Difference between revisions of "Oan language"

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[[Category:The Oan Isles]]
 
[[Category:The Oan Isles]]
 
The Oan language (natively called Oalanu) is widely spoken in [[Konoa]], [[The Oan Isles]], [[East Polynesia]], and to a lesser degree, [[Asian Pacific Islands]]. It forms the part of the West Polynesian branch of [[Polynesia]]n languages. It is the only surviving member of the Oanoana family. It spoken by 90 million people across the South Pacific Ocean, and forms one of the official languages of the [[Polynesian Union]]. Various accents and dialects of the language exist, the "core" dialect being Rokalanunyanataoalanu of the Oan capital [[La Rochelle]]. In Codexian, it is frequently referred to as '''Oan''' (which is also the Codexian demonym for the Oan Isles).
 
The Oan language (natively called Oalanu) is widely spoken in [[Konoa]], [[The Oan Isles]], [[East Polynesia]], and to a lesser degree, [[Asian Pacific Islands]]. It forms the part of the West Polynesian branch of [[Polynesia]]n languages. It is the only surviving member of the Oanoana family. It spoken by 90 million people across the South Pacific Ocean, and forms one of the official languages of the [[Polynesian Union]]. Various accents and dialects of the language exist, the "core" dialect being Rokalanunyanataoalanu of the Oan capital [[La Rochelle]]. In Codexian, it is frequently referred to as '''Oan''' (which is also the Codexian demonym for the Oan Isles).
 
 
==Phonology==
 
==Phonology==
[[File:Oareato.png|thumbnail|This is the Oan National Emblem (it is not a çoat of arms as it does not contain an escutcheon). The text is in the Oan native script called Pounamu. The top text reads "Kia hoa a ro komotua" and the bottom text reads "Oareatu". ]]
+
===Script===
 +
'''''Main Article:''''' ''[[Script of the Oan language]]''
 +
 
 +
The Oan language is written in a special syllabary. It contains 900 symbols that represent syllables, although only a third are in common use. The script was developed from early forms of the [[Wikipedia:Katagana|katagana]] script from [[Ziseshouwei]].
 +
===Phonetics===
 
Vowels:
 
Vowels:
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
Line 32: Line 35:
 
| Trill || || r ||  ||  ||  
 
| Trill || || r ||  ||  ||  
 
|}
 
|}
 +
===Synthesis===
 +
The Oan language is a [[Wikipedia:Synthetic language|synthetic language]]. It has [[Wikipedia:Synthetic language#derivational synthesis|derivational synthesis]]. For example the word ''silawasaitaka'' is formed from the phrase 'silence of the flower of the sea' and means "spiritual calm" and is often translated to the Codexian word "serenity". Many complex Oan words are derived from abstract or metaphorical poetic or idiomatic phrases that are fused to create an altogether different meaning.
  
== Words and Morphemes ==
+
Relational synthesis is shown in the word ''Rokalanunyanataoaloanu''. It means: The Rock dialect of Oan. The word "Dialect" is a diminutive of the word language. In such words there is often a change in TONE not stress. Fusional synthesis can be found in words such as "hello" or ''Autenāutu''. It is a synthesis of the phrase "I see you" and would be written as "Au tena autu" in expanded form. The "ā" is a fusion of the last vowel of the word "''tena''" or "see" and the first vowel of ''autu'' or you. The sole purpose of macrons in Oan words is to indicate fusion which is often stressed.
  
The two most basic language units of the Oan language are words and [[Wikipedia:morphemes|morphemes]] after letters and syllables. The Oan language has a high amount of morphemes. It is regarded as a [[Wikipedia:synthetic language|synthetic language]]. Morphemes are letter clusters that carry meaning, but cannot stand alone. Words are always free standing. For example the letter "a" when placed alone before a word or morpheme group represents a negation whereas an "a" affixed to the end of a word or phrase represents a relation.  
+
In all words that are synthesised from others, the staccato monosyllabic pronunciation is often changed altogether depending on the word, and this distinguishes them from the words they were fused from. Vowels that are next to each other to not always belong to one syllable. In words such as "Oa" the letters are pronounced distinctly, but a hard "h" is used as a transative sound. This applies to most vowels. "y" and "w" are only used as transitional sounds if they are explicitly indicated. When vowels are next to each other but belong to different syllables, they pronounced as separate words entirely, but the pause that is used to indicate word change is absent. This is seen in the Oan word for please ''Auaeautu''. The syllables are in fact ''Au/ae/au/tu''. It may be difficult for non Oans to distinguish between these.
  
