RelicNews Forums - Hiigaran - Language and Culture

DerKommissar

2nd Oct 03, 10:57 AM

Greetings Relic Forums Dwellers!

Hi! Before continuing to read my post, please follow this link and brief yourselves on what I've already said.
Note: It's the Eighth Post in this thread (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18236)

Alright, now you've figured out what I'm all about. This thread is called "Hiigaran" because it is to be dedicated to the Hiigaran language. I myself have been working on this project for some time and I will not need a lot of assistance. However, I will be posting information about the language as I develop it fully, including grammar, syntax, spelling, and pronunciation.

I am also dedicating this thread to Hiigaran culture. If you want to help me develop a cultural and religious (unofficial of course) backdrop for the Hiigaran species, that would be a lot of fun. I want you to be serious, of course. Help from the moderators would be most appreciated in keeping this thread absolutely on topic.

This could be the most fun we've had since we first saw Karan floating in her chamber and did a double-take, checking to see if she was wearing anything. I hope you all enjoy the fruits of this idea and that we can develop something a little more concrete and "real" than the disorganized fiction floating around. I am not pretending to be J.R.R. Tolkein and believe me there will not be several distinct and fully realized languages developed here (as he did by himself), but I am a serious student of linguistics.

Good luck and I look forward to the day when the Forums will be read and written in Hiigaran.

Get Excited!

Splitstar

2nd Oct 03, 2:03 PM

:werd:

Is this supose to be here?
I dont know if this is supoe to be in one of the HW sections or The Officers Lounge...

But whatever count me in to help.
More instructions needed.

DerKommissar

2nd Oct 03, 3:05 PM

The Hiigaran Alphabet

The Hiigaran language currently spoken developed on Kharak and bears little overt similitary to its mother language, Old Hiigaran. The current language is known as Kushan-La.

A Brief History Lesson and Introduction to Kushan-La

Kushan-La developed on Kharak, thus it is a language of the desert. All words, phrases, and sentences begin as a line drawn vertically between two points, as if each unit of language was a journey in itself. Historians have surmised that the written language originated from the drawing of maps, as cartography was very important in Kharakid society. After all, getting lost in the endless desert usually meant death. The Kushan-La letters are mostly lines and circles drawn on the primary vertical line. They seem similar to cartographic symbols and mathematical expressions, as well as astronomic symbols. These facts further reinforce the map theory of the Kushan-La alphabet.

The Hiigaran Alphabet is very different from our own. It has 35 letters and a number of punctuation marks. It is written from top to bottom and is read as such. After one column is finished the reader progresses from left to write. I will post some samples when I am given permission to use attachments.

In the meantime, here are the transliterated Kushan-La letters and their pronunciation in English.

Transliteration Pronunciation
Vowels
AA ----- aa (as in "at" but with a longer a "aat")
A ----- a (hat)
E ----- eh (bet)
EE ----- ee (fee)
I ----- ih (fish)
II ----- iih (there is no good English
equivalent here so you have to use
your imagination. Try thinking of the
emphasis you place on the
double i in "Hiigara")
O ----- ah (lot) or oh (float) depending on usage
U ----- uh (cut)
UU ----- uu (hook) or oo (fluke) depending on usage
Y ----- je (yet)
YY ----- eeee (no english equivalent, think fleeeece)
AY ----- aye (icon (sometimes this pronunciation
is spelled AII as in Taiidan))

Consonents
B ----- b (orb)
D ----- d (cod)
F ----- f (elf)
G ----- g (leg)
H ----- h (hot)
K ----- k (cat)
C ----- c (cat (this letter is pronounced identically to "k." Some conjecture that it was merely the older form of the letter since it appears most often in proper names))
L ----- l (let)
M ----- m (elm)
N ----- n (net)
NM ----- nm (an interesting combination, think of
the country "Namibia")
P ----- p (tap (this letter is pronounced with
breath, like in English, not like French)
Qu ----- kw (Qwaar-Jet)
R ----- r (rest)
S ----- s (sap)
SH ----- sh (ship)
T ----- t (tap)
V ----- v (vacuum)
W ----- w (word)
Z ----- z (zeta)
CH ----- ch (charge)
TH ----- th (myth)
' ----- glottal stop (Kushan-La has a glottal stop which is used quite often, especially in proper names, i.e. S'jet)

That's it for the Hiigaran alphabet. Note the conspicuous absense of the sounds KH, and ZH. Kharak is misspelled in transliterated English, for as one notices in the pronunciation, it is
Karak and not Kharak. (KH as in Bach)

Here are a couple words in Kushan-La to get you thinking.

Wodaan - spider (also the fleet reporting name of the Taiidan
minelayer corvette)
Seejur - three spikes (an old Kushan weapon and the Taiidan
defender)

Kushan-La has 6 cases, Nominative, Accusative, Genative, Dative, Prepositional and Instrumental. The next lesson will be a review of how to decline some simple nouns. Fortunately, there are no genders for nouns in Kushan-Ka. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of words have irregular forms.

Good Luck, linguophiles!

Enterprize

2nd Oct 03, 3:54 PM

While I think this is an intriguing idea, its a little more overboard in my mind. Kinda cool tho.... ;)

starrider

2nd Oct 03, 5:14 PM

COOL!

ill be your best student, this is great actually learning Kushan. this beats the hell out of spanish so far.

DerKommissar

2nd Oct 03, 5:46 PM

Lesson Two: Numbers and Introductory Phrases

First: Here are the numbers 1-20*
1 ----- Kar
2 ----- Var
3 ----- See
4 ----- Vavar
5 ----- Gaf
6 ----- Seevar
7 ----- Maala
8 ----- Amaala
9 ----- Aylsaa
10 -----Vargaf
11 ----- Karta
12 ----- Varta
13 ----- Seeta
14 ----- Vavarta
15 ----- Gafta
16 ----- Vargaf ul seevar
17 ----- Vargaf ul maala
18 ----- Vargaf ul amaala
19 ----- Vargaf ul Aylsaa
20 ----- Lilita

Next, here are a list of some of the "official words" we have from Hiigaran:

Kiithid:
Kaalel-fleet intel. the mothership trip turned out well for them.
Somtaaw-the beastslayers, originally fanatically religious miners
LiirHra - left Hraal for exploratory reasons
Hraal - merged with Liirhra after landfall
Gaalsien-a religious sect that has had a bad few thousand years
Manaan-nomadic warriors not to be trifled with
Nabaal-the great capitalists of Kharak
Paktu-brave travelers
S'jet-scientists and observers, also a bit mystical
Soban-anyone can join! sign up today. vengeful streak a plus.
Siiddim-fanatics. surprise.

