Topic
English now, about Azozon…, speaking of dogs…, and so, back to Azozon… say what the talk is about from here on, and every later he or it follows. Ageben makes that overt as a topic. Pointing back at someone already named, without setting what the talk is about, is in pronouns.
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Topic
A topic is set only by an /x/ word at the start of a sentence: /x/, then the thing the talk is about, then its ending. Nothing else sets one. Being named first, being the subject, and as for do not, so a listener or a tool can tell at every point what the topic is.
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
xazozon | introduce a person | now, about Azozon |
xodozel | introduce a kind | now, about a dog |
xazozor | return to an earlier topic: whole stem + -r | back to Azozon |
xevewom / xavedam | clear the topic (linkers) | next / by the way |
- No topic at the start. A conversation opens with none.
- Introduce. An
/x/word on -l, -m, or -n that is not one of the six sentence linkers makes its noun the topic. The noun keeps its ordinary ending, so the topic need not be a person or a name (xodozelnow, about a dog). Any compound works the same way: a hyphenated name (xazozoxalazun), a noun pair (xuwedaxubudalnow, about peanut butter), or a role compound (xwuzeduyolnow, about people who teach;xwuzeduyorreturns to it). It takes the same adjectives and hooks as any noun (xodozel om bazozonnow, about Azozon's dog), and it may stand alone as a whole sentence to announce a topic before saying anything about it. - Return.
/x/+ the whole stem of an earlier word + -r makes that thing the topic again. - Clear.
xevewomandxavedameach open a new frame. After either there is no topic until the next introduce or return. - Persist. The topic holds until rule 2, 3, or 4 changes it. Clause joins, other linkers, and agenda numbering leave it alone. A goodbye ends the conversation and clears it.
- Where. A topic word opens a sentence in your own talk, or in a quote. It never follows a clause join and never sits inside a dependent or an aside.
xazozon.x-Azozon
"Now, about Azozon."
/x/ takes the speaker, listener, interlocutors, or people in general like any noun: xuwen now, about me, xawan now, about you, xayan now, about the two of us, xeyen now, about people in general. A nonspecific umen cannot be a topic, because a topic is someone in particular. The topic is fixed to that person (or the address set) at the moment it is set, so after xawan, both speakers say zalen for the same person.
Every return is explicit. There is one topic, not a stack. Coming back from a side topic, or from a new frame, means naming the old topic again with xazozor.
A topic-setting /x/ word needs no voice of its own: the /x/ word itself tells the listener that the subject changed. The speech move is unchanged, so the listener hears a new subject, not a new act (periods).
The topic pronoun
The topic is referred to with one pronoun: ale star with -n, in /z/, /d/, or /b/. It stays the same in every role: zalen is the topic as subject, dalen as object, balen as extra noun. (cue: ⭐ the star of the talk, what everyone is looking at)
xazozon zalen dalazun vayebel. zalazur vezuyol balen. zalen veruvol.x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | d-Alazun | v-see . z-←Alazun | v-tell | b-TOPIC . z-TOPIC | v-run
"Now, about Azozon: Azozon sees Alazun. Alazun tells Azozon. Azozon runs."
A thing works as a topic the same way:
xodozel zazozon dalen vayebel. zalen veruvol. zazozor vehohel.x-dog | z-Azozon | d-TOPIC | v-see . z-TOPIC | v-run . z-←Azozon | v-sit
"Now, about a dog: Azozon sees it. It runs. Azozon sits."
With Azozon as the topic, Azozon sees themself is xazozon zalen vayebel dalen. (dwuzor still works), and Azozon's dog walks is xazozon zodozel om balen vowurol.: the topic's is the same in every role.
A dropped subject is never read as the topic. xazozon dalazun vayebel. leaves out who sees; it does not say Azozon sees. Write zalen whenever the topic is the doer (and dalen or balen in the other roles).
The topic pronoun is the topic itself, so it is never a topic word or a resume: xalen, xaler and zaler are not sentences. To start a new stretch on the same topic, name it again with xazozor.
