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Lesson 21
Your Turn 3

Vocabulary

a

love of inanimates

More about this type of word in a future lesson

am

love for one related by blood

More about this type of word in a future lesson

bere… ébere

if… then

boó

three

More about this type of word in a future lesson

–di

Suffix (Type-of-Sentence word): said in teaching; didactically

éeya

sickness, illness

–háalish

Degree Marker: to an extraordinary degree; utmostly

loláad

to perceive, internally [lo– (INT) + láad (to perceive)]

lhith

to fret [lh– (PEJ) + lith (to think)] {JLP & EC}

lhitharil

to worry [lhith (fret) + aril (FUT)] {JLP & EC}

lhitheril

to regret [lhith (fret) + eril (PAST)] {JLP & EC}

náwí

to grow; growth [ná– (CONT) + wí (life)] {AB}

nede

one

More about this type of word in a future lesson

oth

to be important

rano

almost; nearly; not quite [ra– (NON) + no– (FINISH)] {AB}

rashe

torment [ra– (NON) + she (comfort)]

shama

grief for which there is external cause, but no-one to blame and no remedy

More about this type of word in a future lesson

shebasheb

to die [sheb (to change)]

shin

two

More about this type of word in a future lesson

wem

to lose

woho

all, every

More about this type of word in a future lesson

Along with lhith, lhitharil and lhitheril (above) came “litheril” (reminisce) [lith (think) + eril (PAST)] and “litharil” (anticipate) [lith (think) + aril (FUT)]. All five of these are from {JLP & EC}.

Along with “rashe” (torment) comes “she” (to comfort).

A note about the words “bere” and “ébere:” though an historical accident (occasioned by the fact that “r” is not linguistically a consonant in the same sense that “b” is), these two words were originally coined beginning with “br” which is an illegal consonant cluster. This was corrected by the second generation developing Láadan. Though we will not be using the obsolete forms, “bre” and “ébre,” you should recognize them if you should happen across them.

The new words “nede” (one), “shin” (two), “boó” (three) and “woho” (all; every) are all from a set of words to be presented more fully in a future lesson. For now, we just need to know that they are used postpositionally (that is, they follow the case phrase they modify).

English Text

The Boy and His Sick Sister

Once upon a time there was a boy. He had two sisters, and he loved tormenting them. Time passed, and he continued to torment them. They all three grew, but he didn’t stop tormenting them. And then one of his sisters became ill. She was very, very ill; she almost died. He worried. Time passed; he fretted. Time passed; finally, he regretted, and he realized something: he loved his sister, and he would be sorrowful in the extreme if he lost her.

Fear of loss may teach the importance of family.

My Translation into Láadan with Morphemic Analysis & Retranslation into English

The Boy and His Sick Sister

Háawithid i Wohéeya Wohena Betha

Háawithid

CHILD + Person = Child + MALE = Boy

i

And

Wohéeya

REL + Sickness

Wohena

REL + Sibling

Betha

X1 + POSSbirth

The Boy and His Sick Sister

Once upon a time there was a boy. He had two sisters, and he loved tormenting them. Time passed, and he continued to torment them. They all three grew, but he didn’t stop tormenting them. And then one of his sisters became ill. She was very, very ill; she almost died. He worried. Time passed; he fretted. Time passed; finally, he regretted, and he realized something: he loved his sister, and he would be sorrowful in the extreme if he lost her.

Bíide ham háawithid wo. Thi be henahizheth shin, i a rashe behid bezheth. Sháad hath, i nárashe behid bezheth. Menáwí bezh boó, izh nórashe ra be bezheth. Id nahéeya henahizh betha nede. Éeyaháalish be; shebasheb rano be. Lhitharil behid. Sháad hath, i lhith behid. Sháad hath; doól lhitheril behid; i naloláad behid beyeth: am be hena bethath, i rilrili loláad be shamaháalisheth bere wem be behizheth.

Bíide

DECL + NARR

ham

BePresent

háawithid

Boy

wo.

MADEUP

Thi

Have

be

X1

henahizheth

Sibling + FEM = Sister + OBJ

shin,

#2

i

And

a

LoveInanim

rashe

NON + Comfort = Torment

behid

He

bezheth.

