Semantics of gjâ-zym-byn
(including derivational morphology)

• Overview of derivational morphology
  • Numbers
  • Derivation from numbers
  • Counting
  • Math
  • Comparison of suffixes and clitics with Esperanto equivalents
  • Attitudinal suffixes
• "To be"
• Miscellaneous notes on semantic fields
  • Subjective qualities and mental states
  • "To know"
  • Buying, selling, commercial things
  • "Maybe": še / be
  • New, Young and Old
  • Past tense: mje / šy / dân
  • Prayer
  • Geography
  • Kinship terms
  • Love and Friendship
  • Objective and subjective time
  • Motion verbs

Overview of derivational morphology

All content root words are nouns. I add suffixes to get verbs & adjectives/adverbs. E.g.

Some root words have a broad meaning, which can generally be narrowed in an idiomatic way by the suffix {-cjaj}.

Others (far more) have a narrow meaning, and a more general word is derived with {-tôn}.

I suspect idiomatic compounds such as these are easier to learn than completely separate, unrelated root words. I'm not sure if I can verify this suspicion without a properly controlled experiment, though.

Special adjective meanings are derived from some concrete nouns with {-rô}. They either abstract some of the root's qualities to make a general adjective, or form a metaphor.

The metaphorical use suffix {-ga} is productive (you can use it to explicitly mark any metaphorical use of a word), but with certain words it has a conventional, defined meaning.

Similar to but distinct from {-ga} is the metonymic suffix {-gôm}:

{-gôm} is also used to derive a word for an author's work (their sole or best-known work, or a contextually salient one) from their name.

herǒdǒtǒs-ram-gôm	kâ-i	lju-zô	jǒj	de.
Herodotus-NAME-METONYM	ATT-at	read-V.ACT	again	HAB
I'm reading Herodotus [i.e. his Histories] again lately.

One kind of metonymy typical in natural languages also occurs in gzb, unmarked: using the same word (or zero-derivation) to refer to a plant as a whole or to its edible part, in agricultural and culinary contexts respectively:

šun	pǒ	i	bâwŋ-van	θĭl.
region	DEM3	at	grow-V.STATE	potato
Potatoes grow there.

šun	pǒ	i	θĭl	ĥy-i	vâ-oŋ-Ł-zô	ƴyr-bô.
region	DEM3	at	potato	PAT-at	digestion-into-3.GEN-V.ACT	custom-ADJ
People eat potatoes there.

Compounding of nominal roots is normally head-morpheme-first, modifier-morphemes following.

However, there are a few root words that I call "suffixoid", which logically ought to be the head morpheme and come first, but which actually suffix. E.g.,

Why this irregularity? Early on I was undecided about the order in which morphemes compound, and had some inconsistency. Probably by August 1998 I decided definitively that the order should be head-first, and I fixed most of the compound words in the lexicon to fit this order. However, there were a few words I had already learned well that used these particular morphemes, and I decided I didn't want to lose ground with respect to learning vocabulary; so I made these morphemes "suffixoid". Suffixoid content morphemes are not an open class.

Numbers

Root words for numbers are nouns; {fy} refers to the mathematical object "seven", the set of all sets with seven members. By extension, it can refer to any specific set with seven members; so {ĉu} for instance could mean "the number two" or "a pair/duet/duo" depending on context. Number-modifiers, used to express how many of something there are, are formed with the adjectival suffix {-bô}; number-verbs can be formed with the stative verb suffix {-van}. There are four different ordinal suffixes, discussed further on.

Originally, I had root words only for some prime numbers (all of those up to 113 and a few larger ones for recent and future Gregorian years, e.g. 1973 and 1999) and other interesting constants (e.g. 0, 1, pi); all composites were expressed by compound words or phrases. After about four years, finding that this system was fun but not very practical, I added root words for powers of 10 and of 16. There are multiple ways to express other composite numbers — with math conjunctions, or simply by compounding the core number morphemes together. If number-morphemes are compounded in lesser to greater order, they multiply. If in greater to lesser order, they add.

Base-ten numeration:

Powers of 10:

Powers of 16:

Hexadecimal numbers:

0xFFFF = dâ-ðy-ĝyŋ-vâl-dâ-ðy-vâl-dâ-ðy-ĝyŋ-dâ-ðy

Words for non-integral constants:

Derivation from numbers

In compounds of numbers with non-number substantive roots, the number can be the head or the modifier, depending on emphasis; in general the number coming first as the head indicates a stronger connection between the entities referred to by the modifier; and either kind of compound indicates a stronger connection than if the root noun were followed by a separate number-modfier. E.g., contrast:

The first example could be glossed as "a septet made of days"; the second, "day/days characterized by seven-ness".

Numbers modifying pronouns always compound with them, and follow the pronoun-head:

Fractions are formed with the conjunction {ðe} (divided by). If the initial number is omitted, {cĭ} (one) is assumed.

Before {se} (minus), the default number is {bâ} (zero).
Before {me} (raised to the power of) the default number is {ĉu} (two).

Numbers can form quantifying adjectives or stative verbs with the basic adjectival suffix {-bô} or the verb suffix {-van}:

byn-pja	ðy-bô	o	grâm-zô.
hack-amateur	five-ADJ	to	message-V.ACT
I sent a message to the five hackers.

 

Ќ	mĭ-i	cĭ-van	žǒŋ.
1	TOP-at	one-V.STATE	merely
There's only one of me.

{-bô} number-adjectives used after verbs signify "to do said action N times". The same is more or less true of quantifier clitics, though they tend to be more ambiguous (e.g., {reŋ} can signify "many" or "much" depending on the kind of noun it applies to, so with verbs it's ambiguous between "do several times" and "do for a long time").

Ќ	ĥy-i	ƴum-Ł-zô	cĭ-bô	še,	mǒj	ĉu-bô	źǒ.
1	PAT-at	defraud-3.GEN-V.ACT	one-ADJ	maybe	but	two-ADJ	IMP.NEG
One might fool me once, but not twice.

gâm-ʝĭl-ba	kâ-i	kâ-rĭm-zô	cě'ku-bô	tǒlm.
picture-motion-ATD3	ATT-at	attention-seeing-V.ACT	aleph.null-ADJ	HYPERBOLE
I've seen that movie an infinite number of times.

Basic ordinals are derived with {-pa}.

etc.

twâ-cu-kwĭ	kǒ	im	twâ-cu	cĭ-pa
sentence-system-sequence	DEM1	part.of	sentence-system	one-ORD

zen	kâ-i	lju-zô	gwe.
only	ATT-at	read-V.ACT	already
I've only read the first book of this series.

{-pa} after a verb signifies "to do said action for the Nth time" (ever, or more likely within a salient time-context such as a day). In this context it contrasts with the ordinal suffix {-saw}, "as the Nth in a series of heterogeneous but perhaps related actions". E.g.,

ty	o	ruŋ	ši,	mrân-zô	dâ-pa.
home	to	going	after	eat-V.ACT	three-ORD
After going home, I ate for the third time [that day].

ty	o	ruŋ	ši,	mrân-zô	cĭ-saw.
home	to	going	after	eat-V.ACT	one-ORD2
After going home, I ate first [= the first thing I did was eat].

twâ-cu	ĥy-i	kě'ĝu-zô	cĭ-saw.
sentence-system	PAT-at	hide-V.ACT	one-ORD

I hid the book first.

{-saw} ordinals are not used to modify nouns, as far as I know.

Time-period ordinals are formed with {-gla}. What time-period such a word refers to depends on context.

!hâ-gla	i	Ќ	o	ruŋ-zô	mwe	ť	tu-i.
seventeen-ORD.T	at	1	to	go-V.ACT	IMP	2	AGT-at

Please come at seventeen (= 5pm); or, Please come on the seventeenth (of this month)

Dates are written as : year{-gla} month{-gla} day-of-month{-gla}. E.g.

źî'fu-gla	ðy-gla	ju-gla
1999	May	29

That day at 7:37 AM:

źî'fu-gla	ðy-gla	ju-gla	fy-gla	ky-gla
1999	May	29	7:	37

In most contexts, a {-gla} ordinal by itself, or two {-gla} ordinals, refers to an hour or hour and minute. To disambiguate (if the scale of the numbers involved isn't sufficient) one can begin the sequence with {měn'θu} "month" or {hyr} "hour".

fy-gla	ĝu-gla
seven-ORD.T	thirteen-ORD.T
7:13 am or July 13

měn'θu	fy-gla	ĝu-gla
month	seven-ORD.T	thirteen-ORD.T
July 13

hyr	fy-gla	ĝu-gla
hour	seven-ORD.T	thirteen-ORD.T
7:13 am

Names of days of the week can be formed with {-ŋla}. That suffix doesn't apply only to numbers, though.

Relative time is expressed with {-pa} ordinals, including negative ordinals.

Time-ordinals formed with {-gla} or {-ŋla} can be used as modifiers of event-nouns, meaning "the [event] that happens at [number] o'clock" or "on the [number]th day of the month", etc., by context.

ĥun	ĝu-gla	o	ðu-ƥ-van	heŋ	ruŋ-zô.
meeting	thirteen-ORD.T	to	able-3-V.STATE	not	go-V.ACT
She won't be able to come to the one p.m. meeting.

When a single {-gla} or {-ŋla} stem is involved, one can say what day or time it is by appending the stative verb suffix {-van} to the time word:

gĭ-gla-van. It's eleven o'clock. *or perhaps* It's November, *or* the eleventh of the month.

tě'θru-ga-van	pân;	ʝǒn	ĉu-ŋla-van.
falling-METAPH-V.STATE	everything	therefore.inference	two-ORD.D-V.STATE
Everything is going wrong; it must be Monday.

The default subject rule is not violated here. The implied subject of the first example above is the first-person pronoun {Ќ}; literally "I (am at) eleven o'clock", — I along with everything else around me. In the second, the "everything" referred to in the first clause with {pân} is the subject of the second verb {ĉu-ŋla-van}, and again the semantics make sense. There are some contexts where the default subject is some timeless entity and, changing the subject to say what time it is, you would need to explicitly supply a subject — any noun or pronoun referring to something that is currently existing would do, but I suppose I would usually use {Ќ} "I".

prym-źa-fwa-van	ŋî'bĭ	kǒ	~~~	hwǒ,
aesthetic.pleasure-AUG-CAUS-V.STATE	number	this	...	whoa

fy-gla-Ќ-van	gwe.	su	jâ-o	mwe.
seven-ORD.T-1-V.STATE	already	standing	state-to	IMP
[lying awake and thinking about number theory] This sure is a beautiful number... whoa, it's seven already, I have to get up.

When a more complex time expression is used, one must put the time into a postpositional phrase with {i} and use the verb {nu-van}:

gĭ-gla	hâ-gla	i	nu-van.
eleven-ORD.T	seventeen-ORD.T	at	moment-V.STATE

The semantics of default or explicit subjects with {nu-van} is the same as with {-gla-van} or {-ŋla-van} verbs.

The suffix {-lwa} means "approximately" and is used primarily with number words, often with one of the other suffixes appropriate to numbers.

ĝu-lwa-gla	i	vâ-oŋ-zô	de	Ќ-ƥ.
thirteen-approximate-ORD.T	at	digestion-into-V.ACT	extended.now	1-3
We're eating [lunch] at about 1:00 pm these days.

mluj	fĭw-câŋ	om	ruŋ-zô
small.convention	fiction-experimental.science	to-part.of	go-V.ACT

mâ	dâ-tĭm-lwa-bô	tu-i.
person	three-hundred-approximate-ADJ	AGT-at
About 300 people came to the science fiction convention.

Counting

When counting discrete things, not in a strongly linear order, one says {cĭ ~~~ ĉu ~~~ dâ ~~~ ĉu-ĉu ~~~} and so forth, using bare number words; or perhaps, if counting by threes for instance, {dâ ~~~ ĉu-dâ ~~~ dâ-dâ ~~~) etc. If one is counting a series of similar actions or events, e.g., while lifting weights or some such iterated exercise, one uses ordinal numbers: {cĭ-pa ~~~ ĉu-pa ~~~ dâ-pa ~~~ ĉu-ĉu-pa ~~~}. I reckon that in counting heterogeneous actions or events, one would use {-saw} ordinals, but I don't think this has actually come up in practice. Counting discrete items in a linear sequence (e.g., sitting in one's car at a railroad crossing and counting the cars of the passing train), one could use either cardinal or ordinal numbers.

Math

2 + 5 = 7

7 > 3

2⁵ = 31 + 1

-2 > -3

Comparison of suffixes and clitics with Esperanto equivalents

Suffixes in gzb are different from most affixes in Esperanto. Mostly they don't have a meaning of their own, but a pattern for changing something else's meaning. So they can't stand on their own like E-o affixes can.

These don't change the grammatical category of a word.

For more on {-sra}, see the section on comparison in the grammar document.

The use of {-ra} is partly the same as that of Esperanto -ad, except that for the sense of continuous rather than repeated, intermittent action, I use compounds with the root {vĭj} (time-period) instead:

These, like {-rô} and {-ga} mentioned earlier, are idiomatic, like Esperanto "-um":

Zipf's law — things that one talks about more often should have shorter names. For some categories the specifics are talked about more often, for others the genera. For instance,

râm -> râm-tôn.

If one lives with a cat, or has friends who do, one talks/thinks more about cats than about animals in general.

grâm -> grâm-cjaj

One often talks about sending a message to someone; less often one has to specifically state that one sent an email.

These don't correspond exactly to E-o "-eg, -et" as in "domego, dometo". With substantial roots, their use resembles the use of "-et" and "-eg" in "rideto", "pordego". E.g., E-o "hometo", a small human; but gzb {mâ-θô}, subhuman, Homo habilis. But {mâ-ny}: a small human, a dwarf or child (Esperanto etulo). With quality and action roots their meaning is more straightforward.

These suffixes make the resultant word an adjective.

Here is a good place to explain what I meant earlier about how affixes can't stand alone in gzb. If this were Esperanto, {kwa} by itself would just mean "color". (gzb: {fu-θy}, light-element.) But, consider:

zym-zô	fu-θy	mĭ-i.
think-V.ACT	light-element	TOP-at
I think about color.

If I said:

zym-zô kwa mĭ-i *

it would mean: color-of-thinking [topic]. Poetical, but not a complete sentence. {-kwa} holds a pattern for forming meaning from meaning, not a meaning of its own.

{-ðwa} can be used with a person's name to form an adjective describing those who support them, e.g., believe them innocent when they are accused of something, or {-ĝa} to form an adjective describing those who oppose them or believe them guilty:

tĭm-fî'suň-bly	ħy-pa	š-i-ŋ,	fraňs-wam	i-ŋ
hundred-Earth-orbit	19-ORD	after-at-inside	France-NAME.P	inside

mâ	draj'fîs-šam-ðwa	pe	draj'fîs-šam-ĝa	tu-i	sî'ðyr-ga-źa-môj.
people	Dreyfus-NAME.F-pro	and	Dreyfus-NAME.F-anti	AGT-at	fight-METAPH-V.RECP
In the late nineteenth century in France, Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards fought intensely.

The root takes on a verbish sense even if not an action root — one doesn't need to insert {zô} or another verb suffix. E.g., {vlym-sô}, tending to wear clothes, having a nudity taboo. {plĭ-sô}, tending to take pills. (Compare "gastema, librema, orema" in Esperanto.)

Another "um"-type suffix. It forms adjectives by picking out an interesting quality of the root concrete noun. {râm-rô}, independent. It can be metaphorical: {pwĭm-rô}, humble.

All these suffixes that form adjectives can also be used as adverbs. Really there's no distinction in form in gzb; if it comes after a noun or pronoun it's an adjective, if after a verb, an adverb.

