Grammar

Silonê Grammar and Syntax

The Silonê grammar and syntax system is flexible, crafted for poetic sagas, commanding war cries, and lively tavern banter, but mostly for the Codex of Sol. Without the Codex of Sol, I could've gotten away with a simpler naming language! It features neutral nouns, minimal verb conjugation, and varied word orders to suit different tones, from epic to conversational. This page outlines the rules for word order, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, particles, prepositions, conjunctions, interrogatives, and morphology, with examples to illustrate usage. In other words, it gets pretty damned nerdy.

Word Order

Silonê supports multiple word orders to convey nuance, emphasis, or poetic effect:

• Subject-Verb-Object (SVO): Default structure for everyday statements.
  • Example: Thar skêl skûldhvî. (They strike the shield wall.)
• Verb-Subject-Object (VSO): Emphasizes action, common in war or commands.
  • Example: Skêl thar skûldhvî. (Strike they the shield wall.)
• Object-Verb-Subject (OVS): Highlights the object, used for poetic or dramatic effect.
  • Example: Âlvskhûlar sûlp sên. (The ale drinks she.) This is one of those fun tidbits to me, emphasizing the ale over the drinker.
• Questions: Formed by verb inversion with rising intonation.
  • Example: Sûlp thûskh âlvskhûlar? (Do you (formal) drink the ale?)

Nouns

Silonê nouns are gender-neutral and use suffixes for number, articles, cases, and possessives. This is an area that my editor and I debated early on: do we use "priestess" for females, or priest for everybody? I really wanted to to follow the Silonê languages guidance, but my editor nixed the notion, sticking with English. I think it was a good choice, in the end, but I can get feisty over small editorial changes, LMAO.

Gender

• All nouns are neutral, with no grammatical gender.
  • Example: Wêrkin (warrior) applies to both genders.

Number

• Singular: No marker.
  • Example: Tâvskhûn (tavern).
• Plural: Suffix -en.
  • Example: Tâvskhûnen (taverns).
• Intensive Plural: Suffix -skhên for abundant numbers.
  • Example: Wêrkinskhên (many warriors).
• Exceptions for Emotional Suffixes:
  • -vêsk nouns use -enî for plural.
    • Example: Pân-vêskenî (panics).
  • -sâkt nouns use -ten for plural.
    • Example: Skhâm-sâkten (shames).

Articles

• Definite: Suffix -ar.
  • Example: Tâvskhûnar (the tavern).
• Indefinite: Prefix en-.
  • Example: Entâvskhûn (a tavern).

Cases

• Nominative (subject): No marker.
  • Example: Wêrkin (warrior).
• Accusative (object): No marker, but definite objects take -ar.
  • Example: S-Wêrkinar (the warrior, object).
• Genitive (possession): Suffix -ûs.
  • Example: Wêrkinûs (of the warrior).

Possessives

• Suffix -ûs indicates “my”.
  • Example: Tâvskhûnarûs (my tavern).
• Prefix Mô- adds “grand/mighty” to possessives.
  • Example: Mô-tâvskhûnar (my mighty tavern).

Pronouns

Silonê pronouns distinguish between informal and formal registers, used for respect (e.g., addressing superiors or gods).

Personal Pronouns

Type	Singular	Plural
Informal	Ic (I), Thû (you), Hân (he), Sên (she), Et (it)	Wîr (we), Thar (they/you all)
Formal	Khîc (I), Thûskh (you), Hûn (he), Sêvkh (she)	Khûrv (we), Vârth (you all)

• Examples:
  • Informal: Ic sûlp âlvskhûlar. (I drink the ale.)
  • Formal: Khîc skêlthâr sôlvîgar. (I, formal, will strike the battle.)

Possessive Pronouns

Formed by adding -ûs to personal pronouns.

• Examples: Khîcûs (mine, formal), Icûs (mine, informal).

Verbs

Silonê verbs lack person agreement, using the same form for all subjects, with suffixes and prefixes for tense, aspect, and modification.

Conjugation

• No person agreement; verbs are identical for all subjects.
  • Example: Skêl (strike) for I, you, they.

Tenses

• Present: Base form.
  • Example: Skêl (strike/strikes).
• Past: Suffix -ad.
  • Example: Skêlad (struck).
• Future Intent: Suffix -thâr (stronger than auxiliary Wil).
  • Example: Skêlthâr (will strike).

Aspects

• Epic Tone: Suffix -ak for heroic or formal tone.
  • Example: Skêlak (I strike, heroic).
• Progressive: Suffix -vîsk.
  • Example: Skêlvîsk (is striking).
• Perfect: Auxiliary Hav + prefix ge-.
  • Example: Hav geskêl (have struck).
• Habitual: Suffix -ârkh.
  • Example: Skêlârkh (always strike).
• Completed: Suffix -vêdh.
  • Example: Skêlvêdh (just struck).
• Past Participle: Suffix -khûnd.
  • Example: Skêlkhûnd (having been struck).

Modifications

• Negation: Prefix Nêk-.
  • Example: Nêkskêl (not strike).
• Causative: Prefix Sûl-.
  • Example: Sûlêdh (make eat).
• Reversal: Prefix Nêv-.
  • Example: Nêvskêl (unstrike/restrain).

