Semantics of gjâ-zym-byn
(including derivational morphology)

• Overview of derivational morphology
  • Numbers
  • Derivation from numbers
  • Math
  • Comparison of suffixes and clitics with Esperanto equivalents
  • Attitudinal suffixes
• "To be"
• Miscellaneous notes on semantic fields
  • Subjective qualities and mental states
  • "To know"
  • Buying, selling, commercial things
  • "Maybe": še / be
  • New, Young and Old
  • Past tense: mje / šy / dân
  • Prayer
  • Geography
  • Kinship terms
  • Love and Friendship

All content root words are nouns. I add suffixes to get verbs & adjectives/adverbs. E.g.

Some root words have a broad meaning, which can generally be narrowed in an idiomatic way by the suffix {-cjaj}.

Others (far more) have a narrow meaning, and a more general word is derived with {-tôn}.

I suspect idiomatic compounds such as these are easier to learn than completely separate, unrelated root words. I'm not sure if I can verify this suspicion without a properly controlled experiment, though.

Special adjective meanings are derived from some concrete nouns with {-rô}. They either abstract some of the root's qualities to make a general adjective, or form a metaphor.

The metaphorical use suffix {-ga} is productive (you can use it to explicitly mark any metaphorical use of a word), but with certain words it has a conventional, defined meaning.

Similar to but distinct from {-ga} is the metonymic suffix {-gôm}:

{-gôm} is also used to derive a word for an author's work (their sole or best-known work, or a contextually salient one) from their name.

herǒdǒtǒs-ram-gôm	kâ-i	lju-zô	jǒj	de.
Herodotus-NAME-METONYM	ATT-at	read-V.ACT	again	HAB
I'm reading Herodotus [i.e. his Histories] again lately.

Compounding of nominal roots is normally head-morpheme-first, modifier-morphemes following.

However, there are a few root words that I call "suffixoid", which logically ought to be the head morpheme and come first, but which actually suffix. E.g.,

Why this irregularity? Early on I was undecided about the order in which morphemes compound, and had some inconsistency. Probably by August 1998 I decided definitively that the order should be head-first, and I fixed most of the compound words in the lexicon to fit this order. However, there were a few words I had already learned well that used these particular morphemes, and I decided I didn't want to lose ground with respect to learning vocabulary; so I made these morphemes "suffixoid". Suffixoid content morphemes are not an open class.

Numbers

Originally, only the primes and other interesting constants had root words; all composites were expressed by compound words or phrases. After about four years, finding that this system was fun but not very practical, I added root words for powers of 10 and of 16. There are multiple ways to express composite numbers — with math conjunctions, or simply by compounding the core number morphemes together. If number-morphemes are compounded in lesser to greater order, they multiply. If in greater to lesser order, they add.

Base-ten numeration:

Powers of 10:

Powers of 16:

Hexadecimal numbers:

0xFFFF = dâ-ðy-ĝyŋ-vâl-dâ-ðy-vâl-dâ-ðy-ĝyŋ-dâ-ðy

Words for non-integral constants:

Derivation from numbers

Fractions are formed with the conjunction {ðe} (divided by). If the initial number is omitted, {cĭ} (one) is assumed.

Before {se} (minus), the default number is {bâ} (zero).
Before {me} (raised to the power of) the default number is {ĉu} (two).

Numbers are, like other root morphemes, basically nouns; {ĉu} signifies "the number two" as a mathematical object, or "the set of all sets with two members"; and so on with the other number morphemes. To apply numbers as quantifying adjectives, use the adjectival suffix {-bô}.

ƥ	ðy-bô	o	grâm-zô.
3	five-ADJ	to	message-V.ACT

I sent a message to the five of them.

Ќ	mĭ-i	cĭ-van	žǒŋ.
1	TOP-at	one-V.STATE	merely

There's only one of me.

Ordinals are derived with {-pa}.

etc.

(Glossing abbreviations)

twâ-cu	ĥy-i	kě'ĝu-zô	cĭ-pa.
sentence-system	PAT-at	hide-V.ACT	one-ORD

I hid the book first.

Time-period ordinals are formed with {-gla}. What time-period such a word refers to depends on context.

!hâ-gla	i	Ќ	o	ruŋ-zô	mwe	ť	tu-i.
seventeen-ORD.T	at	1	to	go-V.ACT	IMP	2	AGT-at

Please come at seventeen (= 5pm); or, Please come on the seventeenth (of this month)

Dates are written as : year{-gla} month{-gla} day-of-month{-gla}. E.g.

źî'fu-gla	ðy-gla	ju-gla
1999	May	29

That day at 7:37 AM:

źî'fu-gla	ðy-gla	ju-gla	fy-gla	ky-gla
1999	May	29	7:	37

For 7:13 on an unspecified day, start with {hyr} (hour) — otherwise it would imply July 13:

hyr	fy-gla	ĝu-gla
hour	seven-ORD.T	thirteen-ORD.T

Names of days of the week can be formed with {-ŋla}. That suffix doesn't apply only to numbers, though.

