"Old Dwarve." |
"Here is a selection of Dwarvish words I learned over a very enjoyable keg of Fjoar with an elderly Dwarve in Stordonafagel. Strictly speaking the words are 'Krotlz', that is the language spoken over most of the former empire of the Ottarol Dwarves (who are themselves 'Dwarves of Rock' if we are being strictly taxonomic, and not to be confused with either the Sand-Dwarves of the southern deserts or the Ice Dwarves of the isle of Yeno).
The slightly erratic nature of the words collected can be excused both through the strength of the Fjoar and the senility of the Dwarve (whose name I never did attain). The pronunciation wasn't helped by the Dwarves lack of teeth...
The slightly erratic nature of the words collected can be excused both through the strength of the Fjoar and the senility of the Dwarve (whose name I never did attain). The pronunciation wasn't helped by the Dwarves lack of teeth...
To find such an elderly Dwarve so close to the surface was something of a surprise, but this was Stordonafagel, and really nothing can surprise one about this outrageous and anarchistic mine.
To talk of grammar is a boring pass-time unworthy of my hang-over, needless to say it is reasonably similar to the Common Tongue. You will get by trying that, any way.
"Maul val urinol melgul!" as my elderly Dwarvish drinking companion would say!
Or was it "Maul val melgul urinol"?"
To talk of grammar is a boring pass-time unworthy of my hang-over, needless to say it is reasonably similar to the Common Tongue. You will get by trying that, any way.
"Maul val urinol melgul!" as my elderly Dwarvish drinking companion would say!
Or was it "Maul val melgul urinol"?"
[As I delve into Faadon's basket I am sure I will come across more Kroltz words, and will add them to this post as I do.]
The Common Tongue in to Dwarvish Krolz -
Dwarvish Krolz in to the Common Tongue -
The Common Tongue in to Dwarvish Krolz -
Common | Dwarvish |
-’s | -ul |
Algal brew (alcoholic) | Fjoar |
All unconquered lands in the time of the empire. | Ärolgoganott |
Alloy | Chilal |
Anvil | Nazoural |
Arsenic | Foryen |
Bay | Jaðod |
Big (wide) | Gos |
Black | Kurick |
Blood | Maurd |
Boar-backed surface house | Prokðain |
Border | Kuln |
Breath | Palk |
Bridge | Tørsk |
Bright/colourful | Stord |
Canal | Jourch |
Cap | Ðarl |
Cauldron | Melg |
Child | Korri |
Chisel | Ngal |
Clean / whole / safe | Yan |
Crystal | Jain |
Death (the spirit and the thing) | Maul |
Deep | Sjo |
Defensive family home | Brocken |
Defensive hole | Borgoch |
Defensive tower | Broghaw |
Dry | Urinol |
Dwarvish leader, first emperor. [19344 - 19438AC] | Gogia |
Eagle | Gothöll |
Eater | Ndgar |
Empire | Gorgastot |
Face / Honour | Karn |
Forest | Druck |
Fortified cave complex | Chugörg |
Frail | Ðræleng |
Give | Mosta |
Goat | Shork |
Goat Daemon | Make |
Goblin | Furdich |
Goblin daemon | Molk |
God spirit | Jíraspölk |
Goddess Spirit | Jíraspurl |
Gold | Åsen |
Gorge | Garth |
Grait | Mjork |
Grand eating/meeting hall | Hjørig |
Hair | Galn |
Hall complex | Slesvig |
Hammer | Körra |
Haunt | Nill |
Haunted | Nillurg |
Haunter | Nilla |
Head waters | Jod |
Hidden | Olingskog |
High | Salen |
Hills | Rene |
Holding | Prild |
Horn | Darrað |
Horse | Nir |
Ice | Thor |
Inside | Ninkas |
Iron | Garil |
Iron clad cart | Gariminch |
Island | Kveln |
King (post empire) | Gogan |
King (pre-empire) | Dugach |
Kingdom | Goganott |
Lake | Toc |
Larder / stockroom | Aga |
Law & protection | Garm |
Leader | Archgalm |
Lodge hole | Bak |
Low | Vig |
Many | Voll |
Mine | Grintok |
Mist | Shear |
Moor | Snorri |
Mountain | Träs |
Name | Son |
Natural cave | Chanagan |
Noble, royal. | Oða |
North | Nordemrie |
Oak | Barg |
Of | Val |
Of (belonging to) | Gau |
Open to the sky | Kglalg |
Outside | Nendes |
Palace | Ona |
Path, minor road | K’drass |
Peace | Tusk |
Pebble | Surgol |
Pike | Vuldeg |
