjectivizing suffix <-as> ADJ

   The adjectivizing suffix <-as> ADJ can be used to form adjectives from
   nominal forms; these adjectives can then be used to specify more
   precisely the referents of the pronominal and deictic elements in the
   magical utterance. The adjectivizing suffix <-as> ADJ seems to
   function as a generic casus obliquus, except for the fact that it
   isn't used in the accusative.

   In the following example, restas is used as an adverb.

3.  jappa ne  wodan.ex  rest.as    ne  jappa
    1s    NEG heal.VERB future.ADJ NEG 1s
    I hurt the other person in the future.

   The form eddas, which is the adjectival from of edda, 'plural', is
   said to used in enumerations, but only if the enumerated objects have
   something in common.

4.  jappa quot.ex    harwa     quot.as   edd.as
    1s    thing.VERB container thing.ADJ p.ADJ
    I change into a thing the container and the things

   In this spell, harwa is taken to refer to a chest.

   Most often, however, the adjectival forms are used to specify the
   referents meant by any of the Old Hyksos nominals, like jappa 'I',
   quot 'thing' and cepra 'animal':

5.   ne jappa septamas   man of earth, i.e. a troll or earthman
     cepra perkamas      large animal
     cepra ne perkamas   small (not-big) animal
     cepra arras         bird
     ne jappa ne arras   ghost

   Since a mage can only apply his spells to someone he either can see or
   has seen before, he cannot curse someone he has never seen, but whom
   he knows to be in the room next door. In those cases, he can specify
   the person as belonging to the room:

6.   jappa ne  wodan.ex  ne  jappa harw.as
     1s    NEG heal.VERB NEG 1s    room
     I hurt the other who is in the room

   The same issue is present in the next example, where a mage tries to
   pick one item, a possession of his, out of a heap of similar items,
   where he cannot directly discern his property:

7.   jappa berr.ex   quot  japp.as
     1s    pull.VERB thing 1s.ADJ
     I pull my thing [to me].

   Again, it is unknown who the stone, if the quot refers to a stone,
   will hurt in the future; but it will be an ill-disposed person,
   ill-disposed, that is, to the mage:
8.   jappa zertr.ex   quot, quot  ne  wodan.ex  rest.as
     1s    force.VERB thing thing NEG heal.VERB future.ADJ

     ne  jappa ne  moren.as
     NEG 1s    NEG friend.ADJ

     I force the thing. The thing will hurt the unfriendly
     other in the future.

   When the referent of the nominal is an inalienable part of another
   referent, the use of an adjective to indicate the referent is
   obligatory:
9.  Ne  arrah japp.as harw.ex   ne  septama ne  japp.as
    NEG air   1s.ADJ  room.VERB NEG body    NEG 1s.ADJ
    My mind enters the body of the other.

   Here ne arrah jappas means 'my mind', and ne septama ne jappas means
   'the other's body.' Without the adjectives, ne arrah means 'mind',
   too, but since a mind is considered to be an inalienable part of
   jappa, it cannot be referred to without specifying that it is jappas.
   The same holds for the other's body.

Syntaxis

   Old Hyksos is an SVO language, with the adjective following the noun,
   the adverb following the verb. However, there are some complicating
   rules, which are mainly caused by the specific way Old Hyksos encodes
   the speech act participants.

  Non first-person subject

   If someone or something else than the speaker is the subject of the
   sentence, the sentence has to be prefixed by the clause jappa zertrex
   ne jappa or jappa zertrex cepra or any variation. The lexical meaning
   is 'I force the other', or 'I force the animal.' The grammatical
   function is to indicate that the speaker is not the agent in the
   sentence that follows:

10. jappa zertr.ex   quot.  quot  wodan.ex  ne  jappa.
    1s    force.VERB thing. thing heal.VERB NEG 1s
    I force the thing. The thing heals the other.

11. jappa zertr.ex   cepra. cepra  moren.ex      jappa.
    1s    force.VERB animal animal friendly.VERB 1s
    I force the animal. The animal befriends me.

   Although the effect achieved in the last example can also be achieved
   with jappa morenex cepra, 'I befriend the animal.'

