What's in a Word part 2
BASIC RULES
Rule #1: Ama is a drop-friendly language. If something is (read: "should be") obvious in context, it is left unsaid.
a) This can be pushed further to say that Ama is a drop-must language. See #3.Rule #2: There is no difference between "formal" or "informal" Ama.
Rule #3: There is a difference between "polite" and "impolite."
a) The more specific you are, the more impolite you are thought to be. This is the equivalent of being condescending. In English, you would speak slowly and precisely, in Ama you add in "unnecessary" specification to make your point as clear as possible, thus implying that your audience is stupid.
b) If you're not sure if your point will get across, don't worry. It's fine to ask someone to clarify--maybe a little embarrassing, in some situations, but considered significantly less rude.
Sentence structure
Ama could be said to be an SOV, and it does often try to be, but the truth is that because of the drops structure is often forgotten entirely. In the end, so long as you're understood, no one really cares. There are multiple ways to say just about anything, but there are a few rules that are observed:
1) Quantifiers come after the noun that they modify.
Cow (number)/many/few/more than/less than
kulo ie --- kulo sukeo tayi
2) Adjectives come after the noun that they modify, when not the subject of a sentence.
* technically, a "is" or "was" comes between this. Most of the time, it's left out, unless the sentence is negative, in which the is becomes "is not" and is stated.
Pretty [is] girl. pekina [ek] meimei
The dog is not crazy. etakanoe kankui koeinbu. (lit. the dog crazy is not)
Conjugations (verbs, adverbs, & adjectives)
NEW "to be" STANDARD: (used by the younger generation -- There IS an older version which conjugates more like the French "etre," but it has rabidly been falling out of use. This one follows the participle standards set below.)
TO BE- Kue (be)
Present Participle: koema (being)
Past Participle: takue (been)
PRESENT PARTICPLE
-ma - suffix added to mean that the action is in the process of being done. For verbs ending in consonants, you drop the consonant in favour of "ma." English Equivalent: "-ly" "-ing"
loma (doing)
PAST TENSE/PARTICIPLE
Ta / T' - added to a verb to make it past tense. When the verb begins with a vowel, you drop the "a" and add "t'." English Equivalent: "-ed"
When added to some verbs, it can represent "have."
tabani (looked)
t'iwatira (ran)NEGATIVE
bu - prefixed to a verb or adjective to make it negative. Equivalent "is not." Often negates use of "to be" or "to do" verbs.
PARTICLES
ka - placed at the end of a sentence to turn it into a question
wa - placed at the end of a sentence to make it a yes/no question. Can also be seen as demanding an answer.
i.e., and order with a "wa" at the end is NOT a question, but a statement of authority. The proper answer to which would be "I understand," "I will do," or a simple "yes."
yano - emphasis at the end of a sentence
o - placed between an adjective and verb, marking that they connect; also in place of "because" or to connect a clause to a sentence.
CONJUNCTIONS
e - serves as "and," to connect one or more objects. Unlike in English, it is NOT used to connect sentence "fragments." (see next example for what this particle does NOT do.)
ah - "and," but is only used to connect verbs for what would be sentence "fragments" in English. (I.E. Sara looked at the cow, and then she laughed. -- Sara ka etakulo io tabani ah tayaisauyi)
mi - "or"
vami - "either" (would come after an "or" group)
en - functions loosely as "of" and comes after the noun, before the possessor. is used to state that an object belongs to someone, and is also used for insubstantial objects such as "jobs." Either way, it has a distinct property of belonging, so that in certain situations a simple "en" without subject or object can convey the fact that the subject in question is owned. "Belonging to/with"
ie:
Sara's cow = kuloosu en sara
Sara has more cows = kuloosu sakeo en sara
your duty = [eta]maminosu en [te]
that is mine = ut[osu] en [ke] OR en ke OR en (depending on context)
ga - "for," as in "for the reason of" or "A is used by/appropriate for B"
yi - "then" the next thing or phrase comes after. Past tense is "than," which is used negative comparisons
tabiu - "like," comparison of objects
o - "because," or to connect a clause to a sentence.
All of the above is important, but the crux of the Ama language lies in it's marker system for nouns:
MARKERS (nouns & pronouns)
Order: [Tense][Location][Nomative/Accusative] ROOT [Dative/Possessive/Comitative]
Examples:
"with a cow" = kiskulo
"with the cow" = kisetakulo
"we went with the cow" = tukukisetakulo
"with Samati's cow" = kiskuloosu en Samati
"with that cow of Samati's" = kisetakuloosu en samati
PREPOSITIONAL
NOMATIVE
Et(a) - indicates that the noun is a specific [person, place, thing]. The "a" is added to nouns beginning in a consonant. This is not used for the names of specific people.
