Aramteskan Grammar
Autor: Lauren Gawne
MS-Datum: 02-04-2021
FL-Datum: 10-01-2021
FL-Nummer: FL-000079-00
Zitat: Gawne, Lauren. 2021. “Aramteskan Grammar”
FL-000079-00, Fiat Lingua,
2021.
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Aramteskan Grammar
Lauren Gawne
[email protected]
February 2021
Überblick
This document provides an overview of the grammar of the Aramteskan language, erstellt
by Lauren Gawne for P.M. Freestone’s Shadowscent series (
Crown of
Smoke
). This represents the state of completed work on the grammar at the conclusion of
these two books. This is by no means a complete or detailed grammar, and some sections
may contain more information than others.
&
The Darkest Bloom
I have included background on the motivations for choices made, an overview of the
historical developments built into the language, and description of the grammatical features
that have been mapped out, along with examples. I also include a glossed translation of the
quest that appears in
, and the current lexicon.
The Darkest Bloom
Please be warned, this document contains spoilers for both books of the Shadowscent
series.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Überblick
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Script
Geschichte
Dialect variation in Aramteskan
Other languages of Aramtesh
Phonologie
Vowels
Consonants
Phonotactics
Stress
Parts of Speech
Word order
Noun phrase
Structure
Pronouns
Proper nouns
Case
Postpositions
Quantifiers
1
1
3
3
3
3
4
4
5
6
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
10
10
10
11
11
12
12
14
14
14
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
16
16
16
17
18
21
Aramteskan Grammar
Number
Determiners
Adjectives
Nominalisation
Verb Phrase
Structure
Copulas
Lexical verbs
Tense
Aspect
Mood
Modal particles
Ursache
Verb negation
Adverbs
Clause Structure
Interrogatives
Reported speech
Comparatives
Conjunctions
Common phrases
Glossed text – Quest
Wordlist
2
Aramteskan Grammar
Introduction
Aramteskan is the language of the Empire of Aramtesh. It is an a priori constructed language,
meaning that it is not created to emulate any particular language that already exists. It
exhibits ‘weak naturalism’, in that it mostly conforms to what we know about the typology of
natural human languages, but occasionally diverges from this typology.
In keeping with the world of Shadowscent, a focus on scent is a key motif in this
language, showing up in both grammatical and semantic features. Other parts of the
language also draw inspiration from the secondary fantasy world of Shadowscent, and these
are noted throughout.
Script
Aramteskan was created with the aim that it be easy to read for English speakers, using the
Latin alphabet. I have deliberately avoided using diacritics or other markings. Aramteskan
mostly exists in the written medium and so I have avoided using sounds beyond English
phonology, since people will encounter the language as written rather than spoken.
An initial iteration of a constructed script was created, but does not make an
appearance in the books. The script consists of a feature-based syllabary. It was designed to
be written either with a stylus in clay or with a quill on parchment, and was used to help the
author think about the mechanics of document presentation in the books.
Geschichte
Aramteskan was created to mirror the history of Aramtesh as described in the Shadowscent
Bücher. There is an older version of the language, Old Aramteskan, from around 500-700
Jahre zuvor. This variety reflects the older substrate religion of Asmudtag, and there is less of a
focus on scent. The development of the language represents both general language change
over half a millennium, as well as changes that reflect changing cultural priorities in the
language, z.B. an emergence of a focus on gender in the pronominal system, and a move away
from a base-six to a base-five counting system.
The comprehensibility difference between Old Aramteskan and the current variety is
about that between Middle and Modern English.
Dialect variation in Aramteskan
Aramtesh is a vast empire and there are regional differences in the language. As a
non-exhaustive summary of some of the variation: The Hagmiri variety is the most
conservative in regard to vowel pronunciation. Trel is the only province where word initial /i/
is found, particularly in personal names (z.B. Iddo, Isinnon). Aphorai is distinct for the
presence of /ph/ as a distinct phoneme.
There are also observable social group differences in the novels, and these are also
reflected in dialects, mostly at the level of prosodic features.
Other languages of Aramtesh
There are two other named languages in these books; Lautis and the unnamed language of
Doskai.
Lautis
This is the language spoken in Lapis Lautis, a small island on the east coast of Aramtesh. Es ist
3
Aramteskan Grammar
purportedly the language spoken in a place far across the eastern oceans. A phonology was
created for this language. The only name that appears in these books that is from this
language, other than Lapis Lautis, is that of Atrolos, the apothecary in Lautis.
Doskai
The language of the lost god Doskai is mentioned in the Shadowscent books, but has no
Name. A phonology for this language was created, but no words appear in the book. Dort
are some loanwords from this language into Aramteskan. These loans are observable thanks
to unusual phonological features. One is the marginal loan phoneme /ph/, found in a handful
of fossilised lexical items in the Aphorain dialect. Another is word medial [th], welche
otherwise only occurs as a word final variant of [t].
Phonologie
Below is an overview of the phonology of the language, including detail regarding the sound
changes between Old Aramteskan and the current variety.
Vowels
There are five monophthong vowels, and three diphthongs. There are no length distinctions.
Sound
Englisch
Notes
An
e
Ich
o
u
ai
aw
IA
b
An
t or b
ut More like ‘b
An
t’ word initial and more like ‘b
ut
’ word final.
b
e
t
t
Ich
b
b
o
t
b
oo
t
d
ay
h
ow
h
ere
note: this pronunciation guide was created for an Australian English speaker.
Old Aramteskan
The vowels in this variety included an /y/, which became /i/ in the current variety. Vowels
not listed here did not undergo a change.
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Aramteskan Grammar
Old A
Current A
e
Ich
und
ɑ
An
o
An
e
Ich
o
ai
aw
Example
akrɛv -> akraw ‘egg’
dil -> del ‘silver’
zyg -> zig ‘coin’
agɑʒ -> agoz ‘seed’
kyrda -> kirdai ‘hair’
moba -> mawbai ‘big’
/a/ in the word initial positions did not change with the great vowel shift.
Consonants
There are 16 consonants, with one consonant allomorph. I’ve chosen written forms that will
be easiest to type:
Sound
English Written Notes
only in loanwords from the language of Doskai
Occurs at the end of words
P
pʰ
b
t
d
k
g
ich
s
z
ʃ
h
l
die
w
J
m
ist
P
at
ur
f
b
at
at
t
d
at
at
c
g
ap
th
in
at
s
ap
z
sh
ip
h
at
ap
l
at
die
w
ag
und
ap
m
at
ist
ap
P
ph
b
t
d
k
g
th
s
z
sh
h
l
die
w
und
m
ist
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Aramteskan Grammar
Presented as an IPA chart, but using the orthography from the book:
Bilabial Labiode
ntal
Interden
tal
Stop
p b
Fricative
(ph)
[th]
Nasal
Liquid
Trill
Glide
m
w
Alveolar Palatal Velar Glotta
k g
l
h
t d
s z
ist
l
die
sh
und
As a general tendency, /z/ isn’t used in modern word coinages, mostly kept in older words
wie
.
minzur
Old Aramteskan
The older variety included a number of sounds that aren’t in the modern variety, with many
of them either disappearing or becoming sounds currently in the languages
Presented as an IPA inventory:
Bilabial Labiode
Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvula Glotta
ntal
v
t d
s z
ist
l
die
Stop
p b
Fricative
Nasal
Liquid
Trill
Glide
m
)
w
(
k g
Q
(
)
ɢ
ʃ
ʒ
ʁ
l
ʔ
h
und
The historical change processes can be summarised as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
/ʒ/ collapsed into /z/
/ʔ/ > /ø/ syllable final and before /r/
/ʔ/ > /k/ syllable initial
/v/ > /w/
/ʁ/ > /y/
/ɢ/ > /k/
/h/ was more voiced, stronger in more positions, possibly fully voiced in an earlier
language
Phonotactics
This section outlines the way different sounds go together to make syllables and words. Der
initial phonotactic setup was created based on an existing set of character and place names.
There is a syllable type that is only used for word initial syllables, and then a more
common syllable type.
6
Aramteskan Grammar
Syllable type one is a vowel only syllable of either /a/ or /e/, used at the start of words.
V
An
e
This syllable type doesn’t occur on grammatical function words, which tend to be a single
syllable
Syllable type two is the more common syllable template:
C(C)V(C)
Das heißt, there’s always a consonant, and a vowel, and a strong preference for a final
consonant, although this is not obligatory. Sometimes there are two consonants at the start,
but there’s only a limited set of options, which I’ve indicated in brackets in the first column.
I’ve listed all consonants that can exist in each slot.
