I told you before about more Ori verbs and how to conjugate them. Now I will move on to nouns. As I've mentioned before, Ori nouns come in four classes (like grammatical genders): animate, inanimate, celestial, and abstract. Ori has noun cases that suffix to nouns to show their grammatical role in the sentence. There are singular and plural, and different cases depending on the class of the noun. Below are the case endings for singular animate and inanimate nouns. The column that says -C stop contains suffixes for nouns that end in an oral or nasal stop (-t, -p, -c, -b, -d, -g, -m, -n). These nouns usually get a little epenthetic -i- inserted before the case suffix, as you can see below.
Note that the blue shaded rows are where the cases for both animate and inanimate are the same.
So what do these cases mean?
Nom = nominative: this marks the subject of a verb. Example: tu-porin-ismerir 'the shepherd is dancing'
Gen = genitive: nouns in the genitive case show possession or relation. Example: lye-bus tu-ema-re 'the house of the woman; the woman's house'
Dat = dative: nouns in the dative case are the indirect object of a verb. In English, this would be often marked with the preposition to or for. Example: maropye tu-porit tu-ema-te 'give the sheep to the woman'
Acc = accusative: nouns in the accusative case are the direct object of a verb. Example: tepe-t cyepu cyan 'I took the fruit'
Loc = locative: nouns in the locative case show that something is located in, at, or on a thing. Example: bu-le ummum 'I am staying at home'
Instr = instrumental: the instrumental case is used to show that something was done by means of some noun--that this noun is the instrument. Example: restin-ir lye-holist ayalnda 'they are opening the door with a key'
Voc = vocative: this case is used when you mean to call out to someone or something. Example: Oa, porin-ca! 'Hey, shepherd!'
The cases for other classes (singulars and plurals) are below.
So let’s look at some examples of these cases in action–in actual phrases and sentences.
I’ve been writing journey-stories in Rílin. It is a genre of poem developed by the Ríli people as many of them were driven into exile by the Tosi invaders that ravaged the northern forests of Izoi. I want to create a book of these poems. They are written in Rílin and translated into English as accurately as possible. I include both Rílin orthography and romanization too. These are examples of poems I wrote earlier this year. I’m working on other genres of Rílin poetry too.
I wanted to develop the language of the Orikrindians. I knew their language was called Ori, but I wasn't inspired to flesh it out until recently.
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Ori is a nominative/accusative language (like Indo-European languages tend to be). It uses suffixes to indicate different persons/numbers on verbs. There are three different ways to conjugate verbs, depending on the what sound the verbs stem ends with.
The first conjugation includes verbs ending in -i as well as all alveolar sounds (-t, -d, -n, -s, -l, -r). Some of these verbs are below:
meri 'dance'
boltin 'keep, save, guard'
culi 'avoid, go away'
tistit 'whisper'
pyalir 'see via divine gift'
sullin 'flow'
The first conjugation endings determine the subject of the verb. For the first conjugation, the endings are:
-m (1st person singular) meri-m 'I dance'
-t (2nd person singular) meri-t 'you dance'
-r (3rd person singular, animate/inanimate) meri-r 'he/she/it dances'
-l (3rd person singular, celestial/abstract) meri-l 'he/she/it dances'
-bra (1st person plural) meri-bra 'we dance'
-dra (2nd person plural) meri-dra 'you all dance'
-nda (3rd person plural, animate/inanimate) meri-nda 'they dance'
-lta (3rd person plural, celestial/abstract) meri-lta 'they dance'
You will notice that in the 3rd person, there are different forms, one for "animate/inanimate" nouns and the other for "celestial/abstract" nouns. These are different forms that agree with different noun cases that Ori has. These are like grammatical genders in some languages (e.g. Spanish, French, German) but come in four varieties: animate class includes animals and people (generally), while inanimate includes any type of inanimate object or thing. However, the other classes complicate things a bit. Abstract class includes most concepts that have no direct physical manifestation (necessarily): death, life, love, enjoyment, resentment, disdain, joy, etc. Celestial is a somewhat special class. It includes things that naturally exist "up" or in the sky, such as: the sun, moon, clouds, stars, the sky itself, wind, light, darkness, planets, etc. But it also includes anything and anyone related to spirituality or religion--anything sacred as well. Such things as: priests, temples, gods, altars, devotions, faith (note this is included here and not in abstract), holy garments, holy places, chants, hymns, sacred objects, etc. These nouns are grammatical categories, lexically determined, but they have semantic origins.
