Polar inventory
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Polar stance: fuller inventory
Beginner already used yes / true (yaol), no / false (yuol), and sure (yael). The rest of the map is reject this option, reject the question itself, and decline to answer. The first vowel names the family: u not, a add, o pass. The second vowel says what you are answering: o the claim or the order, e this option, a the question's own premise. You can also hear the family: the three undo answers fall and the other three rise.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
ao (yaol) | the claim matches, or got it; comply with an order | true · will do | a ≈ add + o ≈ command (judged in line) |
uo (yuol) | flip / mismatch; refuse an order | false · I won't | u ≈ not + o ≈ command (judged out of line) |
ae (yael) | take up an offered option | sure | a ≈ add + e ≈ question (this option) |
ue (yuel) | reject this option | not that | u ≈ not + e ≈ question |
ua (yual) | reject the question's premise | neither: the question doesn't apply | u ≈ not + a ≈ add (undo what the question added) |
oe (yoel) | decline to answer | I won't answer | o ≈ rank + e ≈ choice (pass to the next one in line) |
yual answers a question that assumes something false. Have you stopped lying? has no honest yes or no if you never lied. yual. says so in one word, without accepting the frame. It judges the question, not the speaker's willingness: for a refusal to answer, use yoel (below).
yel zazozon vowurol ul bohehal. yual.y-question | z-Azozon | v-walk | [from | b-house] . y-reject-frame
"Did Azozon walk away from the house?" "The question doesn't apply." (Azozon was never at the house)
Three endings
Each stance word takes one of three endings, on the same settled-to-passing scale as time horizon. -l holds the stance firmly. -m is the soft twin. -r marks a stance you hold only for now: provisional, and you expect to revisit it.
| -l firm | -m soft | -r for now | |
|---|---|---|---|
ao | yaol true | yaom I think so | yaor true, for now / I'll take that on board for now |
uo | yuol false | yuom I don't think so | yuor not so, for now (I'm holding off, and may reconsider) |
ae | yael sure | yaem okay | yaer fine, for now / let's try it |
ue | yuel not that | yuem nah | yuer not that, for now / not right now |
ua | yual the question doesn't apply | yuam it's more complicated than that | yuar it doesn't apply, for now (the premise fails at the moment) |
oe | yoel I won't answer | yoem I'd rather not say | yoer pass, for now |
yaor takes a claim on board without committing to it. English oh, I see often sounds like agreement; yaor says only that you hold the claim for now. You can restate the claim after the stance word:
yaor zazozon vowurol.y-yes-for-now | z-Azozon | v-walk
"All right, so Azozon walks, for now."
yuar says the question's premise fails at the moment, though it may hold later (cue: a door that is not there yet). yuor holds off on the claim; yuar holds off on what the question took for granted.
yel zazozon vowurol ul bohehal. yuar.y-question | z-Azozon | v-walk | [from | b-house] . y-reject-frame-for-now
"Is Azozon walking away from the house?" "The question doesn't apply, for now." (Azozon isn't at the house yet)
yoel, yoem and yoer decline to answer without saying no and without judging the question. Nobody should hear them as a denial or as a rejected frame.
yel zalazun vezuvel. yoer.y-question | z-Alazun | v-sleep . y-decline-for-now
"Is Alazun asleep?" "I'll pass for now."
Answering a command or request
A command (yol) or request (yom) is not a claim, so true and false do not fit it. The same stance words answer it, but now they say whether you will do what was asked. The o in yaol / yuol is the command vowel of yol itself.
| Stance | -l firm | -m soft | -r for now |
|---|---|---|---|
ao accept the order | yaol will do | yaom okay, I'll try | yaor will do, for now |
uo refuse the order | yuol I won't | yuom I'd rather not | yuor I won't, for now |
ae take it up as an offer | yael sure, I'll take that on | yaem okay, fine | yaer fine, for now |
ue reject this option | yuel not that | yuem nah | yuer not that, for now |
ua reject the premise | yual that can't be done | yuam it's more complicated than that | yuar it doesn't apply, for now |
oe decline to answer | yoel I won't say | yoem I'd rather not say | yoer pass, for now |
After a flat command, yaol / yuol are the plain comply / refuse. After a request (yom), the e words fit better, because you are choosing whether to take it on.
After two stacked act words, answer the first one, the act the speaker really does. A request that sounds like a question (yol yel …) takes yael / yuel, not a yes or no about whether you could.
yol vowurol zawan. yaol.y-command | v-walk | z-listener . y-yes
"Walk." "Will do."
yom vowurol zawan. yuer.y-request | v-walk | z-listener . y-refuse-option-for-now
"Please walk." "Not right now."
