#sw conlang

⟶ Sentence structure is SOV, and strictly so on the primary verbs.

⟶ Verbs are strictly either active or passive; you have to use different words for agent vs. recipient, it can be quite Rude if u don't. (See the cultural notes at the end.) For example, khalaldi is a passive verb, used for the thing that's being buried; its active counterpart is kali, used for the thing doing the burying.

⟶ Verbs come in a base-present form, and can be conjugated for past, future-certain, future-uncertain, ongoing, and habitual tenses/aspects. There are five verb classes and each one has a fairly regular conjugation protocol.

⟶ [.p] in brackets indicates a particle - these are the grammatical bones of the sentence.

⮡ the particles here are ei, a, di, and yajhe.

⟶ I studied Japanese for a few years and a lot of the basic grammar here is similar, because idk, I just vibe with it. XD

⟶ There will also be future updates of this post once i figure out how noun class works. There are some aspects of noun class in here now (plurals, and the shit noun class for the Trade Federation), but the rest will have to wait lmao

⟶ nainoa = more like a membership fee in Vibes than a tax; it's what you give to the community in return for benefiting from it. Dorin does not have a monetary economy except for where it interacts with the outside galaxy; homeworld communities run on barter, exchanges, and the rule of hospitality. (See cultural notes again.)

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. ghaylaleme niňyavedi di na yoidaake kšabinakšinie baladura ksoli ivooli ei gyelili dekho zakhi tya, giya tsërrea naboo iyë hayanin lilangelale. [greedy-vek] [trade federation] [topic.p] [intention.m] [dangerous] [warships.pl] [blockade] [method.p] [trouble] [focus.p] [resolve] [aux.future-uncertain] [purpose.p] [hoping.m], [small] [planet] [naboo] [destination.p] [freight] [stop-forcibly].

⟶ ghaylale on its own is an adjective meaning 'wanting, desiring'; it's pretty neutral in tone. Adding me on the end turns it into the shit noun class and makes it derogatory: greedy, entitled, etc. The villains of the story get the shit noun class instead of the people noun class - this is common in children's books.

⮡ vek means 'shit'. This is the actual name of the class.

⮡ noun class shows up in plurals, adjectives, verbs, rather than the actual noun. There are 16 of them, which is why it's taking me so long to figure them out lmao

⟶ there are no capital letters in keldeorinyaa. this is because i am lazy.

⟶ [.m] = mood particle. na is the intentional mood, used when you're planning to do something, or have done something on purpose. tya is the desiderative mood, when you're hoping for something or trying to aim for a specific outcome.

⟶ gyelili = to resolve, but in a bad-faith way; to come in and dictate a unilateral solution that isn't actually mutually beneficial. Kel dor society goes hard on cooperation and they have a lot of different words for different levels of this sort of thing. (See cultural notes again.)

⟶ ivooli = trouble, specifically that which you had a hand in making. Used here instead of ovoo because there wouldn't have been an issue had the trade federation not gotten in bed with the sith :V

⟶ dekho = future-uncertain tense conjugation of the verb di, used as an auxiliary verb here. Can't use gyeliliča, that's too certain; can't use gyelilekho; too uncertain. gyelili dekho strikes the right balance between the villain's intention to Commit Crimes and the heroes' intention to stop them.

While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.... repabliki ča kongeressi di ryuakiah re ninaimak oro lilaan a yakariyi dizi ňa, čansala di halmiyanšan ade maskar ki tsvakanja ča yaduriyaan jedai naitaga, kšaban ei šyemriyi zakhi hagerale… [republic] [genitive.p2] [congress] [topic.p] [anxiety] [qual.p] [event-plural] [neg.p] [end] [relational.p] [argue] [aux-habitual] [timeframe.p], [chancellor] [topic.p] [galaxy] [locative.p2] [peace] [additive.p] [justice] [genitive.p2] [guardian] [jedi knight-dual], [conflict] [focus.p] [resolve] [purpose.p] [direct-past]...

⟶ holy run-on sentences batman

⟶ There are three genitive particles for slightly different meanings. ta is for something that's yours, ča is for when you belong to a group, and de for relationships between people. ča is specifically a community-membership thing, used for clans, schools, cities and towns, planets, etc. (Absolutely do not use it in relation to slavery, you'll get ur ass beat.)

