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<title>A Grammar of the Ithkuil Language - Chapter 10: Lexico-Semantics</title>
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<h2index.htmllosophical Design for a Hypothetical Language<br />
<img src="images/masthead.index.html></h2>
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<td width="14%"> </td>
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<td width="19%"><p class="style3"> </p></td>
<td width="23%"><p class="style3"> </p></td>
<td width="20%"> </td>
<td width="20%"> https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/;</td>
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<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a href="index.htm">Home</a></span></td>
<td> </td>
<td height="24"><a href="00_intro.html"><span class="style11">Introduction</span></a></td>
<td><a href="04_case.html"><span class="style11">4 Case Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="08_adjuncts.html"><span class="style11">8 Adjuncts</span></a></td>
<td><a href="12_numhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/bers.htm"><span class="style11">12 The Number System</span></a></td>
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<thttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/r>
<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a href="fhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/aqs.html">FAQs</a></span></td>
<td> </td>
<td height="18"><a href="01_phonhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ology.html"><span class="style11">1 Phonology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="05_vehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/rbs_1.html"><span class="style11">5 Verb Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="09_syntax.html"><span class="style11">9 Syntax</span></a></td>
<td><a href="abbrhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/eviations.html"><span class="style11">List of Abbreviations</span></a></td>
</thttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/r>
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<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a hrehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/f="links.html">Links of Interest</a></span></td>
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<td height="18"><https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/a href="02_morpho-phonology.html"><span class="style11">2 Morpho-Phonology</spanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/></a></td>
<td><a href="06_verbs_2.html"><span class="style11">6 More Verb Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="10_lexico-semantics.html"><span class="style11">10 https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/Lexico-Semantics</span></a></td>
<td><a href="lexicon.htm"><span class="style11">The Lexicohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n</span></a></td>
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<td><a href="03_morphology.html"><spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n class="style11">3 Basic Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="07_suffixes.html"><span class="https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/style11">7 Suffixes</span></a></td>
<td><a href="11_script.htm"><span class="style11">11 The Writing System</span></a></td>
<tdhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/><span class="style11"><a href="texts.html">Texts</a></span></td>
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<h2 align="center"><strong>Chapterindex.htmlntics</strong></h2>
<table width="64%" border="0" align="center" celhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/lpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
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<td width="51%"><a href="#Sec10o1">10.1 Systemic Morphological Derivationhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ </a> </td>
<td width="49%"><a href="#Sec10o4">10.4 Lexical Generalization </a> </td>
</tr>
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<td><a href="#Sec10o2">10.2 Dimensional and Descriptive Oppositions </a></td>
<td><a href="#Sec10o5">10.5 Lexical Differentiation </a></index.htmltr>
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<td><a href="#Sec10o3">10.3 Spatial Position and Orientation </a><https://web.archive.org/td>
<td><a href="#Sec10o6">10.6 Comparison to Western Categorization </a></thttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/d>
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<td> </td>
<td> </td>
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</table>
<p clashttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/s="style10"><br />
The term <strong>lexico-semantics</strong> refers to the relhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ationship
between the lexicon of a language (i.e., its root-words and wohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/rd-stems) and
the various possible semantic categories created by the human mind. Every language
(and particularly every language family) divides the world up differently in
terms of what sorts of concepts are made into words and how the meanings of
those words reflect the reality around us. In other words, the lexico-semantics
of a language answers the questions <em>what semantic concepts does this language
psycho-linguistically categorize into autonomous words and how are each of these
categories internally organized?</em></p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Lexico-semantics is extremely important in Ithkuil for two
related reasons:</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">1) Ithkuil morpho-phonology only allows for 3600 possible root
words, as explained in Chapter 2. This means that the concepts chosen to be
conveyed by these roots must be carefully selected to insure the widest range
of conceptualization possible within such a limited framework.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">2) We have seen throughout this work how Ithkuil’s matrix-like
grammatical structure allows for an incredible amount of synergy in terms of
morphological word-derivation, generating wholly new, emergent concepts from
word-roots, not simply mere conjugations, declensions, and transparent derivations.
In order to ensure the maximum amount of dynamism in deriving new concepts morphologically
from existing word-roots, it is important that those initial roots be carefully
selected in terms of meaning.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In this chapter, we will examine the many considerations that
go in to the assigning of concepts to those 3600 roots, in order to optimally
accomplish what has been demonstrated throughout this work: using the dynamics
of Ithkuil morphology to eliminate the need for the hundred thousand or more
autonomous word roots of natural languages, or to put it colloquially, “getting
the most lexico-semantic bang for the morpho-phonological buck.” </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">We will start first with a review of key components in the
systemic design of Ithkuil morphology. This will be followed by sections on
those areas of Ithkuil lexico-semantics which are most profoundly distinct from
Western languages. </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">The last section deals with comparison to Western categorizations,
examining how Ithkuil lexico-semantics reinterprets certain concepts considered
“fundamental” in English and other Western languages.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10"> </p>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10">Note on Ithkuil's Implicit “Theory of Meaning”</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">For those readers who may be trained in linguistics, particulary cognitive linguistics, it should be noted that at this point in the author’s development of the language, a traditional Enlightenment-based theory of meaning, assuming a one-to-one correspondence between a lexeme and its external “in-the-world” referent, has been implicitly assumed for convenience and/or expediency’s sake. A more careful and rigourous construction for Ithkuil’s lexico-semantics, given the author’s stated design goals (as described in the Introduction section), would not assume such a theory of meaning, but would rather incorporate more recent findings of cognitive science and cognitive linguistics to reflect embodied meaning and metaphor-based conceptualization. However, pursuing such a foundation for the lexico-semantics of the language would, in the author’s opinion, be extremely time-consuming (on the order of many additional years, perhaps decades, to construct). Rather than withdraw the language from public availability for such reasons, the author has chosen instead to adopt a traditional/formalist foundation for its lexico-semantics essentially out of convenience, in order to be able to showcase the language's morphology. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o1" id="Sec10o1"></a></strong></font></p>
<table width="99%" border="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.1 SYSTEMATIC MORPHOLOGICAL DERIVATION</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Ithkuil systematically uses its myriad of morphological categories
to derive secondary concepts from more basic concepts, often eliminating the
need for separate lexicalization, i.e., eliminating the need to create separate
word-roots for new but related concepts as is so often the case in Western languages.
