Expanded lexicon & grammar

Changelog.md

@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
 * Changed the main word for "weather" = "*meso*".
 * Hence, the language name is now *meso*.
 * Removed pronouns, as suggested by /u/wibbly-water/.
-* Added grammar.
-* Reorganized lexicon, by category.
+* Added grammar rules.
+* Reorganized and expanded lexicon a bit, by category.
+* Added syntax rules.
 
 ### Other
 

README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-# *meso* — The weather small-talk language
+# *meso* — A weather small-talk language
 
-A language to speak only about the weather.
+A constructed language to speak only about the weather.
 
 *meso* doesn't have vocabulary about tools or objects, body parts, food or money or transports or animals/pets or the last movie you've watched or these sort of things.
 
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ I thought it would be fun to make a language with the right vocabulary and struc
 
 See the [language](language.md) and the [lexicon](lexicon.md) documents for more information. If you've tried to learn it, please tell me ; I'd be glad to collect your feedback.
 
-The first version of it was [published on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/r44epb/wipno_name_yet_a_language_dedicated_to_talk_about/).
+Its first version was [published on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/r44epb/wipno_name_yet_a_language_dedicated_to_talk_about/).
 
-Since then, the language has evolved. New words have appeared, and its grammar has been defined ; its name has even been changed!
+Since then, the language has evolved. New words have appeared, and its grammar has been defined ; even its name has changed!
 See the [changelog file](Changelog.md).
 
 *meso* language (grammar and vocabulary) is published under the terms of the [CC0 License](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed). See the `LICENSE.md` file for more details.

language.md

@@ -1,10 +1,41 @@
-# *meso* — The weather small-talk language
+---
+title: meso
+subtitle: A weather small-talk language (v2.0)
+author: Bruno Bord
+keywords:
+  - conlang
+  - weather
+  - meso
+  - minimalist
+  - small-talk
+---
+
+# Overview
+
+*meso* is a constructed language designed to speak only about the weather.
+
+*meso* doesn't have vocabulary about tools or objects, body parts, food or money or transports or animals/pets or the last movie you've watched or these sort of things.
+
+I thought it would be fun to make a language with the right vocabulary and structure to speak about the past, current or incoming weather, *and only that*.
+
+Its first version was [published on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/r44epb/wipno_name_yet_a_language_dedicated_to_talk_about/).
+
+This document is its latest version, written in October 2022.
+
+*meso* language (grammar and vocabulary) is published under the terms of the [Creative Commons CC0 License](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed).
+
+## Links
+
+* [The original Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/r44epb/wipno_name_yet_a_language_dedicated_to_talk_about/)
+* [Github Repository](https://github.com/brunobord/meso-conlang/), with Markdown sources, Changelog and detailed License file, etc.
+
+# Grammar
 
 ## Phonetics
 
 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
 
-consonants: p, t, k, f, s, sh (ʃ), l, w, j, m, n
+consonants: p, t, k, f, s, sh (`ʃ`), l, w, j, m, n
 
 |                | labial | labiodental | alveolar | alv-pal | velar |
 |:---------------|:------:|:-----------:|:--------:|:-------:|:-----:|
@@ -16,63 +47,94 @@ consonants: p, t, k, f, s, sh (ʃ), l, w, j, m, n
 
 ## Dialogue Example
 
-— tok! *(hello!)*  
-— tok tok! *(hello (reply))*  
-— tok meso o? *(do you want to talk about weather?)*  
+— tok! *(Hello!)*  
+— tok tok! *(Hello (reply))*  
+— tok meso o? *(Do you want to talk about weather?)*  
 — awi. sin shuta powa. *(I do. I forsee light rain today.)*  
-— sin awi. fofisi tiwa epoli. *(I agree (I forsee alike). Strong winds blew yesterday, from the North.)*  
+— sin awi. fofe tiwa epoli. *(I agree (I forsee alike). Winds blew yesterday, from the North.)*  
 — awi. sin shu lewa o? *(Same. Do you forsee rain tomorrow?)*  
-— sin konewi. si lume i aseniwo. *(I don't know precisely. Now, there is (I see) sun and Cumulus.)*  
+— sin konewi. si lume i ase. *(I don't know precisely. Now, there is (I see) sun and clouds.)*  
 — awi. oton juma. *(Indeed. The temperature is going low.)*  
-— sin loshen shu lewa.*(I'm not sure, but I forsee it might rain tomorrow.)*
+— sin loshen shu lewa. *(I'm not sure, but I forsee it might rain tomorrow.)*
+— awi. tok tono. *(I agree. Enough talking (goodbye).)*
+— tono awi. *(Enough, me too (goodbye))*
 
 ## Grammar
 
 ### Basic sentences
 
 Sentence order is (S)VO.
 
