From Eloshtan to Boreanesian

FROM ELOSHTAN:
Nwile rrepipcev mirec,
Hlele tec nerek pfufoc lluuk kala virr,
Lile noptola wel vagnasyac lluu,
Farala facalak hafatcokon lurulu holl!


TRANSCRIPTION NOTE:
I have not yet figured out how to represent Boreanesian
satisfactorily in a ascii-Roman transcrition. So I will represent
Boreanesian in a transcription that roughly immitates how it sounds
in normal speech (with clusters created from vowel reduction). Very
broadly, the graphemes to take note of are:

<e>  schwa
<h>  voiceless velar approximant (that is, a fricative [x]
     when the first element of a cluster, otherwise close to a
     glottal fricative [h])
<L>  apical lateral fricative
<N>  laminal denti-alveolar nasal
<ng> velar nasal
<T>  laminal denti-alveolar stop
<y>  palatal approximant
<3>  velar approximant (which is normally creaky in syllable-
     initial position, approaching a glottal stop [?])

Note that syllable final <h> marks a slack phonation (slack
register tone), while syllable final <3> marks a stiff phonation
(stiff register tone).

Note also that I will place syllable breaks <.> where appropriate.
So when two syllable-initial consonants appear together, they are
pronounced as clusters.

Primary stress is regularly on the final syllable.


THE POEM IN BOREANESIAN:
I have numbered each line for ease of reference in the forthcoming
morpheme-by-morpheme analysis and the grammar notes:

   (1) ngye.llal3 Twiyh 3e.mnaw3
   (2) ngnge.l3u33 3e.hke.hka33 pe.Lhi3h Twiyh 3e.Lkuyh
   (3) ngse.lpi3h 3Ne.pliy3 3Ne.pngungh Twiyh 3e.ylal3
   (4) ke.ngke.llelh  3e.ylal3 Ne.knengh.nengh

SMOOTH TRANSLATION:
I'm not sure how to smoothly translate the irrealis so I have marked=20
it by writing "if". Similarly, I'm not sure how to smoothly translate=20
the inferential particle, so I have marked it with "might".

   (1) "if" a bird of a greatness be a singer,
   (2) "if" a bird of a river be a ruffler of its feathers at a mist,
   (3) "if" a bird of a song be a glorifier of the star of the night,
   (4) "might" every ruler be a hearer of a song.


MORPHEME-BY-MORPHEME ANALYSIS:
I'll use the following abbreviations in the analysis. Please refer
to the notes on grammar for an explanation of the terms used here:

""   - encloses my best translation (refer to glossary)
>    - follows a prefix or proclitic
<>   - encloses an infix
0    - represents a zero morpheme
3inh - inherent third-person possessor
AGT  - agent nominalization
B    - bound phase
COLL - collective plural
COR  - core or predicate
DIST - distributive plural
GEN  - genitive
INF  - inferential
IR   - irrealis
OBL  - oblique
U    - unbound phase


Line (1)
   ng> 0>     y<l>lal3  0>     Twiyh 3:U>  mnaw3
   IR  COR:U> <AGT>sing COR:U> bird  GEN   greatness

Line (2)
   ng> 0>     N<l>3u33    3>     hke.hka33           p>     Lhi3h
   IR> COR:U> <AGT>ruffle GEN:U> "feather":COLL:3inh OBL:U> mist

   0>     Twiyh 3>    Lkuyh
   COR:U> bird  GEN:U river

Line (3)
   ng> 0>     s<l>pi3h     3N>   pliy3 3N>    pngungh 0>     Twiyh
   IR> COR:U> <AGT>glorify GEN:B star  GEN:B> night   COR:U> bird

   3>     ylal3
   GEN:U> song

Line (4)
   k>  ng> 0>     k<l>lelh  3>     ylal3 N>     knenghnengh
   INF IR> COR:U> <AGT>hear GEN:U> song  COR:B> ruler:DIST


GLOSSARY:
hka33   - his/her/its hair - but used in this poem to refer to
          it aviary equivalent "its feather".
klelh   - hear
knengh  - ruler
mnaw3   - greatness
nengh   - when
N3u33   - ruffle
Lhi3h   - mist
Lkuyh   - river
pliy3   - star
pngungh - night
spi3h   - glorify
Twijh   - bird
ylal3   - sing, song


GRAMMAR NOTES
Below are notes to help interpret the Boreanesian translation. I
have divided it up into what notes apply to what line in the poem.
I'll start first with notes that apply to all lines. Then I'll move
on to notes that apply to specific lines.

ALL LINES:
Phase:
All nouns and predicates are marked for phase in Boreanesian. For=20
nouns, the bound phase denotes a specific reference, while for=20
predicates it denotes perfective aspect. On the other hand, the=20
unbound phase denotes a non-specific reference in nouns, and an=20
imperfective aspect in predicates.

Modal and Evidential Particles:
You will notice that each line starts with one of these
particles. In the poem, the irrealis and the inferential particles
are used. These are explained below:

The irrealis mode makes no assertion whatsoever that an event or
state actually holds true. This is not the same as the negative
where in an event did not or will not take place, it simply makes no
claims with respect to the actuality of the event or situation
described. In most cases, an irrealis mode can best be translated as
an "if" mode. But it can be translated into different meanings
depending on the situation, e.g., conditional, imperative, optative,
hypothetical, potential, etc.

The inferential particle in Line 4 is a subcategory of the irrealis
and as such (you will notice) must be attached to the irrealis
particle itself. It indicates the speaker's certainty of truth.
Here, it best translates as "might", (as in something might occur).

Role Marking:
There are three argument markings: Core, Oblique, and Genitive.
Refer to word order (below) for the explanation of the core argument
marking. The oblique is simply an all purpose preposition applying
to all spatio-temporal frames. The genitive is roughly equivalent to
the English preposition "of".

Agent Nominalization:
Since Boreanesian has only predicate nominal (non-transitive)
clauses and only one core case, the roles played by various
constituents are express by nominalizing the verb. In the poem, all
the verbs have been nominalized as an agent. For instance, in the
first line, the verb for "sing" has been nominalized as an agent:
"singer". The other predicates should therefore be easy for you to
figure out.

Word Order:
You will notice that each line has two phrases marked as core
arguments. The first of these is actually the predicate, the second
is the argument in focus.

Boreanesian does not have transitive statements, only statements of
the nominal predicate type. That is, the predicate asserts something
about the focus. Take the first line for instance, (ignoring the
irrealis mode) it asserts that the focus "bird" is an agent that
sings (i.e., "a singer"). (Now the object of the relay is not for me
to translate the poem for you, so I hope you can figure out what the
other lines do or do not assert).

LINE 1:
Adjectives?:
Boreanesian does not have adjectives. Here the idea of a "great
bird" is expressed as "bird of greatness".

Line 2:
Collective Plural:
This is one of the categories of plurality that Boreanesian
expresses. The collective plural refers to a collection of objects
which can be grouped together, implying some kind of internal
structure or coherence to the group. Here, it is applied to feathers
giving that subtle meaning that the predicate of ruffling is applied
to the feathers as a group rather than to each individual feather.

Inherently Possessed:
Some words in Boreanesian are inherently possessed. This includes
body parts like hair (or in this case feathers). In this line, the
feathers is inherently possessed by a third person (the bird).

LINE 3:
Compounds?:
Compounding is not a very productive feature in Boreanesian. The
idea of the night star is expressed with the genitive.

LINE 4:
Inferential Particle:
Refer to Modal and Evidential Particles under notes in the section
of 'All Lines'.

Distributive Plural:
This is another category of plurality in Boreanesian. Unlike its
collective counterpart, it is concieved as a group of individuals
rather than a collection. The predicate is therefore applied to each
object individually rather than a collection as a whole.

In the fourth line, it is applied to rulers that are bound in phase
(or specific). Together with the distributive plural, it means
"every ruler".

I have chosen to use the distributive plural here to demonstrate
Boreanesian's flexibility in expressing plurality. I could have
easily just use the collective plural. If I did, it would together
with the bound phase translate as as "all rulers". There was nothing
in the previous (Eloshtan) translation about this distinction, but=20
this distinction is meticulously distinguished in formal Boreanesian=20
contexts - especially in poetry.

-kristian- 8)