Mirad Grammar/print version
Mirad, formerly known as Unilingua, is an artificially constructed auxiliary language (conlang) developed and published in 1966 by the now-deceased Paris-based author Noubar Agopoff as a serious medium for easy and logical international communication. Mirad, which means world speech, and is pronounced mee-RAHD, is categorized by constructed language experts as taxonomic or ontological, because its vocabulary is mapped letter-by-letter to a semantic ontology or thesaurus. Also, the word-stock of Mirad is considered a priori, meaning that there is no deliberate association with words or roots in existing natural languages. The vocabulary is from scratch, yet based on internal lexical and semantic rules that help the learner to construct and deconstruct derivations sytematically, logically, mnemonically, and consistently. The author claims in his book Unilingua -- Langue universelle auxiliaire[1] that this language is well-suited for universal, logical communication because it is based on principles already exploited globally by sciences like mathematics and chemistry, where symbolic formulas are constructed in accordance with strict rules and a limited sequence of symbols understood by all practitioners.
Principles
editMirad is constructed on the following principles:
- Every vowel has numeric, vectorial, scalar, semantic, or grammatical value.
- Every consonant is meaningful either lexically or grammatically.
- Word derivation is systematic, consistent, analogical, and mnemonic.
- Words are as ontologically unambiguous as possible.
- Words are as short and as easy to pronounce as possible.
- Inflection and derivation of words is regular and predictable.
- Word opposites differ only in the stem vowel (iva....happy; uva....sad).
- Words that have similar meanings will share all but one or two letters (iva....happy; ivra ....joyful).
- All words in the language are constructed from fewer than 500 building blocks.
- Vocabulary in specialized and scientific fields is built on internationally agreed conventions.
- The grammatical rules are regular and as simple as possible.
- The vocabulary is totally a priori and neutral and not based on any existing language.
- Formatives (derivational and inflexional prefixes, infixes, and suffixes) are nonexponential, that is, each one has only one purpose or meaning. In other words, the language is non-fusional.
Changes from earlier version
edit- This book contains a revision of the language with additions and modifications to the original. The principal changes are:
- The writing system now consists only of letters of the Latin alphabet, with no diacritics.
- The letter w was added to mark the passive voice of verbs, among other things.
- The letter s was changed to sound like the s in English sun.
- The letter x was changed to sound like the sh in English show.
- The letter c was changed to sound like the ch in English chair.
- The letter h was added, mainly to create a systematic set of determiners like this, that, and every.
- The letter q was added for certain scientific words and outside-imported words such as daiqiri or Qatar.
- Grammatical cases were eliminated and replaced by prepositions.
- Some prepositions and conjunctions were changed or added.
- The definite article ha (the) was introduced.
- Much new vocabulary was added and some words were altered.
- The system of determiners was overhauled.
- The manner of encoding names of chemicals, metrical units, and other entities was changed.
- The language was gender-neutralized but provided the means to mark gender where necessary.
- Zoological and botanical terms in Unilingua were differentiated by semi-random numerical scaling (apet....horse, epet....ox, etc.). This has been changed in Mirad to a systematic prefixation of syllables to the base name where the syllables come from the Linnaean Taxonomy.
Conventions in this book
edit- In this book:
- Words in Mirad are boldfaced.
- Words in English that are translations of Mirad are italicized.
- Technical grammatical terms in English are both boldfaced and italicized.
- For example:
- The Mirad word van means that and is a positive subordinating conjunction.
External links
edit- Earlier version of Mirad (Unilingua)
- Agopoff, author of Unilingua
- Wikipedia: Constructed_Language
- Mirad Thesaurus (a wikibook)
- Mirad Lexicon (a wikibook)
References
edit
Vocabulary Built on Native Roots
edit- In English, we have many words like ichthyology, which baffle younger speakers of the language, because they are borrowed from a foreign language, in this case, classical Greek. This word, which could just as easily and more rationally be the Anglicized fishlore, means the science of fish. If a word in English relates to fish, why is fish not a part of the word? Even for modern day Greeks to understand the word ιχθυολογία (ichthyologia), they have to know the ancient root ιχθύς (ichthys) for fish, which has long been supplanted by the current word everyone uses, ψάρι (psari). What I'm saying is that the vocabulary of English, as is the case in many other natural languages, is a hodgepodge of borrowings, irregular spellings, and words cobbled from obscure roots that have little recognizability for the average speaker.
- While English is a melting pot of words, there are some languages that do less borrowing and less non-discriminate formation of words that do not associate with one another through some root or pattern. Icelandic, for example, does not borrow very much from other languages and its words are formed using roots familiar to speakers of that language. The Icelandic word for library is bokasafn, which literally, is book collection ( = saving). Any child in that language knows what the word means immediately, because it is composed of root words that are obvious. The English word library makes sense only if you know the Latin roots libr- (book) and -ary (place of).
- Arabic, by contrast, is a language that has a system of word-building based on a rational association of consonants and vowel patterns, such that most words relating to books and writing contain the three consonants k-t-b. Over the centuries, the system has been polluted with irregularities, but at least the consciousness of associations of words based on a root pattern is there and is still used today to coin new words.
- In Turkish, the bulk of words having to do with knowledge contain the native root bil. Because of this, most of these words will be grouped on the same pages in a dictionary. For example: bildik known, bildirim announcement, bilecen know-it-all, bilgi knowledge, bilgili knowledgeable, bilgin scholar, etc. A word such as unknowability inevitably contains the root bil and can be learned fairly easily by a young student of the language.
- Mirad has a vocabulary-building system with approximately 500 morphemes (word atoms or vocabulary building blocks) that are used to form derived words in the same sense family in accordance with a set of word-building rules. Words that are related semantically will share the same bulk of letters. For example, iva (happy), ivla (glad), and ivra (delighted) share the root morpheme iv- and differ only in one letter. The opposite of happy is derived by switching the vowel in the root morpheme from i to the negative counterpart u, such that uva means sad. Similarly, uvla (woeful) and uvra (tragic) are opposite counterparts to the extended iv- words.
- In Mirad, every letter of a word has some semantic or grammatical function. All words are part of a system. If you know the word for to lengthen, then you automatically know the word for to shorten. The rules for deriving new words from existing words are consistent across the language. In Mirad, there is no such thing as irregular conjugation of verbs as in English write, wrote, written. Nouns are pluralized in one way only across the board, unlike the multiple, unpredictable ways German and Arabic words are pluralized. Prepositions have one meaning, as contrasted with the multiple, inscrutable meanings of Russian or Latin prepositions.
- Words in Mirad are pronounced as they are written, with no exceptions. One letter is used for one sound. Only Roman letters are used in the alphabet, and there are no pesky diacritics (accents). Word stress is regular.
- What if we took this root association to the maximum degree and ensured that all words in a language were constructed on logical, associational, and regular principles with roots that are obvious to the learner? That would be the way Mirad does it.
Deriving Opposites by Vowel-switching
edit- A very simple principle in Mirad is that a good portion of the vocabulary can be guessed by the learner without looking up words in the dictionary. All descriptive adjectives can be changed to their opposite with a simple change of vowel. For example, if you know fia (good), then you automatically know fua (bad). This is possible by knowing the rule of contrastive vowels: i is a positive vowel and contrasts with u, a negative vowel. Similarly, a contrasts with o, so that the opposite of aza (strong) is--you guessed it--oza (weak). In fact, if you know that e is an intermediate vowel, then you understand that eza means moderate. These simple principles of word-building mean that students of the language can cut down on their learning time by at least 50%.
Using Consonants and Vowels to Vary Domains
edit- Another principle is that the beginning and/or closing consonants of a word in Mirad give you clues as to the meaning. All sentient creatures have the final stem consonant t, such that dat (friend), tot (god), at (I), tuzut (artist), and pit (fish) all refer to sentient creatures. The root stems of all words having to do with communication, begin with the letter d, eg. der (to say), dud (answer), dyes (book), dal (speech), etc. The internal vowels of root stems very often indicate concepts such as sky, land, sea or up vs. down, or zeroth, first, second, or toward the speaker vs. away from the speaker, and on and on.
Scalarization
edit- In English, as in many other languages, there was probably some attempt to associate words in this way. Take for example, the series sing, sang, sung, song, singer, songstress or drip, drop, droop, dribble. More often than not, there is very little association among English words that are obviously distinguished by the one feature, size, eg. mountain, hill, knob, bump, pimple. In Mirad, these are all distinguished regularly by a scalarizing enumerative vowel. The Mirad days of the week are not a series of Roman- or Teutonic-related concepts, Moon-day, Tiw's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, Freya's-day, Saturn-day, and Sun-day, all of which are a matter of memorization by the child or student of the language. Mirad days of the week consist rather of a series of words numerically arranged "day-one, day-two, day-three, etc." This is actually the approach taken by quite a few natural languages like Portuguese.
- The months, too, ought to be learned in 10 seconds, by knowing that an internal vowel of the root expresses the numerical order of the months. Again, there are some natural languages that do this. By knowing that jiab means month one, January, then by knowing how to count in the language, the word for September can be readily deduced as jiyub (month nine, yu being the number for 9).
Taxonomy
edit- The formulaic language of chemistry is a pretty good likeness of Mirad. There is a world-recognized symbolic, taxonomic relationship between H2O and C2O. Similarly, in Mirad, the stem vowels of the names of animals indicate their primary habitat: air, land, sea, or combinations of these. Other combinations of letters indicate whether the animal is domestic, predatory, wild, etc. From then on, its enumeration is based on factors such as commonness, taxonomic relationships, etc. Likewise, with human and animal body terms, the stem vowel indicates location on the body, such as head, trunk, or limbs. Then another vowel delineates in a directional way where on the head: upper, middle, lower, and so forth. Just by looking at the word for a body part for the first time, by knowing the system, you can tell at least approximately that it is, say, a higher joint of the arm. Color words are based on their position on nature's color spectrum. Governmental and courtly powerholders and other hierarchical elements are ranked by an ordinal vowel, eg. adeb (emperor), edeb (monarch), ideb (prince), udeb (duke), etc. The names of the planets are enumerated by their relative distance from the sun, so: amer (planet 1 = Mercury), emer (planet 2 = Mars), imer (planet 3 = Earth), etc. Zoological and botanical names are based on the international Linnean Taxonomy.
Mnemonics
editWords in the language can be mnemonically associated to body terms by changing the initial domain consonant accordingly, so, while teb means head, xeb in the x or work/action domain is boss, deb in the social/political domain is leader, etc.
- The following chart shows in this mnemonic echoing in action, where the letters before -ub suggest the domain:
Mnemonic Echoing DOMAIN WORD human (body) tub....arm work/action xub....subsidiary, branch plants fub....limb, branch, bough(of a tree) fish pitub....fin birds patub....wing animal potub....paw land-sea animal peitub....flipper shoe tyoyafub....(scuba-diving) flipper vegetation vub....shoot, sprig, twig society/politics dub....minister, department head building tomub....wing (of a building) land mub....promontory river mifub....oar things sub....ramification, offshoot table semub....flap (of a table) rotating things zyufub....rudder flat zyifub....paddle round zyub....lobe
Conclusion
editMirad uses many different techniques to short-cut the difficulty of learning new words or recognizing terms. The vowels, consonants, mnemonics, scalarization, taxonomy and many other methods are used to make the vocabulary as rational and intuitive as possible. Unlike in most natural languages, words like snow and sleet are going to have sounds in common in Mirad. I have never found a language other than Mirad where the words for ice, water, and steam are derived from one another even though we all know they are actually all H2O in different temperature states.
The Alphabet
edit- Mirad uses the Roman alphabet as in Modern English. There is an upper case (majuscules or capital letters) and a lower case (miniscules or small letters). The upper case letters are used for capitalization exactly as in English. Mirad, at least for non-foreign words, uses no diacritic marks such as the brève, the grave accent, or the dieresis. The order of the alphabet is the same as in English. The letters, though, are pronounced as shown in the chart. Note that there is a pattern: The vowel of each Mirad letter name changes to the single vowel letter before it. For example, the vowel in the name for letter f changes to e following the letter e in the alphabetic sequence. The Mirad letter name for j is ji because it is just beyond the vowel letter i in the alphabetic sequence. Uppercase letters have a Mirad letter name beginning in ag, a prefix meaning big.
Alphabet A-N Lowercase a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mirad Letter Name a ba ca da e fe ge he i ji ki li mi ni Uppercase A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Mirad Letter Name aga agba agca agda age agfe agge aghe agi agji agki agli agmi agni
Alphabet O-Z Lowercase o p q r s t u v w x y z Mirad Letter Name o po ko ro so to u vu wu xu yu zu Uppercase O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Mirad Letter Name ago agpo agko agro agso agto agu agvu agwu agxu agyu agzu
- The letters c and q are used only to represent words and names imported into Mirad from other languages, or for words in which letters of the alphabet are used to spell out chemical terms, metric units, country names, languages, and other terms based on existing world standards like ISO.
Letter Names
edit- Spelling a word aloud means uttering the word's Mirad letter names in succession left to right. If the letter is a upper case, then the letter name is preceded by ag-....big, eg.:
- anxwa is spelled aloud as a-ni-xu-wu-a
- Mirad is spelled aloud as agmi-i-ro-a-da
- Note that age for E and agge for G need to be carefully distinguished. The former, age is pronounced a-ge, while the latter, agge, is pronounced ag-ge.
Capitalization
edit- Capitalization in Mirad is handled almost exactly as in English:
- The first word of a new sentence is capitalized.
- At ife et.....I love you.
- Iyt da: "At ife et."....She said, "I love you."
- All proper nouns are capitalized, including names of people, organizations, books, languages, countries, etc.
- Mirad....Mirad
- Ferom....France
- ha Feromati....the French
- Alica be Flisem....Alice in Wonderland
- ha Yoongun....The Pentagon
- Acronyms are capitalized.
- ZUYX....NATO.
- DXV....FBI.
- If a verb or adjective is based on a proper noun, the proper noun part of the word gets capitalized.
- Deumxer....to Germanify
- loNazixer....to de-Nazify
- Irolim-ulza....Kelly (= Ireland) green.
- The planets and inhabitants of planets are capitalized.
- Ha tyod bi Imer.....The people of Earth.
- Ha Umerati upeye.....The Martians are coming.
- The word god is capitalized if referring to a religion's one, true god, otherwise not.
- Ha toti se futipa.....The gods are angry.
- Fyadilu bu Tot.....Pray to God.
- Van yat fyadilu bu Allah.....Let's pray to Allah.
- Unlike in English, though:
- The days of the week, the months of the year, and the seasons are not capitalized.
- juab....Monday
- jieb....February
- jeub....Winter
Punctuation
edit- Punctuation is handled as in English, with the following exception:
- A colon (:) is used in direct quotations, as opposed to the comma (,) used in English, eg.:
- He said, "Let there be light."....It da: "Van esu man."
- Here is a chart showing punctuation marks and symbols along with their names in Mirad:
Punctuation Marks and Symbols ENGLISH SYMBOL MIRAD MARKS (siyn) period . nodsiyn comma , grunsiyn colon : ennodsiyn semi-colon ; nodgrunsiyn question mark ? didsiyn exclamation point ! yoksiyn single quote ' aona gedsiyn double quote " eona gedsiyn hyphen - naydsiyn dash, em dash -- eona nadsiyn underscore, low line _ oybnadsiyn vertical line | aonadsiyn wave dash ~ pyaon nadsiyn forward slash, solidus / zaya kinad backward slash, reverse solidus \ zoya kinad double slash // eona kinad apostrophe ' oysunsiyn left parenthesis
right parenthesis(
)zua uzkun yebyujarsiyn
zia uzkun yebyujarsiynleft angle bracket
right angle bracket<
]zua gun yebyujarsiyn
zia gun yebyujarsiynleft square bracket
right square bracket[
]zua izkun yebyujarsiyn
zia izkun yebyujarsiynleft curly bracket
right curly bracket{
}zua uzyua yebyujarsiyn
zia uzyua yebyujarsiynellipsis ... innodsiyn caret ^ garsiyn SYMBOLS (siun) ampersand & aysiun at sign @ asiun percent sign % asoynsiun hash tag, pound sign, number sign # sagsiun asterisk * marsiun dollar sign ? Usodansiun/
- Note: Most of these marks and symbols are on a standard English-language keyboard. Mathematical symbols are not listed here, nor are most accent marks like "grave accent". See the Mathematical Expressions section of Numbers.
Text Direction
edit- Text in Mirad is written from left to right with spaces between words.
Consonants
editConsonant graphemes and phonemes
edit- The following chart shows the correspondence of the consonants and their phomemic values in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA):
Grapheme | b | c | d | f | g | h | j | k | l | m | n | p | q | r | s | t | v | x | z |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phoneme | /b/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /d/ | /f/ | /g/ | /h/ | /ʒ/ | /k/ | /l/ | /m/ | /n/ | /p/ | /k/ | /ɽ/ | /s/ | /t/ | /v/ | /ʃ/ | /z/ |
Pronunciation of Consonants
edit- The following chart shows the Mirad consonants with their phonemic values in the IPA:
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | /m/ | /n/ | ||||
Plosive | voiced | /b/ | /d/ | /g/ | ||
unvoiced | /p/ | /t/ | /k/ | |||
Affricate | voiced | |||||
unvoiced | /t͡ʃ/ | |||||
Fricative | voiced | /v/ | /z/ | /ʒ/ | ||
unvoiced | /f/ | /s/ | /ʃ/ | /h/ | ||
Approximate | /l/ | |||||
Flap | /ɽ/ |
- The phonemes /r/ and /l/ are consonant liquids and behave in a special way in forming words in Mirad.
- In Mirad, every consonant has a one-to-one correspondence with a single phoneme (ideal sound). Mirad does not use digraphs like sh or ph to represent consonant sounds. There are no double consonants, although sometimes a consonant will come together with the same consonant in the same word, but not the same syllable. There are no silent consonants. Also, there are no letters in "native" Mirad with diacritical marks like é or ñ.
- Here are the letters that are pronounced somewhat differently from English:
- The letter x is pronounced like an sh in English, or a ch in French.
- In native Mirad words, h is pronounced like the h in English hand. It is sometimes used to simulate foreign sounds like the ch in Yiddish lachayim (to life!), or German Bach. If h comes at the end of a word, it is silent, but, being a consonant, it can serve to move the stress to the word-final syllable, as in Allah, pronounced a-LA.
- The letter j is pronounced like the zh in Russian Zhivago or the ge in English mirage.
- The letter s is always unvoiced as English ss and never sounds like a z.
- The letter g is always a hard sound as in English gap, not as in English wage.
- The letter c represents the unvoiced affricative sound t͡ʃ like the ch in English church. Some chemical names and metric units use the letter c, such as calilk (chlorine).
- The unvoiced plosives p, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of breath that sometimes follows them in their English counterparts. The corresponding consonants in French are exact equivalents.
- The consonant r should be a flap or trill like the r in Brit. Eng. very or the single, intervocalic r in Spanish pero.
- The consonant q is usually pronounced as a k, but in foreign borrowings or proper names, it may be pronounced according to context.
- The consonants in the Mirad alphabet correspond one-to-one with phonemes. There are no cases of consonant sounds being represented in native words by digraphs as in English ph, sh, ch, or th. For example, the sh sound in English is represented by x in Mirad. The English ch sound is represented in Mirad with the letter c. There are no equivalents in Mirad for the English sounds th in this or the th in think, but the combination th in foreign borrowings is pronounced as it is in the source language.
- Here is a chart showing the phonetic values of Mirad consonants:
MIRAD CONSONANT/ SEMI-CONSONANT GRAPHEME |
IPA | ARTICULATION | NEAREST EQUIVALENTS |
---|---|---|---|
b | [b] | unaspirated voiced bilabial plosive | French bon, English boy |
c | [tʃ] | unvoiced palato-alveolar affricate | English child, Spanish chico |
d | [d] | unaspirated voiced alveolar plosive | French de, English dog |
f | [f] | unvoiced labio-dental fricative | English fog |
g | [g] | unaspirated voiced velar plosive | French gare, English good (always hard, even before e and i). |
h | [h] [x] |
glottal fricative | English house (used in some foreign words and names as a kh-like sound like German Bach. Not pronounced at the end of foreign borrowings like Allah or Arkansah. |
j | [ʒ] | voiced palatal fricative | French je or English mirage. |
k | [k] | unaspirated unvoiced velar fricative | French carte, English skip (without aspiration). |
l | [l] | voiced post-alveolar lateral approximant | English love or French bel (never a dark l as in English bell. |
m | [m] | voiced bilabial nasal | English mother. |
n | [n] [ŋ] |
voiced alveolar nasal | English nobody Before g or k, like English fang. |
p | [p] | unvoiced bilabial plosive | French pain, English span (without aspiration). |
q | - | - | (Only used in foreign words, or some chemical names, where it has various k-like or guttural pronunciations). |
r | [r] | alveolar flap | Spanish mira or Italian Roma or British Eng. 'very. |
s | [s] | unvoiced alveolar fricative | Always hard as in English safe (never a z sound as in rose). |
t | [t] | unaspirated unvoiced alveolar plosive | French tous, English stop (without aspiration). |
v | [v] | voiced labial-dental fricative | English very. Spanish and German speakers need to beware: this is not a bilabial consonant, nor is it an f sound. |
x | [ʃ] | unvoiced post-alveolar fricative | English shape or French cher |
z | /z/ | voiced alveolar fricative | English zone. German speakers, beware. Mirad z is pronounced like a German s, as in sehr, not like z as in zehn, which sounds more like ts. |
Vowels
edit- Mirad vowels are divided into simple and glided vowels. The simple vowels are single letters, while the complex vowels have one or more semi-vowel glides (y or w) prefixed or suffixed.
Simple Vowels
editThe Mirad graphemes (alphabetic letters) used to represent the simple vowel phonemes (minimal meaningful sounds) are as follows:
Grapheme | a | e | i | o | u |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phoneme | /a/ | /e/ | /i/ | /o/ | /u/ |
Pronunciation of Simple Vowels
edit- The simple vowels are pronounced as they are in many European Latin-based languages. The table below gives their phonetic values and some close examples in Spanish and French, and not-so-close examples in English.
VOWEL | IPA1 | SPANISH | FRENCH | ENGLISH APPROXIMATION |
---|---|---|---|---|
a | [a] | mano | à |
father |
e | [e] | hecho | et |
day 2 |
i | [i] | si | si |
see2 |
o | [o] | no | de l'eau |
so3 |
u | [u] | tu | ou |
too3 |
Glided Vowels
edit- Glided vowels are those preceded or followed by the semi-vowel glides y or w. This chart shows the possible glided vowels, their IPA equivalents, and their approximate pronunciations using English and other languages.
GLIDED VOWELS | IPA1 | PRONUNCIATION |
---|---|---|
PRE-Y-GLIDED VOWELS | ||
ya | [ja] | Eng. yacht, Fr. hiacinthe |
ye | [je] | Eng. yet, Fr. grillé (grilled) |
yi | [ji] | Eng. yeast*, Fr. bouilli |
yo | [jo] | Eng. yoke*, Fr. maillot |
yu | [ju] | Eng. you*, Fr. piou-piou |
PRE-W-GLIDED VOWELS | ||
wa | [wa] | Eng. water, Fr. gouache (poster paint) |
we | [we] | Eng. wet, Fr. ouais (yes) |
wi | [wi] | Eng. wee2, Fr. oui (yes) |
wo | [wo] | Eng. woke2 |
wu | [wu] | Eng. woo2 |
POST-Y-GLIDED | ||
ay | [aɪ] | Eng. sight, Sp. hay (there is) |
ey | [eɪ] | Eng. day, Sp. rey (king) |
iy | [iɪ] | Eng. see, Fr. bille (marble) |
oy | [oɪ] | Eng. boy, Sp. hoy (today) |
uy | [uɪ] | Eng. gooey, Sp. muy (very) |
POST-W-GLIDED | ||
aw | [ɔ] | Eng. awe |
ew | [eʊ] | colloq. Eng. Tell me! |
iw | [iʊ] | Eng. eew! (sound of disgust), Du. niew (new) |
ow | [oʊ] | Eng. know, foe |
uw | [uʊ] | Eng. goo |
PRE-Y-POST-W-GLIDED | ||
yaw | [jaʊ] | Eng. yaw |
yew | [jeʊ] | Eng. yell (very rare) |
yiw | [jiʊ] | Eng. yield (very rare) |
yow | [joʊ] | Eng. yo bro! |
yuw | [juʊ] | Eng. you |
CIRCUM-Y-GLIDED | ||
yay | [jaɪ] | Eng. yikes |
yey | [jeɪ] | Eng. yea! |
yiy | [jiɪ] | Eng. yeesh! (sound of disgust) |
yoy | [joɪ] | Eng. yoink ( = New Jyoizy ) |
yuy | [juɪ] | Eng. Hughie |
PRE-W-POST-Y-GLIDED | ||
way | [waɪ] | Eng. wise, Fr. ouailles (flock) |
wey | [weɪ] | Eng. way |
wiy | [wiɪ] | Eng. wee! (sound of fun) |
woy | [woɪ] | Eng. woy (rhymes with boy) |
wuy | [wuɪ] | Eng. wooish (rhymes with gooey) |
- In Mirad, the above glided vowels are considered single vowels for the purposes of grammar, syllabification, and stress.
- Note 1: International Phonetic Alphabet. See chart and click on sounds at [[1]].
- Note 2: Without the typical y-glide at the end of the English vowel. The vowel should be pure, as in the Romance languages of Europe.
- Note 3: Without the typical w-glide at the end of the English vowel. The vowel should be pure, as in the Romance languages of Europe.
- Every syllable in Mirad contains one and only one vowel. A y when final or followed by a consonant is used to post-y-glide or diphthongize the previous vowel and is therefore considered part of the syllable in which that vowel is the nucleus (see case 2, below). Similarly, the liquids r and l, when final or followed by a consonant are considered to be a part of the syllable where the preceding vowel is the nucleus (see case 4, below). Two vowels in a row form two syllabic nuclei (see cases 3, 6, and 7, below). How syllables are divided is important for determining where the stress accent goes in a word (see Mirad_Grammar/Stress, below).
CASE | EXAMPLE | SYLLABIFIED |
---|---|---|
1 | ama.....hot | a-ma |
2 | ayma.....warm | ay-ma |
3 | aymsea.....warming up | aym-se-a |
4 | pixwa....caught | pix-wa |
5 | upayo....will have come | u-pa-yo |
6 | vyaa....true | vya-a |
7 | vyaay....truly | vya-ay |
8 | vay....indeed | vay |
9 | tambwa....settled | tam-bwa |
10 | faof....plank | fa-of |
11 | twoyba....he-she | twoy-ba |
12 | yansauna....common | yan-sa-u-na |
- Although stress in Mirad is not marked and is not phonemic, i.e. not semantically distinctive, in all words of more than one syllable, the stress occurs on the last, non-final vowel, including glided vowels. The following chart gives some examples:
Mirad Word | With Stress and Syllabification Marked |
---|---|
tejna....vital | tej-na |
igay....quickly | i-gay1 |
alayn....eleventh | a-layn |
Mirad....Mirad | Mi-rad |
booka....tired | bo-o-ka2 |
bookan....fatigue | bo-o-kan |
akea....winning | a-ke-a |
oyse....lacks | oy-se |
byoskyin....pendulum | byos-kyin |
pyaon....wave | pya-on |
tooyba....female | to-oy-ba |
- 1 Here ay is a single post-y-glided vowel, and final, so it is not stressed.
- 2 Two vowels in a row are pronounced in two syllables.
- Here is a small passage where the stress of vowels in shown by boldfacing:
- Hya tobi taje yiva ay gea be utfiz ay doyivi. Yit bulwe texyaf ay tyaf ay yeyfe hyuitaxler tidyenay.
- All men are born equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another as brothers.
- Phonotactics refers to the patterns in which the phonemes of a language may combine to form sequences. The possible syllabic patterns of Mirad are given below in a chart.
- For the purposes of this chart:
- Y stands for the semi-vowel glides y or w.
- L stands for the liquids r and l.
- C stands for consonants other than glides or liquids.
- A stands for simple vowels.
- N stands for the nasal consonants m or n.
- + means 1 to 3 of the foregoing letter
- Parentheses indicate that a letter is optional.
- Bracketing indicates a choice of letters or patterns.
- Syllables in native Mirad are shaped according to the following pattern constraints:
ALLOWABLE SYLLABIC PATTERNS | EXAMPLES |
---|---|
(C)[LG]A+(Y)(L)(C) | o, ay, xwa, gyo, gra, toyb, glays, alp mayr, hyos, va, xwa, gyo, gla, gre, vya, lo, wa, yu, gaw |
...A(Y)N(C)[sx] | mamp, yomx, yank, yons, eynx |
- Two non-glide/liquid/non-nasal consonants cannot appear together in the same syllable, except in foreign-imported words.
- Two glides or liquids cannot come together in one syllable except in foreign-imported words.
- Mirad words can be categorized as the following parts of speech, followed by their inflectional and derivational subcategories:
SUBSTANTIVES
- Nouns ( = sunduni)
- Common Nouns
- Countable Nouns (tam....house, ewa tami....two houses)
- Animate Nouns (tob....person)
- Inanimate Nouns (pur....car)
- Gender-Neutral Nouns (nyem....box)
- Male-Specific Nouns ( twob....man)
- Female-Specific Nouns ( toyb....cow)
- Singular Nouns (sem....table)
- Plural Nouns ( semi....tables)
- Uncountable Nouns
- Mass Nouns (miek....sand, gla miek....a lot of sand)
- Deverbal Nouns ( ~ Gerunds/Infinitives/Abstractions) (melyexen....farming, melyexer....to farm, ifon....love, xeyn....deed)
- Deadjectival ( ~ Abstract) Nouns (vian....beauty)
- Proper Nouns
- Full names (Usom....United States)
- Acronyms (EA....EU)
- Pronouns ( = avduni)
- Personal Pronouns (iyt....she)
- Reflexive Pronouns (aut....myself)
- Possessive Pronouns ( atas....mine)
- Deictic ( ~ Demonstrative) Pronouns (hus....that)
- Quantitative Determiner Pronouns (glati....many of them)
- Reciprocal Pronouns (hyuit....one another)
VERBS ( = erduni)
- Tenses
- Present (pe....goes)
- Past (pa....went)
- Future (po....will go)
- Atemporal (pu!....Go!)
- Aspects
- Progressive (peye....is going, peya....was going)
- Perfect (paye....has gone, paya....had gone)
- Imminent (poye....is about to go, poya....was to go)
- Potential (puye....is apt to go, puya....was apt to go)
- Moods
- Hypothetical (pu....would go, [van has] pu....[that it] go)
- Indicative (po...will go, pe....goes)
- Voices
- Active (It yijba ha mes.....He opened the door.)
- Passive (Ha mes yijbwa.....The door was opened.)
- Medio-passive (Ha mes yija.....The door opened.)
- Transitivity
- Transitive (besa....stayed)
- Intransitive ( bexa....held)
- Dynamicity
- Static (tujeye....is sleeping)
- Dynamic (tujpa....fell asleep)
- Focus
- Subject-oriented (yafe....is able)
- Patient-oriented (yafwe....is possible)
MODIFIERS
- Adjectives ( = aduni)
- Deictic Adjectives ( ~ Determiners) (duhoa?....which?, hyea....any)
- Descriptive Adjectives (via....beautiful)
- Denominal Adjectives (vensona....conditional)
- Pronominal ( ~ Possessive) Adjectives) (yata....our)
- Deverbal Adjectives ( ~ Participles) (tejea....living, obwa....removed)
- Numeric Adjectives (awa....one, ewa....two)
- Adverbs (ayduni)
- Inherent adverbs (voy....not)
- Derived adverbs (ikay....fully)
CONNECTORS
- Prepositions ( = ebduni)
- Simple Prepositions (av....for)
- Complex Prepositions (be zam bi....in front of, yib bi....far from)
- Conjunctions ( = yanxduni)
- Coordinating (ay....and, ey....or)
- Subordinating (van....that, ven....if)
- Correlative (hyaewa...ay....both...and)
- Adverbial (johus....then, avhus....therefore)
PARTICLES ( = dunesi)
- Interjections ( = tipduni) (hey!....Yoohoo!, hway!....bravo!)
- Cardinal Numbers (a....one, e....two)
- Letter Names (a, ba, ca)
- Onomatopeia (pao!, xux!)
- Abbreviations (a.g.....etc., a.k.....e.g.)
Noun Types
edit- Nouns in Mirad can be distinguished in the following 7 ways:
- common vs. proper
- concrete vs. abstract
- countable vs. mass
- gender-neutral vs. masculine/feminine
- singular vs. plural
- animate vs. inanimate
- full form vs. acronym
Common vs. Proper Nouns COMMON PROPER tam....house Emer....Venus yagsim....bench Ferom....France dyes....book Notre Dame...Notre Dame tej....life Tot....God
Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns CONCRETE ABSTRACT tab....body ifon....love mil....water oyman....coolness deuz....song deuzen....singing
- Abstract nouns include gerunds, i.e. nouns which are nominalized derivations of verbs like deuzen....singing < deuzer....to sing or osexen....destruction < osexer....to destroy. Infinitives like deuzer....to sing are also considered abstract nouns.
Countable vs. Mass Nouns COUNTABLE MASS pat....bird pattel....bird food patayebi....feathers patayebyan....plumage megi....rocks mil....water
- In native Mirad, all common nouns in their singular dictionary lookup form end in a consonant. Proper nouns sometimes end in a vowel, such as Roma....Rome. Plural common countable nouns end in the vowel i (pat....bird ⇒ pati....birds).
Gender-neutral vs. Gendered GENDER-NEUTRAL FEMININE MASCULINE tob....human being toyb....woman twob....man edeb....monarch edeyb....queen edweb....king ted....parent teyd....mother twed....father
Singular vs. Plural Nouns SINGULAR PLURAL dom....city domi....cities gon....part goni....parts jub....day jubi....days
Inanimate vs. Animate Nouns INANIMATE ANIMATE mam....sky pot....animal tom....building aot....person job....time tobet....child
Full form vs. Acronym FULL FORM ACRONYM Anxwa Doobi....United Nations AD....UN Mir Nunuien Xob....World Trade Organization MNX....WTO
- The above noun type distinctions are relevant in various parts of Mirad's grammar.
Pluralization of Common Nouns
edit- A singular countable common noun always ends in a consonant and is made plural by suffixing the pluralizing marker -i. So, the plural of pur....car is puri....cars. In noun phrases, for example, where a noun is modified by an article and adjective, only the noun is pluralized, that is, there is no agreement across word boundaries as in many European languages (la belle fleur →les belles fleurs). The plural suffix -i is the only way nouns in Mirad are inflected. All other changes to nouns are derivational in nature, eg. genderization, augmentation, diminution, capitalization, etc.
Pluralization of Nouns SINGULAR PLURAL tam....house tami....houses toyb....woman toybi....women tej....life teji....lives ha via dom....the beautiful city ha via domi....the beautiful cities
Modifying Nouns with the Definite Article
edit- In Mirad, there is only a single noun-modifying article, the invariable definite article ha (the). There is no indefinite article like English a / an. A noun is considered indefinite or general unless modified by the definite article ha (which in reality is a definite deictic determiner, discussed with other deictic determiners in the later section on Mirad Grammar/Determiners#Deictic Determiners). The definite article ha is positioned, as in English, before the noun and before any other adjectives or modifiers of that noun. It is invariable, in that it does not vary for gender, number, or case as in German or Spanish. The definite article acts like its counterpart in English, as shown in the following chart:
Use of the Definite Article MIRAD ENGLISH SPECIFICITY tam a house indefinite, no article ha tam the house definite ha tami the houses definite, plural tej life general, no article fitejawa tej a life well-lived indefinite, no article ha tej (...ho at bayse) the life (... that I have) specific Ferad French language name, already specific, no article Ivan Ivan person's name, no article Ifliu yivan! Cherish freedom abstraction, no article Ha yivani ho yat ifie. The freedoms that we enjoy. abstraction specified Yata yivani... Our freedoms... abstraction specified with possessive pronoun, no article
- Speakers of French and other European languages should take note that general concepts like love, life, freedom do not employ the definite article unless they refer to a specific instance, such as in the phrases the love that dare not speak its name or the life well-lived or the freedoms we possess. The names of languages and countries are also considered already specific, and so as in English, they do not take a definite article as they might in some European languages. Names of persons do not take the definite article as they do in modern Greek, unless in a phrase like "the Ivan I once knew."
Proper Nouns
edit- Proper nouns, such as names of people, places, languages, etc., are capitalized as in English. The formation of country names and languages is discussed in Countries of the World and Languages of the World. It can be said here, though, that country names end in -m; the inhabitants of those places end in -t or pl. -ti; and the languages they speak end in -d. Language names are capitalized, eg. At tixe Ferad. (I study French.). In fact, this is the case for all parts of speech derived from a proper name, eg. Usoma tel Feramxweye. American food is being Frenchified.. French speakers beware; this is not like in French. And German speakers beware, too! Not all nouns are capitalized; only ones that are proper, such as names of people, companies, languages, countries, etc.
- Names of people, cities, etc. are spelled in Mirad to best reflect the foreign pronunciation, but also to remain recognizable. For example:
- Xikago....Chicago
- Paris....Paris
- Munxen....Munich/München
- Beijing....Beijing
- Nu York....New York
- Nu Orlinz....New Orleans
- Xampanya....Champagne
- Méhiko Dom....Mexico City
- Waxington....Washington
- Seol....Seoul
- Xeykspir....Shakespeare
- An inhabitant of a city is formed by adding -t or -at to the name, depending on whether it ends in a vowel or consonant, respectively, eg. Parisat....a Parisian or Waxingtonati....Washingtonians. Chicago's main newspaper is expressed in Mirad as ha aaga jubdindref bi Xikago. The English preposition in used before cities and states is translated by be in Mirad, eg. At tambese be Paris.....I live in Paris.
Noun Modifiers: Placement and Agreement
edit- Nouns can be modified by various qualitative, quantitative, and deictic adjectives, which all precede the noun. These modifiers come in the same order as in English. There is no gender or number agreement between the modifiers and the noun, except that numeric adjectives, such as ewa....two naturally are followed by a noun in the plural number.
Noun Modifiers Mirad English ha ewa aga tami the two big houses gla ifxea taxi many pleasant memories hya fia tob every good man ha yaga via mepi the long, beautiful roads gra vua sexen too much ugly construction ata aja teji my past lives
Noun Linkage
edit- Nouns can be
- linked with a preposition or conjunction, where the prepositional/conjunctional phrase follows the head noun, or
- juxtaposed, where the modifier noun is separated by a space and comes before the head noun, or
- compounded, where the modifier noun is prefixed to a headword, or
- hyphenated, where two equal elements are joined by a hyphen.
- Examples:
Noun Linkage LINKAGE EXAMPLE CONSTRUCTION Ivan ay Maria....Ivan and Maria nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ay (and) ha tam ey ha par....the house or the car nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ey (or) hyati oy ha toybi....all but the women nouns linked associatively by the conjunction or (but) nyandras boy eta dyun....a list without your name nouns linked associatively by the preposition boy (without) tej bi nasuk....a life of poverty nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of) ha tam bi Maria ....Mary's house (the house of Mary nouns linked possessively by the preposition bi (of) job bi aga ivan....a time of great joy nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of) dyes ayv ha Ea Mira Dropek....a book about the Second World War nouns linked associatively by the preposition ayv (about) dropek jwabeni....war preparations modifier noun dropek (war) juxtaposed with the head noun jwabeni (preparations) dom yuzpur....a city bus modifier noun dom (city) juxtaposed with the head noun yuzpur (bus) tojojfon....a death wish modifier noun toj (death) compounded with the head noun ojfon (wish) jogatanyaf....youth league modifier noun jogat (youth) compounded with the head noun anyaf (league) maj-moj....a day-and-night two or more equal, opposed nouns hyphenated
- The X bi Y prepositional construction must always be used for possession by a named person, eg. ha tam bi Sam (Sam's house = the house of Sam). The methods of noun linkage otherwise follow the English pattern in most all cases. Pronominal possession such as his car is discussed in the section on personal pronouns. The preposition bi....of is used in partitive expressions like tilzyeb bi vafil....a glass of wine (but: vafil tilzeb....wine glass, where wine modifies the glass associatively). More about this and other prepositions or conjunctions can be found in the section on Mirad Grammar/Prepositions or Mirad Grammar/Conjunctions.
- Details on how noun vocabulary is derived appears in the section on Mirad Grammar/Vocabulary Formation.
Noun Derivational Affixes
edit- Nouns can be divided into:
- simple nouns such as pur....vehicle
- compound nouns such as bixpur....train < bix....pull + pur....vehicle
- derived nouns such as fabyan....forest < fab....tree + -yan
a suffix meaning collection
- Derived nouns can be formed by attaching nominal suffixes or prefixes to words or roots. A list of nominal suffixes to form derived nouns is shown in the following table. More can be read about noun derivation in the section on vocabulary-building.
Noun Suffixes
editNoun Derivational Suffixes SUFFIX MEANING BASE ONTO WHICH
SUFFIX IS ADDEDEXAMPLES -ag big noun tam....house → tamag....mansion
tyal....meal → tyalag....banquet
tilar....spoon → tilarag....ladle-an abstact quality
-ness
-hood, -ityadjective stem vi a....beautiful → vian....beauty
yeva....fair → yevan....fairness, equity
toba....human → toban....humanity, humanness, manhood-ayg big and cute noun tam....house → tamayg....cozy mansion
kapet....dog → kapetayg....wolfie-ambok -itis, inflammation noun buixtaib....tendon → buixtaibambok....tendonitis -d language
speech
utteranceadjective and other stems Enigem....English → Eniged....English (language)
Mira....of the world → Mirad....Mirad (world speech)
ekpet....horse →ekped....neigh, whinny-drun -gram noun stems tiib....heart → tiibdrun....cardiogram -dra/i/ur -graph noun stems am....heat → amdrar....thermograph -dren -graphy mostly noun stems yib....far → yibdren....telegraphy -ef need of various stems tel....food→telef....hunger
iga....fast→igef....emergency
til....drink→ tilef....thirst-en present gerund
-ing
-tion
-mentverb stem ifi-....enjoy →ifien....enjoyment
deuz-....sing→deuzen....singing
ax-....act → axlen....acting-eyn present gerund
-tion
-mentverb stem x-....do →xeyn....deed
s-....to be→seyn....essence
jaup-....preceed → jaupeyn....precedent-es smaller counterpart thing noun tef....hat→ tefes cap
saun....kind→ saunes....sample
dreuz....poem → deuzes....stanza
mek....dust, powder→mekes....speck, grain-et smaller counterpart person noun twob....man → twobet....boy
toyb....woman→ toybet....girl-if love of
-philianoun tel....food → telif....gourmandise
doab....homeland → doabif....patriotism
dyes....book → dyesif....bibliophilia, love of books-ig quick noun and verb stem man....light → manig....flash
pyex....stroke→pyexig....swat
yopap-....dive, fly down → yopapig....swoop-im room, chamber various stems fyadil-....to pray →faydilim....chapel
magel-....to cook → magelim....kitchen
tof-....to dress → tofim....dressing room-in doctrine, dogma, -ism various stems tot....god → totin....religion, theism
otofa....nude→otofin....nudism
yufr-....terror → yufrin....terrorism-kyaoxar -stat noun stems am....heat → amkyaoxar....thermostat -n abstract noun various stems ze....in the middle of → zen....center
za....in front of →zan....face
byi....since, starting with → byin....source
go....less→ gon....part-am house
buildingvarious stems nun-....merchandise → nunam....store
til drink → tilam....bar, tavern
fyadil-....to pray → fyadilam....church-(e)m place various stems duho-? what-?→ duhom?....where?
yex....work → yexem....worksite
ab....on, above → abem....top, surface
kua....lateral→kum....side-um compartment
boothvarious stems teuzibar....telephone → teuzibarum....telephone booth -yem enclosure, box various stems ekpet....horse →ekpetyem....corral
b-....put → byem....position-ud offspring, baby of noun ekpet....horse→ekpetud....foal -wud son of noun ekpet....horse→ekpetwud....colt -uyd daughter of noun ekpet....horse→ekpetuyd....filly -og little noun tab body→ tabog....corpuscle
ekpet....horse → ekpetog....pony
tyal....meal → tyalog....snack
golbun....cut → golbunog....cutlet-oyg little and cute noun tam....house → tamoyg....cottage
gafapayt....chicken →gafapaytoyg....chickadee
mimpar....boat → mirparoyg....dingy-nagar -ometer noun am....heat → amnagar....thermometer -ar, -ir, -ur tool, machine, engine usu. verb stem p-....to go→ pur....car
dr-....to write → drar....pencil
gobl-....to cut → goblar....knife
yaobl-....to lift up and down → yaoblur....elevator, lift
yaoblir....lift, crane
dop....military → dopar....gun
dopur....machine gun
dopir....artillery, cannon
-s thing, object, the X one adjective aa first → aas....first one, first thing
otwa....unknown → otwas....mystery, an unknown
tejea....living → tejeas....living thing-(s)on abstract thing
issuevarious stems if-....to love→ifon....love
ov against→ ovon....obstacle
azastrong → azon....force
yika....difficult → yikson....problem-(s)un object
thing
result of an actionvarious stems vyu a....dirty → vyun....spot
tamb-....settle →tambiun....settlement
gofr- shred → gofrun....scrap, shred
hyo....not a single→ hyosun....not a single thing-t person adjective ea second → eat....second one, second person
fya-....holy → fyat....holy one, saint
ujna....last→ujat....last one, last person
Usoma....American →Usomat....an American-tajbus -ogen, producer noun om....cold, cry- → omtajbus....cryogen -tun science of, -ology noun tot....god → tottun....theology
tob....man → tobtun....anthropology
vob....plant →vobtun....botany-tuyn pseudo-science noun mar....star → martuyn....astrology -tuin theory noun vyelan....relativity→ vyelantuin....theory of relativity -tyen skill, craft noun sur....engine → surtyen....engineering -(t)in doctrine, -ism noun zaypas-....progress → zaypasin....progressivism -tut, tuyt (f.) scientist
-ologist
-istnoun tot....god → tottut....theologist
tob....man → tobtuyt....woman anthropologist
vob....plant→ vobtut....botanist-uf hate of, -phobia noun mil....water → miluf....hydrophobia
totin....religion → totinuf....hatred of religion
toyb....woman → toybuf....misogyny-ut, uyt (f.) agent, one who Xes, -er, -ant, -ist verb stem bek-....treat → bekuyt....female nurse
pop-....travel→poput....traveler
ak-....win → akut....winner--yaf ability to, power
-abilityverb stem teat-....to see → teatyaf....ability to see
tex-....to think → texyaf....cognition
test-....to understand → testyaf....comprehension
nos-....to spend → nosyaf....spending power
t-....to know → tyaf....cognizance-yafwan possibility, -ability verb stem teat-....to see → teatyafwan....visibility -yof inability to, disability verb stem teat-....to see → teatyof....blindness
teet-....to hear → teetyof....deafness
pas-....to move→pasyof....paralysis
tuj-....to sleep → tujyof....insomnia-yofwan impossibility verb stem teat-....to see → teatyofwan....invisibility -yag big and ugly, long noun tetwid....uncle→ tetwidyag....dirty old uncle
toyb....woman → toybyag....hag-yan collection, grouping
-arynoun tob....man → tobyan....mankind
mar....star → maryan....constellation
fab....tree → fabyan....forest
dyes....book→ dyesyan....library-yen manner, kind noun dal....talk →dalyen....parlance
sex-....build →sexyen....structure-yef duty, obligation verb stem dud-....to answer → dudyef....responsibility
byok-....to ache → byokyef....punishment-yik difficulty to verb stem teeter....to hear → teetyik....difficulty hearing
tiex-....to breathe → tiexyik....difficulty breathing, asthma-yog little and ugly noun tam....house →tamyog....shack
anpiat....duck → anpiatyog....ugly duckling
kod....secret → kodyog....little dirty secret-yuf fear of, -phobia noun serpyet....snake→ serpyetyuf....fear of snakes
mil....water → milyuf....hyrophobia-yuk ease of verb stem pes- to wait → pesyuk....patience
kovyox- to fool → kovyoxyuk....gullibility, foolhardiness
Differences between -en, -eyn, and -un
edit- The noun suffixes -en, -eyn, and -un create nominalized forms from verb stem, but are a bit confusing. The suffix -en is equivalent to the English -ing and forms a gerundive. The suffix -eyn is a slight variation and refers to a single action or state. The ending -un forms a word meaning the result of an action and is often a thing. Sometimes -eyn is used instead of -un where the latter has a special meaning. Here are some examples:
- xer....to do
- xen....doing
- xeyn....deed
- xun....fact
- yugxer....to slow up
- yugxen....deceleration
- yugxun....bottleneck
- der....to say
- den....saying
- deyn....utterance, a saying
- dun....word
- ujer....to end
- ujen....ending eg. I like ending on a happy note.
