Miva
Common Language of the Tedani
Writing System
The alphabet of Miva, called Keltos after the original inventor of the current written language, is commonly shown as syllables due to the written structure of the language. The written structure consists of a circle and using a series of dots on the inside and the outside of the circle to represent consonant (inside the circle) and vowel (outside the circle) sounds. Writing words in Miva goes from bottom to top and right to left.
Note: Remember that there are two "th" in Keltos. The first in the above charts is "th" as in the English word, "mouth". The second is the same "th" as in "the".
Phonology
The phonology of Miva is similar to most languages combining vowel and consonant sounds to form words. With number words there is a stop which can be represented by the ' in English grammar. See the chart in the Phonetics section.
Morphology
Noun Morphology
Miva morphology functions similarly to many known languages. There are stems, prefixes, suffixes, etc. Old Miva noun morphology used to gendered by commonly ending a noun with a or e. If the gender of a noun was unknown, the u vowel was used. As the language expanded and changed, grammatical gendering of nouns was still used, in particular with living beings (people or animals), but is now uncommon with non-living nouns.| Miva Noun | English Translation |
|---|---|
hepi |
chicken |
delen |
eye |
jena/jene |
boy/girl |
Verb Morphology
Verb morphology of Miva uses ith or oth to indicate infinitives. Verbs are then conjugated with suffixes that represent pronouns of the actors of the verbs. These conjugations can also be used as prefixes in the following cases:- Person/people before things
- Formal or honorific emphasis on person
- Direct objects or Indirect Objects
The phrase I cook translates to Mina, the pronoun na being used to represent a masculine speaker. For a feminine speaker it would become Mine. If the speaking in third person terms, using the pronoun conjunction of sa, there are two possible translation, based on context. Misa would translate to an informal He cooks. If the subject held an honorific or formal cultural position, such as a leader or grandparent, the pronoun conjugation would become a prefix, Sami.
Formation of Adjectives and Adverbs
Forming adjectives and adverbs from nouns are made by adding prefixes or suffixes to a noun. If there is a prefix of si, lo, ce the noun is an adjective.Syntax
Basic Sentence Syntax
Grammatical syntax for sentences for Miva is follows a basic subject, verb, object structure. Keep in mind that using a proper noun negates the pronoun conjugation of verbs. After dropping the ith or oth from the infinitive of the verb, you may need to add an i or o when using proper nouns.Let's keep using the word mith as the verb for this example. I want to say I cook the meat. In Miva, this would translate to Mina ana ellosh. If I were to use a proper noun, for this example Marala, instead of a pronoun like she, the verb conjugation would be different. Marala mi ana ellosh.
Direct & Indirect Objects
When using either direct objects or indirect object the hard and fast rule is people before things. Philosophically the Tedani value life and people are the pinnacle of life on the world. If is culturally offensive to place an inanimate object or an animal's value above that of another person.Let's use the verb bekoth to say I give a flower. While a flower is living, a person has higher standing, thus the translation would be Bekna ena juken. Saying Ena juken bekna. would be grammatically incorrect as well as self deprecating. This may lead to a cultural perception that a person does not value himself.The second rule is more contextual, based on perceived honor or respect creating a syntax of formality.
Maintaining the example of giving flowers, to say I give a flower to Marala. can be translated in two ways depending on the formality/cultural status between myself and Marala. If the situation is informal, someone that I am familiar with or view as an equal or lower I would say: Bekna e Marala ena juken. If I was not as well acquainted with Marala, or perhaps she held some cultural status higher than myself, and would say: E Marala bekna ena juken. If I were to say Bekna ena juken e Marala, Ena juken bekna a Marala, or E Marala ena juken bekna; I would definitely offend Marala and would be grammatically incorrect.In the case of both direct and indirect objects being non-living things, the direct object always comes first.
Double Verbs
In instances where two verbs are together, both verbs are conjugated to the tense that would apply. Make sure to use the correct ending if speaking about yourself based on your gender. It can be odd, confusing, or insulting to mix them.If I'm using two verbs back to back in a sentence, like in the sentence I want to eat the fish., both verbs would be conjugated to the first-person, present tense. Tawona fina ana kemello.