We will explore this system of morphological derivation more closely, particularly
in regard to its universality across the spectrum of Ithkuil word-roots.</p>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10"><a name="Sec10o1o1" id="Sec10o1o1"></a><br />
10.1.1 Stem Derivation from Roots</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">We have already seen many applied examples of the above-described
concepts, particularly in <a href="02_morpho-phonology.html#Sec2o3">Section
2.3</a> et seq. regarding the use of the three different <strong>Vr</strong> vowel patterns to derive a trinary array of interrelated stems from a root, as well as shifting the Vr vowel of those trinary stems to in turn derive two separate arrays
https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ of complementary stems from the initial holistic array of stems. Through this
system of vowel shifts, we saw how a single root generates no
less than eighteen formative stems, each functioning as a noun or verb. This
is illustrated below using the example root <strong><strong>-</strong>k-</strong>‘TRANSLATIVE MOTION’. </p>
<br />
<table border="1" align="center" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="638" height="29" colspan="4"><div align="center">
<p><strong>-</strong><strong>K- </strong>‘<font size="2">TRANSLATIVE MOTION</font>’</p>
</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="319" height="34" colspan="2"><div align="center" class="style12"><span class="style13">INFORMAL</span> Designation</div></td>
<td width="319" colspan="2"><div align="center" class="style12"><span class="style13">FORMAL</span> Designation</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="319" height="53" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>1. <strong>ak</strong>- <span class="style14">move/motion from one place to another</span></div>
</blockquote></td>
<td width="319" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>1. <strong>aká</strong>- <span class="style14">travel/traverse; journey</span></div>
</blockquote></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="319" height="54" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>2. <strong>ek</strong>- <span class="style14">set in motion/self-directed movement from one place to another</span></div>
</blockquote></td>
<td width="319" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>2. <strong>eká</strong>- <span class="style14">set off for/journey to/directed travel toward</span></div>
</blockquote></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="319" height="70" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>3. <strong>uk</strong>- <span class="style14">move/movement between one place and another (i.e., along line between two points)</span><br />
<br />
</div>
</blockquote></td>
<td width="319" colspan="2" valign="top"><blockquote>
<div>3. <strong>uká</strong>- <span class="style14">travel/journey along way between two places</span></div>
</blockquote></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="319" height="32" colspan="2"><div align="center" class="style12">COMPLEMENTARY STEMS</div></td>
<td width="319" colspan="2"><div align="center" class="style12">COMPLEMENTARY STEMS</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="160" height="60" valign="top"><div>1. <strong>ok</strong>-<span class="style14"> go = movement outward/away</span><br />
</div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>1. <strong>âk</strong>- <span class="style14">come = movement inward/toward</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>1. <strong>oká</strong>- <span class="style14">go traveling, be off</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>1. <strong>âká</strong>- j<span class="style14">ourney to(ward)</span></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="160" height="87" valign="top"><div>2. <strong>ök</strong>- <span class="style14">go away/move away = increase distance from a starting point</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>2. <strong>êk</strong>- <span class="style14">come toward/to close the distance = decrease distance toward endpoint</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>2. <strong>öká</strong>- <span class="style14">travel/journey further away from starting point</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>2. <strong>êká</strong>- <span class="style14">reach vicinity of, close in on destination</span></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>3. <strong>îk/ûk-</strong><span class="style14"> leave/depart = move away from one point towards another</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>3. <strong>ôk</strong>- <span class="style14">approach = approach one point from direction of another</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>3. <strong>îká/ûká</strong>- <span class="style14">depart/departure from starting point on journey toward elsewhere</span></div></td>
<td width="160" valign="top"><div>3. <strong>ôká</strong>- <span class="style14">arrive/arrival, reach destination </span></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify"><br />
<span class="style10">As described in <a href="02_morpho-phonology.html">Chapter 2</a>, this hierarchical pattern of stem
derivation and division into complementary stems from a more basic or underlying
“holistic” stem allows for significant collapsing in the number
of word-roots necessary compared to Western languages,https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ as words that are semantically
interrelated in a hierarchical or complementary fashion can be derived morphologically
from a basic root, as opposed to being assigned separate word-roots as in other
languages. The above root -<strong>k</strong>- demonstrates how concepts such <em>come</em> versus <em>go</em> are expressed as complementary derivations of a single underlying concept TRANSLATIVE
MOTION. All such complementary stems based on participant perspective
are similarly patterned, e.g., <em>lead/follow, buy/sell, give/take</em>, etc.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Additionally, this hierarchical structure of stem derivation
from a single root using vocalic infixes allows for the creation of “built-in”
classification schemes and taxonomies for concepts which require them. Biological
taxonomies, for example, can be easily accommodated under this scheme, first
dividing the two Forms (Designations) of the root into the animal itself versus
the animal as a resource, the holistic stems indicating first the generic species
then male versus female. The complementary stems then make the further distinction
between wild versus domesticated for the informal stem and between food/prey
and derived or processed products for the formal stem. </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Using the nine degrees of the Stem
Specific Derivative <a href="07_suffixes.html#SSDsuffix"><span class="style12"><strong>SSD</strong></span> </a>suffix <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>-k</strong></font> from Section 7.4.13 on such a root, we can extend this scheme to denote specific
parts, products or derived resources such as the milkhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/, oil, meat, skin or
hide, tail, tusk or horn, hair or fur (e.g., wool), etc. The Degree
of Maturity <a href="07_suffixes.html#MATsuffix"><span class="style12"><strong>MAT</strong></span> </a>suffix <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>-p<sup>h</sup></strong></font> from Section 7.4.10 is also applied to indicate the developmental stage of the
animal, providing derived equivalents
to wohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/rds such as <em>foal</em>, <em>fawn, lamb</em> or <em>cub</em>, from <em>horse,
deer, goat,</em> or <em>lion</em>.</p>
<p><br />
</p>
<p><a name="Sec10o1o2" id="Sec10o1o2"></a></p>
<h3>10.1.2 The Use of Derivational Suffixes</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In Chapter 7, we saw how many of the approximately 200 suffix categories
can be used to generate both derivative concepts as
well as amalgamated gestalts carrying a new holistic meaning. As an example,
here are only ten of the various new concepts which can be derived through affixes
from the stem <span class="style10"><strong>el</strong></span>- ‘say something [i.e.,
communicate a verbal message]’:</p>
<table width="81%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="158" height="31"><blockquote class="style9">
elalaiq’</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘share a secret’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div class="style12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#DSRsuffix">DSR</a><span class="style32">2</span>/8</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="31"><blockquote class="style9">
elalêpţ</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘news’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div class="stylhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/e12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#ATCsuffix">ATC</a><span class="style32">2</span>/3</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="32"><blockquote class="style9">
elalâxh</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘quip’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div class="style12">suhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#SCOsuffix">SCO</a><span class="style32">2</span>/5</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="32"><blockquote class="style9">
elaluiq</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘praise, adulation’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div class="sthttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/yle12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#NTRsuffix">NTR</a><span class="style32">2</span>/9</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="32"><blockquote class="style9">
elalôpt</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘lie’ [= tell a lie]</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div clashttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/s="style12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#REAsuffix">REA</a><span class="style32">2</span>/7</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="32"><blockquote class="style9">
elalainţ</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘shout out a message’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div clahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ss="style12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#STRsuffix">STR</a><span class="style32">2</span>/8</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="32"><blockquote class="style9">
elalên</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘persuasive person, a persuader’</em></div></td>
<td width="3https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/49"><div class="style12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#Sec7o4o12">AGC<span class="style32">2</span></a>/3</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="33"><blockquote class="style9">
elalôn</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>‘liaison, a go-between’</em></div></td>
<td width="349"><div https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/class="style12">suffix = <a href="07_suffixes.html#Sec7o4o12">AGC</a><span class="style32">2</span>/7</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="34"><blockquote class="style9"> elaliuçaukç</blockquote></td>
<td><div><em>‘whisper sweet nothings’</em></div></td>
<td><div class="style12">suffixes = <https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/a href="07_suffixes.html#AFTsuffix">AFT</a><span class="style32">2</span>/1 + <a href="07_suffixes.html#FRCsuffix">FRC</a><span class="style32">2</span>/2</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="158" height="34"><blockquote class="style9">elaliucêps</blockquote></td>
<td width="258"><div><em>&index.htmlem></div></td>
<td width="349"><div class="style1https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/2">suffixes = <a href="07_suffixes.html#UNQsuffix">UNQ</a> <span class="style32">2</span>/1 + <a href="07_suffixes.html#MTAsuffix">MTA</a> <span class="style32">2</span>/3</div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify"><br />
<span class="style10">Similarly the use of the Consent <span class="style7"><a href="07_suhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ffixes.html#CNSsuffix">CNS</a></span> suffix, the Reason <span class="style7"><ahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ href="07_suffixes.html#RSNsuffix">RSN</a></span> suffix, the Expectation <span class="style7"><a href="07_suffixes.html#XPTsuffix">XPT</a></span> suffix, the Deliberateness <span class="style7"><a href="07_suffihttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/xes.html#DLBsuffix">DLB</a></span> suffix, the Enablement <span class="style7"><a href="07_shttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/uffixes.html#ENBsuffix">ENB</a></span> suffix, the Agency/Intent <span class="style7"><a href="07https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/_suffixes.html#AGNsuffix">AGN</a></span> suffix, and the Impact <span class="style7"><a href="07_sufhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/fixes.html#IMPsuffix">IMP</a></span> suffix from <a href="07_suffixes.html#Sec7o4o12">Section
https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ 7.4.12</a> in conjunction w/ Transrelative cases (<a href="04_case.html#Sec4o3">Sec.
