Angos uses the Latin script with no diacritics. The use of capital letters is not obligatory at the beginning of a sentence or for proper nouns, but they may be used for distinction or emphasis if needed. The name of each consonant ends in "e", and the name of each vowel is just the vowel's sound (a, be, ce, de, e, fe, ge...). The chart below shows each letter with its associated International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol, and an example sound in English.

Since not all languages have the same sound systems, there are some variations that are allowable for some letters. /h/ may also be pronounced /x/ as in Scots “loch” or German “doch”. /l/ may be pronounced as /r/ (a flap or trill). ^[1]✧

Diphthongs can occur as follows:

aw [aw, aʊ]
cow, ouch

ay [aj, aɪ]

eye, my

oy [oj, oɪ]

boy, join

Phonotactics and Phonaesthetics

In Angos, special attention has been given to the phonaesthetics, or how pleasing the language sounds. To maintain this feature, there are several guidelines to follow as far as phonotactics, or how sounds go together.

Syllable structure requires a vowel nucleus, surrounded by semivowels (Y and W) and/or consonants. However, there are no consonant clusters in Angos. The syllable frame can be visualized as such:

(Consonant) (Semivowel) Vowel (Semivowel) (Consonant)

So a word like cinpoa “practice” has 3 syllables: [cin.PO.a]. The liquid consonant (L) is unique, it can not be next to a non-semivowel consonant in any circumstance.

If compounded roots (Section 10) break this phonological rule, an unmarked vowel sound [e] should be placed between the roots to maintain phonaesthetics:

yang-sesono [YAN.ge.se.SO.no]

sol-tini [SO.le.TI.ni]

ang-kaela [AN.ge.ka.E.la]

In regards to compounding and phonotactics, a root beginning with a vowel has an unmarked glottal stop before it, which is treated as a consonant. So sol-ayni “first” is not [SO.lay.ni], but rather [SO.le.ay.ni]. In cases where the same sound occurs next to each other, they are both still pronounced:

ays-sesono [AYS.se.SO.no]

bisaa [bi.SA.a]

cinpoa

Practice spelling out and saying each of these le kalimo (words). Syllables are separated by a period, and stress is indicated in capital letters (we’ll talk more about stress in a bit):

aysi (AY.si) - cold

ake (A.ke) - under

awkela (aw.KE.la) - choose

bato (BA.to) - rock

ceu (CE.u) - again

dala (DA.la) - give

efo (E.fo) - area

ekuno (e.KU.no) - group

fe (FE) - from

gio (GI.o) - foot

hilios (hi.LI.os) - city

istinu (is.TI.nu) - very, truly

ye (YE) - and, also

nae (NA.e)- no, not

oyso (OY.so) - sheep

okon (O.kon) - eight

panio (pa.NI.o) - water

se (SE) - yes

tae (TA.e) - there is/are

usema (u.SE.ma) - laugh

wo (WO) - I, me

tahado (Challenge)

What do these le ideo (sentences) mean? Note: there is no verb “to be” in Angos

tae okon bato

wo nae fe hilios

ekuno ceu usema

bato ake gio

panio istinu aysi

Section 2

Part of Speech Classifiers

In Angos, tae (there are) four categories of kalimo: roots, numbers, particles, and compounds. Angos uses a system of letter classifiers affixed to the root to designate the part of speech of a kalimo in a sentence.^[2]✧

Nouns end in O
Verbs end in A
Noun-qualities (adjectives) end in I
Verb-qualities (adverbs) end in U

Here is an example of the root ot- with all vowel classifiers and possible meanings.

oto

fire-O^[3]✧

fire

ota

fire-A

burn, set fire to

oti

fire-I

hot, glowing, flame-like

otu

fire-U

hotly, as a fire would do

Stress

Back to stress patterns! In Angos, stress is always on the last syllable of the root word, before the part of speech modifier. So, for example: panio -> pa-NI-o. Roots ending in a consonant will naturally combine it with the classifier, so the stress-syllable pattern will instead look like: istinu -> is-TI-nu.

natuli and om-sanati

le kalimo are split into two aspects: natuli (natural) and om-sanati (constructed). The natuli aspect is unmarked. The om-sanati aspect is marked with –s after the vowel classifier, and signifies that the root is human-made. The use of this distinction is to show a shared characteristic between the words, such as look or function. The meaning of the om-sanati aspect depends on context in which it is used. This marker is not obligatory, but can be used to emphasize different meanings in different contexts.^[4]✧

leiso (shelter, cave, canopy) vs. leisos (house, building for shelter)
fao (tree) vs. faos (branched diagram, plastic tree)
ayso (ice) vs. aysos (ice cube, shaved ice)

kafeo “coffee (bean)” vs. kafeos “coffee (that has been prepared or processed)”

panio “water (from nature)” vs. panios “water (from a municipal tap or bottle)”

otos

fire-O-S

fire (artificial flame)

otas

fire-A-S

burn (as a result of humans), set fire to (via an artificial method)

otis

fire-I-S

hot (artificially)

otus

fire-U-S

hotly (via an artificial method)

