Ithkuil/Errors

Yuorb's Corrections, Changes & Supplements to New Ithkuil Official Website

Supplementary content is marked with the tags ins, which may be shown as underlined text in some formats to indicate new additions. In contrast, content that has been removed is identified with the tags del or s, and this removed text is typically displayed with a strikethrough effect to clearly show what has been deleted.

01 Phonology

1.2 Pronunciation Notes and Allophonic Distinctions

• a is pronounced [a] as in Spanish alta, or as [ɑ] in English father.
• ë is pronounced [ʌ] like the u in English cut, or the “schwa” sound [ə] like the a in English sofa, or as [ɤ] in Mandarin.
• ç is the voiceless non-grooved palatal slit-fricative [ç], as heard in the initial sound of English human or hue, or in the German word richtig, or in Japanese ひ (hi) and the palatalization hy-.
• n is dental, not alveolar; n assimilates to velar [ŋ] before k, g, and x (but not before ř); therefore, phonemic ň is not permitted before k, g, or x in New Ithkuil native words.
• r is a single tap/flap [ɾ], which becomes a trill [r] when geminated, as in Spanish or Italian caro and carro; when followed by a consonant in the same word, it may be pronounced as an apico-alveolar approximant [ɹ], similar to (but further forward in the mouth than) the postalveolar [ɹ̱] of standard English. An example of an apico-alveolar approximant is the non-retroflex r sound in Mandarin..

1.3 Orthographic Conventions

• The character ț (U+021B) to be added as an alternative form of ţ;
• The character ḑ (U+1E11) to be made the official form of the presently composite character d͕ (U+0064 U+0355); the latter to be added as an alternative form;
• The character ļ (U+013C) to be made the official form of the presently composite character l͕ (U+006C U+0355); the latter to be added as an alternative form;
• The character ż to be added as an alternative form of ẓ, as it is convenient to type on phone keyboards.
• Optional: The character i might be written as a (dotless) ı to diminish the amount of diacritics used (ì, í, i).

1.X External Juncture (not present in website)

• When a word ending in a consonant-form (i.e., either a single consonant or a multiple consonant conjunct) is followed in the same breath-group by another word beginning with a consonant-form, it is usually necessary to append a vowel either to the end of the first word or the beginning of the second word, so as to avoid confusion as to which word the word-final and/or word-initial consonants belong to. This is accomplished by ensuring that appropriate word-initial and/or word-final vocalic Slots (e.g., Slot II, Slot IX) are filled.

02 Morpho-Phonology

2.4 Root and Stem Formation

• All words in New Ithkuil which translate into English as nouns or verbs are based on a stem, which in turn derives from a semantically abstract root.

03 Basic Morphology

3.1 Configuration

• These three states of Similarity are termed SIMILAR, DISSIMILAR, and FUZZY (abbreviated S, D, and F as the third letter following the Plexity and Separability abbreviation letters second letter following the Plexity abbreviation letter). Note that Similarity does not apply to UNIPLEX entities/events/acts/states.
• These three states of Separability are termed SEPARATE, CONNECTED, and FUSED (abbreviated as S, C, and F as the second letter following the Plexity abbreviation letter third letter following the Plexity and Similarity abbreviation letters).
• The Revisor’s Comment: For all examples about sphere, anzwu- changes to anzwi- because the gloss implies it.

3.2 Affiliation

• The Revisor’s Comment:
  • čve- changes to čvä- because it does not meet the lexicon definition.
  • sřu- changes to sřa- because its interpretation does not imply the meaning of DYN.
  • Please note that these corrections also apply to the examples below.

3.2.4 VAR The Variative

• although it should be noted that the VARIATIVE would not be used to signify opposed but complementary differences among set members (see the COALESCENT affiliation below above).
• It would thus be used to signify a jumble of tools, odds-and-ends, a random gathering, a rag-tag group, a dysfunctional couple, a cacophony of notes, of a mess of books, a collection in disarray.

3.3 Perspective

• The Revisor’s Comment:
  • elze- changes to elza- because it does not meet the lexicon definition.
  • Please note that these corrections also apply to the examples below.

3.6 The Ca Affix-Complex

• Revisor’s Comment:
  • All available Ca forms as well as their geminated forms are subject to evaluation. Kindly exercise patience and await the outcome.

For further information, please consult the GitHub repository here, which contains a list of the invalid Ca forms generated by Zsakowitz. The columns in this list represent: (1) the Ca form, (2) instances of ungeminated forms, and (3) instances of geminated forms.

Zsakowitz noted that this analysis has also categorized numerous ungeminated Ca forms as invalid. It remains ambiguous whether this categorization results from an error in his implementation of phonotactics or from deficiencies within JQ’s Ca syntax itself. In cases where no applicable rules are present, the gemination process defaults to duplicating the first letter.

Additionally, LCD reported that certain forms are indeed invalid; for instance, the ungeminated Ca form -ntç- is absent from the Phonotaxis documentation. Furthermore, gemination rule 7 cannot be applied to the ungeminated Ca form -pň- due to the lack of a necessary substitution, resulting in a geminated Ca form -ppň-.

3.9.3 RPS The Representational

• Add this as a second paragraph: For example, in our previous sentence A cat ran past the doorway, if we now place the cat, doorway, and act of running each into the REPRESENTATIONAL, What is meant is no longer that the cat ran away past the doorway. Perhaps on the surface, this matter did not happen at all, and the speaker just wanted to metaphor something, for example, an ominous omen.

3.10 Restructuring of Slots I and II as a “Short-Cut” for Slots IV and VI

• In the rightmost column of the table it should be PRX Extension, not Perspective.

04 Case Morphology

4.5.8 CVS The Conversive Case

Gloss

warrahňöa
“cat”-CCV-CVS

• Revisor’s Comment:
  • Note that the Conversive case is an Adverbial case so it will be assumed to convey CCN status when unmarked with Case-Scope.

Gloss

Wašḑayá	cwe	warröa.
“remove”-RTR-OBS	Mx/NEU/A-ABS	“cat”-CVS

• Everything was removed, if it (the removal) wasn’t on account of (the existence of) the cat. / Everything was removed with due allowance for (the existence of) the cat. (i.e. the cat is an exception to the romoval)

4.7.7 DEP The Dependent case

• Add it after the table: Note there are no negative values for the contingency clauses listed, i.e., “X will NOT occur if...”. Such negative contingencies are expressed by simple negation of the contingency phrase. Similarly, the dependency clause (expressed in the DEPENDENT case) may also be negated if semantically required.

4.8.3 ALL The Allative Case

Example:

wajliʼa wajliʼo

“mountain”-ALL

4.10 Case-Scope

• SPECIAL NOTE: A noun in one of the Appositive, Associative or Relational Cases adjacent to another noun operates as an exception to the above rules. Because such Appositive, Associative or Relational nouns naturally associate with an adjacent noun, default zero-marking on such a noun will be assumed to convey CCP status if the Appositive/Associative/Relational noun is the first of a pair of nouns, or CCV if it is the second of the pair. If there are three consecutive zero-marked Appositive/Associative/Relational formatives, the first noun will be assumed to convey CCP status, while the other two have CCV status.

4.11.2 Case-Stacking

Revisor’s Comment

• Be careful to distinguish the following situations:
• Please exercise caution when discerning the following applications:

1. The utilization of one case to govern another case, as elucidated earlier.
2. A straightforward coordinating relationship between multiple cases can be enhanced by employing Type-3 affixes, such as COO and XOR.

• If your intention is to derive a formative for the semantic relationship of the case itself, you may refer to the first application as a guide (e.g., any Case Stacking Affix + the Slot IX Vc value representing THM).
• Please note that the utilization of another stacked case of Referential differs from that of Case Stacking Affix. It bears resemblance to Case Plus Case (the second application) rather than Case Governing Case (the first application).

05 Verb Morphology

• The VnCn affix itself is comprised of comprises two different patterns of a vocalic form VN followed by a consonant form Cn.

5.3 Phase

Revisor’s Note About The Default Phase Not Mentioned

When unmarked for Phase, a formative should be regarded as marked in a default phase, the CONTEXTUAL CTX which describes a single act, condition, or event as a relatively brief (but not instantaneous), single holistic occurrence considered once, where the actual duration of the occurrence is not relevant in the particular context. It can be visually represented along a progressive timeline by a short dash, e.g., —

Example:

Weždá

[default Ca]-Stem.2/PRC-“sound.of.high-pitched.buzz/beep”-OBS

sstilomke.

“device”-OBJ-[default Ca]-FGN₁/7-ABS

The alien device (has) emitted a single long beeping sound.

5.3.1 The Punctual

• The abbreviation PUN should be changed to PCT.

5.5.1 Ambiguity and Under-Specification in Natural Languages

• Sentence (d) to be removed: Jane’s state of health is not as poor as Sue’s (although neither Jane nor the other person are well).

5.5.3 Comparison Operators (Levels)

• To the COS affix: Since Level affixes modify a verb directly, there is still a potential for ambiguity due to the fact that Levels and the Comparison cases specify the relationship between two entities being compared, but they do not specify the particular parameter of the term M. In other words, the verb “laugh” in the SURPASSIVE Level might be best translated as “out-laugh,” as in Sam out-laughed George, but we still do not know if this means the laugh was louder, longer, or “harder.” Therefore, verbs marked for Levels often take the COS affix as well, to specify the parameters of the quality or act in question.

