The Gachdak Language

Natively known as: Vem gæcdæk /ˈgæʧdæk/

Overview

Gachdak is the language spoken throughout The Realm. It was also the language of The Ancestor Civilization.

Pronunciation

There are no sounds in Gachdak that a native English speaker cannot pronounce. Gachdak has roughly the same vowels as English, but a smaller number of consonants. In Gachdak, some consonants can only be used at the start of a syllable, and others can only be used at the end. For example, /b/ can only be used at the start of a syllable and /p/ can only be used at the end. The stress in a word is always on the second-to-last syllable.

Spelling

Gachdak uses the same alphabet as English, but many of the spelling rules a different. The table below shows the pronunciation of Gachdak spelling.

Table of Letter Pronunciations

Spelling	Pronunciation
ð - start of syllable	“th” as in “the” or “thy”
ð - end of syllable	“th” as in “thought” or “thigh”
c	“ch” as in “child”
æ	"a" as in "cat" or "dad"
ii	“ee” as in “meet” or “feet”
i	“i” as in “bit” or “sit”
ee	“ay” as in “gate” or “late”
e	“e” as in “bet” or “let”
a	“uh” as in “gonna”
u	“uh” as in “put” or “soot”
uu	“ooh” as in “loot” or “boot”
o	“aw” as in “caught” or “taught”
aa	“ah” as in “father”

Grammar

Gachdak grammar has many differences from English, including word order and how nouns and verbs are related to each other. One important difference is Gachdak's heavy use of compound words and prefixes. Many Gachdak words can be derived by combining two other words, or by attaching a prefix to an existing word. For example, daaba (sword) and gæc (person) become gæcdaaba (guard).

If you encounter a Gachdak word and it is not listed in the dictionary, try searching for the root word, which will be the last syllable or two. If it's still not there, let us know so we can update the dictionary!

Detailed Grammar

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: b d g h j l m n s v ð ɹ

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m			n
Stop	b			d		g
Fricative		v	ð	s			h
Approximant				ɹ	j
Lateral approximant				l

Vowel inventory: iː uː æ ɑ ɔː ɛ ɜː ɪ ʊ ʌ

	Front	Central	Back
High	iː		uː
Near-high	ɪ		ʊ
Low-mid	ɛ	ɜː	ʌ ɔː
Near-low	æ
Low			ɑ

Syllable structure: CV(C)
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Sound changes (in order of application):

• n → ŋ / _g
• n → m / _b
• b → p / _C
• b → p / _#
• d → t / _C
• d → t / _#
• g → k / _C
• g → k / _#
• v → f / _C
• v → f / _#
• s → ʧ / _C
• s → ʧ / _#
• ð → θ / _C
• ð → θ / _#
• h → ∅ / _C
• h → ∅ / _#

Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
θ	ð
j	y
ʧ	c
ɹ	r
ŋ	n
iː	ii
ɪ	i
ɜː	ee
ɛ	e
ʌ	a
ʊ	u
uː	uu
ɔː	o
ɑ	aa

---

Grammar

Main word order: Subject Object (Prepositional phrase) Verb. “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary the door with a key opened.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions

Nouns

Prefixes are applied to nouns in a specific order in Gatchdak. The first prefix applied is attached to the root,
the second prefix is attached before the first, and so on. The order of prefixes is:

Case: How the noun relates to the verb in the sentence
Possession: Whether the noun belongs to another entity
Number: Whether the noun is singular or plural
Nouns form plural with prefix:

Plural

Prefix ðɪn- ðinnif /ˈðɪnnɪf/ villages

Case and location

Gatchdak has locative verbs which indicate location or movement, and
non-locative verbs which do not. In the case of locative verbs, locative prefixes
are used to indicate the direction or location of the action. Three special prefixes,
TO, FROM, and AT are used to indicate case for non-locative verbs.
When both a direct and indirect object are present in a phrase with a non-locative verb, the
FROM prefix will be used for the direct object. When there is only a direct object, the AT prefix
will be used. The TO prefix is always used for indirect objects.

Nominative	No affix nif /nɪf/ village (doing the verb)
Towards (dative)	Prefix lɛv- lefnif /ˈlɛfnɪf/ towards or into a village
At (accusative)	Prefix dɛn- dennif /ˈdɛnnɪf/ at or in a village
From (accusative)	Prefix nɛk- neknif /ˈnɛknɪf/ from a village
Near	Prefix lɑ- laanif /ˈlɑnɪf/ near or around a village
Over	Prefix jɜː- yeenif /ˈjɜːnɪf/ over a village
Under	Prefix sæd- sætnif /ˈsætnɪf/ under a village

Articles

Definite	vem /vɛm/ the
Indefinite	ran /ɹʌŋ/ a, some

Uses of definite article that differ from English:

• Used to talk about countable nouns in general: English’s ‘I like cats’ would translate to ‘I like the cats’
• Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
• Used for languages: ‘The English’
• Used with place names: ‘The London’

Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:

• Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’

Pronouns

	Nominative	Accusative
1st singular	ruu /ɹuː/ I	lee /lɜː/ me
2nd singular	duuf /duːf/ you	ðif /ðɪf/ you
3rd singular masc	yen /jɛn/ he	nin /nɪn/ him
3rd singular fem	raa /ɹɑ/ she	vut /vʊt/ her
1st plural	ðæp /ðæp/ we	yæch /jæʧ/ us
2nd plural	vim /vɪm/ you all	mæk /mæk/ you all
3rd plural	ler /lɛɹ/ they, it	lun /lʊn/ them, it

