Gnomish - Principles

Finished off Verb forms. This is probably it for just the basics of Gnomish. See what you all think. I'll post the Word List soon.

Gnomish

Gnomes have a very simplistic language structure despite their advancement in technology. They have developed a language that meets their need for information quick and easy, easy to transfer and tell. The words they use are, like elfish, very concrete. Though gnomes do have a sense of beauty and ugliness, such opinion-based words are of little use to a people who want to describe things accurately with concrete detail. The language is also fairly loose. Things can be switched and turned around, but as long as the proper particles are put in where they’re supposed to be, there is no trouble.

Gnomish is the main language of the gnomes, but most gnomes, because of great trade, tend to know other language as well, and some gnomish schools even require that their students known tharian before graduation. Within most villages and camps, however, Gnomish is the primary language.

Sentence Structure and Particles
As mentioned already, gnomish is a fairly loose language. Unlike Elfish, though, the verb is almost always found on the end, though sometimes informal speak can change this rule. However, for the sake of knowing the proper and formal workings of the language, it should be assumed that you always put the verb at the end. The parts of the sentence, though (The subject, the direct object, prepositions, etc.) are determined by their particle, which comes after them in the sentence.

Wer = Subject
Kur = Time
Ed = Place/location
Fi = with (person)
Ing = Direct Object
Der = with the usage of

Example:
Gremar wer Gukit kur Huik ed Gimel fi Koip ing Lithig.
I will see a child at my house at one o’clock with my friend.

Gukort kur Lim wer mierg ing kuilm der hirgig.
At four o’clock, she will write her name with a quill.

The kind of preposition you use depends upon the verb, in some cases. For example, if your verb is girim (to go), then your direct object is going to be a place. However, though it’s a place, it is also the direct object of the sentence and that position takes reign over the location particle. Thus, you would use the direct object particle. Gnomish has particles to define what part of speech each word is, but Gnomish has no real articles (e.g. a, the).

Example:
Gremar wer Huik ing girig.
I will go to a house.

Wer, defines as “is” or “are,” is the only verb that breaks this rule. It also serves as a particle and, because of this, will always follow the subject of the sentence. Because it does not end the sentence nor does the word end with “im,” as must verbs do, tense needs to be defined in a completely different way. This is where we get endings that really have no meaning, but are used to denote tense. Take the examples below in which “or” (denotes present tense) and “ik” (denotes past tense) are used.

Sograr mundil wer bligin ik.
Those pants were blue

Lim wer malika or.
She is beautiful.

There is no future tense ending for future tense. Instead, the verb “nikrim” meaning “to become” is used.

Nouns
Nouns are always assumed to be singular unless otherwise stated. To make a noun plural, “i” is added to the end of the word. See the examples below:

Til = Bird
Tili = Birds

Bris = Bees
Brisi = Bees

Gremar = Me/I
Gremari = Us/We

To make a noun possessive (my, your) you simply add “gin” to it. This can be used for any noun and sometimes even verbs, but that will come in later lessons.

Gremar gin tili wer malika or.
My bird is beautiful.

Brog gin elgik wer ghurin ik.
His pants were green.

Adjective and Adverbs
Almost all adjectives have an adverb counterpart which is gotten by changing the form of the adjective. Most adjectives end in “in.” Some nouns will also end in “in,” so be careful not to get confused Those that end in “in” can be changed into a adverb by replacing the “in” with “el.” Adjectives and adverbs of this nature do not need particles in the sentence structure, but can stand along within the sentence.

Kilgin = Quick
Kilgel = Quickly

Gronin = Slow
Gronel = Slowly

However, not all adjectives work in this manner. There are some that do not end in “in” because the word is (technically) a noun, and in such cases “ka” is added onto the end to put it in a sentence. This changes the noun into an adjective. Words of this nature still have an adverb form, but a special particle is needed to make it act as such. The particle “hu” is used to denote the adjective form, but again, this is only for adjectives that do not end in “in.” It should be noted that just because one can change a word into an adverb doesn’t mean the word is proper.

