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Speech moves
Start a new turn with /y/: call someone, make a conventional call, or set the turn as a statement, question, command, or prohibition.
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Beginner
Turn (/y/): start a new speech move
A turn is one speech move: a statement, question, command, or other act, including talking only to yourself. /y/ starts a new turn.
At the start of a turn, write its act word immediately before the body (subject, object, verb, and so on), when you write one. A /y/ word that calls someone or makes a conventional call can come first; a /y/ after a finished body starts the next turn.
Call someone (/y/ + name)
To call someone into the turn, put /y/ before their name, which ends in -n. The call can be the whole turn or come before a clause. A /y/ word that ends in -n is always a call.
yalahen.y-Alahen
"Alahen!" (calling Alahen)
To call someone by what they are (Waiter!, Doctor!), use the kind as a title: it still ends in -n, so yagavon calls the guard. An occupation title is a role compound with -n.
Compare with: a greeting is the speaker’s name as a citation (n.). Calling Alahen uses /y/; saying Alahen walks uses /z/ (zazawan vowogal).
Interjections: reactions
An interjection is a short reaction or exclamation that stands on its own. Write the reaction under /y/ with an ordinary ending: -l for the everyday sense, -m for the abstract sense, just as on any first mention.
yezul.y-surprise
"Surprise!"
yezum.y-amazement
"Amazing!"
The ending tells a reaction from a call: -n calls someone (yalahen, yagavon), and -l / -m give the reaction itself. So yagavol is Guard! shouted as an alarm, and yagavon calls the guard over.
Speech act: statement, question, command
Each turn has one speech act: whether you are stating, asking, commanding, or similar. The default statement word is yal. A period already marks a statement, so you can leave yal out when it is clear.
When the turn is not a statement, put its /y/ act word immediately before the body:
yel vowogal.y-command | v-walk
"Walk!"
The vowel gives the act word its setting. The same four vowel cues appear in many small word families: a add / hold, o one / pick, e order / instruct, u undo / take back. Joins, hooks, restrictors, stand-ins, ability (xa), sake and scope words, span fences and presence on a name all reuse them.
| Agazan | Use | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| yal | statement (often omitted) | a ≈ add (hold the claim) |
| yol | question: yes/no and fill-in ask | o ≈ one (pick from a menu) |
| yel | command / instruction | e ≈ order (do this) |
| yul | prohibition: don’t… | u ≈ undo (take the action back) |
Translation practice
Short drills for Beginner. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a theater foyer
Roots used here:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| surprise | ezul |
| sit | vehahel |
| sneak | vezevul |
| run | varahal |
English → Agazan
1. Ahaben! (calling Ahaben)
Show answer
yahaben.
y-Ahaben
2. Don’t sneak.
Show answer
yul vezevul.
y-prohibition | v-sneak
3. Surprise! (as a reaction)
Show answer
yezul.
y-surprise
Agazan → English
1. yazawan.
Show answer
y-Azawan
Azawan! (calling Azawan)
2. yol zazawan vehahel.
Show answer
y-question | z-Azawan | v-sit
Does Azawan sit?
3. yel varahal.
Show answer
y-command | v-run
Run!
Intermediate
Reminder:
Intermediate sections assume you have read the beginner sections of every page.
Speech act: firm and soft
You already write whether a turn is a statement, question, command, or prohibition. The extra choice here is how firmly you mean it.
The act word is y + vowel + ending. The vowel sets the act (a statement, o question, e command, u prohibition). -l stands behind the act; -m leaves it open (soft / offered); -r marks an act you have just formed or mean only for now. Write the act word when the setting is not a default statement. A period still lets you omit yal.
yam zazawan vowogal.y-soft-statement | z-Azawan | v-walk
"For what it's worth, Azawan walks."
