Būm lán

Classification
Bumlan (büm lán) is an IAL (International Auxiliary Language) based partly on chinese, in fact it's isolating and tonal just like chinese. It also has influence from European languages and Esperanto. Its words originate mainly in the world's five most spoken languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic, but there are also many a priori words.

I only recently started this project, so the language may still change a lot. I'm still discovering what I want to do with it, though the main purpose is to create a functional tonal IAL that is mostly monosyllabic (I may add 2 or 3 syllable words made by word combinations, but roots will always be monosyllabic).

In short: it is an a posteriori isolating tonal SVO IAL.

Phonology
Bumlan uses letters of the basic Latin alphabet. Additionally, it uses three markers on vowels to show tones (the lack of a marker is the fourth tone).

Bumlan has four tones: high, falling, low, rising, which largely correspond to Chinese first, fourth, third/lacking, second tones, respectively.

Writing System
The tones are shown with diacritics:

The ideal pronunciation for r is the tapped r, but any similar sound that's distinguishable from the rest of the alphabet is ok.

Notice that apart from tones, the phonology is very much not Chinese in nature, this is because my purpose is not to create a Chinese clone, but to use some interesting features of Chinese. It's likely that the end result will sound a lot like Chinese, but this is because the tonal system is very similar.

Spaces
Because Bumlan is an isolating language and all words are single syllables, spaces do not convey a lot of meaning, something like "tà kól" (university) can be written as "tàkól" and it doesn't change the meaning or pronunciation. In fact, a whole phrase could be written like that (separating two syllables with ' when there is ambiguity as to whether a letter is part of one syllable or the other), and it could be understood the same way: I personally prefer separating all syllables with spaces (except for proper names), not using spaces at all can make it pretty difficult to read, and I like that spaces stress the isolating nature of the language. It may be useful to join words that are very related to each other or that represent one concept together (e.g. wo'rë = we; tàkól = university), so feel free to do so.
 * wo te äw zù ròh = woteäwzù'ròh (my car is red)

Phonotactics
Words can end in vowels, semivowels, or the following consonants: m, n, f, s, x, h, r, l (i.e. nasals, fricatives and liquids).

Allowed consonant clusters for the "onset" (o as example vowel): Allowed diphthongs:

Allowed triphthongs: Overall structure:

FL = [fl,pl,kl,fr,pr,kr,tr,br,dr,gr]

C =[f,p,k,t,b,d,g,h,s,x,m,n,c,l,r]

A = [a,e,o]

W = [w,y]

I = [u,i,uy]

U =[i,u,uy,wi,yu]

N = [f,h,s,x,m,n,l,r]

FL-A-WN, FL-I-N, CW-A-WN, C-U-N. (onset-nucleus-coda)

Including tones, this phonology allows for 24000 different syllables.

Pronouns
In the third person there is no distinction of gender, but there is distinction of animate or inanimate things. This can be interpreted in many ways. Usually, one would use "tä" for humans and "só" for any other thing. But more generally "tä" can be used for anything that is capable of communicating, however it can be used for animals, plants or inanimate things for stylistic reasons, such as speaking to or about pets.

Plural pronouns are created adding the word "rë" which means "group". "wo", "ni" and "tä" come from Chinese. "só" comes from "eso" in Spanish.

Nouns
Nouns don’t change according to number, tough one can specify plurality adding "rë" after the noun (this should not be overused).

Verbs
Verbs don’t change, when alone they can be interpreted in many ways according to context, so for example, one would say “wo zù hu” to mean “I am a person”, although in some context that might mean “I was a person” or “I will be a person”.

There are words that can specify different information about a verb’s meaning: adverbs, pronouns, other verbs, etc. For instance, some verbs like “lïm” (to clean) can be transitive or reflexive (just like in English), so a sentences like “wo lïm” can either mean “I clean” or “I clean myself”, but adding the reflexive pronoun “dì” makes it only mean “I clean myself”, “wo lïm dì”.

These are some words that can add context to a verb’s meaning:
 * fìn: this is a verb that means “finish” or “end”, and it can be used before another verb to mean that that action or state has finished. This can be used to mean “no longer ...”, “finished ...”, “did ...”, “have ...ed”, etc.
 * wo fìn zù hu = I am no longer human
 * tä fìn lïm dì = She has cleaned herself
 * dì: as mentioned before, the reflexive pronoun can be used after a verb to clarify that it has a reflexive meaning. It can be used no matter what the subject of the verb is.
 * ni lïm dì = you clean yourself
 * klás fìn dì = the class is over
 * ya: this adverb means "already" and can be used to express the perfect aspect (have ...ed).
 * wo ya dór = I slept
 * wo ya söw wo xü = I've found my book
 * kön: this verb means “to continue” and can be used to make a progressive tense.
 * wo kön lïm = I am cleaning
 * cù: this verb means “to go” and can also represent the future tense.
 * wo cù lïm = I will clean
 * dú: this verb means “to do” and can used for the structure “make s-one do x-action”
 * wo dú ni cï = I make you eat (i.e. I feed you)
 * hël: this verb means “to help” and can be used similarly to “dú” but with less “forceful” connotations
 * wo hël ni cï = I help you eat (i.e. I feed you)
 * käm: this verb means to become, and is used in a similar way
 * gè: this verb means "to get/receive", but it is also used to make sentences in passive voice
 * wo gè nóm Lü = I get called "Lu"
 * só gè dú = it gets done / it is done
 * dà xü gè lé = that book is being read
 * These words can be combined.
 * wo cù kön lïm dì = I will be cleaning myself
 * Time word. Words like "dà tëm" (then), "cè tëm" (now), etc. Can be used to specify the time in which the action happens. This usually makes other markers unnecessary.

The conditional structure
This mood is expressed with the structure “së (condition) den (cause)” which corresponds to English “if (condition) then/, (cause)”. Additional information can be added to clarify it's talking about a past condition, a future one, etc.

