Láadan facts for kids

Láadan is a special constructed language. It was created by Suzette Haden Elgin. She thought that many languages made it harder for women to express their feelings and ideas.

So, she made Láadan to help women say exactly what they mean. For example, Láadan has many words and endings (called suffixes) to show how you feel. It also has ways to say if you are sure something is true, and how you know it.

Láadan also appeared in a series of science fiction books. These books are called Native Tongue. In the story, a group of women create Láadan. They use it to challenge a society ruled by men.

How Láadan Sounds

Tones in Láadan

Láadan is a tonal language. This means the way you say a word changes its meaning. Some parts of words (called syllables) are said in a higher voice. Others are said in a lower voice.

Láadan uses two main tones:

• Lo: This is a short, low tone. Vowels without a special mark (a, e, i, o, u) use this tone.
• Ló: This is a short, high tone. Vowels with a special mark (á, é, í, ó, ú) use this tone.

For example, the word Láadan itself has three syllables: LA-a-dan. The first syllable, "LA," is said with a high tone.

Vowel Sounds

Láadan has five vowel sounds. They are:

• a: Sounds like the "a" in English calm.
• e: Sounds like the "e" in English bell.
• i: Sounds like the "i" in English bit.
• o: Sounds like the "o" in English home.
• u: Sounds like the "oo" in English boon.

Consonant Sounds

Láadan does not use the sounds "p," "t," "k," "g," or "s." Many of its consonants are like English sounds. These include b, d, sh, m, n, l, r, w, y, and h.

Other special consonant sounds are:

• th: Always like the "th" in English think. It is never like the "th" in "then."
• zh: Like the "s" in English pleasure.
• lh: This sound is not found in English. To make it, you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Then, you blow air around your tongue. It sounds a bit like a hiss.

Building Sentences

Most Láadan sentences use three short words. These words are called particles. They help show what kind of sentence it is.

Sentence Type Words

These particles are like punctuation marks, but you speak them:

• Bíi: This means the sentence is a simple statement.
• Báa: This means the sentence is a question.
• Bó: This means the sentence is a command. Commands are usually only given to very young children.
• Bóo: This means the sentence is a request. Requests are much more common than commands.
• Bé: This means the sentence is a promise.
• Bée: This means the sentence is a warning.

Time Words

Another particle tells you when the sentence is happening:

• ril: Means the sentence is happening right now (present tense).
• eril: Means the sentence happened before now (past tense).
• aril: Means the sentence will happen later (future tense).
• wil: Means the sentence might happen or should happen.

Knowing What's True

A third particle tells you if the speaker knows the sentence is true, and how they know:

• wa: The speaker knows it's true because they saw or heard it themselves.
• wi: The sentence is very clear or obvious.
• we: The sentence happened in a dream.
• wáa: Someone the speaker trusts told them it's true.
• waá: Someone the speaker does not trust told them it's true.
• wo: The speaker imagined it or made it up.
• wóo: The speaker does not know if the sentence is true at all.

In Láadan, the Verbs usually come first in a sentence. Verbs are the same words as adjectives. Láadan does not use words like "a" or "the." The word that receives the action of the verb (the object) usually has the ending "-(e)th." It comes after the subject.

If the subject of a verb is plural (more than one), you add the prefix "me-" to the verb. The word ra means "not."

Making New Words

New Láadan words are made by adding prefixes (beginnings) and suffixes (endings) to existing words. Each part of a word stays the same when combined. This is why Láadan is called an agglutinative language.

These added parts can show feelings and attitudes. In many languages, you can only show these by your tone of voice or body language.

Pronouns

Pronouns in Láadan are made of several parts.

• The letter l is used for "I" and "we."
• The letter n is used for "you."
• The letter b is used for "he," "she," "it," and "they."

The vowel e usually comes after these letters. But a can be used instead to show that the person is loved. If the person is disliked, "lhe-" can be put before the word.

The ending -zh makes a pronoun plural, but for less than four people. The ending -n makes it plural for four or more people.

• So, lazh means "we, who are few and loved."
• Lheben means "they, who are many and who I dislike."

See also

In Spanish: Láadan para niños