User:Amoore96/sandbox

Hey I'm Anne and this is my sandbox.

Introduction/history
 * Called an “auxiliary neutral language”
 * Invented by Kenneth searight
 * Intended to be more neutral than other conlangs to be more inclusive
 * Thinks latin-based conlangs are lame
 * Looks at English and Chinese bc they’re two big langs
 * Chinese would be “grotesque” to use
 * English is basic
 * Take the word order of english and chinese and use other aspects of different languages to diversify it and improve upon it to make it more logical
 * Assimilate the method but not the regularities
 * “Teuto-Romantic languages having the aspect of a kind of debased latin sprinkled with wrongly spelt english and german”
 * Most other conlangs are inter-European, not interlanguages
 * “Esperanto - which has the largest following - is crude and uninspiring enough to raise a laugh
 * Other conlangs say they’re easy but involve a lot of extra crap they don’t need
 * 360 radicals and 15 particles (just less than chinese)
 * Means “auxiliary-neutral” - so (help, auxiliary) na (negative, neutral, neuter)
 * Consists of sounds that all races could pronounce
 * Simple, concise radicals

How it's supposed to be learned

Alphabet

The alphabet letters are "named" by adding the vowel y. For the vowels, the y is initial such as ya, ye, yi, yo, yu, y, and for the aspirates and consonants cy, gy, ky, etc. The y is useful for separating two like vowels in a word and for separating an -n radical from a vowel. For instance, ta-ata becomes tayata and ta-o becomes tayo.

I and U are normally shortened before a vowel.

N is the only consonant that is final allowed.

Phonetics/phonology

There are no diphthongs in this language.

There are 180 disyllables.

Remaining 5 are the particles au, ua, ue, ui, uo, which are monosyllables?

Three vowels a, i, and u are radical prefixes.

Each of the 12 consonants has 5 groups, which gives us 300 radicals. The 6 aspirates, c, j, x, f, v, and h, have only the -n form, which gives us the remaining 60.

"A radical is a symbol of an idea or group of ideas" - paraphrase this

Sona doesn't use a formal suffix for possession, but can add -si, which is the equivalent of an English "-'s" (find this!!!)

The epithet is always placed before its head word.

An isolated radical can also be a word.

Aspirates: H is aspirated, X is pronounced like sh, J may be sounded as in dj or french zh, and C is pronounced like "ch"

Consonants: G is always a hard g (like the G in Gary as opposed to the G in Gym), Z is pronounced like the z in zeal but can vary to dz or ts, s is always sharp, so it never sunds like z, and all other consonants are sounded as in English. Sona has no double consonants or digraphs.

Elision: when a radical with a vowel prefix is followed by its own primary or -n form, the common vowel is dropped. For example, ata-ta becomes atta.

For foreign sounds and words, Sona uses the phonetic symbol for that word and writes it with a capital letter. Sona is the only word in Sona spelled with a capital letter. For technical and scientific terms, such as Greek and Latin words Sona leaves them as is, occasionally changing an initial C to K to match the sounds, Carnival = Karnival.These words are spelled in accordance with the language of origin, and last names are not altered.

Stress: The tonic accent is evenly distributed.

Punctuation is not a necessary part of the language since there are prefixes and suffixes for questions and emphasis, but in Sona it is up to a person's preference whether or not they would like to use punctuation.

Nouns: the definite article is en, meaning "it," and is only used for emphasis. For instance, ra stands for man, but en ra = the (very) man. There is no indefinite article in Sona. It does, however, borrow an Honorific from Japanese. O is used before names, words of address, and verbs as an expression of politeness. For instance, O ra means "honorable man." It can also mean "please."

Names: the radical "ha," meaning "name," converts another radical into a name that addresses a person. For instance, hara (name and man) signifies Mr. Monsieur, Signor, Herr, Sir, etc. Inanimate objects have no gender. Sex is marked by ra, meaning male or man, and zan, meaning female or woman.


 * Agent
 * As a suffix the same radicals distinguish the male and female agent
 * Relationship is marked by these radicals with -nin (child of)
 * Agent whose sex is not specified is expressed by -ci (who, which) and -ji (person, who is)
 * Page 35 for relationships
 * Page 35 for relationships