Present: Past: However, in other languages this "past conditional mood" is used outside conditions too, used to express something that could or should have been done, bat wasn't. In this cases, Bumlan usually uses the bare verb if context allows, or adds a word to indicate past if necessary (such as "dà tëm").
 * së wo nów den wo wèr = If I knew how, I would work.
 * së wo (dà tëm) nów den wo wèr = If I had known how, I would have worked.
 * wo dwä nö cï só, tàn wo cï = I shouldn't have eaten it, but I did
 * wo (dà tëm) kàn kúr, tàn wo nö kúr = I could have run, but I didn't

Participles
There are no participles per se in Bumlan, but let's see some ways in which it covers the same functionalities: We will learn more about that "po" and that "wey" later. "hu" simply means person/human.

Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives and adverb are basically the same, the only difference being that adjectives modify a noun while adverbs modify a verb or another adjective. Because of this, in Bumlan the same word can be used for both functions. They go strictly before what they modify: Unless they are the argument of a verb. When there is a chain of adjectives/adverbs, they are interpreted to modify the same noun/verb: If you want to say something like "beautifully big" instead, use the word "wey" (way) to make the first adjective modify the second one: This "wey" can also be used to make adverbs out of verbs, nouns and phrases:
 * bú mä = good parent
 * fàs kúr = run fast
 * wo käm fàs = I become fast
 * bú fàs äw = a good fast car
 * mey tà mäw = a beautiful big cat
 * mey wey tà mäw = a beautifully big cat
 * wo hël wey dú = I act helpfully
 * wo käm nán mä wey = I become fatherly

Possession
Possession is shown using the "te" particle, which comes from the Chinese particle "de" and works pretty much like it works for possession ("de" has other uses in Chinese that "te" in Bumlandoesn't, though), it's similar to 's in the English language, but also used with pronouns. For example: The particle "te" can be omitted if context allows:
 * wo te äw = My car
 * tä zù lü te mí = She/He is Lucas' friend
 * döm zù ni rë te = The house is yours
 * po döm zù tà hu zù wo te mí = The person, whose house is big, is my friend.
 * wo äw = my car
 * tä zù lü mí = she is Lucas's friend
 * ni nów tä fë mä = you know his mother

Questions
Yes/No questions (or questions that give you a definite amount of answers) are created adding the particle "má" at the end of the sentence.
 * ni zù bú = You are good

Ma can also be used in negative sentences. Questions that give you the possible answer usually use the "o" (or) connector. Examples: Another example: Other questions are made with "ké", in these questions "má" is not necessary. Unlike many languages but like Chinese, the order of the sentence does not change (although it is allowed) when asking questions, the xen- word​ is in the place where the answer will be. For example:
 * ni zù bú má? = Are you good?
 * ni nö zù nán mä má? = You're not a father?
 * ni dës kaf o cá má? = Do you want coffee or tea.
 * (Hày,) kaf. = (Yes,) coffee.
 * (Hày,) cá. = (Yes,) tea.
 * Nu, xyè. = None, thanks.
 * ni dës míl, kàr o èy má? = Do you want milk, sugar or something else in your coffee?
 * Hày, míl. = Yes. milk.
 * Nö, nu. = No, nothing.
 * Hày, dù tin = Yes, both.
 * ni cï ké? = What are you eating? (You eat what?)
 * ni nóm ké? = What is your name?
 * só zù ké lù? = Where is it? (It is where?)
 * ni zù ké hu te fë mä? = Whose mother are you? (You are whose mother?)

Basic word order
Terwene follows the order SVO, but in some cases (if context allows) it is also possible to use OSV (Yoda's order) and VSO. These three orders are allowed because out of the six possible orders one can only choose three and still be able to differentiate subject from object. The one-phrase rule is "the nearer to the left of the verb, is the subject", in SVO and OSV the subject is already to the left of the verb, and in VSO the subject is closer to the left of the verb than the object.

SVO was chosen because it's the most widespread order in the world (in number of speakers), which includes English, Spanish and Chinese, the three most spoken languages. It's also helpful to have the verb separate the subject from the object, which makes understanding the sentence much easier.

Apart from order, there is nothing differentiating subject from object, so even pronouns stay the same when they are the object of the sentence:
 * wo ày ni = I love you
 * tä ày tä = She/He loves him/her
 * wo rë sï tä rë = We saw them

Adjectives and other modifiers
As explained before, adjectives and adverbs go before what they modify unless they are the argument of a verb.

In general modifiers are written before what they modify. This means that, for instance, the word "nö" (no/not) can be placed before the word that it wants to negate. If it is placed before the main verb, the sentence is negated. If it is placed before the subject, only the subject is negated:
 * nö wo cï só = I didn't eat that (someone else did)
 * wo nö cï só = I didn't eat that (maybe someone else did, maybe I ate something else, doesn't matter)
 * wo cï nö só = I didn't eat that (I ate something else)
 * wo nö dwä cï só = I do not have to eat that (I could, but I am not obligated)
 * wo dwä nö cï só = I must not eat that (it is my obligation not to eat that)

Articles
There is no definite (the) or indefinite article (a, an) but the number "ün" (one) can be used as a quantifier if necessary, for example there are words which can be either countable or uncountable, adding "ün" states that it is being used as countable: Instead there are words that can't be either countable or uncountable, in those cases "wan" should be avoided: The definite article does not exist because its usage would vary depending on the speaker's mother tongue, it doesn't exist in very important languages such as Chinese and Russian, so for the sake of simplicity Bumlan doesn't have it either.
 * wo cï pòm = I eat apple (maybe one, maybe a slice, maybe mashed, maybe many)
 * wo cï ün pòm = I eat an apple
 * wo cï pòm rë = I eat (the) apples
 * wo zù hu = I am a/the person

