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Gender Cases Numbers Tenses Persons Moods Voices Aspects
Verb No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nouns No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Adjectives No No Yes Yes No No No No
Numbers No No Yes No No No No No
Participles No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Adverb No No No No No No No No
Pronouns No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Adpositions No Yes No Yes No No No No
Article No Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Particle No No No No No No No Yes

These boolean values are not necessarily uniformly true; some markers are optional. (if you notice any of these values incorrectly representing the language, feel free to change them to reflect the actual language in its use. This table is a bit confusing for me, which will make you laugh when you see how many tables are involved in Tsrul.)

Name: Tsrul

Type: Agglutinating Fusional

Alignment: Agent-Patient

Head Direction: Initial

Number of genders: 3

Declensions: Yes

Conjugations: Yes

Nouns declined
according to
Case Number
Definitiveness Gender
Verbs conjugated
according to
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect


Setting[]

Tsrul, or more formally, The language of the Tsrul (naxam tsrulpul) is the lingua franca of the Tsrul race, a space-faring species of the genus Cosmanthropus in the distant future.The Tsrul evolutionary path has diverged radically from modern humans. Their primary mode of transportation is capable of manipulating time and space, resulting in their colonization of an enormous swath of space and time in the cosmos. Though there are some dialectical differences, the homogeneity of Tsrul culture as a result of their highly mobile lifestyle makes the language fairly uniform. It is not the only language spoken by the Tsrul, but it is the most common. One notable dialect, known as core speech (naxam yosizam/naxam yosi) lacks many of the grammatical markers in Standard Tsrul, instead having a more rigorous syntactic alignment.

Tsrul alphabet

The Second Reform Script

The language was reformed twice before Standard Tsrul (the language described on this page) was finalized near the beginning of the Tsrul-Uthan Epoch. Some wordforms underwent mutations from the first reform to the second, so there are a few irregular forms and idiosyncrasies within the language. Tsrul is written using the Second Reform Script (ḋinim guṡaʻzam i solzam).

Culture[]

Tsrul-Uthan Culture is based largely on the fact that the Tsrul are primarily a time-travelling, space-faring race, spending very little time on the surface of planets. They are particularly non-violent compared to other human-derived species, as they must maintain peaceful living environments for extended periods of time.

Phonology[]

Tsrul is composed of 27 consonants and 9 vowels.

Tsrul layout

The layout of the Tsrul keyboard

If you would like to type with the diacritic letters and tone accents in the Tsrul romanization provided on this page, feel free to download the Windows keyboard layout installer located here.

Consonants[]

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palat. Uvular* Glottal
Nas. m̥(hm) m n̥(hn) n ɴ̥(hṅ) ɴ(ṅ)
Stop p b t d q ɢ(g) ʔ(ʻ)
Fric. ɸ(ṗ) β(ḃ) θ(ṫ) ð(ḋ) s z ʂ(ṡ) ʐ(ż) χ(x) h
Appr. w j(y)
Trill r
Lat. l

All of the Nasal, Approximant, Trill/tap, Lateral, and Glottal consonants are phonemically sonorant in Tsrul.

* when preceding i, ĭ, e, and ĕ, (below) or y, the uvular consonants are pronounced as velars. (e.g.: ṅi [ŋi], qĭ [kɪ], ge [ge], and xĕ [xɛ])

Vowels[]

Front Near front Central Near back Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ (ĭ) ʊ (ŏ)
Close-mid e
Mid
Open-mid ɛ (ĕ) ʌ (ŭ)
Near-open
Open a ɒ (o)

Phonotactics[]

Syllable structure[]

The possible Tsrul syllable structure is of the form (Cᴏɴs.(Fʀɪᴄ.))(Sᴏɴᴏʀ.)V(V)(Sᴏɴᴏʀ.)(Sᴏɴᴏʀ.)

Sound change rules[]

  1. nasal consonants undergo place assimilation before non-sonorants. [n+p] → [mp]
  1. sonorants preceding the same sonorant (including vowels) due to word formation are deleted, not doubled. for instance, [m+m] → [m]
  2. word-initial [ʔ] is changed to [h]
  3. if [h] meets a sonorant due to word formation, [h] is deleted. [pinuh+nto] → [pinunto]
  4. epenthesis - when roots are combined in ways that could make non-sonorant consonants touch, [i] is inserted between them. (this is a rare occurance.) [oṫ+qa] → [oṫiqa]
  5. uvular consonants [ɴ,q,ɢ,χ] alternate freely with velar consonants [ŋ,k,g,x] when followed by the vowels [i,ɪ,e,ɛ] or palatal [j] (very few native Tsrul speakers notice the difference between uvular/velar sounds)

Affricates[]

  • Plosive Consonants can be affricated with their fricative counterparts, forming [p͡ɸ] [t͡θ] [q͡χ] [b͡β] [d͡ð] and [ʔ͡h].
  • [p], [t], and [q] can all be combined with [s] and [ʂ], while [b] and [d] can be combined with [z] and [ʐ].

Diphthongs[]

y/ĭ w/ŏ
beginning with ya yo yu yĕ yĭ yŭ wa wo wu wĕ wĭ wi wŭ
ending with aĭ oĭ uĭ ĕĭ ŭĭ aŏ oŏ ŭŏ

Digraphs[]

  • [hm], [hn], and [hṅ] are digraphs for the voiceless nasals, and act as single sonorant consonants in usage. Thus, letter clusters such as /hml/ can be formed in Tsrul syllables, despite the phonemic constraint of Tsrul syllable structure allowing only two sonorants at the end of a syllable.

Notable Aspects[]

Cores[]

The most important parts of Tsrul grammar are the lexemic cores. Somewhat like triliteral word roots in Semitic languages, Tsrul cores are modified by affixes to create the word forms of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Tsrul words are listed in dictionaries by their cores, and dozens of individual forms can be created from a single core. Stress exists on cores with multiple syllables, but is fluid and unpredictable.

Word Order[]

For declarative sentences and dependent clauses, the word order is typically (Subject)(Object)Verb. However, a comprehensive case system allows for some variation without a loss in listener/reader comprehension. Since verbs usually have a subject marker included in their circumfix, the Subject does not necessarily need to be overtly stated. As not all sentences include Objects, it is entirely possible to create many whole sentences using a single word.

questions which elicit a yes/no response generally have the form Verb (Subject)(Object).

To be[]

One of the most notable aspects of Tsrul is its complete lack of the verb "to be." Native Tsrul speakers have some difficulty grasping the concept of its usage, and many never learn how to use it correctly in their auxiliary languages. The closest verb in meaning to it is "to exist," which itself is very restricted in its usage. It is used only to refer to the 'action' of Existence, the abstract concept. As such, many statements which would use "to be" in English or other languages must be rephrased in terms of frame of reference when translated into Tsrul. For instance, a Tsrul speaker would say "I see the apple as red," rather than "The apple is Red."

Parts of Speech[]

Nouns[]

Cases[]

Tsrul has nine cases. these case infixes are appended directly after the core.

ᴀɢᴇ ᴘᴀᴛ ᴀᴄᴄ ᴅᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴍ ʟᴏᴄ* ᴛᴇᴍᴘ* ɪɴsᴛ sɪᴍ
form -a- -to- -so- -pu- -ye- -eĭ- -xo- -ża-

* can be merged into the form -yeĭ- for the “locative temporal,” showing space/time relationships, i.e. “where and when Gene is.”

  • The Agentive case (unmarked) is used with the agent of an active verb, as in the sentence “Gene went outside.”
  • The Patientive case is used with the patient of a passive verb, as in the sentence “Gene was hit by a car.”
  • The Accusative case is used for the direct object of a transitive verb, as in the sentences “Gene ate an apple,” or “Gene gave a car to Alice.”
  • The Dative case is used for the indirect object of a ditransitive verb, as in the sentence “Gene gave a car to Alice.” It is also used to denote the agent in passive ditransitive constructions, such as “Alice was given a car by Gene.”
  • The Commitative case is used for ‘with’ relationships, as in the sentence “Gene walked with Alice.” It is also used to describe relationships of possession, with the possessor in the Commitative case, which requires some rephrasing to accurately translate into English; e.g. “The apple Gene had with him was red,” or to rephrase into a more common possessive phrase, “The apple of Gene was red.” Possessive English phrases of the form “X’s Y,” will translate as [Y] [X.ᴄᴏᴍ].
  • The Locative case is used to show static location. it holds a similar meaning to the English prepositions “on,” “near,” “in,” or “at.” with motion verbs (to go, to come, to walk, etc.), it means “to.” with prepositions, it shows motion in relation to the word. prepositions would be placed after the locative word to which they refer, such as ṗayem rela, lit. "the door [ʟᴏᴄ] behind" for "behind the door"
  • The Temporal case is used to indicate a moment in time. it mirrors the locative case, but with time. However, it is important to note that it can be used in ways such as “During the rule of Charlemagne” or “the place in time that Gene is”, which can be far-removed from the current time. the tonal tense markers provide the objectʻs temporal location in relation to the speaker.
  • The Instrumental case shows the relationship of the tool to the user, as in the sentence “Gene drove the nail using a hammer.” It is also used to denote the logical agent in monotransitive passive constructions, such as “The apple was eaten by Gene.”
  • The Similative case is used to indicate likeness or similarity, as in “Madonna is like a virgin.
  • A bare core signifies the (officially unrecognized) Vocative case. e.g., dżinm means ‘the truth,’ whereas dżin means ‘O, truth,’ ‘O, Gene,’ or simply ‘Gene.’