-There are no personal pronouns, since weather looks like a common experience. When somebody makes a statement, it's based on their observation and their own intuition.
+There are no personal pronouns, since weather is a common experience. When somebody makes a statement, it's based on their observation, their experience or their intuition.
 
 As a consequence, subjects might be omitted, as in:
 
-> sin shuta.
-> forsee - rain
+> sin shuta.  
+> *forsee - rain*
 
 Here, the subject is the person who speaks, so we may translate it as:
 
-> I forsee rain.
+> *I forsee rain.*
 
 The following sentence is SUBJECT VERB:
 
 > oton juma.
 
-The first word is a name ("temperature") and the next one is a verb ("decrease"). So it translates as:
+The first word is a name ("air") and the next one is a verb ("to be cold"). So it translates as:
 
-> the temperature is decreasing.
+> *the temperature is decreasing.*
 
 ### Verbs
 
 There's no conjugation for verbs (no singular/plural, tense, mode, etc.).
 
-We may consider that there's a *tense* element between `si` and `sin`, for example, because they respectively express the "present tense" and the "future tense" of "to see".
+The temporal element may be provided using *si*, *sen* and *sin*. They're all related to the observation, in the past for *sen*, in the present for *si*, and the eventually future for *sin*.
+
+You may also use temporal adverbs to express past or future events.
+
+> — sen aseju atiwi. sen aseta tiwa. sin lume lewa.  
+> — *saw - big clouds - distant past. saw - small clouds - yesterday. forsee - sun - tomorrow.*  
+> — *There were big clouds a few days ago ; and small clouds yesterday. I think that tomorrow will be sunny.*
 
 ### Questions
 
-Questions are formed with the copula `o` at the end of the sentence.
+Questions are formed with the copula *o* at the end of the sentence.
 
 Questions are directed to the other person, so there's no real ambiguity. When you're asking if it's going to rain, it's implicitly requesting your opinion or *gut-feeling*.
 
 Consider the following sentence:
 
-> tok meso o?
-> talk - weather - QUESTION?
+> tok meso o?  
+> *talk - weather - QUESTION?*
 
 You may translate it as:
 
-> Do you want to talk about weather?
+> *Do you want to talk about weather?*
+
+### Conjonctions
+
+The word "*i*" means "and". The word "*men*" means "or".
+
+They may link several nouns or several verbs, or context words.
+
+> sin shuta i kakatoka o?  
+> *forsee - rain - AND - storm - QUESTION?*  
+> *Do you forsee rain and storm?*
 
-### Prelude / Etiquette
+> sin juma men eleja  
+> *forsee - be cold - OR - good*  
+> *The weather could be cold or pleasing.*
+
+### Modifiers
+
+Modifiers are placed after the main word.
+
+> fofeju. (*intense wind*)  
+> fofe epoli joken. (*unpleasant northern wind*)  
+
+### Etiquette
+
+#### Prelude
 
 When speaking this language, you'll start your conversation with the usual *tok!*, which is roughly equivalent to *hello!*.
 
@@ -84,13 +146,17 @@ The next question is the ritual question mentioned above:
 
 There are two possible answers here.
 
-Either the person doesn't want to, so their response should simply be *ake.* or *tok ake.* to reject the discussion. From now on, the persons would carry on and no further questions will be asked.
+Either the person doesn't want to, so their response should simply be "*ake.*" or "*tok ake.*" to reject the discussion. From now on, the persons would carry on, say goodbye (see "Closing" section below) to each other and no further words will be exchanged until next time.
 
-Or the person is willing to talk about the weather, so they can respond with *awi* or *tok awi*, followed by their impression about the current or incoming weather. Such as:
+In the second case, the person is willing to talk about the weather, so they can respond with *awi* or *tok awi*, followed by their impression about the current or incoming weather. Such as:
 
-> — awi tok. lume tiwa i powa. (*I want to talk. It was sunny yesterday, same for today.*)
+> — tok awi. lume tiwa i powa. (*I want to talk. It was sunny yesterday, same for today.*)
 
-## Advanced sentence structure
+#### Closing
+
+When the small talk is over, it's time to wrap up the discussion. One of the person will simply say: "*tok tono*"". If the other agrees, they'll respond with "*tono awi*", and this closes the dialogue. Eventually, if the other person has another remark or question, they can express it, but it is considered as rude to insist and going on with the discussion while at least one person has expressed their desire to end it.
+
+### Advanced sentence structure
 
 Full sentence structure would look like:
 
@@ -99,3 +165,27 @@ Full sentence structure would look like:
 Time context will express if the statement is for the near future (later today, tomorrow) or in a more distant future (this week, or even up to the next season).
 
 Space context will mostly be based on the cardinal points to express where does the meteorological phenomenon comes from.
+
+> sin fofe i shu lewa lushin.  
+> *forsee - wind - and - rain - tomorrow - from West.*  
+> *Wind and rain will come from the West tomorrow.*
+
+When there are several vebrs or context words (separated by *men* or *i*, for example), the adverb goes after the group.
+
+> sin juma i oshen tono.  
+> *forsee - cold - and - snow - finish*  
+> *The cold and the snow will stop.*
+
+## Syntax
+
+When transcribed, the meso words are all-lowercase.
+
+Sentences usually end with a *"."*.
+
+Even when the "o" particle is used for questions, you should also add a *"?"* at the end of an interrogative sentence.
+
+Exclamation marks express surprise or emphasis.
+
+Although not forbidden, commas are rarely used, since sentences tend to be short. Same for colons and semi-colons.
+
+Typography rules for punctuation are the same than the English ones: there's no space before full stops, question or exclamation marks, and there's a space after.

lexicon.md

@@ -2,62 +2,68 @@
 
 ## Greetings / Politeness
 
-* tok!: (interj.) hello!
-* tok tok!: (interj.) hello (reply).
+* *tok!*: (interj.) hello!
+* *tok tok!*: (interj.) hello (reply).
 
 ## Verbs
 
-* juma: (v) decrease.
-* maku: (v) increase.
-* si: (v) see (currently).
-* sin: (v) forsee, predict.
-* tok: (v) talking.
+* *juma*: (v) to be cold.
+* *maka*: (v) to be hot.
+* *shoke*: (v) to be wet.
+* *sen*: (v) saw, past observation.
+* *si*: (v) see (currently).
+* *sin*: (v) forsee, predict.
+* *tok*: (v) talking.
 
 ## Nouns
 
-### General
-
-* ase (n): clouds.
-* lume: (n) sun, sunny, clear skies.
-* meso: (n) weather (generally speaking).
-* oton: (n) temperature.
-* shu: (n) rain.
-* fofu: (n) wind.
-
-### Rain
-
-* shuta: (n) light rain.
-
-### Clouds
-
-* aseniwo: (n) cumulus clouds.
-
-### Winds
-
-* fofisi: (n) strong winds.
-
-## Adverbs
-
-### Probability
-
-* konewi: (adverb) expressing doubt, no precise probability.
-* loshen: (adverb) expressing a 50-50 chance.
+* *ase*: (n) clouds.
+* *asi*: (n) fog.
+* *fofe*: (n) wind.
+* *kakatoka*: (n) storm.
+* *lume*: (n) sun, sunny, clear skies.
+* *meso*: (n) weather (generally speaking).
+* *oshen*: (n) snow.
+* *oton*: (n) air.
+* *shu*: (n) rain.
+* *shuka*: (n) hail.
+
+## Adverbs/Modifiers
+
+* *konewi*: (mod) expressing doubt, no precise probability.
+* *loshen*: (mod) expressing a 50-50 chance.
+* *-ju*: (mod) bigger, heavier, more intense.
+* *-ta*: (mod) lighter, smaller, less intense.
+* *joken*: (mod) bad, uncomfortable.
+* *eleja*: (mod) good, comfortable.
 
 ## Misc.
 
-* awi: (adverb?) indeed, "me too", agree.
-* ake: (adverb?) no, disagree, I don't think so.
-* i: (conj.) and.
-* o: (?) turns a sentence into a question.
+* *awi*: (adverb?) indeed, "me too", agree.
+* *ake*: (adverb?) no, disagree, I don't think so.
+* *i*: (conj.) and.
+* *men*: (conj.) or.
+* *o*: (copula) turns a sentence into a question.
+* *tono*: (adverb?) enough, the end, finish.
 
 ## Contextual words
 
 ### Time
 
-* lewa: (time context) tomorrow.
-* powa: (time context) today.
-* tiwa: (time context) yesterday.
+* *atiwi*: (time context) distant past.
+* *tiwa*: (time context) yesterday.
+* *lesha*: (time context) morning.
+* *powa*: (time context) today.
+* *akile*: (time context) evening.
+* *mutuja*: (time context) night.
+* *lewa*: (time context) tomorrow.
+* *alewan*: (time context) distant future.
 
 ### Space
 
-* epoli: (space context) from the North.
+* *epoli*: (space context) from the North.
+* *lawuno*: (space context) from the East.
+* *lushin*: (space context) from the West.
+* *manete*: (space context) from the South.
+* *mitawa*: (space context) in the mountains, up, above.
+* *pewo*: (space context) in the valley, below.