These clitics are similar to the Esperanto correlatives, and form demonstratives, question- and relative-pronouns. (See the detailed treatment in the grammar document.)

These correspond to "mal" or "ne" in Esperanto. (Also compare {heŋ} (not), {źǒ} (please, no!), {bâ} (zero), and {-ta} (without).)

{cô} is used for scales that extend (for practical purposes) indefinitely in both directions. {fja} if there's an absolute zero, or a non-arbitrary zero point at the middle. Sometimes both can be used for different senses, e.g.

{θaj} is used for inverses of actions, & for complementary, asymmetric relationships.

These are applied only to numbers and quantity-words.

These form nouns. Several of them correspond to the polysemous Esperanto -aĵ (thing, stuff) and -il (tool).

Also the suffixoid root {ŋĭw}, a body part or faculty; between them {-ha}, {-ĉa}, and {ŋĭw} break up the polysemous "-ilo" terrain.

These suffixes form words for types of person, corresponding roughly to -er and -ist in English, -an and -ist in Esperanto.

ħĭn-kô	ř-ŋ	câ-zô	ruŋ-kě'ĝu-zô	ħĭn-ta-zwa	srǒ.
confine-place	from-inside	try-V.ACT	go-secret-V.ACT	confinement-without-would.be	several
Several would-be escapees tried to sneak out of the prison.

 

-ĵwa	-ejo; place with lots of ~
šĭm-ĉa-ĵwa	komputilejo; computer lab
-kô	-ejo; place where one does ~
ðurm-kô	laborejo; workplace

Also the normal root word {tyn}, a place.

Comparable to the plural ending and collective suffix "-j" and "-ar" in Esperanto, I have:

Also the suffixoid roots {cu}, a system, and {kwĭ}, a sequence; the clitic quantifiers {srǒ} (several), {reŋ} (many), {pen} (all), and of course many specific number morphemes.

These suffixes form verbs, and are discussed in detail in the grammar document.

The functions of the Esperanto transitivity-marking suffixes "-ig" and "-iĝ" are fulfilled in gzb by:

1. {ca} / {van} / {zô} distinction - e.g.,

2. The state postpositions {jâ-i, jâ-o, jâ-ř}

ƥ	mĭ-i	šyj-bô	jâ-i.
3	TOP-at	clean-ADJ	state-at
He's clean.

ƥ	mĭ-i	šyj-bô	jâ-o.
3	TOP-at	clean-ADJ	state-to
He gets clean.

rě'tâ	ĥy-i	zuň-cô-bô	jâ-o	râm	tu-i
rat	PAT-at	life-OPP2-ADJ	state-to	cat	AGT-at
The cat kills the rat.

3. {-fwa} and {-hôw}

{-fwa} by itself corresponds to adjectival "-iga"; it is also commonly used with {-zô}, = "-igi". {-hôw} has no Esperanto equivalent. This slight variation on {-fwa} allows me to derive compounds for several concepts that Esperanto needs separate roots for. For instance, instrui != lernigi, kuraci != sanigi; but:

4. {-žar}

These two suffixes correspond to Esperanto's polysemous "bo-":

See other examples under "Kinship terminology".

These gzb suffixes have no Esperanto equivalent.

 

-ma	meta, recursive, indirect
kyn	parent
kyn-ma	grandparent
tâ	sibling
tâ-ma	cousin
gyn	shape, especially polygon
gyn-ma	fractal

 

-ja	in accordance with ~, fitting or suitable to ~
-dô	violation of standard ~
fĭm	health
fĭm-ja	healthy
fĭm-dô	an unhealthy act or habit
žâj	the moral law
žâj-ja	moral, right
žâj-dô	sin
ĝâ	human law
ĝâ-dô	crime, lawbreaking
ðâ	logic
ðâ-dô	paradox; inconsistency; illogic
ðurm	work
vlym ðurm-ja	work clothes

 

-hô	qualities a ~ can potentially have
-ĵam	the kind of thing that can have quality ~
-pôm	derives evidentiality or attitudinal adverb from root word

The suffixes {-hô} and {ĵam} are a bit tricky, and admittedly less frequently useful than most of the other suffixes in gzb. {-hô} derives a word for the qualities a particular kind of thing can have. For instance, {mâ-hô} refers to all the qualities that people can have, or (in a linguistics context) all the modifiers that could appear modifying a word for person. E.g., intelligent, foolish, pious, angry, female, healthy, etc. {gâ-zuň-hô} refers to the qualities (or modifiers that refer to qualities) that living things in general can have — a superset of {mâ-hô} because {mâ} are a subset of {gâ-zuň}.

Nouns derived from adjectives with {-ĵam} refer to the set of things that can have the quality described by the root (or nouns that can be modified by such adjectives, in a linguistic context) — those things for which having that quality would not be a meaningless notion or a contradiction in terms, whether they actually have much of those qualities or not. For instance, {ĉâ-ĵam} refers to the set of things which might be described as intelligent — all thinking beings, human or otherwise — even if some particular ones would be more aptly described as stupid ({ĉâ-cô-bô}). {Φu-ĵam} describes all physical things (even those which actually have zero rest mass).

For {-pôm} and the use of evidentiality adverbs derived from it, see the relevant section of the grammar document.

 

-Φa	thing, stuff that's a result of action described by root
-ŋô	chemical that's primary/active incredient of root substance

I think more often of tea ({těn'ju}) than of caffeine ({těn'ju-ŋô}), etc. Zipf's law again.

 

-šar	form conjunction from root
vĭj-šar	next, then (a while later)
nu-šar	next, then (a moment later)
gân-šar	because (as a result of) [less specific than than wǒj, ŝǒj, ʝǒj]
kujm-šar	for, in order to

 

-baw	derives phonemic terms from example words
šî'fy-baw	fricative consonant

{-baw} derives a word for a type of phoneme from an example word that contains two or more phonemes that belong to that class. E.g. {kě'pâ-baw} signifies "stop (plosive) consonants". I'm not sure I'll keep this long-term because given gzb's morphophonology, it's hard to come up with sample words for all the categories of vowel.

All proper names are marked with a suffix indicating the kind of thing named.

The distinct name suffixes allow me to unambiguously put names in the normal order for their native language, i.e. personal name + family name for English, family name + personal name for Hungarian, etc. Mostly these apply to foreign names and titles; however, they could apply to gjâ-zym-byn words which are used as names or titles, e.g. if a foreign name or title is translated rather than merely transliterated. For instance,

If {-šam} follows a family name that ends in a fricative, then an epenthetic schwa is inserted in pronunciation (though not in writing).

smĭθ-šam

/'smIθ.ə.çɑm/

These Esperanto affixes have equivalents that in gjâ-zym-byn are regular root morphemes (or compounds). But in E-o there's not such a sharp distinction between suffix & root.

Attitudinal suffixes

These correspond roughly to -ĉj-, -nj- & -aĉ- in Esperanto. They are suffixed to a word to show the speaker's attitude towards it (unlike the attitudinals in Lojban, as far as I understand them, which seem to indicate the speaker's attitude toward a whole situation, and are more numerous and specific). They bind more weakly than other suffixes except the verb endings, so they would follow any other suffixes applied.

gym-tla-ķa
honorable leader

rě'ĵy-la
my dear wife

źy-ba
a dream both good and bad

mâ-ħa
scoundrel, rascal

θuň-ŋa
a surprising story

The attitudinal suffixes are fairly commonly used with pronouns, especially in the third person:

tyn	kǒ	o	ruŋ-zô	ƥ-la.
place	this	to	go-V.ACT	3-affectionate
The dear one is coming hither.

re-ħa	i	te-ŋa	kâ-i	tru-zô.
there-contempt	at	3.INAN-surprise	ATT-at	find-V.ACT
I found it (the surprising thing) there (in that horrible place).

They can also be used in verb and modifier stems:

mâ	ĵlân-ķa-bô	ŋâw-o	ce	mĭ-i	frâ-zô.
person	wise-respectful-ADJ	call-to	that	TOP-at	ask-V.ACT
I asked a wise person about that.