There are a small group of words that form the basis of the entire Oan language. Most of them are morphemes. They are often fused together to create many other words. For example the word "komotua" means boundary or space between islands. It is formed from the word komo meaning space (which is infact derived from the morphemes for location and here), and tu(a) meaning a single object.
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== Nouns ==
 +
Nouns are names of things.
 +
=== Articles ===
  
== Phrases ==
+
Articles are neither definite nor indefinite. They indicated various things:
 +
* The article "''u''" indicates a single person, eg. u loanu (boy)
 +
* The article "''ki''" indicates more than one person, eg. ki loanu (boys)
 +
* The article "''i''" indicates a non-person, eg. i reatu (island)
 +
* The article "''ti''" indicates more than one non-person, eg. ti reatu (islands)
 +
* The article "''ku''" indicates characteristics typically associated with a particular thing or person, eg. ku manu (manhood)
 +
=== Locative ===
 +
Discussed in the section on Prepositions.
 +
=== Possessive ===
 +
The word "''ta''" is the equivalent of the word "of" and is used for both nouns and pronouns to indicate possession. The word "ta" is placed after the word that is being possessed.
  
Words and morphemes, while they form the most basic units in a language, cannot be used alone in a sentence. Words and phrases must appear together in groups called phrases, in order to make sense. For example "u Manu ua pala ro u solo". The word "manu" which means "man" cannot appear alone. It must appear with a morpheme, in this "u" which indicates a singular idea.
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== Verbs ==
  
In all Oan noun, verb and other phrases, the presence of the morpheme "a" before the actual noun or verb phrase, represents a negation. The phrase rather than the word is the simplest grammatical unit. The Oan language is, morphologically a synthetic language.
+
Verbs are states of being. They hace three tenses: past, future and present. The ordinary tense is the present tense. They are simple eg. Ti manu haha (The men laugh). When the article of the subject precedes the verb, it functions like an auxiliary verb, eg. ''Ti'' manu ''ti'' tinini (The m''en are'' many). The second tense is the past tense. "''-ile''" is suffixed to the verb to indicate the past tense and the same article that precedes the noun, precedes the verb and functions like an auxiliary verb such as "was" or "did", eg. Ti manu ''ti'' hahaile (The men laughed). The third tense is the future tense. No suffix is attached to the verb. Instead the word "to" precedes the verb and succeeds the article, eg. Ti manu ''ti to'' haha (The men will laugh).
  
== Nouns ==
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== Infinitives ==
 +
The infinitive is attached at the end of the clause. The verbal component of the infinitive is always in the present tense. The preposition "''ta''" indicates the beginning of the infinitive. The article that precedes the subject also precedes the infinitive indicator "''ku''".  together they function as the Codexian "to". Eg. Ki manu ki koraile ''ta ki ku'' tanuha mali (The men worked to make money). The phrase can be transliterated as: T
 +
"The men worked for the making of money".
  
There are 16 noun classes. A word is preceded by a morpheme that indicates the noun class to which it belongs and forms a part of the noun phrase that forms the basis of grammar.
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== Prepositions ==
  
