modified 10/14/06
modified 10/21/06
modified 11/4/06
last modified 11/11/06
The grammar of Minyeva borrows from multiple sources, creating a unique blend not seen elsewhere. Some of Minyeva's design is based on the philosophies of Rick Morneau's monograph, Designing an Artificial Language: Lexical Semantics. Other logical ideas are taken from Lojban, a forerunner in logical languages. Bits and pieces are inspired from other conlangs and even natlangs. The rest of it is just inspiration.
Note: some text that was from an earlier version of this page is still present; I have grayed out anything that isn't true any more.
Nouns are preceded by one of several articles.
da - "a", "a certain", "some certain". A speaker uses 'da' when
they have a particular item or items in mind, but it or they havn't been introduced to the
listener yet. It is not negatable. [modified 10/21/06]
foi - "a", "any". A speaker uses 'foi' when they
don't know the referent - it could be anything. 'foi' is equivalent in some uses to
'any'. It is negatable to 'bu': 'ja foi' = 'bu' (no, none). The meaning of 'foi
X' is 'There exists X such that'.
ki - 'ki' refers to the type in general. It can be translated into
English in multiple ways - for example, 'ki kebza' could be 'cats', or 'the cat'
(as a kind). It is most useful in generalized statements. It is not negatable.
te - "the". This article matches English pretty closely. A
speaker uses 'te' to refer to the most prominent item matching the given
description. This could be the one most recently mentioned, the nearest, the
only one in sight, etc. It is not negatable.
bu - "no", "none". The meaning of 'bu X' is 'There
exists no X such that'. It is negatable to 'foi': 'ja bu' = 'foi' (a,
any).
examples for the noun 'kebza' (cat):
twi duti da kebza i le.
A cat is going to bite me.
A certain cat is going to bite me.
- The speaker is thinking of a particular cat (say, the one named Fluffy),
that is going to bite them.
twi duti foi kebza i le.
A cat is going to bite me.
There is a cat somewhere that is going to bite me.
- There exists a cat somewhere such that it is going to bite the speaker.
fle duti ki kebza i le.
Cats bite me.
- Cats tend to bite the speaker on a regular basis.
twi duti te kebza i le.
The cat is going to bite me.
- The cat known to both the speaker and the listener is going to bite the
speaker.
twi duti bu kebza i le.
No cat is going to bite me.
- There exists no cat such that it is going to bite the speaker.
The articles 'foi' and 'bu' are negatable, but the articles 'da', 'ki', and 'te' are not - they don't change their meaning when negation is applied.
ja twi duti da kebza i le.
A cat is not going to bite me.
- The speaker is thinking of a particular cat (say, one named Fluffy), and
it isn't going to bite them.
ja twi duti foi kebza i le. = twi duti bu kebza i
le.
No cat is going to bite me.
- There exists no cat such that it is going to bite the speaker.
ja fle duti ki kebza i le.
Cats don't bite me.
- In general, cats don't bite the speaker.
Nouns are not declined for number, case, or gender.
Discrete nouns are nouns that are viewed as separable units; mass nouns are nouns that are viewed as a single mass. Discrete nouns can be counted, but mass nouns cannot. In the Minyeva dictionary, mass nouns are marked as "n.m" and discrete nouns are marked as "n.d". Here are some examples of discrete nouns:
pleva - dog
kope - minute
tavi - sibling
Here are some examples of mass nouns:
zema - milk
blena - sand
vyoqe - glass
Minyeva has affixes that allow the speaker to convert between the two noun types.
qa - converts a discrete noun to a mass noun
twa - converts a mass noun to a discrete noun
Converting a discrete noun to a mass noun means something like "a mass of stuff made up of X".
zike foi qa'pleva u te fijne - There is dog on the road. (i.e., roadkill)
Converting a mass noun to a discrete noun means something like "a unit of X" or "a thing of X".
twa'zema - glass of milk, carton of milk
twa'blena - bucket of sand, box of sand
twa'vyoqe - sheet of glass
In Minyeva, a noun with no number stated doesn't have a number specified - it could be one or more than one.
