ORTHOGRAPHY
This language is a phonetically spelled language. When you see or hear a word you
will know how to spell and pronounce it.
The Amehrihkn language uses abbreviated spelling. Vowels that are not necessary
for pronunciation (unvoiced vowels) are not included in spelling. For example:
brokn = broken, ivn = even, ahnihml = animal. Although abbreviated spelling is
preferred it is not required. Words may be spelled in full if preferred.
Spelling may deviate slightly due to geographical or cultural differences. For example,
some pronounce the word "tomato" as "tometo" while others say "tomato". Amehrihkn can accommodate either pronunciation.
GRAMMAR
Of the eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections) only two have been reformed (pronouns and verbs). The word “la” = “the” and the words “a” and “an” are not used in this language. The grammar remains the same as English unless specified below.
The Alphabet
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
VOWELS
Long: a,e,i,o,u - - - -car, eight, machine, old, ruby
Short: ah, eh, ih, oh, uh - - - -at, bed, big, off, up
CONSONANTS
Consonants are the same as in English except for the following:
c = fence
g = galaxy
h = heaven
j = jack
q = the "j" in bonjour or "g" in beige
s = simple
t = talk
x = x-ray
y = yes, Also, when applied to the end of a word "y" is silent
COMBINATIONS and DIPHTHONGS (vowel combinations)
This is a phonetically spelled language. Each letter is pronounced alone except for the
letter combinations below.
ai = the long "i" as in bite
ng = sing (sing,sahng,sang)
oi = boy (boiy)
ahw = cow (kahw)
th = tab ("a" as in "mars")
ch = church (chuhrch)
sh = shoot (shut)
oo= tool (tul) or book (b'k)
yu = use (yus)
kw = queen (kwin)
Double letters at the beginning of words indicate double meanings (homonyms).
When placed at the beginning of words they are pronounced as one letter and are
only used to distinguish between words that have the same spelling but different
meanings, eg "I have lived here for four years."/ "Me lihv-vad hir
for ffor yirz."
As a general rule the word representing the largest amount gets the double letter.
For ex., there is more "air"(eehr) than there are "heirs"(ehr). The reader can
interpret the meaning from the context. “An heir breathes air.”/“Ehr britaba eehr.”
"z" is used in place of the letter "s" when pluralizing. Plurals are formed as
follows: (Henry's car/Hehnriz kar), (horses/horsz), (plans/plahnz) ,
(the Jones'/la Jonsz). Please note that contractions are not used in this language.
Irregular plurals are formed by adding z to the singular.( feet/f'tz, children/chaildz).
"h" is used after a vowel to produce the short sounding vowels. However, some words
like behold and behind require the long vowel sound. This can be accomplished by
hyphenating them : behold/bi-hold, and behind/bi-haind.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Me= I, me. Mea= my, mine.
"Me" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "me". La dag esa "mea".
"I" have a dog. The dog belongs to "me". The dog is "mine".
Yu=you. Yua=your,yours
"Yu" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "yu". La dag esa "yua".
"You" have a dog. The dog belongs to "you". The dog is "yours".
Wi=we,us. Wia= our,ours
"Wi" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "wi". La dag esa "wia".
"We" have a dog. The dog belongs to "us". The dog is "ours".
Te=they,them. Tea=their, theirs
"Te" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "te". La dag esa "tea".
"They" have a dog. The dog belongs to "them". The dog is "theirs".
Hi=he,him. Hia=his
"Hi" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "hi". La dag esa "hia".
"He" has a dog. The dog belongs to "him". The dog is "his".
Shi=she,her. Shia=her,hers
"Shi" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "shi". La dag esa "shia".
"She" has a dog. The dog belongs to "her". The dog is "hers".
Ku=he,she,him,her. Kua=his,hers
"Ku" hahva dag. La dag bilanga tu "ku". La dag esa "kua".
"He/She" has a dog. The dog belongs to "him/her". The dog is "his/hers".
Iht=It. Ihta=Its
"Iht" esa dag. "Ihta" irz esa lang.
"It" is a dog. "Its" ears are long.