​Number marker[]

There are three grammatical numbers, Singular, Paucal, and Plural. Paucal is directly translated as "a few" or "several." In their simplest form, the number markers are appended directly after the case ending. singular is denoted by [-m], paucal [-l], and plural [-r]. The paucal/plural barrier is variable, typically between three and six, but can be very high, as in reference to extremely large groups.

Determiner Suffixes[]

However, both number and case are slightly more complicated with the addition of determiner suffixes on nouns. The suffixes take many varying forms depending on the determiner which is appended to the noun. For instance, the noun ṅanom means 'boat' or 'the boat', while ṅanomo means 'a boat.' When ṅanomo is declined into the dative case, it becomes ṅanonso (with the singular [m] changing to [n] due to nasal place assymilation.), meaning 'to a boat.' The varying forms of these determiner suffixes are shown below.

ᴀɢᴇ ᴘᴀᴛ ᴀᴄᴄ ᴅᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴍ ʟᴏᴄ ᴛᴇᴍᴘ ɪɴsᴛ sɪᴍ
the -m -am -tom -som -pum -yem -eĭm -xom -żam
a/an/some -mo -ma -nto -nso -mpu -mye -meĭ -qo -ża
every/all -amo -ama -atom -asom -apum -ayem -aĭm -axom -ażam
no/none -qmo -qma -qitmo -qismo -qipmu -qime -qimĭ -qixmo -qiżma
this/these -ḋmo -ḋam -ḋotom -ḋosom -ḋopum -ḋoyem -ḋoĭm -ḋoxom -ḋożam
that/those -smo -sam -sotom -sosom -sopum -soyem -soĭm -soxom -sożam
yonder* -ṗmo -ṗam -ṗotom -ṗosom -ṗopum -ṗoyem -ṗoĭm -ṗoxom -ṗożam

*essentially a further 'that,' similar to Spanish 'alli'. if the speaker cannot see the object, or if it is in another room/area, or not immediately present, this is used. 'yonder' or 'yon' are the translated forms.

Gender Suffixes[]

Gender is entirely optional in Tsrul, and is rarely used unless either a distinction needs to be made or the gender of an entity is important information. The masculine infix [-ʻa-], the feminine [-ha-], and the neuter [-na-] are inserted before the number/determiner suffix.

Derivational Prefixes[]

Derivational prefixes attach directly to the core in a Tsrul word, regardless of other grammatical prefixes. The derivational prefixes which turn words into nouns are as follows:

English Equivalent Prefix Acts on
One who does musician, worker la- Nouns
Place of apiary, library, bakery nyu- Nouns
Idea of frendliness, pacifism ṫo- Adjectives
Abstraction, Gerund vibration, swimming qe- Nouns
Synthetic faux fur, pleather zu- Nouns

Irregular Nouns[]

Several classes of nouns always take the paucal number, regardless of their logical number.

  • Ethnonyms, such as 'Tsrul,' 'American,' or 'East Asian.'
  • Mass nouns, such as 'rice' or 'honey.' These nouns are easily predictable in Tsrul: If the texture of the entity in its current state is either granular or fluid, it will almost always be considered a mass noun. notable exceptions include nouns like ṡuyam - 'teardrop,' qṡuarm - 'atmosphere' and ŏṅmaṡoyr - 'pebbles.'

Other nouns are always singular, such as ṫum - 'time,' mĕnm - 'the universe/space' and gobam - 'humanity.' this class can be viewed as "non-stative mass entities," which change slowly over time as constituent parts are created, change, and die.

Finally, a second declension of composite nouns sets itself apart by having a merged-number [-n] ending. These are nouns which are either

  • always physically present in a relatively small group which cannot separately maintain stasis, or
  • are abstractions such as emotions or nonphysical entities, or
  • are widely varied categories of similarly purposed items, such as food.

nouns like horn - 'quarks,'  ĭnten - 'happiness,' and tanyan - 'music' belong to this declension.

Miscellany[]

The diminutive marker, which fits between the core and the number ending, is -tṡoy- or -ṡoy-, as in ŏṅmaṡoyr above (ŏṅma [ᴍɪɴᴇʀᴀʟ] + ṡoy [ᴅɪᴍ] + r [ᴘʟᴜ]). Whether it takes the form of -ṡoy- or -tṡoy- is based almost entirely on speaker preference, though there are some words which uniformly use one form or the other.

Adjectives[]

Adjectives in Tsrul are shown with suffixes, and are declined for number to match the noun they are modifying.

Markers[]

Adjective Comparative Superlative Equative
Form -za- -zo- -zoĭ- -zaĭ-
Tsrul Example uṫazam uṫazom uṫazoĭm uṫazaĭm
Eng. Equivalent bright brighter than brightest as bright as

When adjectives are used in comparison to nouns, the similative case is used on the noun being compared to the antecedent. For instance, zĕgim eqaḋaŏ uṫazom ṗelaṅżam eqaḋaŏ, ʻ[The sun (ᴀɢᴇ)] [brighter than] [the moon (sɪᴍ)] [shines].'

Derivational Prefixes[]

As with nouns, Derivational prefixes are prefixed to the cores.

English Equivalent Prefix Acts on
opposite unstable, inactive xa- Adjectives
lack expressionless ba- Nouns
surfeit wonderful ṗo- Nouns
possibility apposable he- Verbs
liking thermophilic ga- Nouns
disliking hydrophobic tṡĕ- Nouns
inhabitant* Japanese, Belgian bwa- Nouns
weakened safeish, kinda fun haŏ- Adverbs
strengthened extreme to the max ya- Adjectives

*not used with species, such as ‘Tsrul’ or 'Uthan,' only races or nationalities, such as 'Senegalese' or 'Italian'

Verbs[]

Verbs are arguably the most salient and complex part of the Tsrul Language. They have the most features of any part of speech in Tsrul, and are capable of conveying a huge amount of information. The verbal circumfix is very complex, and will be broken down into several parts for this explanation.

Person and number prefix[]

The prefix which conveys the information of person and number on Tsrul verbs is inflected into varying forms. They are inflected for the singular, paucal and plural numbers as well as the active, middle, and passive voices in four persons. The first, second, and third persons function as expected in relation to many other languages. The middle voice is used for actions whose agents are also their patients, as well as with reflexive verbs. For instance, 'the door opened,' 'the man shot himself,' 'we met one another,' and 'you slapped your own face' would all use the middle voice in Tsrul. The fourth person functions much the same way "one" or "they" is used in some English constructions: as an unspecific, general entity. It is important to note that the paucal first person functions as an exclusive first person; indicating that the speaker and another party, but not the listener, were involved in the action. The plural first person functions as an inclusive first person, where the listener is included.

Aᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ First Second Third Fourth
Singular ḋo- ho- so- ṗo-
Paucal ḋa- ha- sa- ṗa-
Plural ḋe- he- se- ṗe-
Mɪᴅᴅʟᴇ First Second Third Fourth
Singular do- o- to- po-
Paucal da- a- ta- pa-
Plural de- e- te- pe-
Pᴀssɪᴠᴇ First Second Third Fourth
Singular indo- ino- into- impo-
Paucal inda- ina- inta- impa-
Plural inde- ine- inte- impe-

These prefixes are not necessarily attached to every verb. If the subject remains the same through an entire statement, these prefixes are entirely optional on all but the main verb (usually the final verb in a sentence), and they are frequently dropped by Tsrul speakers. In fact, entire stories can be related with only a single verb having its person and number explicitly stated, provided that the subject remains the same through the story. It is only in formal discourse that every verb is expected to have these prefixes. This is one of the few honorific features of Tsrul; providing all of the prefixes on verbs suggests that the speaker views the conversation as a formal encounter, and holds the listener in high esteem.

However, the usage of these prefixes is not entirely limited to verbs. A possessive construction such as 'my pet' or 'their cars' will use the active prefixes attached to a declined noun to show this relationship. For instance, since 'pet' is qsim in Tsrul, 'my pet' would be ḋoqsim.

Similarly, object pronouns (e.g. I gave them to you.) are the active prefixes with case endings attached. Since the prefixes are already inflected for number, the m/l/r number endings are not added. For instance, 'I gave them to you (paucal)' is hoso sato ḋoʻalḋáŏ́ in Tsrul.

mo (the number zero) can also be used as a personal prefix to indicate forbidden, taboo, or incredibly undesired actions, roughly translating as 'nobody does [action].' mo used as a prefix is not inflected for number.

