Conjunctions : Causation and Counting

At the moment, I haven't settled all the conjunction functions, but there's more than enough material to cover in one post for what I've come up with so far. Conjunctions are words that link two statements in various ways. For example, and, if, or, even though, but and so. The two types of conjunctions that I've designed for Eldawnian are the causation conjunctions and the counting conjunctions. These terms are not official linguistic vernacular, but it makes it easier for me to think about their functions at the moment.

The causation conjunctions are easy enough to explain. Their English equivalents are the words for and so. As a conjunction for expresses one clause as a reason behind another. Simply Drink water, for you are thirsty. You are thirsty is the reason why you should drink water. On the other hand, so expresses the relationship that one clause is a result of another. I was thirsty, so I drank the water. Thirst is the cause.

Presently, there are four types of causation conjunctions : Real, Essential, Relevant and Hypothetical.  They express various relationships between proposed causes and events. The conjunctions are place before the clauses they modify.

Real
cive - since - ci : real, ve - cause, cizhe - therefore - ci - real, zhe - result

Essential
isve - is a required cause of - iseyo : to compel, ve - cause, azhe - is a required result of - aseyo : to force, zhe - result

Relevant
iave - is part of the cause of - ia : link, ve - cause, iazhe - is part of the result of - ia : link, zhe - result

Hypothetical
lave - if - la : hypothetical, ve : cause, lazhe - then - la : hypothetical, zhe : result

For the example sentences, I'll use the verb 'ibeyo' meaning to help/aid, along with the simple pronouns 'rices', 'rites' and 'ripes', which are first, second and third person respectively.

'ricos ibeto rites cive rites ibepo ripos' I help you since you helped him.

It is generally preferred to have cause before effect, so the full default sentence would be :

'cive rites ibepo ripos cizhe ricos ibeco rites' Since you helped him, therefore I will help you.

The other categories of cause and effect conjunctions work in the same way.

'lave rites ibeto ripos lazhe ricos ibeco rites' If you help him, then I will help you.

Additionally, there are negative versions of the causal conjuctions. Once again, this is negated with the addition of the [-m] suffix.

Negative Real
civem - not since - ci : real, ve - cause, cizhem - not therefore - ci - real, zhe - result

Nonessential
isvem - not a required cause of -  iseyo : to compel, ve - cause, azhem - not a required result of - aseyo : to force, zhe - result

Irrelevant
iavem - is not part of the cause of - ia : link, ve - cause, iazhem - is not part of the result of - ia : link, zhe - result

Negative Hypothetical
lavem - not if - la : hypothetical, ve : cause, lazhem - then - la : hypothetical, zhe : result

These negative conjunctions do not mean not A then B, but rather A is not a cause of B. For the negative real conjunction, it would be akin to saying A was not the cause of B, and so on. The irrelevant case would be analogous to the expression A has nothing to do with B.

Next, the counting conjugations, of which there are six.

ab [conj] or (10/01), ot [conj] but not (10), ec [conj] and (11)

ip [conj] or (11/00), ud [conj] not but (01) , üg [conj] nor (00)

These conjunctions would be used in lists, for example, saying that I have a blue pen and a red pen but not a green pen. and other similar statements. The binary codes in parentheses refer to the positive or negative quality of the clauses. A few example sentences would probably make things clearer.

I advise him and her. 'ricos iveto ripos ec ripus'
I advise him but not her. 'ricos iveto ripos ot ripus'
I advise him or her. 'ricos iveto ripos ab ripus'
I advise him not, but her. 'ricos iveto ripos ud ripus'
I do not advise him nor her. 'ricos ivetom ripos üg ripus'
I advise both him and her or neither him nor her. 'ricos iveto ripos ip ripus'

'ip' isn't really a conjunction that has a clear translation in English. It could be viewed as an all or none statement, such that either both objects have the same action done to them, or neither will receive the action. It could also be used in a situation with more than two objects to make things clear. For example in the sentence I advise you, him or her. it is ambiguous whether you mean you and him are advised, or her, or whether only one of the three are advised. In contrast the Eldawnian construction system allows clearer constructions with 'ricos iveto rites ip ripos ab ripus' which indicates that the positive or negative states of you and him are bound together. The other sentence that would appear similar in English is 'ricos iveto rites, ripos ab ripus' where it is taken that the same conjunction applies to all three since one is omitted. Of course, for clarity, one could always say 'ricos iveto ab ripos ab ripus', just as we might way I advise you or him or her.

Anyway, language construction is getting a little exhausting at the moment, I intend to return to the main purpose of the language, which was to set up the names of my proper nouns consistently. Now that most of the rules of grammar and phonology are in place, I think I'll come up with names and get back to working in English as soon as possible. Just a final post on how to ask questions, and this series on linguistics will be frozen until necessity or interest calls for its thaw.