Normian Language? Which One?

In my youth my friend helped me draw up outlines of several languages for our science fiction universe (here called the Koplushian Alliance.) (He helped me a lot, actually.)

I’m not much of a linguist.  I don’t pretend to be.  I don’t play one on television or radio.  I also don’t know all the techie terms about things like cases, genders, modes, etc. What I do is to have fun with language creating.

So the planet Norm is where the Koplushians are from, and when they first escaped the oppression on their home world they spoke what we originally developed as Old Koplushian.  Old Kop was developed initially as a completely separate language with very little or nothing in common with modern Koplushian. As it turns out, this doesn’t really work.  When the Koplushians left they likely spoke a hodge podge of several languages, so I’ve ret-conned Old Koplushian as what was then called Mornerthian. I still call it Old Koplushian though.

On Norm there were three super powers, the republics of Mornerth and Defyoo, and the Dizhen Empire.  So Old Koplushian is now Mornerthian (Mornerthiset) and I’ve continued to develop it using mostly roots from Koplushian.  Some of the words differ because…

The language we previously called Old Koplushian, I took and made into a separate language called Defyooan (Defyanth).  Some of its roots have survived into Old Koplushian, but I treat it as a separate, almost archaic language.

Normian, which I have renamed Dizheth, was always separate and I have kept it so.  Dizheth is fun because it was the product of an oppressive society, thus I can put in all kinds of non-PC items, like the word for ‘woman’ and ‘wife’ resembling the word for property and ‘beautiful’ resembling ‘ripe’. I figure Dizheth is still fairly irregular because it hasn’t had any willing changes or simplifications from imigration or such. The powers that be on that planet probably keep the status quo pretty well.

Koplushian and Mornerthian are a very egalitarian languages, but Modern Koplushian contains a few artifacts from its past such as formal/informal cases on some of its plurals (much like the difference between ‘greetings’ and just ‘hello’.)

So really there is no one Normian language.  I’m sure in reality there are at least dozens, though how many have survived to modern times no one knows.

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Pandla, the language of the Vritian Empire

Logo I created for the TinyCards deck. The twin-arm galaxy swirl is the Vritians reminder that they once ‘owned’ the entire galaxy while the green hexagon shows their place among the six ‘human planets’ and the Koplushian Alliance.

Lately I’ve been in the mood to develop another one of the languages one might meet in the Koplushian Alliance. This one belongs to the group of humans who, according to them, once spanned the Milky Way galaxy from arm to arm.  I’ve got the basic grammar worked out, but I’m also adding in some inconsistancies along the way.  The Vritian Empire was around for thousands of years before it fell into ruin due to their dependance on robot ‘servitors’. When my friend Jim introduced the idea for their past into our universe, it was partly to give a reason why there were so many ‘human variants’ in the galaxy. I always felt this was a good idea.  Jim is also the one who suggested that I base the Vritian language on a combination of Swahili and Latin.  This simply means that I put samplings of those languages into his ‘word generator’ and multisyllabic re-hashings got spit out for me to either use, reject, or alter to my liking.

So I’ve created some TinyCard decks of some Vritian words and a few sentences here: [link]. More will follow with time.  In the meantime, here are a few simple sentences that I translated to help nail down some of the grammar.

A tree is tall – berum kama kuwa.

The green tree fell – uwo mbita berum hapani.

The tall tree fell quickly – uwo kuwa berum nomenzi hapani.

I see a tree – siga indus berum.

Do you see the green tree? – kanom uwo mbita berum indus?

Look at the tree! – induswa uwo berum!

The two trees were green. – uwo dum berum kwi mbita.

The tree will fall. – uwo berum hapanba.

I am not a tree. – siga apum kama berum.

You gave food to me – kanom mwovi sinewo siga

Do you speak Pandla/Vritian? –  kanom pandla dagarmengwe?

I am a little and yellow bird. – Siga kama iako vasa kwei ulako.

Koplushian Language, Etc.

I recently decided to ressurect a language project that I first created about 35 years ago. It’s the Koplushian language.  I feel the need to work on it because it influenced some aspects of he Breehah language, especially where high technology comes into play. GThe problem is that over time my tweakings of Koplushian have altered the language to the point where some older texts may not be legible.  Hmm. Talk about real world philology in conlangs. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.

What are the Breehah?

Breehah

Description: A breehah is a marsupial being native to the planet Silonar in the Poke system. It looks like a centaur-shaped dog standing at about 1.3 meters tall on all fours and has two elbow joints per arm. Its head is egg shaped with one compound eye, two trumpet-like ears and two fuzzy antennae. Below the eye is a slit-like mouth flanked on either side by a row of breathing slits. The mouth is used exclusively for eating or speaking. The antennae sense odors and indicate a few emotional states. Normally the antennae will droop slightly forward. When angry they stand straight up. When happy, they will droop forward and be turned outward. Confusion is shown by crossed antanae and sadness by forward drooping turned inward. Fear is shown by backwards leaning antennae.

