Talking cheat sheet

A quick look at speech moves, questions, and fill-ask roles. Nothing here is new: each row links to the section that teaches it. Stage: B Beginner, I Intermediate, A Advanced.

Starting a turn

A /y/ word starts a new turn and goes before the body of the clause. A /y/ word after a finished body starts the next turn.

Job	Example	English	Stage
Call someone: /y/ + name (-n)	yalazun.	Alazun!	B
Call a kind: /y/ + kind with -n	yagayun	Guard! (come here)	B
Reaction: /y/ + root with -l / -m	yemel. / yemem.	What a surprise! / Amazing!	B
Reaction, not a call: -l vs -n	yagayul	Guard! (an alarm)	B
Call a group	yawanx	hey, you all	I

Speech acts

The vowel picks the act: a statement, o command, e question, u prohibition. A period already marks a statement, so yal is usually left out.

Act	Firm -l	Soft -m	For now -r	Stage
statement	yal (often omitted)	yam for what it's worth	yar as things stand	B
question	yel	yem I wonder	yer just checking	B
command	yol	yom please	yor for now	B
prohibition	yul	yum please don't	yur hold off	B

Job	Example	English	Stage
Command	yol vowurol.	Walk!	B
Request with let's	yom vowurol zayan.	Let's walk.	B
Soft prohibition with let's not	yum zayan vezuvel.	Let's not sleep.	B
Provisional statement	yar zazozon vowurol.	As things stand, Azozon walks.	B
Doubled act word: repeat only the opening act word	yul yul vozuyul.	Don't sneak. I mean it.	I
Insisted statement	yal yal	I'm telling you, …	I
Pressing question	yel yel	I really need to know: …?	I
Urgent command	yol yol	Do it. Now.	I
Insistent plea	yom yom	please, please…	I

Stacked act words

The first act word is what you really do, the second how it sounds. The body takes the first word's order.

Job	Example	English	Stage
Request that sounds like a question	yol yel vabuvul dubogal zawan.	Could you punch the box?	I
Directive that sounds like a description	yol yal	Passengers remain seated.	I
Teasing: sounds like don't, means do	yol yul	Don't you dare finish those cookies.	I
Prohibition that sounds like a norm	yul yal zayan dubogal vabuvul.	We don't punch the box.	I
Discouraging question	yul yel	Must you?	I
Sarcastic dare	yul yol dubogal vabuvul.	Go ahead, punch the box. (don't)	I
Claim as an instruction to notice	yal yol	Mark my words.	I
Saying it while claiming you won't	yal yul	I won't even mention that he lied.	I
Soft request that sounds like a question	yom yel	Would you mind…?	I
Firm command that sounds like a gentle ask	yol yem	Would you maybe…? (not optional)	I
Command with a please that is not optional	yol yom	Please do it.	I
Offer that sounds like a command	yom yol vehohel.	Sit, sit!	I
Rule for now	yor yal	For now, everyone stays inside.	I
Soft norm	yum yal	We'd rather people didn't…	I
Firm no that sounds like not yet	yul yur	Let's hold off for now. (never)	I

Tone marks

A tone mark changes your voice only, never the speech act. Double a mark for more; stack different marks to mix (no spaces, any order, each at most twice).

Mark	Feeling	Cue	Stage
!	strong feeling	English !	I
?	unsure	English …, I think	I
%	joking, teasing	a wink	I
&	contrast: this one, not another	and not the other	I
;	warm, affectionate	a soft pause	I

Where you write it	Colors	Example	Stage
Attached to a word	that word	zazozon vayebel ?dodozel.	I
Attached to a span	the span	!d[ … ]	I
Alone, then a space	the rest, to the period	! zazozon vowurol.	I
Doubled	stronger	zazozon !!vowurol.	I
Stacked	mixed	?! zalazun vayebel dodozel.	I

yel asks; ? only sounds unsure: it raises the whole word, and the word's vowel pitches keep their order inside it. A third copy (!!!) is not a mark.

Speech manner

A stance word says in words how you are speaking, where a tone mark only changes your voice.

Ageben	English	Stage
thagebem	to be clear / to put it plainly	I
thavewom	frankly / honestly	I

Asking

Yes/no and fill-in

Job	Example	English	Stage
Yes/no question	yel zazozon vowurol.	Does Azozon walk?	B
Gentler	yem zalazun vezuvel.	Is Alazun sleeping, I wonder?	B
No body: ask about what was just said	yel.	Huh?	B
Fill one blank: join -r in the slot	yel zar vowurol.	Who walks?	B
Fill every blank	yel zar dar vayebel.	Who sees what?	B
One blank, one known	yel zar vayebel dodozel.	Who sees a dog?	B
Rise on the blank	yel ?zar vowurol.	Who walks?	B
Rise on the whole question	yel ? zazozon vowurol.	Does Azozon walk?	B
Check one named item	yel zazozon zal.	Just Azozon?	I
Offer one named item	yel zahelan zam.	How about Ahelan?	I

The reply to a fill-ask is the fill as a citation, or a full sentence with role letters. The sentence still ends in a period.