Names

Proper nouns are treated like any other roots. They can be fully inflected as shown below. The use of these inflections is mostly stylistic, to replace prepositions or to adjust rhyme and meter. It is recommended that context be clear if these inflections are used:

cono - John
cona - do something associated with John
coni - John’s; like John
conu - like John does

becingo - Beijing
becinga - do an action associated with Beijing, go to Beijing
becingi - Beijing’s; like Beijing
becingu - like Beijing does

For transcribing names, they should be within the acceptable phonological structures for Angos. The name in its language of origin is preferred (ex. Nippon over Japan) Any sound that does not occur in Angos should be given the closest approximation.

cinpoa

anya - hello/goodbye

sefame - let’s, should

naefame - let’s not, should not

bati - rock-like, solid

fai - tree-like, tall

wio - eye

wia - eye-action, see

buluno - nose

buluna - nose-action, smell

kalo - favor

kala - favor-action, like, enjoy, prefer

kali - favor-like, good,

tahado

esa (put) the meaning in the blanks. Note: there can be different meanings depending on context, so try and think of different contexts that the words can be in to get your answer.

lafo - ant gio - foot alo - food kafeos - coffee

lafi - ? gia - ? ala - ? kafeas - ?

kaso - product gatio - speed cayo - tea

kasa - make, produce gatia - ? cayos - ?

kasas - ? gatii - ? cayas - ?

gatiu - ? cayi - ?

Section 3

Nouns

Nouns in Angos are static; they do not change for definitiveness, number, or grammatical case. Articles (a/an, the) are not present in Angos. Instead, determiners (this, that, some, any, etc.) are used to indicate definitiveness (we’ll get to these later). Plural is emphasized with the particle le. The plural marker is not obligatory if number can be understood from context.

fao

tree-O
a/the tree(s)

le fao

[pl] tree-O
trees

don fao

2 tree-O

two trees

Pronouns

Following the use of the noun ending –o and the plural particle le, pronouns have the following configuration:

1p-O^[5]

I, me

le wo

[pl] 1p-O

we, us (there is no distinction for inclusive/exclusive)

2p-O

you (there is no distinction for formal/informal)

le to

[pl] 2p-O

you all

3p-O

he/she/they/it, him, her, them)

le lo

[pl] 3p-O

they, them

As you might have noticed, these roots also can be used with other part of speech classifiers. Personal pronouns can be formed with the ending -i, verbs with -a, and adverbs with -u.

1p-I

1p-A

me-action, “do what I’m doing” or “doing my own thing”

1p-U

me-action-quality, “[do something] as I do”

Gender

Although nae tae (there is not) obligatory gender assignment, the following roots can be compounded with pronouns to denote gender:

nao

male-O

male

na-omo

male-person-O

man

nio

female-O

female

ni-omo

female-person-O

woman

kwio

nonbinary-O

nonbinary

kwi-omo

nonbinary-person-O

nonbinary/genderqueer person

The generic pronoun is expressed with the word omo “person”.

cinpoa

helea - help

lotane - please

milo - thanks

dimesi - disdain-quality, bad

bisaa - possibility-action, can, able to

finda - discovery-action, look for, find

gema - game-action, play

leisa - shelter-action, reside

nife - near

tesemo - dog

mao - cat

tahado

What do these le ideo mean?

wo mila to

lo nae bisaa ala

to naefame tesemu ala

bisau tae mao ake leisos

le to sefame wa

omo bisaa finda lo nife le li fao

wi tesemo dimesa ti mao

Section 4

Verbs

Because nae tae inherent verb roots in Angos, the meaning of a kod-kalimo (verb) depends on the context of the noun root used. For example, ota, from the root ot- meaning "fire", does not inherently mean "burn". Instead, it is any action related to the use of "fire" in context.

fao ota
tree-O fire-A

The tree is burning

wo ota momos
1p-O fire-A wax-O-S

I light the candle (in this sense, applying fire to something)

As you could probably tell by now, le kod-kalimo do not conjugate for person, number, tense, aspect, or mood. They go after the subject of the sentence and precede the object.

wo ala

1p-O food-A

I eat/I am eating.

wo ala tofao

1p-O food-A apple-O
I eat/am eating an apple.

le to ala tofao

[pl] 2p-O apple-O

You all eat/are eating an apple.

Reflexivity

Reflexivity (when an action is directed back to the subject) can be expressed or emphasized with the action-quality idu:

wo idu iska

1p-O self-U impact-A
I hit myself.

Tense

The present tense is unmarked. The general past is indicated by the particle me. The general future is indicated by ke. These particles precede kod-kalimo.

wo me ala
1p-O [past] food-A

I ate.

wo ke ala
1p-O [fut] food-A

I will eat.

