tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:/feedAitôxhalin Açnalüpç2014-08-19T20:56:30-07:00Aitôxhalin Açnalüpçhttps://eloertkha.svbtle.comSvbtle.comtag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/ithkuil-for-beginners-a-hypothetical-lesson2014-08-19T20:56:30-07:002014-08-19T20:56:30-07:00Ithkuil for Beginners. A Hypothetical Lesson<p>In this post I’d like to show how you can make sentences in Ithkuil. Suppose, you want to say ‘I am sleepy because those damn cats were fighting all night and I couldn’t sleep well!’</p>
<p>‘Whoa!’ — you might think — ‘The guy’s nuts! He’s going to explain a complicated sentence to a noob like me!’, and then stop reading this article. Yet, I dare to correct this assumption. First of all, I personally have been seriously learning Ithkuil for only three months, and even by natural language standards, I am a noob myself. And if I can make the sentence like the one I gave, you can make it too, especially if I tell you how. But if you insist, please proceed directly to the ‘Additional Lesson’ section below.</p>
<p>So, let’s begin. First, we’ll have to think what is said in the sentence, peeking through the veil of English words. What the phrase actually means, is ‘I want to be asleep now due to only sleeping episodically, which was caused by cats that were fighting all night’. We see three clauses here linked with a causative relation one by one.</p>
<p>In Ithkuil, subordinate clauses are expressed with a unique device called ‘case frame’. In order to make a case frame, the predicate of the subordinate clause is marked with a Framed Relation and inflected into one of the Ithkuil cases to show the relation between clauses. Case frames can be nested inside each other, which is exactly what we need here. In our case we need two nested frames ‘I want to sleep [I slept episodically [cats were fighting]]’. Causative relation is shown with Derivative case, thus, we’ll use it to mark both predicates — ‘slept’ and ‘fighting’. As both frames end exactly at the end of the sentence, we won’t need any suffixes to mark the end of each frame.</p>
<p>First, let’s prepare the main clause: ‘I want to sleep’. The only Ithkuil root we’ll need here is ‘to be asleep’. We also start with it because the predicate goes first in a usual Ithkuil clause. Changing default word order has certain implications and cannot be attempted carelessly. ‘I’ and ‘want to’ can both be expressed with adjuncts. ‘To be asleep’ is just ‘degree of wakefulness or sleepiness’ with the Dynamic function and the appropriate EXN suffix. ‘Asleep’ is essentially ‘not at all awake’, which is Degree 1, thus the resulting suffix will be <em>ib</em>. The root is <em>-čn-</em> from which we derive the Pattern 1, Stem 2 with Dynamic function, obtaining <em>aičn-</em>. This is the predicate of the main clause, and thus it retains the default Oblique case: <em>aična-</em>.</p>
<p>Next big step is to go through all basic grammar categories and choose the appropriate affixes. Because we speak of an action, and not a series of actions, a default Uniplex configuration and Consolidative affiliation are ok. As we are talking about a period of being asleep as a whole, default Monadic perspective and Delimitive extension are in place as well. And we choose the Representative essence because we are speaking about sleep that has not taken place in reality, but is only part of our desire. This allows us to choose the right affix for the above categories, <em>-tt</em>, resulting in <em>aičnatt</em>. If we now add the suffix, we get <em>aičnattîb</em>. There is another category left, the Context. Because we not simply state about sleepiness, but the sleepiness is somehow relevant to us personally, Functional Context might be appropriate, so, the final version of the formative is <em>aičnattîbi</em>.</p>
<p>Now I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that the decision to use this or that category is subjective and depends on the exact thing you want to say. E.g. no one could stop you from using a Degree 2 suffix or the default Existenstial context, or Proximal extension if you desired. Thus, no fixed ‘Ithkuil-English dictionary’ is ever possible. Rather than consulting such a dictionary you have to always make the decision closely connected with your cognitive intent as well as your perception of the situation.</p>
<p>Now we proceed to express the ‘I want to’ part. ‘I’ is expressed with a personal reference adjunct (which is roughly similar to a personal pronoun in English, although English personal pronouns are like children’s toys if we compare their functionality to that of Ithkuil personal reference adjuncts). First person adjunct consists of a consonant <em>t-</em> and a vowel group corresponding to the case. Case in Ithkuil shows the semantic role of the noun or a reference adjunct. ‘Wanting to sleep’ is mentally creating a hypothetical situation which might come true through further actions. The subject of such an action is technically Experiencer, but Ithkuil further differentiates such experiencers of desire (as well as need, expectation, etc.) by marking them with a special Activative case marker <em>ei</em>.</p>
