Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a

Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a
Cultural Reference for the People of Ħelə

Author: Ariel Robinson

MS Date: 06-30-2019

FL Date: 10-01-2019

FL Number: FL-000061-00

Citation: Robinson, Ariel. 2019. «Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo
N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a Cultural
Reference for the People of Ħelə.» FL-
000061-00, Fiat Lingua,
. Web. 01 October
2019.

Copyright: © 2019 Ariel Robinson. This work is licensed

under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Fiat Lingua is produced and maintained by the Language Creation Society (LCS). For more information
about the LCS, visit http://www.conlang.org/

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To hear an audio recording of the
creation myth at the end of the text,
please visit http://fiatlingua.org/extra/
arobinson.mp3, or click here.

=

1

Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə awo N̩ ħeoħelə
A Grammar

and

A Cultural Reference

for
The People of Ħelə

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

2

Contents

THE BASICS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

PHONETIC INVENTORY ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

CONSONANTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
CLICKS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
VOWELS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
MORPHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE …………………………………………………………………………………… 6
CONSONANTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
VOWELS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
PHONOLOGY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

PRONOUNS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

VERBS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

TENSE, MOOD, ASPECT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
INDICATIVE: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
INTERROGATIVE: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
JUSSIVE: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

SYNTAX……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

WORD ORDER RULES …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
NEGATION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
NUMBER: PLURAL, NON-PLURAL, AND EXPLICITLY SINGULAR ………………………………………. 12
PLURALITY VERSUS THE INTERPERSONAL/INTERACTIVE ASPECT: ……………………………………….. 12
EXPLICITLY SINGULAR …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
ARTICLES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
QUANTIFIERS, DISTRIBUTIVE DETERMINERS, AND NOUNS ………………………………………………….. 14
PLURALITY AND INTERRELATEDNESS ………………………………………………………………………………. 15
GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………… 15
MANY AS ADVERBS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
CASES: EVERYTHING BUT THE VERBS (BUT SOMETIMES ALSO VERBS) ………………………….. 15
NOMINATIVE (NULL CASE): …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
GENITIVE HEAD (HED): -EXA …………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
OBLIQUE (OBL): -| …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
ADJECTIVE OBLIQUE (ADOB): -ǃA ………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
ADVERBIAL (ADV): -ǃI …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
POSITIVE/NEGATIVE VALUE (PVAL, NVAL): -EĦES / -XAɾE……………………………………………….. 17
INSTRUMENTAL CASE (INST): ɤEǃO ………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
CASE ENDING EXAMPLES: ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18
FUNCTION WORDS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
PREPOSITIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19

WORD DERIVATION ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

DERIVATIONAL AFFIXES ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
VERBS TO NOUNS: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

3

ADJECTIVES TO NOUNS, ADVERBS: ………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
ANYTHING TO VERBS: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
VERB FORMS AND SETS ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
EXAMPLES OF VERB FORMS, SETS, AND DERIVATIONS ………………………………………………………. 21

IN-DEPTH CULTURAL ASSESSMENT ……………………………………………………………………… 22

STORY: THE CREATION MYTH ………………………………………………………………………………. 24

IN IPA WITH GLOSS AND TRANSLATION ………………………………………………………………………… 24
IN IPA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
IN ENGLISH ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

APPENDIX B ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36

STORY WRITTEN IN ORTHOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………… 48

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

4

The Basics
Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə is spoken (and written) by N̩ ħeoħelə, an alien race of peaceful and long-

living spiritualists, academics, and care-takers. The language…

Is SVO (mostly) with a combination of case endings and prepositions

Is highly morphemic and derivational: parts of speech are flexible; words and

concepts interrelate; and sometimes words get a little long

• Has unique concepts of plurality, singularity, and interrelatedness as a result of

N̩ ħeoħelə’s communal way of being

• Does not have gender (because N̩ ħeoħelə are a genderless species)

• Does not have strong agreement requirements (because it is assumed that

everything always agrees!)

Onward!

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

5

Phonetic Inventory
All transcriptions in this paper should be considered broad transcriptions with an
exception of the stops.

Author note: Originally each of these phones were separate phonemes; it was only when I was
looking at my orthography where I had come up with a different symbol per phone that I realized I
needed to go back and figure out which phones in the language were allophones. (That was kind
of a bear.)

Consonants
Italics represent allophones. Syllabic phonemes are distinct phonemes.

Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post-

Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal

Alveolar

Stops

b , p,
b̊ , bʲ

Ejectives p’

d , t,
d̊ , dʲ

t’

q

g , k
g̊ , gʲ

k’

ʔ

Nasals

Taps/
Flaps

n [n̩ ]

ɲ

ɾ

Fricatives

f

ð , θ

s

ʒ , ʃ

ɤ , x

ħ

Liquids

l [l̩ ]

Glides

w

Clicks
ʘ , |, ǃ

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

6

Vowels

i

e

a

ə

o

Author Note: I personally hate schwa (/ə/) and was hell-bent on creating a language with out it.
But I had a hard time as a native English speaker getting away from the cursed ‘generic
unstressed vowel.’ Not only that but there were limits to what I was able to do with four stressed
vowels and only four stressed vowels (per the culture and creation myth).

Morphological Significance
Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə is a very derivational language: a single root (of generally four letters) can

underly more than thirty words—and that’s just as verbs! There are many morphemes

that allow words to be manipulated into different parts of speech and to have different

meanings. Many of the morphemes are not explicit; rather they imply that the word they

are in has some aspect of their morphological meaning.

In addition to morphemes, there are case endings, verb-form affixes, and derivational

affixes. All of these will be listed and explained in the section on Word Derivation

beginning on page 19.

Consonants

• n̩ = plural marker*

o as a prefix or suffix: word is plural (with the exception of the form VI of

verbs)

o as an infix: word has some aspect of plurality

• ɤ = interactive, interpersonal*

l̩ = explicitly singular marker*

o as a prefix or suffix: word is explicitly singular

o as an infix: word has some aspect of explicit singularity

• k’ = 1st person prefix or possessive suffix

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

7

o

/k/ as an infix: something about the word relates to the 1st person (usually

in verbs). However, not all k’s are 1st person-related; it depends on the

context and meaning of the individual word

t’ = 2nd person prefix or possessive suffix

o

/t/ as an infix: something about the word relates to the 2nd person (usually

in verbs). However not all t’s are 2nd person-related; it depends on the

context and meaning of the individual word

• p’ = 3rd person prefix or possessive suffix

o

/p/ as an infix: something about the word relates to the 3rd person (usually

in verbs). However, not all p’s are 3rd person-related; it depends on the

context and meaning of the individual word

• w = usually found in function words

• ɲ = usually found in prepositions

ʃ = can indicate some sort of description

• ð = almost always indicates some form of negation or opposite meaning (see

section on negation for further details)

• g = thing-related**

• b = place-related**

• ħeo- = person/something-with-a-soul-related**

* plurality is very specific in Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə. It will be explained further on page 12.

** further explained in the section on Word Derivation on page 19.

Vowels
Rooted in N̩ ħeoħelə’s creation myth, each vowel corresponds to one of the four elemental

Spirits, which themselves each relate to certain qualities.

i = fire → action (in every verb)

• o = earth → physical things

• e = wind → spiritual, emotional, intangible (often inserted to indicate spiritual

aspect or trait)

• a = water → temporal, state-related (in many adjectives)

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

8

The significance of vowel meaning is one of the driving things behind changes in

different forms of roots. For example, /ɤin̩ keaħs/ means to live or be together, which

requires a deep emotional connection. The root is kaħs, but the /e/ is inserted because the

meaning is more spiritual. (For the full table please see Appendix A.)

Phonology
Some basic phonological rules and processes are as follows:

• Triphthongs are not permitted in Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə. Diphthongs are permitted but are

often reduced when they’re the result of a morphological insertion (see Vowel

Harmony)

• Complex consonant clusters are evolving out of the language as /ə/ is being

inserted, except in verb conjugations (i.e. ejective-consonant combinations).

• Nasal assimilation: vowels are nasalized following a nasal phone

• Voiced stops:

o [+voice, +consonant, +stop] → [+voice, +voiceless, +consonant, +stop] / _

[+vowel, +front]
[b, d, g] → [b̊ , d̊ , g̊ ] / _ [i, e]

o [+voice, +consonant, +stop] → [+voice, +palatal, +consonant] / _

[+vowel, +back]

[b, d, g] → [bʲ, dʲ, gʲ] / _ [o]

o Voiced stops remain unchanged when they precede central or unstressed

vowels, consonants, or word boundaries

• Vowel harmony

o The Genitive Head case ending /-exa/ will change to harmonize with

word-final stressed vowels

• Double vowels

o Doubled/elongated vowels are permitted in Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə when they are the

result of a morphological change to (i.e. derivation of) a root

e.g. igəs (task); i-igəs (verb “to do”) → iːgəs

e.g. bʲoɤin̩ qaɾe (arm) + -exa-p’ (HED-3) → bʲoɤin̩ qaɾeːxap’ (its arm)

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

9

Pronouns
N̩ ħeoħelə have no gender, so neither does the language. All third person pronouns

translate as “it” or “they.” If the 3rd person pronoun refers to something(s) without Spirit

(i.e. not natural or alive in any way), it is permissible to refer to it/them as “p’o” or

“n̩ p’o” accordingly (that is, to take out the /e/).

Subj.

1-SING
2-SING
3-SING
1-PL
2-PL
3-PL
* the Dative, Locative, Lative, and Separative cases are being replaced by prepositions,
but the suffix is still in use for pronouns only

k’eo
t’eo
p’eo
n̩ k’eo
n̩ t’eo
n̩ p’eo

Indirect Object
(PRO+IO *)
k’eoʘ
t’eoʘ
p’eoʘ
n̩ k’eoʘ
n̩ t’eoʘ
n̩ p’eoʘ

Direct Object
(PRO+OBL)
k’eo|
t’eo|
p’eo|
n̩ k’eo|
n̩ t’eo|
n̩ p’eo|

Verbs
Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə is PRO-drop, because the pronoun prefix is incorporated into the conjugated

form of a verb.

Tense, Mood, Aspect
All verbs are Indicative. Other moods (e.g. imperative, jussive) are accomplished through
auxiliary verbs.

