Ykoeku yaehlae choe thuem jjangnihl | yoeqnga hliddaesae i thwiyihl
[kjɤku jæɬæ cʰɤ tʰɯm ʄaŋniɬ | jɤʔŋɔ ɬiɗæsæ i tʰɥijiɬ]
Ykoeku yaehlae y-khoe thuem jjangnihl | yoeqnga hli-ddae-sae i=thwiyihl
Shquqou demon of=DEF ocean north | 3SG.M all HABIT-destroy-NONF of=everything
Ykoeku thuesaeqyi i ddoeny kueny | yKatnahl myahltuen yemak yhloeythueny
[kjɤku tʰɯsæʔji i ɗɤɲ kɯɲ | kjɔtnɔɬ mjɔɬtɯn jemɔk ɬjɤjtʰɯɲ]
Ykoeku thue-saeqyi i=ddoeny kueny | ykatnahl myahltuen yemak y=hloeythueny
Shquqou kill-NMLZ.A of=man myriad | of=Katnahl evil most of=red-spear
Koentue gahle wong hlituesae | yo gas yDue hnami oebansae
[kɤntɯ ⁿgɔɬe wɔŋ ɬitɯsæ | jo ⁿgɔs ⁿdjɯ n̥ɔmi ɤⁿbɔnsæ]
Koentue gahle wong hli-tue-sae | yo gas yDue hnami oe-ban-sae
Komthag great against HABIT-offend-NONF | city and of=Narng rubble PST-COP.CAUS-NONF
ggwak gas ddoeny gas bodicila | caeddue thueny aybohli lihla
[ɠwɔk ⁿgɔs ɗɤɲ ⁿgɔs ⁿboⁿdicilɔ | cæɗɯ tʰɯɲ ɔjⁿboɬi liɬɔ]
ggwak gas ddoeny gas bo-ddici-la | caeddue thueny aebohli lihla
barbarian and man and CAUS-gather-3 | peasant spear PASS-CAUS-come 3PL
nwaya lihla kokha ykoet hmi | hlyomhla yngwe xi yac qwiyoyi
[nwɔjɔ liɬɔ kokʰɔ kjɤt m̥i | ɬjomɬɔ ŋwje çi jac ʔwijoji]
nway-a lihla kokha ykoet hmi | hlyom-hla y=ngwe xi yac qwiyo-yi
order-3 3PL sword arrow with | fear-3PL.POSS of=death for no_one scatter-REFL
hoeny i Katnahl ggwakhmun woenya | hoeny i Cihlae ddoenyhmun woenya
[hɤɲ i kɔtnɔɬ ɠwɔkm̥un wɤɲɔ | hɤɲ i ciɬæ ɗɤɲm̥un wɤɲɔ]
hoeny i=Katnahl ggwak-hmun woeny-la | hoeny i=Cihlae ddoeny-hmun
language of=Katnahl barbarian-DAT speak-3 | language of=Cihlae man-DAT speak-3
——
Řqʼoqʼy! mypʼyyksʼòqduuwow gròłsytjaawow, małebosqʼaqʼowow,
Shquqou! Demon of the north, who laid waste to all he beheld,
řqʼoqʼy
Shquqou!
mpʼy-
demon(through-
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
ksʼò-
shadow-
qdu-
go-
ow-
C1A)-
ow
C1.DEF
gw-
VEN-
ro-
NF.ACT.P-
łsytʼ-
north-
ja-
come-
ow-
C1.A.SG-
ow
C1.DEF
t-
P.PL-
malʼ-
truly-
he-
FP.IND.A-
bos-
everything-
qʼaqʼ-
destroy-
ndw-
C8.P.PL-
ow-
C1.A.PL-
ow
C1.SG
Shquqou (< Rau /ʃqʌqɯ/) is simultaneously the protagonist and the main villain of the Vtsznxmqp, somewhat like Genghis Khan in the Târikh-e Jahângoshây, if the Târikh was bad poetry rather than prose. A historical figure, Shquqou was a priest of Qapi Mongkoush who assumed command over a combined Tsi and Rau army attacking the Narngic port city of Big Yeet and subsequently turned out to be both a religious fanatic and completely insane. In consequence, the relevant part of the Vtsznxmqp is mostly a long list of his war crimes interspersed with records of the sermons he delivered to the corpses. In this verse, he is introduced with the appropriate dramatism.