Daiamid-the ruling body
Tiir-capital city of Kharak
Khar-Toba-(prounced Kar-Toba) flagship of exodus that carried the 2nd core
Majiirian-the ocean on Kharak
Khar-Selim - ship sent to explore the Kharak System
Kharak - Exile world
Hiigara - home (also the homeworld)
kiith'sid - kiith member
kiith - an extended clan
kiith-sa -head of a kiith
Lungma Jiin - roof of the world
Kohntala - a mountain range
Hameln and Gydeo -two walled cities
Jakuul - a god (perhaps a Progenitor like Sajuuk?)
Qwaar-Jet - an underworld god (see immediately above)
**interesting note - The Somtaaw "star-metal scrolls" which were probably brought from Hiigara are extremely ancient and supposedly written by a god. This sounds a lot like a progenitor artifact. They were supposedly lost when Kharak burned, but an atmosphere deprivation weapon could not have harmed something progenitor made. They may still be there. Sidetrip to Kharak anyone?
Sajuuk-a god/progenitor supercapital ship
Fiirkan-a hunting bird
Koshiir-Ra -another ancient god
Kaark-meaning unknown
raachok-hurled dart
Kudaark-a large burrowing animal
Sajuuk Cor - Wrath of Sajuuk or "Sajuuk's Wrath"
BIG NOTE: This was also the name of the Hiigaran supership from before the exile that utilized the second core and decimated the Taiidani and was only defeated by the Bentusi.
Skaal-tel and Skaal-fa - male and female of a dangerous Kharakid predator
Clee-San-truth seeker
Fal-Corum -silent wayfarer
Kuun-Lan -purifying flame

I have not added any first names to this list as they add very little to a language that has yet to be created.

Here are some simple phrases in Kushan-La

Hello ----- Arkosh (lit. health) AHR-kush
Haaku Elanuun Haas ----- Goodnight HAA-ku Ela-NUUN hass
(lit. a warm bed to you (on the desert world of Kharak nighttime temperatures were below freezing nearly everywhere and blankets were a necessity for survival))

* - the Hiigaran word for zero changes depending on what is referred to. This will be addressed in a later lesson.

This concludes Lesson 2!

starrider

2nd Oct 03, 6:03 PM

this is cool, if no one else ever reads this...plz continue it so ii can learn more...please??

UFO64

2nd Oct 03, 6:36 PM

Originally posted by DerKommissar
Lesson Two: Numbers and Introductory Phrases

First: Here are the numbers 1-20
1 ----- Kar
2 ----- Var
3 ----- See
4 ----- Vavar
5 ----- Gaf
6 ----- Seevar
7 ----- Maala
8 ----- Amaala
9 ----- Aylsaa
10 -----Vargaf
11 ----- Karta
12 ----- Varta
13 ----- Seeta
14 ----- Vavarta
15 ----- Gafta
16 ----- Vargaf ul seevar
17 ----- Vargaf ul maala
18 ----- Vargaf ul amaala
19 ----- Vargaf ul Aylsaa
20 ----- Lilita

i am just starting to learn spanish, and those numbers follow the spanish ones WAY to well lol

Langy

2nd Oct 03, 6:52 PM

Very cool! However... do the Hiigarans not have a word for zero?

Dukesarge

2nd Oct 03, 7:19 PM

Man this is so kool...... kind of lige LOTR.

DerKommissar

2nd Oct 03, 8:06 PM

Lesson 3: Introduction to Pronouns, Prepositions, Prefixes, Suffixes, Tenses, and the "To Be" Verb

Arkosh, Corum-da! (Hello Travelers!)
Ya'terumdar eram see-ra optu! (Welcome to the third lesson!)

I hope that everyone has been enjoying Kushan-La so far!

First, Pronouns

Nominative
I ----- Ak
I (formal)----- Akaa
You----- Haak
You (respectful) ----- Haaka
You (very deferential)----- Haaksa
He-----Oks
He ----- (respectful) Osaak
She----- Oksa
She ----- (respectful) Oksaa
It----- Ko
We----- Yem
You All-----Hiyu
You All (respectful) ----- Hiyus
They ----- Oks'da
They (respectful) Osaak'da

That's a mouthful, isn't it? Fortunately Kushan-La pronouns only change in the genitive and dative cases. Lucky you!

Accusative ----- Identical to Nominative
Genitive
I (Me) ----- Aksa
You (all forms) ----- Haaka (note = deferential nominative)
He(him)----- Osaaksa
She(her) ----- Oksas
It ----- Kosa
We (us) ----- Yemsa
You (plural) ----- Hiyusa
They (them) Oks'das
Dative
I (me) ---- aksu
You (all forms sing)----- Haaku
He -----Osaaksu
Her -----Oksasu
You (plural) ----- Hiyusu
They----- Oks'dasu
Prepositional -same as Nominative
Instrumental -same as Nominative

Prepositions
Here are some important Prepositions

eram -----in into + prepositional
er -----towards + accusative
with -----aski + instrumental
without -----ski + genitive
from (place) maak + genitive
from (person) iiks + genitive
on (like a planet or a spot on the ground) ur + prepositional

Some Conjuctions too:
and ----- ul
but ----- luum

Prefixes: The important one to learn now is "Yev" which signifies future tense on a verb.
Suffixes: "da" added to the end of a noun usually pluralizes it
"iliid" at the end of a verb puts it intot the simple past tense in most cases.
"la" normally replaces the english suffix ish on some adjectives (such as languages) and is always preceeded by a hyphen.
"ra" changes a cardinal number to an ordinal. It is added after a hyphen to the end of the number. Numbers do not otherwise decline.

Tenses Note!

There are five tenses in Kushan-La
Future -will happen
Present -currently going on
Simple Past -happened, completed
Complex Past -was doing, perhaps is still doing
Indefinite - unknown if it is going on now, in the future, or in the past

The "To Be" Verb
Alright, finally a verb! Luckily, the verb to be is rather simple for a Kushan-La verb.
(this verb is irregular) these are only the first person varients
Infinitive ----- yoreema
Future -----yevem
Present -----eema
Simple Past -----miliid
Complex Past ----- eemil
Indefinite -does not exist in this tense (of course something can't "be" if it's indefinite
--Note-- if to be modifies a noun, that noun takes instrumental

Great! You're started down the "Shimmering Path" as Kamaar Somtaaw would say!