Evidential suffix[]

The suffix of verbs provides evidential information, letting the listener know how certain the speaker is that the action happened. There are four levels of this evidentiality: The speaker experiences the event (sensory), The event is relayed to the speaker by another party (reportative), the speaker assumes or infers that the event takes place (inferential), and the speaker refers to a hypothetical or common-knowledge event (indeterminant). These suffixes are inflected in discrete (I eat) and continuous (I am eating) forms, as well as in the indicative and subjunctive moods.

Iɴᴅɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ Sensory Reportative Inferential Indeterminant
Discrete -ḋaŏ -ḋoŏ -yaŏ -yoŏ
Continuous -ḋaĭ -ḋoĭ -yaĭ -yoĭ
Sᴜʙᴊᴜɴᴄɪᴛᴠᴇ Sensory Reportative Inferential Indeterminant
Discrete -ḋwa -ḋwo -wa -wo
Continuous -ḋwĕ -ḋwi -wĕ -wi

Tonal tense[]

Tense is shown on the evidential suffix with tone curves. the tones fall on the [aŏ],[oŏ],[aĭ],[oĭ],[wa],[wo],[wĕ], and [wi] segments of the suffixes shown above. There are seven tenses in Tsrul: the infinite past, The distant past, the near past, the present, the near future, the distant future, and the infinite future. This great number of tenses is a reflection of the Tsrul ability to easily travel through time; any given speaker can experience an enormous time frame, and as such the language has grown to allow speakers to more easily express these time frames.

However, the tenses are not divided by specific time scales. For instance, when speaking of the year 1992 (CE), one would generally default to using the distant past. It is a point in time that speakers alive today would be able to remember with certainty, but it is far-removed from the present year. However, when speaking of the year 1992 in comparison to the year 20,000 BCE, the recent past would be used: it is much, much closer to the present than the year 20,000 BCE. Alternatively, 20,000 BCE would be in the infinite past in relation to the present, but would be the infinite future if the speaker was referencing that date 1 billion years ago.

But in general, the default barriers of these tenses are broken down in the following manner: anywhere from 2 months to a year from the speaker's present time would usually be considered the near tenses. Beyond that, up until the points in time where no currently-present person would be expected to experience the event (i.e., they were not yet/would no longer be alive), the distant tenses would typically be used. This provides a time frame of approximately 200 years into the past and future. However, cultural epochs or other 'temporal landmarks' are also some of the intuitive timescales used to divide these tenses. Finally, anything beyond the limits of the distant tenses would be referenced with the infinite tenses.

There are three tones in Tsrul: the high tone [◌́], the low tone [◌̀], and the middle tone [◌]. To create the tenses in Tsrul, the tones are used as follows:

Inf. Past Dist. Past Rec. Past Present Near Fut. Dist. Fut. Inf. Fut.
Form ◌̀◌ ◌◌̀ ◌̀◌̀ ◌◌ ◌́◌́ ◌◌́ ◌́◌

Additionally, there are two other 'tense-like' tones in Tsrul.

  • The momentative, which functions much like the english word 'just' (as in, 'I just washed my car, and now itʻs raining.' ). When used with a continuous evidential marker, it functions like the english phrase 'about to.' Its tone curve is [◌́◌̀].
  • The frequentative, which indicates that the action is habitual or regularly recurring. When used with a continuous Evidential suffix, it indicates that the action occurs occasionally or unpredictably, but still repetitively. Its tone curve is [◌̀◌́]. When the frequentative tone curve is used with the perfective particle, it signifies that the action was done repetitively in the past, but no longer happens.

All of these tones can be used on nouns in the temporal case to show the noun's relative position in time compared to the speaker.

Aspectual markers[]

Aspectual markers fall into two categories in Tsrul: suffixed markers, or proclitic particles.

The suffixed markers include the following, which are attached after the evidential suffix. When all of the suffixes are present, they are added in the following order.

  1. Many languages ask questions by modifying the intonation of statements. Since tone is used to show tense in Tsrul, the suffix [-r] signifies that the verb is a question.
  2. The suffix [-m] (or [-mi]) signifies that the verb is causitive. For instance, ṡoquxom ḋoŏmḋàŏ̀ ʻI tripped over the root' vs. ṡoquxom ḋoŏmḋàŏ̀m 'I was caused to trip over the root.' The grammatical agent stays the same, but the agency of the verb is shifted. The form [-mi] is used only when the perfective marker is also present.
  3. The perfective marker [-n] signifies completion of the action as a whole, rather than as an ongoing event. Since English lacks a true perfective, it is somewhat difficult to convey the difference in meaning. However, the difference can be illustrated with the following example: glum soṡenḋàŏ̀ 'The wood burned' vs. glum soṡenḋàŏ̀n 'The wood burned up.'

The proclitic particles also have a specific order, and are written as separate words before the verb.

  1. [ŭ] is used to make the verb perfect. It is important to note that this is not the same effect as the perfective marker above. To use the same example, glum soṡenḋàŏ̀n means 'The wood burned up,' while glum ŭ soṡenḋàŏ̀n means 'The wood had burned up.'
  2. [u] makes the verb dynamic. This changes the verb from a simple action to an action that involves change, imparts motion to the verb, or otherwise strengthens the effect of the verb. For instance, nuqumyoŏ means 'to apply pressure,' while u nuqumyoŏ means 'to rub'
  3. [e] adds the mode of capability to the verb. It functions in essentially the same manner as the English verb 'can.' For Example, ḋoyupaḋaŏ 'I sing' vs. e ḋoyupaḋaŏ 'I can sing'
  4. [o] changes the verb to the supine, meaning 'for the purpose of...' or 'in order to...' For example, hunam o impożoʻḋoŏ 'food is for eating' (lit. for being eaten). although there is no infinitive to speak of in Tsrul, the supine can be used to convey the meaning. For example, o ṗonaxa​ḋaŏ 'to speak' (for the purpose of one speaking). generally, when the fourth person is used, or especially if the personal prefix is dropped, this infinitival aspect is more apparent.

Auxiliary verbs[]

Auxiliary verbs in Tsrul are conjugated to provide the information that the sentence is meant to convey. The verbs they modify are always in the subjunctive, and are connected to the auxiliary verbs with the particle [i]. This particle provides no added meaning, and serves only to show that the two verbs are logically connected. The verbs can be ordered in any fashion, so long as they are all connected in the sentence, and joined with the [i] particle.

Examples inᴄlude:

yalṡoyĕm ḋoulyaḋaŏ i qonḋwa - 'I want to walk to the river'

Irregular verbs[]

There are five irregular verbs in standard Tsrul, which are irregular only in their evidential forms. All other verbal prefixes and aspectual markers attach to the verbs as would be expected.

Possess [maḃa]
Sensory Reportative Inferential Uncertain
Indic. Disc maḃaŏ maḃoŏ maĭḃaŏ maĭḃoŏ
Indic. Cont. maḃaĭ maḃoĭ maĭḃaĭ maĭḃoĭ
Subj. Disc. maḃwa maḃwo mawa mawo
Subj. Cont. maḃwĕ maḃwi mawĕ mawi
Go [diru]
Sensory Reportative Inferential Uncertain
Indic. Disc. dirḋwu dirḋwo diryu diryo
Indic. Cont. dirḋwa dirḋwi dirya diryi
Subj. Disc. diruwa diruwo dirwa dirwo
Subj. Cont. diruwĕ diruwi dirwĕ dirwi
Converse [bŭ]
Sensory Reportative Inferential Uncertain
Indic. Disc. baŏ boŏ bjaŏ byoŏ
Indic. Cont. baĭ boĭ bjaĭ byoĭ
Subj. Disc. bŭwa bŭwo bwa bwo
Subj. Cont. bŭwĕ bŭwi bwĕ bwi
See [nĕpo]
Sensory Reportative Inferential Uncertain
Indic. Disc. nĕpaŏ nĕpoŏ nyĕpaŏ nyĕpoŏ
Indic. Cont. nĕpaĭ nĕpoĭ nyepaĭ nyĕpoĭ
Subj. Disc. nĕpowa nĕpowo nĕpwa nĕpwo
Subj. Cont. nĕpowĕ nĕpowi nĕpwĕ nĕpwi
Do/aᴄt [ĕm]
Sensory Reportative Inferential Uncertain
Indic. Disc. ĕmaŏ ĕmoŏ yĕmaŏ yĕmoŏ
Indic. Cont. ĕmaĭ ĕmoĭ yĕmaĭ yĕmoĭ
Subj. Disc. ĕmwa ĕmwo yĕmwa yĕmwo
Subj. Cont. ĕmwĕ ĕmwi yĕmwĕ yĕmwi


Imperatives[]

Two ways to show imperatives exist in Tsrul. either the speaker can use the imperative cores iṅqo (request), into (imploration), or impo (demand) as auxiliary verbs, or the appended forms of these cores (-ṅqo, -nto, and -mpo, respectively) can be suffixed directly to the core of the imperative verb. in the auxiliary format, a marginal level of formality can be maintained, even while demanding forcefully that someone do something, and can also be used to specify who is demanding action from whom. The appended forms are usually used when efficiency of phrasing or timing are important factors, especially in emergencies or when formality is not an issue.