Numbers
Numbers are combined just like in Chinese: After 999 999 there are words created in a similar way to "million", "billion", "trillion": *I haven't decided about them yet*. Terwene follows the same scale English does, each new word after thousand adds 3 zeros. Unlike English, the word "ün" can be omitted just like it is done for "deg", "pay" and "mil". It's also allowed to simply read the numbers, like Chinese speakers do for years and phone numbers. This can also be combined with the words “pay”, “mïl”, etc. to be able to speak faster when there are many zeroes. This is only when context allows it. For instance: Ordinal numbers are created adding the word "pòs" which means "position".
 * 10: déu
 * 20: dù tén
 * 30: sän tén
 * 400: yòn pay
 * 800: cö pay
 * 9 000: ná mïl
 * 323 456: sän pay dù tén sän mïl yòn pay fí tén lò
 * pay = one hundred
 * mïl = one thousand
 * = one million
 *  = two million
 * = seven billion
 * 1998 = ün ná ná cö
 * 2001 = dù nu nu ün
 * 1300 = ün sän pay
 * 23 000 = dù sän mïl
 * 233445 = dù sän sän yòn yòn fí
 * ün pòs = first
 * pay dù tén cö pòs = one hundred twenty eighth
 * ün pòs wey = firstly / in the first place
 * dù wey = in pair/s
 * tén wey = in groups of ten
 * dù rë = a pair, a duet

The reflexive pronoun
* I am using the page of my most developed conlang (Terwene) as a guide, as a result, everything beyond this is about that language because I haven't reached this far yet*

Bumlan has the reflexive pronoun "dì" which is used for all other grammatical persons. These are its uses:
 * To make the sentence reflexive for any subject (although it's also possible to use the same subject twice in the sentence to make it reflexive, for example "wo lïm wo"):
 * wo lïm dì = I wash/bath myself
 * ni hël dì cï = You feed yourself
 * mäw sï dì = The cat sees itself
 * To specify or emphasize who is the owner of something:
 * tä sï dì te döm = He saw his own house
 * wo ày dì te méy = I love my own sister

Comparison

 * Comparative: the comparative uses "mò" (more) or "lés" (less) plus "dan" (than).
 * tä zù mò bú dan ni = He is better than you
 * tä zù lés tól dan ni = He is less tall than you
 * Superlative: the superlative uses "màx" (most/maximum) or "mïn" (least/minimum).
 * tä zù màx bú = She is the best one
 * tä zù mïn tól = She is the least tall
 * Equals: equality is expressed using either "wey" after the second subject being compared, or by connecting the two phrases with "dà wey".
 * tä zù mey ni wey / tä zù mey dà wey ni zù = She is beautiful like you (lit. she is beautiful in your way / she is beautiful in that way you are)
 * tä fàs kúr ni wey / tä fàs kúr dà wey ni kúr / tä fàs kúr dà wey ni dú = He runs fast like you

Subordinate sentences
Subordinate sentences that refer to a question are simply added as such (the "ké" word has to respect word order, when possible, it's usually at the beginning, but when it's the object of the subordinate sentence, it has to respect it's place; the má word goes at the end as always). To connect sentences that do not refer to a question just place them after the verb, or add the word "dà" (that) Subordinate sentences that through a phrase add information to (modify) a noun, use the word "po" (in this case the subject is omitted, "po" represents the noun/subject/pronoun that it's giving information about, the "te" particle can also be omitted)
 * wo nö nów ké lù tä zù = I don't know where he is
 * wo tën ké káw tä dú dà  = I understand why he did that
 * ni nów wo cï ké pòm má = Do you know which apple I ate
 * wo nö nów tä zày dì döm má = I don't know whether he is in his home
 * wo kwés tä xwö büm lán má = I ask whether she speaks Bumlan
 * wo nów (dà) tä zày dì döm = I know he's in his own house
 * wo tën (dà) só nö bèl = I understand that's not possible
 * wo pì (dà) tä kú èy = I ask that he cook something else
 * tä zù po (te) döm zù ròh hu  = She is the person whose house is red (here "po" adds information to "hu")
 * po döm zù tà fë zù wo te mí = The woman, whose house is big, is my friend. (here "po" relates to "fë")

Mood markers
Because Bumlan uses tones for lexical meaning, it can not use tones in the same way some other languages use it, namely, to express non-lexical meaning. That is, many languages use tones/pitch in a sentence or word to express things like doubt, anger, happiness, cuteness, fear, etc. Bumlan finds other ways to express these meanings, chiefly by adding words at the end of a sentence that expresses that information. These are the most important ones:
 * fù: expresses surprise or anger
 * ni cï wo te cï fù! = you ate my food!
 * wo dú nu fù! = I did nothing!
 * wo hèy tä fù! = I hate him!
 * më: expresses happiness or euphoria
 * wo twö ày ni më! I love you a lot!
 * tä zù mey më = she is so beautiful
 * ni bú dú më! = you did well!
 * mo: expresses cuteness, softness
 * wo twö ày ni mo = I love you a lot
 * hël wo mo = could you please help me?

The many uses of words
In Bumlan, words are not strictly verbs, strictly prepositions, etc. Instead, they usually have a main meaning or function, but according to the position and context it finds itself in, it can take different functions (a preposition might be used as a verb, a noun might be used as an adjective, etc.). Let's see some common examples: Additionally, many words in Bumlan have wider meaning than their English counterparts. For instance, let's see the different meanings of "xwö": When context is not clear enough and a word can be interpreted in different ways, some words can help us clarify: "wey" for adverbs, "lèy" for adjectives, "hu, tin, taf" and others for nouns. For instance, the word "kàn" has a lot of functions:
 * zày
 * As verb: wo zày döm = I am home (to be at a place)
 * As preposition: wo cï zày döm = I eat at home (at)
 * hë
 * As verb: wo hë cá = I drink tea (drink)
 * As noun: ni hà hë má? = do you have drinks? (drinks)
 * As adjective: só zù hë kwá = it is drinkable water (drinkable, for drinking)
 * mey
 * As adjective: ni zù mey = you are beautiful
 * As verb: ni mey = you are beautiful
 * As noun: mey zù bú = beauty is good
 * wo xwö büm lán = I speak büm lán
 * wo xwö xyè = I say thank you
 * wo e ni xwö = You and I talk
 * wo kàn = I can / I am capable
 * wo kàn hu = I am a capable person
 * wo kàn lèy = I am capable
 * wo kàn = I can
 * fàs äw cù = a fast car goes / a car goes fast
 * fàs lèy äw cù = a fast car goes
 * fàs wey äw cù = a car goes fast

Correlatives
Correlatives are special words which consist of certain beginnings and endings and are ordered in a table.

