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Lesson 25: Instrument Case

[(Aux) Verb (Neg) CP-S CP-Instrument]

Instrument Case

To mark a Case Phrase as an Instrument (as that which is used to do something), use the ending "-nan." Insert an "e" if necessary.

Vocabulary


	batha		fork
	hum		knife
	il		to pay attention to
	láad		to perceive
	-nan		Suffix (CP): Instrument case
	óoyo		mouth
	oya		skin
	oyi		eye
	oyo		nose
	oyu		ear

Examples


	Bíi láad le neth oyinan wa.		I see you.
	Bíi láad le neth oyunan wa.		I hear you.
	Bíi láad le daleth oyanan wa.		I feel (with my skin) the thing.
	Bíi láad le mahinath oyonan wa.		I smell the flower.
	Bíi láad le yuth óoyonan wa.		I taste the fruit (that's in my mouth).

Láadan handles perceptions and emotions rather differently than English does. In Láadan you perceive things externally, with your eyes or your ears or your nose or your skin. [...] The first sentence in the example set immediately above says that the speaker perceives "you" and that the speaker's eyes are the instrument for that perception. We could translate it into English as "I see you with my eyes," but that is a little superfluous: English "see" includes the information that it is done with eyes.

One of the really wonderful things about Láadan is that one can easily use "láad" by itself to mean "perceive" with no sensory modality implied or required. In English, "perceive" can feel awkward because we're so used to supplying a sensory modality (i.e.: "see," "hear," "feel," "smell," or "taste").

The same construct applies to paying attention. One can "pay attention" with the eyes (English: "watch"), with the ears (English: "listen"--also Láadan: "ma"), with the mouth (English: "taste"--as in "Here, taste this"), with the nose (English: "smell, sniff"), or with the skin (English doesn't make this easy to say; we can use "feel," but then we almost always have to specify that this isn't an emotional sensation or an involuntary tactile sensation). We can also "pay attention" without specifying a sensory modality--which is not nearly so troublesome in English as "perceive" is.


	Bíi sháad be bode wa.		She comes from the mountain.
	Báa sháad be bode wethenan?		Does she comes from the mountain by (using) the road?
	Ra, sháad be bode wilinan wa.		No, she comes from the mountain by (using) the river.


	Bíi mehom thul shoneth wa.		The parents teach peace.
	Báa mehom thul shoneth bebáanan?		How (using what) do the parents teach peace?
	Bíi mehom thul shoneth shanan i danenan wa.		The parents teach peace with harmony and with language.

Exercises

Translate the following into English.


1	Bíi eríli mewida with anath dimenan wa.
2	Báa eril dóyom ábedá mideth nedebe bebáanan?
3	Bíi mehil lezh thilith óoyanan, i thal be; aril meyod lezh beth bathanan i humenan wa.
4	Bíi eril il wohóoha wohéena letho ilith oyanan; owa be wáa.
5	Báa aril mehim sherídan netha ábededi bebáanan?
6	Bíi eril dóham edin letha shath shalenan wa.

Incorporate the second noun as an Instrument; translate into English before and after.


7	Bíi dóhaba hothul wehehátha beth bethoth wa.	mahina menedebe
8	Bíi eril mehel halá esheth boó wáa.	oma
9	Báa aril bel ebalá wodazh wobaleth wehedi?	bebáa
10	Bíi aril dóháana thul háawitheth wa.	lom
11	Bíi láad omá wilith wa.	oyu
12	Bíi eril mesháad hóowith netha olinede wa.	wodóon woweth

Translate the following into Láadan.


13	The linguist intended to move her family using an automobile.
14	The astronomer will see the light of the star.
15	My friend bought the pearl with her (by chance) money.
16	How (using what) does the healer feed the downy hatchling?
17	The amazed cat is able to smell the bird.
18	Plants thrive by means of many leaves.

Were you able to form the word for "astronomer" in #14? We've seen "e-," the prefix for "science of;" "astronomy" is the science of stars: "ehash." An "astronomer" is one who does astronomy: "ehashá."

#16 has a couple of words that may need discussion. "Feed" could be "cause to eat:" "dóyob." "Hatchling" is a little less obvious. "Áwith" (baby; infant) is actually made of two morphemes (meaningful words or word-parts): the prefix "á-" (infant) and "with" (person). We can form a word for "infant bird" by using this same prefix with "babí" (bird): "ábabí."

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Answers


1	Long ago the women carried food in (using) a container.
2	How (using what) did the farmer make the several creatures safe?
3	We are tasting the fish, and it's good; we'll eat it with fork and knife.
4	My weary heart-sibling felt (paid attention, using skin, to) the water; it was warm.
5	How will your nieces travel to the farm?
6	My cousin caused there to be harmony with courtesy (using courtesy).

7	The storekeeper's grandmother makes her home fragrant (causes her home to be fragrant). Bíi dóhaba hothul wehehátha beth bethoth mahinanan menedebe. The storekeeper's grandmother makes her home fragrant with many flowers.
8	The workers built (made) three boats. Bíi eril mehel halá esheth boó omanan wáa. The workers built three boats by hand (with (their) hands).
9	Will the baker take the soft bread to the store? Báa aril bel ebalá wodazh wobaleth wehedi bebáanan? How (using what) will the baker take the soft bread to the store?
10	The parent will cause the child to sleep. Bíi aril dóháana thul háawitheth lomenan wa. The parent will cause the child to sleep with a song.
11	The teacher perceives the river. Bíi láad omá wilith oyunan wa. The teacher hears the river.
12	Your grandchildren came from the forest. Bíi eril mesháad hóowith netha olinede wodóon wowethenan wa. Your grandchildren came from the forest by (using) the correct way.

13	Bíi eril nédeshub mina edaná onida bethath mazhenan wáa.
14	Bíi aril láad ehashá ith ashethuth oyinan wa.
15	Bíi eril eb lan letho nemeth losh bethinan wa.
16	Báa dóyod duthahá woshane wohábabíth bebáanan?
17	Bíi ril thad láad womíi worul babíth oyonan wa.
18	Bíi metháa dala minan menedebe.

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