Author Note: the first version of this language had a few other moods, but it made more sense to
create related verbs than separate moods for things like promises (i.e. commissive mood) or

Indicative:

Perfect: none

Imperfect: -/a/-

Past: /θ/
[PRO]-θ-[ROOT]
k’θɤin̩ ɤeda
I said/spoke
[PRO]-a-θ-[ROOT]
k’aθɤin̩ ɤeda
I was
saying/speaking

Present: none
[PRO]-[ROOT]
k’ɤin̩ ɤeda
I say/speak
[PRO]-a-[ROOT]
k’aɤin̩ ɤeda
I am
saying/speaking

Future: /s/
[PRO]-s-[ROOT]
k’sɤin̩ ɤeda
I will say/speak
[PRO]-a-s-[ROOT]
k’asɤin̩ ɤeda
I will be
saying/speaking

Interrogative:
ʒiħa/ʒiga are question indicators (“if”) preceding verbs.
Author Note: Word comes from: i = fire, action; ħ/g = someone/something; a = water, state.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

10

Combined = “is it in a state;” plus verb = is it in a state of [verb]ing; e.g. ʒiħa p’in̩ kaħs = is it in a
state of living, = is it alive.

Additionally, there are different forms of question words depending on whether they

function as questions in a sentence or as statements:

Question word

Statement word

When

What

Why

Who

Where

How

aθis

adʲog

iseta

ɤeon
ob̊ e

aʒike

faθ

wog

aseti

eo[l/n/ɤ] (see plurality)

ʒob

dasi

Jussive:
The IV form of “to do”— g̊ itigəs and g̊ ipigəs (and g̊ in̩ tigəs and g̊ in̩ pigəs), which literally

means “to ask/request an action,” – functions as an auxiliary verb followed by the form of

the verb appropriate for the direct object with the Oblique case marker (the verb functions

as a noun insofar as it is the direct object of the subject and verb). A much less frequently

used form of the imperative—more of a plea, as opposed to a request (there is no such

thing as a command, due to the cooperative and interpersonal nature of the N̩ ħeoħelə)—

is to use the form V of “to want,”—ikeħas—which means to require or need. It can be

paired with either a conjugated verb or a noun, each of which would have an Oblique

case ending (see section on Cases on page 15).

e.g. k’- g̊ itigəs t’- g̊ isog̊ e – | iɲeɤ k’-eo-ʘ bʲoɤin̩ qaɾe -exa-t’

1- ask/request of you (sing.) 2 – give – OBL to 1-PRO-IO arm- HED – 2

I ask you to (i.e. will you) give me your arm

k’- θ-g̊ in̩ tigəs n̩ -t’- ɤin̩ ɤeda-| p’o

1-PST-ask/request of you (pl) PL- 2-discuss-OBL it

I asked you to discuss it

k’-ikeħas t’-ɤin̩ ħelə-|

1- require 2 – understand-OBL

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Please understand / I need you to understand

k’-ikeħas aʒol-|

1 – require day-OBL

I require/I need a day.

Syntax
Author Note: It has been a really long time since I studied syntax, and I was struggling a lot with
what my cases were and were not, what to call them, how I was defining them, when and where I
was using them, what relative clauses I had and where… all of it.

Word Order Rules
While Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə does have case endings that indicate the relationships between

different words in a sentence (which does allow for some level of word order flexibility),

there are some very strict word order rules. They are (in ranked order of

importance/adherence):

1. Negation: only the term immediately following the negative indicator is negated;

the rest of the sentence semantically remains the same. See below.

2. Articles: definite and demonstrative articles immediately precede the noun they

modify

3. Quantifiers and determiners: quantifiers and determiners function as head nouns

that immediately precede dependent nouns unless there is also an article (i.e. Rule

2 trumps Rule 3). Absent a dependent noun (e.g. because of PRO-drop),

quantifiers and determiners apply to the most recently stated noun.

4. Prepositions: Indirect objects immediately follow prepositions, unless there is

another function word (article, quantifier – i.e. Rule 2 and 3 trump Rule 4).

Negation
Word order with negation is very specific and important: only the term immediately

following the negative indicator is negated. For example, each of the following sentences

means something different:

Orig. Sentence: k’ – s – iɤeda foɲ hoɾe – exa – k’ – | iɲeɤ t’ – eo – ʘ

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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1– FUT -speak about dog – POS – 1– OBL to 2- PRO – IO

I will speak to you about my dog.

Negation 1: əð k’siɤeda… = NOT I will speak (someone else might) to you about…

Negation 2: k’eo əð siɤeda … = I NOT will speak (but I might write) to you…

Note: To negate the verb we have reinsert the pronoun

Negation 3: k’siɤeda əð foɲ hoɾexak’|… = I will speak NOT about my dog to you.

(Implies there is something objectionable either about speaking about my dog, or about

anything to you.) – this is more ambiguous than other options, so it is not preferred.

Negation 4: k’siɤeda foɲ əð hoɾexak’|… = I will speak about NOT my dog to you (but I

will speak about something else to you).

Negation 5: k’siɤeda foɲ hoɾexaðk’|… = I will speak about NOT my dog (but someone

else’s dog) to you.

Negation 6: k’siɤeda foɲ hoɾexak’| əð iɲeɤ t’eoʘ = I will speak about my dog NOT to

you (or to anyone).

Negation 7: k’siɤeda foɲ hoɾexak’| iɲeɤ əð t’eoʘ = I will speak about my dog to NOT

you (but rather to someone else).

The negative marker must be included for each thing being negated:

e.g. əð k’eo əð siɤeda əð foɲ hoɾexað k’| əð iɲeɤ əð t’eoʘ = NOT I NOT will speak NOT

about NOT my dog NOT to NOT you.

Plural, Non-Plural, and Explicitly Singular
Because the N̩ ħeoħelə are very community/group oriented, the idea of singularity is a bit

different than we understand it.

Plurality versus the Interpersonal/Interactive aspect:
/n̩ / is the plural marker. When it is added to a word as an affix—either at the beginning or

at the end (excepting case endings)—it means that the word is plural:

e.g. ob̊ eg, n̩ -ob̊ eg, or ob̊ eg-n̩ = place, PL-place, place-PL.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

13

However, if the plural marker is found as an infix, as is the case with a number of verbs

(especially the II, III, and VI forms of a root—see sections on Word Derivation, page 20),

it means that there is something about the word that has some aspect of plurality. For

example, the form II of a verb is the causal or intensive form. When it is the intensive

form, the /n̩ / is used because the action is being done intensively, or multiple times.

In addition to the /n̩ / there is also the morpheme that usually indicates an

interpersonal or interactive quality, the /ɤ/. The associative form means the verb is done

with multiple people, and reciprocal form requires two actors to perform the verb with or

to each other. Both of these forms, then, will have the /ɤ/ in addition to the /n̩ /.

These two morphemes are not always found together, e.g. the word for hair, /san̩ /

is always plural. There is nothing interactive or interpersonal about hair, so all it has is

the plural marker. The word for ear, ɤedʲoð is interpersonal, because it is used for

hearing, which is an interactive activity (it’s also directly related to the root for speaking,

ɤeda.) But there is no reason why you need multiple ears for that activity. (We have two

ears, but it is certainly possible for something with only one ear to hear just fine.) So, ear

does not contain the plural infix, because it does not have a quality of plurality. However,

since most things do have more than one ear, you are more likely to hear the words

n̩ ɤedʲoð or ɤedʲoðn̩ instead of simply ɤedʲoð.

Explicitly Singular

The communal aspect of N̩ ħeoħelə’s culture means that, even when only referring

to a single object, it is usually still part of the group, or the community. That is the

concept of general singularity. However, there is such a thing as a unique thing, but it is

usually perceived as something alone, rather than unique. That is explicit singularity,

which has the morpheme /l̩ /. For example, consider the following: I have a cup. It’s one

of many cups in the dining hall, and we all use them, and they’re pretty much all the same

or interchangeable; a cup is a cup is a cup. But, if I have a special cup, of which there is

only one, and it can only be used by me (or a select few people), then that cup is alone; it

is explicitly singular (gloss = EXS) The way this concept is manifested in Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə is

most obviously apparent with nouns and with definite or demonstrative markers: a noun

with affix /l̩ / is generally singular, and that is how things are usually referred to:

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

14

e.g. Both of the following sentences translate as “The rose is yellow.”

oweg foʃa-exa (foʃaxa) iɾeʃ-!a;

[DEF] rose-[HED] yellow-ADOB;

This is just a rose—possibly one of many—that is yellow.

However,

owegl̩ foʃaxa iɾeʃ!a,

DEF-EXS rose-HED yellow-ADOB

is referring to a special rose, the ‘One Rose’. The explicit singular marker means

something is separate from the group, alone, taken apart from the others. Generally, this

is not viewed positively, because it means that whatever is explicitly singular is not at a

state of ħelə (see Cultural Notes on page number). Unless something explicitly singular

is marked with the positive value case, it’s safe to assume that its explicit singularity isn’t

exactly a good thing. (However, if there is a possibility that this could be unclear, the

speaker would use a pos/neg value case. That’s what it’s for.)

Articles

This plural vs. general singularity vs. explicit singularity is seen in the

demonstrative (ewosn̩ , ewos, and ewosl̩ ) and definite (owegn̩ , oweg, and owegl̩ ) markers.

(Note: there is no indefinite marker—it’s just a lack of definite/demonstrative marker.)

Articles are placed immediately preceding the nouns they modify; there are no exceptions

to this rule.

Quantifiers, Distributive Determiners, and Nouns
• xol̩ – any

ʃaln̩ – every

ʃaln̩ gʲo{ɤ}-

everything

ʃaln̩ ħeo{ɤ}-

everyone

xol̩ gʲo{ɤ} –

anything

xol̩ ħeo{ɤ} –

anyone

• g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ – all

• ɤon̩ – many

(smaller), i.e.

some, a few

ʃal̩ o/ʃal̩ ħeo –

each

• ol̩ əð – 0 or none

• gʲol̩ oð – nothing

eðəħeo – no one

• n̩ oɤ – many

(bigger), i.e. a lot

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

15

Plurality and Interrelatedness

‘Any’ (xol̩ ) and ‘every’ (ʃaln̩ ) are primarily singular, as in English (i.e.

“everyone” = every single one where “everyone” is a distributive determiner). However,

they are often used to indicate the collective (as in English), as is the case with ‘all’

(g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ), in which case the interpersonal morpheme, /ɤ/ is added. (It’s a suffix because

that’s where it fit best in the word, not for any other reason.)