- ujeyn....an ending, finale eg. This play's finale was emotional.
- ujun....end, tail end eg. The road came to a sudden end.
Examples of the Suffix -yen
editWording Ending in -yen Base Word Derivation ajtyod....past people ajtyodyen....tradition d-....to say dyen....expression akpas....winning move akpasyen....tactic dre(r)....to write dreyen....writing system amal....atmosphere amalyen....weather an-....single anyen....quirk, idio- axl-....to act axlyen....behavior aot....person aotyen....character, personality ty-....to know how tyen....skill, craft x-....to do xyen....profession ze-....middle zeyen....means bas-....gesture basyen....body language tex....thought texyen....opinion es-....to exist esyen....state kya-....change kyayen....version p-....to go pyen....pace, gait yex-....to work yexyen....line of work tayot-....to feel tayotyen....texture
Noun Prefixes
edit- Prefixes can also be attached to nouns to create derivatives. Here are some common productive ones:
Noun Prefixes Prefix Meaning Base Noun Derivations aa- first, arch- deb....leader
dezun....performance
tat....angelaadeb....premier
azdezun....premiere
aatat....archangelab- superior, sur-, on donab....rank
dout....gentleman
dyun....nameabdonab....superior rank
abdout....aristocrat
abdyun....title, surnamean- one, uni-, mono- zyukpar....wheeled vehicle
dungon....syllableanzyukpar....unicycle
andungon....monosyllableao- vertical nab....rank aonab....column aoyeb- in-and-out belen....carrying aoyebelen....import-exports aov- for-and-against dalson....subject aovdalson...controversy ayb- over-, super- dras....script
ilp....flow
mas....nameaybdrun....superscript
aybilp....overflow
aybmas....ceilingayn- holo- dras....script
meg....stone
sag....numberayndras....hologram
aynmeg....hololith
aynsag....integeraj- past, pre-, fore- din....story
gex....equityajdin....history
ajgex....revengeaz- strong hihid....laugh
ojvad....promise
tos....feelingazhihid....guffaw
azojvad....covenant
aztos....passiondo- public del....statement
did....question
vyab....ruledodel....announcement
dodid....inquiry
dovyab....laweb- inter-, dia- dal....statement
ifek....gram
kyax....changeebdal....dialog
ebifek....interlude
ebkyax....interchangeeyn- semi-, hemi-, half- il....liquid eynil....semi-liquid en- bi-, di-, two- zyukpar....wheeled vehicle enzyukpar....bicycle eg- normal byen....manner egbyen....norm ej- step-, current twid....brother
din....storyejtwid....step-brother
ejdin....current news itemev- a-, neutral totin....deism evtotin....atheism fi- eu-, bene- dyen....expression
tos....feeling
fon....willfidyen....euphemism
fitos....euphoria
fifon....benevolencefyi- helpful dal....talk fyidal....advice fu- caco-, mal-, ill-, dys- seux....sound
fon....will
tos....feelingfuseux....cacophony
fufon....ill-will, malevolence
futos....dysphoriafyu- waste mil....water
pelt...insect
mul....stufffyumil....waste water
fyupelt....pest
fyumul....garbagefya- holy din....story
buun....gift
byekut....healerfyadin....gospel
fyabuun....oblation, offering
fyabyekut....shaman, witchdoctorfye- fantasy, mytho- din....story
diyn....tale
mir....worldfyedin....myth, fantasy
fyediyn....fairy-tale, fable
fyemir....fantasia, fantasy-worldfyo- evil tat....angel fyotat....demon gab- plus nix....earning gabnix....interest gaw- re- aklen....conquest gawaklen....reconquest ge- equi-, iso-, even- eksag....score
kyin....weightgeeksag....tie
gekyin....equilibriumgel- homo-, like-, simul- dredun....speling
san....formgeldredun....homograph
gelsan....isomorph, clonegla- multi-, plur-, poly- gon....part glagon....plurality gra- too, hyper- bik....caution grabik....hypercaution gwa- macro-, super- mor....universe gwamor....macrocosm gwo- micro-, mini- drenod....dot
nog....degreegwodrenod....microdot
gwonog....minimumhyi- homo-, same toobif....gender preference hyitoobif....homosexualtiy hyu- hetero-, different, other-, allo-, xeno- toobif....gender preference
mer....planet
san....shapehyutoobif....heterosexuality
hyumer....alien planet
hyusan....allomorphhya- omni-, pan-, all- doobin....nationalism hyadoobin....pan-nationalism hye- any, whatever saun....kind hyesaun....any kind hyo(s)- nothing ten....knowledge hyosten....ignorance hyuit- mutual fizuen....respect hyuitfizuen....mutual respect ig- fast didyan....questionnaire igdidyan....pop quiz ij- initial, head dun....word
miap....streamijdun....prologue
ijmiap....headstreamik- full nuxen....payment iknuxen....liquidation il- liquid ok....loss ilok....leak im wet mel....soil immel....loam, wetland in- tri-, three goblun....cut ingoblun....trisection iv- happy din....story ivdin....comedy iz- straight, orth-, rect-, direct fin....quality
mep....pathizfin....rectitude
izmep....beeline, vectorja- before, pre- bik....caution jabik....precaution je- continuous dodal....speech jedodal....harangue jo- after, post- dren....writing jodren....postscript jwa- proto-, eo-, early ajdin....history
ejob....modern erajwaajdin....protohistory
jwaejob....eocenejwe- prompt puen....arrival jwepuen....on-time arrival jwo- latter, late moj....night jwomoj....late night ku- side, aside, lateral bux....push
deyn....sayingkubux....rebuff
kudeyn....remarkki- diagonal, slant nad....line
texyen....opinionkinad....diagonal, slant
kitexyen....biasko- hide, covert d....utterance
exut....operative
flen....desire
jadrun....plankod....secret
koexut....spy
koflen....envy
kojadrun....plotkya- change, para-, re- 'bax....movement
dyan....phrase
din....story
naz....value
napxen....orderingkyabax....shift
kyadyan....paraphrase
kyadin....version
kyanaz....variable
kyanapxen....reordering, shufflingkye- haphazard den....saying
fyun....harm
kaxun....findkyeden....guesswork
kyefyun....danger
kyekaxun....discoverykyo- fixed byen....manner
deyn....saying
doneg....social classkyobyen....habit
kyodeyn....cliché
kyodoneg....castekyi- heavy azon....force
tes....meaning
bal....pressurekyiazon....gravity
kyites....importance
kyibal....strainkyu- light azon....force
mamilkyuazon....ballast
kyumamil....drizzlelo- dis-, de-, un- bexun....possession
bokulxen....toxification
box...quietlobexun....dispossession, divestment
lobokulxen....detoxification
lobox....disquietmak- electro-, e- ebdras....letter
nagar....metermakebdras....email
maknagar....electrometero- not, un- bik....care obik....neglect ob- off- goflun....rip
fub....branchobgoflun....stub
obfub....offshootoge- unequal, aniso- izonan...orientation ogeizonan....anisotropy ogel- hetero-, different toobifan....sexual preference ogeltoobifan....heterosexuality oyb- under-, sub-, infra- mos....floor
neg....leveloybmos....basement
oybneg....sublevelof- unauthorized birun....grab
dresini....drawings
gelxun....copyofbirun....loot
ofdresini....grafitti
ofgelxun....plagiarismog- small soni....matters ogsoni....trivia oj- future, fore- buen....giving
deyn....utteranceojbuen....lending
ojdeyn....forecastok- loss buun....gift
tos....feelingokbuun....sacrifice
oktos....heartacheov- against, counter-, contra- adabinut....imperialist
apyex....attack'ovadabinut....anti-imperialist
ovapyex....counterattackoz- weak duun....suggestion ozduun....hint ug- slow dal....speech
ilok....leak
teax....lookugdal....drawl
ugilok....seepage
ugteax....gazeui- 'horizontal nab....rank uinab....row un- quadri-, tetra-, four- drezun....poem
yan....collectionundrezun....quatrain
unyan....tetraduj- end ak....win
dun....word
jud....dateujak....success
ujdun....epilogue
ujjud....deadlineuk empty dal....talk
mel....soil
nod....pointukdal....blather
ukmel....desert
uknod....punctureut- self-, sui-, aut(o)- tojben....killing
dab....governmentuttojben....suicide
utdab....autarchyuv- sad deuzun'....song
dolen....silence
kyeuj....fateuvdeuzun....dirge
uvdolen....sulking
uvkyeuj....tragedyuf- hate dal....speech
tos....feelingufdal....rant
uftos....angeruz- crooked, curved, arc aybmas....roof
dopar....weapon
kunad....edgeuzaybmas....vault, arch
uzdopar....bow, arch
uzkunad....rimva- yes bien....taking
diun....request
dud....answervabien....acceptance
vadiun....claim
vadud....assentve- maybe texen....thinking
yovdeyn....inculpationvetexen....supposition
veyovdeyn....indictmentvo- no texen'....thinking
fon....willvotexen....doubting
vofon....disinclinationvya- true deyn....utterance
dud....answer
nad....linevyadeyn....avowal
vyadud....solution
vyanad....guidelinevye- relative dren....writing vyedren....correspondence vyo- wrong, mis- bek....treatment
dat....friendvyobek....mistreatment
vyodat....false friendyan- together, con- dal....talk yandal....conversation yon- apart byex....strike yonbyex....breach yov- shame bixen....pulling
byok....pain
if....pleasureyovbixen....seduction
yovbyok....punishment
yovif....schadenfreudeyab- up, super-, high-, hyper- dom'....city
dot....societyyabdom....uptown
yabdot....high societyyabnan- hypso-, acro-, height dren....recording yabnandren....hypsography yaob- up-and-down yuijar....valve
pusen....jumpingyaobyuijar....piston
yaopusen....bouncingyaz- swollen, protruding, convex dal....talk
buk....wound
tiub....bellyyazdal....bombast
yazbuk....boil, blister
yaztiub....potbellyyez- flush, along, para- baktut....medic
mel....terrainyezbaktut....paramedic
yezmel....meadowyiz- beyond, meta-, ultra-, hyper- doobin....nationalism
dreniv....textyizdoobin....ultra-nationalism
yizdreniv....hypertextyoz- sunken, concave nad....line yoznad....groove, gutter yaoz- saw-toothed, convex-concave nad....line
goblar....knifeyaoznad....tilde
yaozgoblar....sawyuz- around, circ-, circum-, peri- pipen....navigation
teaxar....scope
tyop....walkyuzpipen....circumnavigation
yuzteaxar....periscope
yuztyop....strollyeb- in-, intro-, inner- dungab....affix
dem....yardyebdungab....infix
yebdem...courtyardoyeb- out-, extro-, outer- dom....city
dovyaban....legalityoyebdom....outskirts
oyebdovyaban....extralegalityyib- tele-, far drir....typewriter
teaxar....viewer, scopeyibdrir....teletype
yibteaxar....telescopeyibaj ancient, archaeo-, paleo- deyn....utterance
tun....scienceyibajdeyn....archaism
yibajtun....archaeologyyub- near, para- gexen....equaling
kex....searchyubgexen....approximation
yubkex....examinationyubaj- recent, ceno- yob- down, sub-, supra- doneg....class
gol....divisionyobdoneg....low class
yobgol....subdivisionza- front, fore-, pre-, north dungab....affix
dyun....name
mer....planetzadungab....prefix
zadyun....forename
zamer....northze- middle, mid- dom....city
jub....dayzedom....downtown
zejub....middayzo- behind, back bex....hold
bix....pullzobex....delay
zobix....dragzay- forward, pro- bix....pull
bux....pushzaybix....protraction
zaybux....propulsionzey- across, trans-, meta- dras....script
ilp....flowzeydras....transcript
zeyilp....crosscurrentzoy- re-, retro-, back axlen....action
kix....bend
mag....fire
mav....flashzoyaxlen....reaction
zoykix....reflection
zoymag....retrofire
zoymav....flashbackzya- wide dodal....speech
drurun....printoutzyadodal....propaganda
zyadrurun....posterzye- through, per-, trans-, dia- belun....cargo
muf....rod
bwas....something putzyebelun....shipment
zyebuxmuf....ramrod (through-push-rod)
zyebwas....metaphorzyi- flat, plat- dyen....expression
melyaz....mountain
mos....floorzyidyen....platitude
zyimelyaz....plateau
zyimos....platformzyo- narrow bex....hold
bix....pull
gun....anglezyobex....clasp, grip
zyobix....tension
zyogun....acute anglezyu- round, roto-, cyclo- abaun....cover
drurun....printout
tom....buildingzyuabaun....dome
zyudrurun....rotograph
zyutom....tower
Gender
edit- Nouns in Mirad are gender-neutral, unless those relating to people, animals, and sometimes clothing are altered to be specifically male/male-oriented or female/female-oriented. To create the male or male-oriented form of an otherwise gender-neutral noun, prefix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with the letter w. To create the female or female-oriented form, suffix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with y. If the noun is an agent noun with the suffix -ut, that is, a noun that means "one who does something as an occupation or behavior", the ending -ut is changed to -uyt for the female form, but the male form stays the same. The reason for this is that the addition of a w to the agentive ending could be confused with the verbal passive marker w (see the chapter on Mirad Grammar/Verbs. The chart below shows how this works:
Making Nouns Gender-specific NEUTRAL MALE/MALE-ORIENTED FEMALE/FEMALE-ORIENTED tob....human being, person twob....man toyb....woman tobet....child twobet....boy toybet....girl tad....spouse twad....husband tayd....wife ejtad....step spouse ejtwad....step-husband ejtayd....step-wife ajtad....ex-spouse ajtwad....ex-husband ajtayd....ex-wife ted....parent twed....father teyd....mother datif....sweetheart dwatif....boyfriend daytif....girlfriend yapet....pig yapwet....boar yapeyt....sow edeb....monarch edweb....king edeyb....queen apat....fowl apwat....rooster apayt....hen tiuv....underwear tiwuv....briefs tiuyv....panties vapet....antelope vapwet....deer vapeyt....doe deuzut....singer deuzut....singer deuzuyt....songstress tud....child twud....son tuyd....daughter
- For gender specification in pronouns, see Mirad Grammar/Pronouns, below).
Adjective Types
edit- Adjectives, which are words that modify nouns, can be of the following types and subcategories:
- descriptive
- qualitative, like iva (happy), fia (good), oga (small)
- denominal ( ~ noun-derived), like doma (urban) < dom (city) or teaba (ocular) < teab (eye)
- deverbal ( ~ verb-derived), (participles) like tejea (living) < tejer (to live) or twa (known) < ter (to know)
- preposition-derived, like aba (upper) < ab....on top of or zoa (posterior) < zo (behind)
- determinative
- deictic ( ~ demonstrative, indefinite), like hia (this), huyena (such), haewa (both)
- numeric, like awa (one), ea (second), iona (triple)
- quantitative, like ga (more), glo (few), gra (too much)
- pronominal ( ~ possessive), like ata (my), duhota? (whose), hyeta (anyone's)
- Descriptive adjectives are the main focus of this section. Determinative adjectives (determiners) behave differently and are discussed under Determiners. Deverbal adjectives, usually referred to as participles, are treated in the section on Verbs, since they are formed from verbs. Pronominal determiners (i.e. possessive adjectives) are treated under both the section on Determiners and the section on Pronouns.
Descriptive Adjectives
edit- All descriptive adjectives end in the adjectival marker vowel a.
Adjective-marking suffix STEM MEANING ADJECTIVE fi- qualitative root base word fia....good pur noun meaning vehicle pura....vehicular dalw- passive stem of the verb speak dalwa....spoken ab preposition meaning on aba....superior
- Such adjectives precede the noun or noun phrase they modify:
- aga tam....a big house
- ha fia toyb....the good woman
- ata boka twed....my sick father
- fia ilzyebi bi vafil.....good bottles of wine
- yata dooba doof....our national flag
- Adjectives do not agree in number or gender with the noun they modify.
- doba xeut....state agent can also be expressed as the noun compound dobxeut. Dob means a state.
- pata bok....avian illness can be compounded as patbok, literally bird illness.
- Note: Compounded nouns often have an idiomatic meaning not exactly equal to their separate parts. More about this in the later section on vocabulary-building.
Comparing Adjectives by Degree
edit- As in English, descriptive adjectives can be compared by degree. To do this, a quantitative determiner of degree (ga, ge, etc.) is placed before the adjective, producing positive / negative comparative, equalitative, superlative, and other degree expressions as in the following table. The quantitative determiners themselves that are used in these comparative expressions are discussed in detail in a later section on Quantitative Determiners.
Modification of Adjectives by Degree QUANTITATIVE DETERMINER MODIFICATION BY DEGREE ga....more ga fia (vyel)....better (than) ge....as, equally ge fia (vyel)....as good (as) go....less go fia (vyel)....less good (than) gao....more or less gao fia....good more or less gla....very gla fia....very good glay....so glay fia....so good gle....rather/quite gle fia....rather/quite good glo....not very glo fia....not very/slightly/barely good gra....too gra fia....too good gre....enough gre fia....good enough gro....not enough gro fia....not good enough gwa....most gwa fia (bi, be)....best (of, in) gwe....just, merely gwe fia....merely good gwo....least gwo fia (bi, be)....least good (of, in)
- The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:
- Ata tam se ga aga vyel etas.....My house is bigger than yours.
- Hia tam voy se ge aga vyel atas.....This house is not as big as mine.
- His se ha gwa aga tam bi yata yubem.....This is the biggest house in our neighborhood.
- Unlike in English, where comparative forms can be irregular (smaller, more intense, better), there are no exceptions in the comparison of Mirad adjectives and adverbs.
Deriving Substantives from Adjectives
edit- Adjectives can be suffixed to derive various noun substantives:
- Abstract quality noun: -n
- Thing having a quality: -s
- Person having a quality: -t
Deriving Substantives from Adjectives ADJECTIVE QUALITY PERSON THING fia....good fian....goodness fiat....a good person fias....a good thing yeva....just yevan....justice yevat....a fair person yevas....a fair thing joga....young jogan....youth jogat....a youth jogas....something new
- The substantives ending in -s and -t can be referred to as deadjectival pronouns, because they act like pronouns but are derived from adjectives.
Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives
edit- Descriptive adjectives can be negated by prefixing o. If the adjective being semantically reversed already begins with the prefix o, then the first semantic reversing prefix becomes ol. This has the effect of English un- or non- in words like unlike, unhappy, and nonessential or the Greek privative prefix a(n)- in words like asymmetric or anomalous.
- Prefixing the syllable lyo or ov has an even stronger semantic effect. It denotes the polar opposite of the adjective and can mean "anti-".
- In cases where the o- creates an ambiguous word, lo- or -ol is substituted, depending on whether the base adjective begins with a consonant or a vowel, respectively. Note this in the last two words of the following chart:
Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives NORMAL NEGATED twa....known otwa....unknown ega....normal oega....abnormal eflawa....essential oeflawa....nonessential geyla....similar ogeyla....dissimilar iva....happy oiva....unhappy data....friendly odata....unfriendly
lyodata....inimical
ovdata....hostiledota....social odota....unsocial
lyodota....barbarian
ovdota....antisocialifwa....loved oifwa....unloved fwa....wanted lofwa....unwanted ofwa....prohibited olofwa....unprohibited
Polarization of Base Word Adjectives
edit- Base word adjectives are polarized adjectives that fall into the following pattern categories:
- [iu]Ca (such as ifa, uja, ika, uka, etc.)
- C[iu]a (such as fia, fua, via, vua, etc.)
- [aeu]Ca (such as aja, eja, uja, yava, yeva, yova, etc.)
- C[aeu]a (such as vaa, vea, vua, etc.)
- In the case of the i/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with i are positive and are contrasted with those with u, which are negative, eg.:
I/U Polarized Adjectives Positive Negative fia....good fua....bad iva....happy uva....sad via....beautiful vua....ugly
- In the case of the a/e/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with a are positive; those with e are intermediate, and those with o are negative, eg.:
A/E/U-Polarized Adjectives Positive Intermediate Negative yava....innocent yeva....fair yova....guilty aja....past eja....present oja....future aga....big ega....normal oga....small
Deintensifying the Sense of Adjectives
edit- The semantic strength of qualitative adjectives can often be deintensified by following the ordinal vowel or stem vowel with the glide y. Examples follow:
Mitigated Adjectives NORMAL DEINTENSIFIED oma....cold oyma....cool ama....hot ayma....warm yufa....afraid yuyfa....shy yiva....free yiyva....loose via....beautiful viya....pretty ifwa....loved iyfwa....liked yefwa....obligatory yeyfwa....due ufwa....hated uyfwa....disliked
Adjectival Derivational Endings
edit- All descriptive adjectives end in at least the suffix a. Many adjectives are derived from other parts of speech, using one of more of the following derivational endings.
Adjectival Derivative Endings ENDING TRANSITION TYPE MEANING BASE WORD DERIVED ADJECTIVE -a N->ADJ relating to, of tot....god
tob....man
dom....citytota....divine
toba....human
doma....urban-aya N->ADJ full of, -ful, -ous mil....water
yazmel....mountain
tes....meaningmilaya....watery, aquaous
yazmelaya....mountainous
tesaya....meaningful--ika N->ADJ full of, -ful, -ous mil....water
yazmel....mountain
tes....meaningmilika....watery, aquaous
yazmelika....mountainous
tesika....meaningful-oya N->ADJ empty of, -less, -free teb....head
level....sugar
tes....meaningteboya....headless
leveloya....sugar-free
tesoya....meaningless-uka N->ADJ empty of, -less, -free teb....head
level....sugar
tes....meaningtebuka....headless
leveluka....sugar-free
tesuka....meaningless-yena N->ADJ like, -ish, -y tot....god
tob....man
dom....citytotyena....godly, godlike
tobyena....manly, virile
domyena....urbane-ea V->ADJ -ing, -ent, -ant ags-....grow
tej-....live
kyas-....changeagsea....growing, crescent
tejea....living, alive
kyasea....changing, variant-yea V->ADJ -ive, tending to dal-....talk
tox-....forget
vad-....affirmdalyea....talkative
toxyea....forgetful
vadyea....affirmative-wa V->ADJ -ed dal-....talk
tox-....forget
vad-....affirmdalwa....spoken
toxwa....forgotten
vadwa....affirmed-oa V->ADJ -about to, apt to toj-....die
kyes-....happen
tajb-....give birthtojoa....moribund
kyesoa....imminent
tajboa....about to deliver-ua V->ADJ -able, potentially V tojb-....kill
bukx-....harm
akuj-....succeedtojbua....lethal
bukxua....dangerous
akujua....potentially successful-yafa V->ADJ -able test-....understand testyafa....able to understand -yafwa V-ADJ -able, possible to X test-....understand testyafwa....understandable -yofa V->ADJ unable to teat-....see teatyofa....blind -yofwa V->ADJ impossible to, un-X-able teat-....see teatyofwa....invisible -yuka V->ADJ comfortable Xing pes-....wait pesyuka....patient -yukwa V->ADJ easy to X test-....understand testyukwa....clear -yika V->ADJ hard of Xing teet-....hear teetyika....hard of hearing -yikwa V->ADJ hard to X teet-....hear teetyikwa....hard to hear -ifa V->ADJ fond of Xing, -phile/-ic t-....know
dyes....booktifa....curious
dyesifa....bibliophilic-ifwa V->ADJ loved by tyod-....people tyodifwa....popular -ufa V->ADJ X-hating, -phobic, averse tob-....man
yex....worktoybufa....anthrophobic
yexufa....lazy, work-averse-ufwa V->ADJ hated by hyat....everyone hyatufwa....universally hated -yifa V->ADJ brave toj....death tojyifa....brave in the face of death -yufa V-ADJ afraid of X tot....god totyufa....god-fearing -yufwa V->ADJ feared by X gla....much glayufwa....much-feared -yefa V->ADJ due to X dud-....answer dudyefa....answerable, responsible -yeyfa V->ADJ liable to X fyuzi-....get punished fyuziyeyfa....liable to be punished -yefwa V->ADJ X-worthy fid-....praise fidyefa....praiseworthy -yakwa V->ADJ expected to X mamil-....rain mamilyakwa....likely to rain -valka N->ADJ -safe, -proof mil....water milvalka....waterproof -ava N->ADJ pro-X tej....life tejava....pro-life -eva N->ADJ -neutral toob....gender toobeva....gender-neutral -ova N->ADJ anti-X dropek....war dropekova....anti-war -yiva N->ADJ -free yef....debt yefyiva....debt-free -yuva N->ADJ -bound yef....duty
vya-....truth
dofin....moralyefyuva....duty-bound
vyayuva....loyal
dofinyuva....scrupulous-aza N->ADJ strong-Xed fon....will
tip....temperamentfonaza....strong-willed
tipaza....stern-oza N->ADJ weak-Xed tip....temperament tipoza....weak-hearted -iza N->ADJ straight-Xed tep....mind
dal....speechtepiza....logical
daliza....frank-uza N->ADJ crooked-Xed tep....mind
dal....speechtepuza....illogical
daluza....devious-okya N->ADJ absent-Xed tad....spouse
ted....parenttadokya....widowed
tedokya....orphaned-iga N->ADJ fast-Xed tuyub....finger tuyubiga....nimble -uga N->ADJ slow-Xed tep....mind tepuga....slow-witted, dull -aga N->ADJ big-Xed tiib....heart tiibaga....big-hearted, generous -oga N->ADJ small-Xed tep....mind tepoga....small-minded -yiga N->ADJ hard-Xed tip....temperament tipyiga....stern, strict -yuga N->ADJ soft-Xed tip....temperament tipyuga....lax, lenient
Adverb Types
edit- Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. There are two types of adverbs in Mirad, namely:
- derived adverbs
- inherent adverbs.
Derived Adverbs
edit- Adverbs can be derived from descriptive adjectives by suffixing the adverbial marker y, eg.:
Derived Adverbs ADJECTIVE ADVERB fia....good fiay....well yeva....fair yevay....fairly uja....final ujay....finally ejna....new ejnay....newly teyda....maternal teyday....maternally
- At the end of sentences or clauses, common one-syllable-stem adverbs can be shortened by removing the ay ending:
- Iyt deuze fi.....She sings well.
- At upo ig.....I'll come quickly.
- Otherwise, the full adverb form is used, eg.:
- Yet yefe ugay fiaser.....You people must slowly improve.
- At tojo ivay, tea van at beaye fia tej.....I will die happily knowing that I've had a good life.
Inherent Adverbs
edit- There are some words in the language that are inherently invariable adverbs and do not take the ay ending, because they are not formed from adjectives, or because they already end in ay. Here are the most common examples:
Inherent Adverbs yab....up
yaob....up and down(a)yeb1....in
oyeb....out
aoyeb....in and outyob....down yub....near
yuib....near and faryib....far
oyib....not farab....on
ayb....above
aob....of and oneb....between
eyb....amongob....off
oyb....underub....toward ib....away bay....with/along bey....by/via boy....without byu....as far (as) byi....since vay....indeed vey....perhaps voy....not za....in front (of)
zay....ahead
zya....throughout
zao....back and forthze....to/at the middle (of)
zey....across
zye....throughzo....in back (of)
zoy....backzu....on the left (of)
zui....right and leftzi....on the right (of) uz....on a curve
uiz....zigzigiz....straight, directly yez....along yuz....around yiz....beyond
oyiz....not beyondga....more
gao....more or lessge...equally go....less gay....also gey....even goy....no more/except gaj....still goj....no longer yan....together yon....apart ja....before
jao....before and after
jay....alreadyje....meanwhile
jey....meanwhilejo....after
joy...nextju....until ji....since
- Note 1: Ayeb is almost always shortened to yeb.
- The words in the above chart that are underlined can also serve as prepositions (See Prepositions).
- The words underlined below are considered adverbial because they can modify verbs. For example:
- At teaxa yab.....I looked up. (= At yabteaxa.)
- Duven et hyej upo zoy?.....Will you ever come back. (= ...zoyupo?)
- Et po yib be tej......You will go far in life. (= Et yipo...)
- At voy se eta ted.....I am not your father.
- Pu zu, jogat!....Go left, young man! (= Zupu...)
- Yat vay sa hum.....We were indeed there.
- It pa oyeb.....He went outside. (= It oyepa.)
- Iyt gay deuze.....She also sings.
- Yit yexe gey be moji.....They work even nights.
- Ha tobud gaj tujeye.....The baby is still sleeping.
- Yat yefe yexer yan.....We must work together. (= ...yanyexer.)
- His vey upo yon.....This may come apart. (= ...yonupo.)
- Hit se jay toja.....This one is already dead.
- Hut se voy toja.....That one is not dead.
- At popeyo zya.....I will be traveling all around. (= zyapopeyo.)
- Et byase yon.....You stand apart.
- Van yet besu yan.....Stay together, guys.
- Many of the above adverbs can be prefixed to verbs, nouns, and even adjectives to indicate motion in various directions. (Keep in mind that the b or p can be assimilated to the first letter of per (go) or ber (put). For example:
- yeb (in) + per (go) = yeper (to enter) [NOT: yebper]
- oyeb (out) + bier (take) = oyebier (to take out) [NOT: oyebbier]
- yab (up) + per (go) = yaper (to rise) [NOT: yabper]
- yob (up) + kima (sloped) = yobkima (downward-sloping)
- yub (near) + per (go) = yuper (to approach) [NOT: yubper]
- yib (far) + daler (talk) = yibdaler (to telephone)
- yiz (beyond) + per (go) = yizper (to surpass)
- yez (along) + per (go) = yezper (to go along)
- yuz (around) + pipen (sailing) = yuzpipen (circumnavigation)
- zay (ahead) + paser (move) = zaypaser (to advance)
- zao (back and forth) + baser (move) = zaobaser (to rock)
- ze (to the middle) + jaga (aged) = zejaga (middle-aged)
- zye (through) + teatyafwa (visible) = zyeteatyafa (transparent)
- zey (across) + mep (road) = zeymep (bridge)
- zoy (back) + nogea (gradual) = zoynogea (retrogressive)
- iz (straight) + nad (line) = iznad (vector)
- zi (to the right) + kum (side) = izkum (right side)
- zu (far) + tuyab (hand) = zutuyaba (left-handed)
- uz (on a curve) + nad (line) = uznad (curve)
- yan (together) + up (come) = yanup (a meeting)
- yon (apart) + ber (put) = yonber (to separate)
Word Order of Adverbs
edit- The word order of adverbs is fairly free, as in English. But, to avoid ambiguity, the adverb should be placed immediately before or after the sentence element it modifies, eg.:
- It deuze vi.....He sings beautifully.
- Et yefe xer gwa ig.....You must do it as quickly as possible.
- Et hyoj ako fika ivan.....You will never gain perfect happiness.
- At voy te. (OR) At te voy. ....I do not know.
Comparison of Adverbs by Degree
edit- Adverbs can be compared just as adjectives with the use of Quantitative Determiners. The words than, compared to, and as are translated by the relative conjunction vyel (than, compared to, with respect to)
Comparison of Adverbs by Degree POSITIVE +/=/- COMPARATIVE +/- SUPERLATIVE
yikay....easilyga yikay vyel....more easily than
ge yikay vyel....as easily as
go yikay vyel....less easily than(ha) gwa yikay....(the) most easily
(ha) gwo yikay....(the) least easily
- Examples:
- At pipe ga fi vyel et.....I swim better than you.
- Yat tra hua twob go fi vyel yet.....We knew that man less well than you guys.
- Eta tayd deuza ha gwa vi be ha ebyek.....Your wife sang the most beautifully in the competition.
- Et xa has ha gwa fu vyel hyet.....You did it the worst compared to anyone.
- Dalu ge azay vyel et yafe.....Speak as loudly as you can.
- Determiners are words that specify or point out the context of nouns and other parts of speech. The English determiner this, for example, specifies a noun for its proximity to the current context. In English, demonstrative pronouns/adjectives/adverbs, possessive pronouns/adjectives, quantifiers like more and very, and numeric expressions like both fall under this category.
Types of Determiners
edit- Determiners in Mirad fall into the following categories:
Types of Determiners TYPE ALSO KNOWN AS ENGLISH EXAMPLES Deictic Demonstrative Pronouns/Adjectives/Adverbs the, this, some, every, which?, when Pronominal Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives my, anybody's, one's own Quantitative Quantifiers more, less, very Numerical Numerals/Fractions/Ordinals/Dates, etc. one, half, first
- Furthermore, as for part of speech, determiners can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs. As adjectives, determiners can itemize or classify. As pronouns, they can refer to one or more persons (male or female) or things. As adverbs, they can specify circumstance, i.e. time, place, degree, kind, age, frequency, and so forth.
Deictic Determiners
edit- Deictic determiners are words which point out or specify other words as to their context, including what grammarians often call demonstratives. All deictic determiners in Mirad begin with the letter h. The letters following the h indicate the grammatical and semantic category.
- Deictic determiners include the following traditional grammatical categories:
- Demonstrative adjectives like this, that, those, that one
- The definite article the (which is really a demonstrative adjective like those above.)
- Demonstrative pronouns like this, that, those, that one
- Interrogative and relative pronouns like who, which, that
- Indefinite adjectives like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
- Indefinite pronouns like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
- Pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs of quantity like so much, that many, how many?, very, etc.
- Adverbs of circumstance:
- time like when, now, ever
- place like there, here, somewhere
- manner like how, thus, somehow
- kind like so, age this year old
- direction like that way, any which way
- reason why?, for that reason, for no reason
- degree this (well), so (good), how (bad)
- frequency like how often, so often, never
- age like this old, how old?, of any age
Deictic Prefixes
edit- There is a whole set of correlative deictic prefixes, which are joined to circumstantial stub category suffixes to derive pronoun, adjective, and adverb determiners. In some grammars, these words are called wh-question words and their pointed answers. For example, QUESTION: Who is your wife? ANSWER: This is my wife. (or) QUESTION: Where is your house? ANSWER: My house is here. These word forms are called correlative because they relate to one another in way that can be mapped to a table.
- Here are the Mirad deictic classification prefixes:
Deictic Prefixes CLASSIFICATION DEICTIC PREFIX Interrogative duho-...?....what?, which? Relative ho-....which, that Exclamatory hoo-....how...! Definite ha-....the Indefinite he-....some, a certain Proximal hi-....this, these Immediate hii-....the following Distal hu-....that, those Intensive huu-....such, so, what a...! Distributive hya-....every, all, each Indeterminate hye-....any, whatever Negative hyo-....no, not any Identical hyi-....the same, the very Non-identical hyu-....the other, another, else
- Note: The Identical (hyi-) and Non-identical prefixes (hyu-) can optionally be substituted with ge- (same) and oge- (different), respectively.
Circumstantial Category Suffixes
edit- The table below shows word stub suffixes that indicate the circumstantial category of deictic expressions. They are called stubs, because they are reduced word forms. The combination of deictic prefixes and circumstantial stub suffixes produce a matrix of deictic correlatives, seen later in this chapter. Use of the stub instead of the long form is a matter of optional economy. A few categories do not have stubs.
Category Stubs CATEGORY STUB LONG FORM QUESTION WORD EXAMPLE Person -t tob...person duhot?....who? Thing -s sun...thing duhos?....what? Place -m nem...place duhom?....where? Time -j job...time duhoj?....when? Manner -yen byen...manner duhoyen?....how? Kind -yena syena...of a style duhoyena?....what kind of? Degree -gla nog...degree duhogla fi?....how well? Quantity -gla sag...number duhogla pati?....how many birds? Mass -gla glan...amount duhogla mil?....how much water? Frequency -xag xag...frequency duhoxag?....how often? Reason -sav sav duhosav?....why? Age -jag jag...age duhojag?....how old?
- There can be other circumstantial categories other than those listed above, such as "direction", "order", etc. eg. Duhomep wit pa?....Which way did he go?.
Charts of Correlative Deictic Determiners
edit- Here is are three tables showing the matrix of correlative deictic determiners. Note that the determiners belong to three parts of speech, 1) adjectives, 2) pronouns, and 3) adverbs:
PART OF SPEECH ENDING Adjective -a Pronoun -t(i), -s(i) Adverb (no ending)
Deictic Determiner Adjectives
edit- All deictic determiner adjectives in in -a and are used to modify nouns.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adjectives SELECTIVE
-aPOSSESSIVE
-taKIND/MANNER
-yenaQUANTITY
-glaAGE
-jagaFREQUENCY
-xagaInterrogative duhoa?
which?duhota?
whose?duhoyena?
what kind of?duhogla?
how much/many?duhojaga?
how old?duhoxaga?
how frequent?Relative hoa
whichhota
whosehoyena
what kind ofhogla
how much/manyhojaga
how oldhoxaga
how frequentExclamatory hooa
what a...!hoogla
look how much/many...!hoojaga
how old a...!Definite ha1
thehatas
the person’shayena
of the kindhagla
of the amounthajaga
of the agehaxaga
of the frequencyIndefinite hea
some/a certainheta
someone'sheyena
some kind ofhegla
somehejaga
somewhat oldhexaga
sometimesProximal hia
thishita
this person’shiyena
this kind ofhigla
this muchhijaga
this oldhixaga
this oftenImmdediate hiia
the followinghiita
the follow person’shiiyena
the following kind ofhiigla
to the following degreehiijaga
of the following agehiixaga
of the following frequencyDistal hua
thathuta
that person’shuyena
that kind ofhugla
that much/manyhujaga
of that agehuxaga
that oftenIntensive huua
such ahuuta
such a person’shuuyena
such kind ofhuugla
so much/manyhuujaga
of such an agehuuxaga
so oftenNegative hyoa
nohyota
nobody’shyoyena
no kind ofhyogla
no amount/number ofhyojaga
of no agehyoxaga
of zero frequencyDistributive hya1
everyhyata
everybody’shyayena
every kind ofhyagla
allhyajaga
of every agehyaxaga
alwaysIndeterminate hyea
whichever/any2hyeta
whoseverhyeyena
whatever/any kind ofhyegla
however much/manyhyejaga
however oldhyexaga
however frequentIdentical hyia
the samehyita
the same person’shyiyena
the same kind ofhyigla
just ashyijaga
just as oldhyixaga
just as oftenNon-identical hyua
the otherhyuta
someone else'shyuyena
another kind ofhyugla
not as much/manyhyujaga
of another agehyuxaga
not as often
- Note 1: The determiners ha (the) and hya (every) are shortened forms of haa and hyaa. Also, ha is commonly called a "definite article".
- While hya means every or all, the word hyawa is used for each.
- The possessive adjective forms in the above table ending in -ta such as hyeta....whosever cannot be pluralized by the ending -tia. To say other people's, use the expression bi hyuti (Lit. of others).
- The ho- words are relative, meaning that they can serve to form relative clauses like the following:
- Ha toyb, hota twad se Bill,....The woman, whose husband is Bill,
- At voy te hos et tepfe.....I don't know what you mean.
- At teste hogla et fie iyt.....I understand how much you love her.
- The hoo- words are exclamatory and are used in expressions like the following:
- Hoogla iva se at van et upa!....How glad I am that you came!
- Hooa jub his saye!....What a day this has been! (Hooa is pronounced ho-O-a as three syllables.)
- Note 2: The indeterminant determiners can also be translated with no matter what, no matter where, etc.
Deictic Determiner Pronouns
edit- All deictic determiner pronouns end either in -t for persons or -s for things. They can be singular or plural (-i).
Correlative Deictic Determiner Pronouns THING -s
THINGS -siPERSON -t
PERSONS -tiKIND OF THING -yenas
KINDS OF THINGS -yenasiAMOUNT -glas
NUMBER OF THINGS -glasiNUMBER OF PEOPLE -glati Interrogative duhos?
what?
duhosi?
what (things)?duhot?
who?
duhoti?
who (pl.)duhoyenas?
what kind of thing?
duhoyenasi?
what kinds of things?duhoglas
how much?
duhoglasi?
how many things?duhoglati?
how many people?Relative hos
what
hosi
whathot
who
hoti
whohoyenas
what kind of thing
hoyenasihoglas
how much
hoglasi
how manyhoglati
how manyExclamatory hoos
what a thing!
hoosi
what things!hoot
what a person!
hooti
what people!hooglas
what an amount!
hooglasi
what a number!hoglati
what a number of people!Definite has
it
hasi
they/themhat
he/she/him/her
hati
they/themhayenas
the king of thing
hayenasi
the kind of thingshaglas
the amount
haglasi
the number of thingshaglati
the number of peopleIndefinite hes
something
hesi
some thingshet
someone
heti
someheyenas
some kind of thing
heyenasi
some kinds of thingheglas
some
heglasi
some thingsheglati
some peopleProximal his
this
hisi
thesehit
this person
hiti
these peoplehiyenas
this kind of thing
hiyenasi
these kinds of thingshiglas
this much
higlasi
this manyhiglati
this many peopleImmediate hiis
the following thing
hiisi
the following thingshiit
the following person
hiiti
the following peoplehiiyenas
the following kind of thing
hiiyenasi
the following kinds of thingshiiglas
the following amount
hiiglasi
this following number of thingshiiglati
the following number of peopleDistal hus
that
husi
thosehut
that person
huti
those peoplehuyenas
that kind of thing
huyenasi
those kinds of thingshuglas
that much
huglasi
that manyhuglati
that many peopleIntensive huus
such a thing
huusi
such thingshuut
such a person
huuti
such peoplehuuyenas
such a kind of thing
huuyenasi
such kinds of thingshuuglas
so much
huuglasi
so manyhuuglati
so many peopleNegative hyos
nothing
hyosi
none of themhyot
nobody
hyoti
none of themhyoyenas
no kind of thing
hyoyenasi
no kinds of thingshyoglas
none
hyoglasi
nonehyoglati
noneDistributive hyas
everything
hyasi
all of themhyat
everybody
hyati
all of themhyayenas
every kind of
hyayenasi
all kinds of thingshyaglas
all of it
hyaglasi
all of themhyaglati
all of themIndeterminate hyes
anything
hyesi
anyhyet
anybody
hyeti
any of themhyeyenas
any kind of
hyeyenasi
whatever thingshyeglas
any of it
hyeglasi
any of themhyeglati
whoeverIdentical hyis
the same thing
hyisi
the same thingshyit
the same person
hyiti
the same peoplehyiyenas
the same kind of
hyiyenasi
the same kinds of thingshyiglas
as much
hyiglasi
as manyhyiglati
as many peopleNon-identical hyus
something else
hyusi
other thingshyut
someone else
hyuti
other peoplehyuyenas
another kind
hyuyenasi
other kindshyuglas
another amount
hyuglasi
another number of thingshyuglati
another number of people
- Concerning the above chart, note the following:
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.
I will go where you go. - Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?
What is your name? - Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam...
This big old house.... - Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duhot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.
Deictic Determiner Adverbs
edit- All deictic determiner adverbs refer to a circumstance.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adverbs CIRCUMSTANCE--> PLACE
-mTIME
-jMANNER
-yenDEGREE
-glaFREQUENCY
-xagREASON
-savInterrogative duhom?
where?duhoj?
when?duhoyen?
how?dugla?
how (very)?duxag?
how often?duhosav?
why?Relative hom
wherehoj
whenhoyen
howhogla
how (very)hoxag
how oftenhosav
becauseExclamatory hooyen
and how!hoogla
how very...!Definite ham
the placehaj
the timehayen
the mannerhagla
just ashaxag
as frequentlyhasav
the reasonIndefinite hem
somewherehej
sometimeheyen
somehowhegla
somewhathexag
somewhat oftenhesav
for some reasonProximal him
herehij
nowhiyen
this wayhigla
thishixag
this oftenhisav
for this reasonImmediate hiim
the following placehiij
the following timehiiyen
the following wayhiigla
to the following degreehiixag
at the following frequencyhiisav
for the following reasonDistal hum
therehuj
thenhuyen
that wayhugla
to that degreehuxag
that oftenhusav
thereforeIntensive huum
such a placehuuj
at such a timehuuyen
in such a wayhuugla
so (very)huuxag
so oftenhuusav
for such a reasonNegative hyom
nowherehyoj
neverhyoyen
in no wayhyogla
not at allhyoxag
not oncehyosav
for no reasonDistributive hyam
everywherehyaj
alwayshyayen
in every wayhyagla
fullyhyaxag
alwayshyasav
for every reasonIndeterminate hyem
anywherehyej
wheneverhyeyen
howeverhyegla
howeverhyexag
however oftenhyesav
for whatever reasonIndentical hyim
at the same placehyij
at the same timehyiyen
in the same wayhyigla
ashyixag
as oftenhyisav
for the same reasonNon-identical hyum
somewhere elsehyuj
some other timehyuyen
otherwisehyugla
not ashyuxag
not as oftenhyusav
for some other reason
- Concerning the above chart, note the following:
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.....I will go where you go.
- There are is a category not shown in the table:
- hoo-, used to form exlamatory determiners like Hoogla flia!....How marvelous! or Hooa via jub!....What a beautiful day!.
- Person determiners can be specified for gender. A determiner is made female by inserting a y after the ordinal, or male by inserting a w before the ordinal, eg. Huyti....those females or Hwit....this guy.
- Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam.......This big old house....
- Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
- Duhoas?'....Which one? (things), Hias....This one, etc.
- Duhoati?....Which ones? (people), Huati....Those, etc.
- Duhoyat?....Which of us?, Hyeyat....Any of us, etc.
- Duhoyet?....Which of you?, Hyayet....All of you, etc.
- Duhoyit?....Which of them?, Hyoyit....None of them, etc.
- Also not included in the above chart is a related interrogative, which is a complementizer.
- Duven...?.... (Question introducer) Is it true that...?, Say whether...
- Duven et se tadxwa?....Are you married? (= Say whether you are married.)
