Marcas Brian MacStiofin Mhaiti Domhnaill

18 October 2015

Lelic: An Essential Grammar and

Dictonary
Lelic: Dan Rdma ac Nurmulemonra

LELIC

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Introduction
0.1

Lelic

Chapter 1 Pronunciation
1.1

Consonants

1.2

Vowels

1.3

Stress

Chapter 2 Nouns
2.1

Nouns and Cases

2.2

Noun Formation

2.3

Noun Enforcement

2.4

'if'

Chapter 3 Pronouns and Demonstratives

3.1

Pronouns and Cases

3.2

The Definite Article

3.3

Demonstratives

Chapter 4 Adjectives and Adverbs

4.1

Adverbialisation

4.2

Adjective Formation

4.4

Predicative Adjectives

4.4

Comparative and Superlative constructions

4.5

Intensifiers

Chapter 5 Verbs
5.1

Present Tense

5.2

Gnomic tense

5.3

Simple past tense

5.4

Near Past Completive

5.5

Past Progressive

5.6

Past Habitual

5.7

Future tense

5.8

Subjunctive

5.9

Negation

5.10

Imperative

5.11 Verb Formation

LELIC

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Chapter 6 -Interrogative Clitics

6.1

Present Tense

6.2

Gnomic tense

6.3

Simple past tense

6.4

Past Progressive

6.5

Past Habitual

6.6

Future tense

6.7

Subjunctive

6.8

Causitive verb

Chapter 7Prepositions
7.1

Prepositions

7.2

Locative Nouns

Chapter 8 -Similes
8.1 Simile
Chapter 9 Subordinate Clause
Chapter 10- Phrases
Chapter 11Mastering Lelic
9.1

LELIC

Text Examples

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Introduction
Modern Lelic is the language spoken in central Malomanan and descends from Old Lelic, itself a daughter
language of Old Sumr. Back in the good old days when Old Sumr was spoken in Malomanan the Sumric
peoples were one people with one tongue. They lived by hunting wild deer and followed the herds along their
migrations giving them a nomadic lifestyle. As such Old Sumr is abound with words deriving from the roots sum
(travel) and loman (deer). The constant moving around meant no regional varieties could develop. But that
changed when a giant wolf spirit called lngo Jorr (evil wolf) came and gorged on the deer population, it ate so
much that there was hardly any left for the Sumn (the name of the people) to hunt, causing a famine. But all
was saved when another spirit called Mr Ra (buzzard of language) came and fought lngo Jorr. After 12 epic
battles the evil wolf was defeated. During the seventh battle between lngo Jorr and Mr Ra, which took
place in the centre of the continent by the eastern mountain range, Mr Ra being the language spirit screeched
a booming call in the divine tongue to the skies to herald an epic rain storm. The heavy rain caused the
surrounding land to become a quagmire of wet and quick mud which trapped lngo Jorr and allowed Mr
Ra to attack from the air (for it had the form of a buzzard, hence it name Mr which means buzzard) though
through trickery the wolf spirit escaped, leaving a great depression in the ground where it had been stuck which
quickly filled with water to become a great lake. The battle itself and the now marshy land had trapped a band
of Sumn and separated them from the rest of nomads. These people learned to take advantage of the marshy
habitat by living off the new life the marshy wetlands would bring. They became the Lericnat, a quaint and
isolated people and in time their speech became Lelic. They named their territory Seld meaning 'the swamp' in
an older form of Lelic.

LELIC

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Chapter 1 Pronunciation
1.1 Consonants
Letter

IPA value

Example

bat

cat

dad

far

got

hot

Italian

mat

not

ng

song

pat

rat

sat

t or when before /m/ or when

intervocalic or when word final

sat or bottle

vet

yes

that

when a consonant is followed by -r, the 'r' is syllabic e.g.

mr /m:r /
ernr /rnr /
When followed by <o> // a consonant is geminated to distinguish the vowel from <o> /o/ which doesn't
geminate e.g orbott /orbt/ 'coat'.
When a word which ends in /t/ // or /d/ takes a suffix beginning with a vowel, the sounds become // e.g
orbott coat > orbo coats
roccut tree > roccu trees
ld swamp> la of the swamp.

LELIC

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1.2 Vowels
letter

IPA value

Example

hat

father

house

bed

eo

chew

day

bin

when after /o/

bin

o or when before a geminated

consonant

poke or robot

nurse (NZ)

when the following consonant is

in a cluster and can't be geminated
then a grave accent is is used

robot

home

bun

soon

If a word that ends in 'a, u, o, , , , eo' takes a suffix beginning with a vowel then an interruptive <t>//
is placed between the root word and suffix. E.g.
e ernyre the sea > e ernyret the seas
an exception is the genitive case (sg: -a, pl: -at) in which the final vowel is dropped. e.g e ernyra 'of the seas'
The vowels ', i/y, e' however just get replaced by the suffix e.g:
e or the bird >e or the birds > e ora of the bird

1.3 Stress
Stress in Lelic is unmarked for it has a fixed position on the initial syllable e.g.
mr
erodd
lommo

LELIC

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Chapter 2 -Nouns
One noticeable change in nouns since Old Lelic is the loss of the gender system, and with it all forms of noun
agreement whatsoever. Noun cases have remained though the Old Lelic oblique case has been dropped leaving
Lelic with common case and genitive case which inflect for plurality.

case

singular

plural

collective

example

common case

nge-

mr, mr, ngemr

genitive

-a

-at

nge- -a

mra, mrat,
ngemra

the collective prefix nge- is a Modern Lelic innovation which comes from the Old Lelic word ange 'every'
tja e mra the buzzard's bread (in Lelic all possessive pronouns and nouns in the genitive case now follow the
noun)
mr e tja the bread's buzzard (tja already ends in -a so no change is necessary)
tja ngemra every buzzard's bread
lommo e mrat the buzzards' home
mr e lommo the home's buzzard

2.3 Noun Formation

A verb can be turned into a noun by adding the suffix -it // (from the Old Lelic -ic) and using the definite
article e
rm to walk > e rmit walking
sm to travel > e smit travelling
rn to speak > e rnit speaking
lt to help > e lit helping
aj to agree > e ajtit agreeing /aje/
lerje to look > e lerjit looking
lerl succeeding > e lerltit succeeding, successful
To create an abstract noun from any word the prefix se- can be attached. This comes from the Old Lelic
definite article s which could noun an adjective. It has since been stretched to noun any word and create
abstract nouns when attached to a noun.
aj to agree > seaj agreement
sr free > sesr freedom
clr friend > seclr friendship

LELIC

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jum from > sejum origin, descent, start, beginning

cjorrl to steal > secjorrl theft
as white > seas whiteness

2.3

Noun Enforcement

Lelic has a way of enforcing the quality or meaning of a noun. Much like how an intensifier works on adjective,
but for nouns. This is done by placing dsa before the noun (from do 'one' + -sa Old Sumr comitative case
ending. i.e with one). In English this can roughly translate as 'very much a X'
pjl hero
Aossim pjl Aossi is a hero
Aossim dsa pjl Aossi is undoubtedly/very much a hero

2.4

'if'

In Lelic the word for 'if' is expressed by two proclitics on the subject which are he or h' if the noun begins in a
vowel e.g
herom ngac 'if dogs will eat'
h'ernyretm lej 'if seas are blue'
Howeverif the subject has a determiner (such as a possessive or demonstrative pronoun or definite article)then
the proclitics attach to tose e.g
h'e rom ngac 'if the dogs eat'
hema ernyretm lej 'if my seas are blue'

LELIC

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Chapter 3 Pronouns and Demonstratives

3.1 Pronouns and Cases

Person

common case

genitive

1st.sg

ma

2nd.sg

tor

tora

3rd.sg.buzz

lemr

lemra

3rd.sg.deer

lemu

lema

1st.pl.inc

morr

morronn

1st.pl.exc

mlem

mlemonn

2nd.pl

tor

toronn

3rd.pl

lem

lemon

Note that while gender has been lost in Modern Lelic the pronouns lemr and lemu still distinguish between
gender and as such are a small remnant of a once bigger gender system which consisted of the buzzard and deer
genders. Any noun that ends in a consonant gets referred to by the buzzard pronoun lemr and any noun that
ends in a vowel gets referred to by pronoun lemu.
The possessive pronouns, which are also genitive go after the noun. This is due to Lelic placing nouns in the
genitive case after the noun and this applied to pronouns aswell. This caused possessive pronouns to move from
the left of the pronoun to the right.

