Tirelat text

So riiva itsyndari

Irhavnun da, vyzhux'tin su guva, Vai room sai ngai kezyl Sai zarvi tsik vynial'xan	lhy m'tlhakavun, vybyna my falari, mai xindzi lhashpa.
Vyl laghal sy mu linaar Sai naraanling dapp'ni vyrhastatiz Ty zhiizhu vynasha my fal'ri	vykitsi nykupamin, da, kevelarhi, sai punga kezyl.
kavaal pa mizoi vynuk'tin	sai pivri shuzhdai.

Pronunciation:

/sO "ri:v\a i"tsi\ndari/

/i"r_0av\nun "da v\i\"z`uxtin su "guv\a Ki\ m"tKakav\un/
/v\aj "4O:m saj "Naj kE"zi\l v\i\"bi\na mi\ "fala4i/
/saj "za4v\i "ts\ik v\i\"njalxan maj "Cindz\i "Kas`pa/

/v\i\l la"Gal si\ "mu li"na:4 v\i\"cits\i ni\"kupamin/
/saj na"4a:nliN "dap:ni v\i\"r_0astatiz "da kE"vElar_0i/
/ti\ "Zi:z`u vi\"nas`a mi\ "fal4i saj "puNa kE"zi\l/

/ka"v\a:l pa mi"zOj v\i\"nuktin saj "piv\4i "s`uz`daj/

Tirelat interlinear

Grammatical abbreviations (see below for details)
1s      first person singular
1p      first person plural
3s      third person singular
3p      third person plural
ACC     accusative (direct object)
adv     adverb
conj    conjunction
DP      direct observation, past tense
dv      dynamic verb
EP      personal experience, past tense
EVENT   event nominalization
IP      inferential, past tense
IPF     imperfective
LOC     locative
n       noun
NOM     nominative
num     number
OP      opinion, past tense
PASS    passive voice
PF      perfective
PL      plural (more than one)
POSS    possessive
prep    preposition
SG      singular (non-plural, including zero)
sv      stative verb
TEMP    temporal
TOP     topic particle
tv      transitive verb
YP      hypothetical, past tense

so      riiva i   -tsynda-ri
TEMP.SG n     POSS-dv    -EVENT

i -rhavnu-n  da, vy-zhuxi-ti-n  su     guva, lhy  my    -tlhaka-vu-n
3s-sv    -PF TOP 3p-sv   -DP-PF NOM.SG n     conj 3p.ACC-tv    -YP-PF

vai    room sai    ngai kezyl vy-byna my     fala-ri
LOC.PL n    NOM.PL num  n     3p-tv   ACC.SG dv  -EVENT

sai    zarvi tsik vy-niala-xa-n  mai    xindzi lhashpa
NOM.PL sv    n    3p-tv   -OP-PF ACC.PL sv     n

vyl  laghal sy     mu  linaar vy  -kitsi ny    -kupa-mi-n
conj adv    NOM.SG num n      POSS-n     1p.ACC-tv  -IP-PF

sai    naraan-ling dappa-ni  vy-rhasta-ti-z   da, ke    -vela-rhi
NOM.PL n     -PL   sv   -adv 3p-dv    -DP-IPF TOP 1s.ACC-tv  -EP

ty   zhiizhu vy-nasha my     fala-ri    sai    punga kezyl
conj adv     3p-tv    ACC.SG tv  -EVENT NOM.PL tv    n

kavaal pa   mizoi vy-nuka-ti-n  sai    pivri shuzh-dai
prep   conj adv   3p-dv  -DP-PF NOM.PL sv    n    -PL

