#sw conlang

[adragonsfriend]

“Sand people isn’t a good name” “tuskens is a worse name”

Lmao they’re all exonyms just invent a conlang real quick so you can make a name for them to call themselves in their own language. duh

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

The Phantom Menace Opening Crawl: in keldeorinyaa!

I said I was gonna redo my Kel Dor conlang translations - here's a big one! :D

Instead of listing the vocab, I'm just gonna link my dictionary sheet. Some of the vocab needs explanation; scroll to the bottom for notes.

Disclaimer: this is Baby's First Conlang and I'm doing it for fun; don't expect linguistic accuracy. My primary motivation for conlanging is as worldbuilding first, learning some cool stuff about linguistics second. Also I have never taken a thing 100% seriously in my life.

Pronunciation notes---

š = the 'sh' in sheep

ň = the 'ng' in thing

č = the 'ch' in cheese

ao = oh, as in "oh dear"

ë = schwa-ish, very unstressed vowel, 'uh'

ř = rhotic r, american-english style

r = tapped r, spanish-style

rr = rolled r

Grammatical notes---

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. repabliki halmiyanšan ei ravediz khalaldiyeh. konya halmizeolko a nainoa di yajhe yakaviliyeh. [galactic republic] [focus.p] [turmoil] [bury-passive.ongoing]. [distant] [star system] [relational.p] [tax] [topic.p] [regarding.p] [debate-passive.ongoing]

⟶ Sentence structure is SOV, and strictly so on the primary verbs.

⟶ Verbs are strictly either active or passive; you have to use different words for agent vs. recipient, it can be quite Rude if u don't. (See the cultural notes at the end.) For example, khalaldi is a passive verb, used for the thing that's being buried; its active counterpart is kali, used for the thing doing the burying.

⟶ Verbs come in a base-present form, and can be conjugated for past, future-certain, future-uncertain, ongoing, and habitual tenses/aspects. There are five verb classes and each one has a fairly regular conjugation protocol.

⟶ [.p] in brackets indicates a particle - these are the grammatical bones of the sentence.

⮡ the particles here are ei, a, di, and yajhe.

⟶ I studied Japanese for a few years and a lot of the basic grammar here is similar, because idk, I just vibe with it. XD

⟶ There will also be future updates of this post once i figure out how noun class works. There are some aspects of noun class in here now (plurals, and the shit noun class for the Trade Federation), but the rest will have to wait lmao

⟶ nainoa = more like a membership fee in Vibes than a tax; it's what you give to the community in return for benefiting from it. Dorin does not have a monetary economy except for where it interacts with the outside galaxy; homeworld communities run on barter, exchanges, and the rule of hospitality. (See cultural notes again.)

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. ghaylaleme niňyavedi di na yoidaake kšabinakšinie baladura ksoli ivooli ei gyelili dekho zakhi tya, giya tsërrea naboo iyë hayanin lilangelale. [greedy-vek] [trade federation] [topic.p] [intention.m] [dangerous] [warships.pl] [blockade] [method.p] [trouble] [focus.p] [resolve] [aux.future-uncertain] [purpose.p] [hoping.m], [small] [planet] [naboo] [destination.p] [freight] [stop-forcibly].

⟶ ghaylale on its own is an adjective meaning 'wanting, desiring'; it's pretty neutral in tone. Adding me on the end turns it into the shit noun class and makes it derogatory: greedy, entitled, etc. The villains of the story get the shit noun class instead of the people noun class - this is common in children's books.

⮡ vek means 'shit'. This is the actual name of the class.

⮡ noun class shows up in plurals, adjectives, verbs, rather than the actual noun. There are 16 of them, which is why it's taking me so long to figure them out lmao

⟶ there are no capital letters in keldeorinyaa. this is because i am lazy.

⟶ [.m] = mood particle. na is the intentional mood, used when you're planning to do something, or have done something on purpose. tya is the desiderative mood, when you're hoping for something or trying to aim for a specific outcome.

⟶ gyelili = to resolve, but in a bad-faith way; to come in and dictate a unilateral solution that isn't actually mutually beneficial. Kel dor society goes hard on cooperation and they have a lot of different words for different levels of this sort of thing. (See cultural notes again.)

⟶ ivooli = trouble, specifically that which you had a hand in making. Used here instead of ovoo because there wouldn't have been an issue had the trade federation not gotten in bed with the sith :V

⟶ dekho = future-uncertain tense conjugation of the verb di, used as an auxiliary verb here. Can't use gyeliliča, that's too certain; can't use gyelilekho; too uncertain. gyelili dekho strikes the right balance between the villain's intention to Commit Crimes and the heroes' intention to stop them.