Double Verbs and Indirect Objects
Formality comes into play when there are double verbs and indirect objects. Both verbs are conjugated but with different tenses and depending on the formality of the context, the word order would change.We want one person to talk to another. The social context of formality will change the word order. I'm trying to say I want you to talk to him. If the person I am speaking to is of a higher social standing than myself and the person I want them to speak to the translation would be: Yasho tawona e sa. If the person I am of a higher social standing than both the person I am speaking to and speaking about: Tawona yasho e sa. If the person I am speaking about is of a higher social standing than both myself and to whom I'm speaking: E sa tawona yasho. There are other combinations, so it is important to understand the formality to place the words in the correct order.
Questions
Questions in Miva are indicated by placing the word that would indicate a question at the end of the sentence. Placing those words anywhere else will give the general intention but if not careful can cause confusion on what is being asked.I want to ask someone new where are they from, Where are you from? I would conjugate the verb to be and then add the question word where. Losho puyo lote?
Vocabulary
To translate from Miva to English got to the following site to the most up to date translation. Please note that is a work in progress.
Phonetics
Use the following for English/IPA equivalency chart:
| Letter | IPA Equivalent |
|---|---|
a |
ɑ: |
e |
eɪ |
i |
i: |
o |
oʊ |
u |
ʌ |
oo |
u: |
b |
b |
d |
d |
f |
f |
g |
g |
h |
h |
y |
j |
k, c |
k |
l |
l |
m |
m |
n |
n |
p |
p |
r |
r |
s |
s |
sh |
ʃ |
t |
t |
ch |
tʃ |
th |
θ |
th |
ð |
v |
v |
w |
w |
j |
dʒ |
NOTE:
There is no "z" sound in Miva. Translation of this sound either becomes th, as in teeth, or s.Tenses
Miva contains the three most commonly found simple tenses of other languages: past, present, future. However the other tenses in Miva are often non-existent causing the speaker and listener to use context clues or an implied shared understanding of intent of communication. As Miva has progressed the use of prefixes, suffixes, indicators to clarify confusion has been adopted.
Performer & Tense Suffixes
In all the major tenses that are used in Miva the subject that is performing the action affects the ending that is being used. If I was speaking for my self versus speaking about my mother, I would use different suffixes. Yet, if I was describing something in the past for either of us, I would use the same final letter.For example, let's use the verb laoth. If I was saying "I write a note." in Miva I'm using the present simple tense. Because I am the one performing the action, then the ending of the verb laoth would be na. So the sentence would be Lana ena cufon.
Simple Tenses
Present
The present tense is the tense use to talk about things happening now.Using the word kimaith, I want to say "I bathe." It is an action happening in this moment. So we have our verb, our action. We now need to know the proper suffix to indicate I am the one performing this action. If I were a male I would use na. If I were female I would use ne. Now that I know which two parts I need, I will conjugate, or alter, the verb. I do this by dropping the "ith" from kimaith and then adding the appropriate suffix. Let use "ne". Kimane.
Past
The past tense is used when speaking about events that happened in the past.Let's use the word taoth. I'm telling a story about a cat I saw in the past, "I saw the cat.". Just like present tense, we need to also know the suffix that we need to use. In this case, I add the letter "m" to the end of the present tense suffix, "na" or "ne". I will conjugate the verb by dropping off the infinitive ending "oth" and add the correct suffix, nam or nem. Let's use nam this time. Tanam ana facihu.
The Uncertain or Can Tense
In other languages this might be called subjunctive or conditional tense. It is something that can occur but is not guaranteed to come to pass. When there is any uncertainty in the main action for any reason, adding an l to the end of the appropriate conjugation of the verb indications that uncertainty.For this example let's use the word konoth. I would like to say I could sit. and in this case, it is uncertain if I am sitting or will sit. I would conjugate the verb as I would normally and add an l to the end, Konal. This would be the same conjugation if I wanted to say I can sit. Context clues are essential to knowing which specific meaning it is.
Pronounciation Help
| Letter | Layman Pronunciation |
|---|---|
a |
ah |
e |
ay |
i |
ee |
o |
oh |
u |
oo |
Dictionary
Common Phrases
Basic Conversational Phrases
Idioms
Slang
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