Here are some simple sentences you should be able to construct now: (don't worry about word order yet, I'll come to that later)
-note- there are no capitals or lowercase in Kushan-La best, forget them now.

Kar. ur kharak kiith-sa'maa ak miliid (I was Kiith-sa on Kharak)

Var. eram* ** hiigara corum'maa ak yevem (I will be a traveler on Hiigara)
* Hiigara also means home and takes the preposition eram for in
** when not referring to the planet the word "eramigara" means "at home"

See. akaa karan s'jet-sa'maa eema. (I am Karan S'jet)

End of Lesson Three

ionfish

3rd Oct 03, 2:49 AM

This thread is the most awesomest thread I have ever seen.

:yippee:

Handarazuur

3rd Oct 03, 5:00 AM

Awesomest?

Oh well, philosophy ain't English, but whatever your description, yes, it is bloody fantastic.

DerKommissar

3rd Oct 03, 12:57 PM

Introduction to Common Verbs, Beginning Vocabulary, and full Declension of "to be" Verb

Arkosh!
ip ara yemsa opat vavar ul grachal ko yevem!
(today we have lesson four and it will be good!)

First, a full declension of the verb yoreema (to be):
Note: Remember yoreema does not exist in the indefinite tense!

infinitive-----yoreema
AK (I)
Future-yevem
Present-eema
Simple Past-miliid
Complex Past-eemil

Haak (You)
Future-yeve
Present-eem
SP-iliid
CP-mil

Ok (He) Oksa (She) Ko (It)
F-yevma
P-ema
SP-emiliid
CP-emil

Yem (we)
F-yevyem
P-eemada
SP-da miliid
CP-da eemil

Hiyu (you plural)
F-yeveyu
P-eemu
SP-da iliid
CP-da mil

Oks'da (they)
F- yevmak
P- eemka
SP-da emiliid
CP-da emil

Whoa! Well, luckily most verbs aren't nearly so irregular!
In fact, all of the verbs in this lesson will conjugate in exactly the same way, which I will later demonstrate for you.

Next, here is the possessive construction for "I have" "we have" etc
I have ----- Ak hiis (to make put this in a different tense add the conjuged form of the verb yoreema between ak and hiis. Ex. Ak yevem hiis = I will have)

You have, we have, all others: this is a bit different.
Ama + the genitive of the pronouns + the appropriate tense of "yoreema (in present tense the verb yoreema is not required)
ex. Kar ----- eram hiigara ama oks'das yevmak nmakadal rozt'da
(We will have big ships on Hiigara)
ek. Var----- ur karak ak hiis miliid ark skaal-fa
(I had a skaal-fa on Karak)

Next, here are articles that apply to nouns and their english equivalents
Ark (a, an)
Lon (the)

NEXT:
This is the First Basic Conjugation (FBC) of Verbs
(this will work for all verbs in this lesson)
Infinitive = yor+stem
Ak
F-----yev+stem
P-----stem
SP-----stem+iliid
CP-----stem+il
I-----kov+stem

Haak
F-----yev+stem+ee
P-----stem+ee
SP-----stem+iliid
CP-----stem+il
I-----kov+stem

Ok, Oksa, Ko
F-----yev+stem+ay
P-----stem+ay
SP-----stem+iliid
CP-----stem+il
I-----kov+stem

Yem
F-----yev+stem+om
P-----stem+om
SP-----da stem+iliid
CP-----da stem+il
I-----da kov+stem

Hiyu
F-----yev+stem+yu
P-----stem+yu
SP-----da stem+iliid
CP-----da stem+il
I-----da kov+stem

Oks'da
F-----yev+stem+mak
P-----stem+mak
SP-----da stem+iliid
CP-----da stem +il
I-----da kov+stem

Awesome! There you have a lot of Hiigaran grammar right now!
Alright, we'll get into noun cases and adjectives (which only slightly change) in the next lesson!

Here's your Lesson 4 vocab list!

Adjectives
Fal - silent
nmakal - big
grachal - good
eerachal -small
paalkal - bad
fiirkal - red
klaazkal - black
baylkal - white

Nouns -
Kiith - clan
Kiith-sa -clan leader
rozt - ship
eepir-father
miirha-mother
uln-son
luun-daughter
miirharozt-mothership
kapart-planet
maraakuul-universe
cora - journey
cor-wrath, intense anger
opat-lesson
daiamid-council

Verbs-
yordem - to think
yoryym - to want
yorkraat - to say
yorvros - to do

That should get everyone started!
I will be busy until late tonight, but I would be proud and delighted if anyone intrepid enough to give it a try would like to post some sentences in Kushan-La!

Arkoshal Cora! (goodbye, lit. safe journey)

MissingSea

3rd Oct 03, 1:05 PM

Very nice, I was wondering whether there would be some one who would try to construct a HW language. You are doing quite admirably, and I hope that you keep up the good work.

edit: I would be interested in building up some cultural back history, maybe from before the introduction of hyperspace to the Hiigarans (would sort of fit in with something that I'm writing at the moment).

Nerath

3rd Oct 03, 4:21 PM

Saweet. I've tried to create languages before but I never got to verb conjugation, etc.

DerKommissar

3rd Oct 03, 7:50 PM

A Brief History of the Hiigaran Language

Six thousand years ago the various kiithid of the inner rim planet of Hiigara united for the first time under a common banner. Following an intense global war that left much of the planet scarred and generations affected by loss, the various kiith governments convened and decided to form an international governing body that would have the final say in matters of inter-kiith dispute. Thus, the first Daiamid was created.

At this time, dozens of different Hiigaran languages were spoken across the planet. A unifying dialect was needed for a conglomeration of leaders to be able to effectively communicate. Thus, the dominant economic language at the time, Marinabaal-La, become the official language of the Daiamid.

This time, as well, marked the beginning of Hiigaran exploration into space. The first intrasystem craft were launched and probes were sent to the far corners of the galaxy with messages recorded in this new unified speech.

