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Pronouns
English he, she, it, and they point back to someone or something already named. You already write the endings -l / -m / -n on a citation and on content words. Agazan points back with the fourth ending, -r: write the role letter for the slot the word fills in this sentence (subject, object, and so on), then the earlier word’s whole stem, then -r. For someone in a recent sentence, a shorter role pointer names them by the part they played instead.
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Beginner
Resume with -r
After you have already named a person or thing, the next sentence can point back instead of naming them fresh. The word you point back to is the antecedent. The new word takes the role letter for the slot you need now (subject, object, and so on), then the antecedent’s whole stem (everything between its role letter and its ending), then -r. The listener takes the most recent word with that same stem. (cue: -r ≈ resume (pick up the earlier word))
zazawan vowogal. zazawar vehahel.z-Azawan | v-walk . z-←Azawan | v-sit
"Azawan walks. Azawan sits."
Compare with: English often uses the for a kind already in the conversation (A dog walks. The dog sits.). Agazan uses -r for that job, not a separate article.
zodogal vowogal. zodogar vehahel.z-dog | v-walk . z-←dog | v-sit
"A dog walks. The dog sits."
Compare with: for English the dog that walked, say that the dog walks as its own sentence, then resume the dog with -r in whatever slot you need. Do not attach a who / that / which clause to the noun (which person or thing).
A word built from two roots resumes with its whole stem too. debedaluruher is the bedroom; debedar is the bed, and never points at a bedroom.
zazawan debedaluruhel vahahal. zalahen debedaluruher vahahal.z-Azawan | d-bedroom | v-see . z-Alahen | d-←bedroom | v-see
"Azawan sees a bedroom. Alahen sees the bedroom."
When nothing earlier matches, -r on a word from the lexicon means the one you both already know (the dog, meaning the household’s dog). So -r can appear even in the first sentence of a conversation.
zodogar vowogal.z-←dog | v-walk
"The dog walks." (the dog you both know)
Compare with: a name the lexicon does not list (a new person, a pet’s name) has nothing to fall back on. Its -r needs the name earlier in the conversation.
Role pointers
A resume spells the whole stem again. For someone in a recent sentence, a role pointer is shorter: it names them by the part they played in an earlier event. Write the role letter for the slot you need now, a role vowel for the part, mid-word x, a pointer vowel for which event, and -r.
| Role vowel | Part in the earlier event | Where it sat |
|---|---|---|
a | the doer | /z/ |
u | the one it happens to | /d/ |
o | the extra party (the one told) | /b/ |
Pointer vowel a picks the latest sentence that had someone in that part. zaxar is the latest doer, as subject; duxar is the latest one something happened to, as object. (cue: a ≈ again (the same one again); role and pointer vowels do not carry the add / pick / order / undo cues of the act words)
zazawan vowogal. zaxar vehahel.z-Azawan | v-walk . z-←agent.same | v-sit
"Azawan walks. They sit."
The role letter is the slot now, so a pointer can move someone to a new role. Here the one seen becomes the one who runs:
zazawan dalahen vahahal. zuxar varahal.z-Azawan | d-Alahen | v-see . z-←patient.same | v-run
"Azawan sees Alahen. He runs."
zazawan vezebel balahen. zoxar varahal.z-Azawan | v-tell | b-Alahen . z-←recipient.same | v-run
"Azawan tells Alahen. He runs."
A sentence with nobody in that part does not count. It rains has no doer, so zaxar reaches past it:
zazawan vowogal. verehel. zaxar vehahel.z-Azawan | v-walk . v-rain . z-←agent.same | v-sit
"Azawan walks. It rains. They sit."
A pointer looks back as far as it needs to: across turns and paragraphs, and through what other speakers said. Only a topic change (an /x/ word that says what the talk is about from here on) stops it. Only sentences count, not nouns that name an event: a storm named as a noun gives a pointer no doer to find.
A pointer takes associative -x like a name. If no earlier sentence has someone in that part, the pointer points at nothing, and the whole thing is not a sentence.
Themself (e)
English herself / himself / themself (a reflexive) point back to someone in the same sentence. Pointer vowel e does that: it picks this sentence’s own event, so a pointer in the object slot can name this sentence’s doer. (cue: e ≈ echo (this same sentence))
zazawan vahahal daxer.z-Azawan | v-see | d-←agent.self
"Azawan sees themself."
A pointer never names its own slot: zaxer as the subject would be the subject pointing at itself, so it is not a sentence.
The other one (o)
English the other one skips the person you just mentioned. Pointer vowel o does the same: it skips whoever had that part last and picks the nearest earlier sentence with someone else in that part. (cue: o ≈ other)
zazawan vowogal. zalahen varahal. zalahen vehahel. zaxor vezebal.z-Azawan | v-walk . z-Alahen | v-run . z-Alahen | v-sit . z-←agent.other | v-sleep
"Azawan walks. Alahen runs. Alahen sits. The other one sleeps." (
zaxarwould be Alahen)
o goes with the three role vowels above: zaxor, zuxor, zoxor.