Imperatives

The imperatives are simply kod-kalimo form without a subject. Negative commands will have nae before them.

        ala!
        Eat!

        nae ala!
        Don’t eat!

Adjectives and Adverbs

gunam-kalimo (adjectives) describe a shared quality or possession. The shared qualities may vary depending on context. For example, oti (from the root ot “fire”) could mean “hot”, “flame-like”, “red-orange”, or even “quick-spreading”, depending on context. Adjectives may take the function of nouns, making whatever they modify understood in context:

wo desa lafi
1p-O desire-A ant-I

I want the small [one]

kod-gunam-kalimo (adverbs) describe the manner in which something is done. They are derived in the same way as adjectives, but may only modify kod-kalimo, gunam-kalimo, or other kod-gunam-kalimo.

mao ala nesumo
        cat-O food-A mouse-O
        The cat eats the mouse

        bali mao gatiu ala lafi nesumo
        mountain-I cat-O speed-U food-A ant-I mouse-O

The huge cat quickly eats the small mouse

For modal kod-kalimo such as bisaa "can" or desa "want", the secondary kod-kalimo (if there is one), is placed after the modal. Descriptors will still precede each of the kod-kalimo.

to bisaa aksala
2p-O ability-A letter-A

You can write

to bisaa gatiu aksala
2p-O ability-A speed-U letter-A

You can write quickly

cinpoa

pasua - pause-action, stop

hio - day, daytime

osko - dark, night

kama - work-action, work

oyo - place

desa - desire-action, want

elo - ear

ine - in, inside

hie - at (temporal)

musiko - music

musika - music-action, play music, listen to music

balaki - happiness-quality, happy

namo - name

de - to, at

gi-golos - football/soccer

tahado

ang-kaela (translate) this lafi text.

ni-li namo Malio. malio kama ine hilios. ni-lo kala ela musiko. hie hio, malio kala gi-golas. hie osko, malio kala kasa alo ye sona. Fofo li tesemo. lafi fofo istinu balaki.

Section 5

Prepositions

es-kalimo (prepositions) link words in a sentence with a spatial or temporal relationship.

tesemo nife fao

dog-O near tree-O

The dog is near the tree

wo de leisos

1p-O at shelter-O-S

I am at the house

dalo fe wo

gift-O from 1p-O

The gift is from me

es-kalimo are unique in that they may be inflected with a vowel classifier to denote a part of speech related to the preposition, but unlike normal roots, the ‘e’ at the end of the preposition is kept:

        nifeo – the near one
        nifea – go near, put near
        nifei – nearby
        nifeu – nearly, almost

wo dea leisos

1p-O to-A shelter-O-S

I go to the house

mao dafea fao

cat-O up-A tree-O

The cat climbs the tree

na-lo me wesea

male-3p-O [past] away-A

He went away

Temporal es-kalimo are distinguished from spatial es-kalimo with the prefix hi-:

        fe – from
        hife – since
        ante – in front of
        hiante – until, before

Prepositional Phrases

es-kalim-taylo (prepositional phrases) are formed with es-kalimo, modifiers of the object, then the object(s) of the es-kalimo. es-kalim-taylo may only begin or end a sentence. If placed at the beginning, es-kalim-taylo may be separated from the main clause by a comma.

ine leisos, mao ala nesumo
in shelter-O-S, cat-O food-A

In the house, the cat eats the mouse

mao ala nesumo ine leisos
cat-O food-A mouse-O in shelter-O-S

The cat eats the mouse in the house

le es-kalimo mwe and tongwe can both be translated to “with”, but mwe is used strictly with association, while tongwe is used for instrumental purposes.

wo gia mwe wi akio
1p-O foot-A with 1p-I friend-O

I walk with my friend

wo aksala tongwe ink-olos
1p-O letter-A with ink-tool-O-S

I write with a pen

Existential Particle tae

The existential particle tae is a unique particle. The closest English translation is “there is” or “there are”. It may be accompanied by tense particles.

tae tin tofao
exist 3 apple-O

There are three apples

me tae tin tofao
[past] exist 3 apple-O

There were three apples

ke tae tin tofao
[fut] exist 3 apple-O

There will be three apples

This particle is also used to express possession, since nae tae Angos verb “to have”.

de wo, tae mao
to 1p-O [exist] cat-O

I have a cat

tae tesemo de to

[exist] dog-O to 2p-O

You have a dog

de Cono, tae tin anako

to John exist 3 child-O

John has three children

cinpoa

akio - friend

anako - child

yino - moon

yango - sun

dafe - on, on top, above

wese - away from, off

inale - through

dafale - over

pogodo - weather

tepulo - heat

sesono - season

yang-sesono - Summer

ays-sesono - Winter

tahado

ang-kaela fi (this) lafi text.

hie yang-sesono, tae sefe tepuli pogodo. hie yang-sesono, malio kala wesea li leisos. lo kala inea panio. hie ays-sesono, ke tae aysi pogodo. hie ays-sesono, fofo sona nife otos ye lo istinu balaki ine tepuli leisos!