While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.... repabliki ča kongeressi di ryuakiah re ninaimak oro lilaan a yakariyi dizi ňa, čansala di halmiyanšan ade maskar ki tsvakanja ča yaduriyaan jedai naitaga, kšaban ei šyemriyi zakhi hagerale… [republic] [genitive.p2] [congress] [topic.p] [anxiety] [qual.p] [event-plural] [neg.p] [end] [relational.p] [argue] [aux-habitual] [timeframe.p], [chancellor] [topic.p] [galaxy] [locative.p2] [peace] [additive.p] [justice] [genitive.p2] [guardian] [jedi knight-dual], [conflict] [focus.p] [resolve] [purpose.p] [direct-past]...

⟶ holy run-on sentences batman

⟶ There are three genitive particles for slightly different meanings. ta is for something that's yours, ča is for when you belong to a group, and de for relationships between people. ča is specifically a community-membership thing, used for clans, schools, cities and towns, planets, etc. (Absolutely do not use it in relation to slavery, you'll get ur ass beat.)

⟶ ryuakiah re = alarming, concerning, literally 'anxiety-inducing'. ryuakiah is 'anxiety', re is the qualitative particle, use of which can turn a lot of non-adjective words into adjectives.

⟶ oro lilaan = without end. Most particles have to come after the thing they're talking about, but oro, the negation particle, can come on either side of the word, especially when there's another particle where it might otherwise be.

⟶ yakariyi dizi = to debate (all the fucking time). dizi is the habitual form of the aux verb di. This means that the Senate is debating the matter (as they always do), and it goes nicely with the problem presented in TPM (i.e. that they're not fuckin doing anything to solve the problem).

⟶ šyemriyi = to resolve a problem (like, actually, in a good, mutually-beneficial way). Compare this to gyelili above. It doesn't necessarily have to be good for everyone involved, because sometimes (as in this case) one side is being an asshole for no reason, but it does require good faith on the part of the solver, which the Jedi displayed by trying to negotiate directly with the Trade Federation.

⟶ Compare the different plural constructions:

⮡ halmizeolko = no marking; belongs to Class 4 (people)

⮡ kšabinakšinie = plural of kšabinakši, warship; belongs to Class 12 (ships)

⮡ ninaimak = plural of anaimak, event; belongs to Class 9 (things)

⮡ jedai naitaga = dual of jedai naita, Jedi Knight; belongs to Class 8 (ancestors).

⮡ tbh u really just have to learn them by heart. Noun class is in the process of largely going away in casual speech and this is why.

⟶ A handy list of particles:

⮡ di = topic marker

⮡ ei = focus marker

⮡ a = relational marker. (I still haven't figured out exactly where the lines are between these three tbh.)

⮡ yajhe = "regarding", "as for [x]" "about this", etc.

⮡ ksoli = method marker, points out how you did a thing

⮡ zakhi = purpose marker, points out the main goal

⮡ iyë = destination marker, indicates where a thing ends up

⮡ ča = belonging particle

⮡ re = qualitative particle, turns a word into a description or emphasises an adjective

⮡ oro = negation particle, something doesn't exist/didn't happen/is absent etc.

⮡ ňa = timeframe particle, time during which something occurs

⮡ ade = enclosed location, "within"

⮡ ki = additive particle, "and"

Cultural notes---

⟶ Dorin is Giant Storm Hellworld and this has had a significant effect on Kel Dor culture.

⟶ Their most dearly-held values, no matter where you go, are Cooperation, Practicality, and Hospitality. These are not just moral requirements, they're survival skills. If you don't work together, you're dead. If you don't prioritize real practicality over emotional desires, you're dead. And if you refuse to give shelter to someone who needs it, why should others give shelter to you? On a world where the natural environment is so very good at killing, someone who goes it alone is going to end up dead sooner or later.

⟶ There is a strong taboo against physical conflict and violence. Partly this is because fighting is a waste of time and energy when you really should be preparing for the next storm; partly it's because of a long-ago ideological war that nearly halved Dorin's population. Most of their words to describe various war-related things are actually euphemisms or just straight up loanwords.

⟶ There is also a strong cultural tendency of, the more you like someone (or something), the less you talk directly about them. Kel Dor tend to have an attitude that it's a matter of when, not if, the natural environment destroys or kills or otherwise fucks up something meaningful to them. The talking around loved ones comes from the idea that if the spirits of the world don't know their loved ones are loved ones, they'll be less interested in stealing them away. This is where the active vs. passive verbs come from.

⟶ The corollary is if you speak plainly and directly to someone, you might be telling them you don't give a fuck about them lol. If you don't know them, this is considered perfectly fair, but if you do know them well, it's a bit like saying "go drown in a lake."

