Q’uñi

Geographical Distribution

Q’uñi developed organically to link the isolated and defiant ice people in their mountain valley with the entrepreneurial frontiersmen labouring in the green valley below them.

Syntax

Q’uñi uses short, simple phrases with limited grammatical complexity to account for the vastly different thought processes between those living in the highland and bottom forest. For example, verbs may not conjugate and sentences rely on word order and tone to convey meaning.
The language focuses on concepts of weather, such as cold, light, dark, heat and air. Metaphors involving ice, snow, and nature are prevalent.

Vocabulary

1. Cold/Death: Shii-haaa (elongated, breathy and falling in pitch)
2. Life/Warmth: La-wehh (soft and rising in pitch)
3. Peace/Calm: Saa-lun (slow and whispered)
4. Danger/Enemy: Tss-kreeh (sharp with an icy clicking sound)
5. Friend/Ally: Hloo-ayn (soft, melodic and tonal)

Phonetics

The language is spoken with a soft, airy quality. It relies on elongated vowels (e.g. aa, ee, oo) with soft consonants in between. They are often sustained and slightly modulated to convey different meanings; in a hauntingly sing-song quality.
Gentle tongue-clicks (tsk), glottal stops and faint hisses are incorporated from Iskirip; and are easier for outsiders to speak. Meaning can subtly shift depending on the pitch of certain words. Consonants are soft and flowing, avoiding harsh stops. Common sounds include:

• S, L, H, Y, W and N
• Occasional K or T sounds, lightly spoken

Spoken by

• Ice People

Common Phrases

1. “We come in peace”
   • Hloo-ayn saa-lun hhaa
     (Rising and falling breathy tones with a melodic ending)
2. “The enemy approaches”
   • Tss-kreeh haa-sen
     (Quick and tense sounds)
3. “Help us survive”
   • La-wehh suu-laii
     (Soft, flowing and pleading tones)
4. “Light is fading”
   • La-wehh saa-yen krr-ii
     (Wistful, descending pitch)