My Sweetest Puey
I must admit that I am in a rather sad mood at the moment. The imperial Eunuch slaves have given me parchment and quill and told me that I should write about whatever topic I like to send to you as a letter now that you have been taken away from me. My only consolation is that soon I shall be returning unto green and fair Jaràqtu and your Sister and Mother. I am almost too sad to write about anything at all. Oh go ahead, write about whatever you find interesting, divine one, et cet, they tell me. Or write about whatever you find dull. Why would I do that?
I could write about fractal symmetry or potacos or the way that blue berries grow. I could write about about various alphasyllabick forms of writing and Honorababel ond Pious Rainbow Mercury and the ways that ovens can explode. I could write about the various theological theories of the Kháfha monks, I suppose. Oh dear. Perhaps I could write a commentary on some of the books I have been consulting in my quest to write the Compleat Babel Grammar. Perchance I could write a brief tome about the arts of warfare. I could write about my adventures with trébuchet and ergavores that glisten in the plasma seas. I could write about my theories of gravitation and causality and how they relate to climes. I’ve been interesting in some monoliths that seem to bespeak of mythologies of the Theîkon long since forgotten. I could write about wagon wains and the different types of ice and snow within the Empire. I could describe the statues of Qlòrmel the Great, once of Khnìntha but now of all the Empire. I could write about the way that pressure is kept up in pipes and pumps. And the petals of rosaries. And the way that up compasses work as ontological realities.
I am so sad.
I received a message from the Eunuchs. It seems that some butterfly spirits of Our Lord Raven have delivered some cards unto the Rulers of the Land of Story, that is they have brought them unto the hands of the imperial Eunuchs who in turn gave the cards unto the Holy Regents my parents who have most graciously granted permission for such cards to be read by the Crown Prince and Princess. They have sent the cards to me, my love, but since you have had to leave for to fight upon the forefront, I’ll have to keep them for you. I do remain a bit sad, but the cards are gladdening mine heart, even if just a little. The material writ upon the cards do not quite correspond unto anything that I have encountered before, in fact they my be of the same stratum of understanding as the utterances of the Void. I shall try mine own hand at translating and interpreting these cards into Language itself, even Khlìjha, my Hearth Language.
First I receive:
Wou kh’inteuyau num’ meulin’ xh’um-mejh’ wexh’eunikhte jh’un’-n’exh’ xeuxh’ir.[1]
And this I intrepet as:
Eiqhorkhnereriyáxeus xhmoe Tlhiijhwekhmátqi prùthe pfhu yontet
Khnereriyáxeus xhmoe japàrnot xhùnta xhroe teiran!
By the way mayest thou, the dear one, set out to enjoy both Dancing Days that tripudiate merrily and the near years of whimsy!
This is a good example of repeating the predicate in order to have more than one complex object, plus one can note how the absolutive case can remain unmarked and yet unambiguous. I’ve always been fond of the Dancing Days of Tlhijhwekhmátu myself. Now the words used in this card are japàrnot which means the new year and khnèri, khnèreri those who like, enjoy, derive pleasure from someone or something and prùthe, pruîthe those who are merry, khoropaíktēs, dance merilly, tripudiate, cut capren ond make somersets, yofik, damhsamān and Tlhiijhwekhmátqi which meaneth Tlhiijhwekhmátu now, Dancing Days, Lovedays, from now, in the present or future and xhùnta happiness, whimsy, leläb.
The next card that I received, as far as I can interpret it, read as follows:
Il thó xharúsa xhís tú xhákhn’e’ ilya rien rikhé jh’í.[2]
And this I would interpret as the following:
Khyefhujóxo khrúju qir oâqe tsenajapàrnot xhroe yengut xá tóxing
Aqhus fhèqin khweiyáxeusenguteîlwai ker xhwàpot ker jó
Fhwerelimèthya xhnir fhaê khleikhafhújoyáxeuseîlwai!
Oh dear one, be an extremely healthy person during this new year,
And may this circle, a life cycle, a year begin,
And likewise may your health be as virescent as life!
And this wee poemling I think has the following words unto it, Fhaê life, existence, nedeil and fhèqin beginning, start, stert; tho who begin, start someone or something, isil’zha, qaλari and fhújo health, power, collumac and fhwèrel, fhwèrelim those who are green, virescent, viridescent, æruginous, ultramarine, verdant, verdigrisy, verdurous, virid, first turkey green, virescent, viridescent, first turkey green, mts’vane, xanh lá cây, modheros, SuDqu’, wa, breiche, q’umir, suŋaaq and jó years, masthar, bellit, azil, yarn and khweî round things, circlen, cyclen, spheres, kring; globose, globular, spheroidal objects, zilek, glöpnik and khyefhujóxo extremewise healthy people and qir oâqe X xhroe is a composite adposition which means during X; accusitivë for Þe extent of tyme whilst xhwàpo, xhwàpot means cyclen, periods, life cyclen.