3.2 The Definite Article

The definite article e derives from the Old Lelic definite article s and accompanies nouns most of the time
except when a noun is being possessed, indefinite, collective or formed adding se- to a verb (as the se- prefix
began itself as the Old Lelic article s)

LELIC

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3.3 Demonstratives
Lelic articles don't agree with the number of the noun but only with the animacy of the noun and whether it
was formed from a nouned adjective

interrogat this
ive

that

some

none

every

each

adjective

co which

s this

sn that

lod some

m no

age every

g each

animate

c who

s this

sn that

lono

mna no
one)

agina
everyone

gna
everyone

s this

s that

lo
something

m
nothing

ag
everything

g each
thing
gcr each
place

inanimate codd what

location

cr where

sur here

sun there

lomu
somewhere

mcr
nowhere

agecr
everywhere

time

ci when

d, sna
now

dt then

dnaj
sometime

mcin never

age always gyna each

time

way/
reason

cul how,why scul

because,
this way

scul that
way

locul
somehow

mcul
noway

agecul
everyway

gcul each
way

Examples:
c ngoccuc tja ma? who ate my bread
codd ngoccuc tja ma? what ate my bread?
e mr ngoccuc tja ma ci? when did the buzzard eat my bread? (Literally: the buzzard ate my bread when?) -all time
phrases or words denoting when an action happened go at the end of a sentence.
cul e mr ngoccuc tja ma? Why/how did the buzzard eat my bread?
s mr ngoccuc s tja this buzzard ate this bread
sn mr ngoccuc s tja un e roccut sun that buzzard ate that bread under the tree (there (locative phrases or words
denoting where an action happened go to the end of the sentence)
sn mr ngoccuc s tja c at coriv that buzzard ate that bread 4 days ago.
The demonstrative pronouns can be used as relative pronouns also. Although none of the interrogative
pronouns can be used as relative pronouns. E.g
e nur sn ngc the man that walks
lommig lemr e mbe sun the mountain where he lived (lived he the mountain there)
ngcuc lemr dt when he walked (Lelic has a V.S.O word order when dealing with subordinate clauses.
The adjective demonstratives are used for nouns that have been formed from adjectives using the se- prefix. e.g.
sn seosm l that whiteness is good

LELIC

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Chapter 4 - Adjectives and Adverbs

4.1 Adverbialisation
The process of creating adverbs is done by adding suffixed to an adjective which agrees to the numbers of the
subject of the sentence

Singular
singular

-son

plural/collective

-son

Example:
e mr ngoccuc berdson e tja the buzzard quickly ate the bread
e mr ngoccuc berson e tja the buzzards quickly ate the bread
e lorrna girc lson the soldier fought well
e lorrnat girc lson the soldiers fought well

4.2 Adjective Formation

To turn a verb into an adjective the present participle suffix -l is added to the verb.
c to graze > cl grazing
lovv to smile > lovvl smiling
e c cl lmot the two grazing deer
To turn a verb into past participle adjective then the suffix -uc is attached to the verb.
ros to fly > rosuc flown
-rosuc mr flown buzzard (a buzzard that has just finished flying)
To turn a noun into an adjective the suffix -sa is attached to the noun. Any adjective formed this way is placed
after the noun, the reason being goes back to Old Sumr where the suffix was -sa which was cognate to the
cogitation case endings that carried the meaning 'with'. So a hairy dog would translate as 'dog with hair'.
Because of this adjectives formed this way are placed after the noun.
nft fool > nfsa
e mr nfsa the foolish buzzard

LELIC

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4.3 Predicative Adjectives

Modern Lelic developed a way of distinguishing predicative adjectives (the buzzard is good) from attributive
adjectives (the good buzzard) by placing suffixes on the predicative adjective and using the copula. this is done by
two ways:
If the adjective ends in a consonant it takes the predicative suffix -ja
If the adjective ends in a vowel it takes the predicative suffix -j which makes the vowel a diphthong/-V/

Attributive

Predicative

e hocr s

the cold air

e sm hocrja

the air is cold

e ms s

the warm air

e sm msj

the air is warm

Predicative marking in Lelic comes from placing a (yes) after an adjective which complimented or backed up the
adjective (the air is cold yes, the air is warm yes) but after time it got stuck onto the adjective as -ja.

4.4

Comparative and Superlative constructions

The comparative construction in Lelic is unusual in that it doesn't mark the adjective (as in big>bigger) e.g John's
dog is bigger than Torocc's dog, but rather the thing that the subject is comparative to (e.g bigger than)

In English the adjective big has the suffix -er to show that john's dog is bigger than Torocc's. But in Lelic you put
the suffix -eson on the object (Torocc's dog) rather than the adjective. This comes from the Old Sumr paressive
case ending -esn, This is why the suffix goes on the noun instead of the adjective as it is a remnant of a once
greater case system. E.g.
rm Donna ernja reson Torocca
[ dog.be John.gen big torocc.gen dog.comp]
dog is John's big doger Torocc's
(John's dog is bigger than Torocc's)
The word dog r ends in the letter which gets dropped when word final and when the noun takes a suffix
beginning with a vowel, Hence reson (r + eson)
This gives us the comparative structure of
Subject + to be + eson + adjective
When using the comparative in a subordinate clause (dog that is bigger) then the following structure is used
subject+ verb +object + (verb)+ (subject/subject+copula) + object + eson
mm doggcede e r snm ernja reson Torocca
I am wanting the dog that is big Torocc's dog-re
(I want a dog that is bigger than Torocc's dog)
LELIC

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Superlatives are formed by placing the suffix -nuson to the adjective (from the Old Lelic particle nunesn itself
from the Old Sumr nnesn meaning 'beside all') while the adjective drops prediymarking, giving us a superlative
structure like this:
Subject + to be + adjective + nuson
rm Donna ernnuson
[dog.be john.gen big.sup]
dog is John's biggest
(John's dog is biggest)
When using the superlative in a subordinate clause (dog that is biggest) then the following structure is used
subject+ verb +object + (verb)+ (subject/subject+copula) + object + nuson
mm doggcede e r snm ernnuson
I am wanting the dog that is biggest
(I want the dog that is biggest)
Example
M slc e r snm ernnuson, ngoccuc lemu tja tora sa
I saw the biggest dog today eat your bread today
[I see.past the dog big.sup, eat.past it.deerG bread you.gen today]

