Prodict: The Language

Prodict: The Language
Prodict Version: Preliminary-Beta-8-2 (0.2.8.2)
(Reference Guide in English)

Introduction to Prodict

What is Prodict? Prodict is a new constructed language, based on the English vocabulary, but with new grammar, spelling, and syntax. It is designed to correct the major difficulties of verb irregularity and non-phonetic spelling in English, while keeping the majority of the vocabulary intact through the use of simple import rules. It also features new and improved qualities such as number manipulation abilities, new and improved pronouns, and extended and regular verb forms.

Version Information

Prodict's version, or revision code is described as follows:

Note: This is the revision of the Prodict language itself, not the revision of this guide.

About This Guide

This guide is designed to provide both a general overview and detail the specifics of Prodict. You can use the navigation links at the top to jump to a specific section. When examples are given, they are translated into English nearby.

The Alphabet (and pronunciation guide) Prodict has three phonetic types of sounds: consonants, vowels, and combination sounds. Each consonant letter by itself only creates one sound. For example, c is always pronounced like k and s is always sharp, never like z. However, Vowels combine to create different sounds and some slightly modified sounds are created with multiple consonants called "combination sounds" Note that the pronunciation information in equivalent English and IPA is somewhat approximate - different dialects will likely pronounce the sounds slightly differently.
23 letters	English Pronunciation	International Phonetic Alphabet
a	see vowel pronunciation
b	but	b
c	car, cab	k
d	do	d
e	see vowel pronunciation
f	fond	f
g	great	ɡ
h	hi	h
i	see vowel pronunciation
j	jump, jelly	dʒ
l	late	l
m	mom	m
n	no	n
o	see vowel pronunciation
p	pond	p
r	road	ɹ
s	sand, grass	s
t	title	t
u	see vowel pronunciation
v	very	v
w	water	w
y	yellow, yell	y
z	zebra, jazz	z
Vowel Pronunciation Vowel sounds can be formed by a single vowel or by multiple vowels in sequence. This is done so special characters for vowel sounds are not necessary.
a	bad, at	æ
ai	day, bay	eɪ
au	father, odd	ɑ, ɑː, ɔ, or ɔː
e	edible, item, dead	ɛ or e
ee	bee, green	i or iː
i	it, bit	ɪ
ie	bite, die	aɪ
o	open, old	oʊ or əʊ
oo	boo, school	u or uː
eu	good, could	ʊ
u	dud, bug	ə or ʌ
Combination Sounds Combination sounds are sounds formed by using two letters in sequence. They are usually sounds that are uncommon or the combination sound is natural when the letters' two independent sounds are said in sequence. Because of this, combination sounds do not need a separate letter. This makes the language more natural and easier to use. To split up the sounds use an apostrophe ' to indicate a sound split pause like: seeng = s + ee + ng seen'g = s + ee + n + g Generally, such words are uncommon and such sound combinations are avoided.
ch	chew, march	tʃ
ng	sing, ding	ŋ
ol	apple, dull	əl
sh	sheep, share	ʃ
th	thin, this	θ or ð
ur	urge, bird	ɝ or ɜː
ow	now, cow	aʊ
wh	when, where	ʍ
zh	vision, incision	ʒ
Accenting In Prodict, accenting almost never changes meaning and so is non essential. It is usually used for emphasis. The accent usually falls: • On the first syllable • Wherever is natural and easy to pronounce • Nowhere - all syllables equally stressed To force a specific accent use accent marks such as: á - primary à - secondary
Capitalization In Prodict, there is also no capitalization. You don't have to capitalize any proper nouns, beginnings of sentences, or I's. For example: ie runon too te cornur. (said like: I run-ohn too teh corner.) I run to the corner. No capitalization required!

Nouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs

In Prodict, each word type is uniquely identified.

Nouns are identified through the use of an article: (Except pronouns and question words acting as nouns)

te - singular
tes - plural
tez - mass (An example of a mass noun is "lotion" - you can't have just one "lotion" so it is neither plural nor singular.)

