Fa'lain

Fa’lain is the native language spoken by people raised in the kingdom of Samakar. It is sometimes inaccurately referred to as "Elven".

Fa'lain has a spoken form, a written form, and Fa'lain Omat, a visual language form (mostly hand gestures) that was invented by the Forest Wardens. Ideally, the communicators don small rings made from acorns and such, worn near the fingertips, that gently but steadily glow certain colors; this way, people can communicate in avalanche conditions without excess noise. Or at night in a blizzard.

Phonology

' = abrupt stop in sound
"ch" = pronounced like "sh”
"j" = pronounced like "y”
"ü" = pronounced like "oo". Example: hüm (fine) would sound like "hoom"

Morphology

Pluralization

Aside from irregular forms, a plural is completed by “-en” if it ends in a consonant or “-n” if it ends in a vowel.

Conjugation

Negative Particles :: To negate a statement or action, the particle 'Ne' is used.

Positive Particles :: In a positive statement, no particle is used at all. Instead the verb comes first.

Gender

Most of Fa'lain is a gender-neutral language, it being the general assumption of the Samakarii culture that gender is a function of spirit. Certain irregular nouns and verbs have gender-specific forms, but an adjective such as {abbanelithl :: political} or [chü'iri :: elegant] does not have gendered forms.

Interrogative marker

Questions sincerely meant as queries are prefaced by adding the prefix Vel'- to the first word of the sentence. For example, the phrase Vel'bol qasnus wund l'bhamjo would literally translate as "Query-item dropped into the cauldron?" or more conversationally as "What fell into the pot?". Similarly, Vel'liiko d'tangoi kre'jen ortelassan literally translates to "Query-hour of daytime begin (to exist) prayers?" but might better translate as "At what hour will religious service commence?" (Note that Vel'ortelassan kre'jen aliiko d'tangoi, while often proposed by students early in their study, would instead be understood by a Fa'lain listener to mean "Which prayers will begin at a daytime hour?", and the response will be remarkably unsatisfactory.)

Other

'Yes' and 'no :: There is no literal word for yes and no. To indicate 'yes' or 'no', the speaker repeats the verb in its positive form for 'yes', or the verb in its negative form for 'no'.

Yon :: Denotes a single item, object, person and so on. It also is used to indicate something indefinitely or non-specifically.

Syntax

Word Order

Fa'lain has more variations than Common with sentence structure. They fall within the two categories:

• Subject Verb Object
• Verb Subject Object

Intensifiers, comparatives, and superlatives typically appear at the end of the phrase they affect, when distinctive qualifying adjectives or adverbs are used at all. The language also emphasizes a distinction between "positive intensifiers or amplifiers", similar to the function of regular comparatives and superlatives in most Edoyan languages, and "reductive intensifiers or amplifiers", which in Minosh would be normal comparatives or superlatives based on root terms such as little that have reduction connotations in their definitions.

Some dialects of Fa'lain incorporate the qualifier by repetition of a syllable -- adding the ne- particle for a moderate reduction, then for either increases or decreases, doubling the first syllable of the adjective to strengthen the effect, thus bij'ee (wet) might become bibij'ee (sodden or soaked), nebij'ee (moist), or even nebibij'ee (barely damp). When a speaker instead uses the

Verb Subject (Object) Adjective Comparative/Superlative/Intensifier

— (positive or increasing concepts)

or

Subject Verb Object Adjective Comparative/Superlative/Reductifier

— (negative or decreasing concepts)

structure, they intend to connote distress or an abstract uncertainty.

Vocabulary

Account (narrative) / Diary / Journal / Report (noun) / Travelogue :: benntu

Achieve a difficult or perilous goal :: ul'plyr

Action / Activity / Continuous motion :: mumbaro (note: implies "arrhythmic" or "irregular")