te pleva - the dog or the dogs
To say that there is more than one, the plural marker 'ni' can be used:
te ni pleva - the dogs
To say that there is only one, simply use 'fwa' (the number 1):
te fwa pleva - the dog (the one dog)
Minyeva is a more gender-neutral language than English. There is no grammatical gender (as opposed to German, Spanish, French). None of the basic pronouns have a gender. There are pairs of words that are male and female, but they always have a corresponding gender-neutral word. To distinguish gender, Minyeva has the two following affixes:
nyo - female, "-ess", "-woman"
vle - male, "-man"
There is also another gender related affix:
jai - both genders, "co-ed"
This states that both genders are present. The default meaning of nouns with no gender marker or gender meaning is either or both genders.
examples:
bleta - a single cattle animal (cow or bull)
nyo'bleta - cow (female cattle animal)
vle'bleta - bull
jai'bleta - cattle
The meaning of a noun used as a verb is "to be an X".
geska cai djan = John is a doctor.
gu - to perform an action associated with X
tenda - gun
gu'tenda - shoot a gun
cle - X-ese, X-ian, from X, resident of X
cle'amerika - american
cle'leca - earthling, terran
noi - X-ken, X-ie (endearing affix)
noi'pleva - doggie
Verbs are not declined for number, person, tense, or aspect.
Verbs come before the subject of the sentence.
pado - to walk
kebza - cat
pado te kebza - the cat is walking.
Verbs and adjectives are treated identically, so they are interchangeable.
funa - red
funa te kebza - the cat is red
Each verb takes a specific set of arguments. A good number of verbs take only a subject. Verbs that take a second argument take an object argument, that is either a "focus" or a "patient". The "focus" is denoted by the word 'u', and the "patient" is denoted by the word 'i'. If a word is a focus of a verb, then the effect of the action on the object is not important; if a word is a patient of a verb, then the action had a definite effect on the object. There can't be both a focus and a patient for the same verb.
vamo - to see
weca - house
vamo te kebza u da weca = the cat sees a house
cai meri - Mary
cai djan - John
pogu - kick
tazo - push
kose - table
ko pogu cai djan i te kose = John kicked the table.
ko tazo
cai meri i te kebza = Mary pushed the cat.
There are two types of arguments for the third argument - indirect object (denoted by 'ci') and object complement (denoted by 'dyo').
geska - doctor
jetu - give (focus + ind object)
mezu - to view/regard (focus + obj complement)
ko jetu cai meri u te kebza ci cai djan = Mary gave the cat to John.
mezu cai meri u te geska dyo pise = Mary regards the doctor as smart.
Verbs can appear in causative constructions. In this type of construction, the entity causing the resulting state comes first, then the "patient" word 'i', then the resulting state, and finally the patient that takes on the state. The action of the subject here isn't stated.
lena - healthy
kive - crazy
ko
te geska i lena cai meri = The doctor healed Mary.
ko
cai djan i kive te kebza = John made the cat go crazy.
Both the action of the subject and the resulting state of the object can be stated in the same sentence.
vise - broken (in pieces)
ko pogu cai djan i vise te kose = John kicked the table and broke it into pieces.
A focus object cannot be used if the resulting state of the object is stated.
A verb used as an adjective (modifying a noun) comes after the noun it modifies.
solu - to run
da kebza kive = a crazy cat
da kebza solu = a running cat
Compare the preceding phrases to phrases with these words being used as verbs:
kive da kebza = a (particular) cat is crazy
solu da kebza = a (particular) cat is running
In Minyeva, the aspect is stated or implied for every verb, while tense is only stated for clarification or emphasis. If the tense is known or understood for a verb, it is usually not stated. Tense and aspect are separate words in Minyeva that precede the verb.
Here are the aspects in minyeva:
ko - perfective: an action that is viewed as a completed unit. In the
past tense it is translated as simple past ('X-ed'), and in the future tense it
is translated as simple future ('will X').
vla - imperfective: an action that is viewed as a process. It is
translated as progressive form in English ('X-ing').
pya - perfect: an action that was performed at some point, but the time
of the event is not specified. Translated as 'have X'.
fle - habitual: an action that is performed on a regular basis or a
specified frequency. In the past tense it is translated as 'used to X', in the
present as simple present (X-s), and in the future as simple future.
flai - professional activity: an action that is performed as a
professional or expert. It makes no claim about the frequency of the
action.
ma - iterative: an action that is repeated.
Verbs are imperfective ('vla') if no aspect is given.
examples for the verb 'duti' (to bite):
duti te pleva i te kebza. = vla duti te pleva i te kebza.
The dog was biting the cat.
The dog is biting the cat.
The dog will be biting the cat.
ko duti te pleva i te
kebza.
The dog bit the cat.
