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Black Speech School
syntax_direction
Expressions of directions
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Basic words for directions (such as left, down, inside, etc.) are nouns in Nûrlâm, but pro-forms “here” and “there” can be also included into this category. Locative cases' postpositions are used to express relative positions of objects or direction of their movement. For example the word “latr” means “bottom side”, it cannot be used as is to express that something is going down, so it should be put in allative case.
Some postpositions of locative cases already express position or direction by their own (no need to say “to the inside of the house” when you can just say “inside the house”), but in Nûrlâm they still cannot be used stand-alone without a noun.
| Direction, side | Adjective | Static | Approaching | Entering | Leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| left farkh | left farkhûrz | at the left farkhor | to the left, leftwards farkhu | into the left farkhishi | from the left farkhbo |
| right forg | right forgûrz | at the right forgor | to the right, rightwards forgu | into the right forgishi | from the right forgbo |
| front drom | front, forward dromûrz | at the front, ahead, before dromor | to the front, forwards, frontwards, ahead dromu | into the front dromishi | from the front drombo |
| back, rear, hind krûm | back, backward, rear, hind(er), posterior krûmûrz | at the back, at the rear, behind krûmor | to the rear, backwards, rearward, hindward, krûmu | into the back, into the rear krûmishi | from the back, from the rear krûmbo |
| Direction, side | Adjective | Static | Approaching | Entering | Leaving |
| top, up talm | top, topward, upper talûrz 1) | at the top, on top, above talmir 2) | to the top, up, upwards, topwards, above talmu | into the top, talmishi | from top, from above talmbo |
| bottom, down latr | bottom, down, downward, lower latûrz 3) | at the bottom, on the bottom, beneath, below, down there latrir 4) | to the bottom, down, downwards, below, underneath latru | into the bottom latrishi | from the bottom, from below latrah 5) |
| nigh, nearness, proximity, vicinity mush | near, close, adjacent mûsh, mushûrz | nearby, next (to), close (to), in proximity, in vicinity mushor, mush | next (to), close (to), towards nearness mushu | into vicinity, into proximity mushishi | from close range, from close distance mushbo |
| distance, farness baub | far, far-off, distant, remote baubûrz | far away, away, afar, at a distance baubor | far away, towards distance baubu | into the distance baubishi | from afar, from a distance baub-bo |
| Direction, side | Adjective | Static | Approaching | Entering | Leaving |
| inside, interior nâd | inner, internal, interior nâdûrz | inside, within nâdor | inwards nâdu | inside nâdishi | from (the) inside, from within nâdah 6) |
| outside, exterior, surface lût | outer, external, exterior lûtûrz | outside, beyond, outdoors lûtir 7) | outwards lûtu | outside, beyond lûtishi | from (the) outside, from beyond lûtbo |
| here zin | local, of this place zinûrz, zinob | here zin | hereto, hither zinu | into here zinishi | from here, hence zinah 8) |
| there zigin | local, of that place ziginûrz, ziginob | there zigin | thereto, thither ziginu | into there ziginishi | from here, thence ziginah 9) |
| Direction, side | Adjective | Static | Approaching | Entering | Leaving |
Relative expressions clarifying which side of which object is mentioned are formed with Genitive case (-ob), and expressions describing initial position or reference point are usually formed with Ablative case (-bo). For example “to the left side of the house” = “farkhu ozdumob”, but “to the left side from the house” = “farkhu ozdumbo”, but the latter better be phrased as “from the house to the left side” = “ozdumbo farkhu”. Please, consult “Comments” column of the dictionary's entries of directional words for more precise information about the usage of such relative constructions.
In colloquial speech and subdialects
In colloquial speech the more formal expressions with nouns may use the wrong cases: substitute Ablative case with Genitive in relative expressions, or use Allative and Illative cases with directional words themselves interchangeably.
Some of the expressions described above are clunky. It's impossible to express relative adverbials (e.g. “go higher”) using expressions based on nouns. And so, like in English, which has some synonyms of directional words of Germanic and Romance origin, some shorter adverbs appeared in Nûrlâm. They can be used to describe static position or motion towards that direction.
syntax_direction.txt · Last modified: 2024/10/09 19:33 by morgoth
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