Lesson 1: The Basics
Chapter One - About the Language
So, what exactly is Jästugā? Well, aside from whatever other uses it may have, Jästugā is a language. By definition, then, it is a method of communication. You can use it to talk to people, tell stories, et cetera. However, since so few people know it, you can also use it to amaze and confuse your friends (unless, of course, your friends know it too).
Literally translated, Jästugā means one who speaks the Language. However, it can also be used to refer to the language itself (the English speak English; the French, French, and so on). In general, this is how to properly phrase the word so that it means what you want: If you are talking about the Language, say pə Jästugā (the Language), if you are talking about a person who speaks it, say pə tuād Jästugā (the Language person), and if you are talking about Language-speaking people in general, say pə Jästugāl.
As one of the Jästugāl, you will probably come across situations in which you want to say something, but the proper word does not yet exist. That's okay! Jästugā is a young language, and as one of its speakers, you have the right and responsibility to help it grow. However, there are some guidelines that you must follow when making new words...
- Do not "make up" words.
Let me say that again, because it's important. Don't just make stuff up. Jästugā is evolved, not created. Every word should be a derivative or a combination of other words. And keeping track of etymology is important, so write that stuff down. - Try to avoid large "compound" words.
Don't just stick two words together and call it a new word. If it is hard to say, then people won't say it. And that's bad. So try to simplify words. Having said that, there is such a thing as oversimplifying, so don't overdo it. - Use it!
There's no point in having a new word if it's not used. So start using it, and introduce it to the world! - Keep track of it!
Write down the word, its etymological origins, and its meaning, just like you see in this dictionary. Keep a database. When your database gets large (say, 25 words), send it to me! Some of those words might find their way into the Official Dictionary!
There are some situations in which it might be necessary to adapt words from other languages into Jästugā. Try to keep this to a minimum. However, should the occasion arise, be sure to keep in mind the limited number of syllables at your disposal. Most consonants can't be placed without a vowel afterward, and not all consonants and vowels exist. Æ and æn are exclusively feminine. Don't create it if one can't write it!
So, there you have it. Jästugā is a language, spoken by the Jästugāl, to be used for communication and other awesome things. It will evolve over time, and it is possible to convert words from other languages into Jästugā words (but please don't if you don't have to). Now, time to learn some Language!
Chapter 2 - Your first words
Probably the most important word you should know is dot (long "o"), meaning is defined as (or, if you prefer, "is described as"). It's the Jästugā equivilent of "is". It can be used to tell names ("She is defined as Tæn") or give descriptions ("Tæn is defined as intelligent"). Keep in mind, however, that when you use dot, you are helping to define someone or something, so don't use it for temporary conditions. For that, we use the word dohī, meaning "is had by". It is used to describe things in one's possession ("A book is had by her"), or temporary conditions ("Sleepiness was had by him"). Note that dot is followed by adjectives or adjective phrases while dohī is preceded by noun phrases.
Look at that! You've already learned two new words! Unfortunately, both of them are verbs, so you'll have a tough (impossible) time trying to form a sentence that way. So, without further delay, let's learn some pronouns! Pronouns are easy: they always represent nouns, and never need articles. There are three main pronouns in Jästugā: zī (first person), əwād (second person), and ʒod (third person). In English, their corresponding words are "I", "you", and "it". These can be pluralized to create equivilants of "we", "y'all", and "they". If you're talking about people, you'll probably want to use su (masculine 3rd person, "he") and æ (feminine 3rd person, "she") as well; these can also be pluralized. Pronouns are the same whether they're in the subject or the object, so "I" doesn't become "me", or anything like that. Not too difficult, huh?
So, now that you know some words, let's learn some grammar. Verbs are, by default, conjugated in the present passive tense. That means that the object recieving the action comes first and that the person performing the action comes last. You always have to have either a subject or an object, but you don't need both. Having said that, some sentences won't make a lot of sense if you don't have both the subject and the object (example: "æ dot"), so it's always better to be specific.
It's hard to be specific without knowing any words, however, so here are some N/A's. Nouns and adjectives are the same in Jästugā, except for one tiny difference: Nouns are preceded by articles (think: "the", "a"). Adjectives usually come after nouns, or are put all on their lonesome
So, your first new N/A: tuād. You might recognize it from the first chapter. Tuād has two meanings — it can refer to a person ("æ dot pā tuād", she is a person), or to one's body. You can use tuād to describe people (think: "she is defined as a happy person"), although this is optional ("she is defined as happy" works just as well).
Review so far: With pronouns and dot, you can introduce people, and with dohī you can describe temporary conditions (although you haven't learned any of those, yet). Sentence structure goes in the order of object, verb, subject; and adjectives come after nouns. None too shabby!