Notice that the correlatives for "things" are the same as the basic ones, just like the word "what" in English can represent a thing ("what is that?") or be an adjective that means "which" ("What dog is that?"). In Bumlan the same happens for all the basic correlatives (the ones in the column "CORR."), however, the word "tin" (thing) can be used for the specific "unknown thing" correlatives: The same structure used to create correlatives like "dà lù" can be used to create more correlatives, for instance, using the word "mò" (more) at the beginning, you can get correlatives like "mò tëm" (more times), "mò hu" (more people), etc. Adding a word at the end, such as "fru" (fruit), you can get words like "ké fru" (which fruit), "öl fru" (all of the fruit), etc.
 * ké tin? = what (thing)?
 * dà tin mey = that (thing) is nice

All of that is possible because the correlatives are created using the same rules as the rest of the language uses, the first word is an adjective that modifies the second word.

Examples of correlatives in use

 * Bare as adjective:
 * ni lé ké xü? = Which book are you reading?
 * dà döm zù wo te = That house is mine
 * ni lé cè xü má? = Have you read this book?
 * ni cù lé som xü má? = Will you read some book?
 * nu an dú dà = No animal would do that
 * së bèl wo lé öl xü = I would read every book
 * twö an cï ròw = Many animals eat meat
 * fyú xü bú = Few books are good
 * wo dës èy xü = I want another book
 * wo dës lé kü xü = I want to read any book
 * Bare as noun:
 * dà zù ké? = What is that?
 * cè zù äw = This is a car
 * som ay on tá má? = Is there something on the table?
 * wo dú nu fù! = I did nothing!
 * öl pù bú cè lù = Everything is bad here
 * wo dës twö = I want many things
 * wo dës fyú = I want few things
 * ni dës èy má? = Do you want another thing?
 * kü zù bú = Anything would be good now
 * + tëm
 * wo rë cï ké lù? = When will we eat?
 * wo dà tëm nów = Then I knew
 * láy cè tëm! = Come now!
 * ni som tëm cù Argen má? = Have you ever come to Argentina?
 * wo nu tëm dór = I never sleep
 * wo öl tëm ày ni = I'll always love you
 * wo cù dà lù twö tëm = I've gone there many times
 * wo cù dà lù fyú tëm = I've gone there few times
 * tä cù cù èy tëm = She will go in other moment
 * láy cè lù kü tëm = Come here at any time
 * + lù
 * wo äw zày ké lù? = Where is my car?
 * wo na dà lù = I was born there
 * pän ay cè lù = There is bread here
 * wo söw wo xü som lù = I'll find my book somewhere
 * wo xü zày nu lù = My book is nowhere
 * wo ya dór öl lù = I've slept everywhere
 * wo cù twö lù = I've gone to many places
 * wo kàn cù fyú lù = I could go to few places
 * wo dës cù èy lù = I want to go to other place
 * dór kü lù = Sleep anywhere
 * + káw
 * ké káw ni dú dà? = Why did you do that?
 * dà káw wo bèl cù Më'hi = Because of that I would go to Mexico
 * wo nö bú dór cè káw = I didn't sleep well because of this
 * wo som káw nö söw wo äw = For some reason I haven't found my car
 * nu káw wo bèl dú dà = For no reason I'd do that
 * wo ày tä öl káw = I love her for every reason
 * wo ày tä twö káw = I love him for many reasons
 * wo bèl cù fyú káw = I'd go for few reasons
 * wo bèl dú dà èy káw, nö dà = I'd do that for another reason, but not because of that
 * wo kü káw cï = He eats for any reason
 * + wey
 * ni rë ké wey dú dà? = How did you do that?
 * tä tól tä nán mä wey = He is as tall as his father
 * cè wey som hu dú këy = This is how one makes cakes
 * som wey tä nö tën = Somehow he didn't understand
 * nu wey wo dú dà = No way I would do that
 * wo dór öl wey = I've slept in every way
 * wo twö wey kàn cù = I can go in many ways
 * wo kàn cù fyú wey = I could go in few ways
 * wo rë kàn cù èy wey má? = Can we go in another way?
 * ni rë kàn láy kü wey, tàn láy = You can come in any way, but come
 * + kwän (notice this word is sometimes superfluous, especially if the noun is uncountable like coffee)
 * ni báy ké kwän pän? = How much bread did you buy?
 * wo në dà kwän = I need that amount
 * cè kwän kaf nö sù = This amount of coffee is not enough
 * wo në som (kwän) kaf = I need some coffee
 * wo hà nu (kwän) kaf = I have no amount of coffee
 * wo hà öl (kwän) kaf = I have all the coffee
 * wo hà twö (kwän) cá = I have a great amount of tea
 * wo hà fyú (kwän) cá = I have a small amount of tea
 * wo hà èy kwän = I have another amount
 * wo xi kü kwän dà = I'd like any amount of that
 * + hu
 * ké hu rë zù dà? = Who are those?
 * dà hu zù wo nán mèy = That one is my brother
 * cè hu zù wo mí = These ones are my friends
 * som hu dú dà = Someone did that
 * nu hu dú dà = Nobody would do that
 * wo ày öl hu = I love everyone
 * twö hu cï pän = Many people eat bread
 * fyú hu nów wo = Few people know me
 * èy hu kän láy, nö tä = Someone else arrived (here), not her
 * kü hu kàn dú dà = Anyone can do that
 * + lèy
 * ni hà ké lèy äw? = What type of car do you have?
 * ni hà dà lèy äw má? = Do you have that type of car?
 * ni nów öl cè lèy pän? = Do you know every one of these types of bread?
 * som an cï ròw = Some types of animals eat meat
 * wo hà nu lèy pän = I have no type of bread
 * wo hà öl lèy pän = I have every kind of bread
 * wo hà twö lèy cá = I have many types of tea
 * wo hà fyú lèy kaf = I have few types of coffee
 * wo nö hà dà lèy, tàn èy lèy = I don't have that type, but I have another type
 * kü lèy bú = Any type will be good

