Mention and islands
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Written only
A span has no spoken form: there is no word for its open or close, and no spoken resume for it. When you read a span aloud, you say the words inside it, and say its marks as words.
Apart from what is inside, […] and <…> work the same way: the same role letters, the same slots, the same ~ / @ marks, the same topic and /y/ rules. The one difference is whether the inside is read as Ageben. Use […] when the inside is Ageben, and <…> when it is foreign, code, or a name you do not want read as Ageben.
Mention
To talk about a word or phrase itself, as a spelling (the word “odoze” is small), put the mention marker before a span. That is a mention: it is about the letters, not what they mean, and not a quote of what someone said (for that, use a cite). The marker is a left-bound adjective, so a listener hears this is a word as spelling before the span arrives. In English, write the word … or the phrase … and keep the Ageben spelling (odoze, not dog).
The marker is the letters root ego as a gl- adjective, on -l (glegol) or -n (glegon). (cue: 🔤 a word is its letters)
| Ageben | Reading |
|---|---|
glegol | the word or phrase as spelling |
glegon | the name-string: a name as spelling |
The span is a cite […] when the spelling is Ageben, and an opaque <…> when it is not. Either way, the marker plus the span fills a slot like any noun:
glegol z[odoze] gamezem.[gl-MENTION | z-CITE["odoze"]] | g-small
"The word “odoze” is small."
glegol z[zazozon vozuyel] gamezem.[gl-MENTION | z-CITE[z-Azozon | v-sing]] | g-small
"The phrase “zazozon vozuyel” is small."
glegol z<kimchi> gamezem.[gl-MENTION | z-OPAQUE["kimchi"]] | g-small
"The word “kimchi” is small." (a foreign word)
With -n, the mention is a name as spelling (the title, which could be changed), even when it is one word: glegon d[onuren] is not donuren. A cite with @ is the work, and that span is for a title of several words (d@[onuren alazun]). The one-word Onuren as the work is an ordinary -n word (donuren).
zazozon d@[onuren alazun] vuyugum.z-Azozon | d-NAME.CITE[Onuren | Alazun] | v-rejection
"Azozon dislikes Onuren Alazun." (the work)
zazozon glegon d[onuren] vuyugum.z-Azozon | [gl-NAME.MENTION | d-CITE[Onuren]] | v-rejection
"Azozon dislikes the name “onuren.”" (not the work)
Compare with: donuren is Onuren (the work or person). glegon d[onuren] is only the name.
The marker is read as a marker only when it stands directly before a span. Anywhere else the same spelling is the ordinary adjective lettered. A mention marker does not go under /y/: a call or a reaction is not about a spelling. A /w/ word is never a marker either, because /w/ grades a /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/ word, never a noun.
A marker before a topic span works the same way:
glegol x[odoze] zalen gamezem.[gl-MENTION | x-CITE["odoze"]] | z-TOPIC | g-small
"Now, about the word “odoze”: it is small."
A span is an ordinary noun
A span fills a role like any noun, so a role pointer for that role can point back to it. After a cite, dwuder is that quote: the latest thing done to.
zalazun d[azozon] vezuyol. zahelan dwuder varuyol.z-Alazun | d-CITE[Azozon] | v-tell . z-Ahelan | d-←episode-patient.same | v-write
"Alazun said “Azozon.” Ahelan wrote that down."
The same holds for a loan word or any other span, and dwudel is another one of what the span holds.
An aside gives role pointers nothing to point back to. A tag assigned inside a cite or an aside does not hold outside it, and a pointer outside never reaches a word inside one.
A span in a /v/ slot (v[vezohul]) has no resume pronoun.
Spans before the noun (gl)
A span on /ɡ/ can also come before its noun, the way a gl- adjective does: write gl before the bracket. It describes the next noun, so a noun must follow it. A noun aside before the noun (gl(…)) keeps the spot after the noun free for a plain adjective that picks out which one.
gl(gerulol) zodozel gamezem vowurol.[gl-ASIDE[g-red] | z-dog | g-small] | v-walk
"The small dog (it is red) walks."
A loan adjective or a cite leans the same way:
gl<rouge> zodozel vowurol.[gl-OPAQUE["rouge"] | z-dog] | v-walk
"A rouge dog walks."
Compare with: the mention marker is a gl- word before a span (glegol z[odoze]), not gl on the span itself.
One of a title (^@)
A span with @ names the work or product itself: d@<iPhone> is the iPhone as a product. For one thing that name applies to (one phone, one copy of a book, one performance of a song), write ^@ in the mark slot instead. It is the span's form of the -ln ending, and like -ln it brings a new thing into the conversation. (cue: ^ points up to the name the thing falls under)
zalazun d^@<iPhone> vayebel.z-Alazun | d-NAME.OPAQUE.instance["iPhone"] | v-see
"Alazun sees an iPhone."
