Conlanguages?

[Petike]

By all means, yes.

All right then.


The following language samples don't come from the earliest parts of the Dask people's history, but from what is later known as the "early classical" period of the culture, i.e. around 3000-1000 years BC.

a.) Vocabulary:

1.) Basic vocab – nouns and pronouns
de – me
keh – you
ok, oka, oke – he, she, it
dhano – we
kateh – you
okvi, okva, okve – they (m., f., n.)
trac – north
brac – south
kuerol – east
vičkuer – west
pal – part
palsve – part of the day/night cycle
olture – day time
čuvičture – night time
la – body
palla – body part
toula – hand
neula – leg
ervla - head

2.) Basic vocab – adjectives
nuthe – great, really big
alothe – small, minor
alotheno – very small, tiny, miniscule
paler – part of something
tracu – northern, of the north
tracunši – northernly
bracu – southern, of the south
bracunši – sourthernly
kuerolu – eastern, of the east
kuerolši – easternly
vičkueru – western, of the west
vičkuerši – westernly

3.) Nature – nouns
av - water
tu – earth, soil
ture – land, landscape, terrain
kvatu – world
kvatupaler – landmass, region (lit. „worldpart“)
olsve – sun
čusve – moon
vičsve – star
ask – sea
byv – cove
askebyv – sea cove
trafe – dell
alve, alvenu – tree
alvalo – small, short tree
alvalono – bush, shrub
alveture – forest, woodland
lalve – wood
krofí – horn (also fig.)
alrofi – antler (also fig.)
malrofi – deer, stag (lit. „horned ruler“, „horned chief“)
malrofa – hind, female deer
askalu – seal, sealion (lit. „sea elder“, „sea geezer“)

4.) Nature – adjectives
kva – visible, observable, perceptible
erva – invisible, unobservable, beyond understanding
rva – unclear, unsure, unknown
alveši – tree-related
alvethe – tree size related
lalveši – wooden, wood-related
krofši – horn-related
krofdoši – made of horn
alrofši – antler-related
alrofdoši – made of antler
malrofši – deer-related, of deer
askalši – seal-related, of seals
ňérši – crooked, bent, misshapen

5.) Society – nouns
dhar – person, individual (orig. „hunter“)
dha – people, tribe, community (orig. „hunter“, „hunters“)
dharsk, darsk – fisherman (lit. „sea hunter“)
dhask, dask – fishermen (lit. „sea hunters“), also the Dasks etnonym for themselves (Dhask, Dask)
dharo – hunter, man
dhala – huntress, woman
kla – family
hau – child
alhau – adult
alu – elder person, old person
dharori – boy, lad
dhalali – girl, gal
klada – marriage
indharori – spouse, lover (lit. „my boy“)
indhalali – spouse, lover (lit. „my girl“)
indharo – husband (lit. „my man“)
indhala – wife (lit. „my woman“)
haudharori – son (lit. „my child boy“)
haudhalali – daughter (lit. „my child girl“)
kvadharkla – relative, someone in the family
rvadhar – stranger, unknown person

6.) Society – adjectives
hauši – child-related
alhauši – adult-related
aluši – old person related
dharoši / dhaloši – male, masculine / female, feminine
dharoriši / dhalališi – boyish / girlish
indharoriši / indhalališi – spouse and lover related
indharoši / indhalaši – husband-related / wife-related
haudharoriši / haudhalališi – son-related / daughter-related
kvadharklaši – family-related, of the family
rvadharši – stranger-related, of strangers

7.) Culture and work – nouns
cheja – pot, vessel (also fig.), pl. cheji (pots, vessels, also fig.)
askecheja – boat (lit. „sea vessel“)
kuerta – idol, sacred object
kvatu – the physical world
ervatu – the spiritual, supernatural world
mawe – chieftain, ruler, one who rules
Tracudha, Tracuda – Northerners
Bracudha, Bracuda – Southerners
Kueroldha, Kuerolda – Easterners
Vičkuerdha, Vičkuerda – Westerners

