Lanwe

In progress

Za heidazedo dovgyn.
'The more one knows, the more one laughs.'

Lanwe was first conceptualized as a sort of argot for the kinds of kids who make mud potions and read fantasy books under their covers with flashlights, who could use a way to communicate their wonderings and plans outside the purview of adults or more judging peers. I've set it aside a number of times, but it seems I haven't stopped needing/wanting a language like that.

Phonology and Phonotactics

Consonants

Vowels

Though I usually like to have a robust set of phonotactic rules, Lanwe's phonotactics are currently defined by vibes. There are clusters, and I haven't laid out which kinds are and aren't allowed other than which ones I do and don't like saying. /w/, /j/, and /h/ definitely aren't allowed in coda position outside of bare roots, but that's as much a consequence of the grammar as it is the phonotactics.

Morphology and Syntax

All root words in Lanwe can manifest as nouns, verbs, or adjectives.

Alzy
To do with plants or growing

Alza
Plant

Alzen
(It) is a plant; (it) grows.

Alzan
Plantlike

The object of a sentence is marked with a word-final m:

Na alzam lylen.
You see the plant.

Ma alzam ealen.
I decide to grow.

A number of other suffixes can attach to nouns to fulfill different case roles:

Alzanwe
The plant's; of the plant

Alzaje
To the plant

Alzale
On/in/at/by the plant

Alzabe
With/using/from the plant

Nouns in Lanwe all fall into one of 3 classes: Familiar, Dangerous, and Wondrous. The final vowel of a noun (ignoring any clitics) indicates its class:

Familiar: Alza
Ex. Grass

Dangerous: Alzu
Ex. Poison ivy

Wondrous: Alzi
Ex. Redwood tree

Adjectives end with -n, follow nouns, and are required to agree with the nouns they modify in class:

Alza gadhan
Ex. A sharp succulent

Alzu gadhun
Ex. A sharp locust tree

Alzi gadhin
Ex. A sharp rose

Verbs also end in -n, but with different vowels and semi-vowels before the final consonant to indicate one of four tenses:

Present: Vilen
(It) is currently moving.

Past: Vilwen
(It) moved.

Future: Viljen
(It) will moved.

Gnomic: Vilyn
(It) moves in general; it is something that moves.

When the root word ends in a w or j, a schwa is inserted before the past and future tense suffixes:

Dalwywen
(It) was sweet.

Dalwyjen
(It) will be sweet.

Dovajywen
(One) desired.

Dovajyjen
(One) will desire.

Since verbs have no class, adverbs that modify verbs take the -on suffix:

Alzi gadhen mudon.
The rose is very sharp.

While adverbs modifying adjectives are made using genitival constructions (adjectives in sequence all modify the main noun, never each other):

Alzi gadhanwe mudan
The very sharp rose

Alzi gadhin mudin
Many sharp roses

Alzi gadhin mudanwe zeladan
Appropriately many sharp roses

Lanwe allows for a number of converbial constructions, all of which end in -o. Some converbs encode tense information:

Alzeno
If it grows (right now); if it (individually) is a plant
Alzweno
If it grew; if it was a plant
Alzjeno
If it grows (in the future); if it turns out to be a plant
Alzyno
If it grows (in general); if it (in general) is a plant

Alzemo
Because it is growing; because it (individually) is a plant
Alzwemo
Because it grew; because it was a plant
Alzjemo
Because it will grow; because it will be a plant
Alzymo
Because it grows; because it (in general) is a plant

Alzedho
Although it is growing; although it (individually) is a plant
Alzwedho
Although it grew; although it was a plant
Alzjedho
Although it will grow; although it will be a plant
Alzydho
Although it grows; although it (in general) is a plant

While others do not:

Alzelo
While it grows; while it is a plant

Alzevo
In order to grow; so that it grows; so that it's a plant

Alzazedo
To the point that it grows; it grows the more (x)

The primary sentence order is SOV. The use of cases allows for some changing around of word order, though verbs are not allowed to appear at the beginnings of main clauses.

(The following notes on emphasis are subject to change.)

Na alzam lylen.
You see the plant.

Alzam na lylen.
You see the plant (with an emphasis on the plant).

Na lylen alzam.
You see the plant (with an emphasis on seeing).

Alzam lylen na.
You see the plant (with an emphasis on you).

Lanwe distinguishes between past, present, future, and gnomic participles, which end in -o like converbs. These participles are also used to form relative clauses:

Alzweo
Grown

Alzeo
Growing (currently)

Alzjeo
About to grow

Alzo
Growing (in general)

Lana alzeo
The growing person

Lana dam alzeo
The person who is making things grow

Da lana alzeo
The thing that the person is making grow

Lana mjanam adylo ivazwen alzam.
The person who loves us both helped the plant.

Dva lani nohin lanweo mazum mudun dvyn.
The house that the tired ghost came to haunt is home to many beasts.

Quotative and content clauses are rendered in any verb-final word order, and the main verb is suffixed with -da, often placed in the accusative:

Zu ahjendam ma nije udaven.
I'm telling you, he'll awaken.

Mizhum odhjeno ma guljendam na dovgen.
You know that if I drink this, I'll be unwell.

Za dewenda ejalam manwe banwen.
The fact that she's here is influencing my decision.

Za lyljendam ma dovajywen.
I wanted her to see.

Contrast with: Ma dovajywen dam za lyljeo.
I wanted the thing that she will see.

Prepositions not already covered by the case system are largely derived from parts of the body:

Vawale zanwe
Above them (lit. at their arm)
(The space of the arm is often considered space above in Lanwe, rather than space in front. Particularly in spaces designed with adults in mind, much of what's in (or just out of) arm's reach for a child is above them, not in front of them.)

Owalu vanwen bjenaje dvanwe bodan.
The bullies ran to the the big house's basement (lit. the dangerous group went to the feet of the big house).

Vocabulary Highlights

Numbers go up to 5 in Lanwe, with all numbers six or higher rendered with the root mud-, meaning "many." Number words function as all other root words do, and can have distinct meanings as verbs or adjectives, but when used as counting numbers, all non-zero numbers are placed in the Familiar class, and zero in the Dangerous class.

0 Ehu
1 Ava
2 Doda
3 Galna
4 Iza
5 Jenda
6+ Muda

A number of words are references/tributes to specific people or things. After showing a friend of mine who does standup comedy what his name looks like in one of Lanwe's scripts, and noting that the name sounds like a present tense verb because of the "-en" ending, I coined the root "heidy," having to do with laughter and humor. "Ivazy," the root word for healing and support, is in reference to my ongoing experience with IFS therapy. As some astute conlangers might have guessed, "zelady," which originally referred to beauty and has since shifted to refer to fittingness, is an homage to Tolkien's "cellar door." "Labany", which refers to music and dance, is an intentional reference to Rudolph Laban, and "ozy", which refers to magic, force and electricity, is a fully unintentional reference to the Wizard of Oz.

If you're coming here from any Rhapsodaic material, you'll likely recognize the Familiar-Dangerous-Wondrous scheme from its semantics. Lanwe is where it started, and the three-fold division of stems in Rhapsodaic's original script happened to map well to it, which proved very helpful when assigning meanings to stems. I'm very fond of the system's symmetry; unlike some trinaries that are really a binary with a middle point, in this system any of the three classes could be conceived of as a midpoint between the other two. If Familiar is what lies within a given boundary and Wondrous is what lies outside it, then Dangerous is what crosses that boundary line. If Wondrous is what sparks large positive emotions and Dangerous is what sparks large negative emotions, then Familiar is what sparks no large emotions either way. And if Familiar is what works to help you and Dangerous is what works to hurt you, then Wondrous is what has no vested interest in doing either to you. For mere example.