this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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Constructed Languages

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My conlang: Koiwak (conworkshop.com)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by backscatter@lemm.ee to c/conlangs@mander.xyz
 

I'm not fluent in linguistics jargon, so I'm copying and pasting my explanation from an article on Conworkshop. Also, the formatting isn't always exactly right because I'm not tech-minded enough to use all the features properly, but I gave it my best effort. Here's the explanation from the article:

The word Koiwak ['kɔɪ.ʃʌk] is derived from "koi" meaning "good", and "wak" meaning "language". So Koiwak is the "good language". It is the main language of Wakpondo.

This language is not meant to be used as a complete language. Certain things are almost impossible to talk about in Koiwak, such as (but not limited to) politics, religion, engineering, law matters, music theory etc. It is a supplementary language for speaking about natural, real things in a way that a lot of languages cannot allow for.


Root words are 3 (or sometimes 4, rarely 5) letter blocks to be built on. These are almost always (CVC).

-o can be added to a root word to show it's a noun, but it's not necessary if context already makes that clear.

vok - bird (root word, general) voko - bird (definitely a noun)


Plural is -r. So,

voko - bird vokor - birds


On the end of a verb: (lon = go/move/travel)

-ja - present (lonja = going/in motion/travelling)

-u - past (lonu = went/moved/travelled)

-i - future (lonja = will go/will move/will travel)


Certain things/phenomena are made more specific with affixes.

ban - something pertaining to mountains or similar things.

zhabano - big mountain lhubano - mountain/large hill phзbano - small hill/mound/pile zoibano - any tiny thing that resembles a tiny mountain


An interesting thing about zoiban...

-ew- is the collective noun affix, so:

zoibanwo - goosebumps

banwo - mountain range, so zoibanwo (dropping the /e/ for ease) is "tiny itty bitty mountain range".

mi zoibanew - I have goosebumps.

Incidentally, -em- means a piece/drop of something.

flεko - fire (generally) flεkemo - flame flεkewo - blaze, inferno


yam- is used to turn a word with a literal meaning, into a metaphorical version.

qoko - hiccup qokyamo - problem (proverbial hiccup)


Universal form of address is -pun. It can mean sir, madam, miss, dude etc, regardless of rank, gender, age, level of familiarity etc. -el- can serve as a diminutive to show affection.

Johnelo - Johnny vokelo - birdie


Nouns are altered by various suffixes

Beautiful(ly) - klase Beauty - klasau Beautiful person/creature - klaseno More beautiful - puklase Most beautiful - zuklase Less beautiful - klasεime Without beauty - nhiklase


Nhε is used to mean isn't it?/don't I?/aren't you?/wasn't she? and so on.

Kyi mhчdja, nhε? - you're tired, aren't you? Mi mhчdu, nhε? - I was tired, wasn't I? Koiwakja zhakoi, nhε? - Koishak is awesome, isn't it?


Moi can mean myself/yourself/ourselves/themselves/himself/herself/itself.

Mi kεvja moi - I flatter myself Kyi kεvja moi - you flatter yourself Жi kεvja moi - we flatter ourselves


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