4.3</ahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/>), provides a means for describing extremely subtle scenarios of causation,
willingness, enahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/blement, hindrance, etc. which other languages can only capture https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/
via long-winded paraphrase. Employing this array of affixes and cases, a sentence
such as <em>https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/The singer stopped the boys from playing around</em> can be translated
into Ithkuil in many syntactically equivalent (but morphologically distinct)
ways to indicate whether the singer used physical force or persuasion to stop
the boys, whether she stopped them via an indirect enabling means (such as turning
out the lights), or whether it was the boys themselves who stopped upon hearing
her voice or seeing her beauty, or even by her mere presence interrupting them
(such as walking in on them inadvertently), as well as the degree of willingness
or consent with which they stopped. The following example sentence further illustrates
the complex detail which these suffixes make possible:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="style9"><img src="images/10-1-2a.jpg" width="300" height="42" /><br />
Ôqölöňtauspûls êļnelôzra iaçtaxhtiamsíţ.</span><br />
<span class="style14">STA</span><span class="style12">-‘</span>man<span class="style12">’-</spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n><span class="style13"><span class="style12">EFF-NRM/DEL/M/CSL/UNI-<span class="style14"><span class="style8"><strong>XPT<span class="style32">1</span>/2-</strong></span></span><span class="style8"><strong>DLB<span class="style32">2</span>/2</strong></span>-<span class="style8"><strong>ENB<span class="style32">1</span>/6</strong></span><span class="style14">-IFL</span> STA</span></span><span class="style12">-‘</span>bird<span class="style12">’-</span><span class="style13"><span class="style12">ABS-NRM/DEL/M/CSL/UNI-<span class="style8"><strong>IMP<span class="style32">2</span>/7</strong></span>-IFL <br />
DYN</span></span><span class="style12">-‘</span>room<span class="style12">’-</span><span class="style13"><span class="style12">NRM/DEL/U/COA/CST-<span class="style8"><strong>AGN<span class="style32">2</span>/9-DEV<span class="style32">1</span>/1</strong></span></span></span>-<span class="style13"><span class="style12">FML</span></span><br />
<span class="style10"><em> Aided by the bird’s own stupidity, the man unexpectedly and accidentally
killed it without even realizing he’d done so, by inadvertently letting
it out of the house.<font color="#FFFFFF"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">_________</font></font></em><font color="#FFFFFF"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">_</font></font></span><span class="style10"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify"><br />
<span class="style10">The <a href="07_suffixes.html#DEVsuffix">DEV</a> suffix from Sec. 7.4.9,
in first degree, roughly corresponds to the reversive prefixes of English such
as ‘un-,’ ‘de-,’ and ‘dis-’ to indicate
the undoing or opposite of a word. However, in Ithkuil this suffix is prohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ductive
for all semantically applicable stems and operates in conjunction with Modality
(<a href="06_verbs_2.html#Sec6o1">Section 6.1</a>)
and the Modality suffixes from <a href="07_suffixes.html#Sec7o4o11">Section 7.4.11</a> to extend the system of modalities, as illustrated by the following:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify"><span class="style10"><em>promise to +</em><strong> https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/DEV/1 </strong><em>=
foreswear, vow never to<br />
can (know how to) + </emhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = be ignorant of<br />
decide to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = avoid<br />
offer to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = refuse to<br />
agree upon/to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = decline to/abstain from<br />
like to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = loathe<br />
fear to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = love to<br />
need to + </em><strong> DEV/1 </strong><em> = dispensable, unnecessary to, can dispense with</em></span></p>
</blockquote>
<h3 align="justify"> </h3>
<h3 align="justify">10.1.3 The Use of Configuration, Affiliation, and Context </h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Each of these categories has means to generate amalgamate,
holistic, or emergent concepts from a more basic underlying stem.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><strong>10.1.3.1 Configuration</strong>: In <a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o1">Sec.
3.1</a> we saw how applying each of the nine Configuration categories to a stem
often generates forms based on amalgamation of sets which require complete relexification
when translated into English. Examples are:</p>
<blockquote class="style10">
<p alighttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n="justify"><em>bone </em><strong>→</strong><em> skeleton <br />
strut/girder </em><strong>→</strong><em> frame </em><strong>→</strong><em> framework <br />
component </em><strong>→</strong><em> structure </em><strong>→</strong><em> system <br />
ingredient </em><strong>→</strong><em> compound <br />
food </em><strong>→</strong><em> dish </em><strong>→</strong><em> meal <br />
tool </em><strong>→</strong><em> toolset <br />
do/perform </em><strong>→</strong><em> coordinate <br />
vehicle </em><strong>→</strong><em> convoy <br />
person </em><strong>→ </strong><em>group </em><strong>→</strong><em> crowd </em><strong>→</strong><em> masses <br />
activity </em><strong>→ </strong><em>process</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><strong>10.1.3.2 Affiliation</strong>: In <a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o2">Sec.
3.2</a> we saw how the four Affiliations can generate new concepts based on
delineations of purpose, benefit, or function. Examples include: </p>
<blockquote class="style10">
<p align="justify"><em>group </em><strong>→</strong><em> team, <br />
grovehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ </em><strong>→</strong><em> orchard<br />
assortment </em><strong>→</strong><em> collection </em><strong>→</strong><em> junk<br />
process </em><strong>→</strong><em> plan</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><strong>10.1.3.3 Context</strong>: In <a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o6o4">Sec.
3.6.4</a> we encountered the AMALGAMATE context, which
serves to identify a stem specifically as a gestalt entity, composed of objective
and subjective/social elements or components which contribute to the overall
nature of the stem. Depending on the https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/stem to which it is applied, the use of
the amalgamate can cause relexification in translating to English. Examples: </p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><em>demeanor </em><strong>→</strong><em> personality<br />
craftsmanship </em><strong>→</strong><em> artistry<br />
career </em><strong>→</strong><em> livelihood<br />
(one’s) past </em><strong>→</strong><em> (one’s)
life<br />
to look after/tend </em><strong>→</strong><em> nurture</em></p>
</blockquote>
<h3 align="justify"> </h3>
<h3 align="justify">10.1.4 The Use of Designation and Version</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In <a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o7">Section
3.7</a> on Designation as well as <a href="05_verbs_1.html#Sec5o8">Section
5.8</a> on Version, we saw how both of these morphological categories create
distinctions in word-stems which usually require relexification in translation.
The following wohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/rd pairs illustrate such relexification:</p>
<span class="style10"><br />
</span>https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/
<table width="65%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<tr>
<td width="50%" class="style10"><em>(the) past </em><strong>→</strong><em> history</em></td>
<td width="50%" class="style10"><em>see </em><strong>→</strong><em> observe</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>writings </em><strong>→</strong><em> literature</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>one </em><strong>→</strong><em> single/singular</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>wordplay </em><strong>→</strong><em> rhetoric</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>hear </em><strong>→</strong><em> listen</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>behavior </em><strong>→</strong><em> demeanor</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>desire </em><strong>→</strong><em> request</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>wander </em><strong>→</strong><em> travel</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>query </em><strong>→</strong><em> research</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>eat </em><strong>→</strong><em> dine</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>ponder </em><strong>→</strong><em> analyze</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="style10"><em>containment </em><strong>→</strong><em> storage</em></td>
<td class="style10"><em>path </em><strong>→</strong><em> route</em></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><br />
Again we see that application of morphological categories
to word-stems serves to generate forms which substitute for lexical distinctions
in other languages, thus helping to reduce the size of the Ithkuil lexicon.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3 align="justify">10.1.5 The Use of Phase and Extension</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">The use of the nine Phases, as explained in <a href="05_verbs_1.html#Sec5o5">Sec.
5.5</a>, used in conjunction with the category of Extension (<a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o4">Sec.
3.4</a>) gives rise to an elaborate means by which to describe phenomena in
terms of duration, periodicity, repetition, iterativity, and cyclic phenomena. https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/
When used in conjunction with the twelve Modulative suffixes from <a href="07_suffixes.html#Sec7o4ohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/7">Sec.
7.4.7</a>, the Iteration <span class="style7"><a href="07_suffixes.html#ITNsuffix">ITN</a></span> and Repetition <span class="style7"><a href="07_suffixes.html#RPNsuffix">RPN</a></span> suffixes from Sec. 7.4.5 and the Intensity <span class="style7"><a href="0https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/7_suffixes.html#ITYsuffix">ITY</a></span> suffix from Sec. 7.4.10,
Phase becomes an extrehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/mely powerful means to describe with great subtlety all
phenomena which display vibrahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/tory, oscillative, wavering, on-off, or variative
movement, motion, or intensity. As an example, specific applicahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/tion of the various
phases combined with the aforementioned suffixes and other suffix categories to
a single stem <strong>-nt-</strong> ‘[make] sound’ can give rise to translations for all of the following
English words:</p>
<div align="justify" class="style10">
<table width="71%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="25%"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">acoustic<br />
audible<br />
auditory<br />
bang<br />
blast<br />
boom<br />
buzz<br />
cacophony<br />
calm<br />
click<br />
clickety-clack<br />
clink<br />
crack<br />
crackle<br />
crash<br />
din<br />
discord<br />
dissonance<br />
drone<br />
echo<br />
explosion</font></td>
<td width="25%"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">faint
sound<br />
fizz<br />
gag<br />
grate<br />
hiss<br />
howl<br />
hullabaloo<br />
hum<br />
hush<br />
jangle<br />
kerplunk<br />
knock<br />
loud(ness)<br />
lull<br />
moan<br />
muffle<br />
murmur<br />
mute<br />
noise<br />
pandemonium<br />
peal<br />
</font></td>
<td width="28%"><p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">pit-a-pat<br />
plink<br />
pop<br />
quaver<br />
quiet<br />
racket<br />
rap<br />
rat-a-tat<br />
rattle<br />
raucous<br />
resonant<br />
reverberate<br />
ring<br />
roar<br />
rumble<br />
rush of sound<br />
rustle<br />
screech<br />
shrill<br />
silence<br />
snap</font></p></td>
<td width="22%"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">sonorous<br />
sound<br />
staccato<br />
stifle<br />
strident<br />
stutter<br />
swirl<br />
swish<br />
tap<br />
thump<br />
tick<br />
toot<br />
twang<br />
uproar<br />
vibration<br />
whir<br />
whistle<br />
whiz<br />
whoosh</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><br />
The same principles applied to other types of stems give rise
to a plethora of complex and subtle means for describing motions, paths, trajectories,
movement in situ, light emanation, reflection, consistency, texture, variation
in shape, visual complexity, etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3 align="justify">10.1.6 Note on the Absence of Lexico-Semantic “Classes”</h3>
<p align="justify"><span class="style10">It should be noted that in previous versions of the language, formative roots were divided into lexico-semantic “classes” designated by the phonological patterning of the root (there were 17 such classes in the original version of Ithkuil, ten such classes in Ilaksh). In the current version of the language, these lexico-semantic classes have been eliminated, as the author has realized that the establishment of such classes does not serve any real functional purpose in “real-world” spoken/written contexts; the ability to identify the semantic class of a stem does not sufficiently aid in understanding the stem’s specific meaning. Therefore, the assignment of phoneme patterns to roots in Ithkuil is now arbitrary. While the astute reader will note that many roots pertaining to a specific semantic notion (e.g., animals, plant and substance taxonomies, spatial position, etc.) still have similar phonological patterning, such patterning is nevertheless merely incidental and is without formal significance. </span></p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o2" id="Sec10o2"></a></strong></font><br />
<table width="100%" border="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.2 DIMENSIONAL AND DESCRIPTIVE OPPOSITIONS</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Another area of the lexicon where Western languages tend to
divide up reality into binary oppositions is the realm of spatial dimensions,
where pairs such as <em>near/far, small/large, thin/thick, narrow/wide, tall/short,
light/heavy, hot/cold</em>, etc. are commonplace. As with the perspective-based
oppositions seen in the preceding section, again Ithkuil lexico-semantics treats
such concepts in a wholly different way. Rather than lexicalize such concepts
as pairs of binary oppositions, Ithkuil delineates these qualities as <em>varying
points along a continuous range</em>. In other words, in Ithkuil you do not
say <em>X is cold</em> and <em>Y is hot</em>, but rather <em>X has less temperature</em> and <em>Y has greater temperature</em>. Similarly, one does not say <em>A is
near to me</em> and <em>B is far from me,</em> but rather <em>the distance from
me to A </em>(or proximity of A to me)<em> is less than the distance from me
to B</em> (or proximity of B to me). Note that the choice of translation for
the latter stem as either ‘distance’ or ‘proximity’
becomes arbitrary, as the real meaning of the Ithkuil formative is ‘amount
of linear space separating one party from another.’ Virtually all Western
descriptive and dimensional oppositions are similarly handled in Ithkuil as
mere variance in the quantity of a single quality, the degree of an attribute,
or the extent along a spatio-temporal range or continuum.</p>
<p class="style10"> </p>
<p class="style10"><font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o3" id="Sec10o3"></a></strong></font></p>
<table width="100%" border="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.3 SPATIAL POSITION AND ORIENTATION</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Concepts of spatial position and orientation are expressed
very differently in Ithkuil as compared to Western languages such as English.
The three major differences are explained below, each of which will be explored
in detail in the sections which follow.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">1) Ithkuil does not employ prepositions; all notions of spatial
relationships, position, and orientation are designated by nominal/verbal formatives.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">2) While Western languages allow spatial/positional reference
to function autonomously irrespective of the speaker’s cognitive or semantic
intent, Ithkuil subordinates spatial/positional reference at the lexico-semantic
level in deference to the cognitive or semantic purpose of an utterance. What
this means is that sentences describing spatial relationships or positional
reference are only used when the underlying intent of the speaker’s utterance
is purely to specify spatial or positional reference information. If, in fact,
the underlying intent of the utterance is to show some functional or purposeful
relationship (where a spatial relationship is merely coincidental or consequential),
the Ithkuil sentence will describe this function or purpose, not the spatial
relationship. For example, in answer to the question <em>Where’s Billy?</em> an English speaker might give answers such as (a) <em>He’s standing right
next to Sam</em>, or (b) <em>He’s in bed</em>, or (c) <em>He’s in
the bathtub</em>. While each of these sentences gives spatial information, only
the first is truly intended to convey spatial information as its purpose, while
sentences (b) and (c) imply information that is, in fact, more relevant than
the spatial information given, e.g., sentence (b) could be restated as ‘He’s
sleeping (or sick),’ while sentence (c) could be restated as ‘He’s
bathing.’ An Ithkuil speaker would not utter sentences like (b) or (c)
in answer to the query about Billy, since he/she would assume the question <em>Where’s
Billy?</em> is intended to inquire only about Billy’s physical position
in absolute space. If the questioner had, in fact, been seeking non-spatial
information, he/she would have asked the Ithkuil equivalent of <em>What’s
Billy doing?</em> or <em>What’s happening with Billy?</em> to which a
Ithkuil speaker would answer with sentences corresponding to the rephrased versions
of (b) or (c), not their original versions.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">3) Ithkuil utilizes an absolute coordinate system of comparative
spacial reference, not a relative one as found in most languages. Note the positional
ambiguity inherent in sentences such as <em>He’s standing to the left
of the desk</em>. To be meaningful, the listener must first determine from whose
perspective the speaker is referring (i.e., do we mean the speaker’s left,
the addressee’s left, the desk’s left relative to the position of
the speaker, the desk’s left relative to the position of the addressee,
or the desk’s left relative to the direction the desk is oriented/facing?)
Such ambiguity occurs because Western languages employ a relative coordinate
system which can shift from one participant or referent object to another. Ithkuil
spatial reference employs an absolute coordinate system independent of the perspective
of a participant (e.g., the speaker or addressee) or referent object (i.e.,
the thing(s) whose position is being described), as opposed to the relative
coordinate system found in Western languages. The Ithkuil system allows listeners
to understand exactly the spatial relationship and orientation of any object(s)
in absolute space, irrespective of anyone’s (or anything’s) personal
perspective. </p>
<h3 align="justify"><br />
10.3.1 Formatives vs. Prepositions</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Besides lexically “partitioning” the world of two-
and three-dimensional space in different ways than in Western languages, Ithkuil
has no prepositions. Rather, Ithkuil utilizes formatives which describe a spatial
relationship between two objects or between an object and an associated background,
the nearest translations being a noun meaning “the area X” or a
verb meaning “to be positioned X”, where X corresponds to a Western
preposition or positional adverb such as “in” or “inside.”</p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<h3 align="justify"> 10.3.2 Underlying Cognitive Purpose of an Utterance</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Ithkuil grammar considers the functional relationship between
two objects to be primarily relevant, not their spatial orientation or position
relative to each other (or between an object and its background). When it comes
to describing an object against a background or the relationship between two
objects, Ithkuil grammar is more interested in answering the question <em>How
do X and Y function relative to each other</em>, rather than <em>How are X and
Y positioned in space relative to each other?</em> </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">For example: in uttering the English sentence <em>The vase
is on the table</em>, is the intention of the sentence to tell the listener
the physical coordinate position of the vase in 3-D space relative to the table,
or to tell the listener that the vase is being physically supported (i.e., against
gravity) by the table? If the intention is the former, the corresponding Ithkuil
sentence would indeed utilize a spatial formative translatable as ‘manifest
self on the top side of a surface that is horizontal relative to the direction
of gravity.’ However, if the intention is to actually indicate support
against gravity, the Ithkuil sentence would not utilize a spatial reference
at all, but rather translate the sentence more or less as <em>The table is supporting
the vase</em>. As a result, spatial, locative, or orientational formatives in
Ithkuil are used far less often than corresponding prepositions and spatial
constructions in English or other Western languages. Note the following examples
illustrating how various English sentences utilizing the concept ‘in’
(meaning ‘inside’ or ‘into’) are translated into Ithkuil
using various non-spatial roots based on reason or purpose.</p>
<br />
<table width="85%" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1">
<tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<td><div align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ENGLISH
SENTENCE </font></strong></div></td>
<td><div align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">CONCEPT
CORRESPONDING TO 'IN(SIDE or INTO)' </font></strong></div></td>
<td><div align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">NEAREST
TRANSLATION TO Ithkuil EQUIVALENT</font></strong></div></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>The man works in(side) that building.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">general locational
reference where idea of interiority or containment is incidental</span></td>
<td><em>The man works at that building.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>The book is in that box.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">physical containment
only with no specific purpose</span></td>
<td><em> That box contains the book.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>You’ll find pencils in(side) the small blue can.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">incidental, temporary,
or circumstantial constraint/holder to prevent spillage from gravity</span></td>
<td><em>The small blue can holds the pencils you’re seeking.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>I poured soup in(to) the bowl.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">same as above</span></td>
<td><em>I enabled the bowl to hold soup</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>We stayed in(side) due to the rain.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">shelter, containment
for purpose of protection</span></td>
<td><em>We shelter ourselves from the rain.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>He placed the sword in(side or into) its sheath.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">containment in fitted
covering for purposes of protection</span></td>
<td><em>He sheathed the sword.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>He stayed in(side) his room.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">containment for purpose
of privacy</span></td>
<td><em>He shuttered himself.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>The tiger was kept in(side) a cage.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">containment to prevent
escape</span></td>
<td><em>The tiger remained captured.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>There are high concentrations of lead in(side) that
pottery.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">ingredient, composite
substance </span></td>
<td><em>That pottery contains much lead.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>Microchips can be found in(side) any machine these
days.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">inherent or integral
component</span></td>
<td><em>These days, any machine incorporates microchips.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>I put fuel in the gas tank.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">integral component
having function to hold or contain other component</span></td>
<td><em>I (re-)fueled the gas tank.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>We’ll never know what’s in(side) her head.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">intangible containment</span></td>
<td><em>We’ll never know her thoughts.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em> He has a tumor in(side) his pancreas.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">enveloped to inaccessible
depth by surrounding medium</span></td>
<td><em>His pancreas “harbors” a tumor.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td height="23"><em>He hammered a nail in(to) the wall.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">fastening/connecting</span></td>
<td><em>He fastened the nail to the wall with a hammer.</em></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><em>The child tried putting the square block in(side or
into) the round hole.</em></td>
<td><span class="style34">fitting together one
object to another</span></td>
<td><em>The child tried to fit the round hole and the square
block together.</em></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="style10"><br />
</span></font><span class="style10"> This functional prioritization notwithstanding, Ithkuil is nevertheless
able, if necessary, to describe true spatial relationships and orientations
quite specifically. However, it does so in ways that are very unfamiliar in
terms of Western grammar. These are described in the following section.</span></p>
<h3 align="justify"><a name="Sec10o3o3" id="Sec10o3o3"></a><br />
10.3.3 Absolute vs. Relative Spatial/Positional Coordinates</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">While Western languages are capable of describing the physical
position and orientation of object in absolute terms (e.g., <em>My hometown
is located at 93°41'36"W by 43°12'55"N</em>), it is not normal
to do so in general parlance. Rather, Western spatial position and orientation
is normally relative, i.e., described from the dynamic perspective of the two
objects themselves or from the perspective of a third party observer (usually,
but not exclusively, the speaker). Therefore, if I describe the position of
objects in my backyard to you on the telephone, and you have never seen my backyard,
phrases such as ‘the swingset is against the wall,’ ‘the barbecue
is sitting to my right,’ ‘the elm tree is behind the shed’
and ‘the rose bush is beyond the bird fountain’ convey little information
without first having to establish a common frame of reference based on where
the speaker is positioned relative to the edges of the yard (in order to interpret
what he means by ‘beyond the fountain’), which way he is facing
relative to the yard (in order to interpret what he means by ‘to my right’),
perhaps even the orientation of the shape of the yard relative to some external
absolute system of orientation (e.g., the four cardinal directions N, S, E,
W).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In such a relative scheme concepts such as ‘to my right’
change completely if I turn my body 180 degrees. Confusion also occurs when
I say ‘to the left of the chair.’ Do I mean to the left side of
the chair from my (the speaker’s) perspective? Or do I mean to the left
side of the chair from the perspective of someone sitting in the chair?</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Ithkuil avoids such confusions by being based on an absolute
coordinate system of spatial reference as opposed to a relative system (similar
in nature to the absolute system used in navigation based on the four cardinal
points.). Very few languages on Earth utilize such absolute systems to the exclusion
of relative systems. (Examples include Guugu Yimidhirr, an Australian aboriginal
language; Tzeltal, a Yucatec Mayan language; and Yurok, an Algonquian Indian
language of Northern California). Ithkuil utilizes three different absolute
coordinate schemes, each functioning within a different speech context. These
coordinate systems establish a three-dimensional right-angled coordinate grid
superimposed upon space, with the X-axis reckoned from a line perpendicular
to the direction of gravity (which, for practical purposes, we may term “horizontal”),
the Z-axis reckoned by a line corresponding to the direction of gravity (which
may be termed the “vertical”) and the all-important Y-axis (which
differentiates a relative system from an absolute) derived from one of three
points of reckoning depending on which coordinate scheme is being utilized.
The three schemes are as follows:</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">1) <strong>Solar-based system</strong>. This is the standard
Ithkuil system of reckoning. The line of the Y-axis runs parallel to the rising
and setting points of the sun in mid-summer, with the vector oriented in the
direction of the setting sun. Note that the alignment of this Y-axis relative
to the X-axis is variable; i.e., the line connecting the rising and setting
points of the sun merely designate the <em>direction</em> of the Y-axis, not
it actual position. This is necessary so that descriptions of spatial relationships
can be made using a “octant locator” system based on this grid,
where any two objects can be made to lie within different octants relative
to each other (this will be illustrated below). </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Use of this solar-based reckoning system continues at nighttime
and on overcast or rainy days, based on society’s collective knowledge
and/or recollection of landmarks indicating the rising and setting points of
the sun. Use of this system even continues indoors if there exists a collective
understanding of the orientation of the building/structure/room relative to
the solar-based Y-axis (i.e., everyone in the room can still tell the orientation
of the outdoor Y-axis, whether by sight through windows, or by noticing that
the length-width ratios of the room are aligned with the outdoor Y-axis).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">2) <strong>Length vs. width of enclosed space or room</strong>.
In indoor situations where the orientation of the outdoor solar-based Y-axis
is unknown (or cannot be readily determined on a continuous basis as new speakers
enter the room), an arbitrary Y-axis is connoted by the length of the room in
a direction away from whichever end of the room displays a visibly unique feature
(e.g., the doorway, a window, an alcove, an imposing piece of furniture, a stage
or dais, etc.), this symbolically substituting for the position of the rising
sun. This is the coordinate system which would be employed in theaters, enclosed
banquet halls without windows, and cellars without windows or ready access to
outside orientation.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">3) <strong>Arbitrarily delineated axis based on local landmarks,
objects, or persons</strong>. This is similar to a Western relative system in
which the speaker announces the orientation perspective being utilized. An Ithkuil
speaker would consider this a highly unusual and “affected” method
of reckoning. Nevertheless, it is possible to designate a personally defined
reckoning system using words to designate the origin point and direction of
the Y-axis vector, examples translatable by such phrases as ‘based on
a vector from me to that large window’ or ‘based on a vector between
the shed and the big oak tree.’ In fact, this is the purpose of the NAVIGATIVE case (see <a href="04_case.html#Sec4o7o6">Sec. 4.7.6</a>).
The primary use for this system of reckoning is literary or narrative, such
as when a speaker tells a story of another time and place, in which he/she wishes
to describe spatial relationships solely within the context of the story in
order to cohttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/nvey a mental map or image of the goings-on to his/her audience.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><br />
<strong>10.3.3.1 Describing Spatial Relationships between Two or More Objects</strong>.
