Klyros Language

The word Klyros written in Klyros ideograms

The Klyros language (known as Klyran when speaking about it in common) is very simple and logical in its structure and grammar, yet powerfully flexible and adaptive like the Klyros race itself when a need for new expressions arises.

It is based on an ideographic writing system, that originates in the artistic traits of its creators, and deals mostly with concrete concepts. Most of the few abstracts that are present in the language are also used with a special grammatical function. For example to express gender or tense.

There's only one sound in Klyros pronunciation that is not available in the Common alphabet. This sound - the shwa - like a short form of the vowel in the Common word "her", is transcribed by an apostrophe when writing Klyros in the Common writing. This sound vanishes completely when it lies adjacent to another one that is not identical to the preceding. K' combined with lyr becomes thus klyr

Transcription and Pronunciation

Klyran is an ideographic language, but for the purpose of transliteration and an attempted merge with common (which was unsuccessful, thereby obsolete), there is an alphabet using the common symbols for letters. Basically all letters are used for the same sounds they describe in the Common language, with a few exceptions and peculiarities:

• c is pronounced like the ch in chase
• g is pronounced like the second g in garage
• q is pronounced like the ch in Scottish loch
• x is pronounced like the sh in shine
• z is a lisping sound that is made by first pushing the tongue lightly against the back of the incisors while pronouncing an s and then gliding the tongue to the front between the teeth, linguistically a voiced inter-dental affricate
• ' is and extra vowel. It is pronounced like the e in her
• A double occurrence of a vowel signifies it is used in its long form (for example: aa is pronounced ay as in pay and uu is pronounced oo as in boot)

Vowel length is always constant. Long vowels are transcribed as double vowels.

Word classes

ksinos

Ksinos (process words)

The base of the Klyros language are Ksinos, the process words that roughly correspond to the verbs in Common. Each ideogram refers to a process word. All other words are derived from Ksinos using pre-, suf-, or circumfixes.

Please refer to the section on usage for details.

konos

Konos (substantial words)

Substantial words named Konos refer to physical things, or seldom abstract concepts. They are almost identical to the nouns of Common. The formation of nouns happens through the prefix "K'", which standing alone means to form, that is added to a Ksin.

It must be noted that there are number of suffixes that are used during konos formation to specify the sense. For example "gul" is "to hate"; "kgul" is "hatred" but if added with "-san" or "-sin" it becomes "kgulsan" - "hated one" or "kgulsin" - "one who hates".

Please refer to the section on usage for details.

kzanos

Kzanos (descriptive words)

Kzanos literally translates to the Common word colours. It describes a word class of attributes and descriptive expressions that can be seen as a mixture between Common adjectives and adverbs. They are formed by replasing "k-" prefix with one of Kzanos forming ones like "xu-".

kefaos

Kefaos (logic words)

The logic words or Kefaos (lit. thoughts) are used to make logical connections between Klyros phrases. They can be compared to linking words, conjunctions of the Common. Most of them are formed using the ksin jo- (to join) as a word class prefix.

Accordingly, jojo for example is the Klyros counterpart of Common and, and joja is the counterpart for or. Please refer to the section on usage for details.

ktenos

Ktenos (replacement words)

Ktenos are the equivalent of Common pronouns though their usage is more difficult and subject to cultural peculiarities.

Please refer to the section on the correct formation and usage for details.

knetos

Knetos (relation words)

What Common refers to as a preposition is called Knetos in Klyros. These words are formed using the prefix net and used to describe mainly but not exclusively temporal and spatial relations.

Please refer to the section on the usage for details.

File:KL-Bix-Sound.jpg

knubixos

Knubixos (silent words)

Knubixos are ideograms that have no spoken counterpart. They are optional, usually placed at the end of the word. They signify special conditions of words (such as whether they are a name). Their use is uncommon, but not unheard of, in modern written Klyran

Descriptor precedence

Since Klyros is a highly agglutinative language, it is important to know what the correct precedence of the descriptors after a ksin is:

1. word class descriptor
2. honoring descriptor
3. person descriptor
4. gender descriptor
5. numeral descriptor
6. temporal descriptor
7. voice descriptor
8. mood descriptor
9. other prefixes/suffixes

In compound words there can be of course descriptors to each of the composed ksinos. Other prefixes/suffixes have equal precedence, so they may be placed in any order.

Usage of Ksinos

Ksinos, like verbs, have subdivisions that roughly correspond to the subdivisions in Common.

Action

Action Ksinos are simple. It is merely the word and any descriptors. Plurality, persons, and gender are all optional to add. When speaking in past tense, "far" is added to the word. When speaking in future tense "ga" is added to the word.