- The adverbs of degree in the above chart (duhogla?, etc.) are interchangeable with adverbs ending in -nog....degree (duhonog?....to what degree?, how...?, henog....somewhat)
- Other deictic determiner adverbs of circumstance exist and are not on the above chart:
- duhomep?....which way?
- humep....that way
- duhobyun?....to what end?
- hyobyun....for no purpose
- duhoizon?....in which direction?
- 'hyaizon....in every direction
- duhosauna....what kind of
- hyesauna....any kind of
Examples of Deictic Determiner Usage
edit- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name? (Duhos is pronounced du-HOS)
- Duhot se iyta twad?....Who is her husband?
- Duhowat se iyta twad?....Which one of the guys is her husband? (selective)
- Duhoti fe eker?....Who (pl.) want to play?
- Hyas se fia.....Everything is fine.
- Hyat tre et.....Everyone knows you.
- Hyot tre at.....Nobody knows me.
- Hyati ekeye fi.....All of them are playing well.
- Hyoti ekeye fi.....None of them are playing well.
- Hyet yafe eker.....Anyone can play.
- Hyes yafwe.....Anything is possible.
- At fe hyuyenat be ata ekutyan.....I want someone else on my team.
- Huuyenati fyuxe yata oj.....Such people harm our future.
- Et yefe tepier hiisi.....You must bear in mind the following things.
- Duhoyen et xa hus......How did you do that? (pronounced du-ho-YEN)
- Duhosav iyt pia huugla jwa?....Why did she leave so early?
- Hwita tam se ga aga.....This guy's house is bigger.
- At voy ayse ha dyuni bi huyti.....I don't have those women's names.
- Duhoa tam se etas?....Which house is yours?
- Huua tej et ayse!....What a life you have!
- Duhoyena dyezuni ifxe et?....What kind of movies do you like?
- Duhota tef okwa?....Whose hat was lost?
- Hota tef okwa bese otwas.....Whose hat was lost remains a mystery.
- Ha tob ta yata dyuni.....The man knew our names.
- Hoyena dini at ife, et ufe.....The kind of stories I love, you hate.
- Hea mepi gawdyunxwo.....Certain streets will be renamed.
- Heyena fukyes uxaye purilp nyaunx.....Some kind of accident has caused a traffic jam.
- Heta abtaf kaxwa be ha zatem......Someone's coat was found in the foyer.
- Hia dyes se ata gwafwas.....This book is my favorite.
- Hiia duni se ofwa.....The following words are prohibited.
- Hiiyena axlyen voy afwu.....The following sort of behavior would not be allowed.
- Hiyena axlyen voy vayafwo.....This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
- Hita tim so yolza.....This person's room will be blue.
- Hua mas efwe gawvozilbwer.....That wall needs to be repainted.
- Huua dini yufxe tudi.....Such stories scare children.
- Huyena duni voy yeyfwe yixwer za at.....Such words should not be used in front of me.
- Hwuta tam magseye.....That guy's house is on fire.
- Hyoa din se ga kyitesa.....No story is more important.
- Hyoyena tes tesiyafwe.....No such meaning can be inferred.
- Hyota jatexdras sa ga fia.....Nobody's plan is better.
- Hyos oboxe huyt.....Nothing bothers that gal.
- Hya mepi izpe Roma.....All roads lead to Rome.
- Hya ha mepi se ebwa.....All the roads are blocked.
- Hya twob yefe xer ita gon.....Every man must do his part.
- Hyayena telami ese be hia domep.....All manner of restaurants exist on this street.
- Hyata tej se uka bi yaobi.....Everyone's life is full of ups and downs.
- Hyaewa domi agsaye.....Both cities have grown.
- Hyea voz so fia.....Any color will be fine.
- Hyeyena til se aysyafwa.....Any kind of drink is available.
- Hyeta ved se ge ifa vyel atas.....Anyone's guess is as good as mine.
- Hyea tim et fe et yafe ayser.....Whatever room you want, you can have.
- Hyia/(Ha gea) fukyesi kyese glaxag.....The same accidents occur frequently.
- Hyiyena/(Ha geyena) dyezuni teaxuwa zajub.....The same kind of films were shown yesterday.
- Hyita/(Ha geta) dyun yixwa gajod.....The same person's name was used again.
- Hyua dyezun sa ga ifuyea.....The other movie was more entertaining.
- Hyuyena/(Ogeyena) som teasu ga fia.....Another kind of furniture would look better.
- Hyuta/(ogeta) texyen se ge fyia.....Someone else's opinion is equally valid.
- Ha dyuni bi hiyti voy dodrawe.....These women's names have not be make public.
- Ha dyuni bi hwiiti voy dodrowe.....The following males' names will not be publicized.
- Hijaga tobweti voy afwo him.....Boys of this age will not be allowed here.
- Duhom et tambese?....Where do you live?
- At tambese hum.....I live there.
- Et tambese hom ha mep uje.....You live where the road ends.
- Duhom yet peye?....Where are you guys going?
- Et yafe per hyem et fu.....You can go anywhere you would like.
- Duhom et byise?....Where are you from? (Lit: Where do you originate.
- Duhoj et taja?....When were you born?
- At voy tajaya huj.....I had not been born then.
- Et yeyfe duder hiiyen.....You should respond in the following way.
- Ot voy yefe daler huuyen.....One must not talk in such a manner.
- Et pia hesav.....He left for some reason.
- Duhoyen et iyfe hia vifil?....How do like this wine?
- Voy se fia axler hiyen.....It is not good to act this way.
- Duhosav et tadsa huugla jwa?....Why did you marry so late?
- Ha twob pia hyosav.....The man left for no reason.
- Hwat pia hosav it efa per hem.....The guy left because he needed to go somewhere.
- Hyeta texyen so fia.....Anyone's opinion will be fine.
- Duhota dyes se his?....Whose book is this?
- Bi hoti se hia dyesi?....Whose are these books?
- Hyata tili yebexe yom.....Everyone's drinks contain ice.
- Et se gaj geyenat( ~ hyiyenat).'....You are still the same kind of person.
- The semantic reverser o- can be prefixed to some of the above deictic determiners:
- Ohyat tiste Platon.....Not everyone understands Plato.
- Ohut!'....Not that person!
- At iyfe gwa apovili, oy ohuas!....I like most beers, but not that one!
- If the definite article or any other deictic determiner is omitted before a noun, then it has the effect of the English indefinite article a / an with a singular noun or some with a plural noun. For example:
- Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank a glass of wine.
- Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank (some) glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the one glass of wine.
- Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia hya ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank both glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia owa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank no/zero glasses (=not a single glass) of wine.
- Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the second glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank second glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the second glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
- If an indefinite article sense is needed for clarity, the words awa (one) or hea (some, a certain) can be used, eg.:
- At igteata awa tob yiztyoper.....I glimpsed a man walk by.
- Wit zoyupo hea juab.....He will come back on a / a certain / some Monday.
Selective vs. Non-Selective Forms
edit- The deictic interrogative determiner pronoun duhot? means who(m) and contrasts with its selective counterpart duhoat?, which means which one?. All the selective determiners refer to one or more things or persons from a selectable pool of things or persons.
- The following sentences illustrate the use of the above determiner pronouns:
- Duhot aka zajuba ek?....Who won yesterday's game?
- Duhoat bi ha akuti sa ha gwa fiat?....Which one of the winners was the best?
- Duhota tam se hus?....Whose house is that?
- Duhotas se hus?....Whose is that?
- Duhotia deuzi et gaife?....Whose songs do you prefer?
- Duhotias et gaife?....Whose do you prefer?
- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Duhosi se eta gaifuni?....What are your preferences?
- Duhoa deuzi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which songs are your best?
- Duhoasi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which ones are your best?
- Bi hia deuzuti, hoat et gaife?....Of these vocalists, which one do you prefer?
- Hiiti yaneko hijub.....The following people will compete today.
- Duhoati se gwa fia?....Which ones are best?
- Duhoti et teexe gwa jodi?....Who (all) do you listen to the most often?
- Hoat at teexe gwaxag draye ejna deuz.....The one I listen to the most has written a new song.
- Ejna deuz? At voy teste hoas et tede.....New song? I don't understand which one you mean.
- Hias.....This one.
- Vo. Huasi se ga fia.....No. Those are better.
- His se jub av ivxelen.....This is a day for celebration.
- Va. Hia jub. At tese hijub.....Yes. This day. I mean To-day.
- Husi sa ha jubi, ata dat!....Those were the days, my friend!
- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Duhot aka ha igpek?....Who won the race?
- Hyas uja fi.....Everything ended well.
- Hyasi uje.....All things come to an end.
- Hyayenasi vey kyesu.....All sorts of things might happen.
- Hyos yokxa at.....Nothing surprised me.
- Hyot ta hot ako.....Nobody knew who would win.
- Hoayti fu pier yefe.....Those females who would like to leave may.
- Hyet yefe eker hia ifek.....Anyone can play this game.
- Huyenasi voy afwo.....Such things will not be permitted.
- Hua twob voy taxe hia toyb.....That man does not remember this woman.
- Hwuti yanyexe fi.....Those guys work well together.
- Huuyti hyaj yubixe tepzex.....Such females always attract attention.
- At jay teataye hiyenasi.....I've seen such things before.
- Huyenwat voy vabiwu.....A guy like that would not be accepted.
- Duhoyenasi weti iyfe xer je ha maj.....What kinds of things do you guys like to do during the day?
Numerical Deictic Determiners
edit- Sometimes, a deictic determiner specifies numerical information. This chart shows those forms:
Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners ADJECTIVE INANIMATE PRONOUN ANIMATE PRONOUN PRONOMINAL DETERMINER POSSESSIVE PRONOUN hawa1
the onlyhawas
the only thing
hawasi
the only thingshawat
the only one (person)
hawati
the only oneshawata
the only person'shawatas
the only one's
hawatasi
the only one's (things)hyawa*
eachhyawas
each onehyawat
each personhyawata
each person'shyawatas
each one's
hyawatasi
each one's (things)hyaewa
bothhyaewasi
both (things)hyaewati
both (people)bi hyaewati
both person'shas bi hyaewati
both person's
hasi bi hyaewati
both persone's (things)hyaiwa
all threehyaiwasi
all three (things)hyaiwati
all three (people)hyaiwata
all three person'shas bi hyaiwati
all three person's
hasi bi hyaiwati
all three person's (things)ohyawa
not everyohyawas
not everythingohyawat
not everyoneohyawata
not every person'sohyawatas
not everyone's
ohyawatasi
not everyone's (things)hyoawa
not a singlehyoawas
not a single thinghyoawat
not a single personhyowata
not a single person'shyowatas
not a single person's
hyowatasi
not a single person's (things)hyeawa
eitherhyeawas
either onehyeawat
either one (person)hyeawata
either one'shyeawatas
either one's
hyeawatasi
either one's (things)hyeewa
any twohyeewasi
any two thingshyeewati
any two peoplebi hyeewati
any two person'shas bi hyeewati
any two persons'
hasi bi hyeewati
any two persons' (things)hyeowa
neitherhyeowas
neither onehyeowat
neither personhyeawata
neither person'shyeowatas
neither one's
hyeowatasi
neither one's (things)hyuawa
anotherhyuawas
another onehyuawat
anotherhyuawata
another'shyuawatas
another's
hyuawatasi
another's (things)hyuowa
no otherhyuowas
nothing elsehyuowat
nobody elsehyuowata
no other'shyuowatas
no other's
hyuowatasi
no other's (things)gawa2
anothergawas
another onegawat
another (person)gawata
another'sgawatas
another's
gawatasi
another's (things)
- 1Hawa and hyawa are short for haawa and hyaawa, respectively.
- 2Gawa is short for ga awa, yet one.
Notes on Numerical Deictic Determiners
edit- Examples using the above number-incorporating deictic determiners:
- Ohyawat se iva bay eta vaod.....Not everyone is happy with your decision.
- Hyaewasi yafwe uxer yata efi.....Both (things) can serve our needs.
- Hyeawa tim ivlaxo at.....Either room will satisfy me.
- Hyeowas oivlaxo at.....Neither one will dissatisfy me.
- Note:
- hyua means another (an alternative). Ex. At fu hyua til.....I would like another (a different) drink.
- hyuawa means another (an additional). Ex. At fu hyuawa til.....I would like another (an additional) drink.
- ha hyua means the other (the alternative). Ex. At fu ha hyua til.....I would like the other drink.
- Similarly, hya means every, all, while hyawa means each, and hyaha....all the, ex:
- Hya dom ayse tebixea suni teaxer.....Every city has interesting things to see.
- Hya domi ayse tebixusi.....All cities have things of interest.
- Hyaha domi ayse tebixusi.....All the cities have things of interest.
- Hyawa dom ayse tebixun.....Each city has something of interest.
- Also, ha means the, while hawa means the only, eg.:
- Ha twob hu at gwa ife se et.....The man I most love is you.
- Hawa toyb nazea ata tepzex se et.....The only woman worth my attention is you.
- By appending y to hawa, we get the adverb haway....only, solely, eg;
- Haway et nize ata tepzex.....Only you deserve my attention..
- The singular person pronouns in the above chart can be converted into pronominal determiners by adding the adjective suffix a, eg.:
- Hyawata tej se ge glatesa vyel hyutas.....Each one's life is as important as another's.
- Hyeowata dyun se vyama.....Neither person's name is real.
- However, the plural person pronouns in the above chart use the preposition bi (of) to form possessives, eg.:
- Ha teji bi hyaiwati se kyebukuwa.....The lives of all three are in danger.
- The above singular pronominal determiners can, in turn, be converted into inanimate pronouns with the suffix -s.
- Hyawatas se glatesa.....Each one's is important.
- Hyeowatas se vyama.....Neither's is real.
- The plural pronominal determiners can be nominalized with the use of bi, eg:
- Hyaiwasi bi huti se kyebukuwa.....All three of theirs' are in danger.
- Correlative Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners are handled as follows:
- Hyeawa A ey B....either A or B
- Hyeowa A oy B....neither A nor B
- Hyaewa A ay B....both A and B
- Hawa A, voy B....only A, not B
elsewhere.
- The different, somewhat confusing, meanings of how are illustrated here:
- Duhoyen wit xa hus?....How did he do that?.... (Equivalent to Be duha byen...?....In what way...?) (ADVERB OF MANNER)
- Duhoyen et xeye?....How are you doing?.... (This is the normal way of saying How are you? or How do you do? (ADVERB OF MANNER)
- Duhoyena sa ha dyezun?.... How was the film?.... (How here is an ADJECTIVE OF KIND, and thus ends in -a.)
- Duhonog (= Duhogla) aga it se?....How big is he?.... (ADVERB OF DEGREE)
- Huunog (= Huugla) iyfla et se!....How nice you are!.... (ADVERB OF EMPHATIC DEGREE)
- The conjunction as is expressed most often using relative pro-adverbs of manner:
- Xu hoyen at de.....Do as I say. = (in) the way that...
- Xu hyiyen (~ geyen) at xe.....Do as I do. ( = (in) the same way that...)
- Xu hiiyen:....Do as follows. ( = (in) this hereby manner...)
- However, the preposition/conjunction gel (like, as) can be substituted:
- Xu gel at de.....Do as I say.
- Many of the determiner adverbs in the above chart can be used in relative clauses, eg:
- At teato et hoj et puo him.....I will see you when you get here.
- It xa has hosav tosa yefa.....He did it because (for the reason that) he felt compelled.
- Hyehom et po, et so ga iva.....Wherever you go, you'll be happier.
- Hyet te ha did, yabu eta tuyab.....Whoever knows the answer, raise your hand.
- At te hoyen et xa is.....I know how you did it.
- See more about this in the section on relative clauses under Syntax.
Pronominal Deictic Determiners
edit- Some words in Mirad incorporate deictic prefixes with pronouns and pronominal adjectives, as shown in the following chart:
Pronominal Deictic Determiners Pronoun 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural duhoyat
which of usduhoyet
which of youduhoyit
which of themheyat
some of usheyet
some of youheyit
which of themhyayat
each of ushyayet
each of youhyayit
each of themhyeyat
any of ushyeyet
any of youhyeyit
any of themhyoyat
none of ushyoyet
none of youhyoyit
none of themPronominal Adjective 1st Person (Plural) 2nd Person (Plural) 3rd Person (Plural) duhoyata
which of ourduhoyet
which of yourduhoyita
which of theirheyata
some of ourheyeta
some of yourheyita
which of theirhyayata
each of ourhyayeta
each of yourhyayita
each of theirhyeyata
any of ourhyeyeta
any of yourhyeyita
any of theirSingular/(Plural) Possessive Pronoun 1st Person (Plural) 2nd Person (Plural) 3rd Person (Plural) duhoyatas(i)
which of oursduhoyetas(i)
which of yoursduhoyitas(i)
which of theirsheyatas(i)
some of oursheyetas(i)
some of yoursheyitas(i)
which of theirshyayatas(i)
each of ourshyayetas(i)
each of yourshyayitas(i)
each of theirshyeyatas(i)
any of ourshyeyetas(i)
any of yourshyeyitas(i)
any of theirshyoyatas(i)
none of ourshyoyetas(i)
none of yourshyoyitas(i)
none of theirs
- The above possessive pronouns refer to things. If you replace the final -s or -si, to -t or -ti, then they become animate and refer to people, eg.:
- Ese ewa tudi him. Duhoyitas se his?....There are two children here. Which one of theirs is this?
- All of the forms in the above chart can also be expressed as separate words, eg.:
- Duhoyet? ~ Duhoat bi yet?....Which one of you?
- Hyayat ~ Hyaglati bi yet....All of us.
- Hyoyatasi ~ Hyogla yatasi....All of ours (things)
Note:
- Awayat ~ Awat bi yat....one of us
- Hyaewayet ~ Hyaewat bi yet....both of you
- Hyaiwayit ~ Hyaiwat bi yit....all three of them
Quantitative Deictic Determiners
edit- The deictic prefixes can be combined with gla to form quantitative expressions acting as adverbial or adjectival determiners, and substantives (pronouns referring to things or people):
Quantitative Deictic Determiners ADVERBIAL / ADJECTIVAL
DETERMINERINANIMATE SINGULAR
PRONOUNINANIMATE PLURAL
PRONOUNANIMATE PLURAL
PRONOUNInterrogative duhogla?
how?/how much?/how many?duhoglas?
how much?duhoglasi?
how manyduhoglati?
how many (people)?Relative hogla
as many/muchhoglas
how muchduhoglasi
how manyduhoglati
how many (as)Definite hagla
how/as much/as manyhaglas
as muchhaglasi
as manyhaglati
as many (people)Indefinite hegla
somewhat/some/someheglas
someheglasi
someheglati
some (people)Proximal higla
this/this much/this manyhiglas
this muchhiglasi
this manyhiglati
this many (people)Distal hugla
that/that much/that manyhuglas
that muchhuglasi
that manyhuglati
that many (people)Intensive huugla
so very, so much, so manyhuuglas
so muchhuuglasi
so manyhuuglati
so many (people)Negative hyogla
none, not veryhyoglas
none of ithyoglasi
none of themhyoglati
noneDistributive hyagla
totally/all/allhyaglas
all of ithyaglasi
all of themhyaglati
allIndeterminate hyegla
however/any/anyhyeglas
any of ithyeglasi
any of themhyeglati
any number of themIdentical hyigla
as/as much/as many, equallyhyiglas
the same amounthyiglasi
the same numberhyiglati
as many (people)Non-identical hyugla
not as much/not as much/not as manyhyuglas
a different amounthyuglasi
a different number of thingshyuglati
a different number of people
- Here are some examples showing how these quantitative determiners are used:
- Et deuze huugla fi.....You sing so well.
- At se hegla booka.....I am somewhat tired.
- Duhogla pati et teata hijub?....How many birds did you see today?
- At teata vyavay hugla tami.....I saw exactly that many houses.
- Iyt fe hyiglas vyel et.....She wants the same amount as you.
- Duhoglati yantexe yet?....How many (people) agree with you?
- Hyoglati yantexe.....None agree.
- Yit fu heglasi.....They would like some (of them).
- Et yafe bier hyehoglasi et fe.....You can take however many you want.
- Besu bay at hogla job et fe.....Stay as long with me as you want.
- At se huugla booka.....I am so tired.
- NOTE: The following determiners are synonymous and interchangeable:
- hegla = gle = henog (somewhat, to some degree)
- hyigla = ge = hyinog (as, equally, to the same degree)
- The determiner huugla can be used as an exclamatory adverb, eg.:
- Huugla et agsaye!....How you have grown!
- Hua twob jagsaye huugla!....That man has aged so much!
- Hia jotul se huugla fiteluza!....This dessert is sooo delicious!
Pronominal Determiners
edit- Pronominal Determiners are what are more often called possessive adjectives such as my or your and are discussed in a subsection of Pronouns.
Quantitative Determiners
edit- Quantitative determiners act in one of several ways, they:
- specify mass, uncountable, singular nouns for relative AMOUNT, eg. much happiness, less work
- specify countable nouns for relative NUMBER, eg. one apple, two birds, many places
- specify adverbs, adjectives, and verbs for relative DEGREE, eg. how poorly, very good, eat too much.
- From these, pronominalized quantitative determiners for PERSONS and THINGS can be derived.
- Inanimate singular pronouns are formed by adding s for AN AMOUNT OF A THING
- Inanimate plural pronouns are formed by adding si for A NUMBER OF THINGS
- Animate plural pronouns are formed by adding ti for A NUMBER OF PERSONS.
- The following table presents most of these word forms (Note that the determiners are in a plus (+), equal (=), or minus (-) row.):
Adverb / Adjective | Singular Pronoun | Plural Pronoun | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Degree/Amount/Number | Amount | Number of Things | Number of People | |
+ | ga....more | gas....more (stuff) | gasi....many (things) | gati....many (people) |
= | ge....as, as much, as many | ges....as much (stuff) | gesi....as many (things) | geti....as many people |
- | go....less, fewer | gos....less (stuff) | gosi....fewer (things) | goti....fewer (people) |
+ | gla....very, much, many glay....so, so much, so many glaa....several |
glas....much (stuff) glays....so much stuff) |
glasi....many (things) glaysi....so many (things) glaasi....several things |
glati....many (people) glayti....so many (people) glaati....several people |
= | gle....rather, quite a lot, quite a few | gles....quite a lot (of stuff) | glesi....quite a lot (of things) | gleti....quite a few (people) |
- | glo....slightly, a little, few | glos....a little bit | glosi....a few (things) | gloti....few (people) |
+ | gra....too, too much, too many | gras....too much (stuff) | grasi....too many (things) | grati....too many (people) |
= | gre....enough | gres....enough (stuff) | gresi....enough (things) | greti....enough (people) |
- | gro....insufficiently, too little, too few | gros....too little | grosi....too few | groti....too few (people) |
+ | gwa....most | gwas....the most (stuff) | gwasi....the most (things) | gwati....most people |
= | gwe....just so (much/many) | gwes....just so much | gwesi....just so many | gweti....just so many (people) |
- | gwo....least | gwos....the least (stuff) | gwosi....the least (number of) | gwoti....the least number (of people) |
- Examples Using Graded Quantitative Determiners
- Adverbs of degree modifying an adjective:
- At se gla iva.....I am very happy.
- Et sa gra uga.....You were too slow.
- Adverbs of Degree modifying another adverb:
- Twobi dale ge igay vyel toybi.....Men talk as fast as women.
- Yat yexe ga igay vyel yet.....We work faster (= more quickly) than you.
- Adjectives quantifying a singular mass noun:
- Ga nas efwo.....More money will be needed.
- Gra nas noxwa.....Too much money was spent.
- Adjectives quantifying a plural countable noun (= things or people):
- At ayse gro sari.....I've got too few tools.
- Gla tami osexwa.....Many houses were destroyed.
- Yat efe gla ga valkdibuti.....We need many more policemen.
- Pronouns referring to a mass amount of something (= stuff):
- Gas ilokeye.....More (stuff) is leaking.
- Et dileye gras.....You are asking for too much (stuff).
- Yat kexo gwas.....We will seek as much (stuff) as possible.
- At iba gwes.....I received just the right amount.
- Pronouns referring to a countable number of things:
- Hisi se fia oy yat fe gasi.....These (items) are good but we want more (items).
- At teate drilari oy grosi.....I see pens, but too few.
- Pronouns referring to a countable number of people:
- Grati xaye vyoki be hia yexem.....Too many (people) have made mistakes at this work site.
- Glati dyunwe oy gloti kebiwe.....Many are called but few are chosen.
- Adverbs of degree modifying an adjective:
Numerical Determiners
edit- This category of determiners, which includes cardinal, ordinal and other number words like two, a tenth, and first, is such a vast topic that it is treated in its own chapter Mirad_Grammar/Numbers
Types of Numbers
edit- Numerals are words used to vocalize numbers, which are scalar symbols used to count and quantify things and people. For example the numeral two is how the number 2 is read or spoken. Mirad uses Arabic numbers (0, 1, 2, 3...), as in all Western World languages.
- Numerals can be various parts of speech:
- numeric nouns (The score was six to four.)
- numeric pronouns (I want two. Give me the fifth one.)
- numeric determiners (Five days ago. The fifth day. A double dose.)
- prefixes (monochrome, bicentennial, triangle)
- rootwords (anxer....to unite, onxer....to annihilate)
- Number-based words include:
- cardinal numbers (one, two, three... used in counting and arithmetic)
- ordinal numbers (first, second... indicating ordered position)
- multiplicative numbers (double, triple, foursome...)
- fractional numbers (half, third, hundredth...)
- frequency numbers (once, twice, thrice...)
- miscellaneous number-based words (only, percentage, annihilate)
Cardinal Numbers
edit- The cardinal numbers are words used in counting and reciting numerals such as telephone numbers, social security numbers, and zip codes, and in arithmetic. They are also used as the so-called "ordinal" stem vowels of words that relate to one another in a scalar, hierarchical, or some other ontological relationship. See this in the chapter on Vocabulary Formation.
Units
edit- The cardinal unit numerals are formed from the simple and pre-y-glided vowels.
Units 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 o a e i u yo ya ye yi yu zero one two three four five six seven eight nine
- Ata yibdalar sag se 703-842-6190 (pronounced: ye-o-i-yi-u-e-ya-a-yu-o).....My telephone number is....
- At tambese 114 (pronounced: a-a-u) Maple Street.
- E gab e se u.....Two plus two is four.
Decades
edit- The decade formant -l- is used to form the decades. Followed by -o....zero, we have the base decade numerals. These can be used for number recitation, arithmetic, and as numeric adjectives followed by plural nouns:
Decades with the -l- Formant 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 alo elo ilo ulo yolo yalo yelo yilo yulo ten twenty thirty forty fifty sixty seventy eighty ninety
- By changing the o....zero in lo to other cardinal unit numerals, the numerals within decades can be generated as follows:
Decadal Counting ala....11 ela....21 ila....31 ula....41 yola....51 yala....61 yela....71 yila....81 yula....91 ale....12 ele....22 ile....32 ule....42 yole....52 yale....62 yele....72 yile....82 yule....92 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... alyu....19 elyu....29 ilyu....39 ulyu....49 yolyu....59 yalyu....69 yelyu....79 yilyu....89 yulyu....99
- At ayse alo dati.....I have ten friends.
- It yafe sagder byu alyo.....He can count up to fifteen.
- Yulyu gob alo gese yilyu.....Ninety-nine minus ten equals eighty-nine.
Hundreds
edit- By adding the hundreds formant s, you get the hundreds:
Hundreds with the -s- Formant 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 aso eso iso uso yoso yaso yeso yiso yuso
- All the in-between numerals of the hundreds can be generated by modifying the so ending with the units and decades:
- asa....101
- asale....112
- usyulyu....599
- All the in-between numerals of the hundreds can be generated by modifying the so ending with the units and decades:
Thousands
edit- The thousands are generated with the formant r:
-
- Note: The number categories starting with the thousands on up end in -o and are separated from the rest of a number by a space.
Thousands 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 aro ero iro uro yoro yaro yero yiro yuro
- aro....1,000
- aro a....1,001
- ero isi....2,300
- yoro yasula....5,641
Millions
edit- The millions are generated with the formant ml:
Millions with the -ml- Formant 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 amlo emlo imlo umlo yomlo yamlo yemlo yimlo yumlo
- emlo yala....2,000,051
- umlo esu....4,000,204
- yumlo usyoro isyala....9,405,361
Billions
edit- The billions are generated with the formant mr;
Billions 1,000,000,000 2,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 4,000,000,000 5,000,000,000 6,000,000,000 7,000,000,000 8,000,000,000 9,000,000,000 amro emro imro umro yomro yamro yemro yimro yumro
- In numbers ending in -ro (thousand), -mlo (million), and -mro (billion), these numbers keep the -o and are separated by a space from the other elements of the number.
- imro emlo yoro asyula....three billion, two million, five thousand, one hundred fifty one
- iro asyulyo....3,195
- yamlo asyulyo....6,000,195
- alomro yelyomlo asyilyaro yusele....10,075,186,922
Trillions etc.
edit- The trillions are generated with the word garale, which means 10 to the positive power of 12 or 1012.
- These numbers do not combine with surrounding numbers.
- i garale....3,000,000,000
- eso garale....200,000,000,000
- Even higher numbers are shown in the Number Chart later in this chapter.
Numeric Determiners
edit- Numeric Determiners are adjectives based on numerals that modify a following noun.
Integers
edit- The unit numeric integer determiners, which are used to quantify nouns, consist of the cardinal units followed by the unit formant wa. The noun following the numeric determiner is plural if the number is greater than one. The wa formant is used on unit numerals when they are stand-alone, not when they are part of a larger number. In contrast with English usage, "zero" is followed by a singular noun (zero box vs. zero boxes. Think of it as not a single box).
Standalone Unit Numeric Determiners owa tam awa tam ewa tami iwa tami uwa tami yowa tami yawa tami yewa tami yiwa tami yuwa tami no/zero houses one house two houses three houses four houses five houses six houses seven houses eight houses nine houses
- If a unit number is used in forming larger numbers like 13 or 204, no wa is used.
- In a sequence of noun modifiers, the numerical determiner goes in the same place as in English, eg:
- Ata iwa gajaga twidi bese bay at.....My three older brothers live with me.
- Hia uwa tomi losexwo.....These four buildings will be destroyed.
- At fu ewa ey iwa gouni.....I would like two or three pieces.
- In a sequence of noun modifiers, the numerical determiner goes in the same place as in English, eg:
- The numeric determiners beyond the units do NOT take the -wa suffix. For example, ala tami....eleven houses.
Numeric Determiners modifying a singular or plural noun Mirad English Wa Behavior Pluralization Behavior owa tam no houses, zero houses The numeral is a unit,
so wa is suffixed.The numeral is less than 2,
so the noun is singular.awa tam one house, a house " " ewa tami two houses " The numeral is greater than 2,
so the noun is plural.iwa tami three houses " " uwa tami four houses " " yowa tami five houses " " yawa tami six houses " " yewa tami seven houses " " yiwa tami eight houses " " yuwa tami nine houses " " alo tami ten houses The numeral is not a unit
so no wa is suffixed." ase tami a hundred two houses " " ero iwa tami two thousand three houses The numeral i is a unit,
so wa is suffixed." iro alo tami three thousand ten houses The numeral alo is not a unit,
so wa is not suffixed."
- Numeric determiners can be pronominalized as things and persons by suffixing s or t, respectively. These can, in turn, be pluralized by suffixing i. Furthermore, person pronouns can be feminized with a y before the t. The s suffix is short for sun....thing or suni....things. The t ending is short for aot....person or aoti....persons. For example:
- Et ayse awa tam. At gey ayse awas. (singular inanimate pronoun)....You have one house. I have one too.
- At aysa alo drari. Hij at ayse anay ewasi (plural inanimate pronoun).....I had ten pencils. Now I only have two.
- Esa asoti yeb be ha duzam. (plural animate pronoun).... There were a hundred people in the concert hall.
- Yat yefe kebier awoyt bi huti. (singular animate female pronoun)....We must choose one female person from those people.
Ordinals
edit- Ordinal numeric determiners (= ordinals) like first, second, etc. are formed from the cardinal numerals by adding the adjectival ending a to the cardinal numeral. A variation of this is with the word nap (order) inserted:
Ordinal Numeric Determiners Cardinal Numeral Ordinal Numeric Determiner Variation with nap (order) o....zero oa....zeroth onapa....zeroth a....one aa....first anapa....first e....two ea....second enapa....second i....three ia....third inapa....third alo....ten aloa....tenth alonapa....tenth asu....104 asua....104th asunapa....104th garale....trillion garalea....trillionth garalenapa....trillionth
- Note: ana is an adjective meaning only, single, eg. Iyt se ana tud.....She is an only child. As an adverb, anay means only, eg. At yexe anay be tam.....I work only at home.
- There are other ordinal adjectives that are not based on numbers:
Ordinal Words Not Based on Numbers Root Word Ordinal Word ij....beginning ijna or ijnapa....first uj....end ujna or ujnapa....last aj....past ajna or ajnapa....ex-, former, previous oj....future ojna or ojnapa....future, upcoming ej....present ejna or ejnapa....current, new, present ja....before jana or janapa....previous, last, foregoing jo....after jona or jonapa....next, following za....in front of zana or zanapa....next zo....behind zona or zonapa....last (previous, foregoing)
- Ordinal determiners and adjectives can be converted to adverbs by adding the suffix y to the adjectival counterparts:
Ordinal Adverbs ADJECTIVE ADVERB aa....first aay....firstly anapa....first anapay....primarily ea....second eay....secondly ujna....last ujnay....finally
- Ordinal determiners can be converted to animate pronouns (persons) with the suffix t and inanimate pronouns (things) with the suffix s. These, in turn, can be pluralized with the suffix i. Neutral-gender animate pronouns can be made specifically masculine or feminine by changing at to wat for the former, and to ayt for the latter:
- ha aas....the first thing
- ha aat....the first person
- ha aati....the first people
- hua aayt....that first female
- ha enapas....the second thing
- ewat....another guy
- Ha ujnati so ha ijnati.....The last shall be first.
- ha zanapat....the next fellow
- Again, in the sequencing of stacked adjectival elements, the order is as in English, that is: <deictic or pronominal determiner> | <ordinal determiner> | <cardinal numerical determiner> | <adjective>
- hua uwa aga tami....those four big houses
- ha aa alo oga tami....the first ten little houses
- ata anapa ewa oga tudi....my first two little children
Note: Ordinal numeric determiners are not to be confused with ordinal vowels, which are used to derive scalar iterations of nouns. Cardinal numbers are used in the latter case, eg.:
- dob....state (1st level)
- dab....government (2nd level derivative)
- deb....leader (3rd level derivative)
- dib....administration (4th " " )
- dub....minister (5th " " )
Fractions
edit- Fractional numeric determiners ( = fractions) like half and quarter are formed by adding -yn for those functioning as nouns, -yna for adjectives, -ynay for adverbs, or -yn for prefixes, to the respective cardinal number.
CARDINAL NUMERAL | FRACTION AS NOUN | AS ADJECTIVE | AS ADVERB | AS PREFIX | AS VERB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
o....zero | oyn....a void, vacuum, null | oyna....null, nil | -- | oyn-....devoid of | oynxer....annihilate, nullify |
a....one | ayn....whole | ayna....entire, whole | aynay....entirely | ayn-....holo-, whole-, all- | aynxer....integrate |
e....two | eyn....a half | eyna....half | eynay....halfway | eyn-....half-, semi-, hemi-, demi- | eynxer....halve |
i....three | iyn....a third | iyna....third | iynay....by a third | iyn-....terci- | iynxer....cut in third |
u....four | uyn....a quarter | uyna....quarter | uynay....quarterly | uyn-....quadri- | uynxer....quarter |
alo....ten | aloyn....a tenth | aloyna....tenth | aloynay....by a tenth | aloyn-....deci- | aloynxer....decimate |
aso....hundred | asoyn....hundredth, percent | asoyna....hundredth | asoynay....by a hundredth | asoyn-....centi- | asoynxer....cut by a hundred |
- Here are some examples:
- His uxo ha oynxen bi yata mir.....This will cause the anihilation of our world.
- Ha ayna mir te ayv et.....The whole world knows about you.
- Is se gas vyel ha ayn bi isa goni.....It is more than the whole of its parts.
- Ferad se ayndyana dalzeyn.....French is a holophrastic language.
- Et yafe bier eyn bi is.....You can take half of it.
- Yat yefo eynxer eta yexnix.....We will have to halve your salary.
- Hus sa eynvyan.....That was a half-truth.
- Eso eynzyunida dropek.....There is going to be a hemispheric war.
- Duven his se eynutexea dopar?....Is this a semi-automatic weapon?
- Iynxu hua absakpovel.....Cut that pie in thirds.
- It yeyfe bixwer ay uynxwer.....He should be drawn and quartered.
- Hia nas se aloyn bi hos yat nixa zojab.....This money is a tenth of what we earned last year.
- Ha dep aloynxwu.....The army would be decimated.
- Ewa asoyni bi ha dityan baksa.....Two percent (=hundredths) of the citizenry got sick.
- Hia tom se anay asoyn ge aga vyel hua tom.....This building is only a hundredth as big as that building.
- Hwut se oyntofa.....That guy is naked.
- The fractional adverbs can be used as in these examples:
- Et so aynay dudyefa av eta xeyni.....You will be wholly accountable for your actions.
- Iyt eynay tikabeloka.....She almost (= halfway) threw up.
- Pronominalizations like half of it, a third of them:
- Eynas sa fia.....Half of it was good.
- Eynasi sa fua.....Half of them (things) were bad.
- Esa uwa tobi se hua fukyes. Eynati toja.....There were four people in that accident. Half (of them) died.
- Iynati bi yet se vyaka.....A third of you are right.
- Uynati bi yat yantexe.....A quarter of us agree.
- Alo asoyni bi hia dyesi fyunxwa.....Ten percent of these books were ruined.
Multiples
edit- Multiplicative numeric determiners ( = multiples) like double, triple can be formed by adding -on to the respective cardinal numeral if the numeral is monosyllabic, otherwise just -n. These noun forms can be adjectivized with the suffix -a. They can also serve as prefixes on animate nouns, inanimate nouns, and prefixes, as the following chart shows. The prefix ending, -n is often dropped.
Multiplicative Numeric Determiners CARDINAL NUMERAL MULTIPLE AS NOUN ...AS ADJECTIVE ...AS ADVERB ...AS PREFIX ...AS VERB-MAKER o....zero oon....null oona....nil on-....zero- onxer....cancel, zero out a....one aon....single aona....single aonay....singly an-....uni-/mono- anxer....unify e....two eon....twosome, double eona....double eonay....doubly en-....di-/bi- enxer....double i....three ion....threesome, triplet iona....triple ionay....triply in-....tri-- inxer....triple u....four uon....quartet uona....quadruple uonay....quadruply un-....quadri-/tetra- unxer....quadruple yo....five yoon....quintet yoona....quintuple yoonay....quintuply yoon-*....quinti-/penta- yoonxer*....quintuple ya....six yaon....sextet yaona....sextuple yaonay....sextuply yaon-*....sexi-/hexa- yaonxer*....sextuple alo....ten alon....decade alona....decadic alonay....by a multiple of ten alon-....deca- alonxer....multiply by ten aso....hundred ason....hundredfold asona....hundredfold asonay....by a hundredfold ason-....hecato- asonxer....multiply by a hundred
- * An extra o is added to these prefixes to avoid ambiguity with yan meaning together and yon meaning apart.
- The multiplicative noun dozen is expressed by aleon.
- Aleoni bi pati yizpapa.....Dozens of birds flew by.
- By adding the suffix -at to the noun multiple, we get groupings of people. The -na- in some of these words can be omitted, thereby simplifying the words:
- aonat or aot ....solo, single, person
- aonatser of aotser....become single, become a person
- aonawat....singleton
- eonat or eot....duo, pair, twosome, couple
- eotxer....to copulate
- eontajat....twin
- ionat or iot....trio, threesome, trinity
- iotxer....to do a threesome
- Ionatin....Trinitarianism
- iontajati....triplets
- uonat or uot ....quartet, foursome
- uontajat....quadruplet
- yoonat or yoot....quintet, group of five people
- yoontajati....quintuplets
- yoonati....quintets
- By adding the suffix -un instead of -on, we get the following:
- aun....unit
- auna....unitary, individual
- aunser....unite
- aunyan....series
- aunyana....serial
- eun....pair
- euna....even, paired, binary
- oleuna....odd, non-binary, uneven, unpaired
- oleunat....odd man out
- eunxer....even out
- Some examples where the above multiple determiners and derivatives are used:
- Yat naptyopa be eo(na)ti yez bi ha mep.....We marched in twos (= pairs) down the street.
- Asonati upo bay yat bu hia ovdal.....Hundreds (of people) will come with us to this protest.
- Hia ivxel xwe enjabay.....This celebration happens biennially.
- Iyt se untupokyat.....She is a quadriplegic. (Lit: x 4+limb+loss+person)
- Diwe sagu ha auni.....Please count the units.
- Yet gafisa aronay!....You all have improved a thousandfold!
- Tob se entyoyaba sat.....Man is a bipedal creature.
- Note: Sometimes the multiple prefix ending in -on in the numbers below ten is shortened to -n in common words:
- anzyuk....monocycle
- enzyuk....bicycle
- ingun....triangle
- ungun....quadrangle
- yoongon....pentagon
- yaongon....hexagon
- Note: The prefixes for penta-/quinti- and hexa-/sext- must keep the -on so as to distinguish them from the prefixes yon....apart and yan....together. This rule does not apply to numbers inside chemical names and formulas (See Coding Chemical Elements).
- yoongona....quintipartite BUT: yonper....separate, go apart
- yaongun....hexagon BUT: yanuper....meet, come together
Number Chart
edit- The following chart shows numbers in Mirad as symbols, adjectives, pronouns, prefixes, and verbs:
MULTIPLE | FRACTION | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SYMBOL | ADJECTIVE | NOUN | PREFIX1 | VERB | SYMBOL | NOUN | PREFIX | VERB |
0 | owa zero |
oon nonentity, null oot nobody |
on- zero- |
onxer nullify |
1/0 | oyn zeroth |
oyn- nihil- |
oynxer anihilate |
1 | awa one aa first ana single, lone |
aon unit aot solo, individual |
an- uni-, mono- |
anxer unify |
1/1 | ayn whole |
ayn- holo- |
aynxer integrate |
2 | ewa two ea second ena dual ensuana binary |
eon double eot duo, pair, couple eontajat twin |
en- bi-, di- |
enxer double eotxer copulate |
1/2 | eyn half |
eyn- semi- |
eyxner halve |
3 | iwa three ia third insuana ternary |
ion triple iot trio, threesome iontajat triplet |
in- tri- |
inxer triple |
1/3 | iyn third |
iyn- terci- |
iynxer split into three |
4 | uwa four ua fourth |
uon quadruple uot quartet, foursome uontajat quadruplet |
un- tetra- |
unxer quadruple |
1/4 | uyn fourth uynjab quarter |
uyn- quadri- |
uynxer quarter |
5 | yowa five yoa fifth |
yoon quintuple yoot quintet yoontajat quintuplet |
yoon-2 penta- |
yoonxer quintuple |
1/5 | yoyn fifth |
yoyn- quint- |
yoynxer cut in fifths |
6 | yawa six yaa sixth |
yaon sextuple yaot sextet yaontajat sextuplet |
yaon-3 hecto- |
yaonxer sextuple |
1/6 | yayn sixth |
yayn- hexi- |
yaynxer cut in sixths |
7 | yewa seven yea seventh |
yeon septuple yeot septet yeontajat septuplet yejub week |
yen- hepto- |
yenxer mult seven |
1/7 | yeyn seventh |
yeyn- hepti- |
yeyxner cut in sevenths |
8 | yiwa eight yia eighth |
yion octuple yiot octet yiontajat octuplet |
yin- octo- |
yinxer mult eight |
1/8 | yiyn eighth |
yiyn- octi- |
yiynxer cut in eighths |
9 | yuwa nine yua ninth |
yuon nonuple yuot set of nine yuontajat nonuplet |
yun- nona- |
yunxer mult nine |
1/9 | yuyn nineth |
yuyn- novi- |
yuynxer cut in ninths |
10 | alo ten aloa tenth alosuana decimal |
alon tenfold alojab...decade |
alon- deca- |
alonxer increase by a factor of ten |
1/10 | aloyn tenth |
aloyn- deci- |
aloynxer decimate |
100 104 |
aso hundred asoa hundredth |
ason hundredfold asojab century |
ason- heca- |
asonxer increase a hundredfold |
1/100 10-2 |
asoyn hundredth percentage cent |
asoy- centi- |
asoynxer divide by a hundred |
1,000 103 |
aro thousand aroa thousanth |
aron thousandfold arojab millennium |
aron- kilo- |
aronxer divide by a thousand |
1/1000 10-3 |
aroyn thousandth |
aroy- milli- |
aroynxer |
1,000,000 106 |
amlo million amloa millionth |
amlon millionfold |
amlon- mega |
amlonxer multiply by a million |
10-6 | amloyn millionth goryan |
amloyn- micro- |
amloynxer divide by a million |
109 | amro billion amroa billionth |
amron billionfold |
amron- giga- |
amronxer multiply by a billion |
10-9 | amroyn- nano- |
amroynxer divide by a billion |
|
1012 | garale3 trillion garalea trillianth |
garalen trillionfold |
garalen- tera |
10-12 | goralen- pico- |
goralen trillionth |
||
1015 | garalyo quadrillion garalyoa quadrillionth |
garalyon quadrillionfold |
garalyon- peta- |
10-15 | garalyon- femto- |
goralyon quadrillionth |
||
1018 | garalyi quintillion garlyia quintillionth |
garalyin quintillionfold |
garalyin- exa- |
10-18 | goralyin- atto- |
goralyin quintillianth |
||
1021 | garela sextillion garelaa sextillionth |
garelan sextillionfold |
garelan- zetta- |
10-21 | gorelan- zepto- |
gorelan sextillionth |
||
1024 | garele septillion garelea septillionth |
garelen eptillionfold |
garelen- yotta- |
10-24 | gorelen- yocto- |
gorelen septillionth |
||
1027 | garelye octillion garelyea octillionth |
garelyen ctillionfold |
garelyen- ronna- |
10-27 | gorelyen- ronto- |
gorelyen octillionth |
||
1030 | garilo nonillion gariloa nonillionth |
garilon nonillionfold |
garilon- quetta- |
10-30 | gorilon- quecto- |
gorilon nonillionth |
- Note 1: Sometimes the final -n on the numeric prefix is dropped, especially as an ordinal vowel in scalar words, eg. anapa
first, atistam
elementary school. - Note 2: An extra o is inserted into this prefix to distinguish it from yon-
dis-, apart - Note 3: An extra o is inserted into this prefix to distinguish it from yan-
con-, together - Note 4: Garale is short for alo gar ale
ten to-the-power-of 12. By the same token, gorale is short for alo gor ale
ten to-the-power-of-minus 12
- Note 1: Sometimes the final -n on the numeric prefix is dropped, especially as an ordinal vowel in scalar words, eg. anapa
Metric Units
edit- Mirad uses the International System of Units (SI) for rendering measurement units. These symbols are pronounced as if you were spelling each letter out (see the alphabet. Bear in mind that majuscules (uppercase letters are prefaced with the word ag- (big). Similarly, Greek letters are rendered by their Greek names (ω = omega, Ω = Omega). The measurement unit names are followed by nak (measurement unit).