Un=One. Una=Ones
"Un" stehpu kerfliy. "Una" stehp mek-esud wihtab ker.
"One" should step carefully. "Ones" step should be made with care.
Intensive/Reflexive: myself=measehlf, yourself=yuasehlf, ourselves=wiasehlfs, etc.
VERBS
A verb is an 'action" or "doing" word: see,sees,hear,hears,run,runs. These are all
actions. Verb roots in this language are given suffixes that signify their tense.
For ex. to run/ruhnat, run/s/is running = ruhna, ran = ruhni, will run = ruhno,
would run =ruhnu.
The verb suffix changes the tense of the verb:
Infinitive - at
Present - a
Past tense - i
Future tense - o
Conditional tense - u
Imperative - e
The verb "to be" in the English language has many different forms: be, being,
been, is, am, are, was, were.
Present Infinitive--esat--to be
Present--------------esa---be, being, is, am, are
Past------------------esi---was, were, been
Future---------------eso---will/shall be
Conditional--------esu---could be, should be, would be
NOTE:
The verb "to do" is not translated into this language. The concept of "do" is
difficult to comprehend for many foreign speakers where the word doesn't even
exist and causes such confusion that it is best left out. Some possible
substitute verbs for the word "do" : make,try,act,accomplish,feel,achieve;
How are you feeling (doing)?, Try (Do) your best., What will you do (make)
with all of that lumber? . . . etc.
VERB CONJUGATION
The verb formations below show how the passive and active voices are formed. The
suffixes are added to verbs. The passive tense is hyphenated. Be careful not to add these suffixes to nouns or adjectives.
Infinitive Verb: (to + verb)
to hear = hirat
Passive Infinitive: (to +" be" + past participle)
to be heard = hir-esadat
es = be
a = tense
d = past participle
at = to
Perfect Infinitive Passive: (to + "have" + "been" + past participle)
to have been heard = hir-vandat
v = have
a = present tense
n = been
d = past participle
at = to
Perfect Infinitive Continuous: (to + "have" + "been" + present participle)
to have been hearing = hir-vaningat
v = have
a = present tense
n = been
ing = present tense
at = to
The Simple Tenses:
hear, hears, is ( am, are) hearing = hira
heard, was hearing, did hear = hiri
will hear, is about to hear, will be hearing = hiro
should (would,could,might,can,may) hear = hiru
The Passive : (“to be” forms + past participle)
is (am,are,be) heard, is (am,are) being heard = hir-esad
was (were) heard, was (were) being heard = hir-esid
will be heard, about to be heard = hir-esod
should be heard = hir-esud
Note:
Each letter of the suffix (bad,bid,bod,bud) represents something:
es = be, is, am, are, was, were, will be or would be
The second letter (i,e,a,u,o) = the tense of the verb "to be"
d = the past participle
The Perfect Tenses: (have/has/had + past participle)
have (has) heard = hir-vad
had heard= hir-vid
will have heard = hir-vod
would (etc.) have heard = hir-vud
Note:
Each letter of the suffix (vad,vid,vod,vud)
represents something:
v = have, has, had, will have, would have
The second letter (i,e,a,u,o) = the tense of the verb "have"
d = past participle
The Perfect Passive Tenses (have/has/had) + (been) + (past participle)
have (has) been heard = hir-vand
had been heard = hir-vind
will have been heard = hir-vond
would have been heard= hir-vund
Note:
Each letter of the suffix (vand,vind,vond,vund)
represents something:
v = have, has, had, will have, would have
The second letter (i,e,a,u,o) = the tense of the verb "have"
n = been
d = past participle
The Perfect Continuous Tenses (have/has/had) + (been) + (present participle)
have(has) been hearing= hir-vaning
had been hearing = hir-vining
will have been hearing = hir-voning
would have been hearing = hir-vuning
Note:
Each letter of the suffix (vaning,vining,voning,vuning)
represents something:
v = have, has, had, will have, would have
The second letter (i,e,a,u,o) = the tense of the verb "have"
n = been
ing = present participle
PARTICIPLES:
In Amehrihkn, a participle is a form of a verb that can be used as either a
noun or an adjective.
