Word formation
LdP tends to keep words unchanged, so it basically uses either (hyphenated) particles or suffixes beginning with a consonant which are simply added to a word. We believe that this makes word structure clearer and understanding easier.
Diminutive and augmentative particles and suffixes
There is an augmentative particle gro-, a diminutive particle -ki (these particles are hyphenated), an augmentative suffix "gron", and a diminutive suffix "kin".
The suffixes are used to make notions which qualitatively differ from the basic noun:
dom — house
domkin — a house that is inherently small (cabin, hut)
domgron — a house that is inherently large (mansion)
denta — tooth
dentagron — tusk
barela — barrel
barelakin — keg
As to the particles, they modify the meaning within the limits of a given quality; gro- is used before the modified word, -ki after it:
dom-ki — a little house
gro-dom — a big house.
The suffixes are used to form nouns only, while the particles may be used with different parts of speech:
gro-danke — thank you very much
gro-gran — huge
gro-gao — very high
lu gro-pi vodka kom akwa — he swills vodka like water
gro-chifan — to guzzle, overeat
zai gro-pluvi — it is pouring
zai pluvi-ki — it drizzles
treba chifan-ki — one should have a snack
somni-ki — to take a nap
It should be noted that there is also an intensifying adverb "gro", so that the mentioned phrases may also be constructed as: lu pi vodka gro, kom akwa; chifan gro; zai pluvi gro.
"Gro" expresses a greater extent of augmentation/intensification, than "muy" (very):
muy hao! — very well!
gro-hao! — great! excellent!
The particles may also be used with proper nouns:
Jon-ki — Johnny
Particles NEY, SHE and their derivatives
ney — genitive particle; modifier-making particle; with verbs denotes passive participle; makes ordinal numerals. Ex.:
mata — mother
mata-ney klaida — mother's clothes
jen — man/woman
jen-ney — human
rude-fas-ney jen — red-faced person
gran-oko-ney gela — big-eyed girl
yu-oli-ney idea — the ideas of all of you
vidi — to see
vidi-ney — seen
tri-ney — third
nem — the adverbial form from -ney:
parta-ney — partial
parta-nem — partially, partly
un-ney — first
un-nem — at first, firstly
ofensi-ney — offended, resentful
ofensi-nem — resentfully
she — active participle marker:
ahfi — to hide, conceal
ahfi-she — hiding
respekti — to respect
respekti-she — respecting
shem — the adverbial form from -she:
respekti-she — respecting
respekti-shem — respectfully
ahfi-she — hiding
ahfi-shem — stealthily
dumi-she — thinking
dumi-shem — thoughtfully, pensively
sha — suffix of doer:
milki — to milk
milki-sha — milker (person)
kapti — to catch
kapti-sha — catcher
kan — to look
kan-sha — onlooker, viewer.
Compound words
In compound words the modifying word stands before the main word:
guntaim — working time
flaifish — flying fish
suryaflor — sunflower
akwagarmiser — water-heater
mauskapter — mouse trap
lernikitaba — textbook
sendijen — envoy
saltikorda — skipping-rope
The adjective suffix -e may be dropped:
garibjen — stranger (garibe jen)
platbota — flat-boat (plate bota)
Shortenings for words with -ney, -nem, -shem
For nouns ending in Ca (where C is a consonant) one may shorten Ca-ney => Ce and Ca-nem => Cem, for example:
farka-ney => farke
farka-nem => farkem
But if "ney" expresses the genitive, shortening may not be done: mata-ney kitaba (not "mate kitaba").
For polysyllabic i-verbs one may shorten Ci-ney => Cen and Ci-nem => Cem, for example:
ofensi-ney => ofensen
ofensi-nem => ofensem
If no ambiguity arises, one may also shorten Ci-shem => Cem:
ahfi-shem => ahfem
The short forms are given in the dictionary in brackets after the full forms.
Endearment forms
Endearment forms of names may be constructed by shortening and adding -i:
Robert => Robi
Dimitri => Dimi
Attilio => Ati
Oxana => Oxi
Natalia => Nati
Other cases:
mama => mami — mummy
doga => dogi — doggie
yunkota => yunkoti — kitty
These endearment forms differ from the forms with particle -ki, as the latters may express not only endearment but also diminution:
doga-ki may mean any little dog while dogi means the pet dog.
