Appendix
quick reference
ReferenceFunctional comparisons
| English commonly writes | Phi form | Scope |
|---|---|---|
? after a direct yes-or-no question | wa | Slot 0 before the complete proposition |
? after a content question | sua, hina, weno, kua, misa, thela, or wia | the position where the answer would stand |
| "whether" or "if" inside a statement | pha ... pho | embedded yes-or-no question before the matrix predicate |
| quotation marks | sha ... sho | exact grammatical Phi wording before a speaking, inquiry, or hearing predicate |
| a comma of address | kona | extra-clausal vocative with its own period |
| capitalization of a name | ne | proper designation in neutral, formal, portable, and validated Phi |
| a comma after an if-clause | lu or lu he, then a period | complete condition before its consequence |
| a comma after another dependent clause | pheo, phoe, whau, lao, shai, or lila | complete dependent frame before the main clause |
| a comma before "and," "but," or "or" | nela, thona, or sola | conjunction between equal constituents |
| list commas | nela | conjunction at every list boundary |
| an exclamation mark | no general equivalent | lexical meaning and delivery stay separate; use ru, su, or an interjection only when its own meaning fits |
| quotation marks around a title | ne | a work's proper designation, announced like any other name |
| scare quotes around a word | sha ... sho with attribution, or ti | distance said aloud and owned, never floated on typography |
| a colon before an explanation | no word needed | the sentence's own order already makes the promise |
| a semicolon | . or nela, thona, sola | a full boundary or an audible join; no silent half-strength exists |
| parentheses around an example or detail | phisu or shekoi opening its own sentence | the aside said at full voice with its relation named |
| a dash of interruption or rewording | shorela opening the second try | the sentence changes its mind aloud |
| an ellipsis of hesitation | nuo | the audible um, a complete utterance holding the floor |
| an ellipsis or dash used for a pause | no mark | pauses may shape delivery but not grammar |
| an ellipsis of omission inside a quotation | tha ... tho instead | a shortened quotation breaks the exactness claim; report the content |
| a period | . | sentence-end, the one visible Phi punctuation mark |
| arbitrary source punctuation | the source medium | outside the Phi passage and outside Phi syntax |
ReferenceThe twenty interjections
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
kia | hello | nea | aha |
pao | goodbye | nuo | um |
lia | yes | wao | wow |
tua | no | lua | lovely |
mio | mmhm | sai | ouch |
hao | pardon | halu | aww |
mea | thanks | phuo | phew |
soa | sorry | pio | hehe |
hei | hey | teo | watch out |
shiu | shh | hoi | onward |
Each is a complete utterance with its own period, and each keeps its lexical meaning at any volume. Part 7 teaches the class by nearest neighbors.
ReferenceWorking rules
- "Spoken punctuation" is a teaching analogy.
wa,kona,ne, and the complementizers remain grammatical words with exact distributions. waasks a direct yes-or-no question. A content question uses its gap-word, and an embedded yes-or-no question usespha ... pho.sha ... shoclaims exact Phi wording. Source wording in another language stays outside the Phi passage.- A
konaphrase is extra-clausal. A proper name within it keepsnein neutral or portable Phi. - Clause families do not share one generic boundary marker.
rumarks degree,sumarks an optative, and each interjection keeps its lexical meaning. None is an exclamation particle.- The interjections are twenty complete utterances; when two feel close, the entry's nearest neighbor decides.
- The colon, semicolon, parentheses, dash, and ellipsis have no Phi words because sentence structure, the discourse markers, and
nuoalready do their work. - Pauses can carry rhythm and feeling, but they cannot change syntax or propositional meaning.
- Dictation can test recovery of lexical markers. Exact period placement and arbitrary source notation require separate comparison.
ReferenceWhat the validator checks
The validator enforces lowercase, period-only Phi inside recognized examples and rejects unknown Phi forms. It also checks required complementizer pairings where its parser can identify them. Delivery, intended reference, and the accuracy of a speaker's exact-word claim still require human judgement.
ReferenceCross-references
canon.mdfor the relevant settled rulings- Manual chapter 9 for particle scope and chapter 10 for questions
- Manual chapter 17 for coordination and chapter 19 for clause frames
- Manual chapter 18 for the seven discourse markers behind Part 8
- Manual chapter 21 for direct address and chapter 24 for source material
- The complementizer, naming, and source-material pamphlets for extended practice
wa thia towe nai. ends with the same period as an assertion. Its first syllable is enough to tell the listener which sentence they have entered.