⟶ ryuakiah re = alarming, concerning, literally 'anxiety-inducing'. ryuakiah is 'anxiety', re is the qualitative particle, use of which can turn a lot of non-adjective words into adjectives.

⟶ oro lilaan = without end. Most particles have to come after the thing they're talking about, but oro, the negation particle, can come on either side of the word, especially when there's another particle where it might otherwise be.

⟶ yakariyi dizi = to debate (all the fucking time). dizi is the habitual form of the aux verb di. This means that the Senate is debating the matter (as they always do), and it goes nicely with the problem presented in TPM (i.e. that they're not fuckin doing anything to solve the problem).

⟶ šyemriyi = to resolve a problem (like, actually, in a good, mutually-beneficial way). Compare this to gyelili above. It doesn't necessarily have to be good for everyone involved, because sometimes (as in this case) one side is being an asshole for no reason, but it does require good faith on the part of the solver, which the Jedi displayed by trying to negotiate directly with the Trade Federation.

⟶ Compare the different plural constructions:

⮡ halmizeolko = no marking; belongs to Class 4 (people)

⮡ kšabinakšinie = plural of kšabinakši, warship; belongs to Class 12 (ships)

⮡ ninaimak = plural of anaimak, event; belongs to Class 9 (things)

⮡ jedai naitaga = dual of jedai naita, Jedi Knight; belongs to Class 8 (ancestors).

⮡ tbh u really just have to learn them by heart. Noun class is in the process of largely going away in casual speech and this is why.

⟶ A handy list of particles:

⮡ di = topic marker

⮡ ei = focus marker

⮡ a = relational marker. (I still haven't figured out exactly where the lines are between these three tbh.)

⮡ yajhe = "regarding", "as for [x]" "about this", etc.

⮡ ksoli = method marker, points out how you did a thing

⮡ zakhi = purpose marker, points out the main goal

⮡ iyë = destination marker, indicates where a thing ends up

⮡ ča = belonging particle

⮡ re = qualitative particle, turns a word into a description or emphasises an adjective

⮡ oro = negation particle, something doesn't exist/didn't happen/is absent etc.

⮡ ňa = timeframe particle, time during which something occurs

⮡ ade = enclosed location, "within"

⮡ ki = additive particle, "and"

Cultural notes---

⟶ Dorin is Giant Storm Hellworld and this has had a significant effect on Kel Dor culture.

⟶ Their most dearly-held values, no matter where you go, are Cooperation, Practicality, and Hospitality. These are not just moral requirements, they're survival skills. If you don't work together, you're dead. If you don't prioritize real practicality over emotional desires, you're dead. And if you refuse to give shelter to someone who needs it, why should others give shelter to you? On a world where the natural environment is so very good at killing, someone who goes it alone is going to end up dead sooner or later.

⟶ There is a strong taboo against physical conflict and violence. Partly this is because fighting is a waste of time and energy when you really should be preparing for the next storm; partly it's because of a long-ago ideological war that nearly halved Dorin's population. Most of their words to describe various war-related things are actually euphemisms or just straight up loanwords.

⟶ There is also a strong cultural tendency of, the more you like someone (or something), the less you talk directly about them. Kel Dor tend to have an attitude that it's a matter of when, not if, the natural environment destroys or kills or otherwise fucks up something meaningful to them. The talking around loved ones comes from the idea that if the spirits of the world don't know their loved ones are loved ones, they'll be less interested in stealing them away. This is where the active vs. passive verbs come from.

⟶ The corollary is if you speak plainly and directly to someone, you might be telling them you don't give a fuck about them lol. If you don't know them, this is considered perfectly fair, but if you do know them well, it's a bit like saying "go drown in a lake."

⟶ The rule of hospitality is that if someone turns up at your door without shelter or food, you're honor-bound to provide both to the best of your ability -- because it's a mere matter of luck that you're not in their place. Even with modern technology, storms and other natural disasters still cause a ton of destruction, and people are very cognizant of the likelihood that they may need to rely on the hospitality of strangers themselves in the future. There are no strangers in a storm.

⟶ Similarly, if you benefit from belonging to a community, you're honor-bound to give back to it, in whatever way you can. Someone helps you out, you help them out. Teamwork makes the dream work.

⟶ There's also a careful delineation between things you're reasonably responsible for, and things that just happen. As mentioned, Kel Dor society considers practicality a high virtue. On Giant Storm Hellworld, practicality means accepting that sometimes you do everything you can and the storms win anyway.