SI base units ENGLISH
UNIT
NAMESYMBOLIC
ABBREVIATIONQUANTITY
UNITMIRAD
PRONUNCIATIONsecond s time sonak meter m length minak kilogram kg mass kigenak ampere A electric current aganak kelvin K thermodynamic temperature agkinak Mole mol amount of substance miolinak candela cd luminous intensity cadanak
- Here are SI derived units with special names and symbols:
SI derived units with special names and symbols ENGLISH
NAMESYMBOLIC
WRITTEN
ABBREVIATIONQUANTITY
UNITMIRAD
PRONUNCIATIONradian rad plane angle roadanak steradian sr solid angle soronak hertz Hz frequency aghezunak newton N force, weight agninak pascal Pa pressure, stress agpoanak joule J energy agjinak watt W power agwunak coulomb C electric charge agcanak volt V electrical potential difference agvunak farad F capacitance agfenak ohm Ω electrical resistance Omeganak Siemens S electrical conductance agsonak Weber Wb magnetic flux agwubanak tesla T magnetic flux density agtonak henry H inductance aghenak degree Celsius °C temperature nogagcanak lumen lm luminous flux liminak lux lx illuminance lixuak becquerel Bq radioactivity agbakonak gray Gy absorbed dose (of ionizing radiation) aggeyunak sievert Sv equivalent dose (of ionizing radiation) agsovunak katal kat catalytic activity kiatonak byte b 8 bits of information banak
- Also, here are some non-SI units that are very convenient and acceptable:
Convenient non-SI units ENGLISH
NAMESYMBOLIC
WRITTEN
ABBREVIATIONQUANTITY
UNITMIRAD
PRONUNCIATIONlitre L volume aglonak or litr(i) hectare ha area heanak or hektar(i) ton t area tonak or ton(i) decibel dB loudness daagbanak or decibel(i) fathom ftm depth of water fetominak
- The following chart shows how in Mirad to pronounce coherent derived unit formulae in terms of base units. Note that the backslash means per or divided by and is pronounced gol. The symbol x means times and is pronounced gal. The superscript number is a power and is pronounced gar plus the number (with -wa, if a unit number). The negative superscript number is pronounced gor plus the number (again, with -wa if a unit number). See Arithmetical Expressions for further information on these terms.
Examples of coherent derived units in terms of base units NAME SYMBOLIC
FORMULADERIVED
QUANTITYTYPICAL
SYMBOLMIRAD
PRONUNCIATIONsquare meter m2 area A minak-gar-ewa cubic meter m3 volume V minak-gar-iwa meter per second m/s speed, velocity v minak-gol-sonak meter per second squared m/s2 acceleration a minak-gol-sonak-gar-ewa reciprocal meter m−1 wavenumber σ, ṽ minak-gor-awa vergence (optics) V, 1/f kilogram per cubic meter kg/m3 density ρ kigenak-gol-minak-gar-iwa kilogram per square meter kg/m2 surface density ρA kigenak-gol-minak-gar-ewa cubic meter per kilogram m3/kg specific volume v minak-gar-iwa-gol-kinak-ge ampere per square meter A/m2 current density j aganak-gol-minak-gar-ewa ampere per meter A/m magnetic field strength H aganak-gol-minak mole per cubic meter mol/m3 concentration c minolinak-gol-minak-gar-iwa kilogram per cubic meter kg/m3 mass concentration ρ, γ kinak-ge-gol-minak-gar-iwa candela per square meter cd/m2 luminance Lv canak-da-gol-minak-gar-ewa
- The SI has a whole list of prefixes that act as multipliers (macro) or dividers (micro) of the above and other measurement units. For example, a kilometer is a meter times a 1,000 (macro unit), whereas a millimeter is a meter divided by a 1,000 (micro unit). Banak means byte, so garale-banak is terabyte. This breaks down to 1012 bytes. Here is a table showing the Mirad macro and micro prefixes:
Scalar Metrics MACRO MICRO BASE
10US/UK NAME MIRAD PREFIX....SI PREFIX SI SYMBOL BASE
10(US/UK NAME) MIRAD PREFIX....SI PREFIX SI SYMBOL 1 one an- *... mono-, uni- 1/1 whole ayn-....holo-, uni- 2 two en-....bi- 1/2 half eyn-....demi-, di- 3 three in-....tri- 1/3 third iyn-....terci- 4 four un-....tetra- 1/4 fourth uyn-....quadri- 5 five yoon- *....penta- 1/5 fifth yoyn....quinti- 6 six yaon-....hexa- 1/6 sixth yayn....sexti- 7 seven yeon-....hepta- 1/7 seventh yeyn....septi- 8 eight yion....octo- 1/8 eighth yiyn....octi- 9 nine yuon....nona- 1/9 ninth yuyn....novi- 10 ten alon-....deca- da 1/10 tenth aloy-....deci- d 102 hundred aso-....hecto- ** h 10-2 hundredth asoy-....centi- c 103 thousand amso-....kilo- k 10-3 thousandth) amsoy-....milli- m 106 million amlo-....mega- M 10-6 millionth amloy-....micro- r 109 billion /milliard amro-....giga- G 10-9 billionth/ milliardth amroy-....nano- n 1012 trillion /billion garale-....tera- T 10-12 trillionth / billionth) gorale-....pico- p 1015 quadrillion)/ billiard garalyo-....peta- P 10-15 quadrillionth) / billiardth goralyo-....femto- f 1018 quintillion / trillion garalyu-....exa- E 10-18 quintillionth)/ trillionth goralyu....atto- a 1021 sextillion)/ trilliard garela-....zetta- Z 10-21 sextillionth / trilliardth gorela....zepto- z 1024 septillion)/ quadrillion garelu-....yotta- Y 10-27 septillionth / quadrillionth gorelu....yocto- y
- *Note: The -n or -on can sometimes be omitted in macro-prefixation, especially where there is no ambiguity. The -n (but NOT the -yn) in the micro prefixes can also sometimes be omitted.
- **Note: The gar (to a plus power) and gor (to a minus power) forms are alternatives for the numeric prefixes beyond 100. For example, billion (109) could be expressed as garyu-(ten) to the 9th power, while billionth could be expressed by goryu ((ten) to the minus 9th power). The prefix garya- is composed of the positive exponential operator gar (to the power of), followed by the number 6. The prefix gorale- is composed of the negative exponential operator gor (to the root of), followed by the number 12.
The macro and micro values can also be represented with abbreviated symbols, which can be pronounced in Mirad as spelled out alphabetics. Greek letter are rendered by their names in Greek. Upper case equivalents are preceded with ag-. Here is a table showing grams:
Kg Metrics With Abbreviated Symbols MACRO MICRO SYMBOL (EXPANSION) MIRAD PRONUNCIATION SYMBOL (EXPANSION) MIRAD PRONUNCIATION dag (decagram) daagenak (decigram) dagenak hg (hectogram) hegenak cg (centigram) cagenak kg (kilogram) kogenak mg (milligram) migenak Mg (macrogram) agmigenak μg (microgram) mugenak Gg (gigagram) aggegenak ng (nanogram) nigenak Tg (teragram) agtogenak pg (picagram) pogenak Pg ( petagram) agpogenak fg (femtogram) fegenak Eg (exagram) agegenak ag (attogram) agenak Zg (zettagram) agzegenak zg (zeptogram) zegenak Yg (yottagram) agyugenak yg (yoctogram) yugenak
- The squared and cubed representations of the above are followed by gar e (squared) and gar i (cubed), respectively:
- 10 km²....(pronounced as:) alo kominaki gar e
- 12 mm³....(pronounced as:) ale miminaki gar i
Expressing Frequency
edit- There are two ways to form determiners of frequency:
- Using jod(i) meaning occasion(s), instance(s), time(s), or
- Using xag meaning frequency
- Here is a chart showing the most common frequency determiners:
Frequentative Determiners "JOD" METHOD "XAG" METHOD MEANING duhogla jodi? duhoxag? how often?, how many times? hogla jodi hoxag how often, how frequently hagla jodi haxag the frequency hegla jodi hexag sometimes, on some occasions higla jodi hixag this often, this many times hugla jodi huxag that often, that many times, so many times huugla jodi huuxag so often, so many times hyogla jodi hyoxag never hyagla jodi hyaxag always, at all times hyegla jodi hyexag any number of times, however often hyigla jodi hyixag as often, the same number of times hyugla jodi hyuxag not as often, some other number of times ga jodi gaxag (vyel) more often (than) ge jodi gexag (vyel) as many times (as), as often (as) go jodi goxag (vyel) less often (than) gla jodi glaxag many times, often gle jodi glexag quite a few times, quite often glo jodi gloxag not so many times, seldom gra jodi graxag too often gre jodi grexag often enough gro jodi groxag too seldom gwa jodi gwaxag as often as possible, most often, most times gwe jodi gwexag an average number of times gwo jodi gwoxag least often, as seldom as possible owa jod oxag never, at no time, zero times awa jod axag once, one time awa ga jod ga axag again, once more ewa jodi exag twice, two times iwa jodi ixag thrice, three times alo jodi aloxag ten times
- Examples:
- Duhoxag et pe ha tayegoblam?....How often do you go to the barber shop?
- Duhogla jodi et akaye hia ekun?....How many times have you won this game?
- At teataye hua dyezun iwa ey uwa jodi.....I have seen that film three or four times.
- At teataye is huugla jodi (or: huuxag) van at bokseye.....I have seen it so many times that I am getting sick.
- Hus xwaye gaxag vyel et te.....That has happened more often than you know.
Mathematical Expressions
edit- Mathematical vocabulary is based mostly on deriviatives of the degree word ga....more.
Chart of Mathmatical Components
edit- The following chart shows mathematical operator verbs and derived terms:
VERB | OPERATION | PATIENT | SUBJECT | OPERATOR | SIGN | RESULT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gaber add |
gaben addition |
gabwas addend, summand |
gabus augend |
gab plus + |
gabsiyn plus sign |
gabix sum |
galer multiply |
galen multiplication |
galwas multiplicand |
galus multiplier factor |
gal times x |
galsiyn times sign |
galix product |
garer raise to the power of |
garen exponentiation |
garwas base |
garus exponent |
gar raised to the power of |
garsiyn exponent sign |
garix power |
gazer logarithmize |
gazen logarithmization |
gazwas base |
gazus antilogarithm |
gaz log |
gazix logarithm | |
gober subtract |
goben subtraction |
gobwas subtrahend |
gobus minuend |
gob minus - |
gobsiyn minus sign |
gobix difference |
goler divide |
golen division fraction |
golwas dividend numerator |
golus divisor denominator |
gol divided by ÷ |
golsiyn division sign |
golix quotient |
gorer derive the nth root of |
goren root extraction |
gorwas radicand |
gorus degree |
gor the nth root of √ |
gorsiyn radical sign |
gorix root |
gexer equal |
gexen equation |
gexwas thing being equated |
gexus equator |
ge equal to = |
gesiyn equal sign |
gexix equation solution |
How to Verbalize Math Expressions
edit- 1 + 1 = 2.....A gab a gese e.
- 3 - 1 = 2.....I gob a gese e.
- 2 x 4 = 8.....E gal u gese yi.
- 10 % 2 = 5.....Alo gol e gese yu.
- 52 = 25.....Yo gar e gese elyu.
- 23 = 8.....E gar i gese yi.
- 4 √2 = 2 = 2.....U gor e gese e.
- log10 1000 = 3.....Aro gaz alo gese i.
- Note 1: gese (equals) can be substituted with se (is), eg.:
- E gab e se u.....Two plus two is four.
- Note 2: If numbers are used as numeric adjectives, the units take the suffix -wa, eg.:
- Ewa lafebi gab awa afeb gese vavol.....Two oranges plus one apple equals a salad.
- Examples of mathematical expressions:
- E gab e gese u.....Two plus two equals four.
- E gal i gese ya.....Two times three equals six.
- I gar e gese yu.....Three to the second power equals nine.
- E gob e gese o.....Two minus two equals zero.
- Yu gol i gese i.....Nine divided by three equals three.
- Yu gor i gese i.....Nine cubed equals three.
- Aso gor e gese alo.....One hundred squared equals ten.
- Aro gaz alo gese i.....Log10(1000) = 3. (= Logarithm of a thousand to base ten equals three)
Decimal Expressions
edit- Decimal expressions like 2.5 use the word nod....point as in English.
- Hia bavol kyinse ga vyel 10.8 (alo nod yiwa) kigenaki.....This tomato weighs more than 10.8 (ten point eight) kilograms.
Calendar and Time Expressions
edit- The word for calendar is judar. The sections below explain how calendar expressions are formed and used:
Basic Calendar Units
edit- Time is divided using the following basic terms:
Calendar Units MIRAD ENGLISH job time jab year jeb season jib month jub day jwob* hour jwab* minute jweb* second
- Note: These would ordinarily be jyob, jyab, and jyeb respectively, but the w glide is much easier to pronounce after the letter j, and is therefore substituted.
Other Calendar Units
edit- Other calendar units are formed through the agglutination of numerical stubs to some of the time units above:
Other Calendar Units MIRAD ENGLISH NUMERICAL FORMULA rojab millenium year x 1,000 sojab century year x 100 lojab decade year x 10 eynjab half year year x 1/2 uynjab quarter year x 1/4 yajib semester month x 6 yejub week day x 7 yejubuj weekend day x 7 end eynjwob half hour hour x 1/2
- This, next, last, etc. are expressed as follows:
Day Pointers MIRAD ENGLISH hijub
hia yejub
hijabtoday
this week
this yearzojub
zoyejub
zajabyesterday
last week
last yearzajub
zayejub
zajabtomorrow
next week
next yearhujub
huyejub
hujabthat day
that week
that yearjazojub
ja ewa yejubi
jazojabthe day before yesterday
two weeks ago
the year before lastjozajub
jo ewa yejubi
jozajabthe day after tomorrow
two weeks from now
the year after nextDuhajub? Which day? hyajub every day hyejub any day hejub someday hejubi some days
Seasons of the Year
edit- Seasons of the year are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for season jeb:
Seasons of the Year MIRAD ENGLISH jeab spring jeeb summer jeib autumn, Fall jeub winter
- Examples of usage:
- be jeab....in spring
- ja jeeb....before summer
- ju jeib....until autumn
- ji jeub....since winter
- je ha jeb....during the season
- ub ha uj bi jeeb....toward the end of summer
- eb jeab ay jeeb....between spring and summer
- jeeba gemoj....vernal equinox
- jeiba fayebi....autumn leaves
- jeba til....seasonal drink
- jeubyena jebmalyen....wintry climate
- jeabyena malyen....spring-like weather
- jeuben....hibernation
- hijeab....this season
- zajeab....next season
- zojeab....last season
- hyajeab....every season
Months of the Year
edit- Months of the year are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for month jib:
Months of the Year MIRAD ENGLISH jiab January jieb February jiib March jiub April jiyob May jiyab June jiyeb July jiyib August jiyub September jilob October jilab November jileb December
- Some expressions using the months:
- be jilob....in October
- ja jiyab....before June
- lojo zajiyeb....by next July (lojo = not after)
- hijib....this month
- zojib....last month
- zajib....next month
- bi-jib-bu-jiba jobnis....month-to-month rent
- jibay....monthly
- jibi joy....months later
- jiba sindryen....monthly magazine
- hujiba jobnis....that month's rent
- hya ionjib....every trimester
- jiber....menstruate
- byi zojilob....since last October
- ub zejib....toward mid-month
Days of the Week
edit- Days of the week are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for day jub:
Days of the Week MIRAD ENGLISH juab Monday jueb Tuesday juib Wednesday juub Thursday juyob Friday juyab Saturday juyeb Sunday
- Here are some common terms relating to days of the week:
Day Expressions MIRAD ENGLISH Duhojub? Which day? hojub hu... the day that... hejub someday hijub today hujub that day hyijub (on) the same day hyajub every day hyejub any day zajub yesterday zojub tomorrow ha jajub
be ha jana jubthe day before, (on) the previous day ha jojub
be ha jona jubthe day before, (on) the previous day jazojub the day before yesterday jozajub the day after tomorrow hya ea jub every other/second day hyajub boy juyeb every day except Sunday yejub week hiyejeb this week yejubuj weekend yexjub (or) zeyejub weekday enyejuba(y) bi-weekly zoyejub last week
- Examples of Usage:
- (be) juyob....on Friday
- ju juib....until Wednesday
- ji zojub....since yesterday
- lojo jubuj....by [Lit: not after] day's end
- jo zajub....after tomorrow
- je ha jub....during the day
- bi juab bu juub....from Monday to Friday
- yejubuja ponpop....a weekend getaway
Parts of the Day
edit- Here are the principal parts of a day:
DAYTIME | NIGHTTIME |
---|---|
maj....daytime, day | moj....nighttime, night |
bi maj....A.M. | bi moj....P.M. |
jamajij....pre-dawn | jamojij....pre-dusk |
majij....daybreak, dawn | mojij....dusk |
amaryap....sunrise, sunup | amaryop....sunset, sundown |
jwamaj....morning zajwamaj....tomorrow morning hijwamaj....this morning zojwamaj....yesterday morning hujwamaj....that morning hyajwamaj....every morning |
jwamoj....evening zajwamoj....tomorrow evening hijwamoj....this evening zojwamoj....yesterday evening hujwamoj....that evening hyajwamoj....every evening |
zemaj....noon | zemoj....midnight |
jozemaj....afternoon | jozemoj....after midnight |
majuj....day's end | jwomoj....late night |
- Examples of Usage:
- At tijpa ja majij.....I woke up before dawn.
- At iyfe tuyjer be ha jwoa jozemaj.....I like to nap in the late afternoon.
- It yexe bi amaryap bu amaryop.....He works from sunup to sundown.
- Be gwa jwamoji, at teaxe sinibar.....Most evenings, I watch television.
Expressing Dates
edit- The following is a how a date (jud) is normally expressed:
- be juab, 11 jieb 2018 joK.....on Monday, February 11th, 1918 A.D.
- A date like 2018 can be expressed as twenty eighteen (elo alyi) or two thousand eighteen (ero alyi).
- The day 11 in the above expression is pronounced ala.
- The acronym for B.C. is jaK, short for ja Krist (before Christ).
- The acronym for the de-Christianized "BCE", meaning Before the Common/Current Era is expressed in Mirad with jaEJ (ja ha Eja Joeb).
- The acronym for A.D. is joK, short for jo Krist (after Christ).
- The acronym for the de-Christianized C.E. is EJ, shoft for ha Eja Joeb (the Current Era).
- Other date expressions follow:
- be ha 1800 jabi (alyi aso jabi)....In the 1800's (eighteen hundreds)
- ja ha 20a (eloa) asojab....before the 20th (twentieth) century
- eb 1920 (yulo elo) ay 2001 (emso awa)....between 1920 (nineteen twenty) and (two thousand one)
- hyaje hua alojab....throughout that decade
- At yexa hum je gla jabi.....I worked there for [Lit: during] many years.
- Ujbu his lojo jiyab.....Finish this by [Lit: not after] May.
- Iyt so him ub ha uj bi 2 (ewa) jiab.....She will be here toward the end of January 2nd.
- At taja je ha Tejika Eloni.....I was born in the Roaring Twenties.
Telling Time
edit- Clock time expressions use mostly the word jwob (hour) or jwobi (hours).
- Times of the day are expressed in the 24-hour European system, or what might be called by Americans "military clock time." So, 3PM in U.S. parlance should be expressed in Mirad as 15 hours (ulo jwobi), which is the same as 15:00 or 15 hundred hours.
- The usual time-of-day question is Se duhojwob?....What time is it? [Lit: is what-hour?]
- The typical answer is in the format Se alo (jwobi) yuwa. (Lit: (It) is ten hours five). The use of jwobi is optional, but if jwobi is modified by awa....one, then the singular form jwob is used.
- Here are some typical answers:
- Se awa jwob.....It is one o'clock AM [Lit: It is one hour.]
- Se ewa jwobi.....It is two o'clock AM [Lit: It is two hours.]
- Se ale jwobi.....It is twelve o'clock AM.
- Se alyu jwobi elo.....It is 15:30 (3:30 PM).
- Se eli jwobi ali.....It is 23:13 (11:13 PM).
- Se elu jwobi.....It is 24:00 (12 PM).
- The words jwob and jwobi can be abbreviated as j..
- be elo j.....At 8:00 PM
- The designation AM and PM can be used but are not necessary in the 24-hour clock system:
- bi maj....(AM)
- bi moj.... (PM)
- Se vyavay 15:10 (= alu alo).....It is exactly 7:10 P.M.. [Lit: It is exactly fifteen ten.]
- Et sa jwoa bey alo jwabi.....You were late by 10 minutes. [Lit: You were late by ten minutes.]
- Has ijo yuz 21:30 (= ela jwobi ilo).....It will begin around 10:30 PM.
- Puu him lojo jwoa vyel 15:00 j.....Get here no later than 3 PM.
- Ha yuzpar puo hum yeb 10 jwabi.....The bus will arrive there within 10 minutes.
- Ha jwobar izeade1 17:00.....The clock says [Lit. indicates] 5 PM.
- Yit pua be 3 j. be ha nod.....They arrived at 3 on the dot.
- Note 1: izeade (indicates) can be substituted with de (says).
- Note the following clock time idioms:
Clock Idioms MIRAD ENGLISH jwa early jwe on time jwo late Se vyavay elo j. It is exactly 8 PM. yub bi zemaj
or yuz bi zemaj.around noon ub zemoj toward midnight yeb bi jwebi within seconds alo jwabi ja hij ten minutes ago [= before now] lojo 3 j. no later than / by 3 o'clock AM. jwobay hourly / by the hour / on the hour Hia pop efxe 2 1/2 (= ewa gab eyn) jwobi. This trip takes (Lit: necessitates) 2 1/2 hours. ju awa jwob bi hij until one hour from now ji zojub be 10a j. since yesterday at 10 o'clock. je ha jana 12 jwabi for/during/over the last 12 minutes ja ojo 10 j. before / by 10 AM. lojo 10 jwobi. by / in / within 10 hours. jo 10 j. after 10 o'clock AM. At saye him ji ewa jwobi. I have been here for [= since] two hours.
Expressing Age
edit- Many expressions relating to age are built on the Mirad word for age: jag.
- The typical question is:
- Et se duhojaga?....How old are you? (Lit. what-aged)
- A typical answer is:
- At se eli (jabi) (jaga).....I am twenty-three (years old).
- The word jaga can be left understood, as well as the word jabi....years:
- At se ilo.....I am thirty.
- Here is a list of important age expressions and categories:
- duhojaga?....how old?
- hojoga....of which age
- hajaga....of the age
- hejaga....of some age
- hijaga....this old
- hujaga....that old
- huujaga....so old
- hyajaga....of every age
- hyejaga....of any age
- hyijaga / gejaga....of the same age, as old
- hyujaga / ogejaga....of a different age
- zejaga .... middle-aged
- jaga....old
- jayga....oldish
- joga....young
- joyga .... youngish
- gle jaga....rather old, oldish
- gla jaga....very old
- gra jaga....too old, super-aged
- gro jaga....under-aged, minor
- ge jaga....as old, of the same age
- awa (jab) jaga....one year old
- ewa (jabi) jaga....two years old
- alo (jabi) jaga....ten years old
- ga jaga vyel et....older than you
- ga joga vyel at....younger than me
- ge joga vyel iyt....as young as her
- ha gwa jagat bi ata tidetyan....the youngest of my siblings
- gajagat .... an elder
- grojagat....a minor
- alojagat....a ten-year-old
- aloynjagat....a teenager
- jagat .... old person, elder, senior
- jagwat .... old man
- jagayt .... old woman
- jogat....a youth
- jogwat....a boy
- jogayt....a girl
- grejat....an adult, someone of age
- jagseat....an adolescent
- jagsyat/agsyat....a grownup
- yilojagat....an octogenarian
- asojagat....a centenarian
- tud .... child, offspring
- twud .... male child, son
- tuyd .... female child, daughter
- tudet .... baby, infant
- tobet .... youth, young person
- twobet .... boy, young man
- toybet .... girl, young woman, maiden
- Some other examples of usage:
- Et jagseye fi.....You are aging well.
- At voy jogseye hyegla.....I am not getting any younger.
- His se taam av ha jagati.....This is a home for the elderly.
- Gawaku eta jogan!....Regain your youth!
- At se ga jaga vyel ha yazmeli.....I am older than the hills.
- Teaxu ata gwa joga tud.....Look at my youngest child.
- Yat ife yata awajagat.....We love our one-year-old.
- Jagseatan se yika joob bi tej.....Adolescence is a difficult period of life.
- Agsu!....Grow up!
- Note the difference:
- agaser....to get bigger
- agser....to grow
Currency Nomenclature
edit- The ISO abbreviation for the currency expressions from various countries of the world are used to form the Mirad equivalents. The lowercase ISO code abbreviation for a particular country's denomination is spelled out in Mirad alphabetics and then the letter n is suffixed (mnemonic for nas....money). Then, since a monetary unit can be considered a proper noun, the first letter is capitalized, eg.:
- The ISO code abbreviation for "U.S. dollar" is "USD".
- Lowercase is "usd"
- Spelled out in Mirad alphabetics is u so da.
- This, with n suffixed, results in usodan.
- Finally, the first letter is capitalized, giving Usodan.
- Pluralized, Usodan becomes Usodani (= U.S. dollars).
- The Euro is therefore Euron.
- The Thai baht is Toheban.
- The Russian ruble is Rouban.
- The ISO codes can be found at List of circulating currencies. A portion of that file is replicated here:
English Currency Name | Currency symbol |
ISO code | Mirad Name |
---|---|---|---|
Jordanian dinar | JD | JOD | Jiodan |
Moroccan dirham | DH | MAD | Miadan |
Australian dollar | $ | AUD | Audan |
Bitcoin | ₿ | (BTK?) | Batokin |
Brunei dollar | $ | BND | Banidan |
Eastern Caribbean dollar | $ | XCD | Xucadan |
Hong Kong dollar | $ | HKD | Hekidan |
New Zealand dollar | $ | NZD | Nizudan |
Singapore dollar | $ | SGD | Sogedan |
United States dollar | $ | USD | Usodan |
Armenian dram | ֏ | AMD | Amidan |
Euro | € | EUR | Euron |
Central African CFA franc | Fr | XAF | Xuafen |
CFP franc | Fr | XPF | Xupofen |
Swiss franc | Fr | CFN | Cufenin |
West African CFA franc | Fr | XOF | Xuofen |
Netherlands Antillean guilder | ƒ | ANG | Anigen |
Danish krone | kr | DKK | Dakikin |
Turkish lira | ₺ | TRY | Toroyun |
Mauritanian ouguiya | UM | MRU | Miroun |
Sterling | £ | GBP | Gebapon |
Saint Helena pound | £ | SHP | Sohepon |
South African rand | R | ZAR | Zuaron |
Russian rouble | ₽ | RUB | Rouban |
Indian rupee | ₹ | INR | Iniron |
Israeli new shekel | ₪ | ILS | Ilison |
- The hundredth fractional unit for most currencies can be converted into Mirad by appending the word -asoyn to the end of the Mirad name of the currency.
- For example:
- The American cent is Usodan-asoyn.
- The Euro cent is Euron-asoyn.
- The British penny is Gebapon-asoyn.
- In context, all of the above can be abbreviated to asoyn.
- The symbol used for each currency can also be taken from the Wikipedia table referenced above. The symbol precedes the number and a comma is used for the thousand breaker and a period is used for the decimal breaker. For example:
- Five point six Euros ==> Yowa nod yawa Euroni ==> €5.6
- Two thousand nine dollars ==> Emro yuwa Usodani ==> $2,009
- Note: : The bitcoin has no ISO code, so it is arbitrarily translated into Mirad as Batokin (for BTK). Its billionth fractional unit is called a satoshi and is translated into Mirad as Batokin-amroyn.
- Other monetary vocabulary:
- nas....money
- nasa....monetary
- nasyen....currency
- nases....change
- nasmug....coin
- syagnas....cash
- syagnasuer....to cash
- ejnux....debit, cash
- ojnux....credit
- nasyef....debt
- ojbier....to borrow
- ojbuer....to lend
- drefnas....paper money
- nasdrev....bill, note, banknote
- alo Usodan nasdrev....ten dollar bill
- nax....price
- nayx....cost
- namper....to shop
- nusbier....to buy
- nisbuer....to sell
- nun....merchandise, product
- nuer....to supply
- nuxer....to pay
- nyuxer....to deliver
- nier....to demand
- nixer....to earn
- nyixer....to order
- nexer....to save
- nyexer....to stock
- noxer....to spend
- nyoxer....to waste
- kyaxler nas....convert money
- nasokrer....go bankrupt
- nasam....bank
- nuien....trade
- nuiem....market
- nam....store
Pronoun Categories
edit- Pronouns are words that substitute for explicit nouns. For example, the pronoun I stands for the person standing at this place. The pronoun this stands for the thing or person nearest. The pronoun big one stands for a person or thing of some stature.
- In this grammar, pronouns are divided into three categories:
- personal pronouns
- deictic determiners
- deadjectival pronouns
- Deictic determiners like who?, this, that, such a, all, anything are discussed in a later chapter called Determiners.
- Deadjectival pronouns are discussed in the chapter on Adjectives, because they are basically pronouns built from an adjective or adjective stem, such as:
- fia....good
- fiat....a good guy
- fias....a good thing
- ha gwa fiasi....the best ones
- This chapter discusses personal pronouns.
Personal Pronouns
edit- In Mirad, personal pronouns can be classified by the following features:
- person
- 1st
- 2nd
- 1st & 2nd hybrid
- 3rd
- specificity
- person-specific
- generic
- reciprocal
- reflexive
- gender
- gender-neutral
- masculine
- feminine
- case
- subject
- direct object
- indirect object
- animacy
- animate
- inanimate
- other
- emphatic
- possessive
- The chart below shows the principal personal pronouns, but does not include hybrid, reciprocal, emphatic, and possessive forms.
Personal Pronouns PERSON TYPE ANIMACY GENDER SINGULAR PLURAL 1st Specific Animate Neutral at....I, me yat....we, us 2nd et....you yet....you, you all 3rd it....he, she, him, her yit....they, them Masculine wit....he, him Feminine iyt....she, her Inanimate Neutral is....it yis....they, them Generic Animate ot....one, they yot....people Reflexive ut....self yut....selves
Animacy
edit- If a Mirad pronoun ends in -t, the pronoun is animate. If the pronoun ends in -s, the pronoun is inanimate.
- The Mirad 3rd person specific animate pronouns it (he/she), iyt (she), wit (he), and yit can refer to any animate or pseudo-animate creatures such as animals, babies, dolls, angels, gods, or monsters. However, Mirad it cannot refer to non-animate things such as tables, ideas, abstractions, plants, etc. Instead, the 3rd person inanimate pronoun is (singular) or yis (plural) is used. A deictic determiner (this/that, these/those) can also be used in such cases, as discussed in the chapter on Determiners, eg.:
- Eta dom se via. At iyfe is.....You house is beautiful. I like it.
- Ata dyun se Pierre. Is se Feroda.....My name is Pierre. It's French.
- Tej se vira, oy is uje gra ig.....Life is wonderful, but it ends too soon.
- Teaxu hua amaryop. Has se via.....Look at that sunset. It (=the thing) is beautiful. In this case, is and the determiner has are synonymous.
- If the English word they or them refers to inanimate objects, concepts, or abstractions, then the Mirad 3rd person inanimate plural pronoun isi is used, eg.:
- At ujba dyeer ha dyesi. Isi sa gla fia.....I finished reading the books. They were very good.
- Note that the endings -t and -s alternate regularly in the language for things and persons.
Gender
edit- Personal pronouns are gender-neutral, except that the 3rd singular animate pronoun it (he/she) can be made to express gender by prefixing w for masculine or inserting y before the final t for feminine. This is optional and only used where needed to differentiate referents.
- it....he/she/him/her
- iyt....she/her
- wit....he/him
- ita....his/her
- iyta....her
- wita....his
- iut....himself/herself
- iuyt....herself
- wiut....himself
- iuta....his/her own
- iuyta....her own
- wiuta....his own
- In rare cases, distinguishing other personal pronouns for gender might be possible:
- wat....I/me, as a male
- eyt....you, a female
Number
edit- All plural personal pronouns begin with y:
- yat....we, us
- yet....you (all)
- yit....they, them (m. or f.)
- yot....people
- yut....themselves
- Plural personal pronouns do not express gender.
Case
edit- Personal pronouns in Mirad do not express case with inflected forms such as he vs. him or she vs. her, or they vs. them in English. Rather, the position in the sentence or prepositions do the job.
- Et teate at.....You see me. (subject)
- At teate et.....I see you. (direct object)
- Yat teate yit.....We see them. (subject)
- Yit teaate yat.....They see us. (direct object)
- Du at din.....Tell me a story. (indirect object)
- Buu is bu at.....Give it to me. (indirect object)
- Tell me a story. can also be expressed in Mirad as Du din bu at. (Tell a story to me.). Some verbs in Mirad like der (to tell), buer (to give), and uper (to come) have a built-in dative notion and do not require the preposition bu (to) if the object pronoun immediately follows the verb.
Expressing Pronouns with Quantitative Elements
edit- Here are some possible personal pronouns with quantitative elements:
- awat bi yat....one of us
- ewat bi yet....two of you
- Hyaewat bi yit....both of them
- hya yat....we/us all
- anay wet....only you (m.)
- duhot bi yet?....who of you?
- Hyawas se fia.....Each one is good.
- The above terms involve deictic determiners, which are discussed in the chapter on Determiners, as well as numbers, discussed in Numbers.
Generic Pronouns
edit- The third person generic pronouns ot and yot are used as in English one and they, people (meaning unspecifed persons), as in the following examples:
- Ot yefe xer ha yakwas.....One must do what is expected.
- Yot de van et vyode hyoj.....They/People say you never lie.
Hybrid Pronouns
edit- Mirad offers two special hybrid 1st & 2nd person pronouns, aet and ayet, which mean, respectively, I and you (dual) and I and you (plural). These are used only where the situation calls for it, eg.:
- Aet yeyfe tadser.....You and I should get married.
- Ayet efe yanbeser.....You people and I need to stick together.
Reflexive Personal Pronouns
edit- Reflexive personal pronouns like English myself, yourself, etc. are formed by postfixing a u just before the final t. Reflexive personal pronouns are invariable for gender. Translating iut as herself depends on the context.
Reflexive Pronouns PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL 1st specific animate aut....myself yaut....ourselves 2nd specific animate eut....yourself yeut....yourselves 3d specific animate iut....himself/herself yiut....themselves 3d specific inanimate ius....itself yius....themselves 3d generic animate out....oneself yout....people themselves
- Reflexive pronouns do not have gendered forms, because they hearken back to personal pronouns which can be gendered.
- The above reflexive pronouns can be adjectivized, as in the following:
- auta tam....my own house
- yiuta byen....their own way
- iusa volz....its own color
- These in turn can be pronominalized, as in the following:
- At bese yub bi autati.....I stay nearby my own (people).
- Eutas se ga fia.....You own is better.
- Iyt bexe iutasi.....She has her own things.
- Examples of personal pronoun usage:
- At yafe teater aut be ha sinzyef.....I can see myself in the mirror.
- Iyt yubteaxa iut.....She examined herself.
- Tru eut!....Know thyself.
- Yat yeyfe tadser.....We should get married.
- Iyt vey tojbo iut.....She may kill herself.
- Ot yefe ifer out.....One must love oneself.
- Yot glaxag voy ife yout.....People often don't love themselves.
- Yet ufe yeut.....You (people) hate yourselves.
- Yet yeyfe yovser yeut.....You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
- Yat ufe yet.....We hate you.
- Upu eker bay yat.....Come play with us.
- At aut voy movie.....I myself do not smoke.
- The reflexive pronoun ut....self can sometimes be prefixed (with no variation in gender or number) to a verb to form a reflexive version of that verb, or it can be prefixed to other parts of speech to mean auto-, or self-, eg.:
- tojber....kill → uttojber....commit suicide
- vyixer....clean → utvyixer....wash up, clean oneself, self-clean
- exer....function → utexer....function automatically, self-run
- izber....pilot → utizber....auto-pilot, self-drive
- exut....operator → utexut....automaton
- deber....rule → utdebea....autocratic, self-ruling
- tejdin....biography → uttejdin....autobiography
- fider....praise → utfider....boast (= self-praise)
Emphatic Personal Pronouns
edit- Emphatic personal pronouns can be formed by following the personal pronoun with the reflexive correspondent, eg.:
Emphatic Personal Pronouns PERSON GENDER SINGULAR PLURAL 1st neutral at aut....I myself, me myself yat yaut....we ourselves, us ourselves 2nd et eut....you yourself yet yeut....you yourselves 3rd it iut....the person him or herself yit yiut....they themselves masculine wit iut....he himself wit wiut....they themselves feminine iyt iut....she herself yit yiut....they themselves
Note: Gender is not expressed in personal reflexive pronouns. Only the personal specific pronouns express gender, and then only optionally.
- Examples:
- At aut voy vatexe Tot.....I myself don't believe in God.
- At jateate yet yeut be hua dezyem.....I foresee you yourselves on that stage.
- Iyt iut voy sa hum.....She herself was not there.
Reciprocal Personal Pronouns
edit- The animate reciprocal personal pronoun....one another, each other is translated with hyuit, which is a melding of hyut (the other person) and hyit (the same person). This is an invariable pronoun and does not express gender or number, but refers to sentient beings.
- Yat yefe ifer hyuit.....We must love one another.
- This reciprocal pronoun can be converted to a pronominal determiner by suffixing a, as in hyuita....one another's, mutual, reciprocal:
- Yat tobweti yefe fiyzaxer hyuita fwasi.....We guys must respect one another's wishes.
- The inanimate reciprocal personal pronoun....one another, each other is translated with hyuis, which is a hybridization of hyus (the other thing) and hyis (the same thing. This is an invariable pronoun and does not express gender or number, but refers to inanimate objects, concepts, and abstractions.
- Meri glexag yanpyexe hyuis.....Planets sometimes crash into each other.
- Syaagiri dale bay hyuis hyaj.....Computers talk with one another all the time.
- This reciprocal pronouns can sometimes be used as a prefix, eg.:
- Yat yefe hyuitifer.....We must love one another.
- Hyuitfiyz....mutual respect
- Hyuisloyexen....mutual destruction.
Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns
edit- Possessive adjectives are derived from pronouns by adding the adjectival ending a to the end of the pronoun, as follows:
- at....I, me → ata....my
- aut....myself → auta....my own
- yat....we, us → yata....our
- yaut....ourselves → yauta....our own
- iut....himself/herself → iuta....his/her own
- hyuit....one another → hyuita....one another's
- In turn, these possessive adjectives can be pronominalized with singular and plural forms referring to things. The following chart shows these forms:
Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns Adjective Pronoun Singular (thing) Plural (things) ata....my atas....mine atasi....mine auta....my own autas....your own autasi....your own aeuta....your and my own, our own aeutas....your and my own, our own aeutasi....your and mine, our own eta....your etas....yours etasi....yours euta....your own eutas....your own eutasi....your own ita....his/her itas....his/hers itasi....his/hers iuta....his/her own iutas....his/hers own iutasi....his/hers own wita....his witas....his witasi....his wiuta....his own wiutas....his own wiutasi....his own iyta....her iytas....hers iytasi....hers iuyta....her own iuytas....her own iuytasi....her own hyuita....one another's hyuitas....one another's hyuitasi....one another's isa....its isas....its isasi....its iusa....its own iusas....its own iusasi....its own ota....one's otas....one's otasi....one's outa....one's own outas....one's own outasi....one's own yata....our yatas....ours yatasi....ours yauta....our own yautas....our own yautasi....our own yaeta....your and ours yaetas....yours and ours yaetasi....yours and ours yaeuta....your and our own yaeutas....yours and our own yaeutasi....yours and our own yeta....your yetas....yours yetasi....yours yeuta....your own yeutas....your own yeutasi....your own yita....their yitas....theirs yitasi....theirs yiuta....their own yiutas....their own yiutasi....their own yisa....their yisas....theirs yisasi....theirs yiusa....their own yiusas....their own yiusasi....their own yota....people's yotas....people's yotasi....people's youta....people's own youtas....people's own youtasi....people's own
- Examples of possessive adjectives and pronouns in use.
- Ata tej se fia.....My life is good.
- Yata twed.......Our father...
- Ota fyadili yeyfe ser dola.....One's prayers should be silent.
- At voy teata ita dyes.....I did not see his/her book.
- At tre wita twed.....I know his father.
- Yat yefe ovmasber yatasi.....We must protect our own [pl. things].
- Etasi naze ga vyel atasi.....Yours are worth more than mine.
- Biku yeutasi.....You guys, mind your own business (= things).
- Yat toybeti fe ayser yauta nig.....We gals want to have our own space.
- Hia vafil bayse iusa toleuz.....This wine has its own taste.
- In rare cases, inanimate possessive pronouns like, say, yatasi (our own [things]) can be animated by changing the s to a t, yielding yatati (our own [people]), as in Ha Feromati ife vafil. Yatati gey.....The French people love wine. Ours do too.
Translating various uses of it in English
edit- When translating English it referring to animate creatures such as babies, animals, dolls, angels, ghosts, and monsters, the Mirad third person animate personal pronouns it he/she/it, iyt she, or wit he is used, eg:
- At eke bay ha epet hosav at iyfe it / iyt / wit.....I play with the dog because I like it / her / him.
- When translating English it referring to an inanimate object or abstraction, the inanimate personal pronoun is can be used.
- At teasa ha dyezun ay at iyfa is gla.....I saw the movie and I liked it a lot.
- Ha mes sa yija oy at voy ta is.....The door was open but I didn't know it.
- Deictic determiners like this and that can also be used. Read more about that in the chapter on Determiners.
- If it introduces a non-previously-mentioned abstraction in English or has no antecedent, then the it is left unexpressed in the Mirad equivalent sentence. For example:
- Mamilo.....It will rain. ( = Will rain.)
- Se fia van et upa.....It is good that you came. ( = Is good that you came.)
- Sa via jub bay et.....It was a beautiful day with you. ( = Was a beautiful day...)
- Voy se yuka yaprer hia yazmel.....It is not easy to climb this mountain. ( = Is not easy...)
The Verb Stem
edit- Verbs in Mirad are listed in the dictionary under the present active infinitive (see Mirad Grammar/Verbs#Non-finite Forms), such as yexer....to work. The infinitive minus the er ending is the stem. The stem is used as the base for all other verbal instantiations. The infinitive as listed in the dictionary is usually active in voice, but occasionally a passive infinitive ending in -wer will be lexicalized because it is somehow special, so then, the stem is the infinitive minus the -wer ending. All Mirad verbs are conjugated in the same way and there are no exceptions.
- This shows how to determine the stem of a verb listed in the dictionary:
Verb Stems SIMPLE INFINITIVE STEM+INFINITIVE ENDING yexer....to work yex+er poser....to (come to a) stop pos+er xer....to do x+er xwer....to happen, be done (PASSIVE) x+wer
Verb Formants
edit- The active stem of verbs most often end in one of the following verb formants:
Verb Formats Verb Formant Function Examples -xer action or causation xer....to do, saxer....to create, agaxer....to magnify, yixer....to use -xler forceful action yixler....to employ -xrer more forceful action yixrer....to wear out -ber gesture ber....to put, aber....to apply, yujber....to close -bler forceful gesture yujbler....to lock -brer more foreful gesture yobrer....to knock down -ser state or becoming ser....to be, eser....to exist, aser....to become, zyaser....to widen, become wider -per motion or going per....to go, yaper....to ascend, paper....to fly -ier action toward subject bier....to take, nier....to consume, ifier.'..to enjoy, dier....to ask -uer action toward object buer....to give, nuer....to supply, ifuer....to please, duer....to suggest -ner various verbs uxner....to motivate, axner....to behave -der communication der....to say, vader....to affirm, yevder....to judge -drer writing drer....to write, teedrer....to report, taxdrer....to record -ter knowing ter....to know, tester....to understand, teater....to see -fer volition fer....to want, ifer....to love, ufer....to hate -ver some modal verbs yiver....to have a right to, yuver....to have a duty to -ker various verbs aker....to win, oker....to lose, eker....to play -jer opening/closing ijer....to begin, ujer....to end, tajer....to be born, tojer....to die, yijer....to open -ler various verbs baler....to press, boler....to support, beler....to carry, daler....to speak -[aiu]rer tool use ukarer....to shovel, purer....to drive, myekirer....to mill -zer perform an art dazer....to dance, dezer....to act, deuzer...to sing
Verb Categories
edit- Verbs have morphological categories, which involve changes to the verb not always found in the dictionary, but developed through rule-bound affixation (such as live, lives, lived, living). They also have lexical categories, which involve derived forms usually listed in dictionaries (enjoy, enjoyable, enjoyment)
Morphological Categories
edit- Verbs are inflected with the following morphological categories:
- 2 STATES: finite, non-finite
- 4 TENSES: present, past, future, atemporal1
- 5 ASPECTS: simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential
- 2 VOICES: active, passive
- 2 MOODS: indicative, hypothetical
Note 1: The term "atemporal" means that tense is not marked. For example, in Mirad, Pu! is the imperative of the verb per....to go. It means Go! and is atemporal. The -u ending is an atemporal hypothetical mood marker.
- In effect, the PERSON/NUMBER category is not listed above, because this category does not affect the morphology of the Mirad verb form itself. The Mirad verb form stays the same for all persons and numbers. That information is contained in the external subject pronouns governing the verb. In English, for example, the verb "be" has several different forms in the present tense verb form depending on the person and number (I am, you are, he is, we are, etc.), but not so in Mirad. The following chart shows how the English pattern differs from the corresponding single Mirad verb form se for all persons and numbers:
Verb ser (to be) Unchanged for person/number PERSON NUMBER ENGLISH MIRAD 1st Singular I am at se 2nd you are et se 3rd he/she/it is it se 1st Plural we are yat se 2nd you are yet se 3rd they are yit se
- This invariability of person/number exists for all tenses.
Lexical Categories
edit- In addition, verbs can be described in terms of the following opposing lexical categories. By lexical, is meant that verbs having different lexical properties are listed in the dictionary and have nothing to do with conjugation.
STATIVE | DYNAMIC |
---|---|
ser....to be | xer....to do |
INTRANSITIVE | TRANSITIVE |
agaser....to grow large | agaxer....to magnify |
SUBJECT-DIRECTED | PATIENT-DIRECTED |
bier....to take | buer....to give |
REFLEXIVE | NON-REFLEXIVE |
utvyixer....to wash up (wash oneself) | vyixer....to wash |
INCHOATIVE | CAUSATIVE |
tujper....fall asleep | tujber....put to sleep |
AUTONOMOUS | DYNAMIC |
yijer....to open (by itself) | yijber....to (make it) open |
RECIPROCAL | NON-RECIPROCAL |
hyuittujber....to kill one another | tujber....to kill |
GESTURAL | LOCOMOTIVE |
baser....to stir, budge | paser....to move |
SUBJECT-ORIENTED | OBJECT-ORIENTED |
teetyiker....to be hard of hearing | teetyikwer....to be hard to hear |
Non-finite Forms
edit- Non-finite verb forms are
- not conjugated for person or number
- cannot form a predicate
- and do not have a subject.