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
d@<iPhone> | the named product | the iPhone |
d^@<iPhone> | one unit of it | an iPhone |
d@[onuren alazun] | the named work | Onuren Alazun |
d^@[onuren alazun] | one copy or performance of it | a copy of Onuren Alazun |
d~^@[onuren alazun] | one copy of a work titled roughly that | a copy of something like Onuren Alazun |
Act words in a quote
A quoted question or command keeps its own act word inside the cite, the same way it keeps a tone mark. The outer sentence is still your claim (said), and yel or yol belongs to the quoted talk.
zazozon d[yel zalazun vowurol] vezuyol.z-Azozon | d-CITE[y-question | z-Alazun | v-walk] | v-tell
"Azozon said, “Does Alazun walk?”"
Topics in a quote
A cite holds someone else's words, so a topic never carries into it or out of it. The inside of a cite starts with no topic, no tags, and its own targets for role pointers, and may open with a topic word of its own. When the cite ends, your own topic and tags are as they were.
A cite or opaque span can also be a topic word itself, under /x/: a titled work, a word as spelling (with the mention marker before it), or a foreign name.
x@[onuren alazun] dalen vozuyel.x-NAME.CITE[Onuren | Alazun] | d-TOPIC | v-sing
"Now, about Onuren Alazun: it is sung."
x@<Sam> zalen vowurol.x-NAME.OPAQUE["Sam"] | z-TOPIC | v-walk
"Now, about Sam: Sam walks."
| Span | Topic at the start | Topic words inside | Leaks out? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cite | none | allowed; the cite's own /x/ word sets its topic | no |
| Aside | yours | not allowed | n/a |
A -r inside a cite cannot find a word outside it: the quoted words were said before the surrounding sentence existed.
Scope islands
Sometimes a word like possibly, or a join, should apply to only part of the sentence, a chunk of several words, not the whole clause. Put that chunk in braces { … }, with the word that applies to it inside. That word is the island’s binder: it reaches only what the braces hold. Braces have no other use. Speech has no word for the edges: you hear a pause, then one tight phrase.
zazozon { hogugem zodozel gerulol } vayebel.z-Azozon | SCOPE[h-possibility | [z-dog | g-red]] | v-see
"Azozon saw what was possibly a red dog."
Here hogugem reaches only a red dog, not the seeing.
A tone mark written right before the opening brace colors the whole island (!{ hogugem zodozel gerulol }).
Compare with: quoting, asides, mentions, and opaque blobs use spans (d[…], th(…), d<…>). Islands only group so a binder inside can target that chunk.
- No role letter on the edges.
- At most one phrase. After its binder, an island holds at most one phrase: a
/z/,/d/, or/b/noun phrase, a/v/verb phrase, or a/ɡ/stack, with that phrase’s own adjectives,/w/detail, and join. An/h/word is a binder, never the phrase. - It may close early. The island can stop partway through its phrase; the pause marks where. By the end of the phrase at the latest, it has closed: a new role letter or the outer join always comes after the island.
- Hosts keep their
bl-word. A host (/ɡ/,/h/,/th/) and itsbl-word are both inside the island or both outside. A plain/b/is the recipient, not a host's partner, so it may sit on either side of an edge. - One island per clause. Islands do not nest.
- Empty
{ }has no reading. - Binder required: at least one scope-taking
/h/or/th/and/or a join particle inside. A hook is never a binder. A hook already reaches its whole stretch:/w/right before it grades the whole span, and a hook after a noun belongs to that noun. - Prefer spaces inside:
{ hogugem zodozel gerulol }.
| Binder | Use inside the island |
|---|---|
Scope-taking /h/ or /th/ | frames that chunk (prefer first in the island; see the /b/ exception below) |
| Prefixed join | joins only matching-role material inside |
/h/ and a join may share one island ({ hogugem zazozon zalazun zam }).
| Placement | Reading |
|---|---|
/h/ or /th/ inside | frames that chunk |
/h/ or /th/ outside | ordinary floating word: frames the verb / clause |
| Join inside | joins only interior conjuncts |
| Join outside with island nearby | ordinary lookback (edges do not filter an outside join) |
zazozon { zalazun zal } zam vowurol.[z-Azozon | SCOPE[z-Alazun | z-and] | z-and.open] | v-walk
"Azozon and (just Alazun) walk."
A recipient is a plain /b/ (extra nouns), so it can share an island with an adverb:
zazozon { balazun hogugem } vezuyol.z-Azozon | SCOPE[b-Alazun | h-possibility] | v-tell
"Azozon talks, possibly to Alazun."