Add :: valm

Agree :: echin

All :: jal

Along / Aside / Beside :: reztorm

Am :: jar

Ambassador :: goiki

Appear / Seem (verb) :: kluth

Are :: eru

Arrive :: prachana

Assignment / Chore / Goal (vague) / Mission / Quest / Task :: juss'a

Assault (verb) / Attack (verb, noun) / Hit (verb) / Strike (verb) :: zotreth

Assault (noun) / Combat (noun) / Strike (noun) :: dücald

Avenge :: vharelgg

At Work / Happening / In Progress (verb phrase) :: a xund

Ball / Circle / Cycle / Orb / Sphere / Wheel :: buat'leb

Battle / Scrape / Skid / Slide / Work :: Glei't

Become / Transform (verb) :: doera

Begin (as in "embark") :: lex'xe

Begin (as in "earliest existence" or "to craft/create") :: kre'j

Begin (as in "first step in a multi-part sequence" that is NOT travel related) :: z'he

Bless :: dümo

Blessings :: dümoasen

Blizzard :: hi'ümaral

Bog :: Lotar’zil

Book / Scholarly written work / Treatise :: zhaun'ol

Box / Crate / Chest :: ghana

Bowl / Cauldron / (cooking) Pot :: bhamjo

Brave / Bold / Daring :: s'gos

Burden / Load :: maunech

Burn / Char / Ignite / Sear :: flamgra

Cabin / Chamber / Tent / Single-room concept :: s'ili

Canyon :: aizai /aiˈzai/

Carnivorous opportunistic predator (bandicoot, coyote, fox, jackal, monkrat, wolverine, water monitor, any opportunistic carnivore larger than a hare but smaller than a pony) :: sjaila

Cause to be / Invoke / Set (verb, specifically in the "cause to happen" sense) :: sei'lor

Celebration / Festival :: ronewak

Cheese :: panír

Clique / Cohort / Collective noun for living beings (derogatory if applied to sentients) :: gandl

cannot apply to undead

Close proximity / near (imprecise or abstract) :: au'

Come :: ana

Comprehension / Understanding / Skill accumulation :: kampi'ünin

Congratulate / Praise :: bel'la

Conceal (verb, self) / Hide (verb, self) :: velk

Conceal (verb, other) / Hide (verb, other) :: veldri

Concealment / Disguise (noun) / Designated storage location / Lair :: veldhiir

City :: mar

Clean / Repair / Scrub :: kert

Cloud :: aub /aub/

Comprehend :: kampi'ün

Comprehension is past mere knowledge, on the way toward versatile mastery. To comprehend is seldom an instantaneous action.

Define / Discover / Find / Locate :: ragar

Delete / Subtract :: nevalm

Depart / Exit (verb only) / Leave (in the "depart" sense only) :: ras'thain

Connotes an unknown and possibly unknowable destination, with a sense of vanishing permanently from the ongoing saga.

Detect / Document (verb only) / Notice / Sense (verb only) :: filut

Deteriorate / Intensify / Worse / Worsen :: wruuty

Dirt :: amzel

Divine / Holy / Sacred :: orthae

Drop (verb only) / Fall (verb only) :: qasn

Dwarf (formal) :: keiqii /keiqˈi'i/ (literally: "rock person" or "stone person")

Dwarf (slang) :: trúvii /tryvˈi'i/ (literally: "sentient beard" or "beard-person")

Elegant :: chü'iri /shoo' iri/

Exuberant / Free / Unconstrained :: duul'sso

Fine :: hüm

Follow (active verb only) / Pursue :: flohlu

Footprint / Hoofprint / Pawprint / Snake track / Trace (noun, specifically a mark on floor or ground of past transit) :: urtona' (literally "foot dirt")

Note: Does not pluralize. One footprint or the traces of an entire yak herd's hooves, the term remains "urtona'".

Forest :: mossgok /mossˈgoc/

Fortress :: mar

From / Sent by / Sent via :: dal

Glare / Glow / Illumination / Light :: ssussun

Goblin :: mossgokii /mossˈgokˈi'i/

Good :: nai

Greater / More / (positive comparative) / (quantitative intensifier) :: mzild

Greatest / Most / (positive superlative) / (quantitative maximizer) :: mzilst

Greet :: vei

Greetings :: veojur

Ground :: amzel

Guard (verb only) / Observe / Protect / Shield (verb only) / Study (verb only) :: kyorl

Halfling :: razua /raˈzua/ (literally "sea" or "ocean", any unfathomably huge body of water)

Hamlet :: weigh

Harpy :: aubii /aubi'i/

Harvester, Hunter, or Seeker :: talyei

Hill :: spo'taa

Hope :: kestal

Hopeful :: kest'nal

Human / Man / Woman :: aizairii /aiˈzaiˈri'i/

Huntress (formal, archaic) :: l'Talya (address or refers to the deity Zla Lngan Ma in her least friendly aspect)

I ( indicating self ) :: mai

Include (object) / Involve (other) :: pand

Include oneself / Insert oneself / Involve oneself :: maullol

Individual / Person :: üss

Inelegant (distressingly incorrect/broken) :: nechü'iri /nee shoo' iri/

Into :: wund

Item / Object / Thing :: bol

Know (verb, plain) / Learn (verb, plain) :: zhaun

To know is to have shallow if functional understanding of the rote fact or basic skill. To comprehend, kampi'ün, is to have depth or subtlety to layers or aspects of the knowledge.

Kobold :: lotar'zilii

Lake :: duin

Least / (negative superlative)

Leave (noun, in the "permission" or "authorization" sense only) :: anuma

Leave alone/apart (verb, in the "refrain from bothering" sense only) :: sevir / sevir _ maglust

Less / Lesser / (negative comparative) / (quantitative reducer) :: mzuld

Letter (document) / Message / Saga :: char'riss

Library / Meditation Chamber / Study (noun only) :: vrues'ili

Lightning :: nizzre'

Location / Place (noun) :: klar

Lowland :: tarai (literally "heavy" or "dense", refers to the sensation of thicker atmospheric pressure closer to sea level)

Magic (arcane) :: faer

Magic (divine) :: djul'kaas

Magic (enchantment) :: bekseh

Malevolent / Malicious :: olath

Many / Numerous / Several :: blynol

Marsh :: lotar’zil

Memory / Mind / Soul / Spirit :: quorteken (as "memory", refers to a memory about the subject, not of a person's ability to remember something)

Morning :: achubi

Motivation / Purpose / Reason :: sanrr

Mountain :: ghourn

Of :: D’ (Example: Lotar’zil d’Roesor = Swamp of Sorrows)

Open (verb, active) :: pahntar

Orc :: mabii /mabi'i/ (literally "people of grass" and probably a relic of past hostility)

A parent of one's own parent :: hajura

Pest / Scavenger :: roqu' Pests / Scavengers :: roquen

Pond :: duin

Prairie :: aln /aln/

Pray (verb) :: ortelanth

Prayer :: ortelassa

Prepare / make a plan :: inth

Prophesize :: feth

Rain / Sleet :: rosa

Regret / Sadness / Sorrow :: numl'ess (word borrowed from another language, pluralized by adding -tu)

Revenge :: vharcan

Rock/Stone :: keiq /keiq/

Rotate / Turn :: quarn

Secure (verb or adjective) :: vel'xunduss

Literally: that which performs the labor to keep (object) whole

See (verb) :: kyorl

Shade / Shadow / Shadows :: barra (all shadows are considered portions of the one concept "shadow", derived from an older term meaning "place where snowglare does not bounce into")

Sharpen :: nizzik

Shore :: zelin

Shoreline (literally: a body of water forming the indentation of a shoreline) :: la’lin

Signal :: omat

Ski (noun) :: gle'ulm

Ski (verb) :: glef

Snow :: hi'üm

Snowshoe (noun) :: urkari (literally "footbasket")

Soil :: amzel

Storm :: maral

Swamp :: lotar’zil

Thanks :: nari

Time (abstract noun) :: 'oi

Town :: weigh

Trail (noun) / Walking Path (noun) :: r'diinal

Troll :: olog

Truth :: aster

Unexpectedly incorrect / Wrong (adjective only) :: xusst

Vengeance :: vharc

Village :: weigh

Ward (verb or noun, related to "shield" or "protect") :: vharr

Water :: larin

Welcome :: weinro

Wet :: bij'ee

What (interrogative) :: vel'bol

When (interrogative) :: vel'oi

Where (interrogative) :: vel'klar

Which (interrogative, requesting specificity or detail) :: vel'bolen

Who (interrogative) :: vel'üss

Why (interrogative) :: vel'sanrr

You (plural or informal singular) :: sen

Your (formal or archaic) :: dosst

Tenses

In many respects, sequence-related or time-related tense indication for verbs is minimal bordering on nonexistent.

