Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- language [2013/08/03 14:35] – pinkgothic
+++ language [2020/01/19 16:28] (current) – pinkgothic
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 Threadwielders communicate chiefly corporeally (but //not// necessarily using sound!) and have a language that is mostly static over the aeons in the sense that words that establish themselves do not suffer semantic shift - but they may and do fall into disuse and are replaced, be extended, or have regional inflections that are //narrower// in definition than the base word.
-===== Alphabet =====
+===== See also =====
-The language itself amongst Threadwielders is a selection of syllables, meaning that in combination with its audio-independent nature, technically the alphabet consists of syllabic ideograms. Since that would be a pain to note down, though, we'll use the quasi-latin transcription on this page and follow the commonplace pronunciations.
+  * [[language:Alphabet|Symbols]]: Common alphabetic transliterations, pronounciations and punctuation.
+  * [[language:Grammar]]: Verb inflection, sentence structure.
-The quasi-latin transcription consists of all standard latin characters, **plus** the extra character {{:hollow-sh-italic.png?nolink|}}, which can be described as representing a "hollow 'sh'" (like taking [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_retroflex_sibilant|/ʂ/]] a step further away from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_palato-alveolar_sibilant|/ʃ/]]) and **minus** //x// (the sound is represented by the digraph //ks//).
+{{tag>[work-in-progress]}}
-In other words:
-| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | {{:hollow-sh.png?nolink|}} | t | u | v | w | y | z |
-Pronunciation notes:
-  * //a// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel|/a/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_central_unrounded_vowel|/ä/]], rather than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel|/æ/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_unrounded_vowel|/ɑ/]]ː as is common in English.
-  * //e// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel|/ɪ/]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel|/e/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_front_unrounded_vowel|/e̞/]]; //not// [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel|/i/]].
-  * //g// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_uvular_stop|/ɢ/]].
-  * //h// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_glottal_fricative|/h/]].
-  * //i// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel|/i/]].
-  * //j// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_palatal_stop|/ɟ/]].
-  * //l// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_lateral_approximant|/l/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroflex_lateral_approximant|/ɭ/]].
-  * //o// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_central_rounded_vowel|/ɞ/]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_back_rounded_vowel|/ɔ/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_back_rounded_vowel|/o/]].
-  * //q// is pronounced //kw//.
-  * //r// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_trill|/r/]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_tap|/ɾ/]].
-  * //u// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_back_rounded_vowel|/u/]].
-  * //v// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_fricative|/β/]] more than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_labiodental_fricative|/v/]], but both are valid.
-  * //w// is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_fricative|/β̞ /]].
-  * //y// serves a function both as a vowel and a consonant, as in English.
-    * As a vowel, it is pronounced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_rounded_vowel|/y/]], or as the sequence ji in some dialects.
-    * As a consonant, it is used like the //y// in //year//.
-Digraphs:
-  * //kh//, serving as the same sound as 'k', plus a modifier for the vowel that follows; '//kha//' is pronounced akin to '//kah//'.
-  * //ks//, pronounced as //x// would in English.
-  * //sh// for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_palato-alveolar_sibilant|/ʃ/]].
-  * //sz//, serving as the same sound as 'z', plus a modifier for the vowel that follows; '//sza//' is pronounced akin to '//zah//').
-  * //th// for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_fricative|/θ/]] as in English (**@todo not sure if also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_dental_fricative|/ð/]]... think not**).
-Redundancies (i.e. letters or digraphs that exist for aesthetic purposes only):
-  * //c// is synonymous with //k// (**@todo verify!**)
-  * the digraph //kw// is synonymous with //q//
-  * the digraph //ph// is synonymous with //f//
-  * the digraph //zh// is synonymous with //sz//
-  * in the digraph //qu//, the u is silent (the letters as a true sequence would either be written as //quu// or (predominantly) //q'u//)
-  * in some dialects, the digraph //ee// may be pronounced as //i//.
-Assume compatibility with most common English pronunciations unless otherwise noted.
-===== Spread =====
-Threadwielders immersed in cultures tend to be multi-lingual, but since they cannot expect //other// Threadwielders to have the same background, their language tends to be maintained as a //lingua franca// between them, and they fall back to it whenever they visit one another for the first few times.
-As such, the language is mostly used by Threadwielders only, though some words will usually sneak into most sapient languages, because of their involvement, especially in mythological contexts.
-A notable exception is the [[culture:kavkema]], for whom - due to [[character:Evenatra]]'s extreme //presence// during their cultural genesis - the language was something of a baseline and now continues to be used as a form of 'weakest encryption': While regular conversation is usually in the language of the [[culture:Nayabaru]], conversing in their "//ancient tongue//" can, in a pinch, buy them a few minutes head-start while someone struggles to translate on-the-fly. (That this "//ancient tongue//" is still actively expanded by them does not make them change the name. The Nayabaru call it //kavkemic//, though. Or, you know, "//the language those terrorists use//".)
-===== Portmanteauing =====
-In the Threadwielder tongue, new words are created chiefly by drastic portmanteauing of composite words. In so much as it's possible, pronouncable and not too outlandish, words are occasionally outright folded into each other, as long as the composite word can still strongly insinuate its base words.