4.5 Intensifiers
To make a predicative adjective 'intense' as in very good or really tall for example, you add the suffix -r onto an
adjective. This comes from the Old Lelic verb ber 'to prefer'
e lmom ggsoj the deer is healthy > e lmom ggsojr the deer is very healthy
To place extra emphasis ho is placed before the adjective
e lmom ho ggsojr the deer is super healthy

LELIC

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Chapter 5 -Verbs
A big change from Old Lelic is verbs. Old Lelic used auxiliaries to mark the present and future tenses (the past
used suffixes which were remnants of inflection) but Modern Lelic has turned those auxiliaries into suffixes
which attach the subject and has also gained two new tenses (gnomic and past progressive)

5.1 Present Tense

The present is marked by adding the suffix -m to the subject, if the subject ends in a consonant then the 'm'
becomes syllabic /m /. This is from the Old Lelic auxiliary em 'to be'. The suffix -de is placed onto the verb also,
which is from the Old Lelic auxiliary da 'now'. But if the verb ends in 'n' then then the 'n' is dropped due to a
sound change which deleted 'n' between a vowel and a consonant (n//V_C). Also if the verb ends in '' and a
suffix begins in a consonant, it becomes 'f'.
mm rde I am speaking
torm rde you are speaking
e mrm rde the buzzard is speaking

5.2 Gnomic Tense

The gnomic tense is formed with the suffix -r on the subject (when after a consonant is 'r /r/ ) which is from
the verb ler 'to do' e.g
mr rn I speak (in general)
tor'r rn you speak (in general)
e mr'r rn the buzzard speaks (in general)

5.3 Simple Past Tense

Lelic has a variety of simple past endings which all carry the same meaning but are assigned according to the
last sound in the verb
simple past suffix

when the verb ends in

example

-c

n, r, f, , l, s, ng,

an > ac gave
lngor > lngorc killed
f > fc removed
muno > munofc thought
brl > brlc loved
estommes > estommesc took

-g

a, , , u, o, j, , , eo,

lerl > lerlg succeeded

aj > ajg agreed
nm > nmg pulled
ereo > ereog flowed
es > esg aged
cjorrl > cjorrlg stole

-uc

c, b, g, v

ngocc > ngoccuc ate

smub > smubuc brought
heg > heguc whisked
lovv > lovvuc smiled

LELIC

If the verb ends in then it becomes

f before adding inflection
if the verb ends in 'n' then the 'n' is
dropped and replaced with 'c' due to a
sound change which deleted 'n'
between a vowel and consonant

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simple past suffix

when the verb ends in

example

-ig

e (vowel gets replaced by ig) , d,

t, m

doggce > doggcig wanted

led > leig wrapped
est >esig carried
em >emig was

5.4 Near Past Completive

To form the past tense for an action that has very recently been completed (often completed just before the
speech referencing it) the verb becomes a past participle and accompanied with the copula and predicative
marking e.g
e mr rosc the buzzard flew > e mrm rosucja the buzzard has just finished flying (the buzzard is flown)
e nur ngoccuc the man ate > e nurm noccucja the man has just finished eating (the man is eaten)
e mur munofc the fox thought > e murm munoucja the fox has just thought (the fox is thought)

5.5 Past Progressive

The past progressive is formed in much the same way as the present tense except that the suffix -ig is attached to
the subject after the suffix -m (it is from the past tense suffix in the table above). E.g
mmig rde I was speaking
tormig rde You were speaking
e mrmig rde the buzzard was speaking

5.6 Past Habitual

The past habitual refers to an action that was repeatedly carried out in the past but not anymore. It is formed
much like the gnomic tense but places the suffix -c after the suffix -r e.g.
mrc rn I used to speak
tor'rc rn you used to speak
e mr'rc rn the buzzard used to speak

5.7 Future Tense

The future tense is marked on the subject with -om (if the subject ends in a vowel) or -om (if the subject ends
in a consonant). Both suffixes come from the Old Lelic future tense auxiliary tom which in turn comes from the
Old Sumr verb tomen 'to herald'
mom rn I will speak
torom rn you will speak
e mrom rn the buzzard will speak

LELIC

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5.8 Subjunctive
The subjunctive form of any tense is done by adding the suffix -s to the subject (or verb if in the simple past
tense) after any other suffixes (besides the negative, which will be mentioned later). This is from the Old Lelic
subjunctive auxiliary pos which itself was from the Old Sumr subjunctive suffix -pos
mms rde I may be speaking (now)
mrs rn I may speak (in general)
m rcs I may have spoken
mmigs rde I may have been speaking
mrcs rn I may used to speak
moms rn I may speak

5.9 Negation
A verb is negated by placing the suffix -m at the very end of the subject (or verb if in the past tense) e.g
mmm rde I am not speaking
tor rcm you didn't speak
e mromm rn the buzzard won't speak

5.10 Imperative
The imperative is formed by placing the suffix -je onto the verb e.g
tor rnje! Speak! (The subject is always included in the imperative
tor ngoccje tja tora! eat your bread!
tor ngoccje tja tora ngocc e mrom lemu dnuc! eat your bread before the buzzard eats it! (Literally: you eat your bread
eat the buzzard will it before)
in the imperative the negation is always placed on the verb and before the imperative suffix
tor rnmje! don't speak!
tor ngoccmje tja tora! Don't eat your bread!

5.11

Verb Formation

A Modern Lelic innovation is the ability to turn nouns into verbs with the prefix e- (if the noun begins in a
consonant or em- (if the noun begins in a vowel). The prefix is from the verb em 'to be'. Once a noun is turned
into a verb this way it can put in any tense or then turned into an adjective uses the process described earlier.
laa alcoholic drink > elaa to drink alcohol

LELIC

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Chapter 6 -Interrogative Clitics

Interrogative clitics in Lelic turn can turn an affirmative sentence in a question. The clitics were formed from
Old Lelic auxiliaries, and as such the above tenses are different when in a question.

6.1 In the Present Tense

The interrogative clitic s' is placed before the subject in the present tense, this is from the Old Lelic auxiliary pos.
The suffix -m is dropped on the subject but -de is kept on the verb

affirmative

mm rde

I'm speaking

interrogative

s'm rde

am I speaking?

6.2 In the Gnomic tense

The interrogative clitic e' is placed before the subject in the gnomic tense, this comes from the verb ler 'to do'
affirmative

mr rn

I speak

interrogative

e'm rn

do I speak

6.3 In the Simple past tense

The interrogative clitic g' is placed before the subject in the simple past tense, this comes from one of the past
tense endings -g.
affirmative

m rc

I spoke

interrogative

g'm rc?

did I speak?

6.4 Past Progressive

The interrogative clitic i' is placed before the subject in the past progressive tense, this comes from the past
progressive suffix -ig.
affirmative

mmig rde

I was speaking

interrogative

i'm rde?

was I speaking?

6.5 Past Habitual

There is no interrogative clitic for the past habitual tense, rather the affirmative sentence is said like a question
e.g mrc rn I used to speak > mrc rn? I used to speak?

LELIC

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6.6 Future tense

The interrogative clitic o' is used for the future tense, this comes from the Old Lelic auxiliary tom
affirmative

mom rn

I will speak

interrogative

o'm rn

Will I speak?

e.g

6.7 Subjunctive
The subjunctive has no clitic for its own but it places the suffix -s on the subject while the subject also takes on
the clitic
interrogative

o'm rn?

will I speak?

interrogative subjunctive

o'ms rn?

might I speak?