  Categorials

   Large parts of the nominal system of Old Hyksos can only be analyzed
   in terms of categorials. When, for instance, quot is used, it refers
   to the category of all inanimate things. Likewise, cepra is the
   category of animals, as exemplified by the particular animal the mage
   has in mind. A full list of all categorial Old Hyksos words is given
   in the lexicon.

   In the following example, the mage refers to a particular room, by
   using the categorial harwa:

12. jappa harw.ex    harwa
    1s    place.VERB place
    I enter the room

   Other examples of the categorial use of Old Hyksos nominals have been
   presented throughout this description.

  Number

   Old Hyksos has the category of number. Singular number is unmarked;
   plural, defined as more than one (not one or more), is the marked
   number and has to be indicated with the adjective eddas, which is
   derived from the nominal edda 'number, count.'

13. jappa ne  vedd.ex      ne  japp.as edd.as
    1s    NEG writing.VERB NEG 1s.ADJ  number.ADJ
    I see the number of the others

14. jappa arr.ex   harwa quot.as   edd.as
    1s    air.VERB room  thing.ADJ number.ADJ
    I change the chest and the items in the chest into air.

  Tense

   Tense is a complicated subject in Old Hyksos, especially for the mage
   who has to be careful that he does not construct a spell that causes a
   time-paradox. The relevant particles are restas, which can serve as a
   future tense, and ne restas, which can serve as a preterite tense.
   Both particles are postposed to the verb.

15. jappa zertr.ex   quot, quot  ne  wodan.ex  rest.as    ne  jappa
    1s    force.VERB thing thing NEG heal.VERB future.ADJ NEG 1s
    I force the thing. The thing will hurt the other.

16. jappa ne  wodan.ex  ne  rest.as    ne  jappa
    1s    NEG heal.VERB NEG future.ADJ NEG 1s
    I have hurt the other.

  Dative

   In the next example the adjective suffix <-as> is used to indicate a
   dative relation. It is not known whether that is standard.

17. Jappa fall.ex   ne  wodan  japp.as ne  japp.as
    1s    give.VERB NEG health 1s.ADJ  NEG 1s.ADJ
    I give my illness to the other.

Lexicon

   With each lexeme is indicated the level at which the mage receives
   mastery over the word; an asterisk indicates that the word is a
   so-called power-word, which can change reality. Otherwise, unless
   idoras is used, the spell wrought is an illusion.

   The words in their native order:
     * 1: NE, JAPPA, WODAN, VEDDA, QUOT, ARRAH
     * 2: BERRAH, CEPRA
     * 3: DEBORRAH, EDDA
     * 4: FALLAR, HARWA, SEPTAMA
     * 5: RESTA, PERKAMA, UHR
     * 6: TROPA, GERDAH, KIRMA
     * 7: ZERTRAM, LAVA, XIRTRAM
     * 8: YSAM, MORENA, OLARNA
     * 9: IDORA

  ARRAH, 1

     arrah: air. jappa quotex arrah, 'I change the air into a thing'

     arrex: change into air. jappa arrex quot, 'I change the thing into
     air'

     arras: of air. cepra arras, 'bird'

     ne arrah: spirit, mind. Ne arrah jappas harwex ne septama ne
     jappas, 'My mind enters the body of the other.'

     ne arrex: change into spirit, mind. Jappa ne arrex idoras jappa, 'I
     change myself really into mind.'

     ne arras: of the spirit, of the mind. ne jappa ne arras, 'ghost.'
     Jappa ne morenex ne jappa ne arras, 'I mentally hurt the ghost'

  BERRAH, 2, *

     berrah: the location of the speaker (the mage). Jappa ne berrex
     berrah, 'I push the place I am in.'

     berrex: pull, move towards the speaker. Jappa berrex ne jappa, 'I
     pull the other.'

     berras: that which is close

     ne berrah: distant, a distant place. Jappa zertrex ne berrah. Ne
     berrah berrex jappa, 'I force the distant place. The distant place
     pulls me.'

