Spans
Some parts of a sentence are not ordinary Ageben words: a quote of what someone said, a word from another language, a comment in parentheses. Ageben sets such a part apart as a span: a role letter, then a pair of brackets around the words. The role letter says what the whole bracketed chunk does in the sentence (subject, object, verb, adverb, and so on), so the rest of the sentence reads as usual. A span is written only: speech has no word for its open or close.
Start with a quote of what someone said.
On this page
Cite ([…])
To quote wording (what someone said, a title, a proverb as words), write the role letter, then square brackets around the quoted words. That span is a cite. The whole quote fills one role, so said “…” works like said something. (cue: […] like quote marks)
Start with a one-word quote as the object of said. A greeting is just your own name, so quoting Azozon’s hello means quoting that name:
zazozon d[azozon] vezuyol.z-Azozon | d-CITE[Azozon] | v-tell
"Azozon said “Azozon.”" (hello)
The whole d[azozon] is the direct object (who or what is acted on). When the quote is a whole Ageben sentence, each word inside starts with its own role letter, as in any sentence.
Exact, paraphrase, proper
You can mark how faithful the quote is. Put the mark after the role letter, before the opening bracket.
A span with no mark is exact: the words as they were said (d[azozon]). Write ~ for a paraphrase, when you mean the gist, not the exact words (d~[zazozon vozuyel]). Write @ for a proper span: it names a work with a title of several words, such as a song, proverb, or book (d@[onuren alazun]). The span then means the work itself, not its title as a string of words.
A work or person with a one-word name is an ordinary -n word (donuren), not d@[onuren], unless a role letter or an ending is part of the title itself. The mark belongs to the brackets; the words inside keep their usual endings.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | exact | verbatim wording | bare brackets already quote; extra ink would hedge |
~ | paraphrase | the gist, not the exact words | ~ looks like “about / approximately” |
@ | proper | the work known by that title | @ like a social media handle |
zalazun d~[zazozon vozuyel] varuyol.z-Alazun | d-CITE.about[z-Azozon | v-sing] | v-write
"Alazun wrote something like “Azozon sings.”"
zahelan d@[onuren alazun] vozuyel.z-Ahelan | d-NAME.CITE[Onuren | Alazun] | v-sing
"Ahelan sang Onuren Alazun."
~ and @ combine, ~ first: the span still names the work, but the title is only roughly that. Use it when you remember a title loosely.
zahelan d~@[onuren alazun] vozuyel.z-Ahelan | d-NAME.CITE.about[Onuren | Alazun] | v-sing
"Ahelan sang that song called something like Onuren Alazun."
Opaque and loan words
To use a word from another language, a bit of code, or any spelling that is not Ageben, write the role letter, then angle brackets around it. That span is opaque: the inside is taken exactly as spelled and is not read as Ageben words. Write no letter after the closing >. The faithfulness marks are the same as on a cite: none, ~, or @.
zazozon d<kimchi> vayebel.z-Azozon | d-OPAQUE["kimchi"] | v-see
"Azozon saw kimchi." (a foreign word)
Inside <>, keep the source’s capital letters when its writing system has them (d<NaCl>, d@<iPhone>). Ageben letters outside the brackets are always lowercase. Use @ when the bracketed word is a name or title.
When the lexicon already has a matching root, write the ordinary word (dogozel), not a span.
On its own, outside a sentence, a foreign name or word is written with no role letter: just the marks and the brackets (@<Sam>), like other citation forms. In a sentence the span fills a role, so it takes a role letter (z@<Sam>). A person’s or place’s name can also take an Ageben spelling that follows the English sound; type it in the lexicon. Keep the span when the original spelling is the point.
Calls and reactions (/y/)
To call someone by a foreign name (Sam!) or react with a foreign word (Wow!), put a span under /y/. Only an opaque <…> or a cite […] goes there, and it opens the turn, before the act word.
The @ mark decides which, as -n does on a native word. With @, the span calls that person (y@<Sam>, Sam!); add ~ for a name you are not sure of (y~@<Sam>). Without @, the span is a foreign interjection (y<Wow>, Wow!), exact or given as the gist with ~ (y~<Wow>).
