|
ODODU is based on the assumption that the universe is comprised of conscious entities, like you and I, which communicate and interact with each other using many different languages, each of which is a partial reflection of an optimal universal language. It is further assumed that the most fundamental concept in the universe, and the conscious entities and languages which comprise it, is the concept of relation. This very general view of relation will be used to pragmatically build ODODU as a derivational evolving language which will continually change through its use as it steadily approaches the goal of a universal language. This implies that all of the words in ODODU can be logically and rigorously derived from these assumptions and our personal and societal experiences. This process will use the knowledge of all the world's cultures and languages. ODODU will use the letters of the Roman alphabet and the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4. There will be eight vowels designated by the letters U, I, E, A, O, Q, Y, and H. The 16 letters, D, P, R, B, C, L, T, K, S, G, F, X, N, M, W, and Z, will be designated as consonants. V and J will not be used as integral elements of ODODU but will serve as variables. Unless specified otherwise V will denote a vowel and J will denote a consonant. Vowels will be derived as relational constructs while consonants will signify universal and archetypal concepts. All words will begin and end with vowels which will specify the grammar and syntax of ODODU. The meaning of the words will be determined by the interior consonants and vowels. These will be called the core of the word. The sequence of letters in cores will alternate between consonants and vowels so that no consonant follows another consonant and no core vowel follows another core vowel. Each letter will be assigned a fundamental archetypal meaning which will be derived to the maximal extent possible from a symbolic form which illustrates this meaning and which resembles the form of the letter itself and how it might have evolved from the relational nature of the universe. Once meaning has been assigned to the individual letters a protocol will be developed so that the meaning of a given word can be derived from the sequence and meaning of its core's constituent letters. Thus the lexicon of ODODU will contain not only a definition of the meaning of a word but also an argument as to how that meaning was derived from fundamental characteristics of ourselves and the universe. ODODU will also contain a convention for using local, non universal and non archetypal concepts as names. Names can be represented and used within the ODODU grammatical structure or they can be used as themselves in cases where their identity as names and their usage within the grammar are obvious and not ambiguous. ODODU will evolve through a pragmatic process. As new information, experience, and observations emerge pertaining to the derivational argument for any given word the meaning of that word may change as a result of this new information. When this occurs it may influence the meaning of some or all of the other words in the lexicon. Thus ODODU will be continually changing as its lexicon changes but it will always stay internally consistent within that lexicon as it exists at any given time. Finally ODODU will contain mathematics as a fundamental component of language. Mathematics will be viewed as integral to language and as evolving from the same creative process which generates language. It cannot stand as a separate discipline or field of study but only exists within, and as a part of, language itself. The presentation of ODODU will begin by using the four fundamental types of relation, self relation, linear relation, relational relation, and interrelational relation (see Relational Systems), as the first four letter/concepts in ODODU, as follows:
In these choices the pictorial representations assigned to the vowel letter symbols actually do illustrate in some manner the relational nature of their representative meaning. This is described in more detail in The Derivation of Archetypal Meaning in ODODU.
These first four vowels describe the relational or space-time framework of the universe from my personal perspective. Now introduce the concept of distinction and consider the rest of the universe external to myself. I can describe this external universe in terms of the next four letter/concepts as:
These last four vowels describe the relational or space-time framework of the universe from an external perspective. Thus the vowels can be viewed as describing a four dimensional personal space and a four dimensional external space, or who I am and how I view and interact with the rest of the universe. These two sets of vowels are used to construct the consonants. This is done in a manner similar to how events are described in general relativity theory. Here the description of a space-time point as seen from two distinct reference frames in relative motion with respect to each other is expressed in terms of 16 relations or transformation functions. These relate how each one of the four dimensional descriptors in one frame change with respect to changes in each one of the four dimensional descriptors in the other frame. The same procedure is used to generate 16 consonants from the four vowels representing my (the observer's) perspective relative to the four vowels representing your (the observed) perspective. (See The Theoretical Foundations of ODODU for a more detailed explanation.)