Which blank

You want	Write	English	Stage
What kind?	yel gar zodozel.	What is the dog like?	B
When?	yel har zahelan vowurol.	When does Ahelan walk?	B
Where?	yel el bar zahelan vowurol.	Where does Ahelan walk?	B
Whose?	yel zodozel om bar vowurol.	Whose dog walks?	B
How?	yel hewem blar zazozon vowurol.	How does Azozon walk?	B
Why?	yel thahum blar zazozon vowurol.	Why does Azozon walk?	B
What for?	yel hovam blar zazozon vowurol.	What does Azozon walk for?	B

Blank	Means	Stage
gar / ger / gur	what is it like? / like anything? / what else is it like?	B
el bar / al bar / ul bar / ol bar	where (at)? / in what? / where from? / for what?	B
el ber / el bur	anywhere? / where else?	B
thahum blar	why?	B
hovam blar	what for?	B
thohem blar	under what condition?	B

Fill-ask by vowel and count

The blank -r takes a vowel; the count is how many items you listed before it (fill-ask arity).

Items listed	…ar	…or	…er	…ur	Stage
0	who/what?	anything?	what's the priority?	what else?	I
1	which X?	any X?	which X is first?	what else besides X?	I
2+	which of these?	any of these?	which ranks highest?	other than these?	I

Several answers

Job	Example	English	Stage
Who all, any kind	yel zarx vowurol.	Who all walks?	B

Questions inside other clauses

Job	Example	English	Stage
Report a question	zazozon vayebel derl zalazun vowurol.	Azozon sees whether Alazun walks.	B
Blank belongs to whether	yel zawan vanam derl zar vowurol.	Do you know who walks?	I
Blank belongs to the outer question	yel zawan vevemel darl zar vowurol.	Who do you think walks?	I
Question you don't want answered: yal before yel	yal yel zar vegemal.	Who cares? (nobody)	I
Musing	yam yel zar vegemal.	Who really cares, though?	I
Rhetorical for now	yar yel	Surely, as things stand…?	I
Sounds like idle wondering	yal yem	I wonder who cares…	I
Sounds like a check	yal yer	Just checking, it's Tuesday, right?	I
Quiz: yel before yal, you know the answer	yel yal ? zar vabuvul dubogal.	So who punched the box?	I
Question demanded as an order	yel yol	Tell me where you were.	I
Question that hopes for no	yel yul ? zawan vudurul.	You're not leaving, are you?	I

Answering

Write y, two vowels, then an ending. A turn holds one polar word; an answer followed by a question is two turns.

Stance	-l firm	-m soft	-r for now	Stage
ao accept, match	yaol yes / will do	yaom I think so	yaor true, for now	B / I
uo refuse, mismatch	yuol no / I won't	yuom I don't think so	yuor not so, for now	B / I
ae take up an option	yael sure	yaem okay	yaer fine, for now	B / I
ue reject this option	yuel not that	yuem nah	yuer not that, for now	I
ua reject the premise	yual the question doesn't apply	yuam it's more complicated	yuar it doesn't apply, for now	I
oe decline to answer	yoel I won't answer	yoem I'd rather not say	yoer pass, for now	I

Job	Example	English	Stage
Answer with a sentence after: no yal	yaol + body	yes, …	B
Back up your own claim	zazozon vowurol. yaol.	Azozon walks. Yes.	B
Answer a command or request	yaol / yuol	will do / I won't	I

Tags: asking for an answer

After your sentence, write yel and a polar word as a turn of its own. It asks for that answer, so pick the one you want to make easy.

Ageben	Use	English	Stage
yel yaol.	confirm a claim	…, right?	B
yel yuol.	invite a correction	…, or am I wrong?	I
yel yael.	take up a request or offer	…, okay?	I
yel yuel.	offer the refusal	…, or would you rather not?	I
yel yaor.	accept for now	…, can we go with that for now?	I
yel yoem.	after a question, offer a pass	…, or would you rather not say?	I

Don't mix up

This	vs	That
yalazun Alazun! (a call, -n)		zalazun vowurol Alazun walks (a subject)
yagayun Guard! (call the guard)		yagayul Guard! (an alarm)
yel question (asks)		? unsure voice (only sounds unsure)
yul don't (prohibition)		yuol no, false (answers a claim)
yel yaol. …, right? (a tag asks)		yaol. yes (an answer gives)
thahum blar why? (the cause)		hewem blar like what? (a model to resemble)