Fa'lain has a verb suffix to indicate a present tense verb that is happening outside the immediate presence of a communicating party, either -e or -en. Thus, the verb valm (to add) becomes valme in L'razua valme panír. (The halfling adds cheese.)

If the present tense verb occurs in the immediate presence of all communicating parties, even when the actor is neither the speaker nor the intended audience, no suffix is normally connected: L'razua valm panír. (The halfling adds cheese.)

Imperative mood, as a verb tense, sometimes uses the archaic -est suffix to emphasize urgency. Culturally, -est implies the demolishing indignance of a springtime avalanche; it is often dropped among peers or allies.

Fa'lain uses the verb tense -us or, rarely, -ukk, to signify past tense. Modern linguistic scholars consider the -ukk to be an indicator that this verb was adopted from Grundel in a time before the nations of Samakar and the Geldar Republic had fully established themselves. Thus, the verb inth (to make a plan) becomes inthus in Inthus l'weigh ronewak. (The village planned a festival.) However, feth (to prophesize) becomes fethukk in even the most casual comment that Hajura fethukk blynol maralen. (Grandparent predicted many storms.)

Fa'lain does have auxiliary verbs, placed in combination with more active verbs to emphasize a time range rather than a single moment. The term inbal, most often translated as "have" or "has", incorporates a range between a specifically stated boundary time in the sentence and a much vaguer boundary time which may be the start or the end of the continuity. For example, L'keiqiin inbal beldrous l'mux'sa (The dwarves have crafted the axe.) includes the underlying idea that the speaker does not know when the dwarves started work, but it is now complete.

Implying potential, shlu'ta (can) and the lack thereof in ne'shlu'ta (cannot) are sometimes used in imperative speech or writing. Outside of communications from or about authorities, usage of these auxiliary verbs has fallen out of fashion. They are most likely to be implied by tone rather than phrasing.

Fa'lain seldom contains a future tense variant of a verb. The few exceptions are highly irregular, rarely used, and almost certainly loaner words from other cultures. The term orn, an indicator of future reality sequence, is often translated into Minosh as the future tense auxiliary verb will. Strict reading of orn should include an emphatic determination to weight the path of future events, as if it better translates to shall.

Successor Languages

• Fa'lain Omat

Spoken by

• Samakarii

Common Phrases

"Good Morning" :: na'chubi
"You are welcome / You're welcome" :: Sen eru weinro
"Greetings" :: Veojur / Vendui' (formal or old-fashioned)
"I'm fine, thanks" / "I am fine, thanks" :: Mai jar hüm, nari

Phrases of distress or vexation:

{Not exactly translatable, but indicates significant indignance/anger} :: Vel'bol l'vith?!
{Not exactly translatable, but indicates extreme indignance/anger} :: Vel'bol l'vithin vith?!
{gardener's lament} :: Axsa rhoquen!
"Holy Mother of Storms and all her whacky boys" ::
"Motherless knot of a self-indulgent sunburn" ::
"Hairless runt of a motherless goat" ::

Numerals

0	ne'
1	uss
2	düi
3	slali
4	foil
5	huela
6	zy
7	blyn
8	iap
9	nau
10	sof
11	sofvalmuss
20	düof
21	düofvalmuss
100	soff'ghana
200	düisoff'ghana

Time measurement

6 seconds	zydradan
minute	klew'nor
moment	klew'ar
hour	liiko
daytime	tangoi
darktime	kaloi
noon to noon (one solar day)	di'umso
week	ekk
soon (within close future)	ulnin
season	anuloi
year	drasvoi
20 years	jurhoi
century	ravve
lifetime	xunoi

(( side tables to make:

• pronouns, divided by "current person" versus "past person" versus "not a person"



• prepositions and utility words such as bauth=about/in vicinity around (semi-precise), jal=all, jala=any, jaluss=anyone, 'zil=as, whol=for, ka=if, taga=than, nindel=that, gaer=there (vague/abstract)



• emotional context markers such as "the written/spoken version of the blank pleasant expression I would have on my face if I had to say this aloud face-to-face, that the reader may know how much disbelief to read into my words"

))