Day 31 (1:01 In Extended Base 30 Base 7) Of Rewriting My Conlang.

Ipol (Conlang) Synopsis

Day 3 (? 4?) of writing my novel and I actually wrote a bunch today! But today I wanted to do something different: present on the most-used conlang in my novel: Ipol.

Ipol ['i.pol] is an Eastern Zenestian language descended from Classical Zispoel by way of Old Ipol. Ipol is actually the word used for the accent spoken in Ir Nouzonif (Ip. I Nusnif [i.'nus.nif]), the capital of Zeneste. Most other dialects, including several languages, are lumped together into Ipol Sinezo (literally: Rice-farmer Ipol.)

Phonology

Consonants

Ipol has 16 consonants:

Oral Stops: p, b, t*, d*, k, g*

* t, d > tʃ, dʒ / _ i

**Nasal Stops: **n, m

Fricatives: f, s*, h

* s > ʃ / _ {i, e}

Semivowels: j, w

Liquids: l

Rhotics*: r*, rr

r > /ɹ/ / _ {#, consonant}

r > /ɾ/ / (everywhere else)

rr is the uvular rhotic /ʀ/ found in French

Vowels

Ipol has 12 vowels.

High: i, ij, u, uw

Mid: e, ee, o, oo (/oː/), oh (/ɔː/)

Low: æ (/æː/), a, aa (/aː/)

Phonotactics

Ipol is a (C)(S)V(C)(C)(C) language:

C = any consonant

V = any vowel + r

S = semivowel + r

Translation + Teaser

Excerpt from Part One:

Dr. Este grunted, wrinkling her nose at me. "If you know what's good for you," she rephrased, "you'll stay far, far away from the attic." I gulped. Then, I shook my head. What were a bunch of sticks going to do to me when I wasn't looking. "Why? The Sensonif isn't hiding up there, is she?" I realized that the first stained glass window depicted the three Heroes: the Heroes of Life, Earth, and Language. Then the other window depicted the Hero of Earth killing the Sensonif-a monster said to be fifty-feet high and filled with lava. One touch from her is said to kill a person in seconds. My comment stiffened the Vice President, who stopped. Then, hanging her head, she gripped my shoulder and looked up into my eyes, her gaze lifeless and cold. "Nerte treste ésispijen," she whispered, "Sispoh sispijz la eheempijz." If you care about yourself, you mustn't go into the attic.

Nerte - you.ABS

Treste - you.ACC

sispijen - believe in, care about

Sispoh - must

sispijz - (negative modal verb)

la - in, into, towards

eheempijz - attic (literally house-up, or the top bit of a house)

Conclusion

Given that Dr. Este is the Hero of Earth who sailed around the world with the other two Heroes (of Life and Language,) what do you think is in the attic that she's so worried about?

The Coalition

This most is mostly an info-dump about a part of Part Three (and Part Four) that I'm working on, but if you'd like, keep reading for spoilers!

The Western Zenestian Coalition

The Western Zenestian Coalition was founded with the sole purpose of recapturing Ir Nouzonif. The founding document dictates that, though it itself is not a governed nation, all states that participate must agree to build a militia, refuse to fight amidst themselves, and plan to recapture Ir Nouzonif under the leadership of the Three Heroes (Iziser, Taguchif, and Hota.) The founding member states were the state of Zenée and Tolftorrijv.

The white symbolizes Cognition (and, later, the White Army of Odapir.) The yellow symbolizes Doom, and the teal symbolizes Mind. These are the colors of the Three Heroes.

Speaking of the White Army, they seceded from Odapir before the coalition was founded, but they later join once they secure control of the border with Ir Nouzonif province. Another state is allowed to join with the approval of a simple majority of current member states.

The founding document also dictates that, upon the capture of Ir Nouzonif, all member states will be independent and recognized by all others. This is mostly for Zenée and Tolftorrijv, since they are states of Zeneste, and the White Army, who seceded from Odapir.

The Great Coalition

After the Hero of Earth joins the coalition in leadership, the states of Ytos, Itaush, and Atepsi, as well as the rebellion group in Pisteeks, the coalition grows into being most of the world, all with the goal of capturing Ir Nouzonif. Maybe I'll make a follow-up post about the Great Coalition.

Day 35 (1:05) of rewriting my novel

Today was a "bridge the gaps" day.

Yesterday, I wrote about Vimir. The day before that, I wrote about Taguchif. In order to bridge those scenes with what I already had, I wrote for, like, 4 hours and about 2,100 words piecing it all together. Now, Part Three is like 12,000 words, and I'm probably just over 1/3 of the way there? I'm staring down the barrel of probably 40,000 words necessary for Part Three.

To be clear, in no way is Meiste meant to be consumed in four parts. Later, I plan to block off chunks as chapters. But not until after I've gotten all four parts to places where they can reasonably be split off into chapters.

Part of what I mean by that is this: Part One was really rushed, comparatively. My "alpha" reader pointed out that the pacing is really rushed in Part One, and that's been on my mind this whole time, but that was really so I could work up the motivation to get through Part Two.

Part One is even, comparatively, short compared to parts Two and Three: it stands at just 12,000 words. And mostly as an introduction to the other three parts. That was a critical flaw in choosing what has become, essentially, in media res to start a fantasy novel.

I plan on adding a scene at the end, once this is all said and done, where Izi, Vimir, and his boss are all at church. With that I can do several big things:

Lay out Zenestian religion. While the Constitution of Zeneste is inherently a religious document, Zenestian government has strayed so far from its original intents to suck power from its citizens that the religion has almost become a sort-of government worship. This was one of the big reasons my "alpha" reader was confused in the first chapter by everyone just accepting that "the Constitution said Izi is Emperor, so Izi is Emperor." It's a level of Orwellian brainwashing that is crazy deep.

Lay out what Izi's world even looks like. At this point in the story, he's just an eighteen-year-old worker in a rice farm taking a single evening of rest to go and worship with his community, including his best friend and most loyal ally.

Set up the windows scene in Part One. In Part One, Izi's astounded by the lack of designs in the Old Chapel of Zeneste, and when he finds the old windows in the attic, he hires somebody to come and replace the windows for him. Since the reader doesn't have context for this, it might make Lozerief's outburst even more confusing.

Foreshadow his mom being the Hero of Life. Like, the Hero of Life appears everywhere, and I don't wanna give away Izi's mom being the Hero of Life too early, but I can afford to drop more hints.

This, alone, would add probably 2,000-3,000 words.

In addition, she recommended changing the pacing so Izi has more like a month in the palace (instead of the 3 days that I wrote in originally.) I definitely could use this to illustrate what the Zenestian government is like: a bunch of corrupt politicians figuring out how they can get more power (Lozerief is an exception).

This has mostly become me ranting about novel plotting, and what I have to do later, but feel free to let me know your thoughts! I'm always open to hear other peoples' opinions (except when they necessitate the disenfranchisement of others.)

As Promised

I filled out one of these character sheets I found for In Iziser, Hero of Cognition and Emperor of Zeneste, as a writing warm-up.

General Info

Name: In Iziser

Nicknames:

• Most prominent: Nuwrrite Emeete, "Hero of Cognition," Nuwrrite sis Nistemiks pijn.

Called Izi by all his friends.

Pronouns: he/him

Age: 18

Gender: Cis Man

Sexuality: Pan

Species: Human

Place Of Birth: Outside of Ir Nouzonif, Zeneste

Current Home: Ir Nouzonif, Zeneste

Big spoilers ahead of here, be warned!

Appearance

Izi has short, brown hair and brown skin and a flat-ish nose. His eyes are green, and he stands at around 5' 6" (167 cm). He doesn't appear particularly fit or trim, but the mass on his bones is definitely muscle from tilling and harvesting rice fields.

Normally, he'll be seen wearing jeans and long-sleeves, even in >100 F (37 C) heat-indexes, since Ir Nouzonif is a very humid place. He's no stickler for colors matching, and often his clothes are permanently stained with dirt.

Personality

Though mostly cheery, he can becomes aggravated easier than normal. Moreover, he can be overzealous and overconfident. He's very openly trusting, although he keeps his early history close to his chest. He's not altogether too proud, though he hates to receive charity, even when he's down on his luck. He looks up to his father, and remembers his words a lot.

Likes:

• Rice bowls. They're his favorite food because they're a) easy to make, b) versatile, and c) filling with the right ingredients. He mostly just adds a couple of fried eggs to his rice bowls.