The list of productive affixes
Hyphenated prefixes
ek- — denotes that something is done only one time or rather suddenly (from Hindi "ek" one):
tuki — to knock
ek-tuki — to give a knock
krai — to cry
ek-krai — to cry out
en- — denotes the beginning of action:
en-somni — to fall asleep
en-stan — to stand up
fa- — conveys the meaning "to get, to become":
gran — big
fa-gran — to increase
hao — good
fa-hao — to improve, become better
fuy- — the prefix of disgust, repugnance:
fuy-jen — a nasty person
gin- — feminine prefix:
gin-yan — ewe
gin-leker — female doctor
gin-doga — bitch
Synonymous with the suffix -ina.
gro- — augmentative/intensifying particle:
kitaba — a book
gro-kitaba — volume, folio
hao — good
gro-hao — great, excellent
haf- — half:
haf-dey — half a day
haf-ora — half an hour
ko- — joint action or being:
ko-exista — co-existence
ko-senti — to feel with
ko-jen — companion, helpmate
mah- — causative prefix meaning "to make, to bring into a condition":
hao — good
mah-hao — to improve, make better
jal — to burn, be burning
mah-jal — to burn (something)
man- — masculine prefix:
man-yan — ram
man-leker — male doctor
man-doga — male dog
Synonymous with the suffix -o.
pro- — pro:
pro-guverna-ney sirkula — pro-government circles
pro-westa-ney stata — a pro-Western state
swa- — self- (directed at oneself):
swa-luba — self-love
swa-kontrola — self-control
shma- — disparaging prefix:
shma-kaval — nag
shma-dom — shack
stif- — "step":
stif-mata — stepmother
stif-patra — stepfather
Prefixes
bu — negation:
gran — big
bugran — not big, not great
komparibile — comparable
bukomparibile — incomparable
de(s) — opposite action ("des" if before a vowel):
desharji — discharge
desorganisi — disorganize
dus — "bad, mal-, ill-":
fauha — smell
dusfauha — fetor, stench
trati — to treat
dustrati — to maltreat
dusfama-ney — ill-famed
dustaim — bad times
kontra — counter-:
kontratoxin — antidote
mis — incorrectly, wrongly:
misyusi — to misuse
miskalkuli — to miscalculate
no — makes antonyms:
juste — just
nojuste — unjust
pinchan — ordinary
nopinchan — extraordinary
pra — means:
- remote kinship:
praopa — great-grandfather
prajanmer — forebear
- primordiality, antiquity:
pralingwa — parent language
prajen — ancestor, forefather
pre — precedence, pre-, fore-:
previdi — to foresee
pre-existi — to preexist
prenam — forename
preyeri — the day before yesterday
pregoer — predecessor
prejuda — prejudice
ras — separation, division, or dispersion:
muvi — to move
rasmuvi — to move apart
dai — to give
rasdai — to distribute, give to several people
sendi — to send
rassendi — to send out/round
lwo — to fall
raslwo — to fall to pieces
ri — again, anew:
riapari — to reappear
rizwo — to redo
sin — -less:
sinsensu-ney — senseless
sinvalor-ney — of no value
tra — through(out):
tralekti — to read through (from begining to end)
tranochi — to spend the night
yun — with names of animals means young animal:
doga — dog
yundoga — pup
kota — cat
yunkota — kitten
Suffixes
bile — "-able, -ible":
samaji — understand
samajibile — understandable
vidi — see
vidibile — visible
chi — to eat
chibile — eatable
dan — denotes container:
chaydan — teapot
nayudan — butterdish
milkadan — milk-can
em — adverb suffix:
klare — clear
klarem — clearly
er — "doer or tool":
plei — play
pleier — player (person or device)
fen — forms fractions:
un (de) trifen — one third
sem (de) shifen — seven tenths
ful — "possessing (esp. in great quantity), full of":
joisaful — joyful
jivaful — lively, sprightly, vivacious
lumaful — spotlit, luminous, alight
misteriaful — mysterious
danjaful — dangerous
guan — "institution, establishment":
fanguan — dining-rooms, canteen, restaurant
frisiguan — hairdresser's
kitabaguan — library
printiguan — printing-house
ifi — "to get, to become":
iri — be angry
irifi — get angry
klare — clear
klarifi — become clear(er)
(i)ka — "object, thing, something concrete". In adjectives ending in -e and nouns ending in -a, this last vowel is transformed into -ika; in other cases -ka is added. With monosyllabic i- verbs, -ika is added with a hyphen:
nove — new
novika — something new, novelty
ski — to ski
ski-ika — something for skiing
plei — to play —
pleika — toy, plaything
ike — (unstressed) derives adjectives of relation from nouns:
osean — ocean
oseanike — oceanic
harmonia — harmony
harmonike — harmonious
historia — history
historike — historical
If added to a noun ending in -a or -ia, these endings are dropped. Nouns ending in -ika produce adjectives ending in -ike:
publika => publike
gramatika => gramatike
ina — feminine suffix:
amiga — friend
amigina — girl/female friend
doga — dog
dogina — bitch
Synonymous with the prefix gin-.