Relative time is expressed with {-pa} ordinals, including negative ordinals.

The suffix {-lwa} means "approximately" and is used primarily with number words, often with one of the other suffixes appropriate to numbers.

ĝu-lwa-gla	i	vâ-oŋ-zô	de	Ќ-ƥ.
thirteen-approximate-ORD.T	at	digestion-into-V.ACT	extended.now	1-3
We're eating [lunch] at 1:00 pm these days.

mluj	fĭw-câŋ	om	ruŋ-zô
small.convention	fiction-experimental.science	to-part.of	go-V.ACT

mâ	dâ-tĭm-lwa-bô	tu-i.
person	three-hundred-approximate-ADJ	AGT-at
About 300 people came to the science fiction convention.

Math

2 + 5 = 7

7 > 3

2^5 = 31 + 1

-2 > -3

Comparison of suffixes and clitics with Esperanto equivalents

Suffixes in gzb are different from most affixes in Esperanto. Mostly they don't have a meaning of their own, but a pattern for changing something else's meaning. So they can't stand on their own like E-o affixes can.

These don't change the grammatical category of a word.

For more on {-sra}, see the section on comparison in the grammar document.

The use of {-ra} is partly the same as that of Esperanto -ad, except that for the sense of continuous rather than repeated, intermittent action, I use compounds with the root {vĭj} (time-period) instead:

These, like {-rô} and {-ga} mentioned earlier, are idiomatic, like Esperanto "-um":

Zipf's law — things that one talks about more often should have shorter names. For some categories the specifics are talked about more often, for others the genera. For instance,

râm -> râm-tôn.

If one lives with a cat, or has friends who do, one talks/thinks more about cats than about animals in general.

grâm -> grâm-cjaj

One often talks about sending a message to someone; less often one has to specifically state that one sent an email.

These don't correspond exactly to E-o "-eg, -et" as in "domego, dometo". With substantial roots, their use resembles the use of "-et" and "-eg" in "rideto", "pordego". E.g., E-o "hometo", a small human; but gzb {mâ-θô}, subhuman, Homo habilis. But {mâ-ny}: a small human, a dwarf or child (Esperanto etulo). With quality and action roots their meaning is more straightforward.

These suffixes make the resultant word an adjective.

Here is a good place to explain what I meant earlier about how affixes can't stand alone in gzb. If this were Esperanto, {kwa} by itself would just mean "color". (gzb: {fu-θy}, light-element.) But, consider:

zym-zô	fu-θy	mĭ-i.
think-V.ACT	light-element	TOP-at
I think about color.

If I said:

zym-zô kwa mĭ-i *

it would mean: color-of-thinking [topic]. Poetical, but not a complete sentence. {-kwa} holds a pattern for forming meaning from meaning, not a meaning of its own.

{-ðwa} can be used with a person's name to form an adjective describing those who support them, e.g., believe them innocent when they are accused of something, or {-ĝa} to form an adjective describing those who oppose them or believe them guilty:

tĭm-fî'suň-bly	ħy-pa	š-i-ŋ,	fraňs-wam	i-ŋ
hundred-Earth-orbit	19-ORD	after-at-inside	France-NAME.P	inside

mâ	draj'fîs-šam-ðwa	pe	draj'fîs-šam-ĝa	tu-i	sî'ðyr-ga-źa-môj.
people	Dreyfus-NAME.F-pro	and	Dreyfus-NAME.F-anti	AGT-at	fight-METAPH-V.RECP
In the late nineteenth century in France, Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards fought intensely.

The root takes on a verbish sense even if not an action root — one doesn't need to insert {zô} or another verb suffix. E.g., {vlym-sô}, tending to wear clothes, having a nudity taboo. {plĭ-sô}, tending to take pills. (Compare "gastema, librema, orema" in Esperanto.)

Another "um"-type suffix. It forms adjectives by picking out an interesting quality of the root concrete noun. {râm-rô}, independent. It can be metaphorical: {pwĭm-rô}, humble.

All these suffixes that form adjectives can also be used as adverbs. Really there's no distinction in form in gzb; if it comes after a noun or pronoun it's an adjective, if after a verb, an adverb.

These clitics are similar to the Esperanto correlatives, and form demonstratives, question- and relative-pronouns. (See the detailed treatment in the grammar document.)

These correspond to "mal" or "ne" in Esperanto. (Also compare {heŋ} (not), {źǒ} (please, no!), {bâ} (zero), and {-ta} (without).)