Whoever it was (u)
Sometimes an earlier sentence has the event but never says who took part. The cookie got eaten has no doer, and naming one would be a guess. Pointer vowel u picks the latest sentence that left that part unsaid and points at whoever filled it, without saying who. English: whoever did it. (cue: u ≈ unsaid)
dugugol vahahal. zaxur varahal.d-cookie | v-see . z-←agent.unsaid | v-run
"The cookie is seen. Whoever saw it runs."
This is the a rule turned around: a skips a sentence with nobody in that part, and u looks for exactly that sentence. It does not ask whether the verb could have that part: it rains also leaves its doer unsaid, so zaxur right after it is whatever made it rain.
Once used, zaxur fills the subject like any noun, so a later zaxar reaches it (they, still unnamed). u goes with the same three role vowels: zuxur is whatever it happened to, when no sentence said what.
Compare with: unan someone is tied to no event. zaxur is tied to one known event, whoever did that.
A new one (-l)
A pointer with -r is the same one again. To say a new one of the same kind, English uses one (Azawan sees a cookie. Alahen sees one too.), and the second cookie is a different cookie. Write the same pointer with -l, the ending of a first mention: a new thing, of the kind the pointer reaches.
zazawan dugugol vahahal. zalahen duxal vahahal.z-Azawan | d-cookie | v-see . z-Alahen | d-←patient.same.new | v-see
"Azawan sees a cookie. Alahen sees one too." (a different cookie;
duxarwould be the same cookie)
-l copies only the noun, never the words that described it, so you can change the description. After a red dog, the pointer is just a dog, and a /ɡ/ word after it gives the new property, as in the next example. To keep the old property, say it again on a /ɡ/ word after the pointer.
zazawan dodogal geredal vahahal. zalahen duxal gubuhel vahahal.z-Azawan | [d-dog | g-red] | v-see . z-Alahen | [d-←patient.same.new | g-blue] | v-see
"Azawan sees a red dog. Alahen sees a blue one."
In a yes/no question, a pointer works like any other noun and keeps the same meaning:
zazawan dodogal geredal vahahal. yol zalahen vahahal duxal gubuhel.z-Azawan | [d-dog | g-red] | v-see . y-question | z-Alahen | v-see | [d-←patient.same.new | g-blue]
"Azawan sees a red dog. Does Alahen see a blue one?"
-l takes pointer vowels a, e and o, and every role vowel: zaxal is another one like the latest doer. It has no reading with u, because an unsaid part has no kind to copy, and none after a special pronoun such as I or you. After a name, -l is a new thing that name applies to, and after a joined list it is a new group of the same make-up.
Compare with: -r is the same one (duxar); -l is another (duxal). Writing the noun out (dugugol) says the same as duxal, and the pointer only saves repeating it.
Share (-m)
English often blurs what they did with who they are. A pointer with -m (a share) names the participant's part in the event, not the participant. That lets you talk about an act, to praise or criticize it, without making it a claim about the person.
zazawan dalahen vabahel. zahaben daxar vahahal.z-Azawan | d-Alahen | v-punch . z-Ahaben | d-←agent.same | v-see
"Azawan punches Alahen. Ahaben sees them." (sees Azawan)
zazawan dalahen vabahel. zahaben daxam vahahal.z-Azawan | d-Alahen | v-punch . z-Ahaben | d-←agent.same.part | v-see
"Azawan punches Alahen. Ahaben sees what they did." (sees the punch as Azawan's act, not Azawan)
Each role vowel names a different part: zaxam is the doing, zuxam what it was for the one it happened to, and zoxam what reached the one told. Pointer vowels a, o and u work as before (zaxom what the other one did; zaxum what was done, by whoever). e and -x have no reading with -m: a share cannot be part of the very event being described (e), and it is not a group of people (-x).
Compare with: a resumed event noun names the whole event with everyone in it (that punch); zaxam names one person's part of it. zaxar is the person.
Special pronouns
Most of the time you name people with a proper name (zazawan, zalahen) and resume with -r. A few roots from a small fixed set (closed roots) instead name roles in this conversation: who is speaking, who is being spoken to, you-and-I together, or a nonspecific someone. They take the usual role letter for the slot they fill in the clause (subject, object, and so on), and in this use they end in -n, like a name.
When a proper name is available, prefer that name (and its -r resume), including for talking about yourself: proper name.
zn vowogal.z-speaker | v-walk
"I walk." You name yourself rather than saying I.
Use amu (speaker) and eho (listener) when what matters is the conversation role, not a name. eho is always the person actually listening, never anyone at all: English generic you has its own pronoun, below.
zamun dehon vahahal.z-speaker | d-listener | v-see
"I see you."
zamun vowogal.z-speaker | v-walk
"I walk."