8.) Culture and work – adjectives
chejsi – pot-related, vessel-related
chejrosi – ceramic, fired in a kiln
lalvesi – related to wooden materials
lalverosi – made of wood, from wooden materials
kuertasi – holy, sacred
kvatusi – worldly, of this world
ervatusi – supernatural, not of this world
mawesi – ruling, chieftainly, ruler related

b.) Grammar:
-ši suffix – used in adjectives, denotes a living being or thing, a natural object
-si suffix – used in adjectives, denotes anorganic nature, inanimate objects and things
-roši, -doši suffix – used in adjectives, denotes objects made from organic materials
-rosi,- dosi suffix – used in adjectives, denotes objects made from anorganic materials (tricky exceptions)
-er suffix – used in adjectives denoting that something is related to something
-e- – used for connecting two words into a compound word, depends on the context
ind- prefix – used for denoting things related to someone’s close personal relationships
hau- prefix – used for denoting things related to someone’s child

c.) Pronunciations:
a - roughly like the a in the English word "arm"
c - like a "Ts !" or the German "z"
j - always read like "y"
ň - like the "ny" in "nyah, nyah, nyah" :p
č - like the "ch" in "child", "China", "chunky"
š - typical English "sh" sound, or French "ch"
ch - like the Russian kh, Scottish ch in "loch", etc.
th - like in the word "Thames"
nut syllable - roughly like "noot" or like in the word "Canute"
ši syllable - like the "shi-" in "shin"
ku syllable - pronounced as in the word "kumara"
we syllable - like the "We-" in the name "Wendy"
fí syllable - like the English word "fee"
tra syllable - like in the word "extra"
fe syllable - like in the word "fellon", but slightly more nasal
tou syllable - like in the word "tow"

d.) Further pronunciation examples (mostly geographic names):

Kuertasi (term for sacred) = roughly pronounced as "kuertasea"; with the "ku-" syllable pronounced as in the real world term "kumara"

Nuthekrofívotracu ("Great Northern Horn", the Doggerland peninsula) = "nuthe-" pronounced roughly as "noothe", with the "th" being pronounced like in the word "Thames"; "krofí" is pronounced as "krofee" (rhymes with "coffee"); "-tracu" has the "tra" syllable pronounced as in the word "extra" and the "cu" syllable as in the German word "Zug"

Trafebyv (a Dask coastal town) = "a" in "tra-" pronounced as in "extra"; "fe" pronounced as in "fellon", but with a more nasal pronunciation of "e"; -"byv" pronounced roughly as "-beev", but with the "ee" being shorter and more silent

Toulaňérši kvatupaler ("Land of the Misshapen Hand", the alternate subcontinent) = roughly "tow-la-nyershee qwatoopaler", with the "-ler" syllable pronounced a lot like the German word "lehr".

e.) Some context:
To give a bit of cultural insight into the Dask culture, they started out as semi-nomadic seal hunters who mostly lived on the sea coast, but eventually also took up agriculture and started settling more inland. Their early tribal beliefs eventually meshed into a more unified religion during their attempts to build a small empire in that corner of the alternate prehistoric Europe (the empire having evolved from their tribal confederation). They consider the Sun, Moon, stag and sea lion to be manifestations of their deities (though curiously enough, that doesn't prevent them from hunting deer and seals, since such a thing is not seen as taboo). In the late, post-imperial phase of their culture, a form of monasticism became a fad among many Dasks, commoners and early educated scholars alike. This got to the point that a popular revolt eventually errupted, and toppled the previous rule of the High Kings, elected from the traditional Dask aristocracy (itself derived from earlier chieftains and their warbands). Since then, Dhaklada (the now mostly diminished Dask realm) has evolved from an aristocratic monarchy into a weird blend of "Iron Age monastic theocracy" and "nobles' republic". Chieftains and minor Dask nobles still have a say in running things, but scholars and mystics of the new monastic movement do most of the decision-making.


That's pretty much all the notes I have. The rest was just the story itself, told from a semi-textbook, semi-oral history perspective, about how the Dasks slowly developed into a unified culture, met and fought with and exchanged knowledge and goods with other cultures, and so on...

© Petike, November 2012 - February 2016