Tag Archive | reiassan

Lexember Day 13: Grain

Dec13

kelkyag asked for Agriculture words — domesticated plants and their fruits. I got a brief start on that!

Food! Always important.

We already have belenuza, potato-parsnip (or earth-apple) and Lok, meal.

The first grain found by and eventually cultivated by the proto-Calenyena was barley: toppot, /tōp ‘pōt/ a word whose origins are lost in time. Later came wheat, tuz, /təz/ originally toppot-tuz. Tuz is a word that meant pale and can still be found in the word datuz, meaning “an unhappy surprise;” a pale-making.

Rice was borrowed from the proto-Arrans, the west-coast people, along with the name, corbin –> korbin

The long-grained black rice-like grain that was found on Reiassan was called Reiassannon’s Rice, voRiesa korbin.

And if you’ve noticed I slid in a possessive, you’d be correct.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1024393.html. You can comment here or there.

Lexember Day 12: Braids

Dec12

Rix_Scaedu asked for braids. Woo-eee!

Braids are a really important part of Calenyena life and culture. What began as a simple method of keeping hair out of one’s face and off one’s neck became a complex and ever-evolving status and fashion symbol.

I’ve already got the words:

tezyu – goat-hair

lanut – braid

And lanutez – goat-hair braid: someone who is pretending to be something they’re not, a poser.

Braids can be pluralized, of course: Lanutte, lanutne, lanutbe. A collective of braids is a “head” of braids, generally at least six.

See here for images of words.

Calenyen braids vary: rarely does someone, male or female, wear a single braid in their hair, although men will sometimes braid one long braid in their beard.

However, paired braids, done in either a dutch or french style (See this post if the terms are foreign to you), are quite common. They speak of no-nonsense simplicity most of the time and are the hair equivalent of blue jeans today.

Lanut, by itself, refers to a 3-strand french style braid of hair, goat hair, or other hair on an animal. A braid of anything else is a langaip, both from the original lannun, plait, no longer in use.

Braids on the human head are almost always pluralized: lanutne if speaking in general, lanutbe for a full ‘do, lanutte for a two-plait arrangement.

Kalan is to make braids; kalanut is to plait someone’s hair while kalangaip is to plait other things.

A braid that is not french-style is called a hanging braid, lanut-pyik. A braid that is dutch-style is a standing braid, lanut-dob. Braids with more than 3 stands are often called by the number, thus, something like lanut-leen, lanut-dan – four- and five-strand braid.

And, just for one more word, beads for braids are lunlan.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1024170.html. You can comment here or there.

My next challenge for the conlang!

Dec12

http://conlangery.tumblr.com/post/134417557276/hear-your-conlang-introducing-the-show?is_related_post=1

If you’d like to hear your language at the top of the show, translate and record the following sentence in a conlang or natlang:

Welcome to Conlangery, the podcast about constructed languages and the people who create them…
{snip}
*If your conlang belongs to a world that doesn’t have podcasts, you can choose something more culturally appropriate (radio program, show, play, etc.).

/bounce/

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1023958.html. You can comment here or there.

Discovery – a story introduction for Steam!Reiassan

Dec11

in the same era as Edally Academy

The messenger was having a hard time making himself understood.

“There’s a strange ship come into the harbor!”

The Emperor’s secretary was not impressed. “What are the shipwrights up to this year?”

“No, not like that. It’s flying strange colors.” The messenger gestured with both hands.

“Pirates?” The secretary frowned. “They’re not supposed to come this far North. They know what’ll happen if they do.”

“Not pirates.“

“They’d better not be Bitrani…”

The messenger took a breath and began speaking more slowly, in carefully chosen words. “There is a ship of strange manufacture, flying a flag that is neither piratical or Bitrani and certainly not Calenyena. The people, from what we can see, do not look like us or the Bitrani, and their clothing is strange. There are foreigners coming into the harbor.”

The word foreigner was so old as to be archaic. There was no such thing. There was the empire, and that was it. To the North was ice; to the east was wind. To the south was nothingness; to the west was the great fire rift. There was nothing but the empire; since they had conquered the Bitrani, there were no foreigners to speak of.

Until, it appeared, now. The secretary coughed politely.

“I’ll let His Imperial Majesty know that he needs to see you right now.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1023280.html. You can comment here or there.

A Convoluted Etymology: Lexember Day 11

Dec11

Rook
/ro͞ok/
noun; plural noun rookte, rookbe, rookne

Family group, tribe.

Collective plural Rookbe is a convocation of all the tribes in an area.

Kozh
/kōzh/
noun; plural noun kozhete, kozhebe, kozhene

When two like things intersect or encounter each other.

-lel
/lel/
adjective

Peaceful.

-gut
/ɡət/
adjective

Violent.

-laizh
/līzh/
adjective

Profitable, with gain

tap
/tap/
verb

To go, in the sense of travel

All right, if you put these words together, you get two sorts of meetings of two tribes: peaceful and violent, kozhrooklel, kozhrookgut.

From kozhrooklel and -laizh we get the idea of trading, a profitable pleasant meeting: kozhrooklellaizh, which over time became kozellaiz, trade.