- There are three kinds of non-finite verb forms in Mirad:
- infinitives: the dictionary lookup form of a verb, ending in -er
- gerunds: verbal nouns, ending in -en
- participles: verbal adjectives, ending in -a
Infinitives
edit- Verbs are listed in the dictionary under the active voice simple aspect infinitive form, which always ends in er and means to X, or rarely the passive voice simple aspect infinitive form, which ends in wer and means to be Xed. The part of the verb form minus the -er or -wer is the verb stem.
INFINITIVE | STEM | ENDING |
---|---|---|
agser....to grow | ags- | -er |
igxer....to quicken | igx- | -er |
per....to go | p- | -er |
xwer....to happen, be done | x- | -wer |
- The infinitive in Mirad is used very much as its counterpart in English. The infinitive can be marked for two aspects (simple, perfect) and two voices (active, passive), as shown in the chart below, where the verb stems are underlined:
ASPECT | ACTIVE VOICE | PASSIVE VOICE |
---|---|---|
Simple | igxer....to quicken | igxwer....to be quickened |
Perfect | igxayer....to have quickened | igxawer....to have been quickened |
- In the above chart,
- the verb stem is igx- and
- the infinitive marker is -er;
- the simple aspect active voice marker is zero;
- the simple aspect passive voice marker is w;
- the perfect aspect active voice marker is -ay-;
- the past aspect passive voice marker is -aw-.
The passive voice infinitive of a verb will not appear in the dictionary unless it has a special meaning, such as xwer to happen. The perfect infinitives are never listed in the dictionary.
Gerunds
edit- The gerund is a verbal noun like English playing in playing ball.
- The gerund has two possible aspects (simple and perfect) and two possible voices (active and passive):
ASPECT | VOICE | ENDING | EXAMPLE |
---|---|---|---|
Simple | Active | -en | agaxen....magnifiying, magnification |
Simple | Passive | -wen | agaxwen....being magnified |
Perfect | Active | -ayen | byekayen....having cured |
Perfect | Passive | -awen | byekawen....having been cured |
- Note: Intransitive verbs like per to go do not have a passive gerund form.
- Lexicalized gerunds, such as sanxen formation, forming generally appear in the dictionary in the active voice.
- Some examples of gerund usage:
- (sanxer....to form) Ha sanxen bi hia mar efxa amroni bi jabi.....The forming (or: formation) of this star took millions of years.
- (deuzer....to sing) Iyta deuzen sa gla via.....Her singing was very beautiful.
- (poper....to travel) Popen se yika yex.....Traveling is hard work.
- (teeter....to hear) Teetwen fiay se glatesa av dezuti.....Being heard well is important for actors.
- (teater....to see) Teaten se vyatexen......Seeing is believing.
- (uper....to come) His se ha jeb bi Upen.....This is the season of Advent (coming).
- (tadier....to get married) Ata tadiayen ewa jodi bixa tepzex.....My having married twice drew attention.
- (aker....to win) At voy ta ita akawen hua nuz.....I did not know about his having won that prize.
- Gerunds, being verb forms, can take direct and indirect objects:
- At ifxwe bey eta buayen at hua nas.....I am pleased by your having given me that money.
- Tojben eut voy se kebiyaf.....Killing yourself is not an option.
- The special gerundive ending -eyn gives a nuance emphasizing the action as a single act, much like the English endings -ment or -tion. Here are a few examples showing the difference between -en and -eyn.
- yanlaxen....combining ≠< yanlaxeyn....combination
- xen....doing ≠< xeyn....action, deed
- zayben....advancing ≠< zaybeyn....advancement
- Another special gerundive (but lexical) ending is -un, which expresses the result of an action, eg.:
- zyegxer....to puncture ≠< zyegxun....a puncture
- zyeuber....to transmit ≠< zyeubun....a broadcast
- deuzer....to sing ≠< deuzun....a song
Participles
edit- Participles are verbal adjectives and can modify nouns and pronouns. Since they act as adjectives, they have the adjectival ending -a. Participles are marked by aspect (simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential) and voice (active, passive).
- The aspect markers per voice are:
ASPECT | VOICE | FORM | EXAMPLE |
---|---|---|---|
Progressive | Active | -ea- | tejea....living |
Passive | wea | xwea....happening | |
Perfect | Active 2 | -ya | pya....gone (< pyaa1) |
Passive | -wa | xwa....done (< xwaa1), drawa2....written | |
Imminent | Active | -oa | tojoa....about to die |
Passive | -woa | dodelwoa....about to be announced | |
Potential | Active | -ua | tojbua....lethal |
Passive | -wua | opoxwua....unstoppable |
- 1: The double aa in the perfect endings is reduced to a.
- 2: The wa ending is changed to awa after stems ending in a double consonant, the second being l or r. Example: dr- (to write) becomes drawa (written).
- Note 1: The perfect active particple ending in -ya is used only for intransitive verbs like per (to go). He is gone. is expressed by Wit se pya.
- Note 2: The potential aspect, represented by the vowel u is much like the conditional in English, but is not considered a tense in Mirad. For example, tojbu means would kill and the participle tojbua means lethal (referring to something that would/has the potential to kill). More about this in a later section.
- Note 3: There is another form of the progressive participle that falls in the lexical, rather than morphological category, in that such forms are listed in the dictionary as adjectives. For example, in the phrase The animals bothering our bird feeder..., the participle bothering would be oboxea in Mirad. By inserting the letter y between the verb stem and the participial ending, the participle becomes an adjective denoting a propensity or habit, as in bothersome (oboxyea). Such participles are invariably in the active voice. Most such adjectives in English end in -ive as in repulsive or -ly as in wiggly or -ous as in circuitous. Such adjectives in Mirad are listed in the dictionary and end in -yea.
- Adverbial participles can be made from the above adjectival participles, by suffixing the letter y. Examples:
- Iyt yepa ha tim deuzeay.....She entered the room singing.
- Ujbaway ha dodal, it pia.....The speech having been finished, he left.
- Also, the above participles can be converted into abstract nouns by suffixing n. Examples:
- tiluwa....drinkable → tiluwan....potability
- tojbua....lethal → tojbuan....lethality
- mansea....shining → he mansean bi iyta deuzen....the brilliance of her singing
- aakaxyea....inventive → aakaxyean....inventiveness
- Furthermore, these participles can sometimes be pronominalized with s for things and t for people or living things. These forms can, in turn, be pluralized:
- xwa....done → xwas....what is done, a happening
- xwa....done → xwasi....happenings, deeds
- otwa....unknown → otwas....what is not known, a mystery
- osexea....destroying → osexeas....a destroyer
- tojbua....lethal → tojbuas....something lethal, a lethal thing
- tojboa....moribund → tojboati....people about to die, fatal cases
- tejea....living → tejeat....a living person
- tejea....living → tejeasi....living things
- There is a special tenseless, nominalized, animate participle used for agent nouns (English one who does something, Xer, Xant, Xist), which refers to a person who habitually does some action, perhaps as a profession or trade. These agent nouns end in -ut.
- sexut....builder
- nuut....supplier
- tojbut....killer
- ifut....lover
- akuti....winners
- Note: There is a slight difference of meaning between the tensed participial pronoun ha akeat....the one winning and the non-tensed agent noun ha akut....the winner.
- Similarly, there is a special tenseless, nominalized, inanimate participle used for a thing that performs the action denoted by the verb stem. These agent nouns end in -us.
- yuxus....aid (a thing that helps)
- byuxwus....button (a thing that gets touched on the keyboard)
- paxus....motive (a thing that moves one)
- jaupus....precedent (a thing that comes before)
- The above -us ending contrasts with the endings -ar (instrument), -ir (machine), -ur (motor, engine), which are physical objects and not always suffixed to a verbal root.
Finite Forms
edit- In Mirad, finite verb forms are those that can take a person subject, serve as a predicate, and be conjugated. Finite verb forms are conjugated by using suffixes indicating, through their presence or absence, the following categories:
- TENSES
- present
- past
- future
- atemporal
- MOODS
- indicative
- hypothetical
- ASPECTS
- simple
- progressive
- perfect
- imminent
- potential
- VOICES
- active
- passive
- reflexive
- reciprocal
- Person and number are not marked on the verb form itself. For example, am, is, are, which change according to the person subject in English, are all expressed with the same verb form in Mirad: se. Thus, at se....I am, et se....you are, it se....he/she/it is, etc.
Moods
edit- There are two moods in Mirad:
- indicative
- hypothetical.
Indicative Mood
edit- The indicative form of the verb indicates an action or state that occurs in actual time, such as he went, he is going, he will go.
- The indicative mood has three tenses, present, past, future, indicated by the suffixes -e, -a, and -o, respectively.
Hypothetical Mood
edit- Wheras the indicative verb forms expresses actuality in time, the hypothetical mood expresses one of the non-actuality situations below and uses the vowel u.
- a command , i.e. the IMPERATIVE (Go!)
- a wish or suggestion, i.e. the HORTATIVE or JUSSIVE (May the king live long!, Let's celebrate!)
- an unrealized situation, i.e. the SUBJUNCTIVE (It is important that you be early.)
- an imagined if-then-situation, i.e. the CONDITIONAL (If I were rich, I would be happy.)
Aspects
edit- There are five aspects in the Mirad verb system.
- the SIMPLE aspect (default), i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional.
- the PROGRESSIVE aspect, i.e. an action or state on-going in the particular tense, using ey
- the PERFECT aspect, i.e. an action or state anterior or already completed, using ay
- the IMMINENT aspect, i.e. an action or state about to happen, using oy
- the POTENTIAL aspect, i.e. an action potentially happening, using uy
The Simple Aspect
edit- Unless specifically marked, the default aspect is simple, i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional. Three indicative tenses can be expressed in the simple aspect:
- Present with e
- Past with a
- Future with o.
- Unless specifically marked, the default aspect is simple, i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional. Three indicative tenses can be expressed in the simple aspect:
- An atemporal verb ending in u in the simple aspect is considered hypothetical and expresses three things, depending on how it is used in the sentence:
- a conditional like I would go (if...)
- an imperative like Go!
- a hortative like Let's go!
- a subjunctive like (It is important that) we go.
- An atemporal verb ending in u in the simple aspect is considered hypothetical and expresses three things, depending on how it is used in the sentence:
- Here is a chart showing the simple, active voice instantiations of the Mirad verb per (to go) with the endings underlined:
MOOD | TENSE | ASPECT | VOICE | INSTANTIATION | VERB per |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | Present | Simple | Active | At pe....I go | |
Indicative | Past | Simple | Active | At pa....I went | |
Indicative | Future | Simple | Active | At po....I will go | |
Hypothetical | Atemporal | Simple | Active | Conditional | At pu....I would go |
Hortative/Optative/Jussive | Van yat pu!....Let's go! | ||||
Imperative | Pu tam!....Go home! | ||||
Subjunctive | Se efwa van et pu.....It is necessary that you go. |
- Note that the last four instantiations are the same tense, but differ in syntax. For example, if the verb form is hypothetical, atemporal, simple, active and has no subject, it operates as an imperative.
The Simple Indicative Present Active Tense
edit- The simple indicative present instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix e and has a non-progressive (habitual) aspect as in English I work or I live. Progressive aspect forms like I am studying are explained later.
- Examples:
- At yexe be tam. ....I work at home.
- Hia tom se nam. ....This building is a store.
- Examples:
The Simple Indicative Past Active Tense
edit- The simple indicative past tense instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix a and has a non-progressive (punctual) meaning as in English I did something at some particular point in time. The simple past contrasts in aspect with the past progressive (I was doing something) or the present perfect (I have done something), or past potential (I would have done something). The simple past is punctual, that is, it describes an event that occurred at a particular point in time.
- Examples:
- Iyt iba ha nyuf zojub. ....She received the package yesterday.
- At ujba ha dyes ji iwa jwobi. ....I finished the book three hours ago.
- His kyesa exag hijub.....This happened twice today.
- Examples:
The Simple Indicative Future Active Tense
edit- The simple indicative future tense is marked with the vowel suffix o and has the same meaning as in English I will do something at some particular point in the future.
- Examples:
- Yit tadso zajab.....They are going to get married next year.
- Hua kaxon ujako. ....That solution will work.
- Examples:
The Simple Hypothetical Atemporal Active Tense
edit- A verb form ending in u like pu has no time value and is used to express unreal actions or states, such as the imperative, hortative, conditional, or subjunctive.
- Examples:
- Upu him!....Come here! (IMPERATIVE)
- Von upu! ....Don't come! (NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE)
- Ha edeb fu teater et. ....The king would like to see you. (CONDITIONAL)
- Ven at su et, at dolu. ....If I were you, I would be quiet. (CONDITIONAL)
- Van yeyt ujaku be yeytia yexnadi. ....May all you (women) succeed in your careers. (HORTATIVE)
- Van yat ijbu bay fyadil. ....Let's begin with a prayer. (JUSSIVE)
- Se kyitesa van et puu jwa. ....It's important that you arrive early. (SUBJUNCTIVE)
- Se kyitesa von et puu jwo.....It's important that you not arrive late. (NEGATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE)
- Examples:
- A verb form ending in u like pu has no time value and is used to express unreal actions or states, such as the imperative, hortative, conditional, or subjunctive.
- Hypothetical verb forms ending in -u can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the following syntactical patterns in the sentence:
- Generally, if a verb form ending in -u begins a sentence and has no subject, then it is an IMPERATIVE (a command). For example, Ipu!, Go away!.
- If the verb form has a subject not preceded by the complementizers van, ven, or von, then it is probably a CONDITIONAL predicate like At fu per.....I would like to go..
- If the subject of the verb is preceded by ven....if, then it is a CONDITIONAL clause as in Ven at su nasikat.......If I were a rich man..
- If the subject is preceded by Van....that/let/may or von....don't, then it is a HORTATIVE wish like Van et yagteju.....May you live long. or a JUSSIVE suggestion like Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. or a prohibition like Von tiliu his!....Don't drink this!.
- Hypothetical verb forms ending in -u can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the following syntactical patterns in the sentence:
Voices
edit- Mirad has four voices:
- Active
- Passive
- Reflexive
- Reciprocal.
Active Voice
edit- The default voice is active, i.e. the subject of the verb is doing the action.
- At teata ha kyes.....I saw the event.
Passive Voice
edit- A verb form is converted from active to passive by inserting a w just before the last vowel of the verb form. The past passive particle ending -waa is usually abbreviated to -wa (done is xwa). However, if the verb stem ends in a consonant plus l or r, then -wa is changed to -awa for ease of pronunciation, eg. drawa....written.
- The following chart shows the distinction between active and passive voice of various verbs:
Contrasting Active and Passive Voice VERB FORM ACTIVE ACTIVE
EXAMPLEPASSIVE PASSIVE
EXAMPLEInfinitive xer
to doAt fe xer fi.
I want to do well.xwer
to be doneEse hyos xwer.
There is nothing to be done.Present Participle sexea
constructingHa yansyem sexea hia tom...
The firm constructing this building...sexewa
being constructedHis se sexewa.
This is under construction.Present xe
do/doesAt xe fi be tistam.
I do well in school.xwe
is doneHuyenasi hoj xwe.
Such things are never done.Past Participle xaa
having doneIyt, xaa hya iyta yex,...
She, having done all her work,...xwa
doneHyas se xwa.
Everything is done.Past tojba
killedDuhat tojba hwut?
Who killed that guy?tojbwa
was killedDuhaj it tojbwa?
When was he killed?Hypothetical bakxu
healBakxu at!
Heal me!bakxwu
be healedVan it bakxwu.
May he be healed.
- Many intransitive verbs cannot be made passive. For example, tajer....to be born is intransitive (takes no object) and has no passive voice form. However, the transitive verb tajber....to bear, give birth can be passive, as in Ha tudet tajbwa zajub.....The child was delivered yesterday (as opposed to Ha tudet taja zajub.....The child was born yesterday.) Notice the following verb:
- Ha mes uja.....The door opened (by itself). (medio-passive)
- Ha mes ujpa.....The door came open. (dynamic medio-passive)
- Ujbu ha mes.....Open the door. (transitive active)
- Ha mes ujbwa.....The door was opened (by someone). (passive)
Reflexive Voice
edit- A verb is made reflexive by prefixing the reflexive pronoun ut (self), for example:
- tojber....to kill → uttojber....to kill oneself
- vyilxer....to wash → utvyilxer....to wash up
- teater....to see → utteater....to see oneself
- yalber....to lift → utyalber....to lift oneself → Utyalbu!....Lift yourself up!
- trer....to know → uttrer....to know oneself → Uttru!....Know thyself!
Reciprocal Voice
edit- A verb is made reciprocal by prefixing the reciprocal pronoun hyuit....one another, for example:
- tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
- vyilxer....to wash → hyuitvyilxer....to wash one another
- teater....to see → hyuitteater....to see one another
- Both the reflexive pronoun and reciprocal pronoun can be used as standalone objects. However, the plural form yut is used if the subject is plural, for example:
- Yit vyilxa yut.....They (f.) washed up. (= washed selves).
- Ha twobeti dizeuda hyuit.....The boys laughed at one another.
- The word hyuit is a hybrid of hyit....the same one combined with hyut....the other one.
Aspects Revisited
edit- Mirad verbs have the following aspects:
- SIMPLE -- this is the default aspect, shown above, i.e. NON-PROGRESSIVE, NON-PERFECT, NON-IMMINENT, and NON-POTENTIAL.
- PROGRESSIVE -- this is an aspect where the verb describes an on-going action or state spread over time.
- PERFECT -- this presents the action or state as anterior, or completed prior to another action or state.
- IMMINENT -- this describes an action or state about to happen.
- POTENTIAL -- this refers to an action or state where something is possible.
The Simple Aspect
edit- The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Simple aspect. In the active voice, the tense vowels a, e, o, and u are affixed to the stem. In the passive voice, the passive marker consonant w is inserted between the stem and the final tense vowels. The simple present tense refers to actions or states that are habitual (I regularly go to school.), regular (The earth revolves around the sun.), or permanent (Blue is a color.). The simple past refers to actions or states that occurred at a fixed point in time (I did my homework last night.). The simple future refers to actions or states that will occur at some particular point in the future (The sun will rise tomorrow at dawn.). The simple atemporal hypothetical ( = conditional) refers to an imagined action or state that has not be realized (You would make a good president.).
Simple Aspect ASPECT TENSE MOOD ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Simple Present Indicative At xe....I do Has xwe....It is done Simple Past Indicative At xa....I did Has xwa....It was done Simple Future Indicative At xo....I will do Has xwo....It will be done Simple Atemporal Hypothetical At xu....I would do Has xwu....It would be done
Note: Absence of tense (Atemporal) + Hypothetical mood = CONDITIONAL
The Progressive Aspect
edit- The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Progressive aspect. The present tense vowel e followed by a buffer consonant, are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.
Progressive Aspect ASPECT TENSE MOOD ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Progressive Present Indicative at xeye....I am doing Has xewe....it is being done Progressive Past Indicative at xeya....I was doing Has xewa....it was being done Progressive Future Indicative at xeyo....I am going to be doing Has xewo....it will be happening Progressive Atemporal Hypothetical at xeyu....I would be doing Has xewu....it would be happening
The Perfect Aspect
edit- The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Perfect aspect. The past tense vowel a following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.
Perfect Aspect ASPECT TENSE MOOD ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Perfect Present Indicative At xaye....I have done Has xawe....It has been done Perfect Past Indicative At xaya....I had done Has xawa....It had been done Perfect Future Indicative At xayo....I will have done Has xawo....It will have been done Perfect Atemporal Hypothetical At xayu....I would have done Has xawu....It would have been done
The Imminent Aspect
edit- The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Imminent aspect (sometimes referred to as the Prospective aspect). The future tense vowel o following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. Not that only indicative mood imminent tenses are ever used.
Imminent Aspect ASPECT TENSE MOOD ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Imminent Present Indicative At xoye....I am about to do Has xowe....It is about to be done Imminent Past Indicative At xoya....I was about to do Has xowa....It was about to be done
The Potential Aspect
edit- The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Potential aspect. The hypothetical vowel u followed by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. The future potential and hypothetical potential aspects are never used.
Potential Aspect ASPECT TENSE MOOD ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Potential Present Indicative At xuye....I am to do Has xuwe....It is to be done, it is doable Potential Past Indicative At xuya....I was to do Has xuwa....It was to be done, it was doable
Verb Conjugation Chart
edit- The following chart presents the totality of the Mirad affirmative verb conjugation system using the verb xer....to do and its passive xwer....to be done, happen. The rows beginning with a light blue background are finite forms, while those beginning with light green are non-finite forms.
STATE | MOOD | ASPECT | TENSE | VOICE | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ACTIVE | PASSIVE | ||||||
Finite | Indicative | Simple | Present | xe does |
xwe is done, happens | ||
Past | xa did |
xwa was done, happened | |||||
Future | xo will do |
xwo will be done, will happen | |||||
Hypothetical | xu would do, do! |
xwu would be done, would happen, be done! | |||||
Indicative | Progressive | Present | xeye is doing |
xewe is being done, is happening | |||
Past | xeya was doing |
xewa was doing, was happening | |||||
Future | xeyo will be doing |
xewo will be happening | |||||
Hypothetical | xeyu would be doing be doing! |
xewu would be happening | |||||
Indicative | Perfect | Present | xaye has done |
xawe has been done, has happened | |||
Past | xaya had done |
xawa had been done, had happened | |||||
Future | xayo will have done |
xawo will have been done, will have happened | |||||
Hypothetical | xayu would have done |
xawu would have been done, would have happened | |||||
Indicative | Imminent | Present | xoye is about to do |
xowe is about to be done, is about to happen | |||
Past | xoya was to be done |
xowa was to be done, was to happen | |||||
Potential | Present | xuye is supposed to do |
xuwe is supposed to happen | ||||
Past | xuya was supposed to do |
xuwa was supposed to be done, was supposed to happen | |||||
Infinitive | Simple | xer to do |
xwer to be done, to happen | ||||
Perfect | xayer to have done |
xawer to have been done, to have happend | |||||
Participle | Progressive | xea doing |
xewa being done, happening | ||||
Perfect | x(a)ya2 having done |
x(a)wa1 done, happened | |||||
Imminent | xoa about to do |
xowa about to happen | |||||
Potential | xua bound to do |
xuwa doable | |||||
Gerund | Simple | xen doing |
xwen being done, happening, event | ||||
Perfect | xayen having done |
xawen having happened |
- Note 1: The perfective passive participle usually ends in -wa, but occasionally the longer form -awa is used, especially if the verb stem ends in a consonant followed by l or r that make the shorter form harder to pronounce, eg. pyuxrwa becomes pyuxrawa (shocked).
- Note 2: Intransitive verbs such as per to go have no passive forms. An expression such as They are gone. would be translated as Yit se pya.
Negative Forms
edit- All of the above verb forms are affirmative. The indicative and conditional forms can be made negative by preceding the negative adverb voy (not, 'nt, doesn't, don't). Those forms that are subjunctive, jussive, or imperative ending in -u use the negative subordinate conjunction von (don't, let not, lest).
- Voy mamilo.....It will not rain. (indicative)
- Von mamilu.....Let it not rain. (subjunctive)
- Von yat fuyaku.....Let us not despair. (jussive)
- At voy te.....I don't know.
- Von pu!....Don't go. (imperative)
- At voy xu hus.....I would not do that.
How to Express Certain English Tenses
edit- English speakers have some tenses that do not fit into the above schema:
- The English tense I have been studying French for four years. is translated in Mirad by At tixeye Ferad ji uwa jabi.....I am studying French since four years. (Mirad present progressive tense).
- The English tense I had been studying is translated in Mirad by At tixeya. (Mirad past progressive tense).
- The English tense I am going to be starring in that role. is translated in Mirad by At dezdebeyo be hua dezgon. (Mirad future progressive).
- The modern Black English tense Don't you be doing that. is handled in Mirad by Von et xeyu hus. (Mirad imperative progressive).
Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs
edit- Transitive verbs, which can take a direct object, oppose themselves to intransitive verbs, which do not take a direct object. Some verbs are marked overtly for transitivity.
- Verbs that end in xer (to do, -ify, -ize) are by nature transitive, and often have intransitive counterparts in ser (to be, become, -ify, -ize). Likewise, verbs ending in ber (to put, take) are transitive and have intransitive counterparts in per (to go). Here are some examples:
Transitive vs. Intransitive TRANSITIVE INTRANSITIVE xer....do ser....be agxer....grow (something) agser....grow (up) amxer....heat, make hot amser....become hot, heat up puxer....throw puser....jump per....go ber....put aber....put on aper....get on yaber....raise yaper....rise poxer....stop (something) poser....(come to a) stop yuber....bring yuper....approach yeber....insert yeper....enter
- At agxe vobi.....I grow [TRANSITIVE] plants.
- Ha vobi agseye ig.....The plants are growing [INTRANSITIVE] fast.
- Poxu ha pur!....Stop [TRANSITIVE] the car!
- Ha pur posa.....The car stopped [INTRANSITIVE].
- At yaba ha mis.....I raised [TRANSITIVE] the window.
- Ha maar yapaye.....The sun has risen [INTRANSITIVE].
Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity
edit- Note the following verbs, whose stems end in j are hard to pronounce with intransitive s and transitive x, so these two endings are placed with p and b, respectively, although the presence of the p is optional, i.e. it's presence or absence can slightly change the meaning from static to dynamic, eg. tujer....to sleep vs. tujper....to fall asleep. The transitive forms can be either active or passive.
Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity INTRANSITIVE TRANSITIVE STATIC DYNAMIC ACTIVE PASSIVE Ha mes yija
The door opened.Ha nasyef yijpa
The purse came open.At yijba ha mes.
I opened the door.Ha mes yijbwa bey yelput.
The door was opened by an intruderHa mes yuja.
The door closed.Ha yanup yujpa.
The meeting adjourned.At yujba ha mes.
I closed the door.Ha mes yeyfe yujbwer ja sumjob.
The door should be closed by bedtime.Ha dezun ijaye.
The play has started.Ha par ijpa boy poys.
The car started up immediately.At ijba ata tyal.
I started my meal.Ha tyal ijbwa jwa.
The meal was started early.Ha dezun ujaye.
The play has ended.Ata yex ujpaye.
My work has come to an end.A ujba ha dyes.
I finished the book.Ha dyes hyoj ujbwa.
The book never got finished.Ha tob toja zomoj.
The man died yesterday evening.Ha tob tojpa.
The man dropped dead.Hot tojba ha twob?
Who killed the man?Ha twob tojbwa bey ita tayd.
The man was killed by his wife.Teju.
Live!.Tejpu!.
Come alive!.Yat efe tejber ha twob.
We need to revive the man.Ha twob yofwa tejbwer.
The man could not be revived.Ha tobot taja zojub.
The baby was born yesterday.Hoj ha tobot tajpo?
When will the baby pop out?Iyt tajba awa twobot zojub.
She gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.Ha twobot tajbwa jo eymoj.
The baby boy was birthed after midnight.At tija jwe.
I woke up on time.It voy tijpa.
He did not come to..At tijbo et jwa.
I will wake (you) up early.At voy fe tijbwo gra jwa.
I don't want to be woken too early.At tujeya.
I was sleeping.At tujpeya.
I was falling sleep.At tujbo it.
I will put (him) to sleep..Ha tobot tujbwo glojo.
The baby will be put to sleep soon.
Reflexive Verbs
edit- Reflexive verbs, where the object refers back to the subject, work just as in English, where the object is a reflexive pronoun, eg.:
- At tujboye aut.....I am going to kill myself.
- Tru eut!....Know thyself!
- It gobla iut bey goblar.....He cut himself with a knife.
- Ot yefe yuxer out.....One must help oneself.
- Sometimes, verbs are reflexive lexically and incorporate the reflexivity in the actual verb form using ut as the prefix:
- uttujber....commit suicide (= self-kill)
- utboler....support oneself (= self-support)
- utdider....wonder (= self-ask)
- Sometimes, verbs are used reflexively in Mirad even though they are used simply intransitively in English, eg.:
- Et efe vyilxer eut.....You need to wash up [= wash yourself]. (or)
- Et efe utvyilxer.....You need to wash up [= self-wash].
Omission of Prepositions After Certain Verbs
edit- Some verbs inherently incorporate a preposition and so it is not necessary to use that assumed preposition before what would normally be an indirect object.
Inherent Propositions PREPOSITION-INCORPORATING VERB EXAMPLE per....go (to) Pu tam! (Not: Pu bu tam!) Go home.
It pa Paris.....He went to Paris.der....say (to), tell Du at eta dyun.....Tell me your name.
Du at has.....Tell it to me.peser....wait (for) Pesu at.....Wait for me. buer....give (to) Buu at hua dyes.....Give me that book.
- As in English, in omitting the inherent preposition in a sentence with both a direct object and an indirect object, place the indirect object before the direct object. If the direct object comes first, then the preposition must be overtly specified before the indirect object, eg. Buu at hus.....Give me that. or Buu hus bu at.....Give that to me. See more about this in the chapter on Syntax.
Causative vs. Inchoative Verbs
edit- A causative verb has the sense to make something have some quality, whereas an inchoative verbs means to become of take on the quality of something.
Derived from Adjectives
edit- Adjectives can be converted into transitive/causative and intransitive/inchoative verbs. Causative verbs are always transitive (taking an object), while inchoative verbs are intransitive (not taking an object). English causative / inchoative verbs often end in -ify like magnify, or -ate, liberate, or ize, like sensitize.
- To derive a causative verb from an adjective, add the suffix xer....to do to either the stem or the whole adjective (with the a ending). Whether you do the former or the latter depends on several factors, but the end result is slightly different in nuance. A verb with adjective stem + xer is slightly more idiomatic or less literal than the adjective stem + axer.
-axer vs -xer in Transitive Verbs ADJECTIVE CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE -xer LITERAL IDIOMATIC aga
bigagaxer
to magnifyagxer
to growana
oneanaxer
to unifyanxer
to uniteyona
apartyonaxer
to separateyonxer
to cutyaga
longyagaxer
to lengthenyagxer
to stretchyuga
slowyugaxer
to retardyugxer
to brakesana
formalsanaxer
to formalizesanxer
to formgea
equalgeaxer
to equalizegexer
to copy, equatejaa
priorjaaxer
to prioritizejaxer
to prepare
- To derive an inchoative verb from an adjective, add the suffix ser....to be to either the stem or the whole adjective.
Creating Inchoative Verbs ADJECTIVE INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE -ser LITERAL IDIOMATIC aga
bigagaser
to get biggeragser
to growana
oneanaser
to unifyanser
to unite, become unitedyona
apartyonaser
to become separateyonser
to break
- Be careful to use the transitive, causative verb form when you have a direct object, and the intransitive, inchoative verb form when no direct objects are present or possible, eg.:
- Ansu ey yet golxwo.....Unite or you will be divided. [INTRANSITIVE]
- At yontadsa hoj at sa eta jag.....I got divorced when I was your age. [INTRANSITIVE]
- Hisi agaxo hos et teate.....These will magnify what you see. [TRANSITIVE]
- Hia tud agseye ig.....This child is growing up fast. [INTRANSITIVE]
- Ata tayd agxe vosi be oyebzom.....My wife grows flowers out back. [TRANSITIVE]
Derived from Nouns
edit- Transitive/causative/active and intransitive/inchoative/passive verbs can also be formed from nouns. The sense of the former is to make be X and of the latter, to become X.
Verbs Derived from Nouns NOUN TRANSITIVE/CAUSATIVE/ACTIVE INTRANSITIVE/INCHOATIVE/PASSIVE mog....ash mogxer
to incineratemogser
to become ashesyan....collection yanxer
to collectyanser
to get togethertad....spouse tadxer
to marrytadser
to get marriedyom....ice yomxer
to freeze/make iceyomser
to freeze/become icemag....fire magxer
to burn, set fire tomagser
to burn, get burneduk....void ukxer
to emptyukser
become empty, empty out
Intermediary Causative Verbs
edit- Intermediary verbal causatives like have/get my car washed, make/force him go, get one's hair cut are formed by suffixing the causative verb infix -ux- (active) or uxw (passive) to the stem of the verb signifying the action to be arranged or caused by someone other than the subject, eg.:
- At gorbuxo ata tayeb zamaj.....I will get my hair cut tomorrow.
- Et voy yafe puxer at.....You cannot make me go.
- It tojbuxa yit.....He had them killed.
- At efe vyilxuxer ata par.....I need to have my car washed.
- Et upuxwa him hesav.....You were made to come here for some reason.
- At bakambuxo et.....I will have you hospitalized.
- Et voy yafe deuzuxer at.....You cannot make me sing.
- At hihiduxwa.....I was tickled (= made to laugh).
- Eta deuz hihiduxa yat.....Your song tickled us. (= Made us laugh.)
- Van het ivasuxu weti.....May someone get you guys to be happy.
- Hua enzyukpur uzpuxa ha pur.....That motorcycle caused the car to veer.
Subject-directed vs. Patient-directed Verbs
edit- The directionality of some verbs can be distinguished by the verbal formant infix -i- for an action or motion toward the speaker and -u- for an action or motion away from the speaker toward some patient, eg.:
Directional Verbs SUBJECT-DIRECTED PATIENT-DIRECTED bier....to take buer....to give nier....to consume nuer....to supply nyier....to order nyuer....to deliver nunier....to buy nunuer....to sell nazunier....win a prize nazunuer....award a prize noysier....pay off noysuer....charge ojbier....borrow ojbuer....lend tadier....get married taduer....marry off papier....take flight papuer....send off flying pipier....set sail pipuer....dock simbier....take a seat simbuer....offer a seat tampier....leave home tampuer....arrive home tamier....settle in tamuer....shelter nuxbier....to buy nixbuer....to sell telier....to eat teluer....to feed gonbier....to participate gonbuer....to share tilier....to drink tiluer....to ply with drink teubier....to swallow teubuer....to spit out teatier....to observe, watch teatuer....to show taxier....to memorize taxuer....to remind alier....to breathe in aluer....to breathe out, expire ilier....to absorb iluer....to pour ifier....to enjoy ifuer....to please dier....to ask duer....to suggest tier....to learn tuer....to inform pier....to depart puer....to arrive kebier....to choose kebuer....to distribute byier....to originate byuer....to target mempier....to take off mempuer....to land sinier....visualize sinuer....display xier....to result xuer....to cause yifier....to get up the courage yifuer....to encourage, challenge yafonier....to gain power yafonuer....to empower trier....to become acquainted with truer....to acquaint with, introduce to tepizier....to pay attention to tepizuer....to draw attention to
- In some cases, the directionality can be both ways in a verb, in which case the verb formant infix -ui- (a hybrid form) is used, eg.:
- nunier ....to purchase (subject-directed)
- nunuer....to sell (patient-directed)
- nunuier....to trade (subject & patient-directed)
- tier....to learn, realize (subject-directed)
- tuer....to inform, tip off (patient-directed)
- tuier....to communicate (subject & patient-directed)
- alier....to breathe in, inhale (subject-directed)
- aluer....to breathe out, exhale (patient-directed)
- aluier....to breathe, respire (subject & patient-directed)
- bier ....to take (subject-directed)
- buer....to give (patient-directed)
- buier....to give and take, exchange (subject & patient-directed)
Verbs with Vectorial Prefixes
edit- Prepositions and directional adverbs can be prefixed to verbs in order to change their vectorial semantics. A preposition ending in b will assimilate to p before the verb per....to go and a preposition ending in b will lose the b before a verb beginning with b. Here are some examples:
Verb Prepositional Prefixes PREPOSITION/ADVERB TRANSITIVE VERB INTRANSITIVE VERB ab....on aber....apply aper....get on, mount ob....off ober....remove oper....get of, dismount eb....between eber....block eper....intervene yab....up yaber....raise yaper....rise yob....down yober....take down yoper....descend yub....near yuber....bring near yuper....approach yib....far yiber....take away yiper....go far away yeb....in yeber....insert yeper....enter yeb....in yepuxer....throw in yepuser....jump in oyeb....out oyeber....expose oyeper....exit oyeb....out oyepuxer....eject oyepuser....jump out zyu....round zyuber....rotate zyuper....revolve zya....throughout zyaber....spread zyaper....tour av....for avdaler....plead avper....pursue ov....against ovber....oppose ovper....countervene yan....together yanber....compose yanper....meet yon....apart yonber....separate yonper....separate iz....direct izber....lead izper....head uz....curved uzber....divert uzper....diverge yuz....around yuzbexer....surround yuzper....circulate yiz....beyond yizber....transfer yizper....surpass zoy....back, re- zoyber....return zoyper....go back
Verbs with Other Semantics-altering Prefixes
edit- As in English and many other languages, prefixes can be used on verbs to reverse, mitigate, or otherwise alter the semantics:
Expressing re- with zoy- or gaw-
edit- The prefix zoy-....back or gaw-1....again are used like the English prefix re-, eg.:
- ember....to position → zoyember....to reposition, replace
- buer....to give → zoybuer....to return (an object), give back
- sanxer....to shape, form → zoysanxer....to reshape, reform, transform
- zyauber....to broadcast → gawzyauber....to re-broadcast
- taja....born → gawtaja....reborn
- aber....to apply → gawaber....to reapply
- uper....to come → zoyuper....to return (come back)
- teaper....to visit → gawteaper....to revisit
- uper....to come → zoyuper....to return, come back
- buxer....to push → zoybuxer....to repel, push back
- puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to reject, throw back, jettison
- Note 1: The prefix gaw- before a consonant is pronounced like the gaw in the English word gawk. It is short for ga awa jod or gawa meaning one more time, again. If the "re-" word means to do something again, then gaw- is used, eg. To reconvene ( = meet again)....gawyanuper If the sense of back is intended, than the prefix zoy- is used, eg. To return ( = come back)....zoyuper. Both prefixes are used in the expression Come back again!....Gawzoyupu!.
- Until we meet again. is expressed by Ju van yat gawyanupo.
Expressing de-, dis-, un- with lo-
edit- The prefix lo- reverses the semantics of a verb and is like English dis-, de-, or un-, eg.:
- saxer....to build, construct → losaxer....to destroy, deconstruct
- anxer....to unite → loanxer....to disunite
- xer....to do → loxer....to undo
- Note the difference between o- and lo-.
- odoparuwa....unarmed (= not armed)
- lodoparuwa....disarmed (= from the verb lodoparuer....to disarm)
Expressing co- with yan-
edit- The prefix yan-....together is used as the English co-, eg.:
- exer....to operate → yanexer....to cooperate
- tamer....to dwell → yantamer....to cohabit
- napber....to put in order → yannapber....to coordinate
Making Verbs Completive with ik-
edit- Verbs can be made completive by prefixing them with ik- (fully). Such verbs are comparable to phrasal verbs in English with up and other prepositions as in to eat up. Here are some examples in Mirad:
- tojber....to kill → iktojber....to kill off, exterminate
- telier....to eat → iktelier....to eat up
- ujber....to finish → ikujber....to finish off/up
- gofler....to rip → ikgofler....to rip up
- drer....to write → ikdrer....to write down
- byexer....to beat → ikbyexer....to beat up
Making Verbs Continuative with je-
edit- Verbs can be given a continuative nuance with the addition of the prefix je-:
- daler....to talk → jedalar....to go on talking, to blabber
- tejer....to live → jetejer....to go on living, to survive
- yexer....to work → jeyexer....to go on working, to keep working
- teaxer....to look → jeteaxer....to watch
- teexer....to listen → jeteexer....to keep listening, to pay attention
- duler....to insist → jeduler....to nag
Making Verbs Inchoative with ij-
edit- Verbs can be given an inchoative nuance with the addition of the prefix ij-:
- texer....to think → ijtexer....to start to think
- ifier....to enjoy → ijifier....to start liking
- tyer....to know → ijtyer....to get to know
Making Verbs Terminative with uj-
edit- Verbs can be given a terminative nuance with the addition of the prefix uj-:
- telier....to eat → ujtelier....to finish eating
- dyeer....to read → ujdyeer....to finish reading
- ufteuder....to complain → ujufteuder....to quit carping
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Pleasure with if-
edit- tyoper....to walk → iftyoper....to stroll
- tuyuxer....to finger → iftuyuxer....to tickle
- teaxer....to look → ifteaxer....to ogle (voyeuristically)
- piper....to sail → ifpiper....to go cruising
- teuder....to shout → ifteuder....to laugh
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Displeasure with uf-
edit- tosier....to feel → uftosier....to get angry
- eker....to play → ufeker....to fight
- der....to say → ufder....to express displeasure
- aluer....to exhale → ufaluer....to huff
- daler....to talk → ufdaler....to rant
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Prohibition with of-
edit- bier....to take → ofbier....to steal
- deler....to declare → ofdeler....to ban
- yeper....to enter → ofyeper....to intrude, break in
- zeyper....to cross → ofzeyper....to transgress, poach
- gelxer....to copy → ofgelxer....to pirate, plagiarize
- bekuluer....to administer medicine → ofbekuluer....to dope
- nuxuer....to pay → ofnuxuer....to bribe, pay off, suborn
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Holiness with fya-
edit- bexler....to keep → fyabexler....to enshrine
- buer....to give → fyabuer....to sacrifice
- der....to say → fyader....to bless
- daler....to speak → fyadaler....to preach, sermonize
- diler....to request → fyadiler....to pray
- deuzer....to sing → fyadeuzer....to chant
- ifrer....to love dearly → fyaifrer....to worship, adore
- jader....to predict → fyajader....to prophesy
- miluer....to sprinkle → fyamiluer....to sprinkle with holy water
- ojvader....to promise → fyaojvader....to swear
- xeler....to practice → fyaxeler....to celebrate
- koser....to hide → fyakoser....to go on a retreat, go into hermitage
- teazer....perform a show → fyateazer....to perform a miracle
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Profanity with fyo-
edit- der....to say → fyoder....to curse
- diler....to request → fyodiler....to conjure
- tyezer....to perform magic → fyotezer....to engage in black magic
- xer....to do → fyoxer....to sin
Expressing Good Actions with fi-
edit- der....to say → fider....to praise
- fer....to want → fifer....to mean well
- xer....to do → fixer....to do well
- yaker....to expect → fiyaker....to hope
- yuxer....to help → fiyuxer....to benefit
Expressing Bad Actions with fu-
edit- yevder....to judge → fuyevder....to critique negatively
- fer....to want → fufer....to will ill
- der....to say → fuder....to badmouth
- napxer....to arrange → funapxer....to mess up
- yuxer....to help → fuyuxer....to abuse
Expressing More Intense Actions with az-
edit- yujber....to close → azyujber....to lock
- der....to say → azder....to emphasize
- duer....to suggest → azduer....to urge
- dizeuder....to laugh → azdizeuder....to guffaw
Expressing Less Intense Actions with oz-
edit- der....to utter → ozder....to whisper
- duer....to suggest → ozduer....to hint
- dizeuder....to laugh → ozdizeuder....to chuckle
- uvteuder....to moan → ozuvteuder....to whimper
- tyoper....to walk → oztyoper....to limp
Expressing pre-, fore- with ja-
edit- der....to tell → jader....to foretell, predict
- teater....to see → jateater....to foresee, preview
- ter....to know → jater....to presage, have foreknowledge of
- yever....to judge → jayever....to prejudge
- juder....to date → jajuder....to antedate
Expressing post-, after- with jo-
edit- juder....to date → jojuder....to postdate
- texer....to think → jotexer....to reflect on, review
- uvder....to express sadness → jouvder....to mourn, regret
- ibler....to obtain → joibler....to inherit
Expressing excessively with gra-
edit- telier....to eat → gratelier....to overeat
- fer....to want → grafer....to covet
- der....to say → grader....to exaggerate
- daler....to talk → gradaler....to yammer
Expressing inadequately with gro-
edit- fyinder....to value → grofyinder....to underestimate
- mageler....to cook → gromageler....to undercook
- xaer....to perform → groxaer....to underperform
Expressing counter-, contra- with ov- or oyv-
edit- axler....to act → ovaxler....to counteract
- apyexer....to attack → ovapyexer....to counterattack
- daler....to speak → ovdaler....to oppose
- der....to say → oyvder....to contradict
- ber....to put → oyvber....to reverse, overturn
- texer....to think → oyvtexer....to contest, disagree
- per....to go → oyvper....to contravene
Expressing on behalf, for with av-
edit- axler....to act → avaxler....to act on behalf of
- daler....to speak → avdaler....to advocate, speak on behalf of
Making Verbs Reflexive with ut- (self-, auto-)
edit- tojber....to kill → uttojber....to commit suicide
- vyovider....to flatter → utvyovider....to flatter oneself
- zaypuxwer....to be propelled → utzaypuxwer....to be self-propelled
- fider....to praise → utfider....to brag
- gober....to decrement → utgober....to autodecrement
Making Verbs Reciprocal with hyuit- (one another)
edit- tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
- ifer....to love → hyuitifer....to love one another
Expressing inter-, intra- with eb- (between)
edit- tadier....to marry → ebtadier....to intermarry
- zyaber....to spread → ebzyaber....to intersperse
- vyexer....to relate → ebvyexer....to interrelate
Expressing the Opposite of an Action with o- (un-)
edit- bexler....to keep → obexler....to release, let go of
- aynser....to integrate → oaynser....to disintegrate, to decay
- beler....to carry → obeler....to drop
- bier....to take → obier....to leave, relinquish
- boser....to be quiet → oboser....to be upset
- drer....to write → odrer....to erase
- Note: If the base verb already begins with the negative prefix o-, then the prefix is changed to ol-, eg. obexler....to release → olobexwa....to unreleased
Expressing a Public or Official Action with do-
edit- Do- is a stub for dot (society).
