Emphasis
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English emphasis and clefts
English often moves or stresses a word to single it out: It's a cat that Azozon sees, It was Azozon who saw the cat, or a stressed Azozon saw the cat. Ageben word order carries no emphasis. A sentence's usual order is set by its speech act, and any other order means exactly the same (with joined verbs, a word's place says which verb it goes with, verb-phrase forms). When you translate, ask what the English emphasis is doing.
If the English sets one person or thing against others (Azozon, not someone else), put the contrastive focus mark & on that word.
zazozon &dogozel vayebel.z-Azozon | &d-cat | v-see
"It's a cat that Azozon sees." (not something else)
If the English only puts the new part first, with no others to set it against (answering What does Azozon see? with It's a cat that Azozon sees), write the plain sentence. What came before already shows which part is new.
zazozon dogozel vayebel.z-Azozon | d-cat | v-see
"Azozon sees a cat."
Translating the other way, an Ageben sentence in an unusual order (a line fitted to a tune, say) becomes a plain English sentence.
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zazozon dogozel vayebel. | plain | Azozon sees a cat. / It's a cat that Azozon sees. (answering what?) |
&zazozon dogozel vayebel. | subject contrasted | It was Azozon who saw the cat. |
zazozon &dogozel vayebel. | object contrasted | It's a cat that Azozon sees. (not something else) |
zazozon dogozel &vayebel. | act contrasted | Azozon sees the cat. (rather than doing something else to it) |
Compare with: what the whole conversation is about is the topic, set only by an /x/ word.
Starting a sentence audibly
In writing, the period shows where one sentence ends and the next begins. In speech, a listener may miss that pause, especially in singing or with free word order. When that could happen, begin the next sentence with a word that can only start one: yes / no, the name of the person you address, or the statement word yal.
Practice
Short drills for Advanced. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a circus
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| balloon | eboval | 🎈 |
| drum | adoral | 🥁 |
| mask | amebul | 😷 |
| box | ubogal | 📦 |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| trumpet | adorol |
| haste | hadurom |
| see | vayebel |
| punch | vabuvul |
| sneak | vozuyul |
English → Ageben
1. Hastily, Azozon punches a balloon.
Show answer
hadurom zazozon deboval vabuvul.
h-haste | z-Azozon | d-balloon | v-punch
2. What does Alazun punch? It's a drum that Alazun punches.
Show answer
zalazun dadoral vabuvul.
z-Alazun | d-drum | v-punch
Nothing is set against the drum, so the plain sentence is enough.
3. It's a drum, not a trumpet, that Alazun punches.
Show answer
zalazun &dadoral vabuvul.
z-Alazun | &d-drum | v-punch
4. It was Ahelan, not someone else, who saw the mask.
Show answer
&zahelan damebul vayebel.
&z-Ahelan | d-mask | v-see
Ageben → English
1. dadorol zahelan vayebel.
Show answer
d-trumpet | z-Ahelan | v-see
Ahelan sees a trumpet.
2. zalazun &dubogal vabuvul.
Show answer
z-Alazun | &d-box | v-punch
It's a box that Alazun punches. (not something else)
3. hadurom zalazun vozuyul.
Show answer
h-haste | z-Alazun | v-sneak
Hastily, Alazun sneaks.
4. dubogal zahelan hadurom vabuvul.
Show answer
d-box | z-Ahelan | h-haste | v-punch
Ahelan hastily punches a box.
What changes
1. zazozon deboval vayebel. / &zazozon deboval vayebel.
Show answer
z-Azozon | d-balloon | v-see
&z-Azozon | d-balloon | v-see
The first is plain Azozon sees a balloon; the second stresses Azozon: it was Azozon, not someone else.
2. zahelan dadoral vayebel. / zahelan dadoral &vayebel.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | d-drum | v-see
z-Ahelan | d-drum | &v-see
The second contrasts the act: Ahelan sees the drum, as opposed to doing something else to it.