Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

an early conlang (was: Young Conlangers)

From:Jonathan Knibb <jonathan_knibb@...>
Date:Tuesday, April 2, 2002, 17:47
All this talk of youth and littlest conlangers reminds me of my first
conlang, now long dead, composed over a dull summer when I was sixteen (i.e.
ten years ago).  Just thought it would be amusing to recall a few lines
(Genesis 1:1 et seq.), so here goes...

Igebithyëbá thelë a nharë fassití Akhé. A antí nhare shethyëové, a masé; a
antí drafeth i lonethivedoyní. A geití i Akheizbara i leneyvedoyní. A redaná
Akhé, Ellë idoaní; a ellë idoantí.

Whaddya think?  It never got as far as having a properly codified phonology
(I wouldn't even have been able to tell you what a phonology was back then
;) ), but I still think it has a sort of charm about it.

Interlinear for the first line, in case anyone's interested: (pipes mark
morpheme boundaries)

i|geb|ith|yë|bá:
igeb|i = to begin (from geb|i = to give)
-th = nominalising suffix (act of X-ing)
-yë = dative case
-bá = at (postposition)

thele = heaven
-ë = accusative inflection

a = and

nhare = earth

fass|i = to create
-tí = 3rd person past

Akhé = God (from akh = high)

Actually there are quite a lot of European cognates there, aren't there?  I
never noticed that before!

The pronunciation is pretty much as you'd expect - don't ask what the
diaeresis means, I have no idea!  The acute accent marks stress.  The only
slightly interesting thing is <nh>, a voiceless alveolar nasal.

Just thought I'd share that with you :)

Jonathan.

Reply

Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>