48.076 APF
This is to be my last entry. The stroke I suffered two days ago has rendered me paralyzed on my left side. Yasuko has been kind enough to transcribe these words for me. I had hoped to live to see half a Floran century on this planet, but it was not to be. I look back with pride on what we have accomplished. I must leave it to the succeeding generations to look forward. ... The doctors have told me my condition is exacerbated due to the lack of certain drugs -- drugs derived from plants. Warfarin, I believe, is the agent they would prefer to administer to me, but we have none. When I was living on Earth, I took for granted the abundance of life that nourished us and healed us. If we are to truly thrive as a people, it is imperative we return to the stars, return to Earth, and at some point return to the human community there. We will not survive otherwise.
[48.078 APF
Koichi Kyhana died today, 2 segments past zenith meridian. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were at his side. He had requested his ashes be scattered on the sea, so he will be with Sarah. Thank you, Father, for the gift of survival. --Yasuko Kyhana Davis]
Appendix II -- Lingwafloran: An Introduction to the Language of Planet Floran
Introduction
The language Esperanto was employed on the ill-fated Centauri Colony mission. Because the mission was multi-national, this artificial language was chosen. After PlanetFall, the colonists aboard the Floran continued to use Esperanto, and they taught it to their children and grandchildren as their first language. As the years progressed, the language evolved. Lingwafloran derives most of its native vocabulary from Esperanto, although new words continue to be coined.
Structurally, Lingwafloran differs from Esperanto in the following ways:
Inflection has been greatly simplified.
All verb conjugations have been abandoned.
Word endings have changed. The -o ending to indicate nouns has shifted to -a. Verb endings have been abandoned, except for the -i ending on infinitives.
Sentence meanings formed in Esperanto by inflection and conjugation have been replaced by the use of particles. These words change the mood or the tense of a sentence without otherwise altering its meaning.
Lingwafloran is a spare, logical language with few irregularities and a very straightforward syntax and grammar.
Spelling
Spelling is phonetic using the following alphabet:
A as in father
N
B
O as in echo
C1
P
D
Q1
E2
R
F
S as in see
G as in go
T
H
u as in dune
I as in fish
V
J as in July
W
K
X ch as in chess
L
Y3
M
Z
Note 1: Obsolete, used exclusively for proper names
Note 2: Pronounced as “e” in echo; unless at the end of a word, then as “ay” in say.
Note 3: Y is pronounced as a strong “ee” as in see. It is usually found in proper names
Note 4: “SH” and “TH” sounds are not present in the language
There are no irregular spellings or pronounciations.
Grammar
Lingwafloran grammar and syntax are exceptionally simple and regular. For declarative sentences, word order is always subject - object - verb. For questions, word order is object - verb-subject. Mi zi am. I love you. Mi am-zi? Do you love me? Phrases and clauses follow the same rules as for sentences. In both the spoken and written language, common usage is to elide a pronoun object with the verb as a prefix, and to form contractions to eliminate adjacent vowels. Noun and phrase objects are not so elided. This usage is optional, and is employed (or, not employed) as a tool for emphasis. Mi z'am. I love you. (vs Mi zi am. I love you.) Mi mimarx. I walk.
Telescoping Syntax
Complex sentences may be formed by using phrases, clauses, or even complete sentences as the objects of verbs. These may be telescoped to any depth, although comprehension becomes difficult beyond a depth of four or five.
As an example, Andra tells Nyk that,
"My parents realized they had the genetic raw material to produce a candidate for the schools.”
In Lingwafloran, this sentence would be (and is what Andra actually said):
Mu patrien lin genete krudemateria kandidat per xi lernien fabriki posed't kompren't.
If this sentence is rewritten with brackets identifying the phrases, the three- level telescoped syntax becomes apparent:
[Mu patrien [lin genete krudemateria [kandidat per xi lernien fabriki] posed't] kompren't].
The phrase, “kandidat per xi lernien fabriki” (lit, “[a] candidate for the schools to fabricate") is an infinitive phrase that modifies krudemateria (raw material); the infinitive fabriki must be at the end of the phrase. The phrase “lin genete krudemateria kandidat per xi lernien fabriki posed't” is a complete sentence that can stand on its own: “They possessed the genetic raw material to produce a candidate for the schools.” This sentence becomes the object of the verb kompren't (realized).
Elegant expression of complex thoughts through nesting is a cherished characteristic of Floran literature, and politicians admire the obfuscatory power of telescoped syntax in speechwriting. In conversation, however, Florans tend to employ simple and direct sentences.
Verbs
Verb usage is also simple and regular. There are no declensions. Each verb has a root, a participle and an infinitive. All verbs are transitive. Intransitive actions are expressed with reflexive objects: Mi xi libra lej. I read the book. Mi mi lej. I read. Mi mi marx. I walk. Adding “-i” to the verb root forms infinitives: marxi to walk. Mi marxi ir. I go to walk. Infinitives are used in lieu of a present participle. Mi leji ju. I enjoy reading.
Past tense/past participles are formed by adding 't. marx't: walked Mi mi marx't. I walked.
A special class of verbs exist known as forkeverben (fork-verbs). These can take two objects in order to express an action on a primary object passing from the subject to a secondary object. Sentence structure is subject - secondary object - primary object - verb. An example is donati, to give -- the subject gives a primary object to a secondary object. Mi Kovina xi libra donat't. I gave the book to Kovina. In this example Kovina is the secondary object and xi libra (the book) is the primary object. Andra-lu patrien xi lernia lita vend't. Andra's parents sold her to the school.
Particles
Tenses other than the simple present and simple past, and moods other than the indicative, are formed by inserting particles into the sentence. These are otherwise meaningless words whose sole function is to modify the tense or mood of the sentence. Particles may be placed anywhere within the sentence. Most commonly, particles are placed immediately after the subject; fine shades of meaning are developed by the location of the particle. The closer the particle is to the verb, the greater the emphasis on the tense or mood over the meaning of the sentence.
Past perfect is formed by adding the particle ve to the sentence. Mi ve mi marx't. I have walked.
The progressive tense is formed by adding the particle vi to the sentence. Mi vi mi marx. I am walking. Mi vi mi marx't. I was walking.
The future tense is formed by adding the particle va to the sentence. Mi va mi marx. I will walk. Mi va marxi ir. I will go walking.
Future progressive is formed with the particle vavi. Mi vavi mi marx. I will be walking. Mi vavi marxi ir. I will be going to walk.
Conditional expressions, and the subjunctive mood, are formed with the particle vave. Mi vave mi marx. I would walk. Se mi vave rixe vira es. If I were a rich man. Future conditional is formed with the particle veva. Mi veva mi marx. I will have walked.
The imperative mood is formed with the particle dev. Zi dev xi libra mi donat. Give m
e the book.
The language possesses a fourth mood in addition to the indicative, the imperative and the subjunctive: the suggestive. This mood is used in expressing the desire for agreement, and is formed with the particle niva. This mood is used extensively in discussions, as Florans are consensus-builders. The sense of the suggestive mood is difficult to express in English; the closest approximation is “let us". Ni ni marx. We walk. Ni niva ni marx. Let's walk. Ni niva n'amor. Let's make love. Ni niva amfen es, nu fortunen va kune edzek. Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together. Niva, as a response, means “yes, let's” (colloq).
Nouns
Noun usage is slightly less regular than verb usage. Nouns are genderless. In general, nouns end in -a, but this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Plurals are formed by adding or replacing the ending with -en. Possessives are formed by adding -u. xi viru libren, the man's books. xi virenu libren, the men's books. Proper names do not form possessives. Instead, the name is followed by a possessive pronoun. Mu libren. My books. Ilsa-lu libren. Ilsa's books.
Nouns may be formed by joining other nouns or nouns with modifiers. This practice is optional and is employed as a tool for emphasis. Ex: krudemateria = raw material (krude + materia); however expressing this as either a single word or as two would be equally valid.
An unusual aspect of the language is the widespread and rich usage of endings to indicate diminutives and familiars. This is no doubt a feature of the language that evolved to facilitate the expression of love, as the Florans pride themselves on being a nation of lovers. The most common diminutive endings are - in, meaning little or fond, and -ta, meaning dear or sweet. Examples: vira man; virin boy (little man); virta gentleman (sweet man); virinta dear, sweet man, dear boy.
Modifiers
Modifiers serve as both adjectives and adverbs, and generally end in -e. In some cases the same word serves as either an adjective or an adverb, depending on context. Modifiers may precede or follow the word being modified. Example: malume dark brune brown malumebrune okulen dark brown eyes. Modifiers may be constructed from verbs by adding the -e ending to the verb root. Example: peli to drive, pele, driven. Li pele vira es. He is a driven man.
Modifiers may also be formed by adding the -e ending to nouns. Example, vira man, vire manly; virin boy, virine boyish. Xa dama damine figura hav. That woman has a girlish figure.
Negation
The particle for negation is ne, which alone means no. Only verbs may negated. This is done by applying ne as a prefix. Lingwafloran does not recognize the concept of the double negative. Once an action is negated, additional occurrences of ne do not alter the sense of the negation, and multiple occurrences of ne are often inserted for emphasis. Mi nexiam z'ami nehalt va. I'll never stop loving you.
Articles
There are no indefinite articles.
Definite Articles
xi the
xa that
xe this
xan those
xen these
Pronouns
mi i/me
zi you
li he/she
xi it
ni us
zin you
lin they
xin they
mu my
zu your
lu his/hers
xu its
nu our
zun your
lun their
xun their
ki who
ka what
ke where
kel which
ku whose
kil how
la there
Note 1: use of xi as an article or as a pronoun is determined by context
Note 2: lin/lun is used to refer to people or animate entities, xin/xun refers to objects
Note 3: diminuitive endings may be applied to pronouns. Ex: z'inta (zi+in+ta)=dear, sweet you
Vocabulary
An exhaustive dictionary of Floran words is beyond the scope of this appendix. A list of words used in the relating Nykkyo's story is presented below.
Lingwafloran
English
akwa
water
al
to
ama
friendship, love
amfa
friend, lover
amfin
companion, concubine
amfta
dear friend, dear lover
ami
to like, to love
amori
to make love
anke
also, too
ardi
to want, to desire
ax'amfa
gigolo
ax'amfin
finishing-school grad
ax'amorfa
whore
bele
beautiful
bone
good, well
Lingwafloran
English
bon'matina
good morning
bon'noka
good night
bon'taka
good day
bon'veni
welcome
bon'viv
please
brune
brown
demonde
off-world
denke
thank you
detrui
to destroy
dev
forms imperative
devi
to have to, must
diri
to tell, to say, to speak
doktor
doctor (as a title)
donati
to give
ekzamini
to examine
eltir
to remove, to take out
enxip
to board (a vessel)
esi
to be
fabriki
to build
feti
to do
forti
to strengthen
Lingwafloran
English
gamba
leg
halti
to stop
havi
to have
igi
to get
ji
yes
jui
to enjoy
kaja
bed, platform
kel
which
kelke
some
kor
heart
korlyta
sweetheart, dearest
ky
and
levi
to raise
li
lifxarpa
woman's sash
lita
she, her (colloq.)
litu
hers (colloq)
malume
dark
manja
food, meal
medika
doctor of medicine
mi
I, me
Lingwafloran
English
mu
my
ne
no, forms negative
nexiam
never
ni
we, us
niva
forms suggestive
noma
name
nu
our
nun
now
obei
to obey
okula
eye
paketa
packet, starlin
er
per
for
perfa
agent
permesi
to permit
psykomedika
psychiatrist
recevi
to receive
regardi
to regard
reveni
to return
saluti
hello, greetings
sanga
blood
senta
feeling, sensation
Lingwafloran
English
senti
to feel
serva
service
sona
sound
taka
day
tien
here
tiri
to take