Grammatical Construction

Quantifiers and determiners function as genitive nouns and do not require the

noun they are modifying to be included in the sentence if it can be inferred from context

(as below). If the noun is included, it is in the oblique case (see section on case, page 16).

e.g. g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa oweg-n̩ ħaqaɾe-n̩ -| n̩ -p’- esəsog̊ e oweg n̩ ɾiθaxoʒ- n̩ -|

all – HED DEF-PL child-PL-ACC PL-3- search for DEF-PL star-PL-ACC

all the children searched for the stars

g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa n̩ – ħaqaɾe -| n̩ -p’- esəsog̊ e oweg-n̩ ɾiθaxoʒ- n̩ -|

all – HED PL- child -ACC* PL-3-search for DEF-PL star-PL-ACC

all children search for the stars

g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa n̩ -p’- esəsog̊ e oweg-n̩ ɾiθaxoʒ- n̩ -|

all – HED PL-3-search for DEF-PL star – PL- ACC

all search for …

Many as Adverbs
The “many”s can be used to indicate degree or severity, in addition to number. For

example, something can be “tilə” (red) or it can be “ɤon̩ !i tilə”—a little red, or more red

(depends on the context)—or it can be “n̩ oɤ!i tilə”—really red. The ADV marker is added

when the “many”s modify an adjective, granting flexibility in word order (n̩ oɤ!i tilə = tilə

n̩ oɤ!i). Note: the Genitive Head case is not affixed to the adjective

Cases: Everything But The Verbs (But Sometimes Also Verbs)
Most cases are marked by suffixes. (Note: Glossing abbreviation in parentheses)

Nominative (null case):

Nouns are assumed nominative by default.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Genitive Head (HED): -exa

The Genitive Head marker is used to indicate head nouns and verbs that are modified by

another noun (in the Oblique case—see below), an adjective (in the Adjective Oblique

case – see below), or an adverb (in the Adverbial case—see below). They may be the

subject of a noun or verb phrase, or they may serve another function. It is used anywhere

that we might use “of” in English (plus some other places, e.g. ‘the car has red’ or ‘the

car of red’ as opposed to ‘the car is red’, and, with verbs, ‘he walks having/of

slow/slowness’ instead of ‘he walks slowly’). It functions basically as the opposite of a

genitive marker, which typically is affixed to the modifier in a genitive construct. To put

the statement in the past (or future) tense, insert the past or future tense marker (θ or s

respectively) before the case ending.

e.g. oweg sikə – θ – exa qaðoʃ – !a wəð atal p’exa qaɾoʃ-!a

The mouse-PST-HED small-ADOB but now 3-HED big-ADOB

The mouse was small but now it’s big.

k’- s – ɤeda – exa fan – !i

1-FUT-speak-HED simple-ADV

I will speak simply.

The genitive marker is used with possessive determiners. However, in such instances, the

pronoun affix comes after the genitive marker.

e.g. k’-exa foʃa-| vs foʃ – axa – k’ (/e/ assimilation = phonological rule)

1-HED rose-OBL vs rose-HED-1

I have a rose vs my rose

Oblique (OBL): -|
The Oblique case marks objects of verbs and prepositions and dependent nouns in

genitive constructs, including possessive modifiers. The Oblique case suffix is also

affixed to verbs that are paired with an auxiliary verb (e.g. to create the Jussive mood, or

to state a desire).

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Adjective Oblique (ADOB): -ǃa
The Adjective Oblique is used to differentiate adjectives from nouns when they’re part of

a genitive construct. That is, a word root that can serve as either an adjective or a noun—

cold, for example—would have either the ADOB or the OBL marker suffix accordingly.

e.g. oweg aʒol-exa ʃakət-!a or ʃakət-!a oweg aʒol-exa

DEF day – HED cold-ADOB or cold-ADOB DEF day-HED

The cold day

Note: * oweg ʃakət-!a aʒol-exa

DEF cold-ADOB day – HED

Violates Word Order Rule 2: Articles must precede nouns

vs. k’ – a – ɤin̩ qaɾe oweg ʃakət-|

1-IMP-create, make DEF cold – OBL

I am making the cold

Adverbial (ADV): -ǃi
Adverbs modify things other than nouns. The Genitive Head case is applied to verbs.

There is no case marker for adjectives modified by adverbs.

Positive/Negative Value (PVAL, NVAL): -eħes / -xaɾe

o Positive: -eħes

o Negative: -xaɾe

The Value cases are added to specify whether something is a good thing or a bad thing. It

is not always used—only when the speaker wants to specify the value of something that

may be ambiguous, or to stress the value if it’s already clear.

Instrumental case (INST): ɤeǃo

The Instrumental case is disappearing (as many other cases already have, e.g. Dative,

Locative, Lative, etc., which are being replaced with prepositions), and is indicated by the

morpheme /ɤeǃo/ as either a prefix or a separate word (immediately preceding the noun to

which it applies, pending the other word order rules).

A single word can have multiple case endings depending on its role in the sentence (see

below).

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Case Ending Examples:
k’-exa foʃa-|
1-HED rose-ACC
I have a rose

foʃ-axa-k’ (/e/ assimilation = phonological rule)
rose-HED-1
my rose

k’-exa oweg foʃa-|
1-HED DEF rose-ACC
I have the rose

oweg foʃ-axa tilə-ǃa
DEF rose-HED red-ADOB
the rose is red

foʃ-axa-k’-exa tilə-!a
rose-HED-1-HED red-ADOB
my rose is red

k’-exa oweg foʃ-axa tilə-!a
1-HED DEF rose-HED red-ADOB
I have the red rose

foʃ- axa- k’-exa tilə-!a ɤon̩ – !i OR ɤon̩ – !i tilə-!a
rose-HED-1-HED red-ADOB many (less)-ADV OR many (less)-ADV red-ADOB
my rose is a little red

n̩ – foʃ- axa -k’-exa (foʃ- n̩ -exa – k’-exa) tilə-!a awo iɾeʃ-!a wəð
PL-rose-HED-1-HED (rose-PL-HED-1-HED) red-ADOB and yellow-ADOB but
my roses are red and yellow but…

won̩ -exa n̩ -p’-o- | – exa ewaf-!a.
three-HED PL-3-OBL-HED blue-ADOB
three of them are blue.

Note: plural marker must be affixed directly before or after the noun it modifies
(otherwise it would modify the pronoun, e.g. foʃexan̩ k’exa or foʃexak’n̩ exa would both be
‘our rose’. “Our roses” would include two plural markers: n̩ foʃexan̩ k’exa,
foʃn̩ exak’n̩ exa, etc. (placement variance is still permitted as long as all the things that
need to be modified are)

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Function Words

Prepositions
Prepositions must be immediately followed by the indirect objects and any related

function words (articles, quantifiers, etc.). Most prepositions have multiple forms,

depending on whether the indirect object is a place or a thing/person (i.e. whether or not

it has some soul or spiritual quality). This is, again, an example of how the focus on

interpersonal dynamic and balance is the central tenet of the N̩ ħeoħelə. See Appendix A

for a list of prepositions in the abbreviated lexicon.

Pronouns still carry a disappearing indirect object case ending, and therefore have more

word order flexibility than all other nouns.

Word Derivation
Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə is, as previously mentioned, very derivational, focusing on the relationships

between words just as the N̩ ħeoħelə value the relationships between all other things.

Derivational Affixes

Verbs to Nouns:
The verb → noun affixes are inserted to unconjugated verbs in the present tense, typically
as prefixes or suffixes (though there is a fair amount of flexibility).

• Verb → noun- place [of, where, or that verbs]: b
• Verb → noun- thing [that or which verbs]: g-
• Verb → noun- person [who, of, or that verbs]: ħeo-

Adjectives to Nouns, Adverbs:

• Adjective → noun: add Oblique marker or relevant morpheme (-|); see section on

case

• Adjective → adverb: add Adverb marker (-ǃi); see section on case
• Noun → adjective: add Adjective Oblique marker (-!a) or /ʃ/
• Verb → adjective: change /i/ to /a/ and/or add /ʃ/ and Adjective Oblique marker

(depending on sentence construction.)

Anything to Verbs:
Verbs are created by adding the prefix /i-/, associated with fire and action. In theory, if

you can’t think of a verb, you can verb-ify another part of speech that way.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Verb Forms and Sets
All verbs can be stripped down to their root letters. Roots are usually four letters, but they

can be more (or less). The following forms are general; because the letters themselves

can be morphemes, the meaning of the word often affects the formation of the word. For

example, the IX and X forms have prefixes that are very flexible, because the meanings

can often be a bit more of a stretch, depending on the word. An example of an actual

verb’s derivation is found below the explanations of the Negative/Opposite and

Permissive sets. (These sets are not Moods; they are separate words as opposed to

conjugations.)

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

root: /XXXX/, infinitive form: /i+XXXX/

Causative or intensive: /in̩ XXXX/

Associative: /ɤin̩ XXXX/

Causative: /ɡ̊ iXXX/

reflexive of II: /ikəXXXX/

Reciprocity: /ɤiXXXXn̩ /

VII. Passive: /aXXXX/

VIII. Reflexive of I: /kiXXXX/

IX.

To have quality of I: /ʃaXXXX/

X.

to seek action of I. /esəXXXX/

In addition to these primary ten forms, there are two additional sets that can be

created from any root. These are the Negative or Opposite set, and the Permissive set.

The Negative/Opposite set is indicated by the negative marker /ð/ inserted somewhere

in the beginning of word. Beyond that, their position is irregular; it is based on what is

easiest to say. (This is different from actual negation, which has the negative indicator

/əð/ as a separate word.)

There is also the Permissive set of verbs. These verbs describe the relationship

between what needs to have already happened for something else to happen, e.g. for verb

X to be possible, verb Permissive-X must have already happened. The Permissive set can

be applied to both the first ten derivations of a root as well as the Negative/Opposite set

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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of those derivations. (This is clearer in the example below.) Also flexible, the general

prefix is /ita/. The further away the meaning of the word is from the root, the more

flexible the prefixes are.

Both the Negative/Opposite and the Permissive sets apply not just to the root of a

verb, but also to any of its ten forms. However, a given root may not have all ten forms,

nor complete Negative/Opposite or Permissive sets. At the same time, any meaning that

could be extrapolated using the definitions of the ten forms, the Negative/Opposite set, or

the Permissive set could be created simply by adding the proper affixes.

For example, the word “to exist” is itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe. That is the permissive form of the

negative form of the 3rd form of the root “qaɾe.” Qaɾe is the root for “grow,” iqaɾe = to

grow. The 3rd form is the associative form, which means to grow with an object, to

create it, or to make it, and it is ɤin̩ qaɾe. The negative form is ɤəðin̩ qaɾe, and it means to

destroy (as in the opposite of “to create.”) For that to happen, something needs to exist,

which is how the permissive from works. That is the ‘ita’ prefix, and the whole thing—

unconjugated—is “itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe.”

Examples of Verb Forms, Sets, and Derivations
The first form is in plain text; the Negative/Opposite form is in bold (gloss= nII grow >

abandon); the Permissive form is in italics (gloss = PnIII grow > exist)

I.