{| class="wikitable"
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Prepositions indicate relation. There are different words to indicate different locations, but all prepository phrases must beginning with the word "''ko''" and the object must be suffixed by "''-eni''". Eg. Ki manu ''ki hanu ko'' reatu''eni'' (The men are on the island). The preposition functions as a verb. Eg. in the past tense: Ki manu ki hanu''ile'' ko reatueni (The men were on the island). Eg. in the future tense: Ki manu ki ''to'' hanu ko reatuenu (The men will be on the island).
|-
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! Number !! Class Prefix !! Example
+
|-
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| 1 || nu || nu manu (person)
+
|-
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| 2 || tinu || tinu manu (people)
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|-
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| 3 || u || u papa (father)
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|-
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| 4 || tiu || tiu papa (fathers)
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|-
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| 5 || nu || nu kapa (leg)
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|-
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| 6 || kinu || kinu kapa (legs)
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|-
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| 7 || i || i iano (egg)
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|-
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| 8 || ti || ti iano (eggs)
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|-
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| 9 || li || li humu (rich person)
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|-
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| 10 || tili || tili humu (rich people)
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|-
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| 11 || ni || ni kuwa (dog)
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|-
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| 12 || tini || tini kuwa (dogs), tini papua (feathers)
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|-
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| 13 || lu || lu papua (feather)
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|-
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| 14 || tu || tu manu (humility)
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|-
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| 15 || ku || ku hua (light)
+
|-
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| 16 || ku || ku toateme (autumn)
+
|}
+
  
=== Locative ===
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== Pronoun ==
  
The locative is a noun form that indicates a location associated with the noun. It can translate to a variety of English prepositions, such as "in", "at", "on", "to" or "from", and is thus quite general in meaning. The locative is formed in two different ways, depending on the class of the noun.
+
Pronouns are nouns that take the place of the subject or object:
 +
* Singular first person: ''au'' (I or me)
 +
* Singular second person: ''autu'' (You)
 +
* Singular third person: ''autuna'' (Him or her)
 +
* Singular third person (non-person): ''lautuna'' (it or that)
 +
* Plural first person: ''mau'' (we or us)
 +
* Plural second person: ''mautu'' (you)
 +
* Plural third person: ''mautuna'' (them or they)
 +
* Plural third person (non person): ''kautuna'' (them or those)
  
For nouns in class 1 to 3, which include all proper names of people, the locative is formed by prefixing "ko" before the entire phrase.
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== Idioms ==
  
* eg. (1) '''Ko''' u manu (at/to/in/from the person)
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The Oan language is extremely idiomatic. For example the phrase "u manu ua pala ro u solo" literally means the man meets with the sun. In actual fact it means the man has awoken. This expression is used instead of "u manu ua (ki)tika". Which would mean, the man rises.
* eg. (2) '''Ko''' tiu manu (at/to/in/from the people)
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* eg. (3) '''Ko''' nu papa (at/to/in/from the father)
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* eg. (4) '''Ko''' tinu papa (at/to/in/from the fathers)
+
  
For nouns that are not in class 1 to 4, the locative is formed by adding "-eni" the end of the word.
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== Moods ==
* eg. ku hua'''eni''' (locative for light)
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* eg. i kuoano'''eni''' (locative for a room)
+
  
=== Possessive ===
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The Oan language has four [[Wikipedia:grammatical mood|grammatical moods]].
 +
=== Indicative ===
  
The possessive form is similar to the genitive case of some other languages. It indicates the possessor, or a more general association, and corresponds in meaning to the English preposition "of" which is "'''ta'''". It is placed after the noun that is possessed.
+
Indicative moods are positive beliefs or factual statements, eg. Ki manu haha (The men laugh).
  
* eg. Ku hua '''ta''' i solo (The light of the sun).
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=== Imperative ===
* eg. Tinu papa '''ta''' tinu loanu (The fathers of the boys)
+
  
== Verb ==
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Imperatives can be a single word eg. "Wayana!" (Go). They can also be sentences. The imperative is indicated by the word ''lua'' eg. Autu ''lua'' tena mama ta autu! (You shall/must/will see your mother).
Particles
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{| class="wikitable"
+
|-
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! Present !! Past
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|-
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| -na || -nile
+
|}
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Preceding morpheme
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{| class="wikitable"
+
|-
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!! Nonhuman !! Human
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|-
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| Past || Ia lounu || Ua lounu
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|-
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| Present || Ia || Ua
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|-
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| Future || Ia kouna || Ua kouna
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|}
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Gerunds - Preceding morpheme: U
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Gerundives - Preceding morpheme: U to
+
  
All verbs
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=== Subjunctive ===
 
+
== Idioms ==
+
 
+
The Oan language is extremely idiomatic. For example the phrase "u manu ua pala ro u solo" literally means the man meets with the sun. In actual fact it means the man has awoken. This expression is used instead of "u manu ua (ki)tika". Which would mean, the man rises.
+
  
== Sentence Construction ==
+
The subjuctive mood indicates doubt or uncertainty. They are indicated by the word "''rua''" and means "perhaps, maybe or if". Eg. Rua ki manu ki hanu ko reatueni, mautuna lua tena ti teno. (If the men are on the island, they might find fruit) or "Ki manu lua tena ti teno rua mautuna ki ko reatueni" (The men will find fruit if they are on the island). The imperative ''lua'' turns to doubt when it is coupled with the word ''Rua''. It is seen as a negation of ''lua''.
 +
=== Interrogative ===
  
== Numerical system ==
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There are two ways to make a question. The first is to place the word ''alu'' or 'what' at the beginning of a sentence. It is often used together with a verb. For example: ''alu hoa'' is a question of manner, the equivalent of 'how' and so on. The most common combinations are ''alu hoa'' (manner), ''alu wayana'' (direction or route), ''alu kati'' (time), ''alu pita'' (frequency), ''alu ko'' (location), ''alu manu'' (person), ''alu tono'' (thing), ''alu paola'' (amount) and ''alu kopaola'' (position). For example: ''Alu manu u'' kaluile i telo? (Who ate the fruit).
  
After the invention of the number "0" nearly a thousand years ago, the Oan numerical system began to resemble the Arab system. The only differences are the notational differences. For example the number 1,000 would be represented by the 1 and a symbol that represent 1,000. After the number 1,000, all notational symbols are fusions of the symbols for 1,000; 100 and 10. Separate symbols were invented for a million, billion, trillion and quadrillion several decades ago.
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The second way to form a question is to add the word ''na'' at the end of a normal clause. Au u ana na? (You are good?)
  
 
== Basic phrases ==
 
== Basic phrases ==
Line 148: Line 111:
 
! Codexian !! Oan
 
! Codexian !! Oan
 
|-
 
|-
| Hello || kia ora
+
| Hello || Autenāutu
 
|-
 
|-
| Goodbye || u wayana ro u noa
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| Goodbye || Wayanāna
 
|-
 
|-
| Thank you || i u roa ro u noa
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| Thank you || Aūlapohautu
 
|-
 
|-
| Please || i u tamana ro u noa
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| Please || Auaeautu
 
|-
 
|-
| Sorry || i u tamana i toala ta u
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| Sorry || Aūkolaoautu
 
|-
 
|-
| What is your name? || i ni i namu ta u?
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| What is your name? || Alu namu ta autu?
 
|-
 
|-
| My name is John || I namu ta mi i Iohana.
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| My name is John || I namu ta au i (u) Iohana.
 
|-
 
|-
| Do you speak Codexian? || u lanuna i Kotekasu na?
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| Do you speak Codexian? || Autu lanuha Kotekasu na?
 
|-
 
|-
| I do not understand Oan. || I a lanuna i Oalanu.
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| I do not understand Oan. || Au a lanuha i Oalanu.
 
|-
 
|-
| My pleasure || ku i noa ta mi.
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| My pleasure || Anatāu.
 
|-
 
|-
| How are you? || U kani u u, na?
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| How are you? || Alu hoa autu?
 
|-
 
|-
| I'm fine || i noaile ro mi.
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| I'm fine || Aūana
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
=== Translated Text ===
 +
 +
God save the Ruler of the Sea
 +
God preserve our nation
 +
God protect us from enemies
 +
God keep us from disunity
 +
 +
The sea, the land and the sky
 +
Praise your holy name.
 +
For you have given us a good home.
 +
We are free, and equal.
 +
 +
''u Oa, tiaki u Ratiranga-ta-i-Moana
 +
u Oa, tiaki i iwi ta autu
 +
u Oa, tiaki kaui ti hoariri
 +
u Oa, tiaki kaui ku a kotahi
 +
 +
 +
i moana, i rangi e i whenua
 +
Whakamoemiki i ingoa tapu ta mautu
 +
Mautu u hoatuile autu i noho pai
 +
Autu ku noa e ku rite''

