Lesson 42: Compounds / VO Cluster
How to Use This Lesson
This lesson is divided into six sections. Please move through them in this order: Warm-Up, Grammar, Vocabulary, Practice, Review, Flashcards.
Do not try to memorize! Just read through the content attentively. We will have plenty of exercises and reviews later!
How much do you remember?
Check the boxes for words you think you know. Then click Show Answers to reveal the meanings.
Compounds
Oravia has less than 800 words. This makes it much faster and easier to learn than having thousands of words. The trade-off is that we don't have words for every single concept. Many times, we need to use more than one word to express what we mean. That's where compounds enter!
Compounds are multiple words that name a single concept. In a compound, every word except the last takes -s. You can also put sol at the front to explicitly open the compound; sol is optional. This distinguishes a compound from an ordinary modifier phrase, which does not take -s. For example:
yaltan miau = a big cat
yaltans miau = big-cat, like a tiger or a lion
yedis yaltans miau = striped-big-cat, tiger
Let's see another example:
yahlul yaltan apafene = a chair that is soft and big
yahluls yaltans apafene = soft-big-chair, a couch
Compounds are not exact science. Sometimes, meaning will be approximated or unclear. If we have a miscommunication, we can try other compounds or rephrasing.
Also, they are used when you want to be more specific. Most of the time, context is clear and simply saying apafene for couch is good enough.
We can also use created words, or imported words, to indicate compounds. Words not in the official list must be preceded by '. This includes these two types of imports:
1) Names, languages, locations, regional dishes, ethnicities, religions, and other cultural referents. In these cases, we should use the word people that belong to that group use themselves. For example, 'Italia is Italy and 'Nihongo is Japanese language.
2) Specific species of plants and animals. When we want to be specific, we use the scientific names.
For example, you may find in a text:
You may also find people using Palmae to refer to palm trees, or Turdus to refer to a robin. Scientific names make the referent clear (different languages have different conceptual overlaps of flora and fauna), avoids adding thousands of created words to the vocabulary, and we get to learn new things!
Finally, there is another way to create new meanings: hyphenated words. While -s compounds are usually created with modifiers that name a single concept, hyphenated expressions are used to join together two meanings, like this:
We also use it for other verbs, to make it easier:
If you are unsure whether something should be a compound or a hyphenated expression, go with whatever feels right to you. Chances are, either works!
To sum up:
every non-final word +s = compound; optional sol can open the compound
new or imported word = indicate with ' and describe in footnotes
hyphen = two words joined for more fine-grained meaning
Now try to make compounds to express sunset, diary, and tea.
VO CLUSTER
Recall we already saw another cluster with v, the VA Cluster? We will learn a related cluster. The VO Cluster!
| Oravia | English |
|---|---|
| vonmo | lip |
| vonici | nail |
| vonlu | skin |
| vonyas | hair |
| vosvo | soap |
| vosfan | brush |
| vosfou | dry |
| vosvosi | rub |
What do you think VO words are about?
Can you identify what the two subclusters are? What is their sound and their meaning?
Recognize the Roots
Take another look at vonmo, vonici, vonlu, and vosfou. Do you recognize any roots you've learned before?
Ce yo run vonlu, vonyas, su vardei?
You are ready for the exercise now!
Matching Games
Time to practice! Match the Oravia words with their English meanings.
If you don't remember or make a mistake, that's totally fine! We will have plenty of opportunities to practice. Right now just give it a try.
Click one word from each column to match them. The game will check automatically when you select both words.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Review Missed Words
This section shows words you got wrong during practice. If you didn't miss any, this will be empty - great job! 🎉
🎉 Lesson 42 Complete!
If you missed any words, check the Review tab to practice them again.
Come back tomorrow for Lesson 43.