<p>‘Want to’ is expressed by a special category called Modality, and it’s special because it cannot be shown in a verb itself, but only in a verbal adjunct — a special function word that is put right before the formative. Every adjunct has to include at least one Aspect, which also comes handy in our case. Desire is expressed with a Desiderative Modality, shown by a vowel <em>u-</em> and because we desire to be asleep continuously, to be sleeping, we add a Progressive aspect and our adjunct becomes <em>ur-rn</em>.</p>
<p>Thus, we are done with the first clause: <em>ur-rn aičnattîbi tei</em>.</p>
<p>Now we proceed to ‘because I only slept episodically’. Here we need the same root for ‘slept’. Once again, we can use default categories for everything. Only because we are speaking about past event, essence is now Normal, and Unbounded perspective might be better, so the affix changes to <em>-t</em>. Now we have <em>aičnatîb</em> and can add all remaining information. Firstly, being asleep only periodically is best captured with Recurrent Phase. In addition to Phase we have to specify Saction and Illocution as well as Valence, but default Propositional Saction, Assertive Illocution and Monoactive Valence are ok. Don’t forget to add the glottal stop because we show Phase after the Pattern, Stem and Function vowel, and now, we get <em>ai’dačnatîb</em>. Then we might want Retrospective aspect (with default Factual mood), thus we’ll have <em>n-nrai’dačnatîb</em>. Finally, we want to change the case (that is the last <em>-a-</em>) to Derivative (<em>-ui-</em>) and add Framed Relation by transferring the stress to antepenultimate (second from last) syllable: <em>n-nrai’dáčnuitîb</em> (remember that <em>-ui-</em> is a diphthong, so it counts as one syllable).</p>
<p>‘I’ can also be copied directly from the first clause but as sleep we are talking about is no longer hypothetical, thus the case changes to Affective, marked by <em>i</em>, and now we have our second clause: <em>n-nrai’dáčnuitîb ti</em>.</p>
<p>Let me remind you again that you are free in your choice of grammar categories depending your perception of the situation. You might as well use the Incompletive Version to mean that you tried to sleep but couldn’t.</p>
<p>Now all we have to do is ‘because those damn cats were fighting all night’. We’ll need four roots: ‘cat’, ‘hit’, and ‘night’. What is ‘hit’ for? You guessed it right, we’ll derive ‘fight’ from it — word derivation in Ithkuil is awesome.</p>
<p>Let’s start with the verb. ‘Hit’ is derived from Pattern 1, Stem 2 of ‘physical contact’ <em>-č-</em>. We’ll use Dynamic Function, Unbound perspective and leave all other basic default categories — let’s imagine there was basically one big cat fight that lasted through the night — now we have <em>aičat</em>. Remember, so far it’s just ‘application of physical pressure/force + effect’. In order to make it ‘hit’, let’s add some violence: Type 2, Degree 7 FRC suffix ‘violently’: <em>aičatôkç</em>. Now let’s add an SCO Degree 9 Type 2 suffix ‘synergistic expansion’ to make it ‘fight’: <em>aičatôkçuxh</em>. For a fight that was constantly resuming, let’s take the Repetitive phase, and now we need the Reciprocal valence because the cats are fighting each other: <em>ai’qičatôkçuxh</em>. Instead of aspect, I decide to add Validation, because I did not observe the cats directly, but rather inferred they were fighting because of the loud meows. Adding Inference Validation, we get <em>hwai’qičatôkçuxh</em>. Now we again change the relation to Framed and the case to Derivative: <em>hwai’qičúitôkçuxh</em>. And one more thing — ‘those damn cats’ as well as the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence clearly mean I strongly dislike the situation. Let’s add the intensive Contemptive Bias affix: <em>hwai’qičúitôkçuxh’kšš</em>. </p>
<p>After some consideration I also think that a couple of aspects won’t hurt — I’d add Retrospective and Incessative. So sad the slot is already occupied by Validation… Wait! Why not utilise a verbal adjunct again? So, let’s take a consonantal form for one Aspect and a vowel form for another — <em>-m-ms-</em> and <em>-u-</em>, and then let’s also move Phase, Valence and Bias from the formative. Valence is shown differently, with a consonant <em>w-</em> plus the default Level placeholder <em>-ë-</em>, Phase is shown with the same consonant as in the formative plus default Modality (no modality) <em>-a-</em>, and when we assemble the adjunct, we’ll have <em>wëqam-msukšš</em>. Now let’s delete those affixes from the formative, and voila! — our formative is now compact and nice: <em>hwaičúitôkçuxh</em>.</p>
<p>Now let’s have the cats. The stem is <em>rra-</em>. I’ll use the Discrete configuration because there were several cats involved, and to me they were roughly the same. I’d also like Variative affiliation because it was a random group of cats. I’ll also take Unbound perspective because I’m not even sure how many cats were involved. Thus, we get <em>rralp</em>. Now we change the case to Ergative because cats are ones who are fighting and their sematic role is Agent: <em>rrolp</em>.</p>