The present participle suffix is "ing" (ex.) being/esing
The past participle suffix is "dad" (ex.) confused/kanfyusdad
Adjective : the "flying" machine /la "flaiing" mashin
Noun : Ice "Skating" / Ais "Sketing"
NEGATION
Use "ne" to negate the verb:
Me ne noa/I do not know
Me ne goa/I am not going
Me ne wanta la fud/I do not want the food
HOW TO FORM QUESTIONS:
We have a simple way of asking questions. Questions are formed by starting a statement with the word "kwis":
Kwis yu noa la ahnsr?
Do you know the answer?
Kwis yu wanta suhm watr?
Do you want some water?
Kwis wehr yu goa?
Where are you going?
Kwis hahw old yu esa?
How old are you?
Kwis wuht taim iht esa?
What time is it?
NATIONALITY
In English, nationality is indicated by a suffix but in Amehrihkn it is
indicated by the prefix da(Singular) or daz(plural) (The prefix "da" stands for derivation accorded to):
American/ da-Yunaitdad Stetz Americans/ daz-Yunaitdad Stetz
Spaniard/ da-Spen Spaniards/ daz-Spen
Japanese/ da-Japahn Japanese/ daz-Japahn
Mexican/ da-Mehiko Mexicans/ daz-Mehiko
Greek/ da-Gris Greeks/ daz-Gris
PARTS OF SPEECH
Nouns, adjectives and adverbs are not identified by their suffixes. If they end in a vowel then a silent letter "y" is placed at the end of the word (proper nouns are an exception to the rule and do not require the silent “y” at the end.). The "y" at the end of a word indicates that the word is not a verb. Only verbs are identified by their suffixes.
NUMBERS
The numbering system is the same as is used in English but the spelling is different.
The cardinal number "one" is wuhn. When "one" is used as a pronoun etc. then it is spelled "un".
1=wuhn,2=tuy,3=tabriy,4=for,5=faiv,6=sihx,7=sehvn,8=et,9=nain,10=tehn,
11=ilehvn,12=twehlv,13=tabuhrtin,14=fortin,15=fihftin,16=sihxtin,17=sehvntin,18=etin,
19=naintin,20=twehnti,
21=twehntiy-wuhn,22=twehntiy-tuy,23=twehntiy-tabriy,24=twehntiy-for,25=twehntiy-faiv,
26=twehntiy-sihx,27=twehntiy-sehvn,28=twehntiy-et,29=twehntiy-nain,30=tabuhrtiy...
31=tabuhrtiy-wuhn,32=tabuhrtiy-tuy,33=tabuhrtiy-tabriy... 40=fortiy,50=fihftiy,60=sihxtiy,70=sehvehntiy.
80=etiy,90=naintiy,
100=wuhn huhndrehd,101=wuhn huhndrehd ahnd wuhn,102=wuhn huhndrehd ahnd tuy,
103=wuhn huhndrehd ahnd tabriy . . . 110=wuhn huhndrehd ahnd tehn,111=wuhn huhndrehd and ilehvn,...
120=wuhn huhndrehd ahnd twehntiy,...199=wuhn hundred ahnd naintiy nain, 200=tuy huhndrehd. . .
300=tabriy huhndrehd. . .999=nain huhndrehd and naintiy-nain,
1,000=wuhn tabahwsnd,1,001=wuhn tabahwsnd ahnd wuhn. . .2,000=tuy tabahwsnd....
9,999=nain tabahwsnd,nain huhndrehd and naintiy-nain,10,000=tehn tabahwsnd.....
900,000=nain-huhndrehd tabahwsnd,999,999=nain-huhndrehd ahnd naintiy-nain tabahwsnd,
nain-huhndrehd anhn naintiy nain. . . .1,000,000=wuhn mihlyn . . .
1st(first)= wuhn-tab
2nd(second)= tuy-tab
3d(third)= tabriy-tab
etc. . .
On/Off
Use ane/afe to indicate the operation of an apparatus, for ex.:
Turn the radio on./ Redio ane.
Turn the lamp off./ Lahmp afe.
©L.K. 2006
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