The other card which my parents have permitted us twain to read was rather short. I only found a single line in it which I shall endeavor to copy down as best I can:
Enèn’nor nern’im’erípya.[3]
However, I believe that it is an entire poem which I would illucidate as followeth:
Qir khnèlye teiqhajhikhluyatseràjhwen xhmoe’ Eîl
Qrunáqeyapònya qhiqhixietùlkha
Pejor jhìkhlumat jáyùlkha Kharpolònyii
Koaqing qeqèrsum
Pfhiqhítru pfhe xhlanìyaloi khli
Qir xhlapaxaneûneu Kathayònyii
Xhméráxeusùnyie khlànga teirufhar xhàrku
Xhnoike fhlifhlorsáxeusùnyie fhlí teir teirantar fhrèmi!
In the daft-days in the Sun’s approach,
Which may be the solstice of the winter of language,
Whilst the Sun approaches the dreamlands on purpose
In his sojourn
Just as the Sun stays longer than appropriate for a rather long time
In the pandimensional space ocean
Thus may the earth long remain under dear thee, and
Thus may friends long remain near dear thee.
And this poem makes use of a great many interesting words such as fhlí those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and fhlìfhors those who stay, remain, dobah, mana, tand·unk and fhrèmi friends, companions in arms, lagun, mala, padang, yo, srīntul, kanzil, kunpa and jhìkhlu, jhìkhlumat those who approach someone or something and both Kàtha and Khàrpol are different names for Eîl the Sun, and khlànga is another word meaning those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and khnèlye means days of mirth ond amusement at Tlhiijhwekhmátu, daft·days, dancing days, lovedays and pfhiqhítru is a participle meaning those who stay longer than appropriate, and you may recognize the –qhí- infix in it, that little nonproductive particle, if you remove it you get the word pfhìtru, pfhìtrumet those who pass time, wait, hove, and poem also uses the words qèrsum, qeqèrsum sojourn, stay and qhìxie, qhìqhixiet which means wintren, years of age, wintren of language, birgil, a word that verily hath connotations of my Father, and qrùqe, qrunáqe means something like solstice, jól, Happy Kwanhanamas and xhàrka, xhàrku means dirt, dry mud, lands, earth, tír, dreamlands, earth of psong, caosga, u, kalam, tika, creiza, lauziminiza, badi, glodaχ, ladu, sead and xhlàni is yet another word meaning those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and xhlapaxaneûneu is a complex word meaning pandimensional space ocean, earth, earth of psong, sea, sea of noise ond sacrifice, fractal seas, sky, welkin, welkin of dance, caosga, u, kalam, tika, creiza, lauziminiza, badi, glodaχ, ladu, sead, thalatta, thalaßa, itsaso, laman and as you can see it is a combination of the words xhlàpa which means words and xaneûneu which means rainbow, and it refers unto the primordial hylen that make up all the Land of Story, and finally the poem uses the words xhmér tio estas those who remain, stay behind, dobah, mana, tand·unk.
The next card was another poem and was addressed unto me by name.
P’ílí-‘ Ép’eliniets’i
Aryos sirinai-‘ arem’imi nokí p’esinór nón eksán im’ra siethasi iáfh’uq
N’amón erim’ra themé’ alyín’i tam eiqtalénóm.[4]
And this I take to mean:
JheîsayÉfhelìnye
Teirùpru’ ur qoe’ éng tìjhwa’ úkhwanatlhaiyètyikh
Xeqhusqiyétweuyàqwa xhnapurkhomayòqleng
Xhnoe qhujhutáxeusùpwar
Pterúlasòntet qtelúmuyòntett tàpleting!
Qyiê khrúje tlhakayòjhwa
Jhaowthòpte xhthokheyaxúngutakh
Fhenxhayanoltoîning!
Oh my friend Éfhelìnye,
May the sunrise that shines beautifully
Cause two myriads of households to be illuminated as books,
And also may springing tyme and flower and rownsepyk arise once!
May the newly acquired spring import benedictions
Untowards honored doors that have no bad luck!
