Home from iCon.

Just came back from New York (again!) This time I was at I-Con (http://www.iconsf.org/) at Stony Brook University. That statement is a bit fuzzy, since I was there for a mere six hours (8:00 PM to 2:00 AM on Saturday), failed to pay my registration fee, and never participated in any official Con events. Still, I was on site for that period of time, so yay.

Major activities of my con: a) chatting in the hallway, b) observing a poker tournament, and c) playing Chairman Mao. The poker tournament had 85 players; khyros got to deal the final table when it came down to the wire due to massive victory last year. He was costumed and behaving as Dr. House, complete with Vicodin bottle. I was duly delighted.

Mao was a fluctuating game that varied from 5 to 9 players. We made it through four rounds, I think. I never won, but it was hugely fun. Missed you, attackdesire! I can't play Mao without thinking of you.

Thanks go to lumi21 for hosting me intentionally, to khyros for hosting me by default, and to everyone else applicable for being spiffy fun (though I don't know anyone else's LJ names except alyza.)

The train home was incredibly packed, with not a single seat available in coach, so a conductor decided to have me sit in business class -- no complaints about that. So much footroom! Regrettably, I was on the aisle rather than the window, so I couldn't watch the scenery. Phooey.

Fewer thanks go to the orange line for being down, though I am glad that the MBTA was so good about letting me know where to go to catch the appropriate buses. Meh: it was a very long way home.

Eldertongue: Verbs and Conjugation

A brief apology: the depth of my understanding of the difference between inflecting and conjugating a verb, and between either of those and agreement, is relatively low. (I have excellent English grammar instinctively. My ability to break apart my instinctive grammar with the correct terminology is not so good.) It is therefore likely that I will misuse terminology, to which I can only say... oops.

Moving right along...

It was a very long trip home, and I spent it completing some more language construction.

Eldertongue's verbs are peculiar in that all verbs require an object in addition to a subject. They also have a relatively complex conjugation system (although, as some small mercy, they do not match gender or number to the subject.)

In English, when no subject is stated, the result is a present-tense imperative without a subject. "Go." "Sit." "Wait."

In Eldertongue, when no subject is stated, the default subject is singular first person, or "I", and when no object is stated, the default object is singular second person, or "you". In addition, the default time tense is not present tense, but near-future. As a result, the most basic sentences take the form of threats or promises (depending on the import of the sentence.)

Three starting verbs:
ibja, to kick
ruluv, to follow (a person)
djalur, to trust (a person)

And here are their most basic sentences.

Ibja.
I am about to kick you.

Ruluv.
I am about to follow you.

Djalur.
I am about to trust you.

The word rou has the special function of reversing the implied subject and object. It appears before the verb. Depending upon context, this may be an imperative, but it is not necessarily one.

Rou ibja.
You are about to kick me.

Rou rouluv.
You are about to follow me.

Rou djalur.
You are about to trust me.

Thus far, these verbs are uninflected. There are three inflections:

1. Dynamism.
2. Time.
3. Evidentiality.

Dynamism
Each verb has three dynamic inflections: static, commencing, and reversal/cessation. The default status for this tense is static. While the core concept is as listed, the meaning of a verb may not be precisely what is expected in various forms, and a decent argument can be made that each Eldertongue verb really means three things.

Here are the three example verbs revisited.

ibja
Static - to kick
Commencing - to begin kicking (which may imply a feigned kick or a feint)
Reversal - to stop kicking

ruluv
Static - to follow
Commencing - to prepare to follow; to stand behind
Reversal - to take a different path from

djalur
Static - to trust
Commencing - to begin trusting
Reversal - to cease trusting

In the default near-future time tense, the commencing form is designated with the word "bi" and reversal is designated with the word "gulbi" immediately in front of the verb.

Big ibja.
I am about to begin kicking you.

Gulbig ibja.
I am about to stop kicking you.

Bi ruluv.
I am about to prepare to follow you.

Gulbi ruluv.
I am about to go a different way than you go.

Bi djalur.
I am about to start trusting you.

Gulbi djalur.
I am about to stop trusting you.

Time
There are eight time tenses. Near future tense (about-to-happen) is the default.

- Long-ago: from a point in the distant past to another point in the past
- Have-always: from a point in the distant past to the present
- Just-happened: from a point in the near past to the present
- Is-happening: from the present to a point in the future
- About-to-happen: from the near future to a point in the future
- Someday-will-happen: from the distant future to a point in the future
- Will-always: from the present to forever (a formal tense typically reserved for vows)
- Eternal: from an infinite point in the past to an infinite point in the future (also a highly formal tense)

Time tense is designated by a word in front of the verb and then inflected based upon dynamism.

Static long-ago: azegur
Static have-always: azever
Static just-happened: vor
Static is-happening: ver
Static about-to-happen: (default; giz only if necessary for modification)
Static someday-will-happen: googru
Static will-always: ver deligar
Static eternal: azever deligar

Commencing long-ago: azejul
Commencing have-always: azeven
Commencing just-happened: vog
Commencing is-happening: veg
Commencing about-to-happen: bi
Commencing someday-will-happen: grenzhu
Commencing will-always: veg delijar
Commencing eternal: azejul delijar

Reversal long-ago: gulajul
Reversal have-always: gazuven
Reversal just-happened: gulvog
Reversal is-happening: gulveg
Reversal about-to-happen: gulbi
Reversal someday-will-happen: gulugruzh
Reversal will-always: vegulijar
Reversal eternal: gulajul delijar

And here is a conjugation chart through dynamism and time using djalur, "to trust", as the basic verb.

Static long-ago:
Azegur djalur.
I used to trust you.

Static have-always:
Azever djalur.
I have always trusted you.

Static just-happened:
Vor djalur.
I just started trusting you.

Static is-happening:
Ver djalur.
I am trusting you.

Static about-to-happen:
Djalur.
I am about to trust you.

Static someday-will-happen:
Googru djalur.
I will someday trust you.

Static will-always:
Ver deligar djalur.
I will always trust you.

Static eternal:
Azever deligar djalur.
I have always trusted you, I trust you, and I will always trust you.

Evidentiality
The verb is also modified by evidentiality. There are six levels of evidentiality, and they supply suffixes (or, in the case of untrue evidentiality, a prefix and a suffix) that affect the time tense/dynamism modifier. The definite state is the default.

Definite: (default)
Probable: +u (unless following a u; then +du)
Possible: +uv (unless following a u; then +duv)
Rumored/hearsay: +gan
Wished/desired: +val
Untrue: ul+, +u (unless following a u; then +du)

Here are evidentiality examples in the about-to-happen tense and static mode.

Ruluv.
I am about to follow you.

Gizu ruluv.
I am probably about to follow you.

Gizuv ruluv.
I am possibly about to follow you.

Gizgan ruluv.
I heard that I am about to follow you.

Gizval ruluv.
I want to follow you.

Ulgizu ruluv.
I am not going to follow you.

Playing with Verbs
At this point, some marvelously bizarre constructions are possible.

Ulazeveru ruluv.
I have never followed you, I am not following you, and I will never follow you.

Rou gulvogval ruluv.
I wish that you had taken a different route than me.

Ulvegulijaru djalur.
I will never stop trusting you.

Gulugruzhgan ibja.
I heard that you will someday stop kicking me.

Next time: nouns!

Went out. Came back. Got lost, but lived.

On my way out to Somerville, I took the wrong way through Powder House Square (which is a rotary, despite the name) and went the wrong way on Broadway. I figured it out fairly quickly and corrected.

On my way home from Somerville, I wound up taking 28 in the wrong direction and had to go home by way of 93. (I knew I'd done something wrong when I saw Lechemere and North Station go past.) This wouldn't have been so bad if 93 weren't elevated. Being lost and high up is a bit cruel. (I don't like heights....)

With that said, I recovered without assistance both times, so I'm proud of myself.