Compare with: MAY (thovum) marks the scene as could be. yam is still a statement; you put it forward without insisting the other person take it up.
| Agazan | Use | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| yal | statement: claim or description | a add + -l: stand behind |
| yam | soft statement: offered, not insisted (for what it's worth) | a add + -m: hold, but leave it open |
| yol | question: yes/no and fill-in ask | o one / menu + -l: pick an answer |
| yom | soft question: wonder, gentle ask, offer-like | o menu + -m: ask without pinning |
| yel | command: instruction | e order + -l: do this |
| yem | request: soft directive (please…) | e order + -m: ask, don’t command |
| yul | prohibition: don’t… (firm) | u undo + -l: take the action back |
| yum | soft prohibition: please don’t… / I’d rather you not… | u undo + -m: prefer they don’t |
For let's, make a soft request with inclusive we, aha (special pronouns), as the subject. Let's not is the soft prohibition.
yem zahan vowogal.y-request | z-interlocutors | v-walk
"Let's walk."
yum zahan vezebal.y-soft-prohibition | z-interlocutors | v-sleep
"Let's not sleep."
A hook (al / am / …) may sit among the opening /y/ words, immediately before the act word, or before a body that defaults to a statement.
Just formed or for now (-r)
-r marks an act you just formed or mean only for now, the same as -r on a polar stance: a first take you have not checked, or a move you expect to revisit.
| Agazan | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| yar | first-take statement: said as you think it, not yet checked | off the top of my head / at first glance | a add + -r: a claim just formed |
| yor | passing question: it just occurred to you | wait, …? / quick question | o menu + -r: an ask that just came up |
| yer | command for now: do this until told otherwise | for now, … / go ahead and … for now | e order + -r: an instruction you expect to revisit |
| yur | hold off: don't, for now | hold off on … / don't … yet | u undo + -r: take the action back, for now |
yur vowogal.y-hold-off | v-walk
"Hold off on walking for now."
yar zazawan vowogal.y-first-take | z-Azawan | v-walk
"Off the top of my head, Azawan walks."
Emphatic prohibition
When a missed don't would be dangerous, say yul twice among the opening /y/ words. The repeat makes the prohibition louder; it never cancels it. Repeat only the opening act word: a yul after the body starts a new turn instead of adding emphasis.
yul yul vezevul.y-prohibition | y-prohibition | v-sneak
"Don't sneak. I mean it."
Tone marks
A tone mark shows how you feel, or what you stress, while you say something. It changes your voice only. It never changes the speech act (that is the act word's job), and a sentence still ends in a period.
| Mark | Feeling | Voice | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
! | Strong feeling (excited, upset: the words say which) | Louder, stressed | English ! |
!! | Stronger still | Louder again | Doubled = more |
? | Unsure about it | Rising, tentative | English (?) after a doubtful word |
?! | Surprised and doubtful | Rising and loud | Wait, what?! |
% | Joking, teasing (not meant literally) | Light, smiling | A wink |
& | Contrast: this one, not another | Stressed and slowed | and not the other |
; | Warm, affectionate | Soft, gentle | A soft pause |
Write the mark before what it colors, so you see the tone before you say the words:
| Written | Colors |
|---|---|
Attached to a word: !zazawan | that word |
Attached to a span: !d[ … ] | the span |
Standing alone, then a space: ! zazawan … | the rest of the sentence, up to the period |
zazawan vahahal ?dodogal.z-Azawan | v-see | ?d-dog
"Azawan saw a dog (?)." (unsure about just dog).
! zazawan vowogal.! | z-Azawan | v-walk
"Azawan walks!"
zazawan vahahal &dodogal.z-Azawan | v-see | &d-dog
"Azawan saw a dog." (a dog, not something else).
The other marks work the same way:
zazawan !!vowogal.z-Azawan | !!v-walk
"Azawan walks!!"
?! zalahen vahahal dodogal.?! | z-Alahen | v-see | d-dog
"Alahen saw a dog?!"
% zazawan vowogal.% | z-Azawan | v-walk
"Azawan walks." (joking)
;zalahen vahahal dodogal.;z-Alahen | v-see | d-dog
"Dear Alahen saw a dog."
A mark on a span colors all of it:
zazawan ?d[azawan] vezebel.z-Azawan | ?d-CITE[Azawan] | v-tell
"Azawan said “Azawan” (?)." (unsure about just the quoted word).
