Láadan/Lessons/3

Introduction
In Láadan there are special words that one puts at the beginning and end of a sentence in order to indicate the type of sentence (statement, question, request) as well as to indicate how the speaker knows what they're saying (they've perceived it, they were told, etc.)

In some cases, these words can be left off, but it is good to practice while using the appropriate Speech Act Morpheme and Evidence Morpheme.

Speech Act Morpheme
At the start of a sentence in Láadan, you will usually use a Speech Act Morpheme to specify what kind of sentence you're about to say.

The most common is "Bíi", which indicates that you're declaring something.

Examples
Notice that for Báa (question), Bó (command), and Bóo (request), no Evidence Morpheme is used. The speaker is requesting information, or requesting for something to be done, so therefore has no evidence.

If the speaker is stating (Bíi), warning (Bée), or promising (Bé) something, then the evidence morpheme is also used here.

Evidence Morpheme
At the end of the Láadan sentence, you will place an Evidence Morpheme. This is a marker that you use to specify how you know what you're talking about - did you observe it directly? Do you feel it within? Did you hear it from a credible (or not credible) source?

Examples
"Wo" is useful when telling stories; your first sentence will contain this evidence morhpeme, and then you can leave it off for the rest of the story.

Leaving off the Speech Act Morpheme and/or the Evidence Morpheme
When making several statements whose Speech Act and Evidence Morphemes are the same between each, you can leave off these morphemes from the subsequent sentences. 

When asking a question, no Evidence Morpheme is added to the sentence - you aren't providing information, but rather requesting it. 

Yes, No, and Negating Verbs
In Láadan, Yes is "Em" and No is "Ra".

You can also add "Ra" to the beginning of a verb to turn it into the opposite meaning; "thal" is "to be good", while "rathal" is "to be bad". "balin" is "to be old", while "rabalin" is "to be young".

You can also put "Ra" immediately after a verb in your sentence to add "not" to it: "Bíi shóod le wa." is "I am busy", and "Bíi shóod ra le wa." is "I am not busy".

Practice: Quiz
For these questions, respond with Yes or No (in Láadan), and restate the question as a statement. Use the appropriate evidence morpheme.


 * 1) Báa shóod ne?
 * 2) Báa áya be?
 * 3) Báa áana rul?

Quiz Answers

 * 1) Are you busy? - (Em/ra), bíi shóod [ra] le wa.
 * 2) Is he/she beautiful? - (Em/ra), bíi áya [ra] be wa.
 * 3) Is the cat sleeping? - (Em/ra), bíi áana [ra] rul wa.