Phi manualPart VComplex structures

Section 1 of 4

Chapter 17 Coordination and contrast

Simple conjunction: nela

Until now, most sentences in this book have said one thing at a time. Days are not like that: bread and rain and a friend's arrival come together, and a sentence needs a way to keep two things in hand without dropping either. nela joins elements of equal grammatical status, much as English "and" does.

The two sides must be comparable pieces of structure. A noun can join a noun, a verb can join a verb, and a full clause can join another full clause. nela does not turn unlike elements into a pair.

Joining words

At word level, nela coordinates two objects of phaelo, two descriptions of a tree, or two actions with the same subject:

mia shea nela lothea phaelo.

1SG peace COORD love feel.

(I feel peace and love.)

shiro mioru nela whalo nai.

tree beautiful COORD large be.

(The tree is beautiful and large.)

mia theo nela sheluo.

1SG read COORD listen.

(I read and listen.)

The conjunction adds no sequence or cause. In shea nela lothea, peace and love share the same place before phaelo; neither is said to produce the other.

Joining phrases

Longer phrases keep their internal order on each side of nela:

mia [mioru peloru] nela [whalo shiro] nila.
1SG [beautiful flower] COORD [large tree] see.
(I see a beautiful flower and a large tree.)
mia [melu nela lumani] lothea.
1SG [friend COORD family] love.
(I love friends and family.)

Joining clauses

At clause level, each side may carry its own subject, objects, and verb:

mia theo nela thia sheluo.

1SG read COORD 2SG listen.

(I read, and you listen.)

sileta sulae nai nela howeli phaelu nai.

sun warm be COORD wind peaceful be.

(The sun is warm, and the wind is peaceful.)

The first verb completes its clause. nela then opens a second coordinated clause inside the same Phi sentence, so the period waits until both clauses are complete.

Lists

In a list of three or more items, nela appears at every boundary rather than only before the final item:

shiro nela peloru nela whelina.

tree COORD flower COORD grass.

(Trees and flowers and grass.)

The repeated conjunction makes every join audible: tree and flower and grass, the way a child counts treasures, each one worth its own and. Any ranking among those items would need its own words.