Ring A: 12/18: Proto-Drem

One early morning a certain person was going around with his motorcycle delivering mail. When he stopped and waited for a while, the person fell down on his face onto the road. This happened as the deliverer was going to the plaza. He held up a flute since he was bothered by an animals whining. It appeared to be a cat that was upset and in danger. The cat just stayed put even when he was trying to win over the cats trust. The Deliverer acted playfully and gave the cat a little bit of food. He thought over his situation and went back to his vehicle. He cursed the cat which was still not satisfied. He grabbed the handle of his umbrella to protect himself from the icy rain. He wielded his umbrella in order to defend himself but the cat stayed and so the deliverer went back to his vehicle and went home. All day he was upset since the cat whined.

Mostly SVO, but without an Object, the order becomes VS. One really doesn't need to worry to much about tones, but there is one distinct case which needed attention, as one can see the difference on the wordlist.

Note that there is A LOT of ‘stuff drop', all those little words in English don't show in Proto-Drem, so one has to fill-in the gaps on their own. Context is key here.

For chains of verbs, remember that serial verbs always act like a chain of events; the 1st verb is the first thing done, and so on…

TENSE/ASPECT/MOOD is not seen basically in PD, so once again, you'll have to rely on context to get an idea on what is past & what is present.

Not that with any incorporation, the verb root is ALWAYS (99.99% of the time) attached to the object root. So expect [stuff-subject] [stuff-verb-object-stuff] as far as how affixes look.

One consonant mutation, ALWAYS realize that when a consonant cluster occurs, the 1st consonant gets dropped, and the preceding vowel is lengthened (ie ehl -> eel).

Njija       v. to whine
Ncirandosanjawa n. cat (thought of as a mountain lion)
Naho        v. to stay
Njabi       v. to protect
-nja        LOC – in
Ndosa       n. animal
Laa?kom     v. upset, bothered
Mes     n. food
U       2P
D'abe       since
Gbe     CONJ – and
B'ob        v. to fall
-mb'i       LOC – down
-bo     DOER verb (i.e. sculpt + DOER = sculpter)
Ndese       n. day
Nju?u       TIMEAFF – beginning
Ja      n. person
Ho      v. to go
Num     with
-za     CNVA - -ing; also VERB -> STATIVE NOUN
Nobu        v. to happen
?ema        CAUS (think,, ‘by')
Nambowa     v. to appear
Ndind?      v. to influence, manipulate
G'od        v. to play
-nd?        CNVA - -fully; also NOUN -> ADVERB
B'om        v. cold
G'ish?      n. rain
Hondeh      v. return home
G'awi       n. branches, stick, handle
Na      NEG – no, not
Ntig        TIMEAFF – all
-(?)l       DEG – a little, little bit
n?      v. to grab
g'abu       v. to hold
-b'o        LOC – up
Gbaru       v. to deliver
Lenu        v. to wait
Len     v. to stop, finish
Hob     n. face
Gba?ush     n. path, road, trail
Ri?i        n. danger
Ges(h)      SUPERLATIVE (think… good, better, best)
Bu      v. to act
G'iwe       n. open space, area (a communal ‘plaza-like' area for the village)
Mbu?a       v. to trust
Làa?kóm     v. Satisfy
Wa      from
momb'omantoro   n. wagon
?u?     in order to…
be      v. to try
Njabig'ish?wa   n. umbrella