This poem was a bit difficult to interpret. I believe that it makes use of the words éng tìjhwa two myriads, ten tousand and fhènxha spring, springing tyme, springtides of language a word associated with me, and pterúla, pterúlas which means the same thing but can also mean life and qhùjhut those who get up, arise, tand-ramba, and that word is part of an ablaut family, the other members of the series being qhàjhat those who lie, are supine, horizontal, nependik and qhìjhit those who lie down, ramba, kuŝiĝi, ekkuŝi and we have the word qtelúma, qtelúmu flowren, milmilut, ro, betbec, lašūl and qyiê those who carry in, import someone or something and tàplet branches, rownsepyk, boishe, brimbranches, departments, balu·den and the word tùrpru or in this case the marked form teirùpru used in an Ensuring Construction, teirùpru’ ur qoe X Y Y illustrates, illuminates X, tùrpru, teirùpru simply means those who are illustrated, illuminated; illustrated pages or books and we find and tlhàka, tlhaîraku bleßings, benediccioun, läbädam, mun’iaθ, betchennacht and úkhwànatlhai his or her or their household and that is a rather marvelous word, the first person form being khwúkhwànatlha mine or our household, túatha and we use wthòpte gates, ports, doors, wickettes, g’et’um, rodus, th’m’ddusk, sraskīn (constructed of trianglen ond circlen), oneziz, punku, upkuaq and xeqhùsqi sunrise, Þe orient, aⁿkitak and xhnapùrkhon, xhnapùrkhoma those who shine on, illuminate, purge, speak brusqewise to someone or something, nidik and xhthòkhe, xhthòkha those who suffer harm, are in trouble, have bad luck, have an accident, suffer mishap, malfortune, oferthwart, disadventurous, unhappy, mordoedga.
The next card that I received I believe may contain a different version of a psalm from the Holy Writ. The word Khristu is surely related to the name Khristos which thou, my love, found in the void, and the word Emanu-Eil seems like a rather solar and imperial name. In fact this poem, at least in translation seems to be one of the few instances where somúke virgin born is used in reference to someone other than myself.
Otyi ninan’un’ ul Khristu.
Ini! Kunkhepiyin’ en’ nan’eyin’ il virjini n’ul yuni huiyu’
En’ qwamuyuns sivi il Emanu-Eil p’i xhnim’iq’un’ ul Tyu nom’isku.
¡Req’otyi! Nil p’isti Nan’ali.[5]
And this interpret as:
Játlhim sòlan tlhín se †Khristos.
Tsùlta qlaixha somúke kus wtsoîno xhthayaîngpa
Qhuníxhwayetwurèpyer
Kìkhes †Xhákh Ól Ker Tepoyuqei
†Kútlhing kúxeng.
Khá qhárl iqaiyilétyai
Pejor Tlhijhwekhmátu pi!
†Khristos is a byrding nowadays, this day.
Lo! The handmaiden
conceives the virgin born one, her only son, and
the twain call Him
The Starfather Verily Is With You and Me.
Rejoice, rejoice, jubilate
In these lovedays!
And this poem makes use of the words iqaîyil, iqaiyílil those who rejoice, jubilate and játlha, játlhim byrdings, tho who are a single day old, newwise born, celebrate thair Starday and khá, khámet also meaning those who rejoice, jubilate and Khristos† which is not quite a word in Babel, but which I believe is another name for the Starfather, and kìkhes is one of those slightly odd words meaning (usually of a male), those who call, call by name, clepe, name someone or something, the participle jhàlyo is usuall used as the passive voice, and one tends to find the participle in the construction kìkhes X tlhir Y Z meaning Z names Y X, and we have the word qhárl joy, pleasure, list, lætitia, lavenez; tho who rejoice, jubilate, ĥūdum, mēleşum, rīŝtum, ulşum, gëlod, krO and qhùxhwa, qhuníxhwa handmaidens, ancillæ, soubrettes and sòlan today, nowadays, current things, anduiriu and somúke virgin born usually a title unto me but here used in some other context and Tlhiijhwekhmátu which is the name for Dancing Days, Lovedays; high ceremony for Þe Winter Solstice, Jól, Happy Kwanhanamas and tlhín being another word for today, anduiriu and tsùlta a fascinating word meaning unborn childers, fœtus, embryo, eggs, life; those who are conceived, ajasraM, and in the Ensuring Construction one finds it as tsùlta’ ur qoe X Y Y conceives X and wtsoîno* which means those who are unique, alone, only; one’s only son, solenaskita unigenitus, cemoquichtli, ernetuar, neH, mob, nIteb, uttfield and xhthayaîngpa his or her or their son, kindly term of addrss to a boy by an elder.