V
An
e
Ich
o
u
ai
aw
(C)
P
b
th
d
k
g
s
z
sh
l
die
m
ist
C(C)
P(die)
b
t(die)
d
k(die)
g
s(die,ist,m)
z
sh(die,ist)
h
l
die
w
und
m
ist
– There are limited types of C2 consonants that can go with C1:
– /p, t, k/ can only be followed by /r/
– /s/ can only be followed by /r, ist, m/
– /sh/ can only be followed by /r, n/
Additional phonotactic constraints:
– /ai/ and /aw/ can only be followed nothing, or a by /h/ in the final syllable of a
multisyllable word
– The /th/ sounds only occur at the end of a word, replacing /t/
– I’ve tried to mostly keep /y/ and /w/ as syllable initial
– A syllable will generally only have the same sound at the beginning and the end if it’s
a stop or liquid, z.B. /d, t, P, b, k, g, Q, m, ist, die, l/ – although this is just a preference, eher
7
Aramteskan Grammar
than a hard and fast rule
Old Aramteskan
Some historical features of phonotactics include:
– Stop-initial consonant clusters did not exist. where /p, t, k/ were in a CV with a vowel
the vowel weakened and disappeared. This happened after the glottal stop and uvular
fricative both moved to the uvula stop. Current forms like
newer coinages.
– clusters with /s, sh/ already existed in the Old Aramteskan
– /h/ was more voiced and occurred in more places
are therefore
parakesh
Stress
Stress is free, based on how English speakers find the words best to pronounce. A more
consistent stress system can be developed if this needs to become a spoken language.
Parts of Speech
In this document, nouns and verbs have the most detailed descriptions. I also have brief
sections on adjectives and adverbs, and a description of numbers. There are also function
word categories including conjunctions, quantifiers, and determiners. Glossing broadly
follows the Leipzig Glossing Conventions.
Word order
The sentence-level word order of the language is Subject Object Verb. Das heißt, the verb
comes after the nouns in the sentence. Some examples:
1.
2.
trol-dum
tek
pst-ipfv
1sg
‘I was sleeping.’
snaltep
sleep
akrol-yal-u
akrol.melonl-nmlz-acc
tek
1sg
‘I have tasted akrol melon.’
shin-dam
pres-perf
garet kan
eat
evid.other
Noun phrase
Below is an overview of the noun phrase in Aramteskan.
Structure
The structure of the noun phrase depends on whether the noun is a pronoun, proper noun or
common noun. When it is a pronoun or proper noun there is no additional content in the
noun phrase. When it is a common noun there are other features that can be included, im
following order:
Det Num/Quant
Noun
(Case) (Postp) Adj (AdjMod)
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Aramteskan Grammar
Pronouns
The pronominal system in Aramteskan includes distinctions for gender and number across
Erste, second and third person. The main innovation from Old Aramteskan to the current
form is the addition of gender.
When the plurals are used with a mixed gender group of humans (or animals or other
things with gender) then the general practice is to use the neutral. The plural can also act
associatively as well as strictly numerical (‘that and it’s related things’). Pronouns can
function as the only element in a noun phrase.
Single
F
etek
emet
N
tek
met
Plural
M
F
N
M
atek
emair
mair
amair
amet
emer
mer
amer
esmet
smet
asmet
esmer
smer
asmer
Erste
Zweite
Dritte
Old Aramteskan
The paradigm below is before the vowel shift. These then became no longer morphologically
transparent. There are distinctions for person and number, but no gender distinction.
Erste
Zweite
Dritte
Single
ma tik
mi tik
tik
smi
Plural
ma rid
rid
mi
rid
smi
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are built on the interrogative particle
regular pronouns for the following functions:
and used in places of
rom
larom
tawrom
purom
sarom
dairom
gorom
‘who’ (d.h. person nominal interrogative)
‘what’
‘when’
‘where’ (d.h. locative interrogative)
‘why’
‘how’ (i.e instrumental interrogative)
Proper nouns
Names of people and places function as the only element in a noun phrase.
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Aramteskan Grammar
Nicknames
There’s a phonological process whereby sounds attach to different syllables to make
nicknames:
Syllable structure
1. If first syllable is CVC you’re done
2. If first syllable is CV add first C from next syllable
Zum Beispiel.
Mirtan
Rakel
3. If the first syllable is CVh, add first C from next syllable Bahnik
Satmen
4.1 If the final sound is /t/ it becomes /th/
Nickname
Mir
Rak
Bahn
Sath
Days of the week
‘day’ is affixed to the names of gods (this ‘day’ is different to the word for sun
The word
mir
akrebok
refers specifically to a full rotation of the sun from morning to morning). Manche
mir
,
examples include:
Rikermir
Kaismapmir
Esikumir
Case
There are 5 cases, listed here, with examples below. Case is suffixed to the noun. It comes
after the nominaliser on nomininalised forms:
-ø
-lu
-zu
-go
-mai
Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive
Instrumental
(-o when word is g_#)
Postpositions
There are a handful of postpositions that can be used with nouns to indicate a spatial
relationship (or an abstract relationship, on analogy with a spatial relationship).
tir
miz
sir
in/on somewhere large/open/scent can waft and escape
inside something relatively small and contained, scent can’t escape
in/on something relatively small, but not contained
Quantifiers
These are a closed lexical set, with a subset able to be applied to adjectives to provide
superlative forms. These are also
mawbai
kik
‘many/much’
‘few/little’
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Aramteskan Grammar
Number
Pluralität
no overt plural marking, use number or ‘many’, ‘few’. default is mass because scent is not
countable.
Numeral system
The language has a base five numeral system.
3. bas
adig
rit
lu
erat
naw
‘zero’
‘one’
‘two’
‘three’
‘four’
‘five’
Higher values are created through combination. Below examples given in base five and then
base 10 in brackets:
4. adig lu
rit erat
naw bas
adig bas adig 101 (d.h. 51)
13 (d.h. 8)
24 (d.h. 14)
50 (d.h. 25)
Old Aramteskan originally had a base six counting system. The sixth numeral is now lexically
tied to the Shadow domain.
Ordinal numbers are formed with the suffix
, probably historically related to one of
-ir
the casemarkers meaning ‘in’. Where there was a vowel before, the suffix becomes
regardless of whether it is a plausible diphthong in the language.
,
-r
5. adigir
ritir
lur
rit eratir
naw basir
Erste
zweite
third
14th
25th
Determiners
Optional, three way proximity distinction with no number distinction:
6. han
‘this’
‘that’ (close enough to smell)
hab
‘that’ (too far to smell)
snai
Also used as the locationals, d.h. Hier, there.prox, there.dis. Distal also used for the definite
determiner in old Aramteskan stuff:
11
Aramteskan Grammar
doskai-go
7. snai
Das
doskai-gen
the fall of doskai
lit. that doskai’s fall
lugud
fall.nmlz
Determiners are only used in the current form for emphasis, so the phrasing in a more
modern form of the sentence in (7) is more likely to be:
8. doskai-go
doskai-gen
the fall of doskai
lit. doskai’s fall
lugud
fall.nmlz
Adjectives
Nouns and adjectives are not particularly distinct categories, nouns can be used to modify
other nouns, and adjectives can take on a nominal function when used without a noun. When
a quantifier is used with an adjective, the adjective comes after the quantifier.
Nominalisation
Nominalisation is a common process in Aramteskan. There is a general nominaliser:
9.
-pen
‘thing’
Additional to this there are other nominalising particles with more specific functions. Das ist
one of the biggest lexicon generating processes; nouns nominalised from scent-nouns, welche
are usually the unmarked nominal. This is particularly the case for inanimate nouns. Note
that sometimes the forms are grammaticalised and in the dictionary and not immediately
obvious
The suffix
subsequently modify another noun, or an adjective:
is used for object that has that scent, or other property, and can then
-ya
10. lirpa-ya
‘rose’ (lit. rose.scent-nmlz)
11. asmeb-ya
‘darkness’ (lit. dark-nmlz)
This nominaliser can also be used to make a verb into a noun, such as this playful name for
louse (standard name
, a historically reduced form of this process):
pit
12. tapat-ya
‘the biter’
louse
(lit. nmlz -a- -a- and object nmlz)
There is also a historical nominaliser
which occurs on words that are definitely fossilised:
-to,
12
Aramteskan Grammar
13. asmeb-to
‘The Darkness’ (lit. dar-nmlz)
The location nominaliser is
location that has that scent, or other property:
for a
-sa,
14. mishot-sa
‘banana plantation’
For animate nouns there is the person nominaliser
generating occupational nouns:
for a person. This is usually a way of
-la,
15. duk-la
tooth-pers.nmlz
‘dentist’
16. lutosh-la
royal.incense-pers.nmlz
‘a member of the royal family’
When used with the name of a particular person, it is an intensely personal way to talk about
another person:
17. Ashla
‘person who smells like Ash’
It can also be used about a group of people:
18. Apharala
‘people of Aphara’ / ‘Apharans’
And in some cases it is ritualised for particular referents, here the twin gods Tro and Zir:
19. Trozir-la
‘twins’
As with the scent nominaliser, it can be used with verbs. This gives the potential for multiple
pathways for lexicon creation.
