Conlangers

mattūtōnte

This refers to someone with authority, generally earned through some sort of mastery of skill. It is also a specific guild rank in certain guilds.

Sentence #37:
ē ñi sapāla luhañen aþ temme jakekōrja ke mēla matūttōnte sū mīþi hāl ien ē se jawēra sarāpa mo jamāonre þō ī ōrra ñi makerāon manōña il jahōλen ī hēja ñatta sāen makerāon āl cī ī hēja ñi sāen rā jamāonre mē cī aþ ilwae ñi sāen manōña rēha;
Still he was weeping, and one with authority, in front of the rest, explained to him that this city was named sarāpa and that the king had been dead a long time and now they would make him the king and that he should come into the city and then never would he die.

ove

• (v.) to dissipate
• (n.) dissipation
• (adj.) dissipating

He kupiki ue ie ove o heva.
“Let’s wait for the fog to clear.”

Notes: Here’s an iku I thought worked out very well by happenstance. It’s a standard ikunoala (combination of o and fe), but it’s reminiscent of several similar words. Compare, for example, heva, which describes a wide area (e.g. one that something would disperse across) or is the word for “fog”. There’s also kawi, the word for “cloud”, which is a thing that may or may not disperse.

Another coincidence is the word ovethat in Dothraki, which means “to fly”. I don’t know if I ever gave much thought to the phonetic sequence [ove], but it seems to have cemented itself in my head as…airy, in some way. Actually what comes to mind specifically is the sound of a large bird’s wings flapping. Ove, ove ove… Is that just me? I think it might be…

olu

• (adj.) wide
• (v.) to be wide
• (n.) width
• (v.) to be open (said of mouths, eyes and similar things)
• (adj.) open

Témepa, olu lau o lea.
“Temba, his arms wide.”

Notes: That quote is from the famous (or infamous) Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Darmok”, where the alien Tamarians have a language that they apparently refuse to use—or understand. A truly puzzling one to think about as a language enthusiast.

Today’s iku is, I think, the real base for fala, the Kamakawi word for “father”, as opposed to opu, the Kamakawi word for “flea”. This one’s a true ikunoala (a straightforward blend of o and lu), and fala is the same glyphed simply flipped around.

And, of course, it’d make sense (perhaps?) for there to be a word for “father” before a word for “flea”, so it seems likelier that the glyph for fala had a notch added to it to produce opu, rather than the notch having been removed from opu to produce fala.

So, yes. I’m glad to have that figured out. On to the next mystery…

jatanīsa

This is an adornment worn on the body for decoration, like jewelry or beads or some such thing. It is related to janīsa “bead”.

Sentence #36:
il ñi sapāla sū xō il ñi mēli rū jamāonre rā jatarōn jawēha jahāwa nū nīkan anīλi nīkan antanīsi nīkan anlāni nīkan anlāsi;
While he was there weeping, people came from the city to near the edge of the mirage with cloths and decorations and greetings and welcomes.