• Spending time with Hotautebz, the Hero of Mind. Since there's no point in holding back from Hota, Izi feels most like himself when he's with them. Hota's not too judgemental, thankfully.

• His local general store. It's the place where he does most of his shopping, since he knows the price is relatively cheap for the quality of clothing and other daily goods.

Dislikes:

• His authority being questioned. Though he's very insecure about being a leader (in more ways than one), he wouldn't give up the title for his life. He often finds ways to reassert his own authority in that way.

• Lounging around. Izi is restless and likes to me moving about. He likes to rest when he's tired, but he doesn't stay stagnant for too long.

• Burned rice. He believes rice is one of the easiest things to cook, and one of the hardest things to mess up, since it's so versatile.

Known Abilities

Cognition Magic

Cognition magic is the magic of the Irrealis-that which is not real, or cannot be known. Quantum physics lends itself really well to this, as well as knowledge of magic, itself. At a base level, Izi can teleport, become "ghost-like," and sense another person's magic.

Besides that, his skill with the scythe and sickle have been honed for the years since he worked in the rice fields.

Relationships

Family:

• (Mother) Ihine Dolgof, Hero of Life. (Not present during his upbringing.) (See! I told you there would be big spoilers.)

(Father) Äs Xajas. Raised Izi alone. Deceased

(Sister) In Taguchif, Hero of Redacted. Raised by her mother (Ihine Dolgof) in Atepsi to become the Princess of Atepsi.

Friends/Allies:

• Vimir, roommate and best friend. Worked in the rice fields together. Complete airhead.

Eheste Lozerief, Hero of Earth. Simultaneously an ally and enemy.

Hotautebz Az, Hero of Mind. Izi and Hota fit together like the first two tunes in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Songs.

Enemies:

President Sluwfa of Zeneste. The big bad.

Eheste Lozerief. Marginally less bad.

In Taguchif. Even less bad.

Backstory

Izi was born the second of two to the Hero of Life and Xajas. Deciding she couldn't raise two children, Ihine Dolgof forced Xajas to divorce and split their children, since Taguchif was just two, and Izi had just been born. As a result, Izi was raised alone.

He went through elementary school in the rural area outside of Ir Nouzonif until his father died in the hospital with stage four lung cancer. After that, the lawyers who were supposed to transcribe his inheritance and set up a fund, based on his father's will, stole it all for themselves, leaving the, now twelve years old, Iziser to find work for himself.

Fun Facts

• Izi's accent of Ipol has the voiceless uvular fricative, [χ], as the realization of the voiced uvular trill, [ʀ] phonemically /ʀ/. Additionally, his /s/ is realized as [h] in most contexts. In summary, he speaks like a farmer.

• Izi has a big fat crush on Hota for most of the novel. That's really all there is to say on the matter.

• Izi never quite realizes why the lemon tree is so significant for Dolgof and Lozerief.

Nine Lines, Nine Tags

A tag game from @authorcoledipalo (that I totally didn’t forget about, sorry!)

The rules: Post nine lines of dialogue, and then tag nine people. (I will tag less because 9 is too many.)

1. “You two [Izi and Hota] are cute,” Tagif chuckled, sitting on the extra bed, undoing her gauntlets.

2. “Hang on, let me get my foreign relations advisor on the phone with you.” I waved for Tagif who leaned in while I held the phone out.

3. “That was the last [syringe]. I shattered the other two.”

4. “You already took away our only chances at saving our world. Why come back to rub it in our faces?”

5. “Goddammit!” She stomped her foot, throwing her fists down. “Do you think I wanted to do that? I’m here to get her back, too.”

6. “No. Mistake is too light a word. Try murder?”

7. “It doesn’t kill magic, it just makes it unusable. Happy?”

8. “She already brainwashed everyone,” I hissed, “what more does she want.”

9. “All I want to do now is help you. All I want to do is retake Ir Nouzonif and stick it in President Sluwfa’s face.”

Tags:

@foxgloves-garden @ominous-feychild @theothersideofthewoods @moonsbetween @oldfashionedidiot +open tag!

Day 19 (25 in base 7) of rewriting my novel.

I wrote another 1,000 words ish. I've been adding roughly 1,000 words per day, and as a result, I'm somewhere along the order of 24,000 or so words total.

