Parts of Speech
Nouns
Singular
Words beginning with a consonant and ending with a vowel.
Proper
Singular nouns ending in a consonant refer to a specific instance of the concept the noun represents. For example, pital, pitak, pitab, pitav, pitac, etc. can all be used to refer to a specific instance of a person or thing representing pita (flower). Names for baltariks, pets, landmarks, etc. frequently use this convention.
Singular nouns ending in s are the generic proper form of the noun. For example, pita means "the concept of a flower" and pitas means "a flower-like person or thing."
Plural
Singular or proper nouns ending with an n.
Implicit vs. Given
Implicit nouns refer to objects that inherently possess the concept. Given nouns refer to objects that received the concept through an action. Given nouns are prepended with "gra."
For example, paja and grapaja are conjugated as follows:
| Barkes | Meaning |
|---|---|
| paja | a judgement |
| pajan | multiple judgements |
| pajas | judger |
| pajasn | multiple judgers |
| pajar | to judge |
| pajask | judgemental |
| pajalk | judgementally |
| grapaja | a received judgement (enjudgement) |
| grapajan | multiple received judgements |
| grapajas | judged person or thing |
| grapajasn | multiple judged people or things |
| grapajar | to do as the judged do |
| grapajask | judged |
| grapajalk | guiltily |
Pronouns
Singular
| Barkes | English | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ra | I | |
| xa | sha | she |
| ka | he | |
| za | one/they (singular) | |
| ca | cha | it |
| da | you |
Plural
Singular pronouns ending with an n.
Possessive
A singular noun or pronoun ending in l, or a plural or proper or plural noun ending in wl.
Verbs
Infinitive
A singular noun ending in r or a plural noun ending in ur.
Past
A singular noun ending in t or a plural noun ending in ut.
Present
A singular noun ending in d or a plural noun ending in ud.
Future
A singular noun ending in m or a plural noun ending in um.
Descriptors
Descriptors appear after the word they describe.
Adjectives
Singular nouns ending with a sk or a plural noun ending in usk.
Adverbs
Singular nouns ending with an lk or a plural noun ending in ulk.
Enhancers
Enhancers appear before the noun, pronoun, or descriptor they enhance.
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tarl | all | |
| doc | doch | more |
| malt | less | |
| zuz | equal/actual | |
| xes | shehs | like/similar |
| Enhancers can be prepended with numbers to indicate part of a whole, part of all, an exact number, or an estimate. |
Examples:
xan tod tarl takwsn vuk
They are all courageous.
pimwxes xan tod kwysn pimwdoc takwsk vuk
About half of them are mostly courageous birds.
xan tod rezuz takwsn vuk
They are two courageous people.
piremwmalt takwsn pajad vuk
Less than a quarter of courageous people judge.
Booleans
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| iti | and | |
| ili | or | |
| ixo | isho | but |
| kurl | not |
Punctuation
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| kox | kosh | ( |
| xok | shok | ) |
| vuk | . | |
| vukt | ! | |
| vuln | ? | |
| kox and xok are optional punctuation that can be used to group any part of a sentence for clarity. |
Fange, the word for unknown, replaces one or more words in a sentence ending in vuln to ask who, what, where, when, and why questions.
Examples
za fangesk fanged tAt fange lAt fange vAt fange vuln
Who does what when where why?
fange fangem vuln
Who or what will do what?
ca fangesk fangem vuk
Something will do something.
Objects
Identifiers
Identifiers identify the role another noun plays in the subject's action in a sentence.
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tAt | tat | at (time) |
| sAt | sat | over (timespan) |
| gAt | gat | as (property) |
| dAt | dat | upon (direct object) |
| pAt | pat | to (indirect object) |
| lAt | lat | in (location) |
| bAt | bat | by (means) |
| hAt | hat | with (additions to subject) |
| vAt | vat | for (purpose) |
Modifiers
Modifiers modify the identifier's relationship to the object.
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| swk | sook | before |
| kul | after | |
| between | ||
| out | ||
| inside | ||
| outside | ||
| within | ||
| without | ||
| beyond | ||
| to | ||
| from | ||
| through | ||
| throughout | ||
| on | ||
| over | ||
| under | ||
| beneath | ||
| behind | ||
| in front of | ||
| next to | ||
| by |
Numbers
| Barkes | English Spelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ku | 0 | |
| pa | 1 | |
| re | 2 | |
| ci | chi | 3 |
| vo | 4 | |
| mw | mu | 5 |
| qa | tha | 6 |
| ze | 7 | |
| bi | 8 | |
| so | 9 | |
| pi | . | |
| Numbers are merely appended to create larger numbers (e.g. papare is 112, bisoqaze is 8,967). |