For a stronger stance, use the tone mark !!, not a different word. !!yael is Absolutely! / Yes, please!, and !!yuel is Hell no!
!!yael.!!y-sure
"Absolutely!"
!!yuel.!!y-refuse-option
"Hell no!"
| Ask flavor | Firm (-l) | Soft (-m) |
|---|---|---|
| Is it so? / confirm the claim | yaol, deny with yuol | yaom, deny with yuom |
| Want this? / offer | yael, reject-this with yuel | yaem, reject-this with yuem |
Command (yol) | yaol, refuse with yuol | yaom, refuse with yuom |
| Loaded question | yual | yuam |
| Declined question | yoel | yoem |
A stance word can stand alone (yaol.), sit before a body (yaol zazozon vowurol.), or come as a confirm tag in the next turn after .. After a stance word plus a body, continue with /x/; write a second polar word only in a new turn. When you think aloud on your own, yuol can mark a correction, yael the next step, and yaol a point you settle.
Compare with: not inside the clause uses zul / vul. Polar yuol / yuel answer a yes / no or an offer.
Tags: asking for an answer
Beginner closed a claim with the tag yel yaol. (…, right?). Every polar word works as a tag the same way: after your sentence, write yel and the polar word as a turn of their own. The tag asks the listener for that answer. Naming an answer makes it easy to give, so pick the one you want to make easy.
After a request or a suggestion, yel yael. asks okay?: will they take it up? yel yuel. asks or would you rather not?, so they can turn it down without having to push back. After a claim, yel yuol. asks or am I wrong?: it invites a correction, where yel yaol. leans toward agreement.
yom vowurol zayan. yel yael.y-request | v-walk | z-interlocutors . y-question | y-sure
"Let's walk, okay?"
yom vowurol zawan. yel yuel.y-request | v-walk | z-listener . y-question | y-refuse-option
"Please walk, or would you rather not?"
zazozon vowurol. yel yuol.z-Azozon | v-walk . y-question | y-no
"Azozon walked, or am I wrong?"
| Ageben | Use | English |
|--------|-----|---------| | yel yaol. | ask them to confirm a claim | …, right? | | yel yuol. | invite a correction | …, or am I wrong? | | yel yael. | ask them to take up a request or an offer | …, okay? / …, deal? | | yel yuel. | offer them the refusal | …, or would you rather not? | | yel yaor. | ask them to accept it for now | …, can we go with that for now? | | yel yoem. | after a question, offer them a pass | …, or would you rather not say? |
Soft yem asks more gently (yem yael. …, if that's okay?), and the other polar words and endings make tags the same way.
After two stacked act words, a tag asks about the first one, the real act. So okay? after a command that sounds gentle shows that the gentle sound was only a surface:
yol yem vowurol zawan. yel yael.y-command | y-soft-question | v-walk | z-listener . y-question | y-sure
"Would you maybe walk? Okay?" (it is an order)
Compare with: yom vowurol zawan. yel yael. is a real request, which the listener is free to turn down.
Compare with: the answer itself is the polar word alone (yael. sure). The tag puts yel first, so it asks for that answer instead of giving it.
Confirming a negative
When the question already contains not (Didn’t Azozon run?), yes and no still say whether that claim matches. yaol confirms the denial (true: they didn’t). yuol says the denial is false (they did). Restate the body after the stance word to make the answer unmistakable. Offer words (yael / yuel) still answer take this?, not true/false.
yel zazozon veruvol vul. yaol.y-question | z-Azozon | [v-run | v-not] . y-yes
"Didn’t Azozon run?" "True, Azozon didn’t."
yaol veruvol vul.y-yes | [v-run | v-not]
"True, they didn’t run."
Yes/no with single-item / standalone
A yes/no question can also check a named item: put a single-item join after it instead of a fill-ask blank. Single-item -l (or usual -n) asks the listener to confirm that this one item alone is meant (Just Azozon?, Has to be Azozon?). Single-item -m offers it (How about Ahelan?). …ul / …um / …un confirm or offer a denial (Not Azozon?). Standalone -l / -m check emptiness (Nothing?, Got nothing?). Fill-ask still uses join -r.
yel zazozon zal.y-question | [z-Azozon | z-and]
"Just Azozon?"
yel zahelan zam.y-question | [z-Ahelan | z-and.open]
"How about Ahelan?"
Compare with: who / which still uses join -r (fill-ask).
Rhetorical question
A rhetorical question sounds like a question, but you are not waiting for a reply: you think the answer is obvious. It stacks two act words: a statement word first, because a claim is what you really make, then a question word for how it sounds. The body is an ordinary yes/no question or fill-ask, in a statement's usual order.
yal yel zar vegemal.y-statement | y-question | z-wh | v-care
"Who cares?" (nobody does)
yal yel zazozon vowurol.y-statement | y-question | z-Azozon | v-walk
"Doesn't Azozon walk?" (of course Azozon does)
Soft yam yel muses rather than insists: you lean toward an answer but put it forward lightly, as if thinking aloud.
yam yel zar vegemal.y-soft-statement | y-question | z-wh | v-care
"Who really cares, though?"