Using such a triaxial three-dimensional grid, Ithkuil then lexically divides
up space into “octants”, four quadrants to each given “hemisphere”
of absolute space delineated by the three axes, for a total of eight octants.</p>
<blockquote class="style10">
<p align="justify"> +X / +Y / +Z = “right / ahead / above” = Octant
1 = Root: <strong>-KST-</strong><br />
+X / +Y / -Z = “right / ahead / below” = Octant 2 = Root: <strong>-KŠT-</strong><br />
+X / -Y / +Z = “right / behind / above” = Octant 3 = Root:<strong> -PST-</strong><br />
+X / -Y / -Z = “right / behind / below” = Octant 4 = Root:<strong> -PŠT-</strong><br />
-X / +Y / +Z = “left / ahead / above” = Octant 5 = Root: <strong>-KSP-</strong><br />
-X / +Y / -Z = “left / ahead / below” = Octant 6 = Root: <strong>-KŠP-</strong><br />
-X / -Y / +Z = “left / behind / above” = Octant 7 = Root:<strong> -PSK-</strong><br />
-X / -Y / -Z = “left / behind / below” = Octant 8 = Root: <strong>-PŠK-</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><br />
There are eighteen additional roots corresponding to the above
where either one or two of the X/Y/Z values are zero, indicating concepts equivalent
English phrases such as ‘neither above nor below,’ ‘straight
down,’ ‘straight ahead,’ ‘directly behind,’ ‘straight
up,’ ‘on the same plane as,’ etc. </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">The <a href="07_suffixes.html#SSDsuffix"><strong>SSD</strong></a> suffix in turn is used to specify translative movement from a starting octant specified by the stem toward an endpoint specified by the suffix, as follows:</p>
<table width="75%" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td width="https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/10%"><font size="2">Degree 1</font></td>
<td width="90%" colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
1</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 2</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
2</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 3</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
3</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 4</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
4</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 5</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward a position between octants, (i.e., either X = 0, Y = 0, or Z = 0)</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 6</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
5</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 7</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
6</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 8 </font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
7</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font size="2">Degree 9</font></td>
<td colspan="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">moving toward Octant
8</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10"> </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Additionally, the <a href="07_suffixes.html#LCTsuffix"><strong>LCT</strong></a> suffix is used with these roots to identify the location of objects within a specific octant. The above octants are
indicated in the illustrations below.</p>
<p align="left"><span class="style10">Because the lateral alignment (but not directhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ion) of the solar-based
X and Y-axes are variable (i.e., each can be slid laterally relative to the
other axis), any two objects whose relative positions are to be described can
be made to fall within two different octants, as illustrated in figures A,
B, C and D below (Figure A represents the background context for which Figures
B, C and D present varying positional frames of reference).</span><br />
<br />
</p>
<p align="center"><img src="images/10-4-3-1a.gif" width="593" height="354" /> </p>
<blockquote>
<p align="center"> <img src="images/10-4-3-1b.gif" width="361" height="402" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><img src="images/10-4-3-1c.gif" width="354" height="394" /></p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/p align="center"><img src="images/10-4-3-1d.gif" width="352" height="369" /></p>
</blockquote>
<p aindex.html>
<span class="style10">It is the ability to “slide” the axes of thttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/his three-dimensional
grid that allows Ithkuil to easily describe the relative position of objects
in an absolute mannehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/r. Because the grid can be arranged so that any two objects
each fall into different octants, a series of octant-to-octant relationships
between the two objects can be lexified. Thus, each of the above roots has a
stem which, in conjunction with a set of affixes, designates a spatial relationship
between an object occupying that octant and a second object occupying any
of the seven other octants. For the purpose of this analysis, we will call
each of these octant-to-octant static relationships a “positional
frame.” (the leftover affixes refer to (1) 1st object in motion while
2nd object at rest, and (2) 2nd object in motion while first object at rest.
Used to mark the participant nouns with motion sentences described below.) </span></p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Additionally, such a positional reference system allows a speaker
to describe exactly the spatial relationships between two objects in motion relative
to each other. This is done in Ithkuil by stating that two object are moving
from positional frame A toward positional frame B. If one remembers that, by
“positional frame” we mean a spatial relationship between two objects,
not a specific location in space, it can be seen how such a simple formula easily
describes the relative trajectories of two objects. An Ithkuil speaker is describing
exactly how two objects are moving through space by stating in one short sentence
the octant-to-octant relationship the two objects have to start with, and
the octant-to-octant relationship they will have when the motion is ended.
The root used to describe the motion indicates the nature of the motion in terms
of its smoothness, speed, etc.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">To insert a third party into a positional frame (such as describing
where the speaker or addressee or third party is situated relative to the two
objects described in the positional frame) a case-frame clause is added to the
sentence in the concursive case (“while/during/at the time of”)
which states the positional frame between that third party and the FIRST party
(unless the 2nd party is overtly specified). Example: “The dog and the
ball M’d while the cat N’d,” where M is the positional frame
of the dog and ball and N is the positional frame between the cat and dog.</p>
<p align="justify"><span class="style10">Based on the above, we can see just how exact Ithkuil can be
in describing relative position between objects in an absolute manner. This
is best illustrated by narrowly translating into English an Ithkuil sentence
which describes a three-party positional situation.</span><br />
</p>
<blockquote>
<p align="left"><span class="style10"><strong><br />
</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="style9"><img src="images/10-4-3-1.jpg" width="359" height="45" /><br />
Qi’êlafs âmmul âhiogwokstatükai íxi’asa açt<sup>h</sup>u pštâ’at.<span class="style10"> &nbhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/sp;</span></span><span class="style9"><br />
</span><span class="style34">STA-‘woman’-CNR-NRM/DEL/M/CSL/UNI-MVT<span class="style32">1</span>/5-IFL STA-‘child’-ABS-NRM/DEL/M/CSL/UNI-IFL <br />
NNR-CNF-DYN- [incorp. stem: ‘run’]-<span class="style8"><strong>‘Octant-1’</strong></spanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/>-NRM/DEL/U/CSL/UNI-<span class="style40">SSD<span class="style32">1</span>/8</span>-IFL-EXS/ISR FRAMED-DYNhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/-‘see’-CNR-NRM/PRX/M/CSL/UNI-FML <br />
Ref2:OBL-Ref1:1m/Ref2:ua-Ref1:IND STA-<span class="style40">‘Octant-4’-LOC</span>-NRM/DEL/U/CSL/UNI-IFL</span><span class="style9"><br />
</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"><br />
There is no way to translate this Ithkuil sentence into everyday
English except via inadequate approximation, thus: <em>The woman stood still
as the boy ran from ahead and above her, then past her, while
I watched them from behind and below</em>. However, a more exact, narrow translation
of this sentence, capturing all of the positional/orientational specificity
of the original, would run as follows: <br />
</p>
<blockquote class="style10">
<p align="justify"><em>As the woman held still, the boy ran from
a position above, ahead of, and to the right of her relative to the direction
of the sunrise-to-sunset vector, a plane perpendicular to it, and the axis
of gravity, toward a position still above, but behind and to the left of her
relative to the same directional vector, perpendicular plane and gravitational
axis, as I was watching them from below, behind, and to the right of her relative
to the same vector, plane, and axis.</em><span class="style8"><br />
</span></p>
</blockquote>
<div align="justify" class="style10"></div>
<p class="style10"> </p>
<p><font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o4" id="Sec10o4"></a></strong></font></p>
<table width="100%" border="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.4 LEXICAL GENERALIZATION</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In a word-for-word comparison to a Eurocentric vocabulary,
especially one as large as that of English, the Ithkuil lexicon appears very
overgeneralized in many respects. At first impression, it appears that shades
of meaning expressed by multiple words in English are expressed by only one
root in Ithkuil. As we have seen repeatedly throughout this work, this is primarily
due to the fact that shades of meaning for a single underlying cognitive concept
are normally differentiated at the morphological level in Ithkuil, as opposed
to the lexical. Nevertheless, there are several lexico-semantic areas where
Ithkuil truly does generalize in comparison to Western languages. This occurs
primarily where (1) Western vocabulary distinguishes separate lexemes for a
redundant concept based on different participants to, practitioners of, or manifestations
of that concept, and (2) where lexification is at an arbitrarily detailed or
particularized level. These topics are discussed in detail in the following
sections.</p>
<h3 align="justify"><br />
10.4.1 Consolidation of Unnecessary Distinctions</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">As an example of lexical generalization in Ithkuil (or over-lexicalization
in English!), compare the following words for animal vocal sounds: <em>meow,
bark, whinny, chirp, moo, bray</em>, etc. Each of these words mean merely to
make one’s species-specific inherent vocal sound. Ithkuil utilizes only
a single stem for this concept (essentially meaning <em>vocal sound/vocalize</em> – from the same root which gives the stem for <em>(human) voice</em>),
based on the logical assumption that, since cats can’t bark, whinny or
moo, and dogs can’t meow, whinny or moo, there is no need to differentiate
lexically the innate vocal sound being made by an animal if the animal making
the sound is identified in the sentence. Of course, one might argue that English
allows for metaphorical or similative application of such words, as in <em>The
sergeant barked out orders to the platoon</em>, or <em>The baby squealed in
delight.</em> Such constructions are perfectly captured in Ithkuil via the <a href="04_case.html#Sec4o5o9">ESSIVE</a> and <a href="04_case.html#Sec4o5o10">ASSIMILATIVE</a> cases, as in <em>He ‘vocalized’ the orders like a dog</em>, or <em>The
baby ‘vocalized’ like a baby piglet from feeling delight,</em> or
via the manipulation of Function, Incorporation and Format (see <a href="05_verbs_1.html#Sec5o1">Sections 5.1</a> and <a href="06_verbs_2.html#Sec6o4">6.4</a>).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Similar series of English words which reduce to a single stem
in Ithkuil would be (1) <em>herd, flock, pride, gaggle</em>, etc.; (2) <em>haihttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/r,
fur, fleece, coat</em>, etc.; (3) <em>shttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/kin, hide, pelt, pellicle, peel, rind,
lambskin, leather, integument</em>, etc.</p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<h3 align="justify"> 10.4.2 Translative Motion, Paths and Trajectories</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">By translative motion is meant the idea of an object https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/moving
(or being moved) from one location to anothehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/r. English is particularly rich
in its vocabulary to describe the various paths or trajectories of such an object,
not only in regard to the “shape” or form of the path or trajectory,
but also the means of initiating the movement. Thus we have terms such as <em>to
toss, throw, pitch, hurl, fling, roll, run</em>, or <em>pass</em> a ball or
other object. In reaching its destination, the object can <em>fly, float, wing,
pass, arc, sail, plummet, drop, fall, thread, hop, leap, bounce, roll, zig-zag,
slide, glide, slither</em>, or <em>jump</em> its way there.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">As we have seen to be the case in other contexts, Ithkuil lexifies
concepts of translative motion with a focus on the contexts of purpose and outcome,
not on the “innate structure” of the event as an end in itself.