5.7.1 Combinations of Aspect, Extension, and Perspetive

Revisor’s Comment: Most of the above examples should be governed from left to right, that is, the previous one governs the last one. In actual use, the order should be reversed. Therefore, pay attention to the order of morpheme scoping order.

5.7.2 TPP and RTI Affixes

• To the RTI affix degree 1 and 2: Note how English translations of this affix may require use of a negative not present in the original.

06 More Verbal Morphology

6.1.1 Illocution

• To ASSERTIVE illocution: The ASSERTIVE is used to express propositions which purport to describe or name some act, event, or state in the real world, with the purpose of committing the hearer to the truth of the proposition. Thus, an utterance in the ASSERTIVE Illocution is one that can be believed or disbelieved, and is either true or false. Such utterances would include general statements, descriptions, and explanations.
• To DIRECTIVE illocution: The DIRECTIVE Illocution is for the purpose of committing the hearer to undertake a course of action represented by the proposition, where the proposition describes a mental wish, desire, or intention on the part of the speaker. Thus, an utterance in the DIRECTIVE is one that is neither true nor false because it is not describing something that purports to exist in the real world; rather, it describes an act or situation which can potentially be made real, i.e., that can be fulfilled or carried out. Such utterances include commands, orders, and requests and would generally be marked in Western languages by either the imperative, optative, or subjunctive moods. The commitment on the part of the hearer is not belief or disbelief, but rather whether to obey, comply with, or grant. The DIRECTIVE is also used for “commissive” types of statements such as promises, vows, pledges, oaths, contracts, or guarantees, where the statement is a wish or command directed at oneself.
• To DECLARATIVE illocution: The DECLARATIVE is used for utterances whose purpose is to themselves effect a change upon the real world, based upon convention, cultural rules, law, subjective authority, or personal authority or control of a situation. The commitment imposed upon the hearer is one of recognition or non-recognition. Such utterances include declarations, announcements, proclamations, and various “performative” expressions. Certain languages mark this function of a verb using a mood known as hortative. Examples would be: I dub thee “Clown Master”!, The king will hear all grievances at noon each day, This court is now in session, We hereby declare this treaty null and void!
• To VERIFICATIVE illocution: The commitment on the part of the listener in regard to the VERIFICATIVE is one of compliance or non-compliance in divulging the information sought, and the truth value of the utterance is neutral pending the reply.
• To ADMONITIVE illocution: The ADMONITIVE is used for admonitions and warnings, corresponding to English phrases such as ‘(I) caution you lest…,’ ‘(I) warn you against…,’ or ‘Be careful not to….’ The utterance is neither true nor false because it describes only a potential act or situation which may occur unless avoided. The commitment on the part of the hearer is to assess the degree of likelihood of the potentiality, followed by a choice whether to heed or ignore/defy the utterance.
• To HORTATIVE illocution: The HORTATIVE is used for statements that are untrue or unreal, but wished to be true or real.

07 Affixes

7.0.2 Ca stacking

Revisor’s Comment: Its scope depends on which Slot the Ca stacking affix is ​​in: For in Slot V and VII, the former is governed by Slot VI Ca, and the latter governs Slot VI Ca.

7.5 List of VxCs Affixes

Tips: Please consult the computerized database or online dictionary as your primary reference, as it offers rectifications and supplementary information for the errors found in the original document. Please click the "Fetch Lexicon from GitHub Repo" button to prepare before using the online dictionary for the first time.

7.6 Case-Accessor, Inverse Case-Accessor, and Case-Stacking Affixes

• Due to significant changes, please refer to the details at 7.6 Case-Accessor, Inverse Case-Accessor, and Case-Stacking Affixes
• Revisor’s Comment: It would be advisable for some definitions of C.A. and I.A. to have been switched according to the catte_’s analysis
• The revisor recommends expanding the use of Case-Stacking Affixes. By utilizing Case-Accessor and Inverse Case-Accessor, it is possible to access two semantic roles within a semantic relationship. However, it is not possible to access the related Case semantic relationship. Given using Case on UNFRAMED Verbal Formatives to give a meaning of “to be (something that is) X” where X is the formative modified by the case’s function, the definition of Case-Stacking Affixes can be expanded as “(to be) a X semantic relationship where ...”.

7.6.3 Type-3 Case-Assessor & Inverse Case-Assessor Affixes

weläxţijya

[default Ca]-Stem.2/PRC-“child”-CNC₂/2-ia:TRM₃

the goal being that whose goal is a selfish child/that what is in pursuit/hope of a selfish child

08 Adjuncts

8.1.1 Single-Affix Adjunct

• Ultimate stress : affix applies to concatenated stem formative only

8.1.2 Multiple-Affix Adjunct

• This adjunct associates two or more affixes to a formative. The tell-tale sign is that the second consonant-form will consist of one of the non-root consonant forms h, ʼh, ʼhl, ʼhr, hw, or ʼhw.either of -h- or a non-root consonant preceded by a glottal-stop (ʼh, ʼw, ʼy, ʼhw, ʼhl, or ʼhr). Examples: dohast, stei’haikrastei’yaikra, ëjgi’hloftômëjgi’woftôm, via’hwobrigli.
• Ultimate stress : affix applies to concatenated stem formative only

8.2 Modular Adjuncts

• When used with concatenated formatives pair or chain, it normally applies to both the concatenated and parent stems formatives but can be marked to apply to either one separately.
• a = affixes in Slots 2, 3, and 4 have successive right-to-left scope order over each other (Slot 2 < Slot 3 < Slot 4) and have scope over Case/Mood and Validation + Illocution + Expectation

8.3.6 COG Cogitant

Revisor’s Additional Info:

• The IMPRESSIONISTIC register in Ithkuil 2011 IPR has been merged with the COGITANT.
• IMPRESSIONISTIC (subjective impressions of the party referred to)
• Description: Indicates a phrase/statement represents the imagination, subjective impressions, or unwilled “wandering” thoughts of the party being referenced in the phrase/statement. Equivalent in natural languages to a narrator suddenly interjecting a subjective description within a statement, as in The little girl ran down the hillside, a feeling of joy in her heart, then leaped into the arms of her father.

8.4 Suppletive Adjuncts

• if the case-framed word/phrase/name has non-default Case-scope, use either a full carrier-stem or a preceding affixual adjunct to show the case-scope.

8.5 Bias Adjuncts

• Unlike other adjuncts which function as substitutions for the morphological Slots within formatives, Bias adjuncts function independently from formatives and have semantic scope over the entire sentence when sentence-initially (again, much like Interjections in natural languages).
• Revisor’s Additional Info: During development, the grammar design document describes its scoping as follows:
  • Sentence-initial Bias adjuncts scope over the entire sentence. Otherwise, they scope over the preceding formative. They should be pronounced with a preceding and following pause.
• SAT SATIATIVE: ļţ vļ

Revisor’s Additional Info: Deprecated biases:

• Literal LTL is replaced by the affix HG1/1 or HG1/4
• Cynical CYN is replaced by IRO or SKP Bias
• For expressions as in a manner of speaking, so to speak, and for all intents and purposes, see HG1 and HG2 affixes
• Ithkuil 2011’s INDIGNATIVE IDG usage of the non-intensive form is replaced by SOL

09 Referentials

Revisor’s Comment

• A Referential assumes to be a shortcut for the morphologically equivalent formative, and therefore can be modified by affixual adjunct and modular adjunct.
• Similar to the behavior of the Suppletive adjuncts, the use of Referential implies CCN Case-scope; if the Referential has non-default Case-scope, use either a Specialized Referential Root or an affix to show the case-scope.

9.1 Single-Referent Referential

• Obviative 3rd-party other than one previously referenced aka so-called “4th person”

10 Special Constructions

10.1.3 Concatenation Chain

Revisor’s Comment About Scoping in Concatenation Chain: When each concatenated formative marked with default Case-Scope, They modify the parent formative, as like the parent formative were a main verb and they were the arguments thereof.

10.3 Specialized Cs-Roots in Lieu of Affix-Scoping Adjuncts

• The Affix-Degree and SpecificationContext of the Specialized Cs-root is shown by the Vr value in Slot IV

10.4 Specialized Referential Roots

Revisor’s Comment:

• Personal-Reference is obsolete term of Referential.
• Specialized Referential roots have only one stem.

11 Syntax

11.4 Formatives in Apposition

Revisor’s Comment:

• Default zero-marking on a nominal formative in one of the Appositive, Associative, or Relational cases will be assumed to convey CCP status if the nominal formative is the first of a pair of nouns, or CCV if it is the second of the pair.
• When a formative in one of the Affinitive cases (of course, and others) modifies another nominal formative, it should be appropriately marked with one of the possible Case-Scopes.

11.8 Juncture between sentences

Sentence to be removed: All formatives and adjuncts have now been redesigned/modified where necessary to accommodate this without creating any ambiguities.

11.?? Juncture between words

NOTE: This is taken from the morphology document, section 1.5 External Juncture. As far as I'm aware this information isn't currently on the website - I propose that this be added as section 11.8, pushing "Juncture between sentences" to 11.9, etc.