Tirelat glossary

byna    tv       to miss, lose, fail
da      particle topic marker (separates topic from comment)
-dai    suffix   collective plural
dappa   sv       to laugh
fala    dv       to spring up, germinate, sprout
guva    n        a kind of animal with coarse gray hair, a pointed
                  snout, cloven hoofs, and a very short tail, which
                  lives in semi-arid regions and has a varied diet.
i-      prefix   3rd person singular nominative (subject of verb)
i-      prefix   3rd person singular possessive; his, hers, its
kavaal  prep     because of, due to (kavaal pa = "because, since, for")
ke-     prefix   1st person singular accusative (object of verb)
kezyl   n        plant, vegetable
kitsi   n        claw, talon
kupa    tv       to pierce, stab
laghal  adv      then, by then, at that time
linaar  n        a large carnivorous scaly animal, somewhat like a
                  dragon, that can be a danger to Sangari
-ling   suffix   all of them; the complete set
lhashpa n        a long, curved blade; scythe, scimitar
lhy     conj     as if
mai     case     accusative plural
-mi     suffix   inferential, past tense
mizoi   adv      at last, finally
mu      number   zero; none, not any, no
my      case     accusative singular
my-     prefix   3rd person plural accusative (object of verb)
-n      suffix   imperfective aspect
naraan  n        child, young person
nasha   tv       to begin, start, commence, initiate
-ni     suffix   adverb-forming suffix (-ly)
niala   tv       to resemble, seem like
nuka    dv       to return, come or go back
ny-     prefix   1st person plural accusative (object of verb)
ngai    number   all, every
pa      conj     that
pivri   sv       to be welcome, long-awaited
punga   tv       to crush, squash, beat down
-ri     suffix   event noun; x-ri = event of x-ing
riiva   n        sky
room    n        mountain
rhasta  dv       to jump, hop, leap
rhavnu  sv       to be bleak, desolate.
-rhi    suffix   personal experience, past tense
sai     case     nominative plural
so      case     temporal; at the time of; when, while, during (sing.)
su      case     nominative singular, animate
sy      case     nominative singular, inanimate
shuzh   n        rain
-ti     suffix   direct experience, past tense
tlhaka  tv       to steal, rob, plunder
ty      conj     and (joins verb phrases)
tsik    n        rock, stone
tsynda  dv       to spill, pour down
vai     case     locative; in, at, on (pl.)
vela    tv       to amuse, entertain, delight
-vu     suffix   hypothetical, past tense
vy-     prefix   3rd person plural nominative (subject of verb)
vy-     prefix   3rd person plural possessive; their
vyl     conj     but, yet, still, however
-xa     suffix   opinion, past tense
xindzi  sv       cruel, harsh
zarvi   sv       bare, exposed
zhiizhu adv      again, over, once more
zhuxi   sv       to be absent, lacking.

Tirelat grammar notes

Language notes

This new version of Tirelat is somewhat different from the current version on the web page, and from other earlier versions of the language. The earlier versions may be of some interest, but in case of conflicts between the web page and these notes, the newer version takes precedence.

http://www.io.com/~hmiller/lang/Tirelat/index.html
http://www.io.com/~hmiller/lang/Czirehlat.html
http://www.io.com/~hmiller/lang/Tirehlat.html
http://www.io.com/~hmiller/lang/Tirehlat-old.html
http://www.io.com/~hmiller/dict/Tirehlat-English.html

The new version of Tirelat is a mix of features from a number of different older versions. It is spoken by furry non-humans called the Sangari, who live on a planet in the Azirian universe. They are only slightly shorter than humans, and distantly related to the Zireen (members of the same species, but a different subspecies). They have four-fingered hands and count by twelves. Unlike the Zireen, who have a rather Epicurean lifestyle, the Sangari in general (with notable exceptions such as the Mayushi) are devoted to logical reasoning and the pursuit of knowledge. Even so, they have a great love of music and lyrical verse. The Tiredin who speak Tirelat are very typical Sangari in that respect.

About the text

"So riiva itsyndari" is in the form of a song, with two verses of three lines each. Each line is divided into two parts, the first part having three stressed syllables, and the second part with two. Some minor liberties have been taken with grammar in order to fit the meter, and a number of unstressed vowels have been elided. The interlinear text gives the full form of the Tirelat roots and affixes.