X2-5 + OBJ

Sháad

hath,

ComeGo

Time

Time Passes

i

And

nárashe

CONT + Torment

behid

He

bezheth.

X2-5 + OBJ

Menáwí

PL + Grow

bezh

X2-5

boó,

#3

izh

But

nórashe

STOP + Torment

ra

NEG

be

X1

bezheth.

X2-5 + OBJ

Id

AndThen

nahéeya

BEGIN + Sickness

henahizh

Sister

betha

X1 + POSSbirth

nede.

#1

Éeyaháalish

Sickness + DEGExtraord

be;

X1

shebasheb

Death

rano

Almost

be.

X1

Lhitharil

PEJ + Think = Fret + FUT = Worry

behid.

He

Sháad

hath,

ComeGo

Time

Time Passes

i

And

lhith

PEJ + Think = Fret

behid.

He

Sháad

hath;

ComeGo

Time

Time Passes

doól

AtLast

lhitheril

Fret + PAST = Regret

behid;

He

i

And

naloláad

BEGIN + PerceiveInt

behid

He

beyeth:

Indef1 + OBJ

am

LoveBloodKin

be

X1

hena

Sibling

bethath,

X1 + POSSbirth + OBJ

i

And

rilrili

HYPOTH

loláad

PerceiveInt

be

X1

shamaháalisheth

Grief(Ext,–,–) + DEGextraord + OBJ

bere

If

wem

Lose

be

X1

behizheth.

She + OBJ

There is a boy. He has two siblings, and he loves (of inanimates) to torment them. Time passes, and he continues to torment them. They-three grow, but he does not stop tormenting them. And then one sister of his begins to be sick. She is extraordinarily sick; she almost dies. He worries. Time passes, and he frets. Time passes; finally he regrets; and he begins to perceive-internally something: he loves (for one related by blood) his sister, and he would feel extraordinary grief (external cause, no blame, no remedy) if he lost her.

Fear of loss may teach the importance of family.

Bíidi rilrili om héeya wemethu oth onidathuth wa.

Bíidi

DECL + DIDACT

rilrili

HYPOTH

om

Teach

héeya

BeAfraid

wemethu

Lose + PARTV

oth

BeImporant

onidathuth

Family + PARTV

wa.

MYPERC

[Didactic] Fear of loss may teach the importance of family, as I see it.

My Láadan Text

Háawithid i Wohéeya Wohena Betha

Bíide ham háawithid wo. Thi be henahizheth shin, i a rashe behid bezheth. Sháad hath, i nárashe behid bezheth. Menáwí bezh boó, izh nórashe ra be bezheth. Id nahéeya henahizh betha nede. Éeyaháalish be; shebasheb rano be. Lhitharil behid. Sháad hath, i lhith behid. Sháad hath; doól lhitheril behid; i naloláad behid beyeth: am be hena bethath, i rilrili loláad be shamaháalisheth bere wem be behizheth.

Bíidi rilrili om héeya wemethu oth onidathuth wa.

Comments

English has many, many tenses and modes; its narrative tradition is to put a story’s action in the past, invoking many of its tenses to adjust to this tense-shift. In comparison, Láadan’s set of tenses is fairly limited. This is not a problem, but it is convenient that Láadan’s narrative structure is set in the present with the “–de” suffix on the Type-of-Sentence word; story events that take place in the past are rendered in the past with “eril” or “eríli,” and those in the future with “aril” or “aríli.” Of course, those merely supposed or hypothesized get “rilrili.”

By the same token, the “moral” of the fable in this story is introduced using “Bíidi,” the didactic-inflected declarative Type-of-Sentence word. Clearly, the story is over, and the lesson begins.

The verb “sháad” (to go; to come) is used here as part of the idiom “sháad hath” (time passes). Physical movement involves cases not yet presented; please be patient.

The noun “a” (love, of inanimates) is presented in this lesson—and then promptly used as a verb. This is perfectly acceptable and is a mechanism common among human languages; in this case, “a” as a verb stands for the longer phrase “loláad SUBJ ath” (SUBJ feels love). The overriding reason it’s that way in this story is because the “loláad” structure takes as its Object the emotion felt (the one toward whom it is felt is presented in a Case we’ve not yet seen); using the emotion as the verb allows the one toward whom it is felt to be the Object.