lestroviconlang

[lestroviconlang]

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns are very simple. They are formed from the prefix in- and a suffix that shows person. These same suffixes are used in verbs.

When a person is the direct object of a sentence, that pronoun is attached to the verb it is the object of. In those cases, the suffixes take the following forms.

The same suffixes are used when a postposition and pronoun are joined.

The same suffixes are used to show possession.

In cases when the person is the indirect object of a verb, an additional “n” is added to the suffix. If previous particle ends in a consonant, a short “ė” is added for pronunciation, but it has no impact on meaning. This “ė” is often inserted before -ho as well when it follows a consonant.

Examples:

Direct object:

Jefweteitėhö (She held me)

Jefurhowo’o wori (I will see him tomorrow)

Postposition:

Mocėho qlama jatehö (I have a pen with me)

Zvat cao jeko (The party is at her place)

Possession:

Xatėho skad jeko? (Where is my sister?)

Bjäknim tmua jeke. (Your tree is dead)

Indirect object:

Semakniswo gömjäönöx? (Can you write it for us?)

Gočhanno kıral! (Kick the ball to me!)

[lestroviconlang]

A Lestrovi Swadesh list

No. English Lestrovi

1 I inno

2 you (singular) inis

3 he ine

4 we inna

5 you (plural) insta

6 they inu

7 this hiš

8 that hoš

9 here hid

10 there hod

11 who skän

12 what skeš

13 where skad

14 when skor

15 how skes

16 not os

17 all pez

18 many šca

19 some nec

20 few qil

21 other qeš

22 one sug

23 two sin

24 three kig

25 four tun

26 five nar

27 big ksoz

28 long msor

29 wide was

30 thick raq’

31 heavy buš

32 small inz

33 short qtac

34 narrow sak’

35 thin bix

36 woman nis

37 man rajl

38 human le

39 child drüt

40 wife sat

41 husband wil

42 mother nä

43 father dä

44 animal zun

45 fish qra

46 bird gis

47 dog cuf

48 louse boz

49 snake söes

50 worm q’ab

51 tree bjäk

52 forest šöĝ

53 stick ħüñ

54 fruit stim

55 seed haz

56 leaf kjod

57 root bšel

58 bark (of a tree) smar

59 flower zäg

60 grass bels

61 rope mjüš

62 skin ašx

63 meat lħam

64 blood ts’urğ

65 bone t’ax

66 fat (noun) ‘še

67 egg joğ

68 horn dzvu

69 tail p’eš

70 feather ñoš

71 hair xzäf

72 head two’

73 ear łik

74 eye müž

75 nose fėm

76 mouth p’om

77 tooth ts’öt

78 tongue (organ) zur

79 fingernail mcar

80 foot k’ä

81 leg xoğ

82 knee düs

83 hand łö

84 wing vzär

85 belly ‘üe

86 guts čürš

87 neck cod

88 back vuq

89 breast ts’kco

90 heart mraešt

91 liver štu

92 to drink psit

93 to eat tłac

94 to bite sjärg

95 to suck dqa

96 to spit taš

97 to vomit cat

98 to blow ħök’