When a word ending in a consonant-form (i.e., either a single consonant or a multiple consonant conjunct) is followed in the same breath-group by another word beginning with a consonant-form, it is usually necessary to append a vowel either to the end of the first word or the beginning of the second word, so as to avoid confusion as to which word the word-final and/or word-initial consonants belong to. This is accomplished by ensuring that appropriate word-initial and/or word-final vocalic Slots (e.g., Slot II, Slot IX) are filled.

12 The Writing System

For a Concatenated Pair of formatives, each formative is simply written separately, first the concatenated formative, then the parent formative. There is no distinction made between the two except that the subscript diacritic on the word-initial Primary Character of the concatenated formative shows the concatenation status (see below).

• Revisor’s Comment: This description also applies to Concatenated Chain.

12.1 Primary Characters

• "3 Relations x 2 Concatenation shown by under-posed diacritic" should be changed to "3 Relations OR 2 Concatenations shown by under-posed diacritic".

12.3 Tertiary Characters

• The section should include the order in which the values are read, as well as a way to show more values than that admissible by a single tertiary character.
• ICP Illocution should be changed to RCP.

12.4.2 Alternative To Using Quaternary Characters

• In the second image showing V_K Illocution/Validation, VRF Illocution should be changed to VER.

12.4.3 Showing Referentials

• It is not mentioned how to write a Combination Referential with Specification; this can easily be achieved using underposed diacritics for CTE, CSV, and OBJ on the secondary character.
• V_XC_S affixes on Combination Referentials are not explicitly described, but would presumably be handled the same as in a formative, by adding a secondary character with appropriate diacritics.

12.6.1 Transcriptive & Transliterative Modes: The Phonetic Representation (or Suppression) of Adjuncts

• It is not mentioned how V_H can be shown on modular adjuncts.

13 Numbers

13.1 Features of a Centesimal Number System

Revisor’s Comment on the first paragraph

• In fact, every each set of four digits are written as one numeral, so the number 3254 can be written as a single numeral; but in terms of formatives, it is indeed written as at least two words, 32 and 54 (the “hundred” here can be omitted, see below)

13.4 Using Numbers In Speech

Revisor’s Comment

The author’s original words were “using the coordinative affix -Vň/1 (= -iň)", which is obviously a direct copy-paste of values ​​from Ithkuil 2011 that have not been corrected for New Ithkuil. The meaning of this affix in Ithkuil 2011 refers to in conjunction with / combined with / including X, and it does not match with New Ithkuil -Vň/1 (= -aň) and -Vň/4 (= -iň):

-Vň/1 (= -aň)

• ...and (in a quasi-sequential series, with topic in common [as well as main verb if a subsequent main verb is missing])Sam visited Clara and (then/subsequently visited) Jane every Sunday;Sam visited Clara and [Sam then/subsequently] danced with Jane every Sunday.

-Vň/4 (= -iň)

• ...and (in a quasi-sequential series, with no assumed commonality of morphology between sequential referents, i.e., X + Y + Z...) Sam attended college and Jeff broke his wrist.

Therefore, it is recommended to use -Vň/8 (= -üň):

• ...and (at the same time, with all morphology in common with first member of series other than as non-default marked or differently-marked than first member)

14 Lexicon & Affix

Please consult the computerized database or online dictionary as your primary reference, as it offers rectifications and supplementary information for the errors found in the original document. Please click the "Fetch Lexicon from GitHub Repo" button to prepare before using the online dictionary for the first time.

15 Appendices

Names of Oceans

• As an alternative to incorporating concatenating the carrier stem, a carrier adjunct with ESS case hleʼi may be used or the SPF register adjunct hi.

Names of Seas and Lakes

• Those examples above utilizing an incorporated concatenated carrier stem may alternately be expressed using the carrier adjunct hle’i or the SPF register adjunct hi, i.e., bwaloufta hi mediterra, bwalëufta hi balt, bwaleifta hi azof, bwalëufta hi karíb, etc.

Names of Large Rivers

The names of these two rivers in China require the addition of their final two syllables, as these syllables correspond to their historic designations. The initial syllable in each case serves as a distinguishing term that was specifically introduced because the ancient names have evolved into general terms. Corrections to initial are also included below.

caň čhaňčyáň

Yangtze

hwaň xwaňxê

Yellow

Names of the World’s Largest Cities

City names in China are pronounced according to the local language, and they also have a standard version in modern Mandarin. Below is a list of the names in Mandarin (entries in italics has been modified to better reflect local pronunciation):

	Local pronunciation	Standard pronunciation
Shanghai (上海)	zaňhe	šaňxai
Beijing (北京)	peičiň
Chongqing (重慶/重庆)	coňčhin	čhoňčhiň
Tianjin (天津)	tçenčin
Guangzhou (廣州/广州)	kwoňcëu	kwaňčou
Shenzhen (深圳)	šënčën
Chengdu (成都)	chëntu	čhëňtu
Nanjin (南京)	laňčin	nančiň
Wuhan (武漢/武汉)	uxán
Xi'an (西安)	šiňáň	šiʼán
Hong Kong (香港)	höňkoň	šyaňkaň
Dongguan (東莞/东莞)	toňkun	tuňkwan
Hangzhou (杭州)	haňcei	xaňčou
Foshan (佛山)	fëccan	fošan
Shenyang (瀋陽/沈阳)	sënʼyaň	šënʼyaň
Suzhou (蘇州/苏州)	sëucöü	sučou
Harbin (哈爾濱/哈尔滨)	xáʼërpin/xalpin	xáʼërpin

Phonotactic Rules

• ...the term “sibilant” refers to -s-, -z-, -š-, -ž-, -c-, -ż-, -č- and -j-, and -ç-.
• ï should be removed from the vowel table, and a should be moved to the BACK column.

Revisor’s Comment:

• The phonetic manifestations of foreign words and loanwords are not constrained by the phonotactic rules.
• All the forms provided below are subject to evaluation. Kindly exercise patience and await the outcome.

1. General phonotactic constraints

• 1.1: All syllables must contain a single vowel or a single diphthong. However, Bias Adjuncts are an exception to this rule, as they are exclusively comprised of consonants and are syllabic in their own right.

2. Prohibited consonantal conjuncts

• 2.22: In consonant conjuncts, the semiconsonants -w- and -y- can only appear as the last member of the conjunct and must be followed by a vowel-form. Syllables cannot end with w or y.
• 2.23: The following combinations are considered phonetically awkward and are not permitted: *ḑs, *ḑš, *ḑz, *ḑž, and *nň.
• 2.24: Because the consonant forms -ç- and -hl- (pronounceable as -ļ-) figure so prominently in the language in terms of morphology, to avoid any confusion the geminated forms -çç- and -ļļ- are not permitted. The exception to this rule is the product of the word-initial prefix ç(ë) plus y-, çç-.

8. Permissible Bi-Consonantal Conjuncts Which Can Be Roots or Affixes

• The table for permissible biconsonanantal roots beginning with ç should count 21 forms (as çẓ and çj are not allowed), so the total should be 680 instead of 682.

Issues and Proposals

Morphosyntactical Ambiguity of Case-Frame

verb₀-OBS verb₁-CASE\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-CASE ... may cause ambiguity, providing the following intrepretions:

• [verb₀-OBS [verb₁-CASE\FRAMED [...]] [verb₂-COO-CASE [...]], i.e. the COO affix joins the verb₁ and the verb₂, similar to English "I know that he is talking about A, and (I know) how cute A is."
• [verb₀-OBS [verb₁-CASE\FRAMED [... [verb₂-COO-CASE [...]]]]], i.e. the COO affix joins something (an unframed formative or referential) and the verb₂, similar to English "I know that he is talking about A and (discussing) how cute A is."

Slaftiswa said:

For finite, root verbs (the ones leading the whole sentence, with illocution marking), presumably you'd use COO and Illocution together on a same formative.

But in subordinate clauses, how to do it is undefined unfortunately. I've suggested a special ⟪-ea⟫ ending for this purpose verb₁-CASE\FRAMED verb₂-COO-ea

at least my conlang Nahaıwa handles the same issue this way

Lucifer Caelius Delicatus replied:

How about êu? This is a series 2 vowel, for which there is no corresponding Illocution. In addition, ae may also be considered, since there is no case form for it.

I propose a new concept: for subsequent framed formatives, apply the vowel form 0 from the same series corresponding to the position of the vowel in the initial framed formative.

[Main Verb] verb₁-THM\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-ae
[Main Verb] verb₁-POS\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-ea
[Main Verb] verb₁-APL\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-üo
[Main Verb] verb₁-FUN\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-üö
[Main Verb] verb₁-PRN\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-ae+'
[Main Verb] verb₁-ACT\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-ea+'
[Main Verb] verb₁-LOC\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-üo+'
[Main Verb] verb₁-CNR\FRAMED ... verb₂-COO-üö+'

This measure parallels the necessity of inserting glottal stops into Vv when more than two CsVs affixes present, serving to remind readers to navigate away from potential confusion caused by exceptionally complex syntactic structures of highly nested clauses. This is related to the concept of agreement. Specifically, for nouns, the case of the COO-marked formative concords with that of the initial noun phrase (NP). Some natlang examples of connecting prepositional phrases:

• French: Elle lit dans le jardin, dans le salon et dans sa chambre.
• She reads in the garden, in the living room and in her bedroom.

