Throughout the Years of the Fringe and even well into the early Thessian colonial period, Lilitika exhibited a continuity in the use of syntax and speech disfluencies. This has helped modern researchers identify the language as a single, contiguous entity with a wide range of registers (argolects) derived through a complex language game, whereas previously it was regarded as a loose federation of discrete, co-extant dialects that inexplicably refused to merge (see Old Dialectology of Lilitika and New Dialectology of Lilitika.) In addition to fluency in several different registers, an awareness of these mechanisms is necessary to be fully literate in the language.
The syntax of Lilitika can be unambiguously represented using a context-free grammar. (The grammar below has been slightly abbreviated from a "pure" CFG for legibility.) However, most dialects permit homonyms to appear in positions that can be ambiguous, such as subclauses being followed by either the FPIC conjunction lí or the mood particle lí. (Good writing style avoids the use of such formations.)
In the definitions below, terms surrounded by [square brackets] may present 0 or more times, terms in <angle brackets> are references to other definitions, and text in italics represents a specific lexical item.
Sentential adverbs often end in -éú. They usually function as discourse markers (see next section). Common sentential adverbs include des, nohenéú, nú, and fínanéú.
To create a conditional sentence, the adverbial proclitics sur, des, zúl, and zhur are used. This results in a series of independent clauses in one sentence, usually separated by commas; see section.
The normal conjunctions are khé, shíu, natíú, naté, and nashíu. They connect entire complexes or sentences. des can also be considered a sentence-level conjunction.
A leaf conjunction connects single words of the same part of speech, such as a pair of nouns or verbs. The leaf conjunctions are hé, síú, nitú, nai, and nasíú.
Normal adverbs end in -ai, -az, ad, or -ya, and must precede the verb(s) of a sentence. Tail adverbs end in -ais, -yadis, or -adis, and follow the verb(s).
Verb particles mainly define mood. They include korr, kin, lí, kai, dí, ké, kí, ím, and kwedzin.
The initialism "FPIC" (/ɛf.pɪk/) stands for "formal possession-indicating construct." It allows for relations to be described in verbal language.
The FPIC conjunctions are il, lí, ilú, idzhú, ilí, íé, and kwí. If an FPIC conjunction is used, nouns may be introduced into the sentence in a bare (unmarked nominative) form that are understood to be present only for the purpose of the FPIC clause and not as arguments of the verb. The actual subject of the sentence should be marked with the formal nominative (f-nom) for clarity. (In most forms of the language, the formal nominative consists of an "-if-" infix before the usual ending.)
Examples of proper FPIC usage:
The sesú clause is used to insert explanations for the nature of FPIC relations. It pertains to the last FPIC conjunction used. Sa lí mefísta (my mother) might be clarified as Sa lí mefísta sesú zelamekía (my mother by marriage) or Sa lí mefísta sesú tetúsha (my mother by birth).
The normal conjunctions are khé, shíu, natíú, naté, and nashíu. They connect entire complexes or sentences. iv is also used as a clause-level conjunction.
By default, prepositions end in -es. All forms of Lilitika allow for the noun's declension to be moved onto the preposition, leaving the root in the unmarked (bare nominative) form.
The complementizers are ts-, its later form sun-, and hedí-.
The optional oksi article is mutually exclusive with the normal article (in the noun complex, above) and consists of a hyphen and a declined pronoun, e.g. "Sarthía-likha". It is rarely found outside of early Íomanazinení documents.
The normal adjective suffix is -í for pre-adjectives and -is for post-adjectives. -yéra (comparative) and -yéreza (extremal) endings are usually only seen in pre-adjective form.
Lects invented after Sarasí Lilitika (Illeran, Ketalán, Rokéa II, etc.) prefer tail adjectives whenever possible. Aside from genitives, these usually resemble unmarked nouns matched for gender and number.
The normal adverb suffix is –ai in Oksí and Iomanazinení, -az in Zeyetaní, and -ya in Sarasí and later forms. As with adjectives, a different ending is used for postfix adverbs, mainly -adis. Some Sarasí inscriptions include the rare -ad, -adí, or -údí forms for prefix adverbs. -údí is a contraction of the adjective-deriving morpheme -urí with -adí. (e.g. polúdí, "joyously")
Prior to contact, sentential adverbs (discourse markers placed at the head of a sentence) had the ending -éú in most varieties. Rokéa II introduces -aste or -as for all regular adverbs.
Many adverbs are irregular and appear under dictionary headwords that do not end in -ai, -ya, or -éú.
In varieties of Lilitika that use noun-like postfix adjectives (see adjective definition), traditional adjectives (with -í and -is endings) modify those attributives instead. Adverbs only appear affecting nouns if (a) the speaker resorts to prefix adjectives for clarity, which still use the -í suffix, or (b) the adjectives modifying a noun-like postfix adjective need modification themselves.
The conditional proclitics are sur, des, zúl, and zhur. Note that des is also an independent adverb.
In Rokéa II, many aspects, moods, and tenses are represented through the addition of particles before or after the verb. These are:
The most common discourse markers in Lilitika are:
The exact forms vary between dialects.
The typical Lilitika interjections are:
These are much more stable across argolects, and are responsible for the -ím suffix of íowím and zhampím surviving long after Íomanazinení and Zeyetaní Lilitika ceased everyday use.
The typical vocables overlap with the interjections; they are as follows:
The usual placeholder words in Lilitika are egúlí, egúlu, dzu, and dzuvé.
Initially, the Lilitai used Íomanazinení Lilitika as a prestige register, preferring first Sotaní Oksirapho as their everyday language, then Zeyetaní.
During the brief but innovative Venrafivía period, when the edicts stipulating the use of Zeyetaní and Íomanazinení were repealed, a mixture of Zeyetaní and Íomanazinení became the prestige register, with the Venrafivíai serving as everyday language. This conflagration of slang vocabulary and grammar created obstacles to inter-ship communications.
In the Sarasí period, Sarasí Lilitika was used as the written language in almost all circumstances, and other dialects (mainly Íomanazinení and Sotaní) were only used in set phrases, idioms, and proverbs. Attestations of casual language in plays and court transcripts suggest spoken language was quite diverse, with each ship retaining Venrafivía features as a diglossia, some of which are documented here in their early Thessian forms.
This pattern would continue in the Illeran, regression (Sarasí II), and Ketalán periods, with each official register dominating the written form of the language, and casual spoken forms retaining innovation and evolution on a parallel course. Only in the post-contact colonial period on Thet, when Lyrisclensian linguists began cataloguing and institutionalizing varieties of the Lilitic language, did these species emerge as formally-endorsed paradigmatic systems.
A descriptive syntax
The syntax of Lilitika can be unambiguously represented using a context-free grammar. (The grammar below has been slightly abbreviated from a "pure" CFG for legibility.) However, most dialects permit homonyms to appear in positions that can be ambiguous, such as subclauses being followed by either the FPIC conjunction lí or the mood particle lí. (Good writing style avoids the use of such formations.)
In the definitions below, terms surrounded by [square brackets] may present 0 or more times, terms in <angle brackets> are references to other definitions, and text in italics represents a specific lexical item.
sentence ::= [<sentential adverb>] [<FPIC>] <verb complex> [khé <noun complex>] [<conjunction> <sentence>]
Sentential adverbs often end in -éú. They usually function as discourse markers (see next section). Common sentential adverbs include des, nohenéú, nú, and fínanéú.
To create a conditional sentence, the adverbial proclitics sur, des, zúl, and zhur are used. This results in a series of independent clauses in one sentence, usually separated by commas; see section.
The normal conjunctions are khé, shíu, natíú, naté, and nashíu. They connect entire complexes or sentences. des can also be considered a sentence-level conjunction.
verb complex ::= [<adverb>] [<verb> <leaf-conjunction>] <verb> [<tail adverb>] [<verb particle>]
A leaf conjunction connects single words of the same part of speech, such as a pair of nouns or verbs. The leaf conjunctions are hé, síú, nitú, nai, and nasíú.
Normal adverbs end in -ai, -az, ad, or -ya, and must precede the verb(s) of a sentence. Tail adverbs end in -ais, -yadis, or -adis, and follow the verb(s).
Verb particles mainly define mood. They include korr, kin, lí, kai, dí, ké, kí, ím, and kwedzin.
FPIC ::= <noun tree> [<FPIC conjunction> <FPIC>] | <FPIC> <FPIC conjunction> <noun tree> sesú <FPIC>
The initialism "FPIC" (/ɛf.pɪk/) stands for "formal possession-indicating construct." It allows for relations to be described in verbal language.
The FPIC conjunctions are il, lí, ilú, idzhú, ilí, íé, and kwí. If an FPIC conjunction is used, nouns may be introduced into the sentence in a bare (unmarked nominative) form that are understood to be present only for the purpose of the FPIC clause and not as arguments of the verb. The actual subject of the sentence should be marked with the formal nominative (f-nom) for clarity. (In most forms of the language, the formal nominative consists of an "-if-" infix before the usual ending.)
Examples of proper FPIC usage:
- Gleméïfa il Lilitina ogis = "Gleméa of the Lilitai comes."
- Gleméa il Lilitinifa ogis = "The Lilitai, to whom Gleméa is beholden, come."
The sesú clause is used to insert explanations for the nature of FPIC relations. It pertains to the last FPIC conjunction used. Sa lí mefísta (my mother) might be clarified as Sa lí mefísta sesú zelamekía (my mother by marriage) or Sa lí mefísta sesú tetúsha (my mother by birth).
noun tree ::= <noun complex> [<conjunction> <noun complex>]
The normal conjunctions are khé, shíu, natíú, naté, and nashíu. They connect entire complexes or sentences. iv is also used as a clause-level conjunction.
noun complex ::= [<adverb> <preposition><preposition suffix>] <article> [<pre-adjective>] <noun> [<leaf-conjunction> <noun>] [<post-adjective>] [tsil<declension> <sentence>]
By default, prepositions end in -es. All forms of Lilitika allow for the noun's declension to be moved onto the preposition, leaving the root in the unmarked (bare nominative) form.
noun ::= <root>[in]<declension><oksi-article> | <complementizer><declension> <sentence>
The complementizers are ts-, its later form sun-, and hedí-.
The optional oksi article is mutually exclusive with the normal article (in the noun complex, above) and consists of a hyphen and a declined pronoun, e.g. "Sarthía-likha". It is rarely found outside of early Íomanazinení documents.
pre-adjective or post-adjective ::= [<adverb>] <root><adjective suffix>
The normal adjective suffix is -í for pre-adjectives and -is for post-adjectives. -yéra (comparative) and -yéreza (extremal) endings are usually only seen in pre-adjective form.
Lects invented after Sarasí Lilitika (Illeran, Ketalán, Rokéa II, etc.) prefer tail adjectives whenever possible. Aside from genitives, these usually resemble unmarked nouns matched for gender and number.
adverb ::= <root><adverb suffix>
The normal adverb suffix is –ai in Oksí and Iomanazinení, -az in Zeyetaní, and -ya in Sarasí and later forms. As with adjectives, a different ending is used for postfix adverbs, mainly -adis. Some Sarasí inscriptions include the rare -ad, -adí, or -údí forms for prefix adverbs. -údí is a contraction of the adjective-deriving morpheme -urí with -adí. (e.g. polúdí, "joyously")
Prior to contact, sentential adverbs (discourse markers placed at the head of a sentence) had the ending -éú in most varieties. Rokéa II introduces -aste or -as for all regular adverbs.
Many adverbs are irregular and appear under dictionary headwords that do not end in -ai, -ya, or -éú.
In varieties of Lilitika that use noun-like postfix adjectives (see adjective definition), traditional adjectives (with -í and -is endings) modify those attributives instead. Adverbs only appear affecting nouns if (a) the speaker resorts to prefix adjectives for clarity, which still use the -í suffix, or (b) the adjectives modifying a noun-like postfix adjective need modification themselves.
verb ::= <R2-middle> <conditional proclitic><motivational proclitic><r2-redupe><root><aspect infix><conjugation> <R2-suffix>
The conditional proclitics are sur, des, zúl, and zhur. Note that des is also an independent adverb.
In Rokéa II, many aspects, moods, and tenses are represented through the addition of particles before or after the verb. These are:
- R2-middle ::= mein
- R2-redupe ::= <first consonant of stem, or 't' if stem began with a vowel><first vowel of stem, or first vowel of conjugation if stem contains no vowels> (used for pluperfect only)
- R2-suffix ::= sha, ya, ké, hú (hou), naí
Discourse markers
The most common discourse markers in Lilitika are:
| lemma | meaning |
|---|---|
| ekla | but; except; however |
| egwé | maybe; perhaps; sort of |
| katei | in conclusion; OK; with all that out of the way |
| íowím | please; respectfully |
| ía | ah; oh |
| zú or zê | yes |
| bet or bê | no |
| des | then; thus; therefore; consequently |
| aklatéú or aklatya | continuing this; furthermore |
| finanéú or finanya | despite all that; mockingly; ironically |
| telméú or telmya | in a twist of fate; contrarily |
| nat | except; but |
| nat' egwé | or perhaps |
| mítevéú or mevyú | firstly |
| lenevéú or lenyú | secondly |
| raipevéú or raivú | thirdly |
| klatéú or klaitú | finally |
| noletavú | in any event |
| noyú | still; even now |
| dzúvê | about this |
The exact forms vary between dialects.
Interjections
The typical Lilitika interjections are:
| lemma | meaning |
|---|---|
| alê | stop; don't do that |
| begwê | meh |
| bet or bê | false; wrong; it is not so |
| dilúp | eureka (sometimes said mockingly of another) |
| efokera | hurray |
| egúlê | bah |
| egwé | meh |
| ei | annoying; stop it; hush; go away; buzz off |
| estho | bored |
| eté | sorry |
| fífí or títí | teehee |
| gal | help |
| ía | yikes |
| íowím | please |
| khê | sigh |
| khô | phew |
| khû | ugh |
| klet | done |
| ptê | ouch |
| sama | good luck |
| skur | yeesh |
| tal | hurry up; get to the point |
| tha-tha | be patient; pay attention |
| tôtô | haha oops |
| yeré | again; more; come again? |
| zhampím | bye |
| zú or zê | true; correct; it is so |
These are much more stable across argolects, and are responsible for the -ím suffix of íowím and zhampím surviving long after Íomanazinení and Zeyetaní Lilitika ceased everyday use.
Vocables
The typical vocables overlap with the interjections; they are as follows:
| ahh (alê) (low tone) | stop; don't do that |
| ê, êʔê (bet) (low or dropping tone) | false; wrong; it is not so |
| ei | annoying; stop it; hush; go away; buzz off |
| fífí or títí | teehee |
| gal (high tone) | help |
| ía | yikes |
| h (khê) (dropping tone) | sigh |
| h (khô) (high tone) | phew |
| hû (khû) (rising tone) | ugh |
| k (klet) | done |
| tê (rising tone), p ptê | ouch |
| kh (skur) | yeesh |
| aʔa (tha-tha) | be patient; pay attention |
| ôʔô (tôtô) | haha oops |
| ê (zú) (high tone) | true; correct; it is so |
Placeholder words
The usual placeholder words in Lilitika are egúlí, egúlu, dzu, and dzuvé.
Sa la(la)s egúlí olrèní tsilèní íríré idzhíré.
I gave her whatever food I had.
I gave her whatever food I had.
Sa egú-las (egúla-lalas) olrèní idzhíré.
I gave food to what's-her-name.
I gave food to what's-her-name.
Sa egúlas dzèní dzuvíré.
I whatevered the somethings to whatever.
I whatevered the somethings to whatever.
Registers
Initially, the Lilitai used Íomanazinení Lilitika as a prestige register, preferring first Sotaní Oksirapho as their everyday language, then Zeyetaní.
During the brief but innovative Venrafivía period, when the edicts stipulating the use of Zeyetaní and Íomanazinení were repealed, a mixture of Zeyetaní and Íomanazinení became the prestige register, with the Venrafivíai serving as everyday language. This conflagration of slang vocabulary and grammar created obstacles to inter-ship communications.
In the Sarasí period, Sarasí Lilitika was used as the written language in almost all circumstances, and other dialects (mainly Íomanazinení and Sotaní) were only used in set phrases, idioms, and proverbs. Attestations of casual language in plays and court transcripts suggest spoken language was quite diverse, with each ship retaining Venrafivía features as a diglossia, some of which are documented here in their early Thessian forms.
This pattern would continue in the Illeran, regression (Sarasí II), and Ketalán periods, with each official register dominating the written form of the language, and casual spoken forms retaining innovation and evolution on a parallel course. Only in the post-contact colonial period on Thet, when Lyrisclensian linguists began cataloguing and institutionalizing varieties of the Lilitic language, did these species emerge as formally-endorsed paradigmatic systems.
