Earthbound
Copyright© 2026 by D M Arnold
Appendix II -- Lingwafloran
Appendix II -- Lingwafloran
An Introduction to the Language of Planet Floran
The language Esperanto was employed on the ill-fated Centauri Colony mission. Because the mission was multi-national, this artificial language was chosen. After PlanetFall, the colonists aboard the Floran continued to use Esperanto, and they taught it to their children and grandchildren as their first language.
As the years progressed, the language evolved. Lingwafloran derives most of its native vocabulary from Esperanto, although new words continue to be coined.
Structurally, Lingwafloran differs from Esperanto in the following ways:
-- Inflection has been greatly simplified.
-- All verb conjugations have been abandoned. -- Word endings have changed. The -o ending to indicate nouns has shifted to -a.
-- Verb endings have been abandoned, except for the -i ending on infinitives.
-- Sentence meanings formed in Esperanto by inflection and conjugation have been replaced by the use of particles. These words change the mood or the tense of a sentence without otherwise altering its meaning.
Lingwafloran is a spare, logical language with few irregularities and a very straightforward syntax and grammar.
Spelling
Spelling is phonetic using the following alphabet:
A1, B, C2, D, E3, F, G4, H, I5, J, K, L, M,
N, O6, P, Q2, R, S, T, U7, V, W, X8, Y9, Z
Notes:
1: A as in father
2: C and Q are obsolete and used exclusively for proper names
3: E as in echo
4: G as in golf
5: I as in fish
6: O as in echo
7: U as in dune
8: X is pronounced as CH as in chess
9: Y is pronounced as a strong EE as in see. It is usually found in proper names
SH and TH sounds are not present in the language. There are no irregular spellings or pronounciations.
Grammar
Lingwafloran grammar and syntax are exceptionally simple and regular. For declarative sentences, word order is always subject - object - verb. For questions, word order is object - verb-subject. Mi zi am. I love you. Mi am-zi? Do you love me? Phrases and clauses follow the same rules as for sentences.
In both the spoken and written language, common usage is to elide a pronoun object with the verb as a prefix, and to form contractions to eliminate adjacent vowels. Noun and phrase objects are not so elided. This usage is optional, and is employed (or, not employed) as a tool for emphasis. Ex:
Mi z’am. I love you. (vs Mi zi am. I love you.)
Mi mimarx. I walk.
Telescoping Syntax
Complex sentences may be formed by using phrases, clauses, or even complete sentences as the objects of verbs. These may be telescoped to any depth, although comprehension becomes difficult beyond a depth of four or five.
As an example, Andra tells Nyk that,
“My parents realized they had the genetic raw material to produce a candidate for the schools.”
In Lingwafloran, this sentence would be (and is what Andra actually said):
Mu patrien lin genete krudemateria kandidat per xi lernien fabriki posed’t kompren’t.
If this sentence is rewritten with brackets identifying the phrases, the three-level telescoped syntax becomes apparent:
[Mu patrien [lin genete krudemateria [kandidat per xi lernien fabriki] posed’t] kompren’t].
The phrase, “kandidat per xi lernien fabriki” (lit, “[a] candidate for the schools to fabricate”) is an infinitive phrase that modifies krudemateria (raw material); the infinitive fabriki must be at the end of the phrase. The phrase “lin genete krudemateria kandidat per xi lernien fabriki posed’t” is a complete sentence that can stand on its own: “They possessed the genetic raw material to produce a candidate for the schools.” This sentence becomes the object of the verb kompren’t (realized).
Elegant expression of complex thoughts through nesting is a cherished characteristic of Floran literature, and politicians admire the obfuscatory power of telescoped syntax in speechwriting. In conversation, however, Florans tend to employ simple and direct sentences.
Verbs
Verb usage is also simple and regular. There are no declensions. Each verb has a root, a participle and an infinitive. All verbs are transitive. Intransitive actions are expressed with reflexive objects: Mi xi libra lej. I read the book. Mi mi lej. I read. Mi mi marx. I walk.
Adding “-i” to the verb root forms infinitives: marxi to walk. Mi marxi ir. I go to walk. Infinitives are used in lieu of a present participle. Mi leji ju. I enjoy reading.
Past tense/past participles are formed by adding ‘t. marx’t: walked Mi mi marx’t. I walked.
A special class of verbs exist known as forkeverben (fork-verbs). These can take two objects in order to express an action on a primary object passing from the subject to a secondary object. Sentence structure is subject - secondary object - primary object - verb. An example is donati, to give -- the subject gives a primary object to a secondary object. Mi Kovina xi libra donat’t. I gave the book to Kovina.
In this example Kovina is the secondary object and xi libra (the book) is the primary object. Andra-lu patrien xi lernia lita vend’t. Andra’s parents sold her to the school.
Particles
Tenses other than the simple present and simple past, and moods other than the indicative, are formed by inserting particles into the sentence. These are otherwise meaningless words whose sole function is to modify the tense or mood of the sentence. Particles may be placed anywhere within the sentence.
Commonly, particles are placed immediately after the subject; fine shades of meaning are developed by the location of the particle. The closer the particle is to the verb, the greater the emphasis on the tense or mood over the meaning of the sentence.
-- Past perfect is formed by adding the particle ve to the sentence. Mi ve mi marx’t. I have walked.
-- The progressive tense is formed by adding the particle vi to the sentence. Mi vi mi marx. I am walking. Mi vi mi marx’t. I was walking.
-- The future tense is formed by adding the particle va to the sentence. Mi va mi marx. I will walk. Mi va marxi ir. I will go walking. -- Future progressive is formed with the particle vavi. Mi vavi mi marx. I will be walking. Mi vavi marxi ir. I will be going to walk. Lita vavi morti ir’t. She was going to die.
-- Conditional expressions, and the subjunctive mood, are formed with the particle vave. Mi vave mi marx. I would walk. Se mi vave rixe vira es. If I were a rich man.
-- Future conditional is formed with the particle veva. Mi veva mi marx. I will have walked.
-- The imperative mood is formed with the particle dev. Zi dev xi libra mi donat. Give me the book.
The language possesses a fourth mood in addition to the indicative, the imperative and the subjunctive: the suggestive. This mood is used in expressing the desire for agreement, and is formed with the particle niva.