So with verbs, you have to make sure the verb form agrees with the class of the noun you are using. So if you want to say "the priest is dancing" vs "the queen is dancing", the form of "dance" is different: ti-celunyas merilvs. tu-syalanyas merir. Note the difference of the forms of meri'dance'
omfg. So I had this huge thing written out but my dumb ass didn’t write in it a word doc first so tumblr/the browser just randomly reloaded it and deleted the whole thing. fml. I am gonna try to recreate it but fuuuuuuu-
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I wanted to give some more detailed context behind the nezeletŭn (pronunciation in IPA: /nɛ’zɛlɛtɯn/). These poems are meant to be from the perspective of Rílin people who have been forced from their homes in northern Izoi by the invading armies of the Tosi Empire.
Prior to this invasion, the Ríli people had been highly isolationist and pacifist. They had been largely protected from any outsiders by the venomous flora and fauna of the deep forests they lived in, but they were unprepared for the might and determination of the Tosi, whose large Empire was running short of natural resources that the Rílin forests were rich in—especially wood and mineral deposits.
The invasion of the Tosi ended up causing a rift in Rílin society. Some Ríli stayed in their traditional lands and formed a defensive militia to engage the Tosi in guerilla-style warfare. Despite the military might and physical size and strength of the Tosi, these Ríli had the advantage of deep knowledge of the forest—also the venomous plants and animals of the woods were deadly to the Tosi, while harmless to the Ríli. These Ríli who stayed and fought became known as the Sunuli. They drifted from their strictly pacifist religion (based on the goddess Ifinshe) and cultural mores. They formed an alliance with the Gotevians, who aided them with resources while they fought the Tosi.
Another group of Ríli, known henceforth as the Lunauli, decided to move north, into the deeper and harsher recess of the forest around a great mountain, beyond where the Tosi were willing to penetrate. They settled around this mountain and eventually even built underground settlements within and under the mountain and its foothills. They remained here, kept their tenets of isolation and pacifism, and slowly their society began to change. Whereas the Ríli had been egalitarian for centuries and had democratically elected leaders, the Lunauli began to reinstate ancient hierarchies and a much more strictly stratified society, instituting a monarchy. Linguistic changes began to appear as well; the Lunauli reverted to an older style of speech, which had been abandoned for a while. This style was based largely on verbal endings and pronouns that indicate different degrees of formality (think French tuvsvousbut with three degrees instead of two and application to all persons/numbers on verbs). The Sunuli dialect, by contrast, gained a number of Gotevian loanwords from their new allies, especially words for different technology from Keta (the hemisphere where the Gotevians live) and material culture from Keta (terms like saŕe from Got. sazdem ‘razor’, mena from Got. mena ‘lute’ and many others).
The writers of the nezeletŭn (journey-stories) are neither Sunuli nor Lunauli, for these poems were mostly written before either term came to be used. They were just Ríli, suffering and grieving for their lost family members and occupied or destroyed homes. They were written as they wandered the wild lands to the north, as much of Rílin land was not actively settled at the time of the invasion, and settlements and cities were far apart.
Hopefully this gives a little context and maybe some more meaning to the journey-stories as I continue to write and share them.
Image here is the kind of flower I always envisaged as the national symbol of Orikrindia.
Last time I showed you some Ori verbs and how they are conjugated. I mentioned that there are essentially three ways to conjugate verbs (1st, 2nd, 3rd conjugations), and showed you some verbs from the 1st class of those verbs. I kind of lied, as it is not quite as simple as that sounds. Despite all verbs ending in -i and in all alveolars being grouped as one class, there is a little variation inside the conjugation, depending what the individual sound in the verb stem ends in. I go into a little more detail for the 1st conjugation below. Note some of the differences marked in bold where there are some variations in the stems and endings.
