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  
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

Vocabulary

Agree :: echin   Am :: jar   Are :: eru   Arrive :: prachana   Bog :: Lotar’zil   Canyon :: aizai /aiˈzai/   Cheese :: panír   Come :: ana   City :: mar   Cloud :: aub /aub/   Dirt :: amzel   Dwarf (formal) :: keiqii /keiqˈi'i/ (literally: "rock person" or "stone person")   Dwarf (slang) :: trúvii /tryvˈi'i/ (literally: "sentient beard" or "beard-person")   Fine :: hüm   Forest :: mossgok /mossˈgoc/   Fortress :: Mar   Goblin :: mossgokii /mossˈgokˈi'i/   Good :: nai   Greet :: vei   Greetings :: veojur   Ground :: amzel   Halfling :: razua /raˈzua/ (literally "sea" or "ocean", any unfathomably huge body of water)   Hamlet :: weigh   Harpy :: aubii /aubi'i/   Human / Man / Woman :: aizairii /aiˈzaiˈri'i/   Kobold :: lotar'zilii   I ( indicating self ) :: mai   Lake :: duin   Marsh :: lotar’zil   Morning :: achubi   Of :: D’ (Example: Lotar’zil d’Roesor = Swamp of Sorrows)   Orc :: mabii /mabi'i/ (literally "people of grass" and probably a relic of past hostility)   Pest / Scavenger :: roqu' Pests / Scavengers :: roquen   Pond :: duin   Prairie :: aln /aln/   Rock/Stone :: keiq /keiq/   Shore :: zelin   Shoreline (literally: a body of water forming the indentation of a shoreline) :: la’lin   Signal :: omat   Soil :: amzel   Swamp :: lotar’zil   Thanks :: nari   Town :: weigh   Village :: weigh   Water :: larin   Welcome :: weinro   You :: sen
Successor Languages
Spoken by
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" ::


Cover image: by CB Ash