Section 6

Conjunctions

soyus-kalimo (conjunctions) link together two clauses and are split into two sub-groups: coordinating and subordinating. Coordinating conjunctions may be used to link words or clauses. Between the contents of lists, the conjunction ye is still obligatory if the contents are three or more.

to maya de tofao ye nesteos
2p-O deal-A to apple-O and liquid-O-S

You buy an apple and a drink

de to, tae mao ye tesemo ye ikano
to 2p-O exist cat-O and dog-O and fish-O

You have a cat, a dog, and a fish

The coordinating conjunction oe is also obligatory between each listed item.

to bisaa maya de tofao oe nesteos oe nano
2p-O ability-A deal-A to apple-O or liquid-O-S or bread-O

You can buy an apple, a drink, or bread

        Subordinating conjunctions require that the following clause be dependent on another clause. Note that the duplication of the verb in the subordinate clause is optional.

        wo ke ala isue wo talua (ala)
        1p-O [fut] food-A because 1p-O need-A (food-A)

I will eat because I must (eat)

wo ke ala be wo talua (ala)
1p-O [fut] food-A if 1p-O need-A (food-A)

I will eat if I must (eat)

        You can also move the dependent clause to the front and include the adverb sayu (therefore) in the following independent clause:

        isue wo talua, wo sayu ke (ala)
        because 1p-O need-A 1p-O result-U [fut] (food-A)

Because I have to, I will eat

be wo talua, wo sayu ke ala
if 1p-O need-A 1p-O result-U [fut] food-A

If I have to, I will therefore eat

Numbers

All numbers in Angos end in -n, but may also be inflected further with part-of-speech classifiers.

        ayn - one (of something)
        ayno - the only one
        ayna - do something singularly/one at a time
        ayni/aynu - lone, only

        0 - nun
        1 - ayn
        2 - don
        3 - tin
        4 - kan
        5 - ken
        6 - sen
        7 - sun
        8 - okon
        9 - nowan
        10 - den
        11 - den-ayn
        12 - den-don
        ...

20 - don-den
21 - don-den-ayn
...

100 - (ayn) syen
        121 - ayn-syen-don-den-ayn
        1000 - (ayn) syon
        1121 - (ayn)-syon-(ayn)-syen-don-den-ayn
        10,000 - den-syon
        100,000 - (ayn) syen-syon
        million - eseon
        billion - ospen
        trillion - ohanen
        quadrillion – lanun
        infinity - ikwin

        Ordinal numbers expressed with the root sol- (series) compounded to the number, then with the number being inflected. These may be abbreviated in the format:
s + # + (classifier)

        wo sol-tino
        1p-O series-3-O

I am the third one

wo sol-doni omo
1p-O series-2-I person-O

I am the second person

wo ke s1u ala
1p-O [fut] series-1-U food-A

I will eat first

wo s5o
1p-O series-5-O

I am the fifth one

cinpoa

andi - other-quality, another

yada - memory-action, know, remember

di - that, yonder

mice - but

ilema - apology-action, apologize

sabaho - morning

ceu - instance-action-quality, again

oke - okay

igela - jump

tahado

ang-kaela fi bukos (text)

fofo malii sol-ayni tesemo. mice malio desa maya de sol-doni tesemo isue fofo kala gema mwe le andi tesemo. be tae andi tesemo, fofo sayu ke sele balaki. malii akio meyo yada may-oyos. de di may-oyos, malio bisaa maya de li sol-doni tesemo. hie sabaho, malio ye meyo ye fofo me gia de may-oyos. mice de fi may-oyos, tae syen tesemo!

Section 7

Indirect Objects

Indirect object phrases are formed with the preposition de, and are placed after the direct object if applicable. This is for things that are not the primary object of the verb, but are affected by it.

wo dala de to

1p-O gift-A to 2p-O

I give you a gift

wo dala bukos de to

1p-O gift-A text-O-S to 2p-O

I give you a book

wo fema de to

1p-O lesson-A to 2p-O

I teach you

wo fema espan-ango de to
1p-O lesson-A Spain-language-O to 2p-O

I teach you Spanish

Passive Voice

The passive voice in Angos is formed with the particle te, placed immediately in front of the verb. This is a way of making an object the topic or focus of the sentence.

kalimo te aksala dafe ipos

word-O [pass] letter-A on leaf-O-S
The word is written on the paper

windawgos me te tayla fe wo

window-O-S [past] [pass] piece-A from 1p-O
The window was broken by me

Multiple Modifiers

This is a list of priorities in case there is more than one modifier:

