Talking cheat sheet

A quick look at speech moves and questions on one page. Nothing here is new: each row links to the section that teaches it. Stage: B Beginner, I Intermediate, A Advanced.

Starting a turn

A /y/ word starts a new turn and goes before the body of the clause. A /y/ word after a finished body starts the next turn.

Job	Example	English	Stage
Call someone: /y/ + name (-n)	yalahen.	Alahen!	B
Call a kind: /y/ + kind with -n	yagavon	Guard! (come here)	B
Reaction: /y/ + root with -l / -m	yezul. / yezum.	Surprise! / Amazing!	B
Reaction, not a call: -l vs -n	yagavol	Guard! (an alarm)	B
Call a group	yehonx	hey, you all	I

Speech acts

The vowel picks the act: a add, o one, e order, u undo. A period already marks a statement, so yal is usually left out.

Act	Firm -l	Soft -m	For now -r	Stage
statement	yal (often omitted)	yam for what it's worth	yar as things stand	B / I
question	yol	yom I wonder	yor just checking	B / I
command	yel	yem please	yer for now	B / I
prohibition	yul	yum please don't	yur hold off	B / I

Job	Example	English	Stage
Command	yel vowogal.	Walk!	B
Request with let's	yem vowogal zahan.	Let's walk.	I
Soft prohibition with let's not	yum zahan vezebal.	Let's not sleep.	I
Provisional statement	yar zazawan vowogal.	As things stand, Azawan walks.	I
Emphatic prohibition: repeat only the opening yul	yul yul vezevul.	Don't sneak. I mean it.	I

Tone marks

A tone mark changes your voice only, never the speech act. Double a mark for more; stack different marks to mix (no spaces, any order, each at most twice).

Mark	Feeling	Cue	Stage
!	strong feeling	English !	I
?	unsure	English (?)	I
%	joking, teasing	a wink	I
&	contrast: this one, not another	and not the other	I
;	warm, affectionate	a soft pause	I

Where you write it	Colors	Example	Stage
Attached to a word	that word	zazawan vahahal ?dodogal.	I
Attached to a span	the span	!d[ … ]	I
Alone, then a space	the rest, to the period	! zazawan vowogal.	I
Doubled	stronger	zazawan !!vowogal.	I
Stacked	mixed	?! zalahen vahahal dodogal.	I

yol asks; ? only sounds unsure. A third copy (!!!) is not a mark.

Speech manner

A stance word says in words how you are speaking, where a tone mark only changes your voice.

Agazan	English	Stage
thagazam	to be clear / to put it plainly	I
thaveham	frankly / honestly	I

Asking

Yes/no and fill-in

Job	Example	English	Stage
Yes/no question	yol zazawan vowogal.	Does Azawan walk?	B
Gentler	yom zalahen vezebal.	Is Alahen sleeping, I wonder?	B
No body: ask about what was just said	yol.	Huh?	B
Fill one blank: join -r in the slot	yol zar vowogal.	Who walks?	B
Fill every blank	yol zar dar vahahal.	Who sees what?	B
One blank, one known	yol zar vahahal dodogal.	Who sees a dog?	B
Rise on the blank	yol ?zar vowogal.	Who walks?	B
Rise on the whole question	yol ? zazawan vowogal.	Does Azawan walk?	B
Check one named item	yol zazawan zal.	Just Azawan?	I
Offer one named item	yol zahaben zam.	How about Ahaben?	I

The reply to a fill-ask is the fill as a citation, or a full sentence with role letters. The sentence still ends in a period.

Which blank

You want	Write	English	Stage
What kind?	yol gar zodogal.	What is the dog like?	I
When?	yol har zahaben vowogal.	When does Ahaben walk?	I
Where?	yol ol bar zahaben vowogal.	Where does Ahaben walk?	I
Whose?	yol zodogal em bar vowogal.	Whose dog walks?	I
How?	yol humum bar zazawan vowogal.	How does Azawan walk?	I
Why?	yol thavem bar zazawan vowogal.	Why does Azawan walk?	I
What for?	yol hogom bar zazawan vowogal.	What does Azawan walk for?	I

Blank	Means	Stage
gar / gor / gur	what is it like? / like anything? / what else is it like?	I
ol bar / al bar / ul bar / el bar	where (at)? / in what? / where from? / for what?	I
ol bor / ol bur	anywhere? / where else?	I
thavem bar	why?	I
hogom bar	what for?	I
thoyem bar	under what condition?	I

Fill-ask by vowel and count

The blank -r takes a vowel; the count is how many items you listed before it (fill-ask arity).

Items listed	…ar	…or	…er	…ur	Stage
0	who/what?	anything?	what's the priority?	what else?	I
1	which X?	any X?	which X is first?	what else besides X?	I
2+	which of these?	any of these?	which ranks highest?	other than these?	I

Questions inside other clauses

Job	Example	English	Stage
Report a question	zazawan vahahal dorl zalahen vowogal.	Azawan sees whether Alahen walks.	B
Blank belongs to whether	yol zehon vugum dorl zar vowogal.	Do you know who walks?	I
Blank belongs to the outer question	yol zehon vevegal darl zar vowogal.	Who do you think walks?	I
Question you don't want answered: yal before yol	yal yol zar vegehel.	Who cares? (nobody)	I
Musing	yam yol zar vegehel.	Who really cares, though?	I

Answering

Write y, two vowels, then an ending. A turn holds one polar word; an answer followed by a question is two turns.

Stance	-l firm	-m soft	-r for now	Stage
ae accept, match	yael yes / will do	yaem I think so	yaer true, for now	B / I
ue refuse, mismatch	yuel no / I won't	yuem I don't think so	yuer not so, for now	B / I
ao take up an option	yaol sure	yaom okay	yaor fine, for now	B / I
uo reject this option	yuol not that	yuom nah	yuor not that, for now	I
ua reject the premise	yual the question doesn't apply	yuam it's more complicated	yuar it doesn't apply, for now	I
oe decline to answer	yoel I won't answer	yoem I'd rather not say	yoer pass, for now	I

Job	Example	English	Stage
Answer with a sentence after: no yal	yael + body	yes, …	B
Back up your own claim	zazawan vowogal. yael.	Azawan walks. Yes.	B
Answer a command or request	yael / yuel	will do / I won't	I

Tags: asking for an answer

After your sentence, write yol and a polar word as a turn of its own. It asks for that answer, so pick the one you want to make easy.

Agazan	Use	English	Stage
yol yael.	confirm a claim	…, right?	B
yol yuel.	invite a correction	…, or am I wrong?	I
yol yaol.	take up a request or offer	…, okay?	I
yol yuol.	offer the refusal	…, or would you rather not?	I
yol yaer.	accept for now	…, can we go with that for now?	I
yol yoem.	after a question, offer a pass	…, or would you rather not say?	I

Don't mix up

This	vs	That
yalahen Alahen! (a call, -n)		zazawan vowogal Azawan walks (a subject)
yagavon Guard! (call the guard)		yagavol Guard! (an alarm)
yol question (asks)		? unsure voice (only sounds unsure)
yul don't (prohibition)		yuel no, false (answers a claim)
yol yael. …, right? (a tag asks)		yael. yes (an answer gives)
thavem bar why? (the cause)		humum bar like what? (a model to resemble)