₣âl-ŋa-van	fu-ĉa.
sudden.change-surprise-V.STATE	light-tool
The light unexpectedly changed.

Finally, the attitudinal suffixes can occur on their own as interjections:

*la.
Yay!

*ķa.
Wow!

*ba.
Huh.

*ħa.
Gah! Yuck!

*ŋa.
WTF?

Miscellaneous notes on semantic fields

"To be"

Several languages use a verb "to be" to signify a variety of conditions and relationships. I want to avoid that polysemy here.

Existence

râm mĭ-i bĭŋ-van.
cat TOP-at existence-V.STATE
There is a cat.

or:

râm gǒ.
cat behold
Look, a cat!

Description, state, situation:

twâ-cu	pǒ	mĭ-i	pym-fwa	ŋĭn-i
sentence-system	DEM3	TOP-at	amusement-CAUS	CMT-at

That book is funny.

šĭm-tla	jâ-i.
algorithm-professional	state-at

I'm a programmer.

ĝor'ĝě-wam	mĭ-i	tĭn'ě'sij-wam	ħ-i-n	tyn-van.
Georgia-NAME.P	TOP-at	Tennessee-NAME.P	south-at-contact	place-V.STATE

Georgia is [directly] south of Tennessee.

Subset:

Φě'ĥu-tôn	muw-i	lě'pâ	mĭ-i.
elephant-GNR	subset-in	bat	TOP-at

A bat is a mammal.

Equality:

ĉu	pe	ðy	θe	fy	mĭ-i	sâm-van.
2	plus	5	as	7	TOP-at	same-V.STATE

2 + 5 = 7

Subjective qualities and mental states

gjâ-zym-byn has a fairly large set of specific words for mental states (emotions, etc.). Subjective qualities of things are not named in gzb by root words, but by adjectives derived from mindstate words with (usually) the causative suffix {-fwa}.

Core emotions:

huw	happiness, contentment
pwĭ	delight
ĥĭn	disgust, revulsion
ĥul	anger, fury, wrath
ĵyn	intellectual pleasure; satisfied curiosity
sru	desire
sru-ĵyn	curiosity
cĭm	care, worry, anxiety, emotional involvement
fâ	affection, love (of persons)
fjâw	awe, wonder
wlâ	shock, surprise, consternation
prym	aesthetic pleasure, appreciation of beauty
pym	amusement, hilarity
ħum	fear
sjum	thanks, gratefulness

Subjective quality terms derived from those:

Physical reactions:

Subjective quality terms derived from those:

Some more complex states:

Quality terms derived from those:

There are more where those came from, in the lexicon.

ƥ-ĵĭn	dâm-ř	θuň	mĭ-i	mwĭň-van.
3-young	authorship-from	story	TOP-at	embarassment-V.STATE
She becomes embarassed if one talks about the stories she wrote when she was young.

bě'lâm-ƥ-van	wǒj	ƥ	dâm-ř	twâ-cu
embarrassment-3-V.STATE	because	3	authorship-from	sentence-system

gě'dĭm-ja	kâ-i	lju-zô	mje	kuln-cô.
day-by	ATT-at	read-V.ACT	past	friend-OPP2
He is embarrassed because a stranger has read his diary.

bĭm-ĵwa	oŋ	ruŋ-zô	₣âl-bô	kyn-ŝâm-ba,	vĭj	lǒ	i
drained.container-place	into	go-V.ACT	sudden-ADJ	parent-womb-AMBIV	time	REL	at

bĭm-pwĭm-daj	iŋ	šyj-Ќ-ca,	nu-šar
drained.container-water-mass	inside	clean-1-V.REFL	moment-CONJ

bě'lâm	jâ-o	Ќ.
embarrassment	state-to	1
Mom barged into the bathroom while I was in the bathtub, and I became embarrassed.

(Note the use of the ambivalent attitude suffix {-ba} on {kyn-ŝâm} in this context.)

źu-van,	hǒŋ	ķĭw-van	palij-ram-ħa	hǒŋ	Ќ
hope-V.STATE	that	shame-V.STATE	Polly-NAME-DISLIKE	that	1

dâm-ř	θuň	čĭ-ř	syj-zô	lju-θaj-zô	bâň-ta.
authorship-from	story	copy-from	use-V.ACT	read-OPP1-V.ACT	permission-without
I hope Polly is ashamed of herself for copying my story without permission.

{fjâw}, {wlâ}, and {kě'pâ}:

fî'suň	bij	fu-cu	pân-kwa	kâ-i
Earth	north-of-near	light-system	everything-color	ATT-at

fjâw-van	ser'ě-ram.
awe-V.STATE	Sarah-NAME

Sarah is in awe of the Aurora Borealis.

wlâ-fwa-van,	ðǒŋ	mâ-ŝy	pǒ	lĭw-o
astonishment-CAUSE-V.STATE	that.subj	person-female	3DEM	REL-to

rě'ĵy-θaj	jâ-o	sun-saw-ŋa	naj'ĝel-ram.
wife-OPP1	role-to	end-ORD-SURPRISE	Nigel-NAME
It's astonishing that Nigel finally married that woman.

ƥ-ŝy	dâm-ř	twâ-cu	fĭ-₣um-da	mĭ-i
3-female	authorship-from	sentence-system	syllable-similar-full	TOP-at

kě'pâ-fwa-van.

happy.bewilderment-CAUSE-V.STATE

Her poem is pleasantly bewildering.

The suffixes {-faj} and {-gô} can also be used with mindstate roots, producing differently nuanced adjectives than those in {-fwa}:

huw-faj	ŋĭn-i	ƥ	ĉi	purj	mĭ-i,	mǒj	huw-ƥ-van	heŋ.
happy-ABLE	CMT-at	3	surrounding	environment	TOP-at	but	happy-3-V.STATE	not
His circumstances could (one might think) make him happy, but he is not.

ĝâ-dô	kǒ	mĭ-i	ĥul-gô	ŋĭn-i.
law-violation	DEM1	TOP-at	anger-worthy	CMT-at
This crime is anger-worthy. == One ought to be angry about this crime.

The attempted-causative suffix {-hôw} can also of course be used with mindstate roots, usually to form verbs but sometimes for simple modifiers.

serě-ram	ĥy-i	fâ-hôw-zô	de	tam-ram.
Sarah-NAME	PAT-at	love-CAUS2-V.ACT	HAB	Tom-NAME
Tom is flirting with/seducing/trying to make friends with Sarah lately.

ť	dâm-ř	grâm	źu-hôw	gân-ř	sjum-van.
2	authorship-from	message	hope-CAUS2	cause-from	thankfulness-V.STATE
Thank you for [lit. I am thankful because of] your [trying-to-be-]encouraging note.

"To know" (to wit, to ken) / savoir, connaître / wissen, kennen / scii, koni, sperti ktp...

English tends to bundle these meanings together in one word of broad meaning. Esperanto follows other western European languages in distinguishing acquaintance with persons, etc., from knowledge of facts and sciences. gzb makes a different kind of distinction in its three main "know" verbs.

hyw-van	dejv-ram	kâ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	Dave-NAME	ATT-at

I know (am well acquainted with) Dave.

kun-van	tam-ram	kâ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	Tom-NAME	ATT-at

I've heard of (but haven't met, or if so only casually) Tom.

hyw-van	źĭ-šĭm	mĭ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	science-algorithm	TOP-at

I know (have real working knowledge of) computer science.

kun-van	ljâw-gjâ	mĭ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	observational.science-language	TOP-at

I know something about (but haven't practiced) field linguistics.

The difference in {hyw} vs. {kun} is directness or depth of knowledge.

I make a further distinction between {hyw} & {suŋ}, the latter implying more practical competence:

kun-van	suomi-lam	gjâ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	Finnish-NAME.L	language-at

I've studied, but never much used, Finnish.

hyw-van	fraňs-lam	gjâ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	French-NAME.L	language-at

I've studied & used (but am not perfectly fluent in) French.

suŋ-van	esperanto-lam	gjâ-i.
know.how-V.STATE	Esperanto-NAME.L	language-at

I know (am fluent in) Esperanto.

