#conlanguage

For @willowthegraycat who requested this a billion years ago!

See also: Pronouns + Threat Level and Tribemew.

Welcome back to Cat ESL everyone! Today we're going to be talking about quantifying things.

The five Clans have a very unique number system. If you're looking for exact measurements, you will not find it here. Clan cats count using fractions, communicating size and 'completeness' instead of straightforward mathematical concepts.

Denominator Words

There are five "number" words, each responding to the 'denominator' (bottom number) of the fraction:

2 to 4 = "Arra" = Amount of pieces of prey that can fit in a mouth. Direct translation: Amount.

5 = "Rarra" = Amount of claws on one paw, amount of Clans Etymology: Clan Amount

9 = "Pabparra" = Amount of a full day's patrol assignments Etymology: Patrol Amount

12 = "Husskarra" = Amount of whiskers on one side of the face Etymology: Whisker Amount

30-ish = "Shomarra" = Amount of days in a month Etymology: Moon Amount

Usually, the fraction chosen to describe an amount is relevant to the concept at hand. Arra is for tasks like a checklist. Rarra describes collections of things. Pabparra is for working in teams. Husskarra is about danger and hordes. Shomarra is for keeping time.

Technically, "3 quarters of Husskarra" is a "Whole Pabparra," but the former implies you should be alert because there could be unknown danger, where the latter means completeness and good planning.

Human numbers, 1 2 3, are straightforward descriptors of reality. Clan fractions are symbolic of something.

Breaking the Fraction

For each fraction, the completeness is specified with a prefix,

Beginning = "Prra"

Quarter = "Warl"

Half = "Yosh"

Three Quarters = "Ark"

Entire = "Ul"

3 quarters of Husskarra would be, "Ark-husskarra." One whole Pabparra is, "Ul-pabparra"

Sometimes these just don't cut it-- how would you tell someone to meet you in three days, since Shomarra is such a large fraction? Even "Warl-shomarra" means a whole week!

You add onto the fraction itself, with,

Om Owar = "And Another"

Nyo Owar = "Less Another"

To say "three days," the phrase is "Prra-shomarra, om owar, owar, owar." For a month that will be about a day shorter than usual, they would say, "Ul-shomarra, nyo owar."

Husskarra is sometimes doubled to invoke the mental image of needing to use one's whole face to fathom the danger, or just for hyperbole to describe an overwhelming amount of something.

"Husskarra om owar husskarra!" = "Half a face of whiskers, plus another!" Says Jayfeather, being given one (1) minor inconvenience

When this is applied to Pabparra, in contrast, it implies being over-prepared or being careful. "Ul-pabparra am owar ul-pabparra, am owar" = "I doubled the patrols and threw in some extra."

The Uniqueness of Arra

The closest thing the Clan cats have to true counting is modifying Arra with these prefixes, then using 'ul' as a sentence modifier to imply fractional completeness.

"Three toads" = "ark-arra amam ul" = "Three-quarters-amount toad only."

If you said, "Ark-arra amam," you would have said that there are three toads, maybe more. This is helpful in Clanmew because on a hunting trip, there's usually more than what you can currently see.

Besides its numerical amount being situational, there is another interesting quirk of 'arra.' It can mean completeness, and also, loneliness. "Ul-arra" is a completed fraction and can mean many things; whole, finished, the full moon's light, lonely, or translated simply, just one.

Clan cats define themselves as being part of something, and always having a task to do, even if that task is to take their well-earned midday nap. There is a common expression of despair,

"Arrl gryr ul-arra wrah!" = "I have to do everything myself!" = "(I) must contain wholeness mine!"

Onewhisker's name was a reference to his birth; the only child of Cloudrunner and Larksplash, both his mother and the rest of his litter having not survived the kitting. His father named the child "Ul-arra-mew," "Onekit," "Only-Child."

(Bonus Vocab: Onewhisker = "Ul-arra-hussk." Onestar = "Ul-arra-shai")

Vocab Round-up Below!

Lexicon #26

Garden

thøe /θø/

Etymology: From Old Oerdic þeue, from Asaric thiona.

 N.B. I am not a native speaker and this recording is just to give a sense of how this language sounds which may not be the exact pronunciation in the IPA. Lexicon Sample Phrases #1 - #25

1.     ‘I walked into the dark forest.’         M’år mielen a l’id nhin ørd.         /mɔɐ̯ mjɛw na lið̞  ɲi nœɐ̯/

2.     ‘I drank the water.’         M’å leven verged.         /mɔ lɛwn væ:wð̞/

3.     ‘I was looking at the sky.’         Mie oigede od hoil.         /mi waj ðo ðwal/

4.     ‘I saw the sea in front of me.’         M’å lyn thoied ill’ne maig.         /mɔ lyn θwa ðil nə maj/

5.     ‘I’m walking in the forest.’         Mi miele ad ørd.         /mi mjɛ la ðœɐ̯/

6.     ‘I’m drinking water.’         Mie lever did verg.         /mi le.ʋɐ dið̞ væ:w/

7.     ‘Look at the stars.’         Oig o phíøllesde.         /wa jo fjø.lɐ.ðə/

8.     ‘I see stars in the sky.’         Mi lye phíølles ad hoil.         /mi ly fjø.lɐ za ðwal/

9.     ‘The star is bright tonight.’         Phíolled thiele el-lôtte .         /fjɔl.əð̞ θjɛ lɛ lojd/

10. ‘The crow’s feathers are dark.’        Hildesde ne syred nhie.        /hi.lɐ.ð̞ə nə syɐ̯ð̞ ɲi/

11. ‘The bright star will show us the way.’       The thielen phíolle loie elym vir vied.       /θə θjɛwn fjɔl la ɛ.lym veɐ̯ vi:.əð̞/

12. ‘The feather fell from the sky.’        Hilded å thømen ded hoil.        /hi.lə ðɔ θø.mən də ðwal/

13. ‘A crow is sitting on the wall.’       Ine syr sig íade od arn.       /i.nə syɐ̯ si: ja ðo ða:n/

14. ‘Show me the stream.’        Elymer-î míer phoivened.        /ɛ.ly.mɐ ʁ̞i mjæɐ̯ fwa(w).nəð̞/

15. ‘The bird was falling from the tree.’       Ærgled thomte de híeved.       /æ:w.ləð̞ θɔm.də də jɛ.ʋəð̞/

16. ‘I’m sitting behind her.’       Mi mog íade sille laig.       /mi mow jað̞ sil laj/

17. ‘The wall was very big.’       Arned noide mas.       /a:.nəð̞ nwa.ð̞ə ma/

18. ‘The stream is long.’       Phoivened lither.       /fwa(w).nəð̞ li.θɐ/

19. ‘The bird has big wings.’       Ærgled å noines doies.       /æ:w.lə ðɔ nwa.nɐ dwa/

20. ‘The tree had many leaves.’        Híeved åder mines thíes.        /jɛ.ʋə ðɔ.ðɐ mi.nɐ θja/

21. ‘There is a long snake in the garden.’       Thar ine liden nha ad thøe.       /θa ʁ̞i.nə li.ð̞ən ɲa að̞ θø/

22. ‘I wish I had wings.’       Mi theve ed’å doies.       /mi θe və.ðɔ dwa/

23. ‘The leaves were red because it was autumn.’       Thíesde phørter leig di ætter vogt.       /θja.ðə fœɐ̯.dɐ lej di ɛ.dɐ vɔw(d)/

24. ‘There are many boys who love to run.’        Huigde mie ho l’elge e’rør.        /huj.ðə mi ho lɛl jə.ʁ̞œɐ̯/