Lesson 2
Word Order

Word Order 1

NOTE: If you find grammar-geekiness intimidating, skip to “Word Order 2.”

[Type-of-Sentence Word, Verb, Case Phrase–Subject, Evidence Word]

Don’t be concerned about the notation above; it will be useful in the long run. A “Case Phrase” is the same thing as what traditional English grammars call a “prepositional phrase.” In English this means a preposition and its following noun phrase, as in “with a hatchet” or “to the beach,” most of the time; in Láadan it usually means a noun phrase and its ending. This will become clear as we go along, and each of the sentence patterns explained will use the notation, with “Case Phrase” abbreviated to just “CP” in future to save space. “Case Phrase–Subject” will be written “CP–S.”

Word Order 2

Bíi

Type-of-Sentence Word—declarative

A Láadan sentence begins with a word, called the [Type-of-Sentence Word], that tells you what sort of sentence it is—statement, question, request, etc. The most common of these words is “Bíi,” which begins ordinary statements (known grammatically as declarative sentences).

Evidence Word—claimed to be true because the speaker herself perceived what has been said

A Láadan sentence ends with a word, called the [“Evidence Word,”] that states why the speaker considers the sentence to be true. Probably the most common of these words is “wa,” which means “claimed to be true because the speaker herself perceived whatever has been said.”

Within the sentence that begins with the Type-of-Sentence Word and ends with the Evidence Word, the Verb comes before the Noun(s).

Vocabulary

adaa

to laugh

áya

to be beautiful

doth

to follow

hal

to work

hena

sibling (by birth)

mid

animal; any creature

óoha

to be tired; to be weary

shóod

to be busy

thul

parent

with

person

Note that Láadan doesn’t divide adjectives and verbs into two classes as English does. Thus “áya” means “be beautiful” without any need for a separate word “be” in the sentence.

When discussing the distinctions among the types of verbs in Láadan, it can be useful to describe the descriptive verbs as “stative verbs” (verbs that describe a state of being, eg “áya,” “óoha,” and “shóod” above) as differentiated from “active verbs” (verbs that describe an action, eg “ada,” “doth,” and “hal” above).

Examples

Bíi ada hena wa. •<

(The/A) sibling laughs.

Bíi áya mid wa. •<

(The/An) animal is beautiful.

Bíi doth thul wa. •<

(The/A) parent follows.

Bíi hal with wa. •<

(The/A) person works.

Note that Láadan has no separate words for “a(n)” or “the.” In future examples, one or the other will be provided for the purposes of the English translation.

Bíi óoha Bétheni wa. •<

Bethany is weary.

Note that names occupy the noun’s place in a sentence, just like any other noun.