Chapter 6: Particles

The Proclitic Particles (də-, lə-, bə-, wə-, & kə-) #

The Proclitic Particles are particles that are letters that are prefixed upon words that bestow additional meaning. The majority of them are prepositions and conjunctions.

Notes About də- #

Out of all of the Proclitic Particles, də- is the most complex. It is a shortened form of the archaic Id,^[1] it is a particle that has abundant use:

1. As a Genitive Particle, roughly equivalent to "of."

haklam:d harpEs sefráh dəmalkah = "The book of the king."

2. As a Relative Pronoun, "who," "which," or "of whom."

hat:)Ad harbag gavrah da'əṯah = "The man who came."

3. As a Conjunction, as "that," "so that," "because" or "for."

lap:nad tEmax ḥaméṯ danəfal = "I saw that he fell".

With Pronominal Suffixes #

Out of the Proclitic Particles, only -:l and -:b can take on Pronominal Suffixes. The others are only found affixed to Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs.

When -:l is combined with Pronominal Suffixes it represents the Objective Pronoun:

When -:b is combined with Pronominal Suffixes it represents "with," "in," or "through" followed by the Objective Pronoun:

Multiple Prefixes #

Multiple Proclitic Particles can be added to the same word to express a variety of meanings. For example:

haklam ⟶ "the king"

haklam:l ⟶ "unto the king"

haklam:lad ⟶ "that which (is) unto the king"

haklam:lad:k ⟶ "like that which (is) unto the king"

haklam:lad:kAw ⟶ "and like that which (is) unto the king"

etc.

The Rule of šəwa` #

As you have probably noticed, as Proclitic Particles are added upon a word, the vowel alternates between šəwa` and pəṯaḥ. The rule of determining which is used can be condensed to "don't put two šəwa`s in a row."^[2] For example:

If the next syllable is a šəwa`, use pəṯaḥ.

KEl:m "(a) king" ⟶ KEl:mal "to (a) king."

But if the next syllable has any other vowel use šəwa`.

haklam "the king" ⟶ haklam:l "to the king."

As you can see from the examples in the previous section on Multiple Prefixes, you work backwards with each addition.

Independent Particles #

There are also a number of particles that are separate from other words.

[More stuff here...]

The Particle mən #

The particle N:m predominantly means "from" is used in a variety of ways that indicates a point of origin (halIlag N:m han:) = "I am from Galilee").

When it takes on suffixes, the vowel lengthens and the nun doubles (-.nIm) hence:

It can also be used in a partitive sense.

IOxa) N:m dax = "One from/of his brothers."

haq:s N:m Niyyar:t = "Three from the sack."

It can also be used to express superlatives in the following manner.

N:m bar = "Bigger/greater than..."

N:m rIt;y = "More than..."

N:m har:p = "Less than..."^[3]

N:m rO(;z = "Smaller/less than..."

And to express something the "biggest" or "smallest" it's always "from" a plural or "from all" (lak N:m):

NOk.nIm habar = "The greatest among you."

lak N:m hArO(;z = "Smallest (of all)."

The Particle `əm #

The particle M:( indicates "(together) with" or "at the time of." When combined with Pronominal Suffixes, the m doubles:

The Particle `al #

The particle la( means "unto," "upon," "against," or "concerning" depending on context.

hapEk la( bEtAy = "Sitting upon the rock."

It, too, can take on Pronominal Suffixes, however make note that it takes their plural forms.

The Particle la' #

The particle )al is the Negative Particle, representing "no" or "not." It is used as a generic negative:

)al hEl ram:) = "He said to him, `No!'"

And can be casually used in simple sentences:

)Uh rap:s )al or rap:s )Uh )al = "It's not a book."

When negating Verbs, it usually comes directly before:

Il hat:) )al = "He didn't come to me."

When combined with the word MOl:k ("something") as in MOl:k )al it means "nothing," or can be used to strengthen a negation:

MOl:k hEl ram:) )al = "He didn't say anything to him." or "He didn't speak to him at all."

When used in the series )al:w ...)al it means "neither... nor":

N:d )al:w N:d )al = "Neither this, nor that."

When combined with the particle -:d it means "without":

NOzam )al:d = "Without food."

And it is used in a variety of other ways in combination with other particles as described in their own sections.

The Particle diḏ- #

The particle -dId originates from the classical -lId^[4] and is only used when a Possessive Suffix, for whatever reason, won't work. It indicates simple possession where there is no Noun, or where using a Possessive Suffix would be awkward such as on a loan-word whose ending wouldn't fit normal Declensions.

The Particle kal #

The particle lak kal means "all."

It can take the Definite ending like a Masculine Declension C Noun, lengthening the a• vowel to O and it becomes hAlOk kolah meaning "everything."^[5]