Láadan/Lessons/17

Introduction

Additional detail can be added to words, such as emotions (happiness, anger, etc.). By adding on to these words, using the first and second declensions, you can encode more information in a single word, instead of having to formulate lengthy sentences to describe your current state.

First declension

Láadan	Description
-i	for no reason
-e	for good reason(s)
-o	for foolish reason(s)
-u	for bad reason(s)
-(e)he	despite negative circumstances

Joy: thina, thena, thona, thuna, thehena

(Suzette Haden Elgin (1988), A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan, Second Edition, p. 132)

Examples

Láadan	English	Vocab words
Bíi loláad le thena	I feel joy, for good reasons	loláad = to perceive internally
Bíi loláad le thehena	I feel joy, despite negative circumstances
Bíi loláad le nena	I feel contented, for good reasons

Second declension

The second declension can be used to specify reason, blame, and futility of the statement.

You can essentially answer three questions with each suffix:

1. There is a reason that I feel this way: (True/False)
2. There is someone to blame for this situation: (True/False)
3. There is something that can be done about the situation: (True/False)

In the table below, "T" symbolizes "True", and "F" symbolizes "False".

	-ara	-ala	-ama	-ana	-ina
Reason	T	T	T	T	F
Blame	T	T	F	F	F
Futility	T	F	T	F	F

Anger: bara, bala, bama, bana, bina

(Suzette Haden Elgin (1988), A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan, Second Edition, p. 133)

Examples

Láadan	English	Vocab words
Bíi loláad le bala	I feel angry, there is a reason, there is someone to blame, and it is not futile.