{cô} is used for scales that extend (for practical purposes) indefinitely in both directions. {fja} if there's an absolute zero, or a non-arbitrary zero point at the middle. Sometimes both can be used for different senses, e.g.

{θaj} is used for inverses of actions, & for complementary, asymmetric relationships.

These are applied only to numbers and quantity-words.

These form nouns. Several of them correspond to the polysemous Esperanto -aĵ (thing, stuff) and -il (tool).

Also the suffixoid root {ŋĭw}, a body part or faculty; between them {-ha}, {-ĉa}, and {ŋĭw} break up the polysemous "-ilo" terrain.

These suffixes form words for types of person, corresponding roughly to -er and -ist in English, -an and -ist in Esperanto.

ħĭn-kô	ř-ŋ	câ-zô	ruŋ-kě'ĝu-zô	ħĭn-ta-zwa	srǒ.
confine-place	from-inside	try-V.ACT	go-secret-V.ACT	confinement-without-would.be	several
Several would-be escapees tried to sneak out of the prison.

 

-ĵwa	-ejo; place with lots of ~
šĭm-ĉa-ĵwa	komputilejo; computer lab
-kô	-ejo; place where one does ~
ðurm-kô	laborejo; workplace

Also the normal root word {tyn}, a place.

Comparable to the plural ending and collective suffix "-j" and "-ar" in Esperanto, I have:

Also the suffixoid roots {cu}, a system, and {kwĭ}, a sequence; the clitic quantifiers {srǒ} (several), {reŋ} (many), {pen} (all), and of course many specific number morphemes.

These suffixes form verbs, and are discussed in detail in the grammar document.

The functions of Esperanto "-ig" and "-iĝ" are fulfilled in gzb by:

1. {ca} / {van} / {zô} distinction - e.g.,

2. The state postpositions {jâ-i, jâ-o, jâ-ř}

ƥ	mĭ-i	šyj-bô	jâ-i.
3	TOP-at	clean-ADJ	state-at
He's clean.

ƥ	mĭ-i	šyj-bô	jâ-o.
3	TOP-at	clean-ADJ	state-to
He gets clean.

rě'tâ	ĥy-i	zuň-cô-bô	jâ-o	râm	tu-i
rat	PAT-at	life-OPP2-ADJ	state-to	cat	AGT-at
The cat kills the rat.

3. {-fwa} and {-hôw}

{-fwa} by itself corresponds to adjectival "-iga"; it is also commonly used with {-zô}, = "-igi". {-hôw} has no Esperanto equivalent. This slight variation on {-fwa} allows me to derive compounds for several concepts that Esperanto needs separate roots for. For instance, instrui != lernigi, kuraci != sanigi; but:

4. {-žar}

These two suffixes correspond to Esperanto's polysemous "bo-":

See other examples under "Kinship terminology".

These gzb suffixes have no Esperanto equivalent.

 

-ma	meta, recursive, indirect
kyn	parent
kyn-ma	grandparent
tâ	sibling
tâ-ma	cousin
gyn	shape, especially polygon
gyn-ma	fractal

 

-dô	violation of standard ~
-ja	in accordance with ~, fitting or suitable to ~
fĭm	health
fĭm-ja	healthy
fĭm-dô	an unhealthy act or habit
žâj	the moral law
žâj-ja	moral, right
žâj-dô	sin
ĝâ	human law
ĝâ-dô	crime, lawbreaking
ðâ	logic
ðâ-dô	paradox; inconsistency; illogic
ðurm	work
vlym ðurm-ja	work clothes

 

-hô	qualities a ~ can potentially have
-ĵam	the kind of thing that can have quality ~
-pôm	derives evidentiality adverb from root word

The suffixes {-hô} and {ĵam} are a bit tricky, and admittedly less frequently useful than most of the other suffixes in gzb. {-hô} derives a word for the qualities a particular kind of thing can have. For instance, {mâ-hô} refers to all the qualities that people can have, or (in a lingustics context) all the modifiers that could appear modifying a word for person. E.g., intelligent, foolish, pious, angry, female, healthy, etc. {gâ-zuň-hô} refers to the qualities (or modifiers that refer to qualities) that living things in general can have — a subset of {mâ-hô} because {mâ} are a subset of {gâ-zuň}.

Nouns derived from adjectives with {-ĵam} refer to the set of things that can have the quality described by the root (or nouns that can be modified by such adjectives, in a linguistic context) — those things for which having that quality would not be a meaningless notion or a contradiction in terms, whether they actually have much of those qualities or not. For instance, {ĉâ-ĵam} refers to the set of things which might be described as intelligent — all sentient beings, human or otherwise — even if some particular ones would be more aptly described as stupid ({ĉâ-cô-bô}). {Φu-ĵam} describes all physical things (even those which actually have zero rest mass).

For {-pôm} and the use of evidentiality adverbs derived from it, see the relevant section of the grammar document.

 

-Φa	thing, stuff that's a result of action described by root
-ŋô	chemical that's primary/active incredient of root substance

I think more often of tea ({těn'ju}) than of caffeine ({těn'ju-ŋô}), etc. Zipf's law again.

 

-šar	form conjunction from root
vĭj-šar	next, then (a while later)
nu-šar	next, then (a moment later)
gân-šar	because (as a result of) [less specific than than wǒj, ŝǒj, ʝǒj]
kujm-šar	for, in order to

 

-baw	derives phonemic terms from example words
šî'fy-baw	fricative consonant

{-baw} derives a word for a type of phoneme from an example word that contains two or more phonemes that belong to that class. E.g. {kě'pâ-baw} signifies "stop (plosive) consonants". I'm not sure I'll keep this long-term because given gzb's morphophonology, it's hard to come up with sample words for all the categories of vowel.

All proper names are marked with a suffix indicating the kind of thing named.

The distinct name suffixes allow me to unambiguously put names in the normal order for their native language, i.e. personal name + family name for English, family name + personal name for Hungarian, etc. Mostly these apply to foreign names and titles; however, they could apply to gjâ-zym-byn words which are used as names or titles, e.g. if a foreign name or title is translated rather than merely transliterated. For instance,

If {-šam} follows a family name that ends in a fricative, then an epenthetic schwa is inserted in pronunciation (though not in writing).

smĭθ-šam

/'smIθ.ə.çɑm/

These Esperanto affixes have equivalents that in gjâ-zym-byn are regular root morphemes (or compounds). But in E-o there's not such a sharp distinction between suffix & root.

Attitudinal suffixes

These correspond roughly to -ĉj-, -nj- & -aĉ- in Esperanto. They are suffixed to a word to show the speaker's attitude towards it (unlike the attitudinals in Lojban, as far as I understand them, which seem to indicate the speaker's attitude toward a whole situation, and are more numerous and specific). They bind more weakly than other suffixes except the verb endings, so they would follow any other suffixes applied.

gym-tla-ķa
honorable leader

rě'ĵy-la
my dear wife

źy-ba
a dream both good and bad

mâ-ħa
scoundrel, rascal

θuň-ŋa
a surprising story

"To be"

Several languages use a verb "to be" to signify a variety of conditions and relationships. I want to avoid that polysemy here.

Existence

râm mĭ-i bĭŋ-van.
cat TOP-at existence-V.STATE
There is a cat.

or:

râm gǒ.
cat behold
Look, a cat!

Description, state, situation:

twâ-cu	pǒ	mĭ-i	pym-fwa	ŋĭn-i
sentence-system	DEM3	TOP-at	amusement-CAUS	CMT-at

That book is funny.

šĭm-tla	jâ-i.
algorithm-professional	state-at

I'm a programmer.

ĝor'ĝě-wam	mĭ-i	tĭn'ě'sij-wam	ħ-i-n	tyn-van.
Georgia-NAME.P	TOP-at	Tennessee-NAME.P	south-at-contact	place-V.STATE

Georgia is [directly] south of Tennessee.

Subset:

Φě'ĥu-tôn	muw-i	lě'pâ	mĭ-i.
elephant-GNR	subset-in	bat	TOP-at

A bat is a mammal.

Equality:

ĉu	pe	ðy	θe	fy	mĭ-i	sâm-van.
2	plus	5	as	7	TOP-at	same-V.STATE

2 + 5 = 7

Miscellaneous notes on semantic fields

Subjective qualities and mental states

gjâ-zym-byn has a fairly large set of specific words for mental states (emotions, etc.). Subjective qualities of things are not named in gzb by root words, but by adjectives derived from mindstate words with (usually) the causative suffix {-fwa}.

Core emotions:

huw	happiness, contentment
pwĭ	delight
ĥĭn	disgust, revulsion
ĥul	anger, fury, wrath
ĵyn	intellectual pleasure; satisfied curiosity
sru	desire
sru-ĵyn	curiosity
cĭm	care, worry, anxiety, emotional involvement
fâ	affection, love (of persons)
fjâw	awe, wonder
wlâ	shock, surprise, consternation
prym	aesthetic pleasure, appreciation of beauty
pym	amusement, hilarity
ħum	fear
sjum	thanks, gratefulness

Subjective quality terms derived from those:

Physical reactions:

Subjective quality terms derived from those:

Some more complex states:

Quality terms derived from those:

There are more where those came from, in the lexicon.

mwĭň-ƥ-van	wǒj	ƥ	dâm-ř	twâ-cu
embarrassment-3-V.STATE	because	3	authorship-from	sentence-system

gě'dĭm-ja	kâ-i	lju-zô	mje	kuln-cô.
day-by	ATT-at	read-V.ACT	past	friend-OPP2
He is embarrassed because a stranger has read his diary.

bĭm-ĵwa	oŋ	ruŋ-zô	₣âl-bô	kyn-ŝâm-ba,	vĭj	lǒ	i
drained.container-place	into	go-V.ACT	sudden-ADJ	parent-womb-AMBIV	time	REL	at

bĭm-pwĭm-daj	iŋ	šyj-Ќ-ca,	nu-šar
drained.container-water-mass	inside	clean-1-V.REFL	moment-CONJ

bě'lâm	jâ-o	Ќ.
embarrassment	state-to	1
Mom barged into the bathroom while I was in the bathtub, and I became embarrassed.

