The LCC4 Relay

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Treoygeum word order is quite free, with cases being marked on the noun phrases in the clause. The language is pro-drop, meaning that anything which is clear from the context need not be overtly mentioned. Adjectives will always precede the noun they belong to (before or after any article), as will possessive phrases and most other phrases modifying nouns. Numbers follow the noun. Auxiliaries (which are the ones taking the conjugation) come after the unmarked main verb, with sometimes some object or other between the two. Compounds (which can be nouns, verbs or any other part of speech) will either have their head at the end (as “weapon” + “enter” gives “invade”) or will consist of two equal parts (as "broad" + "tall" would give "imposing").

The language possesses several articles, which make nouns specific. For example, “The cat is hungry” and “A cat is hungry” would both use the article “ë” on “cat”, while “Cats are hungry creatures” would not contain any articles. In the text two articles appear: the singular article, which has the form “ë” normally and “y” (sometimes spelled “i” in diphthongs) when in contact with vowels; and the plural/collective article “tsay”. The articles can come right in front of the noun (“big a-stone”), or some adjectives or other modifiers can come in between the article and the noun (“a-big-stone”). In the latter case the complex of modifiers and noun functions almost like a compound (although it will still often be translated with a normal adjective into English). Furthermore, nouns can be derived from verbs or adjectives by simply adding an article.

The core cases are marked with prefixes, being “to” for the nominative and “wal/u” for the accusative. (The form for the accusative will be “wal” when in contact with vowels, “u” otherwise.) These prefixes will often come in front of the noun phrase, as if they were prepositions, but other positions are possible. Mark that these markings can be omitted, especially when the subject comes in initial position, when the object is inanimate, and/or when the object comes after the verb. Mark that words starting with a vowel usually have an underlying h- at the beginning, which will surface when adding a prefix ending with a vowel. These words are marked as such in the vocabulary.

Other cases are marked with suffixes. In the text appear:

genitive: marks inalienable possession, has a suffix “-leo”
dative: translates as “to”, “for”, has a suffix “-vë”
locative: can mean “in” as well as “into” depending on the verb, or even more vague meanings or place, has a suffix “-shòts”
instrumental: denotes the instrument of an action ("with a calculator", "by car") or a subject/topic (“thinking about you”), has a suffix “-bët”

Some phonological processes may take place when suffixes are added. Word-final nasals will assimilate in point of articulation, and any sibilant or -h contracts with -l- or -sh- to give -sh-.

There also exists a topic marker, being the suffix -ë. Often, words will change when this is added, as underlying and lost consonants resurface (as “Treoygeum” + -ë gives “Treoygulmë”). These words are marked as such in the vocabulary.

Other relationships are marked with postpositions, which don’t do anything interesting.

Mark that pronouns and the like behave as if they were nouns (although they don’t always take articles).

Verbs can be marked for tense or aspect using prefixes. These can be dropped when tense/aspect are clear from the context. The “general” aspect, used for non-temporal statements (“Water boils at 100°C” and the like) and the imperative don’t get any prefix either. In the text are used:

o-/oh-/okh-/og-: simple present
ri-: past perfective
zhem-/zhemp-: non-volitional future (sometimes also used to say “I should”)

Mark that, just as with nouns, verbs starting with a vowel usually have an underlying h- at the beginning, which will surface when adding a prefix ending with a vowel. These words are marked as such in the vocabulary. Each prefix has alternative forms depending on the initial consonants of the verb, but the detail thereof is, I think, not necessary to understand the text. Adjectives fully behave as verbs, meaning the verb “to be” is not necessary and adjectives take a tense prefix when they feel like it.

The language likes the conjunction “sër” a lot. This means “and then”, and it can be used to construct if-then clauses without any word meaning “if” present. This means that “You come, and then I’ll be happy” would mean “If you come, I’ll be happy”. Sometimes, however, the word just means “and then” and nothing more.

I have transcribed the sound /x/ as <kh> in intervocal position, and <h> otherwise. This means that words starting with <h> will get <kh> when a prefix is added.

As a last comment: The original text I made my translation from talked about a prehistoric/primordial sheep/goat. As neither sheep nor goats exist on the planet where Treoygeum is spoken, the language does not have a word for this. Furthermore, the concept of “prehistory” is not known to them, as their history starts right after their creation myths. I have thus translated this concept as “Sëksëk-tlubarn”, which is some mythical goat-like creature (literally “spawn of Sëksëk-shoi”). You may translate this again as “primordial sheep/goat” or mangle it further at your own discretion. Furthermore, I’ve used the noun “shoi” (a goat-like animal) to translate the masculine third person pronoun when referring to this primordial sheep/goat, as Treoygeum does not distinguish gender in its pronouns and doing such was necessary for the translation. (Similarly, I’ve used “the woman” to translate “she”.)