Verbs in –i
meri-m ‘I dance’
meri-t ‘you dance’
meri-r ‘he/she/it dances’ (animate, inanimate)
meri-l ‘he/she/it dances’ (celestial, abstract)
meri-bra ‘we dance’
meri-dra ‘you all dance’
meri-nda ‘they (an, inan) dance’
meri-lta ‘they (cel, abs) dance’
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Verbs in -n
Note difference in some endings/stems.
boltin-im ‘I keep’
boltin-it ‘you keep’
boltin-ir ‘he/she/it keeps’ (an, inan)
boltinil ‘he/she/it keeps’ (celestial, abstract)
boltim-bra ‘we keep’
boltin-dra ‘you all keep’
boltin-da ‘they keep’ (an, inan)
bolti-lta ‘they keep’ (cel, abs)
Verbs in -l
Note changed suffix:
potil-im ‘I think’
potil-it ‘you think’
potil-ir ‘he/she/it thinks’ (an, inan)
potil-il ‘he/she/it thinks’ (cel, abs)
potil-bra ‘we think’
potil-dra ‘you all think’
potil-nda ‘they think’ (an, inan)
potil-ta ‘they think’ (cel, abs)
Verbs in -s
Note devoicing on plural endings with verbs ending with unvoiced consonants
cetis-im ‘I cut’
cetis-it ‘you cut’
cetis-ir ‘he/she/it cuts’ (an, inan)
cetis-il ‘he/she/it cuts’ (cel, abs)
cetis-pra ‘we cut’
cetis-tra ‘you all cut’
cetis-ta ‘they cut’ (an, inan)
cetis-ta ‘they cut’ (cel, abs)
Verbs in -d
Note some stem changes.
trellid-im ‘I walk’
trellid-it ‘you walk’
trellid-ir ‘he/she/it walks’ (an, inan)
trellid-il ‘he/she/it walks’ (cel, abs)
trellim-bra ‘we walk’
trellid-ra ‘you all walk’
trelli-nda ‘they walk’ (an, inan)
trelli-lta ‘they walk’ (cel, abs)
Verbs in -t
Note differences in stems and endings.
grasit-im ‘I scrape’
grasit-it ‘you scrape’
grasit-ir ‘he/she/it scrapes’ (an, inan)
grasit-il ‘he/she/it scrapes’ (cel, abs)
grasi-pra ‘we scrape’
grasi-tra ‘you all scrape’
grasi-nda ‘they scrape’ (an, inan)
grasi-lta ‘they scrape’ (cel, abs)
Verbs in -r
Note difference in some stem forms.
lar-im ‘I laugh’
lar-it ‘you laugh’
lar-ir ‘he/she/it laughs’ (an, inan)
lar-il ‘he/she/it laughs’ (cel, abs)
lar-bra ‘we laugh’
lar-dra ‘you all laugh’
lar-nda ‘they laugh’ (an, inan)
la-lta ‘they laugh’ (cel, abs)
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Alright, that’s it for the regular 1st conjugation verbs. Many of the variations in these verbs are mirrored elsewhere and are probably results of semi-regular morphophonotactic rules…but I’ll need to figure out exactly what those appear to be later on.
Another Ori topic I wanted to talk about are definite articles. Ori has them. It doesn’t have any other articles (like indefinite artcles, e.g. English ‘a/an’, French ‘un(e), des’). These definite articles are roughly equivalent to English ‘the’, but the usage varies in Ori and may not always align with English usage (i.e. you might see an Ori article where you wouldn’t in English (or whatever other language), and vice versa). In Ori, the definite articles are proclitics. They are written with a hypen before the noun, and like other things in Ori, they have to agree with the noun class of the noun. See some examples below.
tu-syalanyas ‘the queen’ (animate, singular)
tun-hilunyan ‘the merchats’ (animate, plural)
ti-yutar ‘the cloud’ (celestial, singular)
tin-celunyas ‘the priests’ (celestial, plural)
lye-buni ‘[of] the house’ (inanimate, singular)
lyen-kapyan ‘the desks’ (inanimate, plural)
co-sestas ‘the life’ (abstract, singular)
con-gerumin ‘the deaths’ (abstract, plural)
As you can see, the plural forms of these articles are made by adding -n to the end. You can get a little preview of some of the case system for nouns too in the above examples….soon we’ll see the rest!