<p>Finally, so let’s do ‘through the night’. This is pretty straightforward. ‘Nighttime’ is -ż- with Pattern 3, Stem 1 (Informal), with Stative function and default affix it is <em>âżal</em>. Then we add Prolapsive case. The vowel group is <em>-ü’a-</em> and it contains a glottal stop which means we can tweak and move our vowel that precedes the root in place of that <em>-a-</em>: <em>żü’âl</em>. Let’s add PTW Degree 9 suffix for ‘entire night’: <em>żü’âluss</em>.</p>
<p>Now we’re done with our final clause: <em>wëqam-msukšš hwaičúitôkçuxh rrolp żü’âluss</em>.</p>
<p>Now we assemble the whole sentence and marvel at the beauty of Ithkuil:</p>
<p><strong>ur-rn aičnattîbi tei n-nrai’dáčnuitîb ti wëqam-msukšš hwaičúitôkçuxh rrolp żü’âluss</strong></p>
<p>Well, I guess, you got my irony calling this “Ithkuil for Beginners”. There was probably a lot of work on your side just to follow my explanations if you’re a beginner. But I really believe that Ithkuil should be studied wholistically. Of course it is impossible to learn to use all grammar categories at once, but even in this sentence I did not showcase the whole array of grammar devices that Ithkuil provides. Still, it gives a feeling of ‘Ithkuil point of view’ and a certain place to start. And the most important — it keeps you interested. To me, it’s just sweet how much information you can always add to Ithkuil sentences that stays implicit in English!</p>
<p>As exercise, I recommend thinking of other phrases of similar complexity and trying to rethink and formulate them in Ithkuil like I just did.</p>
<h2 id="additional-lesson-boring-ithkuil-for-stupid-p_2">Additional Lesson. Boring Ithkuil for Stupid People <a class="head_anchor" href="#additional-lesson-boring-ithkuil-for-stupid-p_2">#</a>
</h2>
<p>Okay, let’s go for something simple and suitable for beginners. Let’s have our vocabulary first: cat — <em>rral</em>, sat — <em>aimskat</em>, mat (I substituted it with ‘peace of cloth’) — <em>egdhál</em>. Let’s now make a sentence ‘Cat sat on a mat’. We’ll need some cases here. First of all, ‘sat’ is a predicate and stays in default Oblique. Cat is actively doing the sitting, thus, it is an Agent, goes Ergative — <em>rrol</em>. Mat is the location (i won’t bother going into Ithkuil spacial orientation feature, so let’s just say ‘at the mat’ instead of ‘on the mat’), so you use Locative — <em>egdhâ’ál</em>. Now let’s make the sentence. Remember, predicate goes first: <em>aimskat rrol egdhâ’ál</em>. We’re finished! Did you have fun? I didn’t.</p>
<p>Excercises:</p>
<p>I. Use the Lexicon and make sentences:</p>
<ol>
<li>Dog sat on a mat</li>
<li>Frog sat on a mat</li>
<li>I sat on a mat (use Personal Reference Adjunts from Adjuncts chapter of the Grammar)</li>
<li>Otter danced on a mat (as well as ‘sit’, ‘dance’ can be found in the Lexicon Supplement)</li>
</ol>
<p>II. Finally, re-read the main lesson and try to make a phrase ‘I’m f-ing bored with stupid simple Ithkuil sentences’. Don’t forget to use <em>kšš</em>.</p>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/a-short-introduction-to-derivational-suffixes2014-08-18T12:25:21-07:002014-08-18T12:25:21-07:00A Short Introduction to Derivational Suffixes<p>One of the most powerful features of Ithkuil is derivational suffixes. A derivational suffix consists of a vowel part and a consonant part. The vowel part signifies degree and type of suffix, while the consonant part signifies the meaning of the suffix, which can be looked up in the <a href="http://ithkuil.net/07_suffixes.html">Suffixes</a> chapter of the Grammar. Currently, also, <a href="http://ithkuil.net/additional_suffixes.pdf">seven additional suffixes</a> have been published that will be included in the forthcoming Grammar Supplement.</p>
<p>The degree of suffix is generally specific to its meaning, but often follows the gradation from absolute lack of certain characteristic to absolute presence of it. For example the <em>-rň</em> suffix meaning Degree of Importance/Impact/Signficance in different degrees takes an array of meanings from ‘utterly unimportant’ to ‘crucial’.</p>
<p>The most simple is Type 1 suffix. It simply modifies the meaning of the stem according to the lexical entry of the suffix. I.e. if we take the stem <em>utçat’</em> meaning ‘end of spacetime’ and add a Degree of Anticipation (better called ‘degree of unwillingness to bear’, because it goes opposite the usual scale) suffix in Degree 9 ‘long-dreaded’, we get <em>utçat’upţ</em> ‘long-dreaded end of spacetime’.</p>
<p>If we want to suggest, that the suffix meaning is inherent in the concept we want to express, we use Type 2 suffix instead. E.g. if we switch Type 1 suffix for a Type 2 in our previous example, ‘long-dreaded end of spacetime’ becomes <em>utçat’uipţ</em> ‘apocalypse’.</p>
<p>Type 3 suffix is used to modify the meaning of the preceding suffix. If in <em>utçat’üpţimž</em> ‘stupid dreaded end of spacetime’ we use Type 3 suffix in place of the second suffix, we get <em>utçat’üpţiemž</em> ‘stupidly dreaded end of spacetime’.</p>
<p>Nine degrees by three suffix types — 27 possible vowel combinations, plus 11 variants for phonaesthetic reasons are given in Table 24 in the Suffixes chapter of the Grammar. These values are also recommended for memorisation if you want to considerably increase the speed of making Ithkuil words.</p>