Dates
The names of the days are created in a similar way to Chinese and Portuguese, with numbers. Months too. Monday is considered the first day of the week. The system is really simple: number + day/month. There are two words for "day" in Bumlan, one with the meaning of "rotation" for the 24 h day (de), and one which represents the hours of light of one day (sól), which also means "Sun". Months are created the same way but with the word "lún" which means both "moon" and "month". The word for year is "án". The order of dates is dd/mm/yyyy, let's see some examples: Now, it's important to notice something: the numbers in these expressions are working as ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc), not as cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.), this is intentional, as context usually lets us understand what the intended meaning is. If it's necessary to clarify, the word "pòs" can be used to express the ordinal number, and the word "kwän" can be used to express the cardinal number:
 * wo ná 1998 yòn lún te 20 dù de 3:30 (wo na ün ná ná cö án yòn lú dù tén de dù de sän hö sän tén mì) = I was born at 3:30 Tuesday the 20th of April 1998
 * Mi dormel dur lunabe = I slept during one week
 * ün pòs de = Monday
 * ün kwän de = one day
 * yòn pòs lún = April
 * yòn kwän lún = four months

Common phrases
All phrases can be slightly modified, for example adding "mo" to make them softer, or "më" to express happiness.
 * häy = Hi/Hello
 * bú de = Good day (at any time)
 * bú sól = Good day (during daytime)
 * bú no = Good night
 * bú zaw = Good morning
 * bú xam = Good afternoon
 * til sùn = See you soon
 * til né de = See you tomorrow
 * bäy = Bye
 * xyè = Thank you
 * zù nu = You're welcome
 * pì mo = Please
 * sa mo = Sorry
 * bú láy = Welcome
 * ni ké wey? = How are you? (sing.)
 * ni rë ké wey? = How are you? (pl.)
 * bú, ni má? = Good, and you?
 * bú cï! = Bon appetit!
 * bú bya! = Bon voyage! (Good trip!)
 * bú sán! = Health!
 * lè án! = Happy new year!

Prepositions
Important note: when prepositions are used alone (they are not working as prepositions), it is recommended to place them at the end of the sentence, or in the place where they create the least misunderstandings, or a comma is placed after them to represent a silence.

Prepositions can be left out when the context is clear, mainly when the verb already carries that meaning. For instance, the verb "cù" carries the meaning of going to a place, so the word "a" (to) can be omitted.

a “to” direction
 * tä cù lái a cì = she will come to the city

zày “at” relatively in the same position but not exactly fro “from/since”, position or time te “ 's ” possession dur “during/while” in  “in” necessarily inside, can be metaphorical or figurative àw "outside" til "until” both for time and place ko “with” sìn “without” par “for” kos “because (of)” ba “under” on “on” sü "over" over something but not touching it kám “instead” ám "in front of" place dè "behind" pre "before" only for time pos "after" only for time pán "next to" far "far from/far/away" nì "near/nearby" baw "about" tra "through" cir "around" ter "between/among" àn "against" us "by/using" tran "crossing/at the other side of" bey "beyond" xe "except, appart from, other than"
 * tä xwö a tä rë = he speakes to them
 * wo mí zày mén = my friend is at the door
 * wo mèy zày tá = mi brother is at the table
 * tä zày gúl = she is at the corner
 * wo cù fro gúl a wo döm = I went from the corner to my house
 * tä rë zù róy fro 1998 = They are kings since 1998
 * tä zù fro Argen = She is from Argentina
 * só zù fro mù = It is made of wood
 * Lü te xü = Luke's book
 * cè äw zù tà kól te = This is the university's car
 * dur wo cï, tä hë = While I was eating, he was drinking
 * wo nö fü dur zaw = I don't walk in the morning
 * wo lì in dà döm = I live in that house
 * wo ës in tà kól = I study in a university
 * ni in o àw má? = Are you inside or outside?
 * ni àw döm má? = Are you out of the house?
 * wo rë cù àw = Let's go outside
 * wo cï til ná hö = I ate until 9:00
 * wo rë kúr til döm! = Let's run up to the house!
 * wo cï pòm ko xus = I eat apples with juice
 * ko ni wo mò bú sén dì = With you I feel better
 * tä lì ko tä mèy rë = He lives with his siblings
 * wo hë kaf sìn míl = I drink coffee without milk
 * wo màr sìn màr = I hit without hammer
 * wo dú dà par ni = I did this for you
 * tä dú këy par mày = I make cakes for selling
 * pëy par ü cyo = a cup/glass for wine
 * kos dà wo nö mày pòm = Because of that I don't buy apples
 * tä nö lái kos tä ìl = She won't come because of her illness
 * wo nö cï kos wo nö xi dà = I'm not eating because I don't like that
 * kí zù ba tá = A child is under the table
 * wo cù (a) ba äw = I went under the car
 * tä zù ba = He is below
 * pòm ay on tá = There are apples on the table
 * pá fëy sü wo rë äw = Birds fly over our car
 * wo hë kám ni = I drink instead of you
 * wo hë kám cï = I drink instead of eating
 * kám, wo cï = Instead, you eat
 * wo zù ám ni döm = I am in front of your house
 * wo zù dè ni = I'm behind you
 * pre zaw = early morning
 * wo na pre twö tëm = I was born a long time ago
 * pre wo dór, wo cï = Before I fell asleep, I ate
 * pre dór, wo cï = Before falling asleep, I ate
 * wo pre tëm nö sén dà = I'd never felt that before
 * pos fìn dór, wo cï = After waking up, I ate
 * pos wo dìn dór, wo cï = After I woke up, I ate
 * wo dú dà pos (tëm) = I'll do that after/later
 * wo zù pán äw = I am next to a car
 * ké zù pán ni? = What is next to you?
 * wo zù far = I am far
 * dà zù far wo rë = That is far from us
 * cù far! = Go away!
 * wo nì ni = I'm near you
 * wo rë cù nì lù = Let's go somwhere nearby
 * dà nì kaf lù bú = That nearby cafe is good
 * ni nów baw ké? = What do you know about?
 * Tra winteporde encanan winte = Through the window enters wind
 * cir sän tén = around thirty
 * cir cù = to go around
 * cir döm äw ay = Around the house there are cars
 * ter nä = international
 * wo zù ter mù = I'm between the trees
 * àn ìl = against (for) an illnes
 * àn mur = against the wall
 * wo zù àn ni = I'm against you
 * wo us äw cù = He'll come by car
 * wp màr us màr = I hit with a hammer
 * wo döm zù tran ru = My house is at the other side of the street
 * tran dà hé èy kwó ay = Crossing that river it's another country
 * wo rë cù bey cì = Let's go beyond the city
 * hu rë nu tëm cù bey lún = Humankind has never gone beyond the moon
 * wo cï öl xe pòm = I eat everything except apples
 * öl hu láy xe ni = Everyone came except you

