Ulyan Interjections: view article

Ulyan has a variety of interjections, some of which are similar to "procedure words" used in real-world radio communications.

Many of these words are frequently used with the name(s) of the speaker and listener(s) being addressed. The form is [audience] WORD [speaker]. Both names are usually optional. So, for example, if Bob is saying hello (tsoi) to Jim he could specifically identify one or the other or both or neither. In English, using both names might be expressed: "Jim, hello, Bob here..."

Jim, hello, Bob (here)...
Jim, hello,...
Hello, Bob (here)...
Hello,...

Specific names are not required:

Whoever is listening, hello, several farmers (here)...

[edit] [top]Replies to questions, requests, statements, etc.

Ulyan	Meaning
te	Yes (in response to question); "affirmative".
in	No (in response to question); "negative".
mwei	Okay; "I hear you"; "roger"; "10-4"; "copy". In response to communication, to indicate it was heard/received and understood. Does not indicate agreement or disagreement or anything of that nature, just that the information has been received.
dzai	Sure; "wilco"; will comply, will do. In response to a request or instruction. Request received and understood, and the recipient will comply.
nazvü	Maybe; non-promise. In response to a request or instruction. Request received and understood, and the recipient wants it known that they may or may not comply.
nüdzï	No way! Will not comply. In response to a request or instruction. Request received and understood, and the recipient will not comply.

[edit] [top]Greetings, partings, attention, listening, etc.

Ulyan	Meaning
tsoi	Hello, hail; general greeting. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed, and/or followed by the name of the person speaking: "Jim, hello, Bob" ("Hello Jim, this is Bob"). cf. dwau, "bye".
jmïe	Followed by a name or names, means: May i speak to X; "hello, can i speak to X?" Used to express greetings and a request to speak to a particular person/people/recipient. The person/people being spoken to may or may not be known to the speaker. Thus, if the speaker does not know to whom they are speaking the effect may be similar to "hello, X, is this you?" The name form follows the normal pattern of [(desired) audience] jmïe [speaker]. So if Bob was wanting to talk to Jim he might say: "Jim, jmïe, [Bob]..." (the name of the desired listener is required in this case, while the name of the speaker is optional). In English this might be rendered: "Jim, is that you? This is Bob..."
tcia	Attention, hey, hark, listen; "about to send"; "this is". Used to indicate that one is about to speak/communicate and the listener should pay attention. Frequently (but optionally) preceded by the name of the person being addressed and/or followed by the name of the speaker. When the name of the speaker is used the meaning may be something like: "Attention, this is X, and I have something to say now". When the recipient's name/description is used (eg, "a class") the meaning is like: "Attention, class, listen to me". cf. djoï, which is essentially the reverse ("I am paying attention"), and vlua, which is the opposite ("Attention not needed").
djoï	Speak! "Ready and waiting"; "send"; go ahead. Used to indicate that one is listening and ready to receive communication. cf. tcia, which is essentially the opposite.
ckio	Excuse me; interrupt; "desire the floor". Used to interrupt some other speaking/communication/transmission and request a chance to speak/communicate.
vlua	Relax; at ease; "attention not needed". Used to indicate that the speaker is not about to communicate and the listener does not need to pay attention. cf. tcia, which is the opposite ("Attention!").
vroa	"Over"; completion of utterance; "I'm done with what I was just saying"; "yield the floor"; "your turn, go ahead". Implication being that the listener can now speak and is usually expected to speak.
dwau	Goodbye, bye; general parting. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed. Less frequently followed by the name of the speaker ("Jim, goodbye, this has been Bob"). cf. tsoi, "hello".
zmeo	Over and out; end of conversation. This is not "goodbye" so much as "communication terminated". It might be unusual in regular speech to use zmeo instead of dwau, although there are times when it would be appropriate (such as when parting is slow and extra things are being said, then saying zmeo indicates "really goodbye now"). It can be more common as a way to end a letter. Or, in a book, it could be equivalent to "the end" or "fin".

[edit] [top]Communication problems, interrupts, etc.

Ulyan	Meaning
jgiu	Huh? Did not get that. Don't understand. The listener received a message but did not understand it for some reason. It does not explicitly request the message be repeated (that's what preu is for). Thus it tends to be used for cases where repeating the message probably won't help—perhaps the language is not understood, or the transmission is somehow garbled or too quiet, or some other problem that simple repetition may not solve.
preu	What? please repeat; "say again". Compared to jgiu, this explicitly requests a repeat of the message.
zgua	Slow down! hold on! just a minute! Used to tell the speaker that the recipient is not ready in some way. The reason is unspecified—perhaps the recipient is unable to listen at the moment, perhaps they are unable to understand the message in the way it is being communicated (eg, too fast, too complicated, etc). Basically zgua means "hold up! I'm not quite ready to listen or not quite able to listen in this way!" Further clarification can be specified, eg, "speak slower".
nabra	Interrupt: No repeat needed; got it already. This is used to interrupt a message being repeated or being explained/clarified, in order to tell the speaker that they don't need to continue. The message has been received and understood.
navrï	Interrupt: Wait there's more; not done talking! "I do not yield the floor!"; more to follow. This is used to interrupt someone who has started talking/communicating (or might start talking) before the first speaker was finished.
notcï	Nevermind; ignore me/us; disregard. This is used to indicate that the speaker's message is not relevant or important after all, for whatever reason. It basically tells the listener(s) that their attention is no longer needed and any message already received might not matter.

[edit] [top]Politeness and impoliteness

Ulyan	Meaning
dlui	Please; polite request for attention/communication. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed. Less frequently followed by the name of the speaker, if doing so makes sense in context.
cmue	Thank you; general appreciation. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed. cf. nacma ("unthanks").
ploet	Sorry; general apology. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed.
mlua	At your service, hospitality; welcome. Frequently preceded by the name of the person or people being addressed. Used to indicate that the listener(s) are welcome in the conversation or situation. Note this is not the same as the English polite phrase "you're welcome", though in some cases it can be used that way. A simple way to say "you're welcome" is mwei, which means "roger/understood/mhmm". In English this may sound rude but it is not in Ulyan.
nacma	No thanks to you; "unthanks", non-thanks; "what you did was not* helpful!"; general non-appreciation. This is basically the reverse of cmue* ("thanks"), indicating ingratitude. It is not naturally as rude as it sounds in English, rather more neutral. Can also be used sarcastically or for comedic effect.
namlü	Go away; "you are not welcome". This is basically the reverse of mlua ("welcome"), indicating inhospitality. Used to indicate that the listener(s) are not welcome in the conversation or situation. It is not naturally as rude as it sounds in English, rather more neutral. Can also be used sarcastically or for comedic effect.

[edit] [top]Miscellaneous

Ulyan	Meaning
jwiek	Help; request rescue/assistance; "mayday". Can be preceded by the name(s) of those speaker wants help from, or followed by the name(s) of those needing help (eg, "Jim, help me!").
ksü	Question marker; "isn't it?" Added to a statement to make it into a question, "this statement is true, isn't it?"

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