Rangerspeak

1. Rangerspeak

   #1

   In 1386 the King sent the first rangers up into the mountains. Their priority was to clear out the infestations of goblins and unpleasant life that had accrued near the centuries-neglected passes. Trade wagons took many weeks to get to their destinations travelling on the roads which bypassed the mountains, and the King wanted to open up the ancient monkish cart-routes.
   
   Since then the rangers have lived up there, isolated, only occasionally encountering one another, keeping an eye on the merchants who use the passes and ensuring they're not waylaid by nasty creatures.
   
   In this isolation their dialect has diverged massively from the common tongue, and they are all but incomprehensible (when they speak at all).
   
   This thread is for the development of rangerspeak, the dialect of the mountain rangers who guard the passes, known as munnum to those who hear it, for its resemblance to a mumbling noise...
   
   > Verbs:
   
   The pragmatic rangers have lost most of the inflections which riddle most modern languages. They use the same verb forms for all persons and numbers, though they still make some distinctions between tenses:
   
   e.g. garas, to walk (originally weak verb)
   garas - I/you/it/we/youse/they walk or will walk
   garan - I/you/it/we/youse/they walked
   
   e.g. humun, to eat (originally strong verb)
   humun - I/you/it/we/youse/they walk or will eat
   homun - I/you/it/we/youse/they ate
   
   Conditional tenses are expressed by tone of voice.
   
   > Nouns:
   
   The only nounal inflection is to denote number, though this is most often accomplished by a vowel change,
   
   e.g.
   jaras, human -> jaros, humans
   halkob, goblin -> halkib, goblins
   
   Genitive is implied by adjunction of words, e.g.
   halkob-fran, lit. goblin clothes, becomes "the goblin's clothes".
   
   > Other:
   
   Adjectives are formed from nouns by the adjunction of -is, -irris or -umus. The choice of ending for a given adjective varies by region and personal taste. An adjective is applied by association: instead of saying "a fat man" one would say "a boulder-like man" and that way the adjective is formed from the noun. More abstract adjectives which are harder to form from nouns (e.g. "brave") tend not to be used because the rangers are too taciturn to requrie such words.
   
   > Pronunciation:
   
   Since the language is a spoken one the written form given here is specifically tailored to mimic the pronunciation, that is there are no surprises. All letters are pronounced as one might expect (in English, of course!). Nouns tend to be stressed on the penultimate syllable, verbs on the first syllable, so:
   
   kalárir sówuntas, the deer are drinking
   
   A Dictionary of Rangerspeak
   
   abranas (abronas) - vb. to breathe
   anukawor (-ir) - n. water
   asmunas (-an) - vb. to encounter or meet
   balob (-ab) - n. basin or valley
   fakras (-os) - n. goat
   frun (-an) - n. article of clothing
   garas (-an) - vb. to walk
   halkob (-ib) - n. goblin
   halkobras (-ibros) - n. goblinkin
   humun (homun) - vb. to eat
   jaras (-os) - n. human
   justor (-ir) - n. peak
   kalaror (ir) - n. deer
   numnanob (-ib) - n. giant
   osuror (-ir) - n. river
   sagrilas (-os) - n. ravine
   sowuntas (-an) - vb. to drink
   tacitas (no plural) - n. wind
   tegurum (-am) - n. scree
   
   ...to be added to: please feel free to add your own words, but try to keep in alphabetical order (within each post) and try to create words which fit with the sounds patterns and endings I have laid out above.
   
   ephe!

2. Rangerspeak

   #2

   ankeras (-an) - vb. clamber
   dumanu (-un) - n. path or track
   ferajas (-an) - n. to savage or attack
   gutramor (-ir) - n. corpse
   jukob (-ib) - n. merchant caravan
   lalikiror (-ir) - n. thyme
   malanor (-ir) - n. mountain
   nayas (-an) - n. merchant
   onurob (ib) - n. herb
   osakas (-an) - vb. to obtain
   ruyun (rayun) - vb. to have
   saskyas (-an) -vb. to attempt
   sanas (sarran) - vb. to be
   usameras (-an) - vb. to gather
   
   ephe!

3. Rangerspeak

   #3

   Following a suggestion of Moonhunter I have begun to designate multiple names those things with which the rangers are more likely to have contact...
   
   nologsor (ir) - n. aurora
   brisas (-an) - n. sun
   mun (-uan) - n. evening
   asen (asin) - n. morning
   stankas (-an) - n. V-shaped valley
   umillor (-ir) - n. fertile lake basin
   kugidor (-ir) - n. large enclosed lake
   gmab (-ob) - n. sheer rockface
   kandor (-ir) - n. climbable but tricky rockface
   sulondor (-ir) - n. crag
   kundas (-an) - n. precipitous track up a rockface
   ankeras (-an) - n. a difficult climb
   ufas (-an) - n. exposed tarn
   renakas (-an) - n. sheltered tarn
   daa - n. the prevailing wind
   
   Directions:
   
   There are twelve points of the compass which pretty much any ranger will know. Each ranger also has his own individual set of ideas for navigation. For instance rangers in the high passes are much more likely to use the names of constellations to define directions than those who live in the misty valleys and cannot see the stars.
   
   The following directions are those commonly used by the mid-mountain rangers, and makes references to peaks which can be seen from there. Obviously the direction "towards Muradin" is no use to someone standing on top of Muradin.
   
   Kis - along the spine of the mountain range (the line 6 - 12 in the diagram)
   Daa - in the direction of the prevailing wind (10 in the diagram)
   Kis-ki - along the spine but in a northwards direction (12 in diagram)
   Kis-ko - along the spine but in a southwards direction (6)
   (Kis-ji - from the northern spine)
   (Kis-jo - from the southern spine)
   Daa-ren - in the opposite direction to the prevailing wind (4)
   Senash-ki - in the direction of the Shenael forest (2)
   Muradin-ki - towards the peak Muradin (11 although can be 10 or 12 depending on where in the mountains you are)
   Golgin-ki - towards the peak Golgin (5)
   Fenrin-ki - towards the peak Fenrin (7)
   (There are many more directions based on the locations of peaks)
   Jukob-ki - in the direction the merchants' caravans take (9)
   Asur-ki - in the direction of the river Asur (8)
   Nologsorki - towards the direction of the aurorae (1)
   Teguru - on the scree-side (3) (this side of the mountains tends to be more weathered and hence have more scree)
   Brismu - (lit. sun in the evening) in the direction of the setting sun (3)
   Brisasen - (lit. sun in the morning) in the direction of the rising sun (9)
   
   
   

       11  12  1
   
           |
   
   10      |        2
   
           |
   
   9----------------3
   
           |
   
   8       |        4
   
           |
   
       7   6   5

   
   
   Directions can also be defined in terms of the moon, but these directions obviously change as the moon moves.
   
   ephe!

4. Rangerspeak

   #4

   Just wanted to say I love the thread. I don't have the patience to develop my own or add to this, but I will gladly use it and the concepts presented!
   
   If you get enough we may have to build a translator for it!!!

5. Rangerspeak

   #5

   That would be cool.

6. Rangerspeak

   #6

   An awesome idea, if I may say so myself.
   Seven thumbs up!

7. Rangerspeak

   #7

   wow, a created language. I have never heard of one being used in a game. I LOVE IT! you have inspired me to come up with a language as well... as soon as i develop the patience.

8. Rangerspeak

   #8

   http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn/resources/translator/
   
   There you go Magus m'boy, learn some Drow. T'is a fun little thing which I occasionally use.

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