Essentially, Ithkuil is less concerned with how the object gets there and is
more concerned about why it’s going there and whether it arrives. For
example, look at the following two columns of English sentences :</p>
<div align="justify"><br />
<table width="65%" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td width="55%"><blockquote class="style10">
<p><em>I tossed it into
the basket.</em></p>
</blockquote></td>
<td width="45%"><span class="style10"><em>It sailed
into the basket.</em></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote class="style10">
<p><em>I flung it into the
basket.</em></p>
</blockquote></td>
<td><span class="style10"><em>It flew into the basket.</em></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote class="style10">
<p><em>I hurled it into
the basket.</em></p>
</blockquote></td>
<td><span class="style10"><em>It arced its way into
the basket.</em></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote class="style10">
<p><em>I pitched it into
the basket.</em></p>
</blockquote></td>
<td><span class="style10"><em>It fell into the basket.</em></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p align="justify"><font color="#000000"><br />
</font><span class="style10">The sentences in the lefthand column
describes how I initiate the action while those in the righthand column describe
how the object moves. In Ithkuil the lefthand column of sentences would normally
all be translated by a single sentence narrowly translatable as <em>I made it
end up inside the basket</em>, while the righthand column of sentences would
all be translated by the exact same sentence minus the <a href="04_case.html#Sec4o3o4">ERGATIVE</a> personal referent <em>I</em>, thus: <em>It ended up inside the basket</em>.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">So where are the words translating the range of descriptive
nuance surrounding the means of sending it into the basket and the different
trajectories it takes there? In normal Ithkuil speech, such distinctions would
be considered irrelevant. This is because Ithkuil grammar questions all acts,
conditions and events as to their underlying cognitive purpose. For the above
sentences, Ithkuil views them as all having the same undeindex.html express that I have caused an object to pass from a state of being in my alienable
possession to a state of being within the basket, by passing through the physical
space between me and the basket. Therefore there is only one translation for
the varying sentence pairs.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Before the reader begins to think that Ithkuil is incapable
of distinguishing the shades of meaning present in the above examples, it should
be noted that such distinctions can be easily rendered by additional affixes
and words describing these concepts. For example, if it is truly necessary to
indicate that the object was “flung” into the basket, Ithkuil can
augment the sentence <em>I made it end up inside the basket</em> to include
affixes which indicate use of the hand in a sudden recoil-like motion plus affixes
indicating forceful and rapid arrival into the basket, the result being narrowly
translatable as <em>Using my hand in a sudden, subtle, recoil-like motion I
caused it to move quickly away and end up forcefully inside the basket</em>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">While this would more or less accurately capture the nuances
of English “flung,” Ithkuil first makes us stop and ask ourselves,
why is it even necessary to describe the details of the trajectory and the force
initiating it? After all, in a normal everyday contextual setting, if an English
speaker were to use the verb “tossed” or “threw” or
“placed” or “put” instead of “flung” in
the above sentence, would his/her speaker be considered to have been given information
any less sufficient or essential for understanding the message and its purpose?
All of which again illustrates the dynamism of Ithkuil lexico-semantics: if
a complex, highly detailed morphology already conveys a high degree of semantic
and cognitive nuance, why belabor the obvious by reinforcing such nuances at
the lexical level if the context and underlying cognitive purpose of the utterance
does not require it? Thus the Ithkuil language not only captures levels of cognitive
detail beyond the scope of Western languages, but it also allows the speaker
to avoid having to provide such detail when it is inessential.</p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<h3 align="justify"> 10.4.3 No Lexification of Specific Instances of Underlying
Processes</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In regard to over-lexification in English from a Ithkuil perspective,
an example would be <em>limp</em>, as in ‘to walk with a limp.’
Ithkuil recognizes that, in observing a person walking with a limp, it is not
the condition <em>per se</em> that is relevant, but rather the manner in which
the condition causes the person to move, i.e. asymmetrically, irregularly, discontinuously
in an unexpected way inconsistent with a “normal” or “standard”
expectation of walking. Ithkuil speakers would consider English <em>limp</em> to represent an arbitrarily specific occurrence of an underlying state of translative
movement. To a Ithkuil speaker, what is important is the way the person moves.
The idea that a person continues to “have a limp” even when sleeping
or sitting is considered absurd. What the person “continues to have”
is an underlying physical injury, abnormality, disability, illness, or deformity
which causes the person to move asymmetrically when walking. Therefore, instead
of <em>He has a limp because of his war wound,</em> a Ithkuil speaker would
say <em>He walks asymmetrically/irregularly because of his war wound</em>. </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">To illustrate this by analogy, consider a person who, when
dancing to rock music, has a tendency to jerk his/her head to the left at the
sound of the downbeat. Most English speakers would consider it ludicrous over-lexicalization
to propose a verb “spreggle” meaning ‘to jerk one’s
head to the left on the downbeat when dancing,’ as in the hypothetical
sentence <em>She spreggles to rock music</em>. Yet, from the Ithkuil standpoint,
there is no difference in arbitrariness between the hypothetical “spreggle”
and the actual word ‘limp.’</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Based on a combination of the above reasoning surrounding both
animal vocal sounds and ‘limp,’ Ithkuil has no words for ‘blind(ness),’
‘deaf(ness),’ ‘mute(ness),’ ‘dementia,’
or ‘paralysis.’ In Ithkuil, one simply says <em>He can’t see,
She can’t hear, She can’t speak, He can’t think, He can’t
move</em>, or alternately <em>His faculty of sight </em>(or other sense or innate
faculty)<em> doesn’t function/no longer functions</em>. [Note: each of
these sentences would, of course, employ appropriate morphological markers,
case, voice, degrees of affixes, etc. to indicate the extent of functional loss,
whether temporary or permanent, whether increasing or decreasing, whether externally
caused or inherently developed, etc.]</p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o5" id="Sec10o5"></a></strong></font></p>
<table width="98%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.5 LEXICAL DIFFERENTIATION</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">While we have examined the many ways in which the dynamism
and logic of Ithkuil grammar eliminates whole swaths of equivalent English vocabulary,
there are, nevertheless, many concepts where Ithkuil provides autonomous lexical
roots and stems for which neither English nor other Western languages provide
similar words and must resort to paraphrase in order to translate. Such concepts
are particularly found in the realm of human emotions, social relationships,
functional interrelationships between objects, philosophy, psychology, and sensory
phenomena. </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Underlying such differentiation is the idea that the Ithkuil
language is meant to reflect in linguistic terms as close a representation of
human cognition and pre-linguistic epistemological categorization as is possible
in language without resorting to outright linguistic representations of pure
mathematical logic. Since the inner mental life of the speaker is often clouded
in vagueness or artificial “surface” categories once represented
in spoken languages such as English and other Eurocentric languages, a language
which is focused on representing that inner mental life will necessarily require
many more words to describe that life than are commonly available in existing
human languages. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="4"><strong><a name="Sec10o6" id="Sec10o6"></a></strong></font></p>
<table width="99%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC">
<tr>
<td><div><font size="4"><strong>10.6 COMPARISON TO WESTERN CATEGORIZATION</strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Western languages have several words and/or concepts for which
there is no exactly corresponding equivalent in Ithkuil. These include the concepts
embodied in the verb “to be” and “to have.” Ithkuil
has no way of truly expressing copula identification corresponding to “be”
or “being”, nor any direct translation of possession or ownership
equivalent to “have.” Essentially this is because Ithkuil grammar
and lexico-semantics do not recognize inherent existential identification or
inherent existential possession as true semantic functional categories or fundamental
cognitive primitives.</p>
<h3 align="justify"><br />
10.6.1 Translating “To Be”</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Ithkuil grammar inherently recognizes that the universe is,
at any and all moments, and on all scales large and small, in a state of flux.