<p>One of the greatest things about suffixes is that they can be strung onto the stem without any limits (except phonaesthetic limits), thus, creating words of very complex meaning. And if the formative gets too long, you can always detach one or several suffixes and put them in front of the formative as a suffix adjunct.</p>
<p>Finally, I’d like to give an example of this: <em>mzaleňzöržüffûniomz</em> ‘one who is guilty of experiencing a subtle very pleasant memory never to be forgotten’. For the ease of pronunciation it’s better to split it and add an epenthetic vowel: <em>eňzöržüffûniomz amzal</em>. But even then the phrase stays very concise compared to English translation, which is the most impressively looking feature of Ithkuil.</p>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/plural-in-ithkuil2014-08-17T22:48:33-07:002014-08-17T22:48:33-07:00Plural in Ithkuil<p>Unlike English, Ithkuil does not have plural. Instead there is a sophisticated mechanism consisting of several grammatical categories that can be used to speak about a non-single manifestations of concepts (besides, because as I already mentioned in <a href="http://eloertkha.svbtle.com/introduction-to-ithkuil-formative-and-functions">another post</a>, Ithkuil does not require separate lexical classes for nouns and verbs, this can be extended to actions and events as well), often resolving the ambiguity in singular/plural usage that we often ignore to even notice.</p>
<p>The first of those categories is Configuration which, besides noting the number of instances of a given object also expresses whether the objects are similar or different and the degree of connection between them if applicable.</p>
<p>The default Configuration that roughly corresponds to singular in English, in Uniplex. Configuration is shown by an affix that in addition to it expresses 4 other grammar categories some of which I’ll mention later, but when all the categories have their default value, the affix used is <strong>-l</strong>. For example, ‘a lion’ in Ithkuil is <em>ňkral</em>. Particularly, this refers to a single (both physically and contextually) normal real lion. To give some other examples, ‘a road’ is <em>eskʰál</em> and ‘a prediction’ is <em>ušqal</em>.</p>
<p>If we want to speak about lions, roads or predictions (in plural), we have a variety of choices in Ithkuil. If we want to speak about a set of objects in Ithkuil, the first thing we have to think of is whether they are more or less similar or different (conceptually).</p>
<p>If they are similar, we use Discrete Configuration, shown (with all other categories by default) with a <strong>-tļ</strong> affix. E.g. <em>ňkratļ</em> ‘several lions (roughly same age, sex and kind)’, <em>eskʰátļ</em> ‘several roads (of the same type)’, <em>ušqatļ</em> ‘several (similar) predictions (maybe about different subjects)’.</p>
<p>A special case is when there are two objects. Just as Ancient Greek, Arabic, Scottish Gaelic and some other languages have a separate <em>dual</em> form for nouns, in Ithkuil there is Duplex Configuration. It means a pair of similar or complementary objects and is shown with <strong>-ll</strong> affix. E.g. <em>ňkrall</em> ‘a pair of lions (a male and a female)’, <em>eskʰáll</em> ‘a pair of roads (maybe two parallel roads that cross, or are parallel and go in opposite directions)’, <em>ušqall</em> ‘a pair of predictions (maybe similar predictions made about a couple)’. Notice that some words are very often and naturally used in Duplex, e.g. <em>entall</em> ‘a pair of ears’.</p>
<p>If the objects are different, we use Aggregative Configuration, shown with <strong>-ļ</strong> affix. E.g. <em>ňkraļ</em> ‘lions (of different age, sex and/or kind)’, <em>eskʰáļ</em> ‘roads (asphalt, gravel, rail, etc.)’, <em>ušqaļ</em> ‘predictions (of different outcome, and so on)’.</p>
<p>Other possible Configurations deal with the level of connection (physical or other kind of connection due to which the objects operate together). Such level of detail can no longer be captured by English plural properly, and requires separate words.</p>
<p>A group of similar connected items is expressed by Segmentative Configuration, shown with <strong>-ļļ</strong> affix. From all our examples, this goes most natural with roads: <em>eskʰáļļ</em> will simply mean ‘a road network’. Lions, on the other hand, are not physically connected normally, but <em>ňkraļļ</em> can still be a meaningful word, something like ‘a pack of lions (maybe all males in a pride that went to hunt together)’. <em>Ušqaļļ</em> will simply mean ‘similar predictions connected to one another’.</p>
<p>If the items are connected but different, Componential Configuration is used, shown with <strong>-řļ</strong> affix. <em>Ňkrařļ</em> might mean, for example, a part of pride consisting of lions of different age that went hunting. <em>eskʰářļ</em> means something like ‘road network consisting of several types of roads’.</p>
<p>To give another example of difference between Segmentative and Componential, ‘tooth’ in Segmentative, <em>kfaļļ</em>, might mean teeth of defeated enemies on a string used as a necklace, and in Componential, <em>kfařļ</em>, might mean teeth in one’s mouth (teeth of different kind — molars, canines, incisors located next to each other).</p>