⟶ The rule of hospitality is that if someone turns up at your door without shelter or food, you're honor-bound to provide both to the best of your ability -- because it's a mere matter of luck that you're not in their place. Even with modern technology, storms and other natural disasters still cause a ton of destruction, and people are very cognizant of the likelihood that they may need to rely on the hospitality of strangers themselves in the future. There are no strangers in a storm.

⟶ Similarly, if you benefit from belonging to a community, you're honor-bound to give back to it, in whatever way you can. Someone helps you out, you help them out. Teamwork makes the dream work.

⟶ There's also a careful delineation between things you're reasonably responsible for, and things that just happen. As mentioned, Kel Dor society considers practicality a high virtue. On Giant Storm Hellworld, practicality means accepting that sometimes you do everything you can and the storms win anyway.

⮡ this is why there's two future tenses for certain vs. uncertain, and also why most of the mood particles exist. intentional mood (na) doesn't necessarily mean you'll succeed at doing the thing, you just are doing it on purpose. Moral mood (ya) means you're doing it because you should; doesn't necessarily mean it will work. Practical mood (ka) means you're doing it and it's within your capability; maybe you could do more or better, but you're not sure, and the thing you successfully complete is better than the thing you fuck up cause you aimed too close to the sun lmao.

[adragonsfriend]

Linguists: while they have complicated histories, all languages are valid and interesting examples of how humans exist and behave and communicate

Me *making Galactic Basic into an in-universe conlang created by the Republic Department of Linguistic Standards (DoLS) to impose Republic cultural domination in advance of Republic political and economic domination as a weapon against Hutt & other factions' potential control over systems, often with the effect of replacing and wiping out the indigenous languages of entire planets due to way it was created to be easy to learn for a wide variety of species and linguistic backgrounds*: sure yeah but this one is evil

Linguists: well…umm…uhh…first of all you’re vastly overestimating your ability to make a language that appeals to as wide a variety of first language speakers and second… Umm…and no language is—well—hmm…

Me: but also it's the only language the clones are taught growing up. Which is a tragedy among tragedies of course but they'll also adapt it and add new words and make a patchwork from other languages they hear on a thousand different planets and study during long hyperspace journeys, and they'll code switch to perfect "standard phonology" basic with certain people and most of their self-invented names are in Basic too because no one ever gave them names and nobody else actually names their kids in Basic because there are barely any names in Basic and this whole thing will be a form of Basic largely untouched by the Republic education systems beholden to the DoLS for funding

Linguists *hurriedly packing their bags to come and study this*:

👀👀👀

Me *in a convertible, smug*: get in losers, it's called BibiuBubui and you're late

[adragonsfriend]

Why even conlang if not for:

The smallest Mirialan Mace has ever met—short of hatchlings seen from afar on Miriala—is called Luminara Unduli and she has the bright green scales and loves nothing more than the monthly tea parties held by the other Mirialans. She goes to every one, and chatters about them to Mace as best she can in a combination of [?] and halting Mussnara.

Mace already knew that Mirialans struggled with learning sounds, but talking to a youngling makes it that much clearer how difficult it makes learning a spoken language.

Luminara is learning Signed Mussnara and Written Mussnara at a rapid pace, her visual memory helping her expand her vocabulary by dozens of words a day with ease. Her Spoken, though, is full of short, simple words and stumbling sentences. Some of her elders only know Signed and Written, having forgone Spoken entirely.

Mace only picked up enough to get by as a traveler on Miriala. Luminara’s pace is perfect for him to pick up a little more, even as her pronunciation makes him wince.

She struggles with the L sound most of all, pronouncing her own name more like Aominara Ondua than Luminara Unduli.

Mace coaches her from recordings of Mussnara and from his own memory. “Don’t let the tip of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth, only the very back, then try to make the same sound you would if it was the tip of your tongue. Llllll,” He demonstrates.

“Gllllu,” she says. “Gllu, glllllu.”

“Very close,” he praises, “Try it in context. Lllllluminnara.”

“Gllylluminnara. Lllylluminnara”

“Undullllli.”

“Ondulllllee.” “Undullli.” “Oundugli.” She tosses her head and goes again, “Oundullllihh. Oundullih. Undullihh”

“Very good.”

Luminara perks up at that and says, “Mace Uihndu catolllyl.”

Mace quirks a smile. “Luminnara Unduli catol. Off'fos catol.”

Mace Windu exsits by the will of the Force; Luminara Unduli exists by the will of the Force; We both exist by the will of the Force.

(Luminara is 3 and she's doing great at being a polyglot)

Notes:

My Mirialans are reptiles with basically eidetic visual memory and pretty shit sound memory.

Signed Mussnara, Spoken Mussnara, and Written Mussnara are closely related via their roots, but still all different languages which are all in use by the same people group(s), with Signed slightly outpacing Spoken in everyday use. “Mussnara” literally means “people communication,” and could easily be translated to mean “language” depending on context.

