Timlan is a language. If you didn't know that, you are probably looking at the wrong doc. Basically, this document is a super-quick overview of things about the timlan language that are hard or impossible to infer from the two databases and fonti. It is NOT a comprehensive analysis of how to use Timlan. However, it should comprehensively cover every aspect of using Timlan not covered in the previously-mentioned documents. It is also not a tutorial.

Timlan has a fixed word order. That is Verb, Object, Subject. iqeht kel hat~s ("is good pasta" or "pasta is good" in English).

Every single clause of timlan fits into that pattern, no exceptions. The objects and subjects may be other nested clauses, and verbs may also be conjunctions or prepositions (which are really just a special case of verb as far as timlan is concerned). taropeht iqeht kel hat~s ei (like is good pasta I, in English "I like that pasta is good")

Nouns and (more rarely) verbs may also have a supplement which attaches to them in a separate word. Supplements MUST be defined thus by an affix. These are essentially shorthand for longer, more convoluted clauses. Supplements always apply to the word immediately to the right, meaning that if multiple supplements are intended to apply to one word, they must be broken off into a large clause. Supplements must always be expanded from the innermost outwards, as if drawn on a unary tree. iqeht supaah kel hat~s "Pasta is very good".

Every verb (or preposition, or conjuction) except puc (see below) must have either a tense affix or (in the case of conjunctions only) the conjunction prefix. This is how they are identified as verbs. ceveand taropeht hat~s ei iqeht kel toneta timlan ("Timlan is good and I like pasta." Note the -eht tense affixes on the verbs and ceve- conjunction prefix on the conjunction).

The syntactic role of a word can be found by looking up its affixes in the Fixionary and looking at the syntax_type field.

Additional objects of a clause can be added with puc. This is a dummy verb, the only one that doesn't take an affix, and is not in the dictionary. The additional object goes in the object part of the puc clause and the main clause goes in the subject part. puc sui pieseht soheta kusi ei "I'm giving some cookies to you".

Prepositions are just verbs, which when applied to clauses are in the generic tense, usually as a relative clause. When applied to nouns, they can have any tense. There is no distinction any more between them and actual verbs. They can even be used standalone in a sentence. relainafelem toneta /:France:/ eateht soheta hat~s ei "I'm eating pasta in France".

Numbers in timlan are quite simple. When applied to a noun, they are determiners if cardinal and descriptors if ordinal (see fixionary), as you would expect. Basically, by default, timlan is in hexadecimal. Digits are specified with consonants from b (0) to v (0xf), each digit being followed by the vowel '-'. The most significant digit comes first. w- can be used to negate the number (placed at end). x- can be used for exponentials (but obviously in hexadecimal) so is equal to *0x10^. y- can be used to specify a custom base (placed at the end of a number and followed by the base to use). Note that it doesn't change the base of the exponent, if used, unless you use a separate y- after the x-. z- can be used as a base-imal point. Bases using multiple digits are possible. iqeht kel c-ah lapopis "The first house is good" (not that there's more than one anyway ;)).

Elements are specified with eli followed by the chemical symbol of the element. Two- or three-character symbols should have an "i" inserted between each character. These should be placed inside /!!/ markers (see below). aqeht danelem /!elih!/ hyorax relaiqeht kel toneta timlan (Timlan, which is hydrogen and time, is good)

SI Units may be derived in a /!!/ block by using the word "un", followed by "i" if the next letter of the unit abbreviation is lower-case or "o" if it is capital, then the next letter of the unit abbreviation. Repeat with another "i" or "o" followed by the next letter, etc. Then an a or u is appended for a positive or negative exponent. If the modulus of the exponent is 1, the next unit (preceeded by an i or o as appropriate) may optionally follow immediately - otherwise, a number must be provided, this being the modulus of the exponent. Note that SI base units and derived units with an individual Latin abbreviation are in the dictionary so /!!/ need not be used.

