| Grammar notes |
Below are notes to help interpret the Boreanesian translation. I have divided it
up into what notes apply to what line in the poem. I'll start first with notes
that apply to all lines. Then I'll move on to notes that apply to specific
lines.
All lines:
Phase: All nouns and predicates are marked for phase in Boreanesian. For nouns,
the bound phase denotes a specific reference, while for predicates it denotes
perfective aspect. On the other hand, the unbound phase denotes a non-specific
reference in nouns, and an imperfective aspect in predicates.
Modal and Evidential Particles:
You will notice that each line starts with one of these particles. In the poem,
the irrealis and the inferential particles are used. These are explained
below:
The irrealis mode makes no assertion whatsoever that an event or state actually
holds true. This is not the same as the negative where in an event did not or
will not take place, it simply makes no claims with respect to the actuality of
the event or situation described. In most cases, an irrealis mode can best be
translated as an "if" mode. But it can be translated into different meanings
depending on the situation, e.g., conditional, imperative, optative,
hypothetical, potential, etc.
The inferential particle in Line 4 is a subcategory of the irrealis and as such
(you will notice) must be attached to the irrealis particle itself. It indicates
the speaker's certainty of truth. Here, it best translates as "might", (as in
something might occur).
Role Marking:
There are three argument markings: Core, Oblique, and Genitive. Refer to word
order (below) for the explanation of the core argument marking. The oblique is
simply an all purpose preposition applying to all spatio-temporal frames. The
genitive is roughly equivalent to the English preposition "of".
Agent Nominalization:
Since Boreanesian has only predicate nominal (non-transitive) clauses and only
one core case, the roles played by various constituents are express by
nominalizing the verb. In the poem, all the verbs have been nominalized as an
agent. For instance, in the first line, the verb for "sing" has been nominalized
as an agent: "singer". The other predicates should therefore be easy for you to
figure out.
Word Order:
You will notice that each line has two phrases marked as core arguments. The
first of these is actually the predicate, the second is the argument in focus.
Boreanesian does not have transitive statements, only statements of the nominal
predicate type. That is, the predicate asserts something about the focus. Take
the first line for instance, (ignoring the irrealis mode) it asserts that the
focus "bird" is an agent that sings (i.e., "a singer").
Line 1
Adjectives?:
Boreanesian does not have adjectives. Here the idea of a "great bird" is
expressed as "bird of greatness".
Line 2
Collective Plural:
This is one of the categories of plurality that Boreanesian expresses. The
collective plural refers to a collection of objects which can be grouped
together, implying some kind of internal structure or coherence to the group.
Here, it is applied to feathers giving that subtle meaning that the predicate of
ruffling is applied to the feathers as a group rather than to each individual
feather.
Inherently Possessed:
Some words in Boreanesian are inherently possessed. This includes body parts
like hair (or in this case feathers). In this line, the feathers is inherently
possessed by a third person (the bird).
Line 3
Compounds?:
Compounding is not a very productive feature in Boreanesian. The idea of the
night star is expressed with the genitive.
Line 4
Inferential Particle:
Refer to Modal and Evidential Particles under notes in the section of 'All
Lines'.
Distributive Plural:
This is another category of plurality in Boreanesian. Unlike its collective
counterpart, it is conceived as a group of individuals rather than a collection.
The predicate is therefore applied to each object individually rather than a
collection as a whole.
In the fourth line, it is applied to rulers that are bound in phase (or
specific). Together with the distributive plural, it means "every ruler".
I have chosen to use the distributive plural here to demonstrate Boreanesian's
flexibility in expressing plurality. I could have easily just use the collective
plural. If I did, it would together with the bound phase translate as as "all
rulers". There was nothing in the previous (Eloshtan) translation about this
distinction, but this distinction is meticulously distinguished in formal
Boreanesian contexts - especially in poetry.
Transcription note
I have not yet figured out how to represent Boreanesian satisfactorily in a
ascii-Roman transcription. So I will represent Boreanesian in a transcription
that roughly imitates how it sounds in normal speech (with clusters created from
vowel reduction). Very broadly, the graphemes to take note of are:
<e> schwa
<h> voiceless velar approximant (that is, a fricative [x] when the first element
of a cluster, otherwise close to a glottal fricative [h])
<L> apical lateral fricative
<N> laminal denti-alveolar nasal
<ng> velar nasal
<T> laminal denti-alveolar stop
<y> palatal approximant
<3> velar approximant (which is normally creaky in syllable-initial position,
approaching a glottal stop [?])
Note that syllable final <h> marks a slack phonation (slack register tone),
while syllable final <3> marks a stiff phonation (stiff register tone).
Note also that I will place syllable breaks <.> where appropriate. So when two
syllable-initial consonants appear together, they are pronounced as clusters.
Primary stress is regularly on the final syllable. |
