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Ring B: 14/22: gjâ-zym-byn |
Jim Henry | ||
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gjâ-zym-bynmâ-ŝy ke mâ-vĭ θĭ-o rě'ĵy-tôn-ĉu jâ-o kujm-o twâ-cu-lâ !θě'ku ŋâw-o gjâ-θy kǒ syj-i twâ-zô mwe Ќ-ť:
{Ќ-ť-ɱ pen im prym-fwa-tǒj gân-ř sjum-van.
lyn-tôn ĉu-ĉu-bô mĭ-i, gâ-lǒ tu-i nî'šĭm i Ќ-ť o fu-θô ĥy-i, twâ-ŝrun-zô Ќ-ť. nu kǒ i mâŋ ĥy-i šâ-ca θě'ku ĥwâ-o, mâ-lǒ tu-i Ќ-ť o fru ĥy-i bwĭl-zô.
fâ-gĭn kujm-o twâ-ŝrun-zô:
ƥ-ĉu θĭ-o nî'sâ huw-fwa kâ-i lâ-zô Ќ-ť. |
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Smooth TranslationPrayer text for a woman and man becoming spouses We say these words to God:
"We are thankful for the beauty in all of us.
"Of the four moons, which give lesser light by night, we sing. "Now we raise our hands to the glory of God who gives us children.
"For the love beginning we sing:
"For them we ask good luck. |
Translation from Kēlen
Wedding prayer for woman and man
We pray, reciting these words:
Thanks for beauty resting in us all;
Thanks for light which gives us warmth by day;
Thanks for the hearth which defends us against evil;
Thanks for the harvest of grain in storage.
We sing to the moons which give us moonlight by night;
We sing to the wind which brings us good weather;
We sing to the ataren-tree which gives us shade;
We sing for joy which gives us health and strength.
Now we raise our hands to the gods who send us children;
We sing so we may begin to love.
Love of woman for man,
Love of man for woman,
We send them good fortune today and for all tomorrows.
May they be blessed.
Grammar
gjâ-zym-byn (gzb) is an agglutinative language, fairly minimalistic lexically, which leads to some long and sometimes not perfectly perspicuous compounds. In the glossary I've listed mostly only the root words, particles and suffixes, but also listed a few compounds used in the text where they seemed especially hard to guess from the component morphemes. Feel free to email asking for help, or look at the online lexicon.
Root words are nominal, and are turned into verbs and modifiers -- also postpositions and conjunctions — with appropriate suffixes. Compound postpostions, used to mark case roles, are formed using one of the core spacetime postpositions {i, o, ř} as a suffix on a root word for the appropriate abstract concept. I've listed a few of the most abstract compound postpositions in the glossary; others should be clear enough from their component morphemes.
The only verb suffixes used in the text are {-zô}, {-van}, and {-ca}. {-zô} former marks an active (agentive) verb. {-van} marks a stative (but not necessarily non-agentive) verb. {-ca} marks a reflexive (agentive) verb.
The agentive postposition {tu-i} and the active verb suffix {-zô} are normally only used for animate agents, but can be used for inanimate subjects (sources, e.g.) in poetic personification.
The typical morpheme order in compounds is head-modifier, but some roots that should be heads act like suffixes; I think {cu} and {θy} are the only ones used in the text.
Number is not obligatorily marked on nouns; {mâ} by itself could mean either "person" or "people" for instance. Number words can be suffixed to a noun radical to mark the number, or can be stand-alone adjectives with the suffix {-bô}. The root number words denote primes; in compounds, number roots that are equal or arranged in lesser-to-greater order are multiplied, while those arranged in greater-to-lesser order are added. General quantifier particles like {pen} ("all") do not require the {-bô} suffix.
Typical word order is OVS, but varies since subjects and objects are marked fairly explicity for theta roles with postpositions. Postpositional phrases almost always precede what they modify. Most complements tend to precede the direct object and verb. If the subject is in final position, the subject postposition can be omitted. gjâ-zym-byn allows for omitting the subject when it is the same as in the previous sentence.
In a relative clause, the relativized element comes first, even if it's the subject.
Punctuation: all sentences end in a period. The exclamation point ! marks an imperative sentence. The apostrophe or single quote ' marks syllable boundaries in polysyllabic roots. {curly brackets} are used as quotation marks; a quotation can extend for multiple paragraphs with no repetition of the { } quotation marks.