Auxiliary

Auxiliary Ksinos are all based off of the klyran word "a" which refers to one or equals. By itself "a" works for most singular auxiliary verbs in first, second, and third persons. When using it to describe the state of plural words, you add the suffix "os" to make it "aos" which again works in first, second and third persons. When speaking in past or future tense, you add "far" and "ga" respectively. Gender descriptors may be added, but they are unnecessary.

Modal

Modal verbs, like can, could, should, and ought, are like their auxiliary counterparts, but instead of them being based on the word "a" they are based on the word "kee". Like "a" it works for singular verbs in first, second and third persons. "Keeos" is the plural form, and gender and tense descriptors can be added as needed.

It must be noted that modal ksinos are result of influence of Common on Klyran evolution during last centuries. Ancient Klyran doesn't have modal ksinos treated specially.

Passive Voice

In Common, these would have auxiliary verbs placed before action verbs; however, in Klyran the auxiliary verb is removed from the phrase leaving only the action verb.

Progressive Aspect and Perfect Aspect

One of the major grammatical differences between Common and Klyran is Klyran doesn't have continious or perfect aspects at all. Continuous aspect is just removed. Perfect aspect is roughly equal to moving to past tense.

This makes translation to Klyran easier but to translate from Klyran to Common one should know the context.

Questions

When asking a question in Klyran, like in common, the first word in the sentence is usually a question word like who, what, when, etc. In klyran, the question word also works as the auxiliary verb following it (the "is" in "who is") making it a ksinos. It is, however, grammatically optional to include the auxiliary anyway. When it is not included, the question word must include a tense (past and present) and whether it is singular or plural. Question words may have a gender descriptor and a persons descriptor, but it is highly unusual.

Auxiliary Questions

In common, many interrogative sentences begin with and auxiliary word such as is, were, and are, rather than question words.. In klyran, when these sentences occur, the auxiliary verb at the beginning is removed and the prefix "kee" is added to the main Ksinos in the sentence. So when you ask "Will he go?" it will be translated to be "Yalim keefarga" rather than "Aga yalim farga".

Morphology of Konos

From each ksin there can be several konos formed. Every kon has "k-" prefix that specifies the word you is kon. Then after "k-" there is the root ideogram that defines what action kon is all about. And then sub-class suffix could be. If it is then it is just after the root.

It is the suffix that makes konos derived from one ksin different. To understand better the suffix sense, you should understand that in Klyran every ksin has several aspects with specific suffix. Most common are:

1. the one, who does the process ("-sin")
2. the target of the process ("-san")
3. the time where the process takes place ("-qe")
4. the place where the process takes place ("-qo")
5. the result of the process ("-bav")
6. the tool that is used in the process ("-pac")
7. the reason of the process ("-qi")
8. the assistant in the process ("-po")
9. the process itself (no suffix)

So to have kon that defines the target of the process just add "k-" prefix and "-san" suffix to the root. So: "gul" is "to hate"; "kgul" is "hating"; "kgulsin" is "the one who hates"; "kgulsan" is "the hated one"; "kjo" is "joining"; "kjobav" is "unity (created by the process of kjo)"

Of course, not each ksin has all possible konos, for example "kgulpac" is nonsense - no tool is used in hating.

Usage of Konos

Konos are a subjective part of Klyran. Do to them being just a Ksinos with k in the beginning, they can have a wide variety of meanings and uses. As a rule of thumb, choose the most specific ksinos to turn into konos. It is mostly a matter of being understood, so it is best to put them into context almost all the time.

Specifiers

Specifiers are optional prefixes and suffixes added to Konos to make them less subjective. Their use has increased post-portal, due to the influences of other languages. For example, the Klyran word sin can be used as a suffix to be the equivalent of the Common suffix er (the noun doing the action), such as the word "lyrsin", which is a noun form of "lively", someone who lives actively (this word is considered a compliment in most tribes), and the word san can be added to the end of a word as a counterpart to the Common ee (the noun on which the action is being done upon.). It is considered polite to use specifiers as much as possible when speaking to those whose Klyran isn't natural or perfected.

Standard Phrases

While konos is subjective, there are common phrases that are understood to mean certain things. For example kfar is known to mean goodbye, and kga is known to be hello. Unfortunately, common phrases are not universal, so different communities and different people can say different things for the same meanings. For example, Ze wo (I greet) and kwo (greetings) are other accepted variations of saying hello. There are no phrases considered "formal" though it is considered polite for visitors to adapt their phrases to the customs of the place they are visiting (which leads to the unofficial custom of visitors waiting to be greeted before greeting). "Informal" phrases are anything that can be interpreted as rude.

