Kardiifa

Many Kardii words have separate Kardiifa forms, 'welcome': 'shan' (common) 'i'ieshana' (Kardiifa). These are often longer than the common forms. While many of the Kardiifa forms are old forms of the modern word, some are modern words which have been 'ornamented' and made into longer, fancier forms, 'feast': 'ashiiseji' (common) 'ashiniseji' (Kardiifa).

Songs and poetry tend to use a mixture of common Kardii and Kardiifa. It is not uncommon to find, for example, a Kardiifa word with a common suffix, or Kardiifa grammatical structure around common words.

Verbs

In Kardiifa, there are no verb suffixes. Kardiifa relies heavily on word order to determine word function, although there are other ways for the verb to distinguish itself.

Where the subject of a sentence is not stated, it is replaced by the word 'lee', 'lee oamaka hani' ((someone) followed them).

Tense is indicated for Kardiifa verbs by placing the words 'chii' (for future tense) or 'iicha' (for past tense) after the verb, 'eppa shay iicha theriimi' (I left the house).

The 'e' Marker

The 'e' marker comes between the subject and the verb, 'merri j'vee e j'tekaani'ia' (the pretty bird sings). As with the 'i' marker, if there is no confusion without 'e' then the marker may be dropped, 'merri pantasii j'tekaani'ia' (the other bird sings).

Relative Clauses

A hard-working word as always, 'vin' has yet another use as the Kardiifa relative pronoun. It is placed before a clausal verb, replacing the '-se' suffix, 'erreme vin e vayeen iru' (the woman who loves him).

Imperatives

A Kardiifa imperative omits the subject completely (including 'lee'), placing the verb at the beginning of the sentence, 'sayintha hani' (remember them!). A request or weak imperative (equivalent to using the '-jje' suffix in common Kardii) is formed the same way, but also adds the word 'ksate' (request) before the verb, 'ksate sayintha hani' (please remember them).

Plural

While optional in common Kardii, the plural form ('-di' suffix) is always used in Kardiifa.

The Honorific

While the honorific 'wen' is used in common Kardii, its use is much more usual in Kardiifa. Like 'vin', 'wen' is placed before a noun, 'wen sona' (the honoured lord). In Kardiifa, 'wen' is used when speaking of anything (or anyone) which deserves respect. In common Kardii, it tends only to be used when speaking of gods or of the Mineri family.