The dog will bite the cat.
pya duti te pleva te kebza.
The dog had bitten the cat.
The dog has bitten the cat.
The dog will have bitten the cat.
fle duti te pleva i te kebza.
The dog used to bite the cat.
The dog bites the cat (regularly).
The dog will bite the cat (regularly).
flai duti te pleva i ki kebza.
The dog used to bite cats (as a job).
The dog bites cats (as a job).
The dog will bite cats (as a job).
ma duti te pleva i te kebza.
The dog bit the cat over and over.
The dog is biting the cat over and over.
The dog will bite the cat over and over.
Here are the tenses in minyeva:
gwa - X-ed (past tense)
swe - now (present tense)
twi - will (future tense)
examples:
gwa duti te pleva i te blone - the dog was biting the child
swe duti te pleva i te blone - the dog is biting the child
twi duti te pleva i te blone - the dog will be biting the child
For the equivalent of English simple past and simple future, use the perfective aspect 'ko':
gwa ko duti te pleva i te blone - the dog bit the child
twi ko duti te pleva i te blone - the dog will gite the child
There are two words that say whether the event was far or near in time.
gre - recently/soon (near in time)
pra - long ago/in a long time (far in time)
examples:
gre gwa ko duti te pleva i te blone - the dog just bit the child.
pra gwa ko duti te pleva i te blone - the dog bit the child a long time ago.
je - elide direct object (focus or patient)
Certain verbs require a direct object. The direct object can be removed using the word 'je'.
nesa le u si - I love you
je nesa le - I love
There are two passives: one to promote a focus, and one to promote a patient.
sti - passive: promote object as focus, demote subject
voi - passive: promote object as patient, demote subject
plu - passive: promote object and its state as patient, demote subject
and its action
yu - by (demoted subject)
In the examples below, the parenthises mean that the portion of the sentence is optional.
zena te blone u te dine - the child is reading the book
sti zena te dine (yu te blone) - the book is being read (by the child)
duti te pleva i te blone - the dog is biting the child
voi duti te blone (yu te pleva) - the child is being bitten (by the dog)
duti te pleva i solu te blone - the dog is biting the child, making it run
voi duti te blone i solu (yu te pleva) - the child is being bitten and made to
run (by the dog)
plu solu te blone (yu duti te pleva) - the child is being made to run (by the
dog biting it)
te pleva i solu te blone - the dog is making the child run
voi te blone i solu (yu te pleva) - the child is being made to run (by the dog)
plu solu te blone (yu te pleva) - the child is being made to run (by the dog)
Minyeva has a set of affixes that denote change to and from a state or action.
pa - change from x; resulting state is not given.
to - change to x, obtain quality X, -ify, become X; source state is not given.
ke - go back from X, undo X; the resulting state is not given, but it is the
same as it was before the source state.
nu - go back to X, redo X; the source state is not given.
fyo - obtain more of quality X, X-en; doesn't imply that subject now has quality
X, but they move towards that direction on a scale.
zai - lose some of quality X, de-X-en; doesn't imply that subject now lacks
quality X, but they move away from that direction on a scale.
dji - keep doing X, stay X
mai - pause X, momentarily stop X
moi - discontinue X, cancel X, cease to X
examples:
muli - to function, work correctly
pa'muli - to break
to'muli - to make functional
ke'muli - to rebreak (it was broken before it was working)
nu'muli - to become fixed (it was working before it was broken)
fyo'muli - to become more functional (doesn't imply the result is completely
functional)
zai'muli - to become less functional (doesn't imply the result is unfunctional)
dji'muli - to stay functional
mai'muli - to stop working temporarily
moi'muli - to cease working
bema - big
pa'bema - to become small or medium sized
to'bema - to become big
ke'bema - to become small or medium sized again
nu'bema - to become big again
fyo'bema - to grow (doesn't imply the result is big)
zai'bema - to shrink (doesn't imply the result is small)
dji'bema - to stay big
mai'bema - to become small or medium sized temporarily
moi'bema - to stop being big
The meaning of a verb used as a noun is "person/thing that does X".
vamo - look at
cai meri - Mary
vise - broken
ko vamo cai meri u te vise = Mary looked at the broken thing.