The categories of verbs

Tirelat has three basic categories of verb: stative, dynamic, and transitive. Stative and dynamic verbs both take a single argument in the nominative case, which is considered the subject of the clause. However, stative verbs typically go _before_ the subject, while dynamic verbs go _after_ the subject. Transitive verbs typically have a subject in the nominative case, which precedes the verb, and an object in the accusative case, which follows the verb.

Verb prefixes

Both the subject and the object of a verb are expressed with a prefix, although usually only one of the two is expressed.

Evidentials and tenses

All Tirelat verbs in main clauses have a mandatory evidential/tense suffix. It's impossible to separate evidential and tense; they always occur as an inseparable unit. The differences between the evidential forms can be subtle, and aren't always necessary to translate, but it's good to keep them in mind. In the interlinears, I use a two-letter abbreviation for evidential and tense, such as "HP" for "hearsay, past" or "PN" for "predictive non-past". Past and non-past are the only two tenses in Tirelat. Past covers events that take place entirely in the past; all other events use the non-past suffixes.

Basic evidentials:

DP = Direct:       directly observed by the speaker
EP = Experience:   directly experienced by the speaker
HP = Hearsay:      heard from someone else, not directly observed
IP = Inferential:  inferred from other facts, not directly observed
OP = Opinion:      stated as being the speaker's opinion, not fact
PP = Predictive:   deduced or predicted
YP = Hypothetical: taken as a hypothesis without being assumed true

Aspect

Tirelat has two aspects: perfective (PF) and imperfective (IPF). Perfective aspect generally refers to events as a whole, while imperfective refers to events in progress.

Infinitives

Tirelat has no infinitives. When one verb takes a form of a verb as an object, the verb is made into a noun by adding a nominalizing suffix (typically -ri).

Adjectives

Tirelat has no special class of adjectives; verb roots (typically stative verbs, but also dynamic or transitive verbs) are used as participles to modify nouns. When a transitive verb is used as an adjective, it acts as a passive participle.

The cases of nouns

Nine cases are recognized in Tirelat grammar: nominative, comitative, instrumental, accusative, locative, temporal, dative, oblique, and vocative. Case and number are marked by a particle, which precedes the noun phrase, and agrees in number and animacy with the head noun at the end of the phrase. The general meaning of each case particle is listed in the vocabulary. The main difference between case particles and prepositions is that case particles are marked for singular or plural number.

Possession is marked by a prefix on the possessed noun. The prefix agrees with the possessor, which precedes the possessed noun.

nik   i       -lox
mouse POSS(3s)-tail
the tail of a mouse

Topic-comment structure

A typical construction in Tirelat is to use a noun or verb phrase as a topic, followed by a comment related to the topic. If the topic is a single word, it occurs by itself without a marker (such as a case particle). More complex topics are followed by the topic particle "da", which is followed by a brief pause (marked with a comma) and then the comment follows.

Smooth English translation

When the rains poured down

Literal translation:

It was bleak, the peccaries were absent, as if they'd been stolen;
On the mountains, all the plants failing to sprout;
The bare rocks seemed like cruel scimitars.

But then no dragons' claws pierced us;
All the children jumped around laughing, amusing me;
And once more began to sprout the crushed plants.

Because at last returned the welcome rains.

A somewhat more poetic translation:

It was bleak, the peccaries gone, as if we were robbed.
On the mountains, all the plants had failed to sprout.
The bare rocks seemed like cruel scimitars.

But no fierce dragons' claws had pierced us then,
The children jumped for joy, to my delight,
And trampled plants began to grow once more,

For the long-awaited rains at last returned.

Smooth English translation of previous language

When the fountain erupted

It is like a foreigner who steals piglets.
It is like a mountain where no plants begin to sprout.
It is like a hook of a vicious shape.

But it had no piercing claws.
During that time a child's laughter entertained me.
During that time the trampled plants sprouted with expectation.

And thus the fountain was revealed to the plants and to me.