Aeniith itself is a planet—a cohesive world in a fictional universe. The basic layout of Aeniith includes two lateral hemispheres. Just as the concepts of “eastern” and “western” hemispheres of the Earth are based on an arbitrarily drawn line, so are the two hemispheres of Aeniith. The “western” hemisphere is known as Keta. This includes two major continents, Quarios in the south, and Ei in the north. The name Keta means “cradle” in Gotêvi (also known as Gotevian or Gotêvinur), one of the languages spoken in Quarios and Ei.
The “eastern” hemisphere is known as Elta. Elta includes the continents Izoi, Naga, Arcuna, and Hizai.
Throughout Aeniith, there are various nations, countries, and cultural groups of different species of humanoids. The main species are as follows:
Amelae (singular Amel): these are the most physiologically “human-like” of the intelligent humanoids species of Aeniith. They live in Keta and Elta. They are also the most internally diverse species with regard to physical differences. Well known nations of Amelae are Quarios and Ei (made up of the Gotêvi and Lomi cultures), Orikrindia (the island east of Ei), the Arshi of Arcuna, and the Teg of southern Quarios.
Zuna: the Zuna live primarily in Elta, and are notable for being larger than most other species. They have higher sexual dimorphism, with the females typically being larger than the males. Well known nations of Zuna are the Tosi, Selupa, and Karkin.
Ríli (singular Ríla): these are some of the smallest of the peoples of Aeniith. They have greyish skin and typically stand 145-160cm tall. They are native to Izoi in Elta
Bae (singular Baa): the Bae are the most unique from the other species of Aeniith. They have physiological systems that none of the other peoples share, such as a separate circulatory system, low level telepathic abilities, the ability to absorb electricity from the nervous systems of others species into their own, very long life spans (800-3000 years, depending on the subspecies) and six fingers on each hand. They are unable to successfully breed with any other groups beyond their own. Because of their marked physiology, there are many theories across Aeniith as to their origins, although none has been proven. They are divided into several subspecies: Mei, Nonil, Megana, Quiluma, and Nirfai, which tend to have self-contained cultural groups. They live primarily in Keta, but some groups have traveled to Elta, most notably the Clussimeth (sometimes called “vampires” of the Bae), an offshoot of Nirfai, which live on Izoi. The term Bae is actually an exonym (name given to a group by another outside group) that is a Gotevian word, the plural of the word baa, meaning vaguely ‘spirit’. The Baen word for themselves is Iemir or ‘the people’. The singular form of this word is Iem or Em.
Amongst the peoples of Aeniith, interbreeding is possible for some. The most common by far is that between Amelae and Zuna. They are probably the most physiologically similar of any two groups. Many people of mixed Amel and Zuna heritage live in Elta especially (due to this being the side of the planet where almost all Zuna live), and some cultural groups exist that are totally integrated and consist of Zuna, Amelae, and many degrees of mixed-heritage people. One such nation is that of the Keresn.
Other species may occasionally produce children together, but it is far less common than the Amel/Zuna. A few Ríla/Zuna pairings have produced children, but they are not common and not well known. The Bae, as mentioned above, cannot reproduce with any other species of Aeniith, though are able to do so within their own subgroups (Mei, Megana, etc.).
I’m working on fleshing out Gotevian customs and cultural practices. Here is a short blurb on wedding customs. I’m trying to fill any cultural “gaps” or holes in information for Aeniith (specifically Gotêvi at the moment), please give me world building asks so I can be sure to have a balanced creation! Thank you! :)
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Gotevian Marriage Customs
Marriage in Gotevi is a legal practice rather than a religious one, though religious marriage ceremonies can be held nonetheless. Weddings must be over seen by a magistrate (irftɛnnir)in order to be considered legal. Usually they are held in a public building—some buildings exist constructed specifically for matrimonial purposes. Both parties usually invite their friends to the ceremony, sometimes even the entire neighborhood wherein they live will come, if only to eat and drink for free.
Traditionally, wedding clothing is bright yellow, for both bride and groom. Their clothes are similar in cut and style as well—usually shin-length tunics with long sleeves. The similarity of clothing symbolizes the binding and thus likeness of two people.
First, there is a party with food and drinks and often some type of music. Fervent dancing is traditional; this is perhaps the only case in which tradition suggests unruliness in Gotevian culture. It is considered appropriate that the woman and the man both socialize with their friends of the opposite gender to emphasize the trust of their partner. There are many traditional games played during wedding parties, including lots of gambling, though these are recent developments and are often scorned by the older generations.
After the festivities, the magistrate arrives and the people to be married sign a contract to each other. Everyone attending is technically a witness, but the magistrate’s presence is still required. After this, the couple is tied together facing each other with ribbons by their friends, and they must untangle themselves without any other help. This supposedly symbolizes the fact that now they must rely on each other to get out of trouble and have the ultimate trust in each other.
I’m kind of too high strung right now to do much writing/creating without getting really antsy. Kind of in that high-alert mode because of the impending storm....so I’ve been going through my old writing/files and reading stuff from before. I wanted to share this piece about the various theories throughout Aeniith about what is the deal with the Bayë, because they are markedly different from the other humanoid species on the planet. They live for hundreds to thousands of year. They have six fingers on each hand. They have a bizarre circulatory system. The have nictitating membranes. They can’t interbreed with other species at all. Anyway, here are some of the theories of various groups about what’s up with the Bayë.
Please note: none of these are necessarily canonically accurate. These are ideas about what people in Aeniith think about the Bayë.
There is much mystery surrounding the origins and history of the Bayë species. They appear, from all existing evidence, to be almost completely unrelated to any other sentient Aeniith species. Even their relationship to other, non-sentient Aeniith species is suspect at best.
What makes Bayën history even more puzzling is the evidence of Bayën fossil remains. Since no Aeniith civilization has developed technology sufficient to accurately date fossil remains, it is very unclear as to the exact age of Bayë fossils. However, it is quite clear that the age of some excavated remains date back into the millions of years, which seems to defy all explanation.
For centuries, anthropologists, archeologists, and historians from all over the globe have attempted to piece together the mystery of Bayën origin. To this day, no one theory has been proven, but there are a few that have become the most popularly accepted. These theories vary by region and race, each nation or culture adopting their own theory or mythology to explain the Bayë's existence.
Evolutionary Stagnation Theory
The Tosi have the simplest explanation: the Bayë are simply incredibly slow to evolve. There is some merit to this theory, since the Bayën generational cycle is magnitudes slower than other Aeniith species (around 250 years), it makes sense that the genetic mutations required for evolution would be greatly slowed down. However, this alone does not explain the almost ceasing of evolution for hundreds of millions of years. Tosi researchers suggest that the nature of Bayë physiology has made them practically immune to mutation, that some time around 200,000,000 years ago, Bayë evolution practically stopped. This still does not explain the fact that the Bayë have not evolved technologically in this time either. Most Tosi write this off as a flaw of Bayën intellect, but this has very little scientific bearing.
Hibernation Theory
In recent years, Gotevian and Lomi researchers have compiled together what they call, "Hibernation Theory". It is also accepted among some Tosi and Selupa, though not quite as abundantly. This theory tries to explain why Bayë remains can be found dating back millions of years, while their oral history and technological advancement seems to only date back some 50,000 years (approximately 200 generations). Researchers theorize that the Bayë are an extremely ancient species with a history dating back into the hundreds of millions of years. Their ancient ancestors, for disputed reasons, were able to put themselves into a form of long-term hibernation, and kept themselves asleep for millions of years. During this time, the other sentient Aeniith species, quite possibly evolved from ancient Bayën, came into existence.
Other speculations are that the Bayë were put into hibernation as embryos, which would explain the lack of any oral history of the civilization from before hibernation. Another possible explanation is that the hibernation process imposed a sort of amnesia on the individuals, which caused them to lose all memory of their ancient lives.