History: The home planet of the breehah is Silonar, an earth-like planet with two moons. (see: Silonar below) Previous to first contact with Koplushians, the Silonarians lived in a fairly peaceful, planetwide iron age  tribal society. Their communities were agricultural and usually based around a mill/forge complex. They were pre-industrial and had no large domesticated animals. Wind and water powered mills ground their grain and powered some of the larger forges where convenient. There were no great conflicts among the breehah.

One day the singular event in the history of the breehah ocurred near the village of Mimipror’Peloo. A flying thing landed in the grain field of Greefr Mililo and a group of strange beings came out of its belly.  They walked upon only two legs and wore brighly colored skins. They called themselves ‘Koplushil’. The breehah rendered this into their language as ‘Kahpoohah.’`

The koplushians at this time were searching for resources because the planet on which they had recently settled was metal-poor.  They negotiated with the breehah and they agreed to share the minerals of their planet. However, when the breehah saw how the koplushians were mining, with no regard to the forests and other environs of the mined areas, they objected.

The koplushians ignored the protests until groups of breehah began attacking the miners. The koplushians responded militarily, and within a short time had come close to wiping out the breehah race.

With the miners had come missionaries of the Engrethy religion.  It was these missionaries who pettitioned the Koplushian authorities to stop the slaughter of the indiginous population. Public outcry on Koplushia caused a withdrawal of the military and the miners. Repairs were made by the koplushians to the areas affected by the strip mining operations, and koplushian medical technology was offered to help the breehah re-populate their world. The planet Silonar was placed under Protected Status.

Some time later, communication between Koplushia and Silonar was reestablished, The breehah are left to use as much or as little technology from the Koplushian Alliance as they desire.

Culture: Just previous to the breehah first contact with the koplushians they were living in harmony with each other in collections of villages at the technology level of Earth’s European rennaisance. They had such advantages as efficient sewage systems and effective herbal medicine. The breehah homeworld has no draft animals, so any haulage was done with carts which they either  pushed or pulled themselves. Many regions had the benefit of canal systems to transport bulk goods, but again, the canal boats were pulled by breehah, not draft animals.

The contact and conflict with the Koplushians nearly destroyed every vestige of the traditional Breehah way of life. In many areas of the planet an image of that lifestyle still exists, but the three large spaceports established on Silonar are surrounded by urban areas where the traditional lifestyle is now impossible.

Modern breehah still live in family groups, the parents supporting the offspring until they can support themselves. Their dwellings are usually dome-shaped, permanent structures, built partially underground.  Their furnishings are sparse, consisting of floor cushions and low tables. The breehah sit on their haunches much as a dog would. They wear clothing only when necesary for their occupation or decorum. The breehah are considered citizens of the Koplushian Alliance and are free to travel to any world in Alliance space. These cosmopolitan breehah are sometimes held at arm’s length by their home-world brethren.

Beliefs/Religion: From the earliest times, the breehah had a belief system based on nature signs. There were various spirits named among the tribes which were said to be responsible for the weather, phases of the moons, eclipses, comets, etc. By the time just previous to first contact with the koplushians, many of these belifs had been moved to the background, a code of ethics having supplemented it as the more tribal societies evolved into town based communities.

(to be continued)

Music: The traditional musical instrument of the Breehah generally is the double-barrel flute called the soofee. Some percussion instruments are also used such as the drum (koomaa) and singing bow (footihor). The breehah also sing or chant impromptu melodies, both for pleasure, entertainment and ceremonially.

Language: Before contact with the Koplushians, the breehah spoke many languages. It was said they had as many languages as tribes. In the time where towns were being established, several common languages evolved. They likely began as pidgeon tongues, but each covered a large region of Silonar. Many of the smaller languages died out through disuse as tribes became less isolated and began speaking whichever language gave them the best advantage in trade or negotiations.

After the contact with Koplushians, only a handful  of the minor languages survived. Through mutual agreement, the breehah decided to teach the widest used common language among themselves. A few attempts were made (at the urgings of the Engrethist missionaries) to simplify the grammar of the language. In the end, perhaps the largest impact on the language of the breehah was the regular verb tenses and the change from a base eight  numbering system to the base ten system, and the renaming of the basic numerals.

[Article excerpt from the Rigooboikeso breehah, Encyclopedia of Breehah.]

The Eruithairkan Language

Below is some information which survived the demise of the much lamented Koplushia wiki website that mysteriously evaporated some years ago. I made this language up in a whim at the time, but thought you might like a delightful break from studying breehah.

There will not be a Tiny Cards deck for this one. If you want to know what this language in reference to, look up my short story ‘Terra Incognita,’ available in English [link] or Esperanto! [link]

The Eruithairkan language is ‘spoken’ while inhaling through the mouth and putting one’s toungue in certain places in your mouth. The skilled linguist just might be able to duplicate the sounds the Eruithairkans make, but you really neeed to be immersed with the Eruithairk to get it right. Being as that’s quite unlikely, this remains a fun exercise for anyone interested.

