koinu

IPA: ['kʰoj·nʉ]

n. ice. The solid state of frozen water or any other liquid.

This word is pretty simple and it's much too similar to its English equivalent. As a Tulvan word it can be used with the adjective affix but in the sense "ice-like" not only implying cold but the solidification of it being frozen. As for example:

mar ikoinu. Icy blood.

The meaning here would be a block of frozen blood, as opposed to koinu imar bloody ice, which would imply some blood staining an ice block. To say that a man has "icy blood" would be an impossibility since that blood would not be able to be pumped.

Defusing a verb

Another very important aspect of Tulvan grammar is the 'defusing' of verbs. Such is the term used in Tulvan for the creation of gerunds and gerundives, or verbal nouns, such as thinking, eating, resting, or even "to be or not to be". Some verbs can be used as nouns, but some must undergo a subtle transformation which Tulvan acknowledges as 'nullifying sounds'.

This process implies that all 'v's revert to 'u's, all dotted letters such as 'ë' and 'ä' rever to their non-dotted versions. Also all final dentals fall back to 's', all final velars to 'z' and all final labials to 'm'. Some examples are as follow:

the verb tulv- 'to think', becomes tulu when defused.
Such as; cur kwam tulu, I want to think.

the verb ëv- 'to be', becomes eu when defused.
Such as; eu ë eu vu, to be or not to be.

Other examples are ëvpak/eupaz, to listen; and also ëvud/euus, to know.

This construction suits perfectly the place of the gerund, as in;

Ëv tulu itrum, it is good to think, or, thinking is good.

1 Year of Tulvan!

Today I'm very happy to announce that the Tulvan project is 1 year old! What began as only just an idea has now developed, for better or worse, into a language that each day gets closer to completion. Here's for more years for Tulvan! May it continue happily!

Cheers! Trum Tulvan cum!

Reflexive pronoun

Tulvan has a reflexive pronoun that is used to indicate the middle voice and also the reflexive. This pronoun is completely invariable and can be used with any other pronoun, it will always refer to the subject of the verb in any given sentence. The pronoun is sim. So you can say something like Lev kwam sim I look at myself of course meaning "in a mirror". This same pronoun would be used in such sentences as "I comb my hair" or "Know thyself", the last one being rendered in Tulvan as; Ëvudi sim Know (your)self, which is the Tulvan translation for the ancient greek phrase in Delphos' Oracle.

Noteworthy to note that the salute Primi sim is used to mean Take care! and, of course, primin sim would be used for a group of people. As mentioned above the reflexive is invariable.

Lev totene sim They look at themselves (masc.)
Lev tegene sim They look at themselves (fem.)

Primi sim Take care!
Primin sim Take care, you guys!

And so on. When asked a riddle and the child can't think of answer asking for a hint, a Tulvan might say

Tulvi sim siv! Think for yourself!

Posing the child a challenge.

ëvpak

vb. to hear, to listen, to give heed. The act of paying attention to what is being said and listening.

It is most frequently used in the sense of 'giving heed' or also used to ask for attention. Ëvpaki (kem) is a common phrase to ask for attention, or also to shut someone up when you want to comment on something that was just said, which happens quite a lot in Tulvan discussions, specially about poilu. Also very much used is ëvpak vu mem 'you don't listen to me'.

poilu

n. logic, good-sense, the ability to perceive and/or utilize empirical thinking in an efficient train of thought.

This word has a special meaning to Tulvans. It is in fact used about sentences or thoughts which have sense or are 'logical', but its connotations can also go as far as to use it to assess someone's sanity. Many Tulvans will think not being logical in speech is a kind of madness. This is not to say that they are always logical, but upper classes are disgusted to engage on futile conversations and often will look down to those who do. The motto of the Society of Tulvan Grammarians is:

TUYLV LEVI POILU SIV
Think and speak with logic

A praise among Tulvan scientists is to say that something is 'poilui' or 'logical', as in 'well-formulated according to the rules of logic'. While the academia lingers on in this belief, the youth are starting to think 'ilipoilu' and outside the box, with varying degrees of achievements. The famous phrase 'that is not logical' rendered in Tulvan as:

Ëv si ilipoilu or ëv ilipoilu

Is close to calling someone a liar.

Weak Tenses

Weak tenses are a group of tenses and aspects in the lines of the Strong tenses, but with the difference that the root is not modified and a prefix is used which is k(V)- being (V) = any vowel. So we have in this category the Habitual aspect, the Perfective aspect, the Future tense and the Conditional. The Habitual takes the prefix ki- and denotes an action that continues through time, a habit or an ongoing action.

e.g.:
Kilev kwam. I see (everyday), I am seeing, I am used to seeing.
Kitulv kwam. I think (everyday), I am thinking, I am used to thinking.
Këvud kwam. I know (everyday), I am knowing, I am used to knowing.
Kithark kwam. I use (everyday), I am using, I am used to using.
Kiprum kwam. I speak (everyday), I am speaking, I am used to speaking.

These can be further developed into the past tense habitual, so:

Kiluev kwam. I used to see, I was seeing.
Kitaulv kwam. I used to think, I was thiking.
Këvaud kwam. I used to know, I was knowing.
Kithuark kwam. I used to use, I was using.
Kipraum kwam. I used to speak, I was speaking.

Then we have the Perfective aspect, which indicates an action that has been completed or done already. The prefix is ka- so:

Kalev kwam. I have seen.
Katulv kwam. I have thought.
Kaëvud kwam. I have known.
Kathark kwam. I have used.
Kaprum kwam. I have spoken.

Then the Future tense, which uses the prefix ku-, so:

Kulev kwam. I will see.
Kutulv kwam. I will think.
Kuëvud kwam. I will know.
Kuthark kwam. I will use.
Kuprum kwam. I will speak.

Finally, in the Weak Tenses, we have the Conditional, which takes the prefix kya-, so:

Kyalev kwam. I would see.
Kyatulv kwam. I would think.
Kyaëvud kwam. I would know.
Kyathark kwam. I would use.
Kyaprum kwam. I would speak.

The conditional construction needs a special post in Tulvan, which will come very soon.