[conlang_learners] [gzb] Trying it out.

[Jim Henry]

On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 6:51 AM, G. van der
Vegt<g.vegt at swampwitchgames.com> wrote:
> hqaxsina niqm-kq-van.
>
> It /should/ be something to the effect of: My name is <name>. ; with the
> name as written there an approximation of the native sounds.

First: as Brett pointed out, it should have a name suffix -- {-ram}
assuming that is your personal name (or an online handle, or pen name,
or any name for a person other than a family name).

Second: as Kelvin said, the {-kq-} incorporated into the verb is not
necessary, in this context (you're starting a conversation and making
the first utterance in it, so you are the default subject of that
first sentence) but it is allowed.

Third: there needs to be a case marker of some kind on your name to
show how it relates to the verb {niqm-van}.  I'm guessing you got the
model of this sentence from "How the Enemy Came to Thlunrana" -- at
least that's the only text in my online corpus that uses {niqm-van}.
That text is archaic and not a model of good current usage (I should
make that clearer on the site).

Mostly nowadays when saying what someone or something's name is I use
a form like:

<person/thing> sxu-i niqm miq-i <name>-<name-suffix> nxiqn-i

e.g., from the story {fru kxiqn-tla-sqam}:

mrunq sxu-i niqm miq-i pix'hax-wam nxiqn-i, kinq max-jxwa sxu-i niqm
miq-i hum-cox-wam nxiqn-i, kinq max-liqw-cu sxu-i niqm miq-i
kxiqn-tla-sqam nxiqn-i.

The name of the mountain was Holy, and the name of the city was High,
and the name of the family was Maker.

Using {niqm-van} should work too, but I'm not sure offhand what would
be the best case-marker for the name in that structure, since I
haven't used it in a long time.  Probably {nxiqn-i} again.

So you could say:

kq sxu-i niqm miq-i hqaxsina-ram nxiqn-i.
or
hqaxsina-ram nxiqn-i niqm-van.
or
hqaxsina-ram nxiqn-i niqm-kq-van.

And I might reply:

kq goq, hqaxsina-ram hoq.
kq sxu-i niqm miq-i gxiqm-ram nxiqn-i.
huw-kq-van hoqnx gjax-zym-byn kax-i sunx jax-o tq.

-- 
Jim Henry
http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry/