Building New Words
Six little words, glued onto words you already know, build thousands more. Every chain takes apart again, so nothing needs memorizing.
| Tool | What it does | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| antonym (the opposite-maker) | glued onto any word, it flips the meaning | uk | ukuukk | |
| doer (the -er piece) | turns an action into the one who does it | ot | otoott | |
| very | cranks a quality or action up | ases | asesaasseess | |
| more | a greater amount or degree - makes comparisons | ofaf | ofafooffaaff | |
| less | a smaller amount or degree - the mirror of more | aset | asetaasseett | |
| as | stands between the two things compared | otif | otifoottiiff |
Less common opposites have no word of their own - glue the antonym word on: full is a word, empty is full-antonym. Know one side, own both:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| false (true-antonym) | otaktruenukantonym | otaknukoottaakknnuukk | |
| empty (full-antonym) | afigfullnukantonym | afignukaaffiiggnnuukk | |
| weak (strong-antonym) | ugukstrongnukantonym | uguknukuugguukknnuukk | |
| darkness / the dark (light-antonym) | oseklightnukantonym | oseknukoosseekknnuukk |
The antonym word never stands alone. And common opposites are real words in the dictionary: grammar pairs (yes/no, past/future), scale pairs (hot/cold), pointing pairs (this/yon, here/there), and everyday opposites (bad, big, old, hard, wrong, late...). The chain stays legal (good-antonym is understood), but the real word is THE word.
Glue 'doer' onto any action and you get whoever does it - exactly like English -er in teacher, but with zero exceptions:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| teacher (teach-doer) | ikatteachnotdoer | ikatnotiikkaattnnoott | |
| student (learn-doer) | igiklearnnotdoer | igiknotiiggiikknnoott | |
| traveler (travel-doer) | afeftravelnotdoer | afefnotaaffeeffnnoott |
The tools stack: know-doer-antonym = a not-yet-knower, a beginner.
Chain two ordinary words to name a new thing. One rule: what the thing IS comes first. A place for learning is place-learn, never learn-place:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| a place for learning | usefplacenigiklearn | usefnigikuusseeffnniiggiikk | |
| how winning is done (the way of winning) | otuswaynutotwin | otusnutotoottuussnnuuttoott | |
| a tear (water of the eye) | ukekwaternogaseye | ukeknogasuukkeekknnooggaass | |
| a warship (a fighting boat) | ekatboatnesugfight | ekatnesugeekkaattnneessuugg |
Invent them on the fly - head first, and every listener decodes them.
'very' grades anything gradable, and it is SUL's only emphasis - saying a word twice means nothing in SUL. 'very' cannot crank up a thing ("a very dog" is gibberish) - to intensify a combined word, aim it at the gradable piece with the w glue:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| very fast | ifasfastwasesvery | ifaswasesiiffaasswwaasseess | |
| very weak (the antonym chain is gradable too) | ugukstrongnukantonymnasesvery | uguknuknasesuugguukknnuukknnaasseess | |
| an emphatic NO | aknonasesvery | aknasesaakknnaasseess | |
| an utterly BAD son of a dog (very grades bad, never the dog) | oteschildnegefdognogetbadwasesvery | otesnegefnogetwasesootteessnneeggeeffnnooggeettwwaasseess |
Comparison needs exactly two words. Glue 'more' onto the quality (fast-more = faster) - or 'less' for the other direction (fast-less = less fast) - then 'as' stands alone between the things compared, playing English's "than":
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| You are smarter than me | okyounafessmartnofafmoreotifasusme | oknafesnofafookknnaaffeessnnooffaaffotifoottiiffusuuss | |
| Your dog is faster than my dog | egefdognokyouifasfastnofafmoreotifasegefdognusme | egefnokeeggeeffnnookkifasnofafiiffaassnnooffaaffotifoottiiffegefnuseeggeeffnnuuss | |
| I worry less than you | usmenagegworrynasetlessotifasokyou | usnagegnasetuussnnaaggeeggnnaasseettotifoottiiffokookk |