Kardii Grammar (Part 2)

Conjunctions

And

The Kardii word for 'and' is 'kin', 'uwen kin miichi bodriit ali' (fruit and wine are on the table). 'kin' at the beginning of a sentence is used in the sense of 'too' or 'as well', 'kin say invache ilenda' (we have soup as well).

Because

The kardii word for 'because' is placed in between the reason and the result and differs depending on which comes first. 'tuhl' is placed after the result and 'uhlta' after the reason.

If

Kardii 'if' follows a similar pattern to 'because'. The word 'min' is positioned after the condition and before the result, and 'maan' comes after the result and before the condition.

'i'iemin' and 'i'iemaan' mean 'even if' and are used in the same way as 'min' and 'maan', 'ki iiniache i'iemin iru i'iinchii tuii' (even if you call, he won't answer).

Kardii 'as if' uses 'min/maan', as well as the words 'rianlo ty' at the beginning of the sentence, 'rianlo ty an j'tekcha min ira ksia rruhi'iicha' (they sang as if everybody was listening). In this case, 'min' comes after the actual fact (they sang) and 'maan' comes after the untrue one (everybody was listening), 'rianlo ty ira ksia rruhi'iicha maan an j'tekcha'.

Or Else

'jin' means 'or else' or 'for fear of' and is used to indicate a negative consequence should the event in the preceding sentence not happen, 'diake tuii areit i jin thekatchii' (do not stay on the bridge or else it will collapse), or 'shaycha ketked i jin teriisacha' (he took a coat so as not to get wet).

Other Conjuctions

-se Verbs

'-se' is the clausal verb suffix, 'chuki shayse' (the man who leaves). As has been mentioned, '-se' changes for tense just like '-che', 'seren desa pa' (the dog that bit me).

Nouns from Verbs

A Kardii verb is converted to a noun by placing the '-se' form of the verb after the word 'pri', 'pri nesiase' (throwing). Literally, this is 'the action which does...'.

Linking Verbs

Verbs can be joined using the normal (usually '-che') form of the main verb and the noun form of the other(s), 'pa saatche pri nethese' (I'm learning to cook) or 'iree teskacha pri d'tasa pri alarisa chari' (she wanted to try to open the lid). The tense of the '-se' verbs can either match that of the main verb or they may stick with '-se'.

Subjunctive

The Kardii subjunctive has a choice of forms. The first treats the subordinate phrase like a noun with a relative clause, the second treats it like a compliment sentence (where a fully formed sentence is placed after the main verb). The difference is often simply the '-che' or '-se' verb suffix, 'the governor allowed them to return': 'sayla niakacha an i'iarumasa' (the governor allowed those that returned) or 'sayla niakacha an i'iarumacha' (the governor allowed they returned).

For the Sake of Doing

To link two verbs that must happen one after the other (i.e. when the first action is performed to make the second one possible), 'vin' (for) is positioned before the noun form of the second verb and the phrase modifies the first verb (i.e. it comes before the 'i' marker), 'ira shaavchii vin pri p'tiimase i' (someone will come to collect it).

Position

Kardii postpositions are placed after nouns. The resulting phrase can be used as a modifier, 'iree kolche utair ri i teriisa' (she carries water to the village). Such a phrase can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence, although this tends to be done only in informal speech.

Some Kardii Postpositions

Two Notes on 'a'

Firstly, many postpositions, particularly if they are words that have other functions, are also followed by 'a' (at), 'sh'te dan a' (far away from home). This is optional.

Secondly, never put the 'i' marker and 'a' next to each other. Where such a thing would occur, the 'a' is dropped, 'pa pytche kirra a i' (I work in the city) should actually be: 'pa pytche kirra i'.

On the other hand, when a 'when' phrase (see below) contains 'i', 'i' is dropped in favour of 'a', 'an shaavse tarim i a, palake pa ri' (when they come with the cart, send them to me) should be 'an shaavse tarim a, palake pa ri'.

Saying When

The word 'a' (at) can refer to the time that an event took, or will take, place, 'pa paan a, dteenacha enlor' (when I was young (lit. 'at the young me'), I travelled to Enlor). When such a conditional phrase contains a verb, the '-se' verb suffix is used, 'lipel lo vikse a, say tobatatchii' (when that tree dies, we will cut it down).

Left and Right

The Kardii words for left and right are used only to describe an object relative to itself. To express the position of an object relative to another, use a direct reference to the surroundings, '(sarera ral) chitil ri' (towards the door (from the window)). Alternatively, it is not uncommon to use compass directions, 'sy sech' (the northern one).

Left (teskeva or koakatyia) and Right (kevarehe or onkatyia) are used to decribe something with indefinite position, 'raatista teskeva vin vintay iirra' (the left edge of the map is torn), 'invache mela onkatyia i ijevu' (he has a scar on his right cheek). Note that 'koakatyia' and 'onkatyia' are used only for people and animals.

Gender

There are three suffixes used when referring to things done by people, 'emetrera' (person who dreams - dreamer).

-ra - Person who does/uses (neutral)

-ree - Person who does/uses (feminine)

-ru - Person who does/uses (masculine)

Gender Endings

Some Kardii words, mostly to to with people, change according to gender. This can be done by adding '-u/ee' or '-ru/ree' to the end of the word. The '-u' ending is masculine and '-ee' is feminine.