20. tapat-la
‘the biter’
there are a number of less common nominalisers as well, which are no longer productive, Aber
existed at earlier stages in the language and may still appear in the lexicon.
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Aramteskan Grammar
Verb Phrase
Below is a brief summary of the verb phrase in Aramteskan.
Structure
The structure of the verb phrase can be summarised with this template:
[subj] [obj] (Neg) (Tense)-(Asp)
Root
Adverb Particle
Copulas
There is no person marking on copular verbs, and the same form is used for both equative
and existential functions. There is a formality distinction, with a high form used for deference
is social superious, and zero copular can be used in informal speech.
21. shobir (respect form)
(common form)
shop
The form of ‘become’ is a blend of ‘is’ and ‘do’. The Old Aramteskan form ‘shobdam’ shows
this origin more clearly.
‘become’
22. shodam
Copular verbs can take all tenses and aspect marking, as well as the causative prefix.
Lexical verbs
Lexical verbs take tense and aspect as prefixes.
Tense
Tense is marked before the verb. Aspect can suffix to the tense form. The future also has an
irrealis function.
23. trol
shin
Rai
past
gegenwärtig
future/irrealis
Aspect
To mark aspect, a reduced form of
tense form.
(‘do’) occurs before the main verb, suffixed to the
damsnok
24. dam perfective
kontinuierlich
concomitative (sehen
dum
pur
‘when’)
purom
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Aramteskan Grammar
Mood
The only mood marked on the lexical verb is the imperative. This is not an overtly marked
bilden, but a zero form of the main verb without any tense or aspect. There is a form of the
negation prefix for negative imperatives.
Modal particles
There are a series of post-verbal particles that are used for a range of modal functions,
including interrogative, epistemic and evidential functions.
25. rom
ral
Interrogative
Optative (usually used with the fut/irr)
pai
Dubitative epistemic
nal
kan
bith
Evidential (smell)
Evidential (other sense)
Reported speech (from bitos, ‘to say’, reanalysed as bit > bith)
The evidentials are optional, the more formal the speech the more likely they are to be there.
Evidentials were obligatory in Old Aramteskan. This means that you don’t mark evidence if
you aren’t certain, or if you are asking someone else.
Ursache
Most verbs which are intransitive and can be made transitive by adding an ‘a’ at the start.
The addition of this causative prefix to a transitive verb adds an additional argument:
26. tek
1sg
‘I was made to sleep.’
a-snaltep
caus-sleep
trol
pst
27. tek
1sg
‘I was made to taste akrol melon.’
akrol-yal-u
akrol.melonl-nmlz-acc
trol
pst
a-garet
caus-eat
Verb negation
Verb negation is done with a verb root prefix
28. be-
ba-
neg.
imperative negation
Note that there’s phonologically conditioning – before vowel-initial verbs the negative
prefixes becomes
bab-.
und
beb-
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Aramteskan Grammar
Adverbs
Adverbs are created from adjectives, using the suffix –
.
shan
29. rolkith-shan
bitter-adv
‘bitterly’
Some older adverb forms are now lexicalised with an
in meaning from the adjective (or the adjective is now lost) and are not broken down in
glossing:
suffix, and tend to be more divergent
-s
30. tas
‘well’ (
‘good’ ->
tash
‘well’ -> reduced to
tashshan
)
tas
This suffix ultimately derives from an Old Aramteskan lexical verb meaning to smell.
Clause Structure
Below is a brief overview of some key features of Aramteskan clause structure:
Negation
See the description in the verb phrase section above.
Interrogatives
Interrogatives are marked with the verb-final particle
rising intonation.
discussed above. They also show
rom
Reported speech
The reported speech particle
is no overt subject as the source of the reported speech then it’s hearsay. There is also the
verb of saying
or reference to future/hypothetical speech
, which is used for indirect reported speech, used in more official speech
bitos
is used with a subject to report a specific utterance, if there
bith
Comparatives
The comparative and superlative are formed using a particle that occurs after the second
element, equal phrases can be contrasted (z.B. noun phrases can be contrasted with noun
phrases).
31. get
gad
‘more’
‘most’
Conjunctions
There are two main conjunctions:
32. beg
edak
‘and’
‘but’
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Aramteskan Grammar
Common phrases
The most common way of marking departure is the phrase ‘scents keep you!’”
33. nulmur
scent
‘Scents keep you!'
smer
you.n.pl
delas ral
keep optative
17
Aramteskan Grammar
Glossed text – Quest
Below is the most extensive piece of Aramteskan translation done for the Shadowscent
Bücher. This is the full text of the document that Rakel and Ash find in the Library of the Lost.
The text is in Old Aramteskan, with a modern translation given. I give the full text in both,
then in English, and then a full interlinear gloss of the text. Note the sophistication of the
translation work into English where the couplets are rendered in English rhyme (which is a
facetious way of saying that I started with the quest text given to me in English but decided
to not try to emulate the rhyme). Endlich, I give some translation notes on particular
grammatical features for the interested reader.
Aramteskan
Old
asmibtaa kasmep-gaa delruʒ tyr pur traalripʒaal byt
Isykugaa adygyr moba kyktaa dem traalashobdaam zyg
Rykirgaa lednish pegmyt irahbalu pur traalnaalzen byt
aletʔeshlu dem taapesh big Tiraaʒyrgaa tudnekpen dem traalraaslek
Azirgaa dukres shybkidgaa huzkush myz pur traalhaakred byt
korelnaaz arer gulprutpen syr dem traaldonshyr
korelnaaz asmib big palek dem traaltregin byt
masaat asytaa amidak snalu masaat kiregtaa traalapaameʒ
izaarteg Asmudtegaa irehba dum rademsnaak
Modern Aramteskan
asmebto Kaismap-go dalyuz tir pur trol-repzal bith
Esikugo adigir mawbai kikto dam trol-a-shodam gan
Riker-go ladnesh pagmith erahbailu pur trol-nolzin bith
alatkash-lu trol-dam tapush beg Trozirgo tudnak-pen dam trol-roslak
Azered-go dukyas shibkedgo huzkush miz pur trol-hokyad bith
kralnoz arar galprut-pen sir dam trol-donshir
kralnoz asmeb beg pailak dam trol-tragen bith
maisoth asito amedaik snailu maisoth krato trol-apomaz
ezortag Asmudtago erahbai dum rai-damsnok
Englisch
When the darkness bloomed across Kishpak’s night
Esiku’s first children were turned to stone
When Raikur’s heart faced the eternal plight
The sky was devoured and the Twin’s lives sown
When Azer’s bones danced in the breath of blight
()All was rectified in equal measure
()All did serve the dark and light
Steam will end what smoke begun,
The will of Asmudtag be ever done.
18
Aramteskan Grammar
Interlinear Gloss
1.
asmibtaa kasmep-gaa
asmebto Kaismap-go
darkness Kaismap-gen night
When the darkness bloomed across Kishpak’s night
delruʒ tyr
dalyuz tir
in.open
pur
pur
concom
traalripʒaal
trol-repzal
pst.bloom
byt
RS
bith
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
moba
adygyr
Isykugaa
mawbai
adigir
Esikugo
Esiku-gen
many
Erste
Esiku’s first children were turned to stone
kyktaa dem
kikto
dam
child perf
traalashobdaam
trol-a-shodam
pst-caus-become
zyg
gan
stone
lednish
Rykirgaa
ladnesh
Riker-go
Riker’s
Herz
When Raikur’s heart faced the eternal plight
pegmyt
pagmith
plight
irahbalu
erahbailu
eternal-acc
pur
pur
conc
traalnaalzen
trol-nolzin
pst.nose.to
byt
bith
RS
taapesh
tapush
devour
aletʔeshlu
alatkash-lu
sky-acc
tudnekpen
tudnak-pen
live-nmlz
The sky was devoured and the Twin’s lives sown
dem
trol-dam
pst.perf
dem
dam
perf
traalraaslek
trol-roslak
pst-sow
dukres
shybkidgaa
dukyas shibkedgo
blight-gen
Knochen
Azirgaa
Azered-go
Azered-gen
pur
pur
conc
When Azer’s bones danced in the breath of blight
trol-hokyad
bith
traalhaakred byt
RS
pst-dance
big
beg
und
Tiraaʒyrgaa
Trozirgo
Twins-gen
huzkush
huzkush
breath
myz
miz
in.small
korelnaaz
kralnoz
alle
All was rectified in equal measure
arer
galprut-pen
gulprutpin
sir
arar
dam
equal measure-nmlz in.small.open perf
syr
dem traaldonshyr
trol-donshir
pst-rectify
asmib
korelnaaz
kralnoz
alle
All did serve the dark and light
asmeb
dark
beg
und
palek dem
big
pailak dam
perf
Licht
traaltregin
bith
RS
trol-tragen
pst-serve
byt
19
Aramteskan Grammar
8.