This can be represented diagrammatically as:
At this point all human experience is generalized into 16 archetypal concepts which are assigned to the 16 consonants defined above. The generalizations and assignments seem arbitrary at first but since they are embedded within an experiential pragmatic methodology they will gradually change as a function of usage as they evolve towards towards the Universal Language. (See A Pragmatic Process for the Evolution of ODODU for more discussion.) The completed alphabet, an illustration as to what each letter might mean when it is used in word construction, and a guide to pronunciation, are presented below. Letter Meaning Pronunciation U self relation long u as in too or shoe I linear relation long i E relational relation long e A interrelational relation long a O distinction long o Q cross awe Y mark eh or yeh H operation ah or hah D consciousness du, as in do P will, want pu R emotion ru B decision bu C body chu L action lu T sensation tu K creation ku S sign, word, symbol sue G derivation gu F image fu X thought shu N thing nu M interaction mu W property wu Z covariance, communication zu, as in zoo The letters V and J will not be used in the ODODU alphabet but they will serve as linguistic variables where V will stand for any vowel (U, I, E, A, O, Q, Y, H) and J will stand for any consonant (D, P, R, B, C, L, T, K, S, G, F, X, N, M, W, Z). This convention will be useful for discussions of word structure and construction. The digits 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be used as numbers and this will lead to an initial number system which is base four. These digits will act in concert with a second convention which will define the single letters as numbers leading to a second number system which will be base sixteen. Conversion between base four and base sixteen will be seen to be convenient and easy in later applications. Given the preceding derived and defined alphabet a procedure has been developed to use the alphabet to construct words. This procedure is based on the fact that the vowels have been constructed as relational concepts whereas the consonants have been constructed as universal archetypal concepts representing our experience with the universe. The vowels will be used to begin and end each word and these beginning and ending vowels will specify a grammar. Thus the grammar will consist of 64 uniquely determined pairs of the eight vowels of ODODU as follows: UU UI UE UA UO UQ UY UH IU II IE IA IO IQ IY IH EU EI EE EA EO EQ EY EH AU AI AE AA AO AQ AY AH OU OI OE OA OO OQ OY OH QU QI QE QA QO QQ QY QH YU YI YE YA YO YQ YY YH HU HI HE HA HO HQ HY HH These 64 two vowel pairs will form the grammatical words of ODODU. We can represent these 64 words with the symbol VV where each V stands for any one of the eight vowels. In the first sections of the dictionaries words will be constructed by placing a consonant between the two vowels of the grammatical words. This can be represented as VJV where the two Vs stand for vowels and the J can be any one of the 16 consonants. The first vowel will determine the part of speech, noun, verb, modifier, etc. of the word. The last vowel determines how the word is used in a sentence. The meaning of the word is determined by the interior consonant, J, which is defined as the core of the word. In the future additional cores will be constructed by alternating consonants and vowels so that cores with only one letter will represent the most general concepts while cores with increasing numbers of letters will represent increasingly specific and detailed concepts. This process can be codified with a number of general rules as follows: All words begin and end with vowels. All consonants are preceded and followed by vowels. The lead vowel in a word specifies the part of speech which the word is. The middle consonants and vowels indicate the meaning or idea of the word. This is defined as the core of the word. The meaning of the core is derived from the meaning of its core consonants and vowels. The last vowel specifies how the word is to be used in a dialogue or communication. The first vowel followed by a consonant classifies the word as follows: U noun I active verb E modifier, adjective or adverb A relational, pronoun, connective, preposition, etc. O noun representing idea or form Q progressive verb, form ending in ing Y number H interrelational or mathematical
The last vowel indicates how the word is used as follows.
UU noun used as a subject UI noun used as a direct object UE noun used as an indirect object UA noun used to indicate possession or qualification UO plural noun used as a subject UQ plural noun used as a direct object UY plural noun used as an indirect object UH plural noun used to indicate possession or qualification
IU infinitive verb, to be II present verb, is IE past verb, was IA future verb, will be IO perfect infinitive verb, to have been IQ present perfect verb, have been IY past perfect verb, has or had been IH future perfect verb, will have been
EU adjective modifying noun or pronoun used as subject EI adjective modifying noun or pronoun used as object EE adjective modifying noun or pronoun used as indirect object EA adjective modifying noun or pronoun used as possessive EO adverb, modifying adjective EQ adverb modifying verb EY adverb modifying other adverb EH adverb modifying relational word
AU singular perspective AI singular connective AE singular directive AA singular integrative AO plural perspective AQ plural connective AY plural directive AH plural integrative
OU idea used as a subject OI idea used as a direct object OE idea used as an indirect object OA idea used to indicate possession or qualification OO plural of idea used as a subject OQ plural of idea used as a direct object OY plural of idea used as an indirect object OH plural of idea used to indicate possession or qualification
QU progressive infinitive verb, to be being QI present progressive verb, is being QE past progressive verb, was being QA future progressive verb, will be being QO progressive perfect infinitive verb, to have been being QQ present progressive perfect verb, have been being QY past progressive perfect verb, has or had been being QH future progressive perfect verb, will have been being
YU number used as a subject YI number used as a direct object YE number used as an indirect object YA number used to indicate possession or qualification YO plural of number used as a subject YQ plural of number used as a direct object YY plural of number used as an indirect object YH plural of number used to indicate possession or qualification
HU abstract or mathematical concept used as a subject HI abstract or mathematical concept used as a direct object HE abstract or mathematical concept used as an indirect object HA abstract or mathematical concept used to indicate possession or qualification HO plural of abstract or mathematical concept used as a subject HQ plural of abstract or mathematical concept used as a direct object HY plural of abstract or mathematical concept used as an indirect object HH plural of abstract or mathematical concept used to indicate possession or qualification Words can now be constructed by combining meaning, as specified by cores consisting of one consonant or combinations of consonants and vowels, with grammatical and syntatical usage which is specified by the beginning and ending vowels of the word. All of these meanings and usages will be derived from the relational nature of the ideas and concepts which the letters represent.
To illustrate how the consonants are incorporated into the grammar The Grammar Dictionary contains all possible three letter (one consonant) words beginning with the vowels U, I, E, A, O, and Q and ending with any of the eight vowels U, I, E, A, O, Q, Y, and H. These words all have the VJV format. Words beginning with Y and H will be included in The Grammar Dictionary with U endings only as they will follow the conventions for nouns and will also be discussed in detail in the mathematical section. To illustrate the expanded grammar and how it combines with the 16 consonants all of the VJU words are presented below. Note that only the three letter one consonant words ending in U are presented here. The rest of the VJV words are listed in The Grammar Dictionary. First the nouns, words beginning with the letter U. These words have a UJU format: UDU consciousness UPU will, desire URU emotion, feeling UBU decision, choice UCU body ULU action UTU sensation UKU creation USU sign, word, symbol UGU derivation UFU image UXU thought, idea UNU thing, system, perspective, particle UMU interaction UWU property UZU covarinace, connection
The infinitive verb forms (format IJU) and their meanings for the sixteen consonants are: IDU to be IPU to want, to will IRU to feel, to love IBU to choose ICU to have, to exist physically, to be physically ILU to do ITU to sense IKU to create, to make ISU to speak, to name, to mark IGU to derive IFU to show, to reflect, to image IXU to think INU to place, to locate IMU to go, to interact, to force, to push or pull IWU to recognize, to characterize, to identify IZU to connect, to communicate covariantly The modifiers begin with the letter E and follow the EJV format. If the ending vowels are U, I, E, or A then the word is an adjective (modifies nouns or pronouns). If the ending vowels are O, Q, Y, or H then the word is an adverb (modifies a different adjective or a verb, other adverb or a relational). The U endings indicating adjectives are shown here. A more detailed listing of the different forms of adjectives and adverbs can be found in The Grammar Dictionary. EDU conscious EPU desirable ERU emotional EBU chosen, good ECU physical ELU action as adjective ETU sensory EKU creative ESU symbolic EGU meaningful EFU imaged EXU thoughtful ENU located EMU interactive EWU characteristic EZU covariant, connected
The relational words which begin with A and end with U are: ADU I APU you ARU third person (he, she, it) ABU who ACU and ALU or ATU implication AKU comparison ASU the AGU this AFU that AXU what ANU when AMU where AWU inside, in AZU outside, out
The nouns representing ideas, OJU format, are shown below: ODU the idea of consciousness used as a subject OPU the idea of will used as a subject ORU the idea of love used as a subject OBU the idea of choice used as a subject OCU the idea of body used as a subject OLU the idea of action used as a subject OTU the idea of sensation used as a subject OKU the idea of creation used as a subject OSU the idea of sign used as a subject OGU the idea of derivation used as a subject OFU the idea of image used as a subject OXU the idea of thought used as a subject ONU the idea of thing used as a subject OMU the idea of interaction used as a subject OWU the idea of property or characteristic used as a subject OZU the idea of connection or field used as a subject
The perfect verb forms (verbs ending in "ing"), with QJU format, are shown below: QDU to be being aware QPU to be wanting QRU to be loving QBU to be deciding QCU to be having QLU to be acting QTU to be sensing QKU to be making QSU to be speaking QGU to be deriving QFU to be picturing QXU to be thinking QNU to be locating QMU to be interacting QWU to be characterizing QZU to be connecting
Numbers will be technically derived in a later mathematics section. The counting numbers or positive integers (words beginning with Y and ending with U, YJU format) are listed here. Full Shorthand Numeral Numeral Name Convention Base Ten Base Four YDU D 1 1 YPU P 2 2 YRU R 3 3 YBU B 4 4 YCU C 5 21 YLU L 6 22 YTU T 7 23 YKU K 8 24 YSU S 9 31 YGU G 10 32 YFU F 11 33 YXU X 12 34 YNU N 13 41 YMU M 14 42 YWU W 15 43 YZU Z 16 44
The conceptually abstract or mathematical words which begin with H and end with U, HJU format, are: HDU set of relations HPU relational cross HRU relational mark HBU relational combination/cancelation HCU element of a set HLU association HTU intersection HKU union HSU limit HGU differential HFU operation HXU zero HNU successor/addition HMU partition/division HWU exponentiation/multiplication HZU negation/subtraction
Any word which begins or ends with a consonant is a name. Names are not derived as are ODODU words. Instead they are locally defined and hence their meaning is arbitrarily assigned. This meaning cannot be derived from the archetypal meanings of the names’ constituent letters. Any word containing a "v" or "j" is also a name as are words containing two or more consecutive consonants or two or more consecutive interior vowels. There are many times when it is desirable to use a name in a ODODU grammatical context. To do this begin the word with Y followed by the classifying vowel for noun, verb, modifier, etc.. Then insert the name and end the word with the final vowel which specifies usage (subject, tense, etc.). For example to use the English word "table" as a real noun serving as the subject of a sentence in ODODU you would write "yutableu". The ability to use any word from any language within the ODODU grammar as a name allows for the inclusion of all the other languages within the ODODU paradigm. The presentation of ODODU will be continued by using the grammar to create words for the initial eight concepts represented by the eight vowels. This entails creating a new category of three letter words for words containing only vowels. Because of the uniqueness of the relational concepts, no all vowel word having more than three letters will be recognized as meaningful in ODODU. The three vowel words can be represented as VVV where any of the Vs can be any of the eight defined vowels. This contrasts with the VJV format used so far in which the first and last V are vowels but the center letter J is a consonant. As was the case for the VJV words, the first and last V in a VVV word specifies the part of speech and how it would be used in a sentence as presented in the grammar. The middle vowel will be the foundational concept as it was initially defined. Thus a foundational relational concept signified by a vowel could be used as a noun serving as a subject of a sentence by using; UUU self relation UIU linear relation UEU relational relation UAU interrelational relation UOU distinction UQU cross UYU name, mark UHU operation, interaction, interrelation