Asides (th(…))
To add a side comment in parentheses, write a role letter, then ( … ). That span is an aside. The role letter says what the comment is about, and the aside sits where a word with that letter sits. (cue: round parentheses, as in English)
| Ageben | Comments on | Sits |
|---|---|---|
th(…) | the whole sentence | anywhere a stance word may sit |
g(…) | the noun before it | right after that noun, like an adjective |
w(…) | the next /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/ word | right before that word, like very |
h(…) | the action | anywhere an adverb may sit |
The inside is ordinary Ageben: a fragment, or a clause with the same speech act as the outer sentence (both statements, both questions, or both commands). An aside comments; it does not call anyone or react, so it never goes under /y/. It fills no slot of the verb either, so it never goes under /z/, /d/, /b/, or /v/.
zazozon vowurol th(hugowul).z-Azozon | v-walk | th-ASIDE[h-quiet]
"Azozon walks (quietly)."
zazozon vowurol th(zalazun vezuvel).z-Azozon | v-walk | th-ASIDE[z-Alazun | v-sleep]
"Azozon walks (Alazun is asleep)."
A noun aside adds something about a noun the listener already has. It does not pick out which one, the way a plain adjective can:
zodozel g(gerulol) vowurol.[z-dog | g-ASIDE[g-red]] | v-walk
"The dog (it is red) walks."
zazozon g(zazozor vowurol) vozuyel.[z-Azozon | g-ASIDE[z-←Azozon | v-walk]] | v-sing
"Azozon, who walks, sings."
A /w/ aside narrows the comment to one word. Here only the color is what Azozon says:
zodozel w(zazozon vezuyol) gerulol vowurol.[z-dog | [w-ASIDE[z-Azozon | v-tell] | g-red]] | v-walk
"A (so Azozon says) red dog walks."
An /h/ aside is a side detail about the action itself, not about your claim:
zazozon vowurol h(al babahal).z-Azozon | v-walk | h-ASIDE[in | b-bank]
"Azozon walks (in a bank)."
A one-word comment with nothing to package is a plain word in that slot: zazozon vowurol hugowul.
For because / if, use: blarl dependents, not an aside.
Compare with: a second name for the same person uses identity (gore + /b/). To pick out which noun (the guard who sits), use a plain adjective or another sentence, not a noun aside.
Outer slot
A span can fill any role a word can, not only the object. The letter before the bracket is the role of the whole span in the outer sentence, so ask what that chunk does there: the object of said, the subject of is small, and so on. A cite can even be the verb, when you echo an act as wording:
yul zalazun v[vezohul].y-prohibition | z-Alazun | v-CITE[v-stop]
"Don’t say “stop,” Alazun."
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
/d/ | object | said / wrote / saw “…” (d[azozon], d<kimchi>) | d ≈ done to |
/z/ | subject | a foreign name as the subject (z@<Sam>) | z ≈ star (who it is about) |
/b/ | extra party | a foreign name as the recipient (b@<Sam>) | b ≈ bolted on (the extra piece) |
/v/ | verb | echo the act as wording (v[vezohul]); a loan verb (v<google>) | v as in English verb |
/ɡ/ | adjective | a loan adjective (g<rouge>); an aside on the noun (g(…)) | g ≈ grade (a rating of the noun) |
/w/ | extra detail | a loan degree word (w<molto>); an aside on the next word (w(…)) | w ≈ with (stuck to that host) |
/h/ | adverb | a loan adverb (h<allegro>); an aside on the action (h(…)) | h starts how / when / where |
/th/ | stance | an aside on the sentence (th(…)) | th ≈ think (your side comment) |
Only an aside goes under /th/. An aside also goes under /ɡ/, /w/, or /h/, never under /z/ /d/ /b/ /v/. A cite, mention, or opaque span fills any slot but /th/.
To use a foreign verb, adjective, adverb, or degree word (googled, rouge, molto), put an opaque span in that slot. That is a loan word: the role letter says how the foreign word is used, and the inside keeps its own spelling.
zalazun v<google> dazozon.z-Alazun | v-OPAQUE["google"] | d-Azozon
"Alazun googled Azozon." (a borrowed word)
zodozel g<rouge> vowurol.[z-dog | g-OPAQUE["rouge"]] | v-walk
"A rouge dog walks." (a borrowed word)
zazozon vezuyol b@<Sam>.z-Azozon | v-tell | b-NAME.OPAQUE["Sam"]
"Azozon talks to Sam." (a foreign name)
The letter before the bracket belongs to the whole span. Ageben words inside a cite start with their own role letters.
