Metin/Lesson 2

Posession of nouns
Posession of Metin nouns is far more complicaatedthen in English and social considerations must be made

The most common way to show posession is using a "fi" noun. These nouns always start with a form of "fi", but their endings vary depending on who owns them. Fi nouns are nouns defined by a relationship, for example, family, like "fim-amui" (someone's mother) or "fitïb-amui" (someone's friend)

Fi vocabulary

fim-amui: someone'smother

fiba-abui: someone's father

fitl-amui: someone's brother

fidzr-amui: someon'es sister

fitïb-amui: someone's friend

fiz-amui: someone's son

fibh-amui: someone's daughter

filim-amui: someone's spouse

fiyuut-amui: a stranger to someone

Suffixes used for these nouns include

-u: my

-o: your

-en: his/her

-a: his/her obviative (different subject than previously referred to,)

-i: his/her proximative (used in the same way as -a, but implies new subject is closer than originial)

-amui: someon's

so fitïbu would ean "my friend", fitïbo would mean "your friend", and fitïben would mean "his/her friend"

Other vocabulary

suimu-who

vï: and, what about?

çe: oh

suiye: this person

suiya: that person

suiyu: that person (out of sight)

Usage of obviative
T: dzrii, Kiama!

K: dzrii, Tesor.

T: dhaa suiye suimu?

K: bao fitïbu Srayoq

T: vï suiya, bao suimu?

K: bao fiyuutu Gaçe

T: vï suime?

K: çe, bao fibha, bumu, fibhi

T: Hello, Kiama!

K: Hello, Tesor.

T: Who's This?

K: My friend Srayiq

T: What about that person, who are they?

K: That's Gaçe. I don't know them. (fiyuutu means literally "a stranger to me")

T: And that kid?

K: oh, that's Gaçe's daughter, no, that's Srayoq's daughter

Both fibhi and fibha mean "his/her daughter". However fibha refers to the distant person (Gaçe), while fibhi refers to the nearby person (Srayoq)

Notice how bumu (isn't) is also used to mean "no" when used in the same way. Bao can be used in the same way, meaning "yes.

Intransitive verbs
The simplest kind of verb in Metin is an intransitive verb with no indirect object, or a self acting one. Verbs like these include to sleep, to stand, and to grow. They have only 6 required parts for their construction.

examples of  self acting intransitive verb.

di-tlu-0-u-fentru-se, mitluufentruse

he/she is sleeping

mi-pfa-0-r-bhuee-za, mipfarbhueeza

I am standing

di-far-0-u-droo-tlia pïtooq, difarudrootlia pïtooq

the plant is growing

The evidence
The first part to any verb is the evidence, how you found out something happened. It is obligatory that you state this. Here are 4 of the most common evidence prefixes

mi- know about it because you experienced it

di-know about it because you saw ot

mimi- know it didn't happen because you didn't do it

dimi- know about it because you didn't see or hear about it

dhaa-indicates a question

for example, ditluufentruse means "he/she is sleeping." (I saw it)

dimitluufentruse means "he/she isn't sleeping." (I saw so)

dhaatluufentruse means "is he/she sleeping?"

The lexical prefix
This prefix adds some meaning to the verb, and is paired with the verb stem. For example, the prefix "tlu" marks verbs that describe the state of mind, for example, it is used with the verb stems for "to be confused, to be asleep, to be happy, to be awake, to be greiving". The prefix "far" marks verbs of growth or extension. The lexical prefix frequently contracts with or changes the for of prefixes that follow, for example, far+r (a prefix marking active verbs) becomes farra.

Tense, mood, and aspect
Although the examples are in the present tense and thus don't have a TAM marker, prefixes can be placed in this position to indicate when, how long and how a verb happened.

The transitivity prefix
This indicates the transitivity of the verb, there are only 3.

u-  is the stative prefix, indicates an intransitive verb done unintentionally or involuntarily, like for example falling asleep.

r- is the active prefix,  indicates an intransitive verb done  deliberately, for example going to bed.

e- marks transitive verbs.

These markers are often not clearly visible, they often are fused with the lexical prefix or TAM marker

The verb stem
This is the most important part of the verb, and indicates the meaning of the verb when combined with the lexical prefix. The verb prefix changes form depending on what TAM prefix is before it, orwhether it is in an independant or dependant clause, and other things. These changes to the stem are fairly unpredictable, for example, the stem "droo" changes to "dreen" in the future tense or subjunctive mood.

Subject and object agreement suffixes
A Metin verb agrees with all of its participants in person, number, (and to some extent), class.

Here are some of the important agreement suffixes for intransitive verbs

-za: I

-to: you

-se: he/she

-sua:he/she (obviative)

-sia: he/she (proximative)

-tlai: it

Verb vocabulary
pfa-bvuee: to stand (active) or to remain still (stative)

tlu-fentru: to be asleep (stative) or to go to sleep (active)

far*-droo: to grow in complexity (also used to describe the growth of plants) (stative)

*far contracts with r- to become farra.

Word order
The Metin sentence always starts with a verb, and then its subject.

Practice
1. Kiama is asleep (you see this)

2. Kiama is going to sleep (you see this)

3. I am not asleep (because I'm not tired)

4. Tesru isn't asleep (he's deliberately staying up) (you saw this)

5. The plant is growing (you saw this)

6.The child is standing (you saw this)

7.  You are still (you see this)

8. He/she is standing (you see this)

9. He/she is standing (proximative)(you see this)

10. He/she isn't standing (obviative)(you see this)

Answers
1. ditluufentruse Kiama

2. ditlurfentruse Kiama

3. mimitluufentruza

4. dimitlurfentruse Tesru

5. difarudrootlia pïtooq

6. dipfarbvueese suime

7. dipfaubvueeto

8. dipfarbvueese

9. dipfarbvueesia

10. dimipfarbvueesua

Lesson index
http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Metin_lesson_1