9.
amidak
amedaik
finish.fut
masaat asytaa
maisoth asito
cloud water.scent
traalapaameʒ
trol-a-pomaz
pst-cause.start
Steam will end what smoke begun,
snalu
snailu
that.acc
masaat
maisoth
cloud
kiregtaa
krato
dry.scent
izaarteg Asmudtegaa
ezortag Asmudtago
Asmudtag-gen
will
The will of Asmudtag be ever done.
irehba
erahbai
eternal
dum rademsnaak
dum rai-damsnok
fut-do
cont
Translation notes
This text is written in Old Aramteskan. Not only is the content of the manuscript difficult for
the average contemporary reader to access, but the script will be pre-reform, which makes it
even harder. To the modern reader, a traditional pronunciation will sound not unlike the
accent of a person from Hagmir (the Hagmiri dialect is the most phonologically
conservative).
“zig”
Line 2
Old Aramteskan ‘stone’ is
, but it is translated as
zig
undergone semantic shift and now is the unit of currency.
into the current variety.
gan
has
Zig
„…faced eternal plight…”
Line 3
The literal translation of ‘faced’ into Aramteskan is
(pst.nose.to).
, literally ‘nose-towards’
trolnolzin
Line 4
‘devour’
The word for ‘devour’
Aramteskan
, has the same root as the Alet ranges, full name in Old
taapesh
lit. ‘mountain sky biter’ (the mountains that bite the sky)
Asmatuk Alet Tupeshto
‘in the breath of’
Line 5
Translating something to do with breath should normally use the sense of ‘in’ that refers to
‘inside an open space’, giving a hint that ‘the breath of blight’ is something more confined, d.h.
that it is under the water.
– translating ‘steam’ and ‘smoke’
Line 8
The current Aramteskan words for ‘steam’
do with these compounds. Ash’s initial translation will probably be something like “clouds
will end what clouds begin”, and it will take someone with etymological insight to translate it
correctly as ‘steam’ and ‘smoke’. This is the old form of the word ‘cloud’, the current form is
marsat
, where it has undergone reanalysis with the
scent verbs.
on analogy to the shape of many
mar
that have nothing to
snokto)
and ‘smoke’ (
(prasito)
20
Aramteskan Grammar
Wordlist
Below is the current word list for Aramteskan. Each word includes a phonological
pronunciation that breaks the word into syllables. This wordlist was built in Toolbox and
then a dictionary output was created.
21
abek
Baidok-
Ein – An
abek Phon: /a-bek/ n. breast. Category: body.
adig
Adirun Phon: /a-di-run/ n. fourteenth month.
Phon: /a-dig/ num. eins. Category: numbers.
Category: months.
agoz Phon: /a-goz/ n. seed. Category: Pflanzen.
Akair Phon: /a-kair/ pn. Akair II, writer of
Cataclysms. Category: names, given
names. Anth: Esarik’s summary “fables of when
the younger gods first squabbled alongside kings”
akraw Phon: /a-kraw/ n. egg. Category: food,
animals.
akrebok Phon: /a-kre-bok/ n. sun.
Category: astronomy.
Akred Phon: /a-kred/ pn. Akred, a Chronicler in
the Library of the Lost. Category: names,
given names.
akrol Phon: /a-krol/ n. small desert melon.
Extremely bitter. Diuretic and laxative
effect if eaten. Category: Pflanzen.
Alak Phon: /a-lak/ pn. Zostar’s surname. Trelian.
Sehen: Zostar. Category: names, surnames.
alatkash Phon: /a-lat-kash/ n. sky.
Alet
Category: Umfeld.
Phon: /a-let/ pn. the Alet mountain ranges.
Category: places. Anth: Full name in Old
Aramteskan ‘Asmatuk Alet Tupeshto’ lit. Berg
sky biter (the mountains that bite the sky)
Ami
alob Phon: /a-lob/ n. dumplings filled with
cheese and herbs, steamed then fried.
Best with a spicy sauce. Category: food.
Phon: /a-mi/ pn. Ami, the youngest of the
library curator. Category: names, given
names.
Phon: /a-na/ pn. Rakel’s family name.
Sehen: Rakel; Hab. Category: names,
surnames.
Ana
Aphorai Phon: /a-fo-rai/ pn. the province of
Aphorai. Category: places. Aus: SL.
apran Phon: /a-pran/ n. tree (not log).
Category: Pflanzen.
Aramtesh Phon: /a-ram-tesh/ pn. country.
Category: places.
Aramteskan Phon: /a-ram-tes-kan/ pn. Die
language of Aramtesh.
arosmed Phon: /a-ros-med/ n. star.
Category: astronomy.
aseth Phon: /a-seth/ n. bird. Category: animals.
Ashradin Phon: /a-shra-din/ n. first month.
Category: months.
Ashradinoran Phon: /a-shra-di-no-ran/ pn.
1 • Shield to Prince Nisai.
2 • the name of a mythical warrior from
the ancient sagas. Sehen: Lasnod.
Category: names, given names, historisch
names.
Phon: /a-si/ n. Wasser.
Category: Umfeld.
asmaituk Phon: /a-smai-tuk/ n. Berg.
Category: Umfeld.
asmeb Phon: /a-smeb/ n. dark. Ant: pailak.
asi
Category: adjectives.
asmebto darkness.
Asmudtag Phon: /a-smud-tag/ pn. primordial deity.
Category: deities.
Atar Phon: /a-tar/ n. second month.
Category: months.
Atrolos Phon: /a-tro-los/ pn. Kreb Atrolos, an
apothecary in Lapis Lautus. Sehen: Kreb.
Category: names.
Awulsheg Phon: /a-wul-sheg/ pn. Awulsheg II.
First Emperor in the post-Accord era that
would come to subsequently be known as
The Great Bloom. Founder of the
imperial University at Ekasya.
Category: kings, names, historical names.
Azered Phon: /a-ze-red/ pn. goddess of death, Seelen
and prayer. Category: deities.
Azutrai Phon: /a-zu-trai/ pn. town in the far north
of the Aphorain desert, near the
borderlands of the Empire. Site of one of
the many recent skirmishes. Sehen: Aphorai.
Category: places.
B – b
ba-
Phon: /ba-/ Variant: bab-. pref. negation
form for imperatives. Category: grammar.
Baidok Phon: /bai-dok/ pn. family name of the
Eraz of Aphorai. Sehen: Malmud.
Category: names, surnames.
Aramteskan Glossary
1
Barden
Barden Phon: /bar-den/ pn. Rakel’s childhood
bith
friend. Sehen: Elok. Category: names, given
names.
baresh Phon: /ba-resh/ v.d. give. Category: verbs.
Phon: /bas/ num. zero. Category: numbers.
bas
bawtak Phon: /baw-tak/ adj. full.
be-
Category: adjectives.
Phon: /be-/ Variant: beb-. pref. negation.
Category: grammar.
Phon: /beg/ conj. und. Category: grammar.
beg
Belgith Phon: /Bel-gith/ pn. Belgith’s Canyon,
located south of Aphorai.
Category: places.
betos Phon: /be-tos/ v.t. sagen. Sehen: bith.
Category: verbs.
bikesh Phon: /bi-kesh/ v.i. stand. Category: verbs.
Edursha
Phon: /bith/ part. evidential particle
marking evidence from reported speech.
Either this form or the reported speech
lexical verb must be used. Sehen: betos.
Category: particles.
Bodko Phon: /bod-ko/ n. ball game involving
swiftly-executed throws and kicks.
Category: games.
bondek Phon: /bon-dek/ adj. round.
Category: adjectives.
Borenai Phon: /bo-re-nai/ n. thirteenth month.
Category: months.
botal Phon: /bo-tal/ v.i. to drown.
