The Guenithan Language
There are three fundamental dialects and writing systems. The differences between the three aren't too great and it tends to not be too hard to bridge the gap between two Guenitha of differing clans. The current writing system is fairly broad in spectrum, but all are required to learn the basic rune system that is common to all three of the dialects and is used for long-distance communication between the Clans. The runes are also used in keeping the official histories of a Clan. Aside from that all letters, personal logs, and soforth make use of the writing system developed within that Clan or area.
As far as the spoken language goes, what I have down currently is taken from the primary dialect spoken by roughly half of the Guenitha populace. There are a few important things to note about it, which can be applied to the other two dialects as well.
All verbs stay the same. They do not alter or change in any manner. A suffix is added to denote past tense ('az) and in the case of stating that someone does something 'tea is added to the end, but apart from that they stay the same despite whatever the subject might be or how many of it there is (english example is run to running to runs). The verb is fixated in the second position. In the case that there's more than one verb in a sentence, the 2nd (or 3rd etc) verb is placed at the end. The subject of the sentence is placed either in the first or third position unless a sentence is a question or describing a future event.
example: I am walking. Inu minkle Am I walking? Nur mikle inu? I am going to walk/I will walk. Arcé minkle inu.
a quick example of past tense: I walked. Inu minkle'az
There is only one form of past tense in guenithan. There is only the "I walked" form. The english sentence "I have walked," does not exist in guenithan, even when describing something as "I have walked twenty miles" it would be worded "I walked twenty miles" (Inu minkle'az bimi miles).
Now for the fun part: pronounciation.
These rules apply pretty much to any name or creature that I've created, save for the C rule which will be explained:
C, save where it is shown as CH or CH is pronounced as TS. U, unless accompanied by an H is pronounced like OO and never as "you." This also applies to O, as unless there is an H it is pronounced as the long O sound. If placed at the end of a word or syllable a single I is pronounced as a long E and a single Y would be pronounced as a long I. IE is pronounced as a long E sound and EI is pronounced as a long I sound, no exceptions. The AH combination produces the same sound as is found in "apple" or "can," where a lonely A is pronounced as in "apart" or "walk." The EA at the end of a syllable or word is a long A sound, so is the AE placed in the middle of a word or syllable. Q maintains the KW sound, but QU picks up the should of CHW. The underline in CH is important as it denotes the difference between the english CH as found in the word "check" and the german ch as found in words like "doch." I'm going to attempt and get some sound bites so that the difference can be better understood (or you could go hit up someone who speaks german and have them pronounce it for you). Lastly, as in english, the X is pronounced like KS.
The most common sounds in guenithan are IH, any and all A sounds, TS, K, and EH.
On a related note, the names of individual Guenitha are derived directly from the language. They take a phrase or sentence that describes the individual, which would be his or her given name, then, for simplicity's sake, they contract it into a short common name usually less than three syllables long.
examples: Ma watea zal klinta (one that sees ahead) Z'inta or Zinta
here's a fun one: Inac girehn mésri ürtari (my spirit still soars) I'ri'ta or Irita (though I must note in this case the apostraphes probably wouldn't be removed to keep the I and R being slurred and to maintain the long E sound of the second I)
And that's the lesson in Guenitha language for today. Hmm, I'm going to try and type up some good, long descriptions of the Guenitha, Zaub, and Grihfohn by the end of the week if I get some time.
As far as the spoken language goes, what I have down currently is taken from the primary dialect spoken by roughly half of the Guenitha populace. There are a few important things to note about it, which can be applied to the other two dialects as well.
All verbs stay the same. They do not alter or change in any manner. A suffix is added to denote past tense ('az) and in the case of stating that someone does something 'tea is added to the end, but apart from that they stay the same despite whatever the subject might be or how many of it there is (english example is run to running to runs). The verb is fixated in the second position. In the case that there's more than one verb in a sentence, the 2nd (or 3rd etc) verb is placed at the end. The subject of the sentence is placed either in the first or third position unless a sentence is a question or describing a future event.
example: I am walking. Inu minkle Am I walking? Nur mikle inu? I am going to walk/I will walk. Arcé minkle inu.
a quick example of past tense: I walked. Inu minkle'az
There is only one form of past tense in guenithan. There is only the "I walked" form. The english sentence "I have walked," does not exist in guenithan, even when describing something as "I have walked twenty miles" it would be worded "I walked twenty miles" (Inu minkle'az bimi miles).
Now for the fun part: pronounciation.
These rules apply pretty much to any name or creature that I've created, save for the C rule which will be explained:
C, save where it is shown as CH or CH is pronounced as TS. U, unless accompanied by an H is pronounced like OO and never as "you." This also applies to O, as unless there is an H it is pronounced as the long O sound. If placed at the end of a word or syllable a single I is pronounced as a long E and a single Y would be pronounced as a long I. IE is pronounced as a long E sound and EI is pronounced as a long I sound, no exceptions. The AH combination produces the same sound as is found in "apple" or "can," where a lonely A is pronounced as in "apart" or "walk." The EA at the end of a syllable or word is a long A sound, so is the AE placed in the middle of a word or syllable. Q maintains the KW sound, but QU picks up the should of CHW. The underline in CH is important as it denotes the difference between the english CH as found in the word "check" and the german ch as found in words like "doch." I'm going to attempt and get some sound bites so that the difference can be better understood (or you could go hit up someone who speaks german and have them pronounce it for you). Lastly, as in english, the X is pronounced like KS.
The most common sounds in guenithan are IH, any and all A sounds, TS, K, and EH.
On a related note, the names of individual Guenitha are derived directly from the language. They take a phrase or sentence that describes the individual, which would be his or her given name, then, for simplicity's sake, they contract it into a short common name usually less than three syllables long.
examples: Ma watea zal klinta (one that sees ahead) Z'inta or Zinta
here's a fun one: Inac girehn mésri ürtari (my spirit still soars) I'ri'ta or Irita (though I must note in this case the apostraphes probably wouldn't be removed to keep the I and R being slurred and to maintain the long E sound of the second I)
And that's the lesson in Guenitha language for today. Hmm, I'm going to try and type up some good, long descriptions of the Guenitha, Zaub, and Grihfohn by the end of the week if I get some time.