Pseudo-preffixes
Bumlan is an isolating language, so affixes as such do not exist, but there are words that can express similar meanings as affixes do in other languages, but they work like normal adverbs, adjectives, nouns or verbs, and follow the same rules.

* I am using the page of my most developed conlang (Terwene) as a guide, as a result, everything beyond this is about that language because I haven't reached this far yet*
 * dis disseminating, separately
 * dá = to give ➜ dis dá = distribute
 * ex ex-, former
 * kwó lï = president ➜ ex kwó lï = expresident
 * pù "un-" the opposite meaning or the closest approximation of it, this can be used even if the inteded meaning already has a separate word
 * báy = to buy ➜ pù báy = to sell
 * tön = east ➜ pù tön = west
 * sur = south ➜ pù sur = north
 * sèn = to send ➜ pù sèn = to receive
 * pre before, pre-, long ago in time
 * his = history ➜ pre his = prehistory
 * sï = to see ➜ pre sï = to anticipate (to have a vision)
 * zaw = morning ➜ pre zaw = early morning
 * mä = parent ➜ pre mä = ancestor
 * gèn to repeat, to do again
 * sèn = to send ➜ gèn sèn = to resend
 * xwö = to say ➜ gèn xwö = to repeat
 * gèn ➜ again
 * mis to do incorrectly
 * tën = to understand ➜ mis tën = misunderstand
 * us = tu use ➜ mis us ➜ to misuse
 * mis = mistakenly/wrongly
 * far from afar
 * sï = to see ➜ far sï tor = television (the object)
 * far sï = television
 * pè dù half-, semi-
 * hore = hour ➜ pè dù hö = half an hour
 * cir = circle ➜ pè dù cir = semicircle
 * sèw- almost, quasi-, pseudo
 * nóm = name ➜ sèw nóm = pseudnim
 * dèw = god ➜ sèw dèw = demigod
 * í = son/daughter ➜ sèw í = stepson/daughter
 * tà a bigger or stronger counterpart of the root
 * lè = to laugh ➜ tà lè = to laugh a lot or very hard
 * wín = wind ➜ tà wín = a very strong wind
 * rè = warm ➜ tà rè = hot
 * frï = cool ➜ tà frï = cold
 * tëm = time ➜ tà tëm = a long time / eternity
 * bo = ship / boat ➜ tà bo = ship
 * pe a smaller, softer or less intense counterpart of the root
 * lè = to lough ➜ pe lè = to smile
 * wín = wind ➜ pe wìn = a breeze
 * hú = lake ➜ pe hú = lagoon
 * hé = river ➜ pe hé = stream / creek
 * rè = warm ➜ pe rè = warm but more temperate
 * frï = cool ➜ pe frï = cool but more temperate
 * bo = ship / boat ➜ pe bo = boat
 * mul multiplication
 * mul dù = double / multiplied by two
 * mul sän = to triple
 * mul yòn = quadruple
 * mul = to multiply
 * pè fraction
 * pè dù = a half /divided by two
 * pè sän = to divide in three parts
 * pè yòn = a quarter
 * pè = to divide/fraction
 * sän pè yòn = three fourths / three divided by four