Today, I also completed a grambank table for Ipol! A while ago, @dedalvs created a grambank spreadsheet for conlangs that has been very helpful for documenting my conlangs' grammars (so I don't forget them,) and today I finished a "draft" of a finalized one for Ipol.

I will link it here:

Google Docs

Ipol Grambank

Language Features Grambank Feature,Basic Category,Subcategory,Y/N,Conlang Description and Example(s) <a href="https://grambank.clld.org/par

Submit any questions about it that you might have, or submit translations! I'm always looking to expand the lexicon.

That's all for now.

EDIT: I mistakenly credited David J. Peterson with creating this spreadsheet, but he's just who I heard it from! It is actually by Jessie Peterson.

Edit 2: I knew David Peterson and Jesse Peterson were married, but I didn’t piece together that it was Jesse Peterson who created the grambank spreadsheet.

This but it’s about a series you’re writing that’s not even published yet

Experience: Learning the right way to connect the dots.

Bold What Applies to your OCs!

Thank you @theothersideofthewoods for the tag.

I'll do this exercise with the three most-important characters for Parts One and Two. Since this would be relatively uninteresting otherwise (for two characters), this will be post-novel canon.

In Iziser: Hero of Cognition, Emeistezon

Killed Someone Under Orders | Had Someone Killed On Their Orders| Killed Someone In Self Defense | Spared Someone’s Life | Invented Something | Been Hungover | Kissed Someone | Slow-Danced | Been In A Long-Term Relationship | Had Sex | Had Sex And Regretted It | Had A One-Night Stand | Had A Threesome | Experimented With Their Sexuality | Had A Kid | Adopted A Kid | Wanted To Have A Family With Someone | Done Something On Impulse They Regretted | Gone Traveling | Had A Bounty Put On Them | Eaten An Insect | Been Groped/SA'd | Been Dumped | Dumped Someone | Smoked | Gotten High | Put Someone In A Headlock | Won A Bet | Lost A Bet | Forgiven Someone Who Wronged Them | Indulged In Petty Revenge | Hallucinated | Gotten A Noticeable Scar | Kneed/Hit Someone In The Groin | Had An Unattainable Crush | Laughed Themselves To The Point Of Tears | Been Kidnapped | Been Brainwashed/Hypnotized | Had A Recurring Nightmare | Been Bullied | Bullied Someone | Experienced Survivor’s Guilt | Been Tied/Chained Up | Given Someone A Massage | Received A Massage | Been Backed Up Against A Wall | Shot Someone | Stabbed Someone| Saved Someone’s Life | Cheated On Someone | Been Cheated On | Been In An Open Relationship | Had A Friendship With Benefits | Been In A Queerplatonic Relationship | Had A Stalker | Been Betrayed | Been A Traitor | Been Possessed | Been In A Bar Fight | Been Thrown Out Of A Bar | Been Arrested | Broken Out Of Jail | Been To A Funeral | Been To A Brothel | Had Surgery | Broken Someone’s Trust | Broken Someone’s Heart | Had Their Heart Broken | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Anger | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Spite | Gotten A Piercing | Gotten A Tattoo | Used A Fake Name | Been Beaten Up | Been Tortured | Tortured Others | Been Abused | Been Blackmailed | Gotten Away With A Crime | Framed Someone Else For A Crime They Committed | Shared A Bed Platonically | Been In Love | Suffered From Sleep Paralysis | Been Forced To Flee Their Home | Learned A New Language | Joined A Rebellion | Fought On The Losing Side Of A War | Fought On The Winning Side Of A War | Become A Godparent | Become An Aunt/Uncle

