Conlangers

fau

• (n.) petrified tree

Ipe i fau.
“That’s a petrified tree.”

Notes: Okay, I know there must be some reason this word exists. I remember I really liked the idea for the iku, but it couldn’t have just been that. I must’ve come across it in a dictionary somewhere… Either that or I was reading up on petrified trees—something. I know I wouldn’t have made a basic term for “petrified tree”—and an ikuiku to boot—without some very clear, very real excuse.

That’s my excuse. For the time being.

āniþ

Line 9 of the Kēlen Jabberwocky:

āniþ ēnne; āniþ ēnne; ñamma jatāŋŋi ŋō tō jēste jarūsīsse rā ma kiē;

(See Nov 7th’s post for an introduction.)

āniþ is a word for “one”. āniþ ēnne; āniþ ēnne; is “One, two. One, two”.

il ōrralon ñi jarewēλecāwāŋŋi ā jawēlrūlri rū jaxēwepōma āñ;
se jarāŋŋen mo jatēññāntetūrāŋŋeni; ñi japiēlkāhi tō jarōhāþi lā;

sere jakewāla to macāppacāe sapīra jasūpa sakāca jaþāla nā;
to makīmaþālen masāknenūren to macūcū matū ñi ma rū ma pēxa cī;

il jahōλa ñamma masēnre maxōsa ā sāen japērnō jaλāten nīkamma sakū;
tō jāo sema jaþēλa mo sāen ma ñi maþārre matōrja sū jasātsātena tā;

il jīla þō ñi macāppacāe matāλisse rā xō rā jamēþena jaxēla kiē;
ānen sarōña janāola ñi jaxīra ñe ankālli ankālleni anūmi nā;

āniþ ēnne; āniþ ēnne; ñamma jatāŋŋi ŋō tō jēste jarūsīsse rā ma kiē;

In the afternoon, the circular lizards did gyre and gimble around the shadow-stick.
The easily-annoyed thin-winged bird-spiders were annoyed.
     The lost chicken-pigs make cough-cries!

Beware macāppacāe, its biting teeth, its many catching claws,
the frumious makīmaþālen, the macūcū bird
     Be away from them.

For 1/8th of a day, he searched for his enemy, a deadly blade in his hand.
Therefore, leaning and still, he thought under the jasātsātena.

At that moment, mercurial macāppacāe came to there through the dark woods.
With flaming eyes, he made a noise like very loud popping bubbles.

One, two. One, two.

ankāllen

Line 8 of the Kēlen Jabberwocky:

ānen sarōña janāola ñi jaxīra ñe ankālli ankālleni anūmi nā;

(See Nov 7th’s post for an introduction.)

ankāllen is something bubbles do, namely “pop”. So ankālli ankālleni anūmi nā is “very loud popping bubbles”.

il ōrralon ñi jarewēλecāwāŋŋi ā jawēlrūlri rū jaxēwepōma āñ;
se jarāŋŋen mo jatēññāntetūrāŋŋeni; ñi japiēlkāhi tō jarōhāþi lā;

sere jakewāla to macāppacāe sapīra jasūpa sakāca jaþāla nā;
to makīmaþālen masāknenūren to macūcū matū ñi ma rū ma pēxa cī;

il jahōλa ñamma masēnre maxōsa ā sāen japērnō jaλāten nīkamma sakū;
tō jāo sema jaþēλa mo sāen ma ñi maþārre matōrja sū jasātsātena tā;

il jīla þō ñi macāppacāe matāλisse rā xō rā jamēþena jaxēla kiē;
ānen sarōña janāola ñi jaxīra ñe ankālli ankālleni anūmi nā;

In the afternoon, the circular lizards did gyre and gimble around the shadow-stick.
The easily-annoyed thin-winged bird-spiders were annoyed.
     The lost chicken-pigs make cough-cries!

Beware macāppacāe, its biting teeth, its many catching claws,
the frumious makīmaþālen, the macūcū bird
     Be away from them.

For 1/8th of a day, he searched for his enemy, a deadly blade in his hand.
Therefore, leaning and still, he thought under the jasātsātena.

At that moment, mercurial macāppacāe came to there through the dark woods.
With flaming eyes, he made a noise like very loud popping bubbles.

fa’e

• (v.) to boil
• (adj.) boiling

A fa’e lelea.
“The water is boiling.”

Notes: Today’s iku may look familiar. It’s the iku for mate turned on its head.

Oh, shoot, wait a minute… Actually, maybe it’s the iku for novu with steam rising off the top, and mate is the iku for fa’e turned on its head. Darn!

I guess it kind of depends what order these glyphs were created in. Surely the word for “boil” would precede the word for “soup”, because you couldn’t have the latter without the former. Or could you…? Oh, but wait a minute: that’s not at issue. The iku for novu (“soup”) certainly preceded the iku for fa’e, whether or not the words were coined in that order. What’s at issue is the order of fa’e and mate (“pour”). Seems to me the latter word would come about first, but that doesn’t mean the iku would’ve come first… I’m going to go out on a limb and say that fa’e came first, and mate is fa’e turned on its head.

So, yes. Revise what I said above. Revise, I say!

awitipo

• (v.) to be sweet, to taste sweet
• (adj.) sweet, sweet-tasting
• (n.) sweetness

Owe: E awitipo! E feya i’i kau!
“Ahhh, the sweetness! It knocks me down!”

Notes: I’m back from my sojourn up to Northern California, where I was able to get a taste of some Shubert’s ice cream. Here’s what I had:

For those not in the know, Shubert’s was voted the second best ice cream store in America awhile back. And since the number one ice cream store got its title because it offers a $1,000 sundae (that’s how much you pay. What a joke!), I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to say that Shubert’s is the best ice cream shop in America.

And it just so happens to be in my wife’s hometown. Not bad!

Anyway, whenever we go up, I make sure to get some Shubert’s. I only made it out once this time, but man, was it good! That’s three scoops of ice cream: mocha chip, chocolate chip and cookies and cream. I love their mocha chip. Will not touch coffee (the drink), but when it comes in ice cream form, it’s pretty darn good.

Today’s word derives from the word uitipo, the word for “mango”. While “mango” is pretty incredible, I think the word awitipo doesn’t quite cover what “sweet” covers in English. That is, awitipo still has the “mango” right in it, so you get a certain type of “sweet” with it. Of course, in the era I’m thinking of, things like “ice cream” are completely unknown to the Kamakawi (reason enough for staying put here in 21st century Southern California), so the taste sensation doesn’t really need to be described by the language. Some day, though, far in the future…

Oh, by the way, this is what Shubert’s ice cream looks like when it’s gone: