MyLanguage

MyLanguage was a language that I started to invent several years ago. I no longer have the dictionary for the language (due to computer problems), and I'm no longer working on the language. However, in case anyone is interested, here is what I can remember about MyLanguage.

An old version of this page that uses images instead of a font is also available

Alphabet and phonology

MyLanguage used the MyLanguage alphabet. All sounds (currently) listed on that page except for R were (or could be) used in the language. There was no rule against having a syllable with no vowels (in which case the main vowel is a consonant). Other rules about the alphabet and pronunciation are discussed on the MyLanguage alphabet page.

Sentence structure and word order

Sentence structure and word order is fairly similar to other languages I know (SVO), with a few notable exceptions:

• A special type of word called a wioon (that i is short, as are the o's; I'm not sure if there are one or two o's in the word) must appear before the verb. There are four main forms of the word: w (oo), which indicates that the idea expressed in the sentence is true (normal); i (ih), which indicates that the idea in the sentence is false (this is the equivalent of using not; note that this works as a logical not, and double negatives can cancel out); o (ah), which indicates that whether the idea is true or not is being asked in the sentence (i.e., the sentence is a yes/no question), and on (on), which indicates that whether the idea is true or not is unknown (I'm not entirely sure of the exact use of this; things like if don't use this form, using w or i, although I suppose something equivalent to whether or not could use this form). (Note that these are also used in other places – for example, the i prefix on adjectives is similar to our non or un.) The wioon also changes form to express the tense of the verb (the verb does not change to express the tense).
• Subject pronouns are endings on the verb. (This is the only way verbs can change form.) Non-subject pronouns appear in the same place that ordinary nouns do (i.e., object pronouns don't go in front of the verb like in Spanish or anything like that).
• Adjectives go before a noun. Articles go after the noun.

Pronouns and verb forms

Pronouns and verb endings are made of some combination of the following vowels, in the order shown:

1. a (a): first person singular (I/me).
2. e (e): second person singular (you).
3. y (ee): third person singular (he/she/him/her/it)
4. Ey (ee, echoed): third person plural (they/them); not used with y
5. i (i): null subject (it); not used with any other of these letters, and only used in verb endings. This is used in sentences like It is raining.

If multiple are specified, it's equivalent to putting and between them in other languages; for example, the ending ae means "me and you".

Note the lack of first and second person plurals. We is the person speaking (I), plus some other person/people; to say we, combine a with one or more of the other letters. Similarly, plural you is the person hearing the statement and one or more others, so plural you would be ey (two people) or eEy (three or more people).

When a pronoun is used for the subject of a sentence, these endings are added to the end of a verb and don't appear where the subject normally appears (before the wioon). If there is also a subject, it's as if there were an and between the subject and the pronoun. So, for example, if the sentence starts with mraw_iy ("the cat") and has a verb ending in a, then the subject is "the cat and I".

When a pronoun is used for something other than the subject of a sentence, the endings are added onto a letter that I don't remember what it is (it might have been i).

Words I remember

As I said before, I don't have all the words. (Even if I did, I'm still not sure that would be enough to carry on a normal conversation, since the language was never fully completed.)

• To be: no root – if the word does not have endings, the word is left out; if it does have endings, the word is just those endings.
• Good: ʰo (unvoiced ah)
• Computer: ʰoʰi (unvoiced I) – derived from the word for good since I like computers so much.
• Animals: these are all onomatopoeia for the sound the animal seems to make to someone who doesn't speak the animal's language
  • Human: blo-blo (blah-blah)
  • Cat: mraw (mrow)
• The: iy (iy)
• Item/object/thing: oyt-jek (ite-zhek) – does not imply that the item is inanimate; can be used to describe humans and animals without offense.
• Question words: For non-yes/no questions, a question word is used, formed by appending the prefix hu (huh) to any noun. For example, to say where, add hu to the word for place; to say what color, add hu to the word for color; etc.
  • What: hu-oyt-jek
  • Who: hu-blo-blo (though the word for what is more often used; less specific forms, like "what animal" can also be used)
• Talk: awt (out)
• Intelligent life form: awt-uz (out-uz; literally talker). Humans tend to assume that they are the only awtuz, but I disagree, and therefore have constructed my language without this assumption.
• Numbers: MyLanguage uses a duodecimal system
  • Ten: trn
  • Eleven: el-e-fi-tr
• Hello: K
• Goodbye: KK
• Yes: Kw
• No: Ki
• OK (in computer dialog boxes): Qw
• Cancel (in computer dialog boxes): Qi
• World: wr-l (whirl)
• Clock (or maybe it was time): an (an)
• Rotate: vr (ver)
• Clockwise: an-vr (anver)
• Clockwise: i-an-vr (i-anver)
• West: wr-l-an-vr (whirl-anver; clockwise around the world, when looking at the north pole)
• East: wr-li-an-vr (whirli-anver)
• I don't remember the word for sun (probably something like hyl), but morning and afternoon were compounds from sun-east and sun-west, respectively (and therefore very long).