Dwarfish (Ijoeoxi)
Ijoeoxi (pronounced /idʒoɛoˈxi/) is the language of the dwarfs . As such, it is commonly known as dwarfish to non-native speakers.
Non-dwarfs tend to find the language awkward, so the dwarfs usually share their names in the common tongue as rough translations of their clan names (e.g. Fire-dancer instead of Ujajoxoro) and a self-chosen first name common in the culture they first visit, if they ever leave the dwarfish enclaves. Hence “Votužchono Shutyead Ifagidav” (damp home cave of the Stoneforge clan) gives his name as “Dwayne Stoneforge”
Many natural landmarks have a dwarfish name that is in common use, as the dwarfs tend to give names to anything that might prove useful in their everyday existence. So mountains and areas with strong ore deposits frequently get names while forests do not.
Writing System
The alphabet used for Ijoeoxi is quite angular, consisting of easily carved symbols, as most original dwarfish writing was done directly into stone. The representation used here is based on the Buginese script, as it can have an angular appearance. And it's available in Unicode, thus can appear on these pages without editing images together. When this script appears in these pages it is for dwarfish and not Buginese. Order to be determined
| Letter | Transcription | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| ᨃ | b | /b/ |
| ᨎ | ty | /c/ |
| ᨏ | d | /d/ |
| ᨏᨗ | j | /dʒ/ |
| ᨂ | f | /f/ |
| ᨖ | g | /g/ |
| ᨅ | h | /h/ |
| ᨋ | m | /m/ |
| ᨁ | n | /n/ |
| ᨌ | p | /p/ |
| ᨕ | r | /r/ |
| ᨑ | t | /t/ |
| ᨑᨘ | ts | /ts/ |
| ᨑᨛ | ch | /tʃ/ |
| ᨍ | v | /v/ |
| ᨅ | x | /x/ |
| ᨄ | z | /z/ |
| ᨓ | r | /ɾ/ |
| ᨒ | sh | /ʃ/ |
| ᨐ | ž | /ʒ/ |
| ᨈ | a | /a/ |
| ᨆ | i | /i/ |
| ᨆᨘ | i | /iː/ |
| ᨔ | o | /o/ |
| ᨉ | u | /u/ |
| ᨉᨗ | uo | /uo/ |
| ᨊ | o | /ɔ/ |
| ᨀ | e | /ɛ/ |
| ᨀᨗ | ea | /ɛa/ |
| ᨀᨘ | ei | /ɛi/ |
| ᨀᨛ | eo | /ɛo/ |
| · | word stop | |
| ᨟ | sentence stop |
Morphology
Noun Morphology
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | man | ova /oˈva/ | men | Prefix: a- /a-/ aova /aoˈva/ |
| Accusative | man | Prefix: n(u)- /n(u)-/ nova /noˈva/ | men | Prefix: ts(i)- /ts(i)-/ tsova /tsoˈva/ |
| Genitive | man's | Prefix: ga- /ga-/ gaova /gaoˈva/ | men's | Prefix: fu- /fu-/ fuova /fuoˈva/ |
| Dative | to the/a man | Prefix: do- /do-/ doova /dooˈva/ | to men | Prefix: hra- /hra-/ hraova /hraoˈva/ |
Derivational Morphology
Noun → adjective: Prefix: m(a)- /m(a)-/Adjective → noun: Prefix: cha- /tʃa-/
Noun → verb: Prefix: p(eo)- /p(ɛo)-/
Verb → noun: Prefix: i- /iː-/
Verb → adjective: Prefix: nu- /nu-/
Adjective → adverb: Prefix: o- /o-/
One who Xs (e.g. paint → painter): Prefix: u- /u-/
Place where (e.g. wine → winery): Prefix: i- /i-/
Diminutive: Prefix: o- /o-/
Augmentative: Prefix: u- /u-/
Dictionary
Common Phrases
Comments
Author's Notes
The dwarfish language is constructed using the Vulgar language generator. It is built using version 8.0 of the tool. The following content can be uploaded as a configuration file. I will try to keep it up to date as I tweak the language. The "native" orthography is not included above as in version 8.0 (and 8.1.1, at least) of Vulgar, adding a second orthography changes the random generator. I don't want to change all the words I've referenced, so the orthography is not included. I may include it here at some point. It is based on the Tai Xuan Jing Tetragram characters from Unicode. I am horribly misusing them. No offense is intended. The use is merely a convenience of being able to represent the "native" script of a language without having to generate graphics for each one. The characters have been selected for their general appearance and not for any underlying meaning.