Konos as Ktenos

Konos, known grammatically for the k prefix, sometimes become burdensome to repeat. For this reason, Konos can grammatically become Ktenos by removing the k prefix. This is done usually when it is obvious that the word is an object/person/place/idea, rather than an action. For example, in the statement ze wo ksiblim (I greet Brother), the k in ksiblim can be removed making the phrase ze wo siblim. This practice is avoided in official documents, but is very common everywhere else.

Kzanos morphology

Like konos, kzanos have strict morphology that is hovewer flexible and powerful when one learns how to use it.

Unlike konos, kzanos have several possible prefixes. Most common are "xu-" and "zan-" for two different types of kzanos.

First type is easier to understand. It is called possessive form, but it not always deals with possession or owning. It is made of kon be replasing "k-" prefix with "xu-". The result is kzan that indicates connection of kon/ksin it is used for with original kon.

For example "mef" is "to teach", "maad" is "to learn". "kmaadsin" is "student", "kmefsin" is "teacher", "xumefsin" is "teacher's". So if we have "xumefsin kmaadsin" then it is "teacher's student" or "student of teacher".

One more intresting thing is one can make kon out of such kzan by adding "k-" prefix again. The result will be something like "the one, which relates to original kon". Better to get with example. Once again, "kmefsin" is "teacher", "xumefsin" is "teacher's", but "kxumefsin" is "teacher's one".

"zan-" is more common kzanos forming prefix. Just like in case of konos there can be following suffix for subclass specification. Possible suffixes "-sin" is roughly equal to "-ing" ending in Common, that makes a participle out of verb. For example "lim" is "to fly", "klesin" is "leader" so "zanlimsin lesin" is "flying leader". "-san" is roughly equaly to "ed" ending in Common. For example "nyar" is to kill, "zannyarsan klesin" is "killed leader"

Usage of Ktenos

It is highly advisable to pay attention to the correct use of ktenos when communicating in Klyros. Wrongly used they can easily be a cause for offence.

Personal

ze (I) and zeos (we)

First person

The most unproblematic of the ktenos is the one referring to oneself alone. The first person singular is ze (archaic also 'kze').

The first person plural is zeos.

zelim, and zemil

Note that the use of the honorific wo together with the first person is considered uppish, except for a ruler. (It would be appropriate where Common makes use of the "pluralis maiestatis", "we, the octarch")

It is polite for a Klyros to give the own gender when addressing a non-Klyros. (It is not alway easy for foreigners to discern the Klyros sexes from their appearance). In these cases 'I' translates to zelim for a male and zemil for a female.

Second person

yi (you)

In contrast it is most important not to use a gender descriptor when addressing someone directly. That is done with yi only. The use of yilim or yimil between persons who are not familiar is more or less disrespectful depending on whether the grammatical gender matches the sex of the addressee.

In an intimate relation yilim and yimil place an non-ambiguous emphasis on the addressee's sex, while in combination with the honorific prefix wo- it is considered a term of endearment.

woyi (respectful you)

The use of woyilim or woyimil outside of an intimate relationship equals a proposal.

The standard form of addressing people unknown to oneself or in an especially respectful manner is woyi.

The honorific can be used as a suffix to honour high-ranking individuals when addressing them: woyiwo corresponds to your highness.

yalim (he), and yamil (she)

Third person

Talking about an individual it is obligatory to make use of a gender descriptor. Everything else would be considered very disrespectful. Thus Common he translates to yalim and she to yamil. When talking about someone who is present it is considered polite to make use of the honorific, but not obligatory, if you are familiar with the subject. The neutral gender used for inanimate objects or asexual beings such as Kran is kya which means it or more literally object.

yaos (them)

Talking about a group of people who are known to belong to one sex only, you usually use the gender descriptor aswell (yalimos, yamilos). But do not so, if the sexes of all the subjects are not exactly known. For mixed groups only use yaos. The use of the honorific is arbitrary in the plural, depending on the situation.

Possessives

• my & mine: xuze & kxuze
• your & yours: xuyi & kxuyi
• his & his: xuyalim & kxuyalim
• her & hers: xuyamil & kxuyamil
• its & its: xuya & kxuya
• our & ours: xuzeos & kxuzeos
• your & yours (pl): xuyios & kxuyios
• their & theirs: xuyaos & kxuyaos

Deixis

• here & there: rafnet & farnet
• this & that: kyaraf & kyafar
• these & those: kyarafos & kyafaros

Usage of Kefaos

For the purpose of understanding Kefaos, there are two catagories of words based on their common counterparts. It should be noted, however, that these are unofficial catagories made only to help those who are learning Klyran as a second or third language.