Hotautebz Az: Hero of Mind, Ezispoerizon

Killed Someone Under Orders | Had Someone Killed On Their Orders | Killed Someone In Self Defense | Spared Someone’s Life | Invented Something | Been Hungover | Kissed Someone | Slow-Danced | Been In A Long-Term Relationship | Had Sex | Had Sex And Regretted It | Had A One-Night Stand | Had A Threesome | Experimented With Their Sexuality | Had A Kid | Adopted A Kid | Wanted To Have A Family With Someone | Done Something On Impulse They Regretted | Gone Traveling | Had A Bounty Put On Them| Eaten An Insect| Been Groped/SA'd | Been Dumped | Dumped Someone | Smoked | Gotten High | Put Someone In A Headlock | Won A Bet | Lost A Bet | Forgiven Someone Who Wronged Them | Indulged In Petty Revenge | Hallucinated | Gotten A Noticeable Scar | Kneed/Hit Someone In The Groin | Had An Unattainable Crush | Laughed Themselves To The Point Of Tears | Been Kidnapped | Been Brainwashed/Hypnotized | Had A Recurring Nightmare | Been Bullied | Bullied Someone | Experienced Survivor’s Guilt | Been Tied/Chained Up | Given Someone A Massage | Received A Massage | Been Backed Up Against A Wall | Shot Someone | Stabbed Someone| Saved Someone’s Life | Cheated On Someone | Been Cheated On | Been In An Open Relationship | Had A Friendship With Benefits | Been In A Queerplatonic Relationship | Had A Stalker | Been Betrayed | Been A Traitor | Been Possessed | Been In A Bar Fight | Been Thrown Out Of A Bar | Been Arrested | Broken Out Of Jail | Been To A Funeral | Been To A Brothel | Had Surgery | Broken Someone’s Trust | Broken Someone’s Heart | Had Their Heart Broken | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Anger | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Spite | Gotten A Piercing | Gotten A Tattoo | Used A Fake Name | Been Beaten Up | Been Tortured | Tortured Others | Been Abused | Been Blackmailed | Gotten Away With A Crime | Framed Someone Else For A Crime They Committed | Shared A Bed Platonically | Been In Love | Suffered From Sleep Paralysis | Been Forced To Flee Their Home | Learned A New Language | Joined A Rebellion | Fought On The Losing Side Of A War | Fought On The Winning Side Of A War | Become A Godparent | Become An Aunt/Uncle

Eheste Lozerief: Hero of Earth, Meistezon

Killed Someone Under Orders | Had Someone Killed On Their Orders | Killed Someone In Self Defense | Spared Someone’s Life | Invented Something | Been Hungover | Kissed Someone | Slow-Danced | Been In A Long-Term Relationship | Had Sex | Had Sex And Regretted It | Had A One-Night Stand | Had A Threesome | Experimented With Their Sexuality | Had A Kid | Adopted A Kid | Wanted To Have A Family With Someone | Done Something On Impulse They Regretted | Gone Traveling | Had A Bounty Put On Them | Eaten An Insect| Been Groped/SA'd | Been Dumped | Dumped Someone | Smoked | Gotten High | Put Someone In A Headlock | Won A Bet | Lost A Bet | Forgiven Someone Who Wronged Them | Indulged In Petty Revenge | Hallucinated | Gotten A Noticeable Scar | Kneed/Hit Someone In The Groin | Had An Unattainable Crush | Laughed Themselves To The Point Of Tears | Been Kidnapped | Been Brainwashed/Hypnotized | Had A Recurring Nightmare | Been Bullied | Bullied Someone | Experienced Survivor’s Guilt | Been Tied/Chained Up | Given Someone A Massage | Received A Massage | Been Backed Up Against A Wall | Shot Someone | Stabbed Someone | Saved Someone’s Life | Cheated On Someone | Been Cheated On | Been In An Open Relationship | Had A Friendship With Benefits | Been In A Queerplatonic Relationship | Had A Stalker | Been Betrayed | Been A Traitor | Been Possessed | Been In A Bar Fight | Been Thrown Out Of A Bar | Been Arrested | Broken Out Of Jail | Been To A Funeral | Been To A Brothel | Had Surgery | Broken Someone’s Trust | Broken Someone’s Heart | Had Their Heart Broken | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Anger | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Spite | Gotten A Piercing | Gotten A Tattoo | Used A Fake Name | Been Beaten Up | Been Tortured | Tortured Others | Been Abused | Been Blackmailed | Gotten Away With A Crime | Framed Someone Else For A Crime They Committed | Shared A Bed Platonically | Been In Love | Suffered From Sleep Paralysis | Been Forced To Flee Their Home | Learned A New Language | Joined A Rebellion | Fought On The Losing Side Of A War | Fought On The Winning Side Of A War | Become A Godparent | Become An Aunt/Uncle

In hindsight, this would've been just as interesting as if I had just done this pre-novel canon. Oh well.

Here, I tag: @the-letterbox-archives and @moonsbetween