Kobeln
Phonology
Kobeln makes use of 23 letters (18 consonants and 5 vowels). There is no written form of Kobeln, but the language has been documented by other cultures using Narashic. Below are the Narashic glyphs, a single character or digraph equivalent, the corresponding IPA symbol, and an approximate pronunciation.
Glyph | Letter(s) | IPA | Pronunciation |
b | b | [b] | as b in bet |
c | ch | [tʃ] | as ch in chin |
d | d | [d] | as d in dog |
f | f | [f] | as f in fit |
g | g | [g] | as g in go |
h | h | [h] | as h in hat |
j | j | [j] | as y in yard |
k | k | [k] | as k in kick |
l | l | [l] | as l in line |
m | m | [m] | as m in mat |
n | n | [n] | as n in never |
p | p | [p] | as p in pig |
r | r | [r] | as r in rat |
s | s | [s] | as s in see |
S | sh | [ʃ] | as sh in worship |
t | t | [t] | as t in top |
v | v | [v] | as v in vine |
z | z | [z] | as z in zero |
Glyph | Letter(s) | IPA | Pronunciation |
a | a | [ɑ] | as a in ball |
e | e | [ɛ] | as e in bet |
i | i | [i] | as ee in see |
o | o | [o] | as o in no |
u | u | [u] | as oo in too |
When writing using the Narashic glyphs, the words are written from left to right, with the glyphs within each word going from top to bottom. When presenting text this way, the individual glyphs should be rotated 90° to clockwise.
quSA
→
quSA
Word Order
A simple sentence has three main parts, the verb (V), the subject (S), and the object (O).
Kobeln uses a VSO word order.
There may be additional words in between but the subject, object, and verb will always appear in this order relative to each other.
Verb (V)
The verb denotes what is being done in the sentence.
Tense, mood, and aspect are indicated by the addition of suffixes
to the infinitive verb.
Subject (S)
The subject is the thing in the sentence that is doing something. The subject is generally either a noun or a
pronoun at least in simple sentences.
Object (O)
The object of the sentence is the thing that the subject is doing something to. This is usually a noun or a pronoun.
There may be sentences that do not have an object.
Pronouns
Kobeln has a system of pronouns to indicate a combination of "otherness" and ecological niche.
ehn | - self | |
oteln | - "Best-Friend" (the Kobeln leader) | |
eln | - "Friend" (another Kobeln) | |
ehnd | - "Non-Friend" (non-Kobeln, sapient being) | |
ekel | - animal | |
lanz | - plant | |
pelz | - fungus | |
venz | - prokaryote (bacteria) | |
sek | - it (non-living) |
Blood of unknown origin is referred to using the non-living pronoun, but if/when the source of the blood is learned the corresponding pronoun of the source is used.
Verbs
Verbs in Kobeln always end in a consonant.
In sentences expressing existence or state of being, the verb ("kob") is normally omitted.
kob | - | to be | |
[kob] kobehn | - | I am | |
[kob] kobeln | - | "Friend" is | |
[kob] kobeln'n | - | "Friends" are |
Future tense is indicated by adding the verb "vor" (to make) as a prefix for a verb.
There is no distinction made between present and past tenses.
Nouns
Nouns are made by taking a root verb and appending the corresponding categorical pronoun as a suffix. Plural nouns are made by doubling the final consonant (actually a contraction of a reduplication).
shan | - | to swim | |
shanekel | - | swimming animal (a fish) | |
shanekel'l | - | swimming animals (some fish) | |
shaneln | - | swimming friend (swimmer) |
Additionally, the verb "kob" acts as a gerund-prefix for another verb to form a noun designating a person or thing by occupation or special characteristic or circumstance.
shan (to swim) |
→ | kobshan (swimmer, "one who swims") |
|
mum (to sleep) |
→ | kobmum (sleeper, "one who sleeps") |
Modifiers
Modifiers are words that modify a verb, noun, other words, or a clause. Typically in Kobeln the modifiers immediately follow
the word or clause they modify.
Example Sentences
Kobeln hond.
[(is) one-who-is-friend small]
(The friend is small.)
Vorsvur kobehn shanekel'l.
[Make-eat I swimming-animal.]
(I am going to eat some fish.)
Kobeln to English Glossary
aukt (v.) - stab
auns (n.) - sound
auns (v.) - hear
bahar (v.) - move
dels (n.) - poison
dels (v.) - poison
dir (v.) - defend
ehn (pron.) - self
ekel (pron.) - "Non-Friend" (non-Kobeln, sapient being)
elil (v.) - join
eln (n.) - friend
eln (pron.) - "Friend" (another Kobeln)
hond (m.) - short, small
ken (v.) - look
kob (v.) - be, exist
lanz (pron.) - plant
mum (v.) - sleep
oteln (pron.) - "Best-Friend" (the Kobeln leader)
pelz (pron.) - fungus
rens (v.) - cut
sen (pron.) - it (non-living)
shan (v.) - swim
slus (v.) - speak
stak (v.) - lick
svur (v.) - eat
tadt (v.) - have
tan (v.) - break
ushik (m.) - sweet
venz (pron.) - prokaryote, bacterium
vol (v.) - sting
vor (v.) - make
vur (v.) - wash
zun (v.) - kill
English to Kobeln Glossary
sapient being) (pron.) - ekel
"Best-Friend" (the Kobeln leader) (pron.) - oteln
"Friend" (another Kobeln) (pron.) - eln
"Non-Friend" (non-Kobeln (pron.) - ekel
animal (pron.) - ekel
bacterium (pron.) - venz
be (v.) - kob
break (v.) - tan
cut (v.) - rens
defend (v.) - dir
eat (v.) - svur
exist (v.) - kob
friend (n.) - eln
fungus (pron.) - pelz
have (v.) - tadt
hear (v.) - auns
it (non-living) (pron.) - sen
join (v.) - elil
kill (v.) - zun
lick (v.) - stak
look (v.) - ken
make (v.) - vor
move (v.) - bahar
plant (pron.) - lanz
poison (n.) - dels
poison (v.) - dels
prokaryote (pron.) - venz
self (pron.) - ehn
short (m.) - hond
sleep (v.) - mum
small (m.) - hond
sound (n.) - auns
speak (v.) - slus
stab (v.) - aukt
sting (v.) - vol
sweet (m.) - ushik
swim (v.) - shan
wash (v.) - vur