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YouTube video by LangTime Studio Lexember 2024 (Okoki): December 31st

Happy end of Lexember and New Year’s Eve!

The video for today's Okoki entry: youtu.be/zKhC7uEVNLg?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The final Okoki word for #Lexember is “ẽtu” (“to gather”), from *insu. High vowels lower before nasal codas, fricatives fortify after nasals, and nasal codas drop out, leaving behind a nasal vowel (*insu > ensu > entu > ẽtu).

“Ko odapo’ina ẽtudonu.” (“The squirrel gathered treasures.”)

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 30 is “‘u” [ʔu] (“to perch, to stand”), from *ʔux. It occurs with the non-past and third-person singular suffixes in the sentence “Khuu tãna ga ‘uanu” (“An owl perches on a branch”).

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/hcCSlf9oY4I?...

only now can Okoki call itself a language in earnest 🦉

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “tã” (“branch”), which comes from *tam. An example sentence is “Khuu tãna ga ‘uanu” (“An owl perches on a branch”).

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/3-k3Twpb7RU?...

The Okoki word for #Lexember 28 is “khuu” (“owl”), which is very much an onomatopoeic word.

“Khuu tãna ga ‘uanu” means “An owl perches on a branch.”

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 27 is the verb “su’u” (“to crack open”), as in the sentence “Tii isana su’udonu” (“A young squirrel cracked open an acorn”).

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/VAkYlIrRtB0?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “isa” (“acorn”), from *iksa. In the sentence “Tii isana su’udonu” (“A young squirrel cracked open an acorn”), “isa” occurs with the suffix “-na,” marking it as an object.

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/k9Z0CrJV0kk?...

The Okoki word for #Lexember 25 is “tii” (“young squirrel”), which comes from *tig. When non-nasal voiced codas were deleted, the vowel was compensatorily lengthened.

“Tii isana su’udonu” means “A young squirrel cracked open an acorn.”

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 24 is “mahu” (“to dig”), as in the sentence “Osanu mahuara” (“The animals are digging”). This particular sentence was my favorite to say from all the sentences for this month. It rolls off the tongue quite nicely!

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/vrkQL6EjF6c?...

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “anu” (“animal”), which is the source for the third-person singular nominative pronoun “nu” and also the 3sg subject-agreement suffix that occurs with verbs (“-(a)nu”).

“Osanu mahuara” means “Animals are digging.”

#conlang

Video: youtu.be/SO1FGoHDMHk?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki #Lexember word is “ãpa” (“to grab”), coming from the proto-form *amsa. Fricatives assimilated after nasal consonants and then fortified to a stop, so *amsa > *amfa > *ampa; then the nasal coda was lost, resulting in “ãpa.”

“Oraba lõna ãpadora” means “The hawks grabbed moss.”

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “lõ” (“moss”), which comes from the proto-form *lun.

“Oraba lõna ãpadora” means “The hawks grabbed moss.”

#conlang

Video of this post: youtu.be/a7PrQiglhLg?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 20 is “raba” (“hawk”), as in the sentence “Oraba lõna ãpadora” (“The hawks grabbed moss”).

#conlang

The video of this entry is in our Lexember playlist on YouTube:
youtu.be/WLHKa4vbTYE?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “dogi” (“to hide”), which completes the sentence “Lia arẽna ga dogidonu” (“A deer hid in the bush”).

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 18 is “arẽ” (“bush”), which comes from the proto-form *aɾim. In the sentence “Lia arẽna ga dogidonu” (“A deer hid in the bush”), “arẽ” is in its accusative form, functioning as the object of the postposition “ga”.

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “lia” (“deer”), as in the sentence “Lia arẽna ga dogidonu” (“A deer hid in the bush”).

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 16 is “khara,” which is the third-person plural form of the copular verb indicating a temporary state, coming from the verb *ʔux “to stand.” This verb completes the sentence “O’i bẽtuna ga khara” (“The babies are in the nest”).

#conlang

It’s a plural marker.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “ga,” a general locative postposition whose meaning depends on context. “O’i bẽtuna ga khara” is translated as “The babies slept in the nest” ( it would be odd for babies to sleep near but not in a nest). "Ga" ultimately comes from *gala “to touch.”

#conlang

The High Valyrian glyph for pikagon "to follow”.

The High Valyrian words pikagon “to follow”, pikībagon “to read”, pikībarys “knowledge”, piktys “sycophant”, piktenka "obedient”, ospikagon “to succeed”, ospiknon “succession”, and āpikagon “to track”.

Today’s #Lexember #Valyrian glyph is pikagon “to follow”. It’s a useful glyph, as it’s contained in the word piktys “sycophant”. I could one to know and pull out every so often. #conlang #language #hotd #houseofthedragon #asoiaf #got #gameofthrones #orthography #highvalyrian

The modern Okoki form "bẽtu" is a result of several sound changes, including vowel lowering before a nasal coda (*in > en), fricative fortition after a nasal (*ns > nt), and coda loss (*en > ẽ).

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki #Lexember word for today is “bẽtu” (“nest”), specifically a drey nest built with twigs and leaves in a tree (rather than a cavity nest built on or close to the ground).

“O’i bẽtuna ga khara” means “The babies are in the nest.”

#conlang

The Okoki word for #Lexember 13th is “‘i” (“baby, pup”), which is pronounced [ʔi] with an initial glottal stop. An example sentence is “O’i bẽtuna ga khara” (“The babies are in the nest”).

#conlang

YouTube video by LangTime Studio Lexember 2024 (Okoki): December 12th

I keep forgetting to share the video links here, but we are also doing daily #Lexember videos for Okoki, our #conlang for squirrels!

youtu.be/iWP8_uBI6hs?...

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “yẽ” (“to curl up, to get cozy”). It’s what a squirrel does when they wrap themselves into a ball and bury their nose in their tail. In the sentence “Owẽ yenara,” the final “n” reappears before the suffixes “-a” (non-past) and “-ra” (third-person plural).

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember entry is “wẽ” (“mouse”), which comes from the root *wim. High vowels lowered before nasal codas, and then the nasal coda was lost, leaving a nasal vowel behind. An example sentence is “Owẽ yenara” (“The mice curl up”).

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

The Okoki word for #Lexember 10th is “behi” (“to drop”). “Fari po’ina behianu” (“A rabbit drops a seed”) is one of my favorite sentences to say because of the vowel flow in the non-past 3sg suffixes (“behi-a-nu”)—the stress is on the first syllable of this four-syllable verb.

#conlang

A decorative image of a squirrel holding a TV with its screen displaying the same information from the text of the post.

Today’s Okoki #Lexember word is “po’i” (“seed”), as in the sentence “Fari po’ina behianu” (“The rabbit drops a seed”). One of the sound changes in Okoki is the loss of diphthongs, such as “pauʔi” becoming “po’i.”

#conlang