- afder....to allow → doafder....to authorize
- bier....to take → dobier....to conquer, take over, take control of
- tojber....to kill → dotojber....to execute
- buer....to give → dobuer....to dedicate
- daler....to speak → dodaler....to orate, speak in public
- deler....to declare → dodeler....to announce
- drer....to write → dodrer....to publicize, report
Giving Verbs a Nuance of Truth with vya-
edit- der....to say → vyader....to avow, be frank
- ber....to set, put → vyaber....to control
- napxer...to arrange, order → vyanapxer....to adjust
- kexer....to seek → vyakexer....to investiage
- tuer....to inform → vyatuer....to advise
Giving Verbs of Nuance of Falseness with vyo-
edit- der....to say → vyoder....to lie, to misstate
- tester....to understand → vyotester....to misunderstand
- tuer....to inform → vyotuer....to misinform, to deceive
- xer....to do → vyoxer....to do wrong, fail, misdo
- yuxler....to serve → vyoyuxler....to betray, to serve unfaithfully
Making Verbs Positive with va-
edit- der....to say → vader....to affirm
- texer....to think → vatexer....to believe
- yeker....to expect → vayeker....to presume
- bier.....to take → vabier....to accept
Making Verbs Negative with vo-
edit- der....to say → voder....to deny
- texer....to think → votexer....to doubt
- yeker....to expect → voyeker....to rule out
- bier.....to take → vobier....to reject
Making Verbs Suppositional with ve-
edit- der....to say → veder....to conjecture
- texer....to think → vetexer....to suppose, hypothesize
- yovder....to blame → veyovder....to indict, accuse
Speeding up Verbs with ig-
edit- pier....to leave → igpier....to flee
- pyoser....to drop → igpyoser....to plummet
- tyoper....to walk → igtyoper....to run
- yeper....to enter → igyeper....to rush in
Slowing up Verbs with ug-
edit- paser....to move → ugpaser....to amble
- teaxer....to look → ugteaxer....to gaze
- ilper....to flow → ugilper....to trickle
- tilier....to drink → ugtilier....to sip
Expressing the Nuance of Suddenness with yok-
edit- baxer....to stir → yokbaxer....to startle
- hihider....to laugh → yokhihider....to burst out laughing
- teaser....to appear → yokteaser....to suddenly appear
- yoktojer....to die → yoktojer....to drop dead
Expressing the Notion of Fixedness with kyo-
edit- byaser....to stand → kyobyaser....to stand still
- kexer....to seek → kyokexer....to hound, stalk
- teaxer....to look → kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
- texer....to think → kyotexer....to obsess with, fixate on
Expression the Notion of Randomness with kye-
edit- der....to say → kyeder....to guess, divine
- per....to per → kyeper....to fluctuate
- poper....to travel → kyepoper....to wander
- napxer....to order → kyenapxer....to scramble
- bier....to take → kyebier....to select
Expressing the Notion of Change with kya-
edit- baser....to make a move → kyabaser....to shift
- sanxer....to form → kyasanxer....to transform
- xer....to do/make → kyaxer....to change
- napxer....to order → kyanapxer....to shuffle
- dyanxer....to phrase → kyadyanxer....to paraphrase
Expressing Covert Actions with ko-
edit- ber....to put → kober....to hide
- beler....to carry → kobeler....to smuggle
- bier....to take → kobier....to steal
- ebkyaxer....to exchange → koebkyaxer....to traffic
- exer....to operate → koexer....to spy, operate under cover
- fler....to wish for → kofler....to covet, be jealous of
- apyexer....to attack → koapyexer....to ambush, to sneak-attack
- loexer....to destroy → koloexer....to sabotage
Expressing Actions with Intentionality with ke-
edit- teaxer....to look → keteaxer....to scan
- vyaxer....to prove → kevyaxer....to experiment
- tier....to learn → ketier....to be interested in
Expressing Lateral Actions with ku-
edit- buxer....to push → kubuxer....to rebuff, shun
- der....to say → kuder....to comment, remark
- tyoper....to step → kutyoper....to step aside
Expressing Near Actions with yub-
edit- der....to say → yubder....to intimate, hint
- gexer....to equate → yubgexer....to approximate
- bixer....to pull → yu(b)bixer....to attract, draw near
- teaxer....to look → yubteaxer....to scrutinize, examine
Expressing Distance Actions with yib- (far, tele-)
edit- drer....to write → yibdrer....to wire, telegraph
- bixer....to pull → yi(b)bixer....to distract
- tuier....to communicate → yibtuier....to telecommunicate
- nyuxer....to deliver → yibnyuxer....to mail, post
Expressing up-, super- with yab-
edit- ber....to put → ya(b)ber....to raise, to put up
- bixler....to drag → ya(b)bixler....to dredge up
- uper....to come → yabuper....to come up
- nogyanxer....to scale → yabnogyanxer....to scale up, escalate
Expressing down-, sub- with yob-
edit- ber....to put → yo(b)ber....to lower, put down
- kyaber....to shift → yobkyaxer....to downshift
- musper....to climb → yobmusper....to climb down
- nogyanxer....to scale → yobnogyanxer....to downscale
Expressing in- with yeb-
edit- ber....to put → ye(b)ber....to insert, put in
- beler....to carry → ye(b)beler....to import
- uzber....to bend → yebuzber....to inflect
- yujber....to close → yebyujber....to enclose, include
Expressing out-, ex-, extra- with oyeb-
edit- ber....to put → oye(b)ber....to put out, expose
- beler....to carry → oye(b)beler....to export
- uber....to send → oyebuber....to emit, send out
- yujber....to close → oyebyujber....to exclude
Expressing pro-, forward with zay-
edit- ber....to put → zayber....to advance, put forward
- kexer....to seek → zaykexer....to scout out
- puxer....to throw → zaypuxer....to propel, thrust
- tyoper....to walk → zaytyoper....to progress, to walk forward
Expressing back-, retro-, re- with zoy-
edit- uber....to send → zoyber....to send back
- kixer....to bend → zoykixer....to reflect
- puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to repel
- neadper....to track → zoyneadper....to backtrack
Expressing across, trans-, over-, cross- with zey-
edit- per....to go → zeyper....to cross, transit
- beler....to carry → zeybeler....to transport, convey
- drer....to write → zeydrer....to transcribe
- kyober....to fix → zeykyober....to transfix, transplant
- vyayeker....to check → zeyvyayeker....to crosscheck
Expressing through, per- with zye-
edit- per....to go → zyeper....to permeate, get through
- kexer....to seek → zyekexer....to rummage, sift through
- drer....to write → zyedrer....to cross out, draw a line through
- iluer....to pour → zyeiluer....to soak
- koper....to sneak → zyekoper....to sneak through
Expressing all over, widely, all about with zya-
edit- ber....to put → zyaber....to spread
- buer....to give → zyabuer....to distribute
- ijber....to open → zyaijber....to open wide
- nuxer....to pay → zyanuxer....to disburse
- puxer....to throw → zyapuxer....to scatter, cast about
Expressing mid-, center with ze-
edit- ber....to put → zeber....to balance
- byaser....to stand → zebyaser....to straddle
- der....to say → zeder....to interject
- pyoser....to fall → zepyoser....to sag
- poxer....to stop → zepoxer....to interrupt
Expressing futurity with oj-
edit- ber....to put → ojber....to put off, postpone
- bier....to take → ojbier....to borrow
- fer....to want → ojfer....to wish, aspire
- texer....to think → ojtexer....to plan
- teater....to see → ojteater....to envision
- vader....to affirm → ojvader....to promise
Expressing past with aj-
edit- ber....to put → ajber....to pass, relegate to the past
- der....to say → ajder....to evoke, hearken, recount
- embier....to occupy → ajembier....to haunt
- texer....to think → ajtexer....to reminisce, to reflect
- uvtosder....to express sadness → ajuvtosder....to apologize
- nexer....to store → ajnexer....to archive
Expressing present with ej-
edit- buer....to give → ejbuer....to present
- eser....to exist → ejeser....to attend, to be present
- nuxer....to pay → ejnuxer....to pay cash
- tuer....to inform → ejtuer....to update
- uvtosder....to express sadness → ejuvtosder....to apologize
Expressing a stretched out action with yag- (long)
edit- beser....to stay → yagbeser....to linger
- bexer....to hold → yagbexer....to conserve, preserve
- daler....to talk → yagdaler....to ramble
- dodaler....to orate → yagdodaler....to harangue
- fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine
- teaxer....to look → yagteaxer....to stare
- fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine
Expressing a brief action with yog- (short)
edit- drer....to write → yogdrer....to abbreviate
- teaxer....to look → yogteaxer....to glance at
- tujer....to sleep → yogtujer....to snooze, nap
- gobler....to cut → yoggobler....to cut short, truncate
Some Hybrid Prefixes
editThe prefix kui- is a hybrid of ku- (lateral) and ki- (diagonal)
- per....to go → kuiper....to wobble
- tyoper....to walk → kuityoper....to limp
The prefix zao- is a truncated hybrid of zay- (forward) and zoy- (backwards), eg:
- baser....to move → zaobaser....to rock
- per....to go → zaoper....to alternate
- beler....to carry → kuibeler....to shuttle, ferry
- pyoser....to fall → kuipyoser....to pendulate
The prefix yaob- is a hybrid of yab- (up) and yob- (down). The final b- is assimilated or dropped before a b or p.
- baser....to move → yaobaser....to bob
- per....to go → yaoper....to heave
- beler....to carry → yaobeler....to shuttle, ferry
- peper....to ride → yaopeper....to jounce
- puser....to jump → yaopuser....to hop, bounce
The prefix bui- is a hybrid of bu- (to) and bi- (from), eg:
- drer....to write → buidrer....to correspond
- -er....to x → buier....to trade
- beler....to carry → buibeler....to shuttle, ferry
- xer....to do → buixer....to push and pull, spring
- poper....to travel → buipoper....to travel to and fro, travel round trip
The prefix uiz- is a hybrid of uz- (crooked) and iz- (straight), eg:
- drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
- der....to say → uizder....to equivocate
- baser....to move → uizbaser....to wiggle, to squirm
- per....to go → uizper....to careen, reel
- paser....to move → uizpaser....to swerve, yaw
The prefix zui- is a hybrid of zu- (left) and zi- (right), eg:
- drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
- buxer....to push → zuibuxer....to push around
- baser....to move → zuibaser....to sway, totter
- per....to go → zuiper....to zigzag
- pasler....to shake → zuipasler....to wobble
The prefix aoyeb- is a hybrid of (a)yeb- (in) and oyeb- (out), eg:
- ber....to put → aoyeber....to insert and extract
- tiexer....to breathe → aoyetiexer....to breath in and out
- paper....to fly → aoyepaper....to fly in and out
The prefix aob- is a hybrid of ab- (on) and ob- (off), eg:
- ber....to put → aober....to put on and off
- per....to go → aoper....to get on and off, embark and disembark
The prefix vao- is a hybrid of va- (yes) and vo- (no), eg:
- der....to say → vaoder....to decide
- daler....to talk → vaodaler....to waffle
- duder....to answer → vaoduder....to answer yes or no
- kyaxer....to change → vaokyaxer....to redact
- texer....to think → vaotexer....to deliberate, vacillate
The prefix uij is a hybrid of uj- (end) and ij- (begin)
- ber....to put → uijber....to switch off and on
- daler....to talk → uijdaler....to stutter
The prefix yuij is a hybrid of yuj- (close) and yij- (open)
- ber....to put → yuijber....to open and close, blink
The prefix huim is a hybrid of hum (there) and him (there)
- paper....to fly → huimpaper....to fly here and yon
- per....to go → huimper....to wander
- kexer....to seek → huimkexer....to search high and low
Different Nuances of teaxer with Prefixes
edit- teaxer....to look, behold, regard
- aybteaxer....to supervise, look over
- ajteaxer....to look back on (retrospect)
- eynteaxer....to squint
- fizteaxer....to respect
- fuzteaxer....to disrespect
- gawteaxer....to review, re-look
- hyuitteaxer....to look at one another
- ibteaxer....to ignore
- igteaxer....to glance, glimpse
- ifteaxer....to marvel at
- izteaxer....to view directly, confront, aim
- jateaxer....to preview
- jeteaxer....to watch, observe
- joteaxer....to review
- kateaxer....to look for
- keteaxer....to scan
- kiteaxer....to look askance
- koteaxer....to peek, spy
- kozyeteaxer....to peep
- kozyoteaxer....to peer
- kuteaxer....to observe
- kyeteaxer....to browse
- kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
- oteaxer....to ignore, overlook
- ufteaxer....to glare, leer
- ugteaxer....to gaze
- yagteaxer....to gape, gawk
- yebteaxer....to inspect
- yibteaxer....to view from afar
- yogteaxer....to glance at
- yokteaxer....to get a glimpse of
- yubteaxer....to examine
- yuibteaxer....to look near and far
- yuzteaxer....to look around, circumspect
- yanteaxer....to view together
- yizteaxer....to look beyond, overlook
- vyateaxer....to investigate, check out
- vyoteaxer....to view wrongly
- zateaxer....to face, confront
- zayteaxer....to look ahead, expect
- zoyteaxer....to look back
- zeyteaxer....to look across
- ziteaxer....to look to the right
- zuteaxer....to look to the left
- zuiteaxer....to look right and left
- zyateaxer....to look all over, survey
- zyeteaxer....to look through, peruse
- zyoteaxer....to squint
- yobteaxer....to look down
- yaobteaxer....to look up and down
- zaoteaxer....to look back and forth
- yabteaxer....to look up
- yubketeaxer....to pry
- uzteaxer....to look indirectly at
- oyebteaxer....to look out
- ojteaxer....to peer into the future
- marteaxer....to star-gaze
- tabteaxer....to autopsy
Modal Verbs
edit- Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are usually followed by the main verb in the infinitive or a subjunctive dependent clause and have to do with wanting, permitting, prohibiting, being able, being unable, needing, being obliged to do something, etc.
Principal Modal Auxiliary Verbs
edit- Mirad has a set of modal auxiliary verbs that can be followed by a main verb in the infinitive mode. This is very much like Enlish modal auxiliary verbs in the following examples:
- I want to go.
- You must wait.
- You may stay.
- I dare say.
- Here is a chart showing the main modal auxiliary verbs in Mirad:
Principle Modal Auxiliary Verbs TYPE POSITIVE NEGATIVE Permission afer....may
ayfer....mightofer....may not
oyfer....might notAbility yafer....can yofer....cannot Need efer....need to Obligation yefer....must
yeyfer....shouldoyefer....must not
oyeyfer....should notDesire fer....want to Enjoyment ifer....love to, enjoy
iyfer....like toufer....hate to
uyfer....dislike toCourage yifer....dare to yufer....be afraid to, fear Liberty yiver....have a right to, be free to yuver....be bound to, be supposed to Expectation yaker....expect to yoker....be surprised to Conation yeker....try to
- These modal auxiliary verbs are often followed by a verbal infinitive, as in the following examples:
- At fe ter.....I want to know.
- Wit yifa yeper.....He dared to enter.
- Yat yafe teater yet.....We can see you.
- Duven et yaka aker?....Did you expect to win?
- Diwe yeku xer ga fi.....Please try to do better.
- If the modal verb is in the hypothetical aspect (conditional), then the sense is somewhat mitigated, as in these examples:
- At fe per.....I want to go.
- At fu per.....I would like to go.
- Et yafe aker.....You can win.
- Et yafu aker.....You could win.
- Yet yefe iper.....You must leave.
- Yet yefu iper.....You ought to leave.
- Post-y-gliding the stem vowel of the modal verb also reduces the strength, for example:
- At ife et. ....I love you.
- At iyfe et. ....I like you.
- Et yefe iper.....You must leave.
- Et yeyfe iper.....You should leave.
- Iyt yafe aker.....She can win.
- Iyt yayfe aker.....She might win.
- At ufa uda tuz.....I hated that art.
- At uyfa uda tuz.....I disliked that art.
- The use of l and r intensify the meaning of the auxiliary verbs, eg:
- Et yuve puer jwe.....You are supposed to arrive on time.
- Et yuvle tepzexer.....You have to pay attention.
- Et yuvre buer nas.....You absolutely must give money.
- At yeka ser yeva.....I tried to be fair.
- At yekla ujber jwa.....I strove to finish early.
- At yekra nixer ga nas.....I struggled (= worked hard)) to earn more money.
- Iyt ife eker zyun.....She loves to play ball.
- Iyt ifla teater et.....She was delighted to see you.
- Iyt ifre teaper him.....She adores visiting here.
- Here are some examples showing how these modal verbs are used as auxiliaries:
- Et afe oyeper ay ifeker.....You may go out and play.
- Yat efa tujer.....We needed to sleep.
- Ot ofe mavier him.....One is prohibited to smoke here.
- Mavier him ofwe.....Smoking here is prohibited.
- At ife dyeer.....I love to read.
- Duven et fe yeper?....Do you want to come in?
- At fu teaper et edjub.....I would like to visit you some day.
- It ufaye hyaj teaxwer.....He has always hated being looked at.
- Duven et iyfe per tilami?....Do you like going to bars?
- At uyfe tijer gra jwa.....I dislike waking up too early.
- Et yafe xer hyehos et fu.....You can do whatever you like.
- Et yefer xer ad vyaas.....You must do the right thing.
- Et yeyfe voy daler huuyen azay.....You should not talk so loud.
- At yeyfa ter ga fi.....I should have known better.
- At voy yifu der hyea fuas.....I would not dare say anything bad.
- Von yufu der hos et tesde.....Don't be afraid to say what you mean.
- Et yive dier yevanavdut.....You have a right to ask for a lawyer.
- Yat voy yuvle kyoejer.....We are not bound to stick around.
Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms
edit- All of these modal verbs can be passive, in which case they are "patient-oriented" rather than "subject-oriented." The participial adjective yafa....able is subject-oriented and refers to a person, whereas the passived adjective yafwa....possible is patient-oriented and refers to a thing or event. Here is a chart of the principal modal verbs and corresponding participial adjectives with this subject/object-orientation distinction shown:
Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms MODAL TYPE SUBJECT-ORIENTED SUBJECT-ORIENTED PATIENT-ORIENTED PATIENT-ORIENTED VERB ADJECTIVE VERB ADJECTIVE Permission afer
mayafa
allowedafwer
be permittedafwa
permissableNecessity efer
needefa
needfulefwer
be necessaryefwa
necessary, requiredProhibition ofer
be unallowedofa
prohibitedofwer
be prohibitedofwa
bannedPossibility yafer
be ableyafa
ableyafwer
be possibleyafwa
possibleObligation yefer
mustyefa
obligedyefwer
be obligatoryyefwa
obligatoryDuty yeyfer
shouldyeyfa
supposed, duty-boundyeyfwer
be supposedyeyfwa
dueImpossibility yofer
be unableyofa
unableyofwer
be impossibleyofwa
impossibleVolition fer
wantfa
desirousfwer
be desirablefwa
desirable, wantedLove ifer
love
iyfer
likeifa
enamored
iyfa
fondifwer
be loved
iyfwer
be likedifwa
lovable
iyfwa
likeableHate ufer
hate
uyfer
dislikeufa
averse
uyfa
displeasedufwer
be hated
uyfwer
be dislikedufwa
odious
unlikedCourage yifer
dareyifa
daring, braveyifwer
be safeyifwa
safeFear yufer
be afraidyufa
afraidyufwer
be a dangeryufwa
frighteningJoy iver
enjoyiva
gladivwer
be a joyivwa
enjoyableSorrow uver
be sorryuva
sorry, saduvwer
be a shameuvwa
regrettable
- Examples of subject-oriented forms:
- At se yafa xer hes.....I am capable of doing anything.
- Et ofe teater hia dyezun.....You are not allowed/are prohibited to see this film.
- Duven at afe per hum?....Am I allowed to go there?
- Yat fu ter eta dyun.....We would like to know your name.
- Piti ufe beser be mel.....Fish hate to remain on dry land.
- At ajay ifa dazer.....I once loved to dance.
- Et se iva, at yife der.....You are beautiful, I dare say.
- At yeyfa xer has ga ig.....I should have done it sooner.
- Von yufu; At yupeye.....Fear not; I am coming.
- Et yefe puer ja eymaj.....You must arrive before noon.
- Yet yofe daler je ha dezun.....You people must not talk during the performance.
- Yat yeyfe (= se yeyfa) aker.....We should (= are bound/supposed/due) to win.
- At ive teater et bakser.....I'm glad to see you get better.
- Su iva.....Be happy.
- At uvu (= su uva) teater et iper.....I would be sad to see you leave.
- Examples of patient-oriented forms:
- Afwe (= se afwa) mavier him.....It is permissible to smoke here.
- Ofwe (= se ofwa*) puxer fyumul him.....It is prohibited to throw litter here.
- Fwe (= se fwa) van yet dolu.....It is desired that you stop talking.
- Voy yafwe beser him gajob.....It is not possible to remain here any longer.
- Yofwa av at ivteuder.....It was not possible for me to laugh.
- Yefwe van et piu ig.....It is essential that you leave quickly.
- He yeyfwe ober ata tyoyafi?....Is it obligatory to remove my shoes?
- Ga yux efwo.....More help will be needed.
- Yuxren se ufwa xetyen.....Slavery is an odious practice.
- Uvwe van wit oka.....It's a shame that he lost.
- *lofwa is used for unwanted for disambiguation purposes.
Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems
edit- Various causative verbs can be formed from modal stems, as shown in the chart below:
Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems SUBJECT-ORIENTED PATIENT-ORIENTED afxer....allow (someone to do sthg.) afwaxer....permit (something to be done) efxer....require efwaxer....necessitate ofxer....prohibit ofwaxer....prohibit yafxer....enable yafwaxer....make possible yefxer....oblige yefwaxer....make obligatory yofxer....cripple yofwaxer....disable yifxer....embolden yifwaxer....make safe yufxer....intimidate yufwaxer....make frightening ifxer....please ifwaxer....make pleasant
Creating Modal Verbs and Adjectives with Modal Stem Suffixes
edit- Verb stems can be suffixed with modal participles to produce related modal verbs and adjectives. The first chart shows the modal participles themselves that can be suffixed to verb stems. Subject-oriented forms refer only to people, while patient-oriented forms (ending in -wa) refer only to things.
Modal Suffixes Subject-oriented Patient-oriented -yafa....able to X, -able -yafwa....possible to X -yofa....unable to X -yofwa....impossible to X -ifa....fond of Xing, Xophile -ifwa....enjoyable to X -ufa....averse to Xing, Xophobic -ufwa....unenjoyable to X -yika....hard of Xing -yikwa....hard to X -yuka....comfortable/easy Xing -yukwa....easy to X -yaka....expecting to X yakwa....expected/likely to X -efa....in need of Xing -efwa....necessary to X -yefa....obliged to X -yefwa....obligatory/due to X -yufa....afraid of Xing -yufwa....frightening to X
- This table shows some of these modal suffixes applied to actual verb and noun stems:
Modals and Orientation ORIENTATION POSITIVE ADJECTIVE POSITIVE VERB NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE NEGATIVE VERB Subject teatyafa
able to see, sightedteatyafer
be able to seeteatyofa
blindteatyofer
be blindPatient teatyafwa
visibleteatyafwer
be visibleteatyofwa
invisibleteatyofwer
be invisibleSubject teetyafa
able to hear, hearingteetyafer
be able to hearteetyofa
deafteatyofer
be deafPatient teetyafwa
audibleteetyafwer
be audibleteeyofwa
inaudibleteeyofwer
be inaudiableSubject dalyafa
able to speakdalyafer
be able to speakdalyofa
mute, dumbdalyofer
be mute, dumbSubject doabifa
patrioticdoabifer
be patrioticdoabufa
rebelliousdoabufer
rebelSubject tosyafa
sensitivetosyafer
be able to feeltosyofa
insensitivetosyofer
be numbedPatient tayotyafwa
palpabletayotyafwer
be palpabletayotyofwa
numbtayotyofwer
be impalbable, numbPatient testyukwa
easy to understandtestyukwaxer
make easily understoodtestyikwa
hard to understandtestyikwaxer
make hard to understandSubject tudyaka
pregnant, expectingtudyaker
be expectingPatient mamilyakwa
likely to rainmamilyakwer
to be expected to rainmamilyokwa
unlikely to rainmamilyokwer
to be unlikely to rainSubject tilefa
thirstytilefer
be thirstySubject telefa
hungrytelefer
be hungryPatient tejefwa
vitaltejefwer
be vitalSubject tujefa
sleepytujefer
be sleepySubject nasefa
poor, needynasefer
be needySubject dudyefa
accountable, responsibledudyefer
be responsiblePatient texiyefwa
noteworthytexiyefwer
be noteworthy
Sensing Verbs
edit- Verbs involving the senses, such as sight or hearing, follow a similar pattern, as the following chart shows:
TYPE | teab....eye teata....visual |
teeb....ear teeta....audial |
teib....nose teita....olfactory |
teub....mouth teuta....gustatory |
tayob....skin tayota....tactile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Receptive Active |
teater see |
teeter hear |
teiter smell |
teuter taste |
tayoter feel |
Receptive Passive |
teatwer be seen |
teetwer be heard |
teitwer be smelled |
teutwer be tasted |
tayotwer be felt |
Stative | teaser seem |
teeser sound |
teiser smell |
teuser taste |
tayoser feel |
Dynamic Active |
teaxer look at |
teexer listen |
teixer sniff |
teuxer taste |
tayoxer touch |
Dynamic Passive |
teaxwer be looked at |
teexwer be listened to |
teixwer be sniffed |
teuxwer be tasted |
tayoxwer be touched |
Causative Active |
teatuer show |
teetuer make hear |
teixuer make smell |
teuxuer offer a taste |
tayoxuer make feel |
Causative Passive |
teatuwer be shown |
teetuwer be made to hear |
teituwer be made to smell |
teutuwer be given a taste |
tayotuwer be made to feel |
Inchoative Active |
teatier perceive, catch sight of |
teetier catch the sound of |
teitier get a whiff of |
teutuer get a taste of |
tayotier get the sensation of |
Inchoative Passive |
teatiwer be perceived |
teetiwer be heard |
teitiwer be whiffed |
teutiwer be tasted |
tayotiwer be felt |
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative |
teatyofer be blind |
teetyofer be deaf |
teityofer be unable to smell |
teityofer be unable to taste |
tayotyofer be insensitive |
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative |
teatyofwer be invisible |
teetyofwer be inaudible |
teityofwer be undetectable odorwise |
teityofwer be insipid |
tayotyofwer be undetectable by touch |
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative |
teatyofxer blind |
teetyofxer deafen |
teityofxer desensitize to smell |
teutyofxer desensitize to taste |
tayotyofxer desensitize |
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative |
teatyofwaxer make invisible |
teetyofwaxer make inaudible |
teityofwaxer make odorless |
teutyofwaxer render tasteless |
tayotyofwaxer numb |
- Examples of usage:
- At teatyofxwa bey ha mani.....I was blinded by the lights.
- Ha xeus sa teetyofxyea.....The noise was deafening.
- Hia tit se gla teatiyafa.....This pupil is very perceptive.
- Hua bekil se teityofwa.....That medicine is odorless (impossible to smell).
- Teatyofwaxu ha vyuni.....Make the spots invisible.
- Ha magmeb yonprex tayotyafwa zya ha mir.....The volcano eruption could be felt throughout the world.
Frequentative Verbs
edit- Frequentative verbs or repetitive action verbs can be formed with the infix -eg- placed between the verb stem and verb ending, eg.:
Frequentative Verbs NORMAL FREQUENTATIVE pyaser....jump pyaseger....bounce paper....fly papeger....flitter kobirer....steal kobireger....pilfer braser....shake braseger....vibrate brasea....shaking brasegea....vibrating
Hybridized Verbs
edit- Verbs that involve motion directions that change back and forth can be formed by hybridizing the stem vowel or the vowel of the vectorial prefix. Here are some examples:
Frequentative Verbs FIRST DIRECTION SECOND DIRECTION HYBRIDIZED DIRECTION pyaser....jump pyoser....fall pyaoser....bounce, undulate buer....give bier....take buier....exchange nuer....furnish nier....consume nuier....trade tuer....inform tier....learn tuier....communicate yaper....ascend yoper....descend yaoper....go up and down zayper....go forward zoyper....go back zaoper....vacillate vader....affirm voder....deny vaoder....decide yijber....open yujber....close uijber....valve baser....stir boser....be still baoser....vibrate
Biradical Verbs
edit- There are a few verbs in Mirad which are composed of two verb roots, called biradical verbs. Sometimes the last letter of the first verb root gets dropped. Here are a few:
Biradical Verbs Root 1 Root 2 Biradical Verb kex-....to seek bi-....to take kebier....to choose kox-....to hide bi-....to take kobier....to steal kox-....to hide p-....to go koper....to sneak kox-....to hide geldr-....to copy kogeldrer....to plagiarize kox-....to hide f-....to want kofer....to covet kax-....to reveal d-....to say kader....to disclose kax-....to reveal teax-....to look kateaxer....to locate teat-....to see p-....to go teaper....to visit teat-....to see d-....to tell teader....to testify tax-....to remember dr-....to write taxdrer....to record teat-....to see yof-....to be unable teatyofer....to be blind teet-....to hear dr-....to write teedrer....to report teet-....to hear p-....to go teeper....to attend teet-....to hear tu-....to inform teetuer....to notify teet-....to hear yik-....have a hard time teetyiker....to strain to hear teet-....to hear yof-....to be unable teetyofer....to be deaf tes-....to mean d-....to say tesder....to explain tes-....to mean t-....to know tester....to understand
Expressing Habitual Actions and States
edit- Mirad uses the term gel jubyen (as a habit) to express a verb reflecting habitual action, eg:
- At tijeya be yiwa jwobi gel jubyen.....I used to wake up at 9 o'clock. (Lit. I was waking up at 9 o'clock as a habit.).
- The term hyujod....one another occasion (or be aj....in the past) is use to express once (upon a time), eg:
- At sa tuxut hyujod (~ be aj) sa tuxut. ....I once was a teacher.
- The term vyabxelay (routinely) can also be used, eg:
- Yat eke duz yuz bi ha doym vyabxelay.....We play music around town routinely.
Expressing an Immediate Past
edit- To express an immediate past, such as in the sentence "We have just gotten married.", Mirad uses the adverb ejnay (newly) much like the word just in English:
- Yat tadsaye ejnay.....We have just gotten married.
- Ejnay tadxwa.....Just married.
- Wit dokebiwa ejnay.....He was just elected.
- At ujbaya yex ejnay hoj iyt yebupa.....I had just finished work when she came in.
Verb Predicate Types
edit- Mirad verb predicates can be classified as follows:
- Voice
- Active (The subject is the doer of the action)
- Passive (The subject is the receiver of the action)
- Middle (The subject is both the agent and patient)
- Reflexive (The subject is also the patient.)
- Reciprocal (Plural subjects interact.)
- Stativity
- Stative (Does not involve action)
- Dynamic (Action is involved)
- Valency
- Impersonal (There is no subject)
- Transitive (There is an object)
- Intransitive (There is no object)
- Auto-transitive (The subject is a patient and there is no agent)
- Anti-transitive (There is the patient but an agent is assumed)
- Causative (Subject causes an action to be performed)
- Copula (X is Y)
- Other
- Modal (can, must, should, wants to...)
- Auxiliary (help to, hope to, prepare to + verb)
- Motion (run, go, ride...)
- Communication (say, answer, claim that...)
- Gesture (put, shake, hit...)
- State/Stative (be, become, live, be born...)
- Action/Dynamic (do, act, make)
VOICE | STATIVITY | VALENCY | EXAMPLE |
---|---|---|---|
active | stative | impersonal, -agent, -object | Mamilo zajub.....It will rain tomorrow. |
active | stative | impersonal, -agent, +complement | Sa gla oma.....It was very cold. |
active | stative | impersonal, +subject | Ese het be ha mes.....There is someone at the door. |
active | stative | copula, subject + noun/adjective complement | Et se ata twud.....You are my son. At aseye epyextipa.....I am becoming angry. |
middle | stative | auto-transitive, +subject=patient -agent -object | Iyt toja.....She died |
middle | stative | auto-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object | Ha mes yija.....The door opened. |
active | stative | intransitive, +subject -object | Et bokso.....You will get sick. |
active | stative | transitive, sense, +subject +object | At teate et.....I see you. |
active | stative | transitive, modal, +subject +verb complement | At fe per.....I want to go. |
active | stative | intransitive, subject-oriented modal, -subject +verb complement | Yofwe teater.....It is impossible to see. |
passive | stative | patient-oriented modal, +subject | Mamil yakwe.....Rain is expected. |
middle | dynamic | anti-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object | Ha mes yijpa.....The door came open. |
active | dynamic | intransitive, +subject -object | Ha fab pyosa.....The tree fell. |
active | dynamic | transitive, +subject +-object | Yit pyoxa ha fab.....They felled the tree. |
passive | dynamic | intransitive, +subject, -object | Ha fabi pyoxwa.....The trees were felled. |
active | dynamic | transitive, +subject, +object | Obu eta tef.....Take your hat off. |
active | dynamic | ditransitive, +subject, +object +object | Von et buu iyt ha nas.....Don't give her the money. |
active | dynamic | transitive, motion, +subject, +destination/origin | Yupu ha mees.....Approach the bench. Pu tam!....Go home! (you implied) |
active | dynamic | causative, +subject +object, +agent | At tayegobluxo Jon.....I will get my hair cut by John. |
passive | dynamic | causative, +subject +object, +agent | At tayegobluxwo.....I will get my hair cut. |
active | dynamic | auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object | Yuxu at xer his.....Help me do this. |
passive | dynamic | auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object | At tuxwa eker duz.....I was taught to play music. |
middle | dynamic | reflexive, +subject = patient, -object | Iyt uttojba.....She killed herself. |
active | dynamic | reciprocal, +subjects = patients | Yit voy hyuitdale gaj.....They don't talk to one another anymore. |
- Prepositions are words that connect and show a relationship between a noun or noun phrase and the rest of the sentence. In Mirad, prepositions are simple monosyllables or phrases. Prepositions, as in English, are positioned before the noun or noun phrase they connect.
Simple Prepositions
edit- In Mirad, there are single-word and multi-word prepositions. Single-word prepositions are called simple propositions.
- Here is a chart of simple prepositions. Most are spatial, but some are temporal, relational, or mathematical.
Simple Prepositions POSITIVE NEUTRAL NEGATIVE SPATIAL ab....on, upon eb....between ob....off, off of ayb....over, above eyb....among, amid oyb....under, below bu....to be....at bi....from, of byu....as far as, up to bey....by, via byi....since, starting with ub....toward ib....away from za....in front of ze....at the middle of zo....behind, in back of zya....throughout zye....through zu....(to the) left (of) zey....across zi....(to the) right (of) TEMPORAL ja....before je....during, while jo....after
lojo....no later than, byju....until ji....since RELATIONAL bay....with bey....by, via, with boy....without av....for vyel....than, as, compared to, about ov....against ayv....about oyv....despite ay....and ey....or
oey....noroy....but, except MATHEMATICAL ge....equal to oge....unequal to gab....plus, + gaob....plus or minus gob....minus, - gal....times, × gel....like
ogel....unlikegol....divided by, ÷ gar....to the power of, ˆ gor....to the root of, √
- The most versatile and useful preposition is be, which means at as a general locative when used literally, but is used before many nouns and noun phrases when the meaning is idiomatic. Some examples follow:
- Yat se be tam.....We are at home. (literal, general locative)
- Yat se be dropek.....We are at war. (idiomatic)
- At teata et be yibsin.....I saw you on television. (idiomatic)
- Be Ejna York ese mamyabtomi.....In New York, there are skyscrapers. (general locative)
- The preposition bi can mean of or from. Here are some examples:
- Hus se tam bi ifron.....That is a house of worship.
- At tyopa bi ha nam bu ata pur.....I walked from the store to my car.
- Bi him bu hyajob.....From here to eternity.
- Ha tajnem bi Tom se him.....Tom's birthplace is here.
- His sa ha gwaifwa tuzun bi eta teyd.....This was your mother's favorite piece of art.
- As you can see above, bi is used to form the possessive form of nouns and names.
- Examples showing how single-word prepositions are used:
- Ha dyes se ab ha sem.....The book is on the table.
- Von pyosu ob ha abtamas!....Don't fall off the roof!
- Ha pati papa ayb ata tam.....The birds flew over my house.
- It kosa oyb ha yagsim.....He hid under the bench.
- Simbiu eb hut ay at.....Take a seat between that person and me.
- Yat teje eyb fiati.....We live among good people.
- Duhos se nax bi pop bu ay bi Boston?....What is the cost of a trip to and from Boston?
- His se ifek bi kyen.....This is a game of luck.
- Duven et sa be hua duzun zomoj?....Were you at that concert last night?
- Yit se embwa be ha zenod bi ha mapil.....We are positioned at the hub of this storm.
- Iyt tyopa byu ha mis.....She walked up to/as far as the door.
- Ha twob tojbwa bey goblar.....The man was killed with/by a knife.
- Et xu ga fiay ser bay at vyel boy at.....You would do better to be with me than without me.
- Teaxu ib ha amar.....Look away from the sun.
- Von teaxu iz ub ha man.....Don't look directly toward the light.
- Iyt simpa za at. ....She sat in front of me.
- Et yeyfe simbier zo hua toyb.....You should sit in back of that woman.
- Embu has zu ha mis.....Put it to the left of the door.
- At simpo zi et.....I will sit to the right of you.
- Ha pat besa ze ha tim.....The bird stayed in the middle of the room.
- Mil upeye zye ha yijun.....Water is coming through the opening.
- Bikiu je pen zey ha domep......Take care when going across the street.
- Eso ivan zya ha mir.....There will be happiness throughout the world.
- His xwo ja zajub. ....This will happen before tomorrow.
- Esa mapil je ha moj.....There was a storm during the night.
- Ju zamaj.....Until tomorrow morning.
- At voy teataye et ji zoyejub.....I have not seen you since last week.
- Diwe xu hes av at.....Please do something for me.
- Hia dyes se ayv dalzeyntun.....This book is about linguistics.
- Hia dyen se din vyel ewa fiuti.....This book is a story about two lovers.
- Datan se ga fia vyel nas.....Friendship is better than money.
- Hos se ge fua vyel has hu yat xoa zojab.....Nothing is as bad as what we underwent last year.
- Yit yexeya ov yat.....They were working against us.
- Ha vakdibut dopoxa at oyv ata azovdeyni.....The police officer arrested me despite my protests.
- Et ay Bob yeyfe ser dati.....You and Bob should be friends.
- Duhot ako, et ey at?....Who will win, you or I?
- Hyat oy hwut ta ha dud.....Everyone but that guy knew the answer.
- Et voy se gel at.....You are not like me.
- Et se hyagla ogel at.....You are totally unlike me.
- E gab e gese u.....Two plus two equals four.
- U gob e gese e.....Four minus two equals two.
- E gal e gese u.....Two times two equals four.
- E gol e gese a.....Two divided by two equals one.
- U gar e gese asya.....Four squared (42) equals sixteen. (Lit: Four to the power of two...)
- Alya gor e gese u.....The square root (√16) of sixteen is four. (Lit: Sixteen to the minus power of two...)
Phrasal Prepositions
edit- Some prepositions involve multiple word expressions, that is, phrasal prepositions.
Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs
edit- There are certain directional adverbs that can play a part in forming phrasal prepositions, but cannot act as prepositions in and of themselves:
Adverbs Used in Phrasal Prepositions yub....near yib....far iz....directly, straight uz....indirectly, roundabout yab....up yeb....in
oyeb....outyob....down yiz....beyond yez....along, flush yuz....around zay....forward, ahead zoy....back
- The next chart lists some phrasal prepositions using the above adverbs:
Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs PHRASAL PREPOSITION EXAMPLE yub bu....near to, close to At fe tujer yub bu et.....I want to sleep close to you. yib bi....far from Ha amar se yib bi ha imer.....The sun is far from the earth. yab bu....up to It fu paper yab bu ha mam.....He would like to fly up to the sky. yab bi....up from Su yab bi ha sim.....Get up from the bed. yab bey....up (by way of) Yat tyoyapo yab bey ha meab.....We will walk up the hill. yab be....up at Ha yipet kaxwa yab be ha tam.....The cat was found up at the house. yob bu....down to Igpu yob bu ha obmos.....Run down to the cellar. yob bi....down from Ha tat upa yob bi ha mam.....The angel came down from the sky. yob bey....down (by way of) Iyt igtyoyapa yob bey ha meab.....She ran down the hill. yob be....down at Ha dyes kaxwa yob be ha obem.....The book was found down at the bottom. yob ab....down at Has kaxwa yob ab eta oybmos.....It was found down on your floor. yeb be....in, inside Eta teyd se yeb be ha tam.....Your mother is in(side) the house. yeb bu....into It pyasa yeb bu ha mip.....He jumped into the river. yeb bi....in from Upu yeb bi ha oma oyebem.....Come in from the cold outdoors. yez bay....along with, flush with Upu yez bay at.....Come along with me. oyeb be....out in/at Ha tudi sa oyeb be ha zodeym.....The children were out in the backyard. oyeb bi....out from Yepu oyeb bi ha om.....Come in out from the cold. oyeb bu....out to Yat fu peper oyeb bu ha meim.....We'd like to ride out to the countryside. iz bu....straight to Pu iz bu fyomir! ....Go straight to hell! iz zoy bi....right back from It upu iz zoy bi ha yexim.....He came right back from the office. zay bu....on to, forth to, ahead to Ha bixpur popa zay bu zona doym.....The train traveled on to the next town. zey bi....across from At simbeseya zey bi et.....I was sitting across from you. zoy bi....back from At se zoy bi ha yexim.....I am back from the office. zoy bu....back to Pu zoy bu ha nam.....Go back to the store. zoy be....back at Duven et se zoy be tam?....Are you back at home?
- Some simple prepositions can also be combined into prepositional phrases:
- Ha yipet yapra ab bu ha abtamas.....The cat climbed onto the roof.
- He yepet pyosa ob bi ha sem.....The dog fell off (from) the chair.
- Pu zey bu ha hyua kum bi ha domep.....Go across to the other side of the street.
- At simbeseya iz zey bi et.....I was sitting just across from you.
Phrasal Prepositions Using Spatial Nouns
edit- The following chart shows how prepositions and directional adverbs can be joined with the spatial ending -(e)m meaning place (or others) to be form spatial nouns, which, in turn, can be used in idiomatic prepositional phrases:
Spatial Nouns Built on Prepositions or Adverbs ab....on abem....top
abned....upper surface
abmas....roofeb....between ebem....interstice
ebjob....interval
ebnod....intersection
ebmas....partitionob....off obem....bottom
obned....lower surface
obmas....foundationayb....above aybem....area above
aybmas....ceilingoyb....below oybem....area below
oybmas....flooreyb....among eybem....midst yab....up yabem....upstairs, upper area
yabneg....top levelyob....down yobem....downstairs, lower area
yobneg....bottom levelyeb....in yebem....inside, interior, indoors
yebnig....inner spaceoyeb....out yobem....outside, exterior, outdoors za....in front of zam....front, foreground
zan....faceze....in the middle of zem....middle
zenod....center, hub
zen....center
zenad....medianzo....behind zom....back, rear, background zi....right zim....right area
zikum....left side
ziizon....right direction
imer....eastzu....left zum....left area
zukum....left side
zuizon....left direction
umer....westiz....straight izmep....direct route
iznad....vector
izon....directionuz....indirectly uzmep....detour
uznad....curve
uzon....deviationyub....near yubem....vicinity
yubkum....near side
yubaj....recent pastyib....far yibem....distance
yibkum....far side
yibnod....pole
yiboj....distant futureyuz....around yuzem....perifery
yuznad....perimeter
yuznig....environmentyiz....beyond yizem....area beyond
yiznod....extremity
- The following chart shows phrasal prepositions that can be created with the use of the spatial nouns in the previous section or other nouns. These phrases are considered idiomatic, because they are abbreviated by the omission of the definite article ha in front of the noun:
Idiomatic Phrasal Prepositions AT SOMEWHERE TO SOMEWHERE FROM SOMEWHERE be abem bi....at the top of bu abem bi....to the top of bi abem bi....from the top of be obem bi....at the bottom of bu obem bi....to the bottom of bi obem bi....from the top of be ebem bi....in the area between bu ebem bi....to the area between bi ebem bi....from the area between be aybem bi....above, over bu aybem bi....to the area above bi aybem bi....from the area above be oybem bi....below, under bu oybem bi....to the area below bi oybem bi....from the area below be eybem bi....amid zye eybem bi....through the midst of bi eybem bi....from the midst of be zam bi....at the front of bu zam bi....to the front of bi zam bi....from the front of be zem bi....at the middle of bu zem bi....to the middle of bi zem bi....from the middle of be zom bi....at the back of bu zom bi....to the back of bi zom bi....from the back of be zim bi....at the right of bu zim bi....to the right of bi zim bi....from the right of be zum bi....at the left of bu zum bi....to the left of bi zum bi....from the left of be yubem bi....in the vicinity of bu yubem bi....to the vicinity of bi yubem bi....from the vicinity of be yibem bi....at a distance from bey azon bi....by dint of be avon bi....in favor of be ubem bi....in the direction of bay ux bi....with assistance from be byux bay....in touch with be yabem bi....in the upper reaches of be vyen bu....in relation to doytaxwa bay....associated with be yobem bi....in the bottom area of be ned bi....on the level of be mep bu....on the way to, en route be yebem bi....on the inside of, inside be oyebem bi....on the outside of, outside bu oyebem bi....to the exterior of bey mep bi....by way of, via be kum bi....beside, at the side of be ij bi....at the start of be uj bi....at the end of bey uxun bi....by means of be kunad bi....at the edge of be nod bi....at the point of be yebem bi....at the interior of, inside be oyebem bi....at the exterior of, outside be nad bay....in line with be uznod bi....alongside be tes bi....in the sense of be teas bi....in the guise of be san bi....in the form of be yanx bi....in conjunction with be bol bi....in support of be gab bu....in addition to be dyun bi....in the name of be avson bi....on behalf of be vyeson bi....on the subject of bay yux bi....with the aid of
Separable Verb Prefixes
edit- Verbal prefixes that formed from prepositions and adverbs can usually be "unpacked", that is, treated as separate words. This works like separable verbs in German. The following table demonstrates how that works:
Separable Verb Prefixes VERB-BOUND UNPACKED ENGLISH Zyulmap yuzpa yata tam. Zyulmap pa yuz bi yata tam. The tornado circled/went around our house. (= went around) Ha yux bi yams yeyfe yobnogxwer. Ha yux bi cal yeyfe nogxwer yob. The use of carbon should be downscaled. (= scaled down) Yat zaybuxo hia dovyabdren. Yat buxo hia dovyabdren zay. We shall advance this legislation. (= push forward)
Types of Conjunctions
edit- Conjunctions are words that join or introduce clauses. There are two major types of conjunctions, with some minor categories, noted below:
- 1. Coordinating Conjunctions
- Simple Linking Conjunctions, such as and, or, but
- Correlative Conjunctions, such as either...or, neither...or, both...and
- Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions, such as then, also, therefore
- 2. Subordinating Conjunctions
- Complementizing Conjunctions, such as that, if, whether, lest
- Relative Conjunctions, such as as, when, because, while
- 1. Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
edit- Mirad has three types of coordinating conjunctions, as shown in the following charts:
Simple Linking Conjunctions
editSimple Linking Conjunctions CONJUNCTION EXAMPLE ay....and At oveko ay at ako.
I will compete and I will win.ey....or Bosu ey at tuyapyexo et.
Be still or I will spank you.oy....but It yeka oy it oka.
He tried but he lost.oey....nor At voy tilo oey at telo.
I shall not drink, nor shall I eat.bayhus....yet At ayse hyas at fe, bayhus at voy se iva.
I have everything I want, yet I'm not happy.avhus....so Ha amar yapaye, avhus et yefe sumpier.
The sun has risen, so you must get up out of bed.
Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions
edit- The following conjunctions come in pairs:
Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions CONJUNCTION EXAMPLE hyaewa...ay....both...and At hyaewa dyede ay dre Mirad.
I both read and write Mirad.hyeawa...ey....either...or Et yafe hyeawa beser ey pier. Se eta kebiun.
You can either stay or leave. It's your choice.hyoawa...oey....neither...nor Yat hyoawa move oey tile.
We neither smoke nor drink.voy hyawa...oy (gay)....not only...but (also) At voy hyawa deuze oy gay at daze.
