Aaca
Aaca, common short-form of Aaeebuany’t’ limmisdasca, is the language of the Luriani.
Description (Specifications)
Two functional pidgins developed: "Lurglic," a blend of Anglic and Aaca, and "Lurglani," a blend of Aaca and Vilani.
History & Background (Dossier)
Standard Luriani is believed to have originated as a trading creole on Daramm, the world on which Luriani Humans were settled by the Ancients. It has been used by Luriani society for tens of thousands of years. A few variants of Standard Luriani are found in the scattered worlds settled by refugees from the ancient Vilani conquest of Daramm; a handful of others, such as the almost musical Sistena, survive in the Luriani Cultural Association, mostly through deliberate efforts to preserve their beauty. In addition, the Luriani-Anglic creole Sesheryn is encountered in the rimward Empty Quarter Sector. However, other than these rare exceptions, Aaca is the language of Luriani wherever they live.
Distinct subcultures exist within Luriani society. These include the Verasti Dtareen and the Mmarislusant, descendants of Terran soldiers or administrators and Vilani colonists respectively, stranded on Luriani worlds during the Long Night. Their languages are still in use alongside Aaca.
Grammar
Standard Luriani is a deceptively easy language for most Anglic speakers to learn. It uses the same basic subject-verb-object sentence structure, the only major difference being that everything relating to either subject or object has to be grouped together. The Anglic question ‘will you dance with me Sara?’ is phrased as shi Sara awel shish fa ap ae (you Sara wish (to) dance with me yes?). Its verbs are weakly inflected, using conjunctions only for tense or negation, and are virtually exclusively regular.
Anglic speakers might have a little difficulty with Standard Luriani’s four form yes-no (ae, ia, ma, mee) where a question can be phrased either affirmatively or negatively -- ‘you Sara wish to dance with me yes?’ or ‘you Sara wish to dance with me no?’ (Note, in this case it is theoretical and the question itself redundant, it being extremely impolite to either phrase an invitation to dance in the negative or to refuse one).
Anglic speakers could also struggle with pronunciation. The word Luriani itself is frequently mispronounced (the correct pronunciation being “lur-eye+a-nigh”) and the common male name Jkiadt and female name Liadtee are considered tricky. Its seven forms of negation are also troublesome, as is its tendency to form new words by compounding and then shortened them by dropping some or all of the middle syllables (resulting in words with multiple meanings).
- E.g. Aaeebuany’t’ limmisdasca shortened to Aaca
However, the real difficulty lies in both the Luriani’s metaphorical speech patterns and the relationship of the language to their rules of etiquette. Standard Luriani contains a substantial non-verbal component based on social mores. The true meaning of a statement is highly dependent on circumstances, body language, and the exact phrasing or response. For example, shi Sara awel shish fa ap ae would normally elicit ae a awel (yes I wish (to)), but could also elicit ae (indicating that another invitation was unwelcome) or ae a awel shish fa shi (indicating that another invitation was desired). This problem could carry over to a Luriani speaking another language. Due to this complexity, Luriani translation programs should always be regarded as unreliable.
Verbs
Verbs are changed into a regular noun by the suffix -ti and into a proper noun by the suffix -ko. Thus, mraiari (to hunt) gives mraiariti (a hunter) and Mraiariko (the male personal name, Hunter). The suffix -ko is usually encountered in family names, the equivalent of the Anglic -er. For example, uryn is to grind grain (mill), so urynti is a miller, while Urynko is a person named Miller. Also due to the weakly inflected nature of Standard Luriani verbs, -ko can be encountered in a poetic or metaphorical sense; e.g a oi shishko, ‘I am dance’ as opposed to the normal a oi shish, ‘I am dance(ing)’.
Plurals
Plurals are noted by the prefix t- unless the word itself begins with t, in which case the prefix is d-. Thus ie yail, one bed, and cee t’yail, two beds.
Possession
Possession is noted by the prefix y- unless the word starts with y, in which case i- is used. Thus, via listren, “my friend” and via y’listren avu, “my friend’s house”. When compounding words, both the plural and possessive prefixes are often but not always dropped.
Tense
Tense is denoted by either the prefix ep- (past) or ef- (future), or combinations of the two. Standard Luriani has seven basic tenses, including the unusual ‘past future’ that places a future action into the past, used to indicate a cyclic or repeated action. Anglic speakers frequently have difficulty with this; it is the equivalent of saying “I will sung”. The closest Anglic can come, perhaps, is ‘I had will do it’. The use of this tense is rare and almost exclusively poetic or metaphoric.