Most words that use '-u/ee' end in '-a'. This ending is replaced by '-u/ee', 'michana' (shepherd) Vs. 'michanu' (shepherd (male)) Vs. 'michanee' (shepherdess).

'-ru' and '-ree' are simply suffixes added to the end of the word, 'kathii' (child) Vs. 'kathiiru' (boy) Vs. 'kathiiree' (girl). When a word that uses '-ru/ree' is used to address a person, the neutral form has '-ra' added to it, 'raapira' ('your majesty' - king/queen) Vs. 'raapiru' ('your majesty' - king) Vs. 'raapiree' ('your majesty' - queen).

All words that change this way are pure nouns.

In all situations, it's fine to just leave the word neutral. The masculine/feminine forms tend only to be used when more accuracy is needed, or when talking about more than one person who might otherwise be refered to by the same word or title, 'lara kin laree rekinacha pri shatose karra i (the soldier and the soldier arranged to meet at dawn), lii laree bandesa cha' (but the (second) soldier was late).

Adverbs

'ksii' and 'siika'

The words 'ksii' and 'siika' are modifiers. When placed after another modifier, 'ksii' means 'very', 'sy ches ksii' (the very cold one). 'siika', on the other hand, increases the degree of the word's opposite, 'sy ches siika' (the very hot one).

When used to modify nouns or verbs, these two words have a similar effect on the most commonly thought-of quality of that word, 'miska' (light) Vs. 'miska ksii' (bright light), and 'dtayche' (to run) Vs. 'dtayche ksii' (to run fast).

'ii' and 'i'ia'

Kardii 'too much' or 'over' and 'too little' or 'under' use the words 'ii' and 'i'ia', 'enil ii' (too long), 'enil i'ia' (not long enough).

'i'iee'

The word 'i'iee' means 'even', in the sense of 'as well', 'skende i'iee m'pykecha vin' (even the mirror was stolen). It can also be used to emphasise a word, 'j'vee i'iee!' (how beautiful!), or 'sayan irasta i'iee cha!' (the wave was so big!).

The word 'ee' is a variant of 'i'iee', although it tends not to be used in southern Kardii.

Special Words

Here are some words, or groups of words, that require special mention.

Coming and Going

The words 'shaav' (come) and 'shay' (go) often refer to the subject's habitual location, rather than the current one, i.e. at the end of the day, you could say to your workmates 'pa shaavche ima' (I'm coming home now), or the question 'how long have you been here?' could be answered with 'karra lo a shaycha prast' (I went here this morning).

The word 'ay' (again), when used with 'shaav' or 'shay', means 'back', 'an shaavchii ay chosas i' (they will come back tomorrow).

Environment and Weather

To make a reference to one's surroundings, use the word 'prast' (here) instead of the word for 'I', prast ches (here is (I am) cold).

Weather

The weather and conditions outside use the noun 'aara' (Lit. 'sky'), 'aara ike'ia' (the sky is hot - it's hot outside), or 'aara k'vivche' (the sky rains - it's raining).

Sensation

Consider the distinction between the English words 'see' and 'look', or 'hear' and 'listen'. In these pairs, the first word merely describes a sensation, whereas the second word indicates a deliberate action. Kardii makes this distinction with all five senses. The involuntay verbs, in their noun function, are the stimulus of the sensation, 'vifi' (vision, sight, scene) Vs. 'vifiche' (to see). The voluntary verbs, in their noun function, are the sensory organ, 'chay' (eye) Vs. 'chayche' (to look). Where the names for these organs are different for animals, the sensory verb also differs. These animal verbs, however, tend to generalise to all animals, 'efila' (furred mammal's ear) Vs. 'efilache' (to listen (applied to any animal)).

There is another set of sensory verbs used to describe a sensation. In their noun function, these words have the same meaning as the involuntary sensory verbs. In their verb function their meaning is either 'seem like' (or sound like, smell like, etc.), 'sy dejache tira' (it looks small) or 'iru jelineche ayma' (he sounds sad), or 'is able to be sensed', 'sy dejache' (it is visible (I can see it)) or 'iru jelineche' (he is audible - (I can hear him)).

Family

Like English, Kardii has relatively few kinship terms (take a look at the Ta'e language sometime). Generation is generally more important than age. Family members of a successive generation are addressed by their name, those of a previous generation are not. For the same generation, it's a matter of personal preference.

The words 'nicha' and 'anich' (literally 'previous' and 'next') mean 'older' and 'younger' when attached to kinship words.

'-chen'

The suffix '-chen' literally means 'dear', 'rendichen' (dear friend). It is common in Kardii to use '-chen' after a kinship word when addressing that family member, 'shaavche, j'tywichen!' (coming, Mother!). Any word suffixed with '-chen' is treated as a proper noun, ie, it does not use 'vin' to form the possessive, 'ketked kalaykachen' (Grandpa's coat).

The words 'tychen' and 'kachen' come with '-chen' built into them. 'Tychen' can mean 'mother', 'grandmother' or any adult female relative. 'Kachen' is 'father', 'grandfather', etc. These words are used only by very young children.

Kinship Terms

'Sh'ta Irrani' - Auxillary Family

Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews are classed according to generation. 'Kiptoia' is a generic term for all of them.