Time passed and Hiigara grew bolder. We began to reach beyond their own solar system using prototype drive technologies. Eventually, the effeciency of the common tongue became such that it was integrated into daily use and other languages disappeared altogether. The name become Hiigara-La, or as we know it today, Old Hiigaran. This is the language of the majority of texts we have uncovered on Hiigara since landfall. It is markedly dissimilar to Kushan-La, our modern speech, and the written alphabets are completely different.

The Hiigarans of old had not gotten far out of the system before they were met by extra-terrestrial life in the form of the Bentusi. These seemingly benevolent traders were only too willing to provide technology to the Hiigarans in return for simple mineral resources. The language of communication was Old Hiigaran.

The next thousand years until Exile are well-documented in official state records. These include the finding of the Hyperspace Core, the construction of Sajuuk Cor (Sajuuk's Wrath), the war against the Taiidan, the subsequent defeat by the Bentusi warfleet, and the ensuing genocide perpetrated by the Taiidani.

After landfall, the survivors of the voyage to Kharak were unable to reach agreements for forming a new unified leadership. The various kiithid spread out in various directions, as they pleased. Along the way, dialects changed and mutated from region to region and the written language was lost altogether. Eventually, the form of writing we know today was invented, likely by mapmakers on early desert voyages. We know it existed at the time of the great exodus to the sea in sandsailers.

It seems that history does repeat itself and the unification and adoption of the current universal language, Kushan-La, came only with the formation of the new Daiamid at the polar capital of Tiir on Kharak. It has served us until this day and with the advent of universal translation, will continue to be our means of communication with starfaring species for the forseeable future.

End of History

Ishaar Niirfa

4th Oct 03, 9:58 AM

Can I use this for my Hersey Wars thread back at the HWU Forums? And can you give me private lessons :p j/k. I've seen this before and I think I'll hang around some more.

starrider

4th Oct 03, 10:29 AM

yay your here now!!! YIPPIE!!!

on toopic, this language is hard. harder still because im in spanish now too.

SquidDNA

4th Oct 03, 8:12 PM

Someone on another thread said that Hiigara was Earth in the far future. This is clearly false because Hiigara is near a galactic core, whereas we're out on the rim.

Other than that, very creative! Keep it up. :)

starrider

4th Oct 03, 9:00 PM

we're actually sort of in the mid rim and not the outer rim like kharak, whereas hiigara obviously is on the inner rim...

but what does this have to do with teh hiigaran language??

Jaran

4th Oct 03, 11:22 PM

STILL say Hiigara is Earth in the far flung future. If you've seen some of the screens (I'll do some digging and turn them up), you can clearly make out Greenland, W. Europe, and E. North America from space.

As such, I think that the Hiigarans may share a few human cultural characteristics, namely our tendency to fragment into families, nations, whatever subunit you please. Also present is teh theme of religious conflict. Most of this is taken from Homeworld, namely the Heresy Wars. There is also our inherent pride, which is dealt with heavily in the Hiigaran backhistory in the HW2 guide.

As far as the ship names, I'm the camp that believes the Hiigarans use the creature names for the ships of other races, and uses mythological titles for their own ships. Names like "Kunn-Laan" are probably derived from Kiith dialects, in this case the Somtaaw. And even Native Hiigaran words may be a highly evolved form of our own languages, otherwise we would be incapable of pronouncing them altogether.

And I still like the idea of calling the Battlecrusiers "Athena". What more appropriate title than the Goddess of Strategy and Wisdom?

Whew, didn't mean to write quite so much. I hope you find this helpful. I also wish you luck on trying to top teh HW1 manual in terms of depth (God knows we need an equivalent for HW2. DAMN YOU SIERRA!!!!). If they'd released the backhistory with teh North American manual, I'm sure we would have kindly provided the info to our European friends (at least outside of multiplay ).

ionfish

5th Oct 03, 2:11 AM

If it's so far into the future that the Earth has moved halfway across the galaxy, I very much doubt that the continents of today would be recognisable. Unless, of course, Maradona happened to nudge it corewards...

Retroboy

5th Oct 03, 5:42 AM

The odds are better that Kharak is Earth. Planets and their stars don't move from the edge of a galaxy to its centre without a massive, massive redirection of energy, such as if the Milky Way collided with and/or passed through Andromeda and their gravitic fields muddled each other up. But that would make the Milky Way change shape, and it's clearly a spiral galaxy where Homeworld occurred.

This is an interesting topic, and makes an excellent academic exercise. Don't expect me to go around speaking Hiigaran, though. :)

-- Retro

SquidDNA

5th Oct 03, 7:30 AM

Thanks for restating my point, Ion. :)

Kharak couldn't possibly be earth since all life on Kharak had radial symmetry as opposed to bilateral-- this was the observation that made Kharakians think that they weren't originally from there, and bred that whole angsty God-hates-us-and-dropped-us-in-a-desert thing. Finding the Guidestone only confirmed their suspicions.

I think Sol would have burned out before it got moved to the center of the galaxy.

Sorry to have hiijacked this thread-- I brought this up because Jaran posted his message in a locked spawn off of this thread.

Dan Van Crone

5th Oct 03, 8:45 AM

This is awesome.

How do I say "Your Mom gives lousy head?"

I'll need it for MP games.

DerKommissar

5th Oct 03, 6:28 PM

Hiigaran Culture, Possessives, Vocab List Two, Negation, Zero, and Noun Transformation

Cultural Note

The tragedy of Exile has touched the history of the Hiigaran people in more ways than are readily apparent. Not only did the Taiidan strip us of our home, they stripped us of our heritage. So much of ancient Hiigaran history has been lost to the sands of time that it has been a true challenge piecing fragments together from ancient records founds scattered across Hiigara.

We, however, were fortunate to discover certain things about Taiidani culture. Firstly, the Taiidani were great pragmatists. It seems that when they found the great cities of Hiigara intact after the forced removal of all Hiigarans, they did not waste time or money tearing them down and replacing them with Taiddani architecture. Only monuments and shrined were torn down and defaced. Thus, much of pre-exile Hiigara remained until we returned. This made recovery of information and culture somewhat easier.

We have found, for instance, that among the pre-exile Hiigarans, a favorite pasttime among kiith-sa'da and other nobles was the hunting of enormous reptilian carnivores known as jogaahan'da which were found in the temperate rainforests on the largest continent. The beasts were not killed, but merely stunned with paralysis darts while the hunters moved in and each removed one of the great scarlet scales from the creatures' chests. These were later added to military dress uniforms as badges of honor or placed in kiith halls as symbols of the kiith's valor. Indeed honor and bravery were some of the defining traits among Hiigarans on pre-exile Hiigara. These accolades were not accorded by gender, either. Females and males shared roles as warriors, scientists, poets, and philosophers. The bureaucracy was relatively small as all power rested with the Daiamid and the various kiith-sa'da, and professional politicians did not truly exist.

One of the most important traits of these Hiigarans was their fierce pride and their powerful faith. Hiigaran clerics have long believed in the destiny and strength of the Hiigaran people. These feelings were commonly shared among the populace as well, and this perhaps explains the reluctance of the Hiigarans to back down even before the might of the Bentusi. We truly believed that we could win by holding firm and fast, though it proved our undoing at the time.

It has been said that pride is often a dangerous thing and it can preceed disaster. Though this was true in the case of the Taiidan genocide and exile, pride and determination saw the Hiigaran people through on Kharak and brought us home, to Hiigara. We have faith in ourselves and our brave women and men and faith that our destiny will be fulfilled, come what may. We have believed so, the records prove, for thousands of years, and we continue to believe so today.

Negation and Zero in Kushan-La

To create a negative in this language, that is to say "NOT to do something, or something DIDN'T happen" is very easy. Simply add the negator "bez" before the verb.
ex kar. vra ak bez yymil yorvray eram juukmaan.
(I didn't want to go to the bookcenter yesterday)

The idea of zero makes this more complicated as bez is also the word for zero and none in Kushan-La. To say I don't have any ___, it is necessary to say "I have none of ____"
**bez+genitive of noun**
ex var. bez ark rozta ak hiis. (I don't have a ship)
When you want to say there is no _____ here, or something along those lines, you must change bez to beza and write,
beza + genitive + appropriate form of yoreema + orkro (here)
ex see. beza rozta ema orkro. (lit. none of ships is here)

Possessives
**these are indeclinable adjectives**
Akfal-----my
Haakfal-----your
Oksfal-----his
Oksafal-----her
Kofal-----its
Yemfal-----our
Hiyufal-----your (plural)
Oksdafal-----theirs
**note: in Kushan-La the construction "it is ours" cannot be used. Instead the object must always be identified for proper speech, as in "Whose ____ is that? It is our _____."

Vocab List 2

Important Words and Phrases
Ya'terumdar-----welcome
mor-yes
bizk-no
faar-very

Adjectives
giirval-----evil
holostal-----cold
myytal-----hot

Nouns
ip-----today
vra-----yesterday
tor'hra-----tomorrow
no'iila-love
kava-hate
aklast'liin-leader/commander
mok-god

Verbs
yorhorma-----to walk
yor'kanm-----to fly
yorno'il-----to like/love
yorkaav-----to hate
yorscriiv-----to write
yorkatat-----to read
yor'braab-----to hear
yor'ziit-----to see
yor'rot-----to speak **

[Adverbs]
grache-well
paalke-badly

**(rotee haak kushan-la?) Do you speak Kushan-La?
(bizk, ak bez rot kushan-la.) No, I don't speak Kushan-La.
(mor, ak faar grache rot kushan-la) Yes, I speak Kushan-La
very well.

NOUN TRANSFORMATION
*This applies to many, but not all, common nouns
**sometimes modified by spelling rules, to be addressed later
Nominative-form given in vocabularly lists
Accusative-identical to nominative
Genitive-----nominative+sa
Dative-----nominative+su
Prepositional-----identical to nominative
Instrumental-----nominative+maa
***these rules apply to both singular and plural forms of nouns. Remember, the plural is formed by adding "da" to the end of the singular form.

***The next lesson will cover questions***
****and possibly insults and vulgarities****

Handarazuur

5th Oct 03, 6:43 PM

No doubt, this has to be one of the most original pieces of fanfiction ever to rear its head in the Lounge. DK, you're on your way to getting one of those little badges, I reckon.

C'mon, ion, give him one. It even turned your head, and that's saying something.

starrider

5th Oct 03, 7:38 PM

yes it does...why i might go as far as to say this deserves a dock.

Cmdr. Cracken

5th Oct 03, 9:03 PM

amazing, and entire language being built.

definate applause, now i can speak COMPLETLY inco-herently. muahahaha...^_^

DerKommissar

6th Oct 03, 8:44 PM

Hiigaran Courtship and Dating

Partnerships are taken very seriously by most Hiigarans and we have been committed to lifelong pairs for thousands of years. That said, things have changed dramatically from the time of Exile to the present day.

KHARAK

On Kharak, it was common practice for kiith leaders to arrange all marriages within the kiith up until the very day the mothership left the Scaffold and set a course to rendezvous with the Khar-Selim. Traditionally, couples were within one or two years of one another and the marriage was designated for the twentieth birthday of the female partner. The marriage was planned for several solar orbits in advance of the ceremony and the pair had this time to get to know one another and plan for their life together. Though for most of our history on Kharak kiith-sa'da had the final say in matters of matrimony, the bride and groom have had veto power in the matter for the last few hundred years. Hiigaran females reach sexual maturity late, around 25 years of age, but stay fertile until about the age of 70. This, coupled with our slow rate of physical aging, means that families tend to become very large. The average number of children per household on Kharak was eight.

LANDFALL AND THE GREAT POPULATION DRIVE

After landfall we were faced with a serious problem. We had been reduced to less than 600000 in number and we were faced with defending our new home from a myriad of hostile species including renegade Taiidani elements and vicious pirates. We needed to multiply, and quickly. The new Daiamid came up with a solution by the name of the Great Population Drive. All Hiigarans were needed for the reconstruction effort and for the military and to serve in their professional capacities. Certainly it would have been intolerable for half of the population (the females) to be incapacitated and pregnant. Thus, birthing centers were erected in every new settlement on the planet where prospective parents could donate reproductive cells, have fertilized eggs created, and have their children (sometimes ten at a time!) develop in artificial wombs where they were provided with all the nutrients of the mother's body. This alleviated the pressure and pain of pregnancy for the females (who had just dealt with the stress of the Awakening and Landfall) and allowed for rapid population growth and maximum worker productivity at the same time. We never considered the unconscionable idea of cloning. Thus, in 100 short years, Hiigaran has reached a population of over 180 million while maintaining an excellent standard of living and not comprimising our familial values.
**Note: Since Landfall it has been increasingly common for females and males to choose their mates without the counsel of their kiith-sa.