II.

root: /qaɾe/; to grow: /iqaɾe/

to continually make grow, to care for: /in̩qaɾe/

to abandon: /əðinqaɾe/

III.

to grow with an object or make it grow; to create, build, or make: /ɤin̩ qaɾe/

to destroy: /ɤəðin̩ qaɾe/

(PnIII) to exist: /itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe/

IV.

to enhance, augment: /g̊ iqaɾe/

to take away, detract from (qualitatively, state-related—not to take a

thing away): /gəðiqaɾe/

V.

to mature: /ikəqaɾe/

to be self-aware: /itakəqaɾe/

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VI.

to procreate, to give life: /ɤiqaɾen̩ /

to kill (the opposite of giving life): /ɤəðiqaɾen/

PnVI: to separate, detach from the balance = /itaɤəðiqaɾen/

VII.

to be created: /aqaɾe/

to be destroyed: /aðəqaɾe/

VIII.

to become ancient, wise (to age): /kiqaɾe/

to be static, to fail to learn (e.g. from experiences): /kəðiqaɾe/

IX.

to develop, evolve, change (in an unsurprising manner): /ʃaqaɾe/

to degrade (e.g. over time): /ʃaðəqaɾe/

X.

to connect to and use the power of the Ħelə: /itaqaɾe/

to have ability to manipulate Ħelə and grow and create things with it=

/itasəqaɾe/;

Another example the form X of the root /sog̊ e/ (or to possess or embody) means ‘to

search for.’ The negative form of to search, or the opposite form, is ‘to find.’ The

permissive counterpart for the form X means ‘to lose or misplace,’ because it is what

allows for searching. This and further examples can be found in the Abbreviated Lexicon

in Appendix A.

In-Depth Cultural Assessment

The People of Ħelə (N̩ ħeoħelə) are an alien tribal culture that operates as one

large family. Their entire existence is based on a concept of ħelə: a oneness or unity with

yourself, your surroundings, and with others capable of being at one with you. It’s a very

interpersonal and relationship-based concept, and one that permeates their entire

existence. Ħelə is at once an existential balance and a malleable force from which

N̩ ħeoħelə draw their ability to shape and manipulate the world around them. To humanity

it would appear N̩ ħeoħelə are “magic;” to themselves, the investigation, recognition,

guardianship, and temporary redistribution of Ħelə (as needed to maintain it, of course) is

their very purpose for being.

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The society is structured so that everyone does a given job for everyone else, and

everything is shared. For example, children are raised by the same few people, the

nurturers, or owegn̩ ħeodiqaɾe. Familial relationships are unimportant because the entire

society acts as one big family. As such, there are two different words for a parent: a

biological (or “blood”) parent— oħeɾa—versus a parent in general, which would be the

term for anyone of an age that is appropriate to be one’s parent—ħeɾa. (You would never

address your parent as “oħeɾa;” it’s only a term for when it is necessary to differentiate

between a biological and a nonbiological parent.)

Again, this culture has no gender. Obviously, Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə has no gender, but the

implications go further than that: Because there isn’t gender, procreation is an entirely

different thing from what we know it as. Additionally, people of this society live for a

very long time, and have a long maturation period. The need to procreate as a method of

survival is minimal (especially because they are also a nonviolent and fairly isolated race,

so the only way they would die would be of natural causes).

N̩ ħeoħelə believe that everything has some connection to or relationship with

ħelə, but that there are different levels of spiritual complexity, awareness, and growth.

For example, a rock has a spirit as it was created by The Creator, but no soul. It is not

alive. It can be bonded to, or connected with, as an element of nature, but it can’t really

bond with something else. Plants are alive, but they cannot communicate. There is no

spiritual differentiation between animals and people (N̩ ħeoħelə humanoid but not

Human-like): they have spirits, souls, and can communicate; it’s just that sometimes they

cannot understand each others’ words. (Some of the N̩ ħeoħelə are gifted with the ability

to communicate with animals verbally, and individuals often bond with, or are drawn to,

an animal over the course of their maturation with whom they connect specifically.)

When N̩ ħeoħelə greet each other, they blow lightly to each other’s foreheads and

say, “I share my soul with you”— k’ɤin̩ sog̊ e ħexaːxak’ iɲeɤ t’eoʘ. This tradition comes

from the creation myth (its translation begins on page number), where the Creator blew

spirit into the animals.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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Story: The Creation Myth
In IPA with Gloss and Translation

ħexa-l̩ p’ -a- θ – əðkib̊ idʲo θoɲa aðəfadaʃ – |.

spirit-EXS 3- IMP-PST- wander through incomplete – OBL

A spirit was wandering through emptiness.

p’- θ – itakid̊ eħas əð xol̩ gʲoɾa- | – xaɾe awo əð xol̩ ħeo – | -xaɾe,

3- PST- see NEG anything-OBL-NVAL and NEG anyone-OBL-NVAL

It did not see anything or anyone,

awo p’-θ- iɤedʲoð əð xol̩ gʲoɾa – | – xaɾe awo əð xol̩ ħeo – | – xaɾe.

and 3-PST-hear NEG anything-OBL-NVAL and NEG anyone- OBL-NVAL

and it did not hear anything or anyone.

oweg-l̩ ħexa p’- θ – isog̊ e ħoðesel̩ kaħsəxaɾe – | awo xeðasaʃ-|

DEF-EXS spirit 3-PST-possess lonely – OBL and sad-OBL

The spirit was lonely and sad

aseti p’- θ – aðəfadaʃ,

because 3- PST – to be unfinished, incomplete

because it was incomplete,

awo p’ – θ – ikəɤeda -xaɾe iɲeɤ g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa oweg-n̩ aðəfadaʃ- |

and 3- PST- cried – NVAL to all – HED DEF-PL incomplete-OBL

and it cried to all of the emptiness

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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p’ – θ – itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe aʘoʒ p’eo-ʘ.

3 – PST- exist around 3-PRO – IO

around it.

oweg-l̩ ħexa p’- θ – ifeka awo ʒon̩ -exa ħexa – n̩ – |- exa n̩ – oʃod-!a

DEF-EXS spirit 3-PST-dream and four-HED spirit-PL-OBL-HED PL-other-ADOB

The spirit dreamt and four other spirits

n̩ – p’-θ -esəd̊ eħas iɲeɤ ħekeaħs-exa-p’ ɤeǃo n̩ -ħekeaħs-exa- n̩ -p’.

PL-3-PST-reach out to soul – HED -3 INST PL- soul – HED-PL-3

touched its soul with their souls.

ʃal̩ -exa n̩ -p’- θ – in̩ ɤeðdə gəɤeda- | – exa elo – ǃa iɲeɤ p’eo -ʘ,

Each-HED PL-3-PST-whisper sound-OBL-HED long-ADOB to it-IO

Each whispered a long sound to it,

awo oweg-l̩ ħexaː-xa a-ðkib̊ idʲo-!a p’-θ-itakid̊ eħas oweg-n̩

and the-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB 3- PST -see DEF-PL

and the wandering spirit knew the

ʒon̩ -exa oʃod – n̩ – | ɲoʘ ħekeaħs-exa-p’.

four-HED other-PL-OBL in soul – HED – 3

four others in its soul.

ol̩ -exa n̩ -p’eo-| p’- θ – isog̊ e g̊ igəs – |, ekot – ǃa awo aset-ǃa,

One-HED PL-3-OBL 3-PST- embody action-OBL, sharp-ADOB and fast- ADOB

One was the spirit of action, sharp and fast,

awo oweg-l̩ ħexaːxa a-ðkib̊ idʲo-!a p’- θ – iɤedað <>.

and DEF-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB 3-PST-hear (in the mind) “iiiii”

and the wandering spirit heard “iiii.”

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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oʃod-exa ħexa-| p’- θ – isog̊ e ʃalta-| awo afexə-|, fahaləʃ-ǃa

other-HED spirit-OBL 3-PST- possess, embody time-OBL and state-OBL, fluid-ADOB

Another was the spirit of time and state, fluid

awo g̊ en̩ ʃalta-!a, awo oweg-l̩ ħexaː-xa a – ðkib̊ idʲo- !a p’- θ – iɤedað

and always-ADOB and DEF-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB 3-PST-hear (in the

mind)

and constant, and the wandering spirit heard

<>. (⁋) oʃod-exa p’- θ – isog̊ e

“aaaaaaa.” (⁋) other-HED 3-PST- possess, embody

“aaaaa”.

(⁋) Another was the spirit of

d̊ eħas-| awo g̊ in̩ d̊ eħas-| awo ħekeaħs – |.

feeling-OBL and passion-OBL and soul-OBL

emotion and passion and soul.

p’- θ-exa qab̊ eʃ – ǃa wəð fan – ǃa, awo aθəfadaʃ – ǃa, awo

3-PST-HED complicated-ADOB but simple-ADOB, and committed-ADOB and

It was complicated but simple, and powerful, and

oweg-l̩ ħexaː-xa a- ðkib̊ idʲo- !a p’- θ – iɤedað <>.

DEF-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB 3-PST-hear (in the mind) “eeeee.”

the wandering spirit heard “eeee.”

oweg afadaʃ-!a ħexaː-xa p’-θ-exa sepaʃ- ǃa, awo p’-θ-ib̊ idʲoː-xa

DEF final-ADOB spirit-HED 3-PST-HED quiet-ADOB and 3-PST-move-HED

The last spirit was quiet, and approached

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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edas-ǃi iɲeɤ oweg-l̩ ħexaː-xa a- ðkib̊ idʲo- !a bʲoso-!i.

hesitant-ADV to DEF-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB slow-ADV

the wandering spirit slowly.

<> p’- θ -in̩ ɤeðdə. ewos p’-θ-exa sog̊ e – | – exa g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa

“ooooo” 3-PST-whisper. DEM 3-PST-HED embodiment-OBL-HED all-HED

“Oooo,” it whispered. This was an embodiment of all

oweg-n̩ oʃod- n̩ – | , wəð ɲoʘ g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa oweg-n̩ gʲol̩ oð-|, etasoɤə-!i

DEF-PL other-PL-OBL, but in all -HED DEF-PL nothing-OBL, far-ADV

the others, but in all of the nothingness, it hardly

p’-θ – ɤəðin̩ qaɾe -|-xaɾe. (⁋) oweg-l̩ ħexaː-xa a- ðkib̊ idʲo-!a

3-PST –exist- OBL-NVAL. (⁋) DEF-EXS spirit-HED IMP-wander-ADOB

existed. (⁋) The wandering spirit envisioned

p’-θ-kid̊ eħas gʲoħeləb̊ – | – eħes p’ – s – aqaɾe ɤeǃoː-weg-n̩ ħexa-n̩ .

