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ra
negative, no, not
To make a sentence negative, just put “ra” immediately after the verb. The “ra” does not change the form of the Verb, nor of the Case Phrases.
The parentheses around “Negative” mean that it is an optional element in the sentence.
“Ra” is a very useful word. In addition to making a sentence negative, “ra” can also be used as a prefix on other words to make them mean their opposites.
A nominal ra-compound, such as “rawith” (no-one), introduced here, is, by itself, adequate to make a sentence negative. Additional negatives may be used, at the speaker’s discretion, to emphasize the negativity.
The person is good (according to my perceptions).
The person is not good (I’m told).
No-one is good (I’m told).
You speak, I hear.
The creature doesn’t speak, obviously.
The bread is red (I hear from a trusted source).
The bread is not red (according to my perceptions).
The bread is not red (obviously—because it is present for the speaker and hearer to examine).
I work.
I don’t work.
We (few) work.
We (many) do not work.
bal
bread
dal
thing
dóon
to be correct
em
yes
lóolo
to be slow
ne
you (second person pronoun, singular)
née
to be alien
rahu
to be closed [ra– (NON) + u (be open]
rawith
no-one; nobody [ra– (NON) + with (person)]
wi
Evidence Word: known to the speaker because the matter is self-evident
Just as with “le,” along with “ne” (you, singular) come “nezh” (you, few-to-several: 2-5 of you) and “nen” (you, many: more than 5 of you).
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Bíi melóolo ra nezh wáa.
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6
7
Bíi ina hena wáa.
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13
The stone does not work.
14
The grass is not alive.
15
I make no statement.
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The pillows are not good.
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You are not red.
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The song is not beautiful.
In #13, it should be obvious that a stone does not work. Therefore, I have chosen to use “wi” as the Evidence Word.
The circumstances surrounding the utterance would have to be extremely unusual for the statement in #15 to rely upon hearsay (about myself); for that reason, I have translated this one with the Evidence Word “wa.”
In #15, did you have any trouble with the English construction “make a statement”? Bear in mind that “to state/declare” would take an Object; we haven’t seen how to form an Object in Láadan, so we use an English construction that means that without requiring an Object. The Láadan verb “dibíi” is translated as “to state; to declare;” however, used without an Object, the English translation would have to be “to make a statement/declaration.”
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We (many) are not tired.
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The creature isn’t alien.
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The door is not open, obviously.
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You (few) are not slow (I’m told).
5
The fish do not follow.
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The women are not menopausing (I’m told).
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The sibling is asleep (I’m told).
Bíi ina ra hena wáa.
The sibling is not asleep (I’m told).
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The parents are amazed.
The parents are not amazed.
9
We (few) are afraid.
We (few) are not afraid.
10
The circle is closed.
The circle is not closed.
11
The clothing is correct.
The clothing is not correct.
12
Bethany needleworks (obviously).
Bethany is not needleworking (obviously).
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15
16
17
18
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