The last card that I received for both of us was just an imagine of hands clasping, but I think that I can guess the meaning unto it.[6] I believe that it is a poem that makes puns on the different meanings of clasp and hand.
Ás kokòtisi khmòkatser teir!
Ás kotisìsasakh lwénenarjàyejikh teir!
Ás xhwèqi jhkhèpeikh!
Ás xálìfhitsan ‘ìfhitsan qthèfhtarn!
Ás khyaîxhril jafhaîtamat khleit
Khleikhakhlijhayùjhwu qtaxhrìlafham paikhelónge teir kae!
Be it that dear thou clasp hands or tendrils or wings in innocence!
Be it that dear thou be handfasted unto thy sweetheart!
Be it that your fingers are lithesome!
Be it that your hands are nimble and quick!
May it be that the language of thy heart,
Which thou movest and makest
Dearly enlighten and proselytize thee!
In the first couple of lines one can see a bit of fun with the word kòtisi, kokòtisi clasp with the word kotìsisakh, kotisìsasakh handfasted to, and also khmót the quantifier for love is contrasted with lwénenàrja thy dearheart, and then we have the contrast with xhwèqi nimble and jhkhèpeikh your cudullen with the compound word xálìfhitsan, xálifhìtsanan those who are nimble which itself is made up of xál, xàli mine or our hand and ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan those who are fleet. Finally in the last line we qtár, qtàxhril those who are poetick, do and paêkh, paikhelónge those who are poetick, make, move, for clasping is in a way both doing and moving at the same time. We even have a juxtaposition between khyaêr, khyaîxhril those who shine, enlighten someone or something and jafhaîte, jafhaîtamat those who envangelize, proselytie someone or something.
I suppose that I should give a bit more of a formal definition to the words. We have ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan those who are quick, fleet, fast, swift and jafhaîte, jafhaîtamat those who evangelize, proselytize, enlighten someone or something, gUviv and jhkhèpeikh your finger, cudullen, cudilen, ubānum; to fing, mefi, zirins and khmót and khmok- which is the quantifier for love, eke affection, friendship, innocence, the seventh element, the septeßence, and it came take the partitive genitive form of the locative case, and we have khyaêr, khyaîxhril those who shine, enlighten someone or something, nidik, gUviv and kòtisi, kokòtisi those who clasp someone or something, clasp hands, tendrils, wingfins of someone or something and kotìsisakh, kotisìsasakh which means those who are become betrothed to, are betrothed to, handfasted to, fiaunced to someone or something and as you can see it is a compound of the above and the participle sàkh, sàsakh those who carry out a sacred act, perform a sacred rite, obey a sacred command and lwénenàrja your sweetheart, dearheart, fangheart, lesnan, acushla, a cuisle, jiladal, jilöfäbil, jilöfal, ladan, dolĉuloj, dolĉulinoj, rud’u and paêkh, paikhelónge those who are poetick, do someone or something and qtár, qtàxhril those who are poetick, make, move someone or something and qthèfhtarn you hand, daddle, mund folm nam, b’wang, lais, luis, vrzial and xálìfhitsan, xálifhìtsanan which means those who are nimble, tebayai, a compound of ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan that we met above and xál, xàli mine or our hand, daddle, mund folm nam, b’wang, lais, luis, vrzial and finally xhwèqi, xhwèqeqhe those who are nimble, lißome, lithesome.
Editor’s Note
The Conlang Holiday Cards can be viewed here:
http://exchange.conlang.org/
[1] From a Christmas Card from Samuel R Boylan Jr:
[2] From a Christmas Card from Sylvia Sotomayor:
[3] From a Christmas Card from Amanda Furrow
[4] From a Christmas Card from Eugene Oh
[5] From a Christmas Card from Adam Walker
[6] From a Christmas Card from Alex Fink & Sai Emrys
I must admit that I am in a rather sad mood at the moment. The imperial Eunuch slaves have given me parchment and quill and told me that I should write about whatever topic I like to send to you as a letter now that you have been taken away from me. My only consolation is that soon I shall be returning unto green and fair Jaràqtu and your Sister and Mother. I am almost too sad to write about anything at all. Oh go ahead, write about whatever you find interesting, divine one, et cet, they tell me. Or write about whatever you find dull. Why would I do that?
I could write about fractal symmetry or potacos or the way that blue berries grow. I could write about about various alphasyllabick forms of writing and Honorababel ond Pious Rainbow Mercury and the ways that ovens can explode. I could write about the various theological theories of the Kháfha monks, I suppose. Oh dear. Perhaps I could write a commentary on some of the books I have been consulting in my quest to write the Compleat Babel Grammar. Perchance I could write a brief tome about the arts of warfare. I could write about my adventures with trébuchet and ergavores that glisten in the plasma seas. I could write about my theories of gravitation and causality and how they relate to climes. I’ve been interesting in some monoliths that seem to bespeak of mythologies of the Theîkon long since forgotten. I could write about wagon wains and the different types of ice and snow within the Empire. I could describe the statues of Qlòrmel the Great, once of Khnìntha but now of all the Empire. I could write about the way that pressure is kept up in pipes and pumps. And the petals of rosaries. And the way that up compasses work as ontological realities.
I am so sad.
I received a message from the Eunuchs. It seems that some butterfly spirits of Our Lord Raven have delivered some cards unto the Rulers of the Land of Story, that is they have brought them unto the hands of the imperial Eunuchs who in turn gave the cards unto the Holy Regents my parents who have most graciously granted permission for such cards to be read by the Crown Prince and Princess. They have sent the cards to me, my love, but since you have had to leave for to fight upon the forefront, I’ll have to keep them for you. I do remain a bit sad, but the cards are gladdening mine heart, even if just a little. The material writ upon the cards do not quite correspond unto anything that I have encountered before, in fact they my be of the same stratum of understanding as the utterances of the Void. I shall try mine own hand at translating and interpreting these cards into Language itself, even Khlìjha, my Hearth Language.
First I receive:
Wou kh’inteuyau num’ meulin’ xh’um-mejh’ wexh’eunikhte jh’un’-n’exh’ xeuxh’ir.[1]
And this I intrepet as:
Eiqhorkhnereriyáxeus xhmoe Tlhiijhwekhmátqi prùthe pfhu yontet
Khnereriyáxeus xhmoe japàrnot xhùnta xhroe teiran!
By the way mayest thou, the dear one, set out to enjoy both Dancing Days that tripudiate merrily and the near years of whimsy!
This is a good example of repeating the predicate in order to have more than one complex object, plus one can note how the absolutive case can remain unmarked and yet unambiguous. I’ve always been fond of the Dancing Days of Tlhijhwekhmátu myself. Now the words used in this card are japàrnot which means the new year and khnèri, khnèreri those who like, enjoy, derive pleasure from someone or something and prùthe, pruîthe those who are merry, khoropaíktēs, dance merilly, tripudiate, cut capren ond make somersets, yofik, damhsamān and Tlhiijhwekhmátqi which meaneth Tlhiijhwekhmátu now, Dancing Days, Lovedays, from now, in the present or future and xhùnta happiness, whimsy, leläb.
The next card that I received, as far as I can interpret it, read as follows:
Il thó xharúsa xhís tú xhákhn’e’ ilya rien rikhé jh’í.[2]
And this I would interpret as the following:
Khyefhujóxo khrúju qir oâqe tsenajapàrnot xhroe yengut xá tóxing
Aqhus fhèqin khweiyáxeusenguteîlwai ker xhwàpot ker jó
Fhwerelimèthya xhnir fhaê khleikhafhújoyáxeuseîlwai!
Oh dear one, be an extremely healthy person during this new year,
And may this circle, a life cycle, a year begin,
And likewise may your health be as virescent as life!
And this wee poemling I think has the following words unto it, Fhaê life, existence, nedeil and fhèqin beginning, start, stert; tho who begin, start someone or something, isil’zha, qaλari and fhújo health, power, collumac and fhwèrel, fhwèrelim those who are green, virescent, viridescent, æruginous, ultramarine, verdant, verdigrisy, verdurous, virid, first turkey green, virescent, viridescent, first turkey green, mts’vane, xanh lá cây, modheros, SuDqu’, wa, breiche, q’umir, suŋaaq and jó years, masthar, bellit, azil, yarn and khweî round things, circlen, cyclen, spheres, kring; globose, globular, spheroidal objects, zilek, glöpnik and khyefhujóxo extremewise healthy people and qir oâqe X xhroe is a composite adposition which means during X; accusitivë for Þe extent of tyme whilst xhwàpo, xhwàpot means cyclen, periods, life cyclen.
