I designed Zese to be easy to learn and moderately practical. The language has a balance of minimalism and efficiency.
Small lexicon (fewer than 300 words)
Simple grammar
Simple phonology and orthography
Zese is a descendant of my other conlangs. The timeline is shown below:
GRAMMAR
There are four parts of speech: noun, verb, descriptor, and preposition.
A descriptor can behave as an adjective, adverb, or intransitive verb. Descriptors are placed before the words they modify.
GOGI TOZU
GOGI TOZU
Good building
When two nouns, verbs, or prepositions are placed next to each other, the second word is of or pertaining to the first word.
PUDO TOKO
PUDO TOKO
Water outlet
All verbs are transitive. Word order in a clause is subject-verb-object.
KIKE BIKI PEBE.
KIKE BIKI PEBE.
I see a bird.
Prepositions are placed before nouns and after nouns or verbs.
TOPA POPI GAGU
TOPA POPI GAGU
Paper in a box
A clause may be enclosed by brackets and embedded in another clause. Embedded clauses are called SITUATION NOUNS. Situation nouns represent the state, quality, act, or process of the contained clause.
PEZI GOPA [KIKU KASA].
PEZI GOPA [KIKU KASA].
The woman wants you to speak.
Ellipsis is permitted when the missing word is self-evident.
PADE DIZA BIDE (PAPA).
PADE DIZA BIDE (PAPA).
Grass is (a) green (plant).
ALPHABET
Consonants:
K – K: /k/ as in Cat
G – G: /g/ as in Get
S – S: /s/ as in Sat
Z – Z: /z/ as in Zoo
T – T: /t/ as in Ten
D – D: /d/ as in Door
P – P: /p/ as in Pet
B – B: /b/ as in Bet
Vowels:
U – U: /u/ as in bOOt
O – O: /o/ as in bOAt
A – A: /a/ as in bAt
E – E: /e/ as in bEt
I – I: /i/ as in bEEt
Word structure is CVCV.
DICTIONARY
SUSU – SUSU (N): Thing; the most general noun. SUBO – SUBO (N): Object; physical entity. SUGE – SUGE (N): Identity. SUZI – SUZI (D): Which; interrogative identity. SUDI – SUDI (N): Energy. SUBU – SUBU (N): Mass. SUDA – SUDA (D): Hot; warm. SUGA – SUGA (D): Flexible; soft. SUDU – SUDU (D): Clean.
TATA – TATA (N): Time. TASU – TASU (D): Past tense. TASI – TASI (D): Future tense. TAKE – TAKE (D): Now; current. TABU – TABU (D): Hypothetical; conditional; would. TASO – TASO (P): After. TADO – TADO (N): Day. TADA – TADA (N): Year. TAPI – TAPI (P): While; for the duration of.
POPO – POPO (N): Position; location. POTE – POTE (N): Space. POGU – POGU (P): To the right of. POGO – POGO (P): In front of. POGA – POGA (P): Over; above. POKA – POKA (V): Find; discover. POKI – POKI (P): Near; with; close to. POKE – POKE (D): Here. POPI – POPI (P): In; inside. POBI – POBI (P): On the surface of. POKO – POKO (V): Put; place. POZO – POZO (N): Middle; center
PAPA – PAPA (N): Plant. PATI – PATI (N): Seed. PAZU – PAZU (N): Tree. PADE – PADE (N): Grass. PASU – PASU (N): Leaf. PASI – PASI (N): Fruit. PADI – PADI (N): Vegetable.
KITA – KITA (D): Subject of a situation noun. KITO – KITO (D): Object of a situation noun. KISO – KISO (D): A not previously mentioned one; may be preceded by an identifying number. KISI – KISI (D): The previously mentioned one; may be preceded by an identifying number. KITU – KITU (V): Proverb; may be defined inductively. KIKE – KIKE (N): I/me. KIKU – KIKU (N): You. KIDA – KIDA (Particle): Open bracket. KIDU – KIDU (Particle): Close bracket. Shhhhh
EXAMPLES
ZOTA ZOSU PETI
ZOTA ZOSU PETI
Twenty five eggs
ZOTE KISI SUBO
ZOTE KISI SUBO
The 3rd mentioned object
DESA KUGU KABO
DESA KUGU KABO
Uncommon word
KIKE DIZA DEKO KAZA DEKU KIKU.
KIKE DIZA DEKO KAZA DEKU KIKU.
I am more creative than you.
PEKA TUKO [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
PEKA TUKO [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
The person caused the machine to push the ball.
PEKA TUKO KITA [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
PEKA TUKO KITA [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
The person created the machine which pushes the ball.
PEKA TUKO KITO [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
PEKA TUKO KITO [TOSE BUDE GAGO].
The person created the ball which the machine pushes.
CHANGE LOG
I will write here when I modify the language.
July 25th, 2015: Language in rough-draft stage.
July 26th, 2015: Added DEDI.
July 27th, 2015: Added rule about prepositions.
July 31st, 2015: Added GOPE and TUPE.
August 2nd, 2015: Added PASI and PADI.
August 3rd, 2015: Added TUTA and BUKU.
August 4th, 2015: Changed BIKU to BIZU.
August 5th, 2015: Changed BUDO to BUDU.
August 6th, 2015: Language officially in second-draft stage.
August 9th, 2015: Added POBI.
August 11th, 2015: Changed a few material words.
August 13th, 2015: Made a script.
LIST OF PROFICIENT SPEAKERS
Below is a list of Zese speakers who have memorized at least 50 words.
11/6/15 Jack Eisenmann: 275 words (100%)
9/19/17 WhileTrue: 275 words (100%)
You can also join the list! If you know at least 50 Zese words, please email esperantanaso at gmail with the following information:
A few originally composed Zese sentences. If the sentences are not grammatically correct, I will ask you to fix them.
The number of words you have memorized.
The name or nickname you want to appear in the list.
I will email you one year after your last email asking for an update. If you do not reply or no longer remember 50 Zese words, you will be removed from the list!