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An Eruithairkan musician

I have used letters of the Latin alphabet to indicate the different positions of the tongue.  Some sounds of the Eruithairkan language are made by exhaling and these are also indicated.

The Sounds

Remember to inhale when following these, with the lips parted.

F – indicates the tongue  forward in the mouth, just touching behind the top teeth.

M – indicates the tongue pulled back from F, the front part of the tongue, but not the tip is on the pallate.

B – indicates the tongue is pulled back further than M, at this point the lower edges of the toungue may flap.  This is the desired effect.

R – indicates the F position with the right side of the mouth opened a bit. You should get a sound similar to that you hear at the Dentist office when that suction thing suddenly finds saliva. You may also use the left side if your right side gets tired.

S – close your lips make the F position, suck and then open the right side several times. You should get a sort of stuttering sound.

U – make a ‘g’ sound, but swallow the sound instead of saying it.  This should sound somewhat like an ‘uhg.’

G – exhaling, make a guh guh guh sound. In this explanation, each G indicates one ‘guh’.

O – this indicates making the F position, but exhaling.

H – This indicates a throad clearing sound, like a gutteral frickative of, (for example) hebrew.)

P – make a ‘pop’ noise with your lips. Multiple ‘P’s means that many ‘pop’s

A hyphen ‘-‘ following a letter indicates stress on that sound. Simply double the length the sound is made.

Ex. FPPPBBR-USG = Leave the area imediately!

In written form, each repeated letter indicates a stop and beginning. During non repeated letters, just slide the tongue around to each position.

The language is idiomatic in the extreme. Each phrase is unique and any pattern seems to be by chance.

You can actually do this, why you’d want to, I don’t know.  Have Fun. The Eruithairk are our closest neighbors.

 

Learn Breehah – Lesson 2

Lesson 2
haiTAHke SAHmidi

A note on pronounciation. While the breehah language does have its own unique alphabet, I’ve chosen to use the Latin alphabet to make things waaay easier on any learners. Later I will show the alphabet for those who wish to learn the language to that level. (I’m confident this will happen.)

Learn Breehah – Lesson 1

Lesson 1
haiTAHke midi

Call this first lesson more of an introduction to some basics in the language. While I truly don’t expect anyone to try and master this intelectual exercise, I’m going to at least cover all the points of grammar and then introduce at least as much vocabulary as necesary. It may go beyond that–eventually. If anyone ever approached me and started speaking breehah to me, I doubt I’d understand very much myself.

A Conlang Named Breehah

Ho horf breehah-horgah!

Let’s Speak Breehah!

What is Breehah? It’s a language that a friend and I pretty much developed in our youth and later on. From time to time I come back to it because of the conlangs that we worked on, way back when, Breehah and the aliens who used it are my favorite.

I want to do a series that teaches basic breehah on this blog.  I may even publish the gramar and a two-way dictionary as a book once it’s pretty darn complete.

The Koplushia Wiki is Gone :-(

A few months ago I checked in on the Wiki that held quite a lot of work about the fictional world known as the Koplushian Alliance.  I was probably tweaking something in the Breehah language because that was a pet project of mine.  A little more recently, I went to look up something and I was greeted with a big ‘NOT FOUND’ The wiki has not been back since.

While I do have much of the core materials fro the Koplushia wiki, even that material is what could be called fist draft.  My friend  and collaborator had made many additions and refinements to the material.  That’s why it was a wiki after all.  Also, my friend had contributed quite a lot to the wiki.  His work is gone.  I’m sure I’m the only one anal enough to save the work in Word documents before putting it on the wiki.

I’m pretty sure the Koplushia wiki disappeared because its server either got erased or taken out of service.  I’ve only managed to find a few other wikis using the a.wiki-site.com URL.

Farewell info on the Vritian Empire, the secrets of the Eruithairkans,  The planet of Arshkerl!  I’ll have remorse for every lost byte of data, every paragraph, picture and word.

Two Books and Counting

Apparently I haven’t yet mentioned two books that I’ve written and are now available for purchase from Lulu.

The first is called Sussex Branch Tales. This book stems from my research into the Sussex Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad. Reading all the newspaper articles about the railroad I got the idea that short stories about different time periods would be fun to write.  The book consists of six short stories. It is available here for purchase and makes a great Christmas gift!

The second book is a novel I wrote, The Observer, the development of which stems way back to my high school days.  I wrote it back in 1995-97, mostly on a Commodore 64 and a Macintosh SE.  I had the text available online for a time, but decided to make it available in print, chiefly because my niece wanted to read it.  My daughter now enjoys it as well.  The Observer is available here.

My third book is still in the works and is to be a history book about the station building of the Sussex Branch. The title will be Remember the Sussex Branch.  I hope to have it available early in 2013.