Stage 2 — Compound construction

Every Tonesu word with more than one root is a compound. no-de (intact), ka-se (examine), ti-fe (deadline), si-su-mu (antenna array) — all compounds. You've been reading them since Stage 0. Now you get the rules they follow.

The one rule: modifier first, head last

Every Tonesu compound puts the head at the right edge.

The head is what the compound is. Everything to its left characterizes it.

to  +  li  =  to-li

↑       ↑
mod    head
        "person"

to-li = knowledge-person = scholar

This is the head-final rule. There are no exceptions.

Cluster 1 — Two-root compounds

All of these appeared in Stage 0 or 1. The table makes the structure explicit.

(1)  to-li      knowledge + person       =  scholar
(2)  ki-li      motion + person          =  traveler
(3)  ne-mu      relation + artifact      =  connector
(4)  ki-mu      motion + artifact        =  vehicle
(5)  no-de      absence + decay          =  intact
(6)  ti-fe      time + boundary          =  deadline

In every case: the rightmost root tells you what category the compound belongs to (person, artifact, state). The left root tells you which kind.

Look at (3): you encountered lo-ne-mu in C001 — the connector. ne (relation) says this artifact's job is to form connections. mu (artifact) is the head.

Look at (5): no-de from Stage 1. no (negation/absence) + de (decay) = not-decayed = intact. de is the head (the state), no is the modifier (absent/negated).

New root: ne — relation, connection, coupling. Appeared in ne-mu since Stage 1 but wasn't first-class. As a root it names the property of being relational — linking, joining, coupling. ne-ki = relational process = networking. ne-li = one who forms connections.

New root: su — structure, organized form. Appeared in si-su-mu (signal-structure- artifact = antenna array) and ka-to-su-ki (acknowledged). As a modifier: su-X = the structured form of X. As a head: X-su = the organized system that X produces. su-li = architect (person whose domain is structure).

Exercise 1 — Scholar

A scholar is a knowledge-person. Pick the roots in order: modifier first, head last.

Explanation

to (knowledge) + li (person). li is the head — this is a person. to tells you which kind: a knowledge-person.

The -li pattern extends to every domain root. You can now build ki-li (traveler), ne-li (connector-of-people), su-li (architect) without a dictionary.

Cluster 2 — Operator heads

Certain roots are especially productive as heads because they consistently transform the modifier's meaning in the same way, regardless of what the modifier is.

Head	What it produces	Example	Meaning
`-li`	agent in domain X	`to-li`	scholar
`-mu`	artifact / instrument of X	`to-mu`	document / data store
`-ki`	process / change involving X	`to-ki`	learning
`-su`	organized system of X	`to-su`	knowledge system
`-ne`	relational coupling of X	`si-ne`	communication (signal-relation)

These are patterns, not a word list. Learn the operators; derive the words.

The -mu pattern:

to-mu      knowledge artifact   =   document / data store
ki-mu      motion artifact      =   vehicle
ne-mu      relation artifact    =   connector
ra-mu      power artifact       =   engine

The -su pattern:

to-su      knowledge system     =   organized knowledge / canon
si-su      signal structure     =   communication framework
ne-su      relation structure   =   network (as a framework)

Once you know a pattern, any root can fill the modifier slot. ra-li (power-person), fe-li (one who sets limits), wi-li (agent of intention) — all predictable.

Exercise 2 — Organized knowledge system

An organized knowledge system. Which two roots, in which order?

Explanation

to (knowledge) + su (structure). The su head says: "this is the organized instantiation." to-su = knowledge as an organized system — a canon, a curriculum, a doctrine.

Compare: to-su (the knowledge as framework) vs to-mu (a knowledge artifact — a document, a record) vs to-li (the person in the knowledge domain — a scholar). Same modifier, different operator head, systematically different meaning.

Cluster 3 — Three-root compounds

Three roots follow the same rule. The last root is the head. The two to its left are a modifier chain — and that chain is right-branching by default.

A - B - C   =   A modifies [B-C]
                             ↑
                        B-C parsed first as a unit;
                        then A attaches to that unit.

