Nelotavi v4.3

nelo + tavi · human language

A language made for everyone.

Nelotavi is phonetic, regular, and deliberately simple. Every rule works the same way for every word—without exceptions to memorize.

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say it in nelotavi canonical

ki nela da nelotavi.

I speak Nelotavi.

kiI nelaspeak daname nelotavihuman language
one letter, one sound no irregular forms one concept, one root fixed sentence structure

design philosophy

Built for people, not exceptions.

Nelotavi removes the arbitrary complexity that makes languages difficult to begin. Its structure is small enough to learn and strong enough to grow.

01

Predictable

A rule that works for one word works for every word. Verbs never conjugate, nouns never change for plural, and pronunciation never shifts.

02

Independent

Native roots are created inside Nelotavi rather than intentionally borrowed. The language develops its own coherent identity.

03

Human

No grammatical gender. No privileged native speaker. No hidden pronunciation. Nelotavi is designed as common ground.

“If a grammatical idea requires a list of exceptions, it does not belong in Nelotavi.”

Nelotavi design principle

canonical standard

The system, clearly defined.

Current version 4.3 Social language expansion · grammar stable
sound

16 letters. One sound each.

a e i o u d f h k l m n p s t v

  • No silent letters
  • Only V and CV syllables
  • Stress always falls on the first syllable
word building

One root. Three regular forms.

rootvim-love
-a · actionvimato love
-o · conceptvimolove
-i · modifiervimiloving
sentence order

Every sentence follows one path.

subject tense negative verb object

Unused parts are simply omitted. The verb never changes for person or number.

grammar particles

Small words do one job.

fe past fo future ha not ke question pu plural ve possession ma and da proper name
View all 36 canonical core rules
  1. One letter always has one sound.
  2. No silent letters.
  3. Canonical Nelotavi is lowercase.
  4. Stress is always on the first syllable.
  5. Spoken syllables are V or CV.
  6. Native lexical roots are CVC.
  7. Native roots are created inside Nelotavi and are not intentionally borrowed.
  8. One core concept receives one canonical native root.
  9. Lexical endings are -a for verbs, -o for nouns, and -i for modifiers.
  10. Short CV forms are reserved for grammar, pronouns, and core numerals.
  11. Pronouns use person consonants k, t, s and number vowels i, u.
  12. Sentence order is Subject – Tense – Negative – Verb – Object.
  13. Verbs never conjugate.
  14. Past is fe.
  15. Future is fo.
  16. Present has no tense marker.
  17. Negation is ha.
  18. Yes/no questions begin with ke.
  19. Information questions use ho, ne, lo, va, du, fi and do not use ke.
  20. An information-question word stays in the normal position of the missing information.
  21. Relation words are la, po, te, do, vi, hu.
  22. A relation word comes before the noun phrase it relates to.
  23. Ma joins equal words, phrases, or clauses and means “and.”
  24. Plurals use pu when no exact numeral is present.
  25. A numeral directly before a noun supplies the quantity, so pu is omitted.
  26. Possession uses ve.
  27. There is no grammatical gender.
  28. Proper names and titles are introduced with da.
  29. Foreign names are transliterated from pronunciation into Nelotavi phonetics.
  30. Illegal consonant clusters are repaired by inserting a.
  31. A word-final consonant is repaired by adding a.
  32. Original foreign spelling may appear in square brackets as external metadata.
  33. Multi-digit numbers are read digit by digit from left to right.
  34. The current short digit words are provisional; the decimal formation rule is canonical.
  35. No irregular number names exist.
  36. No grammatical, lexical, or phonetic rule has irregular exceptions.

new in v4.3 · everyday conversation

Begin with hello.

Meet someone, share how you feel, and talk about your favorites. These phrases come directly from the v4.3 Master Dictionary and Everyday Conversation Workbook.

Read aloud, then check the meaning.

Your first conversation

Try these lines with a family member. Take turns asking and answering.

  1. salo.
  2. nimo ve ti seta ne?
  3. nimo ve ki seta da do.
  4. ti seta fi?
  5. ki safa fivi lani.
  6. meto hu ti seta fivi.
  7. falo.

The model uses da do for Joe. Use your own name transliterated from its pronunciation, in lowercase after da.

examples

Build meaning without changing words.

Add a particle, and the meaning changes predictably. The verb stays exactly the same.

subjectki pastfe notha seeseka youti
ki fe ha seka ti. I did not see you.

ki vima ti.

I love you.

ke ti seka ki?

Do you see me?

ki fo seka ti.

I will see you.

kupo ve ki

my house

ki seta hu nofo ve ki.

I am with my friend.

ti dava do lo?

Where are you going?

canonical dictionary

Find a word. See the system.

Explore all 116 canonical roots, 26 grammar forms, and 10 provisional digit words from the v4.3 Master Dictionary. Search a word, meaning, or topic.

—entries

Roots show their regular word forms. A blank meaning is left unspecified in the master dictionary; it is not a new definition. Digit words remain provisional.

Loading the canonical dictionary…

learn at your pace

Take Nelotavi with you.

The source files for this update, ready to download.

PDF · 28 pages

Everyday Conversation Workbook

Greetings, names, feelings, favorites, dialogues, practice, and an answer key.

Download workbook ↓XLSX · v4.3

Master Dictionary

Canonical vocabulary, grammar, provisional numbers, social phrases, and change history.

Download dictionary ↓
What changed in v4.3?

v4.3 · Core social language expansion

Added sal-, fal-, nim-, met-, and kol-. Canonicalized lani = today/current-day and meli = favorite/preferred. Added standard beginner social phrases.

Backward-compatible expansion. No change to alphabet, pronunciation, number system, or core grammar.

v4.2 · Vocabulary expansion

Approved 15 new school / mystery roots: sem, liv, fed, fan, nam, mok, vel, til, vet, hat, pet, mit, lut, tan, hod.

Backward-compatible expansion. No change to alphabet, pronunciation, numbers, or core grammar.

v4.1 · Vocabulary expansion / cleanup

Added/confirmed shapes and feelings vocabulary; added toko; documented foda; resolved root collisions; lati replaces invalid muri.

No change to alphabet, pronunciation, or core grammar. Digit words remain provisional.

Vocabulary corrections from earlier versions

dolo → nipo

Earlier meaning: circle. dolo already belongs to dol- = door.

kaso → kano

Earlier meaning: square. kas- already means play.

sido → safo

Earlier meaning: feeling / emotion. Use existing saf- = feel root family.

hesi → limi

Earlier meaning: happy. hes- already means night; limi already means happy.

tosi → navi

Earlier meaning: excited. tosi already means hot.

futi → hifi

Earlier meaning: afraid / scared. hif- already expresses fear.

voni → dosi

Earlier meaning: sad. dosi already means sad.

kadi → lati

Earlier meaning: angry. kad- already means make/do.

muri → lati

Earlier meaning: angry. r is not in the 16-letter Nelotavi alphabet.

the language belongs to its speakers

Simple enough to begin today.
Consistent enough to trust tomorrow.

nelo tavi · human language