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Re: Conlangea Multilingual Phrasebook, 2nd edition

From:Shreyas Sampat <nsampat@...>
Date:Sunday, June 18, 2000, 23:37
> A TRAVELER'S PHRASEBOOK > > Section 1: Pleasantries > > Hello!
Whee, gender fun. Rišuli inflects for bunchloads of genders, three of which are used for sentients. Speaker Listener Masc. Veraese tene Fem. Veraasa tana Indef. - tini The indefinite gender is used with strangers before the speaker introduces itself. The greeting literally translates to 'I see you'.
> Goodbye!
Veyera(ese/asa) Future tense of 'I see'.
> Yes
Ce. /tSe/ - Uninflected form of the verm 'to be'.
> No
There isn't a Rišuli word 'no'. It's polite to respond with a negation of the verb in the question, though 'Kece', the negated 'to be', can also be used. It's considered rather colloquial and provincial.
> Please
Another nonexistent concept. Polite requests are phrased in the hypothetical person and the subjunctive and often the benefactive aspect, and translate like this: 'If <desired thing> were to occur it's possible some person might be benefited by it.'
> Thank You
Whee, more gender fun. Speaker Listener object masc. siSaliaet -e fem. siSaliaat -a neut. renu? This translates to 'Do you want something?' It also raises a bit of trivia about orthographic conventions- the first letter of a Rišuli verb is capitalized in English transliteration.
> Do you speak (English/Spanish/French/Dutch/<whatever>)?
siUeraveta <lang>-ni? From now on, I'm assuming a masculine speaker and feminine listener.
> I don't speak (conlang) very well.
keUeravese miae rišulini.
> My name is...
Na'aese'e <name>. Literally, 'I name myself<name>'. Apostrophes are glottal stops.
> What is your name?
siNa'aeta'e reni? 'What do you name yourself?'
> How are you?
siVasueta renu sahaci? 'What are you doing here?' Rišuli was originally the language of a nomadic people who were often unwelcome where they went, so this became a polite greeting.
> I am well.
Veraese ratimi. 'I'm watching ants.' Another result of the nomad culture. Ants live nearly everywhere, so this became somewhat of a passphrase that outsiders would be unlikely to know.
> I am not well.
reaCese. Literally, 'I exist and it's not benefiting me.' Antibenefactive construction.
> I am the walrus, coo coo ca choo.
Ualruese, ku ku ka cu. -- Shreyas Lothlorien Gallery 77 http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/s/s/ssampat/ssampat.html