From Kozellaiz and tap came tapkozhzellaizh, Go to trade, which became tapzellaizh and from that, over a long time, came tappaizh /tap ‘īzh/, from “go to a peaceful, profitable gathering of tribes” to “road”, the thing on which you go to those tribes.

Phew!

See here for images of words.

(And all this because [personal profile] anke wanted words for giving or getting directions…)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1023044.html. You can comment here or there.

What’s your Name or Screen Name in Calenyen? (Lexember sidetrack)

Dec10

I’ve been playing around with language, as you’ve noticed, and playing with putting people’s names into Calenyen phonemes.

In some cases this requires bending the rules. For instance, my name, Lyn, falls entirely within Calenyen phonemes, but L- is not an initial sound.

In others, it requires bending the name:

It’s a CV(C)**** language: Underlyingly CVC, but because of degemination very commonly CV(C) in less formal registers, and typically so written (except in formal documents). (hat tip [personal profile] thnidu)

Adjacent consonants are okay unless they occur within the same syllable

No cl, gr, sk, bl, and so on.

No -io, -ia, like Mario, Maria, either. HOWEVER, to quote [personal profile] inventrix, “some of the vowel combination sounds can be ‘mimicked’ by using a palatalized preceding consonant.”

And some are nigh on impossible!

How’s yours work out?

Calenyen has the following letters:
Consonants
14 that can begin a word:
7 nonpalatalized, or “plain”: K, L, P, T, D, B, G,
7 corresponding palatalized: ky, ly, py, ty, dy, by, gy *
10 that cannot begin a word (non-initial)***:
5 plain: r, z, zh, m, n
5 palatalized: ry, zy, zhy, my, ny
4 non-initial consonants that arose in later days
2 plain: v, s
2 palatalized: vy, sy Vowels

9 vowels**
ai, i, aa, a, e, ie, u, o, oo (see here)

* beginning a noun, even a proper noun, with a palatalized consonant suggests something is without use, worthless. Yes, some people name kids that way.

** you can begin a name with a vowel! It means you’re royal, or, at least, you have an Emperor/Empress in your ancestry.

***The Calenyen break this rule, so it’s okay if you do! They like stealing names from other languages…

****with some variations, see Imperial names, etc.

If you want, I’ll draw your name in Calenyen letters. I could use the practice!

If your screen name involves an word (dragonfly, inspector, thorn, alder), I could be convince (if you ask) to make up that word in Calenyen, too.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1022144.html. You can comment here or there.

Read Rix_Scaedu’s “Legacy” and “Legacy 2”, set in Reiassan in Edally Era

Dec9

Rix_scaedu has written Legacy and Legacy 2, set in my Reiassan setting during Edally Academy (Steampunk) era.

This came out of a backchannel conversation after this conlang post on underwear in Reiassan, and it gives a lovely picture of life in other parts of Calenta.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1021089.html. You can comment here or there.

Sayings to translate into Calenyena, mostly a note to myself

Dec8

From a previous draft of Rin & Girey:

A border is written in blood on the heart and on the mind. -Old Cālenyen saying

If you allow the rain to slow your passage, you will never leave your tent. -Old Cālenyen saying

After a war-season, we look for friends in the faces of strangers, and for enemies in the faces of our friends.

When uncertain or angry, close your mouth. Keep it closed until you are certain, and calm. – From the book of Reiassannon
When uncertain or angry, stab forth. Ride the fire of anger until you are certain, and calm. – From the book of Veignevar
When angry, study the anger, then find where it leads. When uncertain, find the core of the uncertainty, and study it until it vanishes. – From the book of Tienebrah

Do not question why the goat you are given as a gift only has three legs. – Old Cālenyen saying

Sleep is a gift, but, like all gifts, it has its flaws and its price – ancient Calenyen saying

From Edally:

If the fingers are working, the mind is free to breathe

If You Call It a Fish, People Will Expect It to Swim

Some Fish Swim Best in the Air

When making war, first make tea

Hit First, Reassess, Hit Again

A Bond Reforged is Thrice as Strong

Sometimes the weasel just gets away

You can offer the goat the river, but a stupid beast will still chose the puddle

When the World is Shaking, Do Not Stop to Rebalance Your Saddle-Bags

The Brightest Fire Does Not Always Burn Hottest

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1020501.html. You can comment here or there.

#Lexember day 8: Ancestors

Dec8

ankewehner asked for family relations. So far, I have ancestors!

The Calenyena enjoy their sometimes-complicated family relationships, and most Calenyena can list the most important deeds of at least three generations of ancestors.

Starting with parents:

ketbaa, mother
dobaa, father

See here for images of words.

And grandparents:

ketbaake, maternal grandmother
ketbaado, paternal grandmother
dobaake, maternal grandfather
dobaado, maternal grandfather

This can go on!

ketbaakeke, ketbaakedo, mother’s mother’s mother; mother’s father’s mother.

-baa, parent; -baake, of the mother’s line, -baado, of the father’s line

kezzatbaake, zezzatbaado, a female ancestor of the mother’s or father’s line; dozhabaake, dozhabaado, male ancestors of mother’s and father’s lines.

Informally, baake, baake and baado, baado, “some ancestor way back in the line.” If you don’t know which side of the family the ancestor is on (which is unlikely), you end up saying baa, baa And sounding about as silly as that looks.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1020334.html. You can comment here or there.