Beauty = Mali
Beatiful = Malika
Beautifully = Malihu

Feather = Lele
Feathery = Leleka

Adjectives are connected in a different manner than nouns. For nouns, you can use “tir” to connect them (“Tili and Brisi,” or “birds and bees,” for example). However, adjectives are connected in a different manner entirely. For “in” adjectives, the “in” is removed and replaced with “ilki” to connect to other adjectives. For adjectives that end in “in,” one may simply attach “gih” to the end of the word to connect it to another adjectives.

Example:
Sogri til wer kilg ilki leleka gih kilgin.
That bird is quick, feathery, and red.

Verbs
All verbs end in “im” in the dictionary. It is this ending that is change and manipulated in order to made it past tense, present tense, imperative, future tense, etc. The ending of the last verb in a sentence usually defines the tense of sentence as a whole. Remember that “wer” is excluded from teses. See sentence structure for more details. In order to make a verb negative, simply add “nin” to the end of it. To make it a question, add li to the end.

Simple Verb Forms
• Simple Present Tense: In order to change something to present tense, you eliminate the “im” suffix and add “or.”

Gremar wer tili ing kiglor.
I hear birds.

Lim wer gutornin
She doesn’t speak.

Gremil halin ing miror li?
Do you like (the color) purple?

• Simple Past Tense: For words used in past tense, the ending “im” is replaces with “ik.”

Gremar wer tili ing kiglik.
I heard birds.

Brog wer shiniknin.
He didn’t ask.

Lim wer stilkik li?
Did she study?

• Simple Future Tense: In order to change a verb to future tense, you eliminate the “im” and add “ig” to the end of the verb.

Gremar wer tili ing kiglig
I will hear birds

Gremar wer koligignin
I won’t answer/respond.

Brog wer huik ing gerig li?
Will he return home?

Et-Form
In order to change a verb past or present perfect (that is, “has heard”, “had seen”) you need to change the verb into what is called “et-form.” A verb in et form is actually imperative until the proper ending is added to it to make it past or present perfect. Et-form can also be used to make requests, asking to do something or asking someone else to do something. In order to achieve et-form, all that is required is to delete “im” and replace it with “et.”

To see = Litim = Litet
To go = Girim = Giret
To speak = Gutim = Gutet

• Present Perfect: After twitching the verb to et-form, simply add “or” to the end. This can sometimes be confusing because the verb is actually in past tense when translated. However, its still present perfect and thus gets the present tense suffix.

Gremar wer tili ing kigletor.
I have heard birds

Brog gin mourg wer dirketor
His cat has died.

• Past Perfect: Be careful not to get this mixed up with present tense, as the two are fairly similar. However, after converting the verb to et-form, you add the suffix for past tense, not present. Adding “ik” thus makes it past present tense.

Lim wer huik ing geretik.
She had returned home.

Brog wer elgik ing bligin bliretik.
He had dyed his shirt with blue (dye)./ He had dyed his shirt blue.

• Imperitive forms: Et-form is, itself, imperative, though if you use just et-form without any suffixes or anything you typically come off rude or harsh. In order to be polite in you asking someone to do something, you merely at “kimmir.” In order to ask if you yourself can do something, you use the ending “wer meein li?”

Gremil gin mierg ing hirget kimmir.
Please write your name.

Gremil wer mirin kiga ing taiket kimmir
Please list/state things (you) like.
(Note: though the translation is “likable things” and not “things you like, it can be implied by the sentence that likeable things would be things you yourself find enjoyable.)

Gutet wer meein li?
May (I) speak?
(Note: because this form of request is asking if you can do something, adding you as a subject to the verb is not necessary, but you can certainly add it if you want to. The only time you would need to add it is if you are representing a group. See example below.)

Gremari wer gremil ing tasuget wer meein li?
May we help you?

...Ripples in the Dream Pool...

Edited by: Artimidor Federkiel at: 12/22/03 20:36