English we can mean “you and I” or “I and my people, not you.” Inclusive we (you and I) uses aha: the speaker and the people being addressed, together (interlocutors).
zahan vowogal.z-interlocutors | v-walk
"We (you and I) walk."
una names a nonspecific individual (someone), not a particular person you have already named. Once that person is in the conversation, resume them with whole-stem -r.
zunan vezebal.z-someone | v-sleep
"Someone sleeps."
| Agazan | Use | English | Same root as | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
amun | speaker in this conversation (zamun in subject slot) | I | amul microphone | 🎤: the live voice of the person talking |
ehon | listener in this conversation (zehon / dehon in clause) | you | ehol headphones | 🎧: the one receiving the sound |
ahan | speaker and addressees together (zahan in subject slot) | we (you and I) | ahal handshake | 🤝: sharing the floor together |
unan | nonspecific individual (zunan in subject slot) | someone | unal neutral | 😐: not a particular person |
oben | any person, as a rule (zoben in subject slot) | one, generic you, people | obel person | 🧑: a person in general |
Compare with: I and my people / you all / Azawan and associates use -x (clusivity). Inclusive you and I is aha. Here / there and this / that use these same words after a place word such as at (deixis).
Generic pronoun
English one and generic you (one never knows, you feel awful when that happens) say something about people in general, not about the person listening. Agazan gives that its own pronoun: obe person with -n, in /z/, /d/, or /b/. It means any person, as a rule, with exceptions allowed. It claims nothing about a particular individual (that is una) and nothing about the listener (that is eho), so a speaker has to choose between reporting their own experience and making a general claim. (cue: 🧑 is the emoji for a person in general)
zoben vezebal.z-ONE | v-sleep
"One sleeps." / "You sleep."
The generic pronoun takes no number and no -x, because it already means people at large. obel a person and obem humanity keep their own senses. English they say is hearsay, not a generic they. The every-kind joins can say people in general as a phrase; oben is the one-word pronoun for it (joins).
Practice
Short drills for Beginner. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a kitchen
New words:
| English | Agazan | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| cook | vugugal | 🧑🍳 from cook, the person at the stove |
| pour | vobohol | 🫗 |
| cookie | ugugol | 🍪 |
| knife | anaval | 🔪 |
| punch | vabahel | 👊 |
| listener | ehon | 🎧 from headphones: the one receiving the sound |
| interlocutors | ahan | 🤝 from handshake: sharing the floor together |
| someone | unan | 😐 from neutral: not a particular person |
| one | oben | 🧑 from person: a person in general |
Review:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| speaker | amun |
| see | vahahal |
| find | vamagal |
| scream | vezugel |
| tell | vezebel |
English → Agazan
1. Azawan pours. They cook.
Show answer
zazawan vobohol. zaxar vugugal.
z-Azawan | v-pour . z-←agent.same | v-cook
Also correct: zazawan vobohol. zazawar vugugal.
2. Alahen finds a knife. Ahaben sees the knife.
Show answer
zalahen danaval vamagal. zahaben danavar vahahal.
z-Alahen | d-knife | v-find . z-Ahaben | d-←knife | v-see
Also correct: zalahen danaval vamagal. zahaben duxar vahahal.
3. I see you.
Show answer
zamun dehon vahahal.
z-speaker | d-listener | v-see
4. Someone punches Ahaben. She screams.
Show answer
zunan dahaben vabahel. zuxar vezugel.
z-someone | d-Ahaben | v-punch . z-←patient.same | v-scream
Also correct: zunan dahaben vabahel. zahaber vezugel.
5. Azawan sees a cookie. Alahen finds one too.
Show answer
zazawan dugugol vahahal. zalahen duxal vamagal.
z-Azawan | d-cookie | v-see . z-Alahen | d-←patient.same.new | v-find
6. We (you and I) cook.
Show answer
zahan vugugal.
z-interlocutors | v-cook
Agazan → English
1. zahaben vugugal. zalahen vobohol. zaxor vezugel.
Show answer
z-Ahaben | v-cook . z-Alahen | v-pour . z-←agent.other | v-scream
Ahaben cooks. Alahen pours. The other one (Ahaben) screams.
2. dugugol vamagal. zaxur vezugel.
Show answer
d-cookie | v-find . z-←agent.unsaid | v-scream
The cookie is found. Whoever found it screams.
3. zalahen dazawan vabahel. zahaben daxam vahahal.
Show answer
z-Alahen | d-Azawan | v-punch . z-Ahaben | d-←agent.same.part | v-see
Alahen punches Azawan. Ahaben sees what he did.
4. zoben vezugel.
Show answer
z-ONE | v-scream
One screams. / People scream.
5. zazawan vahahal daxer.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-see | d-←agent.self
Azawan sees themself.
6. zazawan vezebel bahaben. zoxar dugugol vugugal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-tell | b-Ahaben . z-←recipient.same | d-cookie | v-cook
Azawan tells Ahaben. She cooks a cookie.
Pick one
1. Azawan sees Alahen. He (Alahen) screams. zazawan dalahen vahahal. zuxar vezugel. or zazawan dalahen vahahal. zaxar vezugel.
Show answer
zazawan dalahen vahahal. zuxar vezugel.
z-Azawan | d-Alahen | v-see . z-←patient.same | v-scream
Alahen was the one seen, role vowel u; zaxar is the doer, Azawan.
2. Azawan tells Alahen. Ahaben sees him (Alahen). zazawan vezebel balahen. zahaben doxar vahahal. or zazawan vezebel balahen. zahaben daxar vahahal.