• Latin: De armis deque equitibus deque peditibus narrat
• He tells about the arms, about the cavalry and about the infantry.

Slaftiswa replied:

I did consider ⟪-êu⟫ but then thought that ⟪-ea⟫ was better as it's not an illocution, and keeps ⟪-êu⟫ free for a possible new illocution

As for the case agreement idea, it's interesting, albeit more complex

Lucifer Caelius Delicatus replied:

How much do you think marking the last word of the clause FRAME.END would help improve this problem? E.g. verb₁-CASE\FRAMED ... formative-FRAME.END verb₂-COO-CASE\FRAMED ...

Slaftiswa replied:

We want to be able to distinguish between:

• “I believe that [it will rain OR it will snow]”
• “I believe [that it will rain] OR [that it will snow]”

However maybe the first could be rendered as something like: “I believe that [raining-FUT happen-FUN\FRAMED RSM[resumptive]-THM snowing-or-THM]” 🤔 But it's rather verbose…

LCD replied:

The distinction between the two sentences is still unclear to me. Does sentence 1 imply "I believe that a phenomenon, rain or snow, is going to occur"?

Does sentence 2 emphasize that there are two alternative possibilities that the speaker believes in, namely the expectation of rain and the expectation of snow?

Slaftiswa replied:

The second version means that what the speaker believes is either the prospect of rain, or the prospect of snow (or possibly both)

the second is essentially a shorthand for “I believe it will rain, or I believe it will snow”

LCD replied:

To me, sentence 1 can be rephrased as "happen-PRS-THM/FRAMED rain-THM snow-IOR".

Do you use the formula verb₁-CASE\FRAMED verb₂-COO-ea for sentence 2?

I realize that sentence 2 involves a syntactic ellipsis, sugar.

Slaftiswa replied:

I use it for sentence #1

The Affix Document

The lexicon document is listed alongside other sections but the affix document is buried deep into the Affix section. It'd be more convenient if the affix document was as visible as the lexicon document.

Proposed Restoration of v3's Intro Page

NOTE: The following is adapted from the v3 Intro Page.

These webpages present the grammar of an artificially constructed human language, New Ithkuil.  It has been designed with the following goals in mind:

1. The findings of cognitive science and cognitive linguistics since the 1980s show that human cognition gives rise to and processes far more information than is overtly expressed by natural human languages.  Theoretically, it should be possible to design a human-usable language that overtly expresses more (or “deeper”) levels/aspects of human cognition than are found in natural human languages.
2. Natural human languages are notorious for their semantic ambiguity, polysemy (multiple meanings for a given word), semantic vagueness, inexactitude, illogic, redundancy, and overall arbitrariness.  Theoretically, it should be possible to design the language to minimize these various characteristics in favor of greater semantic precision, exactitude, and specification of a speaker’s cognitive intent.
3. The above two goals would seemingly demand that the resulting language be long-winded, since individual words of the language (or at least any sentence as a whole) would have to convey much more morpho-semantic content than their natural language counterparts.  Nevertheless, it should theoretically be possible to accomplish the above two goals while achieving relatively concise morpho-phonological forms for words.  In other words, to be able to pack a lot of meaning and information into a relatively small number of syllables.

New Ithkuil represents the culmination of the author's attempts over a period of forty years or so to achieve the above goals. It should be noted that New Ithkuil is NOT intended to function like a “natural” human language. New Ithkuil exists as an exercise in exploring how human languages could function, not how human languages do function.

How the Language Works

New Ithkuil’s ability to express extensive cognitive detail in a concise manner is possible due to the design of the grammar, essentially a matrix of grammatical concepts and structures designed for compactness, cross-functionality and reusability. This matrix-like grammar is combined with a vocabulary/lexicon of semantic stems which (1) are capable of a high degree of flexibility and synergism within that matrix, (2) have been conceptualized from the cognitive level up regardless of their correspondence to actual word roots and grammatical categories in existing languages, and (3) reflect the inherent dependencies and interrelationships between one semantic concept and another. Therefore, the morphemes of the language (i.e., word-roots, suffixes, prefixes, grammatical categories, etc.) are as phonetically brief as possible, function in multiple roles with one another, and correspond more closely to human cognitive categories than in natural languages. In this fashion, a limited number of sounds and word-roots can be made to generate a vast array of variations and derivations corresponding to and even surpassing all of the grammatical and semantic functions of the usual stock of words, phrases, and idiomatic constructions in natural languages.

Additionally, the particular grammatical categories of the language, combined with a systematic and hierarchical derivational morphology, allow for extreme transparency and flexibility in:

• gestalt conceptualization
• conveying the evidential basis for an utterance
• conveying the cognitive intent of an utterance
• objective vs. subjective descriptions of objects, events, and phenomena
• descriptions of the holistic vs. discrete componential structure of objects, situations, and phenomena
• mechanistic vs. synergistic interpretations of objects, events, and phenomena
• the causal dynamics of complex states, acts, events
• describing spatio-temporal phenomena

As an example of the morphological richness and efficiency possible in this language, examine the following New Ithkuil sentence, comparing it to its literal English translation:

ao jlaxiuffbwatëigjeöhwû

TRANSLATION:

‘On the contrary, I think it may turn out that this rugged mountain range trails off at some point.’

NOTE: See Phonology, Section 1.2 on how to pronounce the Romanized orthography used to transliterate the New Ithkuil characters.

The reader may well wonder why it takes a 19-word sentence in English to translate a two-word New Ithkuil sentence. One might assume the sentence “cheats” in that the two New Ithkuil words simply have innately intricate and specialized meanings. While it is true that the first word, ao, translates as ‘turn out that...,’ and the second word, jlaxiuffbwatëigjeöhwû, means ‘On the contrary, I have a feeling this unevenly high range of mountains may trail off at some point,’ it would be quite erroneous to conclude that these are simply autonomous words one might theoretically find in a New Ithkuil dictionary. Indeed, the only part of the sentence that represents any sort of “root” word is -jl-, a stem more or less meaning ‘mountainous topography.’ The remainder of the sentence is made up entirely of morphological, not lexical components, i.e., prefixes, suffixes, infixes, vowel permutations, shifts in stress and tone, etc. The two words break down morphologically as follows:

	1.	ao	=	an adjunct which conveys aspectual information translatable as ‘it turns out (to be) that’ or ‘it is revealed that,’
	2.	jla-	=	a stem meaning ‘hill’ or ‘mountain,’ derived from the root -jl- indicating mountainous topography
	3.	-xiu-	=	an affix indicating that the stem is to be interpreted as being very large in size, and furthermore, that the increase in size creates a new gestalt entity, i.e., not simply a ‘very large hill or upland’ but rather a ‘mountain’
	4.	-ffbw-	=	an affix indicating (1) that the stem is to be re-interpreted as comprising a composite entity of non-identical members consolidated together into a single segmented whole (i.e., ‘hill’ becomes ‘uneven range of hills’), (2) that the entity displays depletion (i.e., ‘trailing off’ or ‘petering out’), and (3) that this is a persistently true condition, rather than a specific occurrence
	5.	-at-	=	a demonstrative affix translatable as ‘this’ (= ‘the one in question’ or ‘the one at hand’)
	6.	-ëigj-	=	an affix indicating a rebuttal to an allegation, translatable as ‘on the contrary...’
	7.	-eö-	=	an aspectual affix translatable as ‘at some point’ or ‘somewhere along the way’
	8.	-hw-	=	an affix indicating subjunctive mood, translatable as  ‘(it) may (be that)...’
	9.	-û	=	an affix indicating a conclusion based on the speaker’s intuition, translatable as ‘I have a feeling (that)...’
	10.	stress on ultimate (i.e., last) syllable			=	shows that the word functions as the main verb of the sentence

In addition to its morphology, New Ithkuil is different from other languages in the way its lexicon (stock of word-roots) has been created as well as in the principles underlying its lexico-semantics (the relationship between words and meaning). In natural languages, the choice as to what mental concepts and categories will be overtly reflected as word-roots and stems is arbitrary and unsystematic (while in most invented languages, the lexicon is by and large consciously or sub-consciously patterned after that of natural languages). While it is true that virtually all languages reflect certain basic universals of word choice (e.g., all have words for sun, moon, speak, mother, father, laugh, I, you, one, two, water, blood, black, white, hot, cold, etc.), the manner in which these words are created is haphazard and with little regard for basic conceptual interrelationships. The result, in most cases, is a plethora of separate, distinct word roots which bear no morpho-phonological, or morpho-semantic relation to one another (i.e., the patterns of sounds used to create particular words are unsystematic and independent for each word-root regardless of whether those word-roots are semantically or cognitively related to one another). New Ithkuil word-roots have been created in a more efficient and systematic manner, with a recognition that the interrelatedness between what are large sets of discrete words in other languages can be formalized and systematized into a vast array or matrix of derivational rules, the result being a drastic reduction in the number of basic word-roots, which in turn allows all individual stems to be extremely compact phonologically-speaking.