Noun Modifiers:
[demonstrative + adjective + le + noun]

fi omo
this-I person-O

this person

seni omo
senior-I person-O

old person

fi seni omo
this-I senior-I person-O

this old person

fi seni le omo
this-I senior-I [pl] person-O

these old people

wi sang-ami bukos
1p-O blood-color-I text-O-S

my red book

le wi sang-ami le bukos
[pl] 1p-O blood-color-I [plural] text-O-S

our red books

Verb Modifiers:
[(se, nae) + adverbs + (me, ke) + te + verb]

kalimo te aksala
word-O [pass] letter-A

The word is written

kalimo me te aksala
word-O [past] [pass] letter-A

The word was written

kalimo gatiu me te aksala
word-O speed-U [past] [pass] letter-A

The word was written quickly

kalimo nae gatiu me te aksala
word-O no speed-U [past] [pass] letter-A

The word was not written quickly

cinpoa

fa-ami - tree-color-quality, brown

lus-ami - light-color-quality, white

osk-ami - dark-color-quality, black

doto - dot, spot

pani-ami - water-color-quality, blue

ayn - one

sang-ami - blood-color-quality, red

anaki - child-quality, young

ekuno - group

fali - many

awkela - choice-action, choose, elect

lugo - back, spine

eskolo - tail

tahado

ang-kaela fi bukos.

ekuno me inea may-oyos mate wia le tesemo. me tae fali tesemo. bali fa-ami-le tesemo ye lafi lus-ami le tesemo ye osk-ami le tesemo. dafe ayn osk-ami tesemo, me tae bali lus-ami doto dafe li lugo. de fi tesemo, tae bali wio ye balaki eskolo. lo me wia malio ye balaku me igela. malio ye fofo me te balaka fe fi tesemo. <wo desa fi tesemo!> te ansa fe malio. tesemo me te maya fe malio. <ti namo doto> te ansa fe malio.

Section 8

Comparative and Superlative

The comparative particles in Angos are sele for ‘more’ and naele for ‘less’, with the preposition de linking the comparison to another noun. These particles may also be used to mean “more of” or “less of” something, respectively.

wo sele cahai

1p-O more height-I
        I am taller

        wo naele cahai de to
        1p-O less height-I to 2p-O

I am less tall than you

wi cahao balansi de ti (cahao)
1p-I height-O balance-I to 2p-I (height-O)

I am as tall as you (lit. my height is equal to yours)

wo desa naele alo
1p-O desire-A less food-O

I want less food

The superlative particles are sefe and naefe, rendered in the same manner as above.

wo naefe cahai
1p-O least height-I

I am the least tall

wo sefe cahai de le to
1p-O most height-I to [pl] 2p-O

I am the tallest (out of you all)

wo desa sefe alo
1p-O desire-A most food-O

I want the most food

Linking Clauses with lae

Angos does not use pronouns to introduce a separate clause. Instead, the particle lae is used to link a clause to its antecedent. This particle can be used for relative clauses, in which the clause acts as a modifier for the antecedent:

na-omo lae wo me wia (lo)
male-person [link] 1p-O [past] eye-A

The man who I saw

oyo lae wo me gia de lo
place-O [link] 1p-O [past] foot-A to it

The place where I walked

leisos lae (lis) windagos taylis
shelter-O-S [link] (3p-I-S) window-O-S piece-I-S

The house whose (its) windows are broken

wo me kelea golos lae lo me inea fao

1p-O [past] projectile-A ball-O-S [link] 3p-O [past] inside-A tree-O

I threw the ball which went into the tree

It is also used for clauses which act as the object of a verb:

wo desa lae to gia de may-oyos

1p-O desire-A [link] 2p-O foot-A to transaction-place-O-S

I want you to walk to the store

wo eska lae lo istinu kali

1p-O belief-A [link] 3p-O truth-U favor-I

I think (that) it is very good

de to, wo me ansa lae alo kali

to 2p-O, 1p-O [past] speech-A [link] food-O favor-I

I told you (that) the food is good

A good way to remember when to use lae in these examples is via replacement; could you replace the clause with fo?

wo desa lae to gia de may-oyos

1p-O desire-A [link] 2p-O foot-A to transaction-place-O-S

I want you to walk to the store

wo desa fo

1p-O desire-A this-O

I want this

If the verb of the second clause has same subject as the antecedent, lae and the subject are optional (but if you want the subject, lae is still required):

wo desa lae wo wia los

1p-O desire-A [link] 1p-O eye-A 3p-O-S

I want to see it

wo desa wia los

1p-O desire-A eye-A 3p-O-S

I want to see it

to talua lae to ala

2p-O necessity-A [link] 2p-O food-A

You need to eat

to talua ala

2p-O necessity-A food-A

You need to eat

wo eska lae wo wia lo

1p-O belief-A [link] 1p-O eye-A 3p-O

I think I see it

wo eska wia lo

1p-O belief-A eye-A 3p-O

I think I see it

lo desa lae lo kona lae lo ansa

3p-O desire-A [link] 3p-O study-A [link] 3p-O speech-A

She wants to learn how to speak

lo desa kona ansa

3p-O desire-A study-A speech-A

She wants to learn how to speak

In English, the following sentences are ambiguous, but they are clearly distinguished in Angos:

wo wia omo ine cengos

1p-O eye-A person-O in structure-O-S

I see the person in the building (you can see the person from inside the building)

wo wia omo lae ine cengos

1p-O eye-A person-O [link] in structure-O-S

I see the person in the building (the person is inside the building)

cinpoa

hod-hayos - car

bagos - bag

kibi - size-quality, big

baysua - fear-action, scare

alakuno - raccoon

atempa - attempt-action, try

emasos - money

hiante - before (temporal)

kelea - projectile-action, throw, launch, shoot

cengo - structure

tahado

ang-kaela fi le ideo.

