Initials and rays
On this page
Initials
English shortens a long title to its initials (FBI). Ageben does too: take each root of a long hyphenated name, in order, and write its first consonant as a letter code with @ (-n, an official designation). A root always starts with a vowel, so its first letter would leave only four choices; its first consonant is the letter you hear.
z@_nl vezuyol.🔊
zrenulan vezuyol.z-_nl.named | v-tell
"The NL announces." (the office whose full title is Book-Courage)
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zanaxalazun | long title (ana × alazu) | Book-Courage |
z@_nl (🔊 zrenulan) | initials: n from ana, l from alazu | the NL, the same office |
z=_nl (🔊 zrenular) | resume | that office again |
- Any title works. Each initial is its own syllable, so two roots with the same first consonant give a doubled letter (
zanaxanomun→z@_nn, 🔊zrenunun), and a title of any length gives one letter per root. - Initials can be shared, as in English. Context sorts out which office is meant. When you need a name nobody else has, give the office a proper name of its own instead: one published root + -n.
- Say it mid-sentence. The whole rule is say each root's first consonant by its letter name, so you can make the initials while you talk.
Rays
English 5 or more / less than 5 is a ray: a band with only one end. Write it as a range whose other end is infinity: zrawal (+∞) or zruwal (−∞), the digitless exponents. The same al / ul rules apply, so the hook excludes the endpoint after it.
zrazal al zrawal.z-five | through | z-plus-infinity
"5 or more."
zruwal ul zrazal.z-minus-infinity | through-excluding | z-five
"Less than 5."
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zrazal al zrawal | 5 up to +∞ | 5 or more (≥ 5) |
zrawal ul zrazal | +∞ down to 5, 5 left out | more than 5 (> 5) |
zruwal al zrazal | −∞ up to 5 | 5 or less / at most 5 (≤ 5) |
zruwal ul zrazal | −∞ up to 5, 5 left out | less than 5 (< 5) |
zrazal am zrawal | soft | about 5 or more |
For counts, −∞ reads as no lower limit: zogozelx gruwal al grazal is up to five cats.
Ranks take the first and last place as ends. growal is the last place and growul the first, so zrodol al zrowal is 2nd through last.
Compare with: a rank join on one number is not a ray: zrazal zol is only 5 matters, and zrazal zaol is start with 5.
Named and unknown ranges
The range hook takes the other hook endings too.
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
z+13 an z+19 | -n: a named band | the teens |
zragel ar zrazal | -r: some value in the band | some value from 3 to 5 |
zragel ur zrazal | -r: some value in the band, 5 left out | some value from 3 up to 5 |
z+13 an z+19.🔊
zrabagel an zrabanal.NAME[z-13 | through | z-19]
"The teens."
With -r, the hook stands in for one value you are not naming. Under a question it asks for that value, as zar asks who?:
zazozon dogozelx gragel ar grazal vayebel.z-Azozon | [d-cat-x | g-three] | some.through | g-five | v-see
"Azozon sees some number of cats from 3 to 5."
The range hooks take -r the same way: zragel uar zrazal is some value strictly between 3 and 5, and zragel uor zrazal some value outside 3–5.
Ordinal generation: digitful exponent on # / #-
On a rank number (forward # / re or end-relative #- / rue), an exponent with digits is not a power of ten. It says how many generations away from the person, version, or outline point in focus. Use it when English would say the third grandchild or the 3rd sub-point.
The marker still counts from the start or from the end, but only among the members of that generation (its cohort). The exponent eK names the generation K steps deeper (descendants), and e-K the generation K steps up (ancestors). The mantissa picks which member; leave it off to name the whole cohort. Leave the exponent off for the focus's own generation (grogel = 3rd peer). Writing e0 says current generation outright, which is usually redundant.
| Piece | Job |
|---|---|
Marker # / #- | Count from the start / from the end within that generation’s cohort |
Digitful exp eK / e-K | Generation +K (descendants / nested deeper) or −K (ancestors / enclosing layer) |
| Mantissa | Which slot in that cohort (omit mantissa = bare OoM: the generation as a whole) |
| Exp omitted | Same generation as the focus (g#3 = 3rd peer); formal default |
Named e0 | Assert current generation (gen 0); usually redundant when omit already means current |
| Form | Reading |
|---|---|
g#3 | 3rd of the focus’s own generation (from the start) |
g#-3 | 3rd of the focus’s own generation (from the end) |
g#3e0 | 3rd of the current generation, exp asserted (gen 0) |
g#e0 | current generation cohort as a whole (member unspecified) |
g#3e2 | 3rd from the start in generation +2 (e.g. 3rd in the grandchild cohort) |
g#3e-2 | 3rd from the start in generation −2 (e.g. 3rd in the grandparent cohort) |
g#-1e2 | last of generation +2 (end-framed within that cohort) |
g#e2 | generation +2 cohort as a whole (member unspecified) |
g#e-1 | generation −1 / parent layer (member unspecified) |
g#1e-1 | 1st of generation −1 (often the parent when the cohort is singleton-framed) |
On /x/, generations are levels of an outline: x#3e2 is the 3rd sub-sub-point under the current point, and xrowamol is the point or points on the current level. /h/, /v/, and /y/ read generations the same way when the series comes in levels (for the 3rd time at level +2, place 3rd at level +2, …). For a plain count of occasions, use h#N.
Kin
Generations form a tree, like an outline. A cohort is only the members under the same node, so the plain forms name close family and never side branches:
growubalis the layer directly above the focus: the parents, not aunts or uncles.growamolis the others under the same parent: the siblings, not cousins. It never includes the focus.growabal/growadolare the focus's own children / grandchildren, not nieces or nephews.
The mantissa is birth order within that cohort: g#1e0 is the eldest sibling, g#-1e0 the youngest. To say whose family it is, put the anchor person in a bl- word right after the number. (cue: the number says how far up or down the tree; /b/ says from whom)
zalazun growamol blazozon vowurol.[z-Alazun | [g-#-e0 | bl-Azozon]] | v-walk
"Alazun, Azozon's sibling, walks."
With no bl- word after a joined subject, each member is a sibling of the others.
zazozon zalazun zal growamol.[z-Azozon | z-Alazun | z-and | g-#-e0]
"Azozon and Alazun are siblings."
zalazun g#1e0 blazozon vowurol.🔊
zalazun growamoyabal blazozon vowurol.[z-Alazun | [g-#-1e0 | bl-Azozon]] | v-walk
"Alazun, Azozon's eldest sibling, walks."
zohoyol g#2e1 blazozon vowurol.🔊
zohoyol growabayadol blazozon vowurol.[z-child | [g-#-2e1 | bl-Azozon]] | v-walk
"Azozon's second child walks."
For a side branch, nest a second anchor: first step to the relative, then from there. Aunt or uncle is a sibling of a parent.
zalazun growamol bleyel g#1e-1 blazozon vowurol.🔊
zalazun growamol bleyel growubayabal blazozon vowurol.[z-Alazun | [g-#-e0 | [bl-person | [g-#-1e-1 | bl-Azozon]]]] | v-walk
"Alazun, Azozon's aunt or uncle, walks." (a sibling of the first of Azozon's parents)
Compare with: friends, bosses, and other non-kin relations are not generations, so these forms do not name them.