Ákat objects: the gems in the necklace

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Because of the way the Nakap Philosophers developed Ákat, much work was put into analysing and describing various word derivation systems which would allow the Philosophers to identify the various roots hidden within words.

The early systems were fiendishly complex - often involving the transposition of various sounds, reduplications, sound movements and the like to uncover possible roots. Much of this work was based on the belief that the evolution of the language had been driven by 'malicious elements' in the past. Partly as a reaction to the Philosophers' endeavours, other linguists undertook their own research, resulting in a narrative of the diachronic changes which had taken place in the Telik language ancestors which undermined much of the philosophy underpinning the development of Balanced Ákat.

Following the emigration to the new continent, younger Philosophers argued that the purity of the language depended not on the historical accuracy of the reconstruction, but rather on adherence to the root meanings of words. The derivation system was greatly simplified - changing many words in the process, but also allowing the development of a new lexicon which the Philosophers felt was more true to the original language.

The following derivation types all operate on object concept roots, where one root (the modifier) acts on a second root (the host) to produce a new secondary root, which can then go on to form its own words. This is known as concept derivation. It is also possible for some - but not all - object concept roots to modify secondary roots (secondary derivation).

All object concept roots are associated with at least one derivation type. Some roots are able to undertake two or more derivation types - in these cases the derivations lead to different meanings for the words they create. Under the simplified system, derivations are divided into eighteen groups (known as derivation typologies); some derivations are in fact combinations of other derivations. The following table provides a brief outline of the twelve commonest typologies:

Typology group Typology name Derivation method
1 Front marking Modifier root vowel becomes front marked
2 Back marking Modifier root vowel becomes back marked
3 Open marking Modifier reduplicates its first consonant and vowel, while the second vowel becomes open marked
4 Host reduplication The only typology to affect the host rather than the modifier - the host reduplicates and reverses its vowel and second consonant
5 Vowel insertion Generally the syllabic vowel ê is placed between the host and modifier, though different vowels (for instance â, or more rarely û or ŷ) may also be used depending on the irregular demands of the modifier root
6 Front marking with vowel insertion Combines typologies 1 and 5
7 Back marking with vowel insertion Combines typologies 2 and 5
8 Nasal insertion In which an additional syllable is placed between the host and modifier, which can be either en or the syllabic hm - the choice of which depends on the surrounding sounds (and is not entirely regular)
9 Non-sillibant replacement The initial consonant of the modifier is replaced as follows:
p -> pr; t -> thr; k -> kr; q -> ql; f -> fr; s -> shr; x -> xr; c -> cr
10 Sillibant replacement The initial consonant of the modifier is replaced as follows:
p -> sp; t -> st; k -> sk; q -> xq; f -> fl; s -> sl; x -> sl; c -> cl
11 General irregular A number of derivations do not follow the above patterns - they are generally grouped together in this typology
12 Numerical irregular Mainly includes irregular derivations involving number roots

Numerous attempts have been made over the centuries by various Philosophers (and others) to classify the sort of results obtained by each of the typology groups. Claims that a particular typology produces a particular family of words are easy to make, but very hard to prove - thus supplying the Nakap philosophers with a rich seam of debate and argument. Statistical analysis seems to show that all such systems are illusory, little better than finding associations in a randomly generated set of data.

Some examples of derivation in action

The definition for the concept root tap provides the following information: indicating length over other dimensions, tall, long or deep - also the idea of wholeness or completeness - snakes, worms. Its five class words are:

In fact the concept root is much more commonly met as a derivation. For instance, when joined to another word using its 8th typology form (which adds the idea of long or tapering to the word), we get the following derived words:

The word àfak is a generic term which can be translated as "sense" - information received via sense organs. Words for individual senses are derived as follows:

(Note that there's often a story associated with the less obviously logical word derivations; for instance smell is closely associated with smoke in the Nakap worldview, and smoke is not only airborne but also untouchable - just like the sky).

As mentioned, a concept root can take more than one modifier typology, which affects the final meaning of the derived word. For instance the concept root sys - a wide-ranging category dealing with all things spherical in form (but not turning or spinning) - has a number of derivation typologies including:

Similarly for the concept root pap - which indicates (roughly) horizontal surfaces of all kinds, or the physical or philosophical acts of levelling, smoothing:

This page was last updated on Tecunuuntuu-15, 527: Salhkuu-30 Gevile