There are a set of affixes that make a noun out of the role of a verb.
ga - subject of state X (person), person that does or is X
gle - subject of state X (non-person), non-person that does or is X
cu - focus of state X
ji - patient of state X (made to become or do X)
vu - person who causes change to state X
jle - non-person who causes change to state X
The two affixes 'ga' and 'gle' specialized meanings of the simple conversion of a verb to a noun - they simply specify whether the entity is a person or a non-person. Here are some examples of the four affixes:
zena - to read
foi zena - reader
foi ga'zena - reader (person)
foi gle'zena - reader (non-person)
foi cu'zena - reading material
foi ji'zena - one who is made to read
vilo - to understand
foi vilo - one who understands
foi ga'vilo - person who understands
foi gle'vilo - non-person who understands
foi cu'vilo - knowledge (of why), understanding
foi ji'vilo - student
foi vu'vilo - teacher
foi jle'vilo - teaching device
There are several affixes that turn a verb into an noun representing the concept.
ti - discrete action of X, X-tion, event of X
ze - X-ing (gerund), the activity of X, X-ness (for qualities), state of
being X
swi - abstract concept of X
pogu - to kick
foi ti'pogu - a kick
ki ze'pogu - kicking, the act of kicking
ki swi'pogu - the idea of kicking
funa - red
foi ti'funa - a bluch
ki ze'funa - redness, being red
ki swi'funa - the color red
nesa - to love
foi ti'nesa - a period of loving (someone/something)
ki ze'nesa - loving (someone/something), being in love
ki swi'nesa - love
yo - active participle of X, subject
ve - active participle of X, causing change to state X
coi - focus participle of X
jao - patient of X participle
In Minyeva, participles are used to modify nouns. They describe a state or action the noun is performing. The word 'yo' is not required, but can be used to clear up ambiguity. Adjectives can be seen as an instance of participles, since adjectives and verbs are the same thing in Minyeva.
examples:
solu te pleva funa (or: solu te pleva yo funa) - the red dog is running
funa te pleva solu (or: funa te pleva yo solu) - the running dog is red
vilo te blone baco flu foi pleva u te dine (or: vilo te blone yo baco flu foi
pleva u te dine) - The child that has a dog understands the book.
baco te blone vilo flu te dine u foi pleva (or: baco te blone yo vilo flu te
dine u foi pleva) - The child that understands the book has a dog.
te blone ve vilo zle te pleva - the child teaching the dog
te dine coi vilo - the understood book (from: vilo mo u te dino = one
understands the book)
te dine coi vilo yu te blone - the book understood by the child (from: vilo te
blone u te dine = the child understands the book)
te blone jao vilo - the child being taught
To make a "perfective participle", use the perfective aspect.
solu te pleva ko funa - the dog that was red is running
funa te pleva ko solu - the dog that was running is red
Technically since verbs and adjectives are the same in Minyeva, these affixes don't change the real type of the word, but the equivalent conversions in English are conversions from verbs to adjectives.
slo - X-able, possible to be the focus of action/state X
gwi - X-able, possible to become state X or do X
joi - X-able, possible to be the patient of action/state X
ge - oneself, "u bi"
sa - oneself, "i bi"
The word 'sa' is used to replace 'i bi', and 'ge' is used to replace 'u bi'.
examples:
paco le u bi - I am talking about myself
ge paco le - I am talking about myself.
duti le i bi - I am biting myself
sa duti le - I am biting myself
duti le i plusi bi - I am biting myself, injuring myself
sa duti le i plusi - I am biting myself, injuring myself
Minyeva has two words that can stand in the place of a previous verb, in the same way that pronouns stand in the place of previous nouns.
tu - do so/too/that (absolute reference)
wa - do so/too/that (relative reference)
Absolute reference means that first and second person pronouns don't change who they are referring to; relative reference means that the first and second person pronouns are reinterpreted respective to the new speaker.
gopu - hate
1. gopu le u si - I hate you
2. tu - you hate me
2. tu va - he hates me too
2. tu u va - you hate him too
2. wa - I hate you too
2. wa va - he hates you
2. wa u va - I hate him
zi - small scope/size
be - large scope/size
These two affixes can be used on both nouns, verbs, adjectives, and certain particles. For nouns, they denote the size of the object; for verbs, they denote the scope of the action; for adjectives, they denote the scope of the quantity.