- Present: A alar (I sing)
- Present perfect: A ep alar (I have sung)
- Past: A epalar (I sung)
- Past perfect: A epepalar (I had sung)
- Future: A efalar (I will sing)
- Future perfect: A epefalar (I will have sung)
- Past future: A efepalar (I sung and will sing again)
A continuing action is indicated by the use of a copula (oi, epoi, epepoi, efoi, epefoi and efepoi), giving A oi alar (I am singing), A epoi alar (I have been singing), A epoi epalar (I was singing), A epoi oi epalar (I had been singing), etc.
Negation
Negation is handled by a series of seven prefixes depending on circumstances:
- baie- (Not now)
- kammo- (Not, was not and will not)
- ral- (Not but should)
- map- (Not but will)
- meep- (Not but was)
- elan- (Is but will not)
- fise- (Is but was not)
Thus, A oi ralalar (“I am not singing but I should be”).
Comparative
To make comparatives, a series of prefixes could be used. The first prefix sequence is gi-, yo-, and ir-, big, bigger and biggest. The converse is ba-, dai-, and va-, small, smaller and smallest. The confusion lies in the way that these can be compounded. Generally they can be compounded freely, both within and across the two sequences and multiple times. The only rule is that gi- and va- are terminators. Once they are used the compound can't be moved any further in that direction without moving it the other first. Also, while the compound could in theory be any length (such as gidaigiyoir-, “biggest smaller biggest bigger big”), in practice it is rare to go past two, with three being the effective limit unless the speaker is deliberately trying to appear humorous or facetious.
Lexicon
Standard Luriani’s tendency to form new words by compounding existing ones leads to some extremely long words. However, these are then normally shortened to a manageable length, so most Luriani words in common use are of six or less syllables.
A
• A: “I”
• Aavaidthint: A type of flower, symbolically associated with fertility
• Adiryn lil: “Art Day”; a holiday marked by cultural and artistic exhibitions
• Afer: “And”
• Ami lil: “Family Day”; a holiday meant to be spent in the company of one’s family and loved ones
• Ami (plural, tami): Standard, somewhat extensive, Luriani family group. It and yassin (“children of”) are at the root of virtually all words relating to groups or nations.
• Amidaresh: “Family of Worlds”
• Aneyaven lil: Literally, “New Year’s Day”; a holiday
• Ap: “Me”
• Arbusodt: A type of tree (likely Terran-derived, from “arbor”)
• Aryn: God of art and music; the Minstrel
• Arynti: A wandering minstrel
• Asala: Hour. There are 20 in a Luriani day.
• Asint: A traditional sling weapon
• Avu: “House”
• Awel: “Wish”, “desire”
B
• Baish: Tiny, eight-legged flying creatures, endemic to Ley and Fornast sectors
• Balul: Term of endearment for a male. From “ba” -- “smaller” -- and “lul” -- “man”
• Basijk: God of technology and the home; the Smith
• Basko: A short form of the name Basijkariko, meaning “Smith” after the name of the god, Basijk
• Bawa: Term of endearment for a female. From “ba” -- “smaller” -- and “wa” -- “woman”
• Beel: A herd animal, common on Luriani worlds
• Bias: To guide
• Bilanee: “Vilani”. It has an auxiliary meaning of “treacherous and untrustworthy”
• Bu: “To”
• Bulis: A beast of burden, analogous to a horse
C
• Cee: “Two”
• Ceejka: A frozen desert, very fattening
• Cerusgam: A derogatory Luriani term for formal protocol; from Anglic “Circus Games”
D
• Daramm: The Luriani homeworld, named for a nature goddess
• Daresh: World; derived from Daramm and a root suggesting intimacy; Daramm’s kind, essentially, her people (by implication, as was common to Luriani)
• Darren: A short form of the name Darammlistren, meaning literally, “Daramm’s Friend”.
• Disra: Literally, a type of fruit pie. Also a term of endearment.
• Dorcenviajkulia: Coming of age ceremony, held at age 18. Short form: Dorlia
• Dtinal verasrasti: “Constable”; a law enforcement agent
E
• Edenet: “Fear”
• Edt: Three-Year. Daramm orbits its central star Basijk three times every 566 standard days. This is the largest common division of time in the Luriani calendar.
• Edtyassos Yashunar: “The Edtyassos school”. An art tradition.
• Edtyassos: Year Zero or Year of Woe, the time when the Vilani First Imperium suppressed Luriani culture and technology, leading to millions of dead.
• Edtyassoswislad: “Edtyassos madness”
• Eeniag: A martial art
• Eeshiae: “Romantic”
• Eeshiaelullistren: Literally, “Romantic male friend”
• Eeshiaewalistren: Literally, “Romantic female friend”
• Eeshren: A stage of courtship, “romantic friends”, which might be considered ‘dating’
• Efepkammosaryn Edtyassos: Roughly translated, “never again Edtyassos”. This is a common Luriani phrase used in times of tragedy, disaster, loss and war. The specific meaning depended on the context. Its use is emotional, not rational.
• Emmes: “Safety”
• Eshal: A word for “lover”, indicating a high degree of intimacy
G
• Gabalail: A whale species transplanted to Daramm by the Ancients
• Garintylil: “Anniversary Day”
• Getre: A seven-stringed musical instrument
• Gilul: “Patriarch”. The most senior male member of an upper-class extended family, traditionally responsible for encouraging family members into suitable employment. Literally, “big man”.
• Gityirpel lil: “Biggest Fools’s Day”. This holiday follows vatyirpel lil and marked the start of a new Edt.
• Giwa: “Matriarch”. The most senior female member of an upper-class extended family, traditionally responsible for encouraging family members into a suitable courtship match. Literally, “big woman”
H
• Hajkti: Roughly, “lefty”; slang for a left-handed person. This is the norm for Luriani.
I
• Iadtlu: The Luriani militia
• Iar: Months, each of 47 standard days. The iar are named Bien, Ianyi, Asines, and Ane.
• Ie: “One”
• Igo Garintylil: “Iguu Anniversary Day”. It marks the Battle of Iguu, and is the traditional Luriani day for the remembrance of war dead.
• Ilur: “Minute”. There are 100 in an asala.
• Inrela y Garyn: “The artist of note”
• Inrela: “Artist”
• Irpel: “Fool”, “clown”. Plural, tirpel
J
• Jkomoraa: A strong curse when applied to a person
K
• Kammoedenet: “Fearless”
• Kawa or Kalul Luriani: “Old woman” and “old man”; term of endearment used for someone older
• Kelirus: Eating guide for restaurants within Luriani territory
• Kucuin: Roughly, “darling”
• Kulfi: A form of artistic flower arrangement
• Kwu Aaeri: “If only”
• Kwusimm: A bottom-dwelling aquatic creature native to Daramm
L
• Lamry: A place of torment for those who broke faith with the gods; “hell”.
• Laparyn: Short form of the name Lapaanoiaryn, meaning “Skilled as Aryn” (a god)
• Larmri: A Sesheryn word for underworld or hell, derived from Luriani lamry
• Leenkwin. A distilled grain alcohol
• Leramiyasin: “Children of another family”. Girls born sterile, normally with severe physical and mental handicaps; a genetic chromosome disorder
• Liadtee: An animal native to Daramm, an apex marine predator
• Lil: “Day”, the base unit of the Luriani dating system
• Listren: “Friend”
• Lysh: Regarded as the traditional weapon of the Luriani, a leaf-bladed short sword
M
• Mevar: A type of flower, associated symbolically with good luck
• Mmarislusant: “Victims of History”. The name is applied to descendants of Vilani colonists trapped on Luriani worlds during the Long Night. While Vilani are mistrusted by Luriani, the Mmarislusant are fully accepted by them; like many things Luriani, it is emotional rather than rational.
• Mmaryn: A carrion eater from Daramm; in mythology, portrayed as a deceptive trickster
• Mmialaryn: A card game
• Mrai: Goddess of the hunt and of children. Also Daramm’s inner moon
• Mraiko: From Mraiariko, “Hunter”
• Mraiyasin: “Children of Mrai”. A small subculture which rejected advanced technology
• Mreeso: A food
• Mrun: A music form, two triple beats followed by two doubles
N
• Narin: A traditional Luriani funerary song. One of the few Luriani musical forms without an associated dance style. Usually incorrectly translated as “lament”. The narin is a fast-paced upbeat form, a celebration of a life rather than a mourning of a passing.
• Nisha: “Sorry”
• Nuntarri: A person belonging to a couple that would otherwise marry but are unable to do so due to peer disapproval.
O
• Oaali: “Tear”, plural toaali
• Oi: “Am”
• Osdtee Shiadti Ayular: Special Criminal Intelligence
• Osdtee: “Special”
• Osdteelisren: “Special Friend”, a euphemism for lover
P
• Pae: “May”, as used at the start of a prayer; invoking the gods
• Pae Sesh vuryn shi afer bias shi bu emmes: Prayer for those lost at sea; “May Sesh find you and guide you to safety”
• Pae Verasyn ravel tan shi: A prayer; “May Verasyn smile on you”
R
• Ral: Something that isn’t there, an absent property
• Raledenet bu shish wala: “No fear to dance alone”
• Raledenet: Sometimes assumed to translate “fearless” but ‘heroic’ would be better; kammoedenet would mean ‘fearless’. Kammo and ral both mean that something isn’t there; kammo means that it never was there; ral means it isn’t there but should be. So raledenet, “no fear where there should be fear”, “unafraid”; as an attribute, “heroic”.
