Za'aru

Language of the Divine

Za'aru is not a language as known by those alive. It is an act of creation; it is the moment the uncreated agrees to exist.

Za'aru is not the proto language of the world. Instead, it is the framework which provided the concepts of later, more accessible, tongues: concepts such as structure, metaphor, and taboo.

The vast majority of examples of Za'aru are in written form. No one speaks this tongue conversationally. As a spoken power it survives as sacred syllables found in ancient prayers and wrote recitations codified in liturgy. No complete reconstruction of the divine language has been achieved. Most attempts are regarded as dangerous, if not fully sacrilegious.

Geographical Distribution

Za'aru is not a language that is spoken by anyone alive today, and yet it is the conception of what is spoken by everyone. In the days the Namharu wove the world into existence, divine power was the thread while Za'aru was the shuttle that drew it together. When the scions--the first children of the Namharu--were created, they could not stand to hear the words spoken fully and completely. Its power overwhelmed them, and so the first language was created; a lesser speech that bridged creators to created. However, Za'aru could not disappear entirely, for it is the force that binds the world together. Instead of being spoken, it was committed to written form. Small fragments were preserved in the first tongue, ensuring prayers carried divine weight and chants called the correct powers. In this manner, fragments of this ancient and powerful tool remain in use today, throughout the world. It continues to represent power and consequence, creation and loss, and serves as a liturgical intermediary between the tongues of mankind and the divine creation.

Phonology

Consonants

Za'aru has a consonant inventory that favors variable and unstable articulation

It consists of a series of stops, fricatives, and sonorants that lend themselves to variable pronunciations depending on surrounding context and semantics usage. Just as the powers of creation themselves are put to work in myriad methods to create myriad forms, so must the language of that creation function.

Stops /p b t d k g q ?/

Fricatives /s z ʃ ʒ χ ʁ h/

Sonorants /m n r l w j/

Vowels

The vowel inventory in Za'aru is minimal and consists exclusively of tense vowels. Again, this mirrors the work of creation in that each movement had a purpose and was not allowed to wander.

/a e i u/

Morphology

What most language consider morphology--markers of form within a language--does not exist in Za'aru. Variations in form in the divine language serve to define relationships.

Root Structure

The roots of Za'aru words are the vessels of the word's power and contain the focus of the intended action. It is thought that a root with no affix is dangerous because it releases a power with no direction. Most roots are formed with a triconsonantal structure. This is said to mirror the beginning, middle, and ending of creation. This does vary frequently enough in official fragments that it cannot be said to be a law of the language, but definitely is a pattern within it.

Positional Morphology

Because the form of the language indicates relationship, position f morphemes within the language are vital. Prefixes indicate a sense of origin: source, intention, initiation. Suffixes, on the other hand, tend to indicate consequences such as binding the action or limiting it in some way. While infixes are rare in the language (often confused for expanded roots), the ones that are identifiable to modern scholars seem to contain a coloration of the root action. This would include intensity, frequency, or even mood.

Bound Morphemes

Morphemes do not stand alone in Za'aru texts. Everything is connected through the weaving of the world and this includes the language that made that happen.

Reduplication

Reduplication indicates a specific action and is not decorative in purpose. Frivolity and decoration are not aspects of a language as specific as Za'aru. This practice indicates repetition over time or distance. It can also give a sense of inevitability of the process.

Za'aru is not a language that declines or conjugates. It creates and contains.

Phonetics

Za'aru is not spoken with the mouth alone, but with the intention of the soul. The sounds of the language are an act of creation and in this way are complete and specific. The silence between the sounds is the restraint that binds the world together. Each sound takes up space and stands alone. For this very reason the sounds of the divine language or not optimal for speed or ease of pronunciation; instead, they are designed for precise and separated usage. Each utterance contains power and must be perfect.

The phonetic inventory of the language is consonant heavy and the division between sounds is as important as the sound itself. The glottal stop serves as a boundary marker and is vital to correct pronunciation. For this reason, it often has a somewhat choppy and angular characteristic. Priests and mystics attempting to recreate a full chant in the language of creation tend to experience fatigue and find themselves tripping over the unnatural sounding words.

It has been said that the timing of the language sounds segregated and choppy. This is because the silence between sounds is a delicate part of the pronunciation. Za'aru words do not flow based on stress or syllable count, but are intended to compare to the sounds before and after in equal measure.

The few vowels that exist in the language are clear and pronounced in a full and compete manner. Vowel reduction and weakening are inconsistent with proper pronunciation. The requires the full attention of the speaker and is an effort compared to the lackadaisical vowel pronunciations of most native languages.

All pronunciations given in modern sources are ritual approximations that have survived the ages. There is no absolute agreement on the original utterances.

Dictionary

11 Words.

Common Phrases

Za'aru kha'eth sa'qar.

"Creation binds what is called."

Adathite temple phrase generally at the opening of temple rites, before prayer, or sacrifice. It declares the authority of what is about to be said.


Ithu'qen za'aru eltha.

"We stand within the limits of creation.

This is often said at the end of prayers or before invocations. It is to remind the worshippers that they do not command creation, they survive within in.