{hyw-van} can also mean "to remember", and {hyw-ŋĭw} means "experiential memory".

This is a convenient place to note how different senses of the English expression "in <language>" can be translated. If the language name is to modify a noun for some linguistic artifact — a book, song, or what have you — then the suffix {-na}, "made of [root]" is suffixed to the language name and it becomes an adjective, e.g.,

ŝrun-twâ	mažar-lam-na	ĉul-i	katalin-ram-la.
music-saying	Hungarian-NAME.L-made.of	perform-at	Katalin-NAME-ATD1
Katalin [sang] a song in Hungarian.

If it's modifying a speech-act verb, the language name is used with the postposition {syj-i}, "with, using"; such postpositional phrases, like most other complements, precede the verb (and perhaps the object as well):

ce	ĉul-i	hebre-lam	syj-i	twâ-Ќ-zô,	nederlands-lam	syj-i	twâ-zô;
this	perform-at	Hebrew-NAME.L	use-at	say-1-V.ACT	Dutch-NAME.L	use-at	say-V.ACT

dojĉ-lam	pe	helenike-lam	syj-i	twâ-zô	mew.
German-NAME.L	and	Greek-NAME.L	use-at	say-V.ACT	even
I said it in Hebrew — I said it in Dutch — I said it in German and Greek;

mǒj	hyw-ĝâj-van	hǒl	(blâl-źa-pǒm)	hǒŋ	iŋglĭsh-lam	ŝe	syj-i	gju-ť-zô.
but	remember-decay-V.STATE	whole	frustration-AUG-EVD	that	English-NAME.L	CONTRAST	use-at	speak-2-V.ACT
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much) that English is what you speak!

Buying, selling, lending, borrowing, other, commercial things

The main root words for this field are {ŝâj} (possession of goods), {wuŋ} (ownership), {kâj} (exchange), and {ƴâwn} (borrowing, credit). The verb {kâj-zô} by itself can mean "exchange, buy, sell"; context disambiguates whether it means selling or buying in a particular context, for instance the use of particular postpositional phrases:

kaĵ-zô	twâ-cu-vuj	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-o.
exchange-V.ACT	sentence-system-concrete	PAT-at	1	possession-to
I buy a book.

kâj-zô	twâ-cu-vuj	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-ř.
exchange-V.ACT	sentence-system-concrete	PAT-at	1	possession-from
I sell a book.

twâ-cu	reŋ	mĭ-i	Ќ	ŝâj-i.
sentence-system	many	TOP-at	1	possession-at
I have many books.

{wuŋ} is not often used except when it is in contrast to {ŝâj}, when someone owns something but doesn't have it in their possession:

kaj'sar-ķam	ŝâj-o	kaj'sar-ķam	wuŋ-i	gâ	ĥy-i	ƴâwn-cô-zô	mwe,
Caesar-NAME.T	possession-to	Caesar-NAME.T	ownership-at	thing	PAT-at	lend-OPP2-V.ACT	IMP

kiň	θě'ku	ŝâj-o	θě'ku	wuŋ-i	gâ	ĥy-i.
and	God	possession-to	God	ownership-at	thing	PAT-at

Repay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

Ќ	wuŋ-ř	ƴâ-ĉa	ĥy-i	ĝerěld-ram	wuŋ-o	kâj-zô.
1	ownership-from	motion-tool	PAT-at	Gerald-NAME	ownership-to	exchange-V.ACT
I sold my car to Gerald.

If we added {ƥ tu-i} to the above sentence, it would mean "Gerald bought my car from me".

If of the two things exchanged, neither is money, both things are explicitly named as patients of the verb {kâj-zô}, which is thus tetratransitive.

Ќ	ŝâj-ř	ĥâ-ĉa	ĥy-i	kĭn-ram	ŝâj-ř
1	possession-from	cut-tool	PAT-at	Ken-NAME	ownership-from

gî'târ	ĥy-i	kâj-zô	Ќ-ƥ
guitar	PAT-at	exchange-V.ACT	1-3
Ken and I traded my sword for his guitar.

Note the ways the opposite suffixes {-cô} and {-θaj} are used with {ƴâwn}:

Those terms are primarily used with commercial transactions involving money.

ƴâ-ĉa	bâm-bô	ĥy-i	ƴâwn-ƥ-zô.
motion-tool	new-ADJ	PAT-at	incur.debt-3-V.ACT
She bought a new car on credit.

ɱ	wuŋ-i	rî'mâ	mĭ-i	ƴâwn-źa-van	cĭrĭl-ram.
3	ownership-at	house	TOP-at	debt-AUG-V.STATE	Cyril-NAME
Cyril is deeply in debt for his house.

More informal lending and borrowing, among friends and relations, is described with these terms derived from {bwĭl} "gift, giving":

The distinction between the latter two forms for "borrow" arises when, on the one hand, a friend says "Here, read this, it's good," or on the other hand, one sees a book on a friend's shelf and says "May I borrow this?".

twâ-cu	kǒ	ĥy-i	bwĭl-θaj-syj-van	Ќ	ʝâr-i	luk-ram	tu-i.
sentence-system	DEM1	PAT-at	give-OPP1-use-V.STATE	1	EXP-at	Luke-NAME	AGT-at
Luke loaned me this book / I borrowed this book from Luke at his suggestion.

twâ-cu	kǒ	ĥy-i	tâň-syj-zô	luk-ram	ŝâj-ř.	Ќ	tu-i
sentence-system	DEM1	PAT-at	take-use-V.ACT	Luke-NAME	having-from	1	AGT-at
I borrowed this book from Luke (on my own initiative).

Note the way the stative verb suffix {-van} in the first sentence combines with the use of both experiencer and agent complements. The {ʝâr-i} experiencer complement fits more closely with the stative verb; the {tu-i} agent complement is more oblique, like a subjective genitive in some other languages (I think).

These forms for "borrow/lend" arose out of a discussion with Rex F. May about how to derive words for "rent", "borrow" and "lend" in Ceqli using existing root-stock. We came up with "zusel", use-sell, "zudon", use-give, and I calqued them for use in gzb, then formed other words by analogy on the same pattern.

{bwĭl-θaj-van} means "to receive as a gift". The other opposite suffix with the same root gives:

Other commercial transactions:

{kâj-syj-zô} by itself is ambiguous between "rent to" and "rent from"; context, such as the postpositions {ŝâj-ř} and {ŝâj-o}, will usually disambiguate.

The various {tâl} terms are used to describe e.g. leaving film to be developed, depositing money in one's bank account, leaving one's car in valet parking, etc. They aren't necessarily for purely commercial use; they could refer to trusting a friend to take care of something for a while.

ɱ	lĭw-i	râm	lĭm-ga	ĥy-i	vřgqĭl-ram	ŝâj-ř	tâl-θaj-Ќ-zô.
3	REL-at	cat	friend-METAPH	PAT-at	Virgil-NAME	having-from	deposit-OPP1-1-V.ACT
I'm taking care of Virgil's cat.

Finally some miscellaneous other commercial terms:

mrâ-kâj-ha	oŋ	ť	ŝâj-ř	grâm-kâj-ha	ĥy-i	tâl-Ќ-zô	gwe.
container-exchange-stuff	into	2	having-from	message-exchange-stuff	PAT-at	deposit-1-V.ACT	already
I've already deposited your check into my account.

"Maybe": še / be

Both these modifiers are glossed as "maybe". Their usage differs. {še} mainly relates to uncertainty in the speaker's knowledge. {be} focuses on uncertainty of one's plans and intentions.

ɱ-ĉu	mĭ-i	ĝĭ-źa-van	še.
3-two	TOP-at	big-AUG-V.STATE	maybe.fact

They might be giants.

ƥ	mĭ-i	ty	i	tyn-van	še.
3	TOP-at	home	at	place-V.STATE	maybe.fact

Maybe he is at home.

kâj-kô	o	ruŋ-zô	be.
exchange-place	to	go-V.ACT	maybe.intention

I might go to the store.