• Ralpiamm Garintylil: Armistice Anniversary Day. Marked the end of the Luriani-Imperial War. It and Igo Garintylil are the only Luriani martial festivals.
• Ravel: “Smile”
• Roryniar: Semi-mythical precursor civilization. According to “Roryniar theories”, a native intelligent race developed in the Daramm System millions of years before the Ancients seeded the Luriani there.
• Ruaeti: “Restaurateur”
• Rurkiadt: A form of mural. Rurkiadt can be found in many Luriani public buildings
S
• Sesh: Goddless of trade, adventure, and travel; the Traveller
• Seshariti Listren: "Travelling Friends". The spacefaring culture that gave the Luriani jump drive technology (AKA the Wandering People)
• Seshdtee: Short form of the name Seshosdtee, meaning "Special to Sesh"
• Sesherin: Playful animals native to Daramm, of great importance to Luriani culture and mythology
• Sesheryn: A people dominant in the rimward portions of the Empty Quarter Sector. They developed from an independent trading culture during the Long Night. Their language is a Luriani-Anglic creole, and they have a long history of close trading ties with the Luriani. Derived from Sesh.
• Sheelia: Used by a male to refer to a female partner
• Sheenia: Used by a male to refer to a male partner
• Sheepia: Used by a female to refer to a female partner
• Sheevia: Used by a female to refer to a male partner
(None of these terms would virtually ever be heard in public. Technically the more generic eshal should be used in public, but due to the fact that at one time the term eshal was seen as having negative connotations by many, the euphemistic term osdteelisren (special friend) or its shorter form osdtren is often used instead)
• Shi: "You" (became yishi, “your”)
• Shish: "Dance"
T
• Tan: “On”, in the sense of acting upon
• Tiesamr: A large-bladed double handed pole arm
• Tulviar: A music form, migrating the double beats through the triples in sequence. It is fast paced and normally written in a major key, giving it its bright and lively nature.
• Tyasa lil: “Children’s Day”; a holiday marked by the giving of gifts to children
U
• Ugain: “Match”. A formal relationship considered suitable for having children.
• Uryn: To grind grain
V
• Vantimm: A music form, a triple beat followed by doubles ending in another triple
• Vatyirpel lil: “Smallest Fools’ Day”. This holiday marks the end of an Edt.
• Veraa: A short-form name, from Verasarynnisaa, “Verasaryn’s Pride”
• Veras: To protect
• Verasaryn: A god of justice, law, and military matters; the Guardian. Also the name of a planet in Daramm’s star system.
• Verasosal: Elite forces of the Luriani Protectorate
• Verasti Dtereen: “Terran Protectors”, the social group descended from Second Imperium Solomani naval officers who were incorporated into Luriani society
• Verasti: “Protectors”
• Verastifemraalweeras: The Luriani Protectorate’s central law enforcement service
• Verastifersaal: Protectorate Army. (Shortened form: Versasal)
• Vuryn: “Find”
• Vusis fi t’yasa: “Practice for children”
• Vusis: From the phrase vusis fi t’yasa, referring to attempting to create an environment suitable for raising children. This is a formal relationship
• Vusisti: One who is in a vusis
W
• Wala: “Alone”
• Wubar: A 2.5 metre spear
• Wurlana: As a short form, this word has three meanings, all involving the association of the concepts “deep” and “distance”. It could mean wurkabommfishimmlana, wurjkirefgaranfilana, or wuryokwinseshasitiyolana (see below)
• Wurjkirefgaranfilana: A deep cup thrown for distance
• Wurkabommfishimmlana: A deep explosive charge measuring distance
• Wuryokwinseshasitiyolana: A deep sea traveller of great distance. Wurlana is used in the modern era in reference to space-going descendants of the great raft ships that used to roam Daramm’s oceans.
Y
• Yail: “Bed”
• Yain: “Foot”. Plural, tyain
• Yasa: “Child”. Plural, tyasa or t’yasa. It has similar roots to terms for teaching, a view of children as inherently a transmission or nurtured continuation.