TENSE
PAST
Ta - Added to a location case in order to make it past tense, in the case of an action verb not being present) When the verb begins with a vowel, you drop the "a" and add "t'"
This case is only used in very specific cases, usually time related.
i.e.
tavorin ([a]past night)
t'amare ([a]past day) LOCATION
Fu - "at," "in" or "by"
Ku - "to go," "have gone," "went" (past tense adds "ta" before "ku")
Pu - to move "across," or "through."
Tu - to move "along" or "beside."
Wu - to be "next to" or "beside." (note: this one is stationary, not active.)
Inii- to move/be under
Ezuu - to move/be over
Yazi - to move/be near
Ziina - to move/be between
Tivie - to move/be away COMITATIVE
Kis - detonate companionship. i.e., "with a friend" or "with the dog."
POST-POSITIONAL
POSSESSIVE
osu - Object belongs to the subject. Also to note possession of an indirect object.
NOTE: Unlike the English apostrophe+"s", this is NEVER attached to a Person/Animal's name, only the object, unless the person/animal IS the thing being possessed.
e.g., "This is mary's basket" becomes "etaziguameosu et Mary."
Q: "Whose basket is this?" A: "Mary."
Q: "etaziguameosu ka?" A: "Mary."
Q: "This collar is for a...?" A: "Dog"
A: "etahavorusa made ek ga ka" A: "Kanoe"
DATIVE
am - something is being given to the noun, be it an object or a concept (said to, gave the dog to, etc.)
AVERSIVE *
uutino - added to something to show that whatever verb which modifies it was done out of fear. Can also be added to a noun to say that the speaker fears it.
This case is somewhat outdated and moving out of style
TRANSLATIVE
isi - used to indicate that the state of the noun is or has changed. Can also reference "considering it's a [status]"
Still not 100% complete, but It's moving there. IDK if what I'm doing is linguistically "legal," but I figure if there can be a language that has no numeric or colour system, then this can work too. XD
Rule #1: Ama is a drop-friendly language. If something is (read: "should be") obvious in context, it is left unsaid.
a) This can be pushed further to say that Ama is a drop-must language. See #3.Rule #2: There is no difference between "formal" or "informal" Ama.
Rule #3: There is a difference between "polite" and "impolite."
a) The more specific you are, the more impolite you are thought to be. This is the equivalent of being condescending. In English, you would speak slowly and precisely, in Ama you add in "unnecessary" specification to make your point as clear as possible, thus implying that your audience is stupid.
b) If you're not sure if your point will get across, don't worry. It's fine to ask someone to clarify--maybe a little embarrassing, in some situations, but considered significantly less rude.
Sentence structure
Ama could be said to be an SOV, and it does often try to be, but the truth is that because of the drops structure is often forgotten entirely. In the end, so long as you're understood, no one really cares. There are multiple ways to say just about anything, but there are a few rules that are observed:
1) Quantifiers come after the noun that they modify.
Cow (number)/many/few/more than/less than
kulo ie --- kulo sukeo tayi
2) Adjectives come after the noun that they modify, when not the subject of a sentence.
* technically, a "is" or "was" comes between this. Most of the time, it's left out, unless the sentence is negative, in which the is becomes "is not" and is stated.
Pretty [is] girl. pekina [ek] meimei
The dog is not crazy. etakanoe kankui koeinbu. (lit. the dog crazy is not)
Conjugations (verbs, adverbs, & adjectives)
NEW "to be" STANDARD: (used by the younger generation -- There IS an older version which conjugates more like the French "etre," but it has rabidly been falling out of use. This one follows the participle standards set below.)
TO BE- Kue (be)
Present Participle: koema (being)
Past Participle: takue (been)
PRESENT PARTICPLE
-ma - suffix added to mean that the action is in the process of being done. For verbs ending in consonants, you drop the consonant in favour of "ma." English Equivalent: "-ly" "-ing"
loma (doing)
PAST TENSE/PARTICIPLE
Ta / T' - added to a verb to make it past tense. When the verb begins with a vowel, you drop the "a" and add "t'." English Equivalent: "-ed"
When added to some verbs, it can represent "have."
tabani (looked)
t'iwatira (ran)NEGATIVE
bu - prefixed to a verb or adjective to make it negative. Equivalent "is not." Often negates use of "to be" or "to do" verbs.