examples:
weca'zi - cottage
weca - house
weca'be - mansion
ti'megla'zi - battle
ti'megla - war
ti'megla'be - world war
ko pado'zi le - I walked (a few steps)
ko pado le - I walked (across the building)
ko pado'be le - I walked (across the city)
funa'zi - red (only little spots)
funa - red
funa'be - red all over
kri kya zi - here (in my hand)
kri kya - here (where I am)
kri kya be - here (this building, this city, etc)
di - a small time frame
su - a long time frame
These two affixes can be used on both nouns, verbs, adjectives, and certain particles. For nouns, they denote the time frame of the existance of the object; for verbs, they denote how long the action lasts; for adjectives, they denote how long the quality lasts.
examples:
weca'di - shack (temporary dwelling)
weca - house
weca'be - ancient house
ti'megla'di - short war (a week)
ti'megla - war
ti'megla'su - long war (decades)
dife'di - to glance at
dife - to look at
dife'be - to stare at
wabi'di - sad (for just a moment)
wabi - sad (hours)
wabi'su - depressed (for days)
swe di - now (right this moment)
swe - at present (this hour, today)
swe su - this month, this year
na - low intensity
vi - high intensity
These two affixes can be used on both nouns, verbs, adjectives, and certain particles. For nouns, they denote how subtle or extreme the characteristics are; for verbs, they denote how intense the action is; for adjectives, they denote how intense the property is.
examples:
kuja'na - weak medicine
kuja - medicine
kuja'vi - prescription strength medicine
ti'megla'na - cold war
ti'megla - war
ti'megla'vi - total war
keta'na - to nibble at
keta - to eat
keta'vi - to devour
biko'na - slightly sick (a cough)
biko - sick
biko'vi - terminally ill
jo - (honorable)
pu - (pejorative, dishonorable)
These affixes are a way of stating respect or disdain for a particular item or action.
jo'weca - mansion
pu'weca - shack
nico - old
jo'nico - vintage
pu'nico - archaic
fwe - mixed up, bad, dys-X
fwe'mani - mislead
fwe'medu - tell wrong
do - person associated with X
zeja - fire
do'zeja - fireman/firewoman
judza - espresso
do'judza - barista
li - un-X (opposite; compare to Esperanto mal-)
This is used to mean the opposite of the word (antonym).
guci - hungry
li'guci - satiated, full
lena - healthy
li'lena - unhealthy, sick
ne - not X, non-X, un-X
This affix is used to mean "not X", so it could be any quality not exactly X - having no amount of X, some amount of X, etc.
leja - good
ne'leja - non-good (bad, neutral)
ne'guci - non-hungry (satiated, not full)
mu - in the manner of X, X-ly (conversion to adverb)
This affix converts words to adverbs. It does not correspond to the English usage of -ly that creates adjectives (ie, the -ly in manly, which makes an adjective).
pise - smart
mu'pise - smartly
Numbers are very simple in Minyeva. They work just like the numbers in Esperanto. For the following rules, {a-b} means that if the number is between and including a and b, the number is stated; otherwise, it is not.
"zero" (0): [zero]
"ones group" (1-9): {1-9}
"tens group" (10-99) {2-9} + [ten] + {1-9} or nothing
"hundreds group" (100-999): {2-9} + [hundred] + (tens group) or
{1-9} or nothing
"thousands group" (1000-999,999): (hundreds group) or (tens
group) or {2-9} + [thousand] + (hundreds group) or (tens group) or {1-9} or
nothing
"millions group" (1,000,000-999,999,999): (hundreds group) or
(tens group) or {2-9} + [million] + (thousands group) or (hundreds group) or
(tens group) or {1-9} or nothing
gru - zero
fwa - one
kye - two
clo - three
vyu - four
zwi - five
mla - six
syo - seven
blu - eight
pwi - nine
nya - ten
kamo - hundred
joke - thousand
fine - million
examples:
11 - nya'fwa
20 - kye'nya
35 - clo'nya'zwi
101 - kamo'fwa
210 - kye'kamo'nya
499 - vyu'kamo'pwi'nya'pwi
6078 - mla'joke'syo'nya'blu
8000 - blue'joke
320,908 - clo'kamo'kye'nya'joke'pwi'kamo'blu
There are two words that introduce subordinate clauses. The word 'mi' introduces one where either the subject of a verb is elided or nothing is elided.
lije - want
le - I
pado te kebza mi segu u cai djan = the cat who loves John is walking.
lije le u mi pado = I want to walk
lije le u mi pado te kebza = I want the cat to walk
The word 'lo' introduces one where the agent of a change of state is elided.
lije te geska u lo lena i le = The doctor wants to heal me.
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