Show answer
zazawan vezebel balahen. zahaben doxar vahahal.
z-Azawan | v-tell | b-Alahen . z-Ahaben | d-←recipient.same | v-see
Alahen was the one told, role vowel o; daxar is the doer, Azawan.
Fix it
1. One pours. (anyone, as a rule) zehon vobohol.
Show answer
zoben vobohol.
z-ONE | v-pour
Generic you is oben; ehon is always the person actually listening.
Intermediate
How English approximates -r
Beginner used whole-stem -r in the same slot as the earlier word (he sits). The resume keeps the earlier word’s role letter, and the English for it depends on that slot:
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
/z/ … -r after /z/ | same subject again | he / she / it / they; that one |
/d/ … -r after /d/ | same object again | him / her / it / them; that one |
/b/ … -r after /b/ | same extra-noun argument | him / her / it / them as recipient, or as the relation’s argument |
/v/ … -r after /v/ | same action again | do so / do that |
/ɡ/ … -r after /ɡ/ | same property again | such / that / so |
/w/ … -r after /w/ | same degree or frame | that degree / frame again |
/h/ … -r after /h/ | same adverb again | thus / so / that way / then |
/th/ … -r after /th/ | same stance again | if so / in that case (a resumed if) |
/y/ vocative … -r | same addressee again | calling that person again |
/y/ interjection … -r | same exclamation again | repeating that call-out |
/x/ … -r after /x/ | same linker again | and so / likewise |
A few closed roots give -r a meaning of their own: the light end of a scale (thovur may, who knows, thamar plan-sketch), or a share of the cause on because (fault). On those, -r is that meaning, not a resume. Every other closed root resumes with -r like any content root, so thoyer after thoyem is the same condition again:
zalahen vowogal thoyem berehel. zazawan vowogal thoyer.z-Alahen | v-walk | [th-if | b-rain] . z-Azawan | v-walk | th-←if
"Alahen walks if it rains. In that case, Azawan walks too."
For English too / also, resume the action. /v/ -r is the same action again, so a new subject with a resumed verb reads does so too. With the same subject, give the resumed verb a new object: sees a dog too.
zalahen vowogal. zazawan vowogar.z-Alahen | v-walk . z-Azawan | v-←walk
"Alahen walks. Azawan does too."
zazawan vahahal dagadul. zazawan vahahar dodogal.z-Azawan | v-see | d-cat . z-Azawan | v-←see | d-dog
"Azawan sees a cat. Azawan sees a dog too."
Compare with: English that pointing at a quoted title, proverb, or aside uses a role pointer (duxar, that quote), not whole-stem -r.
Resume one sense (-rl / -rm)
Many roots carry both a concrete -l sense and an abstract -m sense (odogal dog, odogam loyalty), and both share one whole stem. Plain -r takes the most recent word with that stem, whichever sense it had. When both senses are in the conversation, pin the one you mean: -rl resumes the concrete sense, -rm the abstract sense. Everything else about a resume stays the same: the role letter, the whole stem, and the most recent match.
zazawan dodogal vahahal. zalahen dodogam vahahal. zazawan dodogarl vahahal. zalahen dodogarm vahahal.z-Azawan | d-dog | v-see . z-Alahen | d-loyalty | v-see . z-Azawan | d-←dog | v-see . z-Alahen | d-←loyalty | v-see
"Azawan sees a dog. Alahen sees loyalty. Azawan sees the dog. Alahen sees the loyalty."
Here plain dodogar would mean the loyalty, the most recent match. -rl reaches back past it to the dog.
Pinning is optional. Write plain -r when only one sense has come up, or when the latest one is the one you mean. A pinned resume with no earlier word of that sense falls back the way plain -r does: it means the one you both already know (zodogarm alone is the loyalty you both know). A name has no sense to pin, and only a content word or a compound takes -rl / -rm. A stand-in is a different word: it has a vowel and no root.
Cross-role recast
Sometimes you still mean that person or thing, but you need a different slot: the doing, the kind, the manner. Change only the first letter; keep the whole stem and -r. English then uses a longer phrase (do the same with him, of that kind) instead of he / him.
zazawan vehahel. zalahen vazawar.z-Azawan | v-sit . z-Alahen | v-←Azawan
"Azawan sits. Alahen does the same with Azawan."
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
noun antecedent, /v/ … -r | the same action again, now involving that entity | do the same to / with it |
noun antecedent, /ɡ/ … -r | recast as kind | of that kind (not possession) |
verb antecedent, noun … -r | recast as event | that action / event: the same event, with its participants (that = what just happened; the doing, not the doer; role compounds name agent/place/patient/recipient) |
verb antecedent, /h/ … -r | recast as manner | by doing so / thereby |
adjective antecedent, noun … -r | recast as entity | the … one / that quality |
For English one (a blue one, the red one) of a noun a role pointer reaches, write that pointer with -l and the new property on /ɡ/. For a noun no pointer reaches (a topic, a noun inside a quote, a hook landmark with no role vowel), write the unspecified dar something and resume the noun as a kind on /ɡ/, then add the new property. A resume on /d/ would be the same dog; dar with a /ɡ/ resume is another thing of the dog kind.
zazawan dodogal geredal vahahal. zalahen dar godogar gubuhel vahahal.z-Azawan | [d-dog | g-red] | v-see . z-Alahen | [d-something | g-←dog] | g-blue | v-see
"Azawan sees a red dog. Alahen sees a blue one."