99 to breathe sdec

100 to laugh dil

101 to see fur

102 to hear xäš

103 to know pał

104 to think cor

105 to smell ħuż

106 to fear ğra

107 to sleep nıb

108 to live ‘leb

109 to die tmu

110 to kill dzon

111 to fight läet

112 to hunt tiex

113 to hit düt

114 to cut xwad

115 to split diex

116 to stab cüt

117 to scratch łing

118 to dig ošx

119 to swim nwet

120 to fly t’udž

121 to walk üšt

122 to come un

123 to lie (as in a bed) hlėm

124 to sit näx

125 to stand tzod

126 to turn (intransitive) xjardž

127 to fall dzacm

128 to give ar

129 to hold fwet

130 to squeeze žuwd

131 to rub xžen

132 to wash ĝaed

133 to wipe šeöqt

134 to pull yiz

135 to push tėt

136 to throw ksoš

137 to tie dex

138 to sew dga

139 to count ĝal

140 to say xıl

141 to sing ğėn

142 to play locz

143 to float nziy

144 to flow jehs

145 to freeze ğlor

146 to swell däst

147 sun šmidž

148 moon kšuğ

149 star sidd

150 water šwe

151 rain šjeñ

152 river xik

153 lake łam

154 sea hlord

155 salt tüh

156 stone tağ

157 sand ğum

158 dust č’an

159 earth eš

160 cloud mirğ

161 fog dušm

162 sky stik

163 wind mwix

164 snow lo

165 ice ša

166 smoke xür

167 fire tar

168 ash šalj

169 to burn am

170 road xar

171 mountain pab

172 red čen

173 green beč

174 yellow mžest

175 white kejn

176 black tmir

177 night bü

178 day ri

179 year sna

180 warm ħär

181 cold šli

182 full dziñ

183 new šuğ

184 old k’en

185 good wağr

186 bad won

187 rotten tłall

188 dirty box

189 straight ñis

190 round ğorğ

191 sharp (as a knife) siñ

192 dull (as a knife) jėr

193 smooth šreĝ

194 wet tł’ed

195 dry deq

196 correct saħ

197 near gri

198 far grėn

199 right band

200 left ärr

201 at ca

202 in bi

203 with šmu/moc

204 and ja

205 if neğ

206 because če

207 name tje/sem

[lestroviconlang]

Numbers in Lestrovi

Lestrovi uses a seximal system. Numbers go from one to six, six being the first double digit number. This can make translating numbers from Lestrovi to any other language or vice versa difficult. Here are some numbers. The decimal equivalent will be given in parentheses where it is different.

0 Sıf

1 Sug

2 Sin

3 Kig

4 Tun

5 Nar

10 Ses (6)

11 Sessug (7)

12 Sessin (8)

13 Seskig (9)

14 Sestun (10)

15 Sesnar (11)

20 Sinses (12)

21 Sinsessug (13)

22 Sinsessin (14)

23 Sinseskig (15)

24 Sinsestun (16)

25 Sinsesnar (17)

30 Kigses (18)

40 Tunses (24)

50 Narses (30)

100 Kir (36)

1.000 Man (216)

10.000 Nub (1296)

100.000 Fel (7776)

1.000.000 Ljon (46656)

1.000.000.000 Ljar (10077696)

[lestroviconlang]

Verbs

Verbs in Lestrovi consist of an invariable as well as a prefix that indicates mood, a suffix that indicates person/number, and a postfix that’s indicates aspect. Because of this, verbs are typically four syllable words. Note that mood prefixes harmonise with the last vowel in the invariable stem, not the first, if there are multiple vowels.

Mood is a feature of Lestrovi verbs that allows a user to express how they feel about what they are saying.

The indicative mood is used to state that something is a fact, with no shade of doubt in the statement at all. This is the most common mood by far.

The subjunctive mood is used to indicate that something is imaginary or hypothetical, such as to express possibility, doubt, or other hypothetical situations.

The imperative mood is used to express commands and orders. Because they express commands, they are most often used in the second person, rarely in the first person, and almost never in the third person.

The conditional mood is used to speak of an event whose realisation depends on another event or condition.

The optative mood is used is used to express hopes and wishes. Unlike most languages with optative phrasings, it forms a distinct mood in Lestrovi and does not overlap with the subjunctive mood.

The jussive mood is used to express orders to a person not present, and can be used to describe what others should or must do. A unique use of the jussive mood is in curses and spells.

Indicative: je-

Subjunctive: se-

Imperative: go-

Conditional: na-

Optative: mjo-

Jussive: fe-

The Lestrovi language distinguished between four numbers: singular, dual, paucal, and plural. Singular is used for one person. Dual is used for two people. Paucal is used for three to twelve people, or an undetermined but small number of people. Plural is used for more than twelve people, or an undetermined large number of people.

The Lestrovi language also distinguished between a number of persons. The first person, in persons greater than singular, is inflected to show inclusivity, to say whether or not the listener is part of the group. The same is true of the second person. The third person distinguishes by distance, whether they are within sight of the speakers or out of sight of the speakers.