The other card which my parents have permitted us twain to read was rather short. I only found a single line in it which I shall endeavor to copy down as best I can:
Enèn’nor nern’im’erípya.[3]
However, I believe that it is an entire poem which I would illucidate as followeth:
Qir khnèlye teiqhajhikhluyatseràjhwen xhmoe’ Eîl
Qrunáqeyapònya qhiqhixietùlkha
Pejor jhìkhlumat jáyùlkha Kharpolònyii
Koaqing qeqèrsum
Pfhiqhítru pfhe xhlanìyaloi khli
Qir xhlapaxaneûneu Kathayònyii
Xhméráxeusùnyie khlànga teirufhar xhàrku
Xhnoike fhlifhlorsáxeusùnyie fhlí teir teirantar fhrèmi!
In the daft-days in the Sun’s approach,
Which may be the solstice of the winter of language,
Whilst the Sun approaches the dreamlands on purpose
In his sojourn
Just as the Sun stays longer than appropriate for a rather long time
In the pandimensional space ocean
Thus may the earth long remain under dear thee, and
Thus may friends long remain near dear thee.
And this poem makes use of a great many interesting words such as fhlí those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and fhlìfhors those who stay, remain, dobah, mana, tand·unk and fhrèmi friends, companions in arms, lagun, mala, padang, yo, srīntul, kanzil, kunpa and jhìkhlu, jhìkhlumat those who approach someone or something and both Kàtha and Khàrpol are different names for Eîl the Sun, and khlànga is another word meaning those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and khnèlye means days of mirth ond amusement at Tlhiijhwekhmátu, daft·days, dancing days, lovedays and pfhiqhítru is a participle meaning those who stay longer than appropriate, and you may recognize the –qhí- infix in it, that little nonproductive particle, if you remove it you get the word pfhìtru, pfhìtrumet those who pass time, wait, hove, and poem also uses the words qèrsum, qeqèrsum sojourn, stay and qhìxie, qhìqhixiet which means wintren, years of age, wintren of language, birgil, a word that verily hath connotations of my Father, and qrùqe, qrunáqe means something like solstice, jól, Happy Kwanhanamas and xhàrka, xhàrku means dirt, dry mud, lands, earth, tír, dreamlands, earth of psong, caosga, u, kalam, tika, creiza, lauziminiza, badi, glodaχ, ladu, sead and xhlàni is yet another word meaning those who are lóng (distance, height, duracioun), om, nI’, tIq and xhlapaxaneûneu is a complex word meaning pandimensional space ocean, earth, earth of psong, sea, sea of noise ond sacrifice, fractal seas, sky, welkin, welkin of dance, caosga, u, kalam, tika, creiza, lauziminiza, badi, glodaχ, ladu, sead, thalatta, thalaßa, itsaso, laman and as you can see it is a combination of the words xhlàpa which means words and xaneûneu which means rainbow, and it refers unto the primordial hylen that make up all the Land of Story, and finally the poem uses the words xhmér tio estas those who remain, stay behind, dobah, mana, tand·unk.
The next card was another poem and was addressed unto me by name.
P’ílí-‘ Ép’eliniets’i
Aryos sirinai-‘ arem’imi nokí p’esinór nón eksán im’ra siethasi iáfh’uq
N’amón erim’ra themé’ alyín’i tam eiqtalénóm.[4]
And this I take to mean:
JheîsayÉfhelìnye
Teirùpru’ ur qoe’ éng tìjhwa’ úkhwanatlhaiyètyikh
Xeqhusqiyétweuyàqwa xhnapurkhomayòqleng
Xhnoe qhujhutáxeusùpwar
Pterúlasòntet qtelúmuyòntett tàpleting!
Qyiê khrúje tlhakayòjhwa
Jhaowthòpte xhthokheyaxúngutakh
Fhenxhayanoltoîning!
Oh my friend Éfhelìnye,
May the sunrise that shines beautifully
Cause two myriads of households to be illuminated as books,
And also may springing tyme and flower and rownsepyk arise once!
May the newly acquired spring import benedictions
Untowards honored doors that have no bad luck!