Category: verbs.
botir Phon: /bo-tir/ v.i. to have a strong odour.
Category: scent.
D – d
dahkai Phon: /dah-kai/ n. bulb that only blooms
Dedoya Phon: /de-do-ya/ pn. mountains far from
once a generation (every 25 years) on the
night of the Flower Moon.
Category: flowers, scent.
del
dainash Phon: /dai-nash/ v.t. kill. Category: verbs.
dairom Phon: /dai-rom/ pro. why.
Category: interrogative pronouns.
Daismai Phon: /dai-smai/ pn. Daismai, a lecture
series held in Ekasya. Named for Yorrek
Daismai. Sehen: Yorrek. Category: names.
dalkip Phon: /dal-kip/ v.i. sehen. Category: verbs.
Dallor Phon: /dal-lor/ pn. mythical Edurshai
Frau, beloved by the god Riker.
Sacrificed herself to save her girlfriend,
becoming the first tulda to be used as an
antivenom producer. Category: names,
given names.
dalnish Phon: /dal-nish/ v.i. die. Category: verbs.
dalyuz Phon: /dal-yuz/ n. night. Category: Zeit.
dam Phon: /dam/ aux. marks perfective aspect.
Sehen: damsnok. Category: grammar.
damsnok Phon: /dam-snok/ v.t. do. Category: verbs.
dawzun Phon: /daw-zun/ v.t. hear. Category: verbs.
Aphorai. Category: places.
Phon: /del/ n. silver. a ‘del zig’ is a silver
zig, a common denomination of the coin
of the realm. Sehen: zig.
delas Phon: /de-las/ v.t.. keep.
densari Phon: /den-sa-ri/ n. a place to rest.
Category: travel.
Phon: /dob/ n. neck. Category: body.
dob
donmor Phon: /don-mor/ n. eine Person.
donshir Phon: /don-shir/ v.t. fix, make right,
rectify. Category: verbs.
Doskai Phon: /dos-kai/ pn. the Lost God. God of
shadows. Category: deities.
Phon: /duk/ n. tooth. Category: body.
duk
dukyas Phon: /duk-yas/ n. Knochen. Category: body.
dum Phon: /dum/ aux. marks continuous aspect.
Sehen: dam. Category: grammar.
dusmek Phon: /du-smek/ n. horn.
Category: animals.
E – e
Ebos Phon: /e-bos/ n. poor Ebos was used to
replace Ash when a body was needed.
Category: names.
edak Phon: /e-dak/ conj. Aber. Category: grammar.
Edurshai Phon: /e-dur-shai/ pn. the province of
Edurshai. Category: places.
Aramteskan Glossary
2
ekad
ekad Phon: /e-kad/ n. dog. Category: animals.
Ekasya Phon: /e-kas-ya/ pn. Ekasya, the capital of
Aramtesh. Category: places.
ekribran Phon: /e-krib-ran/ n. bark. Sehen: ekrun.
Category: Pflanzen.
ekrun Phon: /e-krun/ n. skin. Category: body.
elab Phon: /e-la/ n. Weg. Category: Umfeld.
Elelsmish Phon: /e-lel-smish/ pn. Elelsmish, An
young tulda herder from Edurshai.
Nickname Mish. Sehen: Mish.
Category: given names.
Phon: /e-lok/ pn. Barden’s surname.
Aphorain. Sehen: Barden. Category: names,
surnames.
Elok
Emarpal Phon: /e-mar-pal/ pn. mythical city deep
into the borderlands beyond the Empire’s
edge, subject of an epic poem, the tragedy
The Fall of Emarpal. Category: places.
Emoran Phon: /e-mo-ran/ pn. first cycle
post-accord Emperor. Expanded and
refined the legal framework outlined in
The Founding Accord, recorded in
Emoran’s Law Code. ‘Emoran the
Lawmaker’. Category: kings, names,
historical names.
Enib Phon: /e-nib/ pn. main character from the
mythical text Enib’s Descent Into the
Underworld. Category: names, historisch
names.
Phon: /e-rat/ num. four. Category: numbers.
erat
gozlek-
Eraz
Phon: /e-raz/ n. regional administrator,
who rules on behalf of the Emperor.
Category: government.
Esarik Phon: /e-sa-rik/ pn. heir to the Mur Family,
one of the Five Families of the Trel
province. Sehen: Mur. Category: names,
given names.
Esiku Phon: /e-si-ku/ pn. goddess of birth,
motherhood, growth. Category: deities.
Esmez Phon: /e-smez/ pn. Council of Five
member. Hagmiri. Category: names, given
names.
Esmolkrai Phon: /e-smol-krai/ pn. Esmolkrai, Die
serpent constellation, who rises each
night.
Phon: /e-tar/ n. scent of the general trading
in a market. Category: trade.
etar
Etru
etarsa Phon: /e-tar-sa/ n. a market, a place which
smells like a market. Sehen: etar.
Category: places.
Phon: /e-tru/ pn. Etru the hunter.
Category: names, given names, historisch
names.
Phon: /e-zar/ n. the scent of blood.
Category: body.
ezar
ezarto Phon: /e-zar-to/ n. blood. Sehen: ezar.
Category: body.
G – g
gad
Phon: /gad/ comp. most, superlative form.
Sehen: get. Category: grammar.
Gaddul Phon: /gad-dul/ pn. veteran sergeant in
Aphorai’s palace guard. Category: names,
given names.
Gairak Phon: /gai-rak/ pn. Gairak, a small island in
an archipelago off the Losian coast,
famous for vanilla. Category: places.
Galen Phon: /ga-len/ 1 • n. fourth month.
2 • pn. Council of Five member. Trelian.
Category: months, names, given names.
Phon: /gan/ n. stone.
Category: Umfeld.
gan
garat Phon: /ga-rat/ v.t. eat. Category: verbs.
Garlag Phon: /gar-lag/ pn. Chamberlain of Nisai.
Category: names.
Gen
gatmar Phon: /gat-mar/ v.t. to smell something
deeply without knowing what it will
smell like; to inhale irresponsibly.
Category: verbs, smell.
Phon: /gen/ pn. village in the Losian
wastes near to several caves were
pre-Imperial scrolls have been uncovered.
Category: places.
Phon: /get/ comp. comparative form,
‘more’. Sehen: gad. Category: grammar.
get
gishto Phon: /gish-to/ n. Armut.
-go
Phon: /go/ suff. genitive case.
Category: grammar.
gorom Phon: /go-rom/ pro. Wie.
Category: interrogative pronouns.
gozlek Phon: /goz-lek/ n. claw. Category: animals.
Aramteskan Glossary
3
gukmar
gukmar Phon: /guk-mar/ v.t. to smell something
schlecht, often unintentionally, and then feel
disgust. Category: verbs, smell.
gulpru Phon: /gul-pru/ v.t. weigh, measure.
Category: verbs.
kik-
H – h
Hagmir Phon: /hagmir/ pn. Hagmir province, im
hukmar Phon: /huk-mar/ v.t. to smell something
mountains. Category: places. Aus:
Hagmir dialect.
Phon: /han/ det. this.
Category: determiners.
Phon: /hab/ det. Das (close enough to
smell). Category: determiners.
han
hab
Hatalia Phon: /ha-ta-lia/ n. eleventh month.
Category: months.
ICH – Ich
non-volitional, has a similar sense to
gakmar but doesn’t have to make you feel
as ill. Sehen: gukmar. Category: verbs,
smell.
Iddo Phon: /i-do/ pn. second Prince of
Isinnon Phon: /i-sin-non/ pn. high-ranking imperial
Aramtesh. Commander of the Imperial
Rangers. Nisai’s older brother. Trelian.
Sehen: Nisai; Kaidon. Category: names,
given names.
palace servant. Nisai’s personal valet.
Category: names, given names.
K – k
Kab
Phon: /kab/ pn. Kab, or ‘Old Kab’ An
fangless snake used in Edurshai to train
new diviners. Category: names.
Kaddash Phon: /kad-dash/ pn. Emperor of
Aramtesh. Fourth of that name. Jetzt
suffering from The Affliction.
Sehen: Kaidon. Category: names, given
names.
Kaidon Phon: /kai-don/ pn. current imperial
dynasty family name (Kaddash, Nisai,
Iddo etc). Sehen: Nisai; Kaddash; Iddo.
Category: names, surnames.
Kaismap Phon: /kais-map/ pn. god of foresight.
Kal
Category: deities.
Phon: /kal/ n. the name of the snowfox
constellation, one of the main signs in the
starwheel. Category: astronomy.
kalnuth Phon: /kal-nuth/ v.t. drink. Category: verbs.
kalyan Phon: /kal-yan/ v.i. swim. Category: verbs.
kan
Phon: /kan/ part. optional evidential
particle marking evidence from a sense
other than scent. Category: grammar.
kazzis Phon: /kaz-zis/ n. kazzis, mobath essence
turns to acid if heated with kazzis resin.
Category: minerals.
Kelruk Phon: /kel-ruk/ pn. ‘Old Man Kelruk’ aus
Barden and Rakel’s village, who grew
oranges. Category: given names.
Kesmai Phon: /kes-mai/ pn. title figure of Kesmai’s
Ki
ki
Betrayal, an ancient ballad.
Category: names, historical names.
Phon: /ki/ pn. Nisai’s official taster.
Category: names.
Phon: /ki/ n. copper, the metal. A ‘ki zig’ Ist
a copper zig, the smallest unit of currency
in Aramtesh. Sehen: zig.
kigtai Phon: /kigtai/ n. the scent of the kigtai tree,
which grows in the Hagmir mountains.
Sehen: kigtaito. Category: Pflanzen.
kigtaito Phon: /kig-tai-to/ n. the kigtai tree.
kik
Sehen: kigtai. Category: Pflanzen.
Phon: /kik/ quant. 1 • few.
adj. 1 • small. Ant: mawbai.
Category: quantifiers.
Aramteskan Glossary
4
kikto
kikto Phon: /kik-to/ adj. less. Sehen: kik; mawto.
Kilda Phon: /kil-da/ n. twelfth month.
Kip
Category: months.
Phon: /kip/ pn. Imperial Ranger, later
appointed emergency Shield to Nisai.
Losian. Sehen: Pawshir. Category: names,
given names.
kirdai Phon: /kir-dai/ n. hair (on head of humans).
Category: body. Aus: kyrda.
kishub Phon: /ki-shub/ n. mouth. Category: body.
Koltos Phon: /kol-tos/ pn. town in the foothills of
the Alet Mountains in Hagmir.
Sehen: Hagmir. Category: places.
kormak Phon: /kor-mak/ n. the scent of the
stimulating drink, usually served hot.
Comes from the terraced lower hills of
Hagmir. Sehen: kormakto. Category: food.
kormakto Phon: /kor-mak-to/ n. the beverage
kormak, from the hills of Hagmir.
Sehen: kormak. Category: food.
krag Phon: /krag-tak/ n. the smell of no
moisture. Sehen: kragtak. Category: scent.
kragtak Phon: /krag-tak/ adj. dry. Sehen: krag.
Category: adjectives.
loz-
kral
Phon: /kral/ n. the scent of leather.
Category: scent.
kralnoz Phon: /kral-nog/ quant. alle.
Category: quantifiers.
kralto Phon: /kral-to/ n. leather.
Category: materials.
Kreb Phon: /kreb/ pn. given name of Kreb
Atrolos, an apothecary in Lapis Lautus.
Sehen: Atrolos. Category: names.
Krilmair Phon: /kril-mair/ n. volatile, extremely
flammable oil. Once it ignites, it is
virtually impossible to extinguish (Wasser
has no effect) before it has all been
consumed. Named after its creator, WHO
never got to see the success of his
creation, having accidentally burned
down his workshop in the oil’s
manufacture, with him inside.
Category: minerals.
Phon: /krin/ n. the smell of fish.
Category: scent.
krin
krinto Phon: /krin-to/ n. fish. Category: animals.
Phon: /kro/ n. Kaismap’s moon. Smaller,
Kro
further away, longer months.
Sehen: Shokan. Category: astronomy.
L – l
-la
Phon: /la/ suff. 1 • person nominaliser.
2 • affectionate nickname suffix used with
closest people. Category: grammar.
ladnesh Phon: /lad-nesh/ n. Herz. Category: body.
laguben Phon: /la-gu-ben/ n. refers to the
spectacular fall from good grace,
originally referred to the fall of Doskai,
which is why it has a regularised form
rather than just a productive use of the
nominaliser. Sehen: Doskai.
Lapis Lautus Phon: /la-pis lau-tus/ pn. offshore
principality and smuggler’s haven, built
by merchant princes from across the sea.
Category: places. Aus: LL.
larom Phon: /la-rom/ pro. WHO.
Category: interrogative pronouns.
latosh Phon: /la-tosh/ n. tongue. Category: body.
Laznod Phon: /laz-nod/ pn. Ash’s surname.
Leb
Sehen: Ashradinoran. Category: names,
surnames.
Phon: /leb/ pn. farmer who gets shot while
attempting to raid the royal caravan.
Category: names.
Lil
Phon: /lil/ pn. Rakel’s horse, Lil.
Sehen: Lilaria. Category: names.
Lilaria Phon: /li-la-ria/ 2 • pn. mythical demons.
1 • pn. Rakel’s horse, more commonly
known as Lil. Category: names, given
names.
Linod Phon: /li-nod/ n. Created Linod’s Elixir,
which has a calmative effect.
lirpa Phon: /lir-pa/ n. the scent of rose.
Category: scent.
lirpaya Phon: /lir-pa-ya/ n. the flowers of the rose
plant. Category: flowers.
lo-daiyish Phon: /lo dai-yish/ n. unarmed combat
Das
style from Los. Category: military.
Phon: /los/ pn. Los province.
Category: places.
Lostras Phon: /los-tras/ pn. regional capitol of Los.
loz
Category: places.
Phon: /loz/ n. the scent of jasmine.
Sehen: loz. Category: scent.
Aramteskan Glossary
5
Lozanak
Lozanak Phon: /lo-za-nak/ pn. a female soldier who
used to serve under Rakel’s father’s
command. Category: names, given
names.
loztak Phon: /loztak/ adj. white. Sehen: loz.
Category: colour.
lozto Phon: /lozto/ n. jasmine. Sehen: loz.
Category: Pflanzen.
Phon: /lo/ suff. accusative case.
Category: grammar.
Phon: /lu/ num. three. Category: numbers.
-lu
lu
nip-
Luksmes Phon: /luk-smes/ n. eighth month.
Category: months.
lutosh Phon: /lu-tosh/ n. the scent of imperial
incense, known colloquially as Dragon’s
Blood. Category: incense.
lutoshsa Phon: /lu-tosh-sa/ n. imperial palace, Die
Luz
place that smells like Dragon’s Blood.
Sehen: lutosh. Category: incense.
Phon: /luz/ pn. First name of Zakkurus.
Sehen: Zakkurus. Category: names, given
names.
M – m
Phon: /mai/ n. ash(es). Category: burning.
mai
-mai Phon: /mai/ suff. instrumental case.
Category: grammar.
mair Phon: /mair/ pro. first person plural.
Category: pronouns.
Malmud Phon: /mal-mud/ pn. given name of the
Eraz of Aphorai. Sehen: Baidok.
Category: names, given names.
marsat Phon: /mar-sat/ n. cloud. originally maʔsɑt,
then masat, pronounced maisoth in the
modern form Category: weather.
matak Phon: /ma-tak/ adj. schwarz (colour).
Category: colour.
mawbai Phon: /maw-bai/ quant. 1 • many.
2 • much.
adj. 1 • big. Ant: kik. Category: quantifiers.
mawbai tulum adv. a long time.
Sehen: mawtulum. Category: Zeit.
mawto Phon: /maw-to/ adj. more. Sehen: mawbai;
kikto.
Maz
mawtulum Phon: /maw-tu-lum/ adv. forever.
Sehen: mawbai tulum. Category: Zeit.
Phon: /maz/ pn. ‘Old Maz’, one of the
oldest people in Rakel’s village.
Category: names.
Phon: /mer/ pro. second person plural.
Category: pronouns.
mer
met
Phon: /met/ pro. second person singular.
Category: pronouns.
Mibtahnia Phon: /mib-tah-nia/ n. ninth month.
Category: months.
Midlosh Phon: /mid-losh/ pn. the Midlosh Sea, ab
the coast of Los Province. Sehen: Das.
Category: places.
Mirtan Phon: /mir-tan/ n. fifth month, also the
name of Barden’s sister.
Category: months, names, given names.
Mish Phon: /mish/ pn. nickname of Elelsmish, An
young tulda herder from Edurshai.
Sehen: Elelsmish.
mishot Phon: /mi-shot/ n. banana. Category: fruits.
miz
Phon: /miz/ postp. inside something
relatively small and contained, wo
scent can’t escape. Category: postposition.
mobath Phon: /mo-bath/ n. mobath essence turns
to acid if heated with kazzis resin.