For example, consider the following series of English words: see, sight, vision, glimpse, stare, gawk, view, panorama, look, eye, glance, visualize. Note how each of these is a separate, autonomous word despite the fact that it shares a single underlying semantic concept with the others (a concept which we can conveniently refer to as SIGHT/VISION), each representing a mere manipulation of either durational aspect, situational perspective, or manner of participation relating to that underlying concept. What is more, these manipulations are, by and large, haphazardly applied, vague, subjective, and particular to the specific underlying concept (i.e., the aspectual/perspectival manipulations applied to SIGHT/VISION do not parallel those manipulations applied to the concept TRANSFERENCE OF POSSESSION by which we derive the series give, take, receive, steal, donate, lend, borrow, send, etc.).

In New Ithkuil, it is the seminal underlying concept which is lexified into a word-root which then undergoes a series of regular, predictable, and universally applicable modifications at the morphological (i.e., grammatical) level to generate new words that, in some cases, parallel such series of English words, but in most cases, far exceed the dynamism and range of such English word series.

Another principle underlying the formation of words in New Ithkuil is complementarity. Western thought and language generally reflect Aristotelian logic in the way they conceptualize the world and the interrelationships between discrete entities in that world. New Ithkuil, on the other hand, views the world as being based on complementary principles, where, instead of discrete independence between related entities, such concepts are seen as complementary aspects of a single holistic entity. Such complementarity is in turn reflected in the derivation of word-roots. By “complementarity” is meant that the manifestation of a concept appears in any given context as either one sort of entity or another, but never both simultaneously; yet, neither manifestation can be considered to be a discrete whole without the existence of the other. A simple illustration of complementarity is the flip of a coin: the coin can only land on one side or the other, yet without both sides being part of the coin, any given coin toss has no meaning or contextual relevance no matter which side is face-up.

For example, in Western languages, words such as male, night, limb, sit, and happen are all autonomous words, linguistically representing what are inherently considered to be basic mental concepts or semantic primitives. However, in New Ithkuil, none of these words is considered to be a semantic primitive. Instead, they are seen to be parts of greater, more holistic semantic concepts, existing in complementary relationship to another part, the two together making up the whole.

Thus, New Ithkuil lexical structure recognizes that the word male has no meaning in and of itself without an implicit recognition of its complementary partner, female, the two words mutually deriving from the root for biological sex. Similarly, the word night(time) derives along with its complement day(time) from the underlying concept translatable as time of day.

Actions, too, are not exempt from this principle of complementarity, an example being the relationship between sit and seat; one has no meaning without an implicit and joint partnership with the other, i.e., one cannot sit unless one sits upon something, and whatever one sits upon automatically functions as a seat. We see the awkward attempt of English to convey these jointly dependent but mutually exclusive perspectives when comparing the sentences Please sit down and Please be seated. Another example involves the word happen or occur, which New Ithkuil recognizes as having no real meaning without the attendant implication of consequence or result, the two being complementary components of a holistic concept roughly translatable as event or situation.

New Ithkuil recognizes that such complementarity exists for virtually any concept, in fact that it is one of the foundational principles of the universe itself. No beam of light can be spoken of without implicit recognition of its source. No signal can be described without accounting for the signaling device. Indeed, in New Ithkuil no river is without its channel, no surface without its firmament, no message without its medium, no sense impression without its sense faculty, no contents without their container, no occurrence without its consequence, no memory without its present effect, no plan without its purpose, no music without its playing, no relief without prerequisite deprivation, no pleasure without its absence, no motion without space in which to move.

Other principles underlying New Ithkuil word-derivation include the interrelated principles of fuzzy logic, prototype theory, and radial categorization. Incorporation of these principles into the architecture for word-formation allows roots to be grouped into various types of affiliated sets, each of which then functions as a conceptual gestalt, the individual members of which being marked as having varying degrees and kinds of relatedness or similarity to a hypothetical prototype member or archetype. Thus, New Ithkuil is able to systematically derive words such as crowd, mob, group, troop, club, association, assembly, and gathering all from the single root-word person. Similarly, words such as grove, orchard, forest, woods, jungle, and copse can all be derived from the single root-word tree.

As one last example exemplifying the dynamism and conciseness of New Ithkuil lexico-semantics, consider the following list of English words and phrases: drenched, wet, damp, moist, near-dry, dry, parched. Rather than provide separate autonomous words for these concepts, New Ithkuil recognizes that these terms all indicate relative degrees of moisture along a continuous range. Such continua would be addressed by a single root whose meaning more or less corresponds to [DEGREE OF] MOISTURE to which an array of simple suffixes would be added to specify the particular degree along that range, all the way from bone dry (or parched) through drenched to saturated. All such phenomena which Western languages tend to semantically delineate into binary oppositions (e.g., hard/soft, light/dark, shallow/deep, etc.) are recognized and lexified in New Ithkuil as single roots which then systematically use suffixes to specify the particular degree along a continuous range.

The above paragraphs illustrate how New Ithkuil is able to capture and systematically present at the morphological level what other languages accomplish haphazardly at the lexical level. By systematically finding and structuring the covert dependencies and interrelationships between what are disparate words in other languages, the hundreds of thousands of words in a language like English are drastically reduced down to the approximately 6000 word-roots of New Ithkuil. This is morpho-lexical efficiency on a grand scale. Nevertheless, by means of the matrix-like morphological scheme previously described, each of these roots can in turn generate thousands of permutations to convey complex and subtle semantic distinctions and operations which dwarf the capacity of existing languages to convey without resorting to cumbersome paraphrase. This is lexico-semantic and morpho-semantic efficiency on an equally grand scale. Such a synergistic design for grammar lends a dynamism that allows the New Ithkuil language to describe reality to a minute level of detail and exactitude despite a limited number of word-roots.

Addressing the Vagueness Inherent in Natural Languages

To further illustrate the cognitive depth at which New Ithkuil operates, consider one of the most pervasive aspects of natural human languages: semantic vagueness. For example, consider the following four English sentences:

(a) The boy rolled down the hill.

(b) Maybe she just stopped smoking.

(c) Joe didn’t win the lottery yesterday.

(d) There is a dog on my porch.

In examining these four sentences most native English speakers would deny that any vagueness exists. This is because the vagueness does not exist in terms of the overt meanings of the words themselves. Rather, the vagueness lies at the nearly subconscious level of their grammatical (or syntactical) relations and cognitive intent. For example, in sentence (a) we have no idea whether the boy chose to roll himself down the hill or whether he was pushed against his will. (In formal linguistic terms we would say it is unknown whether the semantic role of the subject ‘boy’ is as agent or patient.) And yet knowing which scenario is correct is crucial to understanding the speaker’s intent in describing the action.

Imagine sentence (b) Maybe she just stopped smoking being spoken as an answer to the question ‘Why does she seem so irritable?’ In interpreting sentence (b), we have no idea whether the subject is indeed a smoker or not; i.e., is the speaker offering this speculation because he/she knows the subject to be a smoker, or as mere conjecture without knowledge one way or the other whether the subject smokes or not?

Sentence (c) Joe didn’t win the lottery yesterday illustrates four-way ambiguity. Joe’s failure to win the lottery could be either because: the speaker knows Joe didn’t play; because the speaker knows Joe did play but lost; because the speaker doesn’t know whether Joe played or not and is simply voicing a conjecture; or because the statement is an inference based on some indirect clue (e.g., since Joe showed up for work today, he must not have won the lottery).

And while sentence (d) There is a dog on my porch seems on its surface to be the most straightforward of the four, is the intent of the speaker to simply describe and identify the participants to a scene, or does she wish to convey the idea that the scene has personal significance to her, e.g., because she has a phobia of dogs or has been waiting for a long-lost pet dog to return home? In other words, the sentence itself does not convey the intent behind the utterance, only the static description of the scene.

In all four instances, such vagueness exists unless and until the audience can ascertain information from the surrounding context of other sentences. This shows that, despite the fact that all four sentences are grammatically well-formed English sentences whose words in and of themselves are unambiguous, their grammar alone is insufficient to convey the cognitive information necessary to fully comprehend the intent of the speaker’s utterance. This failure of grammar to inherently convey the requisite information necessary to understand a speaker’s cognitive intent is a functional pitfall of human language in general which New Ithkuil grammar has been designed to avoid. The New Ithkuil equivalents to the above four sentences would mandatorily convey all of the “missing” information noted above without requiring any extra words not corresponding to the English originals. The grammatical elements of the words themselves (word-selection, declensions, conjugations, prefixes, suffixes, etc.) would convey all the elements mentioned.

Similar examples can be given to show the extent to which natural languages such as English must often resort to idiomatic expressions, metaphor, paraphrase, circumlocution and “supra-segmental” phenomena (e.g., changing the pitch of one’s voice) in their attempts to convey a speaker’s intended meaning. New Ithkuil grammar has been designed to overtly and unambiguously reflect the intention of a speaker with a minimum of such phenomena.