• Yashti: Very roughly, “righty”; slang for a right-handed Luriani; compared with hajkti, “lefty”. Right-handed racial Luriani are (inaccurately) regarded as less volatile than left-handers.
• Yasant: God of knowledge and education; the Teacher
• Yashunar: “School”, intellectual or artistic tradition
• Yaslul: A name, from Yasantlul, “Wiseman”
• Yassin: “Children of”
• Yasva: “Teach”
• Yasvaish y Inrela y Luur: “School of Artists of Luur”. Luur is a planet in Luriani space.
• Yasvaish: “School”, institute of learning and education
• Yasvati: “Teacher”
• Yaven: “Year”. 188 days, plus two leap days known as Tyirpel tlil (fools’ days). The three years in an Edt are named Iryn, Aira and Shimmri
• Ydarammtoaali: “Daramm’s Tears”; rain. Short form: Ydarli.
• Yishi: “Your”
• Yishin: To lead
• Ysesheshal: Usually rendered as “Sesh’s beloved” but literally “Sesh’s lover”. Invoked when a sesherin acts to save Luriani in distress. The Luriani regard this as a mark of Sesh’s favour.
Cultural Use
Verasti Dtareen -- the racial minority of Terran descent -- speak a variant of Anglic known as Luriani Anglic or “Lurglic”, while the Mmarislusant retain their language of Old High Vilani. The Luriani Cultural Association expends considerable effort to ensure that all three languages remain in use, encouraging their speech in homes and providing full immersion schools. Both Lurglic and Old High Vilani are sufficiently close to their more common relatives of Anglic and Modern Vilani that fluency in one will allow accented fluency in the other.
Amongst themselves, the Luriani normally use Standard Luriani as a common language, though they have a habit of mixing in words and phrases from both other tongues freely. Therefore, understanding Luriani talking amongst themselves is difficult without fluency in all three. However, since they regard it as the height of rudeness to exclude a person from conversation, they will prefer to use Lurglic or Old High Vilani while in the company of non-Luriani.
Naming
The rules of etiquette regarding Luriani names and their use are complex. Names are important to them and using the wrong form of address will cause offence. Racial Luriani and Verasti Dtareen formal names are constructed with a personal name, followed by birth parents’ names (father first for males, mother first for females). There will then be two family names; the first is the birth family, the second the current family’s name, depending on the individual’s relationship status. An unmarried Luriani would repeat the birth family name, a person in a practice or match relationship would take their partner’s birth family name, and one in a full ami relationship would take the name of the ami (usually itself one of the birth family names). Finally they would have a title; this could be their profession, military or administrative rank, or noble title if they possessed one.
Mmarislusant names are constructed slightly differently. First would be a personal name, followed by a family name, then their clan name, the word Mmarislusant, and finally their title.
Semi-formal names are constructed using the current family, name and title. If a title is absent or unclear, the generalised Wa for women or Lul for men could be used. These might also be used on their own if the individual’s name wasn't known.
Informal names use the personal name and current family name.
Finally, casual names (use with friends and family) consist only of the personal name. (An offer by a Luriani simply to address them by their casual name is an indication of an extremely favourable initial reaction). Beyond the casual is a level of intimacy in which a Luriani will stop using a person’s name and simply use a term of endearment instead. These terms can be virtually anything but would be unique for that person. The casual name might still be used in situations where emphasis is desired. The personal and family names themselves could be drawn from any of the Luriani, Solomani or Vilani traditions, though Mmarislusant favour Vilani names. Luriani and Verasti Dtareen, on the other hand, take freely from all three.
Honorifics
Wa is a general honorific for women, translated as ‘Ms.’, though literally meaning “Woman”. The male equivalent is Lul, literally “Man”, translated as ‘Mr.’. Teenagers under the age of eighteen take the honorific of Daiwa and Dailul respectively, while younger children take Vawa and Valul.
In military or administrative service, Luriani generally use rank title on its own as a mark of respect. It is rare to hear a Luriani say “sir” or “ma’am”, and then generally only in a humorous sense. When a Luriani says “sir”, they are making a joke, perhaps indicating that they consider the person overly self-important.
The Order of Eerynaaia is a minor Imperial order, founded by Empress Porfiria in 317, specifically to honour Imperial citizens of Luriani descent. Ordinary members are known as either an Aralul or Arawa y Eerynaaia (who take the post nominal letters Ar.Ee) depending on gender (an Aralul is male, Arawa female). Ranking above these are the Giaralul and Giarawa y Eerynaaia (Gar.Ee). The order is theoretically commanded by the Iraralul or Irarawa y Eerynaaia (Iar.Ee).