Asha'ille Lesson 01
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Beginning Lesson 01 — Bi'athar Eyen'lle 01
Presumed knowledge: this lesson's vocabulary and grammar, the dropped aprostrophes rule, and that the plural marker is –m (or –im for words ending in a consonant).
Exercise — Lásetad
1. Given tuya green, choose the sentence that means "The grass is green."
- a) Jhor'saethen t'tuya.
- b) Jhor'ne saethen t'tuya.
- c) Jhor'tuya t'saethen.
- d) Jhor'neilerish t'tuya.
2. Choose the sentence that means "The ocean and river are water."
- a) Jhor'uruman zafa t'caruman.
- b) Jhor'caruman t'zafa t'uruman.
- c) Jhor'caruman zafa t'uruman.
- d) Jhor'caruman t'zafa t'urumanim.
3. Given aejirith strong and pas past tense, choose the sentence that means "The wind was strong."
- a) Jhor'mmavásh t'aejirith.
- b) Jhor'mmesu t'aejirith.
- c) Pas jhor'mmesu t'aejirith.
- d) Jhor'lokeil i t'aejirith.
>> Answers (I recommend opening this link in a separate window or tab)
Grammar — Nedarn
The Copula-like Construction — Jhor'te
Asha'ille does not use a verb where the English uses the copula, or linking verb, to be. Instead, Asha'ille has a specialized contruction:
- jhor'NOSA t'NODA
- THING ONE is THING TWO, or
- THING ONE is the same as THING TWO
Normally, if a thing is being equated with a characteristic, then the noun follows jhor and the adjective follows te (which becomes t' according to the dropped aprostrophe rule). It is considered poetic to say the characteristic before the thing being described, and as such is usually not the appropriate order for casual speech.
Two nouns can also be equated. Given en'i self (that is, I or me, in most cases):
- Jhor'en i t'Arthaey.
- I am Arthaey.
This means, literally, equivalent: self and Arthaey, or self == Arthaey, depending on which way of phrasing makes most sense to you.
Note that en'i is written here as en i, because jhor attaches to it with an apostrophe. According to the dropped aprostrophe rule, only one apostrophe can appear in a single written word, therefore the apostrophe in en'i disappears.
Two more examples, given uyan blue:
- Jhor'caruman t'uyan.
- The ocean is blue.
- Jhor'esún t'uyan.
- The sky is blue.
But what if you want to say "The ocean and the sky are blue"? In English, the verb to be is conjugated to agree with the plural subject. However, in Asha'ille, neither jhor nor te change, nor do any of the other words become plural, no matter the number of things being equated:
- Jhor'caruman esún t'uyan.
- The ocean and the sky are blue.
- Jhor'caruman esún zafa t'uyan.
- The ocean, the sky, and the river are blue.
Of course, subjects can be plural if that's what you want to say:
- Jhor'carumanim t'uyan.
- Oceans are blue.
So what about "The ocean is big and blue"? Each characteristic equated to the words belonging to jhor must have its own te. For example, given muruth wet:
- Jhor'caruman t'cátua t'uyan.
- The ocean is big and blue.
- Jhor'caruman t'cátua t'uyan t'muruth.
- The ocean is big, blue, and wet.
Combining multiple subjects with multiple characteristics:
- Jhor'caruman zafa t'uyan t'muruth.
- The ocean and river are blue and wet.
The above examples might lead you to believe the words following te must be adjectives; on the contrary, nouns (and even phrases) are just as valid:
- Jhor'caruman t'uruman.
- The ocean is water.
In later lessons: using adjectives and phrases within jhor'te.
Vocabulary — Benorídim
Nature — Vaesille
uruman [u'ɹumɑn] n water
caruman [kɑ'ɹumɑn] n ocean
The ocean is really just a big bunch of water: caruman = cátua big + uruman water. <p style="text-indent: -2em; margin-left: 4em"> zafa ['zɑfə] n river
ezafe [ɛ'zɑfɛ] n riverbed
A riverbed is the place where the river is; it contains the river: ezafe = zafa river + e—e container of —. <p style="text-indent: -2em; margin-left: 4em"> sshashe [ʃə'ʃɑʃɛ] n sand
esshashe [ɛʃə'ʃɑʃɛ] n desert
A desert is the place where sand is; it contains sand: esshashe = sshashe sand + e—e container of —.
esún [ɛ'sun] n sky
vash [vɑʃ] n air
mmesu [mə'mɛsu] n wind
mmavásh [məmɑ'vɑʃ] n wind
Mmesu wind is strong, frequently loud, but higher in the atmosphere. It is the kind of wind that sends clouds racing across the sky. Mmesu is considered somewhat malevolent, and the lower it blows, the worse its "intentions." Young Cresaeans see mmesu low enough to stir trees as a sort of boogie man.
On the other hand, mmavásh does not have these frightening connotations; it is a more neutral wind, safe to ignore.
lokeil'i [lokel:i] n breeze
lokeili [lokeli] n stone
A lokeil'i breeze is the the crisp breeze of a clear day, the kind that turns your cheeks pink from the windchill, makes you aware of the beauty in simple things in life, such that you can't help but sigh and feel content. A common phrase is ne vastille lokeil'i, the beautiful, free breeze.
A lokeili stone connotes a silent wisdom of an ever-present witness to everything.
Be sure to distinguish the pronunciation of the two words lokeil'i and lokeili. Hold the sound of the second L in lokeil'i breeze for about twice as long as in lokeili stone.
neilerish [ne'lɛɹɪʃ] n fields, grasslands
saethen ['seθɛn] n grass
saea ['seə] n here; home; grasslands
Neilerishim are
syirún [sji'ɹun] n forest
shirujhin [ʃɪ'ɹuʒɪn] n tree
sheshnar ['ʃɛʃnɑɹ] n mountain
sshein [ʃɛ'ʃen] n valley
aró [ɑ'ɹo] n sun
badh [bɑð] n soil
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