Linguistically, we are introduced to several specialties of Kànnow already. The word for "demon", "evil spirit" is literally "who moves through the shadows", originally possibly a taboo term, but now firmly lexicalised. Kànnow does not like overusing its possessive construction, instead producing something like "Shquqou! Demon who came from the north, who destroyed everything".
An artefact of Kànnow's morphological system is the frequency with which epithets end in -owow (a class 1 nominalization of an active verb with a class 1 agent). The preverb malʼ- in the final epithet serves as emphasis: who laid waste to all he beheld; its realization as mał- is due to the fact that except for the final element, MOA distinctions are neutralized in clusters. In this way, /h/ (when it occurs anywhere but the beginning of a word) acts as a sort of zero consonant, whose only surface realization is that it triggers cluster mechanics.
Řqʼoqʼy sgałán třpinyłr'eqnènowow, iġytktʼaaja Qʼotʼnasòo tkìmbyyja łṇàk'àksuṛġaán
Shquqou who killed myriads, he is evilest among the red spears of Katnahl.
řqʼoqʼy
shquqou
sgał-
myriad-
nw
C4.PL
t-
P.PL-
rpi-
NF.CAUS.IND-
nal-
man-
r'éq-
die-
nen-
C4.P.PL-
ow-
C1.A.SG-
ow,
C1.DEF,
i-
POSS-
ġatk-
spear-
tʼa-
C5.D.SG
ija
C5.DEF
qʼotʼnas-
Katnahl-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
t-
P.PL-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
mbyh-
be_red-
ah-
C5.P.PL-
ija
C5.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
ṅk'à-
most-
ksw-
INF.MP.FP-
yṛġa-
evil-
ah-
C5.D.PL-
nw
C1.P.SG
"Killed myriads" is more explicitly specified as "myriads of men" by incorporating the word for man into the verbal complex. Note the height harmony: -rpi-nal- assimilates to -rpi-nyl-; this process goes left-to-right (with two harmony sets < e a o > vs < i y u >) and is blocked by clusters. There are morphemes that are exempt from height harmony; a prominent example is the class 5 definite marker -ija (and not *-ijy).
The superlative is constructed by adding a dative to the normally univalent middle "be evil": "he is most evil to the red spears of Katnahl" (< Rau /qʌtnas/, 'people of the qutna', a generic term for the Rau religio-cultural zone, named after a holy plant of Qapi Mongkoush).
The zero consonant nature of /h/ can be seen in the fact that it disappears between vowels. This phrase contains a particularly egregious example: |mbyh-ah-ija| being realized as mbyyja, with the vowel hiatus resolving from left to right.
Eňeew ijyņuw małġyyblaknòw, rowesenán Pʼiqįeetʼén kmaapckʼołamnòw
He transgressed sorely against great Kömthag, he reduced the great city of Big Yeet to rubble.
eňe-
Ainabe-
ow
C1.DEF
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
jáṇ-
be_great-
ow
C1.A
mal'-
truly-
ġy-
MALF-
he-
INF.ACT.FP-
blak'-
transgress-
nw-
C1.D.SG-
ow,
C1.A.SG,
ro-
NF.P.A-
wese-
great_settlement-
na-
C4.D.SG-
nw
C4.DEF
p'iqįeet'-
Big Yeet-
nw
C4.DEF
kma-
fully-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
ck'ołam-
rubble-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
ow
C1.A.SG
Eňeew (< Kett Ainabe) is a borrowed name for the supreme being in the general Antipodean cultural area; it serves here to translate Zzyxwqnp Kuntqx, the Vengic personification of Nature. "Reduce to rubble", in the Kànnow, is a zero derivation of ck'ołam, "rubble", with causative conjugation.
Kkìpʼymtaán nalén tcʼiņkàpłrytìninuw, sʼaaņusbiłc'aán ġatkuu tcʼiņkàpjandòw
He gathered barbarians and men to him, he made peasants and spears come to him
k-
barbarian(NEG-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
p'amt-
understand-
a-
C1.A.PL)-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
nal-
man-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
t-
P.PL-
c'iṇ-
DISTR-
gw-
VEN-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
lrytì-
be_together-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow,
C1.A.PL,
s'a-
HABIT-
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
ṇus-
earth-
biłc'-
dig_creases-
a-
C1.A.PL-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
ġatk-
spear-
uu
C5.INDEF.PL
t-
P.PL-
c'iṇ-
DISTR-
gw-
VEN-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
ja-
on_foot-
ndw-
C8.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
It is difficult to say now who counted as a barbarian to the original author of the Vtsznxmqp. It is likely that both Rau and Tsi would have been foreign barbarians to the Vengic tribes, so the word "men" will have referred to Vengic or even Ziwanic speakers that were "recruited" by the advancing armies to swell the ranks as they prepared for siege on land.
In Kànnow, a barbarian is someone whose speech is not understood; similarly, as an originally nomadic people, there is no basic word for "farmer" or "peasant", but there are rather people who habitually dig furrows in the soil. Note the non-assimilation of /u/ caused by the deleted /i/: sʼaaṇusbiłcʼaán rather than *sʼaaṇòsbiłcʼaán.
"Coordination" of objects is often achieved by the distributive preverb c'iṇ-, whose semantic effect is, in general, one of deindividualization. Note also that the venitive preverb in Kànnow is relative to the subject of the verb rather than to the speaker.
Tsʼaapraṛkmoṛnènow, tsʼaapkomgokmoṛnènow, malʼopkròqrʼałkmoṛà kkssèṇseka
He threatened them with arrows, he threatened them with swords, they were so afraid to die that they did not scatter
t-
P.PL-
s'a-
HABIT-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
raṛ-
arrow-
kmóṛ-
fear-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
t-
P.PL-
s'a-
HABIT-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
komgo-
sword-
kmóṛ-
fear-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
mal'-
truly-
ob-
such-
krò-
NF.MP.P-
qr'ał-
death-
kmóṛ-
fear-
a
C1.A.PL
k-
NEG-
ksw-
INF.MP.FP-
seṇsek-
scatter-
a
C1.A.PL
This phrase illustrates, on the one hand, the use of the nonfinite to background information. Rather than explicitly marking the act of scattering as a consequence, in Kannow one instead says: "being so very afraid to die, they did not scatter". It also provides a nice example of Kànnow's capacity for instrumental noun incorporation.
Sła Qʼotʼnasòo kkìp'ymtaaw łecadnènòw, sła Ciłewoo nalow łecadnènòw
He spoke to the barbarians like one does in Katnahl, to the men like one does in Cihlae
sła
like
Q'ot'nas-
katnahl-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
k-
barbarian(NEG-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
p'amt-
understand-
a-
C1.A.SG)-
ow
C1.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
he-
INF.ACT.IND.FP-
cád-
speak-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
nén-
C1.D.PL-
ow,
C1.A.SG,
sła
like
Ciłe-
cihlae-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
nal-
man-
ow
C1.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
he-
INF.ACT.IND.FP-
cád-
speak-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
nén-
C1.D.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
The word sła combined with something in the adjectival case has roughly the same effect as the French à la would have: he spoke to them à la Katnahlaise.
