Conlanguages?

[Red]

Are you/Have you been into creating conlanguages?

I am and have been, and It's suprisingly fun.

The language I am currently developing is Gëremn.

Cë dówe co leshô

Fëjuldís diu jë wastjâte erô senieűsi sanű.
Fëjuldís diu jë wastjâte leshô éstűmsi jeanű.
Óh, mus iwy, iemme taríldá diu jü wastjâte co vannél!
Jü wastjâté co dennélsi darennél!
Á lachër cindunélsi senienel Ëerien,
Jedas diu ayanél dásteosen.

The Prayer of Hope

Let me to the place (where) beauty and peace blossom.
Let me to the place (where) symphaty and caring is allowed.
Oh, but please, do not leave me to the place of mourning!
To the place of darkness and apathy!
May Aerén be great and merciful,
for I am faithful for you.


Tell me about your conlang, if you have one!
It'd be fun to discuss about it.

[Darkfire]

Me and my friend once made something like that. We had a special writing, which was basically runes made only with right angles. Unfortunately, right now I don't have the means to post how it looked. We used it a little for fun. I tried developing a language for that, but never actually did more than scribble some simple words.


I might come back to that, as I am writing a novel and it might be fun to add a fake language.

[Red]

As I seemingly am out of things to do, I'll make use of my time explaining how Gëremn syntactically works. I'll try to be as simple as possible.

Gëremn is ergative accusative language, a bit like Basque in that regard. It's fairly analytic, but it has a lot of agglunation aswell. It lacks tenses, like Mandarin, and uses articles to tell of the noun's quality & amount. The unique thing about this language are the clitics, which are bit complex.

I'll show an example.
*Des ë zos wese era wad fasn fetjos.*
I saw you walking in to the house.

Des = I. It's 'linked' with the verb 'wese' by clitic -es, which both have. The purpose of this linking is to show which is which's agent and which is which's predicate.
ë = neutral atricle, which as such without endings implies to accusative.
zos = you. Linked with the verb 'fetjos'.
wese = see. Linked to agent 'Des'. -se clitic means the action is performed with upper body; with the eyes. -se is for actions done by eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc. -sa is for arms, hands etc.
era = particle of complete past actions
wad = w-= for iddntifying places; -a- positive tone infix; -d illative case ending.
fasn = house
fetjos = walk(ing). Linked with agent 'zos'. -os clitic refers to actions done by lower body - feet.

This is still a subject to change, but I think this is pretty much how things go syntax wise.

[Petike]

Have some pals and acquaintances who are into this as a hobby, but my worldbuilding forays have rarely involved creating languages. Though I've worked on a writing script for a fantasy universe I've been slowly developing in the last few years. It uses an alphabetical system and developed in a similar manner to how Latin script developed from Greek letters and those in turn from Phoenician letters. Unlike that example, though, the look of my fictional script is based on tifinagh script and other old Berber scripts. There is still an existing historical connection between these and the Phoenician script, so it's suitably different for the purposes of my world, but something people would still find familiar enough (even though my final alphabet doesn't have a single letter that's clearly based on Latin alphabet ones).

About the only time I did conlanging was when I made a short vocabulary and basic grammar for a group of people from an alternate history story I wrote. The divergence occured in prehistoric times, with the Doggerland "landmass" that sunk beneath the rising North Sea after the end of the last ice age somehow preserved. I know it's not very plausible, but I wrote the whole thing as more of a thought experiment than a serious alternate history. That said, it at least had rigorous causality beyond the divergence, so early European history started developing very differently due to the presence of an extra peninsula and Britain actually having a land bridge with Europe, thus forming a sort of weird subcontinent in NW Europe.

I made the language for one of the early nations that developed from a confederation of tribes who once inhabited the north of this allohistorical "Doggerland peninsula". Over time, the nation became wealthy enough to compete with its neighbours and they even tried to expand and become a smaller empire, though they had mixed successes with that. Most of the narrative was set in prehistory or in what would be early antiquity in our world, but I had a brief glimpse into the future, where the world had roughly 18th century levels of technology and development even in the equivalent of our mid 20th century.

Should I post some examples from my alternate prehistoric conlang ? It's rather ramshackle in places, but you might find parts of it interesting.

[Red]

Have some pals and acquaintances who are into this as a hobby, but my worldbuilding forays have rarely involved creating languages. Though I've worked on a writing script for a fantasy universe I've been slowly developing in the last few years. It uses an alphabetical system and developed in a similar manner to how Latin script developed from Greek letters and those in turn from Phoenician letters. Unlike that example, though, the look of my fictional script is based on tifinagh script and other old Berber scripts. There is still an existing historical connection between these and the Phoenician script, so it's suitably different for the purposes of my world, but something people would still find familiar enough (even though my final alphabet doesn't have a single letter that's clearly based on Latin alphabet ones).

About the only time I did conlanging was when I made a short vocabulary and basic grammar for a group of people from an alternate history story I wrote. The divergence occured in prehistoric times, with the Doggerland "landmass" that sunk beneath the rising North Sea after the end of the last ice age somehow preserved. I know it's not very plausible, but I wrote the whole thing as more of a thought experiment than a serious alternate history. That said, it at least had rigorous causality beyond the divergence, so early European history started developing very differently due to the presence of an extra peninsula and Britain actually having a land bridge with Europe, thus forming a sort of weird subcontinent in NW Europe.

I made the language for one of the early nations that developed from a confederation of tribes who once inhabited the north of this allohistorical "Doggerland peninsula". Over time, the nation became wealthy enough to compete with its neighbours and they even tried to expand and become a smaller empire, though they had mixed successes with that. Most of the narrative was set in prehistory or in what would be early antiquity in our world, but I had a brief glimpse into the future, where the world had roughly 18th century levels of technology and development even in the equivalent of our mid 20th century.

Should I post some examples from my alternate prehistoric conlang ? It's rather ramshackle in places, but you might find parts of it interesting.

By all means, yes.

[Slanderous]

Va'esse deireádh aep eigean, va'esse eigh faidh'ar.

[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

[Red]

Interesting. Have you thought of phonology, phonotactics, word order, word sress, declination etc. ? Can you give an IPA chart for every phenome, for instance?

[Petike]

I know a bit of linguistics, including phonetics, but I've never been an expert on these topics. Part of why I didn't advance the language stuff beyond the notes you see here. I wrote the whole thing to give readers a rough idea of what that fictional culture's language sounds like (at least at that point in their history) and I didn't really think about expanding it afterward.

[Red]

I know a bit of linguistics, including phonetics, but I've never been an expert on these topics. Part of why I didn't advance the language stuff beyond the notes you see here. I wrote the whole thing to give readers a rough idea of what that fictional culture's language sounds like (at least at that point in their history) and I didn't really think about expanding it afterward.

Can you construct a functional sentence along with explanations for every word?
That'd help to resolve how the syntax works, if you have anything to call that yet.
No need for complex terms, when we see the nature of the language in its very substance.