Category: minerals.
Mulreth Phon: /mul-reth/ pn. Emperor Mulreth, von
the Mulreth Saga.
Mur Phon: /mur/ pn. family name of Esarik.
Sehen: Esarik. Category: names, surnames.
muzdai Phon: /muz-dai/ n. feather.
Category: animals.
N – ist
nal
Phon: /nal/ part. optional evidential
particle marking evidence from scent.
Category: grammar.
nalkin Phon: /nal-kin/ n. nose. Category: body.
naw Phon: /naw/ num. five. Category: numbers.
Aramteskan Glossary
nelmar Phon: /nelmar/ v.t. to smell something
faintly, often on a breeze. Category: verbs.
Phon: /nip/ n. eye. Category: body.
nip
6
Nisai
Nisai Phon: /ni-sai/ pn. first Prince of Aramtesh.
Imperial heir. Aphorain. Sehen: Kaidon.
Category: names, given names.
Normek Phon: /nor-mek/ pn. the Normek Ocean.
Category: places.
nosnar Phon: /nos-nar/ v.t. to smell something
slowly for a long time because it has a
pleasant smell, such as burying one’s nose
in a bouquet of flowers. Category: verbs,
smell.
ral-
Nossuk Phon: /nos-suk/ pn. body of water off the
coast of Edurshai Province.
Category: places.
nulmar Phon: /nul-mar/ v.t. to smell, the general
verb for smelling. Category: verbs, smell.
nulmur Phon: /nul-mur/ n. the general noun for
‘scent’. Category: scent.
P – P
pagmith Phon: /pag-mith/ n. trouble, plight.
pai
Category: verbs.
Phon: /pai/ part. optional epistemic particle
marking uncertainty. Category: grammar.
pailak Phon: /pailak/ adj. Licht, bright,
illuminated. Category: adjectives.
Ant: asmeb.
pailud Phon: /pai-lud/ v.i. sit. Category: verbs.
paiton Phon: /pai-tan/ v.t. know (facts).
Category: verbs.
pen
Pawshir Phon: /paw-shir/ pn. Kip’s surname.
Losian. Sehen: Kip. Category: names,
surnames.
Phon: /pen/ nmlz. nominalising suffix.
Category: suffixes.
Phon: /pi/ n. the smell of new grass and
leaves growing. The scent of early spring.
Sehen: pito; pitak. Category: scent.
Phon: /pit/ n. louse. Category: animals.
pit
pitak Phon: /pi-tak/ adj. grün (colour). Sehen: pi.
pi
pito
Category: colour.
Phon: /pi-to/ n. fresh green buds on a tree
or new blades of grass. Sehen: pi.
Category: Pflanzen.
piyug Phon: /pi-yug/ n. leaf. Category: Pflanzen.
pomaz Phon: /po-maz/ v.i. start, begin.
Category: verbs.
pra
Phon: /pra/ adj. heiß, of water.
Category: adjectives.
Pragil Phon: /pra-gil/ n. Name. Category: names.
pran Phon: /pran/ n. the scent of saffron.
Sehen: prantak; pranya. Category: scent.
prantak Phon: /pran-tak/ adj. yellow. Sehen: pran.
Category: colour.
pranya Phon: /pran-ya/ n. saffron crocus.
Sehen: pran. Category: flowers.
prasito Phon: /pra-si-to/ n. steam.
prel
pris
Category: Umfeld.
Phon: /prel/ n. tail. Category: animals.
Phon: /pris/ n. smell of cooking oil.
Sehen: pristo. Category: food.
pristo Phon: /pris/ n. grease. Sehen: pris.
Category: food.
pritak Phon: /pri-tak/ adj. new.
Category: adjectives.
prok Phon: /prok/ n. the smell of rain.
Category: Umfeld.
Phon: /pur/ aux. concomitative aspect.
Sehen: purom. Category: grammar.
pur
purom Phon: /pu-rom/ pro. Wann.
Category: interrogative pronouns.
purrath Phon: /pur-rath/ n. mid-sized tree with
particularly sweet-scented blossom. Oft
used to flank pathways. Category: Pflanzen.
R – die
Rai
inf. 1 • future tense.
2 • irrealis aspect.
3 • present tense. Category: grammar.
Rakel Phon: /ra-kel/ pn. girl from a desert village
with an acute sense of smell. Sehen: Ana.
Category: names, given names.
Aramteskan Glossary
raknes Phon: /rak-nes/ n. Feuer. Category: burning.
ral
Phon: /ral/ inf. optative.
Category: grammar.
7
Ralshig
Ralshig Phon: /ral-shig/ pn. Ralshig’s Lament, An
poison from Los, thins the blood making
it leave the body (most obviously through
tears).
rashmar Phon: /rash-mar/ v.t. to smell something
by wafting the scent to your nose with
your hand. Category: verbs, smell.
raztak Phon: /raz-tak/ adj. rot. Sehen: eraz.
Category: colour.
repzal Phon: /rep-zal/ v.i. to bloom.
Category: verbs.
Phon: /rez/ n. the scent of cooked meat.
Category: food.
rez
rezto Phon: /rez-to/ n. meat. Category: food.
riasot Phon: /ria-sot/ v.i. lie down.
Category: verbs.
Riker Phon: /ri-ker/ pn. god of the harvest.
Category: deities.
snan-
riktan Phon: /rik-tan/ v.i. burn. Category: burning.
rit
Rokad Phon: /ro-kad/ Variant: Rok. pn. rival to
Phon: /rit/ num. two. Category: numbers.
Zakkurus. Category: names, given names.
rolkith Phon: /rolkith/ n. bitter smell.
rom
Category: scent.
Phon: /rom/ part. particle used to mark all
questions, unlike other particles is not
optional for this function.
Category: grammar.
roslak Phon: /ros-lak/ v.t. sow grains.
rur
Category: verbs.
Phon: /rur n. rur ink, make-up used to
decorate the eyes.
S – s
-sa
Phon: /sa/ suff. 1 • locative case.
Category: grammar.
1 • locative nominaliser.
sailep Phon: /sai-lep/ v.i. fly. Category: verbs.
sak
Phon: /sak/ n. sak, ointment stops burning.
Category: Pflanzen.
sarom Phon: /sa-rom/ pro. wo.
Category: interrogative pronouns.
Saryad Phon: /sar-yad/ pn. mythical buccaneer
whose adventures throughout Aramtesh
were recorded in The Epic of Saryad by
Tek the Losian, still considered one of the
finest works of literature from the Great
Bloom. Sehen: Tek. Category: names,
historical names.
satir Phon: /sa-tir/ v.i. to have an odour.
Category: scent.
Sawkos Phon: /saw-kos/ pn. First Emperor of
Aramtesh. Responsible for the military
victory that ushered in The Founding
Accord. Dubbed ‘Sawkos the Great’ für
uniting the provinces and defeating the
Shadow Armies on the plains of Los.
Category: kings, names, historical names.
sawris Phon: /saw-ris/ n. liver. Category: body.
Sephine Phon: /se-phi-ne/ pn. Scent Keeper of
Aphorai. Secretly also the head of the
Order of Asmudtag. Category: names,
given names.
serag Phon: /se-rag/ v.i. to rot, informal.
Category: verbs.
seraz Phon: /se-raz/ n. knee. Category: body.
Seson Phon: /se-son/ pn. the Seson Territories,
located in the desert beyond Aphorai.
Category: places.
Phon: /sir/ postp. in or on something
relatively small, but not contained.
Category: postposition
sir
Sireth Phon: /si-reth/ pn. the Eraz’s daughter.
‘Regional princess’. Category: names,
given names.
smer Phon: /smer/ pro. third person plural.
Category: pronouns.
smertek Phon: /smer-tek/ adj. cold, of weather.
Category: weather.
smet Phon: /smet/ pro. third person singular.
Category: pronouns.
Phon: /smil/ adj. long. Category: adjectives.
smil
smitkir Phon: /smit-kir/ n. head. Category: body.
snab Phon: /snab/ det. 1 • distal, but close
enough to smell.
2 • there.prox. Category: locations.
Phon: /snai/ det. distance too far to smell.
Category: locations.
snai
snairan Phon: /snairan/ n. root. Category: Pflanzen.
snaltep Phon: /snal-tep/ v.i. sleep. Category: verbs.
snan Phon: /snan/ det. Hier. Category: locations.
Aramteskan Glossary
8
snip
snip
Phon: /snip/ n. scent of mint. Sehen: snipto.
Category: Pflanzen, scent.
snudniab Phon: /snudniab/ v.i. come.