(Note the use of the ambivalent attitude suffix {-ba} on {kyn-ŝâm} in this context.)

źu-van,	hǒŋ	ķĭw-van	palij-ram-ħa	hǒŋ	Ќ
hope-V.STATE	that	shame-V.STATE	Polly-NAME-DISLIKE	that	1

dâm-ř	θuň	čĭ-ř	syj-zô	lju-θaj-zô	bâň-ta.
authorship-from	story	copy-from	use-V.ACT	read-OPP1-V.ACT	permission-without
I hope Polly is ashamed of herself for copying my story without permission.

{fjâw}, {wlâ}, and {kě'pâ}:

fî'suň	bij	fu-cu	pân-kwa	kâ-i
Earth	north-of-near	light-system	everything-color	ATT-at

fjâw-van	ser'ě-ram.
awe-V.STATE	Sarah-NAME

Sarah is in awe of the Aurora Borealis.

wlâ-fwa-van,	ðǒŋ	mâ-ŝy	pǒ	lĭw-o
astonishment-CAUSE-V.STATE	that.subj	person-female	3DEM	REL-to

rě'ĵy-θaj	jâ-o	sun-bô-ŋa	naj'ĝel-ram.
wife-OPP1	role-to	end-ADJ-SURPRISE	Nigel-NAME
It's astonishing that Nigel finally married that woman.

ƥ-ŝy	dâm-ř	twâ-cu	fĭ-₣um-da	mĭ-i
3-female	authorship-from	sentence-system	syllable-similar-full	TOP-at

kě'pâ-fwa-van.
happy.bewilderment-CAUSE-V.STATE
Her poem is pleasantly bewildering.

"To know" (to wit, to ken) / savoir, connaître / wissen, kennen / scii, koni, sperti ktp...

English tends to bundle these meanings together in one word of broad meaning. Esperanto follows other western European languages in distinguishing acquaintance with persons, etc., from knowledge of facts and sciences. {gzb} makes a different kind of distinction in its three main "know" verbs.

hyw-van	dejv-ram	kâ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	Dave-NAME	ATT-at

I know (am well acquainted with) Dave.

kun-van	tam-ram	kâ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	Tom-NAME	ATT-at

I've heard of (but haven't met, or if so only casually) Tom.

hyw-van	źĭ-šĭm	mĭ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	science-algorithm	TOP-at

I know (have real working knowledge of) computer science.

kun-van	ljâw-gjâ	mĭ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	observational.science-language	TOP-at

I know something about (but haven't practiced) field linguistics.

The difference in {hyw} vs. {kun} is directness or depth of knowledge.

I make a further distinction between {hyw} & {suŋ}, the latter implying more practical competence:

kun-van	suomi-lam	gjâ-i.
know.indirectly-V.STATE	Finnish-NAME.L	language-at

I've studied, but never much used, Finnish.

hyw-van	fraňs-lam	gjâ-i.
know.experience-V.STATE	French-NAME.L	language-at

I've studied & used (but am not perfectly fluent in) French.

suŋ-van	esperanto-lam	gjâ-i.
know.how-V.STATE	Esperanto-NAME.L	language-at

I know (am fluent in) Esperanto.

{hyw-van} can also mean "to remember", and {hyw-ŋĭw} means "experiential memory".

Buying, selling, commercial things

The main root words for this field are {ŝâj} (possession of goods), {wuŋ} (ownership), {kâj} (exchange), and {ƴâwn} (lending).

kaĵ-zô	twâ-cu-vuj	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-o.
exchange-V.ACT	sentence-system-concrete	PAT-at	1	possession-to

I buy a book.

twâ-cu	reŋ	mĭ-i	Ќ	ŝâj-i.
sentence-system	many	TOP-at	1	possession-at

I have many books.

kâj-zô	twâ-cu-vuj	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-ř.
exchange-V.ACT	sentence-system-concrete	PAT-at	1	possession-from

I sell a book.