Compare with: yol asks a question; ? only sounds unsure. A tone mark shows the feeling; emotion compose states it as a claim, and the two can share a sentence.
- A mark may go on any word, including act words and sentence linkers. Attached to a scope island, it colors the whole island.
- Only
!,!!,?,?!,%,&, and;are marks. Other stacks (!?,??,%!) are not, and neither are marks in a row with a space between (! !). &stresses by voice alone. To highlight with grammar, move the word to the front (word order).- A mark on a word inside a colored span or sentence overrides it for that word.
- Before a span fence, the mark is your tone about the quote. Inside the fence, it is part of what is quoted (the original speaker's tone).
- Speech adds no syllables: you voice the mark over its words.
Speech manner (frankly / to be clear)
A tone mark changes only your voice. To say how you are speaking, use a stance word (/th/, clause) from an ordinary root. Like any stance word, it may sit anywhere in the sentence; the start is usual.
| Agazan | English | Root |
|---|---|---|
thagazam | to be clear / to put it plainly | clarity |
thaveham | frankly / honestly / to tell the truth | revelation |
thagazam zazawan vowogal.th-clarity | z-Azawan | v-walk
"To be clear, Azawan walks."
thaveham zalahen vezebal.th-revelation | z-Alahen | v-sleep
"Honestly, Alahen is sleeping."
Compare with: the stance word describes your way of saying the claim, not the action. /h/ on the same root (hagazam) would describe how the action itself is done.
Number as interjection
A number word in /y/ is a call-out (Three more!, a score). It can sit with the other opening /y/ words, before the act word, or stand alone as its own turn. Readings by marker: numbers.
Translation practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a music rehearsal
Roots used here:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| trumpet | adawol |
| sit | vehahel |
| stand | vazadol |
| see | vahahal |
| tell | vezebel |
| sneak | vezevul |
English → Agazan
1. For what it's worth, Azawan sits.
Show answer
yam zazawan vehahel.
y-soft-statement | z-Azawan | v-sit
2. Does Ahaben see a trumpet, perhaps?
Show answer
yom zahaben dadawol vahahal.
y-soft-question | z-Ahaben | d-trumpet | v-see
3. Please stand.
Show answer
yem vazadol.
y-request | v-stand
4. Please don’t sneak.
Show answer
yum vezevul.
y-soft-prohibition | v-sneak
5. For what it's worth, Alahen sees a trumpet.
Show answer
yam zalahen dadawol vahahal.
y-soft-statement | z-Alahen | d-trumpet | v-see
6. Please tell Ahaben.
Show answer
yem bahaben vezebel.
y-request | b-Ahaben | v-tell
7. Azawan sees a trumpet (a trumpet, not something else).
Show answer
zazawan vahahal &dadawol.
z-Azawan | v-see | &d-trumpet
8. Ahaben sneaks?!
Show answer
?! zahaben vezevul.
?! | z-Ahaben | v-sneak
9. Hold off on sneaking for now.
Show answer
yur vezevul.
y-hold-off | v-sneak
Agazan → English
1. yam zazawan vehahel.
Show answer
y-soft-statement | z-Azawan | v-sit
For what it's worth, Azawan sits.
2. yom zahaben dadawol vahahal.
Show answer
y-soft-question | z-Ahaben | d-trumpet | v-see
Does Ahaben see a trumpet, perhaps?
3. yem vazadol.
Show answer
y-request | v-stand
Please stand.
4. yum vezevul.
Show answer
y-soft-prohibition | v-sneak
Please don’t sneak.
5. yam zalahen dadawol vahahal.
Show answer
y-soft-statement | z-Alahen | d-trumpet | v-see
For what it's worth, Alahen sees a trumpet.
6. yem bahaben vezebel.
Show answer
y-request | b-Ahaben | v-tell
Please tell Ahaben.
7. % zalahen vezevul.
Show answer
% | z-Alahen | v-sneak
Alahen sneaks. (joking)
8. yem !vazadol.
Show answer
y-request | !v-stand
Please, stand!
9. yar zahaben vazadol.
Show answer
y-first-take | z-Ahaben | v-stand
Off the top of my head, Ahaben stands.