PARTICLES
ka - placed at the end of a sentence to turn it into a question
wa - placed at the end of a sentence to make it a yes/no question. Can also be seen as demanding an answer.
i.e., and order with a "wa" at the end is NOT a question, but a statement of authority. The proper answer to which would be "I understand," "I will do," or a simple "yes."
yano - emphasis at the end of a sentence
o - placed between an adjective and verb, marking that they connect; also in place of "because" or to connect a clause to a sentence.
CONJUNCTIONS
e - serves as "and," to connect one or more objects. Unlike in English, it is NOT used to connect sentence "fragments." (see next example for what this particle does NOT do.)
ah - "and," but is only used to connect verbs for what would be sentence "fragments" in English. (I.E. Sara looked at the cow, and then she laughed. -- Sara ka etakulo io tabani ah tayaisauyi)
mi - "or"
vami - "either" (would come after an "or" group)
en - functions loosely as "of" and comes after the noun, before the possessor. is used to state that an object belongs to someone, and is also used for insubstantial objects such as "jobs." Either way, it has a distinct property of belonging, so that in certain situations a simple "en" without subject or object can convey the fact that the subject in question is owned. "Belonging to/with"
ie:
Sara's cow = kuloosu en sara
Sara has more cows = kuloosu sakeo en sara
your duty = [eta]maminosu en [te]
that is mine = ut[osu] en [ke] OR en ke OR en (depending on context)
ga - "for," as in "for the reason of" or "A is used by/appropriate for B"
yi - "then" the next thing or phrase comes after. Past tense is "than," which is used negative comparisons
tabiu - "like," comparison of objects
o - "because," or to connect a clause to a sentence.
All of the above is important, but the crux of the Ama language lies in it's marker system for nouns:
MARKERS (nouns & pronouns)
Order: [Tense][Location][Nomative/Accusative] ROOT [Dative/Possessive/Comitative]
Examples:
"with a cow" = kiskulo
"with the cow" = kisetakulo
"we went with the cow" = tukukisetakulo
"with Samati's cow" = kiskuloosu en Samati
"with that cow of Samati's" = kisetakuloosu en samati
PREPOSITIONAL
NOMATIVE
Et(a) - indicates that the noun is a specific [person, place, thing]. The "a" is added to nouns beginning in a consonant. This is not used for the names of specific people.
TENSE
PAST
Ta - Added to a location case in order to make it past tense, in the case of an action verb not being present) When the verb begins with a vowel, you drop the "a" and add "t'"
This case is only used in very specific cases, usually time related.
i.e.
tavorin ([a]past night)
t'amare ([a]past day) LOCATION
Fu - "at," "in" or "by"
Ku - "to go," "have gone," "went" (past tense adds "ta" before "ku")
Pu - to move "across," or "through."
Tu - to move "along" or "beside."
Wu - to be "next to" or "beside." (note: this one is stationary, not active.)
Inii- to move/be under
Ezuu - to move/be over
Yazi - to move/be near
Ziina - to move/be between
Tivie - to move/be away COMITATIVE
Kis - detonate companionship. i.e., "with a friend" or "with the dog."
POST-POSITIONAL
POSSESSIVE
osu - Object belongs to the subject. Also to note possession of an indirect object.
NOTE: Unlike the English apostrophe+"s", this is NEVER attached to a Person/Animal's name, only the object, unless the person/animal IS the thing being possessed.
e.g., "This is mary's basket" becomes "etaziguameosu et Mary."
Q: "Whose basket is this?" A: "Mary."
Q: "etaziguameosu ka?" A: "Mary."
Q: "This collar is for a...?" A: "Dog"
A: "etahavorusa made ek ga ka" A: "Kanoe"
DATIVE
am - something is being given to the noun, be it an object or a concept (said to, gave the dog to, etc.)
AVERSIVE *
uutino - added to something to show that whatever verb which modifies it was done out of fear. Can also be added to a noun to say that the speaker fears it.
This case is somewhat outdated and moving out of style
TRANSLATIVE
isi - used to indicate that the state of the noun is or has changed. Can also reference "considering it's a [status]"
Still not 100% complete, but It's moving there. IDK if what I'm doing is linguistically "legal," but I figure if there can be a language that has no numeric or colour system, then this can work too. XD