Adverbs[]

Adverbs are arguably the simplest part of the Tsrul Language. If a core starts with a consonant, it is prefixed with [pi-] to make it an adverb. If the core starts with a vowel, it is prefixed with [py-]. As it is inflected using a prefix, the other parts of speech (which are shown with suffixes) can generally be changed into adverbs.

the only derivational affix used with adverbs is the negative suffix [-xal], which has the same meaning as English 'un-.' This suffix is placed after any other suffixes that may be attached to the core.

Grammatical Particles[]

conjunctions[]

Conjunctions in Tsrul are particles which are placed between the items they join. However, there are also proclitic prefixed forms which can be connected to the second (and consecutive) items in a series.

conjunction particle prefix
for qo qo-
and a/al a-
nor zon
but oṗa ṗa-
or no no-
yet yuru yur-
so muna
either...or yan...yan ...ya-
not only...but also dĕṅ...dĕṅ ...dĕ-
neither...nor żaṅ...żaṅ ...ża-
both...and tin...tin ...ti-
whether...or oma...oma ...om-

Subordinating conjunctions[]

This list is incomplete, and will be expanded as needed.

pṗo - although yam - so that pito - even though żŏṅ - in order to
azi - which yan - because aŏl - how żuqa - lest
nun - except ḃaŏ - before qaxa - if braŏ - since
upa - after oṫi -where eyo - inasmuch ĕdzin - provided that
żuna - whenever oṫĕn - wherever byĕ - until qayo - for some time
poĭ - that ini - still

Correlative pronouns[]

This (admittedly large) table shows the various correlative pronouns available in Tsrul, as well as their translations. These pronouns are declined for case and number in the sentence when applicable. final vowels on these pronouns are usually deleted when declined suffixes begin with vowels. for instance, "at this time" would be declined as [ożiḋo]+[eĭ]+[m] and would have the form ożiḋeĭm.

query this that yonder some no every/all
adjective -iam -ḋro -sro -ṗro -ro -qro -aro
which...? this that yon some/a no every/all
person oṗiam oṗiḋo- oṗiso- oṗiṗo- oṗir- oṗiqa- oṗa-
who...? this one that one yon one someone no one everyone
thing aṗiam aṗiḋo- aṗiso- aṗiṗo- aṗir- aṗiqa- aṗa
what...? this thing that thing yon thing something nothing everything
place oṫiam oṫiḋo- oṫiso- oṫiṗo- oṫir- oṫiqa- oṫa-
where...? here there yonder somewhere nowhere everywhere
time ożiam ożiḋo- ożiso- ożiṗo- ożir- ożiqa- oża-
when...? now then yon time sometime never always
way aŏiam aŏḋo- aŏso- aŏṗo- aŏir- aŏqa- aŏa-
how...? thus in that way in a way somehow in no way in every way
reason umiam unḋo- unso- umṗo- umir- uṅqa- uma-
why...? for this reason for that reason therefore for some reason for no reason for every reason

Mixed Parts[]

Tsrul has the unique ability to blend parts of speech, such as nouns and verbs, verbs and adjectives, etc., to create nuanced expression, as well as densely-packed meaning in a small number of words. Since verbs are so integral to the formation of Tsrul sentences, part-mixing happens mostly on verbs, but there is no rule against creating words that are, for instance, adjectival nouns or adverbial adjectives.

Part-mixing is demonstrated with the following example (words are directly parsed in brackets):

qaxa gyatom hoqaṅqroḋaŏ, hoyaonjozayáĭ.

[IF] [WAY.ᴀᴄᴄ] [2sɢ.KNOWLEDGE.NONE.sᴇɴs-ᴀᴄᴛ-ᴅɪsᴄ] [2sɢ.sᴛʀᴏɴɢ.LOST.ᴀᴅᴊ.ɪɴFᴇʀ-ᴀᴄᴛ-ᴄᴏɴᴛ-ɪɴFFᴜᴛ]

“If you have no knowledge of the way, I assume you will forever be throughly lost.”

If, however, the verb is a simple negative like hoxalqanḋaŏ rather than hoqaṅqroḋaŏ, the meaning changes slightly to “If you don’t know the way [...] ,” which shifts the perspective from the subject’s knowledge to the subject.

As stated, part-mixing can create very nuanced distinctions, but can also be very confusing for Tsrul beginners. It is recommended that learners of Tsrul ensure that they have thoroughly learned the basics of the language before attempting to master part-mixing.

Specialized Terminology[]

Idioms[]

pinunto - 'a greeting [ᴀᴄᴄ]' (shortened from 'I give you a greeting') - hello (declines for number of people being greeted)

ṫolapum - 'of the error' (shortened from 'this results from my error.') - I'm sorry

ṗogudżoyoŏ pibŭĭtan - 'to laugh widely' - to laugh heartily

ṗonaxayoŏ piḋomlĕĭn - 'to speak crookedly' - to be drunk

uṫanżam ṗonaxayoŏ - 'to speak like an uthan' - to paint or create visual art

ṅŭĭltom ṗoŭtoŏṅyoŏ - 'to drink the ocean(/lake/river/etc)' - to drown (the body of water the person drowns in is used in the idiom)

giqatom yotsoyoŏ [ᴄᴏᴍ] - 'to steal the ear [of someone]' - to scream at/berate [someone]

Numbers[]

Tsrul numbers are base 60, with a sub-base at 10, much like Babylonian numerals. Zero, which is grammatically handled in a different manner than the other numbers, is mo (or om, if it repeats after mo.) If the number zero is used as a noun, it takes the composite -n noun ending, as do any of the words modifying it. verbs pertaining to the number zero only use the fourth person.

numbers in the ones place in the Tsrul numeral system are im (1), sol (2), bil (3), hĕl (4), nol (5), nyar (6), myĕr (7), zyĕr (8), and or (9)

numbers in the tens place are il (10), sor (20), bir (30), hĕr (40), and nor (50). ir can sometimes be used as 60 (only when two consecutive digits of a number are 01:00).

The following examples are provided to show the form of written Tsrul numerals, as well as their numeric base-60 forms and converted base-10 forms.

sorim bil = 21:03 = 1,260

sorim mo bil mo om = 21:00:03:00:00 = 272,170,800

sorim hĕrnol im sorsol hĕl = 21:45:01:22:04 = 281,884,924

ir nornyar / im mo nornyar = 60:56 / 01:00:56 = 3,656

When there is a certain number of things referenced (i.e. two eyes, five fingers), The noun and the number are connected noun-first with the conjunctive particle i. though the grammatical numbers typically match, there is no rule that states that they need to. (e.g. yibur i sol, ḋihal i nol)

Mathematics[]

Tsrul mathematics is slightly different from modern popular mathematics. Rather than using separate operators for adding, multiplying, exponentiating, etc., the same operator is repeated. For example, the ascending operations of addition, multiplication, and exponentiation would be written in our mathematical system as 2+4, 2×4 (also written 2+2+2+2), and 24 (also written 2×2×2×2) respectively. further extending this system, we get tetration, or 42, which is equivalent to 2222. Although these operators quickly become confusing to modern everyday math users, the Tsrul system of mathematics would simply write these formulas as 2+2 for addition, 2++2 for multiplication, 2+++2 for exponentiation, and 2++++2 for tetration. Although for many Tsrul mathematicians these higher-order fucntions are rarely used, their availability in the Tsrul system makes the concepts better understood by the general populace. These concepts are also extended to the subtraction/division/nth root/super-root functions, using 2−2, 2−−2, 2−−−2, and 2−−−−2, respectively.

However, one aspect of Tsrul mathematics is a bit more foreign to modern math users. This is the concept of "operations into X" rather than "operations by X". With operations by X, we have functions such as "2 multiplied by 6," which yields the answer of 12. With operations into X, we have the function "2 multiplied into 6," which yields the answer of 3. this can be rephrased as "two goes into six three times." Since, mathematically, the concept of adding into X and adding by X yield the same numbers, addition into X is rarely used. The operators for these "into+" and "into-" operations are stylistically represented by "×" and "÷" (respectively) in the romanization of the Second Reform Script. Although "multiplying into" is very similar to "division by," the operations are held distinct in Tsrul mathematical usage. They can be used, for instance, in simplifying the calculation of percentage totals. as an example, say a person buys two meals at a restaurant in the United States which costs $10.62 each, and needs to know if the twenty-five dollars in their wallet is enough for a 15% tip. In Tsrul mathematics, the equation would be 10.62++2 = 21.24, 21.24÷÷25.00 = 1.17 (17% tip). the usage of division into X is here used to simplify the equation, negating the need to change any of the operands (as one would need to order the operands in the second part as 25/21.24 in modern the mathematical system, replacing 21.24 as the operand being modified). This is especially useful when using a calculator.

Example texts[]

The first three lines of oʻal i sol (The Two Gifts), the Tsrul creation myth.[]

1iṡo ḋun ramye raxazam, ożi ṅoqalyàŏ i iṅwo, u soṡomyàŏ.

2iṡo, upa u ṡomyàŏ, aṗasor tam nyepàŏ i e iṡoḋàĭ, sonaxayàŏ. “ḋoso litatom żŏṅ hoʻalẁé, hoiṡoḋáĭ́!” soṫusiṅyàŏ.