Adjectives have no special identifier and are identified through process of elimination.

te daug red (the red dog)
te is an article, so daug is a noun so red could only be an adjective.

red te daug (the red dog)
Again, the same case with different word order.

tes daug red rapidle runon (the red dog rapidly runs)
tes = article, daug = noun, rapidle = adverb (see adverbs), runon = verb (see verbs), therefore red must be an adjective.

Adverbs always end in -le and so are easily identified.

For example:

tes daug red rapidle runon (the red dog rapidly runs)
rapidle ends in -le, so it must be an adverb

Verbs in Detail

A simple verb in Prodict has the form as follows:

[infinitive] + stem + tense

The infinitive is whether or not the verb is an infinitive, for example "to run"
• t'- for infinitive
• (nothing) for an active verb like "run"
The stem is the root of the verb, for example: run
The tense suffix is:
• -ed for past like "ran"
• -on for present like "run" (not necessary in present infinitive)
• -il for future like "will run"

All the simple verb forms, shown using the Prodict verb "to run" - t'run, are:

t'run Present Infinitive - like "to run"
t'runed Past Infinitive - like "to have run"
t'runil Future Infinitive - like "to be going to run" or "to have not yet run"

runon Present Active - like "run"
runed Past Active - like "ran"
runil Future Active - like "will run"

Also, the verb "to be" - t'iz - has the only irregular verb form in Prodict:

All other forms of t'iz are regular (See Special Verbs for a more in-depth discussion)

The perfect tenses use a slightly different structure, basically adding the perfect tense + v onto the stem.

[infinitive] + stem + perfect tense + v + tense

The perfect tense letter can be either -e- or -i-.

Use the perfect past (-ev-) to talk about the action happening before the tense indicated by the main tense letter.
Use the perfect future (-iv-) to talk about the action happening after the tense indicated by the main tense letter.
If the action occurs at the time of the main tense, the simple tenses are used.

The perfect tenses are:

runevon Present Perfect Past - like "have run"
runeved Past Perfect Past - like "had run"
runevil Future Perfect Past - like "will have run"

runivon Present Perfect Future - like "have not yet run" or "am going to run"
runived Past Perfect Future - like "had not yet run" or "was going to run"
runivil Future Perfect Future - like "will have not yet run" or "will be going to run"

The progressive tenses use the verb "to be" - t'iz (see special verbs), with the participle form of the auxiliary verb. The progressive tenses indicate an ongoing, or progressive, action.

Progressive:
t'iz + participle

Participle:
stem + a + active / passive

The verb t'iz (to be) tells when the progressive action it taking place.
Use -t- for an active progressive (I am seeing) or use -p- for a passive progressive (I am being seen)

The verb t'iz can be in any tense, including perfect tenses to show when the progressive action is taking place.

runat Active Participle - like "I am running"
runap Passive Participle - like "I am being run"

The progressive forms are:

iz + runat Present Active Progressive - like "I am running"
ized + runat Past Active Progressive - like "I was running"
izil + runat Future Active Progressive - like "I will be running"

iz + runap Present Passive Progressive - like "I am being run"
ized + runap Past Passive Progressive - like "I was being run"
izil + runap Future Passive Progressive - like "I will be being run"

izevon + runat Present Perfect Past Active Progressive - like "I have been running"
izeved + runat Past Perfect Past Active Progressive - like "I had been running"
izevil + runat Future Perfect Past Active Progressive - like "I will have been running"

izevon + runap Present Perfect Past Passive Progressive - like "I have been being run"
izeved + runap Past Perfect Past Passive Progressive - like "I had been being run"
izevil + runap Future Perfect Past Passive Progressive - like "I will have been being run"

izivon + runat Present Perfect Future Active Progressive - like "I have not yet been running" or "I am going to be running"
izived + runat Past Perfect Future Active Progressive - like "I had not yet been running" or "I was going to be running"
izivil + runat Future Perfect Future Active Progressive - like "I will have not yet been running" or "I will be going to be running"

izivon + runap Present Perfect Future Passive Progressive - like "I have not yet been being run" or "I am going to be being run"
izived + runap Past Perfect Future Passive Progressive - like "I had not yet been being run" or "I was going to be being run"
izivil + runap Future Perfect Future Passive Progressive - like "I will have not yet been being run" or "I will be going to be being run"