{wuŋ} is not often used except when it is in contrast to {ŝâj}, when someone owns something but doesn't have it in their possession:

kaj'sar-ķam	ŝâj-o	kaj'sar-ķam	wuŋ-i	gâ	ĥy-i	ƴâwn-cô-zô	mwe,
Caesar-NAME.T	possession-to	Caesar-NAME.T	ownership-at	thing	PAT-at	lend-OPP2-V.ACT	IMP

kiň	θě'ku	ŝâj-o	θě'ku	wuŋ-i	gâ	ĥy-i.
and	God	possession-to	God	ownership-at	thing	PAT-at

Repay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

Other useful derivations:

"Maybe": še / be

Both these modifiers are glossed as "maybe". Their usage differs. {še} mainly relates to uncertainty in the speaker's knowledge. {be} focuses on uncertainty of one's plans and intentions.

ɱ-ĉu	mĭ-i	ĝĭ-źa-van	še.
3-two	TOP-at	big-AUG-V.STATE	maybe.fact

They might be giants.

ƥ	mĭ-i	ty	i	tyn-van	še.
3	TOP-at	home	at	place-V.STATE	maybe.fact

Maybe he is at home.

kâj-kô	o	ruŋ-zô	be.
exchange-place	to	go-V.ACT	maybe.intention

I might go to the store.

New, Young and Old

Some languages (classical Greek, for instance) have a single word (e.g. "neos") corresponding to English "new" and "young", French "nouveau" and "jeune", etc. gjâ-zym-byn makes a distinction between {bâm-bô} "new" and {ĵĭn-bô} "young", but this is partly a difference in degree as well as a difference in the kind of object these adjectives are applied to and the way they are used in forming compound words.

{bâm} can refer to anything that is newly created, made, born, etc. {ĵĭn} refer to young living things, primarily to those who aren't yet full-grown, but in some contexts to those who are younger than expected or younger than other living beings with whom a (perhaps implicit) contrast is being made. The use of these quality-roots as modifiers in compounds, or with {-bô} as stand-alone adjectives, is to some extent in free variation but can involve a difference in emphasis.

mâ-bâm	ĥy-i	šyj-zô	šu-tla	ĵĭn-bô.
person-new	PAT-at	clean-V.ACT	care-professional	young-ADJ
The young nurse washes the baby.

gjâ-zym-byn also distinguishes several senses which English lumps together under the word "new".

mâ-ĵĭn	ĥy-i	šyj-zô	šu-tla	šuŋ-bô.
person-young	PAT-at	clean-V.ACT	care-professional	new-ADJ
The recently graduated nurse washes the child.

twâ-cu	cĭln-cô-bô	srǒ	ĥy-i	Ќ	ŝâj-o	kâj-zô.
sentence-system	new-OPP2-ADJ	several	PAT-at	1	possession-to	exchange-V.ACT
I bought several books I had already read.

twâ-cu	šuŋ-bô	kǒ	ĥy-i	swyŋ-ʝa	cu-ja	oŋ	tyn-zô	θǒ.
sentence-system	new-ADJ	DEM1	PAT-at	desk-ROT	system-by	into	place-V.ACT	immediate
I put these newly acquired books into the suitable shelves right away.

There are several words meaning "old" in gzb. {hân} signifies that something or someone has been around long enough to be proven good or improved or otherwise is highly esteemed because of its age. {pě'lâ} means that something has been around long enough to wear out, or that a more useful replacement has become easily available. It's most often used of electronics and reference books. A neutral term is {bâm-cô}, un-new. It's used only when you don't have an opinion about the quality of something old. Other related terms include:

Words for past time: mje / šy / dân

All these refer to things past.

{mje} refers to a past aspect of something that may (or mayn't) still be around. Most often it forms a "past tense" for verbs. But it can clitic onto a (pro)noun & emphasize its past versions, as in

{šy} describes something formerly in some role or state, as in English "ex-wife", "former president".

{dân} describes something no longer existing or alive or effective. It's more polite (& terse) than {zuň-cô-bô}, "dead".

Sometimes all are appropriate to the same object, of course, but with different meanings.

Prayer

There's no one root word (or single cusomary compound) corresponding to the English "prayer" (or E-o 'preĝi'). One can use the same root words and compounds that refer to talking with (or at) other physically present humans (etc.) to describle talking with God and the saints.

*râm-tôn	kyw-ža	pen	hǒ,	pâŋ	ŋâw-o	twâ-prym-zô	mwe.
cat-GNR	lung-having	all	VOC	lord	call-to	say-appreciation.of.beauty-V.ACT	IMP

Everything that has breath, praise the Lord.