Practice
Short drills for Beginner. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a rehearsal
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| dance | vunurol | 🕺 |
| stop | vezohul | 🛑 |
| quiet | ugowul | 🔈 |
| Egoren | egoren | 🎸 from guitar: a dance's name |
| Sam | @<Sam> | a foreign name |
v<google> | a loan verb | |
| Bravo | <Bravo> | a foreign word |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| tell | vezuyol |
| write | varuyol |
| walk | vowurol |
| see | vayebel |
English → Ageben
1. Azozon said “Azozon.” (hello)
Show answer
zazozon d[azozon] vezuyol.
z-Azozon | d-CITE[Azozon] | v-tell
2. Alazun wrote something like “Ahelan dances.”
Show answer
zalazun d~[zahelan vunurol] varuyol.
z-Alazun | d-CITE.about[z-Ahelan | v-dance] | v-write
3. Alazun talks to Sam. (a foreign name)
Show answer
zalazun vezuyol b@<Sam>.
z-Alazun | v-tell | b-NAME.OPAQUE["Sam"]
4. Don’t say “stop,” Azozon.
Show answer
yul zazozon v[vezohul].
y-prohibition | z-Azozon | v-CITE[v-stop]
5. Sam, does Azozon dance?
Show answer
y@<Sam> yel zazozon vunurol.
y-NAME.OPAQUE["Sam"] | y-question | z-Azozon | v-dance
6. Alazun walks (quietly).
Show answer
zalazun vowurol th(hugowul).
z-Alazun | v-walk | th-ASIDE[h-quiet]
Ageben → English
1. zalazun d@[egoren alazun] vayebel.
Show answer
z-Alazun | d-NAME.CITE[Egoren | Alazun] | v-see
Alazun saw Egoren Alazun. (the work)
2. zalazun v<google> degoren.
Show answer
z-Alazun | v-OPAQUE["google"] | d-Egoren
Alazun googled Egoren. (a borrowed word)
3. zahelan g(zahelar vunurol) vowurol.
Show answer
[z-Ahelan | g-ASIDE[z-←Ahelan | v-dance]] | v-walk
Ahelan, who dances, walks.
4. y<Bravo>.
Show answer
y-OPAQUE["Bravo"]
Bravo! (a foreign word)
5. zahelan d~@[egoren alazun] vunurol.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | d-NAME.CITE.about[Egoren | Alazun] | v-dance
Ahelan danced the piece called something like Egoren Alazun.
6. zahelan d[vezohul] vezuyol.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | d-CITE[v-stop] | v-tell
Ahelan said “stop.”
Pick one
1. Ahelan danced Egoren Alazun. (the dance) zahelan d@[egoren alazun] vunurol. or zahelan d[egoren alazun] vunurol.
Show answer
zahelan d@[egoren alazun] vunurol.
z-Ahelan | d-NAME.CITE[Egoren | Alazun] | v-dance
@ makes the span the work itself; bare brackets quote the words.
2. Azozon said “Alazun stops.” zazozon d[zalazun vezohul] vezuyol. or zazozon vezuyol th(zalazun vezohul).
Show answer
zazozon d[zalazun vezohul] vezuyol.
z-Azozon | d-CITE[z-Alazun | v-stop] | v-tell
What was said is the object, so it is a cite in /d/; an aside only comments on the sentence.
Fix it
1. Alazun danced Egoren. (a work with a one-word name) zalazun d@[egoren] vunurol.
Show answer
zalazun degoren vunurol.
z-Alazun | d-Egoren | v-dance
A one-word name is an ordinary -n word; @[…] is for titles of several words.
See also
- Scope islands: joins.md
- Identity vs parenthetical comment: predication.md
- Multipart names: word-endings.md
- Titled phrases (hook / join / span): word-endings.md
- Prefix-less citation outside a clause: word-endings.md