3aŏṗo soruṫayàŏ.


1Existence awoke from a dream-filled sleep when it decided that it must.

2After Existence awoke, It spoke to all that It saw could be. it said, “Yᴏᴜ sʜᴀʟʟ ᴇxɪsᴛ, ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴊᴏʏ!”

3Thus it happened.

Article 1 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights[]

ṫotaro uyumpur apalmpur ahŭyompur sebabaḋaŏ piżum. ṡelutom aṫimatom inteoʻalḋaŏ, a goyażar teyĕmwi.


All human beings are born equally with dignities, freedoms, and rights. They are given reason and conscience and should act towards one another as siblings.


The North Wind and the Sun[]

ḃuhah a zĕgim hiya sixazożam saĭnaṅyàŏ. dżimaéĭ̀m lagyampu oŏ siyantom solanoyóŏ, inzam oŏ soto u e soxalanoẃam sixatom maẃa, sarĕṅowayàŏ. ḃuhah ḃuhahaxom ḃuhayàŏ, oṗa lagyam dĕṅ soxalyàŏ i u intoxalanoẁam dĕṅ siyantom toŭdżaṅyàŏ pyŏsazom. ḃuhah ożiḋéĭ̀m soṫesayàŏ. upa, uṫéĭ̀m zĕgimpum uṫayàŏ pyŭmwo, lagyam u toxalanoyàŏ. unsom ḃuhah sixatom zĕgimpum tolĕtayàŏ.

pul ṗopsĕḋoŏ pilŏwŏw. pŭwl lŏwŏwḋoŏ pipsĕ.


Wind and Sun were arguing about [who was] the stronger. Upon the arrival of a traveller who wore a coat, they wagered that the first to make him disrobe had all the strength. Wind blew with all of the gusts, but not only was the traveller not disrobed, he also wrapped himself tighter in the coat. At this, Wind gave up. Then, as the Sun's light brightened warmly, the traveler disrobed. for that reason, Wind admitted the strength of the Sun.

The foolish apply impactfully. The wise impact applicably.

The Tower of Babel[]

1 senaqem aṅgozam naxatom i im maĭḃàŏ.

2 ḋun ṗuyayem segyaeĭmyàŏ, nŏyṗĕnto ṡinaryem semŭĭyàŏ, a oṫiṗoyem u seṫisiyayàŏ.

3 "sulr ṡeṅxol ḋeloẃó, a ḋeṡenẃón." teṫusinyàŏ. sultor o ṡilyoŏ a ḃlitol o ĕgamyoŏ, semaĭḃàŏ.

4 "ĭsantom a ṅiqetom ĭyimpum palozaĭm xumŭżam ḋeṡilẃŏ́." teṫusinyàŏ, "deṫŏṅẃó, yam ḋun oṫiḋoyem dexaldirẃó." teṫusinyàŏ.

5 sezum seso soyibuyàŏ. ĭsantom aṅiqetom, oŏ zoĭr gobampur seṡilyàĭ, sonyepàŏ.

6 "we! seyaŏrḋaŏ! naxaxom i im senaxaḋaŏ! soto ŭ separtṫuḋaŏ!" sezum toṫusinyàŏ. "xanson e sexalĕmaŏ, qaxa xaḋaŏ i ĕmaŏ." toṫusinyàŏ.

7 "ḋożupeḋwa. senaxam ḋobwanaḋáŏ́ o texalżreĭlẃí." toṫusinyàŏ.

8 aŏḋom, sezum tiwṅarm poh ḋĕleyem sopsanyàŏ, a ĭsantom seṅaqayàŏ i ṡilyàŏ.

9 umṗom, oṫiṗom "babel" seżwemyàŏ, yan sea naxapum oṫiṗoyem sezuxom intobwanayàŏ, a sea ḋun oṫiṗoyem poh ḋĕleyem sezuxo intopsanyàŏ.


1 Their whole homeworld had one language.

2 As they traveled out from the east, they found a field in Shinar, and they began to live there.

3 "We should make bricks using fire, and burn them toroughly," They said to each other. They had bricks for building and tar for binding.

4 "Let's build a city and a tower whose top is as high as the sky," they said to each other. "We should name ourselves, so that we do not leave from this place," they said to each other.

5 Their god looked at them. he saw the city and the tower, which the children of humanity were building.

6 "Look! They're working together! They speak using one language! They've started to do this!" Their god said to himself. "They are unable to do nothing, if they imagine that they can do it," He said to himself.

7 "I should go down. I will confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another," he said to himself.

8 thus, their god sowed them all over the planet, and they forgot about building the city.

9 Therefore, that place was called Babel. Because they, with their language, were there confused by their god, and from there they were sown all over the planet by their god.

Dictionary[]

Cores are listed in the form “core - noun form, verb form.”

Cores typically do not exceed 3 syllables, though there are exceptions, mostly compounds and borrowings.

irregulars are marked with a dagger

* non-core words (prepositions, particles, etc.) are marked with an asterisk

Stress is marked with ◌̄ for tsrul beginners. in practice, this is never done in tsrul writing

̄

  • ʻ

ʻaḃĭ̄n - wrist, to gesticulate

‘āha - thickness, to make thicker

ʻaṫān - a slithering animal (snake), to slither

ʻetūṅ - trouble, to trouble

ʻhĭ̄ṅgŭ - vomit/dry-heaving, to vomit/dry-heave

ʻĭṅōma - coilgun

ʻŏ - backwards motion, to back up/reverse (dyn: to turn around)

ʻŏr - basic unit (quark, electron), to break down

ʻun - food, to prepare food

ʻuqān - complexity (a type of beauty), to be complex

ʻurtabŏ̄r - useful skill, to be skilled

ʻuwō - circle, to encircle

̄

  • a

a* - and (takes the form [al] when preceding [a])

ahnā - nostril/nose, to sniff

aĭ - colonization, to colonize

am - parent, to be a parent

āṅgo - total, to be whole

āpa - dirt, to get dirty

aqāl - perception, to perceive

aŏl* - how (as in “I know how you feel.”)

aŏtān - glory, to make glorious

aṗō - shin, to kneel

ar - idea, to have an idea

aṡŭ̄ - correction, to correct

aya - ascent, to bring up/lift/pick up

̄

  • b

baĭ - conquest, to conquer

bāba - baby, to be born (passive is “to give birth/lay an egg,” depending on species)

bāḃa - quantum entanglement, to entangle quantum states

baḃān - quantum entanglement-converter, to travel via superconverter tsrul power core

balu - shadow/reflection, to shade/reflect

ḃĕhan - change, to change (middle voice: to become)

biḋān - achievement, to achieve

bir - thirty, to multiply by thirty (transitive)

bil - three, to triple (transitive)

bīṫi - triangle, to triangulate

byĕ* - until

bo* - even

bōsu - end point, to finish

brāyen - mentorship, to mentor

braŏ* - since

- conversation, to converse

būla - Near UV (380nm), to make Near UV (transitive)

būsu - learning, to learn

bwāna - bewilderment, to make bewildered (transitive)

bżaŏ - element, to react (chemically)

bżon - manslaughter, to kill (accidentally)

̄

ḃāḋŭ - domestic animal, to train

ḃanān - lie, to lie (as a liar would)

ḃaŏ* - before

ḃĕ̄ṅqu - epoch, to span an epoch (dyn: to change epochs)

ḃidi - shout, to yell

ḃli - goop/tar, to secrete (mass)

ḃon - thoroughness, to be thorough

ḃonaqāl - comprehension, to comprehend

ḃuhāh - wind, to blow

ḃuqī - leg, to kick

ḃun - key, to lock

ḃuṡŭ̄m - fat, to fatten

bŭĭtān - wide, to make wider

̄

  • d

daʻ* - hey!/stop!/wait!/look out! (usually repeated three times as “daʻdaʻdaʻ!”)

dāṡa - a collected/cool demeanor, to maintain a collected/cool demeanor

dampē - knee, to genuflect

dḋyūqa - fall, to fall

diʻ - brief, to cut short

dīru - going, to go

domlēĭṅ - crookedness, to zig-zag

dran - simplicity, to simplify

dŭĭwār - handicap, to handicap

dzītu - cycle, to turn

dzyūqa - ground, to bury (dyn: to till)

dzwal - falsehood, to falsify

dżahōm - revenge, to avenge

dżin - truth, to tell the truth

dżīma - coming, to come

dżōṡa - other, to ostracize

̄

ḋābu - attempt, to attempt/try

ḋaŏ - verb, to make a core into a verb (ḋoŏ, yaŏ, and yoŏ are alternate forms)

ḋĕ̄le - terrestrial planet, to make landfall (dyn: to slingshot)

ḋĕlēlu - gas planet, to pull with heavy gravity

ḋĕsōĭl - chest, to breathe (or break (like a wave). refers specifically to the motion of breathing)

ḋihā - finger, to poke

ḋīme - blue (495nm), to make blue (transitive)