New, Young and Old

Some languages (classical Greek, for instance) have a single word (e.g. "neos") corresponding to English "new" and "young", French "nouveau" and "jeune", etc. gjâ-zym-byn makes a distinction between {bâm-bô} "new" and {ĵĭn-bô} "young", but this is partly a difference in degree as well as a difference in the kind of object these adjectives are applied to and the way they are used in forming compound words.

{bâm} can refer to anything that is newly created, made, born, etc. {ĵĭn} refer to young living things, primarily to those who aren't yet full-grown, but in some contexts to those who are younger than expected or younger than other living beings with whom a (perhaps implicit) contrast is being made. The use of these quality-roots as modifiers in compounds, or with {-bô} as stand-alone adjectives, is to some extent in free variation but can involve a difference in emphasis.

mâ-bâm	ĥy-i	šyj-zô	šu-tla	ĵĭn-bô.
person-new	PAT-at	clean-V.ACT	care-professional	young-ADJ
The young nurse washes the baby.

gjâ-zym-byn also distinguishes several senses which English lumps together under the word "new".

mâ-ĵĭn	ĥy-i	šyj-zô	šu-tla	šuŋ-bô.
person-young	PAT-at	clean-V.ACT	care-professional	new-ADJ
The recently graduated nurse washes the child.

twâ-cu	cĭln-cô-bô	srǒ	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-o	kâj-zô.
sentence-system	new-OPP2-ADJ	several	PAT-at	1	possession-to	exchange-V.ACT
I bought several books I had already read.

twâ-cu	šuŋ-bô	kǒ	ĥy-i	swyŋ-ʝa	cu-ja	oŋ	tyn-zô	θǒ.
sentence-system	new-ADJ	DEM1	PAT-at	desk-ROT	system-by	into	place-V.ACT	immediate
I put these newly acquired books into the suitable shelves right away.

There are several words meaning "old" in gzb. {hân} signifies that something or someone has been around long enough to be proven good or improved or otherwise is highly esteemed because of its age. {pě'lâ} means that something has been around long enough to wear out, or that a more useful replacement has become easily available. It's most often used of electronics and reference books. A neutral term is {bâm-cô}, un-new. It's used only when you don't have an opinion about the quality of something old. Other related terms include:

Words for past time: mje / šy / dân

All these refer to things past.

{mje} refers to a past aspect of something that may (or mayn't) still be around. Most often it forms a "past tense" for verbs. But it can clitic onto a (pro)noun & emphasize its past versions, as in

{šy} describes something formerly in some role or state, as in English "ex-wife", "former president".

{dân} describes something no longer existing or alive or effective. It's more polite (& terse) than {zuň-cô-bô}, "dead".

Sometimes all are appropriate to the same object, of course, but with different meanings.

Prayer

There's no one root word (or single cusomary compound) corresponding to the English "prayer" (or E-o 'preĝi'). One can use the same root words and compounds that refer to talking with (or at) other physically present humans (etc.) to describle talking with God and the saints.

*râm-tôn	kyw-ža	pen	hǒ,	pâŋ	ŋâw-o	twâ-prym-zô	mwe.
cat-GNR	lung-having	all	VOC	lord	call-to	say-appreciation.of.beauty-V.ACT	IMP

Everything that has breath, praise the Lord.

Geography

In {gzb} the directions are named by bound morphemes that occur only in postpositions (e.g. {bi, gi, ħi, źi}: north, east, south, west). One can't use these as nominals or adjectives to describe regions or people; one must explicitly state "region in the north of ~", "person from the south of ~", etc. E.g.,

ĝor'ĝě-wam	b-i-ŋ	šun
Georgia-NAME.P	north-at-inside	region

north Georgia

usa-wam	gě-ħ-ř-ŋ	mâ
U.S.A.-NAME.P	east-south-from-inside	person

a Southerner

Other useful terms:

vlě'tâ-θaj-źa (continent) refers to continuous masses like Eurasia/Africa or America; vlě'tâ-θaj-źa fy-bô (seven continents) in gzb would probably refer to Eurasia/Africa, America, Antarctica, Australia, Greenand, New Guinea, and Borneo.

Kinship terms

Core kinship terms and derivations from them

There are four root words in gjâ-zym-byn from which all other kinship terms are derived:

These can be modified by other root words in compounds, or by certain suffixes:

Twin siblings are described as:

With {-ma}, "meta":

{-ma} means a relationship is applied recursively. {kyn-ma} is plainly "parent's parent" and {fru-ma} "child's child"; {tâ-ma} may require more explanation. {tâ} refers to one's parent's children (zeroth cousins) other than oneself, and {tâ-ma} to one's grandparent's grandchildren other than those who are also one's parent's children.

Note how {-ma} works when applied more than once:

Is something missing here? {kyn-ma-ma} of course means one's grandparent's grandparent, {tâ-ma-ma} one's grandparents' grandparents' grandchildren's grandchildren, etc. To fill in the gaps, I use the conjunction {me} "raised to the power" with appropriate numbers:

...etc. (This gives an interesting synonym for {mym} "self": {tâ-me-bâ}, sibling to the zeroth power.)

The complement-opposite suffix {-θaj} is chiefly used in this system for {rě'ĵy-θaj}, "husband", but can also derive synonyms:

{-tôn}, the generalizer suffix, derives:

[Aside: why is {rě'ĵy} "wife" the only kinship root in which an inherent gender distinction is made? — the only root in gzb with an inherent gender distinction besides {ŝy} "female" and {vĭ} "male", for that matter? Pure orneriness — I was amused at complaints about Esperanto deriving "edzino" (wife) from "edzo" (husband) {it's actually more complicated; "edzo" is etymologically a back-formation from "edzino", which comes (depending on who you believe) from German "Prinzessin" (princess) or Yiddish "Rabetsin" (rabbi's wife)} and I thought it would be fun to derive "husband" and "spouse" from "wife", rather than tamely derive "wife" and "husband" from "spouse" as the staider auxlangs and engelangs all seem to do nowadays.]

Diagonal relationships

Diagonal relationships use {tâ} with one of the other blood-kin root words:

Adoptive, half-, in-law and step-relationships

Adoptive relationships are denoted by the modifying use of the root {gu}, "choice, selection". It is of course applied somewhat polysemously:

{tâ-gu} can also apply to close friends who consider themselves as close as siblings, in which case {gu} signifies that they chose each other.

Half-siblings (sharing only one parent) and half-cousins (sharing only one grandparent) are denoted with basic kinship terms plus the fuzzy logic clitic {fjǒ}:

gjâ-zym-byn derives words for in-law and step-relationships with two symmetrical suffixes:

So the English "brother-in-law" or "sister-in-law" would be translated in at least two ways,

In fact there is also

The first of these relationships English also describes as "brother-" or "sister-in-law" (at least in my dialect); as for the second, I'm not sure if English has a term for it.

An interesting property of these suffixes is how they work with {kyn}, "parent", and {fru}, "child", in comparison to how English describes the same relationships:

English considers the more salient property of the relationship to be whether it involves a remarriage after death or divorce, while gzb considers the more salient property to be whether the person is related to you through your spouse or is a spouse of someone you're blood kin to. Or so it seems to me; alternate analyses welcome.

For "stepbrother/sister", a derivation similar to the terms for uncle/aunt is used:

Relationship verbs and role markers

The genitive-of-relationship is expressed by the postposition {lĭw-i} (personal.relationship-at). So,

Ќ	lĭw-i	kyn-ma-vĭ-ķa	mĭ-i
1	relationship-at	parent-meta-male-RESPECT	TOP-at

trĭ-šun-tla	šy-bô	ŋĭn-i.
measure-region-professional	former-ADJ	CMT-at
My honored grandfather is a retired land surveyor.

Note too the use of the respectful attitudinal suffix {-ķa}. In actual usage, most family relationship terms are apt to be marked with one of the attitudinal suffixes.