     ne berrex: push, push away. Jappa ne berrex quot, 'I push the
     object.'

     ne berras: that which is distant

  CEPRA, 2

     cepra: animal. Jappa wodanex cepra, 'I heal the animal.'

     ceprex: change into an animal. Jappa ceprex jappa, 'I change into a
     wolf.'

     cepras: of the animal. Jappa ne fallex quot eddas cepras, 'I steal
     the squirrel's nuts.'

     ne cepra: plant, tree. Jappa quotex idoras ne cepra, 'I really
     change the tree into a table.'

     ne ceprex: change into a plant. Jappa ne ceprex ne jappa, 'I change
     the other into a daisy.'

     ne cepras: of the plant.

  DEBORRAH, 3, *

     deborrah: the hidden. Jappa ne veddex deborrah, 'I see what is
     hidden.'

     deborrex: to hide. Jappa deborrex ne arrah jappas, 'I hide my
     mind.'

     deborras: hidden. Jappa ne veddex quot deborras, 'I see the hidden
     object.'

     ne deborrah: clearness, visible, clearness of mind. Jappa fallex ne
     deborray ne jappas, I give clarity to the other, I sober the other
     up, I cure the other of his delusion.'

     ne deborrex: make visible, reveal. Jappa ne deborrex cepra harwas,
     'I make visible the rabbit from my topper.'

     ne deborras: that which is clear, visible, revealed.

  EDDA, 3

     edda: count, number, quantity, amount. Jappa ne veddex edda ne
     jappas eddas, 'I see the number of the others.' See also the
     paragraph on number.

     eddex: to double. Jappa eddex idoras jappa, 'I really double
     myself', Jappa eddex idoras ne cepra, 'I really double the plant.'

     eddas: long, many, plural number. Jappa quotex eddas quot, 'I
     change the thing into another thing for a long time', Jappa ne
     wodanex ne jappa eddas, 'I wound the other persons.'

     ne edda: the missing amount, the missing quantity. Jappa ne veddex
     ne edda quotas, 'I see the number of coins missing.'

     ne eddex: to halve.

     ne eddas: less, fewer.

  FALLAR, 4, *

     fallar: present, gift.

     fallex: to present, to give. Jappa fallex ne wodan jappas ne
     jappas, 'I give my illness to the other.'

     fallas: given, presented.

     ne fallar: loot, swag. Jappa berrex ne fallar ne jappas, 'I pull
     the other's loot.'

     ne fallex: to steal. Jappa ne fallex ne arrah ne jappas, 'I steal
     the other's mind.'

     ne fallas: stolen.

  GERDAH, 6, *

     gerdah: energy. Jappa fallex gerdah jappas ne jappas, 'I give my
     energy to to the other' (with dative ne jappas). Constructions like
     Jappa fallex gerdah jappas, with the same meaning, have been
     attested.

     gerdex: to give energy, to boost, to pep up. Jappa gerdex ne quot,
     'I strengthen the spell.'

     gerdas: of energy. quot gerdas, electricity, lightning.

     ne gerdah: negative energy.

     ne gerdex: to give negative energy. Jappa ne gerdex ne quot ne
     jappas, 'I lessen the strength of the other's spell.'

     ne gerdas: of the negative energy.

  HARWA, 4, *

     harwa: room, chest, container, everything that can contain
     something else jappa ne veddex harwa, 'I see the room.'

     harwex: to enter Jappa harwex harwa, 'I enter the room' (not
     necessarily through the door). Ne arrah jappas harwex ne septama ne
     jappas, 'My mind enters the body of the other.'

     harwas: inside Jappa ne wodanex ne jappa harwas, 'I hurt the person
     inside the room.'

     ne harwa: outside Jappa harwex ne harwa, 'I go outside the room',
     Jappa ne veddex ne harwa ne jappas, 'I see the surroundings of the
     other' (who isn't inside something).

     ne harwex: to leave, to go out Jappa ne harwex harwa, 'I leave the
     room.'

     ne harwas: that which is outside

  IDORA, 9, *

     idora: reality, truth

     idorex: to make real

     idoras: real Jappa quotex idoras ne jappa, 'I really change the
     other into a stone'.