Each other
For each other, join the people in /z/ and add hedam after the verb. The root is eda reciprocity: each one does it to the others. Do not write a resume in /d/ (dazawar would just mean Azawan again).
zazawan zalahen zal vahahal hedam.[z-Azawan | z-Alahen | z-and] | v-see | h-reciprocity
"Azawan and Alahen see each other."
With -l, hedal is strictly pairwise: every one of them does it to every other one. -m is the everyday each other / one another, where it only has to go both ways in general.
Compare with: thedam barl on /th/ is if and only if (dependents). On /h/ with no /b/, the same root is each other.
Addressing several people
English you does not say whether you are talking to one person or several. Agazan does: one addressee is eho, and the listener root plus associative -x (ehonx) names everyone this turn addresses. That is everyone the turn’s calls named, plus anyone you were already addressing. Inclusive shall we is still aha, and soft zaham hedges whether you really share the act.
zehonx vehahel.z-listener-x | v-sit
"You all sit."
Compare with: you and I is aha. Azawan and associates is name…-x (plurality).
Tag pronouns
English sometimes labels people to keep them apart: call the first one A, suppose A tells E. A tag is that label. You choose it, and it stays on the same referent however many others come and go. Write the role letter, w, a tag vowel, and an ending. The four vowels are four tags, named by the vowel's letter name: A, E, O, U. Roots start with a vowel, so a consonant right after the role letter is always a marker: r starts a number word, and w starts a tag. (cue: w ≈ we call it: the label you and the listener agree on)
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zodogal zwal | a phrase, then tag + -l in the same role: assign | a dog, call it A |
zwal | tag + -l with no phrase before it | someone A: a new referent with no name |
zwar / dwar / bwar | tag + -r: the one tagged A, in that role | A |
zwan / dwan / bwan | tag + -n: -r that needs a name | A, when A was assigned to a name |
zwam / dwam / bwam | tag + -m: A's part in the latest event A took part in | what A did |
zwarx / zwanx | -r or -n + -x | A and associates |
The other tags follow the same pattern: zwel / zwer / zwem, zwol / zwor / zwom, zwul / zwur / zwum.
zodogal zwal dugugol dwel vahahal. zagadul dwar vahahal. zwar vowogal.[z-dog | z-tag.A] | [d-cookie | d-tag.E] | v-see . z-cat | d-←tag.A | v-see . z-←tag.A | v-walk
"A dog (A) sees a cookie (E). A cat sees A. A walks."
The last zwar is still the dog, though the cat is the newer doer. zaxar would pick the cat.
- Assign. A tag with -l right after a phrase in the same role names that phrase: a noun with its
/ɡ/describers, a name, a resume, or a role pointer. With no phrase before it, it brings in someone new. - Recall. A tag with -r is the ordinary whole-stem resume:
zwarresumeszwal, so it picks the latest word with that stem, which is the one that assigned the tag. - Named recall. A tag with -n is -r for a tag assigned to a -n word (
zazawan zwal, thenzwan). It picks the same referent aszwar; it adds the claim that A is a name. If A was assigned to a kind (zodogal zwal), to a placeholder (zwalalone), or to a group that is not all names,zwanis not a sentence, and it does not fall back to -r.zwanis always the tag and never a name, as no root begins withw. - Reassign. A newer
zwaltakes A over, by the same rule. - Tag later. A tag can go on a resume:
dodogar dwelis the dog, call it E. - Lists. Inside a join fence, each tag names the item right before it:
zodogal zwal zagadul zwel zamis a dog (A) and a cat (E). After the join word, a tag names the whole group:zodogal zagadul zam zwalis a dog and a cat, call them A. A new tag listed with something else goes first:zwal zodogal zamis A and a dog. - No fallback. An ordinary -r can mean the one you both know. A tag -r or -m with no assignment earlier in the conversation is not a sentence.
With no phrase to tag, a tag holds a placeholder, as in suppose A tells E:
zwal vezebel bwel. zwer dugugol vagadel.z-tag.A | v-tell | b-tag.E . z-←tag.E | d-cookie | v-eat
"A tells E. E eats a cookie."
A tag with -m is a share: A's part in the latest earlier sentence where A filled a part, in whatever role. zaxam picks the event by role; zwam picks it by who.
zazawan zwal dalahen vabahel. zahaben dwam vahahal.[z-Azawan | z-tag.A] | d-Alahen | v-punch . z-Ahaben | d-←tag.A.part | v-see
"Azawan (A) punches Alahen. Ahaben sees what A did."
Tags fill /z/, /d/, and /b/ only. To call someone, use their name (yalahen); to make them the topic again, name them (xazawar). A word that is already a pronoun with one fixed form takes no tag: the special pronouns, the generic and topic pronouns, and a tag itself. A resume and a role pointer do take one, because a tag keeps them fixed while they would otherwise follow the latest match. -x goes only on -r and -n: a share is a part, not a group of people, and to tag a group, tag its phrase (zodogalx zwal).