Entering into a new relationship can be expressed with the the postpositions {lĭw-o} (relationship-to) and {jâ-o} (role-to):

ser'ě-ram	lĭw-o	rě'ĵy-θaj	jâ-o	tam-ram.
Sarah-NAME	relationship-to	wife-OPP1	role-to	Tom-NAME
Tom got married to Sarah (became a husband to her).

If you replace each {o} in the sentence above with {i}, it would mean "Tom is married to Sarah / is Sarah's husband".

Kinship terms can be used as stative verb roots, e.g

tam-ram	lĭw-i	rě'ĵy-van	ser'ě-ram.
Tom-NAME	relationship-at	wife-V.STATE	Sarah-NAME
Sarah is Tom's wife.

{lĭw} can also be used as a stative verb, in which case the more generic relationship postposition {ðĭ-i} marks its complement:

frejnk-ram	stântn-šam	ðĭ-i	ru	kwǒ	i	lĭw-Ќ-van	kyn-ma-vĭ-pôm.
Frank-NAME	Stanton-NAME.F	relationship-at	manner	some	at	family.relationship-1-V.STATE	parent-meta-EVD
I'm kin to Frank Stanton somehow, according to my grandfather.

Love and Friendship

gzb makes more distinctions in this semantic field than English, with its polysemous "love", but fewer than Greek, with its storge, philia, eros and agape. The fundamental action and mindstate roots are:

Most typically {gy} is used with the action verb suffix {-zô} and {fâ} with the stative verb suffix {-van}, but the reverse is possible for special emphasis, and the reflexive and reciprocal verb suffixes have potential uses with these roots as well.

ƥ-vĭ	kâ-i	fâ-van	ƥ-ŝy.
3-male	ATT-at	love-V.STATE	3-female
She loves him [feels love toward him].

fâ-môj	ƥ-ĉu.
love-V.RECP	3-two
They love each other.

ɱ	lĭw-i	fru-ŝy	ĥy-i	fâ-zô	kyn-ŝâm.
3	relationship-at	child-female	PAT-at	love-V.ACT	parent-womb
The mother physically expresses love toward her daughter [hugs or caresses her, e.g.].

ɱ	lĭw-i	rě'ĵy	ŋâw-o	twâ-fâ-žu-zô	hikaru-ram.
3	relationship-at	wife	call-to	say-love-gentle-V.ACT	Hikaru-NAME
Hikaru whispers sweet nothings to his wife.

ĉǒ	gjâ	mâ-dal	pe	šî'fy-grâm-tla-dal	syj-i	gju-Ќ-zô,
if	language	human-origin	and	spirit-message-professional-origin	use-at	speak-1-V.ACT

mǒj	gy	ðĭ-i	ŝu-van	heŋ,	ĥâl-sjân	nĭŋ-bô	rej	kîm'bâl
but	love	relationship-at	have.quality-V.STATE	not	copper-tin	ring-ADJ	or	cymbal

ħâň-bô	₣um-i	jâ-o.
roar-ADJ	similar-at	state-to

If I speak in the languages of humans and of angels, but don't have love, I become like a ringing brass or a roaring cymbal.

mâ	bâ-bô	kâ-i	bâl-van,	mâ	pen	kâ-i	gy-van,	~~~
person	zero-ADJ	ATT-at	hate-V.STATE	person	all	ATT-at	love-V.STATE	...
With malice toward none, with charity toward all...

{fâ} can be made more specific with adjectives or compounded root words.

etc. The "love" roots can be used with the core postposition {i} to form compound postpositions:

θě'ku	gy-i	mâ	kâj-ha-ta	ĥy-i	θĭ-zô	de	mje
God	love-at	person	exchange-stuff-without	PAT-at	help-V.ACT	HAB	PAST

kolkata-wam	im	teresa-ram-ķa	pî'hâ-bô.
Calcutta-NAME.P	part.of	Teresa-NAME-ATD4	holy-ADJ
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta served the poor for the love of God.

(Aside: "of" (or "de", "van", "von", etc.) in people's names and epithets is translated differently depending on whether it indicates where they were from or where they ended up being strongly associated with. In the former case it would be {ř}; with Teresa of Calcutta, it's clearly {im}. St. Therese de Liseux on the other hand would be {lizô-wam ř terez-ram-ķa pî'hâ-bô}.)

There are two basic words for "friend" or "acquaintance", gzb dividing the semantic space in a different place than does English; in addition there are words for "girlfriend/boyfriend" derived by diminution from the words for "wife/husband".

kuln	reŋ	gǒ,	mǒj	lĭm	cǒ	zen.
friend.casual	many	behold	but	friend.intimate	few	only
Acquaintances are many, friends are few.

Some people one would describe as "acquaintances" in English are not even {kuln} in gzb, those one knows but does not enjoy hanging out with. Such acquaintances one might describe with patient participles like {mâ ĥy-kun} or {mâ ĥy-hyw}.

The words for "friend" are also used to derive words for "pet":

!pî'vu-vĭ	kǒ	ĥy-i	Φě'wâm-ť-zô	žu-bô	mwe.
peafowl-male	this	PAT-at	taxidermy-2-V.ACT	gentle-ADJ	IMP

Ќ	lĭw-i	lĭm-ga-van	ƥ-dân.
1	relationship-at	friend-MET-V.STATE	3-no.more
Please stuff this peacock carefully; he was my cherished pet.

Objective and subjective time

The most basic time-morphemes are:

{nu} is a much shorter period than {vĭj}, perhaps subjectively instantaneous. {vĭj} is a longer period, its exact length varying greatly according to context. It's used in verb compounding to indicate durative aspect, while {nu} is used to indicate punctual or semelfactive aspect.

te	kâ-i	rĭm-nu-van.
3.INAN	ATT-at	see-moment-V.STATE
I saw it for only a moment.

te	kâ-i	rĭm-vĭj-van.
3.INAN	ATT-at	see-period-V.STATE
I gazed at it for a while.

{ƴu} refers to time itself, the past/future time-dimension in contrast to spatial dimensions; thus:

The adjective {ƴu-bô} means "long, lasting a long time", and its opposite {ƴu-cô-bô} "short". (There is also {lâŋ-bô} "taking a long time to read/experience" which is used for books and other media rather than for events like {ƴu-bô}.) The meaning-fields of {ƴu} and {vĭj} overlap a good deal at their edges.

In addition to words for objectively defined time-periods of more or less fixed length, such as:

there is also a term for historical time periods of variable length:

{pjylm} is a sharp boundary; {θlu} a fuzzy, indistinct boundary. A {ĥwĭl} is the relatively stable period of history between two epochal events or periods of rapid change. The chronological acronyms "B.C." and "A.D." are rendered as {p,ĥ,j,ð,} and {p,ĥ,j,š,}: {pjylm-ĥwĭl jeŝua-ram-za ði} and {pjylm-ĥwĭl jeŝua-ram-za ši}.

Then there are three terms for subjectively defined time periods, and {θlu} and {pjylm} derivations from them as well:

There can frequently be more than one {gě'dĭm} (subjective day) in a single {ĉě'θâ} (sidereal day), if one takes a nap in the afternoon or sleeps intermittently during the night. There are any number of {gě'dĭm} (perhaps in the range of 10-500) in one {drulm}, several or many {drulm} in one {tâŋ} and several or many {tâŋ} in a typical person's life.

Examples of {pjylm-tâŋ} might include changing jobs or especially careers, getting married, suffering a catastrophic injury, experiencing a religious conversion, leaving one's parents' house to live on one's own, or a close friend or relation dying. Examples of {θlu-tâŋ} might include learning to read, discovering conlanging, meeting and gradually getting to know an important friend, suffering a serious and psychologically influential illness, encountering new ideas and wrestling with them until they change your worldview. Moving from one lodging to another might be {pjylm-tâŋ} or {pjylm-drulm} depending on how long one was living at the previous place or is going to live at the next, how closely attached one is to the previous lodging, etc. There is generally a {θlu-tâŋ} leading up to or following most {pjylm-tâŋ}; sometimes the terms are semi-interchangeable depending on whether one wants to emphasize the abrupt or gradual aspects of a particular change.