A topic pronoun with no topic set is not a sentence. On -l and -m the star root keeps its ordinary senses: zalel a star, zalem visibility. -x adds associates: zalenx the topic and associates.
As for frames one sentence and leaves the topic alone:
xazozon zalen vowurol. hehugom blalazun zodozel veruvol. zalen vehohel.x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-walk . [h-as-for | bl-Alazun] | z-dog | v-run . z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Now, about Azozon: Azozon walks. As for Alazun, a dog runs. Azozon sits."
A side topic, then an explicit return:
xazozon zalen vowurol. xavedam zodozel veruvol. xazozor zalen vehohel.x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-walk . x-by-the-way | z-dog | v-run . x-←Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Now, about Azozon: Azozon walks. By the way, a dog runs. Back to Azozon: Azozon sits."
Without xazozor, the last sentence would have no topic and zalen would not be a sentence.
What a topic change resets
Introduce, return, and clear each start a new topic stretch.
| State | Resets? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Role pointer anchors | yes | zwuzer the latest doer and zwuzar the other one never reach into an earlier stretch. Someone from before is picked up by name or whole-stem -r. |
| Whole-stem -r | no | It is the explicit way back (xazozor), so it reaches across stretches. |
| Tags | no | A tag is assigned on purpose, so distance does not blur it, and placeholder reasoning often runs through a side topic. |
Agenda numbering (x#N, outline depth) | no | Agenda items sit above topics; one item may hold several. |
| Speech move, line of talk | no | They track the move and the line of talk, not people. |
xazozor while Azozon is already the topic is still a topic change: it starts a new stretch with the same topic. That lets you clear the role pointers' anchors (so, Azozon again) without leaving the topic.
Return versus introduce
Both set the topic. The difference is the ordinary difference between -r and a first mention:
| Ageben | Topic | English |
|---|---|---|
xazozon | Azozon | now, about Azozon (a name picks out the same person either way) |
xazozor | Azozon, the one mentioned before | back to Azozon |
xodozel | a dog, new to the talk | now, about a dog |
xodozer | the dog from before | back to the dog |
For names, the two pick the same person: choose by what the listener should hear, something new or a way back. For kinds, only the return reaches the earlier thing. A return that resumes a sentence linker (xahor after xahom) is only that linker again, and sets no topic.
A return makes no claim by itself, but it does set the topic, so leaving it out changes who zalen is, or leaves zalen with no topic, which is not a sentence.
zazozon vowurol. zalazun veruvol. xazozor zalen vehohel.z-Azozon | v-walk . z-Alazun | v-run . x-←Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Azozon walks. Alazun runs. Back to Azozon: Azozon sits."
Groups as the topic
-x goes on a topic word like on any noun: xazozonx makes Azozon and associates the topic, xodozelx makes some dogs the topic, and xazozorx returns to the group. zalen then means the group. -x on the pronoun (zalenx) still adds associates to whatever the topic is.
xodozelx zazozon dalen vayebel.x-dog-x | z-Azozon | d-TOPIC | v-see
"Now, about some dogs: Azozon sees them."
Topic words and dependents
A dependent is the sentence after a stand-in (darl, derl, dorl, durl, barl), and it belongs to the outer sentence. A topic word cannot sit inside one: a topic change is something you yourself do to the conversation, but the content of a dependent is not something you assert yourself. Change the topic before the outer sentence, or frame one clause with as for:
| Want | Use |
|---|---|
| Content about X, in one sentence | hehugom + /b/ as for inside the dependent: a frame for that clause only, no reset |
| Change the topic, then report | the /x/ word first: xalazun zazozon vezuyol darl zalen vowurol. Now, about Alazun: Azozon says that Alazun walks. |
| Report someone's own topic change | quote their wording |
A quote is someone else's talk, so it keeps its own topic and its own tags, and neither carries over into yours. An aside uses your stretch and never changes the topic. For a real side topic, end the sentence and use xavedam.