Possessive determiners

1st singular	Prefix ðɛt- ðetræn /ˈðɛtræn/ my friend
2nd singular	Prefix gæg- gækræn /ˈgækræn/ your friend
3rd singular masc	Prefix lɔː- loræn /ˈlɔːræn/ his friend
3rd singular fem	Prefix bʊv- bufræn /ˈbʊfræn/ her friend
1st plural	Prefix ɹæɹ- rærræn /ˈɹæɹræn/ our friend
2nd plural	Prefix gæn- gænræn /ˈgænræn/ your (pl) friend
3rd plural	Prefix bæl- bælræn /ˈbælræn/ their friend

Verbs

Gatchdak applies prefixes to verbs in a specific order. First the tense is applied, adjacent to the root,
and then the aspect is applied before the tense, then the mood is applied before the aspect (if applicable).
Verb tense is used to indicate when in time an action occurred.

Present	No affix dæk /dæk/ talk
Past	Prefix jʊn- yundæk /ˈjʊndæk/ talked
Remote past	Prefix dɪn- dindæk /ˈdɪndæk/ talked (long ago)
Future	Prefix ɹɪl- rildæk /ˈɹɪldæk/ will talk

Note: the "remote past" tense is generally used to tell stories and legends about the distant past.
However, many often slip into it when recounting a dramatic tale of a raid or an expedition, and
some dramatic personalities will use it to relate mundane anecdotes about their lives.

Aspect

Verb aspect is used to demonstrate whether an action was a one-time event, or whether it is ongoing.
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.
The ‘habitual’ aspect refers to actions that happen habitually, such as I learn (something new every day), as
opposed to actions that happen once (I learned something).

Progressive	Prefix ɹæl- rældæk /ˈɹældæk/ is talking
Habitual	Prefix nʊd- nutdæk /ˈnʊtdæk/ talks

Mood

A verb's mood is used to indicate whether an action is a wish, a command, or a possibillity.

Indicative	No affix dæk /dæk/ talk
Conditional	Prefix mɛp- mepdæk /ˈmɛpdæk/ would talk
Imperative	Prefix jɛl- yeldæk /ˈjɛldæk/ talk! (command)

Causality

Gatchdak uses a prefix to indicate causality in verbs. Where English speakers might say, "in order to" or
"so that", Gatchdak indicates intent with a prefix.

Causal

Prefix ɹɑ- raadæk /ˈɹɑdæk/ in order to talk

States of being

Gatchdak uses prefixes to equate nouns to adjectives ("the dog is wet"), nouns to nouns
("he is a soldier") and feelings ("he is happy")

Existential

Prefix nʊt- nutyum /ˈnʊtjʊm/ is big

Existential

Prefix sɪm- simræn /ˈsɪmræn/ is a friend

Emotional

Prefix dɛɹ- dersoma /dɛɹˈsɔːmʌ/ is happy

Comparisons and Superlatives

Often, two nouns and an adjective exist in a relationship together: "he is bigger than her"
or "it is as big as a cow".
Gatchdak uses prefixes to indicate comparisons:

Equative	Prefix ðiː- ðiiyum /ˈðiːjʊm/ as big
Comparitive	Prefix hɔː- hoyum /ˈhɔːjʊm/ bigger
Superlative	Prefix vʊb- vupyum /ˈvʊpjʊm/ biggest

In addition, a particle will appear between the two nouns being compared:

Comparitive

ræt /ɹæt/ than

Numbers

Gatchdak has a base-20 number system:
1 - ron
2 - laap
3 - væch
4 - naa
5 - saa
6 - mee
7 - vaa
8 - væmba
9 - heera
10 - væda
11 - ronmæch
12 - laapmæch
13 - væchmæch
14 - naamæch
15 - saamæch
16 - meemæch
17 - vaamæch
18 - væmbamæch
19 - heeramæch
20 - sipvæda
21 - ron bil sipvæda "one and twenty"
30 - væda bil sipvæda "ten and twenty"
32 - laapmæch bil sipvæda "twelve and twenty"
40 - sipvædalaap
100 - duuða
200 - duuðalaap "hundred-two"
201 - ron bil duuðalaap “one and hundred-two”
231 - ronmæch bil sipvæda bil duuðalaap “eleven and twenty and hundred-two”
8000 - væmbasipduuða “eight-thousand”

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Prefix bæn-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix dɛp-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix bɪk-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix nɛp-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix dæl-
Noun to verb = Prefix mɛf-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix lɪs-
Tending to = Prefix bɛt-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix gæf-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix gɛp-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix bɛf-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix bæn-
Diminutive = Prefix mɛk-
Augmentative = Prefix sɪp-
Is animal = Prefix dɛf-
Is human = Prefix gæs-
Help = Prefix jæn-
Teen = Suffix -mæs
Receiver of = Prefix dʊj-
Is moving = Prefix jæd-
Neg = Prefix dil-

Dictionary

2100 Words.

Spoken by

• The Ancestor Civilization
• The Gachnif People

Common Female Names

• Yænna (song)
• Siiya (pretty)
• Lora (kind)

Common Male Names

• Miila (sun)
• Vaal (sky)
• Deemac (clever)

Common Unisex Names

• Ðiiva (lucky)
• Naava (moon)

Uncommon Names
See Naming Conventions