<p>Next two Configurations are Coherent (<strong>-sk</strong>) and Composite (<strong>-šk</strong>). They differ from the precious two by signifying that objects are not simply connected, but constitute a separate gestalt, a new level of organisation. While <em>ňkrask</em> is a rather strange word meaning ‘a unit of similar lions’, ‘ňkrašk’ corresponds to an English ‘pride’. <em>Eskʰásk</em> and <em>eskʰášk</em> both mean ‘transportation system’, the former meaning a system made of one type of roads, and the latter — system made of highways, railroads, etc.</p>
<p>The last available Configuration is Multiform, shown by <strong>-kţ</strong> affix. It is rather different from all other configurations, because in addition to differing objects of certain kind, in also includes objects that are do not belong strictly to that kind. I.e. ‘ňkrakţ’ is ‘lions and lion-like creatures of all kinds’, ‘eskʰákţ’ is ‘everything which is more or less a road (including forest paths, dead-ends, and so on)’.</p>
<p>We can already see from these examples (and even clearer from the examples given in the Grammar) that Ithkuil grammar categories very often allow to build analytically the concepts for the ideas that are expressed with separate lexemes in most other languages. This is another greatest feature of Ithkuil that allows the Lexicon to be very concise and still allow to express multitude of concepts in great detail. As we can also see, this grammar framework allows to build words that don’t have counterparts in other languages and can only be expressed with lengthy paraphrase.</p>
<p>Another grammar category that allows more possibilities to derive complex concepts from primitive roots is Affiliation, but as it is not directly related to singular/plural distinction, I will not cover it here.</p>
<p>Two other uses of plural in English demand explanation — use of plural with numerals and use of plural to mean the concept in general. Both do not require a change to Configuration in Ithkuil and are expressed differently.</p>
<p>Nouns with a numeral — e.g. five lions, seven roads, three predictions, are expressed in Ithkuil with Partitive Case, and while I won’t go in detail about cases here, I must say that the case is shown by a change in a vowel (group of vowels) right before the affix showing Configuration and other categories. Thus, the examples given will be: <em>ňkrual ansal</em>, <em>eskʰuál aţkal</em> and <em>ušqual asţal</em> respectively. Note that the first word’s configuration is always Uniplex. If you use another Configuration, the meaning becomes several sets of objects e.g. <em>ňkruatļ ansal</em> means ‘five groups of (identical) lions’.</p>
<p>Nouns referring to all objects in general which are often put in plural in English, in Ithkuil another nondefault grammar category expressed with the same affix together with Configuration as well as three others, called Perspective. The default Perspective, referring to a single object (or a group viewed as single object) is called Monadic, and the one standing for objects in general is called Nomic (and the remaining two won’t be covered here). Nomic perspective with all other categories by default is shown by a <strong>-ţ</strong> affix. Thus, when we say, e.g. ‘Lions are brave’, we say <em>oidʰgac ňkraţ</em>.</p>
<p>I hope this material might be of help to Ithkuil beginners, but is might contain errors. If you spot any, or otherwise have comments about unclarities in my posts, please leave a message on the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/2dgdrc/a_blog_about_ithkuil/">subreddit</a>.</p>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/how-to-think-in-ithkuil2014-08-16T07:13:59-07:002014-08-16T07:13:59-07:00How to think in Ithkuil<p>This essay won’t teach you to think in Ithkuil. I don’t even know whether it’s possible for a human brain or not. Still, in order to express ideas in Ithkuil, the first thing to do is to convert from thinking in English (or your native language) to Ithkuil. Ithkuil’s conceptual network is so unique and unrelated to conceptual networks of any natural languages, that expressing even simple words or phrases requires certain effort. Regardless whether you are translating from other language or expressing an original idea, you have to do the work of re-representing your (or the author’s) cognitive intent in Ithkuil.</p>
<p>Although it might sound intimidating, it brings certain benefits unlike a literal translation into Ithkuil. Most important, you have to think what you really want to say (from here on I’ll refer to the process of expressing your own thoughts in Ithkuil, so I presume <em>you</em> are the author of the message). Being honest with yourself provides a great psychological relief and unclouds your perception. Because of the idiomatic nature of our usual speech the meaning of the words we say is not the same as our cognitive intent. Some could view absence of predefined idioms in Ithkuil as a handicap, but I’d rather see it as freedom of choices that you have for expression. And that’s the next benefit. You don’t have to follow the narrow corridors of native languages’ semantic schemes when you use Ithkuil. For example, if you are speaking about food, you have a predefined verb choice in English. It looks simple at first, you eat solid foods, you drink liquids. Not without exceptions of course: you eat honey although it is liquid. Other languages impose different rules on you: Chinese people drink honey and brose, yet Chinese infants eat milk instead of drinking it. In Ithkuil the distinction between eating and drinking is not obligatory, you can always use the holistic word <em>igral</em> meaning ‘to eat and drink’, and if you go for complementary stems <em>aigral</em> ‘to eat’ and <em>eigral</em> ‘to drink’, the semantic distinction lies in the difference between the physical action of either chewing and swallowing or sucking in and swallowing, and not in idiomatic usage.</p>