Chapter 3 - Describing oneself
You've already learned how to introduce yourself, but what if you want to give more information than that? By using only dot and dohī, one can provide a large amount of information about themselves. Let's start with one of the most basic questions one can ask: "How are you?" This leads us to our first dilemma: How do you ask questions in Jästugā? The key component of questions is the interrogative pronoun, fot. By default, fot means what, but it can be combined with prepositions to change its meaning. "At what" becomes "where", "for what" becomes "why", "at what time" becomes "when", and "by what" becomes how. While fot is a pronoun, "fot+preposition" is an adverb, and thus must be placed at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end and seperated by a comma.
So, to return to the original question, how does one say "How are you?"? When we ask this question, we are asking about a temporary condition ("How are you today?" or "How are you right now?" Because of this, we know that we will be using dohī, not dot. Now, when we ask a question with dohī, what we are actually asking is What is had by you? Since this could be interpreted as either "How are you?" or "What do you have?", more clarification is necessary. We do this by inserting one of two words: hofäsē if one is asking about physical feeling, or ʒāo if one is talking about emotional state. So, how do we combine this all into one sentece? Well, let's start with the subject. Since ʒāo is being used as a noun in this case, we will need an article. But which one? Since we don't know what one's emotional state is, we have to use the indefinite article, pā. We are using fot as an adjective in this case (it describes ʒāo), and whenever we use a pronoun as an adjective, it comes before the noun, separated by a preposition (in this case: āʒo). Then, to close off the noun phrase, we add ʒāo. So, the completed object for this sentence is "pā fot āʒo ʒāo". Add the verb, dohī, and the subject əwād, and the sentence is complete: "pā fot āʒo ʒāo dohī əwād?" (Literally: An emotion of what is had by you?).
Now, when it comes to answering that question, things get much easier. The object is "I", or zī; and the verb, again, is dohī. When it comes to the subject, you can pick any noun that describes your current state. (Remember: Since we are using dohī, you need an article, which in this case will almost always be pā.)
Some common nouns to use:
- dāzēt - Hunger
- odāso - Thirst
- dotäsvā - Exhaustion
- ʒud - Acceptibility (Used to say that something is "fine" or "OK")
Feel free to use any other N/A's that you find in the Official Dictionary, as well. Also, by attaching fil' to the beginning of the verb (fil'dohī), you can reverse its meaning (e.g., to say "Hunger is not had by me").
Chapter 4 - Sentences, In Depth
As I'm sure the last chapter showed you, there's a lot that goes into making a sentence in Jästugā. This chapter should break things down for you so that things are easier to understand. Let's go over the basic parts of speech, first:
THE VERB:
The verb defined an action. Verbs are, by default in the passive voice; that is, they show to what an action happens before they show what performed the action.
THE OBJECT AND SUBJECT:
The object tells what received an action, while the subject tells what performed the action. Every sentence must have either a subject or an object.
NOUN PHRASES:
The noun phrase defined a noun. There are two basic elements of a noun phrase: the article, and the noun. Adjective phrases can also be used to further describe a noun.
The article both defines the noun and describes it, as definite, indefinite, or proper. Articles are required for noun phrases.
The noun is the "subject" of a noun phrase; it states that which is being defined. Nouns can be any noun/adjective or any name. Nouns are required for noun phrases.
The adjective phrase helps to describe the noun. It is an alternative to using an adjective after the noun, and is the only way to show possession. For more information, see the section on adjective phrases.
The proper structure of the noun phrase is as follows:
Article, adjective phrase, noun
The noun phrase can be followed by a verb, some form of punctuation, or a solitary adjective. It can also be replaced with a pronoun.
ADJECTIVES:
The adjective is used to further describe a noun. The adjective is any noun/adjective without an article. Names and pronouns cannot be solitary adjectives. The adjective must be preceded by a noun phrase or another adjective (outside of an adjective phrase).
ADJECTIVE PHRASES:
The adjective phrase can be used inside of the noun phrase to describe a noun. It is preceded by an article, and followed by a noun. The adjective phrase has two parts: the adjective and the preposition.
The adjective describes the noun and can be any noun/adjective. The adjective can also be replaced with a name or a pronound in an adjective phrase, and thus is the only way to show possession by a proper noun.
The preposition is used to define the relationship between the adjective and the noun.
The proper structure of the adjective phrase is as follows:
Adjective, preposition
ADVERB PHRASES:
An adverb phrase describes an action. It is comprised of a noun phrase and a preposition.
The noun phrase is used to describe the manner in which the action takes place, by drawing a correlation to a trait that is characteristic of the action.
The preposition defined the correlation between the verb and the noun phrase.
The proper structure of the adverb phrase is as follows:
Noun phrase, preposition
Adverb phrases describing an action can be placed either at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end. If the phrase is placed at the end, it must be separated by a comma.
Adverb phrases may also be used to describe adjectives, in which case they are placed before the adjectives.
Hopefully that cleared some things up. Right now, just focus on noun and adjective phrases; we'll deal more with adverbs later. There are also variations on this sentence structure, such as active voice, but, again, that's more advanced than we need at the moment.
|
To the extent possible under law, ⸺ has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work. This work is published from: United States . |