     ne idora: illusion

     ne idorex: to make an illusion of something

     ne idoras: unreal, of the illusion

  JAPPA, 1

     jappa: I. Jappa lavex quot, 'I heat the object.' Jappa arrex jappa,
     'I change myself into air.' (This only changes the mage: not his
     clothes. Since arrah is not a power-word, it is an illusion, and
     the clothes and possessions will appear to float in thin air. To
     also change those, the following spell suffices: jappa arrex jappa
     quotas eddas, 'I change into air myself and my things.')

     jappex: change into me. Jappa jappex ne jappa, 'I change the other
     into me.'

     jappas: of me, mine. Jappa lavex quot jappas, 'I heat the thing of
     me.'

     ne jappa: the other. Jappa lavex ne jappa, 'I heat the other.'

     ne jappex: change into the other. Jappa ne jappex jappa, 'I change
     myself into the other.'

     ne jappas: of the other, his. jappa lavex quot ne jappas, 'I heat
     the thing of the other' (possibly his helmet...)

  KIRMA, 6, *

     kirma: sound, noise, music Jappa deborrex kirma, 'I hide the
     noise.'

     kirmex: to make a noise, a sound, music Jappa kirmex quot, 'I make
     the violin play.'

     kirmas: of the sound, the noise

     ne kirma: silence

     ne kirmex: to make silent, quiet Jappa ne kirmex cepra, 'I silence
     the parrot.'

     ne kirmas: of the silence

  LAVA, 7, *

     lava: fire, heat Jappa gerdex lava, 'I poke up the fire.'

     lavex: to heat (not to put on fire per se) Jappa lavex quot, 'I
     heat the cuirass.'

     lavas: of the fire

     ne lava: cold, coldness

     ne lavex: to make cold, to cool, to freeze. Jappa ne lavex ne
     jappa, 'I freeze the other.'

     ne lavas: of the coldness

  MORENA, 8, *

     morena: fortune, mental health Jappa ne veddex morena ne jappas, 'I
     see the [state of] the mental health of the other.'

     morenex: to heal mentally, to befriend, to like Jappa morenex
     jappa, 'I heal my mind', Jappa morenex ne jappa can either mean 'I
     heal the others mind', or, 'I seduce the other.'

     morenas: well-disposed, friendly Jappa zertrex ne jappa. Ne jappa
     nex ne wodanex ne jappa morenas , 'I force the other, the other
     neglects to wound the well-disposed other.'

     ne morena: mental wound, ill-disposedness, animosity Jappa veddex
     ne morena ne jappas, 'I see the mental wounds of the other.'

     ne morenex: to hurt mentally, to be ill-disposed Jappa ne morenex
     ne jappa, 'I hurt the other mentally.'

     ne morenas: ill-disposed, inimical Jappa zertrex quot. Quot ne
     wodanex ne jappa ne morenas , 'I force the object, the object will
     in the future hurt the ill-disposed other.'

  NE, 1

     ne: Generally negates the meaning of the word it precedes.

     nex: refrain from Jappa zertrex ne jappa, ne jappa nex ne fallex
     quot, 'I force the other. The other doesn't steal the thing.'

     nas: non-existent

  OLARNA, 8, *

     olarna: smell, sense of smell, odour

     olarnex: to make something smell like something Jappa olarnex ne
     jappa, 'I make the other smell.'

     olarnas: of the smell

     ne olarna: odourless, without a smell

     ne olarnex: to make odourless, to mask a smell

     ne olarnas: of the odourlessness

  PERKAMA, 5

     perkama: size, bigness

     perkamex: to enlarge Jappa perkamex quot, 'I enlarge the object.'
     Jappa perkamex quot ne septamas jappas, 'I enlarge a part of my
     body.'

     perkamas: large, strong, powerful Jappa quotex perkamas quot, 'I
     strongly change the object into another object.'

     ne perkama: small, being small

     ne perkamex: to make smaller, to diminute Jappa ne perkamex idoras
     quot, 'I really make the object smaller.'