<p>A model example of semantic analysis and transformation into Ithkuil is given in the narrative about the procedure of translating <a href="http://ithkuil.net/texts.html#karenina">epigraph to “Anna Karenina”</a> by John Quijada.</p>
<p>After the analysis you have to find the roots that you need for the translation. In fact, very few words of the original sentence usually require a root in Ithkuil. The core grammar (by which I mean all grammar except roots and derivation suffixes) can be used to express many subtleties of states and processes you want to speak about as well as put in your own attitude and personal feeling about what you want to say, and the better you know the grammar the more conciseness and semantic depth your phrases get. But don’t let the complexity of the grammar put you off. It turns out that for the sake of flexibility it is possible to express the same meaning with different grammar mechanisms. And even after you figured out which parts of your phrase can be handled by core grammar, don’t rush to the roots yet, first explore the vast variety of derivational suffixes that can handle a lot of meaning too. Most often a sentence will need only one or two roots.</p>
<p>Finally, you can go to the Lexicon to find them. It requires attention to get what you need, and if you fail to find the necessary root and stem at once, don’t forget that additional roots are published in the Lexicon Supplement (linked from the Lexicon page as a separate PDF file) and the newest sometimes can be found in Quijada’s comments on the Ithkuil subreddit even before they get into the supplement.</p>
<p>If there is no single root that can satisfy you, remember that the current version of Ithkuil also has a powerful root incorporation mechanism that can be used to account for a missing root even if it might get assigned at some point later.</p>
<p>And if after all this you are still sure that you need a separate root or an SSD derivation that has not been assigned yet, you can go and ask at the subreddit. Sometimes, Quijada gives out new roots for those in need, and sometimes he reveals roots he already assigned for use in his translations that has not been published yet.</p>
<p>After you’ve got all you need, you only need to assemble the words (and sentences) together and optionally write it with Ithkuil script.</p>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/introduction-to-ithkuil-formative-and-functions2014-08-15T03:56:25-07:002014-08-15T03:56:25-07:00Introduction to Ithkuil Formative and Functions<p>In Ithkuil there are only two lexical classes — formatives and adjuncts. Formative is the one functioning instead of a plethora of nouns, verbs, adjectives in other languages.</p>
<p>This is quite common in other languages as well for one verb to be able to function as both a noun, a verb and an adjective. For example, English ‘good’ can be both a noun and an adjective, and ‘stop’ is both a noun and a verb. Chinese ‘紅’ means ‘red’ as well as ‘redden’ and ‘redness’. The difficulty here is that you have to judge whether you see a verb or a noun depending purely by context.</p>
<p>Other languages give morphological cues by deriving relative words from the same stem. E.g. English ‘strength’, ‘strengthen’, ‘strong’ or Russian ‘чёрный’ (black), ‘чернеть’ (blacken), ‘чернота’ (blackness). Yet, the way natural languages employ derivation in an unsystematic and haphazard way.</p>
<p>Ithkuil addresses the issue in the most elegant way by introducing the category of Function. Of course it would be too unsophisticated to have a category that directly maps into lexical classes common in natural languages. While two of the four Functions — Stative and Dynamic seem to correspond to nouns and verbs respectively, the distinction is much more subtle. If we ponder over the distinction between, say, a cat and being a cat, we won’t find any real difference. A cat is being a cat all the time, and the moment it stops being a cat, it is no longer a cat. Thus, the distinction is only in the perspective of the speaker — whether he sees being a cat as a dynamic action or as a relatively unchanging state.</p>
<p>Two remaining Functions also present different view on the matter. Manifestive Function puts the perspective of how the entity appears outwards, instead of focusing on the state or the action. In other words, it means ‘to be a cat (in name)’ or ‘manifest as a cat’. Incidentally, this is what we mean when we use the verb ‘be’ in English (as in ‘I am a cat.’) yet in Ithkuil you can equally use any other Function depending on what you think is most important in being a cat.</p>