Geography

In {gzb} the directions are named by bound morphemes that occur only in postpositions (e.g. {bi, gi, ħi, źi}: north, east, south, west). One can't use these as nominals or adjectives to describe regions or people; one must explicitly state "region in the north of ~", "person from the south of ~", etc. E.g.,

ĝor'ĝě-wam	b-i-ŋ	šun
Georgia-NAME.P	north-at-inside	region

north Georgia

usa-wam	gě-ħ-ř-ŋ	mâ
U.S.A.-NAME.P	east-south-from-inside	person

a Southerner

Other useful terms:

vlě'tâ-θaj-źa (continent) refers to continuous masses like Eurasia/Africa or America; vlě'tâ-θaj-źa fy-bô (seven continents) in gzb would probably refer to Eurasia/Africa, America, Antarctica, Australia, Greenand, New Guinea, and Borneo.

Kinship terms

Core kinship terms and derivations from them

There are four root words in gjâ-zym-byn from which all other kinship terms are derived:

These can be modified by other root words in compounds, or by certain suffixes:

Twin siblings are described as:

With {-ma}, "meta":

{-ma} means a relationship is applied recursively. {kyn-ma} is plainly "parent's parent" and {fru-ma} "child's child"; {tâ-ma} may require more explanation. {tâ} refers to one's parent's children (zeroth cousins) other than oneself, and {tâ-ma} to one's grandparent's grandchildren other than those who are also one's parent's children.

Note how {-ma} works when applied more than once:

Is something missing here? {kyn-ma-ma} of course means one's grandparent's grandparent, {tâ-ma-ma} one's grandparents' grandparents' grandchildren's grandchildren, etc. To fill in the gaps, I use the conjunction {me} "raised to the power" with appropriate numbers:

...etc. (This gives an interesting synonym for {mym} "self": {tâ-me-bâ}, sibling to the zeroth power.)

The complement-opposite suffix {-θaj} is chiefly used in this system for {rě'ĵy-θaj}, "husband", but can also derive synonyms:

{-tôn}, the generalizer suffix, derives:

[Aside: why is {rě'ĵy} "wife" the only kinship root in which an inherent gender distinction is made? — the only root in gzb with an inherent gender distinction besides {ŝy} "female" and {vĭ} "male", for that matter? Pure orneriness — I was amused at complaints about Esperanto deriving "edzino" (wife) from "edzo" (husband) {it's actually more complicated; "edzo" is etymologically a back-formation from "edzino", which comes (depending on who you believe) from German "Prinzessin" (princess) or Yiddish "Rabetsin" (rabbi's wife)} and I thought it would be fun to derive "husband" and "spouse" from "wife", rather than tamely derive "wife" and "husband" from "spouse" as the staider auxlangs and engelangs all seem to do nowadays.]

Diagonal relationships

Diagonal relationships use {tâ} with one of the other blood-kin root words:

Adoptive, half-, in-law and step-relationships

Adoptive relationships are denoted by the modifying use of the root {gu}, "choice, selection". It is of course applied somewhat polysemously:

{tâ-gu} can also apply to close friends who consider themselves as close as siblings, in which case {gu} signifies that they chose each other.

Half-siblings (sharing only one parent) and half-cousins (sharing only one grandparent) are denoted with basic kinship terms plus the fuzzy logic clitic {fjǒ}:

gjâ-zym-byn derives words for in-law and step-relationships with two symmetrical suffixes:

So the English "brother-in-law" or "sister-in-law" would be translated in at least two ways,

In fact there is also

The first of these relationships English also describes as "brother-" or "sister-in-law" (at least in my dialect); as for the second, I'm not sure if English has a term for it.

An interesting property of these suffixes is how they work with {kyn}, "parent", and {fru}, "child", in comparison to how English describes the same relationships:

English considers the more salient property of the relationship to be whether it involves a remarriage after death or divorce, while gzb considers the more salient property to be whether the person is related to you through your spouse or is a spouse of someone you're blood kin to. Or so it seems to me; alternate analyses welcome.

For "stepbrother/sister", a derivation similar to the terms for uncle/aunt is used:

Relationship verbs and role markers

The genitive-of-relationship is expressed by the postposition {lĭw-i} (personal.relationship-at). So,

Ќ	lĭw-i	kyn-ma-vĭ-ķa	mĭ-i
1	relationship-at	parent-meta-male-RESPECT	TOP-at

trĭ-šun-tla	šy-bô	ŋĭn-i.
measure-region-professional	former-ADJ	CMT-at
My honored grandfather is a retired land surveyor.

Note too the use of the respectful attitudinal suffix {-ķa}. In actual usage, most family relationship terms are apt to be marked with one of the attitudinal suffixes.

Entering into a new relationship can be expressed with the the postpositions {lĭw-o} (relationship-to) and {jâ-o} (role-to):

ser'ě-ram	lĭw-o	rě'ĵy-θaj	jâ-o	tam-ram.
Sarah-NAME	relationship-to	wife-OPP1	role-to	Tom-NAME
Tom got married to Sarah (became a husband to her).

If you replace each {o} in the sentence above with {i}, it would mean "Tom is married to Sarah / is Sarah's husband".