Pit shaft | Cargor |
Poison / harmful | Yen |
Promise / oath | Ärol |
Quarry | Fägel |
River | Fwndeyk |
River (Old pronunciation) | Föndek |
Rock / land | Ott |
Shield | Ureck |
Short for Chugörk | Görk |
Silk | Mārt |
Sky | Lalk |
Slave | Ludnaun |
Slaveholding (imperial) | Prildän |
Slope | Arakon |
Slopes | Arakonul |
Small | Oge |
Small foot track or pass | Chamach |
Smith | Borðalm |
Smoak | Shgor |
Spirit | Spur |
Stone (a -) | Valg |
Stone (the substance) | Nörd |
Store hole | Uearkven |
Strong | Gdraling |
Surfaced road | Ramach |
Tall | Lidn |
The | Nitt |
To | Kay |
To make with metal. | Borð |
Tortoise | Eck |
Tribe | Nemoin |
Truth | Ðu |
Tythe | Havamál |
Underworld | Hellig |
United | Nuldurg |
Vein of crystal | Yansk |
Warrior | Chaic |
Watch tower | Krowg |
Water sodden | Bríg |
White | Forn |
Whole | Su |
Wild | Mward |
Wind | Melg |
Wolf | Njál |
Woman | Günk |
Womb | Angünga |
World | Ottsu |
Dwarvish Krolz in to the Common Tongue -
Dwarvish | Common |
- ul | -’s |
Aga | Larder / stockroom |
Angünga | Womb |
Arakon | Slope |
Arakonul | Slopes |
Archgalm | Leader |
Ärol | Promise / oath |
Ärolgoganott | All unconquered lands in the time of the empire. |
Åsen | Gold |
Bak | Lodge hole |
Barg | Oak |
Borð | To make with metal. |
Borðalm | Smith |
Borgoch | Defensive hole |
Bríg | Water sodden |
Brocken | Defensive family home |
Broghaw | Defensive tower |
Cargor | Pit shaft |
Chaic | Warrior |
Chamach | Small foot track or pass |
Chanagan | Natural cave |
Chilal | Alloy |
Chugörg | Fortified cave complex |
Ðarl | Cap |
Darrað | Horn |
Ðræleng | Frail |
Druck | Forest |
Ðu | Truth |
Dugach | King (pre-empire) |
Eck | Tortoise |
Fägel | Quarry |
Fjoar | Algal brew (alcoholic) |
Föndek | River (Old pronunciation) |
Forn | White |
Foryen | Arsenic |
Furdich | Goblin |
Fwndeyk | River |
Galn | Hair |
Garil | Iron |
Gariminch | Iron clad cart |
Garm | Law & protection |
Garth | Gorge |
Gau | Of (belonging to) |
Gdraling | Strong |
Gogan | King (post empire) |
Goganott | Kingdom |
Gogia | Dwarvish leader, first emperor. [19344 - 19438AC] |
Gorgastot | Empire |
Görk | Short for Chugörk |
Gos | Big (wide) |
Gothöll | Eagle |
Grintok | Mine |
Günk | Woman |
Havamál | Tithe |
Hellig | Underworld |
Hjørig | Grand eating/meeting hall |
Jaðod | Bay |
Jain | Crystal |
Jíraspölk | God spirit |
Jíraspurl | Goddess Spirit |
Jod | Head waters |
Jourch | Canal |
K’drass | Path, minor road |
Karn | Face / Honour |
Kay | To |
Kglalg | Open to the sky |
Körra | Hammer |
Korri | Child |
Krowg | Watch tower |
Kuln | Border |
Kurick | Black |
Kveln | Island |
Lalk | Sky |
Lidn | Tall |
Ludnaun | Slave |
Make | Goat Demon |
Mārt | Silk |
Maul | Death (the spirit and the thing) |
Maurd | Blood |
Melg | Cauldron |
Melg | Wind |
Mjork | Great |
Molk | Goblin demon |
Mosta | Give |
Mward | Wild |
Nazoural | Anvil |
Ndgar | Eater |
Nemoin | Tribe |
Nendes | Outside |
Ngal | Chisel |
Nill | Haunt |
Nilla | Haunter |
Nillurg | Haunted |
Ninkas | Inside |
Nir | Horse |
Nitt | The |
Njál | Wolf |
Nörd | Stone (the substance) |
Nordemrie | North |
Nuldurg | United |
Oða | Noble, royal. |
Oge | Small |
Olingskog | Hidden |
Ona | Palace |
Ott | Rock / land |
Ottsu | World |
Palk | Breath |
Prild | Holding |
Prildän | Slaveholding (imperial) |
Prokðain | Boar-backed surface house |
Ramach | Surfaced road |
Rene | Hills |
Salen | High |
Shear | Mist |
Shgor | Smoke |
Shork | Goat |
Sjo | Deep |
Slesvig | Hall complex |
Snorri | Moor |
Son | Name |
Spur | Spirit |
Stord | Bright/colourful |
Su | Whole |
Surgol | Pebble |
Thor | Ice |
Toc | Lake |
Tørsk | Bridge |
Träs | Mountain |
Tusk | Peace |
Uearkven | Store hole |
Ureck | Shield |
Urinol | Dry |
Val | Of |
Valg | Stone (a -) |
Vig | Low |
Voll | Many |
Vuldeg | Pike |
Yan | Clean / whole / safe |
Yansk | Vein of crystal |
Yen | Poison / harmful |
ahh, their grammar is similar.. but also boring...