Conjunctions in Detail

The Coordinating Conjunctions are used to combine objects into one unit. They make combination subjects, compound sentences, and other combinations of words.

fo - for
do - and (equivalent to our "and/or")
no - nor (equivalent to our "or")
bo - but
o - or
yo - yet
so - so

The Subordinating Conjunctions are used to combine sentences using dependent clauses, where the dependent clause cannot stand alone.

They always end in -o and are more than two letters. They also never end in -oo, so they can be told apart from perpositions and pronouns. (See vocabulary for complete list)

whilo - while
beecuzo - because
whino - when
...

Prepositions in Detail

Prepositions are used to form prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases always start with a preposition and end with a noun. The phrase acts as either an adjective or an adverb, based on what it describes.

The prepositions are all imported directly from English.

A few are:

too - to
for - for
uv - of
ovur - over
undur - under
bie - by
...
(See vocabulary for complete list)

Sentence Structure

Due to the highly regular word forms, the word order in Prodict is very flexible.

If the sentence contains no object, or the object is an adjective, then the main sentence structure can follow any of these forms:

Subject Verb
ie runon (I run)

Verb Subject
runon ie (I run)

Subject Verb Object(adj)
oo iz red (you are red)

Object(adj) Verb Subject
red iz oo (you are red)

Note that Subject - Verb - Object is the most common form, while the reversed form is usually used for effect.

However, if the Object is a noun, the sentence structure can only be in this form:

Subject Verb Object(noun)
ie eeton te chicin (I eat chicken)

The adjective and adverb can either follow or precede the word they are modifying, but must remain adjacent to the word they are modifying.

Verb Adverb
runon cwicle (run quickly)

Adverb Verb
cwicle runon (run quickly)

Noun Adjective
te caur red (the red car)

Adjective Noun
red te caur (the red car)

Note that the modifier is often placed before if it is a predominant characteristic, and after if it is more minor, or one of many things. The effect of emphasizing certain modifiers can be obtained by placing them before the noun or verb, then placing the rest after. For example:

Primary Modifiers Noun Secondary Modifiers
ecspensiv te caur red (the expensive red car)

Prepositional Phrases are organized in this way:

Preposition Noun
in te maul (in the mall)

When there is more than one prepositional phrase they are ordered sequentially:

PrepositionPhrase1 PrepositionPhrase2
in te sacrumento uv te californyu (in Sacramento of California)

When self pronouns like "myself" are used in English, Prodict simply uses the same pronoun again. For example:

Also, since pronouns are not normal nouns and have a logical structure, articles are not used.

The Pronouns are:

ie - I / me
ies - we / us
hies - we men / us men
sies - we women / us women
oo - you
hoo - you man
soo - you woman
oos - you all / y'all / all of you
hoos - you men / you all men / all of you men
soos - you women / you all women / all of you women
ee - he / she
hee - he
see - she
tee - it
ees - them
hees - those men
sees - those women
tees - those [objects]

Conjunctions

Here is a list of all the conjunctions in Prodict with their translations and explanations if necessary.