Latest revision as of 05:38, 4 October 2017

The Oan language (natively called Oalanu) is widely spoken in Konoa, The Oan Isles, East Polynesia, and to a lesser degree, Asian Pacific Islands. It forms the part of the West Polynesian branch of Polynesian languages. It is the only surviving member of the Oanoana family. It spoken by 90 million people across the South Pacific Ocean, and forms one of the official languages of the Polynesian Union. Various accents and dialects of the language exist, the "core" dialect being Rokalanunyanataoalanu of the Oan capital La Rochelle. In Codexian, it is frequently referred to as Oan (which is also the Codexian demonym for the Oan Isles).

Phonology

Script

Main Article: Script of the Oan language

The Oan language is written in a special syllabary. It contains 900 symbols that represent syllables, although only a third are in common use. The script was developed from early forms of the katagana script from Ziseshouwei.

Phonetics

Vowels:

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

Consonants

Labial Dental Post Alveolar Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Stop p t k
Fricate s h
Approximant l y w
Trill r

Synthesis

The Oan language is a synthetic language. It has derivational synthesis. For example the word silawasaitaka is formed from the phrase 'silence of the flower of the sea' and means "spiritual calm" and is often translated to the Codexian word "serenity". Many complex Oan words are derived from abstract or metaphorical poetic or idiomatic phrases that are fused to create an altogether different meaning.

Relational synthesis is shown in the word Rokalanunyanataoaloanu. It means: The Rock dialect of Oan. The word "Dialect" is a diminutive of the word language. In such words there is often a change in TONE not stress. Fusional synthesis can be found in words such as "hello" or Autenāutu. It is a synthesis of the phrase "I see you" and would be written as "Au tena autu" in expanded form. The "ā" is a fusion of the last vowel of the word "tena" or "see" and the first vowel of autu or you. The sole purpose of macrons in Oan words is to indicate fusion which is often stressed.

In all words that are synthesised from others, the staccato monosyllabic pronunciation is often changed altogether depending on the word, and this distinguishes them from the words they were fused from. Vowels that are next to each other to not always belong to one syllable. In words such as "Oa" the letters are pronounced distinctly, but a hard "h" is used as a transative sound. This applies to most vowels. "y" and "w" are only used as transitional sounds if they are explicitly indicated. When vowels are next to each other but belong to different syllables, they pronounced as separate words entirely, but the pause that is used to indicate word change is absent. This is seen in the Oan word for please Auaeautu. The syllables are in fact Au/ae/au/tu. It may be difficult for non Oans to distinguish between these.

Nouns

Nouns are names of things.

Articles

Articles are neither definite nor indefinite. They indicated various things:

  • The article "u" indicates a single person, eg. u loanu (boy)
  • The article "ki" indicates more than one person, eg. ki loanu (boys)
  • The article "i" indicates a non-person, eg. i reatu (island)
  • The article "ti" indicates more than one non-person, eg. ti reatu (islands)
  • The article "ku" indicates characteristics typically associated with a particular thing or person, eg. ku manu (manhood)

Locative

Discussed in the section on Prepositions.

Possessive

The word "ta" is the equivalent of the word "of" and is used for both nouns and pronouns to indicate possession. The word "ta" is placed after the word that is being possessed.

Verbs

Verbs are states of being. They hace three tenses: past, future and present. The ordinary tense is the present tense. They are simple eg. Ti manu haha (The men laugh). When the article of the subject precedes the verb, it functions like an auxiliary verb, eg. Ti manu ti tinini (The men are many). The second tense is the past tense. "-ile" is suffixed to the verb to indicate the past tense and the same article that precedes the noun, precedes the verb and functions like an auxiliary verb such as "was" or "did", eg. Ti manu ti hahaile (The men laughed). The third tense is the future tense. No suffix is attached to the verb. Instead the word "to" precedes the verb and succeeds the article, eg. Ti manu ti to haha (The men will laugh).