HIIGARAN SEXUALITY

Though married Hiigarans are very closely tied to their partners and official seperation is very uncommon, not all Hiigarans are married. For unmarried males and females there are no societal stigmas attached to sexual activity of any kind. It is an important part of our faith that couplings amongst those who desire it are celebrations of love and spirit, and are sacred to Hiigarans. We do not cast aspersions on any for their sexual preferences or proclivities.

THE HIIGARAN WEDDING

There are two important ceremonies that are part of Hiigaran wedding rituals, though not all marriages involve both.
Families that are not considered "founding members" of a kiith (that is, ancient households) only perform the Shan'ra, or Rebirthing ceremony wherein the couple, nude before their closest family and friends, are covered in ceremonial sand. They then enter the Cleansing Pond and immerse themselves to remove the sand. As they emerge they are given the traditional blue-green marriage robes.
Weddings involving the ancient families of Hiigaran kiiths also involve the ranmaak, or long feast. This is a nonstop celebration lasting an entire Kharakid week (9 Hiigaran days). There are food, drink, dancing, poetry, speeches, shows of physical prowess, intellectual games, theatrical performances, and other spectacles.

END REPORT

DerKommissar

6th Oct 03, 10:37 PM

Dear Readers

Thank you very much for your continued support. I am very glad (and flattered) that some of you are interested in this project! I look forward to continued expansion of the Homeworld universe and the culture and language of the Hiigarans.

Sincerely,
DerKommissar

Handarazuur

7th Oct 03, 5:19 AM

Dear DK

We're looking forward to it even more!

Sincerely,
Handarazuur, speaking on behalf of just about everyone.

starrider

7th Oct 03, 2:49 PM

i concur with hand. we love this stuff, you should try toget relic to say its semi-offical.

Jaran

7th Oct 03, 4:12 PM

Wow. You and relic need to get together to flesh out the Homeworld Universe. Alone you've both come up with incredible stuff, together you could create the greatest Sci-Fi franchise since B5, especially in light of the fall of the other franchises (Namely Start Wars and Star Trek).

DerKommissar

7th Oct 03, 7:07 PM

Questions and Extended Vocabulary

Arkosh, hiyu jaysa'da akful sochid'da katatyu
(hello, you all who are reading my stories)

Questions
jok-----who?
jiiye-----what?
julk-----when?
jorg-----where?
jaam----why?

Indefinite Pronouns
jay-----which (ex. the chair which is located on the bridge)
* plural jay'da
jaysa-----who (ex. the captain who commands the fleet)
* plural jaysa'da
yyt-----this (also this ____)
yyte-----that (also that ____)
ex. kar. jiiye yyte eema? (what is that?)

Extended Vocabulary List
Commonplace Nouns
hiigara-----home
gra-----house
feln-----door
nmat-----table
stuur-----chair
glofka-----friend
iguulka-----enemy
bezakpart-----alien
laawa-----space
kvard-----room
sochid-story
juukmaan-----bookcenter(library)
poyend'jar-----building
gehul'forj-----Midmeal (lunch)
lak'forj-----Evenfeast (dinner)
moyip'forj-----Dawnmeet (breakfast)
lamon-----star
osheklam-----sun
laamat-----light
toba,oru----city (oru is larger than toba)
koya-----child
ishkoya-----infant
no'ilpakt-----boyfriend/girlfriend
woral-----wife/husband
zor-----small ship
okon-----year
seevpay-----week
pay (pronounced like 3.14)-----day

ex. var. yor'kanm eram yewon ak bez yymild luum akfal miirha yymil ark grachal kushan'al ln.
***note: sometimes after an l a word that begins with a consonant loses the first consonant as is the case with the "u" in uln (son)
(I didn't want to go to war but my mother wanted a good Hiigaran son.)

Military Words
(for the fans)
rokn-----gun
yewon-----war
yewonrozt-----warship
laypretfiir-----interceptor
pok-----frigate
roknzor-----gunship
yataaral roknzor-----pulsar gunship
ziidnal luuk-----ion cannon
keeyevdokrozt-----battlecruiser
vural!-----launch! (imperative)
ma'al!-----fire! (imperative)

ex. see. ma'al lon ziinal luuk'da ul vural lon laypretfiir'da!
(fire the ion cannons and launch the interceptors!)

Important Words
tarat-----now
nuk-----then
ola-----if

DerKommissar

7th Oct 03, 8:07 PM

The Shrine of Kharak

On the smallest of the three main continents of Hiigara there is a remarkable city called Ejiira. Ejiira is the de facto capital of Kiith Somtaaw as the Orumid, the city council, is 80 percent Somtaaw.
This, however, does not makes Ejiira remarkable. What does make Ejiira remarkable is a massive complex of buildings that occupies one hundred and fifty quartons of land in the center of the city. This complex is known as the Shrine of Kharak.

When the Taiidani weapons scorched the atmosphere of the planet all surface life was extinguished, not only Hiigarans, but also plants and animals. We, however, did not bring only the Sleepers with us on the voyage home.

An entire deck of the first miirharozt (mothership) was occupied by "the menagerie." The menagerie consisted of a wide selection of DNA samples and living specimens of Kharakid life. Indeed, many who signed up for the voyage to Hiigara could not deal with the thought of being without the animals the Kushan kept as pets. They would make "home" feel more like "home."

Also on this deck, deck 177, was the Kharakid museum, where a number of the planet's treasures were placed, including the Sobani Bloodsword and a carved rostrum from one of the early sandsailers.

The voyage home, of course, did not go according to plan. These few relics of Kharak became the last few precious pieces of our former lives. We clung to them tenaciously. The Daiamid voted unanimously on Hiigara to provide a public museum/zoo where they could be displayed so that none would forget Kharak or the Martyrs. Defense, however, was our first priority and it was some years before construction of a shrine could get underway. During these years the artifacts were kept in storage and the DNA samples in laboratories. Volunteer caregivers maintained the live Kharakid animals, as they certainly could not be released into the wild for fear of their harmful effects on the largely unknown Hiigaran ecosystem.

Twenty-seven years after landfall the Shrine of Kharak was finally completed in Ejiira. The city was chosen for the fact that it directly faces Kharak once every year on the very day when the Taiidani murdered the planet. There are tall spires for each kiith that existed on Kharak surrounding a central tower that stretches towards the heavens. At the pinnacle of the main tower is mounted a massive lamp which projects a beam towards Kharak on the Day of Horrors. Inside, an enormous zoo houses thousands of Kharakid creatures and shows the various biomes of the planet. The Museum of Kharak exhibits real artifacts from the planet as well as meticulously created replicas. The complex also houses the Offices of the Kharak Remembrance Bureau which works nonstop to ensure that our planet of exile, the place of shame that became a place of pride and our home away from Hiigara, is never forgotten.

END REPORT

starrider

7th Oct 03, 8:13 PM

i applaud you good sir, that was with out a doubt genius. i sincerly hope that when your done with all this stuff, its complied and put in the garden or something for all to see.

Ishaar Niirfa

7th Oct 03, 10:04 PM

Indeed. Thanks to DerKommissar I have two stories well on the way to writing.

DerKommissar

8th Oct 03, 9:07 PM

Notice

Tomorrow I am leaving on holiday in London. I won't be back until next Wednesday. Please forgive the hiatus in posts on my thread as it can't be helped. I have a lovely lady waiting for me and she is one of the few things I value over the forums.

I look forward to getting back to work next week.

Until then,

DerKommissar

p.s. I have an idea for a fiction piece I'd like to get started on detailing the quest for and recovery of the fabled Somtaaw star-metal scrolls. (Check the HW:C backstory if you have no idea what I'm talking about). It will be interesting to place this piece of trivia in the greater framework of the progenitors and the expanded HW2 storyline. In the meantime I have commissioned a few short works by others to place on the thread. I am very pleased that we seem to be building something legitimate here and excited for the work to continue.

Jaran

8th Oct 03, 10:09 PM

The Shrine of Kharak was a masterstroke :) I love your ideas.

On a related note, when do we get to learn the Hiigaran curses? :flame: :devil:

starrider

9th Oct 03, 3:19 PM

some time after wensday id guess

have a good time DK!

elorran

10th Oct 03, 1:59 PM

This is a pretty interesting thread. Missingsea just pointed me towards it and I'm quite intrigued.

I have been attempting to build up a reference of the current official standing words and names used in the series thus far for Hiigara's (http://www.hiigara.com) archives (which still need updating :Slap: ).

At some point in the near future I'm going to attempt to get something through official channels as regards to some of the existing words and phrasings used in the games.

It might also be an idea to start a community push for additional expanded information. While I'm sure that no one is going to sit down and go about writing all of this for us there would probably exist a master list of references and material that Relic might be willing to share with us, or part of it at least.

And while I'm here, the word Khar is missing from the reference list. Khar appearing to denote the meaning of 'one', 'first' and/or 'single'.

The Collector

14th Oct 03, 7:09 PM

What language is this based off of?

I've always thought that the Relic guys may have loosely based it's traditions on Middle Eastern culture...the music that plays in one of the missions when it describes the fact that Sajuuk is real...it doesn't sound Western European. But hey, it could be stereotyping speaking.

In any case, this is a fairly nifty work that would be useful if recognized at legitimate. Kudos to DerKommissar.

DerKommissar

15th Oct 03, 4:58 AM

Lesson Seven

Hello! I'll be using this post later today to post a lot of new information AND I also have a wonderful story that will be put up written by the talented and diligent Ishaar Niirfa!

Dear Elorran:

I am aware the word "Khar" does not appear. This is because I changed the spelling to "Kar" to write it more phonetically. Notice in the games that it is pronounced "Kar" and not "Khar." In phonetic transcription the letters KH are pronounced like the "ch" at the end of Bach. (If you are famliar with the Russian language, think of the letter written "X.") Check my Hiigaran numbers 1-20 on one of the first posts, I am more thorough than you think.

Dear The Collector:

I am working with my own imagination, the words provided by the developers, Arabic, Hebrew, and Finnish. I very much agree with your opinion that there is a Middle Eastern theological and cultural tradition extant in Homeworld.

May, Must, Might, Which, This, That

wan-----may(can) (+infinitive)
ex. kar. Ak wan yoreema kiith'samaa. (I can be a kiith'sa.)
(note: other tenses formed with the conjugated form of the verb. Only present uses the infinitive.)

wik'ke-----must
ex. var. ip haak wikke yoreema eram ark rozt. (You must be onboard the ship today.)

wanya-----might
jokii-which (question word) +genitive

dak-----this
dak'ke-----that

Next Lesson: Numbers to 1000 and Expanded Verb List

Triumvir

15th Oct 03, 5:04 AM

*mind boggles*
Seriously though, this is an amazing effort.

DerKommissar

15th Oct 03, 11:04 AM

IMPORTANT NOTICE

In order to maintain the focus of this thread I have moved Ishaar Niirfa's excellent story to the premier position in a new sister thread to this one. You can find it here:

I Can Smell the Sea (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=265682#post265682)

Ishaar Niirfa

15th Oct 03, 3:28 PM

Wasn't expecting it to be posted so soon but glad to see it up already :D

starrider

15th Oct 03, 4:18 PM

whoa incredible, Ishaar, once the hersey wars are over at HWU, why dont you turn them into a masterpiece like this is promiseing to be.

The Collector

15th Oct 03, 4:40 PM

Working on origin of Kiith names: a great deal of people remarked that names of "Kharak" sounded like Karnak in Egypt, Kadesh another obvious one, Gehenna being the "place of fire"...Manaan may be Manannán, Irish sea god or just co-incidence?

theBlind

15th Oct 03, 5:55 PM

The Collector: you might be interested in this (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19390) tread in the main forum.

-theBlind

DerKommissar

15th Oct 03, 7:42 PM

Indeed, the thread that TheBlind has provided a link to is fascinating. I myself had already noticed many of these allusions but Crobato points several interesting things that I have not seen before.

I also want to take this opportunity to steer you all to the new Hiigaran Language and Culture Fiction Thread which has debuted with its inaugural tale, "I Can Smell the Sea" by Ishaar Niirfa. Two more tales are currently in the works including the backstory behind the fabled Manaani Bloodsword also by Ishaar Niirfa and one of my own creation tentatively titled "Legend" involving the Somtaaw star-metal scrolls.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates here!

NOTE: SPECIAL REQUEST!

