Okay, I may have said in the past that I wouldn't go too Tolkien in my world-building, but after running through an old manuscript I decided to polish, I realized I had placed enough foreign words in it to warrant a dictionary, and so I spent the last hours building a dictionary, and creating a proper language for the story.

Creating a language, like other aspects of worldbuilding is very fun. I didn't want to make up words from scratch, so I resorted to using translations of certain words, in particular verbs, from my favorite language sources, which include: Swahilli, Arabic, Hausa, Xhosa, Yoruba and Egyptian. I must say, it was fun to mix and match, and to create words, and parts of speech, and quite frankly, it works well in the story.

I didn't want my heroine, K to know the language of the kingdom by magic. There had to be a language barrier, and she has to learn the language, so that was that. I had the kingdom's people speak to her using the raw script (which the reader doesn't understand, unless he/she consults the glossary) and she relies on visual cues and gestures to understand Marut's people. The only word she understands is saa, because it's used in frequent references to her.

To help with the language's script, I relied on my Jamaican background for inspiration. In Jamaica, people often use phrases such as "unu" (you people or all of you) and "A fi me" (It's for me). The letter "A" replaces the infinitive verb (To be) as well as gerunds (-ing). So, for example: "A-whey unu a-go?" (To where are you going)?'

Here are some Maruti script phrases using the verb "To be." I use dashes and apostrophes to conjugate/ add clarity or show ownership, similarly as English. 

 The verb "To be" (A-na) in M. script
"Na" (from the verb 'to be'), when used without the 'A' 
When placed in the middle of a sentence. E..g. (smu na igaa - she is walking).
 Na'a means "mine" as in (O'na-a - It is mine). May also be written: O-na'a.
When placed at the end of a sentence. E.g. (Kyu a-so na - The object belongs to me)
 When speaking of one's self: e.g. A-na (I am). A-na Kadsa (I am Kadsa).
When placed before personal name/object. E.g. A-wsa (my daughter)
 
The letter "O" means "thing" or "it" (subject) and must link to the predicate, in particular, the verb, to have meaning. This is not so with the synonym "kyu (object). An opostrophe between the same vowel "aa" or "oo," changes the meaning, unless the word is a gerund (-ing), in which case, there's no apostrophe. In the example: igaa (walking) from a-iga (to walk).

An "O" attached to another O" by an apostrope (o'o) negates a sentence. E.g. O'o na'a (It's not mine). When the negative "o'o" is paired with the word it/thing (O), only "o'o" is used (same example above). The "o'o" is pronounced "ooh" in contrast to the "O'na-a" where it's pronounced "Oh." Articles (the/a) are naturally implied and therefore don't exist in the Maruti script.

Just some examples. The CiviliZation (2024) is now available where books are sold.

cKm2024 all rights reserved.

Okay, I am a mess.  I've been trying to practice Lagom, a Swedish word that is a fancier way of saying, minimalism--doing just about what is required but not going above or beyond.

I've been failing in every aspect, but still want to keep on trekiking.

I'm stubborn that way. 

I'm obsessed with cleaning up my footprints--the real world, the Internet. I

Getting a book published, albeit by a small press means I have dusted off my lagom ways in favor of putting myself out there, and revisiting the past, which means this blog.

Some of what I have blogged in the past aren't too embarrassing, so I'm keeping them.  You can see the evolution of my thoughts and beliefs through the brief life of this blog. The only constant is my heterodoxy. 

This blog is back, but like most things in my life, I will struggle to maintain it. I tried Youtubing for a while but am not very good at it. I tried podcasting for a while but am not good at it either (face and voice issues, respectively). 

Writing has always been my strength, so may that carry me forward. Can't and won't promise consistency, because, you know, energy and time. This is freewheeling--whatever that means. 

Anyway, I'm here, Scapers! 

P.S. What prompted this remergence or resurgence is not simply my resurrected website, but going down the rabbithole in search of the title of a magical realism novel I read years ago--and I kid you not, as I'm typing this, the title just came to me--The Elementals by Francesca Lia Block. Ha!

​Welcome to the Ebonscape!

 I recently watched a video on Byronic Heroes. You'll note that Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) from Black Panther (2018) is included--he's the only black male included on the list. Before I get into my gripe, let's first go over who/what the Byronic Hero is.

​The Byronic Hero is a popular character in romantic and gothic literature, named after the famous British poet and author, Lord Byron (Don Juan), who was said to have embodied the very traits that defined these famous characters.