Comparison to Other Constructed Languages

Those readers familiar with the history of artificial language construction might think this endeavor belated or unnecessary, in that logical languages such as James Cooke Brown’s renowned Loglan (or its popular derivative, Lojban) already exist. This serves to illustrate exactly what distinguishes New Ithkuil from such previous attempts. Loglan was published in the 1950s as a spoken/written language based on symbolic logic (formally known as the first-order predicate calculus), an algorithmic system of symbol manipulation devised by mathematicians and logicians. As a result, one might think that such a language is the most capable means of achieving logical, unambiguous linguistic communication. However, Loglan and its derivatives are merely sophisticated tools for symbol manipulation, i.e., the levels of language known as morphology and syntax. It is not within the scope of such languages to address any reorganization of the semantic realm. This means that symbolic logic simply manipulates arguments which are input into the system, they do not analyze the origin of those arguments in terms of meaning, nor are they capable of analyzing or formalizing the structure of the cognitive or semantic realm of the human mind in terms of how meaning itself is assigned to arguments. (Indeed, Lojban derives its roots via statistical “sampling” of the most frequent roots in the six most spoken natural languages, a method virtually guaranteed to carry over into the Lojban lexicon all of the lexico-semantic inefficiencies previously described.) By not addressing these components of language, Loglan and similar efforts fail to address the inconsistencies and inefficiency inherent in language at the lexico-semantic level. New Ithkuil has been designed to systematically address this issue.

Other readers might think of international languages (or “interlanguages”) such as Esperanto, Interlingua, or Ido, as being logical and efficient representations of language. However, these languages are merely simplified, regularized amalgamations of existing languages (usually Indo-European), designed for ease of learning. While addressing many overt irregularities, inconsistencies, and redundancies of language found at the morpho-phonological and morpho-syntactic levels, they do little to address the problems found within the other components of language, especially the lexico-semantic. For example, while Esperanto admirably employs systematic rules for word derivation as knabo ‘boy’ versus knabino ‘girl,’ it preserves the basic lexico-semantic categorization scheme of Indo-European languages in general, rather than seeking opportunities to expand such word derivation schemes into multidimensional arrays as is done in New Ithkuil.

All in all, neither logical languages such as Loglan nor interlanguages such as Esperanto, are designed specifically to achieve the purpose of cognitive exactness and conciseness of communication which is the goal of New Ithkuil. Actually, New Ithkuil might more readily be compared with the analytical language of John Wilkins of the Royal Society of London, published in 1668, in which he divided the realm of human conception into forty categories, each containing a hierarchy of subcategories and sub-subcategories, each in turn systematically represented in the phonological structure of an individual word. While unworkable in terms of specifics, Wilkins’ underlying principles are similar in a simplistic way to some of the abstract derivational principles employed in New Ithkuil lexico-morphology and lexico-semantics. Another comparable predecessor in a simplistic sense is the musical language, Solresol, created by Jean François Sudre and published in 1866.

A Brief History of the Language’s Development

The design of New Ithkuil has slowly and painstakingly evolved from the author's early attempts as a teenager (following his introduction to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and Charles Fillmore’s seminal 1968 article on case grammar) to explore beyond the boundaries of Western Indo-European languages to a complex, intricate array of interwoven grammatical concepts, many of which are wholly of his own creation, others of which have been inspired by such obscure linguistic sources as the morpho-phonology of Abkhaz verb complexes, the moods of verbs in certain American Indian languages, the aspectual system of Niger-Kordofanian languages, the nominal case systems of Basque and the Dagestanian languages, the enclitic system of Wakashan languages, the positional orientation systems of Tzeltal and Guugu Yimidhirr, the Semitic triliteral root morphology, and the hearsay and possessive categories of Suzette Elgin’s Láadan language, not to mention ideas inspired by countless hours studying texts in theoretical linguistics, cognitive grammar, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, linguistic relativity, semantics, semiotics, philosophy, fuzzy set theory, and even quantum physics. The writings of the American cognitive linguists George Lakoff, Ronald Langacker, Gilles Fauconnier, and Len Talmy have been particularly influential on New Ithkuil’s design.

The New Ithkuil writing system likewise derives from both original and inspired sources: it employs a unique “morpho-phonemic” principle of the author's own invention, its logical design borrows from the mutational principles underlying the Ethiopic and Brahmi scripts, and its aesthetic visual design bears a superficial resemblance to Hebrew square script and the various Klingon fonts.

The first version of Ithkuil was originally posted to the Internet in early 2004.  A second, alternative version of the language called Ilaksh was posted during mid-2007, designed specifically to address the many requests for a version of the language with a simpler phonology (sound system). During the course of modifying the original version of Ithkuil into Ilaksh, the author realized there were many aspects of Ilaksh design that could be incorporated back into Ithkuil without the constraints of Ilaksh on the number of consonants and vowels. This would (hopefully) allow the language to be more euphonic to the ear while maintaining its morpho-phonological conciseness.

The third incarnation of the language (which retained the name “Ithkuil” out of convenience and continuity with the original version), introduced in July 2011, reflected these ideas and was at the time considered to be the definitive (or “official”) version of the language. The name of the language is an anglicized form of the word iţkuîl, which means more or less “hypothetical representation of a language” in the original version of Ithkuil.

New Ithkuil is based upon its predecessor, but has been significantly modified to incorporate various suggestions for improvements from fans of the predecessor language (see Appendix C for a list of these contributors) as well as new ideas from its author. New Ithkuil is far more systematic and regularized in its structure compared to its predecessor, making it potentially easier to study and learn.

About the Grammar Presentation

This website provides a systematic presentation of the grammar of the language. In addition to a description of the various components of the grammar, the reader will find example phrases or sentences illustrating those components. The navigational links at the top and bottom of this page lead to chapters on the major grammatical components of the language and should be preferably read in sequence, as each chapter is cumulative and assumes knowledge of the preceding. While this grammar assumes only a basic knowledge of linguistic concepts, it will be helpful to briefly familiarize the reader with the hierarchical/schematic structure of human language in general, as the organization of this grammar is somewhat based around this structure. The analysis of human language can be organized into the following hierarchical schema of primary concepts:

• Phonology: The manner in which vocally articulated sound is structured for use within a language; this is the basic realm of the acoustic sounds produced by the lungs, vocal cords, tongue, and lips, i.e., consonants, vowels, volume, pitch, tone, stress, etc.
• Morphology: The grammatical rules, structures, categories and functions which can be manipulated to form words and the component phrases of sentences; this is the realm of prefixes, suffixes, word-roots, and conceptual categories like tense, singular vs. plural, moods, active vs. passive voice, etc.
• Syntax: The rules governing how words and phrases can be combined into grammatically acceptable sentences.
• Semantics: The realm of meaning; what the words, phrases, and syntactical structures of the language represent in terms of meaning.
• Lexicon: The list of word-roots within a language, i.e., the vocabulary of the language.
• Pragmatics and Discourse Rules: The analysis of how language is actually used in real-world situations as determined by cultural and context-driven rules; the realm of style, rhetoric, formal versus informal language, slang, etc., outside the realm of grammar. Because this is a formal grammar for a hypothetical language (i.e., it has no “real world” linguistic context), pragmatics and discourse rules will not be covered.

The above components of language in turn operate in an interrelated fashion, combining to designate several additional or secondary levels of analysis. For example:

• Morpho-phonology: The interrelationship between phonology and morphology, i.e., the manner in which the sounds of the language are manipulated into structures that can contain meaning. For example it is morpho-phonology that explains why different word-endings signify concepts such as masculine or feminine in Spanish.
• Morpho-syntax: The interrelationship between morphology and syntax, i.e., how the grammatical structures within words impact the overall structure of a sentence, as illustrated by the relationship between the sentences It is undeliverable versus It cannot be delivered.
• Lexico-Morphology: The interrelationship between morphology and the lexicon, i.e., the structure of word-roots and how they interact with other morphological categories, as illustrated by the concept of “irregular” verbs, e.g., ‘go’ + PAST = ‘went.’
• Lexico-Semantics: The interrelationship between the lexicon and semantics, i.e. between words and their meaning; what mental concepts are selected by a language to be instantiated as word-roots and the cognitive processes behind the selection criteria.

Each example comprises an New Ithkuil word, phrase, or sentence written in a Romanized transliteration, an English translation (sometimes divided into a “natural” versus literal translation), and a morphological analysis. The morphological analysis is presented serially, morpheme-by-morpheme, using three-letter abbreviations or labels for New Ithkuil morphological categories. These labels are presented within the body of the work in conjunction with the explanation of each morphological category. A list of these abbreviations is also available in Appendix B.

Proposal for the implementation of a horizontal boustrophedon in the New Ithkuil script

• The New Ithkuil script could utilize the same boustrophedon style of writing as in Ithkuil 2011. Note: the triangle mark has been changed with a square mark, since the former is impossible to write in the fixed-angle New Ithkuil script. Proposed text to be added:

The New Ithkuil script is written in a horizontal boustrophedon (i.e., zig-zag) manner, in which the first and every subsequent odd-numbered line of writing is written left-to-right, while the second and every subsequent even-numbered line of writing is written right-to-left. The characters within even-numbered lines written right-to-left retain their normal lateral orientation and are not laterally reversed (i.e., they are not written in a mirror-image manner). A small left-pointed square mark like an arrow or left-pointing triangle is placed at the beginning of even-numbered lines (i.e., those written right-to-left) to remind the reader of the line’s orientation. The following paragraph shows by analogy how the script is written.