     ne perkamas: small, a little

  QUOT, 1

     quot: thing, object. Jappa lavex quot, ' I heat the object.' The
     referent of quot must be an inanimate, concrete object the mage is
     seeing or has seen.

     quotex: change into something. Jappa quotex ne jappa, 'I change the
     other into a thing.'

     quotas: of the thing.

     ne quot: action, spell. Jappa ne veddex ne quot, 'I understand the
     spell.'

     ne quotex: to perform an action, to weave a spell. Jappa zertrex ne
     jappa, ne jappa nex ne quotex, 'I force the other. The other
     doesn't weave a spell.' It can also mean that an object performs
     the action the object is designed for: jappa zertrex quot, quot ne
     quotex quot, 'I force the lock. The lock opens the lock.'

     ne quotas: of the spell, of the action

  RESTA, 5, *

     resta: future Jappa ne veddex resta, 'I see the future.' See also
     the paragraph on tense

     restex: to send into the future Jappa restex ne jappa, 'I send the
     other into the future.'

     restas: of the future, in the future Jappa zertrex quot. Quot ne
     wodanex restas ne jappa, 'I force the object, the object hurts the
     other in the future.'

     ne resta: past Jappa ne veddex ne resta, 'I see the past.'

     ne restex: to send into the past Jappa ne restex ne jappa, 'I send
     the other into the past.'

     ne restas: of the past Jappa ne wodanex ne restas ne jappa, 'I hurt
     the other in the past.'

  SEPTAMA, 4

     septama: earth

     septamex: to change into earth Jappa ne septamex quot, 'I change
     the thing into air.'

     septamas: of the earth, earthy. ne jappa septamas, earthman, troll

     ne septama: body, part of the body Ne arrah jappas harwex ne
     septama ne jappas, 'My mind enters the body of the other.'

     ne septamex: to change into a body Jappa ne septamex quot, 'I
     change the object into a [dead] body.'

     ne septamas: of the body Jappa quotex quot ne septamas ne jappas,
     'I change the others body-part into an object.'

  TROPA, 6, *

     tropa: light

     tropex: to light up, to illuminate Jappa tropex harwa, 'I light the
     room.'

     tropas: of the light

     ne tropa: darkness

     ne tropex: to darken Jappa ne tropex harwa, 'I darken the room.'

     ne tropas: of the darkness, dark Jappa ne veddex ne tropas, 'I see
     in the dark.' As noted by Irina Rempt (personal communication), the
     adjective suffix <-as> indicates any case but nominative and
     accusative.

  UHR, 5

     uhr: water Jappa lavex uhr, 'I heat the water.'

     uhrex: change into water Jappa uhrex quot, 'I change the object
     into water.'

     uhras: of the water. ne jappa uhras, mermaid Jappa morenex ne jappa
     uhras, 'I seduce the mermaid.'

     ne uhr: blood, sap of a tree or plant Jappa lavex ne uhr cepras, 'I
     heat the animal's blood.'

     ne uhrex: to change into blood Jappa ne uhrex quot, 'I change the
     object into blood.'

     ne uhras: of the blood, bloody

  VEDDA, 1, *

     vedda: writing, note. Jappa ne deborrex vedda, 'I decipher the
     script.'

     veddex: to write, to note. Jappa zertrex ne jappa. Ne jappa veddex
     deborrah, 'I force the other, the other writes the secret down.'

     veddas: written down

     ne vedda: perception, observation, sight, sense. Jappa gerdex ne
     vedda, 'I strenghten the perception, I strengthen the sense.

     ne veddex: to perceive. Jappa ne veddex ne jappa, 'I see the
     other.'

     ne veddas: seen, perceived

  WODAN, 1, *

     wodan: health. Jappa ne veddex wodan ne jappas, 'I see the [state
     of] health of the other'

     wodanex: to heal. Jappa wodenex jappa,'I heal myself'

     wodanas: healthy, hale. Jappa ne veddex ne jappa wodanas, 'I see
     the healthy other'

     ne wodan: illness, disability, wound. Jappa ne veddex ne wodan
     quotas, 'I see what's broken with the thing.' Jappa ne veddex ne
     wodan ne quotas, 'I see what's wrong with the spell.' Jappa ne
     veddex ne wodan eddas ne quot eddas, 'I see the bugs in Windows NT'

     ne wodanex: to wound, hurt, break. jappa ne wodenex ne jappa, 'I
     hurt the other.' Jappa ne wodanex quot, 'I break the object'

     ne wodanas: wounded, broken, hurt. jappa ne veddex ne jappa ne
     wodanas, 'I see the patient.'

