Bys-sáma

DATE 2006-2016
GENERAL RULES Simplified relative of Xema
Two vowels can't follow each other (sénsa tha alén becomes sénsa th'alén)
RELATED Eloa world-building page
Xema
Aŝan Rac,mamoqei

While Xema was spoken for a long time among the Elvish upperclass, it was not suited for simple everyday use. Bys-sáma ("New Xema") developed from informal Xema and ultimately became the most widely-spoken language throughout the Tippan Empire.

Phonology

Bys-sáma brought with it a sound shift that gave the language a rougher sound in comparison to its softer predecessor.

XEMA → BYS-SÁMA
LETTER SOUND LETTER SOUND
x z → ś ʃ
th θ → t t
p p → b b
h h → ģ x
u → ú
o
e → á
i → e
é
ii → é

Pronouns

  • Bys-sáma loses Xema's overly complicated pronoun system but retains some aspects.
  • Bys-sáma also loses all cases except for object di- (combining accusative and dative), genitive ti-, and instrumental ni-.
subject I you they it we
basic/
topic of discussion*		 alyn ǵal dún sat mén
casual ale ǵon de se me
superior alant ǵant dúnt sant mént
many alene ǵene dene sene mene

Verbs

  • Infinitive have no specific suffix and tense is simply added to the infinitive.
  • Don't conjugate according to person (eg. xalthasu salwin, "I am"; xalthasu sidurn, "they are").
  • A negative is indicated by a ko- prefix, retained from Xema.
AFFIX TENSE EXAMPLE
-su present śaltsu alyn, "I am"
-śe near future śaltśe alyn, "I will be soon"
-tú distant future śaltú alyn, "I will be one day"
-né near past śaltné alyn, "I was recently"
-to distant past śalto alyn, "I was long ago"
-be present conditional śaltbe alyn, "I would be"
-nab past conditional śaltnab alyn, "I would have been"
-ma present progressive śaltma alyn, "I am being"
-tema future progressive śaltema alyn, "I will be being"
-nama past progressive śaltnama, "I was being"
none imperative śalt, "be!"

Example Sentences

  • English: Did they see us?
    Bys-sáma: ham nakéné dún dimén
    Transliteration: question see.past they(BASIC) accusative.us(BASIC)

  • English: We made it for you (superior).
    Bys-sáma: kúnané disat má ǵant mén
    Transliteration: make.past accusative.it(TOPIC) for you(SUPERIOR) we(BASIC)
English:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!
XEMA BYS-SÁMA
matiinansu kidiibiino dis sisiinsa thalwon;
konosonxe kisune sisath;
nadiindona thalwon, nadiinkarna thalwon, keme--
saninansu tidasani akos sisath! 		madimsu ká débém dés sénsa talyn;
konosośe ká súm sat;
détona talyn, déǵana talyn, keme--
saninasu ditasan akos sat!
Transliteration:
1st line: burn.present locative.couple.end(N) both nominative.candle genitive.I
2nd line: negative.last(V).near-future locative.night nominative.it(TOPIC)
3rd line: vocative.many.enemy genitive.I, vocative.many.friend genitive.I, despite-this
4th line: give.present accusative.light lovely nominative.it(TOPIC)
Transliteration:
1st line: burn.present at multiple.end(N) both candle genitive.I
2nd line: negative.last(V).near-future at night it(TOPIC)
3rd line: multiple.enemy genitive.I, multiple.friend genitive.I, despite-this
4th line: give.present accusative.light lovely it(TOPIC)

Writing system

Writing examples