Gamgweth Grammar (book)

Gamgweth Grammar

-by Chelaemador Polibara

Chapter One: Introduction

To begin with, I should say that it is an honor and pleasure for me to author this work, and pen my name at the top. I was born in the ruined town of Dirge in the year 303 AV during the Reign of His Grace, Prince Tegistan, Holder of the Scales and Scion of the Dragon. Of humble beginnings I, still my love of learning would allow no barriers before it. Despite living in such a drab surrounding, my mother was a poet and a dreamer (to the dismay of my father), and to her son she passed along her obsession with the beauty and intricacies of language. And being a Human, of course no language interested me more than my own tongue: Gamgweth. It was with this flame within me that I set the course of my life, and that course was the research of linguistics, and the passing along of my acquired knowledge. It is and was my hope to inspire a love of linguistics, similar to my own, in other youths. But more than half a century now after my birth, I am aged, and my time in the lecture halls grows short. Thus, quill to parchment.

This tome is meant to serve as an introductory volume to the studies of grammar and the linguistic rules of the Gamgweth language. There is certainly much to learn that is contained not in these pages, but for the beginner... well, my father always said a newborn Trader must crawl before he climbs into the saddle and steers his yaks. We'll cover the basics, and if I draw breath yet, the advanced studies may follow.

Authored in the Year Three-Hundred and Sixty-Four AV, During the Reign of His Grace Prince Vorclaf, By my hand, Chelaemador Polibara

Chapter Two: Plurals

Plurals have frequently confounded those eager to wrap their minds around the study of Gamgweth. But truly, it is such a simple thing! I shall explain how to transfer a singular word into a plural. Several rules follow.

PLURAL RULE I. THE COMMON TRANSITION -For most Gamgweth words, you will simply add the suffix "-aen" to create a plural. This is the most frequent rule, but there are exceptions.
Examples:
Anlas (Hour) becomes Anlasaen (Hours)
Sisk (Axe) becomes Siskaen (Axes)
Kron (Currency) becomes Kronaen (Currencies)
Lorat (Plant) becomes Lorataen (Plants)

PLURAL RULE II. ENDING IN I -When a Gamgweth word ends in "i", drop the "i" and add an "-ien" suffix.
Examples:
Dyrisi (Beast) becomes Dyrisien (Beasts)
Surmi (Night) becomes Surmien (Nights)
Negei (Fox) becomes Negeien (Foxes)
Rachai (Falcon) becomes Rachaien (Falcons)

PLURAL RULE III. ENDING IN OTHER VOWEL -When a Gamgweth word ends in a vowel other than i, drop the vowel and THEN add the "-aen" suffix.
Examples:
Audru (Storm) becomes Audraen (Storms)
Fewna (Rank) becomes Fewnaen (Ranks)
Reniso (Peninsula) becomes Renisaen (Peninsulas)
Khalo (Leader) becomes Khalaen (Leaders)

PLURAL RULE IV. ENDING IN GER When a Gamgweth word ends in "ger", drop the "ger" and add a "-gaen" suffix. Generally, words ending in "ger" or "gaen" will reference peoples of some kind.
Examples:
Menger (Trader) becomes Mengaen (Traders)
Lasager (Nobleman) becomes Lasagaen (Noblemen)
Darvager (Dwarf) becomes Darvagaen (Dwarves)
Lasadinger (Commoner) becomes Lasadingaen (Commoners)

Chapter Three: Negation

Negation in Gamgweth tends to be a simple matter. Most verbs and nouns can be negated simply with the suffix of "-din", which means No, or Zero. I shall elaborate upon this with an example from our lesson on pluralization.

Nobleman in Gamgweth is Lasager. Literally translated, we find that "Lasa" means "Noble", and "Ger" means "Person." So broken down, a person possessing nobility is a Lasager - Nobleman.

Now, on the contrast, we wish to negate. The opposite of Nobleman (one possessing nobility) is, obviously, Commoner (person possessing ZERO nobility). So let us apply our rule and negate the noble part of the word. We end up with Lasadinger, or literally, "No-Noble Person." In short:

NEGATION RULE I -Add the suffix "-din"
Examples:
Taisar ama (I fly) becomes Taisardin ama (I do not fly)
Lyo (wisdom) becomes Lyodin (Foolishness[No-Wisdom])
Lasager (Nobleperson) becomes Lasadinger (Commoner)
Maren (Fellow) becomes Marendin (Outsider[No-Fellow])

NEGATION RULE II -Rarely, words will have "din-" added as a prefix. This is an uncommon occurence, and most linguists do not look amiss if Negation Rule I is applied to these words instead of Negation Rule II.
Examples:
Amo (Thick) becomes Dinamo (Thin[No-Thin]) or Amodin
Num (Straight) becomes Dinnum (Crooked[No-Straight]) or Numdin
Ord (Many) becomes Dinord (Few[No-Many]) or Orddin

Chapter Four: Prefixes and Suffixes

In Common, there are many special word endings. These can also be simulated in Gamgweth, though, in some cases, the translations will not be precise. Some Gamgweth word endings also represent adjectives which would come before nouns in common.