A tag lasts until it is assigned again or the conversation ends with a goodbye. A topic change leaves tags alone, so placeholder reasoning can run through a side topic and back. A tag assigned inside a dependent holds after it, because the dependent is the same talk. A quote keeps its own tags, as it keeps its own topic.
Two tags at once
A stacked vowel names two tags together. There are six stacks, one for each pair of tags: zwaer is A and E, zwaor A and O, zwoer O and E, zwuar U and A, zwuor U and O, and zwuer U and E. Each pair has this one spelling, whichever tag you name first.
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zwaer | pair + -r: both, together | A and E |
zwaem | pair + -m: their parts in the latest earlier event both took part in | what A and E did |
zwaerx | pair -r + -x | A, E, and associates |
zodogal zwal zagadul zwel zam vowogal. zwaer varahal. zazawan dwaem vahahal.[[z-dog | z-tag.A] | [z-cat | z-tag.E] | z-and.open] | v-walk . z-←tag.A+E | v-run . z-Azawan | d-←tag.A+E.part | v-see
"A dog (A) and a cat (E) walk. A and E run. Azawan sees what A and E did."
Both tags must already be assigned. A pair never assigns: to tag two things, tag each one (zodogal zwal zagadul zwel zam), or tag the group as one (zodogal zagadul zam zwal).
Compare with: zwaer says in one word what a list of zwar and zwer closed by zam says.
Compare with: a name already resumes from anywhere (zazawar), and two people rarely share a name. Reach for a tag when the referent has no name, when its stem is a long compound, when two of the same kind are in play, or when a role pointer would pick someone newer.
Topic
English now, about Azawan…, speaking of dogs…, and so, back to Azawan… say what the talk is about from here on, and every later he or it follows. Agazan makes that overt as a topic. It is set only by an /x/ word at the start of a sentence: /x/, then the thing the talk is about, then its ending. Nothing else sets one. Being named first, being the subject, and as for do not, so a listener or a tool can tell at every point what the topic is.
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
xazawan | introduce a person | now, about Azawan |
xodogal | introduce a kind | now, about a dog |
xazawar | return to an earlier topic: whole stem + -r | back to Azawan |
xevavem / xavazem | clear the topic (linkers) | next / by the way |
- No topic at the start. A conversation opens with none.
- Introduce. An
/x/word on -l, -m, or -n that is not one of the six sentence linkers makes its noun the topic. The noun keeps its ordinary ending, so the topic need not be a person or a name (xodogalnow, about a dog). Any compound works the same way: a hyphenated name (xazawaxalahen), a noun pair (xebeyaxabodelnow, about peanut butter), or a role compound (xaxedeholnow, about people who teach;xaxedehorreturns to it). It takes the same adjectives and hooks as any noun (xodogal em bazawannow, about Azawan's dog), and it may stand alone as a whole sentence to announce a topic before saying anything about it. A span in this slot is the same job for a foreign name, a word as spelling, or a titled work (x@<Sam>,x@[onodan alahen], or a word as spelling, which takes the mention marker before it). - Return.
/x/+ the whole stem of an earlier word + -r makes that thing the topic again. - Clear.
xevavemandxavazemeach open a new frame. After either there is no topic until the next introduce or return. - Persist. The topic holds until rule 2, 3, or 4 changes it. Clause joins, other linkers, and agenda numbering leave it alone. A goodbye ends the conversation and clears it.
- Where. A topic word opens a sentence in your own talk, or in a quote. It never follows a clause join and never sits inside a dependent or an aside.
xazawan.x-Azawan
"About Azawan."
Every return is explicit. There is one topic, not a stack. Coming back from a side topic, or from a new frame, means naming the old topic again with xazawar.
A topic-setting /x/ word takes a pitch reset, as a new /y/ turn does, but the speech move is unchanged: the listener hears that the subject changed, not that a new act began. Other /x/ words keep the dip with no reset (periods).
The topic pronoun
The topic is referred to with one pronoun: oza star with -n, in /z/, /d/, or /b/. It stays the same in every role: zozan is the topic as subject, dozan as object, bozan as extra noun. (cue: ⭐ the star of the talk, what everyone is looking at)
xazawan zozan dalahen vahahal. zalaher dozan vezebel. zozan varahal.x-Azawan | z-TOPIC | d-Alahen | v-see . z-←Alahen | d-TOPIC | v-tell . z-TOPIC | v-run
"Now, about Azawan: Azawan sees Alahen. Alahen tells Azawan. Azawan runs."
A thing works as a topic the same way:
xodogal zazawan dozan vahahal. zozan varahal. zazawar vehahel.x-dog | z-Azawan | d-TOPIC | v-see . z-TOPIC | v-run . z-←Azawan | v-sit
"Now, about a dog: Azawan sees it. It runs. Azawan sits."
With Azawan as the topic, Azawan sees themself is xazawan zozan vahahal dozan. (daxer still works), and Azawan's dog walks is xazawan zodogal em bozan vowogal.: the topic's is the same in every role.