This poem was a bit difficult to interpret. I believe that it makes use of the words éng tìjhwa two myriads, ten tousand and fhènxha spring, springing tyme, springtides of language a word associated with me, and pterúla, pterúlas which means the same thing but can also mean life and qhùjhut those who get up, arise, tand-ramba, and that word is part of an ablaut family, the other members of the series being qhàjhat those who lie, are supine, horizontal, nependik and qhìjhit those who lie down, ramba, kuŝiĝi, ekkuŝi and we have the word qtelúma, qtelúmu flowren, milmilut, ro, betbec, lašūl and qyiê those who carry in, import someone or something and tàplet branches, rownsepyk, boishe, brimbranches, departments, balu·den and the word tùrpru or in this case the marked form teirùpru used in an Ensuring Construction, teirùpru’ ur qoe X Y Y illustrates, illuminates X, tùrpru, teirùpru simply means those who are illustrated, illuminated; illustrated pages or books and we find and tlhàka, tlhaîraku bleßings, benediccioun, läbädam, mun’iaθ, betchennacht and úkhwànatlhai his or her or their household and that is a rather marvelous word, the first person form being khwúkhwànatlha mine or our household, túatha and we use wthòpte gates, ports, doors, wickettes, g’et’um, rodus, th’m’ddusk, sraskīn (constructed of trianglen ond circlen), oneziz, punku, upkuaq and xeqhùsqi sunrise, Þe orient, aⁿkitak and xhnapùrkhon, xhnapùrkhoma those who shine on, illuminate, purge, speak brusqewise to someone or something, nidik and xhthòkhe, xhthòkha those who suffer harm, are in trouble, have bad luck, have an accident, suffer mishap, malfortune, oferthwart, disadventurous, unhappy, mordoedga.
The next card that I received I believe may contain a different version of a psalm from the Holy Writ. The word Khristu is surely related to the name Khristos which thou, my love, found in the void, and the word Emanu-Eil seems like a rather solar and imperial name. In fact this poem, at least in translation seems to be one of the few instances where somúke virgin born is used in reference to someone other than myself.
Otyi ninan’un’ ul Khristu.
Ini! Kunkhepiyin’ en’ nan’eyin’ il virjini n’ul yuni huiyu’
En’ qwamuyuns sivi il Emanu-Eil p’i xhnim’iq’un’ ul Tyu nom’isku.
¡Req’otyi! Nil p’isti Nan’ali.[5]
And this interpret as:
Játlhim sòlan tlhín se †Khristos.
Tsùlta qlaixha somúke kus wtsoîno xhthayaîngpa
Qhuníxhwayetwurèpyer
Kìkhes †Xhákh Ól Ker Tepoyuqei
†Kútlhing kúxeng.
Khá qhárl iqaiyilétyai
Pejor Tlhijhwekhmátu pi!
†Khristos is a byrding nowadays, this day.
Lo! The handmaiden
conceives the virgin born one, her only son, and
the twain call Him
The Starfather Verily Is With You and Me.
Rejoice, rejoice, jubilate
In these lovedays!
And this poem makes use of the words iqaîyil, iqaiyílil those who rejoice, jubilate and játlha, játlhim byrdings, tho who are a single day old, newwise born, celebrate thair Starday and khá, khámet also meaning those who rejoice, jubilate and Khristos† which is not quite a word in Babel, but which I believe is another name for the Starfather, and kìkhes is one of those slightly odd words meaning (usually of a male), those who call, call by name, clepe, name someone or something, the participle jhàlyo is usuall used as the passive voice, and one tends to find the participle in the construction kìkhes X tlhir Y Z meaning Z names Y X, and we have the word qhárl joy, pleasure, list, lætitia, lavenez; tho who rejoice, jubilate, ĥūdum, mēleşum, rīŝtum, ulşum, gëlod, krO and qhùxhwa, qhuníxhwa handmaidens, ancillæ, soubrettes and sòlan today, nowadays, current things, anduiriu and somúke virgin born usually a title unto me but here used in some other context and Tlhiijhwekhmátu which is the name for Dancing Days, Lovedays; high ceremony for Þe Winter Solstice, Jól, Happy Kwanhanamas and tlhín being another word for today, anduiriu and tsùlta a fascinating word meaning unborn childers, fœtus, embryo, eggs, life; those who are conceived, ajasraM, and in the Ensuring Construction one finds it as tsùlta’ ur qoe X Y Y conceives X and wtsoîno* which means those who are unique, alone, only; one’s only son, solenaskita unigenitus, cemoquichtli, ernetuar, neH, mob, nIteb, uttfield and xhthayaîngpa his or her or their son, kindly term of addrss to a boy by an elder.
The last card that I received for both of us was just an imagine of hands clasping, but I think that I can guess the meaning unto it.[6] I believe that it is a poem that makes puns on the different meanings of clasp and hand.
Ás kokòtisi khmòkatser teir!
Ás kotisìsasakh lwénenarjàyejikh teir!
Ás xhwèqi jhkhèpeikh!
Ás xálìfhitsan ‘ìfhitsan qthèfhtarn!
Ás khyaîxhril jafhaîtamat khleit
Khleikhakhlijhayùjhwu qtaxhrìlafham paikhelónge teir kae!
Be it that dear thou clasp hands or tendrils or wings in innocence!
Be it that dear thou be handfasted unto thy sweetheart!
Be it that your fingers are lithesome!
Be it that your hands are nimble and quick!
May it be that the language of thy heart,
Which thou movest and makest
Dearly enlighten and proselytize thee!
In the first couple of lines one can see a bit of fun with the word kòtisi, kokòtisi clasp with the word kotìsisakh, kotisìsasakh handfasted to, and also khmót the quantifier for love is contrasted with lwénenàrja thy dearheart, and then we have the contrast with xhwèqi nimble and jhkhèpeikh your cudullen with the compound word xálìfhitsan, xálifhìtsanan those who are nimble which itself is made up of xál, xàli mine or our hand and ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan those who are fleet. Finally in the last line we qtár, qtàxhril those who are poetick, do and paêkh, paikhelónge those who are poetick, make, move, for clasping is in a way both doing and moving at the same time. We even have a juxtaposition between khyaêr, khyaîxhril those who shine, enlighten someone or something and jafhaîte, jafhaîtamat those who envangelize, proselytie someone or something.
I suppose that I should give a bit more of a formal definition to the words. We have ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan those who are quick, fleet, fast, swift and jafhaîte, jafhaîtamat those who evangelize, proselytize, enlighten someone or something, gUviv and jhkhèpeikh your finger, cudullen, cudilen, ubānum; to fing, mefi, zirins and khmót and khmok- which is the quantifier for love, eke affection, friendship, innocence, the seventh element, the septeßence, and it came take the partitive genitive form of the locative case, and we have khyaêr, khyaîxhril those who shine, enlighten someone or something, nidik, gUviv and kòtisi, kokòtisi those who clasp someone or something, clasp hands, tendrils, wingfins of someone or something and kotìsisakh, kotisìsasakh which means those who are become betrothed to, are betrothed to, handfasted to, fiaunced to someone or something and as you can see it is a compound of the above and the participle sàkh, sàsakh those who carry out a sacred act, perform a sacred rite, obey a sacred command and lwénenàrja your sweetheart, dearheart, fangheart, lesnan, acushla, a cuisle, jiladal, jilöfäbil, jilöfal, ladan, dolĉuloj, dolĉulinoj, rud’u and paêkh, paikhelónge those who are poetick, do someone or something and qtár, qtàxhril those who are poetick, make, move someone or something and qthèfhtarn you hand, daddle, mund folm nam, b’wang, lais, luis, vrzial and xálìfhitsan, xálifhìtsanan which means those who are nimble, tebayai, a compound of ìfhitsan, ifhìtsanan that we met above and xál, xàli mine or our hand, daddle, mund folm nam, b’wang, lais, luis, vrzial and finally xhwèqi, xhwèqeqhe those who are nimble, lißome, lithesome.
Editor’s Note
The Conlang Holiday Cards can be viewed here:
http://exchange.conlang.org/
[1] From a Christmas Card from Samuel R Boylan Jr:
[2] From a Christmas Card from Sylvia Sotomayor:
[3] From a Christmas Card from Amanda Furrow
[4] From a Christmas Card from Eugene Oh
[5] From a Christmas Card from Adam Walker
[6] From a Christmas Card from Alex Fink & Sai Emrys
Posts
Dear Uncle Zeker~
ReplyDeleteI have not yet mastered the art of writing, though I am able to put my fingers in my mouth successfully! Once I learn more, I'll help Princess Éfhelìnye with the passive voice in Babel. :-) Love you!
~Joshua
Dear Uncle Zeker~
ReplyDeleteI already love stories! Since I am unable to talk in complete sentences that my parents can understand (I do talk, they just don't know what I'm saying - so frustrating!) I have become a good listener. My mom told me a story about a dragon yesterday, but it was nowhere as creative as your stories. I need you to tell me some neat stories! :-) Love you!
~Joshua
Dear Uncle Zeker~
ReplyDeleteThe thing I concentrate on the most is when my next bottle will come. I have to keep my mommy on her toes, so sometimes I want a bottle every three hours, and sometimes every two. :-) Love you!
~Joshua
Dear Uncle Zeker~
ReplyDeleteMy mommy told me that you both dyed your hair when you all were younger. Mommy said that she use to put stuff in her hair when she lifeguarded and it made her hair orange. She also said her hair would turn green from the pool chlorine.
I don't have much hair right now. I have some fuzz on the sizes, and a little thin area on top. I'm still working on growing more! Love you!
~Joshua