[kjɤku jæɬæ cʰɤ tʰɯm ʄaŋniɬ | jɤʔŋɔ ɬiɗæsæ i tʰɥijiɬ]
Ykoeku yaehlae y-khoe thuem jjangnihl | yoeqnga hli-ddae-sae i=thwiyihl
Shquqou demon of=DEF ocean north | 3SG.M all HABIT-destroy-NONF of=everything
Ykoeku thuesaeqyi i ddoeny kueny | yKatnahl myahltuen yemak yhloeythueny
[kjɤku tʰɯsæʔji i ɗɤɲ kɯɲ | kjɔtnɔɬ mjɔɬtɯn jemɔk ɬjɤjtʰɯɲ]
Ykoeku thue-saeqyi i=ddoeny kueny | ykatnahl myahltuen yemak y=hloeythueny
Shquqou kill-NMLZ.A of=man myriad | of=Katnahl evil most of=red-spear
Koentue gahle wong hlituesae | yo gas yDue hnami oebansae
[kɤntɯ ⁿgɔɬe wɔŋ ɬitɯsæ | jo ⁿgɔs ⁿdjɯ n̥ɔmi ɤⁿbɔnsæ]
Koentue gahle wong hli-tue-sae | yo gas yDue hnami oe-ban-sae
Komthag great against HABIT-offend-NONF | city and of=Narng rubble PST-COP.CAUS-NONF
ggwak gas ddoeny gas bodicila | caeddue thueny aybohli lihla
[ɠwɔk ⁿgɔs ɗɤɲ ⁿgɔs ⁿboⁿdicilɔ | cæɗɯ tʰɯɲ ɔjⁿboɬi liɬɔ]
ggwak gas ddoeny gas bo-ddici-la | caeddue thueny aebohli lihla
barbarian and man and CAUS-gather-3 | peasant spear PASS-CAUS-come 3PL
nwaya lihla kokha ykoet hmi | hlyomhla yngwe xi yac qwiyoyi
[nwɔjɔ liɬɔ kokʰɔ kjɤt m̥i | ɬjomɬɔ ŋwje çi jac ʔwijoji]
nway-a lihla kokha ykoet hmi | hlyom-hla y=ngwe xi yac qwiyo-yi
order-3 3PL sword arrow with | fear-3PL.POSS of=death for no_one scatter-REFL
hoeny i Katnahl ggwakhmun woenya | hoeny i Cihlae ddoenyhmun woenya
[hɤɲ i kɔtnɔɬ ɠwɔkm̥un wɤɲɔ | hɤɲ i ciɬæ ɗɤɲm̥un wɤɲɔ]
hoeny i=Katnahl ggwak-hmun woeny-la | hoeny i=Cihlae ddoeny-hmun
language of=Katnahl barbarian-DAT speak-3 | language of=Cihlae man-DAT speak-3
——
Řqʼoqʼy! mypʼyyksʼòqduuwow gròłsytjaawow, małebosqʼaqʼowow,
Shquqou! Demon of the north, who laid waste to all he beheld,
řqʼoqʼy
Shquqou!
mpʼy-
demon(through-
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
ksʼò-
shadow-
qdu-
go-
ow-
C1A)-
ow
C1.DEF
gw-
VEN-
ro-
NF.ACT.P-
łsytʼ-
north-
ja-
come-
ow-
C1.A.SG-
ow
C1.DEF
t-
P.PL-
malʼ-
truly-
he-
FP.IND.A-
bos-
everything-
qʼaqʼ-
destroy-
ndw-
C8.P.PL-
ow-
C1.A.PL-
ow
C1.SG
Shquqou (< Rau /ʃqʌqɯ/) is simultaneously the protagonist and the main villain of the Vtsznxmqp, somewhat like Genghis Khan in the Târikh-e Jahângoshây, if the Târikh was bad poetry rather than prose. A historical figure, Shquqou was a priest of Qapi Mongkoush who assumed command over a combined Tsi and Rau army attacking the Narngic port city of Big Yeet and subsequently turned out to be both a religious fanatic and completely insane. In consequence, the relevant part of the Vtsznxmqp is mostly a long list of his war crimes interspersed with records of the sermons he delivered to the corpses. In this verse, he is introduced with the appropriate dramatism.
Linguistically, we are introduced to several specialties of Kànnow already. The word for "demon", "evil spirit" is literally "who moves through the shadows", originally possibly a taboo term, but now firmly lexicalised. Kànnow does not like overusing its possessive construction, instead producing something like "Shquqou! Demon who came from the north, who destroyed everything".
An artefact of Kànnow's morphological system is the frequency with which epithets end in -owow (a class 1 nominalization of an active verb with a class 1 agent). The preverb malʼ- in the final epithet serves as emphasis: who laid waste to all he beheld; its realization as mał- is due to the fact that except for the final element, MOA distinctions are neutralized in clusters. In this way, /h/ (when it occurs anywhere but the beginning of a word) acts as a sort of zero consonant, whose only surface realization is that it triggers cluster mechanics.
Řqʼoqʼy sgałán třpinyłr'eqnènowow, iġytktʼaaja Qʼotʼnasòo tkìmbyyja łṇàk'àksuṛġaán
Shquqou who killed myriads, he is evilest among the red spears of Katnahl.
řqʼoqʼy
shquqou
sgał-
myriad-
nw
C4.PL
t-
P.PL-
rpi-
NF.CAUS.IND-
nal-
man-
r'éq-
die-
nen-
C4.P.PL-
ow-
C1.A.SG-
ow,
C1.DEF,
i-
POSS-
ġatk-
spear-
tʼa-
C5.D.SG
ija
C5.DEF
qʼotʼnas-
Katnahl-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
t-
P.PL-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
mbyh-
be_red-
ah-
C5.P.PL-
ija
C5.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
ṅk'à-
most-
ksw-
INF.MP.FP-
yṛġa-
evil-
ah-
C5.D.PL-
nw
C1.P.SG
"Killed myriads" is more explicitly specified as "myriads of men" by incorporating the word for man into the verbal complex. Note the height harmony: -rpi-nal- assimilates to -rpi-nyl-; this process goes left-to-right (with two harmony sets < e a o > vs < i y u >) and is blocked by clusters. There are morphemes that are exempt from height harmony; a prominent example is the class 5 definite marker -ija (and not *-ijy).
The superlative is constructed by adding a dative to the normally univalent middle "be evil": "he is most evil to the red spears of Katnahl" (< Rau /qʌtnas/, 'people of the qutna', a generic term for the Rau religio-cultural zone, named after a holy plant of Qapi Mongkoush).
The zero consonant nature of /h/ can be seen in the fact that it disappears between vowels. This phrase contains a particularly egregious example: |mbyh-ah-ija| being realized as mbyyja, with the vowel hiatus resolving from left to right.
Eňeew ijyņuw małġyyblaknòw, rowesenán Pʼiqįeetʼén kmaapckʼołamnòw
He transgressed sorely against great Kömthag, he reduced the great city of Big Yeet to rubble.
eňe-
Ainabe-
ow
C1.DEF
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
jáṇ-
be_great-
ow
C1.A
mal'-
truly-
ġy-
MALF-
he-
INF.ACT.FP-
blak'-
transgress-
nw-
C1.D.SG-
ow,
C1.A.SG,
ro-
NF.P.A-
wese-
great_settlement-
na-
C4.D.SG-
nw
C4.DEF
p'iqįeet'-
Big Yeet-
nw
C4.DEF
kma-
fully-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
ck'ołam-
rubble-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
ow
C1.A.SG
Eňeew (< Kett Ainabe) is a borrowed name for the supreme being in the general Antipodean cultural area; it serves here to translate Zzyxwqnp Kuntqx, the Vengic personification of Nature. "Reduce to rubble", in the Kànnow, is a zero derivation of ck'ołam, "rubble", with causative conjugation.
Kkìpʼymtaán nalén tcʼiņkàpłrytìninuw, sʼaaņusbiłc'aán ġatkuu tcʼiņkàpjandòw
He gathered barbarians and men to him, he made peasants and spears come to him
k-
barbarian(NEG-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
p'amt-
understand-
a-
C1.A.PL)-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
nal-
man-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
t-
P.PL-
c'iṇ-
DISTR-
gw-
VEN-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
lrytì-
be_together-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow,
C1.A.PL,
s'a-
HABIT-
i-
NF.ACT.NP-
ṇus-
earth-
biłc'-
dig_creases-
a-
C1.A.PL-
én
C1.INDEF.PL
ġatk-
spear-
uu
C5.INDEF.PL
t-
P.PL-
c'iṇ-
DISTR-
gw-
VEN-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
ja-
on_foot-
ndw-
C8.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
It is difficult to say now who counted as a barbarian to the original author of the Vtsznxmqp. It is likely that both Rau and Tsi would have been foreign barbarians to the Vengic tribes, so the word "men" will have referred to Vengic or even Ziwanic speakers that were "recruited" by the advancing armies to swell the ranks as they prepared for siege on land.
In Kànnow, a barbarian is someone whose speech is not understood; similarly, as an originally nomadic people, there is no basic word for "farmer" or "peasant", but there are rather people who habitually dig furrows in the soil. Note the non-assimilation of /u/ caused by the deleted /i/: sʼaaṇusbiłcʼaán rather than *sʼaaṇòsbiłcʼaán.
"Coordination" of objects is often achieved by the distributive preverb c'iṇ-, whose semantic effect is, in general, one of deindividualization. Note also that the venitive preverb in Kànnow is relative to the subject of the verb rather than to the speaker.
Tsʼaapraṛkmoṛnènow, tsʼaapkomgokmoṛnènow, malʼopkròqrʼałkmoṛà kkssèṇseka
He threatened them with arrows, he threatened them with swords, they were so afraid to die that they did not scatter
t-
P.PL-
s'a-
HABIT-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
raṛ-
arrow-
kmóṛ-
fear-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
t-
P.PL-
s'a-
HABIT-
hap-
INF.CAUS.FP-
komgo-
sword-
kmóṛ-
fear-
nen-
C1.P.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
mal'-
truly-
ob-
such-
krò-
NF.MP.P-
qr'ał-
death-
kmóṛ-
fear-
a
C1.A.PL
k-
NEG-
ksw-
INF.MP.FP-
seṇsek-
scatter-
a
C1.A.PL
This phrase illustrates, on the one hand, the use of the nonfinite to background information. Rather than explicitly marking the act of scattering as a consequence, in Kannow one instead says: "being so very afraid to die, they did not scatter". It also provides a nice example of Kànnow's capacity for instrumental noun incorporation.
Sła Qʼotʼnasòo kkìp'ymtaaw łecadnènòw, sła Ciłewoo nalow łecadnènòw
He spoke to the barbarians like one does in Katnahl, to the men like one does in Cihlae
sła
like
Q'ot'nas-
katnahl-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
k-
barbarian(NEG-
kì-
NF.MP.NP-
p'amt-
understand-
a-
C1.A.SG)-
ow
C1.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
he-
INF.ACT.IND.FP-
cád-
speak-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
nén-
C1.D.PL-
ow,
C1.A.SG,
sła
like
Ciłe-
cihlae-
uu
C5.ADJ.SG
nal-
man-
ow
C1.DEF
ł-
D.PL-
he-
INF.ACT.IND.FP-
cád-
speak-
nw-
C4.P.SG-
nén-
C1.D.PL-
ow
C1.A.SG
The word sła combined with something in the adjectival case has roughly the same effect as the French à la would have: he spoke to them à la Katnahlaise.