The "L sound" Luminara is mainly working on here is the voiced velar lateral approximant, aka /ʟ/. What Mace says above is my legitimate advice for how to pronounce it.

Catol is the verb to exist (cat, pronounced tsat, not 😺), with the suffix -ol which attached to a verb to mean "by the will of the Force" (technically it's "by the will of Myrtra," the Mussnara word for the same entity/force, but which implies Mirialan interpretations rather than Jedi ones, expect of course this is Mussnara as spoken by Mirialan Jedi, so they're using Jedi interpretations, aka the Force, not Myrtra).

In dialogue, Luminara is spelled Luminnara, with two Ns. This is because of the phonetic spellings of Mussnara & its syllable structures. Outside of dialogue I chose to spell it the canon way to avoid confusion and show how it gets pronounced by the uninitiated lol.

Off'fos is translated as "we," but it's a little more complicated than that. Mace learned mainly very formal Mussnara, and so doesn't have a very detailed grasp on subject pronouns and the formality levels. Off'fos is the formal-formal we, aka the one you use when you're talking to someone who you're formal with about someone you're formal with. On Mirial, he'd actually be using the right one, since he and Luminara aren't actually that close yet, however Mirialan Jedi all tend to use the familiar-familiar pronouns for one another, since Jedi label one another family (and other reasons).

The [?] I left in was intentional, and refers to a conlang-in-progress that doesn't yet have a name (or much else) due to so much research that still needs doing.

[adragonsfriend]

“Anakin was confused by Jedi masters being called masters”

Anakin. Does not speak English 👍

[adragonsfriend]

On the one hand, I want what mando’a has (wide fandom recognition of a limited vocabulary and the look of the words in general). On the other hand…do I

[adragonsfriend]

Thinking about my Lurmen conlang draft… For some reason I developed a base-five numeral system with digits up to twenty really early on and that’s the most work I’ve done on it. I was thinking about modeling the grammar on Japanese, I think…

First of all i'm curious what got you especially interested in the Lermans!

This looks really cool so far--base five isn't uncommon for a number system at all, and I think the Lermans have five fingers like humans lol. This is just me spitballing but it could be cool to see a number system a little like "The Ekari language, spoken on the island of New Guinea, uses a sexagesimal (base 60) system, with base 20 and 10 also used to identify numbers below 60" (source), where you would use base 5 up to a certain number, and then switch to a much larger base.

I'm curious how you picked out your consonants and vowels; from what I remember the Lurmans seemed lemur-inspired, so I wonder if it has anything to do with what sounds lemurs can make? (though obviously they speak english in the show, so you've got a lot of room for artistic liberties)

One thing i'd note is that picking sounds from english words is really useful (it's how I started with amatakka) but it has limitations in that not every english speaker is going to pronounce words the same way, and it's going to limit you to sounds that appear in english, which may result in the lerman language sounding a bit like english too (advice given to me by @ranahan). That could make sense since the Lermans speak english just fine in the show, depending on what you're going for.

I don't know much at all about Japanese grammar, so it'd be cool to see a language based on it--I imagine it would involve some system of honorifics, which could be interesting considering the tensions we see play out in the CW episode seem to involve age! It probably helps to have a plan for what the grammar is going to look like before just jumping in… (see all of my conlanging decisions lmao).

[adragonsfriend]

This is my best attempt at rendering Kelnacca’s “keep out” sign in a more organized font. I think it might be a cipher— Lucasfilm’s alien languages pretty much always map to the Latin alphabet for simplicity of production (Huttese gets fancy with capital and lowercase letters!) This is obviously handwritten, but may be based on an existing font. What’s interesting to me is that if this is a cipher, it’s not immediately clear— the letter separation in the word “out” appears ambiguous, and the two E’s in “keep” have different stroke orders from each other, or appear to. But you can almost see the Latin influences, particularly in the first and last letter. In-universe, I have absolutely no idea how to begin unpacking the implication that a starfish language like Shyriiwook maps 1:1 to the Latin alphabet, but Geonosian has a similar issue already, so it wouldn’t be an outlier at least. For my part, I think Shyriiwook makes the most sense as a logographic language (with maybe a syllabic writing system as an alternative,) but that’s much harder from a production standpoint.

I will be honest, I have no idea what this is from as I do not keep up with anything. It looks like video game graphics maybe? I like the font though. It looks like bits on the sign have been worn off, so that there's maybe a few lines missing.

As for Shyriiwook i guess it is just easier to make up latin alphabet combinations for words than making something a whole system of logographic characters lol. It would be cool though… I wonder what they would look like, since I guess the script would have developed writing on either wood or leaves?