Rakash Grammar
by Ivukav Voskid
1 MORPHOLOGY
1.0 PARTS OF SPEECH
The parts of speech in Rakash are nouns, verbs, modifiers,
pronouns, prepostions, and conjunctions.
1.1 NOUNS
1.1.1 NUMBER
Rakash nouns have only a single form rather than the
singular and plural forms of, say, Gamgweth. If there
is a need to indicate more than one, the noun is pre-
ceded by a number or by the word kads, indicating an
undetermined quantity.
Examples:
tris Rukis "three Gnomes"; kads Rukis "some Gnomes".
1.1.1.2 NUMERALS
Rakash counting consists of compounding numbers. A
number drops its last vowel and adds fadsrit for
numerals between eleven and twenty. After nineteen,
add desrit "ten", sirt "hundred", tukstos "thousand".
Ais is added to a number to indicate position instead
of quantity. Examples:
two divi
second divais
twelve divfadsrit
twenty divdesrit
two hundred divi sirt
two thousand divi tukstos
ten desrit
tenth desritais
hundred sirt
thousand tukstos
1.1.2 GENDER
When necessary, the gender of an ambiguous noun can be
shown by adding 's' to the end of the word for masculine
gender or 'r' for feminine gender.
Examples:
nacija "people", gender unspecified or mixed;
nacijar "a group of women"; nacijas "a group of men".
1.2 VERBS
1.2.1 TENSE
Rakash has six different tenses, shown by a tense indi-
cator placed just before the verb and an ending on the
verb itself. In these examples, notice the development
of the verb saest "eat".
Simple Present Tense: used for habitual action.
-- Add nothing:
Cefrit eats eggs.
Cefrit saest olsuna.
Present Perfect Tense: shows a completed action or state
that has relevance at the present time.
-- Add aws before the verb.
Cefrit has eaten eggs.
Cefrit aws saest olsuna.
Present Progressive Tense: used for actions or states
continuing at the present time.
-- Add o to the end of the verb.
Cefrit is eating some eggs.
Cefrit vut saesto kads osluna.
Simple Past Tense.
-- Add dzu before the verb.
Cefrit ate some eggs.
Cefrit dzu saest kads olsuna.
Past Perfect Tense: shows completed action in the past.
-- Add dzuaws before the verb. (Notice it is a com-
bination of the perfect tense indicator and the
past tense indicator.)
Cefrit had eaten some eggs.
Cefrit dzuaws saest kads osluna
Past Progressive Tense: shows continuing action in
the past.
-- Add dzu before the verb and o to the end of it.
Cefrit was eating some eggs.
Cefrit vut dzu saesto kads osluna.
1.2.2 MODAL VERBS
Rakash has no other tenses, but it does have words like
those used in Common to show various contexts of the
verb. These words are often called modal auxiliaries
or modal verbs and are placed before the verb or tense
indicator. The order is: modal - tense indicator - verb.
For ability or permission: vare "can"; varet "could".
You can run but he will find you.
Jusu vare skrawt citka vins griva jusu atrast.
You could hide but they will search for you.
Jusu varet noglavat citka vini griva jo jusu reklet.
Indicating possibility: drikste "may"; drikstet "might".
An Empath may ask before healing me.
Erfatija drikste lugt awfra dzawdinaso ran.
Martyr might heal me if I ask.
Martyr drikstet dawdinsast vai es lugt.
Indicating obligation: lik "shall"; likt "should"
The sun shall follow the rain.
Saule lik lawtus awtfat.
The blizzard should stop soon.
Snawgavetra likt driz cawrot.
Indicating future time: griva "will"; grivat "would".
The river will grow above its bed and cover the land.
Ufe griva augt virs ta gulta un zere aspegt.
He would work hard to get food.
Vins grivat gruts darvs krajuri sanert.
Indicating compulsion: vinogu "must".
You must swim or go down in a lake.
Jusu vinogu ezer feldesant vai lejufa kustivat.
1.2.3 FORMATION OF NOUNS FROM VERBS
Most Rakash verbs end in the sound represented by the
letter t. A related noun is often formed by dropping
this sound: Examples:
lawkt "to bend", lawk "a bend in something";
luzurt "to break", luzur "a break in something";
saraisit "to mix",
saraisi "a mixture".
1.3 MODIFIERS
Rakash does not have adjectives and adverbs as separate
parts of speech. Instead, words we can call modifiers
work on either a noun or a verb. These modifiers are
placed immediately before the word they modify:
relna pasutit "black book"
Cefrit wrote the price in his black book.
Cefrit dzu rakstit cena awksa vinas relna pasutit.
Words that modify a modifier, like "his" in the example
above or 'little' in the one below also appear directly
before the word they modify:
Cefrit wrote the price in his little black book.
Cefrit dzu rakstit cena awksa vinas mazs relna pasutit.
1.4 PRONOUNS
Most Rakash pronouns are used like those found in Common
except when the pronoun in question refers to another
Rakash. In that case, tev is used preceeding or instead
of the other pronoun, depending on the choice of the user.
Function in Sentence
Subject Object Modifier
First person singular:
Es "I" ran "me" rans "my/mine"
First person plural:
res "we" asv "us" rusu/rusejra "our/ours"
Second person, all uses:
jusu "you / your / yours"
Third person singular:
vins "he" sev "him" vinas "his"
vinr "she" sevr "her" vinar "her/hers"
ta "it" ta "it" ta "its"
Third person plural:
vini "they" vini "them" vinu "their/theirs"
1.5 PREPOSITIONS
about = af in = awksa
above = virs into = turklat
across = fari of = del
after = aiz off = fror
against = fret on = uz
ahead = frawksa onto = uz
along = gar out = ara
among = starf outside = svaiga
around = af over = otrfus
before = awfra past = gar
behind = aiz through = fa
beneath = zer till = lidz
besides = vez to = uz
between = starf toward = uz
but = citka under = zem
by = caur until = lidz
down = lejufa up = augsuf
during = liaka upon = virs
except = iznerot with = ar
for = jo within = rovezas
from = no without = arfuse
1.6 CONJUNCTIONS
and = un if = vai
because = tafec or = vai
both = avi that = lai
but = citka unless = ja ne
either = ari while = karer
2 SYNTAX
2.1 SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Rakash sentences normally have a subject-verb-object order
for simple sentences. The language includes the coordin-
ate sentences, where clauses are joined by a conjunction:
Sheri likes chocolate but Zima likes wine.
Sheri veletawt sokolade citka Zima veletawt zufo.
In addtion, Rakash has two kinds of subordinate clauses,
included clauses and relative clauses.
2.1.1 INCLUDED CLAUSES
These clauses in reality are sentences that are treated
as the subject or object of the main verb. Included
clauses begin with the word lai. Example:
John expected that it would rain.
John dzu gaidit lai ta grivat lawtus.
2.1.2 RELATIVE CLAUSES
These are clauses that modify a word in the main sen-
tence. They begin with a relative pronoun (kur and kurs
in the examples below), and are placed immediately after
the word they modify.
I know a man who has only nine fingers.
Es zinat virawtis kur vut vaunigais devin firkst.
John's cloak which Jane sewed is very colorful.
John rantija kurs Jane dzu sut vut kads krasa.
The relative pronouns are:
"how" cik "when" kad "who/whom" kur
"if/whether" vai "where" kurp "whose" kura
"what" kas "which" kurs "why" awmesls
2.2 QUESTIONS, EXCLAMATIONS, AND COMMANDS
2.2.1 QUESTIONS
Rakash indicates a question by placing the word ne
immediately after the word being questioned.
Examples:
Vut ne vins luk?
Is ? he here (Expects a "yes" or "no" answer.)
Vut vins ne luk?
Is he ? here (As opposed to someone else.)
Vut vins luk ne?
Is he here ? (As opposed to somewhere else.)
2.2.2 EXCLAMATIONS
To show an exclamation, Rakash adds the capitalized
capitalized word Ak at the end of the sentence. Ak
translates very loosely as "Oh!"
Run, the sky is falling!
Skrawt, devesis vut kristo Ak.
2.2.3 COMMANDS
Commands are shown by beginning the sentence with the
word rad.
Examples:
You need to go home. Jusu vajadivut kustivat raja.
Go home. Rad kustivat raja.
Rakash Language -- Other Languages