Dear Language Students,

I would like to get some idea of the progress of those bold learners assiduously or passively studying the Hiigaran language. Please post here or p.m. me short descriptive paragraphs or sentences in Kushan-La. I will post the best of them and seriously praise the authors. Thank you!!

Kymera

15th Oct 03, 8:48 PM

This is crazily good stuff! :read:
However I'm in Japanese III and I don't want my mind to get boggled so I have to read it in slow chunks. ^_^

DerKommissar

16th Oct 03, 3:04 PM

Lesson 8: Numbers to 1000 and the Subjunctive

TO BE POSTED THIS EVENING

STUDENT SUBMISSIONS

arkosh! ak eema starrider. ak no'il yorkatat kushan-la! ak no'il akfal no'ilpakt. ak rot kushan-la. ak eema grachal.
-----Starrider

Nice work!!!

Ishaar Niirfa

16th Oct 03, 6:42 PM

I'd write some but I am sure you know I am slightly busy to be studying this heavily ;)

54x

17th Oct 03, 5:58 AM

DerKommisar- Nice thread, and a good first conlang! :)

I had a similar idea beforehand and our phonetical transcriptions came out quite similar, although I used less sounds than you. I skimmed over it as it's far too early in the morning for an in-depth read.

I simply had a comment on something you seem to have missed- the sounds you list as having 'no english equivilent' is somewhat incorrect. Some double letters (including the ones you listed as having no equivilent) are stressed. If you're familiar with spanish, you'll know exactly what that means and how it works. If you're not, then stressing a syllable is making is slightly louder than the rest of the word. Note how the second part of the word fountain is louder... that's the sort of thing I mean.

Also aim intentional irregularities. Most conlangs are much better in a somewhat easier form, and irregularities should be on the most common words only, and even then it is better to have few. I'll come back with some examples later. Wonderful first attempt though, wonderful.

Kymera

17th Oct 03, 9:45 AM

In Japanese, the verb "to do": suru is changed when it is used as a "can" form ("I can do...something") to dekimasu when other verbs are changed by a simple rule that just changes the last syllable to something else.

It's these little quirks that make language-learning confusing. I suggest you use more exceptions. ;)

54x

17th Oct 03, 2:50 PM

kymera... no offense, but that is one of the things that make language learning EASIER, being a veteran of about three or so languages :) Systematic means that you need only learn the components of the language, rather than a unique and individual word for each idea. Look at the world's most popular conlang- esperanto, it is highly systematic, even though it had its own oddities. (although those systems could do with improvement still)

Kymera

17th Oct 03, 4:59 PM

Eh, I dunno, I am happy when we come to a chapter in my Japanese III textbook that doesnt contain exceptions ^_^

54x

17th Oct 03, 5:11 PM

If you wanted a structured language to learn, you should've looked for Logban, or if you only want 'natural languages,' then the next best is probably German- although natural structured languages do get incredibly confusing in their layers of logic... /me speaks from experience with doing 6 years of German.

Ishaar Niirfa

27th Oct 03, 1:23 PM

Comments are welcome at the L & C Thread for my works so far, more coming :D.

But in the meantime lets hope that DerKommisar does post again... and soon :(.

Sjeti scientist

14th Mar 04, 8:17 PM

i would do it myself but i dont have time so could someone pm me the hiigaran question "would you go out with me?":giggler:

also i would like to know how to say "lindsay" in hiigaran.

Bnonn

14th Mar 04, 8:34 PM

"Would you got out with me Lindsay?"

Falcrum

15th Mar 04, 1:09 AM

Bnonn, you missed the "in hiigaran" bit of the question.
But this stuff really is brilliant, almost matches Tolkien's work on elvish and the other Middle-Earth languages.

Sjeti scientist

15th Mar 04, 5:27 AM

behahave bnonn. my answer is no. and i would someone PM me the words to that sentence and the way to say LINDSAY in HIIGARAN

ionfish

15th Mar 04, 5:30 AM

I'm locking this before it gets further out of hand. If the thread starter wishes to pursue the thread, can they please PM me and we'll sort something out.

[edit] Unlocked by request.

DerKommissar

22nd Mar 04, 1:35 PM

Hello Everyone!!!! (Expect me to be saying that in Kushan-La from now on!)

I'm sorry that I went off and left all of this unfinished before. Perhaps you can see some of my reasons in the newly locked thread "Return." Anyway, I'm glad to be back now and I hope to be getting things going again shortly.

Sincerely,
DerKommissar

starrider

22nd Mar 04, 3:48 PM

WHOO HOO!!!!! HES BACK!

and i thouhgt you were dead.......

:lol:

Sjeti scientist

23rd Mar 04, 6:32 AM

COOL!!! i can hardly wait to learn more!

i thought they were boring you. i would include myself but look at my reg date.

Sjeti scientist

24th Mar 04, 4:05 PM

i am officially bumping this thread. :bump:

The Reflection

24th Mar 04, 4:09 PM

No bumping, please. It's not like we have that much traffic here, and I'm sure that this thread will sustain itself once DerKommissar starts posting again.

DerKommissar

24th Mar 04, 5:26 PM

HIIGARAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE: RESUMED

TOPICS

1. Heartfelt Apology
2. Last Lesson Continued (Numbers, Continued)
3. Next Lesson (Sample Conversation, Colloquialisms, Hiigaran for Dating)
4. Names (as per request)
5. Culture (2 Lessons): Current Political Situation of Hiigara, Life of a
Hiigaran Teen

Apology

Dear Readers of The Forums,

I realize that it was rude and really kind of reprehensible to leave without so much as an explanation. I will now at least tell you what I've been up to in the meantime. I have been busy writing for one thing. I am working on a novel tentatively titled The Conquerors which tells the story of an American lawyer in Russia. I have also been working on my Honors Thesis as well as law school applications. I am taking a overloaded course schedule, which barely leaves time for social dance lessons (je ne plaisante pas!). I also have a real job. Basically, I'm just swamped with all kinds of things. That, however, does not mean that I don't really enjoy writing here and truly appreciate the support I've had in the past from readers at the Forums. I hope you enjoy my contributions in the future. Again I sincerely apologize for leaving!

Warm Regards,
DerKommissar

Previous Lesson Continued:
NUMBERS FROM 1 TO 1000

I'm Working On It Folks! (Even as you read this!)