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
yal yel | rhetorical question | Who cares? (nobody) |
yam yel | musing | Who really cares, though? |
yar yel | rhetorical for now | Surely, as things stand…? |
yal yem | sounds like idle wondering | I wonder who cares… (nobody) |
yal yer | sounds like a check | Just checking, it's Tuesday, right? (you know it is) |
The listener may still reply, but no reply is owed.
Compare with: a tag after the sentence (yel yaol. after a claim) asks the listener to confirm. A rhetorical question asks for nothing.
Quiz
A quiz asks something you already know, because you want the other person to say it. Put the question word first, because a question is what you really ask, then the statement word: you already hold the answer. The body is an ordinary yes/no question or fill-ask, in a question's usual order.
yel yal ? zar vabuvul dubogal.y-question | y-statement | ? | z-wh | v-punch | d-box
"So who punched the box?" (I know who; you say it)
The answer is the one the asker already holds. Soft yem yal is a gentle quiz: I think you know this one…
Compare with: a rhetorical question (yal yel) puts the statement first. You state the answer and ask for nothing. A quiz asks, and the other person gives the answer you already know.
Questions that sound like another act
A question can also sound like a command or a prohibition. It still asks, and the first word says so. Whenever either of two stacked act words is a question word, the question tone ? goes right after both of them.
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
yel yal | quiz: you know the answer | Seven times eight is…? |
yel yol | question demanded as an order: an answer is required | Tell me where you were. |
yel yul | question that hopes for no | You're not leaving, are you? |
yel yul ? zawan vudurul.y-question | y-prohibition | ? | z-listener | v-departure
"You're not leaving, are you?" (a real question; you hope not)
Compare with: yul yel puts the prohibition first. It forbids and only sounds like a question (Must you?), so no answer is owed. yel yul really asks, and shows which answer you want. A tag asks the listener to confirm a claim you have already made.
yel yol and the quiz both insist on an answer. In the quiz you know it already; here you do not.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a detective interview
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| phone | ovewel | 📱 |
| attest | vugel | 👁️🗨️ |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| listener | awan |
| tell | vezuyol |
| lie | vulamul |
| see | vayebel |
English → Ageben
1. Didn’t Azozon tell? True, Azozon didn’t. (confirm the negative)
Show answer
yel zazozon vezuyol vul. yaol.
y-question | z-Azozon | [v-tell | v-not] . y-yes
2. Please attest, okay?
Show answer
yom vugel zawan. yel yael.
y-request | v-attest | z-listener . y-question | y-sure
3. So who lies? (you already know; they say it)
Show answer
yel yal ? zar vulamul.
y-question | y-statement | ? | z-wh | v-lie
4. Just Azozon?
Show answer
yel zazozon zal.
y-question | [z-Azozon | z-and]
5. I'd rather not say.
Show answer
yoem.
y-decline-soft
6. You're not lying, are you? (a real question; you hope not)
Show answer
yel yul ? zawan vulamul.
y-question | y-prohibition | ? | z-listener | v-lie
Ageben → English
1. yel dovewel der.
Show answer
y-question | [d-phone | d-any]
Any phone? (name one; any will do)
2. yal yel zar vugel.
Show answer
y-statement | y-question | z-wh | v-attest
Who attests? (nobody does)
3. yoer.
Show answer
y-decline-for-now
I'll pass for now.
4. zazozon vulamul. yel yuol.
Show answer
z-Azozon | v-lie . y-question | y-no
Azozon lied, or am I wrong?
5. !!yuel.
Show answer
!!y-refuse-option
Hell no!
6. yaor zazozon vayebel.
Show answer
y-yes-for-now | z-Azozon | v-see
All right, so Azozon sees, for now.
Pick one
1. False, Alazun did lie. (answering Didn’t Alazun lie?) yuol. or yaol.
Show answer
yuol.
y-no
The answer says whether the denial matches: yuol says it does not, so Alazun lied.
2. Did you stop lying? (you never lied) yual. or yuol.
Show answer
yual.
y-reject-frame
yual rejects the question's premise; yuol would accept it and say you still lie.
Fix it
1. So who attests? (you already know; they say it) yal yel ? zar vugel.
Show answer
yel yal ? zar vugel.
y-question | y-statement | ? | z-wh | v-attest
A quiz puts the question word first; yal yel is a rhetorical question and asks for nothing.