The IVU format verb forms are: IUU to self relate IIU to linearly relate IEU to relationally relate IAU to interrelationally relate IOU to make a distinction IQU to cross IYU to name, to mark IHU to operationally interact
The EVU format adjectives are: EUU self relational EIU linear relational EEU relational relational EAU interrelational relational EOU distinguished, bounded EQU crossed EYU named, marked EHU operational, interrelational
The AVU format relational forms are used to include some of the most universally expressed concepts in language into single sound, single letter words. These words will be used as the single vowel letters but their formal definition will be as follows: AUU U; hello AIU I; me AEU E; yes AAU A; no AOU O; other, outside of me, hence you or universe AQU Q; cross, opposite, reflection AYU Y, name, mark AHU H, question
The OVU format idea words are: OUU the idea of self relation OIU the idea of linear relation OEU the idea of relational relation OAU the idea of interrelational relation OOU the idea of distinction OQU the idea of cross OYU the idea of name, mark OHU the idea of operation, interaction, interrelation
The QVU format progressive verb forms are: QUU to be self relating QIU to be linearly relating QEU to be relationally relating QAU to be interrelationally relating QOU to be distinguishing QQU to be crossing QYU to be naming QHU to be operationally interacting
While most of the grammatical forms of these words follows closely with what has been done previously with the consonant cores special note should be made for the following definitions concerning numbers and abstract concepts, words beginning with Y and H. The YVU words (numbers) are; YUU 1 YIU i YEU j YAU k YOU 1 YQU 2 YYU 3 YHU 4 A brief note about YUU, YIU, YEU, and YAU. These four concepts can perhaps best be viewed as representing the four dimensions of the concept of number. Later on we will associate these concepts with the fundamental nature or basis elements of quaternions, where 1 is unity and i, j, and k, all represent different forms of the square root of minus one. Thus i, j, and k all equal the square root of minus one but they are not equal to each other. Quaternions and their implications for the numerical components of ODODU will be described in considerable detail later in other sections of this site. Preliminary discussions can be found in The Derivation of Numbers and Mathematics and in The Theoretical Foundations of ODODU.
HUU point HIU line HEU surface HAU space, volume HOU set HQU equivalence relation HYU redundancy HHU combination/cancelation
Consistent with the concept that the four fold relational nature of the universe should be fundamental to any language describing that universe, ODODU considers all core concepts to be four dimensional. Thus each core concept itself is viewed as having four relational components or characteristics. For example, the word UDU, which means consciousness, can be viewed as embodying the concepts of existence, awareness, memory and experience. These are then viewed as relational characteristics or manifestations of consciousness and so are defined as extensions or dimensions of the core concept of consciousness. These relational manifestations are incorporated into ODODU by adding a vowel to the one consonant J core, thereby generating four new cores of consonant-vowel, JV, form. However, this core expansion is restricted to adding only one of the vowels U, I, E, or A, to a consonant core J. Each of these four new expansion or dimensional cores illustrates some aspect of the original one consonant core. The new consonant-vowel, JV (where V can only be one of U, I, E, or A), core can then be inserted into the two vowel grammatical words in the same manner as was used to create the one consonant core words. This generates a new class of VJVV format words. It is important to stress that in a VJVV format the first and last vowel can be any of the eight vowels U, I, E, A, O, Q, Y, or H while the interior vowel following the consonant can only be one of the letters U, I, E, or A. For the consciousness example just discussed they can be presented as; UDU consciousness UDUU existence UDIU awareness UDEU memory UDAU experience A complete listing of all of the one consonant, one consonant-one vowel, and one vowel cores is contained in the The Core Concept Dictionary for all three and four letter words beginning with U, I, E, A, O, and Q and ending with the vowel U. | ||