ḋīni - writing, to write/type

ḋiṗīm - fingernail, to scratch

ḋnāme - back, to lie down

ḋŏ - electricity, to electrify

ḋrŏṅ - supposition, to suppose

ḋūyam - swelling, to swell

ḋun* - out of/from

ḋuta - overwealming stimuli (any sense, i.e. pain, hearing, taste, smell, etc.), to be overly loud/smelly/bright

̄

  • e

e* - modal clitic of capability

ēbuṡi - fight/battle, to fight using weapons

eyēm - wish, to wish

eyūṅ -wipe, to wipe

elgām - unnaturalness, to be unnatural

ēlu - cloud, to be cloudy (dyn: to fog up, as glasses do coming from the cold)

elxō - unnatural/untimely death, to die unnaturally

em* - through (as in, to move through a doorway)

embḃŭ̄ĭr - gathering/party, to socialize

ēnu* - over

ēqa - shine, to shine

eṡōl - half, to halve

ezīm - sword, to slash

̄

  • ĕ

ĕḃrīn - shame, to shame

ĕdēmo - clothing, to clothe

ĕdzīn* - provided that

ĕgām - cement, to cement

ĕgmān - lake, to float

ĕha - statue, to erect

ĕyō - part/piece, to split apart

ĕldiō - bifurcation, to split

ĕpṗīn - favorite, to feel favoritism for (transitive, positive connotation)

ĕm - action, to do

ĕṅqāŏ - dark mass-energy (composite), to convert energy to dark matter (dyn: DM to energy)

ĕ̄no - leaf, to whisper

ĕqō - west, to go westward (dyn: to turn westward)

̄

  • g

ga* - from (location; e.g. from Earth)

gahṡān - heaviness/weight, to make heavier

gāmpo - blindness, to blind (transitive)

gāṡa - brawl, to brawl/fight hand-to-hand

gażōh - sacredness, to be sanctified

gĕ̄xan - frustration, to frustrate (transitive)

giqā - ear, to hear (dyn: to listen)

gya - way/path, to travel on a path

gyuqṡā - honor/face/pride, to respect

gyutum - answer, to answer/respond

glu - wood, to do carpentry (to [object])

gōbam - humanity, to be humane

gaqāl - flying animal (bird), to fly

go - breakfast, to prepare breakfast

gōya - (step)sibling, to be born as a sibling

gōno - resignation, to give up

gopāĭl - iron drum, to play an iron drum (dyn: to strike an iron drum)

gru - an awkward tension caused by withholding information, to cause grum.

gudżō - laughter, to laugh

gūyu - heart/pump, to pump

gupān - , cleaning, to clean

guṡāʻ - reform, to reform

gŭl* - oy/jeez

gżum - pull, to pull

̄

  • h

ha* - from when (from the time of...)

hāhṅa - snow, to snow

hāṡĕ - breath, to breathe

hĕl - four, to quadruple (transitive)

hĕmūn - far IR (15μm), to make far IR (transitive)

hĕr - forty, to multiply by forty (transitive)

hĕ̄tsi - tree, to grow (in age)

hĕṫi - quadrilateral (includes squares, rhombi, trapezoids, etc.), to look in all different directions

hiyā* - on the subject of/about (+[SIM])

hīme - diving, to dive

hin - platonic love, to love platonically

hna - shadow/shade/darkness, to shade

hnazām - (exact) same thing, to use again

hinūsu - pleasure, to please

hiūqa - brief attack, to attack/strike

hogōm - suction, to suck

hner - torture, to torture

hŭyoṅ - right/privilege, to have the right (to...)

̄

  • i

i* - conjunctive clitic/numeric clitic/partitive clitic

iṗā - opening, to be open (dyn: to open)

īpe - thinness, to make thinner

īho - pain, to cause pain

il - ten, to multiply by ten (transitive)

im - one, to count

in - prohibition, DON’T!

ini* - still

iṅ - necessity, you must!

iṅwār - decimal point, to calculate accurately

imsōl - mathematics, to calculate

imān* - all at once/at one time

īmpo - demand, I demand that...

īnto - mandate, I respectfully mandate that...

īṅqo - request, I request that...

īpe - ease, to make something easy (transitive)

iqēni - Ikeni (species), to behave like an Ikeni

ir - multitude (or 60, as a number), to be many (or to multiply by sixty (transitive))

iṡō - Existence (the deity), to be (mostly unused, in a trsul’s mind only Existence can be)

isā - city, to urbanize

īsŭ - spirit/soul, to embody

̄

  • ĭ

ĭ - thing, to stand/remain passively ĭḃām - spouse, to be married (transitive)

ĭgyan − hero/heroine, to protect/save/guard

ĭgmā - ambush, to ambush

ĭyīm - pinnacle, to summit (as in to summit a mountain) (transitive)

ĭl - toe, to balance/stabilize (dyn: to hold on to (transitive))

ĭ̄mba - curiosity (positive connotation; healthy curiosity) (composite), to be interested

ĭmyuwā - hunting, to hunt

ĭnāl - salt (mass), to salt

ĭnaṅ - argument, to argue

ĭ̄nte - happiness (composite), to be happy

ĭṅōṗu - mind, to think

iqam* - in front of

ĭsān - city, to urbanize

ĭṡŭ̄ - age, to age

ĭ̄zno - anger/rage, to cause anger/rage



  • l

la - vibrance, to be vibrant

larā - edible plant/vegetable, to prepare/harvest vegetables

lam - fruit, to prepare/harvest fruit

lano - outfit, to wear (dyn: to put clothes on)

laqāŏ - mass-energy (composite), to convert energy to matter (dyn: matter to energy)

laŏyāŏ - cat, to accompany (transitive)

lēgŭm - rain, to rain down (weather is phrased as “rain falls outside,” not “it’s raining”)

lĕta - admission, to admit.

līni - sand (mass), to sift

lixā - genitals, to have intercourse with

līta - joy, to be joyous

lo - creation/invention, to create/invent

losāŭ - wind, to blow

lŏwŏw - force, to impact

lumōn - dullness, to dull (a blade)

lun - good, to do well

lūṡo - orange (610nm), to make orange (transitive)

̄

  • m

maʻ - that's it!/enough!/i've had it!

maḃā - possession, to have

mālaʻ - claw, to claw

manām - cold, to chill

mayām - Far UV (170nm), to make Far UV (transitive)

mem - shard, to shatter

mĕn - space, to space-travel

mĕ̄su - head (body part), to headbutt

mi - thumb, to vote (mitsoym -secondary thumb)

mizŭ̄ - safety, to provide safety for (transitive) (dyn: to protect)

miżīm - skin, to laminate

myĕr - seven, to septuple (transitive)

mo - zero (takes the form [om] when following itself, thus mo om mo om = 00:00:00:00), to count zero (transitive)

moqṡā - white, to whiten (transitive)

mūmŭ - mouth, to kiss

mŭĭ - discovery, to discover

̄

  • n

na* - so/accordingly/and so/well/uhh/um nar* - but

nal - beauty (holds a neutral, non-gender specific connotation), to be beautiful

nāqe - home planet, to live on one’s home planet (dyn: to return home)

naxā - language, to speak

ner - west, to go west (dyn: to turn westward)

nĕpō - sight, to see

niqā - tooth, to bite

nīsi - myth/magic, to regale/cast spells

nyar - six, to sextuple (transitive)

nyaṫi - hexagon, to worship

nol - five, to quintuple (transitive)

nōqa* - only/just (can be made into adjectival noqaza- ‘alone’)

nor - fifty, to multiply by fifty (transitive)

noṫi - pentagon, to measure area

nŏyṗĕ - open expanse, to raze

nuqūm - palm (of the hand), to apply pressure (dyn: to rub)

nŭĭn - collective/union, to unite

̄

ṅan - greatness, to succeed

ṅāno - ship/ocean vessel, to be on a ship (dyn: to get on a ship)

ṅaqā - cessation, to stop (intransitive)

ṅĕṡo - question, to ask

ṅiqe - tower, to stand out

ṅyōqa - throw, to throw

ṅoqāl - decision, to decide

ṅo* - whence (from where)

ṅoĭgĕ - story, to tell a story

ṅoʻīr - travel, to travel

ṅōnum - left/counter-clockwise, to go left/counterclockwise (dyn: to turn left/ccw)

ṅōṡah - swimming animal (fish), to swim

ṅūnu - wonder, to be wondrous

ṅŭĭl - ocean, to inundate

̄

  • o

o* - supine clitic

oʻāl - gift, to give

ōgo - red (700nm), to redden (transitive)

ogŏ̄ - friendship, to be friends (dyn: to become friends)

oĭṅ - north, to go north (dyn: to turn northward)

ōyĕm - plant, to root oneself into something/stand one’s ground (dyn: to become stuck)

oŏ* - whose (can be applied to non-sentient entities, i.e. a rock whose surface is smooth)

oŏm - tripping, to trip (over something)

ōpa* - damn/alas/shit

ōnyo - being lost, to be lost

ōŏqi - a type of very hard liquor, to pour out a shot of oŏqi (dyn: to drink oŏqi)

or - nine, to nonuple (transitive)

oṫĕ̄n* - wherever

oṫī* - where (as in “I know where the city is)

ożī* - when (as in “I know when my plane leaves)

ożōʻ - taste, to taste (what the food does, not what the taster does)