<p>The last function is Descriptive, and while there is a temptation to map it to adjectives, it is better to think about it in the Ithkuil way. It means ‘appear or manifest in the manner of’.</p>
<p>Function is shown by a vowel prefixed to the root consonant (when speaking about Ithkuil, it is convenient to refer to combination of vowels or diphtongs as ‘vowel’ and both single and stacked consonants as ‘consonant’). The vowel choice is different according to the Pattern and Stem of the formative and the given Function. All vowels are presented in the <a href="http://ithkuil.net/05_verbs_1.html">Table 8 of Chapter 5</a> of the grammar, and is the only table that I’d say is essential to memorise for convenience. At least two rows of Stative and Dynamic are a must.</p>
<p>Finally, I’ll give all cat examples mentioned:</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:center;">Function</th>
<th style="text-align:center;">Word</th>
<th>Meaning</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center;"><strong>Stative</strong></td>
<td style="text-align:center;"><em>rral</em></td>
<td>cat, a state of being a cat</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center;"><strong>Dynamic</strong></td>
<td style="text-align:center;"><em>irral</em></td>
<td>to be a cat, dynamic process of being a cat</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center;"><strong>Manifestive</strong></td>
<td style="text-align:center;"><em>uirral</em></td>
<td>to be a cat (in name), manifestation of a cat</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center;"><strong>Descriptive</strong></td>
<td style="text-align:center;"><em>oirral</em></td>
<td>to appear or manifest in a manner of a cat</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/ixhadl-epal-ikuil2014-08-14T09:24:43-07:002014-08-14T09:24:43-07:00Íxhadl epal Iţkuil<p>The title of this post means ‘the beginning of hypothetical Ithkuil learning’.</p>
<h2 id="why_2">Why? <a class="head_anchor" href="#why_2">#</a>
</h2>
<p>Ithkuil is extremely complex, it’s an apriori language, which means its grammar and lexicon bear very little resemblance to those other languages you might know. It was not intended to be learned at all! The author, John Quijada was purportedly very surprised when he started getting letters from crazy Russians who asked him about learning the language. Those Russians fell for an unproved and highly doubtful idea that learning Ithkuil at a nativelike level could improve one’s speed of thought. The very question of learnability of the language is a matter of debate that <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/1vdhy3/fascinating_idea_is_there_evidence_that_such_a/">arose</a> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/21vhwk/is_ithkuil_learnable/">several</a> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/2brk1n/why_exactly_is_ithkuil_not_speakable/">times</a> on <a href="http://reddit.com/r/Ithkuil">Ithkuil subreddit</a>.</p>
<p>Why would you even want to learn such a thing?</p>
<h3 id="you-might-be-insane_3">You might be insane <a class="head_anchor" href="#you-might-be-insane_3">#</a>
</h3>
<p>And even perfectly sane people sometimes do crazy things. Personally, I regularly feel frustrated about the real world and want to evade it for a while. Yet, I never use psychedelic drugs or other substances. When I want to end up in a state of altered consciousness at some point, I begin reading Ithkuil grammar (In Ithkuil I’d say: <em>Ul-lnoa utçoi’l itpapk to udrûltánlêšt’ai epai’l Iţkuil</em>). The ability to imagine unimaginable things and looking at usual things at unlookable angles gives the weirdest psychedelic experience.</p>
<h3 id="you-might-be-a-poet-or-a-philosopher_3">You might be a poet or a philosopher <a class="head_anchor" href="#you-might-be-a-poet-or-a-philosopher_3">#</a>
</h3>
<p>Another great use for Ithkuil is writing poetry. Its immense descriptive power allows you to describe anything you can imagine without limits (provided the semantic roots you need have already been assigned) in a very precise yet succinct manner, opening vast grounds for experiment. John Quijada himself has been exploring this path recently as he is composing <a href="http://ithkuil.net/texts.html#poetry">lyrics to his songs</a>, and I must say, the results are quite different from lyrics written in natural languages.</p>
<p>Another good use for Ithkuil is philosophical discourse. Precision, controlled ambiguity, lexicon based on principles that lie deep at the roots of human cognitive processes as well as other unique Ithkuil features provide the ground for very accurate descriptions and speculations about the ultimate questions of life, the universe, and everything.</p>
<h3 id="you-might-be-a-wannabe-illuminatus_3">You might be a wannabe Illuminatus <a class="head_anchor" href="#you-might-be-a-wannabe-illuminatus_3">#</a>
</h3>
<p>Want to organise your own secret society which will use a refined language for all internal communication? With the immense complexity Ithkuil will always stay out of reach of most people and the freedom to construct any metaphors without the need to use culturally predefined meanings makes Ithkuil a good candidate as a substrate for a code language of any kind. Currently the community of people interested in Ithkuil itself resembles a secret society.</p>