Category: verbs.
Tenai-
snipto Phon: /snip-to/ n. mint plant. Sehen: snip.
Category: Pflanzen, Pflanzen.
snok Phon: /snok/ n. the scent of smoke,
non-incense. Sehen: snokto.
Category: burning, scent.
snokto Phon: /snok-to/ n. smoke. Sehen: snok.
Category: burning.
sugmar Phon: /sugmar/ v.t. to smell cautiously, als
though unsure of what the scent will be,
to sniff. Category: verbs, smell.
sultis Phon: /sul-tis/ n. sultis leaf, when chewed,
creates an amnesiac effect.
Sh – sh
shai
Phon: /shai/ n. scent of the ocean, used to
refer to the trading creole.
Category: places.
shalan Phon: /sha-lan/ n. gold. A ‘shalan zig’ is a
gold zig, the largest denomination of coin
of the realm, rarely in common
circulation. Sehen: zig.
-shan Phon: /-shan/ suff. adverbialiser.
Category: grammar.
Shapiri Phon: /sha-pi-ri/ n. seventh month.
Category: months.
Shari Phon: /shari/ pn. Nisai’s mother. Member
of the Council of Five. Aphorain.
Sehen: Kaidon. Category: names, given
names.
inf. gegenwärtig. Category: grammar.
shin
shnik-shnik Phon: /shnik-shnik/ n. a game played
with carved stone pentagons, each player
lines up as many pieces in a row as they
can. Each piece must be a maximum of a
finger-width apart, so that any false move
send the entire sequence tumbling down,
one-by-one. The winner is the last
remaining player with all their pieces
standing. Category: games.
shobir Phon: /sho-bir/ cop. honorific copula.
Sehen: shop. Category: grammar.
shodam Phon: /sho-dam/ v.i. become. Can take all
tenses and aspect, as well as the causative
prefix. Sehen: shobir; shop; damsnok.
Category: verbs.
Shokan Phon: /sho-kan/ n. Doskai’s moon. Larger,
closer, faster moon. Sehen: Kro.
Category: astronomy.
shop Phon: /shop/ cop. copula, regular
non-honorific form. Sehen: shobir.
Category: grammar.
T – t
tailem Phon: /tai-lem/ v.i. turn, drehen.
Category: verbs.
takwa Phon: /tak-wan/ n. foot. Category: body.
Tamin Phon: /ta-min/ pn. hero of of Tamin’s five
trials, an ancient ballad. Category: names,
historical names.
tapat Phon: /ta-pat/ v.t. to bite. Category: verbs.
tapush Phon: /ta-push/ v.t. devour. Category: verbs.
tarnok Phon: /tar-nok/ n. armour, usually made of
leather. Category: military.
tash Phon: /tash/ adj. Gut.
Category: adjectives.
Phon: /tash/ adv. well. Category: adverbs.
tas
tawrad Phon: /taw-rad/ v.i. walk. Category: body.
tawrom Phon: /taw-rom/ pro. what.
Tek
tek
Category: interrogative pronouns.
Phon: /tek/ pn. Tek the Losian was an
historian from the time of the Great
Bloom, followed in Zolmal’s footsteps
and gave riveting accounts of adventure
and discovery. Sehen: Zolmal.
Category: names, historical names.
Phon: /tek/ pro. first person singular
pronoun. Category: pronouns.
Tenai Phon: /te-nai/ n. sixth month.
Category: months.
Aramteskan Glossary
9
tir
tir
Phon: /tir/ postp. in or on somewhere large
or open, where scent can waft and escape.
Category: postposition.
tisuk Phon: /ti-suk/ n. Hand. Category: body.
-to
Phon: /to/ suff. a historical object
nominaliser, now no longer productive.
Category: grammar.
tolneb Phon: /tol-neb/ n. belly (lower part of
body, abdomen). Category: body.
torpi Phon: /tor-pi/ n. a drug which, Wann
inhaled, sends the person into a deep
sleep.
toshmar Phon: /tosh-mar/ v.t. to smell something
that you remember but can’t immediately
place. Category: verbs, smell.
Tozran Phon: /toz-ran/ n. the name of the winged
lion constellation, one of the main signs
in the starwheel. Category: astronomy.
tragen Phon: /tra-gen/ v.t. serve. Category: verbs.
Trel
Phon: /trel/ pn. Trel province, south east of
Aphorai, lush costal areas.
Category: places.
Phon: /trep/ n. the smell of sand.
Category: Umfeld.
trep
zabya-
Tro
Trishaw Phon: /tri-shaw/ pn. an Edurshain woman
with whom Dallor was in love.
Sehen: Dallor. Category: given names.
Phon: /tro/ pn. brother of the twin deities
of the rains and rivers. Sehen: Zir.
Category: deities.
Phon: /trok/ n. the smell of fresh, wet
earth. Sehen: trok. Category: Umfeld,
scent.
trok
trokya Phon: /trok-ya/ n. earth. Sehen: trok.
Category: Umfeld.
inf. past tense. Category: grammar.
trol
Trozirla Phon: /tro-zir-la/ n. twins, used in
reference to the twin gods Tro and Zir,
but also to all twins. Sehen: Tro; Zir.
tudnak Phon: /tud-nak/ v.i. live. Category: verbs.
tulda Phon: /tul-da/ n. giant animals with silver
coats. Category: animals.
tulum Phon: /tu-lum/ n. year, one year or one turn
of the starwheel. Sehen: tailem.
Category: Zeit.
Y – und
-ya
Phon: /yo/ suff. object nominaliser.
Category: grammar.
Yaita Phon: /yai-ta/ pn. Rakel’s mother. Sehen: Ana.
Category: names, given names.
Yarris Phon: /yar-ris/ n. fifteenth month.
yeb
Category: months.
Phon: /yeb/ n. shrub with oily leaves,
made into a flammable balm, often used
as a fire lighter. Category: Pflanzen.
Yedonia Phon: /ye-do-nia/ n. tenth month.
Category: months.
yidnar Phon: /yid-nar/ v.t. to smell with great
enthusiasm, to inhale a scent deeply.
Category: verbs, smell.
zab
Phon: /zab/ n. the scent of soap.
Category: household, scent.
Zabbad Phon: /zab-bad/ n. third month.
Category: months.
yolketh Phon: /yol-keth/ n. herb. When burned, it
gives off pungent, acrid smoke, which is
breathed as an act of penance/self
flagellation. Category: Pflanzen.
yoresh Phon: /yo-resh/ n. Ohr. Category: body.
Yorrek pn. Yorrek Dasimai is the recently retired
Rector of the imperial University at
Ekasya. Several lecture series now bear
his name, though it must be noted that he
only gave permission to the History
department to do so. Sehen: Daismai.
Category: names, historical names.
Z – z
zabya Phon: /zab-ya/ n. soap.
Category: household.
Aramteskan Glossary
10
-zu-
Zakkurus
Zakkurus Phon: /zak-ku-rus/ pn. Luz’s surname,
and preferred name while in their role as
head perfumer of the Eraz’s official
perfumery. Sehen: Luz. Category: names,
given names.
zesker Phon: /zes-ker/ n. distillation of zesker
essence smells light and fruity like fresh
plums. It gains a spicier, nutmeg-like
scent when heated to high temperatures.
The scent would be a wonderful addition
to many a perfume, if the substance didn’t
turn acid-like in the process. The only
people in their right mind who heat zesker
are metal workers who want to acid-etch
intricate designs. Category: Pflanzen.
Phon: /zig/ n. a coin, but also the currency
of the realm. Comes in three
denominations ki zig ‘copper zig’, del zig
‘silver zig’ (worth 25 copper zigs), und
shalan zig ‘golden zig’ (worth 25 silver
zigs).
zig
Ziltish Phon: /zil-tish/ pn. leader of the group of
Edurshain whom Rakel and Ash
encounter on their quest.
Category: names, given names.
Phon: /zir/ pn. sister of the twin deities of
the rains and rivers. Sehen: Tro.
Category: deities.
Zir
Zolmal Phon: /zol-mal/ pn. historian from the first
century post-Accord. Journeys, welche
recounts his time as a caravan cook
travelling from Aphorai to the Cliffs of
Lostras, is the most famous of his extant
works. ‘The Master of Minutiae’.
Category: names, historical names. Anth:
Esarik: ‘They don’t call him Master of Minutiae for
nothing’
Zostar Phon: /zos-tar/ pn. Emperor’s personal
physician. Sehen: Alak. Category: names,
given names.
Phon: /zu/ suff. dative case.
Category: grammar.
-zu
Aramteskan Glossary
11