Adjectives

• Position: Follow nouns.
  • Example: Wêrkin stark (strong warrior).
• Number Agreement: Plural adds -î.
  • Example: Wêrkinî starkî (strong warriors).
• Comparatives: Prefix Mâr- or standalone Vêrskh (more).
  • Example: Mârstark (stronger).
• Superlatives: Prefix Sûl-.
  • Example: Sûlstark (strongest).
• Diminished: Standalone Nûkh (less).
  • Example: Nûkh stark (less strong).

Adverbs

• Formation: Adjective + -ûkh.
  • Example: Starkûkh (strongly).
• Position: Before verb.
  • Example: Starkûkh skêl (strongly strike).
• Specific Adverbs:
  • Skhrâv (quickly)
  • Nârkh (perhaps)

Particles and Modifiers

Particles add nuance to sentences, often indicating manner, location, or emphasis:

Particle	Meaning	Example	Translation
Skhûr	With/using (instrumental)	Skêl skhûr skrîvdhar.	Strike with the sword.
Vâr	At/in (locative)	Gâth vâr tâvskhûnar.	Gather at the tavern.
Lûkh	Only (restrictive)	Sûlp lûkh âlvskhûlar.	Only drink the ale.
Khârsk	Too/also (additive)	Êdh khârsk khrûskhôrvar.	Also eat the stew.
Vîrth	Almost (near)	Krûsh vîrth gâtr.	Almost break the gate.
Dhûsk	Never (negative)	Skêl dhûsk khrûskhârvar.	Never strike the brawl.
Dhrâk	Indeed (emphasis)	Sûlp dhrâk âlvskhûlar.	Truly drink the ale.
Nûskh	Barely (diminution)	Êdh nûskh khrûskhôrvar.	Barely eat the stew.

Prepositions

Prepositions indicate relationships of place, time, or manner:

Preposition	Meaning	Example	Translation
Af	Of	Wêrkin af Chôerkin	Warrior of Chôerkin
Bîskh	Near	Sûlp bîskh vrûkhar	Drink near the river
Fôrv	Before	Sêrvkh fôrv vîgrar	Seek before the war
În	In	Gâth în tâvskhûnar	Gather in the tavern
Târ	To	Trêd târ krâgar	Walk to the castle
Ân	On	Skrûd ân thârvdhar	Stand on the ground
Bî	By	Gâth bî vrûkhar	Gather by the river
Frômv	From	Gû frômv fostar	Go from the capital
Ûndr	Under	Sîkh ûndr dhûrvnar	See under the tree
Ôvr	Over	Flîgr ôvr hîrgar	Bird flies over the mountain
Thrûkh	Through	Gâv thrûkh wûdhar	Go through the forest

Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect clauses or sentences:

Coordinating

• Och: And
• Edh: Or
• Bûkh: But
• Khrêv: Nor
• Gârv: For/because

Subordinating

• Vên: If
• Dhûr: When
• Thôkh: Though

Correlative

• Âdh...Edh: Either...or

Result

• Thârskh: So/thus

Conditional

• Khûv: If/unless

Interrogatives

Interrogatives form questions or relative clauses:

Interrogative	Meaning	Example	Translation
Hvâ	What/which/who	Hvâ sûlp thû?	What do you drink?
Vûn	Do/does	Vûn skêl thar?	Do they strike?
Vârskh	Where	Vârskh gâth tâvlârthar?	Where does the tavern keeper gather?
Dhûrv	When	Dhûrv sûlp sên?	When does she drink?
Vârskhâr	Where (relative)	Plâskh vârskhâr gâth thar	The place where they gather

Morphology

Silonê uses prefixes and suffixes to modify words, adding nuance or forming new terms.

Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example	Translation
Mâr-	Very/great	Mârskêl	Great strike
Khûr-	All/many	Khûrwêrkin	All warriors
Nêv-	Not/un-	Nêvskêl	Not strike
Sûl-	Cause/make	Sûlêdh	Make eat

Suffixes

Suffix	Meaning	Example	Translation
-skhîl	Little	Mûgskhîlar	Little mug
-vskhâr	Agent	Skêlvskhâr	Striker
-khûnd	Past participle	Krûshkhûnd	Having been broken
-skhên	Many/abundant plural	Âlvskhûlskhên	Many ales
-thâr	Future intent	Skêlthâr	Will strike
-vîsk	Progressive	Êdhvîsk	Is eating
-ârkh	Habitual	Sûlpârkh	Always drink
-vêdh	Completed	Gâthvêdh	Just gathered
-khôrsk	Sacred/holy	Tâvskhûnkhôrsk	Holy tavern
-dhrûv	Failed/diminished	Tîbvîgdhrûv	Failed clan clash
-vâsk	Core emotion	Grîv-vâsk	Grief
-zîsk	Positive emotion	Jôy-zîsk	Joy
-khârsk	Negative intense emotion	Ghrêv-khârsk	Dread
-vêsk	Fleeting emotion	Pân-vêsk	Panic
-sâkt	Subtle emotion	Skhâm-sâkt	Personal shame

See Also

• Silonê Language
• Silonê Phonology
• Silonê Base-12 Counting System
• Silonê Lexicon
• Sister Continents