Aspect is used to express how an action, event, or state, debuted by a verb, extends over time. Because aspect denotes how an action extends over time, not when, they can be paired with phrases that indicate time to eliminate ambiguity when necessary.

The perfective aspect is used to denote an action that is complete, irrespective of time.

The imperfective aspect is used to denote an action that is incomplete or exists continuously, repetitively, or habitually.

The prospective aspect is used to express an action that is anticipated, but has not yet happened and therefore cannot be determined to be complete or incomplete.

Perfective: -it

Imperfect: -

Prospective: -wo

There are four additional endings

Gerund: -lar

Infinitive: -ra

Interrogative: -mi

Emphatic: -ma/-xo

In addition, there are the Seven Levels of Politeness. These pre and postfixes surround the entire phrase, not just the verb, as if the speaker were placing spoken quotation marks around their speech. These politeness levels are only used in formal speech, and in informal speech, the “Eye” level is used. The levels are listed from most humble and therefore most polite to most lofty, and by implication, least polite and only appropriate in certain circumstances.

Grovelling: coš-þo

Genuflecting: ğur-þo

Bowing: čan-þo

Eye: (no circumfixes)

Touching: čan-ðim

Looking: ğur-ðim

Throne: coš-ðim

[lestroviconlang]

Invariables vs Variables

In the Lestrovi language, there are two main classes of words/parts of words: variables and invariables.

Variables are inflections. Noun declensions and verb conjugations are variables. They are called variables because their vowels change with vowel harmony.

Invariables are the stems of words. The main carriers of meaning are invariables. They do not change with vowel harmony, incuding within compound words. An invariable can typically function as a verb, noun, or adjective. For instance, the invariable “mjä” means “to write” as a verb, “writing” as a noun, and “written” as an adjective. Likewise the invariable “tfjad” means “cockroach” as a noun, “to live off scraps” as a verb, and “ready to fight” as an adjective. This system of invariable derivation means that the Lestrovi language has fewer basic words compared to other languages, but many more derived words that aren’t always unambiguous, a trait that lends itself well to poetry and comedy, two favourite pastimes of the Lestrovi people.

[lestroviconlang]

Vowel harmony

Lestrovi shows vowel harmony. Within a word, there is always a stem. The stem is the main carrier of meaning. Stems are known as invariables, while inflections are known as variables. The last vowel in an invariable is what determines vowel harmony, and all inflections must change their vowels to reflect that harmony.

Vowels come in three classes. Light, Dark, and Neutral. Light vowels always harmonise with light, dark with dark, and neutral vowels do not change. If a stem possesses a neutral vowel, then inflections maintain their default vowel.

Light: ä i ö ü

Neutral: e ė i

Dark: a ı o u

Note that “i” is both a light vowel and a neutral vowel. If “i” is the vowel of an invariable, then it is considered a neutral vowel. If it occurs in a variable, it is considered a light vowel.

[lestroviconlang]

Noun cases:

Lestrovi does not have grammatical gender.

It has many cases, but most cases evolved from words that were once postpositions, and function as such except in the fact that they are declined for number.

Lestrovi has four grammatical numbers: singular, dual, paucal, and plural. Singular is used for single nouns, dual for a pair of a noun, paucal for three to twelve of a noun, and plural for more than twelve.

Because of the amount of inflection in the Lestrovi language, word order can be free, although the default is almost always Subject Object Verb, poetry being the primary exception to the rule.

Note that Lestrovi has vowel harmony, and that cases harmonise their vowels with the nearest invariable to that case.

There are 15 noun cases, they are listed as follows:

Nominative: Indicates the subject of a verb.

Accusative: Indicates the direct object of a verb.

Dative: Indicates the indirect object of a verb.

Genitive: Indicates the owner of another object, typically in a compound structure called ıżafat.

Instrumental: Indicates a noun that is being used as a tool or means for a verb to occur.

Comitative: Indicates that a noun is accompanying a speaker or object (synonymous with the postposition “moc” (with)).

Privative: Indicates that a noun is not accompanying a speaker or object (synonymous with the postposition “biz” (without)).

Causal: Indicates that a noun causes an action to occur (synonymous with the postposition “liyon” (because)).