An island can hold part of a phrase. Here only not small is grouped, so gul denies small alone and gal adds it to red:
zodozel gerulol { gamezem gul } gal vowurol.[z-dog | [g-red | SCOPE[g-small | g-not] | g-and]] | v-walk
"A dog that is red and not small walks."
Speech: leave a break before the island (the next beat comes half a beat late), say it as one tight phrase, and leave another break after its last word. In singing, phrase it as its own short phrase. Because an island never runs past one phrase, a listener who misses the closing break is off by at most part of that phrase.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a courtroom
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Onuren | onuren | 🎵 from note: a song's name |
| rejection | vuyugum | ❌ from cross |
| possibility | hogugem | ❓ from question mark |
| letters | glegol | 🔤: a word is its letters |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| topic | alen |
| attest | vugel |
| lie | vulamul |
| small | gamezem |
| tell | vezuyol |
| write | varuyol |
| see | vayebel |
| punch | vabuvul |
| walk | vowurol |
English → Ageben
1. Alazun said “Azozon attests.”
Show answer
zalazun d[zazozon vugel] vezuyol.
z-Alazun | d-CITE[z-Azozon | v-attest] | v-tell
2. Alazun said “Azozon.” Ahelan wrote that down. (that is the quote)
Show answer
zalazun d[azozon] vezuyol. zahelan dwuder varuyol.
z-Alazun | d-CITE[Azozon] | v-tell . z-Ahelan | d-←episode-patient.same | v-write
3. Now, about the word “alede”: it is small.
Show answer
glegol x[alede] zalen gamezem.
[gl-MENTION | x-CITE["alede"]] | z-TOPIC | g-small
4. Azozon said, “Does Alazun lie?”
Show answer
zazozon d[yel zalazun vulamul] vezuyol.
z-Azozon | d-CITE[y-question | z-Alazun | v-lie] | v-tell
5. Ahelan sees a copy of Onuren Alazun.
Show answer
zahelan d^@[onuren alazun] vayebel.
z-Ahelan | d-NAME.CITE.instance[Onuren | Alazun] | v-see
6. Alazun talks, possibly to Ahelan.
Show answer
zalazun { bahelan hogugem } vezuyol.
z-Alazun | SCOPE[b-Ahelan | h-possibility] | v-tell
Ageben → English
1. zazozon glegon d[onuren] vuyugum.
Show answer
z-Azozon | [gl-NAME.MENTION | d-CITE[Onuren]] | v-rejection
Azozon dislikes the name “onuren.” (not the work)
2. x@[onuren alazun] zalazun dalen vuyugum.
Show answer
x-NAME.CITE[Onuren | Alazun] | z-Alazun | d-TOPIC | v-rejection
Now, about Onuren Alazun: Alazun dislikes it.
3. zahelan d~[zazozon vugel] vezuyol.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | d-CITE.about[z-Azozon | v-attest] | v-tell
Ahelan said something like “Azozon attests.”
4. zalazun { zazozon zal } zam vabuvul.
Show answer
[z-Alazun | SCOPE[z-Azozon | z-and] | z-and.open] | v-punch
Alazun and (just Azozon) punched.
5. zahelan !{ hogugem dulamul } vayebel.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | !SCOPE[h-possibility | d-lie] | v-see
Ahelan saw what was possibly a lie!
6. gl(gamezem) zalazun dazozon vabuvul.
Show answer
[gl-ASIDE[g-small] | z-Alazun] | d-Azozon | v-punch
Alazun, who is small, punches Azozon.
Pick one
1. Azozon dislikes Onuren Alazun. (the work) zazozon d@[onuren alazun] vuyugum. or zazozon d[onuren alazun] vuyugum.
Show answer
zazozon d@[onuren alazun] vuyugum.
z-Azozon | d-NAME.CITE[Onuren | Alazun] | v-rejection
@ makes the span the work; bare brackets quote the words.
2. Azozon saw what was possibly a lie. zazozon { hogugem dulamul } vayebel. or zazozon hogugem dulamul vayebel.
Show answer
zazozon { hogugem dulamul } vayebel.
z-Azozon | SCOPE[h-possibility | d-lie] | v-see
Inside braces, hogugem reaches only that chunk; outside, it frames the whole seeing.
Fix it
1. Azozon said, “Does Alazun walk?” yel zazozon d[zalazun vowurol] vezuyol.
Show answer
zazozon d[yel zalazun vowurol] vezuyol.
z-Azozon | d-CITE[y-question | z-Alazun | v-walk] | v-tell
The quoted question keeps its act word inside the cite; yel outside asks whether Azozon said it.