SUFFIX RULE I. BEAUTIFUL -To modify a noun with the adjective "beautiful" -- if the noun ends in a consonant, add a "-ahle" suffix.
Examples:
Mod (Tree) becomes Modahle (Beautiful Tree)
Delenshon (Queen) becomes Delonshonahle (Beautiful Queen)
Gelvdael (Grotto) becomes Gelvdaelahle (Beautiful Grotto)
Shosuger (Baby) becomes Shosugerahle (Beautiful Baby)
Palan (Pearl) becomes Palanahle (Beautiful Pearl)

SUFFIX RULE II. BEAUTIFUL -To modify a noun with the adjective "beautiful" -- if the noun ends in a vowel, add a "-hle" suffix.
Examples:
Lorma (Flower) becomes Lormahle (Beautiful Flower)
Iala (Jewel) becomes Ialahle (Beautiful Jewel)
Surmi (Night) becomes Surmihle (Beautiful Night)
Tasia (Blue) becomes Tasiahle (Beautiful Blue)
Belu (Butterfly) becomes Beluhle (Beautiful Butterfly)

SUFFIX RULE III. COULD -There is no word for "Could" in Gamgweth. To modify verbs by Could, add the verb suffix "-fano."
Examples:
Kruar ama (I begin) becomes Kruarfano ama (I could begin)
Achor ama (I fear) becomes Achorfano ama (I could fear)
Taisar ama (I fly) becomes Taisarfano ama (I could fly)
Taisardin ama (I do not fly) becomes Taisarfanodin ama (I couldn't fly)
Blar ama (I guard) becomes Blarfano ama (I could guard)

SUFFIX RULE IV. WOULD -There is no word for "Would" in Gamgweth. To modify verbs by Would, add the verb suffix "-no."
Examples:
Kruar ama (I begin) becomes Kruarno ama (I would begin)
Achor ama (I fear) becomes Achorno ama (I would fear)
Taisar ama (I fly) becomes Taisarno ama (I would fly)
Taisardin ama (I do not fly) becomes Taisarnodin ama (I wouldn't fly)
Blar ama (I guard) becomes Blarno ama (I would guard)

SUFFIX RULE V. -ER -The Common suffix "-er" which appears on verbs, in Gamgweth add the suffix "-nit" or "-it" to the verb.
Examples:
Phofer (Dream) becomes Phoferit (Dreamer)
Misekar (End) becomes Misekarit (Ender)
Gwelder (Kill) becomes Gwelderit (Killer)

PREFIX RULE I. -ING The ending -ing is translated as the prefix "a'-" or "h'-", depending on the first letter of the word.
Examples:
Phofer (Dream) becomes A'phofer (Dreaming)
Achor (Fear) becomes H'achor (Fearing)
Gwelder (Kill) becomes A'gwelder (Killing)

Chapter Five: Possession

The simplest way to establish possession for a noun in Gamgweth is with the word "ia" which translates as "of." "Thabara ia Chelaemador" is "Tale of Chelaemador" or "Chelaemador's Tale." This is the type of possession you will see used by almost all linguists and Gamgweth writers. There is, however, a rule to be demonstrated for the possession of pronouns.

PRONOUN POSSESSION RULE I -Pronoun possession in Gamgweth is most commonly done by adding an n to the end of the word.
Examples:
Dena (He) becomes Denan (His)
Dela (She) becomes Delan (Hers)
Aena (We) becomes Aenan (Ours)
Ama (I) becomes Aman (My)
Tema (You) becomes Teman (Yours)

Chapter Six: Verb Tense

FUTURE TENSE RULE I -To change a verb to the future tense (or, "I will..."), add the suffix "-al" to the verb.
Examples:
Hentor ama (I travel) becomes Hentoral ama (I will travel)
Phofer ama (I dream) becomes Phoferal ama (I will dream)
A'blar ama (I guard) becomes A'blaral ama (I will be guarding)
Achordin ama (I do not fear) becomes Archoraldin ama (I will not fear)

PAST TENSE RULE I -To change a verb to the past tense (or, "I did..."), add the suffix "-ke" to the verb.
Examples:
Hentor ama (I travel) becomes Hentorke ama (I did travel)
Phofer ama (I dream) becomes Phoferke ama (I did dream)
A'blar ama (I guard) becomes A'blarke ama (I was guarding)
Achordin ama (I do not fear) becomes Archorkedin ama (I did not fear)

Chapter Seven: Sentence Structure

The sentence structure in Gamgweth is Verb-Subject- Object. Adjectives are placed AFTER the nouns they modify. This is the simple syntax that will enable the most boggled at linguistics to use Gamgweth with a fluent tongue.

I speak Gamgweth is translated as: "Gwer ama Gamgweth."
I do not speak Gamgweth: "Gwerdin ama Gamgweth."
I speak Gamgweth beautifully: "Gwerahle ama Gamgweth."
I do not fear blue fish: "Achordin ama jalbreth tasia."
I do not dream of beautiful Gamgweth: "Phoferdin ama rae Gamgwethahle."