I not only sing but also I dance.ven....avhus....if...then Ven et te ha dud, avhus du has.
If you know the answer, then say it.ha...ha....the...the Ha ga et tixe, ha ga et akujo.
The more you study, the more you'll succeed.ga yukay...vyel....rather...than At oku ga yukay vyel vyoeker.
I'd rather lose than cheat.ji van...iz huj....no sooner...than Ji van ha dezut yepa, iz huj ha hyaydeux ija.
No sooner did the actor enter than the applause began.huugla...van....so/such...that Ha map sa huugla aza van ha fab pyoxwa.
The wind was so strong that the tree was felled.ven...ey (voy)....whether...or (not) Ven et te is ey voy, at tadioye.
Whether you know it or not, I am about to get married.
Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions
edit- Some grammars call these conjunctive adverbs:
Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions CONJUNCTION EXAMPLE jo hus / joy
then, next, after thatYat deuza, jo hus hyat daza.
We sang, then everyone danced.je hus / jey
meanwhileJe hus, at ujba hyas.
Meanwhile, I finished everything.av hus
so, thereforeIt vuda at, av hus at pia.
He insulted me, so I left.(gey) ov hus
nevertheless, even so, despite that, yet, howeverAt yexa kyotepay, ov hus, at ujoka.
I work diligently, yet I failed.gel hus / gelay
likewise, also, similarlyAt daze. Gel hus, at deuze.
You dance; likewise, I sing.hyiyen / geyen
in the same way, likewiseYit xa fi; hyiyen, et xo gay fi.
They did well; in the same way, you will too.ogel hus / ogelay
otherwise, elseDu hes, ogel hus, piu.
Say something, otherwise, leave.gay
alsoEt yeka; gay, et ujaka!
You tried; also, you succeeded!be nem (bi hus)
instead (of that)Hyot fida iyt; be nem bi hus, yit fuda iyt.
Nobody praised her; instead, they badmouthed her.huyen
thus, in that wayTixu jestay; huyen, et ujako.
Study diligently; in that way, you'll succeed.husav
for that reason, so, thereforeAt voy ifeyie has; husav, at pio.
I'm not enjoying it, so I will leave.vray
as a matter of fact, actually, in factVray, et se vyasa.
In fact, you're right.gel jos
consequently, as a consequenceIt baksa; gel jos, it toja.
He got sick; as a consequence, he died.gel xin
as a resultAt voy tixa; gel xin, at okuja.
At didn't study; as a result, I failed.ga vyel hus
moreover, what's moreMamila. Ga vyel hus, esa mamxeus.
It rained. Moreover, there was thunder.be hyua duni
in other wordsAt voy da ha vyan; be hyua duni, at vyoda.
It did not tell the truth; in other words, I lied.jey
meanwhile, in the meantimeHa toboti xeya gla xeus; jey, at jesa tixer.
The children were making a lot of noise; meanwhile, I continued to study.ovay
on the contraryHa tam voy se aga; ovay, has se gle oga.
The house is not big; on the contrary, it's rather small.bi hyua teasgun
on the other handAt voy deuze. Bi byua teagun, at eke duzar.
I don't sing. On the other hand, I play a musical instrument.gey bay hus
still, even soVoy esa duz, gey bay hus, ha xej sa ifxea.
There was no music. Even so, the event was entertaining.ujnay
finally, in the endUnjnay, hyoa fus xwa.
In the end, nothing bad happened.
Subordinating Conjunctions
edit- Subordinating Conjunctions introduce three types of dependent or subordinate clauses:
- 1. Adjectival subordinate clauses (also called relative clauses)
- He is the guy that earned the most this year. The subordinate clause modifies a noun in the main clause. Adjectival clauses are introduced in Mirad by the relative complementizer ho. Relative clauses are discussed in the Relative Clauses section of the chapter on Verbs.
- 2. Nominal subordinate clauses (also called factive clauses)
- I knew that she would come. The subordinate clause is the object or complement of a verb in the main clause. Nominal subordinate clauses are introduced by one of the factive complementizers van, ven, or von, depending on whether the subordinate clause is positive, conditional, or negative.
- 3. Adverbial subordinate clauses (also called circumstantial clauses).
- Did you see where they went?. The subordinate clause is an adverbial clause modifying a verb in the main clause for time, place, manner, and other circumstances. Adverbial subordinate clauses are introduced by relative deictic adverbs like hom....where, hoj....when, and hosav....why.
- 1. Adjectival subordinate clauses (also called relative clauses)
Complementizers
edit- The complementizers above are part of an overall scheme. In the chart below, the six complementizers act:
- as a clause linker, where the complementizer introduces a clause that is a statement of FACT or CONDITION, or
- as a sentence introducer, where the complementizer introduces a sentence that is a command/wish, a prohibition, or a yes-no question. Some of these complementizers can act in either or both roles. In actuality, all of the complementizers introduce or link a subordinate clause; it's just that in some cases, the main clause is left unexpressed.
- The complementizers above are part of an overall scheme. In the chart below, the six complementizers act:
Complementizers TYPE COMPLEMENTIZER CLAUSE LINKER SENTENCE INTRODUCER Positive / Hortative van that, the fact that May....(something happen), Let....(something happen) Conditional ven if, whether -- Negative / Prohibitive von lest, that...not Don't Anti-Conditional oven unless -- Interrogative Duven...? -- Is it true that, say whether..., do(es)? Relative ho that, which, who(m) --
- Examples of these conjunctions linking a main and subordinate clause:
- At ta van et upo.....I knew that you would come. (FACTIVE)
- At xa is av van et testu.....I did it so that you would understand.
- At voy ta ven et upo.....I did not know whether you would come. (CONDITIONAL)
- Ven et te ha dud, du has.....If you know the answer, say it. (CONDITIONAL)
- At yufa von et upu.....I feared lest you might come. (PROHIBITIVE)
- At voy upo oven et upo gay.....I will not come unless you come, too. (ANTI-CONDITIONAL)
- At fe teater ha tob ho xa his.....I want to see the man who did this. (RELATIVE)
- At fe teater hoa tob xa his.....I want to see which man did this.
- Iyt akeye oyv van iyt bayse yofi.....She is winning despite the fact that she has disabilities.
- Example of these conjunctions introducing different types of sentences:
- Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. (Hortative, i.e., A WISH)
- Van yit teliu avol!....Let them eat bread.
- Van ha edweb yagteju.....May the king live long.
- Duven et te ha dud?....Do you know the answer? (YES/NO QUESTION)
- Duven et se tadxwa.....Are you are married. (SAY WHETHER...)
- Von (et) yufu.....Don't (you) be afraid. (Prohibitive, i.e., AN INJUNCTION)
- Von hus xwu.....Let that not happen. (NEGATIVE HORTATIVE)
- The sentence-initial interrogative complementizer Duven (Is it true that?) is used to introduce a yes/no question. The word can be analyzed as a command meaning Say whether... where Say... is the main clause in the imperative mood.
- Duven et se tadokyayt?....Are you a widow? (= Say whether you are...).
- Av van + a predicate in the hypothetical mood expresses a "so that, in order that" clause, eg.:
- At uzba ata teb av van at yafu teater hos xowe*.....I turned my head so that I could see what was about to happen.
- Using the negative complementizer, von, the above sentence could be rephrased as:
- At uzba ata teb av von at teatu hos xowe.....I turned my head so that I wouldn't see what was about to happen.
- Since the subject is the same in both clauses, the sentence could be expressed more easily with an infinitive:
- At uzba ata teb av (~ ov) teater hos xowe.....I turned my head so as (not) to see what was about to happen.
- * xowe means is about to happen/be done. Unlike English, there is no relative sequencing of tenses in conjoined clauses. "I knew she would come." is rendered in Mirad with direct sequences of tenses, i.e. as "I knew that she will come." Also, unlike English, the "that" conjunction cannot be left out: At ta van iyt upo.
Conjunctions with the subordinate conjunctions van/ven/von
edit- Conjunctions introducing nominal subordinate clauses consist of a preposition followed by the positive complementizer van, the conditional complementizer ven, or the negative complementizer von. English can use a bare preposition as a conjunction, as in the sentence "He will grow up before you notice it." However, Mirad requires the complementizer, much as in French, where "avant" (before) must be accompanied by "que" when followed by a clause ("Il se grandira avant que tu ne le remarques.") Here is a chart showing the most important of these conjunctions:
Subordinating conjunctions with van and ven CONJUNCTION EXAMPLE ja van
beforeDu hay ja van et pio.
Say hi before you leave.je van
while, as long asJe van at so him, at xo gle yex av et.
While I'm here, I'll do some work for you.jo van
afterAt buo et has jo van et nuso.
I will give it to you after you pay.ojo van
by the timeOjo et puo him, at piayo.
By the time you get here, I will have departed.ju van
untilYat voy ijo ju van et puo him.
We won't start until you get here.ji van
sinceAt voy teataya huyenas ji van et sa hum.
I had not seen such a thing since you were there.gey ven
even ifGey ven et yontexe, at bolo et.
Even if you disagree, I'll support you.gel ven
as ifYat yeyfe axler gel ven yat teata hyos.
We should act as if we saw nothing.gey ov van
even though, thoughGey ov van ha pansin sa gra yaga, at ifia has.
Even though the movie was too long, I enjoyed it.ov van
(al)though, despite the fact thatAt po ov van at voy fe.
I'll go, although I don't want to.av van
so (that)It utifbua av van hyuti teju.
He sacrificed himself so that others might live.av von
lest, so that...notIt utifbua av von hyuti toju.
He sacrificed himself so that others might not die (= lest others might die).Buwa van
in as much as, given thatBuwa van iyt se tadiwa, at voy byuxo iyt.
Given that she's married, I won't touch her.Hij van
now thatHij van et se him, biu hegla kafeyl.
Now that you're here, have some coffee.Vakuwa van
provide thatVakuwa van et se yukoma, at hoydo.
Provided you're comfortable, I will say my goodbyes.ven
ifVen yat fe iber ixuni, yat yefe yexer ga jestay.
If we want to get results, we must work harder.ven
whetherVen et ijbo ha yexes obyose et.
Whether you finish the job is up to you.Oven
unlessOven et do hyuyen, at dolo.
Unless you say otherwise, I will be silent.
Conjunctions as Circumstantial Clause Headers
edit- If the conjunction contains a deictic adverb like where, when, how, etc., then the relative form of the deictic adverb is used. The most common of these begin with ho- or hye- and behave as in English.
Subordinating Conjunctions CONJUNCTION CIRCUMSTANCE EXAMPLES hoj
whenTIME Hoj et pua, ha if ija.
When you arrived, the fun began.hyej
wheneverTIME Hyej et dale, at hihide.
Whenever you talk, I laugh.hom
wherePLACE At voy te hom it pa.
I don't know where he went.hyem
whereverePLACE Et yafe per hyem et fu.
You can go wherever you'd like.hyam
everywherePLACE Hyam at pe, et se hum.
Everywhere I go, you're there.hosav
whyCAUSE Duven et te hosav it xa his?
Do you know why he did it?hosav
becauseCAUSE It xa has hosav it fa teatuer yat hes.
He did it because he wanted to show us something.hoyen
how, asMANNER Xu hoyen et fu van hyuti axlu ub et.
Do as you'd want others to act toward you.hogla
asDEGREE Yexu hogla ugay et efe.
Work as slowly as you need to.hyegla
however much (that)DEGREE Dalu hyegla et efo.
Talk however much you need to.hoglas
as much (as)QUANTITY At telio hoglas at fe.
I will eat as much as I want.
- Other conjunctions of circumstance are sometimes used. This is not a complete list.
Assertive Interjections
edit- Interjections in Mirad include the assertive expressions yes, no and maybe:
Common Assertive Interjections Va! Yes! Ve! Maybe!, Perhaps! Vo!* No!
- * Not to be confused with voy, which translates the English adverb not, as in Vo, wit voy se tadxwa.....No, he is not married.
- Examples:
- Va. At se otadxwa.....Yes. I am unmarried.
- Va. At se vay otadxwa.....Yes. I am indeed/really unmarried.
- Va, vay.....Yes, indeed.
- Va ay vo. Hus vey se vyaa.....Yes and no. That may be true.
- Va ey vo?....Yes or no?
- Ve. At te voy valay.....Maybe. I don't know for sure.
- Vo. At voy vatexe et.....No. I don't believe you.
- Vo! Dilwe von xu hus.....No! Please don't do that.
- Et se Amerikama, vao?....You're American, yes or no?
- Ven va, (van et) xu has.....If so, (let you) do it.
- Ven vo, von (et) xu has.....If not, don't (you) do it.
- There are also some hybrid combinations of the above assertive expressions:
Hybrid Interjections Vao? Yes or no? Vea! Maybe so! Veo!* Maybe not!
Other interjections
edit- There is a group of common interjections called the H interjections, because they all begin with the letter h:
Greetings Initial Greeting hay! Hello!, Hi! Vocative Greeting hey! Hey!, O!, Oh! Terminal Greeting hoy! Goodbye!, Bye! Proximal Specifier hiy! Voici!, Here is... Distal Specifier huy! Voila!', There is... Positive Exclamation hyay! Great! Wow!, Bravo!, Woopee!, Hurrah! Surprise Exclamation hyey! What a...!, Oh!, Well! Negative Exclamation hyoy! What a pity!, It's a shame!, Woe is...!, Darn it!, Yikes!, Boo! Expression of Thanks hway!1 Thanks! Expression of Welcome hwey! You're welcome!, Please Expression of Sorrow hwoy! Sorry!, Excuse me! Expression of Joy hwiy! Whee!, O la la! Expression of Pain hwuy! Ouch!, Ow!, That hurts! Laughter hihi! Ha ha!, Hee hee! Lamentation huhu! Boo hoo!, Woe is me!, Oy veh! Admiration hwaw!2 Wow!, What a show! Disgust hwow!3 Yuck!, Eeoow!, Gross!
- 1Pronounced like English why. Mirad hw is pronounced like English wh.
- 2Pronounced like English wh+aw.
- 3Pronounced like English wh+oh.
- Examples:
- Hay! Ata dyun se Johan.....Hi! My name is John.
- Hey, Johan! Duhoyen et xeye?....Hey, John, how are you doing?
- Hey, Tot!....O, God!
- Hoy. At teato et zajub.....Bye. I will see you tomorrow.
- Hiy ha dyen ho et dila.....Here's the book you requested.
- Hiy Tob.....Behold Man. (Ecce Homo).
- Hiy ata dyundraf.....Here's my caling card.
- Huy! Se xwa.....Voilà! It's done.
- Huy hos at yaka.....There's what I expected.
- Hyay et!....Good for you!
- Hyay! Et utnaze his......Bravo! You deserve this.
- Hway! Et sa gla fitipa......Thanks.! You were very kind.
- At fu hwayder et.....I'd like to congratulate you.
- Hwey!....You're welcome!
- Et efe hwoyder at.....You need to apologize to me.
- Fi. Hwoy.....Ok. I'm sorry.
- Hyey via imaj! ....Oh, what a beautiful morning!
- Hyey At ta voy van et upo.....Oh! I didn't know you were coming.
- Hyoy at.....Woe is me.
- Hyoy! Ga fia fikyen jonay.....Pity!. Better luck next time.
- Hwoy. At yefe hyoder et.....Sorry. I must take leave of you.
- Hihi! Hus sa gla diza.....Ha ha! That was very funny.
- Von hihidu.....Don't laugh.
- Huhu!.....Oy!
- Ha tudet voy poxo huhuder.....The baby won't stop crying.
- Vulgar expletives are not offered here, but may arise naturally in daily speech.
- Note: The English expression Please can be expressed in various ways:
- Hwey! Yepu.....Please! Come in. (Hwey can also mean you're welcome in answer to thank-you.
- Diwe von (et) tyopu ab ha vaz.'....Please (= it is requested) don't walk on the grass.
- Diwe van et yanupu yat.'....Please (= it is asked that) join us.
- Diwe!....Please!
- Xu (at) (ha) fis bi yubeler at hua tyoyafi.....Please (= do (me) (the) favor of) bring me those shoes.
- Stronger forms of please include dilwe....it is requested or dirwe....it is begged.
- Many of the interjections in this section can be made into verbs with the addition of -der (to utter), eg.:
- hayder....greet, say hi
- heyder....address, call out to, wave down
- hoyder....say goodbye to
- hyayder....congratulate
- hwayder....thank
- hwoyder....apologize, excuse oneself, say you're sorry
- hihider....laugh
- huhuder....boo, cry
- There is a class of words in Mirad which are called hybrids, i.e. cross-combinations of opposite words that mean something and something else or something or something else. For example, in English, swinging is "moving BACK-AND-FORTH", or, questions can be of the type "YES-OR-NO". The vowels in these directionals are, for euphonic purposes, ao, eo, or ui. These alternating expressions are often used as adverbs or verbal prefixes. Here is an incomplete list of such expressions, the elements decomposed, and examples of their usage:
Hybrid Expressions Opposite Elements Hybrids ab....on
ob....offaoper....get on and off
aober....take on and offbu....to, give
bi...from, takebuinax....round trip fare
buipar....shuttle bus
buier....tradega....more
go....lessgao....more-or-less hum....there
him....herehuimpoper....travel here and yon hus....that
his....thishuisbier....select between this and that hyas....everything
hyos....nothinghyaoson....all-or-nothing matter hyut....another
hyit....the same personhyuita....mutual
hyuitifer....love one anothertej....life
toj....deathteoja ebyem....life-and-death situation u....away/west
i....toward/eastuinab....row
uinada....horizontal
Uiyanmel....Eurasiaa....up/north
o....down/southaonab....column
aonada....vertical
pyaoser....to bounceuz....crooked
iz....straightuizpaser....careen, stagger
uizder....to equivocateub....toward
ib....awayuipeni....comings and goings uj....end
ij....beginninguijbar....on-off switch uga....slow
iga....fastuigpar....scooter va....yes
vo....novaoder....decide
vaotexer....wonder
vaodid....yes-or-no questionyuja....closed
yija....openyuija....open-and-shut
yuijar....valve
manyuijar....light switch
teabyuijer....blinkyab....up
yob....downyaoblir....elevator (up-and-down taker)
yaoblar....lever
yaopyaser....jump up and down
yaobsum....bunkbedayeb1....in
oyeb....outaoyebar....piston (in-and-out-device) za....front
zo....backzaobaser....rock
zaopaser....swingzu....left/west
zi....right/eastzuibaser....wobble
zuipaser....zigzag
zuimera....east-west
zuituyaba....ambidextrousmalza....white
molza....blackmaolza....gray yav-....innocent
yov-....guiltyyaovyek....trial (Lit: innocent-guilty-test) zyu-....round
zyi-....flatzyuis....oval, ellipse up-....come
ip-....go, leavemimuip....tide (Lit: sea-come-go)
uipeni....comings and goingsuv-....sad
iv-....happyuivdin....tragicomedy
- 1This is a long form of yeb (in) that contrasts with oyeb (out).
- Keep in mind that if a hybrid word ends in b, the b assimilates by dropping from per (to go) and ber (to put) words, eg:
- ao
b+ ber = aober - ui
b+ per = uiper
- ao
Exclamations Using the H-words
edit- Many common exclamatory expressions in Mirad use words that begin with the letter h:
Common Exclamatories MIRAD ENGLISH EMOJI Hay! Hello! 🙋 Hey! Hey!, Oh...!, Yahoo! Hoy! Bye! 🙋 Hiy... Here is / Here comes... / Voici Huy... There's... / There goes... / Voilà Hway!* Great! / Good for you! / Congratulations!, wow! / hurray! Hwey! Oh my! / Goodness gracious! / Well! Hwoy! Too bad! / What a shame! / Sorry!/ oy! Hyay! Thanks! 🙏 Hyey! Your're welcome! / That's ok. Hyoy! Sorry! 😢 Hihi! Ha ha! / That's funny! Huhu! Boo hoo!
- * Pronounced like English why.
- The above h-exclamations can be made into verbs by suffixing forms of -der....to utter, eg.:
- hyay....thanks ⇒ hyayder....to thank
- At fu hyayder et av hos et xa.....I'd like to thank you for what you did.
- hihi....ha ha ⇒ hihider....to laugh ⇒ hihiduer....to make laugh
- Et hihidua.....You made me laugh.
Expressions by Category
editOffering Suggestions
edit- If I were you,.......Ven at su et,...
- In my opinion,.......Be ata texyen,...
- Speaking personally,.......Dalea av aut,...
- If I might suggest,.......Ven at duyafu,...
- I would suggest that.......At duu van...
- You would be well-advised to X.......Et su fiduwa Xer...
- Have you thought of Xing...?....Duven et vyetexaye Xen...?
- Why not X...?....Duhosav voy Xer...?
Asking for Suggestions
edit- What would you do if...?....Duhos et xu ven...?
- I'd like your opinion on.......At fu eta texyen vyel...
- Please advise me on.......Diwe fyidu at vyel...
Dispensing Advice
edit- I think you should X....,At texe van et yefu Xer
- If I were you,.......,Ven at su et,...
- You would be wrong to X.....Et su vyoa Xer.
- It would be good if.......Et su fia ven...
- I warn you that.......At jwatue et van...
Requests
edit- Would you mind Xing...?....Duven oboxu et Xer...?
- May I X...?....Duven at yafu Xer...?
- I'd like to X.......At fu Xer...
- Could you possibly X.......Duven et yafu hyeyen Xer...
- I would be much obliged if you were to X.......At su gla yefxwa ven et Xu...
- Please do me the favor of Xing.......Diwe xu at ha avun bi Xer...
- Could I ask you to X?....Duven at yafu dier et Xer?
Asking for Opinions
edit- I'd like to know you opinion on.......At fu ter eta texyen vyel...
- Tell me what you think about.......Du at hos et texe vyel...
Offering Opinions
edit- It seems to me that.......Tease at van...
- I believe that.......At vatexe van...
- I don't think that.......At votexe van...
- We don't feel that.......Wat voy tose van...
- I must say.......At dyefe...
- As far as I'm concerned.......Auta texyen se van...
- Personally, .......Aotay, ...
- I am convinced that.......At se vatexuwa van...
Expressing Preferences
edit- Which do you prefer, X or Y?....Duhaas et gaife, X ey Y?
- Would you like to X...?....Duven et fu Xer...
- I would prefer to X... ....At gaifu Xer...
- It doesn't matter to me whether.......Av at, getese ven...
- I don't mind if.......Av at glotese ven...
Expressing Intentions
edit- Do you intend to X?....Duven et ojtexe Xer?
- What are you going to do?....Duhos et xo?
- He is determined to X.......It vafe Xer...
- I would like to X.....At fu Xer.
- We would like you to X.....Wat fu van et Xu.
Permission and Prohibition
edit- May I come in?....Duven at afe yeper?
- Is that permitted?....Duven hus afwe?
- Parking is prohibited.....Purkoxwen ofwe.
- Do not walk on the grass.....Von tyope ab ha vab.
- You are authorized to X.....Et se afdwa Xer.
- No entry.....Von yepu. ~ Yepen ofwe.
- You must not cry.....Et yofe huhuder.
- Permit me to say.......Afxu at der...
Obligation and Necessity
edit- You must pay attention.....Et yefe tepzexer.
- You should leave.....At yefu ~ yeyfu iper.
- I have to go.....At yefe per.
- You are obliged to X.....Yet yefxwe Xer.
- We need your help.....Yat efe yeta yux.
- It is urgent that you respond.....Igefwe van et dudu.
- I am asking you to X.....At dieye et Xer.
- He demands that you X.....Wit dire van et Xu.
- It is required that you stay longer.....Dirwe van et besu gaj.
Agreement
edit- Yes, I agree with you.....Va, at yantexe et.
- He disagreed with me.....It yontexa at.
- My opinion differs from yours.....At texyen ogelse etas.
- This book will concur with me.....Hia dyes geltexo at.
- I don't accept your view.....At voy vabie eta texgun.
- I reject the concept that.......At vobie ha tyun van...
- What you said is entirely true.....Hos et da se aynay vyaa.
- What a great idea!....Huu agala teyen!
- Your application has been approved.....Eta didras fivadawe.
- Blessed be this food.....Van hia tel fyadwu.
- We are glad that you came.....Yat se iva van et upa.
Disagreement
edit- No, that's wrong.....Vo, hus se vyoa.
- You are lying.....Et vyodeye.
- I disagree with your opinion.....At yontexe eta texyen.
- We don't approve of you actions.....Yat voy fivade eta axleni.
- I cannot accept the fact that.......At vabiyofe van...
- Do you refuse to answer?....Duven et vobie duder?
- That's out of the question.....Hus se vabiyofwa.
- I must decline that suggestion.....At yefe voder hua dul.
- We condemn your views.....Yat fuvade eta texguni.
- I must disapprove of your actions.....At fuvadyefe eta axleni.
- Your statement be damned!....Eta del fyodwu!
- It's a pity (~ shame) that you don't understand.....Se yov van et voy teste.
- I hate the fact that.......At ufe van...
- It is sad that you have to leave now.....Se uva van et yefe pier hij.
Affirmation, Quibbling, Negation
edit- Yes.....Va.
- Yes, indeed.....Va, vay.
- Certainly ~ Of course....Vla(y).
- True.....Vya.
- Truly.....Vyay.
- Maybe.....Ve.
- Maybe so.....Vey va.
- Maybe not.....Vey vo.
- Possibly.....Vey.
- Probably.....Vle(y)
- Hardly.....Yikay.
- Almost.....Yubge.
- Barely.....Haway gwe.
- Exactly.....Gwe.
- No.....Vo.
- Most certainly not.....Vlo.
- Perhaps no.....Vey vo.
- Yes and no.....Vao.
- False.....Vyo.
- Absolutely not.....Abray voy.
- In no way.....Hoyen.
- In no way whatever.....Hyoyen.
Certainty, Probability, Possibility, and Capability
edit- I'm sure she'll come.....At se vlata van iyt upo.
- It is not certain that.......Voy se vlatwa van...
- It is probable that.......Se vlea van...
- You'll probably change your mind.....Et vley kyaxer eta texyen.
- In all likelihood,.......Gwa vley,...
- It might rain.....Vey mamilo.
- It will definitely rain.....Vlay mamilo.
- What is the probability that it will rain?....Duhos se ha vlean van mamilo?
- It is conceivable that she will win.....Texiyafwe van iyt ako.
- It would be inconceivable.....Texiyofwu.
- I am persuaded that nothing will happen.....At se vatexuwa van hyos xwo.
- It could be true.....Has yafwu ser vyaa. ~ Has syafwu vyaa.
- Those results are impossible.....Hua ixuni se yofwa.
- The odds of that happening.......Ha kyensagi van hus xwo...
- I can't understand you.....At yofe tester et. ~ At voy yafe tester et.
- Could you speak a little louder?....Duven et yafu daler ga az?
- It is not impossible that.......Voy se yofwa van...
- I would not be surprised if.......At voy yoku ven...
- Am I expected to be early?....Duven at yakwe ser jwaa?
- I doubt they will survive.....At vlotexe van yit yiztejo.
- She suspected that I'd be late.....Iyt vetexa van at so jwo.
- She assumed that I would be.......Iyt vletexa van at so...
- I bet you know.....At vlede van et te.
- You can't know for sure.....Et yofe ter vlay.
- That's impossible to predict.....Hus jadyofwa. ~ Hus se yofwa jader.
- I will be unable to X.....At yofo Xer.
Apologies
edit- I'm sorry but.......At se tipuva oy...
- Excuse me but.......Yovobu at oy...
- Please forgive me.....Diwe yovobu at.
- It pains me to say.......Byokxe at der...
- It is sad to say.......Se uva der...
- It is regrettable that.......Se uvtexyafwa van...
- They expressed their regrets.....Yit uvtaxde.
- I regret my crimes.....At zoyuvtose ata doyovi.
- I regret to inform you that.......At uvtose tuer et van...
Thanks
edit- Thank-you for your kind words.....Hyay av eta tipifa duni.
- I shall be forever grateful......At so byu hyaj ivtaxika.
- I am much obliged for your gift.....At se gla yefxwa av eta fibun.
- Thank-you very much!....Hyay hyay! ~ Ivtaxwo! ~ Gla yefxwa! ~ Gla naxtwe.
- I appreciate your help.....At nazte eta yux.
- Your words are much appreciated.....Eta duni gla naztwe.
Best Wishes
edit- Congratulations!....Hyay! ~ Yanfyaztos!
- I congratulate you!....At hyayde et! ~ At yanfyaztosde et!
- Best wishes to you!....Fia ojfoni av et!
- Happy birthday!....Iva tajjub!
- May your day be blessed!....Van eta jub fyadwu! ~ Fyadwu eta jub!
- I wish you a good trip!....At ojfe et fia pop!
- Bon voyage!....Fia pop!
- Season's greetings!....Iva jeb!
- Merry Christmas!....Iva Kristtaj!
- Happy New Year! ~ Nowruz!....Iva Ejna Jab!
- Happy Anniversary!....Iva jabzyus!
- Happy Hannukka!....Iva Hanuka!
- Get well soon!....Fibaksu ig!
- Good luck on your exams!....Fikyen be eta vyaoyeki!
- I wish you every success!....At ojfe et hya akuj!
- Good luck! (~ Mazel Tov!)....Fikyen!
- Be well!....Baksu!
- Long live the king!....Van ha edeb yagteju! ~ Yagteju ha edeb!
- Vive la France!....Hyay Ferom!
- Bravo! ~ Well done! ~ Congratulations!....Hyay!
- Get better soon! ~ Speedy Recovery!....Baksu ig! ~ Byekwu ig!
Common Greetings
edit- Hello!....Hay!
- Hey!....Hey!
- Goodbye!....Hoy!
- Good day!....Fijub!
- Good morning!....Fimaj!
- Good afternoon!....Fijwomaj!
- Good evening!....Fijwamoj!
- Goodnight!....Fimoj!
- How are you?....Duhoyen et se?
- How are you doing?....Duhoyen et xeye?
- I'm doing fine.....At xeye fi.
- What's new?....Duhos se ejna?
- See you later! ~ Au revoir!....Ju ha gawteat!
- Be well!....Su baka!
- Sleep well!....Tuju fi!
- What's happening?....Duhos kyeseye?
- Until then!....Ju huj!
- Take care!....Bikiu!
Announcements
edit- We are pleased to announce the birth of.......Yat ifie dotuer ha taj bi...
- I am happy to say that.......At se iva der van...
- I am sorry to report that.......At se uva dotuer van...
- It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of.......Bay gla uvan, yat dotue ha toj bi...
- Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated.....Duyti ay Dwuti, diwe simbiu.
- Welcome to the stage: X!....Fiupdiu bu ha dezyem: X!
- I would like to introduce you to our speaker, X.....At fu tyuer yet yata dalut: X.
- Attention! ~ Hear ye, hear ye!....Tepzexu!
Regrets and Condolences
edit- I'm very sorry for your loss.....At uvtose eta ok.
- My condolences on the death of.......Ibu ata yanuvtosi av ha toj bi...
- I am so sorry.....At se huugla uvtosika.
- Alas!....Hyoy!
- I share your grief.....At yantipuvie et.
- I regret having done that.....At ajuvtose xaer hus.
- I apologize for my actions.....At ajuvtosde (~ hyoyde) ata axleni.
- We were terribly upset to hear the news that.......Yat gla yobaxwa teeter ha tuun van...
Invitations and Responses
edit- You are hereby invited to join us.......Yet hiyen updiwe yanser yat...
- Welcome to our home.....Fiupu yata toom.
- Would you like to dine with us?....Duven yet fu tyaler bay yat?
- Be my guest!....Updiwe!
- I would be happy to come.....At su iva uper.
- Sorry, but I am otherwise engaged then.....Hyoy, at se hyuyen yuvlaxwa huj.
- Unfortunately, I must decline.....Fukyenay, at yefe vobier.
Establishing Parallels
edit- On the one hand...,on the other.......Ayen...,hyuyen ....
- Just as...so, too.......Gwe gel van...gey gel van...
- What is more,.......Gayen,...
- Furthermore,.......Gayen,...
- Added to this,.......Gabwa bu his,...
- By the same token,.......Geyen,...
- As far as...is concerned,.......Vyelea...
- As for.......Ayv...
Enumerating
edit- or...or even.......ey...ey gey...ey ujay
- but finally.......oy ujay...
- First of all.......Ujnay...
- Next, but not least.......Zanapay, oy voy gwo...
Favorable Comparisons
edit- far superior to....gla fia vyel
- We can't compete with....Yat yofe yanyeker bay
- has the edge over....se gyoay fia vyel
Unfavorable Comparisons
edit- was nowhere near as good as.......sa yib bi ser ge fia vyel'
- is no match for....yofe yanyeker bay
- is far inferior to....se gla oba vyel
- does not measure up to....voy se be neg bi
- bears no comparison with....voy se vyegexyafwa bay
Similar Comparison
edit- is equivalent to....genaze
- on a par with....gekyinse
- corresponds to....vyegexe
- can be likened to....se vyegexyafwa bu
Asking an Opinion
edit- What do you thing of X?....Duhos et texe ayv X?
- What is your opinion on X?....Duhos se eta texyen vyel X?
- What is your attitude to X?....Duhos se eta tepkin ub X?
- How do you see...Xing?....Be eta texyen, duhoyen...Xo?
Expressing an Opinion
edit- In my opinion,....be ata texyen,
- As I see it,....Be ata duni,
- Personally, I believe that.......Aotay, at vatexe van...
- It seems to me that.......Tease at van...
- I dare say (that).......At dyife van...
- As far as I'm concerned,....Ven et didu at,
- It is our belief that....Se yata vatex van
- I'm convinced that.......At se vetexuwa van...
Saying What You Like
edit- I would like to X.......At fu Xer...
- I would prefer to X.......At gaifu Xer...
- I very much enjoy Xing.....At gla ifie Xen.
- I have a weakness for X.....At ayse ozan av X.
- I love chocolate.....At ifle dyofyel.
- I adore ballet.....At ifre dyaz.
- Do you like dogs?....Duven et iyfe yepeti?
- I am very pleased to meet you.....At se gla ifxwa trier et.
Saying What You Don't Like
edit- I am not keen on seafood.....At voy iyfe piit.
- Do you dislike X?....Duven et uyfe X?
- I hate X.....At ufe X.
- I can't stand (~bear) the thought of Xing.....At yofe xorer ha tex bi Xen.
- That is disgusting.....Hus se ufxea.
- I despise rude people.....At ufre fubyenati.
Expressing Indifference
edit- I don't care about X.....At voy bikse vyel X.
- It doesn't matter to me.....Voy bikxe at (or: Getese bu at.)
- That doesn't matter.....Hus voy glatese.
- I couldn't care less about X.....X trefxe at hyohen.
Giving Reasons
edit- Why did you do that?....Duhosav et xa hus?
- I came because.......At upa hosav van...
- Because of X...?....Be ux bi X...?
- As a result of X...?....Gel ix bi X...?
- In order to X.......Av Xer...
- So that we would understand.......Av van yat testu...
- Therefore,.......Av hus,...
- As a result,.......Gel ix,...
- As a consequence,.......Gel jos,...
- As a result of X....Gel ix bi X
- As a consequence of X....Gel jos bi X
- I don't understand why.......At voy teste hosav van...
- This is due to the fact that.......His se ux bi van...
- Given that.......Twa van...
- The child died for lack of X.....Ha tud toja bi oys bi X.
- This happened by illegal means.....His kyesa bey odovyaba zeyeni.
- Tell me why you did it.....Duhosav et xa has.
- So, leave!....Av hus, ipu!
- I think, therefore I am.....At texe, av hus, at ese.
Correspondence Greetings
edit- Dear Sir....Hey Dwut
- Dear Madam....Hey Duyt
- Dear beloved.......Hey ifwa...
- To Whom it May Concern:....Hey Hyet:
- Yours truly, X....Hoy, X...
Euphemisms
edit- Mirad sometimes offers polite ways to express certain things that might sound too direct or rude in normal conversation. Here are some examples:
Euphemisms POLITE DIRECT ujpon....final rest toj ....death ujponxelam....final rest ceremony house tojxelam....mortuary ujpondin....final rest story tojdin....obituary, death notice eftim....necessity room fyusulsom....toilet (waste appliance) pontim....rest room fyusulsom....toilet twoobgon....male part tiyub....penis ogoblawa....uncut, uncircumcized otiyugoblawa....un-penis-cut xer sag a....to do a number one tiyabiler....to pee (lit: bladder-fluid-do) xer sag e....to do a number two tikyeler....to defecate, sh-t (lit: anus-fluid-do) milxer....to urinate, to pee, lit. to make water tiyabiler....to urinate (lit: bladder-fluid-do)
Mirad Gammar/Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Onomatopoeia refers the words in languages that represent sounds as they are heard by the speakers of those languages. They are the noise words you see in comics, such as pow or bang bang. These charts show equivalent sound words in Mirad. Often, they are reduplicated, hyphenated expressions like pop-pop. Any onomatopoetic word can be made into an action verb by suffixing some form of -der, if a human or animal vocalization, or -xer if it is a noise made by an object. Some example:
- hihi....ha ha
- hihider....to laugh
- plop-plop....plop, splat
- plop-plopxer....to go plop, to go splat
Human Sounds
editConsuming food or drink
editLanguage | Biting | Eating food | Drinking | Swallowing |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | chomp, crunch | yum yum | slurp | gulp |
Mirad | nyam-nyam, krac-krac | yum-yum | slup-slup | glu-glu |
Body sounds
editLanguage | Heart-beating | Belching | Vomiting | Coughing | Flatulence | Sneezing | Snoring | Yawning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | thump thump | burp | barf | cough cough | toot, fart | achoo | zzzz | ho-hum, yawn |
Mirad | tump-tump | brup-brup | blug-blug | kah-kah | hwuf-hwuf | acuh-acuh | zii-zuu | yaa-yaa |
Cries of Distress
editLanguage | Baby crying | Scream | Shriek |
---|---|---|---|
English | wah wah | ow, ouch, yeow, | eek |
Mirad | waa-waa | awc-awc | iik-iik |
Expression of Positive Emotions
editLanguage | Laughter | Kiss |
---|---|---|
English | ha ha | mwa |
Mirad | hihi | mwa-mwa |
Interrupted Speech
editLanguage | Hushing | Pausing or thinking |
---|---|---|
English | shh, shush | uh, um, er |
Mirad | xux-xux | hum-hum |
Others
editLanguage | Laughter | Kissing | Crying |
---|---|---|---|
English | ha ha | mwa | boo hoo |
Mirad | hihi | mwa-mwa | huhu |
Non-human Noises
editObjects
editLanguage | Balloon bursting | Canon, gunfire, machine gun | Crash | Door or floor creaking | Engine back-firing | Knocking | Dull strike | Falling strike | Sharp strike | Wet strike | Crunching, cracking (of sticks, bones, etc.) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | pop | kaboom, pow, ra-ta-tat | wham, bang | bam, crash | put-put | knock knock, tap tap, bang bang, rap | bump, thud, thump | plop, splat, thunk | clang, clink, clank, clunk, chink, dink, tink, plink, ding, ping, conk | splash, splish, splosh, splat | crunch, crack |
Mirad | pop-pop | bum-bum | krax-krax | bam-bam | pat-pat | bang-bang, tap-tap | bop-bop, dump-dump | plop-plop, slap-slap | cink-cink, tink-tink, konk-konk | splax=splax, splox-splox, splak-splak | krunc-krunc, krak-krak |
Machinery
editLanguage | Camera shutter | Car engine revving | Car horn honking | Clock ticking | Door bell ringing | Keyboard striking | Telephone ringing | Siren wailing | Train whistling |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | click | vroom vroom | beep beep | tick tock | ding dong, bing bong | click clack | ring ring, ringaling | wee-woo, awooga | choo choo |
Mirad | klik-klik | vrum-vrum | bip-bip | tik-tuk | din-don | klik-kluk | riin-riin | ninu-ninu | cu-cu |
Physical and natural phenomena
editLanguage | Electricity flowing | Electric shock | Fire | Rain | Thunder | Steam hissing | Water dripping | Wind blowing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | buzz | zap | crackle | pitter-patter | crack, kaboom, rumble | psss | drip drop, plink plonk | swish, whizz, wheeze, howl, sigh |
Mirad | bzuu-bzuu | psiit-psiit | knit-knut | plip-plop | bum-bum | psii | plik plok | kxuu-kxuu, hwuu-hwuu |
Animal Noises
edit- Animal noises are formed by replacing the final -t of an animal name to a form of -der, eg.:
- kapet....dog
- kapeder....to bark, to bow-wow
- fepet....cat
- fepeder....to meow, to mew
- bopet....cattle
- bopeder....to moo
- kapyot....wolf
- kapyoder....to howl
- serpyet....snake
- serpyeder....to hiss
- kapet....dog
- Here is a fuller list. If you replace the final der of the noise word with t, you'll get the animal that produces it.
- afekpeder....to bray, to hee-haw
- akorpelder....to chirp
- akpyader....to squawk, to screech
- alcerpoder....to bellow
- anpiader....to quack, to honk
- anpiyeder....to croak, to rivet
- ansanpiader....to honk
- appelader....to buzz, do drone, to thrum
- apwader....to cockadoodledoo, to crow
- bopeder....to beloow, to low, to moo
- bradepiider....to creak
- bubopoder....to snort
- cerpoyder....to bleat
- cihempelder....to chirp
- dipelader....to buzz
- ekpeder....to hinny, to neigh, to whinny, to sneer
- elpoder....to trumpet
- epleder....to wail
- famarpoder....to shriek
- fepeder....to meow, to mew, to purr
- fepyoder....to growl
- fumuspoder....to dook
- gafapader....to crow
- gafapayder....to cluck
- gafapaytuder....to cheep
- gepiader....to cry
- gipiader....to quack
- hirpaspader....to squall, to squeal
- kampoder....to hum
- mefapader....to gobble
- stripyader....to hoot
- urpyoder....to growl, to roar
- yopyeder....to croak
Introduction
edit- In order to facilitate word-building and to maximize comprehension and decipherability of words, certain meanings and functions have been attached to consonants and vowels.
- The vocabulary of Mirad is composed of base words and derived words.
- The vocabulary is built on base words, that is, indivisible, building-block words. The choice of the root of these words (formed generally from two or three letters) is determined by:
- The meaning of each letter of the word.
- The importance of the group of ideas that this word evokes in its proper sense and in the sense that is directly opposite it, eg.: fixed vs. variable.
- How frequently the word and its derivations are used in the language.
- The geometric system of vocabulary construction (see a later section on what this is all about).
- The logic of its composition.
- The mnemonic associations this word suggests.
- The words derived from base words in turn follow very simple laws called vocabulary-building rules, which are spelled out below.
Base Words
edit- Base words are elements of vocabulary that cannot be broken down any further and which serve as the basis for many derived words in the language. Base words are divided into two groups:
- Group 1: consisting of nouns
- Group 2: consisting of prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, determiners, and verbs.
Base words of Group 1
edit- Base words of Group 1 (nouns) are composed of three letters:
- The first, a consonant called the classifier
- The second, a vowel or vowel cluster called the ordinal
- The third, a consonant called the generic
- Examples:
CLASSIFIER | ORDINAL | GENERIC | MEANING |
---|---|---|---|
t | o | b | man |
d | o | t | society |
p | o | t | animal |
f | o | b | plant |
Base words of Group 2
edit- Base words of Group 2 (everything but nouns) are composed of one or two letters, not including grammatical endings. If one letter, it is a consonant or sometimes a vowel(*). If two letters, they consist of a consonant + vowel combination or a vowel + consonant combination. Here are some examples (the hyphen at the end means that the base word does not stand alone, but is followed in usage by a grammatical ending such as -er (verb infinitive marker) or -a (adjective marker):
b-....put | p-....go |
s-....be | x-....do |
d-....say | t-....know |
ab....on | ob....off |
bu....to | bi....from |
if-....love | uf-....hate |
fi-....good | fu-....bad |
va....yes | vo....no |
vya*-....true | vyo-....false |
a....one | o....zero |
- * As mentioned above, "vowel" in this case may include complex vowels, i.e. those preceded and/or followed by one of the glides y or w. So, for purposes here, ya, ye, yi, yo, yu, wa, and other pre- and post-glided vowels, are considered "complex vowels".
Consonants and Their Meanings
edit- The classifier (initial letter) and generic (final letter) in group 1 base words (nouns) are consonants. Also, group 2 base words almost always have one consonant. So, you need to be familiar with the general meaning of the consonants in the Mirad alphabet, as shown in the following chart:
CONSONANT | GROUP 1 CLASSIFIER | GROUP 1 GENERIC | GROUP 2 CLASSIFIER | IN NUMBERS |
---|---|---|---|---|
b | organ, health | organism | gesture, position | |
d | society | family | communicating | |
f | vegetation | textile, clothing | volition, attributes | |
g | -- | measurement | quantity, attributes | |
j | time | time | time | |
k | -- | health | change, risk, attributes | |
l | -- | element, food, liquid, nature | -- | l = ten |
m | nature | place, building, furniture | temperature, light | ml = million mr = billion |
n | commerce | -- | -- | |
p | animal, vehicle | motion | movement | |
r | -- | tool, machine, cosmos | -- | r = thousand |
s | form, image, furniture | thing | being, form, thing | s = hundred |
t | human, body | person, animal | intelligence, knowing | |
v | plant, color | linen | truth, attributes | |
x | action | -- | action, doing, making | |
z | -- | precious, art | spatial, attributes |
- The following consonants have semantic functions rather than, or in addition to semantic values:
- l and r: Liquids used after vowels to intensify the semantics of a word, eg.: baer....to lean, baler....to press, barer....to crush;
- y: Glide used 1) before a stem vowel to intensify the semantics of a word, eg. voa....negative -> vyoa....false, or 2) after a vowel to de-intensify the semantics of a word, eg. ama....hot -> ayma....warm.
- h: Used functionally only in certain interjections like hoy....goodbye and determiners like his....this, and has no semantic value.
- w: Has no semantic value of its own, but is used only 1) to form the masculine gender of nouns and pronouns, eg. tob....person -> twob....man, or 2) to form the passive voice of verbs, eg. uber....to send -> ubwer....to be sent, or 3) to form a numerical unit marker, eg. awa....one, or 4) sometimes to substitute for y when this letter would cause ambiguity or difficulty in pronunciation with other consonants eg. jwo....late, instead of jyo.
- n: In addition to its semantic values, functions often 1) as a buffer letter, as in ana....only, or 2) as a suffix to derive a nominal abstraction from an adjective, such as fian....goodness from fia....good, or from a verb, such axnen....behaving from axner....to behave.
Vowels and Their Meanings
edit- Ordinal vowels in Mirad have meanings or values of the following types:
- meronymic
- hierarchical
- scalar
- geo-specific
- oppositional/polar
- vectorial
- directional and positional
- special
Ordinal Vowel Values
edit- The numerical value of ordinal vowels is shown in the chart below. The vowels beginning with y are considered pre-y-glided vowels. These numeric values serve as the "ordinal vowel" in scaled base words. See the section on Vowels.
Numeric Values of Vowels Ordinal Vowel o a e i u yo ya ye yi yu Cardinal Number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Meronymic Vowel Gradation
edit- Ordinal vowels can be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a meronymic series. (This gradation can also be called taxonomic. The top element, or hypernym, has zero (o) as its defining vowel. The others are hyponyms or meronyms, and have incrementally higher numbers of their ordinal vowel. Tab (body) is the first meronym of tob (human being), the hypernym or zeroth element.
