Reading

Texts written in Faleni, not translated into it, using no word outside the dictionary and no rule outside the ten. Every line is tap-to-hear, and the word-for-word gloss under it is generated from the dictionary, so a text can never quietly disagree with the language it is written in.

The Cat and the Moonsopo hi senaA fable in twenty-one lines. A cat sees the moon in a lake and decides it is a fish. Narrative past, reported speech, and a moral.Asking the Wayfewa tewiA dialogue between a traveller and a local. Questions, commands, clock times, and two people taking turns.

Why the texts matter

A grammar can look complete on paper and fall over the moment somebody tries to tell a story with it. These are the stress tests. What they have exposed so far is always the same shape of problem: a vocabulary gap, never a grammar gap. There is no Faleni word for shimmer, and the dialogue wanted one for platform; neither needed a new rule, and both are buildable from parts (Coining words).

Written something in Faleni? The contribute page takes texts as well as words.