-An extreme example: The name "Evenatra" stems from //evenatar//, as the composite of //evenar// and //venat//, forming '//grace of the sky//'. Most portmanteauing is not //that// extreme - names are more frequently reduced to this form as an aesthetic exercise more than a fundamental attempt at brevity.
-Think of it like poetry.
-===== Grammar =====
-...
-===== Vocabulary =====
-^ Language ^ English ^ Class ^
-| adaryr | a deeply unpleasant but only vaguely remembered experience | noun |
-| ::: | nightmare //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | ::: |
-| adreth | death (negative connotation) | noun |
-| aiit | option | noun |
-| ashee | pleasant | adjective |
-| azhar | armour; protective covering | noun |
-| baru | sibling (spiritual) | noun |
-| dagadag | rhythmic repetition; pulse //(onomatopoeic)// | noun |
-| diev | value; worth (both material and immaterial) | noun |
-| egeth | water (chemical connotation); H<sub>2</sub>O | noun |
-| equaaj | life-sustaining liquid; water //(contrast: egeth)// | noun |
-| evenar | grace | noun |
-| garu | motion | noun |
-| girr | something in circular arrangement; ring | noun |
-| jeneth | a device that separates with precision | noun |
-| ::: | a blade //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | ::: |
-| ::: | a sword //(cultures that have them)// | ::: |
-| ji | yet (meanings of relative time, not meaning of degree) | adverb\\ (not conjunction!) |
-| kaar | cursed; wretched; outcast | adjective |
-| kahirr | item displaying macroscopic, statistical randomness in discrete steps | noun |
-| ::: | dice //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | ::: |
-| karon | time | noun |
-| kary | ally (rational relationship connotation) | noun |
-| ka{{:hollow-sh-short.png?nolink|}} | slumber; sleep; doze; nap //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | noun |
-| //kavkem// | sapient raptorian from [[place:Nekenalos]] //(only on and around Nekenalos)// | noun |
-| kazyee\\ //also: kazy, ky// | fire | noun |
-| kerr | trust | noun |
-| kenda | communicative signature | noun |
-| ::: | voice //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | ::: |
-| kinaya | close (spatially); narrowly-missed | adjective |
-| khalei | crazy | adjective |
-| kraia | splintered; broken | adjective |
-| kseth | wicked; cunning; unpleasant personality | adjective |
-| kull | foreign creature; alien | noun |
-| lo{{:hollow-sh-short.png?nolink|}}a | planet; planetoid; moon //(Threadwielder culture only)// | noun |
-| losa | planet //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | noun |
-| lur | there | noun, adverb |
-| madjan | reward | noun |
-| nagiji | place (physical); area | noun |
-| vahr | section of space-time; world \\ //'parent' word of //losa//, //nagiji// and //nigi//.// | noun |
-| nigi | home; territory (positive connotation); possessed shelter | noun |
-| nuna | identical; same | adjective |
-| preeth | collection of personal notes; journal; diary | noun |
-| prehethem | item of spirital or magical significance\\ //i.e. none, objectively speaking, but an item one feels emotional attachment to// | noun |
-| ::: | lucky charm; talisman; enchanted pendant //(non-Threadwielder cultures)// | ::: |
-| q'anu | life (positive connotation) | noun |
-| q'eta | so | interjection, conjunction\\ (not adverb!) |
-| q'uru | random; unpredictable; out of expected sequence | adjective |
-| raktat | sacred (culturally, not spiritually) | adjective |
-| rua | yes | particle, interjection, noun |
-| sarijo | regretful for an action; being sorry | adjective |
-| ::: | expression of sorrow, regret; sorry | interjection |
-| sayem | writer; author; poet; keeper of the minutes; recorder; transcriber | noun |
-| sazo | any | determiner, pronoun\\ (not adverb!) |
-| sazosri | anything | pronoun |
-| senesem | normal; predictable; of regular, unoffensive occurrence | adjective |
-| sra{{:hollow-sh-short.png?nolink|}} | plea; submissive enquiry or request | noun |
-| szamha | security; safety; protection | noun |
-| {{:hollow-sh-short.png?nolink|}}elt | wish | noun |
-| teda | aid | noun |
-| temi | warm; tepid | adjective |
-| temra | warmth (physical connotation) | noun |
-| temor | temperature | noun |
-| ut | death (positive or neutral connotation) | noun |
-| valcee | strength | noun |
-| vedeth | thought | noun |
-| venat | a pattern in a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercluster|superclusters]] | noun |
-| ::: | the sky //(non-Threadwielder cultures)//\\ //defined by its night-time texture, despite its invisibility during the day// | ::: |
-| viya | of peaceful air; of pleasant personality; kind; nice | adjective |
-| yai | precious; dear; appreciated\\ //usually applied to sentient creatures only; never pertains to lifeless objects// | adjective |
-| yirh | powerful protector spirit | noun |
-| ::: | immortal flying creature with mythological properties; phoenix //(various cultures)// | ::: |
-| ::: | angel //(equivalent in Earth culture, albeit not used there)// | ::: |
-| ysakel | boy, young male individual //(where the sex exists)// | noun |
-| ysik | hope | noun |
-| yria | life (negative connotation)\\ //e.g. life of slavery or suffering// | noun |
-| zal | beautiful (physical connotation) | adjective |
-| zalaar | beauty (spiritual connotation) | noun |
-| zet | almost | adverb |
-{{tag>[minimal]}}