Vocabulary
| bô | suff. | adjective suffix: adj. from quality or number root |
| brĭ | n. | daytime |
| bwĭl | n. | giving, gift |
| by | n. | air |
| ca | suff. | reflexive verb suffix |
| cu | n. | system of synergetic parts |
| ĉu | n. | two |
| dâm | n. | origin, source, parenthood, authorship |
| fâ | n. | love (_eros_ or _philia_) |
| fĭm | n. | health, well-being |
| flu | n. | flowing, blowing, pouring |
| fru | n. | child (son or daughter) |
| fu | n. | light |
| fwa | suff. | causative suffix |
| fwĭ | n. | collection, accumulation, harvest |
| ₣urŋ | n. | happiness, blessedness (quality of a whole life, not a momentary state) |
| gâ | n. | thing, item |
| gân | n. | cause |
| gě'dĭm | n. | day (sleep-wake cycle) |
| gĭn | n. | beginning, start |
| gjâ | n. | language |
| hěm'lu | n. | magnolia |
| huw | n. | happiness, contentment, natural blessedness |
| ĥwâ | n. | glory, good reputation, honor |
| ĥy | n. | patient, target |
| ĥy-i | postp. | patient case postposition |
| i | postp. | in, at, during |
| im | postp. | in, inside (part/whole) |
| iŋ | postp. | inside |
| jâ | n. | state, role, status |
| jâ-i | postp. | state (being) postposition |
| jâ-o | postp. | state transition (becoming) postposition |
| jâln | n. | warmth, heat |
| ĵyj | n. | vigor, energy, stamina, awakeness, un-tiredness |
| kâ | n. | attention |
| kâ-i | postp. | attentive case postposition |
| ke | conj. | and (synergetic, multiplicative) |
| kǒ | dem. | this, these (1P) |
| kô | suff. | place where ~ happens, is done |
| kujm | n. | goal, purpose, end |
| Ќ | pron. | 1P - I, me |
| ķuj | n. | danger, risk of harm |
| lâ | n. | request, petition, prayer |
| ler | mod. | future |
| lǒ | suff. | relativizer; forms relative pronoun from root |
| lyn | n. | Luna (Earth's moon) |
| lyn-tôn | n. | moon, satellite |
| mâ | n. | person, human being |
| mâŋ | n. | hand |
| mě'zâ | n. | maize, corn |
| mĭ | n. | topic, theme |
| mĭ-i | postp. | about; topic case postposition |
| ɱ | pron. | 3P - he, she, it (not mentioned yet) |
| mrâ | n. | container, containment, enclosure |
| mwe | mod. | imperative, optative |
| nî'sâ | n. | fate, luck, doom, providence (good or bad) |
| nî'šĭm | n. | night |
| nu | n. | time, moment |
| ŋâw | n. | calling, addressing someone, getting someone's attention |
| ŋul | n. | defense, guarding |
| o | postp. | to, toward, until |
| pe | conj. | and (addititive, concatentative) |
| pen | mod. | all, every, each |
| pî'râ | n. | fire, flame |
| prym | n. | enjoyment of beauty |
| pwĭ | n. | enjoyment, joy, delight |
| ƥ | pron. | 3P - he, she, it (already mentioned) |
| rě'ĵy | n. | wife |
| rě'ĵy-tôn | n. | spouse; husband or wife |
| ř | postp. | from, out of, since |
| sî'ðyr | n. | fighting, battle, opposition |
| sjum | n. | thankfulness, thanks |
| šâ | n. | lifting, carrying |
| ŝrun | n. | music |
| ŝy | n. | feminity |
| syj | n. | use, usefulness |
| tǒj | suff. | nominalizer suffix |
| tôn | suff. | generalizer suffix; gives a radical a broader meaning |
| tu | n. | agent, actor |
| tu-i | postp. | agentive case postposition |
| twâ | n. | sentence, saying, strophe, proverb |
| twâ-zô | v. | to say |
| ť | pron. | 2P - you, y'all |
| θě'ku | n. | God |
| θĭ | n. | help, benefit |
| θô | suff. | diminutive suffix |
| θy | n. | element, part (suffixoid in compounds) |
| van | suff. | stative verb suffix |
| vĭ | n. | masculinity |
| vjâr | n. | shade, shadow |
| za | suff. | adjective suffix: pertaining or related to substantive root |
| zô | suff. | active verb suffix |
| źa | suff. | augmentive suffix |
Abbreviations
| conj. | conjunction |
| dem. | demonstrative |
| mod. | modifier (adjective/adverb) |
| n. | noun |
| postp. | postposition |
| pron. | pronoun |
| suff. | suffix |
| v. | verb |
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