A dropped subject is never read as the topic. xazawan dalahen vahahal. leaves out who sees; it does not say Azawan sees. Write zozan whenever the topic is the doer (and dozan or bozan in the other roles).
The topic pronoun is the topic itself, so it is never a topic word or a resume: xozan, xozar and zozar are not sentences. To start a new stretch on the same topic, name it again with xazawar.
A topic pronoun with no topic set is not a sentence. oza keeps its ordinary senses on -l / -m (zozal a star, zozam fame), and -x adds associates (zozanx the topic and associates).
As for frames one sentence and leaves the topic alone:
xazawan zozan vowogal. hahehom balahen zodogal varahal. zozan vehahel.x-Azawan | z-TOPIC | v-walk . [h-as-for | b-Alahen] | z-dog | v-run . z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Now, about Azawan: Azawan walks. As for Alahen, a dog runs. Azawan sits."
A side topic, then an explicit return:
xazawan zozan vowogal. xavazem zodogal varahal. xazawar zozan vehahel.x-Azawan | z-TOPIC | v-walk . x-by-the-way | z-dog | v-run . x-←Azawan | z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Now, about Azawan: Azawan walks. By the way, a dog runs. Back to Azawan: Azawan sits."
Without xazawar, the last sentence would have no topic and zozan would not be a sentence.
What a topic change resets
Introduce, return, and clear each start a new topic stretch.
| State | Resets? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Role pointer anchors | yes | zaxar the latest doer and zaxor the other one never reach into an earlier stretch. Someone from before is picked up by name or whole-stem -r. |
| Ambient order of magnitude | yes | A new topic is a new stretch, so bare numbers go back to ones. |
| Whole-stem -r | no | It is the explicit way back (xazawar), so it reaches across stretches. |
| Tags | no | A tag is assigned on purpose, so distance does not blur it, and placeholder reasoning often runs through a side topic. |
| Tale now | no | A story moves between characters without leaving the tale. |
Agenda numbering (x#N, outline depth) | no | Agenda items sit above topics; one item may hold several. |
| Speech move, line of talk | no | They track the move and the line of talk, not people. |
xazawar while Azawan is already the topic is still a topic change: it starts a new stretch with the same topic. That lets you clear the role pointers' anchors (so, Azawan again) without leaving the topic.
Return versus introduce
Both set the topic. The difference is the ordinary difference between -r and a first mention:
| Agazan | Topic | English |
|---|---|---|
xazawan | Azawan | now, about Azawan (a name picks out the same person either way) |
xazawar | Azawan, the one mentioned before | back to Azawan |
xodogal | a dog, new to the talk | now, about a dog |
xodogar | the dog from before | back to the dog |
For names, the two pick the same person: choose by what the listener should hear, something new or a way back. For kinds, only the return reaches the earlier thing. A return that resumes a sentence linker (xodur after xodum) is only that linker again, and sets no topic.
A return makes no claim by itself, but it does set the topic, so leaving it out changes who zozan is, or leaves zozan with no topic, which is not a sentence.
zazawan vowogal. zalahen varahal. xazawar zozan vehahel.z-Azawan | v-walk . z-Alahen | v-run . x-←Azawan | z-TOPIC | v-sit
"Azawan walks. Alahen runs. Going back to Azawan: Azawan sits."
Groups as the topic
-x goes on a topic word like on any noun: xazawanx makes Azawan and associates the topic, xodogalx makes some dogs the topic, and xazawarx returns to the group. zozan then means the group. -x on the pronoun (zozanx) still adds associates to whatever the topic is.
xodogalx zazawan dozan vahahal.x-dog-x | z-Azawan | d-TOPIC | v-see
"Now, about some dogs: Azawan sees them."
Topic words and dependents
A dependent is the sentence after a stand-in (darl, dorl, derl, durl, barl), and it belongs to the outer sentence. A topic word cannot sit inside one: a topic change is something you yourself do to the conversation, but the content of a dependent is not something you assert yourself. Change the topic before the outer sentence, or frame one clause with as for:
| Want | Use |
|---|---|
| Content about X, in one sentence | hahehom + /b/ as for inside the dependent: a frame for that clause only, no reset |
| Change the topic, then report | the /x/ word first: xalahen zazawan vezebel darl zozan vowogal. Now, about Alahen: Azawan says that Alahen walks. |
| Report someone's own topic change | quote their wording (quotes) |
Reading the topic from inside a dependent is fine: zozan, tags, and role pointers inside the content resolve to your current stretch. Azawan says that the main one runs means your topic, not Azawan's. A clause join is not a dependent, but it keeps the clauses in one written sentence, so a topic word cannot follow one either: change the topic after a period.
Quotes and asides
A quote is someone else's talk, so it keeps its own topic and its own tags, and neither carries over into yours. An aside uses your stretch and never changes the topic (topics in a quote). For a real side topic, end the sentence and use xavazem.
Me or you as the topic
/x/ takes the speaker, listener, interlocutors, or people in general like any noun: xamun now, about me, xehon now, about you, xahan now, about the two of us, xoben now, about people in general. A nonspecific unan cannot be a topic, because a topic is someone in particular. The topic is fixed to that person (or the address set) at the moment it is set, so after xehon, both speakers say zozan for the same person. Prefer a name where one is available (proper name); this makes turning the talk to yourself a visible choice.