Syntax
 * Neuter nouns
 * Neuter nouns may simply be rendered by a radical
 * There are occasions when a distinguishing affix is required to mark a noun from a verbal radical
 * -na neuter, thing; inorganic
 * -ga- neuter, thing; organic
 * As pf the second radical implies physical/of the body (gase - eye)
 * Instrument
 * Nouns denoting instruments, utensils, gadgets: -bi
 * Place
 * -a fixed place
 * -ma locality
 * -ca area, rectangle, sheet, square
 * -kan house, building
 * A noun of place in -a cannot be further suffixed by another radical with initial consonant without inserting -ci- between them, eg pia-piga = piacipiga
 * Names of countries formed by suffixing -ia, continents remain unchanged
 * Abstract nouns
 * -ri Time
 * -ne from
 * -da Do
 * -vi Quality
 * -cine the theory of
 * -cida the practice of a trade, profession
 * -civi the art of, science of, etc
 * Degree
 * -ta- augment
 * -ko- diminutive
 * -xa approbation
 * -ze disapprobation
 * Number
 * Number is not always distinguished
 * Plural number is never marked after a numeral or the radical e (many), or when a noun stands as predicate to a plural pronoun (as pf means quantity
 * Collective
 * A collective noun is formed with gi
 * Compound nouns
 * All nouns formed by more than one radical are actually compounds
 * No limit to the building up of compounds
 * Governing radical is first (ice-breaker)
 * Adjective is frequently compounded with the noun it qualifies or a possessive with the possessed
 * Can compound two nouns (parauma = father and mother) or two adverbs
 * Adjectives
 * One noun placed before another qualifies or defines it (a big house)
 * True adjective is formed with the suffix -(y) o
 * In predicate form when the radical sense is adjectival o is omitted - ra aka(the man is tall) in raye ta (these men are big)
 * Comparison of adjectives
 * Implicit comparison -“Ne”
 * In ne un aka (this is higher than that) (in this, ne than, un that, aka high)
 * Explicit comparison - e- as pf to the adjective (comparative) and en (the) before the comparative (superlative)
 * Eta more, en eta most
 * Colors
 * Ro
 * Naro (black) jero (grey)
 * Use of adjectival -(y) o is optional
 * Pronouns on page 47
 * Pronouns
 * Si is reflexive and may refer to any person or number
 * On abu si para (he loves his (own) father)
 * Pronouns precede and follow a verb according as they are subjective or objective
 * Mi sa ti (I know them)
 * Tu sa an (you know her)
 * Direct and indirect objective pronouns follow the verb like this:
 * Xo en mi (show it to me)
 * Sona does not use personal pronouns so frequently as european languages
 * Ke dai (what doing) instead of “what are you doing”
 * Relative pronoun is ci (which), can refer to person, thing, place, time, manner, kind, and quantity
 * Ra ci (the man who)
 * Ri ci (the time which)
 * E ci (as many as)
 * Ciji (someone)
 * The Particle
 * In (this here), the latter
 * Un (yonder), the former
 * Mark an action or state towards or away from the sense of the radical to which they are joined
 * From no “carry” we get inno (bring here) unno (take away)
 * From ru “go” we get inru (come) unru (go away)
 * Interrogative
 * -ke- what?
 * Keji who?
 * Kena what?
 * Keri when?
 * Negative
 * na-, non-
 * Naci (nothing)
 * Interjection
 * Exclamations, vocatives, and imperatives may be formed by -ha “name”
 * Common phrases on 52
 * Emphasis
 * -ua (for, as for, in order to)
 * -ui (affirmation, approval, assent, encouragement)
 * -ue (obligation, ought, should, it behoves)
 * -uo (obligation, must, it is necessary)
 * Direction
 * Li (to, towards)
 * As prefix it signifies “to” (dative)
 * As suffix it means “towards”
 * Prepositions
 * Po (cover)- on, by, at, in, for
 * Po xi diri (for six days)
 * Po ke (at what price, how much)
 * List of prepositions on 55
 * Case
 * 12 cases, page 61:
 * Nominative (n before v)
 * Vocative (-ha)
 * Accusative (n after v)
 * Directive (-li)
 * Motive (dili)
 * Dative (li)
 * Locative (a-)
 * Ablative (ne)
 * Instrumental (bi)
 * Genitive (vi)
 * Partitive (di)
 * Possessive (n before n)
 * Adverb
 * Can be formed by a radical or radicals alone
 * -(y)u (manner)
 * Bi (means)
 * Po (general)
 * A- (rest)
 * -li (motion)
 * -i (gerund)
 * -ua (emphatic)
 * -ui (affirmative)
 * Verb
 * About 90 radicals are intrinsically verbal
 * Nearly every radical can be verbalised by da
 * Most languages make a formal difference between transitive and intransitive so Sona is in the middle
 * -ka- pf. Cause; sf. Bring about (tv)
 * -ba sf strike (forceful tv)
 * -ru Go, get (iv) (also used to express motion as a pf)
 * Pronouns/prepositions with a verb
 * Chart on 64
 * Defective verbs
 * 2 verbal radicals are defective
 * Da (todo) has no separate form for the infinitive general
 * Not used to form the Infinitive General of a verb in -zi
 * Zi can be omitted in the present tense when the context admits of no ambiguity
 * On Arabi (he (is) an Arab)
 * On inya (he (is) here)
 * Zi may also form a verb from an adjective
 * Atozi (to be old)
 * Zi at the head of a clause means “there is/are”
 * Other verb forms
 * Impersonal formed in 3 ways
 * En mina (it is mine)
 * Si sa (one knows)
 * Hu isu (it is cold)
 * Reflexive and reciprocative
 * Si (self)
 * Isi (one another)
 * Sasi (know oneself)
 * Saisi (know one another)
 * Sahasi (know thyself!)
 * Potential and passive
 * Formed by -ni- (suffer, patient, able)
 * As pf indicates the potential (able, can)
 * Niru (be able to go)
 * As suffix forms the passive
 * Runi (be moved)
 * Verb chart on 67
 * Extreme conciseness of the language must have a paramount influence upon the structure of the sentence and requires clear and deliberate pronunciation