ReplyDeleteThen lets spice it up!
ReplyDeleteYou will have to set out how and what needs to be tackled as I have no idea about grammar - The main fun I get from languages is taking previously invented bits of language and combining them in weird ways to make new words - E.G. today I invented Eckidad for a trilobite type creature, combining elements of Eck (tortiose) and Darradd (horn)(i think - cant remember now!)
ReplyDeleteWhile Chilal = Alloy was somehow related to Khild = value/equal to.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose, by the way, of 'THE'? Is it ever necessary?
I'm fairly sure 'the' does not appear in every language, it is quite usefull if you want to show that something is definitive 'the bible' as opposed to any old book. you could easily remove it from a created language, it would sound odd to us, because we use 'the' all THE time, but that doesn't make it necessary.
ReplyDeleteOK so I rambled a bit on the other post. Thing to do are:
>decide what your categories of language are, so we have (at the simplest level) 'verb', 'noun', 'adjective', 'other'. This is not true of every language and certainly need not be considered ideal.
>decide which categories are necessary to form a meaningful unit. Although not totally consistently English uses 'noun + verb' as the smallest unit as in 'a thing + what it is doing' because once we get passed early childhood we don't tend to just name things (as in point and say 'cow'). Children tend to start their 'two-word utterances' with either noun+verb or noun+adjective, as in 'cow eating' or 'cow brown'.
>decide how what order they appear in changes the function, as in 'can you help' vs 'you can help'... but it can be more interesting like perhaps there's the option of swapping things like 'sky is blue' to 'blue sky is' which could change it from a statement about the general nature of the sky, to make blue the important bit, which would define it as 'specifically now the sky is blue, which means it isn't raining or the night time.'
I think those steps would make a language, especially since it is a very strict language so you don't need to mess around with anything. Of course it will become confused (for us as english speakers) by the choices you have made about vocab, which is great. So Yan and Yen as you have defined them are based on a different view of the world to what our language gives. I suppose the way I can simply explain what I mean is, we say 'sky' both to mean 'a clear sky', 'a night sky' and 'an overcast sky', but another culture might perceive those things as different. That could make phrases like 'the sky is blue' redundant, because the sky is only ever blue, if there are clouds, or a sunset, or it's night time it's something different. That's purely a case of translation though...i think.
Does any of this make sense?
Yes, making sence, but requiring some concentration... I think a printing out of these conversations and a pen and paper are in order...
ReplyDeleteI do have a way of useing the language I have created so far (Kroltz) and implementing all the changes you have come up with - I found a note the other day saying that Kroltz is merely the surface language. The deeper kingdom and queendom languages would probably be very different in structure though sharing some of the same sounds. The similarity of Kroltz to English is easily explained - English is Magish and also Common - the language used almost everywhere as a trade language. Hence Kroltz would be a bastardized form of deeper Dwarvish that the surface dwellers (and users of Common) had adopted.
So, we need a deeper language or two (I hesitate to suggest Sjo Kroltz or Kroltz Sjo - isn't 'Deep' a purely descriptive word? - I think they may need descriptive words - they will need to be able to differentiate between different things very clearly being focused artisans - but then maybe they would just have a vast vocabulory without much linking - e.g. the Kroltz of lower places having its own name rather than 'deep kroltz' [of course current kroltz should be surface kroltz, deep kroltz would just be Kroltz]- lets call it Songarm for now - from Name Law - we will need to change that at some point...)
So, if you wish you could start drawing up a definitive set of language rules (feel free to choose rules as you will, baring in mind the industrial hierarchical society they live in), and then a new dictionary, or I could do it some time (probably not for a short while). Wish I was better at this - the idea of how a language works without descriptive words completely befuddles me - new groupings and meanings (like yen and yan) is much more easy!
Right, now, breakfast and attempting to write coherently...
If you email me anything you have time and inclination to write I will post them here as their own post.
ReplyDeleteDo you want a character? Bare in mind your writing has got to have found its way to Faadon Naano (a sea-elvish explorer, map-maker and sort of anthropologist). He is likely to have contacts everywhere, but unless you want to only write about Kroltz, or Dwarves, I suggest you would keep them rather fluid and adaptable - you could be a researcher, or simply a corespondent of Faadons who has a similar lifestyle...
This would be amazing, although given the heavy work load this term i may not appear very fast, or be able to work stuff out very fast. I think the first few things I send should be documents I've left in cities that you've found, then later on I may actually meet you, that way I don't have to decide anything straight away. I've been ill the last few days, hence the silence.
ReplyDeleteGood plan....
ReplyDeleteGet well soon - and this blog is ongoing, so no rush at all