Reading the topic from inside a dependent is fine: zalen, tags, and role pointers inside the content resolve to your current stretch. Azozon says that the main one runs means your topic, not Azozon's. A clause join is not a dependent, but it keeps the clauses in one written sentence, so a topic word cannot follow one either: change the topic after a period.
Asking about the topic
To ask what the talk is about, ask which topic?: the fill-ask blank zar, then gehugom topic. The natural answer is a lone /x/ introduce or return, which sets the topic for both speakers.
yel zar gehugom.y-question | [z-wh | g-topic]
"Which topic?" / "What are we talking about?"
Compare with: English topic covers several jobs, and Ageben keeps them apart. The discourse topic is /x/. A sentence frame is hehugom as for. & contrasts one phrase (tone marks). zal / zom / zol rank among others. Only /x/ sets the topic.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a book club
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| as for | hehugom | #️⃣ from hash: a heading mark |
| by the way | xavedam | 🍟 from fries: a side dish, not the main course |
| topic | alen | ⭐ from star: the star of the talk |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| I | uwen |
| you | awan |
| write | varuyol |
| see | vayebel |
| tell | vezuyol |
| book | anal |
English → Ageben
1. Now, about Azozon: Azozon writes. Alazun sees Azozon.
Show answer
xazozon zalen varuyol. zalazun dalen vayebel.
x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-write . z-Alazun | d-TOPIC | v-see
2. As for the book, Alazun writes.
Show answer
hehugom blanal zalazun varuyol.
[h-as-for | bl-book] | z-Alazun | v-write
3. Now, about some books: Azozon sees them.
Show answer
xanalx zazozon dalen vayebel.
x-book-x | z-Azozon | d-TOPIC | v-see
4. Now, about me: I write.
Show answer
xuwen zalen varuyol.
x-speaker | z-TOPIC | v-write
5. Now, about Alazun: Azozon says that Alazun writes.
Show answer
xalazun zazozon vezuyol darl zalen varuyol.
x-Alazun | z-Azozon | v-tell | d-that-clause | z-TOPIC | v-write
6. Azozon writes. Alazun tells. Back to Azozon: Azozon writes.
Show answer
zazozon varuyol. zalazun vezuyol. xazozor zalen varuyol.
z-Azozon | v-write . z-Alazun | v-tell . x-←Azozon | z-TOPIC | v-write
Ageben → English
1. xalazun zalen varuyol. xavedam zazozon danal vayebel. xalazur zalen vezuyol.
Show answer
x-Alazun | z-TOPIC | v-write . x-by-the-way | z-Azozon | d-book | v-see . x-←Alazun | z-TOPIC | v-tell
Now, about Alazun: Alazun writes. By the way, Azozon sees a book. Back to Alazun: Alazun tells.
2. yel zar gehugom.
Show answer
y-question | [z-wh | g-topic]
Which topic? / What are we talking about?
3. xawan zalen varuyol.
Show answer
x-listener | z-TOPIC | v-write
Now, about you: you write.
4. xazozon zalen danal vayebel.
Show answer
x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | d-book | v-see
Now, about Azozon: Azozon sees a book.
5. xanal zazozon dalen vayebel.
Show answer
x-book | z-Azozon | d-TOPIC | v-see
Now, about a book: Azozon sees it.
6. xazozonx zalen varuyol.
Show answer
x-Azozon-x | z-TOPIC | v-write
Now, about Azozon and associates: they write.
Pick one
1. Back to the book. (the book already named) xanar. or xanal.
Show answer
xanar.
x-←book
A return uses -r; xanal would introduce a book, a new one.
Fix it
1. Now, about Azozon: Azozon sees Alazun. xazozon dalazun vayebel.
Show answer
xazozon zalen dalazun vayebel.
x-Azozon | z-TOPIC | d-Alazun | v-see
A dropped subject is never the topic: write zalen when the topic is the one who sees.
See also
- Pointing back: pronouns.md
- Sentence linkers: dependents.md