Asking about the topic
To ask what the talk is about, ask which topic?: the fill-ask blank zar, then gahehom topic. The natural answer is a lone /x/ introduce or return, which sets the topic for both speakers.
yol zar gahehom.y-question | [z-wh | g-topic]
"Which topic?" / "What are we talking about?"
Compare with: English topic covers several jobs, and Agazan keeps them apart. The discourse topic is /x/. A sentence frame is hahehom as for. & contrasts one phrase (tone marks). zal / zem / zel rank among others. Only /x/ sets the topic.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a rooftop garden
New words:
| English | Agazan | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| harvest | vegevem | 🌾 from grain: bringing the crop in |
| red | eredal | 🔴 |
| as for | hahehom | #️⃣ from hash: a heading mark |
| by the way | xavazem | 🍟 from fries: a side dish, not the main course |
| reciprocity | hedam | ↔️ from east-west: each one to the others |
| topic | ozan | ⭐ from star: the star of the talk |
Review:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| listener | ehon |
| pour | vobohol |
| tomato | adedol |
| watermelon | owodal |
| family | avahal |
| seedling | uzel |
| like | humum |
| see | vahahal |
| scream | vezugel |
English → Agazan
1. Alahen pours. Azawan does too.
Show answer
zalahen vobohol. zazawan vobohor.
z-Alahen | v-pour . z-Azawan | v-←pour
2. A tomato is red. A watermelon is such.
Show answer
zadedol geredal. zowodal geredar.
z-tomato | g-red . z-watermelon | g-←red
3. Azawan and Alahen see each other.
Show answer
zazawan zalahen zal vahahal hedam.
[z-Azawan | z-Alahen | z-and] | v-see | h-reciprocity
4. Ahaben (A) pours. Alahen (E) harvests. A sees E.
Show answer
zahaben zwal vobohol. zalahen zwel vegevem. zwar dwer vahahal.
[z-Ahaben | z-tag.A] | v-pour . [z-Alahen | z-tag.E] | v-harvest . z-←tag.A | d-←tag.E | v-see
5. Now, about Azawan: Azawan harvests. Alahen sees Azawan.
Show answer
xazawan zozan vegevem. zalahen dozan vahahal.
x-Azawan | z-TOPIC | v-harvest . z-Alahen | d-TOPIC | v-see
6. As for the family, Alahen harvests.
Show answer
hahehom bavahal zalahen vegevem.
[h-as-for | b-family] | z-Alahen | v-harvest
Agazan → English
1. zalahen humum bazawan vobohol. zahaben humur vegevem.
Show answer
z-Alahen | [h-like | b-Azawan] | v-pour . z-Ahaben | h-←like | v-harvest
Alahen pours like Azawan. Ahaben harvests that way.
2. zazawan vegevem. zalahen vazawar.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-harvest . z-Alahen | v-←Azawan
Azawan harvests. Alahen does the same with Azawan.
3. zehonx vegevem.
Show answer
z-listener-x | v-harvest
You all harvest.
4. zazawan zwal zalahen zwel zam vegevem. zwaer vezugel.
Show answer
[[z-Azawan | z-tag.A] | [z-Alahen | z-tag.E] | z-and.open] | v-harvest . z-←tag.A+E | v-scream
Azawan (A) and Alahen (E) harvest. A and E scream.
5. xalahen zozan vobohol. xavazem zazawan duzel vahahal. xalaher zozan vegevem.
Show answer
x-Alahen | z-TOPIC | v-pour . x-by-the-way | z-Azawan | d-seedling | v-see . x-←Alahen | z-TOPIC | v-harvest
Now, about Alahen: Alahen pours. By the way, Azawan sees a seedling. Back to Alahen: Alahen harvests.
6. yol zar gahehom.
Show answer
y-question | [z-wh | g-topic]
Which topic? / What are we talking about?
Pick one
1. Azawan (A) pours. Alahen (E) harvests. E screams. zazawan zwal vobohol. zalahen zwel vegevem. zwer vezugel. or zazawan zwal vobohol. zalahen zwel vegevem. zwar vezugel.
Show answer
zazawan zwal vobohol. zalahen zwel vegevem. zwer vezugel.
[z-Azawan | z-tag.A] | v-pour . [z-Alahen | z-tag.E] | v-harvest . z-←tag.E | v-scream
The tag vowel picks the referent: e is Alahen, whoever acted last.
2. You all scream. zehonx vezugel. or zehon vezugel.
Show answer
zehonx vezugel.
z-listener-x | v-scream
-x on the listener names everyone this turn addresses; zehon is one listener.
Fix it
1. Now, about Azawan: Azawan sees Alahen. xazawan dalahen vahahal.
Show answer
xazawan zozan dalahen vahahal.
x-Azawan | z-TOPIC | d-Alahen | v-see
A dropped subject is never the topic: write zozan when the topic is the one who sees.
See also
- plurality.md: -x; address set vs associative