Latative: Indicates that motion of the verb occurs in a direction toward the noun being declined.

Ablative: Indicates that motion of the verb occurs in a direction away from the noun being declined.

Prolative: Indicates that motion of the verb occurs by way of the noun being declined.

Locative: Indicates that a noun is the location that a verb occurs, without motion.

Senblative: Indicates that the noun being declined resembles another noun (synonymous with the postposition “ka” (like))

Postpositional: Indicates a noun paired with a postposition that does not fit with any other case.

Vocative: Used when calling out to the noun being declined.

[lestroviconlang]

The alphabet (romanisation) of Lestrovi

A Ä B C Č Č' D DŁ DZ Ð E Ė F G Ğ Ġ G̃ H Ħ I İ J K K' L Ł LJ M N Ñ O Ö P P' Q Q' R S Š T T' TŁ TŁ' TS TS' Þ U Ü V W X Z Ž Ż '

The typical syllable structure is CVC, but it can get as complex as CCCVVCC, and all permutations therein are possible. Any consonant or vowel can appear within this structure, but not all possible combinations occur.

The sounds:

And those sounds mapped with the letters:

[lestroviconlang]

Welcome to the Lestrovi conlang.

The Lestrovi people are a fictional people.

They originated in the Caucasus around 5000 BCE and adopted a nomadic lifestyle, travelling around the Bronze Age Near East, gaining deep, structural and lexical influences from languages like Hurrian, Akkadian, Aramaic, and in particular Arabic, as the spent long periods in Arabia.

Eventually they would leave the Near East during the Bronze Age Collapse and would head into the Iranian Plateau and onward toward Central Asia after Alexander came to Persia. They would settle in the Ferghana valley before moving into the Tarim Basin after the Islamic Conquests.

They would eventually reach their current range among the steppe peoples on the outskirts of China. During this time they gained additional linguistic influence from Iranian and Turkic peoples, with Turkic languages influencing their grammar tremendously.

Like the other steppe peoples of the area, they are skilled horsemen and archers. Their societies are very egalitarian compared to the neighbouring Chinese and even to the other steppe peoples. They live a pastoral lifestyle, moving from area to area to allow their animals to graze.

Being pastoral, their diet is poor in fruits and vegetables except for what can be found on the steppe, despite their rich vocabulary of fruits and vegetables inherited from their days spent raiding the cities of the Orontes, Tigris, and Euphrates. Their diet consists largely of meat and dairy, with fermented horse milk being a particular (alcoholic) delicacy.

Lestrovi society is matriarchal. Labour is still divided by gender, as men are hunters and women are gatherers, as well as herders and gardeners. Men typically take the role of artisan when settled, and because of the rarity of plants in the Lestrovi diet, produce is seen as the most valued foodstuff and is often the center of the meal and therefore the women gardeners are often seen as having the most important job. The head of each clan is the eldest woman of the extended family. Her wisdom is used to better the lives of the clan. Whenever a large decision must be made between the clans, it is the the matriarchs who meet with one another, with consult from their head priests.

The Lestrovi religion is now Tengriist, although there remain elements of their original religion, which was dominated by a myriad of gods inherited from Mesopotamia. Ceremonies are often centred around the four elements of water, earth, air, and especially fire. Lestrovi holidays often incorporate fire in some way. This is likely an inheritance from the Zoroastrians amongst whom they lived during their trek from the Near East toward the steppe.

The Lestrovi people are not a people dictated by social norms of patriarchy, therefore their attitudes toward sex are different. In their religion, it is not seen as inappropriate for two to lay with one another before marriage, and reproduction is not seen as the end goal of intercourse, rather the female orgasm is seen as the end goal, as it is believed that in that moment, a piece of the spirit of Tengri enters the body of that woman, allowing her to reach a short state of enlightenment. Two women laying with one another is considered a beautiful thing, as enlightenment can be found multiple times between the two women, while two men laying with one another is ignored, as intercourse between two men is neither productive nor important.

The following map shows the migration path of the Lestrovi. The dates accompany the nearest black dot along the path and denote somewhere there was a significant Lestrovi settlement center. Some may even call it a capital, though the Lestrovi were rarely so organised.