Re: Conlangea Multilingual Phrasebook, 2nd edition

> 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