Conjunction Kefaos

These Kefoas roughly correspond to conjunctions in common. They include and (jojo), if (je), or (joja), not and (ne), etc. While they mean the same as conjuctions, they don't have to link things together. Because this is confusing to Common speakers, that practice has dwindled.

Logic Kefaos

These Kefoas are used for logical purposes. They include yes, no, true, false, sometimes true, etc. While they aren't considered conjunctions in common, they can be used as conjunctions in Klyran.

Placement

Like conjunctions is Common, Kefoas are usually placed between the Konos to show they are connected. Unlike conjunctions, they may not be used to combine complete sentences together, and combining phrases is limited, but not unheard of. When used in listing, like conjunctions again, they may be placed between the last two things being listed instead of between everything.

When Kefaos are not being used as conjunctions, they can be placed as needed in sentences. They are often interrupt sentences in order to put emphasis on truthfulness, falsehood, or whatever the situation demands.

Knetos morphology

Generally knetos are formed by adding specific suffix to "net" prefix so technically knetos have no root. To understand what suffixes are suitable you should first understand aspects of ksinos. According to logic of Klyran every ksin has several aspects of it. Most common are (generally the same with suffixes used in konos formation):

1. the one, who does the process ("-sin")
2. the target of the process ("-san")
3. the time where the process takes place ("-qe")
4. the place where the process takes place ("-qo")
5. the tool that is used in the process ("-pac")
6. the reason of the process ("-qi")
7. the assistant in the process ("-po")

So "netpo" is "using help of", "netpac" "using" ( some tool). And so on.

Numbers

The concept of the Klyros numbering system might strike foreigners somewhat odd as the cardinal numbers are regarded a process and accordingly are expressed through Ksin. The digits are pronounced as vowels of different pitch and length.

Cardinal numerals

The base of the Klyros numbering is a decimal system almost identical to the Common one. The difference is that the symbol for zero is not used to form number values higher than nine. Instead there is a special symbol meaning "ten" that is not used separately. It is appears where you would expect a zero in a number of Common. The digits are formed by the following ideograms:

Common	Klyros	Reading		Common	Klyros	Reading
1		a		6		aa
2		i		7		ii
3		u		8		uu
4		e		9		ee
5		o		(10)		oo

uiioaae, 37564

Thus the word uiioaae is the pronunciation of the number 37564. If the numbers pronounced as the same vowels are adjacent there is a short shwa or pause inserted to discern them from one another. So uiioaa'a means 37561.

The number zero is written as nu which means to negate (or as substantial form knu i.e. nothing)

Common	Klyros	Reading
0		nu

aik, twelfth

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numbers belong into the word class of Kzanos.

For example while ai means twelve aik refers to the twelfth of a row.

ayaik, the twelfth part

Fractions

Fractions are written using ya a ksin meaning to divide, that is often shortened to y' when used for this purpose. Depending on their usage the fraction can be a ksin or a kzan.

Fractions with a low denominator are commonly used to form other word classes as well. The half for example is kayi in Klyros while ayik would mean half in the sense of a Common adjective.

Negative

Numbers can be turned negative by adding nu to the beginning. When the number is pronounced, however, the u in nu is dropped, so -37564 is pronounced nuiioaae.

Typography

There is no punctuation in Klyros. Sentences are simply separated by a full space, meaning a blank that is equal the size of a ideogram. Words within a sentence are mostly separated by a half-space, half the width of an ideogram. Sometimes, especially often found in ancient poetry, there is no word spacing, to the effect of making the poem more aesthetic to the onlooker but also a lot harder to read and interpret.

Names

Some Klyros names are made up of multiple words, or distortions of words, put together to have a hidden meaning. For example, Haiim literally means "to wait, to have opportunity," but if you look at those words together, then you can see hidden meanings like "he who waits for opportunities," which could be taken to mean many other things. Other names don't have meanings, and just sound nice.

However, with centuries many Klyros communities abandoned Klyran, so many modern Klyros names even do not have spelling in Klyran

[Editor's note: If you are a Klyros and would like for your name to mean something, then click on the below link and add words to mean things. Remember, though, that Klyran words are usually only one, sometimes two, syllables long. If certain syllables are already taken, don't change them, just use them to your advantage. If you can't think of anything that uses those syllables, remember hidden meanings.]

See also

• Klyros Language/Vocabulary
• Klyros Language/Vocabulary/Transliteration