Pseudo-suffixes

 * kàn capable
 * bisar = ➜ sï kàn (or "po kàn sï") = blind
 * swim = to swim ➜ swim kàn = that can swim
 * kàn = to be able, can
 * kàn (lèy) = capable
 * bèl possible, the passive counterpart of abl
 * sï bèl = visible
 * cï = to eat ➜ cï bèl = edible
 * bèl = possible
 * hu individual characterized by the root
 * Argen = Argentina ➜ Argen hu = an argentine
 * àn = against ➜ àn hu = an oppositor
 * rí = rich ➜ rí hu = a rich person
 * wèr = work ➜ wèr hu = worker
 * mày = sell ➜ mày hu = sales person
 * lán language
 * Inglan = England ➜ Inglan lán = English (lang)
 * Frànse = France ➜ Frànse lán = French (lang)
 * Cï'na = China ➜ Cï'na lán = Chinese (lang)
 * Isrèl = Israel ➜ Isrèl lán = Hebrew
 * Büm = world ➜ Büm lán = Bumlan
 * Some languages that can not be derived from a place or people may not take -wen- and be proper names instead
 * Esperanto = Esperanto
 * Latin = Latin
 * Klingon = Klingon
 * tin thing or material related to the root
 * cï = to eat; cï = meal ➜ cï tin = food
 * kàr = sugar/sweet ➜ kàr tin = a sweet/candy
 * mù = tree ➜ mù tin = wood
 * in = in ➜ in (lèy) tin = content
 * es state, essence or abstract quality related to the root
 * mey = beautiful ➜ mey es = beauty
 * rè = warmth ➜ rè es = temperature
 * kwal = equal ➜ kwal es = equality
 * fri = free ➜ fri es = freedom
 * hu = human; hu es = humanity
 * tul tool to do the verb of the root or related to it
 * müs = music ➜ müs tul = a musical instrument
 * cï = eat ➜ cï tul = utensils (for eating)
 * tul = tool
 * rë group of the root
 * mù = tree ➜ mù rë = trees
 * wo = I ➜ wo rë = we
 * yán = sheep ➜ yán rë = a flock of sheep
 * hu = human ➜ hu rë = humankind
 * tì tendency or inclination to do somthing (not all -ive English words end with this!)
 * krey = to create ➜ krey tì = creative
 * xwö = to talk ➜ xwö tì = talkative
 * gèn xwö = to repeat ➜ gèn xwö tì = repetitive
 * gín = to imagine ➜ gín tì = imaginative
 * zi worthy
 * lé = to read ➜ lé zi = read-worthy
 * ás = to accept ➜ ás zi = acceptable (worthy of acceptance)
 * xyè = to thank ➜ xyè zi = worthy of being thanked
 * ën recipient or container of the thing or characterized by the root
 * món = money ➜ món ën = wallet
 * frï = cool/cold ➜ frï ën = fridge
 * ën = recipient
 * is professional of follower of a doctrine (can be interchangeable with -ul- in some words)
 * dén = tooth ➜ dén is = dentist
 * sán = to treat/cure ➜ sán is = physician/doctor
 * pyan = piano ➜ pyan is = pianist
 * Buda = Buddha ➜ Buda is = buddhist
 * im doctrine, idea, religion
 * Kristo = Christ ➜ Kristo im = christianity
 * Buda = Buddha ➜ Buda im = buddhism
 * Marxu = Marx ➜ Marxu im = marxism
 * sós = society ➜ sós im = socialism
 * tor machine, part of machine, or system that does the verb of the root (it's NOT used for people who do a work, "is" or "hu" are used instead)
 * fàs = fast ➜ fàs tor = accelerator
 * mó = move ➜ mó tor = engine /motor
 * fëy = to fly ➜ fëy tor = flying machine, aircraft
 * kal = to calculate ➜ kal tor = calculator
 * al color, any word that has a certian color related to it can be used with this word to refer to that color, there might even different ways to refer to the same or similar color
 * san = blood ➜ san al = red
 * bán = banana ➜ bán al = yellow
 * syël = sky ➜ syël al = blue
 * ràn = orange ➜ ràn al = orange
 * plán = plant ➜ plán al = green
 * ü = grape ➜ ü al = purple/violet
 * lüs = light ➜ lüs al = white
 * dar = darkness ➜ dar al = black
 * ax = ashes ➜ ax al = grey
 * kaf = coffee ➜ kaf al = brown
 * By the way, to say "light blue" or "dark blue" and similar combinations, if there is no clear word to derive them from, the words "lüs" and "dar" are used:
 * lüs syël al = light blue
 * dar syël al = dark blue
 * lüs ax al = light grey
 * lüs san al = pink (one could use something like flamingo for this)
 * lù place
 * báy = to buy ➜ báy lù = store
 * cï = to eat ➜ cï lù = restaurant
 * xü = book ➜ xü lù = library
 * món = money ➜ món lù = bank
 * sah = sand ➜ sah lù = desert
 * tëm time, moment, season
 * rè = warm ➜ rè tëm = sommer
 * frï = cool ➜ frï tëm = winter
 * hwä = flour ➜ hwä tëm = spring
 * yè = leaf ➜ yè tëm = autumn
 * ci a part or particle of the whole or of the material
 * sah = sand ➜ sah ci = a grain of sand
 * sál = salt ➜ sál ci = a grain of salt
 * him = snow ➜ him ci = a snowflake
 * kex = hair (the whole) ➜ kex ci = a single hair
 * lï leader, ruler, boss
 * cì = city ➜ cì lï = mayor
 * pran = province/state ➜ pran lï = gobernor
 * kwó = country ➜ kwó lï = president or prime minister
 * bo = ship ➜ bo lï captain
 * í offspring, son, daughter
 * hu = person/human ➜ hu í = child
 * mäw = cat ➜ mäw í ➜ kitten
 * már = butterfly ➜ már í = caterpillar
 * róy = king/queen ➜ róy í = prince/princess
 * fë, nán, èn the first one is for women the second one for men and the third one is for non-binary people
 * mä = parent ➜ fë mä = mother; nán mä = father; èn mä = non-binary parent
 * nó = boy/girlfriend ➜ fë nó = girlfriend; nán nó = boyfriend; èn nó = non-binary partner
 * í = son/daughter ➜ fë í = daughter; nán í = son; èn í = non-binary child
 * fë (hu) = a woman (for humans, female for other living beings)
 * nán (hu) = a man (for humans, male for other living beings)
 * èn (hu) = non-binary person
 * These suffixes should not be used in excess, only when it's really necessary to mention gender/sex of the person/living being in question.
 * sày means science or pseudoscience that studies X field (most words that in English end in -ics and -logy)
 * sày = science
 * núm = number ➜ núm sày = mathematics
 * lán = language ➜ lán sày= linguistics
 * dèw = god ➜ dèw sày = theology
 * sán = health ➜ sán sày = medicine
 * bï = life ➜ bï sày = biology

"nö" and "pù"
The word "nö" can be used in a similar way to "pù" but they are not the same, the first one is the negation of the meaning, while the second one is the opposite meaning. Sometimes both arrive at the same meaning, in those cases "nö" should be used.

Notice that Bumlan does not use as many word combinations as other IALs do, not nearly as many as my other conlang Terwene does, and probably not as many as Esperanto does (at least on the basic level of words like "hot" and "cold"). This is mainly because I care about keeping the language isolating, and using too many words for one meaning can become counterproductive, since Bumlan heavily relies on context and word order to express meaning.

Another reason is that tonal languages are spoken more slowly than other languages in terms of syllables per second, so it might be useful to have separate short words for common concepts, though it makes sense to make to use word combination for uncommon concepts, since in those cases speed of learning is more important than practicality. This applies for instance to scientific words, one could theoretically use a word like "mäs*" for mathematics, but the two word "núm sày" is easier to learn.

Family words
There are four main family words: There are some additional word that may be useful With those, the fë/nán/gù suffixes for gender, and the tà/pe suffixes for age, we can create most of the family words that a culture may need. For example:
 * mä = parent
 * í = offspring (son/daughter)
 * mèy = sibling
 * éx = spouse
 * bü = grandparent
 * tí = uncle
 * prï = cousin
 * bü = grandparent
 * nán mä fë mä = the mother of my father
 * mèy í = nephew/niece
 * pe fë mèy = younger sister
 * tà fë mèy = older sister
 * pe prï = younger cousin
 * nán mä mèy = sibling of my father
 * mä mèy éx = uncle's/aunt's spouse
 * í í = grandson/granddaughter
 * tà gù mèy = older enby sibling
 * mèy nán éx = a sibling's husband
 * and many many more...

Short words not worthy of being classified
Some words and phrases in many languages like "very", "too", "and", "but", "al least", "still" and so on, are difficult to classify and fulfill different functions, many of them are adverbs or connectors. Here is a list:
 * e and
 * wo cï pän e hë cá = I eat bread and drink tea
 * o or
 * tàn but
 * twö very
 * ni twö mey = You are very beautiful
 * tày too (in the sense of too much)
 * dà zù tày tà = That one is too big
 * dù / öl both
 * dù ni nów = öl ni nów = both of you know
 * ye also, too
 * wo ày kow, wo ày ye mäw = I love dogs, I love cats too
 * ni cï pän, ye wo cï pän = You eat bread, I also eat bread
 * mò plus, more, anymore
 * Plus in maths: ün mò dù zù sän = One plus two is three
 * More: wo dës mò pän = I want more bread
 * More and -er in comparisons: ni mò tól dan wo = You are taller than me
 * nö + mó Anymore: wo nö mò bù dór = I don't sleep well anymore
 * màx
 * Most and -est in comparison
 * Maximum (noun): ké kwän zù màx? = How much is the maximum?
 * Maximum (adj): màx kwän zù tén = The maximum amount is ten
 * + wey At most: wo xi màx wey tén = I want at most ten
 * lés
 * Minus in math: sän lés dù zù ün = three minus two is one
 * Less: wo xi só ko kàr = I like it with less sugar
 * Less in comparison: tä lés tól dan ni = she is less tall than you
 * mïn
 * Least in comparison: ni zù mïn gén = You are the least intelligent
 * Minimum (noun): ké kwän zù mïn? = How much is the minimum?
 * Minimum (adj): mïn kwän zù tén = The minimum amount is ten
 * + wey At least: mïn wey tén hu láy = At least ten people came
 * sèw
 * Almost: wo sèw láy = I'm almost arriving
 * + nö barely: wo sèw nö dór = I barely sleep
 * tö
 * Still: tä tö cï = He's still eating
 * + nö yet: ni tö nö cï = You haven't eaten yet
 * ya
 * Already: wo ya tën = I already understand
 * Yet: ni ya cï cè lù má? = Have you eaten here yet?
 * + nö no longer: wo ya nö cï ròw = I no longer eat meat
 * sún soon
 * né de yesterday
 * cè de today
 * là de tomorrow
 * de wey daily
 * wí wey weekly
 * lún wey monthly
 * án wey annualy
 * klù even
 * klù ni tën dà = Even you understand that
 * kän just (recently)
 * wo kän dú só = I just made it
 * fàs immediately
 * láy fàs! = Come immediately

Example text
Mars (planet) Wikipedia article

"Màrsu .

Màrsu zù yòn plàn fro Sól e dù plàn màx pe en Sól Sís pos Mërkur. Só hà Ro'ma dèw te nóm, e só bä tëm gè nóm "san al plàn" kos san al lèy ...

Marse swan kwara planete fro Sole he dosa mas ita planete en Sola Sisteme pos Merkure. So han nome de roma dyose de harbe, he so plurimo swan nomeda "Blodala Planete" kos blodaloyda fera oxigaxe sor os te myene denan to so blodaloyda oyde xena swan kibehifa inter astes bisibla to akela bisile. Marse swan petra planete ko kidensa ayreparate, so han myena myases oyda to Lune te krateres he to Tere te bales, sahares, he pola barfa parates.

Marse te rota imege he gara cikle ye swan oyda to Tere te, xeno swan kline xena kosan gara cikle. Sor Marse swan Olimpus Monte, mos ega hwomonte he dosa mos tala koneda monte en Sola Sisteme, he ye swan Bale Marineris xena swan wan de mos ega bales en Sola Sisteme. Kirofa Norapola Diprese en nora dosabesfire okupan kwardeg interpaye de planete he iblo swan egega kratere. Marse han dos lunes: Fobose he Deymose, xena swan ita he ko kiregula morfe. Sosu iblo swan kapteda astites, xeno 5261 Eureka, wan Marsa troyane."