Kinship terms can be used as stative verb roots, e.g

tam-ram	lĭw-i	rě'ĵy-van	ser'ě-ram.
Tom-NAME	relationship-at	wife-V.STATE	Sarah-NAME
Sarah is Tom's wife.

{lĭw} can also be used as a stative verb, in which case the more generic relationship postposition {ðĭ-i} marks its complement:

frejnk-ram	stântn-šam	ðĭ-i	ru	kwǒ	i	lĭw-Ќ-van	kyn-ma-vĭ-pôm.
Frank-NAME	Stanton-NAME.F	relationship-at	manner	some	at	family.relationship-1-V.STATE	parent-meta-EVD
I'm kin to Frank Stanton somehow, according to my grandfather.

Love and Friendship

gzb makes more distinctions than English, with its polysemous "love", but fewer than Greek, with its storge, philia, eros and agape. The fundamental action and mindstate roots are:

Most typically {gy} is used with the action verb suffix {-zô} and {fâ} with the stative verb suffix {-van}, but the reverse is possible for special emphasis, and the reflexive and reciprocal verb suffixes have potential uses with these roots as well.

ƥ-vĭ	kâ-i	fâ-van	ƥ-ŝy.
3-male	ATT-at	love-V.STATE	3-female
She loves him [feels love toward him].

fâ-môj	ƥ-ĉu.
love-V.RECP	3-two
They love each other.

ɱ	lĭw-i	fru-ŝy	ĥy-i	fâ-zô	kyn-ŝâm.
3	relationship-at	child-female	PAT-at	love-V.ACT	parent-womb
The mother physically expresses love toward her daughter [hugs or caresses her, e.g.].

ɱ	lĭw-i	rě'ĵy	ŋâw-o	twâ-fâ-žu-zô	hikaru-ram.
3	relationship-at	wife	call-to	say-love-gentle-V.ACT	Hikaru-NAME
Hikaru whispers sweet nothings to his wife.

ĉǒ	gjâ	mâ-dal	pe	šî'fy-grâm-tla-dal	syj-i	gju-Ќ-zô,
if	language	human-origin	and	spirit-message-professional-origin	use-at	speak-1-V.ACT

mǒj	gy	ðĭ-i	ŝu-van	heŋ,	ĥâl-sjân	nĭŋ-bô	rej	kîm'bâl
but	love	relationship-at	have.quality-V.STATE	not	copper-tin	ring-ADJ	or	cymbal

ħâň-bô	₣um-i	jâ-o.
roar-ADJ	similar-at	state-to

If I speak in the languages of humans and of angels, but don't have love, I become like a ringing brass or a roaring cymbal.

mâ	bâ-bô	kâ-i	bâl-van,	mâ	pen	kâ-i	gy-van,	~~~
person	zero-ADJ	ATT-at	hate-V.STATE	person	all	ATT-at	love-V.STATE	...
With malice toward none, with charity toward all...

{fâ} can be made more specific with adjectives or compounded root words.

etc. The "love" roots can be used with the core postposition {i} to form compound postpositions:

θě'ku	gy-i	mâ	kâj-ha-ta	ĥy-i	θĭ-zô	de	mje
God	love-at	person	exchange-stuff-without	PAT-at	help-V.ACT	HAB	PAST

kolkata-wam	im	teresa-ram-ķa	pî'hâ-bô.
Calcutta-NAME.P	part.of	Teresa-NAME-ATD4	holy-ADJ
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta served the poor for the love of God.

(Aside: "of" (or "de", "van", "von", etc.) in people's names and epithets is translated differently depending on whether it indicates where they were from or where they ended up being strongly associated with. In the former case it would be {ř}; with Teresa of Calcutta, it's clearly {im}. St. Therese de Liseux on the other hand would be {lizô-wam ř terez-ram-ķa pî'hâ-bô}.)

There are two basic words for "friend" or "acquaintance", gzb dividing the semantic space in a different place than does English; in addition there are words for "girlfriend/boyfriend" derived by diminution from the words for "wife/husband".

Some people one would describe as "acquaintances" in English are not even {kuln} in gzb, those one knows but does not enjoy hanging out with.

kuln	reŋ	gǒ,	mǒj	lĭm	cǒ	zen.
friend.casual	many	behold	but	friend.intimate	few	only
Acquaintances are many, friends are few.

The words for "friend" are also used to derive words for "pet":

!pî'vu-vĭ	kǒ	ĥy-i	Φě'wâm-ť-zô	žu-bô	mwe.
peafowl-male	this	PAT-at	taxidermy-2-V.ACT	gentle-ADJ	IMP

Ќ	lĭw-i	lĭm-ga-van	ƥ-dân.
1	relationship-at	friend-MET-V.STATE	3-no.more
Please stuff this peacock carefully; he was my cherished pet.

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Last updated February 2008