Boundaries between {drulm} are less major; e.g., a typical {pjylm-drulm} might involve leaving for or returning from vacation, going into or being discharged from the hospital (if the illness is not major enough to be life-changing), finishing one project and embarking on another, discovering a new favorite author or musician, etc.

All these time-words are used in demonstrative-postpositional phrases, with greater or lesser frequency; e.g., objectively,

but also subjectively,

And similarly with relative time-ordinals in {-pa}:

The simplest spacetime postposition {i} is usually used with time-words, but {iŋ} (inside) and {im} (part of) and their early/late, before/after derivatives are also used, more or less disjointly. {iŋ} is used with objective periods, and {im} with subjective periods:

ĉě'θâ	kǒ	š-i-ŋ	ĥun	o	ruŋ-zô	mwe.
day	DEM1	after-at-inside	meeting	to	go-V.ACT	IMP
I have to go to a meeting later today.

gě'dĭm	kǒ	ð-i-m	źy	kâ-i	hyw-van	ver,	mǒj	nu	kǒ	i	heŋ.
personal.day	DEM1	before-at-part.of	dream	ATT-at	memory-V.STATE	still	but	moment	DEM1	at	not
Earlier today I could remember (last night's) dream(s), but now I can't.

The more generic postposition {i} is also frequently used with both subjective and objective time-period words.

drulm	kǒ	i	gjâ-krĭ	kǒ	mĭ-i	mî'ħâ-van.
subjective.period	DEM1	at/during	language-creation	DEM1	TOP-at	obsession-V.STATE
I'm obsessed with this conlang lately.

{im} and its before/after derivatives are also used with words for processes or events, when one event is part of another more complex event; but if one event takes place during the time occupied by another event but isn't otherwise closely related to it, simple {i} is used.

pĭw	ð-i-m	du	sǒ	i	ƥ	ŝâj-i	rě'ĵy-pâŋ	ĥy-i	tâň-Ќ-zô.
game	before-at-part.of	turn	certain	at	3	possession-at	wife-lord	PAT-at	take-1-V.ACT
I captured his queen early in the game.

pĭw	i	ķun	ĥy-i	vâ-oŋ-zô	Ќ-ƥ.
game	during	salty.snack	PAT-at	digestion-into-V.ACT	1-3
We ate pretzels during the game / while we played.

In the phrase {pĭw ðim du}, {ðim} is used because the turn is part of the process of the game. Similarly with subjective time periods, events that personally affect one occurring during such a {gě'dĭm} or {drulm} or {tâŋ} are concieved of as part of said period; whereas with objective time periods, events are conceived of as contained in them, not part of them. Whether one refers to a {gě'dĭm} or {ĉě'θâ} in a particular context depends at least partly on whether the events denoted by a sentence are of personal significance or not:

ĉě'θâ	kǒ	i	sakartvelo-wam	ĥy-i	sî'ðyr-gĭn-zô	rus-wam-gôm.
day	DEM1	at	Georgia.(country)-NAME.P	PAT-at	fight-begin-V.ACT	Russia-NAME.P-METONYM
Russia attacked Georgia today.

gě'dĭm	kǒ	i	Ќ	wuŋ-i	ƴâ-ĉa	ĥy-i	ħulŋ-zô	mâ	kwǒ.
wake-sleep-cycle	DEM1	at	1	ownership-at	go-tool	PAT-at	damage-V.ACT	person	some
Someone vandalized my car today.

Motion verbs

I know of three ways the semantics of motion verbs can break down in various languages. In English and other Germanic languages, motion verbs primarily express the manner of motion (direction being indicated by adverbs or prepositional phrases); in French and other Romance languages, they primarily express the direction of motion (manner being expressed by adverbs); in Navajo and other Athabaskan languages, they primarily express the shape of the moving or moved object. gzb is boringly similar to English in this respect, most of its core motion root words having manner of motion as part of their meaning.

The two most basic motion roots and the corresponding active verbs are:

More specific words for motion from place to place include:

Most of these are straightforward enough. {ƴâ} is a general term used for walking and running, as well as being a hypernym of {čâ}, {ly}, {zyŋ} and {zyŋ-ʝa}. Note how {zyŋ-ʝa} "climb" is derived from {zyŋ} "crawl" with the rotate-90-degrees suffix. {₣âl} signifies an abrupt, discontinuous change. (If one is teleported involuntarily one would describe it with {₣âl-tyn-van} of course.)

{ly-zô} is what both winged animals and airplanes typically do; I'm not sure yet if it applies to dirigibles or hang-gliders. What balloons do is {ŝum-van}; what passengers in airplanes (or riders on sufficiently powerful winged animals, perhaps) experience is {ly-van}.

{bly} refers to ballistic motion or free-fall (in some forms, with a nod at the force that impelled the motion in the first place, e.g. jumping or throwing); it doesn't imply a change in the falling entity's integrity or state, it only says it's moving under the influence of gravity and its own momentum. {tě'θru} implies something more chaotic is happening; it could refer to a cave-in, a landslide or avalanche, a collapsing building or part thereof, etc. If I were starting over I would probably derive the latter sense from the former somehow.

Also, the basic root word for "place", {tyn}, is the generic location verb in stative form, but a transitive motion verb in the other verb forms:

{tyn-ca} in particular is used in a couple of set phrases,

ƴâ-ĉa	oŋ	tyn-ca.
motion-tool	into	place-V.REFL
I get into the car. = I put myself into the car.

vlym	oŋ	tyn-ca.
clothing	into	place-V.REFL
I get dressed. = I put myself into clothes.

Artifact-words derived from the motion verbs include:

Body-part words derived from the motion verbs include:

More specific words for simple motion include:

I'm not yet sure how to express partial turning in place as opposed to continuous rotation; {mlĭr} could signify either depending on aspect, I reckon, but I'm not sure what's the best way to mark those two processes. {flâň} seems like an aspect variant of {nî'kjâ}; if I were starting over I would probably derive one from the other with the repetitive aspect suffix {-ra}, but they're both part of the language-in-my-brain by now and I'm not going to drop either.

Though the basic motion verbs express manner of motion, and direction is normally expressed with postpositional phrases (or more rarely with directional adverbs), the directional postpositions can be used as suffixes embedded in motion verbs, e.g.,

or with motion roots and the nominalizer clitic {tǒj}, or the place-nominalizer suffix {-kô}:

Interaction of some spacetime postpositions with motion verbs

Here is a good place to say something about how the motion verbs interact with gjâ-zym-byn's spacetime postposition system and the way nouns as objects of those postpositions are conceptualized. In general, the precision of the postposition system allows and requires you to be more literal than English in describing motion relative to something, and encourages but doesn't require you to be more precise.

tĭw-mwĭl	s-o-n	zyŋ-zô.
chair-sleep	above-to-contact	crawl-V.ACT
I crawl into [lit. onto] bed.

Unless the bed is of the old-fashioned kind with a canopy and curtains, gzb normally conceptualizes it as a surface onto which one crawls or climbs, not a container into which, as in English. Substituting a simple {o} ("to") for {son} here would be acceptable, however.

(I suspect English conceptualizes the bed as a container rather than a surface partly because while lying "in" it one is typically under a sheet and perhaps blankets as well as on top of the mattress and lower sheet. Contrast "He's in bed" (implying he's lying down and under the covers) with "He's on the bed" (implying he's probably sitting and not under the covers.)

swyŋ	v-o-j	ruŋ-zô	θaŋ-twâl-ca	ler	θǒ.
desk	front-to-near	go-V.ACT	waist-angle-V.REFL	FUT	immediate
I'm fixing to go sit down at [lit. near in front of] the desk.

Again, a less precise {swyŋ o ruŋ-zô} would be acceptable.

Main {gjâ-zym-byn} index
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Last updated May 2010

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