From the corpus:

(1)  to - ki - mu   →   to + [ki-mu]
                               ↑
                           motion-artifact = vehicle
                 →   knowledge + vehicle = computing device

(2)  si - su - mu   →   si + [su-mu]
                               ↑
                           structure-artifact = framework/device
                 →   signal + framework = signal-structure device (antenna array)

(3)  ra - ki - li   →   ra + [ki-li]
                               ↑
                           motion-person = traveler / mover
                 →   power + mover = one who operates powered motion (pilot)

You've seen (1) and (2) since Stage 1. Sentence (3) appears in C005.

New root: ra — power, force, energy. As a modifier, ra says "this involves force / is powered." ra-ki-li = powered-motion-person = pilot. ra-mu = power artifact = engine. ra-su = power structure = star (registered, astronomy domain).

Exercise 3 — Computing device

A computing device: knowledge + change + artifact. Three roots, in order. The outlined slot is active — fill them left to right.

Explanation

Parse: to + [ki-mu]. First: ki-mu = motion-artifact = device that performs change. Then: to narrows it — a knowledge-change device = computing device.

The exercise enforces the parse order physically: fill left to right, mirroring how the compound is semantically constructed.

Cluster 4 — The `'` juncture (first look)

The default right-branching parse works for most compounds. But sometimes you need a different grouping. The ' marker binds a subunit explicitly.

The rule: ' marks the left boundary of a pre-bound subcompound. Everything from ' to the end of the compound groups together first; the chain to the left of ' then attaches to that bound unit as a modifier.

A - B ' C - D     →     [A-B] modifies [C-D]
                                 ↑
                        A-B bind as a modifier unit;
                        C-D bind as the head unit.

A solid example, using roots you already know:

to-ki-li     (no marker — default right-branch)
   = to + [ki-li]
   = knowledge + [motion-person]
   = knowledge + traveler
   = one who journeys through knowledge

to-ki'li     (' after ki — juncture before li)
   = [to-ki] + li
   = [learning-process] + person
   = agent of the learning process
   = learner

In to-ki'li, the ' sits between ki and li. This marks li alone as the right-side subcompound, forcing to-ki to bind together as the modifier. Result: [to-ki]-person = learning-process-person = learner.

In the default to-ki-li, to attaches to [ki-li] — the knowledge-type traveling person.

Both are valid Tonesu. They mean different things.

' is unnecessary for two-root compounds — there is no ambiguity. For three or more roots, use it when the default right-branching parse gives you the wrong meaning.

Exercise 4 — Which form means learner?

The agent of the learning process (someone who actively does learning) is not the same as one who journeys through knowledge. The ' juncture changes the grouping — and therefore the meaning.

to-ki-li — default right-branch: to + [ki-li]
to-ki'li — juncture after ki: [to-ki] + li

Which form means learner?

Explanation

to-ki'li — the ' between ki and li forces to-ki to bind as a unit (learning-process) and then attach to li (person). Learning-process-person = learner.

to-ki-li (default) — to attaches to [ki-li] = knowledge + traveling-person = one who travels through knowledge.

Both valid. The ' is required in spoken form too — it marks a slight prosodic boundary at that position. Stage 3 covers the juncture marker in full, including its interaction with longer compounds, ~ approximation, and the spoken form peld.

Roots introduced in this stage

Root	Core meaning	Key compounds
`ne`	relation / connection	`ne-mu` (connector), `si-ne` (communication), `ne-li` (one who connects)
`su`	structure / organized form	`to-su` (knowledge system), `su-li` (architect), `si-su-mu` (antenna array)
`ra`	power / force / energy	`ra-ki-li` (pilot), `ra-mu` (engine), `ra-su` (star)

Stage 2 — Compound construction

The one rule: modifier first, head last

Cluster 1 — Two-root compounds

Cluster 2 — Operator heads

Cluster 3 — Three-root compounds

Cluster 4 — The ' juncture (first look)

Roots introduced in this stage

Next

Cluster 4 — The `'` juncture (first look)