fi fao sefe cahai fao lae ine hilios

le to desa maya de hod-hayos lae pani-ami

wo eska lae le wo sefame gia de may-oyos

wo me wia na-omo lae de lo, tae bagos

wo desa sele kibi tesemo lae lo bisaa baysua le alakuno

le lo atempa finda leisos lae naele emasos de li hiantei leisos

wo yada lae to me ansa lae to me wia na-omo lae tae tesemo de lo

le wo me ansa desa atempa wia lo

Section 9

Determiner Radicals

Angos uses a series of radicals to construct determiners by pairing them with vowel classifiers.

what

this

that

some

any

few

many

all

fet-

fal-

os-

ne-

ko -

what

fo -

this

do -

that

mo -

something

yo -

anything

feto -

few things

falo -

many things

oso -

everything

neo -

nothing

ka -

do what

fa -

do this

da -

do that

ma -

do something

ya -

do anything

feta -

do a few things

fala -

do many things

osa -

do everything

nea -

do nothing

ki -

which

fi -

this

di -

that

mi -

some

yi -

any

feti -

a few

fali -

many

osi -

every, all

nei -

ku -

how

fu -

in this way

du -

in that way

mu -

somehow

yu -

in any way

fetu -

in a few ways

falu -

in many ways

osu -

in every way

neu -

in no way

These determiners are syntactically bound to their classifiers (ex. ku, like other adverbs, can only be placed before a verb or adjective). Other determiners, such as time, place, person, and reason, can be formed with adjective radicals.

Forming Questions

Questions can be formed with the polar question particle ce or an interrogative determiner (who, what, when, etc.). ce demands a yes/no answer:

        ce lo hefo?
        Is it an animal?

        ce to kala gi-gola?
        Do you like to play soccer?

Wh-Questions are formed with the determiner ki with the aspect in question:

ki omo

what-I person-O

who

ki oyo

what-I place-O

where

ki ceo

what-I moment-O

when (at what point, e.g. “when you get home”)

ki caso

what-I hour-O

when (what hour of the day, e.g. “at 3pm”)

ki samino

what-I period-O

when (which period of time, e.g. “during Summer”)

The interrogative radical k- is placed where its answer would be in the sentence (known as in situ). In other words, these question words do not move to the front of the sentence like in English.

do ko?

that-O what-O

What is that?

to ka?

2p-O what-A

What are you doing? / What do you do?

lo ki omo?
3p-O what-I person-O

Who is it? ("It [is] what person")

to ku me da?

2p-O what-U [past] that-A

How did you do that?

to gia de ki oyo?

2p-O foot-A to what-I place-O

Where are you walking?

to gia de semyao hie ki caso?
2p-O foot-A to home-O at what-I hour-O

When are you walking home?

cinpoa

semyao - home, family

dailo - circle

besela - similarity-action, resemble, seem like

dolo - door

kupo - cup

mano - hand

siso - sibling

nano - bread

nenoko - bear

fa-oyo - tree-place, forest

hawaso - noise

tahado

ang-kaela fi bukos.

hie samino lae ekuno me dea semyao, le lo me gia inale fa-oyo. fofo ye doto me buluna mo. <le to buluna ko?> te ansa fe malio. hie di ceo, bali fa-ami nenoko twea le fao ye nifea le lo. <le wo sefame ka? ce le wo nea? oe ma?> te ansa fe meyo. malio me ansa <le wo sefame hawasa! wu gega ti le mano!>. le lo me gega le li mano ye hawasa. me tae fali hawaso ye nenoko me te baysua. lo me wesea de le fao.

Section 10

Ambitransitvity

Angos may be considered a Subject-Verb-Object language, but unique and important feature of Angos is ambitransitivity. In English, a transitive verb is one with a direct object, like “hit” in “The person hits the ball”. Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, do not have a direct object, like “sleep” in “The baby sleeps”. So in English it would sound strange to say things like “The person hits.” or “The parent sleeps the baby.” You would need different verbs or grammatical constructions to express the idea.