3-PST-envision world/universe-OBL-PVAL 3-FUT- be created INST-the-PL spirits-PL.

Envisioned a world made of the spirits.

wəð faθ p’- θ – esəfadaʃ ɤeɲaθ oweg-n̩ oʃod-n̩ -!a

But when 3-PST- ask for help from DEF-PL other-PL-ADOB

But, when it asked the other

ħexa-n̩ -| n̩ – p’-ɤin̩ qaɾe oweg gʲoħeləb-|-exa

spirit-PL-OBL PL-3-to create DEF world/universe-OBL-HED

spirits for help to create the new world,

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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dab̊ e-ǃa, n̩ – p’- θ -itaħef-xaɾe.

new-ADOB, PL-3-PST-laugh-NVAL.

they laughed.

<> p’-θ-iɤeda oweg ħexaː-xa g̊ igəs-|.

“2-be insufficient INF-create anything-OBL” 3–PST-say DEF spirit-HED action-OBL.

“You cannot create anything,” said the Spirit of Action.

<<əð t’- isog̊ e oweg ɾaħef -|.>>

NEG 2-possess, embody DEF power-OBL

“You do not have the power.”

<> p’-θ-id̊ eħas oweg-l̩ ħeo-ðkibidʲo.

But 2-possess it-OBL 3-PST-feel or sense DEF-EXS one who-wander

“But you do,” sensed The Wanderer.

<< ɤan̩ keaħs n̩ -p’-s-itasəqaɾe gʲoħeləb-|-exa dab̊ e-ǃa >>

Together PL-3-FUT- ability to use Ħelə to create world -OBL-HED new-ADOB

“Together we will be able to create a new world.”

(⁋) <> p’-θ-iɤeda oweg

(⁋) “2-be insufficient 3-PST-say DEF

(⁋) “You cannot do it,” said the

ħexaː-xa ʃalta-|. << əð t’-isog̊ e oweg ʃalta-|.>>

spirit-HED time-OBL. NEG 2-have DEF time-OBL

Spirit of Time “You do not have the time.”

p’-θ- ɤifadaʃn̩ dʲon̩ tal-n̩ oweg-l̩ ħeo – ðkib̊ idʲo,
3-PST-promise 2nd time-PL DEF-EXS one who- wander,

The Wanderer promised again,

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

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<< k’- s- itasəqaɾe wad t’-s-ɤin̩ kaħs iɲeɤ k’eo-ʘ.>>

“1-FUT-ability to use Ħelə if 2-FUT-help to 1-PRO-IO”

“I will be able to if you will help me.”

<> p’-θ-iɤeda oweg

(⁋) “2-be insufficient to create world/universe-OBL,” 3-PST-say DEF

“You cannot create the world,” said the

ħexaː-xa g̊ in̩ d̊ eħas-|. “əð t’-isog̊ e oweg g̊ ikəfadaʃ-|.”

spirit-HED passion-OBL “NEG 2-possess, embody DEF focus-OBL.”

Spirit of Passion. “You do not have the will.”

<> p’-θ-iɤeda oweg-l̩ ħeo – ðkib̊ idʲo.

Yes INST 2-PRO-IO 1-FUT-HED it-OBL 3-PST-say DEF-EXS one who- wander.

“Yes, with you I will have it,” said The Wanderer, “but

<>

1-require help – OBL- HED-2 so/thus 1-finish, complete it -OBL.”

I need your help to complete it.”

oweg ħexaː-xa afadaʃ-!a p’-θ-iɤeda əð xol̩ gʲoɾa-|.

DEF spirit-HED final-ADOB 3-PST-say NEG anything-OBL

The last spirit did not say anything.

<< k’-s-ɤiqaɾen̩ oweg gʲoħeləb -| ɤeǃo t’eo- ʘ, >> p’- θ- g̊ ifadaʃ.

“1-FUT-procreate DEF world/universe-OBL INST 2-PRO-DO” 3-PST-commit

“I will create the world with you,” it promised.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

30

aseti ewos ob̊ eg əð p’-isog̊ e xol̩ gʲoɾa-| iɲeɤ k’eo-ʘ.>>

“Because DET place NEG 3-possess, embody anything-OBL to 1-PRO-IO.”

“Because this place does not have anything for me.”

<< n̩ -k’-s-ɤin̩ qaɾe ob̊ eg - | iɲeɤ t’eo-ʘ,>> p’-θ-ɤifadaʃn̩ oweg-l̩

“PL-1-FUT-create place-OBL to 2-PRO-IO,” 3-PST-promise DEF-EXS

“We will make a place for you,” promised

ħeo – ðkib̊ idʲo. << wad n̩ -k’-s-itaɤin̩ keaħs g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ-exa n̩ - k’- s - afadaʃ.>>

one who-wander if PL-1-FUT-cooperate all – HED PL-1-FUT-to be complete

The Wanderer. “If we work together, all of us will be complete.”

In IPA
ħexal̩ p’aθəðkib̊ idʲo θoɲa aðəfadaʃ|. p’θitakid̊ eħas əð xol̩ gʲoɾa|xaɾe awo əð xol̩ ħeo|xaɾe,

awo p’θiɤedʲoð əð xol̩ gʲoɾa|xaɾe awo əð xol̩ ħeo|xaɾe. owegl̩ ħexa p’θisog̊ e

ħoðesel̩ kaħsəxaɾe| awo aseti p’θaðəfadaʃ awo p’θikəɤedaxaɾe iɲeɤ g̊ en̩ ɤaʃexa owegn̩

aðəfadaʃ| p’θitaɤəðin̩ qaɾe aʘoʒ p’eoʘ.

owegl̩ ħexa p’θifeka awo ʒon̩ exa ħexan̩ |exa n̩ oʃod!a n̩ p’θesəd̊ eħas iɲeɤ ħekeaħsexap’ ɤeǃo

n̩ ħekeaħsexan̩ p’. ʃal̩ exa n̩ p’θin̩ ɤeðdə gəɤedaːxa eloǃa iɲeɤ p’eoʘ, awo owegl̩ ħexaːxa
aðkib̊ idʲo!a p’θitakid̊ eħas owegn̩ ʒon̩ exa oʃodn̩ | ɲoʘ ħekeaħsexap’.

ol̩ exa n̩ p’eo| p’θisog̊ e g̊ igəs|, ekotǃa awo asetǃa, awo owegl̩ ħexaːxa aðkib̊ idʲo!a p’θiɤedað

*Author note: Orthography ends here. <>.

oʃodexa ħexa| p’θisog̊ e ʃalta| awo afexə|, fahaləʃǃa awo g̊ en̩ ʃalta!a, awo owegl̩ ħexaː-xa
aðkib̊ idʲo!a p’θiɤedað <>.

oʃodexa p’θisog̊ e d̊ eħas| awo g̊ in̩ d̊ eħas| awo ħekeaħs|. p’θexa qab̊ eʃǃa wəð fanǃa, awo
aθəfadaʃǃa, awo owegl̩ ħexaːxa aðkib̊ idʲo!a p’θiɤedað <>.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

31

oweg afadaʃ!a ħexaːxa p’θexa sepaʃǃa, awo p’θib̊ idʲoːxa edasǃi iɲeɤ owegl̩ ħexaːxa
aðkib̊ idʲo!a bʲoso!i. <> p’θin̩ ɤeðdə. ewos p’θexa sog̊ e|exa g̊ en̩ ɤaʃexa owegn̩

oʃodn̩ |, wəð ɲoʘ g̊ en̩ ɤaʃexa owegn̩ gʲol̩ oð|, etasoɤə!i p’aθɤəðin̩ qaɾe|xaɾe.

owegl̩ ħexaːxa aðkib̊ idʲo!a p’θkid̊ eħas gʲoħeləb̊ |eħes p’saqaɾe ɤeǃoːwegn̩ ħexan̩ . wəð faθ
p’θesəfadaʃ ɤeɲaθ owegn̩ oʃodn̩ !a ħexan̩ | ɤin̩ qaɾe oweg gʲoħeləb|exa dab̊ eǃa,

n̩ p’θitaħefəxaɾe.

<> p’θiɤeda oweg ħexaːxa g̊ igəs|. <<əð t’isog̊ e oweg ɾaħef|.>>

<> p’θid̊ eħas owegl̩ ħeoðkibidʲo. << ɤan̩ keaħs n̩ p’sitasəqaɾe gʲoħeləb|exa dab̊ eǃa >>

<> p’θiɤeda oweg ħexaːxa ʃalta|. << əð t’isog̊ e oweg ʃalta|.>>

p’θɤifadaʃn̩ dʲon̩ taln̩ owegl̩ ħeoðkib̊ idʲo, <>

<> p’θiɤeda oweg ħexaːxa g̊ in̩ d̊ eħas|. <<əð t’isog̊ e oweg g̊ ikəfadaʃ|.>>

<> p’θiɤeda owegl̩ ħeoðkib̊ idʲo. << k’ikeħas g̊ oðesəfadaʃ|exat’ waɤə k’ifadaʃ p’o|.>>

oweg ħexaːxa afadaʃ!a p’θiɤeda əð xol̩ gʲoɾa|. << k’sɤiqaɾen̩ oweg gʲoħeləb| ɤeǃo t’eoʘ, >>
p’θg̊ ifadaʃ, <>

<< n̩ k’sɤin̩ qaɾe ob̊ eg| iɲeɤ t’eoʘ,>> p’θɤifadaʃn̩ owegl̩ ħeoðkib̊ idʲo. << wad n̩ k’sitaɤin̩ keaħs g̊ en̩ ɤaʃexa n̩ k’safadaʃ.>>

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

32

In English

A sprit was wandering through emptiness. It did not see anything or anyone, and

it did not hear anything or anyone. The spirit felt lonely and sad because it was

incomplete, and it cried to all of the emptiness that surrounded it. The spirit dreamt and

four other spirits touched its soul with their souls. Each whispered a long sound to it, and

in its soul the wandering spirit knew the four others.

One was the spirit of action, sharp and fast, and the wandering soul heard (in its

mind), “Iiiiiiiiiii.”

Another was the spirit of time and state, slow and fluid and constant, and the

wandering soul heard (in its mind) “Aaaaaaaa.”

A third was the spirit of emotion and passion and soul. It was complicated but

simple, and powerful. The wandering spirit heard (in its mind) “Eeeeeeeeee.”

The last spirit was quiet, and approached the wandering spirit slowly. “Ooo,” it

said. This was the embodiment of all the others, but in the nothing, it was incomplete and

hardly existed.

