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Enders

Marking mood, emotion, and intent.

Enders (often called Sentence Final Particles in linguistics) are words placed at the very end of a sentence or clause to indicate the speaker's attitude, the sentence's function (question vs. statement), or the emotional intensity.

Clause Enders

Currently, the only true clause ender is the comma, and it is treated as a slight pause in spoken language.

The Comma

Unlike some constructed languages (like Kokanu) that use a spoken word for commas to separate nested clauses, Hîsyêô relies on its verb-converting particle words to reduce the reliance on them. Therefore, the comma is purely prosodic.

Sentence Enders

Sentence enders are the primary way Hîsyêô speakers express register—the tone and social context of the speech. A sentence without an ender is considered Declarative/Neutral.

WordFunctionEnglish EquivalentMood
lôtfenPolitenessPlease / Sir / Ma'amPrecative
koQuestion? / Right?Interrogative
ProposalOK? / How about?Propositive
lôîcôkConfirmationIndeed / ActuallyAssertive
foxoSurpriseWow! / Whoa!Mirative
zeEmotion! / Damn!Exclamatory

Politeness

Mood: Precative / Softening

The politeness ender ( lôtfen ) softens a command into a request or simply adds a layer of respect to a statement. It is used with friends and superiors alike to show care.

Advanced Usage

When combined with specific verb markers, this particle shifts the grammatical mood of the sentence significantly.

Permissive Mood

Marker: Epistemic ( kôî ) + lôtfen

Meaning: Granting permission or authorization. It changes "can" into "may."

nîmû kôî gomî bîek lôtfen.You may take the bread. (Permission granted).

Concessive Mood

Marker: Epistemic ( kôî ) + lôtfen

Meaning: Admitting a point in an argument or acknowledging a possibility politely. It changes "might" into "granted" or "admittedly."

ulyô kôî li hokîkî lôtfen.That may well be true. (I concede that point).

Benedictive Mood

Marker: Deontic ( kûu ) + lôtfen

Meaning: Expressing a blessing, well-wishing, or hope for the future. It changes "should" into "may."

nîmû kûu li bi xôn lôtfen.May you be well. (I wish wellness upon you).

Question

Mood: Interrogative

The question ender ( ko ) is the standard particle for turning a statement into a Yes/No question. It asks for a truth value.

nîmû li xôn ko?Are you well?

nîo ke li ko?Is she going to go?

Proposal

Mood: Propositive / Suggestive

Unlike ko, which asks for facts, asks for agreement or consent. It turns a statement into a suggestion or a check-in.

¿nûs li hoî ulyô bi fêlcîn ?We go there first, okay?(Suggestion)

¿nîmû li cunyû ?You're cold, right?(Checking assumption)

¿noyo ke côûfon ?I'll cook, sound good?(Offer)

Advanced Usage

Propositive Mood

Marker: Deontic (kûu) + 

Meaning: A direct suggestion or proposal for action.

nûs kûu côûfon .We should cook, don't you think?

Hypothetical / Tentative Mood

Marker: Epistemic (kôî) + 

Meaning: Staking a belief that a statement is possible or likely. It expresses a tentative hypothesis or potential event.

nîo kôî li hoî niwos .He might be home, I suppose.

Gnomic Mood

Marker: Realis ( Unmarked ) + 

Meaning: While sometimes a simple proposal, this often indicates a general truth or principle about the universe (aorist/gnomic) that the speaker is validating.

bînton lono li bi cên .The sun rises.(it is a known truth)

Confirmation

Mood: Assertive / Emphatic

The confirmation ender ( lôîcôk ) asserts that the statement is true, often contrary to doubt or as a validation of someone else's statement. It acts like the English emphatic auxiliary "do/did."

nîo tûu yoûtî foût lôîcôk.He did make several mistakes.(Confirming a fact)

noyo li xoînbo nîmû lôîcôk.I really do look like you.(Realization/Assertion)

nîmû kûu li yoûmok lôîcôk.Surely, you must be joking.(Strong inference)

Surprise

Mood: Mirative

The foxo ender marks information that is new, unexpected, or surprising to the speaker. It is the vocal equivalent of a wide-eyed facial expression.

nîmû li gîk foxo.Wow, you made it!(I didn't think you would)

nîo dôstoc kelo xokôn foxo.He scored!(Excitement at the event)

nîo ke li zîgîl foxo.Whoa, they are going to fall!(Sudden realization)

Emotion

Mood: Exclamatory / Aggressive

The ze ender adds intense emotional weight. It can range from strong encouragement to anger or frustration. It effectively replaces swear words by infusing the sentence with raw intensity.

kûu lîsto ze! Stop!(Command)

noyo li bîcûon ze.I am so tired!(Complaint)

nûs kûu li ze! Let's GO!(Hype/Aggression)