Here is the verb elaa (to drink alcohol) In all of its possible forms:
mm elaade I am drinking alcohol

s'mm elaade? am I not drinking alcohol?

mr elaa I drink alcohol (in general)

e'mm elaa? don't I drink alcohol?

m elaag I drank alcohol

g'm elaagm didn't I drink alcohol?

mmig elaade I was drinking alcohol

i'mm elaa wasn't I drinking alcohol?

mrc elaa I used to drink alcohol

mrcm elaa? didn't I used to drink alcohol?

mom elaa I will drink alcohol

o'mm elaa won't I drink alcohol?

s'm elaade? Am I drinking alcohol?

mms elaade I may be drinking alcohol

e'm elaa? Do I drink alcohol

mrs elaa I may drink alcohol

g'm elaag? Did I drink alcohol?

m elaags I may have drank alcohol

i'm elaade? Was I drinking alcohol?

mmigs elaa I may have been drinking alcohol

mrc elaa? Did I used to drink alcohol?

mrcs elaa I may used to drink alcohol

o'm elaa? Will I drink alcohol?

moms elaa I may drink alcohol

mmm elaade I am not drinking alcohol

mmsm elaade I may not be drinking alcohol (now)

mrm elaa I don't drink alcohol

mrsm elaa I may not drink alcohol (in general)

m elaagm I didn't drink alcohol

m elaagsm I may not have drank alcohol

mmigm elaa I wasn't drinking alcohol

mrcsm elaa I may not used to drink alcohol

mrcm elaa I didn't used to drink alcohol

momsm elaa I may not drink alcohol

momm elaa I won't drink alcohol

tor elaaje! Drink alcohol!

LELIC

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6.8 Causitive verb

Lelic has the causitive verb cjorr which also means 'to force'. The caustive verb roughly corresponds to 'make' in
English e.g

The swamp makes me happy e ld cjorr ma ponn

I will make the birds sing

maom cjorr e rosot tmorn

Chapter 7Prepositions
7.1

Prepositions

Prepositions in Lelic descend from the buzzard gender singular locative case endings of Old Sumr. As after the
mass drop in cases the old case endings were recycled into prepositions, which is an innovative feature as Old
Sumr had no prepositions at all. Though even in Lelic prepositions are closed class, in other words there are
only a set number of prepositions and if you need to express a location that isn't covered by any existing
prepositions then a locative noun is used instead.

on

under

job

into

sea

along

to

es

with

eronn

next to, near

jum

from

uc

above

eson

beside

bin

through, by way of, used also as an instrumtal

preposition

ub

in

down

LELIC

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e mr rsc uc e ngco The buzzard flew above the forest.

mom mulm bin mulmorro I will hunt with a spear.
tarm ngcde ub e l mo You are walking in the good land.

7.2

Locative Nouns

When an existing preposition doesn't exist to cover a location a locative noun is used. Locative nouns are always
possessed by something (e.g 'John's left', 'the buzzard's front' instead of 'to the left of John, in front of the
buzzard') as such the noun it modifies always goes in the genitive case.
lmnc before, in front of
atlommic opposite
merlomossmnic left
e mrm lmnc e ra the buzzard is the dog's infront (the buzzard is infront of the dog)
e roccutm atlommic ac lemra merlmasmic e mra the tree is the buzzard's opposite and it's left (the tree is to the
opposite and left of the buzzard)

Chapter 8-Similes
8.1 Similes
Where in English a simile is formed by using 'like' or 'as' e.g you are noble like a hero or you are as noble as a
hero. Lelic handles this by attaching the prefix sa- before the descriptor (here it is 'hero'). This comes from the
Old Sumr comitative case ending which was used for this purpose. (There sa- is cognate with the preposition es
'with'). For ease I will say that sa translates as 'like' in this instance (as it does)
e.g
torm mrja sapjl
you are noble like a hero
However when the descriptor is definite (as in the hero) the the prefix becomes sastorm mrja saspjl
You are noble like the hero
e divorosam duvja sasaivdna
The crow is as black as the night sky
tor'r gire sajaco
you fight like an antlerless male deer
(antlerless male deers are held to be 'weak' or 'less worthy' in Sumric culture)

LELIC

!20

e jamso brgrsn jamsig sasasi

the fire burned as bright as the sun
e mulmorrom erodd sadivorosa ub e nso
the spear is as high as a crow in the sky

Chapter 9- Subordinate Clause

In Lelic subordinate clauses take on a VSO word order. In the following exampl the subordinate c,ases in both
English and Lelic wll be in brackets followed by a word for word translation

the valley (where I live) is good

e cem (lomm mr sun) l "the valley is (live I there) good"

the flowers (that blossom on the hill) are yellow e nofferinm (rja r e erotmo) rja "the flowers are
(blossom on tne fill) yellow
the town (that I travelled to yesterday) has a crow (that wanted to eat my bread) e ernlommr (smig m
a lemr omm) estomme oragcr (doggcig lemr tja ma ngocc) "the town (travelled I to it yesterday) has a crow (wanted
it bread my eat)

Chapter 11Mastering Lelic

9.1

Text Examples

The following text is an ancient Sumric legend about how a great and famous healing tree came to be

Roccut scla
D lmonnn sy coriv, e sano lmngca ac hocra, scl g s nur lmngca, nsmig lommo lemra b e
erodd mbet Mymonnonna a e gm. Lemr estommesc Nmo Nsasa lemr. T scla smoit'r cjorr
lmngca so Mymonnonn. scl smic a Nmo Lmngcevat ac disrufc lemr. Lemr ponnc e nsaso
smig r e Nmo Lmngcevat ci. Lemr smic a Romm Nmo ac disrufc lemr. Lemr ponnc e nsaso
smig r e Romm Nmo ci. Lemr smic a Nmo Lefscoll dt, mut, lemr disrufcs e mo bin nsng ra lemr
lmnc, scl slc brigr ac ponnr slit...lemr slc e sononnims Asilnge, e lommlmna ac e msa. Lemuom
sm a e mu muler t lommlmnr nnestomm e mo so lmngca. Sca fe ac sca slr lema nmorrc e
brigorrlm b any scla. scl doggcig nmbrl Asilnge, lemr estommesc e brlorroccut roccutco ac
nmorrc esto lemra a dnuc lema ac rec lemu nmbrl lemr. Asilnge rc a e sano lmngca "tarm
estommesde mot ma ac tarm disrufde so tor, tarm nsasnde ni nilav, he moms nmbrl tor, o'tor nocc
nsmit lommlmna?" Snesocc scl rc "Asilnge, lommlmnnge, t e ar nnestomm so e divdno, t e
laferc'r nnestomm so lngr, t lommlmnr nnestomm so lmngca. mrmu nocc e nsmit lommlmna,
lemra nde any ma". Asilnge rc "lemrm nde any m ac, lmngcngur". Snesocc Asilnge scemig
esto scla ac e roccutco heguc a e mo. Asilnge smig a e mu muler ac lemu estommesc e lommln es
lemu. scl slc brlit lemra smig. Es e gr b any lemra ac e cje b e lemra lemr fmig e ri, e lgr
nsaso ac e ho sri hocr. Mymonnonn estommigmu tr hocr lmngca dnuc ac Mymonnonnmu estommig
tr hocr lmngca. E nsaso nsasnc s roccutco ac n e nsaso lemu lommig, e niri-lefscl smig dnaje.

LELIC

!21

E ri ac e hocr ngoccuc dt, pr syfferocco erodd, d esto ac nep n esta roccut lommig e roccutco emit cr.
Ernsmorrno, s roccutm lommde es e orm Roccut scla. E resttr lms e asilocja ngoccuc ci.
Translation:

Osculs Tree
One autumn long ago the god of winter and cold, Oscul, also known as Old Man Winter, was moving from his
home in the high mountains of Malomanan to the lowlands. He took with him his kingdom of Snow, for Osculs
coming heralds winter for Malomanan. Oscul travelled to Nonma Lamucevan (territory of forest dwellings)
and declared it his. He was happy when the snow fell on the land of forest dwellings. Next he travelled to Ralm
Nonma (long territory) and declared it his own. He was happy when the snow fell on the long territory. Next he
travelled to Nonma Lefscla (territory of deers birthing) but before he declared with his voice of howling wind,
Oscul saw a bright and beautiful sight..he saw the goddess of summer and warmth Asile, herself travelling to
the southern islands as summer gives way to winter. Her brown hair and brown eyes put a warmth in Osculs
heart, such that Oscul wanted to make Asile his wife. He took a seed of the brolaract tree and put forward
his hand and asked Asile to marry him. Asile said to the winter god You take my lands and make them your
own, burying green grass under white snow, if I marry you will you stop the retreat of summer? to which Oscul
said Asile, ma lamlomne (my summer one), day must give way to night, life must give way to death and so
summer must give way to winter, it breaks my heart but I cant stop the retreat of summer. it breaks my heart
too, lamucaur (winter one). And with that she slapped Osculs hand and sent the seed flying away and down
to the ground. Asile travelled to the southern islands taking summer with her. Oscul saw his love go away with
sorrow in his heart and rage in his blood. He blown a screaming wind, heavy snow and a fierce cold.
Malomanan has not had such a cold winter before or since. The snow buried the seed and under the snow it lay
until spring came and the wind and snow stopped. And the seed grew so fast that within a few minutes a 25 foot
tall tree stood where a seed once was. Thousands of years later the tree still stands, bearing the name Oscula
ract (Osculs tree). When eaten the leaves are said to help cool down a fever.

Polr
Sm ma r sm orml Lelic. M etoccatag ub Grnomuf, lemumig lerlommuc a t m sevuc nofferin
ac mrm lre sevit nofferina. Mut ma Pola clr lernglmcjrrc e Polr a m. Lemr lrnglmcjrrc e nro
kurwa, rler 'rulnge' a m acs lemr lernglmcjrrc id na impra rler 'mm sude a e esesajatit' a m

Polish
This is my language that is called Lelic. I worked in Grangemouth, it was a boring day as I was weeding and I
don't like weeding. But my Polish friend taught me Polish. He taught me the word kurwa which means 'whore'
and also he taught me id na impra which means 'I am going to the party'.

LELIC

!22

Lelic~ English Dictionary

A

cyno n Scotland

-a nonhuman agent suffix

coriv since, ago

ac conj and

c who

acs conj also

ce n valley

v v to remove

ceoa n Hauglen

m prep down

ci when

ap other

cje n rage

orbott n jacket, cloak, coat

cjomm n try

orm n name

cjorr v to force, to cause

orml v to be named

cjorra n obedience

or n bird (when it roosts or sits on the ground

cjorrl v to steal

asi n sn

clr n friend

asilocja n fever

clrsa adj friendly

as adj white

c n beer

a prep to

c v to graze

atlommic n opposite

cr where

aivdna n night-sky

cul how, why

an v to give

any n heart

doggce v to want

aj v to agree

d now

dno n time

ber v to prefer

dnuc adv before

berd adj fast

dnon sometime soon but not right away

bin prep through, with (instrumental )

dnaje adv sometime

brl v to love

dnt adv soon

brlorroccut n love-tree; a species of tree found in

Malomanan, the seed of which is traditionally given
to a woman by a man when proposing.

dert n antler

brlit adj loved

brll adj loving

disru v to claim
dc v to drink
dclofferco n milk

brigorre v to shine

dcjommso n A Sumric drink which instantly heats

up the body, no matter how cold it is

brigorrlm n brightness

dm v to make, to build

brigr adj bright

dmtero n brick

-bil ordinal number suffix

dmuc adj built

donn adj needed, important, essential

-co child diminutive

dt then

co which

div adj dark, black

codd what

divorosa n crow

LELIC

!23

divdno n night

etoccata v to work

ereferconno n ancestor

e the

etmr v to be beautiful

v to greet

ereo v to flow

e n blood

erul adj red

a yes

epe v to fold

en n afterlife

eroso n duck

elaferc v to live; to be alive

es prep with

elernglmcjrruc v to learn

elomm n house

forr n to see at night

em v to be

fe n hair

enfso v to do something foolish, to fool around

felaferc n mammal

erodd adj high

ferocc n night vision

erotmo n hill

fesro n wool

erotm n highlands

frja n plain (habitat)

erotmr n Gidhlig

fm v to blow

erb adj last

erbso finally

gim adj tight

ersy v to flap, to beat, to propell, to wade

gir n fight

ern adj big, much, very

gire v to fight

ernyre n sea

g or

ernlomm n big town, city

g adj low

ernsmorrno n great passing of time, long

wait

g n health

ernr n father

ggso adj healthy

erisora n literacy

gm n lowlands

esaje v to do something that is worthy of telling a

story about

gmr n Scots language

esr v to free, to let loose

esrit n freeing
esejum v to originate,to come from, to start from, to
begin
-so -ly/like
eso prep beside
es v to age
esto n hand
estomme v to have
estommes v to take with permission
este v to bear, to carry
estetserocca n liver (literally carrier of strength as
Sumric culture sees the liver as being the source of
courage)
LELIC

gobe v to trade

gr n sorrow
Grnommf n Lelic village name
H
he conj if
heg v to be whisked away
ho very
hocr n cold
hog! interj attention ! hey! 2) n attention
I
-i inanimate object diminutive
L
l adj good
lobb n arm

!24

lobbe v to hold

lernglm adj secret

laferc n life

ler n colour

laa n alcoholic drink

lerno adj peachy skin colour

lesesa n blue tattoos adorned by the Lericnat

lersas n sacred ritual

lomm adj still, quiet,

lerje v to look

lommev n hut

lesesa n blue tattoo

lommic n site

lie v to argue

lommlere n loch

-l participle adjective suffix

lommlmn n summer

loa something

lommo n home

lb n pile

lommu n campsite

locul 1) somehow; some reason

lommn n dwellers (race)

lod some

lmngco n winter

lono sometime

lmngcev n forest shelter

lm n path

lmnc n before

lomm v to dwell

lorr n war

lommu n 3-5 houses situated next to each other,

typically the inhabitants of each lommu are related.
with sons builing a new home next to their father's.

lorro n weapon
lorrommulmoro n term for any hunting weapon
lorre v to battle
lorrso adj warlike
lorsme n raid
lorrna n soldier
lovv v to smile
le adj blue
le v to hope
ld n marshy/wet meadow; swamp
ledil v to wrap
lefscl n birth
lefscl v to be born
lere n water
leresm v to sail
lnomm adj easy
ler v to do
lerdac adj again
lerl v to succeed
lerlomm v to endure (also used to mean boring e.g
lerlommuc a endured day>boring day)

lmo n deer
lmononrogg n consonant
lmonnn n autumn
lmonno n boat
lmegc n corpse
lm mulmic n pre-determined choice
lms v to cool down
lomu somewhere
lmngo n stag
lono someone
lnomm v to get
l v to drink
lre n river
lreri n stream
lr v to like
-lrno -phile
lt v to help
lgr adj heavy

lernglm v to know

lernglmcjrr v to teach

mo n land

lernglememulmo n questin

mocc n world

lernglmeno adj wise

mocctsa adj worldly

LELIC

!25

mau n coast

-mn less

moggja adj angry

mur adj gray

mollnu n rain

mur n fx

mr n buzzard

mut conj but

mr nrogg n vowel

Mymonnonn n Malomanan

majnsu n horizon

myset v to rain (levelled form of mysetm due to -m

also being the present tense suffix)

merlom n west
merlomossmnic n left
merlun adj normal
mirmo n head
m only
m adj fast
mlhe v to hang
ms adj warm
mr adj great (of character)
mr top
-m nm no
mu n place
ma nothing
mbe n mountain
mbesm v to climb
mci never
mcr nowhere
mcul no way
mulere n island
mulemorr n hunting dog
mulemlerna n leader of hunting group
mulmorro n spear
mulmorae v to hunt birds
mulm v to hunt
mulm lernglmeno v to learn
mulml adj hunting
mulmna n hunter
mulmtr adj late
mulm adj lazy
-mlrno -phobe
mub v to mate, to have sex, to breed
mno no one
muno v to think

LELIC

N
na n person
-na 1) -er,-ian,-an,-ese. 2) human agent suffix
nocc v to stop
nylo n sea
nelmod n a river or large stream that connects two
settlement (via boat travel)
nm adj alone
nep five
ngocc v to eat
ngoccm v to miss
-nge female diminutive suffix
ngemg npl grown up children
ngc v to walk
ngl v to understand
ngom v to run
ngco n forest
ngcr n married man
nr adj short
ni adj green
nilav n grass
nim n woman
nimcur n married woman
nimgo n daughter
niri n fawn
nirilefscl n spring
n n fraction; v to divide
nco few
noco adj weird, odd
nofferin n plant
nofferini n flower
nnestomm v to disown
nmo n region, country, territory
nmorr v to put, to place

!26

nmbrl v to marry

omngcpj v to glide

nmbrle adj married

mu n south

nme v to unite, to tie, to bind

a n day

nml adj united

oobb n the dragon

nna n tribe

omm n yesterday

nro n word

t n tomorrow

nrogg n letter

rocc v to rest, relax

ns adj different

oragcr n crow

nso n sky

rja adj yellow

ns n breath

rja v to blossom, to bloom

nsa n throat

tja n bread

ns oabo n blizzard

mu n South

nsaso n snow

nsasn v to bury with snow

ponn v to be happy, to rejoice

nsm v to leave

ponnr adj beautiful

nsmit n leaving, exit, departure

pepe v to smell

nsng n voice

pja adj easy

nac v to finish

pjl n hero

-nc pre-, fore

pjr n moon

nft n fool

pig v to want to be happy

nfso adj foolish

puc prep across

numgo n son

puco n arse

numgossilo n light

nun all

rocc adj strong

nub wee laddy

rco n bear

nub n child

rcso abv mightily

nur n man

roccut n tree

nurmulemo n hunting group

roccutco n trees seed

nurmulemonra n dictionary

romm adj long (distance, length)

roppo adj sharp

lngo adj bad

roppar n animal horn

lngogggso adj sickly

r n language, speech

lngyr v to sin

rdma n grammar

lngr n sin

recet adj funny

lngor v to kill

rg adj difficult

lngossoc v to forgive

rler v to mean; to intend; to insinuate

lngr n death

rn v to speak

m n doe

rng v to ask

om n sky

rest n leaf

omngc v to fly

ri adj powerful wind

LELIC

!27

risora n book (borrowed from Somi rsara 'writing')

saferoc n dream

r n dog

syferc n sacred deer

rclr n companion friend

sano n god

r prep on

sononnims n goddess

rmub n stud dog

seclr n friendship

r v to own a dog

seclrsan n friendliness

rnem n castrated dog

secjorrl n theft, thievery, robbery

r n dog owner

scul this way

ros v to fly

sel n goodness

roso n bird in flight

selie n argument

rsy n wing, flap

s that (thing)

ruc v to kill

seo prep along

rul n bitch dog

sn that

rm v to walk

senfso n foolishness, idiocracy

rmo n puppy

seos n whiteness

rmler v to lead

sa n today

rmlerna n leader

spa n petal

rulmub n bitch dog in heat

serocc n strength

rlnge n term of affection for a woman

serm n walk

rulnge n whore

sesr n freedom

run prep around

S

sesaje n something that is worthy of telling a story

about

sev n removal, displacement

sesa n spirit, soul

seaj n agreement

sesocc n forgetfulness

sebrl n love

sesoccsa adj forgetful

socc v to forget

stm n happiness, joy

soccuc adj forgotten

setm v to feed

s adj old

stmr n beauty

smlernr n Grandfather

setne n growth

samlmlernr n judge

sejrsa n generosity

smsajel n history

sejum n origin, descent, start, beginning.

sr adj free

sno adv now

sruc adj freed

s that

saje n story

s n wine

scommg npl the still young children of person

so for (Benefactive)

sca adj new, young

scul that way

sca adj brown

sg v to give up; fail

scem v to hit

sronnmo n flag

s this

sj v to find

sa adj holy

sy adj long (time)

snesocc therefore

LELIC

!28

sr n cloth

terub v to admit, confess

sr v to owe

teso adv immediately

sri adj painful

ti adj little

sr there

timo n river island

steal v cjorrl

tne v to grow

s n air

tnuc adj grown

-su -ish (approximate)

t as, for

s v to go

t n north

sl v to see at day

ta adj difficult to carry

slit n sight, view

tmorn v to sing

slr n day vision; n eye

tmoror n song

sm v to travel

tr adj hard

smo n foot

tr such

smm v to descend; to climb down

smo v to come

ub prep in

smberon v to hurry

c v to uncover

smub v to bring

uc prep above

smler v to glide

n prep under

smlerngo n travel glide

-uno -able

smt v to fall

ut n east

smn n race of nomads

smnic n way

v n a traditional Sumric dish

smomlmo n flight

smr n travel

-j multiple number suffix

smr n traveller speech; Sumr

jaco n antlerless male deer

smjobe v to come

jamso n fire

smjobuc adj came, arrived: mm smjobuc 'I am

arrived' (I have arrived)

jamse v to burn

sun there

jamsit n burning

slofferocco n 8ft feet (measurement),

jamsuc adj burnt

jorr n wolf

toccata n task, job, work

-je imperative suffix

tmr adj crazy

jecott n game

tr adj thick

jo prep out

tbi adj special

job prep into

tr adj sad

jr many

tertb n bone

jr v to give

termo n stone

jrsa adj generous, giving

tero n wood

jrg v to tempt

terotsa adj wooden

jrga n temptation

jamsel adj burning

terosmy n wagon

LELIC

!29

jrgl adj tempting

jrguc adj temped
jruc adj given

jum prep from

uvr n crow

jmo v to decide

English~Lelic
A
able una

above prep uc

bad adj lnga

across prep puc

battle v lor

admit v terub

be v em

afterlife n en

bear v est

again adv ledac

beautiful adj ponnr

agent suffix (human) -na

bear n rco

ago coriv

beer n cl

agree v aj

before n lmnc

agreement n seaj

beginning n sejum

air n s

beside prep eso

all nun

bird (whe roosted) n or. (when in flight) n roso

alone adj nm

birth n lefscl

along prep seo

big adj ern

always og

big town n ernlomm

ancestor n erefercona

bind v nm

and conj ac

bitch dg n rul

angry adj moggja

bitch dog in heat n rulmun

animal horn n roppar

black adj div

antler n dert

blizzard n ns oaba

antlerless male deer n jaca

blood n e

argue v lie

blow v fm

argument n selie

blue adj le

orm n lobb

boat n lmona

around prep run

bone n tertb

arse n puco

book n risora (borrowed from Somi rsara 'writing')

art n leric ponorson

born v lefscle

as tn

bread n tja

ask v rn

breath n ns

attention interj ho; n hog

breed v mun

autumn n lmonnn

brick n dmtera

LELIC

!30

bright adj brigr

dark adj div

brightness n brigorlm

daughter n nimga

bring v smub

day n a

brown adj sca

day vision n slr

build v dm

death n lngr

built adj dmuc

decide v jmo

burn v jams

deer n lmo

burning n jamsit: adj jamsel

descent v smm; n sejum

bury with snow v nsasn

different adj ns

but conj mut

difficult adj rg

buzzard n mr

difficult to carry adj ta

disown v nnestomm

collection of houses n lommu; a lommu is 3-5

houses situated next to each other, typically the
inhabitants of each lommu are related. with sons
builing a new home next to their father's.

displacement n sev

carry v est
castrated dog n rnem
causitive auxiliary cjr
child n nub
child diminutive -ca
claim v disru
climb v mbesm
climb down v smm
cloak n orbot
cloth n sr
coast n mauu
coat n orbot
cold n hocr
colour n lern
come v smo
come inside v smjob
companion dog n rclr
conserve v lerlomm
consonant n lmononrog
cool down v lms
country n nma
crazy adj tmr
crow n divorosa; oragcr; uvr

divide v n
do v ler
doe n m
dog n rn
dog owner n r
down prep m
the dragon n oab
dream n saferoc
drink v l; to drink smething that isnt water v dc
duck n eros
dwell v lomm
Lemne n lommn
E
east n ut
easy to learn adj lnomm; to do adj pja
eat v ngoc
endure v lerlomm
eon n ern smor dna
eye n slr
F
fall v smmt
fast adj berd; n mn
father n ernr
faun n niri
feed v setm
female diminutive suffix -nge

LELIC

fever n osilocja

!31

few nca

give up v sg

fight n gir; v gir

giving adj jrsa

finally adv erbsa

glide v omngcpj

find v sj

go v s

finish v nac

god n sana

fire n jamsa

good adj l

fire drink n dcjamsa

gross n nilav

first adj dbil

gray adj mur

flag n sronma

graze v c

flap v ersy

great (of character) adj mr

flight n smomlmon

greet v

flow v elrel

grow v tnuc

fly v omngc; a bird to fly v ros

growth n setne

fold v epe

grown up children npl ngemg

fool n nft

guide v smlr

foolish adj nfsa

foolishness n senfso

hair n fe

for (Benefactive) so

hand n est

force v cjorr

hang n mlhe

forest n ngca

happy v ponn

forest shelter n lommngcev

hard adj tr

forget v soc

have v estomm

forgive v lngosoc

have sex v mun

foot n sma

head n mirma

fox n mur

heath n g

fraction n n

heathy adj ggsa

free adj sr

heart n any

freedom n sesr

heavy adj lgr

friend n clr

help v lt

friendly n clrsa

hey! interj hog

friendlyness n seclrsa

high adj erod

friendship n seclr

highlands n erotm

from prep jum

hill n erotma

fub adj recet

history n sam sajel

hit v scem

gidhlig n erotmr

hold v lobbe

generous adj jrsa

holy adj sa

generosity n sejrsa

home n lomma

get v lnomm

hope v le

give something that belongs to you v an;

something that doesnt belong to you v jr

horizon n majnsu

LELIC

!32

house n elomm

letter n nrog

how cul

life n laferc

hunt v mulm

like v lr

hunt birds v mulmora

literacy n erisora

hunt deer n lmegc

little adj ti

hunter n mulmna

live v elaferc

hunt dog n mulemor

liver n estetserocca n (literally carrier of strength as

Sumric culture sees the liver as being the source of
courage

hunting group n nurmulema

hunting weapon n lorommulmora
hurry v smberon
I
if conj h' or he (always on the subject)
immediately adv tes
imperative suffix -je
inanimate object diminutive i
in prep ub
into prep job
-ish (approximate)-su
-ish (denotes origin e.g Scottish) -na
island n mulere
J
jacket n orbot
job n toc
K
kill v lngor
know v lernglm
L
lake n lommlere
land n ma
language n r
last adj erb
late adj mulmtr
lead v rmler
leader n rmlerna
leader of hunting group n mulemlerna
leaf n rest
learn v elernglmcjrruc
leave v nsm
left n merlomosmnic
-less -mn

LELIC

long (distance, length) adj romm; time adj sy

look v lerje
love v brl
love n sebrl
loved adj brluc
loving adj brll
low adj g
lowlands n gm
-ly/like -sa
M
make v dm
mammal n felaferc
man n nur
many jr
married adj nmbrle
mrried man n ngcr
married woman n nimcur
marry v nmbrl
mate v mun
mean v rler
mightily odv rcsa
milk n dclaferca
miss v ngocm
moon n pjr
mountain n mbe
much ern
multiple number suffix -j
murder v ruce
N
name n orm
new adj sca
night n divdna

!33

night-sky n aivdna

put v nmor

night vision n feroc

no m

question n lernglememulma

non human agent suffix -a

no one mna

normal adj merlun

rage n cja

north n t

rain n mollnu

now adv sna

rain v myset

no way mcul

red adj elrul

nowhere mcr

region n nma

remove v v

obedience n cjorral

removal n sev

odd adj noca

rejoice v ponn

old adj sya

rest v roc

on prep r

river n lrel

opposite n atlommic
or conj g

river or large stream that connects two

settlements (via boat travel) n nelmod

ordinal number suffix -bil

river island n timo

origin n sejum

run v ngom

originate v esejum

other op

sacred deer n saferc

out prep jo

sad adj tr

owe v sr

sail v leresm

own a dog v rn

Scotland n cyna

Scots language n gmr

participle adjective suffix -l

sea n ernyre

painful adj sri

seal (animal) n nyla

peach skin colour adj lernon

secret adj lernglm

person n na
petal n spa
-phile -lrna
-phobe mlrna
pile n lb
place n mu
plain (habitat) n frja
powerful wind n ri
pre- affix nc
prefer v ber
protect v lne
puppy n rma

LELIC

see at night v forr; at day v sl

settlement n selomm
sharp adj roppo
shelter n lommev
shine v brigorre
short adj nr
sickly adj lngogggso
sin v lngyr; n lngr
since coriv
sing v tmorn
site n lommic
sky at night n nso; at day n om
snow n nsasa

!34

soldier n lorna

through prep bi

sometime lodna, dnaje

thick adj thick

somewhere lomu

throat n nsa

son numga

tie v nm

song n tmoror

tight adj gim

soon dnt

time n dna

sorrow n gr

to prep a

soul n ssa

today n sa

speak v rn

tomorrow n t

special adj tbi

top n mr

speech n r

trade v gob

sprig n nirilefscl

travel n smr; v sm; without out destination v rm

stag n lmnga

travel guide n smlernga

spear n mulmora

tree n roccut

spirit n ssa

trees seed n roccutca

still adj lomm

tribe n nna

still young children a person npl scommg

try n cjomm

start n sejum

stop v nocc

un- -m

story n sajel

uncover v c

stream n lreri

under prep un

strength n serocc

understand v ngl

strong adj rocc

unite v nm

stud dog n rmun

united adj nml

succeed v lerl

such tr

valley n ce

summer n lommlmn

very ern, ha

sun n osil

voice n nsnge

swamp n ld

vowel n mr nrog

sweetheart n rlnge (only used for women)

wagon n terosmy

take v estommes

walk v ngc

task n toccata

want v dogce

teach v lernglmcjrr

want to be happy v pig

tempt v jrg

war n lorr

temptation n jrgal

warlike adj lorrsa

territory n nma

war march n lorrsm

theft n secjorrl

warm adj ms

therefore snesoc

water n lere

think v muno

way n smnic

LELIC

!35

weapon n lorro

woman n nim

wee laddy n nun

wood n tero

weird adj noco

wooden adj terotsa

west n merlom

wool n fesra

wet meadow n ld

word n nra

to be whisked away v heg

world n mocc

white adj os

worldy adj mocctsa

whiteness n seos

wrap v ledil

wing n rsy

winter n lommngca

yellow adj rja

wise adj lernglmena

yes a

with prep es; instrumental prep bin

yesterday n am

wolf n jorr

1 d

Numbers
26 rcaores

2 c

27 rnes

3 pr

28 min

4 c

29 minaes

5 nep

30 minces

6 ben

31 miperes

7 hed

32 mices

8 t

33 minepes

9 d

34 mibenes

10 li

35 mihedes

11 po

36 mines

12 car

37 mines

13 n

38 miries

14 r

39 minpoes

15 res

40 micaores

16 rces

41 mines

17 rperes

42 pd

18 rces

43 pes

19 rnepes

44 pces

20 rbenes

45 pdperes

21 rhees

46 pdces

22 res

47 pdnepes

23 res

48 pdbenes

24 rlies

49 pees

25 rpes

50 pes

LELIC

!36

51 pes

82 ertaores

52 pdlies

83 ernes

53 ppoes

84 m

54 pdcaores

85 mes

55 pdnes

86 mces

56 seln

87 mperes

57 seldes

88 mces

58 selnces

89 mnepes

59 selperes

90 mbenes

60 selces

91 mhees

61 selnepes

92 mes

62 selbenes

93 mnes

63 selhees

94 mlies

64 selnes

95 mpoes

65 selnes

96 mcaores

66 sellies

97 mn

67 selnpoes

98 bri

68 selcaores

99 bries

69 selnes

100 brices

70 r

101 briperes

71 erdes

102 brices

72 erces

103 brinepes

73 erperes

104 bribenes

74 ertes

105 brihees

75 ernepes

106 bries

76 erbenes

107 brindes

77 erhees

108 briries

78 eres

109 bripoes

79 ernes

110 bricaores

80 erlies

111 brin

81 erpoes

LELIC

!37

Phrases and expressions

This section will tell you more about the everyday speech and phrases in Lelic. I will list the phrase in English
followed by the phrase in Lelic, followed by a word for word translation of the Lelic in brackets

Greetings
Hello formal mm e tor(I greet you). Or when addressing two or more people mm e tor
informal hog

How are you? cul s'lemr erlrelde? (how is it flowing?)

-I am great! es lel lere (with blue water)

-I am not so good es mysetuc lere (with rained water, or water has just been rained in, as the rain washes mud
into the streams and rivers turning them brown. This brown colour is a refrence to turmoil)

-and you? ac tor?

What's your name? codd e'orm estomm? (what name you have?)

My name is... mr estomm e orm... (I have the name...)

Where are you from? e'lreri tora esejum cr? (where does your stream originate?)

I'm from ... mr jum... (I am from ...)

-I'm from Seld mm jum Seld

Pleased to meet you

l e tit (good greeting)

Good morning/afternoon la (contraction of l a 'good hello')

LELIC

!38

Good evening/night ldivdna (from l divdna 'goodnight', used as a general greeting and parting phrase after
sunset, also said before bed)

Bye! torl! (contracted form of estommje tor l 'have good')

tor smubje l sesajet (Bring back good memories!/bring a good something worthy of telling a story about

Good luck bsim! (from bsim 'task that is easy to do but easy to mess up' + m 'not')
tor smubje l sesajet (Bring back good memories!/bring a good something worthy of telling a story
about!)

The phrase bsim for good luck is related to the story of Bsim. Bsim was a Lericnatt man in his late teens.
Whose name is from the Old Lelic bsim tac meaning 'guided task'' (from bsi 'sureful of direction' + -m which is
gender agreement on the adjective +tac 'task') which was an ironic word for a task that seems simple but it really
easy to mess up. This relates to Bsim as once he was rowing down a large river in a canoe, an everyday task for
the Lericnat, when all of a sudden a storm struck and rain fell heavily which caused the river to burst its banks.
This caused the river to temporarily join with another, which Bsim found himself in by accident, that river was
too fierce for Bsim to row against and it took him far, far away. The storm was so rough that it bounced him
around in his canoe and hit his head so hard he got knocked out. He ended up washing ashore in Pwrina
territory on the banks of a small river, he awoke to find his canoe smashed up and useless, and also a slender dog
sniffing at him, followed by his limping master who helped Bsim up. He attempted to communicate with the
man but neither knew each others language so their conversation was a short one. The limping shepherd gave
Bsim some food and water and sent him on his way. Without his boat Bsim had to walk back home, though he
didn't know any place that wasn't the Lelic marshlands so he attempted to backtrack the small river he washed
up in. It was a long and tough journey which took many days and nights. But eventually he found his way home
where he could finally laugh at his ordeal in hindsight

I don't understand mmm nglde (I am not understanding)

Please speak more slowly tor renje pja a mson (you speak slower to me-er)

Please say that again

tor renje ledac (you speak again)

Do you speak Lelic? e'tor ren lelic?

Yes, a little a, ti

LELIC

!39

How do you say... cul ms ren ... (how may I say ...)

-in Lelic? bin lelic? (by Lelic?)

How do you say 'yes' in Lelic? cul ms ren 'yes' bin lelic?

sorry gri (little sorrow)

Thank you mm lede rja e nofferinitoms seo ln tora (I am hoping blossom the flowers will along path your)

Response to thank you/you are welcome: acora (from ac and + tora yours)

I love you mm brlde tor

Help! ltje

Stop! noccje!

feel better/get well soon mm lede estomm torms g (I am hoping have you will health (I hope that you feel better)
cause and effect h'e oragcrm rosde, e rsytm ersyde

(if the crow flies, the wings flap)

Dialogue
1=speaker 1
2=speaker 2
1: es lel lere,, e'lreri tora esejum cr?
1:hog

2: mm jum Seld

2: hog

1: mm jum Seld, codd e'orm estomm?

1: cul s'lemr erlrelde?

2: mr estomm e orm morocc

2: es lel lere, ac tor?

1: l e tit, mr estomm e orm hajces

LELIC

!40

sound changes from Old Lelic to Modern Lelic

/Z_
Vngng/_
VnCC/_
V/_
fv/_#
/_
o/_
ij/_V
ao/_r
a/C_C!_
T/_VN#
V /_N#
nm /_ (when was p before)
n/_# (when was k before)
lr/F_F (sporadic)

LELIC

!41