The Iremic Language

Peculiarities

• No simple word for Yes or No

When asked a question with a binary answer such as "Did you go to the marketplace?", you would reply with "I went to the marketplace" or simply "I went".

• No word for the abstract concept of "things" or "stuff"

There are no words for the abstract concept of "things", and so one must be specific. Some examples are "Balhanoth/Balhanothoth" which can be understood as "personal affect/belongings" or "luggage", "Silanoth/Silanothoth" as "gear" or"equipment", or even "Runinoth/Runinothoth" as "/goods"

• There is no way to say "You're right" or "You're wrong" exactly

The closest approximation is to literally state "It is as you say" or "It is as you believe".

• Pseudo-boustrophedon

Text is written right to left, and then left to right on the following line, changing direction down the page. This is similar to boustrophedon (lit Ox Turning or "As the Ox Plows") in archaic Greek writing, and a few other languages. The difference here is that the appearance of the letters is not mirrored, albeit the direction the text is read reversed.

"If English were written this
.siht ekil kool dluow ti, yaw"

• There are 3 Alphabets

There are three sets of characters, or rather each character has three forms.

• Analytic Language With Synthetic Qualities

It relies on sentence structure and word order, rather than case endings as in synthetic languages to indicate person and function within a sentence, but has regular pre-fixes to indicate verb tense.

• Chrono-Distal

It has a special use of the demonstrative (see below)

Reduplication

Reduplication In Nouns (Pluralization)

[Kelbek] is the word for "animal" or "living creatures". The plural form is [Kelbekel].

The plural forms of nouns are created by reduplication.

• If the word is monosyllabic, it is simply doubled. [Mot] is a word understood to mean "truth", "law", and "oath" or "vow". [Motmot] means "truths", "laws", or "vows".

• If the word has two syllables then the first syllable is reduplicated at the end of the word. (Kelbek -> Kelbekel). The plural form of Kelbek is spelled Kelbekel and not Kelbekkel. Any double consanant or or vowel that would be produced is dropped.

• If the word is polysyllabic, then the third syllable is reduplicated at the end of the word. The word [Xixilix] (pron Ziks-il-iks) can mean "fun", "game", "sport", or "entertainment". [Xixilixix] is the plural form of the world. (Xix-il-ix -> Xixilixix)

Reduplication In Adjectives (Comparative vs Superlative)

The comparative is created by reduplicating the last syllable, or the whole word itself if monosyllabic and reversing it as shown below.

The superlative is created by adding the second to last syllable (or first syllable in two syllable words) to the end of the comparative.

[Vis] is the word for "fast", "swift", or "quick". [Visiv] is the word for "faster". [Visivis] is the word for "fastest".
(Vis -> Vis-siv -> Visiv-vis)

[Geb] is the word for "slow" (or sometimes "lazy"). [Gebeg] is the word for "slower". [Gebegeb] is the word for "slowest".
(Geb -> Geb-beg -> Geb-beg-geb)

[Orbad] is the word for "strong". [Orbadab] is the word for "stronger". [Orbadabor] is the word for "strongest".
(Or-bad -> Or-bad-dab -> Or-bad-ab-Or)

[Ruruk] is the word for "good" [Rurukur] is the word for "better". [Rurukuru] is the word for "best"
(Ru-ruk -> Ru-ruk-kur -> Ru-ruk-ur-ru)

[Neblo] is the word for "pretty" (or beautiful) "beautiful". [Neblol] is the word for "prettier" [Neblolneb] is the word for "prettier" or "most beautiful".
(Neb-lo -> Neb-lo-ol -> Neb-lol-neb)

Nouns as Adjectives & Adjectives as Nouns

Concrete nouns -things, places, or objects can be used as adjectives. For example Wind, Rain, Sun, and Water are nouns. Things can be described as Windy, Rainy, Sunny, or Watery. In essence, this describes something as being "like" or "having the attributes".

The prefix "Nak`" is added to the begining of the noun if it starts with a vowel.

The prefix "Vu`" is added to the begining of the noun if it starts with a consonant.

The word [Vu`kelbek] means "animal-like" or "beastly".

Once the pre-fix is added, it can gain comparative and superlative forms following the normal rules.

[Vu`kelbekeb] means "beastlier".

[Vu`kelbekebek] means "beastliest". (pron. voo-kelbek-ebek)

These also serve a dual purpose, in that if added instead to qualities (adjectives) they can make them concrete things. A "pretty" thing can become "a beauty" making the adjective concrete. The quality of something "scary" or frightening can become "a horror" or "a fear".

Pronouns

Personal (Singular)

• Note: There is a separate 3rd person pronoun, an "It" for objects, and an "It" for living things of unspecified or unknown gender.
• Note: As in many languages, there are not distinct object pronouns. Ex: "Man Farsi baladam" (I can speak Persian) VS "Be man midanad" (He knows me).

Person	Eng.	Irem.
1st	I	Duh
2nd	You	Suh
3rd	He	Yeh
3rd	She	Een
3rd	It (Living)	Uk
3rd	It (Obj)	Ik

Personal (Plural)

Person	Eng.	Irem.
1st	We	Fan
2nd	You (All)	Ed
3rd	They	Eg
3rd	It (Living)	Ud
3rd	It (Obj)	Os

Grammatical Particles

Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive forms are created by following the pronoun with the particle "`Ors" .

Singular

Eng.	Irem.
Myself	Duh`Ors
Yourself	Suh`Ors
Himself	Yeh`ors
Herself	Een`Ors
Itself (Living)	Uk`Ors
Itself (Obj)	Ik`Ors

Plural

Eng.	Irem.
Ourselves	Fan`Ors
Yourselves	Ed`Ors
Themselves	Eg`Ors

Demonstrative Pronouns

Proximal (Near Speaker)

This book I'm carrying is old.
These books I'm carrying are old.

X	Eng.	Irem.
Sing	This	Xen
Plur	These	Xin

Medial (Near the one being addressed)

That book in your hand is old.
Those books in your bag are old.

X	Eng.	Irem.
Sing	That	Xun
Plur	Those	Xon

Distal (Distant from both parties)

That book in the library is old.
Those books in the library are old

X	Eng.	Irem.
Sing	That	Xan
Plur	Those	Xyn*

(*pron. as in sunshine)

Chrono-Distal (Distant from the present)

This is a special demonstrative which is only used to refer to "that" which no longer exists, but did exist at one time OR only may have existed.

That pie was delicious. (Having been left out too long, and now become foul)
Those were brave men. (Having lost their courage, and now being cowardly)
VS
"Did you like it?" "That pie is delicious." (Having been eaten in it's entirety, there is none left)
"Tell me about our ancestors." "Those are brave men." (Having been slain in battle, or having retired and died of old age with honor)
VS
That pie is delicious. (Currently sitting on the table)
Those are brave men. (Currently standing guard)

X	Eng.	Irem.
Sing	That	Xox*
Plur	Those	Xux

(*pron. as zox rhymes with box)

Possession

Possession is indicated by following the pronoun with the particle "`shyn" (pron. as in sunshine).

Singular

Eng.	Irem.
My/Mine	Duh`shyn
Your/Yours	Suh`shyn
His	Yeh`shyn
Her/Hers	Een`shyn
Its (Living)	Uk`shyn
Its (Obj)	Ik`shyn

Plural

Eng.	Irem.
Our/Ours	Fan`shyn
Your/Yours	Ed`shyn
Their/Theirs	Eg`shyn

Articles

• Definite Articles

There are no indefinite articles in this language, only definite articles.

Give me the book.

refers to a specific book whose identity is known or obvious to the listener using the definite article "The".

Give me a book.

does not specify what book is to be given using the indefinite article "a".

If the noun begins with a consonant it is preceded by "Ia" (pron. Eeeyah)

Eng.	Irem.
The	Ia

If the noun begins with a vowel it is preceded by "Iok" (pron. Eeeyok)

Eng.	Irem.
The	Iok

When an indefinite article would be used in English, no article is used at all.

Sentence Connectors

Eng.	Irem.
As	In
Also	Un
However	Kult
Nevertheless/Even so	Isen
Otherwise	Hek
Moreover/In addition/Furthermore	Oln
Lastly/Finally	Nemat

Conjunctions

And (together with)	Ben
Or	Jen
Neither…nor	Wed…Wed
But	Der
While	Ras
Although/Though	Syur
For	Orb
Because	Gran
Unless	Pena
Since	Ber

Prepositions

Eng.	Irem.
Above	Kalas
Across	Aln
After	Uden
Along	Sels
Among	Nosrel
Around	Dill
At	Krus
Before	Kyus
Behind	Salang
Below	Strer
Between	Oransh
Beyond	Nerig
Down	Sara
From	Deln
In	Agi
Inside	Ornfidi
Into	Amorn
Near	Ries
On	Shoon
Outside	Elaban
Over	Teleng
Through	Manken
Toward	Bunth
With	Krild

Verb Tense

Perfected Tenses

Past actions that have been completed.

Perfect

"I walked" or "I have walked."

The action described begins in the past but continued to another point in the past or held relevance at that point in the past.

Pluperfect (Past Perfect)

The action was completed prior to another.

"I had walked until the sun set."

Future Perfect

This describes an action that will have been completed prior to something else.

"I will have walked fifty miles before they start looking for me."

Imperfect (Past Progressive)

"I was walking home, when suddenly…"

An incompleted action in the past.

Present

"I walk alone."

An action currently happening

Present Progressive

An action in the present, ongoing.

"I am walking."

Present Perfect

This is used to express a past event that has present consequences.

"I have walked."

Present Perfect Progressive

The actions described are still continuing, but it is the past portion of them that is being considered.

"I have been walking"
"He has been walking"

Future

"I will walk home"

An action yet to occur.

Future Progressive

An event that will be in progress at a particular point in the future

"I will be walking when the sun rises."

Future Perfect

"By tomorrow I will have walked a hundred miles."

Future perfect progressive

Similar to the present perfect progressive, except that the point of reference is in the future.

" I will be tired because I will have been walking all day."

Conditionals

Simple Conditional (Conditional Present)

"If I were well, I would walk today."

Conditional Progressive

It has similar uses to those of the simple conditional , but is used for ongoing actions or situations (often hypothetical).

"I would be walking today, but my leg is broken."

Conditional Perfect

It is used to denote conditional situations attributed to past time, usually those that are or may be contrary to fact.

"I would have walked, but I was afraid it would rain."

Verb Prefixes

With ALL of the above in mind, these prefixes are attached to verbs to indicate tense.

Past Tenses

Perfect	Mig`
Pluperfect	Mag`
Future Perfect	Mog`
Imperfect	Tok`

Present Tenses

Present	-
Present Perfect	Neltu`
Present Perfect Progressive	Nelta`

Future Tenses

Future	Dis`
Future Progressive	Das`
Future Perfect	Dos`
Future perfect progressive	Dax`

Conditionals

Conditional Present	Megl`
Conditional Progressive	Meglwyn`
Conditional Perfect	Meglnaf`

Etymologies & The Influence of Arabic and Proto Indo-European

Indo European & Arabic

Eng. Definition	Iremic Word	PIE-Root	Arabic Base
Earthquake	Dunyadnur	Tónr (Thunder)	Dunyā ("World" [lit. Lowest Place])
Star	Lalatar	*Eh₂ter-(Fire)	Laylah (Night)
Rain	Dakrasmi	Dakru-(Tear)	Assamaai (sky)
Knife	Ayis	*H₂eyos (Metal)	-
Head	Kayr	*Ker-(Skull)	-
Foot	Pyos	*Pṓds	-
Carry	Bahar	Bher (Carry)	-
Mother	Bahatfa	-	Atfal(Children)
House	Vayit	-	Bayt (House)
Bad	Kax	*ḱeh₂d-(Hate)/*kakka (Feces)	-

CLICK for more PIE resources.

Iremic

Eng. Definition	Iremic Word	Iremic-Base 1	Iremic-Base 2
Airplane	Wisnakyun	Wis (Bird)	Nak`Ayun(Iron-Like)
Computer	Meskvubasdi	Mesga (Brain)	Vu`Bashti (Magical)
Rocket	Niwaldnur	Nibal (Arrow)	(Vu`danur (Thunder-like)
Oil	Dunwakwor	Dunwa (Earth)	Kwor(Blood)
Truck (Motor vehicle)	Kelbakawuru	Kelbakar* (Pack-animal)	Rurukuru^ (Finest/Best)

• Note: *Itself from Kelbek (Animal) & Bahar ([to]Carry)
• Note: ^Pron. "roorook-ooroo"
• Kelbakawuru (pron. Kel-baka-woo-roo)

Sentence Structure & Sample Text

Sentences are constructed in SVO (Carle Ate The Cookies) Fashion. Adjectives and adverbs follow (not precede) the words they modify. Verbs have prefixes indicating tense (and marked with a ` when Romanized), and the person is determined by the pronoun that precedes it.

Opening Line of "The Dreamquest" from "The Book of Dreams"

"Suh Mig`Shulna der von Shulna. Ik sun agi wed Seshint wed tillas, der mudol suh tok`noon Vu`neblo Vu`verds.

I had a dream, but it was not all a dream. It was in no palace nor pleasant pavilion, but a barren place that I was received by a Beryl Beauty.

Shulna = Dream
Von net = Not all/entirely
Sun = was (form of To Be)
Seshint = Palace
Tillas = pavillion
Mudol = Empty stretch of land
Noon = take in, shelter
Verds =Emerald, Beryl

The Dreamquest (Cont. English)

She was of such serpentine grace, and her face had the look of divinity. Her dress was of aphotic smoke and her skin of pale viridescent flame.

Her lips were of such full and sanguine virtue, that they did make all others seem starved and cadaverous.

Her hungry eyes were entrancing , and seemed to drink ones visage drop by ambrosial drop.

And my ears did listen to her wisdom drop by dulcet drop. And yet, from her I had the sense of a predator.

Was she loved? Was she feared? By me she was both loved and feared.

And so did I become drunk on the both amative and abominable absinthe of her persona.

Alphabet

There are three sets of characters, or rather each character has three forms. The first is called "Initial" the first character of the first word in a sentence is written this way. It's not unlike starting with a capital letter. The second is called "Final", and is similar in function to Initial except the last character of the last word in a sentence is written this way serving as punctuation. The third is called "Medial", since only the first and last character of a sentence take Initial and Final forms respectively, most words are written entirely in medial script.

Consonants

• B
• D
• F
• G
• H
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• P
• R
• S
• T
• V
• W
• X (Pron. as "Z" at the start of words, and "Ks" elsewhere)

There is no Q, nor Z (but see above)

Vowels

Vowel	Pronunciation
A	as in Fawn
E	as in Enter
I	as in Include
O	as in Own
U	as in Uber
Y	as in Yellow

Other Constructions

Names

-	Male	Female
Name	Kord	Yadha
-	Tarik	Sivir
-	Xoltan	Tupek
-	Shamnt	Gyrg

Numbers

In written form Arabic numerals are used, but in later writings Roman numerals appear as well.

Each tenth, (10,20,30,40…) is formed by taken the number in the tens digit and adding -a to the end of it. Beyond 10, "ben" (lit. meaning "and") is added followed by the name of the number in the 1s digit. The ordinals are formed by taking the name of the cardinal and adding the prefix usually used to make nouns into adjectives (using the appropriate one depending on whether it starts with a consonant or a vowel. (The exception to Vu` is the Nak` added to Elk and like numbers.)

Numeral (#)	Cardinal (One…)	Ordinal (1st)
1	Juin	Vu`Juin
2	Kard	Vu`Kard
3	Wid	Vu`Wid
4	Ref	Vu`Wif
5	Tolp	Vu`Tolp
6	Elk	Nak`Elk
7	Xob	Vu`Xob
8	Bert	Vu`Bert
9	Guln	Vu`Guln
10	Juina	Vu`Juinabenuin
11	Juinabenuin	-
12	Juinabenard	-
13	Juinabenid	-
14	Juinabenef	-
15	Juinabenolp	-
16	Juinabenelk	-
17	Juinabenob	-
18	Juinabenert	-
19	Juinabenuln
20	Karda	-
21	Kardabenin	-