Meronymic Series Rank Meronymic 0 tob....human fob....plant vob....crop 1 tab....body fab....tree vab....grass 2 teb....head feb....fruit veb....tuft 3 tib....trunk fib....trunk vib....stalk 4 tub....arm fub....branch vub....shoot 5 tyob....leg fyob....root vyob....tuber
- The words that descend from the base word are called subordinal words, hyponyms, or meronyms. A hypernym is a word that is higher in the taxonomy.
Hierarchical Vowel Values
edit- Ordinal vowels can be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a hierchical series where the top element has zero (o) as its defining vowel. The others are subordinate elements and have incrementally higher numbers that define a descending series related to that top element.
Rank | Hierarchy | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | dob....state | dot....society | tod....family | xob....organization |
1 | dab....government | dat....friend | tad....spouse | xab....staff |
2 | deb....leader | det....associate | ted....parent | xeb....boss |
3 | dib....ministry | dit....citizen | tid....sibling | xib....department |
4 | dub....minister | dut....gentleman | tud....child | xub....branch |
Scalar Vowel Gradation
edit- Ordinal vowels can also be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a scalar series, where each member of the series is a smaller or less important component as it descends.
Rank | Scalar | ||
---|---|---|---|
0 | mos....masonry | som....furniture | tom....building |
1 | mas....wall | sam....cabinet | tam....house |
2 | mes....door | sem....table | tem....hall |
3 | mis....window | sim....chair | tim....room |
4 | mus....stairs | sum....bed | tum....closet |
Geo-specific Vowel Gradation
edit- Ordinals can have geo-specific values, that is values, related to the sky, land, sea, outer space, and underground.
Ordinal | Mirad Color | English Color | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
o | outer space, top level | mop....orbit | mom....outer space | mol....nature | dop....military | pop....voyage |
a | air, gas, sky | map....wind | mam....sky | mal....air | dap....air force | pap....flight |
e | ground, soil, solid | mep....road | mem....land | mel....soil | dep....army | pep....ride |
i | liquid, water, sea | mip....river | mim....sea | mil....water | dip....marines | pip....navigation/swim |
u | underground, mineral, substance | mup....tunnel | mum....underground | mul....mineral | pup....tunneling |
Spectral Ordinal Vowel Gradation
edit- The basic color terms use the natural order of the spectrum to determine the ordinal vowels:
Order | Mirad | English |
---|---|---|
0 | olza1 | blank, of no color |
1 | alza | red |
2 | elza | orange |
3 | ilza | yellow |
4 | ulza | green |
5 | yolza | blue |
6 | yalza | purple |
7 | yelza | pink2 |
- 1) In the natural spectrum, there really is no 0th order. The colors black and white are rendered in Mirad by the words molza and malza, which are polar opposites based on the roots mo for dark and ma- for light.
- 2) Properly indigo, but humans have a hard time distinguishing purple and indigo.
Oppositional (or Polar) Vowel Values
edit- In Group 2 stems:
a ⇔ ya | intermediate | i ⇔ yi |
⇑ positive ⇓negative |
e ⇔ ye | ⇑ positive ⇓negative |
o ⇔ yo | value | u ⇔ yu |
- positive a contrasts with negative o (av....for vs. ov....against)
- positive ya contrasts with negative yo (yava....innocent vs. yova....guilty)
- positive i contrasts with negative u (fia....good vs. fua....bad)
- positive yi contrasts with negative yu (yiva....free vs. yuva....bound)
- e and ye are in-between values (eva....neutral, yeva....fair)
Group 1 Oppositional Vowel Gradation positive intermediate negative aga....big ega....normal oga....small yava....innocent yeva....just yova....guilty ava....for eva....neutral ova....against aker....to win eker....to risk oker....to lose yak....expectation yek....attempt yok....surprise fia....good fua....bad ifer....love ufer....hate yifa....brave yufa....afraid
- Some Group 1 base words have ordinal vowel stems that exhibit oppositional values:
- The Group 1 base word bok (illness) is a good example:
Group 1 base word with oppositional values NEGATIVE INTERMEDIATE POSITIVE bak....health bek....treatment bok....illness byak....hygiene byek....cure byok....pain
byoyk....ache
blok....suffering
brok....agonybaak....sanitation book....fatigue bik....care buk....wound
buyk....sore
Vectorial Vowel Values
edit- These ordinal vowels have to do with directions, up, down, south, left, etc.
- a
- ↑
- u ← e → i
- ↓
- o
- a....on, above, north (ab....on, zamer....north)
- e....center, middle, equator (eb....between, ze....center)
- o....off, below, south (ob....off, zomer....south)
- i....right, east (zi....right, zimer....east)
- u....left, west (zu....left, zumer....west)
Directional and Positional Vowel Values
editA | |||||||
U | a ↓ |
↓ a |
↑ ya |
ya ↑ |
I | ||
u → | e | ye | → i | ||||
→ u | e | ye | i → | ||||
→ yu | E | yi → | |||||
yu → | → yi | ||||||
↑ o |
o ↑ |
yo ↓ |
↓ yo |
||||
O |
- Explanation of the above chart:
- If the vowel is capitalized, it indicates a positional value. It is used in its lowercase spelling as a prefix in Group I words.
- The non-capitalized vowels (including y-glides) indicate directional values.
- If the vowel is underlined, it means that it is placed before the classifier consonant (prefixed) in verbs
- Otherwise, a normal vowel means that it is placed after the classifier consonant (infixed) in Group 2 words.
A | position | on, above, north | zamer....north | |
a | movement | (free) | on | baer....lean |
a | movement | (contact) | onto | aber....put on |
ya | movement | (free) | up, ascend | byaer....lift |
ya | movement | (contact) | up, get up, set up | yaber....raise |
O | position | under, lower, south | zomer....south | |
o | movement | (free) | off | boer....hang |
o | movement | (contact) | on the bottom of, underneath | oper....get off |
yo | movement | (free) | down | pyoser....fall |
yo | movement | (contact) | fall | yoper....rise |
U | position | left, west | zumer....west | |
u | movement | (free) | move toward the center, come | uber....send |
u | movement | (contact) | reach the center, arrive | pyuer....reach |
yu | movement | (free) | near, approach | yuber....approach |
yu | movement | (contact) | near, reach | byuser....touch |
I | position | right, east | zimer....east | |
i | movement | (free) | from the center out, go away | pier....go away |
i | movement | (contact) | from the center out, leave | iper....leave |
yi | movement | (free) | away, go far | yiper....go far |
yi | movement | (contact) | from afar, originate | pyiser....originate |
E | position | center, equator | zemer....equator | |
e | rest | between | eb....between | |
e | rest | at, stay, hold | bexer....hold | |
ye | movement | in, into, enter | yeper....enter | |
ye | (contact) | contain | byeer....contain |
Special value of certain vowels
edit- The prefixes a- or an- meaning one, sole, singular.
- aot....person
- anot....individual
- Also, the prefix yan- meaning together contrasts with yon-....apart.
- yanber....to compose
- yonber....to separate
- The letter y is prefixed to the vowels of personal pronouns to make them plural:
- at....I, me as opposed to yat....we, us
- et....you as opposed to yet....you (pl.), you all
- it....he, she, him, her as opposed to yit....they, them
- The letter y is post-fixed to vowels to change the gender to specifically feminine:
- it....he, she, him, her as opposed to iyt....she, her
- tob....person, human being as opposed to toyb....woman
- The letter w is prefixed to vowels to change the gender to specifically masculine:
- it....he, she, him, her as opposed to wit....he, him
- tob....person, human being as opposed to twob....man
The Meaning of Group 1 Base Words
edit- The meaning of the base words of Group 1 comes from the combination of the values of the classifier (initial) and the generic (final) consonants.
- The ordinal vowel of those Group 1 base words has a 1) scalar/hierachical, 2) geo-spatial, 3) oppositional, 4) vectorial/positional, or 5) mnemonic values.
- The following table shows some Group 1 bases words, the meaning of their consonants, and the type of ordinal vowel scalarity:
BASE WORD | CLASSIFIER CONSONANT | GENERIC CONSONANT | SCALARITY TYPE |
---|---|---|---|
tob....person | t = human | b = organism | meronymic |
tof....clothing | " " " | f = fabric | meronymic |
tod....family | " " " | d = society | hierchical |
tom....building | " " " | m = place | vectorial/positional |
tov....lingerie | " " " | v = linen | meronymic |
tol....nourishment | " " " | l = food | oppositional |
top....soul, spirit | " " " | p = motion | meronymic |
dob....state | d = society | b = organism | hierarchical |
dop....military | " " " | p = movement | geo-specific |
dot....society | " " " | t = human | hierarchical |
dom....city | " " " | m = place | geo-specific |
job....time | j = time | b....organism | hierarchical |
fob....vegetation | f = vegetable | b = organism | meronymic |
vob....crop | v = plant | b = organism | meronymic |
vos....flower | " " " | s = thing | meronymic |
volz....color | " " " | lz = color, art | spectral |
som....furniture | s = thing | m = place | scalar |
mos....masonry | m = place, nature | s = thing | scalar |
mor....universe | " " " | r = machine, system | scalar |
mom....outer space | " " " | m = place | geo-specific |
mol....nature | " " " | l = substance | geo-specific |
mop....orbit | " " " | p = movement | geo-specific |
pot....animal | p = movement | t = human, animal | geo-specific |
bok....illness | b = organ | k = condition | oppositional |
nom....place | n = commercial | m = place | special |
nog....degree | " " " | g = measurement | special |
nof....cloth | " " " | f = cloth | special |
nov....linen | " " " | v = linen | special |
nod....point | " " " | d = communication | special |
xob....organization | x = action | b = organism | hierarchical |
Special Arrangement
edit- Other Group 1 nouns, listed in the chart below, have an ordinal vowel which is not so much geo-specific or hierarchical per se, but rather special in some fashion. The consonants, especially the classifier consonant, have meanings like those in the above chart.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Meaning of Group 2 Base Words
edit- The meaning of Group 2 base word stems comes from the combination of the values of the classifier consonant and the ordinal (stem) vowel. The stem does not include adjectival (-a), adverbial (-ay), and verbal inflections (-er, -ser, -xer, etc.), which are shown in a smaller typeface after the stem.
- The ordinal (stem vowel) holds oppositional values like positive, intermediary, and negative.
- Examples:
CLASSIFIER CONSONANT | POSITIVE | INTERMEDIATE | NEGATIVE | POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
j (time) |
ja before |
je during |
jo after |
ji since |
ju until |
aj past |
ej present |
oj future |
ij/er beginning/begin |
uj/er end/end | |
taj/er birth/to be born |
tej/er life/to live |
toj/er death/to die |
tij/er awake state/to be awake |
tuj/er sleep/to sleep | |
jwa early |
jwe on time |
jwo late |
yij/a opening/open |
yuj/a closing/closed | |
g (measurement) |
ga more |
ge equal |
go less |
gin point |
gun angle |
aga big |
ega normal |
oga small |
iga fast |
uga slow | |
yaga long |
yega normal |
yoga short |
yiga hard |
yuga soft | |
gyaa thick |
gyea enough |
gyo- thin |
gyia solid |
gyua fragile | |
k (randomness) |
kaxer find |
kexer seek |
koxer hide |
kia oblique |
kua lateral |
aker win |
eker play |
oker lose |
ika full |
uka empty | |
yaker expect |
yeker try |
yoker suprise |
yika difficult |
yuka easy | |
kyaa mobile |
kyea haphazard |
kyoa fixed |
kyia heavy |
kyua light | |
m (nature) |
ama hot |
-- | oma cold |
ima wet |
uma dry |
fer (want, qualities) |
fia good |
fua bad | |||
fyaa holy |
fyea mythical |
fyoa profane |
fyia useful |
fyua harmful | |
yafer be able |
yefer must |
yofer cannot |
yifer dare |
yufer fear | |
afer may |
efer need |
ofer be prohibited |
ifer love |
ufer hate | |
v (truth, qualities ) |
va yes |
ve maybe |
vo no |
via beautiful |
vua ugly |
vay really |
vey may |
voy not |
|||
av for |
eva neutral |
ov against |
iva happy |
uva sad | |
vyaa true |
vyea relative |
vyoa false |
vyia clean |
vyua dirty | |
yava innocent |
yeva fair |
yova guilty |
yiva free |
yuva captive | |
van that |
ven if |
von lest |
|||
z (spatial) |
za in front of |
ze in the middle of |
zo in back of |
zia right |
zua left |
zay ahead |
zey across |
zoy back, re- |
|||
zyaa wide |
zye through |
zyoa narrow |
zyia flat |
zyua round | |
aza strong |
eza moderate |
oza weak |
iza straight |
uza curved | |
yaza convex |
yez along |
yoza concave |
yiz beyond |
yuz around | |
b-er (put) |
bay/(xer) with, (agitate) |
bey/((xer)) by, (hold) |
boy(xer) without/(calm) |
bi(er/xer) from, (take/pull) |
bu(er/xer) to, (give/push) |
ab(er) on,(put on) |
eb(er) between,(block) |
ob(er) off,(take off) |
ib(er) away,(receive) |
ub(er) toward,(send) | |
byaser/xer stand/erect |
byexer tap |
byoser/xer hang/hang |
byi(ser) since,(originate) |
byu(ser/xer) up to,(contact/touch) | |
yab(er) up,(raise) |
yeb(er) in,(enter) oyeb(er) out,(exit) |
yob(er) down,(lower) |
yib(er) far,(remove) |
yub(er) near,(bring) | |
per (go) |
paser/xer move/move |
peser/xer wait/trap |
poser/xer stop/stop |
pier/ser/xer leave/withdraw/catch |
puer/ser/xer arrive/jump/throw |
pyaer/ser/xer hover/jump up/launch |
pyeser/xer encounter/strike |
pyoser/xer fall/drop |
pyiser/xer emanate/derive |
pyuser/xer reach/impact | |
yaper rise |
yeper enter |
yoper descend |
yiper go far |
yuper approach | |
aper get on |
eper intervene |
oper get off |
iper go away |
uper come | |
ser (be) |
san/s/xer evolve/make |
sexer build |
son/xer matter/destroy |
sin/yn image/sign |
sun/er/xer thing/provide/realize |
aser become |
eser exist |
oser cease to be |
|||
xer (do ) |
xaler execute |
xeler practice |
xoler fail |
xiler undertake |
xuler provoke |
axler act |
exer function |
oxler abstain |
ixer effect |
uxer cause | |
yaxer be busy |
yexer work |
yoxer be idle |
yixer use |
yuxer help | |
ter/rer/yer (know/recognize/know how) |
taxer remember |
texer think |
toxer forget |
tier/xer learn/study trier get to know tyier learn how |
tuer/xer/uxer inform/teach/raise truer familiarize tyuer train |
der/rer (say/write) |
daler talk |
deler state dyeer read |
doler be silent droer erase |
dier/ler/rer ask/beg/require |
duer/ler/rer suggest/insist/demand dyuer call |
h- (determiners) |
ha(a) the |
hea some |
hoa which |
hia this |
hua that |
hya(a) all |
hyea any |
hyoa no |
hyia same |
hyua other | |
(conjunctions) | ay and |
ey or |
oy but |
||
yan together |
yon apart |
||||
(numbers) | a one |
e two |
o zero |
i three |
u four |
ya six |
ye seven |
yo five |
yi eight |
yu nine | |
(privatives) | lo- (dis-/un-) lyo- (dis-) oy- (-less) |
- * Mixed root. taj/tej/toj instead of yaj/yej/yoj, because the human letter root t is more intuitive.
- Note: The opposition (y)a-(y)e-(y)o is a three-way opposition with an intermediary sense, but (y)i-(y)u is two-way, without any intermediary sense.
Derived Word Formation Rules
edit- Derived words are formed in accordance with certain simple rules of word-building:
- These consist of the following rules:
- Compounding
- Affixation
- Ordinal Vowel Scaling
- Overlapping
- Adding Ordinal Vowels
- Swapping Generic Consonants
- Marking Words for Gender
- Deriving Words with Geo-specific Vowels
- Deriving Words with Directional and Positional Vowels
- Deriving Words with a Mnemonic Pattern
- Deriving Nuanced Words Phonetically
Rule #1: Compounding
edit- Compound words are obtained through the combination of two or more whole words or stub words. In the combining process, the determining word is placed quite simply in front of the word it determines. Compounds consist mainly of noun + noun, but there can be other part-of-speech combinations.
- Examples:
COMPONENT 1 | COMPONENT 2 | COMPOUND |
---|---|---|
mor....cosmos | tun....science, -ology | mortun....cosmology |
mag....fire | yazmel....mountain | magyazmel....volcano |
dob....state | mem....land | dobmem....territory |
tul....dish | dras....something written | tuldras....menu |
sin....picture | dras....something written | sindras....description |
tam....house | kyoxer....to fix (in place) | tamkyoxer....to settle |
tax....memory | drer....to write | taxdrer....to record |
kyo-....fixed | tep-....head | kyotepa....stubborn |
- Sometimes, the first element can be a stub of a whole word, i.e. the word with the final consonant dropped. The word for rain, for example, is ma(m) (sky) + mil (water), where the final consonant of the first word is dropped, thus, mamil.
- When compounding an adjective with a noun, if the adjective begins with a vowel, often it will be suffixed to the noun, otherwise prefixed, (but this is not a strict rule), eg:
- uzra....twisted + tep....mind ---> tepuzra....crazy
- kyoa....fixed + tep....mind ----> kyotepa....stubborn, obsessed
- aza....strong + tep....mind ----> tepaza....intelligent
- fua....bad + tip....mood ----> futipa....cross, ill-tempered
- aga....big + tip....mood ----> tipaga....magnanimous, generous
Rule #2: Affixation
edit- Most adverbs and prepositions can be used as prefixes:
Prefixes
editPREFIX | BASE | COMPOUND |
---|---|---|
ja....before | per....to go | japer....to precede |
jo....after | per....to go | joper....to follow |
va....yes | der....to say | vader....to affirm |
jo....after | dras....something written | jodras....postscript |
za....ahead | jub....day | zajub....tomorrow |
yon....apart | mel....land | yonmel....island |
- Prepositional prefixes ending in b with verbs per and ber (and their derivations) lose the b before verbal elements based on per (go) and ber (put), as shown in the following chart:
PREFIX | BASE VERB | NEW VERB |
---|---|---|
yab....up | ber....put | yaber....raise (NOT: yabber) |
yab....up | per....go | yaper....rise (NOT: yabper) |
ab....on | ber....put | aber....put on, apply |
ab....on | per....go | aper....get on, mount |
yob....down | ber....put | yober....take down |
yob....down | per....go | yoper....descend |
ob....off | ber....put | ober....take off, remove |
ob....on | per....go | oper....get off, dismount |
yeb....in | bux....a push | yebux....impulse |
yeb....in | pyoser....fall | yepyoser....collapse |
- The loss of the b in the above words in one of the only cases of fusion in Mirad's grammar. Mirad is by and large an agglutinative language where building-blocks are juxtaposed with no change of form. Another case of fusion is when so-called stubs are combined. For example, doyijem (public square), which is composed of do(m)....city + yij(a)....open + (n)em....place. The morphemes (= building-block words) of Mirad always have one and only one meaning, unlike in English where the prefix a- can have many different meaninings.
- The adjective ending a is often dropped1, as is the er or prefixes taken from verbs. Longish noun prefixes are sometimes clipped, so that tyoyab becomes tyoya-.
PREFIX | BASE VERB | COMPOUND VERB |
---|---|---|
oza....weak | der....say | ozder....whisper |
yaga....long | der....say | yagder....ramble |
aja....past | der....say | ajder....evoke |
yoga....short | der....say | yogder....summarize |
tyoyab....foot | per....go | tyoyaper....walk |
dreer....write | sar....tool | dresar....pencil |
tuyob....hand | dren....writing | tuyodren....manuscript |
mam....sky | mil....water | mamil....rain |
- 1: Sometimes, the adjective ending a is retained when an adjective is compounded with xer or ser. This device may be used to distinguished two differently nuanced verbs. For example, aga + xer can produce agaxer....to magnify or agxer....to grow. Usually, the compound where the adjective suffix has been eclipsed has the more idiomatic meaning.
Most Common Mirad Prefixes
editPREFIX | EXAMPLES |
---|---|
a(n)-....uni-, number one, up | anzyuspar....unicycle antotin....monotheism adeb....emperor |
aa-....arch-, first-, prime | aadub....prime minister aatat....archangel aavyan....principle |
aag-....arch-, proto-, main | aagmep....highway aagdovyab....constitution aagovekut....archrival |
aaj-....paleo-, proto- | aajtobtun....paleoanthropology aajsiyn....fossil |
ab-....ad-, top, on, epi- | abtob....superman abtim....attic abzen....epicenter |
ayb-....over-, super-, hyper-, sur- | aybmep....overpass aybdresin....superscript abdyun....hypernym |
agal-....mega(lo)- | agalvyotos....megalomania agaltoj....megadeath |
alo(n)-....deca-, ten- | alojaga....ten years old alojab....decade alonsuna....decimal |
aloy(n)-....deci-, tenth- | aloynux....tithe aloyngoler....decimate |
am-....thermo- | amzemula....thermonuclear amvyabxar....thermostat |
amlo(n)-....mega- | amloagvunak....megavolt amlotoj....megadeath |
amloyn-....micro- | amloynjweb....microsecond |
anyen-....idio- | anyenboka....idiopathic anyendyan....idiom anyentepa....idiotic |
ao(b/p)-....north-south, up-down, vertical, vertically, y-axis | aonab....column, x-y-axis aopuys yuzpar....hop-on-hop-off bus aonada....vertical |
aoye(b/p)-....in-and-out | aoyebar....piston aoyebelen....import-exports aoyepaper....fly in and out |
aro(n)-....kilo- | aronminak....kilometer arobanak....kilobit |
aroyn-....milli- | aroynvunak....millivolt aoynwunak....milliwatt |
(a)so(n)....cent- | asojagat....centenarian asolinak....hectoliter sojab....century |
asoy(n)-....cent-, centi- | asoygenak....centigram asoylinak....centiliter |
av-....pro- | avyaotina....pro-communist |
ayn-....full-, holo-, whole- | aynnuut....wholesaler aynsin....hologram aynteptija....fully-conscious |
e(b/p)-....inter- | ebmos....mezzanine ebyanmulxer....intermingle eper....intercede |
ejna-....neo- | ejnadun....neologism ejnaobdabin....neocolonialism |
e(n)-....ambi-, bi-, di-, duo-, two- | entyoba....bipedal enzyuspar....bicycle envolza....dichromatic |
eon-....duo-, double-, twin- | eonin....dualism eondal....double-speak eonsum....twin bed |
ev-....a-, neutral | evdofina....amoral evdabtuna....apolitical |
ey(b/p)-....intra-, among | eybmasa....intramural eybmimkuma....intracoastal |
ey(n)-....demi-, half-, hemi-, mixed-, pen-, quasi-, semi- | eynzyus....semi-circle eynzyup....half-turn eyntilsyeb....demitassee eynyonmel....peninsula |
fi-....bene-, eu-, good-, nice-, well- | fixut....benefactor fidrawa....well-written fitos...euphoria |
fu-....dys-, ill-, mal-, mis-, poorly- | futos....dysphoria futuwa....ill-informed fuxeyn....malfeasance |
fya-....hiero-, holy-, sancti- | fyasdresiyn....hieroglyphic fyader....sanctify fyatwed....holy father |
fye-....mythical, fantasy | fyetop....phantom fyetobet....elfin fyetexer...fantacize fyedin....fantasy |
fyo-....evil, profane | fyotez....occult fyotat....devil fyotyez....witchcraft |
gaw-....re-, again | gawteaper....revisit gawaker....regain |
garale-....tera- | garaleagbanak....terabyte |
garalyi-....exa- | garalyibanak....exabit |
garalyo-....peta- | galayoagbanak....petabyte |
garela-....zetta- | garelaagbanak....zettabyte |
garelu-....yotta- | gareluagbanak....yottabyte |
ge-....equal to, equi-, even- | geyafwa....equipollent genaza....equivalent |
gel-....homo-, like-, simul- | gelzena....homocentric gelvolza....homochromatic |
geyl-....simul- | geyldyan....simile geylxer....assimilate |
gla-....many-, multi-, poly- | glatyenika....multi-skilled glatwada....polyandrous glavolza....many-hued |
glo-....mini-, little-, few- | gloduna....succint, of few words glonixea....low-earning |
gorale-....pico- | goraleagfenak....picofarad |
goralyi-....atto- | goralyigenak....attogram |
goralyo-....femto- | goralyoon....quadrillionth |
goralyu-....nano- | goralyusonak....nanosecond |
gorela-....zepto- | gorelagenak....zeptogram |
gorelu-....yocto- | gorelugenak....yoctogram |
gra-....extra-, hyper-, over-, ultra- | gratosea....hypersensitive grazoyaxler....overreact granoxea....extravagant |
gro-....hypo-, under- | groyixlawa....underemployed groaman....hypothermia |
gwa-....hyper-, maxi-, -most, pleisto-, uber-, ultra-, pure, macro- | gwayelza....pure pink gwayafa....supreme gwauja....ultimate gwazoa....hindmost |
gwo-....least-, mini-, micro- | gwosag....minimum gwoyuzpur....minibus gwoexlus....microprocessor |
hi-....hither, these, this | his....this hisi....these him....here |
hya(s)-....pan(to)-, omni-, all-, every- | hyas....everything hyati....all of them hyastea....omniscient hyataadifa....pansexual |
hu-....that | hus....that huj....then huyen...that way |
huim-....here-and-there, here-and-yon | huimkexer....search high and low huimpaper....fly here and there hyuimpoper....travel here-and-there |
huu-....so, such | huugla....so, so very hus....such huyen....in such a way, so, thus |
hyaewa-....ambi- | hyaewati....both of them hyaewaziza....ambidextrous hyaewatoobifa....ambi-sexual |
hye-....-ever, any, whatever, whichever | hyem....anywhere, wherever hyempea....erratic hjej....ever, anytime |
hyi-....homo-, like-, same | hyitoobifa....homosexual hyis....same thing hyij....at the same time |
hyo(s)-....nothing, a- | hyostosea....apathetic |
hyu(t/s)-....alter-, hetero-, other-, xeno-, else | hyutoobifa....heterosexual hyua....another, alternate hyutufa....xenophobic hyus....something else |
hyui(t/s)-....cross-, mutual, one thing and another, reciprocal | hyuitvikaxen....mutual admiration hyuixer....reciprocate hyuisa....mutual, reciprocal hyuitif....mutual love |
i-....toward the speaker | iber....receive ixer....result |
ik-....fully, thoroughly | iktoxer....forget completely iktos....satisfaction ikyebixer....engulf, swallow up completely |
i(n)-....three-, tri-, tripl-, tern- | inzyuspar....tricycle inaga....three-dimensional injiba....trimensual insuna....ternary intotan....trinity |
iyn-....terci-, third | iyna....terciary iynxer....cut into thirds |
iz-....ortho-, recti-, right-, straight- | iznada....rectilinear izguna....orthogonal iztin....orthdoxy izdea....forthright |
ja-....ante-, fore-, pre- | jaupya....foregone jauper....precede jadropeka....antebellum |
je-....per-, continuously, ever- | jetejer....persevere jeteaxer....watch jexrer....perpetuate |
jo-....after-, meta-, post- | joexlen....postprocessing jomir....metasphere jotej....afterlife |
jwa-....early-, eo-, preter-, proto- | jwaber....prepare jwader....warn, premonish jwadodin....early history, protohistory jwamola....preternatural jwajoeb....eocene |
jwo-....ceno-, late-, latter-, tard- | jwonux....late payment jwoa....tardy jwoteja....cenozoic |
ko-....cover-, hidden, secret-, stealth- | koa....covert koexut....spy koyeper....sneak in |
kovyo-....pseudo- | kovyotun....pseudoscience |
ku-....para- | kuifut....paramour kuteliut....parasite kuteptun....parapsychology |
kya-....alternate, dia-, re-, trans-, vari-, cross- | kyaember....relocate kyajoba....diachronic kyatajnad....crossbreed kyatooba....transgendered kyavolza....variegated, motley |
kyao-....falteringly, unsteadily | kyaoper....stagger kyaotexer....vacillate |
kye-....chance-, hap-, random- | kyea....haphazard kyebyus....chance encounter kyeteater....happen to see kyesauna....of a random type |
kyo-....fixed-, still-, stereo-, stat- | kyosaun....stereotype kyopa....stable, static, stationary kyoson....status |
lo-....dis-, semantic reversing prefix, un- | lozeb....disequilibrium loyuvlaxer....disengage loyuzyuber....uncoil lomulvyusber....decontaminate |
logel-....hetero-, different- | logelsauna....heterogenous logelaxer....differentiate |
maz-....bright- | mazteaba....bright-eyed |
mial-....hygro-, atmo-, vapori- | mialama....hygrothermal mialnagar....atomometer, vaporimeter |
mil-....aqua-, hydro-, water- | milyexun....aquaculture milmaka....hydroelectric miltilsyeb....water glass |
mul-....hylo-, substance | mulsana....hylomorphic |
o(l)-....a-, dis-, non-, un-, in- | ovyilxwa....unwashed omalza....non-white ototina....atheist otepzexea....inattentive |
o(b/p)-....de-, hypo-, off-, sub-, vice- | oper....get off obneg....sublevel obxeb....sous-chef, sub-officer obtyodeb....vice-president |
gwo-....micro-, mini- | ogalmor....microcosm ogalteaxer....microscope gowaxer....minimize |
ov-....contra-, counter-, dis-, non-, the opposite of, un- | ovalxer....countervail ovper....contravene ovkyin....counterweight ovdat....enemy olovmasbwa....undefended |
oy-....-less, a(n)-, without | oytofa...naked oyxer....deprive oytosen....apathy oyteupiba....toothless |
oyb-....hypo-, infra-, sub-, under- | oybnadrer....underline oybtomsan....infrastructure oybseuxa....subsonic oybtayoba....hypodermic |
oyeb-....ex-, extra-, out- | oyebnad....outline oyebyujber....exclude oyebdoabuer....extradite |
oyeyb-....extra- | oyeybdovyaba....extralegal oyeybtadiena....extramarital |
oyv-....contra-, opposite, reverse | oyvkuma...opposite oyvder....contradict oyvduer....contraindicate oyvaxer....reverse |
tayi(b)-....neuro-, nerve | tayibteptun....neuropsychology tayibyok....neuralgia |
teeb-....auri-, oto-, ear- | teebbekut....aurist teeteiteyobtut....otorhinolaryngologist teebyel....earwax |
tee(s/x/t)-....audio-, son-, phono- | teesnagen....audiography teestaxdras....phonogram teestun....audiology teexdras....audiogram teetyofwa....inaudible |
tei(b)-....nasal, nose, rhino-, aroma-, olfact-, osmo- | teibbok....rhinitis teibyeg....nostril teiz....perfume teizuka....aroma-free teityaf....olfactory sense |
tiibil-....blood-, hema-, hemato-, hemo-, sanguin- | tiibililp....hemorrhage tiibiliut....bloodsucker tiibloker....exsanguinate tiibiltun....hematology |
tuj-....hypno-, somni-, sopor- | tujbek....hyptotherapy tujbyea....somniferous, soporific |
u-....away from the speaker | uber....send uxer....cause |
ui-....horizontal, left-right, x-axis | uinab....row, x-axis uinada....horizontal |
uib-....back-and-forth, toward-and-away, transmit-receive | uibar....transceiver |
uig-....fast-and-slow | uigpar....scooter |
uij-....begin-and-end, start-and-stop | uijdaler....stutter |
uip-....come-and-go | uipen....traffic, coming and going |
uiz-....straight-then-crooked | uizbaser....swagger uizdrer....scribble uizpaser....swerve |
u(n)-....four-, quadri-, tetra-, quater- | ungona....quadripartite unnednid....tetrahedron unsuna....quaternary |
uyn-....fourth-, quarti- | uynxer....quarter uynjab....quarter (of a year) |
ut-....auto-, self-, sui-, ego- | utifon....egoism utgober....autodecrement utfuyix....self-abuse uttujben....suicide |
va-....yes | vayovder....convict vabier....accept vatexer....believe |
vao-....yes-no | vaoder....decide vaodaler....waffle vaonaza....boolean |
vi-....bell-, eu-, fine-, pulchri- | vituzyan....fine arts, beaux arts vidun....euphemism vidrenyan....literature, belles lettres visuana....classic |
vo-....non-, neg- | voyafxer....veto voxer....negate voyovder....acquit, declare not guilty |
vya-....justi-, recti-, true-, reg- | vyadin....true story vyader....avow vyamol....essence |
vyak-....ortho-, correct- | vyakdred....orthography vyakxer....correct |
vyo-....mis-, para-, wrong- | vyoyufa....paranoid vyoyux....perfidy vyoyixer....misuse |
ya-....more than one, multi- | yaota....communal |
yab-....hyper-, supra-, sur-, up-, upper- | yabdom....uptown yabdoneg....upper class yabduzneg....high pitch yabexer....support yabzyobix....hypertension |
yabnan-....height-, hypso-, alti- | yabnanagar....hypsometer, altimeter |
yag-....long- | yagyiban....long distance yagyeker....strive yagblokea....long-suffering |
yan-....co(n)-, fellow-, -mate | yanzena....concentric yanyeker....compete yandit....fellow-citizen |
yao(b/p)-....up-and-down | yaopuyser....skip yaopsim....seesaw yaoblir....elevator yaobaser....bounce |
ya(on)-....six-, hexa-, sex- | yaonat....sextet yaongun....hexagon yaona....six-fold, sextuple yagol....sextile |
yaov-....guilty-or-innocent | yaovder....adjudicate yaovdutyan....jury yaovkader....plead yaovyek....trial |
yaoz-....serrated, bumpy, jagged | yaozaxer....serrate yaozgoblar....saw yaozper....bump along |
yayb-....supra- | yaybdooba....supranational |
yayn-....sex-, sixth | yayna...sixth |
ye(on)-....hept-, hepta-, septi-, seven- | yejub....week yeongun....heptagon yeonat....septuplet |
ye(b/p)-....en-, endo-, in-, intra-, intro- | yebuzaser.....inflect yebzoytiibufa....intravenous yebyujer....enclode yebtayoba....endodermal yeper....enter yeber....introduce |
yeov-....fair or not | yeovdut....umpire |
yeyb-....intra- | yeybmepyan....intranet yeybdoeba....intrastate |
ye-'....hepto-, seven-, septi- | yejub....week |
yeyn-....seventh | yeynxer....split into sevenths |
yi(on)-....oct-, eight- | yiona...eight-fold octuple |
yib-....far-, tele-, remote | yibsin....televison yibteata....far-sighted yibtrawa....famous |
yibaj-....archai-, archeo-, ancient | yibajtun....archaeology,yibajtun....archeology |
yiyn-....eighth | yiynxer....divide into eighths |
yiz-....beyond, extra-, meta-, out-, para-, past, super-, supra-, trans-, ultra- | yiztyun...metaphor yizeza....paranormal yizmeirat....extraterrestrial yizseux....utrasound |
yoon-....five-, penta-, quint- | yoongun....pentagon yoongol...quintile yoon....group of five quintet |
yo(b/p)-....down-, hypo-, sub- | yobdom...downtown yoper....go down yobgoler....subdivide |
yon-....apart, dis-, se- | yonzyaber....disperse yonxer....separate yonsauna....distinct |
yoyn-....fifth-, quinti- | yoynnaga....quintic yoyn....a fifth |
yu(n)-....nine-, nona- | yunapa....ninth (in order) yungunid....nonagon yunkunid....nonahedron |
yub-....near-, proxi- | yuboj....near future yubna....next yubteas....closeup (view) yubge....almost yubfia....intimate yubgeser....approximate |
yui(b/p)-....near-and-far | yuibjo....sooner or later yuibteabar....bifocals yuipoper....travel near and far |
yuij-....open-and-shut | yuijar....valve yuijer....blink, wink manyuijer....blink makyuijar....switch |
yuyb-....quasi-, pen-, almost | yuybyonmel....peninsula yuybega....quasi-normal |
yuon-....ninth-, novi- | yuonat....nonuplet |
yuz-....circ-, circum-, peri-, roto-, round- | yuzper....circulate yuznad....perimeter yuzof....wrap-around yuznadrer....circumscribe |
za-....ante-, fore-, front-, pre-, pro- | zatim....antechamber zamimuf....foremast zagab....prefix zajuber....procrastinate |
zao-....back-and-forth, front-and-back | zaopaser....wobble zaokuper....slalom zaopyoser....pendulate |
zay-....forth-, pro-, forward, ahead, north | zaypuyser....skip ahead zaypuxer....propel zayper....go forward, procede zayupea....forthcoming zamer....north |
ze-....mid-, central, medio- | zetej....midlife zepoxer....interrupt, stop midway zetem....central hall |
zey-....cross-, meta-, over-, trans-, across | zeyper....transit, get across zeynod....crosspoint zeytyun....metaphor |
zi-....right, east | zim....right side zimera....eastern |
zo-....back-, hind-, retro-, south | zotib....back zotiub....hindquarters zonapa....retrograde zomer....south |
zoy-....back-, retro-, re- | zoyper....recede, go back zoybeler....carry back zoyzyublen....backspin |
zu-....left-, west- | zutinut....leftist zukum....left side zumera....western |
zui-....left-and-right, zig-zag, east-west | zuibyoser....dangle, hang left-and-right zuiper....zigzag zuituyaba....ambidextrous zuimera....east-west |
zya-....-wide, wide-, broad-, all about | zyauber....broadcast zyateaba....wide-eyed zyasauna....general zyapoper....cruise, wander zyamira....global, worldwide |
zye-....per-, thorough-, thru-, trans- | zyetejer....live through, experience zyeteaxer....peruse zyeteatyafwa....transparent zyemep....thoroughfare zyeper....permeate, transit |
zyo-....narrow, steno- | zyotepa....narrow-minded zyoteat....tunnel vision zyoyija....stenopeic |
zyu-....cyclo-, rot-, round-, gyro | zyutim....rotunda zyusem....roundtable zyuper....cycle, gyrate, rotate |
Suffixes
edit- Mirad has semantic stub suffixes, derivational suffixes, and normal semantic suffixes.
- Semantic Stub Suffixes
- Semantic stub suffixes are generally formed from the last letters of a base word minus the initial consonant. They serve to put a word into some category, such as liquid, place, person, or material.
SUFFIX STUB | SUFFIX FULL FORM | SUFFIXED EXAMPLE < BASE WORD |
---|---|---|
-il....liquid, drink | mil....water | teabil....tear < teab....eye teubil....saliva < teub....mouth tayebil....sweat < tayeb....skin mamil....rain < mam....sky |
-al....gas | mal....air | tiebal....breath < tieb....lung |
-(e)l....food | tel....food | supel....pork < supet....swine taol < taob....flesh fel < feb....fruit |
-ul....stuff | mul....substance | vixul....cosmetic < vix-....to beautify bekul....medecine < bek....treatment |
-yel....oil, gel, wax, pulp | yel....oil | olfyel....olive oil < olfeb....olive appelatyel....wax < appelat....bee magyel....grease < mag....fire bekyel....salve < bek....treatment megyel....cement < meg....stone yanyel....paste < yan....together |
-am....house | tam....house | apatam....chicken coop < apat....chicken apellatam....beehive < apellat....bee melyexam....farmhouse < melyex....agriculture datibam....hostel < datib....guest-reception |
-(e)m....place | nem....place | vobyexem....plantation, farm < vob....plant + yex....work vabem....field < vab....grass abem....top, surface < ab....above, upper zem....middle < ze(a)....middle tim....room |
-im....room | tim....room | tulim < tul....cuisine tujim....bedroom < tuj....sleep |
-um....cell, booth | tum....compartment | pexum....cage < pexer....catch ilzyapixum....shower stall < ilzyapix....shower |
-yem....space | nyem....enclosure | yomyem....icebox < yom....ice |
-yeb....container | nyeb....container | zyeb....bottle < zye(f)....glass vosyeb....vase < vos....flower |
-of....material | nof....cloth | tof....clothes < t-....human misof....curtain < mis....window faof....wood < fa(b)-....tree tayof....leather < tayo(b)....skin |
-ov....linen | nov....linen | teyov....collar < teyob....neck |
-ar....instrument | sar....tool | par....cart < p-....motion zyupar....rotor < zyup....turn gobrar....knife < gobrar....cut jwobar....watch < jwob....hour |
-ir....machine | sir....machine | drir....typewriter < dr-....write gwobir....clock |
-ur....large machine | sur....engine | purr....car jwoburr....grandfather clock < jwob....hour |
-(u)n....thing | sun....thing | dun....word < d-....utter, say gofrun....piece, scrap < gofrer....rip, shread, tear zyiun....plaque, plate < zyia....flat vyun....spot < vyua....dirty |
-on....abstract thing | son....issue | yovon....tort, wrong < yov....guilt |
yen....manner, kind | byen....manner | texyen....opinion < tex....thought hiyen....this way, thus < hi-....this esyen....status < es-....exist |
-in....-ism | tin....doctrine | totin....theism, religion < tot-....god Kristin....Christianity < Krist....Christ vyisatin....puritanism < vysiat....puritan, clean person oytofin....nudism < oytofa....nude |
-ufyeg....cylinder | mufyeg....pipe | manufyeg....candle < man....light tiibufyeg....artery < tiib....heart milufyeg....toilet < mil....water movufyeg....cheminee < mov....smoke |
-ab....government | dab....government | ditab....democracy < dit....citizen |
-eb....leader | deb....leader | xeb....boss < x-....do tameb....master of the house < tam....house |
-ub....branch | tub....arm | patub....wing < pat....bird |
-ad....language | -a + d(alzeyn)....language | Fransad....French (language) |
-uz....jewelry | nuz....jewel | teyobuz....necklace < teyob....neck teebuz....earring < teeb....ear |
-u(er)....give | buer....give | tiebaluer....exhale < tieb....lung + al....air |
-i(er)....take | bier....take | tiebalier....inhale < tieb....lung + al....air |
-ui(er)....exchange | buier....exchange | tiebaluier....breathe < tieb....lung + al....air |
Derviational Suffixes
edit- Mirad has only a few derivational suffixes, i.e. suffixes that change the part of speech.
DERIVATIONAL SUFFIX |
FUNCTION | BASE WORD --> SUFFIXED DERIVATION |
---|---|---|
-er | NOUN --> VERBAL INFINITIVE |
sag....count --> sager....to count |
-n | PRESENT TENSE VERB --> VERBAL NOUN (GERUND) ADJECTIVE --> ABSTRACT NOUN |
yexe....(he/she/...) works --> yexen....working via....beautiful --> vian....beauty yuba....near --> yuban....proximity, nearness |
-a | NOUN --> ADJECTIVE ACTIVE VERB --> VERBAL ADJECTIVE (PRESENT PARTICIPLE) PAST PASSIVE VERB --> PERFECT PASSIVE PARTICIPLE (ADJECTIVE) |
mor....universe --> mora....universal ake....wins --> akea....winning teatwa....was seen -->teatwaa (or, shortened to: teatwa....seen) |
-ya | INTRANSITIVE VERB STEM --> PAST ACTIVE PARTICIPLE |
ip-....go away --> ipya....gone away |
-yea | VERB STEM --> HABITUAL PRESENT PARTICIPLE (ADJECTIVE) |
zaypas-....progress --> zaypasyea....progressive |
-y | ADJECTIVE --> ADVERB |
iga....quick --> igay....quickly tea-....knowing -->teay....knowingly |
-ut | VERB STEM --> ANIMATE AGENT NOUN one who Xes, -er |
ak-....win --> akut ....winner |
-us | VERB STEM --> INANIMATE AGENT NOUN thing that Xes, -er |
gol-....divide --> golus ....divisor |
- *Derivational affixes change the part of speech of a base word, whereas inflexional affixes change the status of a word within a grammatical paradigm. Verb tense/mood/voice affixes and the plural marker -i fall under the latter category.
Normal Semantic Suffixes
edit- Augmentative Suffixes
AUGMENTATIVE SUFFIX | BASE WORD | SUFFIXED DERIVATION |
---|---|---|
-ag (augmentative) | tam....house | tamag....mansion |
-ayg (affectionate augmentative) | sem....chair | semayg....big old chair |
-yag (pejorative augmentative) | apet....horse | apetyag....nag |
- Diminutive Suffixes
DIMINUTIVE SUFFIX | BASE WORD | SUFFIXED DERIVATION |
---|---|---|
-og (diminutive) | tam....house | tamog....hut |
-oyg (affectionate diminutive) | tam....house | tamoyg....cottage |
-yog (pejorative diminutive) | tam....house | tamyog....shack |
-et (a smaller person) | twob....man | twobet....boy |
-es (thing of lesser importance) | nas....money | nases....change, coin |
-ud (child of, offspring) | tob....man | tobud....infant |
- Semantic Adjectival Suffixes
ADJECTIVAL SUFFIX | MEANING | BASE WORD | SUFFIXED DERIVATION |
---|---|---|---|
-a | mor....universe | related to, -al, -ic | mora....universal |
-aya | miek....dust | full of, -ous, -y | miekaya....dusty |
-oya | vyun....spot | empty of, -less, -free | vyunoya....spotless |
-ika | miek....dust | full of, -ous, -y | miekika....dusty |
-uka | miek....dust | empty of, -less, -free | miekuka....dust-free |
-yea | vyod....lie | given to doing X, -ive | vyodyea....mendacious, given to lying |
-yena | tat....angel | like, -ly, -ic | tatyena....angelic |
- Other Semantic Suffixes
SUFFIX | BASE WORD | DERIVATION |
---|---|---|
-tun....science, ...ology | tej....life | tejtun....biology |
-tut....-ologist, expert, -ist | dar....language | dartut....linquist |
-tuin....theory | tob....mar | martuin....astrology |
-yan....collection, aggregate | fab....tree | fabyan....forest |
-tyen....trade, -ics | sir....machine | sirtyen....mechanics |
-if....pet name | twed....father | twedif....papa |
ifa....-philic, -loving | dyes....book | dyesifa....bibliophilic |
ifwa....liked by | tyod....people | tyodifwa....popular |
ufa....-phobic, -hating | toyb....woman | toybufa....misogynous |
ufwa....hated by | tyod....people | tyodufwa....unpopular |
yafa....able to | tyoyap-....walk | tyoyapyafa....ambulatory |
yafwa....possible to | teat-....see | teatyafwa....visible |
yofa....unable to | teat-....see | teatyofa....blind |
yofwa....impossible to | dye-....read | dyeyofwa....illegible |
yika....hard of...ing | teet-....hear | teetyika....hard of hearing |
yikwa....hard to | teet-....hear | teetyikwa....hard to hear |
yuka....easy at...ing | vatex-....believe | vatexyuka....gullible |
yukwa....easily...ed | test-....understand | testyukwa....easily understood |
yufa....fearful of, -phobic | tot....god | totyufa....god-fearing |
yufwa....feared | hyat....everybody | hyatyufwa....feared by all |
yiva....free to | kebi-....choo |