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Lexicon

á (particle) sentence-final particle turning the phrase into a yes/no question -bët (case marking) instrumental
bmusheom (noun) footbridge, bridge made out of a wooden branch
bmyots (verb) can, be able, may
briu (adjective, adverb) complete, entirely
bumfeump (noun) body
detsak (adverb) earlier, before
dlurt (verb) fall
dyeor (noun) name
dyok (adjective) good
dzen (noun) eye
dzur/dzurl- (pronoun) you (singular)
-ë (suffix) topic marker
ë-/y-/-i- (article) singular
ënt (h-, verb) want
ey (number) one (sometimes used as indefinite article)
fënt (postposition) with (comitative)
frëts (pronoun) he, she
gër (adverb) still
geuy (number) three
gnay (pronoun) it (is always used with an article)
heole (verb) marry
hets (verb) answer
kyur (adverb) as well, is used with the negative to mean “not even”
-leo (case marker) genitive
lësòm (particle) sentence-final particle turning the phrase into a yes/no question
leznòh (verb) accept
lur (adjective) pretty, beautiful
lyèr (noun) knife
miu (verb) laugh
mon (noun) woman
nált (noun) pair
nëts (adjective) small
nung (adverb) downwards, down
nyás (noun) water
o(h/g)- (tense prefix) simple present
òf (adjective) this, these
oyfshuh/oyfshukh- (h-, noun) irrigation canal
ra (verb, conjunction) say, that, say that
rayftswèng (verb) guess
rëmp (adverb) and then
ri- (tense prefix) past perfective
riushay (adjective, adverb) quick
sak (verb) cut
Sëksëk-tlubarn (noun) mythical shoi-like creature
sër (conjunction, adverb) thus, this way, and so
shoi (noun) a goat-like animal
-shòts (case marker) locative
shòwèm (pronoun) we
shwef (verb) know, can
sus (verb) hear
tleun (adjective) open
tliu (noun) word, syllable, morpheme
tlos/tlors- (noun) story
to (preposition) nominative
tò (conjunction) but
tlëp (adjective) sharp
Treoysut (particle) if only
tsay- (article) plural/collective
tsòm (adverb) not
tswergzéu (postposition-like phase) over
tswernyò (verb) cross
tyancha (adverb) how?
tyeo- (prefix) male
u/wal (preposition) accusative
-vë (case marker) dative
vëh/vërkh- (noun) moon
vutsus (verb) listen
wèm (pronoun) I
zeyu (verb) be (non-stative)
zham (verb) choose
zhem(p)- (tense prefix) non-volitional future
zhow barn (particle) once, some day
znip (verb) resemble
znwe (verb) speak, say, tell
zoizoi (adjective) graceful

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The LCC4 Relay

9. Treoygeum by Njenfalgar

Grammar

Lexicon

Treoygeum Ë-Sëksëk-Tlubarmbët ëTlos Zhow barn, ë-lur-mon ey walëbmusheom ritswernyò ëhoyfshuh tswergzéu. Tò ë-Sëksëk-Tyeotlubarn ey frëts-fënt znwe rihënt. Znwe ra, “Vutsus, dzurlë lur-zoizoi, tsaydzen znip nëts vësheo ënált. Wèmë heole dzur-fënt ozham.” Ëmonë sus, miu. “Znip nëts vësheo ënált to wèmleo tsaydzen á? Udzur heole zhempleznòh towèm á? Kyur u wèmleo geuy-tliu ëdyeor rayftswèng tsòm bmyots. Shwef walëhòf, sër wèm-fënt znwe.” Sër ë-Sëksëk-tlubarn ra, “Wèm-fënt znwe dzurleo geuy-tliu ëdyeorbët.” Ëmonë ra, “Dzurlë tsòm sus ëgnay.” Sër ëshoië ra, “Treoysut detsak wèm znwe shòwèmleo ëkheolebët. Tyancha hets?” Sër ëmonë ra, “Wèmë hets.” Rëmp ritleun-sak ëshoileo ëbumfeump ë-tlëp-lyèrbët. Sak riushay, sër briu toibumfeump nung dlurt nyáshòts. Ëshoië gër znwe bmyots ra, “Dzurvë dyok lësòm?”		Smooth English The Story of the Primordial Sheep One day, a pretty woman crossed a footbridge over an irrigation canal. But a Primordial Ram addressed her. He said, "Listen, you are pretty and graceful, your eyes look like a pair of little moons. I choose to marry you." The woman heard this and laughed. "Do they look like little moons, my eyes? Must I accept you in marriage? You wouldn't be able to guess my three-syllable name. If you know it, tell me." He then said, "Tell me about your three-syllable name." She said, "You don't hear it." To which he said, "If only had I spoken earlier about our pending marriage. How do you answer me?" So she said, "I answer you." Next, she cut open his body with a sharp knife. As she cut quickly, the entire body fell down into the water. He could only just say, "Is it good for you?"

Smooth English of Ŧuàn The Story of the Primordial Sheep One day, a pretty woman crossed a footbridge over an irrigation canal. But a Primordial Ram addressed her, and she stopped. He said, “Listen, you are pretty and graceful, and your eyes look like pair of little moons. I choose to marry you.” The woman heard this and laughed. “Do they look like little moons, my eyes? Must I accept you in marriage? You wouldn’t even be able to guess my three-syllable name. If you know it, tell me.” The primordial sheep answered her, “Tell me about your three-syllable name.” She answered, “You don’t hear her.” And so he answered, “If only had I spoken earlier about our pending marriage. How do you answer me?” And so she answered, “I answer you.” Next, she cut open his body with a sharp knife. As she had cut quickly, the entire body fell down, into the water. He could only just say, “Is it good for you?”