Coordinating:

fo - for
do - and
no - nor
bo - but
o - or
yo - yet
so - so

Subordinating:

Time:
afturo - after
beeforo - before
wino - when
whilo - while (time)
sinso - since (time)
untilo - until

Cause + Effect:
beecuzo - because
cesinso - since (cause + effect)
nawthato - now that
azo - as
inordurthato - in order that
ceso - so (this is different from coordinating)

Opposition:
altho - although
tho - though
eevintho - even though
wherazo - whereas
owielo - while (opposition)

Conditions:
ifo - if
unleso - unless
onleeifo - only if
wethurornauto - whether or not
eevinifo - even if
incaiso - in case (that)

Prepositions:

As there are about 150 prepositions in English, and Prodict imports nearly all, this is a short list of some of the more common prepositions and all new prepositions unique to Prodict.

for - this is the preposition "for", not to be confused with the coordinating conjunction fo

but - this is the preposition "but", not to be confused with the coordinating conjunction bo

too - this is the preposition "to", which is used as in English, but is not used to form infinitive phrases, this is done with the prefix t'- on to the front of the verb.

ubord - aboard
ubawt - about
ubuv - above
ucraus - across
aftur - after
uginst - against
ulaung - along
umid - amid
umung - among
antie - anti
urawnd - around
as - as
at - at
beefor - before
behiend - behind
belo - below
beeneeth - beneath
beesid - beside
beesidz - besides
beetween - between
beeaund - beyond
bie - by
cuncurneeng - concerning
cunsidureeng - considering
deespiet - despite
dawn - down
dureeng - during
ecsept - except
ecsepteeng - excepting
ecscloodeeng - excluding
fauloweeng - following
frum - from
in - in
insied - inside
intoo - into
lik - like
mienus - minus
neer - near
uv - of
auf - off
aun - on
auntoo - onto
auposit - opposite
awtsied - outside
ovur - over
past - past
pur - per
plus - plus
reegarding - regarding
rawnd - round
sav - save
sins - since
than - than
throo - through
tword - toward
twordz - towards
undur - under
undurneeth - underneath
unliek - unlike
until - until
up - up
upaun - upon
vurses - versus
vieu - via
with - with
within - within
withawt - without

Special Nouns:

Numbers:

Numbers in Prodict are constructed by putting together number letters with place-value connectors and endings.

Number letters:

z - zero
y - one
b - two
t - three
f - four
v - five
h - six
s - seven
c - eight
n - nine

Place value connectors and endings:

Numbers are constructed like this in groups of three letter-connector pairs:

yohivenobi = 16592 (compared to the English version of sixteen thousand five hundred and ninety-two)

If you want to say there are a certain number of items, use the number in place of the article:

If you want to use the number itself as a noun, place an article (or substituted number-article) in front of it:

Multi-word nouns like Los Angeles, The European Union, or John Doe are all made using group-type articles.

te [noun words] et - singular
tes [noun words] set - plural
tez [noun words] zet - mass

For example:

If a number is in place of the article, use the appropriate reverse article, not a reversed number:

Relative adjectives are used to describe objects in conversation. For example "this book".

[number] + distance + plurality + [pronoun]

number: (sequence)
• none -
• number letter + i - to indicate a specific number in a sequence of objects, such as: "This bat, or This bat, or This bat ... "
distance:
• thi - close / here
• tati - far / there
• thati - out of sight / elsewhere
plurality:
• none - to indicate singular or unknown
• s - multiple
• z - mass
• [number] + i - to indicate a specific number of items
pronoun:
• none - adjective
• -n - pronoun

For example:

te plain uv te air - into - te airplain - airplane (reverse order of prepositions)

Generally, it's the modifier first, and the general part second, with any endings removed, and a ' used only if the words don't match normally, like (not a real compound word):

ra te ind - into - ra'ind

Question words:

Questions are asked in Prodict by placing the appropriate question word in place of the information you want to know. Reversal of subject-verb-object is not required; however, it is commonly used for effect, and can be done with question words. (Note: The order cannot be reversed with noun objects) Complex questions might not be able to be reversed, and in all cases, standard subject-verb-object order is valid.

Special Verbs:

In Prodict, all verbs are regular, except one special case for the linking verb t'iz (to be). t'iz only has one irregular form, and that is the optional short-form of the present tense:

izon is also valid, but is used primarily as a statement of certainty or definition for added emphasis.

t'iz - To be
ized - Was
izil - Will be
...