<h2 id="how_2">How? <a class="head_anchor" href="#how_2">#</a>
</h2>
<p>Sadly, there is no nice and easy way to learn Ithkuil. With the final version existing for only 3 years by now, all paths to teach and learn the language are still being explored. Here I just present my own vision of how hypothetical learning could begin.</p>
<p>First of all, read <a href="http://ithkuil.net">the grammar</a> (online or <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-quijada/a-grammar-of-the-ithkuil-language/paperback/product-18708279.html">buy a book</a>). If you cannot handle the complexity well, put it aside after reading, then come back to it after a while. The grammar, being a definitive guide to the language, gives the most detailed description and empowers you with the ultimate might of the language.</p>
<p>However, if you still fail to understand what Ithkuil looks like (and thus make a transition to the practical use of the language), you can read <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/1s1nrh/ithkuil_lesson_1_simple_nouns/">wonderful</a> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/1swc0s/ithkuil_lesson_2_verbs_sentences_case/">beginner</a> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/1v29l2/ithkuil_lessons_3_perspective_and_4_pras/">lessons</a> on the subreddit. They give a thoughtful and deep introduction, yet, unfortunately, are incomplete.</p>
<p>Then, after you get the basic feeling of the language, you can try using it! Try to decipher, scarce though they are, existing Ithkuil <a href="http://ithkuil.net/texts.html">texts</a> (including <a href="http://conlang.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/LCC5-Relay-Torch-ithkuil-text-notes.pdf">LCC5 Relay text</a> that was not linked on the official texts page), and try to create your own texts! You can fashion yourself a nickname in Ithkuil (just as I did for this blog), translate your favorite motto or short poem, or story, and even write your own!</p>
<p>Finally, if you have any questions, you can ask them at the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil">Ithkuil subreddit</a>.</p>
tag:eloertkha.svbtle.com,2014:Post/the-wonder-of-ithkuil2014-08-13T10:20:29-07:002014-08-13T10:20:29-07:00The Wonder of Ithkuil<p><a href="http://ithkuil.net">Ithkuil</a> is a constructed human language created by an American linguist John Quijada.</p>
<p>As with many constructed languages, especially those which emerged in the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century, Ithkuil was not intended to be actually used for any communication, but rather to explore how human languages can function theoretically.</p>
<p>What makes Ithkuil so special among a multitude of conlangs?</p>
<p>While most of people who heard something about Ithkuil will say either ‘extremely complex grammar and crazy phonology’, or ‘high information density that can speed up your thinking’, those are neither unique to Ithkuil nor related to its primary goal.</p>
<p>What makes Ithkuil a truly unprecedented effort in language creation, and the reason why it is certainly worth being called a rare precious gem of human culture, is the exactness and precision of expression which leaves far behind the capabilities of both natural and most other constructed languages.</p>
<p>Let’s take for example a simple thing like jumping. Say, <em>a boy is jumping</em>. That’s as far as we can go in English if we want to stick to simple phrases. If <em>the boy have jumped for a while, then went to rest for a while, and then resumed jumping</em>, it can be either described in a way I just used, or still as ‘the boy is jumping’, which gives us only a vague idea of what the boy actually did. In Ithkuil, you can describe complex actions as easily as simple ones: <em>Mar-rnigwalôk öqulêpʰ</em>.</p>
<p>Anything can be described in Ithkuil with an astonishing degree of precision and conciseness! Feeling of oneness with the universe achieved through meditation? In Ithkuil, it’s just <em>aççaçnalitto</em>. Sudden surreal flashes and periods of neurosis due to fears one experienced in the past that gradually stopped? <em>U’nazjakčilḑomš</em>.</p>
<p>The more I dive into Ithkuil, the more I explore the depth of meanings and details of meanings that can be expressed, the more I pay attention to what I mean when I use other languages too, I ponder over covert meanings that are implicitly present in the words of natural languages, and my thinking gradually becomes more dimensional.</p>
<p>Of course, it is unrealistic to think that Ithkuil lovers all over the world will soon grow into a large community that will communicate in Ithkuil like lovers of Klingon or Tolkien’s languages. Still, I believe strongly that more people should discover the unique capabilities that Ithkuil provides for expression of human (and even more-than-human) thought.</p>
<p>If you are interested, you can read the official <a href="http://ithkuil.net">Ithkuil grammar</a> and ask your questions at the <a href="http://reddit.com/r/Ithkuil">Ithkuil subreddit</a> where even Quijada himself appears from time to time. And in this blog I will write notes in a haphazard and unsystematic way expressing my feelings and thoughts about the language.</p>