Prepositions, pronouns, and other particles
Xaîni grammarians use the term borokka, usually translated as particles, to describe those parts of speech which are not verbs, nouns or adjectives. The term thus includes the verbal maththa and the noun qualifiers already described, as well as the particles corresponding to personal pronouns, and things such as the complex system of vocatives, and particles which act like prepositions.
Pre- and postpositions
There is nothing particularly unusual about the prepositions and postpositions used in xathmel except for the fact that both are used: human deep grammar appears to be so constructed that our languages stick to one or the other. As with any language, however, there may be some difficulty in selecting the appropriate pre(post)position, as the boundaries of application tend to vary from language to language.
Some common particles used as prepositions:
te into, towards
the within, in
ma out of
mai outside
geixr out in all directions
yoi with
xan, xanna with, like
taiya by means of
sha upon, onto
umed among
aikoshab until now; before this moment
aishuab from now on, from henceforth
alka instead of
anele doi beside; next to
arendo before (time)
artando after (time)
enden between
endo before (space); in front of
im under
koshab before then; prior to that time
pya without
satar at (the time of)
shuab from that time, since then
tando after (space); behind
Some common postpositional particles:
meeden thus, in such a fashion
ek and, as well as
tsiur inwards from all directions
The particle ek is perhaps more properly viewed as a conjunction, but as indicated it occurs at the end of the word or phrase to which it applies
ko teif ek a woman and a child.
The conjunction particle edre means 'or' (ko edre sta a woman or a man) but when combined with a terminal ek the meaning is roughly equivalent to 'but': ko velindarngye edre sta ek it is not a woman but a man.
The personal pronouns
The agglutinating grammar employs 207 different personal pronouns, varying with caste. However, baxathmel only uses a restricted subset of these. The personal pronouns of the middle grammar are:
si (emphatic form sivis) - I
ilith (emphatic form ithinna) - you ('azeran-form)
ildith (emphatic form dithinna) - you (non-'azeran form)
lo (emphatic form lossu) - she
la (emphatic form lassi) - he
nein (emphatic form neisenna) - we
umen (emphatic form usumen) - you
ira (emphatic form rianna) - they
The emphatic forms have a general meaning something like English myself, yourself, etc. ma'ammu si sivis e-karra I myself saw the fire.
The vocative and the article
Xathmel employs an elaborate system of vocatives; certain specialised vocatives also correspond roughly to the article in European languages. Vocatives are prefixed to the name of the person addressed, or, since they may also be used for emphasis, to the word to which they apply. The list below is by no means exhaustive.
ya- neutral level vocative
ai- polite level vocative
aiya- honorific vocative
aiyaxa- extreme honorific vocative
ma- vocative of instruction (used from teacher to pupil)
sa- vocative of instruction (pupil to teacher)
ja- vocative used to members of the warrior/administrator/poet caste
ka- vocative used to members of the artisan/artist/scientist caste
wei- vocative used to members of the servant/doctor/priest caste
Two specialised forms of the vocative are used as noun articles. These are x- and e-, and their correct use is something of an art. Generally speaking they add a degree of emphasis to the noun, and e- is the more emphatic of the two. However, sometimes one will be preferred over the other simply because it sounds better in the context of the sentence, breaking up an unfortunate consonant cluster by the use of e- or adding a satisfying (to Xaîni ears) sibilance by the use of
x-. In poetic language the article vocatives have occasionally been combined with the extra emphasis of the standard vocatives; thus in the famous epigram:
x'aithando na mash marimo
iletshun salmar taiya ri
(Oh the beauty of the world we see, how it is seasoned with sorrow !) the first word, thando, beauty, has two vocatives attached and most nearly translates as 'the oh! beauty'.
Some further examples of Xaîni poetry are available.