All other tenses (simple, infinitive, perfect, and progressive) are all regular.

Also, helping verbs in English are classified as adverbs in Prodict, and so should have the appropriate ending of -le.

ceudile runon - could run (present)
mietile runon - might run (present)
mietile runil - might run (future)

The helping verb will is not used as it is a tense, and progressive participles are not considered verbs or adverbs, but a special class by themselves.

Special Adjectives and Adverbs:

In Prodict, there are both special adjectives and adverbs to describe uncertainty and possibility, as well as relative amounts:

no - no
ye - yes
miet - maybe, possibly
...

Import Rules:

In Prodict, words are imported from English to preserve the general vocabulary. Note this is only for words not discussed elsewhere.

In Prodict, Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs are mostly freely convertible between the different types.

This table describes the modifications for the valid generic conversions between any two types of words:

Words are also sometimes converted on a case-by-case basis, for example, using "Google" as verb to indicate searching.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - CHECK BACK LATER FOR SAMPLES AND PRACTICE EXERCISES

Long Form	Condensed Form	Description	Valid Values / Description of Values
Master Stage	M	This describes the Master Stage, or type of revision this is, of Prodict	Preliminary / 0 - This is the preliminary, or unfinished version. First / 1 - This is the first finished version. ... / ...
Minor Stage	m	This describes the Minor Stage, or the overall changes/progress/comprehensiveness of the version.	Alpha / 1- First Stage Beta / 2 - Second Stage Gamma / 3 - Third Stage ... / ...
Revision A	A	This is a significant revision of this Stage	0 to 9
Revision B	B	This is a minor revision of this Stage	0 to 9
Current Prodict Version: Preliminary-Beta-8-2 (0.2.8.2)

Special Adjective / Adverb Prefix, Infix, Suffix	Certainty / Amount - or - Meaning
n-	0% / None
nos-	1% / Very little
num-	25% / Some
miet-	50% / Maybe, Half
yum-	75% / Most
yos-	99% / Almost All
y-	100% / All
-can-	Indication of ability to perform the action, miet- assumed if not added
-ceud-	Indication of choice to perform the action, miet- assumed if not added
-o / -e / -[none]	Declarative form, use -o for negative, -e for positive, and -[none] for miet*
-ile	Adverb form, for example: mietile - might (for example, "might run")
-is	Adjective form, for example: numis - some (for example, "some cars")
-in	Noun form, for example: yumin - most (for example, "most of them")

Word Type	Ending / Condition	What to do
Nouns	If there is no conflict	Import Directly
	If in conflict with other non-imported word
	-[vowel]	add -n
	-[consonant]	add -en
Adjectives	If there is no conflict	Import Directly
	If in conflict with other non-imported word
	-[vowel]	add -s
	-[consonant]	add -is
Verbs	If there is no conflict	Import Directly
	If in conflict with other non-imported word
	-[vowel]	add -r
	-[consonant]	add -er
Adverbs	-le	Import Directly
	-l	add -e
	-lee (-ly)	change to -le
	-[other vowel]	add -le
	-[other consonant]	add -ile
All Other Types and Special Words	See previous sections for description of how the words are imported / modified / generated.

Starting From -->	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
To a Noun		Add noun article tez Describes the quality Example: tez red (redness)	Add noun article tez to stem Describes the action Example: tez run (running)	Add noun article tez Describes the quality Example: tez rapidle (rapidness)
To an Adjective	Use directly without an article The quality of similarity Example: maos (mouse-ish)		Use directly without a tense Something that performs the action Example: run (a running ...)	Add -s Something that acts with the adverb quality Example: rapidles (a rapid ...)
To a Verb	Use as a verb stem The action of using the noun Example: t'bic (to bike)	Use as a verb stem The action of imparting the quality on something Example: redon (redden)		Use as a verb stem The action of imparting the quality on something Example: t'rapid (to make ... rapid)