Groups of entities in timlan are by default known as sets - this means that each entity is semantically separate - ie, most verbs apply separately in a separate instance to each one. They can be converted into what timlan calls groups (a single entity semantically) with the terit verb with the git~s object - this can be thought of as packing the set as the only element of a containing set. Matching between two setts can be specified with the mac verb - current matching types are fev and kev (see dictionary for definitions). lugicoht c-eta kesit f-eta rek "three people independently (and potentially at different times) carried one seat" or lugicoht c-eta kesit riloteritelem git~s f-eta rek "three people (together/at once) carried one seat". Some verbs (which can be identified by "set" in the syntax) operate on a set as a whole rather than expanding it to the individual elements.

Timlan can refer to ANY previously defined noun or clause, as long as the sentence is remembered precisely. To can be used to refer to the object n (default 1) sentences ago, ta to the subject, and tq to the clause. These can be stacked with possessives as expected, or as a shortcut by simply concatenating them (as one word of course). If a tree is ended on a relative clause, the object or subject (depending on whether it was relo or rela) is recursively inherited automatically. To prevent this, tq can be placed at the end of the stack. Ordinal numbers are prepended as a supplement to change the number of sentences ago. The current sentence can even be referred to as the zeroth sentence. taropeht timlan ei. iqeht kel to. (I like timlan. It is good.). iqeht fut b-ah tq. (This sentence is false.). You can also append "ye" to strip the "coko" from a clause, or ne to replace the coko with a naha - it also has the seeming effect of swapping first and second person pronouns, but this is because they are resolved to their referenced nouns first.

Comparatives and superlatives don't have much of a special syntax in timlan. You simply use erom, uq or foben to compare the properties or sets (in which case it compares cardinalities) in question.

Foreign text is shown by /:Text:/, with an optional language specifier using the alan postfix or inalan verb (defaults to English). Things in timlan that are not timlan words (eg alphabet (see below), elements, ISO-639-3 language specifiers etc.) are specified by /!Timlan!/, direct quotes by /"quote"/, comments by /*comment*/, and arithmetic expressions by /#Expression#/ (which work still in a timlan syntax but with the standard symbols instead of the lengthy verbs with generic postfixes, and also with the option of arabic numerals). Variables are followed by $, and setting them is done with the verb beq... Markers can be nested. Escaping is done by doubling up the / in writing or doubling up the "/" sound in speech, with a glottal stop placed in between as usual (see fonti.txt). relainafelem /!eng!/alan /:France:/ iqeht kel toneta timlan ("Timlan is good in france")

The timlan alphabet can be physically spelled out by appending ' to the consonant; these should be done inside /!!/ markers. The order is currently b' c' d' f' g' h' j' k' l' m' n' p' r' s' t' v' w' x' y' z' t~s' d~z' t~c' d~j' a e i o q u - / ' $

Colours can be specified by giving a complete RGB colour as an ordinal number to "nri", or the particular intensity of that shade as an ordinal number to that shade (if you want a shade of red, green or blue). nahaiqeht j-j-f-f-b-b-ah nri relaiqeht kel toneta timlan "Timlan, which is not brown (RGB #663300), is good."

Timlan nouns by default mean "the set of all nouns matching this word (taken independently)" (see sets/groups above). To narrow this down to the individual instance you actually want, you need to give a determiner, like c- for "one" (similar to English "a") or selux for "that" (similar in a few usages to English "the"), or ton for "self-determining" (ie it's a proper noun or otherwise determines itself). Clauses can also act as determiners using rila/rilo relative clause prefixes (see fixionary) - this is used in the expansion of most suppelemental affixes. taropeht toneta timlan cute "All cats like (self-determining) Timlan" or taropeht toneta timlan seluxeta cute "That cat likes timlan".

Tenses, aspects, and moods exist for verbs, but only tenses are required. See the fixionary for the possibilites for each. Progressive is the default, since we have a separate generic tense that (hopefully!) removes the need for the simple aspect in tenses. Other aspects override this default. pecebiqeht kel toneta timlan "Timlan has become good".

Verbs used as nouns are gerunds. iqeht kel yelok "Walking is good"

Timlan has two vocatives used for addressing people - voc to get someone's attention or at the beginning of a conversation, and vok. The English translations used in the dictionaries for these are particularly poor. voceht /!Freddie!/ iqeht kel toneta timlan "Hailing Freddie, Timlan is good!"

And finally, look up the word "lol". nahacarunamo binacelem timlan lol