Sentence 1.6

Moving on we have an exchange between the host and his servant, Shinuwin. First the host calls the servant by name, Shinuwin. No use of the vocative marker. This might mean something, I don't know, everyone else will prove to be of equal status.

Shinuwin replies Íe, which means yes. Shinuwin is a good servant, attentive to his master's wishes.

The host calls him over Dâdâ!. It's a reduplicated command. The simple stem for come is dâ. The same verb can be prefixed to other verbs to mean here, hither, to here, to the speaker.

When Shinuwin is in attendance his master gives him his instructions, Ei chomú-dâ kú druí. Yirú shahestant tai tí ta chomú, Someone is at the door; Go and see who it is. Most of this is self-explanatory. (I'm not sure of the order of the subordinate clause yet, we'll see.) Yirú is the simple imperative, it means go! Shahestant is the infinitive following the command and in this case is not joined by a preposition. Tai is a new word introducing the subordinate clause. This language has several different ways of introducing a subordinate clause governed by that or which, and this is the first that we have met. The clause that follows translates as Is he who?

Íe, Shinuwin goes to address the stranger at the door.

Take a look and telling the servant

I have decided that my notes say that the pronoun for 'there' should be the neuter pronoun ten after all. Who is there? becomes A ítí ten chomú?

Onto the next two sentences in the dialogue.

The visitor sitting with the host says 'I will go and see', Bodú yir shahestant, literally I go to take a look. Shahestant is another definite verb and means to take a look. It is more common than the plain verb.

The host replies, 'No need. I will tell Shinuwin to go', Kain gieruk. Bodú bâm Shinuwin a yirant. The word the host uses for telling Shinuwin to do something means 'command' and is perfectly acceptable in this language. Poor Shinuwin! Servants get a bum deal. Fortunately he will prove to be a jolly chap! To tell to do something is joined by the accompanitive preposition which here is a.

It has been a month but I am ready to pick this up again. Lots of new notes made. I figured out the flag for this ficticious language. It is a vertical tricoleur of yellow blue yellow, just like the old books.