The idea that any given entity can be permanently or innately identified as
“being” some other entity is considered nonsensical. Ithkuil grammar
has no way of clearly indicating any such notions as “being” or
“to be,” as the universe is a universe of actions or states that
are the results of actions. Even states, as such, are in flux and different
from moment to moment, if only because the mere passage of time itself renders
the “static” condition different than it was the moment before.
Therefore, one cannot “be” anything else, or for that matter “be”
anything at all. Rather, one “does” or “functions as”
or “fulfills a role as” or “manifests itself as” something
else. Fundamental to Ithkuil grammar are the notions of function and purpose,
not mere description; results, not mere means; manifestation, not mere existence.
This explains why there is no true distinction between nouns and verbs in Ithkuil,
both being mere differences in functional roles played by any given formative
concept whose underlying meaning is not inherently nominal or verbal, but rather
a conceptual primitive waiting to be manifested as either (1) a representation
of an action, process, or event, (i.e., a verb), or (2) as a concrete or abstract
entity that is representative of, or embodies the underlying concept (i.e.,
a noun).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10">So, an Ithkuil speaker does not say <em>I am John, She is a
cook, The leaf is green, Stan is ill,</em> or <em>Murder is wrong,</em> but
rather <em>One calls me John, She cooks [for a living], The leaf [currently]
manifests a green color, Stan feels ill [or carries a disease],</em> and <em>Murder
controverts morality</em>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style10 style10"> </p>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10">10.6.2 Translating ‘To Have’</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">In regard to “have” or “having,” Ithkuil
views the concept of possession as breaking down into more specific functional
states and categories, each operating independently and having little relation
to each other. The neutral, default way of expressing “to have” involves placing the possessor in the DATIVE case and utilizing the MANIFESTIVE function of the verb, so that the phrase <em>“I have a book”</em> translates more or less as <em>“There is a book to me.”</em><br />
</p>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10"> </h3>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10"> 10.6.3 ‘Yes,’ ‘No’ and Other Interjections</h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">As there are no interjections in Ithkuil, there are no true
equivalents to “yes” and “no” in Ithkuil. Nevertheless, Ithkuil grammar also allows for the use of Bias suffixes (see <a href="05_verbs_1.html#Sec5o11">Sec. 5.11</a>) to function
as autonomous words to convey attitudes and emotional responses similarly to
interjections in Western languages. This phenomenon has already been discussed
in <a href="08_adjuncts.html#Sec8o4">Section 8.4</a>.
Additionally, <a href="08_adjuncts.html#Sec8o3">Section
8.3</a> described how affixual adjuncts may be used to convey information similarly
to autonomous interjections.</p>
<h3> </h3>
<h3>10.6.4 “WH”-Questions</h3>
<p class="style10">Ithkuil has no equivalent to WH-question words such as <em>whhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/at? where? when? why? how?</em> etc. Instead, statements are made using DIRECTIVE illocution (and hopefully SOLICITIVE bias) to provide the desired information. Thus, instead of asking “Where is the toilet?&rhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/dquo; or “What is your name?” one says “Please stahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/te the toilet’s location” and “Please identify yourself.” </p>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10"> </h3>
<h3 align="justify" class="style10"> 10.6.5 Translating Metaphorically Structured Phrases </h3>
<p align="justify" class="style10">Ithkuil grammar recognizes that much of our understanding and
expression of everyday experience is structured in terms of metaphor and metonymy
(the latter being the reference to an entity by one of its attributes, associations
or activities, as in <em><strong>The ham-and-cheese</strong> wants fries with
his order</em> or <em><strong>The White House</strong> has its nose in our business</em>).
Ithkuil allows for the overt designation of metaphorical concepts by several
means. These include the <a href="03_morphology.html#Sec3o6o3">REPRESENTATIONAL</a> context, stem <a hrehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/f="06_verbs_2.html#Sec6o4">incorporation</a>,
the <a href="07_suffixeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/.html#METsuffix">metonymic MET </a> affix
-<font face="Ahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/rial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>qt</strong></font>,
and the two <a href="07_suffixes.html#PTFsuffix">part-whole
PTF and PTG suffixes</a> -index.htmlspan> and -<span class="style36">š</span>.</p>
<p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><a href="Ch-11%20The%20Script.htm"></a></strong></font> </p>
<blockquote>https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/
<p align="right"><strong><a href="11_script.htm" class="style10">Proceed to Chapter 11: The Writing Syhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/stem >></a></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify" class="style10"> </p>
<p align="justify" class="style10"> </p>
<blockquote>
<table width="88%" border="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td width="14%"> </td>
<td width="4%"> </td>
<td width="19%"><p class="style3"> </p></td>
<td width="23%"><p class="style3"> </p></td>
<td width="20%"> </td>
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<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a href="index.htm">Home</a></spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n></td>
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<td height="24"><a href="00_intro.html"><span clahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ss="style11">Introduction</span></a></td>
<td><a href="04_case.html"><span clashttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/s="style11">4 Case Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="08_adjuncts.html"><span https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/class="style11">8 Adjuncts</span></a></td>
<td><a href="12_numbers.htm"><span clhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ass="style11">12 The Number System</span></a></td>
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<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a href="faqs.html">FAQs</a></spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n></td>
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<td height="18"><a href="01_phonology.html"><spanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ class="style11">1 Phonology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="05_verbs_1.html"><span chttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/lass="style11">5 Verb Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="09_syntax.html"><span clhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ass="style11">9 Syntax</span></a></td>
<td><a href="abbreviations.html"><spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n class="style11">List of Abbreviations</span></a></td>
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<td bordercolor="#CCCCCC" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><span class="style11"><a href="links.html">Links of Inthttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/erest</a></span></td>
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<td height="18"><a href="02_morpho-phonology.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/"><span class="style11">2 Morpho-Phonology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="06_verbs_2.html"><span chttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/lass="style11">6 More Verb Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="10_lexico-semantics.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/"><span class="style11">10 Lexico-Semantics</span></a></td>
<td><a href="lexicon.htm"><span classhttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/="style11">The Lexicon</span></a></td>
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<td><a href="03_morphology.html"><spahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/n class="style11">3 Basic Morphology</span></a></td>
<td><a href="07_suffixes.html"><span https://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/class="style11">7 Suffixes</span></a></td>
<td><a href="11_script.htm"><span clahttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/ss="style11">11 The Writing System</span></a></td>
<td><span class="style11"><a href="texts.html">Texts</a></shttps://web.archive.org/web/20111013044233id_/http:/ithkuil.net/pan></td>
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</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<table width="98%" border="0">
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<td width="18%" height="219"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-quijada/a-grammar-of-the-ithkuil-language/paperback/product-18708279.html" target="_blank"><img src="images/front_cover-small.png" alt="Cover of Ithkuil Grammar book" width="164" height="212" border="0" /></a></td>
<td width="66%" valign="top"><p class="style10"> </p>
<p class="style10">For those who would like a copy of the Ithkuil Grammar<br />
in book form, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-quijada/a-grammar-of-the-ithkuil-language/paperback/product-18708279.html" target="_blank">it is now available!</a> </p>
<p align="right"><span class="style10">And while you’re at it, you can check out the novel I co-<br />
wrote</span><span class="style10"> with my twin brother Paul, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-paul-quijada/beyond-antimony/paperback/product-18831117.html" target="_blank">also now available!</a> </span></p>
<p align="right"><span class="style10">(It’s a political thriller/science fiction story that explores the<br />
philosophical implications of quantum physics, and features<br />
Ithkuil as a “para-linguistic” interface to a quantum computer.)</span></p></td>
<td width="16%" valign="middle"><p class="style10"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-paul-quijada/beyond-antimony/paperback/product-18831117.html" target="_blank"><img src="images/front_cover-novel.png" alt="Cover of "Beyond Antimony" by John & Paul Quijada" width="149" height="217" border="0" align="top" /></a></p></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify">©2004-2011 by John Quijada. You may copy or excerpt any portion of the contents of this website for private, individual, or personal use which is non-commercial in nature and not for purposes of profit. Otherwise, you may copy or excerpt brief portions of the contents of this website in published, web-accessible, or commercially distributed articles, papers or webpages for purposes of review, commentary or analysis, provided you give full attribution to the author and this website. </p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
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