In Angos, verbs can be used transitively and intransitively. The meaning of the verb depends on syntax: if an object is present, the verb will have a transitive meaning. If there is no object, the verb will have an intransitive meaning.

wo iska
1p-O impact-A

I crash, I make an impact

wo iska los

1p-O impact-A it-O-S

I hit it

bebeo sona

baby-O sleep-A
The baby sleeps. (sleep-action = intransitive)

wano sona bebeo

parent-O sleep-A baby-O
The parent puts the baby to sleep. (sleep-action = transitive)

Prepositional phrases are not treated as objects for the purpose of transitivity:

sahalo kaela de kalogio

caterpillar-O change-A to butterfly-O

The caterpillar changes into the butterfly

(the caterpillar is changing)

sahalo kaela kalogio

caterpillar-O change-A butterfly-O

The caterpillar changes the butterfly

(the butterfly is being changed by the caterpillar)

Compounding

Angos uses endocentric compounding, in which the head of the compound modifies the following root. Compounds are formed by root junction, with a dash (-) separating each root. The root at the end of the compound is the focus, and is the one that inflects for part-of-speech. Compound words may have as many roots necessary to form the idea, though the majority of compounds are between two and three roots in length.

tesem-leisos
dog-shelter-O-S

dog house

        With the root tesem “dog” + leis “shelter” + constructed noun ending os. leis is the focus of the compound, and tesem describes the purpose or quality of the following root. In this context, it is a man-made shelter for a dog. Compounds can hypothetically be limitless, but generally it’s best to keep it to 3 roots so that it’s easier to understand.

        yel-hay-oyos
        sky-vessel-place-O-S

airport

This gives rise to several category roots:

oyo

place where something is, or something is done

fa-oyo

tree-place-O

forest

kon-oyos

study-place-O

school

omo

person-O

person, person who does something

lag-omo

law-person-O

lawyer

kon-omo

study-person-O

student

efo

area-O

area, region

fa-efo

tree-area-O

forest (a larger area than oyo, possibly a national forest)

bal-efo

mountain-area-O

mountain range

lahol-efo

drought-area-O

desert

Color terms in Angos are all compounds, with the color being compared to a natural object:

amo

color-O

color

kusa-amo

grass-color-O

green

amit-amo

amethyst-color-O

purple

nalang-ami

orange-color-O

orange

cinpoa

pani-hayos - water-vessel, boat, ship

noo - brain

noos - computer

lendo - order, process

no-lendos - brain-process, computer program

kam-oyos - work-place, office

mostos - bridge

lefelo - level

ceng-lefelo - floor (of a building)

tahado

ang-kaela fi bukos.

malio kama ine hilios ine cahai cengos. ni-lo kasas no-lendos. li kam-oyos nae kibi, mice tae windagos lae ni-lo bisaa wia le pani-hayos ye bali nalang-ami mostos. li akio meyo kasa nano ine nan-oyos lae de sol-ayni ceng-lefelo. isue le lo istinu nifei, meyo sayu dala tepuli nano de malii kam-oyos hie fali hio. malio ye li le kam-oy-omo eska lae meyo kasa sefe kali nano ine hilios!

le tahad-mafteo (Answer Key)

Section 1:

tae okon bato there are eight rocks

wo nae fe hilios I am not from the city

ekuno ceu usema the group laughs again

bato ake gio the rock is under the foot

panio istinu aysi the water is very cold

Section 2:

lafo - ant

lafi - ant-like, small

gio - foot

gia - foot-action, walk, kick

alo - food

ala - food-action, eat, feed

kafeos - coffee

kafeas - coffee-action, get coffee, drink coffee, make coffee

kaso - product

kasa - product-action, make, produce

kasas - product-action, make, produce (artificially)

gatio - speed

gatia - speed-action, go fast

gatii - speed-quality, fast

gatiu - speed-action-quality, quickly

cayo - tea

cayos - tea (artificial, as in prepared tea or artificial tea flavor)

cayas - artificial tea-action, make tea, drink tea, get tea

cayi - tea-quality, tea-like (tastes like tea, resembles tea, etc.)

Section 3:

wo mila to I thank you

lo nae bisaa ala He/she/they can not eat

to naefame tesemu ala You should not eat like a dog

bisau tae mao ake leisos Maybe there is a cat under the house

le to sefame wa You all should do what I’m doing

omo bisaa finda lo nife le li fao One can find it near their trees

wi tesemo dimesa ti mao My dog hates your cat

Section 4:

ni-li namo Malio. malio kama ine hilios. ni-lo kala ela musiko. hie hio, malio kala gi-golas. hie osko, malio kala kasa alo ye sona. Fofo li tesemo. lafi fofo istinu balaki.

Her name is Malia. Malia works in the city. She likes to listen to music. At daytime, Malia likes to (play soccer/watch soccer). At night, Malia likes to make food and sleep. Fofo is her dog. Little Fofo is very happy.

Section 5:

In the Summer is warmest weather. In the Summer, Malia likes to get away from her house. She likes to go in the water. In the Winter, there will be cold weather. In the Winter, Fofo sleeps near the (fire/fireplace) and he is very happy in the warm house!

Section 6:

Fofo is Malia’s first dog. But Malia wants to buy a second dog because Fofo likes to play with other dogs. If there is another dog, Fofo will be happier. Malia’s friend Mey (remembers/knows) a store. At that store, Malia can buy her second dog. In the morning, Malia, Mey, and Fofo walked to the store. But at this store, there are 100 dogs!

Section 7:

ekuno me inea may-oyos mate wia le tesemo. me tae fali tesemo. bali fa-ami-le tesemo ye lafi lus-ami le tesemo ye osk-ami le tesemo. dafe ayn osk-ami tesemo, me tae kibi lus-ami doto dafe li lugo. de fi tesemo, tae bali wio ye balaki eskolo. lo me wia malio ye balaku me igela. malio ye fofo me te balaka fe fi tesemo. <wo desa fi tesemo!> te ansa fe malio. tesemo me te maya fe malio. <ti namo doto> te ansa fe malio.

The group (went inside/entered) the store in order to see the dogs. There were many dogs. Big, brown dogs and small, white dogs and black dogs. On one black dog there was a big white spot on its back. He has big eyes and a happy tail. He looked at Malia and happily jumped. Malia and Fofo were made happy by this dog. “I want this dog!” said Malia. The dog was bought by Malia. “Your name is Spot” said Malia.

Section 8:

fi fao sefe cahai fao lae ine hilios

This tree is the tallest in the city

le to desa maya de hod-hayos lae pani-ami

You all want to buy a car that is blue

wo eska lae le wo sefame gia de may-oyos

I think that we should walk to the store

wo me wia na-omo lae de lo, tae bagos

I saw the man who has a bag

wo desa sele kibi tesemo lae lo bisaa baysua le alakuno

I want a bigger dog that can scare raccoons

le lo atempa finda leisos lae naele emasos de li hiantei leisos

They are trying to find a house that is (less money/costs less) than their previous house

wo yada lae to me ansa lae to me wia na-omo lae tae tesemo de lo

I remember that you said that you saw the man who has a dog

le wo me ansa desa atempa wia lo

We said we want to try and see (him/her/them/it)

Section 9:

When the group went home, they walked through the forest. Fofo and Spot smelled something. “What do you smell?” said Malia. At that moment, a giant brown bear came out of the trees and went near them. “What should we do? Do we do nothing? Or do something?” said Mey. Malia said, “We should (make noise/be noisy)! Shake your hands like I’m doing!” They shook their hands and made noise. There was much noise and the bear was frightened. It went away to the trees.

Section 10:

Malia works in the city in a tall building. She makes computer programs. Her office is not big, but there is a window where she can see boats and the large orange bridge. Her friend Mey makes bread in a bread shop on the first floor. Because they are so close, Mey gives warm bread to Malia’s office on many days. Malia and her (coworkers/officemates) think that Mey makes the best bread in the city!

[1]✧ There are certainly more minimal sound systems that are possible for an international auxiliary, but in my opinion this limits how the language sounds. But I also did not want to add dozens of sounds just for the sake of phonetic diversity. I settled on a happy medium of 20 sounds, with limits on the types of sounds. For example, there is only one affricate (C), only one fricative at each major section of articulation (F, S, H), and one liquid (L) due to the lack of phonemic distinction between L/R in some languages like Korean and Navajo.

[2]✧ Every root is based on a noun. This is to regulate derivations and is based on the idea that nouns are the most semantically stable concepts cross-linguistically compared to verbs or adjectives. For example, most languages have the same concept of “dog” (the friendly, barking mammal), compared to a verb like “to be” which has varying usages cross-linguistically, and doesn’t have a direct translation in some languages like Standard Arabic or Russian. Note that even though roots are already based on nouns, there is still a noun vowel classifier for the purpose of euphony.

[3]✧ Examples of words and phrases will follow the convention root-CLASSIFIER followed by the English translation, ex. bato “rock” -> rock-O. This is to help show the underlying structure of Angos words and sentences.

[4]✧ This might seem like a strange and unnecessary addition to an international auxiliary language. And truthfully, it is. But this is the distinctive marker of Angos, this separation of natural and human-made. It is more of the philosophical idea that what we construct is a mimic of something natural, be it a house, a chair, or even a language. Its purpose is to make the speaker think about these relations, and to think about what really separates natural from human-made.

[5] 1p, 2p, and 3p are 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person respectively

Table of Contents

Section 1

Orthography and Pronunciation

Phonotactics and Phonaesthetics

Section 2

Part of Speech Classifiers

Stress

natuli and om-sanati

Names

Section 3

Nouns

Pronouns

Gender

Section 4

Verbs

Reflexivity

Tense

Imperatives

Adjectives and Adverbs

Section 5

Prepositions

Prepositional Phrases

Existential Particle tae

Section 6

Conjunctions

Numbers

Section 7

Indirect Objects

Passive Voice

Multiple Modifiers

Section 8

Comparative and Superlative

Linking Clauses with lae

Section 9

Determiner Radicals

Forming Questions

Section 10

Ambitransitvity

Compounding

le tahad-mafteo (Answer Key)