Infinitives

The infinitive is attached at the end of the clause. The verbal component of the infinitive is always in the present tense. The preposition "ta" indicates the beginning of the infinitive. The article that precedes the subject also precedes the infinitive indicator "ku". together they function as the Codexian "to". Eg. Ki manu ki koraile ta ki ku tanuha mali (The men worked to make money). The phrase can be transliterated as: T "The men worked for the making of money".

Prepositions

Prepositions indicate relation. There are different words to indicate different locations, but all prepository phrases must beginning with the word "ko" and the object must be suffixed by "-eni". Eg. Ki manu ki hanu ko reatueni (The men are on the island). The preposition functions as a verb. Eg. in the past tense: Ki manu ki hanuile ko reatueni (The men were on the island). Eg. in the future tense: Ki manu ki to hanu ko reatuenu (The men will be on the island).

Pronoun

Pronouns are nouns that take the place of the subject or object:

  • Singular first person: au (I or me)
  • Singular second person: autu (You)
  • Singular third person: autuna (Him or her)
  • Singular third person (non-person): lautuna (it or that)
  • Plural first person: mau (we or us)
  • Plural second person: mautu (you)
  • Plural third person: mautuna (them or they)
  • Plural third person (non person): kautuna (them or those)

Idioms

The Oan language is extremely idiomatic. For example the phrase "u manu ua pala ro u solo" literally means the man meets with the sun. In actual fact it means the man has awoken. This expression is used instead of "u manu ua (ki)tika". Which would mean, the man rises.

Moods

The Oan language has four grammatical moods.

Indicative

Indicative moods are positive beliefs or factual statements, eg. Ki manu haha (The men laugh).

Imperative

Imperatives can be a single word eg. "Wayana!" (Go). They can also be sentences. The imperative is indicated by the word lua eg. Autu lua tena mama ta autu! (You shall/must/will see your mother).

Subjunctive

The subjuctive mood indicates doubt or uncertainty. They are indicated by the word "rua" and means "perhaps, maybe or if". Eg. Rua ki manu ki hanu ko reatueni, mautuna lua tena ti teno. (If the men are on the island, they might find fruit) or "Ki manu lua tena ti teno rua mautuna ki ko reatueni" (The men will find fruit if they are on the island). The imperative lua turns to doubt when it is coupled with the word Rua. It is seen as a negation of lua.

Interrogative

There are two ways to make a question. The first is to place the word alu or 'what' at the beginning of a sentence. It is often used together with a verb. For example: alu hoa is a question of manner, the equivalent of 'how' and so on. The most common combinations are alu hoa (manner), alu wayana (direction or route), alu kati (time), alu pita (frequency), alu ko (location), alu manu (person), alu tono (thing), alu paola (amount) and alu kopaola (position). For example: Alu manu u kaluile i telo? (Who ate the fruit).

The second way to form a question is to add the word na at the end of a normal clause. Au u ana na? (You are good?)

Basic phrases

Codexian Oan
Hello Autenāutu
Goodbye Wayanāna
Thank you Aūlapohautu
Please Auaeautu
Sorry Aūkolaoautu
What is your name? Alu namu ta autu?
My name is John I namu ta au i (u) Iohana.
Do you speak Codexian? Autu lanuha Kotekasu na?
I do not understand Oan. Au a lanuha i Oalanu.
My pleasure Anatāu.
How are you? Alu hoa autu?
I'm fine Aūana

Translated Text

God save the Ruler of the Sea God preserve our nation God protect us from enemies God keep us from disunity

The sea, the land and the sky Praise your holy name. For you have given us a good home. We are free, and equal.

u Oa, tiaki u Ratiranga-ta-i-Moana u Oa, tiaki i iwi ta autu u Oa, tiaki kaui ti hoariri u Oa, tiaki kaui ku a kotahi


i moana, i rangi e i whenua Whakamoemiki i ingoa tapu ta mautu Mautu u hoatuile autu i noho pai Autu ku noa e ku rite