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Vocabulary

As we discussed in the previous lesson, once the Type-of-Sentence Word is established, it need not be repeated in connected sentences. Another factor enters the situation now that we have more than one type of Type-of-Sentence Word. When the Type-of-Sentence Word changes (“statement” to “question” or vice-versa), the new one must be given. Where the Type-of-Sentence Word does not change from sentence to sentence, it may be omitted after the first sentence.

Note that the third person pronouns are not gender-marked. This means that they do not carry the meaning of “he” or “she;” neither are they the neuter “it,” (marked as neither male nor female). Because this lack of gender can be difficult to render in English, we sometimes resort to “X” to translate the problematic pronoun; more often, we supply a gender based on context.

As in the case of “with” (person) you can specify that a given pronoun refers to a male by use of the suffix “–id” (male); thus “behid” (remember the “h” to separate the vowels) would mean “he”—explicitly male.

Yes/No Questions

[Verb (Neg) CP–S]

You’ll notice that the sentence word-order is exactly the same for asking a question as for making a statement. The main difference is that instead of starting the sentence with “Bíi,” you begin with “Báa,” the interrogative Type-of-Sentence Word. The other difference is that, when you ask a question, rather than providing information, you are asking for some. Therefore, you won’t use an Evidence Word at the end of a question.

Examples

“Báa tháa ne?” is also the standard question “How are you?”

Exercises

Translate the following into English

Transform the following into questions; translate into English before and after.

Translate the following into Láadan

In #16, you might be tempted to use the verb “balin” (old, of animates). The pillow in #16 doesn’t qualify (unless it’s an antique—a state not declared for it in this sentence). Instead, we need to use “rabun” (old, of inanimates) [ra– (non–) + bun (new, of inanimates)]. This means “old”—but a very different “old” than “balin.” “Balin” refers to people or animals that have lived a long time. “Rabun” refers instead to objects or things that are no longer new—with the implication that they may be worn out or outmoded. English uses the same word “old” for both concepts. The words we use tend to channel the things we think; so, having only the one word, it becomes more difficult to distinguish the two concepts. This leads to much suffering by our elders as well as much squandering of the skills and wisdom they have accrued over their long lives—which might otherwise benefit us all.

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