inka — denotes one small part of something:
ramla — sand
ramlinka — grain of sand
snega — snow
sneginka — snowflake
pluva — rain
pluvinka — drop of rain
If added to a noun ending in -a or -ia, these endings are dropped.
ish — means "to some extent":
blan — white
blanish — whitish
interes-ney — interesting
interes-nish — more or less interesting
hao — good
haoish — passable
When adding this suffix, the final -e of adjectives or -a of nouns are dropped; -ney => -nish
isi — "to make, to bring into a condition":
detal — detail
detalisi — detail
iri — be angry
irisi — anger, enrage
klare — clear
klarisi — clarify
If added to a noun ending in -ia, "ia" is dropped:
mifologia — mythology
mifologisi — mythologise
ista — denotes a person in relation to a certain doctrine ("ism") or profession:
komunista — communist
dentista — dentist
artista — artist
(i)taa — makes abstract nouns from adjectives:
probable — probable
probablitaa — probability
jen — "man, person":
samlandajen — fellow countryman
lubijen — loved one
sendijen — envoy
lik — "characteristic of, similar in appearance or character":
matalik — maternal, motherly
amigalik — friendly
manlik — manly
ginalik — womanly
domlik — homely, cozy
suryalik — sun-like
lok — "place":
habitilok — dwelling (-place), habitation
twolilok — threshing-floor
koylok — somewhere
enilok — anywhere
menga — denotes a certain multitude, gathering of uniform objects:
moskamenga — swarm of flies
jenmenga — crowd
nesa — makes abstract nouns from adjectives:
dule — tender
dulenesa — tenderness
nik — denotes person as bearer of some characteristic feature or adherent of something:
batalnik — scrapper
fobnik — coward
shwonik — chatterer
pyannik — drunkard
safarnik — confirmed traveller
When it is added the word's last vowel may be dropped.
o — masculine suffix:
doga — dog
dogo — male dog
amiga — friend
amigo — boy/male friend
Synonymous with the prefix man-.
ple — numerals suffix:
dwaple — double, twofold
triple — triple, threefold
sa — noun suffix of general meaning, a part of pronouns koysa something, enisa anything. Forms nouns from the verbs of type 2:
flai — to fly
flaisa — flight;
gun — to work
gunsa — work
jan — to know
jansa — knowledge
shil — "having inclination or tendency to":
gun — to work
gunshil — industrious
kusi — to bite
kusishil — tending to bite
fobi — to fear
fobishil — timid, timorous
-te (hyphenated) — past tense marker:
ta shwo-te — he said
val — "worthy":
admirival — admirable
sey filma es goval — this film is worth going to see
sey geim es pleival — this game is worth playing
vati — used for deriving verbs in cases where the use of –i is undesirable:
chay — tea
chayvati koywan — to take smb to tea
surya — sun
suryavati koysa— to sun smth
yuan — "employee, worker, organization member":
kafeeyuan — cafe worker
partiayuan — party member
polisyuan — policeman
koalisionyuan — coalition member
The prefixes anti-, arki-, auto-, bi-, ex-, mono-, multi-, poli-, pseudo-, retro-, which occur in technical and scientific words, need not be explained. They are not hyphenated.
