Before starting this lesson, you should re-read section 16.4 of the reference manual.
-caw other binary relational states, default = P/F-s verb (be a part/constituent of, own, be equal to, be a substitute for, be a prerequisite of/for, be full of, mean/signify, provide/be the source of, result in, connected/linked/joined to) -xay attributes of living entities (alive, pregnant, gendered/sexual, sober, standing/upright, healthy, sitting, growing, awake, intelligent, intelligible) -kwe opposites of attributes of living entities (dead, non-pregnant, non-gendered/asexual, inebriated, prone/lying down, sick/ill, kneeling, asleep, non-intelligent, unintelligible) -koy particles (see below)
caw - be, be equal to, be the same as
xoncaw - substitute for, replace, supplant, take the place of,
be a substitute/replacement for
xoncawme - instead of, rather than, in place of, in lieu of
xay - alive, living
kwe - dead, lifeless, no longer alive
conxayma - grow (up), develop, mature, ripen, wax
conkwema - shrink, shrivel, emaciate, wizen, wither
bonxay - healthy, well, in good health
bonkwe - sick, ill, unhealthy, ailing, unwell, not healthy
tawnxay - wild, feral, undomesticated, untamed, savage
tawnkwe - tame, not feral or wild
taynxay - awake, up, conscious
taynkwe - asleep, sleeping, slumbering
taynkwema - sleep, slumber, doze, snooze, be asleep
penxay - full-grown, mature, grown(-up), ripe, developed
penkwe - immature, non-adult, undeveloped
teanxay - seated, sitting (down)
teankwe - kneeling (down), on one's knees
xaynxe - biologist
xayntaw - forest, wood(s)/woodland
xaynko - eager (to/for), keen (about), enthusiastic, avid
[Keep in mind that "xaynko" is a verb by default.]
kwentaw - waste(land), barrens, land where little or nothing
lives or grows
kwenkyu - murder, commit homicide, take the life of
kwenxo - funeral, burial
kwenti - hearse, funeral car/coach
kwenfe - cemetery, graveyard, burial ground/place
kwenkomo - sorrowful, mournful, sorrow-stricken, aggrieved,
grief-stricken
[Keep in mind that "kwenko" is a verb by default.]
bonxaydan - heal, cure, restore to health
taynxaydun - wake (up), awake(n)
taynkwedun - fall asleep, go to sleep, drop off, doze off, drowse
off
kwedan - kill, put to death, slay, take the life of, do away
with, fell, strike dead
bika - definitely, for sure, absolutely [modal disjunct]
bikama - believe, be convinced that/of, take as true (that)
bikada - persuade, convince, win over, cause someone to come to
believe something
gekoy - more, -er
tunpye - than, as, compared with/to
1. "Caw" is the verb meaning 'to be'. It is not used as often in Latenkwa as in English because Latenkwa nouns and adjectives can be converted to verbs meaning 'to be X' with a simple part-of-speech change:
Ki bonxema Lajonxe.
John is a doctor.
Taynxayma livoxe.
The children were awake.
However, if a noun is modified, "caw" must be used:
Ki caw Lajonxe lubonxe ponco.
John is a good doctor.
Note the use of the generic noun prefix "lu-" rather than the indefinite article "to". Compare with a plural form:
Ki caw Lajonxe pye Laryaxe lubonxe ponco.
John and Mary are good doctors.
2. The classifier "-koy" is used for "particles". Particles have special syntactic and/or semantic properties that place them outside the general classificational system. Because of this, they rarely undergo further derivation.
In this lesson, we will practice with the particle "gekoy", meaning 'more'. "Gekoy" is a previous-word modifier and so must immediately follow the word it modifies. If we need to indicate a comparison, then the conjunction "tunpye" is also used, and should follow the item it is being compared with:
Ponko fa bocay gekoy.
I wanted more water.
Xasu fa tunpye tunfa pinpu gekoy.
I had more money than you.
Note in the second example that the word order is very different from English. Literally, it means 'I compared-to you have more money'.
Since "gekoy" is a previous-word modifier, it can modify anything as long as the result makes sense. Here are some more examples:
Xasu fa pu giku gekoy to.
I had more than three books.
Ki tinpema gekoy ti foy tunpye tunfoymi.
My car is faster than yours.
3. In Latenkwa, it's not possible to simply omit an object of the verb, even though it's sometimes possible in English. For example, we can say "I know the answer" or simply "I know", but we cannot say "I opened".
In Latenkwa, use the anti-middle suffix "-doy" if you want to omit the object and imply that it is known from context. Here are some examples:
Te fa Lajonxe xasu fa pu.
I told John that I had the book.
Tedoy fa xasu fa pu.
I said that I had the book.
Ki cenko fa conpwe.
I'm afraid of the bear.