In 577 E.K, Lomi archeologists happened upon one anomalous baa fossil which appears to be only some few hundred-thousand years old—within the great gap of Bayën fossil record. The fossil was found in the silt of what used to be an ancient estuary, suggesting that it was washed ashore from the ocean. Some Lomi researchers made the leap of suggesting that this was evidence of deep-ocean Bayë hibernation. Many Gotevian and Lomi researchers have scoffed at this idea as an unfounded conclusion; however, it has started gaining popularity in Lomilin, and is currently the most popular explanation.
Some of the most eccentric ideas stem from the notion that the Bayë once had a highly technologically advanced civilization that was threatened by some sort of global catastrophe. The Bayë put themselves into some sort of long-term hibernation in order to save their species from genocide, through the aid of their advanced technology. While there is no evidence to contradict this theory, there is little to support it either, and one would expect to find some sort of evidence of this civilization, even after millions of years.
Extra Planetary Theory
This is a theory most prevalent in Selupa, whose contact with the Bayë is one of the more recent, and where the Bayë still seem incredibly mysterious. The Selupa have come to believe that the Bayë are not of Aeniith at all, but originate from another world entirely. They point to the lack of evidence between Bayën physiology and other Aeniith species (including non-sentient). For instance, only two existing Aeniith species, living in limited numbers, possess anything resembling the iconic Bayën "blood-ropes". One of these animals is a small mammalian feline-like creature (often referred to as the "Bayën Cat"). The other is a large lizard found in southern Elta, and only in limited numbers. The Selupa suggest that these animals were imported, possibly as pets, from the world from which the Bayë originally came.
This theory, alone, however, does not explain the existence of Bayë fossil records dating back into the millions of years. The Selupa, faced with this new conundrum, have turned to other theories to explain this problem, (while still maintaining that the Bayë are aliens). The most prevalent idea is that the Bayë do not evolve at all, that the same genetic mutations that cause Aeniith species to evolve do not occur in Bayë, that maybe their mutations were silenced millions of years ago, in a world far away from Aeniith, possibly by advanced technology, or possibly by some kind of evolutionary stagnation.
In recent years, however, more and more Selupan scientists have come to believe in the Quariosian view that the Bayë are not evolutionarily stagnant, and that there was some sort of great hibernation. Some have even begun abandoning their insistence that the Bayë are of another world, though the vast majority still believes this to be the case.
Karkin Religion
The Bayë are an essential part of Karkin Religion, and thus the Karkin have very different views as to their origins. Karkin religious texts tell that the Bayë were created by the Gods in order to pass down their inevitable teachings. However, the teachings given to Bayë will only be passed along at a specific time, when the world is on the brink of global disaster. Until that time comes to pass, however, the Bayë are non-divine beings. Most Karkin treat the Bayë with respect similar to that of other cultures. Some of the more radical Karkin, however, believe that Bayë to be empty vessels, to be used simply for Karkin interests; some even advocate slavery. Others see the Bayë as divine beings and worship them as demi-Gods.
Since Karkin religion vastly predates their knowledge of Bayën fossil remains, the Karkin have not had a pleasant time coming to terms with these new findings. Most of the Karkin do not even care about the fossils, seeing them as simple error or even heretical diversions. However, others have begun to believe the fossil records, and have pushed back the date of the world's origins to support these new findings. Some believe that the Bayë were put to sleep by the Gods, in order to preserve themselves for the time when the rest of Aeniith civilization would need them.
The Bayë Perception of Themselves
Ironically, the Bayë do not seem to concern themselves with their own origins as much as their neighbors do. Few talk about it at all, believing the questions to be irrelevant to their current nature and civilization. Obviously, some Bayë do contemplate their origins, but there seems to be little consensus, as very few Bayë are willing to commit to one theory or another. Many times, the Bayë in a certain region will take on the theory that is most prevalent in that particular culture.
Conclusion
The reality is, Aeniith science is still in its infancy and there is much to learn before any concrete hypothesis can be made as to the origins of the Bayë people. The current trend is in acceptance of multiple theories: that the truth is a combination of a number of different ideas. This may, however, simply be a reflection of the times, where Aeniith cultures tend to be more concerned with making alliances than starting conflict. The truth may turn out to be something quite different, or something even mundane. Only continued research into the fields of biology, chemistry, and archeology will be able to answer these questions.