  XIRTRAM, 7, *

     xirtram: taste.

     xirtramex: to impart a taste. Jappa xirtrex quot, 'I make the beans
     tasty.'

     xirtramas: of the taste.

     ne xirtram: without a taste, untasteable.

     ne xirtramex: to make untasteable. Jappa ne xirtramex uhr, 'I make
     the poison untasteable.'

     ne xirtramas: of the tastelessness.

  YSAM, 8, *

     ysam: binding.

     ysamex: to bind, to hold together, to glue. Jappa ysamex quotas
     quot, 'I connect the object to another object' (Again, a dative use
     of the adjective suffix <-as> ADJ, but in this construction the
     dative object is placed before the accusative object.

     ysamas: held together. ne jappa eddas ysamas 'Siamese twins'

     ne ysam: sundered, split, broken apart.

     ne ysamex: to sunder, to break apart. Jappa ne ysamex quot, 'I
     sunder the object.'

     ne ysamas: split.

  ZERTRAM, 7, *

   ZERTRAM is an irregular root. The affixes are not added to the whole
   root, but to the first syllable. This is no doubt caused by the
   frequence of use of this root. See also the paragraph on speech act
   participants.

     zertram: command, geas, force, compulsion.

     zertrex: to force, to command, to compel. Jappa zertrex quot, 'I
     force the object.'

     zertras: of the compulsion.

     ne zertram : freedom

     ne zertrex: to set free. Jappa ne zertrex ne jappa, 'I free the
     other (from some mage's zertrex spell).'

     ne zertras: of the freedom.

Permanent pentangles

   A permanent pentangle is a constellation of five spells, one in each
   point of a pentangle, that together consitutes a complex spell which
   will be permanently active.

   The first point of the pentangle will always have the spell jappa
   ysamex quotas quot ne jappas eddas morenas, which binds the object the
   pentangle is written on to the Philosophers' Stone. The second line
   describes what the object the pentangle is written on is supposed to
   do. The third line describes the circumstances that force the object
   to act. The fourth line described what is necessary to happen for the
   object to lose its power. The fifth and final line describes who is
   affected by the object.

  Examples

    A warning ring

   jappa ysamex quotas quot ne jappas eddas morenas.
   quot berrex ne jappa
   ne jappa ne morenex ne jappa
   resta ne idoras resta
   quot morenex ne jappa morenas

   I bring the ring into contact with the philosophers' stone
   the ring will vibrate, move apart from the wearer
   when some is ill-disposed to the wearer
   the ring will work until time is not the real time (always)
   the ring is well-disposed to good people

    A secret door

   jappa ysamex quotas quot ne jappas eddas morenas.
   quot deborrex quot
   idora idorex idora
   ne jappa kirmex kirma
   quot deborrex quot ne jappas

   I bring the door into contact with the philosophers' stone
   The door hides itself
   When reality is reality (always)
   The door will cease to be hidden when someone make a special sound
   The door is hidden to everyone

    A purse that follows the owner

   jappa ysamex quotas quot ne jappas eddas morenas.
   ne jappa berrex quot
   ne jappa ne fallex quot
   resta ne idorex resta
   quot morenex ne jappa quotas

   I bring the purse into contact with the philosophers' stone
   The other (the owner) pulls the purse
   when someone steals the purse
   until time is not the real time (always)
   the purse is well-disposed to the owner (and will only work for him)

References

     Oele, Joop and Frank Rieter, Roderik Jansen, Pieter Nuiten, Carlo
     Gremmen, Eric Nuiten. 1993. Inwijdingsspecial. Nijmegen.

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt