30 May 2015

bird is txitu (revisited)

txitu = bird (noun) (Some things Google found for "txitu": a unusual term; user names; similar txistu is a Basque fipple flute (end-blown flute) with three-holes; txitu‑ò appears in a New Testament translation in Karajá which is an indigenous language of central Brazil; similar Chitu is the name of a horse that raced in the 2014 Kentucky Derby)

Word derivation for "bird" :
Basque = txori, Finnish = lintu
Miresua = txitu

My previous Miresua word for bird was tirlu, which was an odd alphabetic scramble I constructed back in 2009. For my new word, I thought I'd let my word for bird start with TX. In Miresua, as in Basque, TX is pronounced like CH.

The word bird, plus birds, occurs a dozen times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"Very true," said the Duchess: "flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is -- 'Birds of a feather flock together.'"

"Only mustard isn't a bird," Alice remarked.

26 May 2015

dog is kotxar (revisited)

kotxar = dog (animal) (noun) (Some things Google found for "kotxar": a rare term; user names; kotxar.ru was a former sports review website; bad OCR of old text documents; similar Kotzar is an unusual last name; in Basque similar kotxe means car, auto)

Word derivation for "dog":
Basque = txakur, Finnish = koira
Miresua = kotxar

My previous Miresua word for dog was txora, which I posted way back in 2008. I'm changing this word so that it no longer ends in -A, and also because the new word is, in my opinion, a slightly better mix. In Miresua, as in Basque, TX is pronounced like CH.

The word dog, plus dogs, occurs six times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"Are you--are you fond--of--of dogs?" The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: "There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you! A little bright-eyed terrier..."

22 May 2015

those are huok

huok = those (pronoun) (demonstrative pronoun) (Some things Google found for "huok": an uncommon term; a rare last name; a rare first name; user names; in English Glossic (Ingglosh Glosik) which was a 19th century spelling system for English an added apostrophe is called hook and spelled huok; means pig in Abau which is a language of Papua New Guinea; similar Phu Huak (or Phou Huak) is a mountain in Laos; similar Huoka is a place in Yunnan, China)

Word derivation for "those":
Basque = horiek, Finnish = nuo
Miresua = huok

In Basque, the word those is a plural of that, and these is a plural of this. My Miresua words are constructed so they retain some of that similarly, but those is not a plural of that.

I found the word those ten times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, mostly as a determiner. Perhaps I can use huok as a determiner, too.
"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

"How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!"
"I'm sure those are not the right words," said poor Alice...

18 May 2015

these is humäk

humäk = these (pronoun) (demonstrative pronoun) (Some things Google found for "humak": an uncommon term; Humak University of Applied Sciences in Finland (Finnish: Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu); HumAk Law students' Humanitarian Action of Norway; Humak is an unusual to rare last name; Humak is the name of a World of Warcraft character; humak means barrow in Croatian; Model Town Humak is a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan; Humak is name of another place in Pakistan)

Word derivation for "these":
Basque = hauek, Finnish = nämä
Miresua = humäk

The ending of -k on this word makes it look sort of like a Basque plural, but unfortunately not like a Miresua plural.

The word these appears fourteen times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a majority of the times as a determiner. I may be able to use humäk as a determiner, too.
First came ten soldiers carrying clubs; these were all shaped like the three gardeners, oblong and flat, with their hands and feet at the corners: next the ten courtiers; these were ornamented all over with diamonds, and walked two and two, as the soldiers did.

14 May 2015

that is huo

huo = that (pronoun) (demonstrative pronoun) (Some things Google found for "huo": a very common term; a Chinese last name; Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910) was a Chinese martial artist; with pinball machines HUO is an acronym for Home Use Only; in World of Warcraft Huo is the Spirit of Fire, an NPC elemental character)

Word derivation for "that":
Basque = hori, Finnish = tuo
Miresua = huo

The word that appears numerous times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but often as a conjunction or a determiner instead of a pronoun.
Last came a little feeble, squeaking voice, ("That's Bill," thought Alice,) "Well, I hardly know -- No more, thank ye; I'm better now -- but I'm a deal too flustered to tell you -- all I know is, something comes at me like a Jack-in-the-box, and up I goes like a sky-rocket!"

10 May 2015

this is humä

humä = this (pronoun) (demonstrative pronoun) (Some things Google found for "huma": a very common term; Huma is an unusual to uncommon Muslim feminine first name, notably Huma Abedin who is an American political staffer; Huma Dragonbane is a heroic male fighter character in the Dragonlance gaming universe; in information technology hUMA stands for heterogeneous Unified Memory Access; Huma is an unusual last name; Hüma Chia Energy Gel is a brand of sports nutrition; Huma is the name of places in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bolivia, Tonga, China, Turkey and Arkansas)

Word derivation for "this":
Basque = hau, Finnish = tämä
Miresua = humä

In an attempt to add some more grammar to Miresua, my next few words will be demonstrative pronouns.

I've learned that Basque has ordinary and intensive (or emphatic) demonstratives. The Basque word I'm using to make this word is the ordinary one, or basic form. I don't know if I'll deal with intensive demonstratives in Miresua.

The word this appears many, many times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but often as a determiner or adverb.
She drew her foot as far down the chimney as she could, and waited till she heard a little animal (she couldn't guess of what sort it was) scratching and scrambling about in the chimney close above her: then, saying to herself "This is Bill," she gave one sharp kick, and waited to see what would happen next.

06 May 2015

shoe is okenko (revisited)

okenko = shoe (noun) (Some things Google found for "okenko": an uncommon term; Okénko is an organization for the Czech, as well as the Slovak, community in London, UK, with activities for children and adults; Okénko is a Czech Scouting organization for boys and girls; Okenko Books is a children's picture book app for mobile devices; a rare last name; okénko means small window, porthole in Czech)

Word derivation for "shoe":
Basque = oinetako, Finnish = kenkä
Miresua = okenko

Revisiting the word for shoe again, because it's awfully similar to the word for chicken. My previous Miresua conlang word for shoe was okeno. This is a small change to make the second to last letter K, like in both the Basque and the Finnish words.

Another word for shoe in Basque is zapata, which is the word for shoe in Spanish. In Basque oin means foot.

The plural of shoe, shoes, appears a handful of times in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"Why, what are YOUR shoes done with?" said the Gryphon. "I mean, what makes them so shiny?"

Alice looked down at them, and considered a little before she gave her answer. "They're done with blacking, I believe."

"Boots and shoes under the sea," the Gryphon went on in a deep voice, "are done with a whiting. Now you know."

02 May 2015

chicken is oikano (revisited)

oikano = chicken (bird) (noun) (Some things Google found for "oikano": a rare term; Oikano Car Parts of Greece; Oikano Restaurant and Oikano Cafe & Sports in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia; user names; similar Oikana is a place in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia; similar Oikeno-cho (or Oikenocho) is a place in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan)

Word derivation for "chicken" :
Basque = oilasko, Finnish = kana
Miresua = oikano

My previous Miresua conlang word for chicken was onoilaka. I'm changing this word to use another, better Finnish word for chicken, the bird. The Finnish word I used previously, kananpoika, also means chicken, but as a chick, and as chicken meat as food.

The word chicken doesn't appear in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. But chicken, the bird, appears in Through the Looking-glass.
It certainly was a VERY large Gnat: "about the size of a chicken," Alice thought. Still, she couldn't feel nervous with it, after they had been talking together so long.