̄

  • ŏ

ŏʻūĭl - south, to go south (dyn: to turn southward)

ŏḃōṅ - murder, to murder (purposefully)

ŏgnūy - sea, to rage

ŏnŭ̄ - relationship (romantic), to like/be invovled with romantically (transitive)

ŏṅmā - stone, to crush

ŏ̄pṡu - fear, to cause fear (pas: to fear)

ŏqṡā - line, to align

ŏqībe - warp nanite, to send data over the warp array

ŏ̄rtṡa - confusion, to confuse

ŏsa - proximity, to encroach

ŏtoŏ - sculpture, to carve/sculpt

ŏ̄tsi - person (masculine, male), to be masculine (different connotation compared to now

̄

  • p

pa - away from, to go away from (dyn: to turn away from)

payō - up, to go upward (dyn: to turn upward)

pal - freedom, to free

pālo - height, to make taller (transitive)

pānya - power/ability, to be able

partṫu - beginning, to start

pāsa - tongue, to lick

pinūh - greeting, to greet (dyn: to meet for the first time)

pīso - novelty, to restore

pitō* - even though

poh* - all over the place/all around

poĭ* - that (as in, the man knew that the dog ate his food. )

pṗo* - although

psan - seed, to sow

psĕ - application, to apply.

pŭl - benign foolishness, to be a dunce

pŭw - wisdom, to be wise

̄

ṗa - door, to close

ṗēlan - satellite (natural or man-made), to orbit (dyn: to be captured in orbit)

ṗamnŭ̄w - leather/pelt, to scalp

ṗināʻ - axe, to hew

ṗĭ - silk, to spin silk

ṗlōqa - smoke (composite), to produce smoke

ṗōla - smooth, to make smooth

ṗōma* - around (as in, to circle around)

ṗoṅ - bad, to be bad

ṗożyā - tail, to wag one’s tail

ṗūya - east, to go eastward (dyn: to turn eastward)

ṗūżŭ - term of endearment (exact meaning is unclear, somewhat derogatory but also flattering)

ṗŭlṫēĭn - advice, to advise

ṗŭsāl - ash, to turn to ash

̄

  • q

qayō* - for some time

qalū - Pyrrhic victory (a technical win that is logistically a loss), to prevail in defeat

qam - glass, to shine/polish

qan - knowledge, to know

qasō - repossession, to repossess

qasōnal - the Kasona (race), to upload one's mind to a computer (dyn: to download into a body)

qaṡōʻ - size (specifically, largeness), to inflate or make larger

qāxa* - if

qażāno - mid IR (8μm), to make mid IR (transitive)

qērḋa - curiosity (has a negative connotation; nosy-curious), to be nosy

qēxo - machine, to mechanize

qih* - ouch! (usually completely voiceless, pronounced [ki̥h] or [qḁh])

qyaŏpō - thread, to sew

qon - footstep, to walk

qōpa - dark, to be dark

qsim - pet, to domesticate

qsĭn - iron, to smith/forge

qṡa - pigment, to dye

qṡibā - tug, to pull

qṡol - hole, to make a hole

qṡun - worm, to burrow

qṡūar - atmosphere, to fill a ship with atmosphere

qul - consumption, to eat

qulūn - an incredibly spicy rice-like dish with a thick sauce, to prepare qulun

quṡŭ̄n - expansion, to expand

qŭw - forgetting, to be unable to recall (dyn: to forget)

̄

  • r

ra - sleep, to sleep

rāmo - purple (430nm), to make purple (transitive)

raṡāĭm - play (what kids do for fun), to play

rāxa - dream, to dream

remŭ̄ - dryness, to dessiccate

rela* - behind

rĕ - shell, to clamp shut

rĕl - face/countenance, to turn one's head towards... (transitive)

rĕṅōwa - bet, to wager

riyŭ̄n - day (composite), to spend the day

rinyīm - division into, to divide x into y (x=ɪɴsᴛ, y=ᴀɢᴇ)

riqōm - a predatory scaly animal, to stalk

rĭṅ - god, to be deified

roŏ - promiscuity, to be promiscuous

roti - hologram, to project

ruṫā - occurrence, to happen

rŭṡū - shortness, to make shorter

̄

  • s

sahām - same thing/similar item, to duplicate/counterfeit sāĭqo - feather, to glide

sami - health, to maintain good health

saqāl - person (feminine, female), to be feminine (different connotation compared to now)

sen - egg, to ovulate

sēlŭ - fright, to frighten

sĕm - pitcher/bowl/container for liquid, to pour (PAS: to fill up with liquid)

siyam - coat, to bundle up

sixa - strength, to bear

syōma - sky, to jump

sol - two, to double (transitive)

sōṗi - breast, to breastfeed

sor - twenty , to multiply by twenty (transitive)

sōṡu - raod/railway (artificial path), to drive

sugā - flower, to bloom

sul - brick, to build up

sumpiṡe - visitor, to visit

̄

ṡażā - hair, to braid

ṡāpa - wing, to fly

ṡelu - reason, to reason/think about

ṡen - fire, to burn

ṡīqi - spear, to stab

ṡīqṡiqa - evil, to be evil

ṡil - construction, to build

ṡmuy - grass/vegetation, to sod

ṡolṗŭ̄ - misfortune, to have bad luck

ṡom - consciousness, to be conscious

ṡōqu - root, to root in/hold fast

sor - speech, to speak/say

ṡubrē - Thermal IR (12μm), to make Thermal IR (dyn: to emit Thermal IR)

ṡuḃin - romantic partner, to marry

ṡubon - object, to have possession of (dyn: to carry)

ṡūya - tear, to cry (dyn: to sob)

ṡul - animal, to be feral

̄

  • t

tam* - that/which/who (as in “Speak to everyone that can hear”)

tan - exodus, to escape en masse (dyn: to stampede)

tanya - music (composite), to make music

tāṅqo - stick, to use a stick for... (transitive)

taṡaṫo - patience, to wait/wait for/expect

te - limit, to limit

ti - dot, to dot (a letter, like i)/tap/poke

tīṫu - seed, to plant

tiwṅar - people/culture, to behave as one's culture dictates

toĭ - requirement, to need

trai - event, to plan an event

tsīsi - grip, to hold (dyn: to squeeze)

tsru - sapience, to be sapient

tsrul - tsrul people/culture, to behave like a true tsrul

tsuʻūṅqu - celebration, to celebrate

tṡyūṅṡa - return, to return (from an errand)

tṫyūqa - cord (or rope), to tie (transitive)

tṫo - placement, to put

tṫūpe - saliva, to spit

tupīh - fingertip/fingerpad, to tap

tur - chair/seat, to sit

̄

ṫalyān - near IR (800nm), to make near IR (transitive)

ṫāṡo - rot, to rot

ṫaṫā - brown, to make brown (transitive)

ṫesa - surrender, to give up

ṫi - side/face, to orient

ṫīḋĕ - water, to wash (adj: watered-down)

ṫīma - conscience, to feel guilty

ṫisīya - life, to live

ṫīżi - closeness, to stay close to... (dyn: to snuggle up to...) (transitive)

ṫōla - error, to make a mistake

ṫōta - person (not limited to humans. ungendered), to behave like a person (used with animals)

ṫōŭ - lisp, to speak with a lisp (linguistic note: this word was once pronounced [sor])

ṫŏṅ - naming, to assign a name

ṫu - space/time, to travel through space/time

ṫuṅāno - spaceship, to travel on a spaceship (dyn: to get on a spaceship)

ṫuṅoʻĭ̄r - time travel, to travel only through time

ṫusīṅ - word, to say

ṫwoŏw - length, to go a long way

̄

  • u

u* - dynamic verbal clitic

uāżŭm - cut, to cut

udōma - Mid UV (240nm), to make Mid UV (transitive)

uyū - wetness, to moisten

uyūn - dignity, to dignify

ūlya - wish/desire, to want

ūme* - soon/recently (depends on tense of sentence)

umriyun - yesterday/tomorrow (depends on tense of sentence), to time travel one day at a time

un - musical instrument, to play music

uṅ - time, to pass (as time passes)/to be in an undisturbed state

uṅāqṡo - knife, to chop

ūpa* - after (when followed by Temporal, means “as soon as”)

ūqa - member, to hold membership

uqyū - grey/black, to make grey/blacken (transitive)

usā - smallness, to make smaller

uṫā - light, to light up/brighten

uṫān - Uthan (alien life form), to communicate visually

̄

  • ŭ

ŭ - perfect verbal clitic

ŭyāl - turqoiuse (500nm), to make turqouise (transitive)

ŭ̄lmu - strike/hit, to strike/hit

ŭm - toy, to play with...

ŭmbān - stomach/belly, to sit up from a laying position

ŭmūti - ancestor, to beget

ŭmŭ̄n - back of the hand, to slap

ŭmwō - warmth, to warm

ŭnyo - representative, to represent

ŭryāṅ - ice, to freeze

ŭsmā - victory, to be victorious/defeat

ŭtōŏṅ - beverage, to drink

ŭtwām - louse, to infest

ŭdżāṅ - wrapper, to wrap/roll up

ŭ̄xo - blood, to bleed

̄

  • w

wa - bone, to break a bone (dżinsom ḋowalḋàŏ̀ - I broke some of Gene’s bones)

waĭʻ - poison, to poison

wam - rough impact, to smash

wāwan - flight, to flee

we* - Oh!/Behold!/Look!

wēhnŭ - smell, to smell

wĕ̄qa - hip, to stand

witi - generation, to reproduce

woʻ* - yes/truly/thus (can also mean ‘ahhh,’ or ‘oh, i see.’)

woṅ - good, to be good

wŏr - conception, to impregnate

wōṡa - tree bark, to cover protectively

wūṅu - greenish-yellow (570nm), to make greenish-yellow (transitive)

wu - perfection, to perfect

wūxa - romantic love, to be in love with... (transitive)

̄

  • x

xa - imagination, to imagine

xāgo - mountain, to rock-climb

xaĭ* - no

xayūqa - horn, to gore

xal - negative, to not...(immediately followed by another core, then evidential ending)

xalīr - paucity, to make fewer/“cull the herd”

xan - nothing

xaṡŭ̄ - applause, to clap/to applaud

xetṡō - gut, to digest

xiqīr - ink/pigment, to ink/paint/color

xo - death (of any kind), to die

xŏm - teacher, to teach

xūmŭ - year/orbit/rotation (spacial relation, not time), to orbit or rotate around... (transitive)

xumŭ̄ - the observable horizon, to leave the Cosmos

xŭw - dog, to be a partner to... (in the “hetero-lifemate” sense)

̄

  • z

za - message, to write a message (dyn: to send a message)

zĕgīm - sun/star, to fuse (as in nuclear fusion)

zīmi - foot, to step

ziṅān - faith, to pray

zĭ - sleet, to cover with sleet ("sleet falls" would be the weather term)

zyĕl - eight, to octuple (transitive)

zum - like, to like

zōdżŭ - cock/pussy, to fuck (transitive)

zoĭ - child, to raise children

zōto - knuckle, to punch

zu - god/goddess, to be supernatural

zudżūn - meat, to prepare meat

zuwōn - night, to spend the night




  • y

ya - ought, to shall/should (never subjunctive)

yaʻŭṅ  - burst sleep/seizure, to undergo burst sleep/seize (as in epilepsy)

yāĭdo - past, to precede

yālṡo - river, to flow

yan* - because

yāṅqo - color, to color/paint

yaŏr - togetherness, to act together

yaṗō - surreality, to be surreal

yasā - slope/hill/valley, to incline/unbalance

yeṡūr - nanofabric, to weave nanofabric

yĕm - narrowness, to make narrower

yību - eye, to look at

yibuqam - mirror, to reflect

yom - jumping, to jump (dyn: to jump over)

yosī - core (as in a grammatical core), to trim down

yotsō - theft, to steal

yōŏtṡo - galaxy, to travel from galaxy to galaxy

yunā* - under

yūpa - voice, to sing

yupīso - enjoyment, to enjoy

yūṡu - right/clockwise, to go right/clockwise (dyn: to turn right/cw)


  • ż

ża* - from

żāyo - neck, to turn one’s head

żōna - a pure state of being, to be in a pure state/to be one (with everything)

żol - dust (mass), to float like dust (dyn: to gather dust)

żŏṅ* - in order to

żreĭl - comprehension, to understand

żun - capacity, to fill

żum - fairness/justice, to make equal through retribution (ditransitive - agent can be implicit obj. if only 1 obj. is stated)

żumī - forest, to camp in the forest

żūṅe - shovel, to dig

żupē - down, to go downward (dyn: to turn downward)

żūṡu - fate, to be affected by... (dyn: to have...happen to) (transitive)

żŭ̄ĭbi - liver, to purify

żwem - name, to call...(transitive)

Swadesh List[]


No. English Tsrul
1Iḋ/(in)do-
2you (singular)h/(in)o-
3hes/(in)to-
4weḋ/(in)da/e-
5you (plural)h/(in)a/e-
6theys/(in)ta/e-
7this-ḋro
8that-sro
9hereoṫiḋo
10thereoṫiso
11whooṗian
12whataṗian
13whereoṫian
14whenożian
15howaŏian
16notxal
17all-aro
18manyir
19some-ro
20fewxalir
21otherdżoṡa
22oneim
23twosol
24threebil
25fourhĕl
26fivenol
27bigqaṡoʻzam
28longṫwoŭwzam
29widebŭĭtanzam
30thickhahazam
31heavygahṡanzam
32smallusazam
33shortrŭṡuzam
34narrowjĕnzam
35thinipezam
36womansaqal
37man (adult male)ŏtsi
38man (human being)ṫota
39childzoĭ
40wifeĭḃamha
41husbandĭḃamʻa
42motheramha
43fatheramʻa
44animalṡul
45fishṅoṡah
46birdgaqal
47dogxŭw
48louseŭtwam
49snakeʻaṫan
50wormqṡun
51treehĕtsi
52forestżumi
53sticktaṅqo
54fruitlam
55seedtiṫu
56leafĕno
57rootṡoqu
58barkwoṡa
59flowersuga
60grassṡmuj
61ropetṫjuqa
62skinmiżim
63meatzudżun
64bloodŭxo
65bonewa
66fatḃuṡŭm
67eggsen
68hornxajuqa
69tailṗożja
70feathersaĭqo
71hairṡaża
72headmĕsu
73eargiqa
74eyejibu
75noseahna
76mouthmumŭ
77toothtṫiqa
78tonguepasa
79fingernailḋiṗim
80footzimi
81legḃuqi
82kneedampe
83handjuʻ
84wingṡapa
85bellyŭmban
86gutsxetṡo
87neckżajo
88backḋname
89breastsoṗi
90heartguju
91liverżŭĭbi
92drinkŭtoŏṅjoŏ
93eatquljoŏ
94biteniqajoŏ
95suckhogomjoŏ
96spittṫupejoŏ
97vomithingujoŏ
98blowlosaŭjoŏ
99breathehaṡĕjoŏ
100laughgudżojoŏ
101seenjepoŏ
102heargiqajoŏ
103knowqanjoŏ
104thinkĭṅoṗu
105smellwehṅŭjoŏ
106fear(Passive)ŏpṡujoŏ
107sleeprajoŏ
108liveṫisijajoŏ
109diexojoŏ
110killŏḃoṅjoŏ / bżonjoŏ
111fightebuṡijoŏ
112huntĭmjuwajoŏ
113hitŭlmujoŏ
114cutuażŭmjoŏ
115spliteldiojoŏ
116stabṡiqijoŏ
117scratchḋiṗimjoŏ
118digżuṅejoŏ
119swimṅoṡahjoŏ
120flyṡapajoŏ
121walkqonjoŏ
122comedżimajoŏ
123lieḋnamejoŏ
124sitturjoŏ
125standweqajoŏ
126turnu (direction)joŏ
127falldḋjuqajoŏ
128giveoʻaljoŏ
129holdtsisijoŏ
130squeezeu tsisijoŏ
131rubu nuqumjoŏ
132washṫiḋĕjoŏ
133wipeejŭṅjoŏ
134pullqṡibajoŏ
135pushgżumjoŏ
136throwṅjoqajoŏ
137tietṫjuqajoŏ
138sewqjaŏpojoŏ
139countimsoljoŏ
140sayṫusinjoŏ
141singjupajoŏ
142playraṡaĭmjoŏ
143floategmanjoŏ
144flowjalṡojoŏ
145freezeŭrjaṅjoŏ
146swellḋujamjoŏ
147sunzĕgim
148moonṗelan
149starzĕgim
150waterṫiḋĕ
151rainlegŭm
152riverjalṡo
153lakeegman
154seaŏgnuj
155saltĭnal
156stoneŏṅma
157sandlini
158dustżol
159earthnaqe
160cloudelu
161fogelu (elul dzjuqazal)
162skysjoma
163windḃuhah
164snowhahqa
165iceŭrjaṅ
166smokeṗloqa
167fireṡen
168ashṗŭsal
169burnṡenjoŏ
170roadsoṡu
171mountainxago
172redogozam
173greenŭjalzam
174yellowwuṅuzam
175whitemoqṡa
176blackuqju
177nightzuwon
178dayrijŭm
179yeardzitu
180warmŭmwozam
181coldmanamzam
182fullżunzam
183newpisozam
184oldĭṡŭzam
185goodwonzam
186badṗonzam
187rottenṫaṡozam
188dirtyapazam
189straightŏqṡazam
190roundhuwozam
191sharpezimzam
192dulllumonzam
193smoothṗolazam
194wetujuzam
195dryremŭzam
196correctaṡŭzam
197nearoṫiḋozam
198faroṫisozam / oṫiṗozam
199rightjuṡu
200leftṅonum
201at(Locative Case)
202in(Locative Case)
203with(Committative Case)
204anda / al
205ifqaxa
206becausejan
207nameżwem
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