THE ITHKUIL SCRIPT IS WRITTEN IN A HORIZONTAL BOUSTROPHEDON
TNEUQESBUS YREVE DNA TSRIF EHT HCIHW NI ,RENNAM (GAZ-GIZ ,.E.I)
ODD-NUMBERED LINE OF WRITING IS WRITTEN LEFT-TO-RIGHT, WHILE
-TIRW FO ENIL DEREBMUN-NEVE TNEUQESBUS YREVE DNA DNOCES EHT
ING IS WRITTEN RIGHT-TO-LEFT.

Example sentence utilizing the proposed boustrophedon marking

Roots 1.0

007: The following additions (in bold)/changes (in italics) are suggested so as to fully encompass grammatical features present in Ithkuil:

Root	Meaning
-MPM-	concatenation status
-MPN-	concatenation type
-MPX-	case-scope
-MPS-	UNFRAMED relation
-MPŠ-	FRAMED relation
-LMPĻ-	register (adjunct)
-LMPÇ-	modular adjunct
-LMPM-	specialized CS-root
-LMPN-	specialized personal-reference root
-RMPW-	phase category
-RMPL-	valence category
-RMPR-	level category
-RMMP-	case-accessor affix (use specialized CS-root with type 1/2 for regular/inverse)
-MŢP-	specification category
-MŢPW-	affiliation category
-MŢPY-	configuration category (as a shortcut to its components)
-MŢPH-	(removed)
-ŘMP-	slot (with category+PUR for "a specific slot for ...", e.g. CR = slot root-PUR)
-ŘMPW-	CA complex slot
-ŘMPY-	VNCN modular slot
-ŘMPL-	VR complex slot
-ŘMPR-	VV complex slot
-ŘMPŘ-	VK complex slot

Alternatively, the underlined roots may be expressed by the conjunction of 2 grammatical features or similar; an additional footnote can be employed to explain the expression of such meanings.

034, 040 S2 of -DRR- differs from S1 of -LDR- by case marking. S3 of -DRR- can include "broadcasting"

026 S1 of -TKH- includes a stray ` mark

037 S2 of -RŇČ- can include "to coax" and S3 can be substituted with "to socially pressure/shame/guilt" due to "advocacy" already being used in S3 of -ŇTÇ-

041 -ŢRR- can be removed; S1 can replace S1 of -ŢJ-, S2 can replace S2 of -DRR-, and S3 can replace S3 of -TKH-

050 CTE & CVS of -BN- is missing

077 -ŠMY- can replace bandage with tampon/plug

088 in the section 2.1.3 Common Household Appliances and Electronic Devices, one still doesn't have stems 1-3 assigned for these roots. The following patterns -LCW-:

	Stem 1	Stem 2	Stem 3
BSC	(to be) a state/act/of serving/functioning as an electronic device; to serve/function as such an electronic device	(to be) an act/process of using from an electronic device	(to be) a state/act of doing without, being deprived of, or being unable to utilize a needed/desired electronic device
CTE	(to be) a function/service delivered by an electronic device	(to be) the desired state/situation/improvement to be achieved by use of an electronic device [CPT = to be the resulting state]	(to be) the state of a needed/desired electronic device being absent/unavailable
CSV	(to be) an act/process of an electronic device functioning or in operation; for an electronic device to function/operate	(to be) an act of physically interacting with/using an electronic device	(to be) a physical act/state of a person having to do/go without a needed/desired electronic device
OBJ	(to be) the electronic device itself	(to be) the actual electronic device being used	(to be) the consequence(s) of a needed/desired electronic device being absent/unavailable

088, 301 the Cr value -KSMY- is duplicated with meanings "oven" and "outline shape with irregular points"

106 -F- is missing a hyphen

111 S2 -LPŠ- has an extra semicolon

120 S3 of -FÇ- differs from S1 by the DGR affix

120, 118 -FÇM- can be removed; S1 can be merged with S3 of -FÇ-, S2 differs from S1 by Ca marking, and S3 can be moved into S2 of -M-

120, 133 S2 and S3 of -FÇN- are given by -NŢT-; S3 of -MKR- and "use of a doll/puppet/marionette" can be added instead

128 S3 of -PĻĻ- suggests buffoonery and absurdism (given by -KŠ-), and can instead be "prank/slapstick"

133, 193 S2 of -MK- is given by S2 of -ŘŽŘ

133 -MKR- can be removed; S1 differs from S1 of -MK- by the PTY affix, S2 can be moved to S2 of -MK-, and S3 can be moved to -FÇN-

163 -RKŠ- can be 1. buffoonery/silliness/goofiness/zaniness 2. eccentricity/quirkiness/ridiculousness 3. geekiness/nerdiness/dorkiness and -KŠ- can be 1. clownery/jesting 2. absurdism/Dadaism 3. inanity/surrealism

207 two roots have the Cr value -ÇŢ- ("sound of a hiss" and "sound of a poof"). It has been suggested to replace the latter meaning with -ÇW-, which is already in use, pending confirmation.

248 There are no roots for helmet, bonnet, turban, poncho, earmuffs, bodysuit, straightjacket, pocket, zipper, pacifier/binky, gag, or muzzle

248 -ZTR- can include "mitten"

248, 454 the Cr value -NĻT- is duplicated with meanings "cicada" and "undergarments."

248 -VDW- can include "bib/smock", -VDV- can include "neckerchief", and -VDL- can include "boa"

248 "medallion" can be combined with -ŠTL- "brooch/pendant". -ŠTY- could be "badge/lapel pin".

248 -ÇGR- can include "cowl"

271 -KSTR- differs from -JGW-, -LPS-, -PŢK-, & -ŇŠP- in that the latter four define S1 as having a physical property and S2 as measuring that property

284 the values for 'OTHER SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLE' 1 through 4 are unassigned. -LŢKH-, -LŢKS-, -LŢKŠ-, and -LŢKV- are suggested.

286 -SH- can be 1. fresh air 2. stale air 3. atmosphere to give stem 0 wider meaning

346 Lexical gap: -PGŘ- Back of the Eye 1. retina 2. macula 3. optic disk

362 the values for 'PELVIC LIGAMENT' 1 through 4 are unassigned. -KŠLW- and -KŠLY- are suggested.

397 Lexical gap: -DGŘ- Medical Covering 1. medical dressing 2. poultice 3. orthopedic cast

Section 7.3

(heavily subjected to ongoing change in taxonomic classification)

400, 417 the Cr value -ZZC- is duplicated with meanings "stinging insect" and "turtle". -ZZČ- is suggested for the latter.

List of missing taxon

Page	Missing taxon	Suggested placement
409	Lupulella	-ZVY-
410	Pantholops	-NÇŢ-
410	Saiga	-NÇŢ-
410	Pelea	-NÇN-
410	Bos taurus	-MV-
410	Bos indicus	-MV-
411	Hydropotes	-LVY-
411	Pudella	-LVY-
411	Ursus thibetanus	-RH-/-RHM-
411	Neogale	-ČTY-
411	Catagonus	-PXL-
411	Dicotyles	-PXL-
412	Lipotes	-BŽY-
412	Steno	-BŽR-
413	Apotogale	-DXR-
413	Euxerus	-BZL-
413	Geosciurus	-BZL-
413	Priapomys	-BZL-
413	Nothocricetulus	-BZR-
413	Urocricetus	-BZR-
413	Alexandromys	-BZR-
413	Mictomicrotus	-BZR-
413	Stenocranius	-BZR-
413	Craseomys	-BZR-
413	Clethrionomys	-BZR-
414	Heterogeomys	-BZKY-
414	Scarturus	-BZKR-
414	Nannospalax	-BZKF-
414	Tatera	-BZKŢ-
414	Pediolagus	-BZDR-
414	Laonastes	-BZKÇ-
414	Heterocephalus	-BZKHW-
415	Allochrocebus	-LGZŘ-
415	Xanthonycticebus	-LGZM-
415	Leontocebus	-LGZD-
416	Galegeeska	-ZKŢ-
417	Notamacropus	-LMKW-
417	Osphranter	-LMKW-
475	Diplarrena	-RSP-
475	Afrocrocus	-RSPR-
475	Romulea	-RSPR-
478	Maltebrunia	-BKW-
478	Prosphytochloa	-BKW-
478	Chikusichloa	-BKW-
478	Rhynchoryza	-BKW-
481	Styloceras	-KMW-

412 the baleen whales (Mysticeti, 1 stem) seem to exhibit an inbalance in specificity.

413 the generic names Heliosiurus and Myosiurus are provided, instead of the correct Heliosciurus and Myosciurus.

414 the bats (Chiroptera, 1 root) seem to exhibit an inbalance in specificity.

415 the subfamilial names "ALLOUATTINE" (on the root) and "Alouattineae" (on stem 1) are provided, instead of the correct "ALOUATTINE" and "Alouattinae". Also, the generic name Alouatta should be provided in proper case.

415 the generic name Laothrix is provided, instead of the correct Lagothrix.

416 the section "Elephants" also contains other Paenungulata, such as sea cows and hyraxes.