The wandering spirit envisioned a world made of the spirits. But, when it asked

the other spirits for their help in creating the new world, they laughed.

“You are insufficient for this task,” said the Spirit of Action. “You do not have

the power.”

“But you do,” sensed The Wanderer. “Together we will be able to create a new

world!”

“You are insufficient,” said the Spirit of Time. “You do not have the time.”

The Wanderer promised again, “I will if you will help me.”

“You are insufficient,” said the Spirit of Passion. “You do not have the will.”

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

33

“Yes, with you I will have it,” said The Wanderer. “But I need your help to finish

it.”

The last spirit said nothing. “I will create the world with you,” it promised,

“Because this place does not have anything for me.”

“We will make a place for you,” said The Wanderer. “If we cooperate, all of us

will be complete.” *Author note: translation ends here

I will turn you into earth, and you can be the ground beneath us, and the stuff of

which everything is made.” The spirit felt happy, for it knew it would be complete.

The other three spirits saw the happiness The Wanderer had created for the Earth

Spirit, but they did not want to believe it. “We can be happy without your help,” they told

The Wanderer. “We like our existence.”

“But how can you act if there is nothing to act upon?” The Wanderer asked the

Spirit of Action. It was saddened, and the wandering spirit said, “I will make you into

fire, and you can consume and be consumed, and burn within anything that moves.”

The wandering spirit turned to the Spirit of Time and said “And how can you

represent the passage of time when nothing grows, nothing changes? What is time if not

the chance to change?” This spirit too was saddened, so The Wanderer said, “I will make

you into water, and you can flow through time, frozen or liquid or in the sky, and in so

doing fulfill your purpose.”

To the third The Wanderer said, “And you, you are the spirit and the soul. But

what are you the spirit of, and through what can you manifest your powers?” This spirit

too was saddened, so The Wanderer said, “I will make you into wind, and you can blow

desires and feelings into hearts and souls, and be the power of nature, and in so doing

fulfill your purpose.”

Each spirit considered what The Wanderer had said.

The Spirit of Action decided quickly. “I want to grow into Fire.”

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

34

The Spirit of Time decided slowly. “I want to grow into Water.”

The Spirit of Passion already felt its incomplete existence. “I want to become

Wind.”

And so The Wanderer became the Creator turned them into fire, water, wind, and

earth.

The Creator put the earth on the ground and in the mountains and trees, and kept

some in a body it made for itself.

The Creator put the wind in the trees and the air, and kept some in its heart and its

soul.

The Creator put the water into the oceans and rivers, the lakes and the skies, and it

kept some in its blood.

The Creator put the fire in the sky and made the lights of the day and the night,

but the fire would not rest. It jumped from The Creator’s hands, taking with it some of

the earth, and other moving bodies were formed.

But they were not changing, were not living. So the Creator gave them some of

the water from its blood so that they would become ancient, and grow and live all the

stages of life. But even as they aged, the bodies, like the Spirits, wandered without

purpose: they had no spirits of their own. So The Creator blew into each of them some of

the spirit it had saved in its heart, and so all living things would be connected to Ħelə and

all animals were made.

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

35

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

36

Appendix A: An Abbreviated Lexicon
The general stress pattern is fixed on the penultimate syllable in a root. However, stress is

not a high priority in Qaʃn̩ ħeoħelə, and thus is flexible.

Author Notes:

I’ve chosen to leave some of my comments and notes in the margins to share my thought
processes and decisions. There are far more words than those included here—a dictionary is a
long ways off, though.

The existence of some of these words and concepts may seem counter to what and whom the
N̩ ħeoħelə are. These words exist for the story I’m writing about what happens when the first
N̩ ħeoħelə discover the post-apocalyptic Earth… there are other words, too, but you’ll have to wait
for the novel or TV show to come out to learn them.

Verbs
Plain text is the root and first derivation, bold is the Negative/Opposing set (-ð-), italics
are the Permissive set (ita-). Occasional PVAL/NVAL suffixes are included as part of the
roots where, culturally, they would be.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

root: [XXXX]; infinitive: [iXXX]

Causative or intensive: [in̩ XXXX]

Associative: [ɤin̩ XXXX]

Causative: [g̊ iXXX]

reflexive of II: [ikəXXXX]

Reciprocity: [ɤiXXXXn̩ ]

VII. Passive: [aXXXX]

VIII. Reflexive of I: [kiXXXX]

IX.

To have quality of I: [ʃaXXXX]

X.

to seek action of I. [esəXXXX]

I.

root: sog̊ e; to possess or embody, have, own: isog̊ e

(Culturally, the idea of “ownership” is different to N̩ ħeoħelə than it is to us, and is

much more relationship based than it is a qualitative or quantitative measure. The

root as a derivational source is more important here than the infinitive of “to have

or own.”)

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

37

II.

to keep: in̩ sog̊ e

to value (non-monetarily): itan̩ sog̊ e

to be valued: atin̩ sog̊ e – form VII of PII

to get rid of, to dispose: iðn̩ sog̊ e

III.

IV.

to share: ɤin̩ sog̊ e

to give: isog̊ e

to take: gəðisog̊ exaɾe*

to receive: gəðisog̊ eħes*

V.

to hide, keep secret

— for oneself: ikəsog̊ e

— for others, insert proper pronoun prefix for k, no ejective.

to make public: ikəðəsog̊ e

to deceive: itakisogəxaɾe*

VI.

to exchange or trade: ɤisog̊ en̩

to steal: ɤəðisog̊ en̩

to barter or negotiate: itaɤisog̊ en

VII.

to be owned, possessed: asog̊ e

to be free, released: aðəsog̊ e

VIII.

to save (an object, not ‘from harm’): kisog̊ e

to cherish (more emotionally driven than itan̩ sog̊ e) : ikesog̊ e

to remember: itakesog̊ e

to be remembered: atakesog̊ e

IX.

none

X.

to look/search for: esəasog̊ e

to find: esəðəsog̊ e

to lose, misplace, or forget: itasəsog̊ e

I.

II.

root: qaɾe, to grow: iqaɾe

to continually make grow, care for: in̩ qaɾe

to abandon: əðin̩ qaɾe

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

III.

to grow with an object, make it grow, create, build or make: ɤəðin̩ qaɾe

38

to destroy: ɤəðin̩ qaɾe

to exist: itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe

IV.

to enhance, augment: g̊ iqaɾe

to detract, take away: gəðiqaɾe

V.

to mature: ikəqaɾe

to be self-aware: itakəqaɾe

VI.

to procreate: ɤiqaɾen̩

to kill: ɤəðiqaɾen̩

to separate, detach from the balance: itaɤəðiqaɾen̩

VII.

to be created: aqaɾe

to be destroyed: aðəqaɾe

VIII.

to become ancient, wise: kiqaɾe

to be static, to fail to learn: kiðəqaɾe

IX.

to develop, evolve, change: ʃaqaɾe

to degrade: ʃaðəqaɾe

X.

to connect to and use the power of Ħelə to create and shape surroundings: esəqaɾe

to be able to use Ħelə: itasəqaɾe

I.

root: kaħs; to sustain: ikaħs

Note: /e/ and/or /o/ insertion is a common morphological change to this root

to deprive: əðikaħs

II.

to live (in the spiritual sense): in̩ keaħs

to die (physically– cultural note: they believe in life after death as another

phase of the life process, like ancient Egyptians): iðn̩ koaħs

III.

to live/be together: ɤin̩ keaħs

to live/be apart: ɤəðin̩ keaħs

to cooperate: itaɤin̩ keaħs

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

39

IV.

to maintain: g̊ ikaħs

to neglect or ignore (deliberately): gəðikaħs

to deny, be in denial: itagəðikaħs

V.

to end one’s own physical existence (Cultural Note: do not confuse this with

‘suicide.’ Because N̩ ħeoħelə have such long life spans and aren’t really killed by

anything, death is just seen as another phase of life that you go on whenever

you’re ready.): ikəðn̩ koaħs

(Morphology/Derivational Note: this form V—reflexive of form II—comes from

the Negative Set.)

VI.

to engage in the interperson sustaining/living existence, like mental and emotional

strength-sharing (No English equivalent): ɤikaħsen̩

to be actively alone, not engaged in the integrated experience (to be rebelling

against this aspect of the culture): ɤəðikaħsen̩ xaɾe

to be aware, mindful: itag̊ ikaħs

VII.

to be sustained: akaħs, akeaħs, akoaħs

to be deprived: aðəkaħs

VIII.

to eat/feed

— body: kikoaħs

— soul: kikeaħs

to starve

— body: kəðikoaħs

— soul: kəðikeaħs

to hunger: itakəðikoaħs, itakəðikeaħs

IX.

to be depended upon: ʃeɤakaħs

X.

to be dependent (interdependent): esəkeaħs

to be independent, alone: ħoðesel̩ keaħs{əxaɾe}

I.

II.

root: ɤeda; to speak iɤeda

to shout, speak rapidly: in̩ ɤeda

to whisper: in̩ ɤeðda

III.

to discuss, confer: ɤin̩ ɤeda

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

40

IV.

V.

to demand (make someone answer, reply): g̊ iɤeda

to cry out: ikəɤeda

Note: often includes PVAL/NVAL

VI.

to engage in dialogue: ɤiɤedan̩

VII.

to be spoken: aɤeda

VIII.

to speak to oneself, to mumble: kiɤeda

IX.

X.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

to be able to speak, communicate: ʃaɤeda

to ask or request: esəɤeda

root: b̊ idʲo; to move: ib̊ idʲo
to run: in̩ b̊ idʲo
to guide: ɤin̩ b̊ idʲo
to mislead, misdirect: ɤəðin̩ b̊ idʲo
to move (something): g̊ ib̊ idʲo

none
to move together, be in sync: ɤib̊ idʲon̩
to have met: itaɤib̊ idʲon̩
to be moved (physically, not emotionally): ab̊ idʲo
to be stuck (physically, not emotionally): aðəb̊ idʲo
to be trapped: aðəb̊ idʲoxaɾe
to travel, to traverse: kib̊ idʲo
to wander: əðkib̊ idʲo
to be animate: ʃab̊ idʲo

to be inanimate (implies not having a soul, because things with souls are

typically animate—this becomes a problem when they meet computers and
robots): ʃaðb̊ idʲo

I.

II.

root: end, whole, complete: fadaʃ; to finish ifadaʃ

to work, to produce: in̩ fadaʃ

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

41

III.

to collaborate: ɤin̩ fadaʃ

to undermine, interfere: ɤiðn̩ fadaʃ

IV.

to commit: g̊ ifadaʃ

to reassure: in̩ g̊ ifadaʃ (intensive prefix+verb form IV of root)

V.

to focus: ikəfadaʃ

to be distracted: ðikəfadaʃ

to distract (someone else- insert proper pronoun infix): /ði{t,p,n̩ t,n̩ p}əfadaʃ

VI.

to promise: ɤifadaʃn̩

VII.

to be finished, complete: afadaʃ

to be unfinished, incomplete: ðafadaʃ

to be begun, to have been started: itaðafadaʃ

VIII.

to stop, rest, be done: kifadaʃ

to sleep: in̩ kifadaʃ (intensive prefix+verb form VIII of root)

IX.

to be whole, unbroken: ʃafadaʃ

to be broken: ʃaðəfadaʃ

to break: ʃiðafadaʃ

X.

to ask for help: esəfadaʃ

to help, assist: ðesəfadaʃ

to need assistance, to be insufficient for a task: itasəfadaʃ

Cultural note: this is not considered a failing but rather expected in such a

collaborative and community-focused culture. After all, The Creator, too, was

insufficient.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

root: d̊ eħas; to feel or sense: id̊ eħas
to feel strongly: in̩ d̊ eħas
to empathize: ɤin̩ d̊ eħas
to judge: ɤiðn̩ d̊ eħas
to inspire: g̊ id̊ eħaseħes
to put down, crush, dishearten: gəðid̊ eħasəxaɾe
to hurt: g̊ id̊ eħasəxaɾe

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

42

V.

to overwhelm: ikəd̊ eħas

VI.

VII.

VIII.

(Note: does not have a positive or negative connotation absent P/NVAL suffix)
to bond: ɤid̊ eħasn̩
to cut off (a relationship): ɤiðəd̊ eħasn̩
to be felt: ad̊ eħas
to be missed, ignored, skipped (not deliberately): aðəd̊ eħas
to be rejected: aðəd̊ eħasəxaɾe
to envision: kid̊ eħas
to see, observe: itakid̊ eħas
to be blind: aðitakid̊ eħas (VII of nPIII)
to blind: ði{t/p}akid̊ eħas

IX.

X.

none
to seek emotional connection, bonding (no English equivalent): esəd̊ eħas
to be alone, lonely: itased̊ eħasl̩ {xaɾe*}
to seek solitude: esəðid̊ eħasl̩ {xaɾe*}

*Cultural note: both of these are considered to be bad things even without the

NVAL suffix

Nouns: Derived, Non-Derived
Root: grow – qaɾe

• nursery: b̊ in̩ qaɾe

• augmentation (as direct object): g̊ iqaɾe|

• destruction (as direct object), destructively: ɤəðin̩ qaɾe|, ɤəðin̩ qaɾe!i

• destroyer: ħeoɤəðin̩ qaɾe

• existing, existence: eitaɤəðin̩ qaɾe!a, itaɤəðin̩ qaɾe|

• development, a growth: gəʃaqaɾe

• hands, arms: bʲoɤin̩ qaɾe

• Creator: ħeoɤin̩ qaɾe

Root: feeling, emotion, sense: d̊ eħas

• heart: bʲod̊ eħas

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

43

• a vision, prophecy: kigəd̊ eħas
rejection: gaðəd̊ eħasəxaɾe


• a judge, decider, arbiter: ħeoɤiðn̩ d̊ eħas
• a wound: g̊ id̊ eħasəxaɾe

• passion: g̊ in̩ de̊ ħas
• seer, prophet: ħeokid̊ eħas
• eye: bʲotakid̊ eħas

Root: to have, own, embody: sog̊ e

trash: gʲoðn̩ sog̊ e

• gift: gʲosog̊ e

• deception: g̊ itakisogəxaɾe

• possession: agʲosog̊ e

• a memory: g̊ itakəsog̊ e

• a forgotory (a thing that is forgotten): g̊ itasəsog̊ e

• a desire, want: gasəsog̊ e

• water: fahala

• wind: feʃ

• earth: dʲod

fire: sikit

light: ɾiθ

• star, moon: ɾiθaxoʒ (“light +

night)

• sun: ɾiθaʒol (“light+day)

• Numbers:

0 (or none): ol̩ ð

1: ol̩ ; 1st: dʲol̩ !a/!i

2: on̩ ; 2nd: dʲon̩ !a/!i

3: won̩ ; 3rd: dəwon̩ !a/!i

4: ʒon̩ ; 4th: dəʒon̩ !a/!i

*Many (smaller): ɤon̩

*Many (bigger): n̩ oɤ

*The “many”s can be used to

indicate degree or severity, in

addition to number. For example,

something can be “tilə” (red) or it

can be “ɤon̩ !i tilə”—a little red,

or more red (depends on the

context)—or it can be “n̩ oɤ!i

tilə”—really red. The ADV case

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

ending is added when the

• hair: san̩ (always plural)

44

“many”s modify an adjective.

• circle: sols

• snow: gʲoθəf

• night: axoʒ

• day: aʒol

• dream: feka ; verb: ifeka fekəða

= reality, ifekəða = to realize

rain: ʒadat

• dark: xaʃef

o As adjective: xaʃef!a


rose: foʃa
• place: ob̊ eg

• parent (by blood): oħeɾa

• parent (general): ħeɾa

• sibling (by blood): oħsa

• sibling (general): ħesa

• back: oɾisa

• stomach: qofe

• heart: gʲoħeləb
• cat: d̊ eko

• dog: hoɾe

• mouse: sik

fish: losəd

• ball: ʒofsə

• sea: esaʒplanet: qoʒə

thing: gʲoɾa

• every: ʃaln̩

everything: ʃaln̩ gʲoɾa{ɤ}

everyone: ʃaln̩ ħeo{ɤ}

• any: xol̩

anything: xol̩ gʲoɾa{ɤ}

anyone: xol̩ ħeo{ɤ}

• child (by blood): oħaqaɾe

• nothing: gʲol̩ oð (comes from

(derived from “it is created”)

• child (general): ħaqaɾe (derived

from “it is created”)

• head: ħiodehab

• arm/hand: bʲoɤin̩ qaɾe

leg/foot: bʲob̊ idʲo (root: b̊ idʲo,

number 0/none)

no one: eðəħeo

• spirit: ħexa

• name: xeθ

• sound: gəɤeda

time: ʃalta

move)

• eye: efaθo

• nose: safo

• ear: ɤedʲoð

to hear: iɤedʲoð

• mouth: bʲoɤeda

• state (as in a state of being):

afexə

• soul: ħekeaħs (root: kaħs)

• world/universe: gʲoħeləb

time (in the immediate sense as

opposed to the general,

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

conceptual sense): tal

again = 2nd + time = dʲon̩ n̩ tal

• whole, end, complete: fadaʃ*

45

• now: atal

currently: atal!i

Function Words
• yes: agə

• no: dað

• but = wəð

• əð = negative marker; see

• owegn̩ /oweg/owegl̩ = definite

grammar notes

marker (pl/general sing/explicit

• when: question = aθis

sing)

• ʒiħa, ʒiga = question indicator;

statement = faθ
• where: question = ob̊ e

morphology note: i = verb, a =

statement = ʒob

state-related, ħ/g = person/thing;

• why: question = iseta

together = “is it in a state…”

e.g. ʒiga p’inkaħs = is it in a

state of living = is it living

• wad = if

• so, thus: waɤə

statement (that is why, e.g.

because) = aseti

• who: question = ɤeon

statement = eo[l/n/ɤ] (see

plurality)

• ewosn̩ /ewos/ewosl̩ =

• what: question = adʲog

demonstrative (pl/sing)

statement = wog

• and = awo

• how: question = aʒike

statement = dasi

Adjectives
Words with an asterisk are considered the raw root (e.g. can be Verb-ed). Almost every
adjective can be Noun-ed with a /g, b, ħeo/ or OBL case marker, just as almost every
noun can be Adjective-ed with an ADAC case marker or /ʃ/.

loud = qaʃex

• quiet = sepaʃ

• hard (touch) = xodaʃə

• soft (touch) = hofeʃa

rough (touch) = ʒokəʃ

• smooth (touch) = solaʃə

• solid = agʲoʃə

• old = ʃanag̊ e

• young = iʃat

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

• always = all + time (often used

• cold (temperature) = ʃakət*

w/ “in” e.g. “I will love you in all

• hesitant= edas

46

• slow = bʲoso
• new= dab̊ e

• sad = xeðasaʃ

• happy = xesaʃ

incomplete = aðəfadaʃ
full = oʃob̊ e

• bare, barren = ʃeðax

• scared = daʃex

• excited = ħeʃa

• big = qaɾoʃ

• small = qaðoʃ

• beautiful = faʃowəθ

red = tilə

• yellow = iɾeʃ

• blue = ewaf

time” = I will always love you,

or I will love you always.);

g̊ en̩ ɤaʃ= all, time = ʃalta ; always

= g̊ en̩ ʃalta

• other= oʃod(n̩ ) one of the only

adjectives that agrees (number);

uses genitive construct

(oʃod(n̩ )exa)

long = elo

• sharp = ekot

fast = aset

fluid= water = fahala, to flow =

ifahal, fluid = fahaləʃ

• constant, continuous = always
• complicated = qab̊ eʃ*

• simple = fan

Prepositions

• about = foɲ

• near = oseʃaɤ

far = etasoɤ

to…

o place = iɲoɤ

o person/thing = iɲeɤ

Grammar note: when the interpersonal morpheme [ɤ/ is added to the

beginning, the meaning is “with,” as a bidirectional relationship

from…

o place = ɤoɲaθ

o person/thing = ɤeɲaθ

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

above = ɤof/ɤaf (physical placement versus a state of being)

47

below = ɤod/ɤad

through = θoɲa

over = ɤoʒ/ɤaʒ

under = ɤosə/ɤasə

next to = ɤogʲo/ɤaga

around = aʘoʒ


(cid:118) in = ɲoʘ

© 2011, 2019 by Ariel Robinson

Appendix B
Story Written in Orthography

(cid:25) (cid:8)(cid:13) (cid:4)(cid:10)(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:8)(cid:10)(cid:50)(cid:5)(cid:50)(cid:38)(cid:50)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:3) (cid:9)(cid:13)(cid:11)(cid:13)
(cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:1)(cid:7)(cid:18)(cid:23) (cid:16)(cid:2) (cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:23) (cid:21)(cid:23) (cid:8)(cid:23)

(cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:1)(cid:9)(cid:4)(cid:23) (cid:19)(cid:9)

(cid:5)(cid:9)

48

(cid:23)(cid:50)(cid:4)(cid:50)(cid:22)(cid:50)(cid:5)(cid:14)(cid:5)
(cid:1)(cid:2)

(cid:10)(cid:23)
(cid:20)(cid:23) (cid:6)(cid:23) (cid:11)(cid:23)
(cid:12)(cid:23) (cid:1)(cid:22)(cid:23) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:4) (cid:3) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4) (cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:23)
(cid:8)(cid:14)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:14)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:2)(cid:11)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:11)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:9)

(cid:17)(cid:23) (cid:7)(cid:23)

(cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:1)(cid:3) (cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:6)(cid:11) (cid:4)(cid:14)
(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:7) (cid:25)(cid:48)(cid:83)(cid:30)(cid:83) (cid:28)(cid:83) (cid:67)(cid:83)(cid:31)(cid:83) (cid:11)(cid:50) (cid:27)(cid:28)(cid:50) (cid:39)(cid:50) (cid:13)(cid:23)

(cid:11)(cid:12)

(cid:10) (cid:1)
(cid:6)(cid:12)
(cid:8)(cid:59) (cid:23)(cid:26)(cid:48)(cid:40)(cid:24)(cid:59)(cid:7)(cid:44)(cid:59)(cid:5)(cid:49)(cid:50)(cid:34)(cid:22)(cid:20)(cid:35)(cid:59) (cid:27)(cid:15) (cid:51)(cid:39)(cid:59) (cid:1)

(cid:3) (cid:9)(cid:8)(cid:12) (cid:1)(cid:7)

(cid:8)(cid:3) (cid:9)(cid:19) (cid:1)(cid:12)(cid:11)(cid:19) (cid:7)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:13)(cid:5)(cid:16)(cid:17)(cid:19) (cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:8)(cid:10) (cid:6)
(cid:7)(cid:20)(cid:40)(cid:50) (cid:41)(cid:24)(cid:33)(cid:16)(cid:30)(cid:2)(cid:17)(cid:29)(cid:26)(cid:31)(cid:42)(cid:9)(cid:50) (cid:43)(cid:50) (cid:12)(cid:50)
(cid:15)(cid:50) (cid:44)(cid:50)(cid:7)(cid:1)(cid:14)(cid:2)(cid:14)(cid:11)(cid:14) (cid:16) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:12)(cid:6)(cid:13)(cid:3)(cid:14) (cid:38)(cid:83)(cid:2)
(cid:68)(cid:32)(cid:15) (cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:17)(cid:83)(cid:64)(cid:18)(cid:46)(cid:83)(cid:70)(cid:83)(cid:65)(cid:83) (cid:2)(cid:83)(cid:26)(cid:83)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:36)(cid:83) (cid:41)(cid:83)(cid:33)(cid:83)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:56)(cid:61)(cid:57)(cid:83)(cid:12)
(cid:45)(cid:50)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:6)(cid:10) (cid:14)(cid:71)(cid:83)(cid:55)(cid:83)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:58)(cid:83)(cid:5)(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:51)(cid:83)
(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:7) (cid:35)(cid:50)(cid:6)(cid:32)(cid:46)(cid:36)(cid:50)(cid:47)(cid:18)(cid:50) (cid:48)(cid:21)(cid:34)(cid:50)
(cid:46)(cid:59)(cid:47)(cid:17)(cid:59) (cid:31)(cid:59)(cid:41)(cid:59)(cid:55)(cid:59)(cid:56)(cid:59)

(cid:43)(cid:52)(cid:29)(cid:53)(cid:54)(cid:14)(cid:33)(cid:42)(cid:4)(cid:59)(cid:16)(cid:45)(cid:59)
(cid:72)(cid:66)(cid:49)(cid:50)(cid:1)(cid:59)(cid:4)(cid:35)(cid:83)(cid:73)(cid:83)(cid:74)(cid:83)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:8) (cid:1) (cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:54)(cid:83) (cid:2)(cid:1)
(cid:9)(cid:62)(cid:10)(cid:5)(cid:19)(cid:75)(cid:20)(cid:29)(cid:76)(cid:6)(cid:53)(cid:3)(cid:77)(cid:42)(cid:43)(cid:44)(cid:83)(cid:78)(cid:37)(cid:83) (cid:79)(cid:83)(cid:80)(cid:81)(cid:83) (cid:24)(cid:13)(cid:63)(cid:21)(cid:83)
(cid:1)(cid:7)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:10)(cid:7)(cid:4)(cid:13)

(cid:5)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:6)(cid:57)(cid:9)(cid:18)(cid:30)(cid:10)(cid:58)(cid:21)(cid:13)(cid:25)(cid:3)(cid:59)(cid:19)(cid:59) (cid:38)(cid:11)(cid:36)(cid:37)(cid:59)(cid:28)(cid:2)(cid:32)(cid:1)(cid:12)(cid:59)

(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)

(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:39)(cid:83)(cid:4) (cid:27)(cid:83) (cid:8)(cid:83)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:7)(cid:83)(cid:22)(cid:23)(cid:83)
(cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:4)(cid:8)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:9) (cid:10)(cid:2) (cid:1) (cid:3)

(cid:1)(cid:3) (cid:47)(cid:60) (cid:19)(cid:50)(cid:49)(cid:50)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:13)(cid:50)(cid:1)(cid:50)(cid:14)(cid:50)(cid:37)(cid:50) (cid:3)(cid:50)(cid:3)(cid:4) (cid:40)(cid:83)(cid:52)(cid:83) (cid:45)(cid:83)(cid:34)(cid:83) (cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:6) (cid:10)(cid:18)

(cid:1)(cid:2)

49

(cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:104)(cid:105)(cid:96)(cid:162) (cid:20) (cid:132)(cid:162) (cid:133)(cid:162)(cid:95)(cid:162)(cid:134)(cid:162)
(cid:57)(cid:106)(cid:97)(cid:162) (cid:9)(cid:37)(cid:162)(cid:135)(cid:162)(cid:9)(cid:19) (cid:107)(cid:108)(cid:76)(cid:162) (cid:136)(cid:162)(cid:38)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:2)

(cid:2)(cid:7)

(cid:124)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:3)

(cid:64)(cid:162)

(cid:10)(cid:19)

(cid:4)(cid:7) (cid:6) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:1)
(cid:8)(cid:19)(cid:114)(cid:36)(cid:162) (cid:125)(cid:162)(cid:126)(cid:127)(cid:162) (cid:137)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:4)(cid:162) (cid:115)(cid:162)(cid:65)(cid:162) (cid:7)(cid:4) (cid:17)(cid:19)(cid:12)(cid:19) (cid:18)(cid:19) (cid:54)(cid:98)(cid:99)(cid:162)
(cid:3)(cid:13)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:13) (cid:10)(cid:13)(cid:1)(cid:5)(cid:13)(cid:11)(cid:13)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:7) (cid:12)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:6)(cid:4)
(cid:1)
(cid:3)(cid:2) (cid:77)(cid:100)(cid:78)(cid:162) (cid:138)(cid:162) (cid:39)(cid:162) (cid:73)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:3)(cid:4) (cid:119)(cid:162)(cid:11)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:14)(cid:19)(cid:15)(cid:19)(cid:90)(cid:109)(cid:79)(cid:162)
(cid:23)(cid:66)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:71)(cid:139)(cid:80)(cid:81)(cid:101)(cid:162) (cid:24)(cid:123)(cid:25)(cid:5)(cid:140)(cid:102)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:162) (cid:2)(cid:40)(cid:162) (cid:141)(cid:162) (cid:84)(cid:120)(cid:51)
(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:16)(cid:19) (cid:118)(cid:41)(cid:12)(cid:67)(cid:6)(cid:112)(cid:18)(cid:113)
(cid:17)(cid:6)(cid:19)(cid:15)(cid:19) (cid:5) (cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:10) (cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:10) (cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:4)
(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:3) (cid:142)(cid:52)(cid:162) (cid:143)(cid:58)(cid:162)
(cid:8)(cid:13) (cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:3) (cid:2)(cid:5) (cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:5) (cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:1)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:13)(cid:5)

(cid:55)(cid:162) (cid:62)(cid:144)(cid:162)(cid:7)(cid:18)(cid:19)

(cid:1)(cid:4)

(cid:85)(cid:162)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:162)(cid:145)(cid:162)(cid:116)(cid:162)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:16) (cid:35)(cid:26)(cid:146)(cid:162)(cid:46)(cid:162)(cid:147)(cid:162)(cid:68)(cid:162) (cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:27)(cid:162)(cid:128)(cid:14)(cid:28)(cid:162)(cid:148)(cid:162)(cid:149)(cid:162)
(cid:42)(cid:162)(cid:17) (cid:5)(cid:7) (cid:50)(cid:162) (cid:91)(cid:92)(cid:88)(cid:162)(cid:69)(cid:162)(cid:15)(cid:162)(cid:1)(cid:2) (cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:7) (cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:7) (cid:74)(cid:162)(cid:110)(cid:111)(cid:162)(cid:89)(cid:162)(cid:47)(cid:162)(cid:13)
(cid:59)(cid:162) (cid:150)(cid:162) (cid:121)(cid:53)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:10)(cid:3)(cid:12)(cid:7)(cid:13)
(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:4) (cid:1)(cid:6)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:6) (cid:14)(cid:9)(cid:19) (cid:151)(cid:56)(cid:162) (cid:152)(cid:162)
(cid:48) (cid:153)(cid:162)(cid:21) (cid:11)(cid:19)(cid:8)(cid:1)(cid:19)(cid:16)(cid:19)(cid:72)(cid:162) (cid:75)(cid:162)(cid:61)(cid:162) (cid:5) (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:162) (cid:29)(cid:34)
(cid:154)(cid:22)(cid:155)(cid:94)(cid:13)(cid:162) (cid:156)(cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:162) (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:13)(cid:19)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:4) (cid:3)
(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:8) (cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8) (cid:10)(cid:63)(cid:157)(cid:45)(cid:162)
(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5) (cid:19)(cid:60)(cid:117)(cid:162) (cid:1)
(cid:11)(cid:103)(cid:162)(cid:93)(cid:162)(cid:1)(cid:162) (cid:129)(cid:162)(cid:130)(cid:31)(cid:162)(cid:161)(cid:32)(cid:162)(cid:131)(cid:33)(cid:162)(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:5)
(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:162) (cid:122)(cid:162)(cid:43)(cid:49)(cid:30)(cid:162)(cid:158)(cid:162)(cid:159)(cid:162) (cid:160)(cid:162)Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a image
Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a image
Qaʃn̩ħeoħelə awo N̩ħeoħelə: A Grammar and a image

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