Vocabulary
ki'a'i animalkuma to believe, belief
kupu to eat
luvumu tomorrow
lu'uku small
malamu big
mili god, deity
mukimu cage
mulupi few
pivapa three
pulaki bird
puva yesterday
vukipi regular(ly)
vuku cat
'a'ava fish
'ikiva brown
'umuki many
Isolating Language
Lilipu is an isolating language. This means that no words are inflected like in English "walk, walks, walked, walking."
Verb va Subject vu Object
The basic sentence has the order verb-subject-object, where the subject is preceded by the article va and the direct object is preceded by the article vu.
kupu va vuku vu 'a'ava.
The cat eats the fish.
Ellipsis
When the subject is unimportant or already known in context, it may be dropped altogether from the sentence.
kupu vu 'a'ava.
(It/He/She/Something/Someone) eats the fish.
kupu.
(It/He/She/Something/Someone) is eating.
Classification
The form "A is B" is rendered "B va A."
ki'a'i va vuku.
A cat is an animal.
Modifiers
There are no distinctions between adjectives and adverbs. Modifiers generally come before the words they modify. There are no words for "the" or "a/an."malamu vuku. Big cat.
vukipi kupu va malamu vuku vu lu'uku 'a'ava.
The big cat regularly eats small fish.
Verb Tenses
Verbs have no grammatical tense in Lilipu. Instead, adverbs, which are optional, are used to tell when an event occured, occurs, or will occur.
luvumu kupu va vuku.
The cat will eat tomorrow.
puva kupu va vuku.
The cat ate yesterday.
Stative Verbs
Any modifier can stand as a stative verb in itself. In English, we say "The cat is brown," but in Lilipu, we say "The cat browns."
'ikiva va vuku.
The cat is brown.
Plurals
No distinction between the plural and the singular is usually made, although plurality can be shown by using the word for "many" or "few" or a number or by reduplication of the word.'umuki vuku. Many cats.
vuku vuku. Cats.
Compounds
Words may be compounded at will to suit the occasion. The attributes come before the head.'umuki mili kuma. (many-god-belief.) Polytheism.
pulaki mukimu. Birdcage.
Numbers
Numbers are just like any modifier. The ordinal is formed with the particle vi after the number.pivapa vuku. Three cats.
pivapa vi vuku. Third cat.
Questions
Questions end with the particle ka.
kupu va vuku vu 'a'ava ka?
Does the cat eat fish?
Commands
Commands end with the particle ma.kupu ma! Eat!
Particles
These are particles that mark a pause or a final stop for an emotional softening effect: la, li, lu.These are particles that mark a pause or final stop for an abrupt, intensifying, strong emotional effect: pa, pi, pu.
The particle ku emphasizes the word that comes before it.
kupu va vuku ku vu a'ava.
The cat eats the fish.
kupu ku va vuku vu a'ava.
The cat eats the fish.
Greetings for Hello and Goodbye
mivika! Peace!lilaku! Love!
mupamu! Good!