Kílta Lexember 10: válekwa "sinecure"

Today I'm going a bit more specialized for Kílta, but still using the derivation I've used a previous post, the -i/ekwa room and building suffix:

válekwa /βaːˈle․kʷa/ sinecure < vál perquisite, privilege + -i/ekwa room, building suffix 

Here I'm using a common enough metonymy of a place for the things that go on there. In this case, it's referring to some sort of official position (possibly governmental, but it could be business, and probably organized crime) that someone has but for which they aren't expected to accomplish much if any work. The position exists to confer wealth and power.

Because it's derived from a location term, expressions with will tend to refer to that origin.

Sím në ronin válekwa nen úri vëchësto.
sím në ronin válekwa nen úri vëch-ëst-o
3SG TOP high sinecure LOC just.now remain-INCH-PFV
He just got a valuable sinecure.

The adjective ronin high is often associated with positions of power (again, a common enough conceptual metaphor). The verb vëcho means remain at the core, but is used for expressions meaning live, dwell.

One might also get kutta vë válekwa a vassal's sinecure, a valuable position that requires the continued patronage of some powerful figure. Any sinecure might be like this, but in this expression the position is precarious.

I still need to work out some nice phrasing for when someone is evicted from a sinecure.

Kílta Lexember 9: okwama "kitchen"

Yet another fairly basic term I should have invented for Kílta years ago:

okwama /oˈkʷæ.ma/ kitchen < okwa hearth, fireplace + -ama location and time derivation

I don't use the ("non-productive") -e/ikwa room derivation here to avoid the doubled /kʷ/.

Kolán okwama nen vuttë sunko?
everyone kitchen LOC why stand.PFV
Why is everyone in the kitchen?

I spend a certain amount of time thinking about lexical collocation. You could say that someone was "very mistaken," but a more idiomatic turn of phrase is "sorely mistaken." You cannot, however, be "sorely correct." A high degree of attention is close. And so on. Intensifiers often come in for special treatment.

Kitchens don't usually get intensifiers, but you do sometimes want to talk about a kitchen (or any workspace) that is well suited or well prepared for the work that goes on there. So, I've decided to add a polysemy to the already existing adjective kinochin, normally used of people to mean ready, prepared. When referring to places where work takes place, it now also means well or fully equipped. If you were trying to sell it, I suppose you could say well-appointed.

Ël vë kinochin okwama nen tëlpár surílo.
3SG ATTR well.equipped kitchen LOC cook.CVB.IPFV enjoy.PFV
I enjoy cooking in their well-equipped kitchen.

Kílta Lexember 8: konekwa "bedroom"

Very basic vocabulary for Kílta today:

konekwa /koˈne.kʷa/ bedroom < kono sleep -(e/i)kwa room, building

The suffix -(e/i)kwa is yet another of those "non-productive" suffixes. 

Mautur në konekwa nen nulo tul?
cats TOP bedroom LOC lie.PFV Q
Are the cats in the bedroom?

Not a whole lot of room (sorry) for polysemy with this one.

Kílta Lexember 7: hënnëtukës "charismatic leader"

A somewhat more obscure term for Kílta today, but a matter that sometimes grabs my attention.

hënnëtukës /xən.nəˈtu.kəs/ charismatic leader < hënno tame, control + tuka eye + -ës agent and instr. nmnl

In Kílta the word tuka eye has strong connotations of nosiness, extending to surveillance. I wanted for this word to capture the role of the rather nosy techniques of group control that tend to accompany organizations headed by charismatic figures. Also, what the leader turns their eye to tends to become the interest of everyone in such a group.

Hënnëtukës luël si chasët në, nahësá luël si inachëlo.
hünnëtukës luël si chas-ët në, nahës-á luël si inach-ël-o
charismatic.leader error ACC do-CVB.PFV TOP follower-PL error ACC big-CAUS-PFV
When a charismatic leader makes a mistake, the followers amplify the mistake.

A general converb clause can be topicalized, and it has a mixed conditional and temporal sense. My translation uses when, which captures the more conditional sense here.

Hënnëtukës në pairun no.
chairsmatic.leader TOP disaster be.PFV
A charistmatic leader is a catastrophe.

Kílta distinguishes pairun, a disaster that is more man-made, from sauna, a disaster over which people have no control.

Kílta Lexember 6: rutta "tool"

Today's Kílta word is an unexpected oversight. I have several derivations that can create words for tools, but no general term. This is using another one of those hidden derivations.

rutta /ˈɾut.ta/ tool, instrument < ruto take, grab + -ta nominalizer

In this derivation the verb ruto should be taken as referring more generally to handling.

Vurpin rutta si ikko?
what.kind? tool ACC lack.PFV
What (kind of) tool do you need?

Kílta somewhat prefers to use vurpin what kind of in some places where English is content with what or which. It also drops arguments a lot, as here.

Ta rutta në súchat níko më.
that tool TOP dig.INF be.like.PFV NEG
That tool isn't suitable for digging.

The verb níko resemble, be like with an infinitive is used to describe fitness for a purpose.

Kílta Lexember 5: haimavo "disappear, fade from view"

Kílta already has the verb tëníto go/be away which I've sometimes used to mean disappear. But that refers to a physical absence. Today's word is visual.

haimavo /xaɪ̯ˈma.βo/ disappear, fade from view (new root, no etymology)

Nama asíkár, Ótahwa haimavësto.
nama asík-ár ótahwa haimav-ëst-o
sun rise-CVB.IPFV mars fade.from.view-INCH-PFV
As the sun rose, Mars faded from view.

Kílta uses the inchoative/inceptive more often than English will say "start to, get" with verbs.

You can even use haimavo and tëníto together:

Luëkëlva në úkár haimavët tëníto.
train TOP go.CVB.IPFV fade.CVB.PFV go.away.PFV
As the train went it faded from view and was gone.

Kílta Lexember 4: mukélës "symbiote"

Another fairly straightforward word for Kílta today, but with a few obvious and related derivations in the mix:

mukélës /muˈkeː.ləs/ symbiote < muko live + -él- co-, con- + -ës agent nominalizer

This is a straight-up calque of symbiote, but the derivation is fairly obvious and I couldn't think of anything else that wasn't torturously clever.

To state relationships, the postposition is tin (together) with.

Lita në kiva tin vë mukélës no.
mushroom TOP tree with ATTR symbiote be.PFV
Mushrooms are symbiotes with trees.

In Kílta, generic nouns are in the singular.

Probably a more natural way to express this is with an adjective, which is mukélarin symbiotic, again using tin with for the relationship.

Lita në kiva tin mukélarin no.
mushroom TOP tree with symbiotic be.PFV
Mushrooms are symbotic with trees.

Because I spend a certain time worrying about how systems interact and influence things, Kílta has a nominal derivation just to mean systems. So, mukéluista symbiosis, system of symbiosis.

Mukéluista në ummul vë muër no.
symbiosis TOP forest ATTR interconnectedness be.PFV
Systems of symbiosis are the interconnectedness of the forest.

The translation for that is a bit of a mouthful, but is a good example of one of the main functions of a personal conlang. It allows the language creator to express things they find interesting or important concisely.

Of course, now I've had to add parasite to my ever-growing backlog of vocabulary to create.