462 the meaning "(genus Spilonata)" is duplicated in stem 1 and 3 of -LFPR-. The meaning "(genus Epiphyas)" is suggested for the latter.

465 -ŘẒŇW- only contains 2 out of 18 families of Siphonaptera, in which stem 2 (Pulicioids other than Pulicids) is equivalent to stem 3 (Hectopsyllids/Tungids). A new root -ŘẒŇY- is suggested to include the remaining families.

467 the word "fly" is duplicated for stem 0 of -LZBŽ-.

473 numerous genera are not included in the 4 roots assigned for "ASPARAGOIDEAE & AGAVOIDEAE".

475 the common and generic name for stem 3 of -ŘSŢW- is given as "yellow rush-lilly" and Ticoryine, instead of the correct "yellow rush-lily" and Tricoryne.

476 the generic name for the borya plant is given as Boryna, instead of the correct Borya.

480 the subfamily Aristideae, having recently been separated from Arundinoideae, is not included. A new root -ŢTW- is suggested to include this subfamily.

481 the generic name for sweet boxes is given as Srcococca, instead of the correct Sarcococca.

518 the generic name for grapes is given as Vitus, instead of the correct Vitis.

534, 541 the Cr value -ŘTL- is duplicated. The entry on page 534 appears to be missing an additional "T" and is likely intended to be -ŘTTL-.

Root Gaps in Roots 1.0

Please check. If there is any phrase that does not fit, please delete it. If a relevant root already exists, please apply Strikethrough style to the text.

• Supplement to -RTV-: printing, to print (a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template)
• Page: Canons of page construction, Column, Even working, Margin, Page numbering, Paper size, Pagination, Pull quote, Recto and verso, Intentionally blank page
• A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.; Font. In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists various fonts that share an overall design. In modern usage, with the advent of computer fonts, the term "font" has come to be used as a synonym for "typeface", although a typical typeface (or "font family") consists of several fonts.
• Character:
  • Typeface anatomy
    • Counter, Diacritics, Dingbat, Glyph, Ink trap, Ligature, Rotation, Subscript and superscript, Swash, Text figures, Tittle
  • Capitalization
    • All caps, Camel case, Initial, Letter case, Small caps, Snake case
  • Visual distinction
    • Italics, Oblique, Bold, Color printing, Underline, Blackboard bold, Blackletter
  • Horizontal aspects
    • Figure space, Kerning, Letter-spacing, Paren space, Sentence spacing, Space
  • Vertical aspects
    • Ascender, Baseline, Body height, Cap height, Descender, Median, Overshootx-height
• Typographic units: point, pixel, metric units
• Calligraphy, Type design, Type foundry
• Math concepts proposal: [1]
• cardinal and ordinal numbers
• to mate, to copulate; Erection, Insemination, Nocturnal emission, Orgasm (Female and male ejaculation), Pelvic thrust, Pre-ejaculate. Sex positions, Sexual fantasy, Sexual fetishism, Sexual intercourse (Foreplay), Sexual penetration
• heat, oestrus, rut (A condition where a mammal is aroused sexually or where it is especially fertile and therefore eager to mate; an animal‘s readiness to mate.); Sexual arousal, to be sexually aroused, amorous, lustful, concupiscent; to be sexually frustrated, agitated by a lack of desired sexual outlet, ineffectual at courtship or attaining sexual intercourse; to be sexually attractive or arousing, sexy, seductive. Sexual stimulation
• Contraception, condom, birth control, Age of consent, Incest, Indecent exposure, Obscenity, Sexual abuse (Cybersex trafficking, Rape, Sex trafficking, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual misconduct, Sexual slavery, Sexual violence)
• Non-reproductive sexual behavior, incl. non-penetrative sexual activities, masturbation, etc (a hyperonom of any erotic stimulation of the genitals or other erotic regions, often to orgasm, either by oneself or a partner.)
• data, computer files; file format, a standard way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.
  • Properties: Filename, Filename extension, File attribute, File size
  • Organisation: Directory/folder, File system, Path
  • Operations: Open, Close, Read, Write
• character encoding, to encode, to decode;
• Paper products
  • Containers: Box, Carton, Cigarette pack, Coffee cup sleeve, Corrugated box, Corrugated fiberboard, Envelope, Molded pulp, Oyster pail, Paper bag, Paper cup, Paperboard, Shipping tube
  • Hygiene: Facial tissue, Napkin, Paper towel, Toilet paper, Wet wipe
  • Stationery: Continuous stationery, Greeting card, Index card, Letter, Manila folder, Notebook, Postage stamp, Postcard, Post-it Note
  • Financial: Banknote, Business card, Coupon, Passbook, Visiting card
  • Decorations: Ingrain wallpaper, Mat, Wallpaper
  • Media: Book, Magazine, Newspaper, Newsprint, Pamphlet
    • someone thinks "book" is such a basic popular object with strong symbolic value and cultural importance, that I would expect Ithkuil to not only have a root for book, but also for parts of a book, act of bookbinding, codex, vellum, paperback, hardcover, a manuscript, the printing press, etc; and instead, we just have... written.document-MSC/COA. which could mean a lot of stuff, like stapled pamphlet; Ithkuil views books as basically "accidental complexity" -- just a byproduct of whatever it took to get the pages to freakin stick together -- rather than the specific product of a specific craft with its own essence or gestalt or symbolism or aesthetics.
    • parts of a book: https://imgur.com/ImDqwZU
    • Production: Binding, Covers (dust jackets), Design, Editing, Illustration (Illuminated manuscripts), Printing (edition, incunabula, instant book, limited edition), Publishing (advance copy, hardcover, paperback) Size, Typesetting, Volume (bibliography), Collection (publishing), Book series
    • Consumption: Awards, Bestsellers, Bibliography, Bibliomania, Bibliophilia, Bibliotherapy, Bookmarks, Bookselling, Censorship, Clubs, Collecting, Digitizing, Bookworm (insect), Furniture (bookcases, bookends), Library, Print culture, Reading (literacy), Reviews
    • The book publishing process:
      • Copy preparation
        • Submission: Literary agent, Publisher's reader
        • Contract negotiation: intellectual property rights, royalty rates, format, etc.
        • Editing: Literary editor, Commissioning editor, Developmental editor, Authors' editor, Book editor, Copy editing
      • Prepress: Design, Indexing, Typesetting, Proof-reading
      • Book production: Printing, Folding, Binding, Trimming, Imprint
    • how about e-book?
      • E-book reading devices/software, editing software.
  • Recreation: Confetti, Paper craft, Paper toys, Playing card, Quilling
  • Other: Drink coaster, Filter paper, Form, Sandpaper, Security paper
• Academic publishing
  • Journals: Academic journal, Scientific journal, Open access journal
  • Papers: Scholarly paper, Review article, Position paper, Literature review
  • Grey literature: Working paper, White paper, Technical report, Annual report, Pamphlet, Essay, Lab notes
  • Other types of publication: Thesis (Collection of articles, Monograph), Specialized patent (biological, chemical), Book chapter, Poster session, Abstract
  • Impact and ranking: Acknowledgement index, Altmetrics, Article-level metrics, Author-level metrics, Bibliometrics, Citation impact, Citation index, Journal ranking, Eigenfactor, h-index, Impact factor, Scientometrics
  • Versioning: Preprint, Postprint, Version of record, Erratum/corrigendum, Retraction
• Marketing
  • Key concepts
    • Distribution, Pricing, Retail, Service, Activation, Brand licensing, Brand management, Co-creation, Corporate identity, Dominance, Effectiveness, Ethics, Management, Promotion, Research, Segmentation, Strategy, Account-based marketing, Digital marketing, Product marketing, Social marketing
  • Promotional contents
    • Advertising, Branding, Corporate anniversary, Direct marketing, Loyalty marketing, Mobile marketing, On-hold messaging, Personal selling, Premiums, Prizes, Product placement, Propaganda, Publicity, Sales promotion, Sex in advertising, Underwriting spot
  • Promotional media
    • Behavioral targeting, Brand ambassador, Broadcasting, Display advertising, Drip marketing, In-game advertising, Mobile advertising, Native advertising, New media, Online advertising, Out-of-home advertising, Point of sale, Printing, Product demonstration, Promotional merchandise, Publication, Visual merchandising, Web banner, Word-of-mouth

Affix Gaps

• degree of stretchiness/tightness/looseness/bagginess
• CNM/8 is a redundant form of the PAR case accessor
• associative plurals ("X together with the persons/things associated with it/them; X and co."), possibly patterned similarly to the OAU suffix; this may be used to derive a pronoun "we" from the first person singular pronoun, for example. (-çẓ and -çj are free Gradient 0 forms which could be suitable.)
• Variation profiles: ways in which a thing's amount/amplitude can change over time. examples:
  • Starts at zero, gradually rises, and drops back instantly.
  • Rises gradually and falls gradually.
  • A fast rise that slows down before gradually falling.
  • A rapid increase followed by a slow decline.
  • A rise that stays steady for a while before suddenly dropping.
  • A sharp rise, a brief peak, and a smooth descent.
  • A series of sharp rises and drops.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ithkuil/comments/114u95w/found_errors_on_the_new_ithkuil_website/