Ki cenkodoy fa.
I'm afraid.
As we've already learned, it's also possible to use an unfocused suffix instead of "-doy":
Ki cenkosun fa.
I'm afraid.
However, this only works if the object is a focus. "-Doy" works with
all transitive or ditransitive verbs, regardless of the role of the
object.
I'm awake and thinking.
Ki taynxayma fa pye xenkodoyse.
The movie made me fall asleep.
Cudan taynxo taynkwedun fa.
The doctor healed the entire faculty.
Bonxaydan bonxe konpi concu.
Why are the farmers kneeling away from the window?
Ki teankwema lifunxe xwa taynfo tomande?
The performances and the lessons about Latenkwa are an
old tradition.
Ki caw lixo pye likonxo tu Latenkwa penkwa pe to.
I just persuaded the hotel chef to give me the recipe
for the stew.
Zupya bikada fa cencanxe tu lucinpa xadase fa cenkwa tu
confu.
The dead biologist is in the hearse in the parking lot
next to the cemetery.
Ki cinkema xaynxe kwe kwenti cinkemu tinfe zuxwamu
kwenfe.
This won't substitute for edible food.
Juka twe xoncaw ximi lufu funcu.
Who spent one month with the merchant?
Kisi xede gekya baku to toden pinpanxe?
The airport was growing while the nearby marketplace
was definitely shrinking.
Xwenpya conxayma tantinpa kime bika xwenpya conkwema
pinfe voxwamo.
[Note the use of metaphor in the above example. Technically
speaking, "conxay" and "conkwe" apply only to living entities.
Later, we'll learn how to derive words with the meanings 'to
become larger' and 'to become smaller'.]
I learned that the tame bird is a parrot and that the
wild ones are owls.
Kodu fa ki tentama twinta tawnkwe pye tayntama
litawnxaymi.
The sitting businessmen will be haggling about the
building design.
Xwentwe pintedoy lipinxe teanxay cunkwa tu lutwinpa.
Why did the dictionary cost more than the textbook?
Pinpesu tenpu tunpye konpu gekoymi tomande?
The bear can't wake up because it isn't alive.
Juka po twe taynxaydun conpwe toman juka ki xayma conhi.
I went to the gas station but you stayed away.
Tinca fa kedume tinpa gapye xwasidoy tunfa.
Mary will soon give you more water but she'll keep the
cookies.
Votwe xada Laryaxe tunfa bocay gekoy gapye xasi ryahi
lizufu.
The task will be incomplete without more activities.
Twe confawma canxo today twinxo gekoy.
Were there enough meals for more than eight people?
Kade cuma funxo poynku to tomun xe finku gekoy to?
John killed three healthy sparrows in the park in front
of the school.
Kwedan Lajonxe ta bonxay giku to ke punfe taynkemu
konpa.
The sorrowful linguists are at the funeral for their
colleague that was murdered at the movie theater.
Ki kema litenxe kwenkomo kwenxo tu twi tenho xa
kwenkyuso twihi ke taynxonpa.
Did you give the plumber instructions for the washing
machines in working order?
Kade xada tunfa boxe lupyonkwa tu libopyo boncu?
Mary was at the clinic instead of the doctor that had
to stay at the hospital.
Kema Laryaxe bonpa xoncawme bonxe xa bipo kesi bonhi
gebonpa.
[Literally, the above means 'Mary was at the clinic substituting for
the doctor that had to stay at the hospital'. However, "instead of"
is a better translation than "substituting for" because "instead of"
does not imply agency, whereas "substituting for" does.]
Please open the door with this key and put the forest
painting outside the apartment.
Luyejecudanmoy jefo kyuswa jekwi xi pye cinxwadamoy
toynpu tu luxayntaw geci.
Everything in the novel is an imaginary account of a
trip to a colorless wasteland.
Ki caw bikumi cinkemu fawnpunxo tenxo faw to tu tinxo
to kedumu kwentaw toynfaw to.
The mechanic went to the doctor's office because he
believed that he was sick.
Tinca tinxe kedume vobonpa toman bikama tinhi bonkwema
tinhi.
A few stores in the shopping mall wanted a contract for
six full-grown dogs instead of seven immature ones.
Ponko pinpa voku to cinkemu gepinpa pinkwa to tu zaypwe
penxay jaku to xoncawme penkwemi zeku to.
The hungry cat is swallowing your sandwich but the
sleeping one is sleeping under that old antique.
Ki funkyu panpwe funtaymo fonfu tunfoy gapye taynkwema
taynkwemi tanxwa penpu pe jaxi.
Are a lot of people grateful that the engineers were
eager to make the train station's ceiling only four
meters high?
Kade ki fyonko xe geku to xaynko licunxe tanpedase
tanfo xa fenpa fenkya conku cawnto to.