Kkoarhae Language

Due to their small population, which centers every two hundred years on a relatively small geographic area, the kkoarhae have a single language--though there is, inevitably, divergence during the two hundred years in which each clan is on its own raft colony. (See Rroi Kkoarhae and Vexxië Kkoarhae for more information.) Prior to the flood disaster, the kkoarhae had a number of languages, but most were lost in the first great flood. The current kkoarhae language (called simply "speech" by the kkoarhae) is based primarily on the Öekkëtt language of the pre-flood world, which was the dominant and most technologically advanced culture of its time. Other languages, most notably Äuass, also made their mark on modern kkoarhae. However, as nearly six thousand years have passed since the flood disaster, the language would be functionally unintelligible to members of the ancient Õekkëtt or Ãuass civilizations.

Phonology

To human ears, Kkoarhae is notable for its whistles, trills, and "murmuring" or "chuckling" noises. Some of these are reproduceable by humans (with more or less practice depending on their language background), while others are not, due to differing physiology, and some distinctions between sounds are not even audible to humans. Rendering Kkoarhae using the Latin alphabet necessarily flattens some distinctions. The following letter sets are used to represent uniquely Kkoarhae sounds; a single letter set may represent several distinct phonemes to the Kkoarhae, but these distinctions are largely unnoticeable by humans:

• kk - a trill or chuckle in the back of the throat
• rr - a trill or chuckle at the palate
• tt - a trill or chuckle at the front of the mouth
• ss - an unvoiced whistle at the front of the mouth; the tone and length of the whistle is denoted by the following vowel
• hh - an unvoiced whistle at the back of the mouth; the tone and length of the whistle is denoted by the following vowel
• zz - a voiced whistle at the front of the mouth; the tone and length of the whistle is denoted by the following vowel
• xx - a voiced whistle at the back of the mouth; the tone and length of the whistle is denoted by the following vowel
• mm - a nasal chuckling or murmuring sound

The full set of consonants is as follows:

• ch
• h
• hh
• k
• kh
• kk
• m
• mm
• r
• rh
• rr
• s
• sh
• ss
• tt
• v
• wh
• xx
• z
• zh
• zz

The full set of vowels is as follows:

• a
• ä
• e
• ë
• i
• ï
• o
• ö
• u
• ü

Vocabulary

kkoarhae

the sapient species of Shäwhaess; archaic, origin unknown

mmaasse

art, science, profession, study. The suffix -mmaa is applied to nouns to refer to an art or profession related to that noun (e.g., zhïammaa, the art of zhïa; ttaummaa, the art of the spear [spearfishing], etc.)

mmöe

calm. Usually used either in reference to the weather or the state of the ocean, or in reference to emotional peace and stability in a person or population

mmöemmaa

the ability to control one's emotional responses, usually using meditative techniques, in order to avoid distressing those around you with distracting or distressing zhïa (lit: the art of calm)

Shäwhaess

the name of the kkoarhae planet; archaic, origin unknown

zhïa

biochemical signals of mood, emotion, and physical state produced by warmblooded vertebrates on Shäwhaess

zhïammaa

the ability to perceive and interpret zhïa signals (lit: the art of zhïa)

Common Phrases

rhaem kküe

hello, greetings; goodbye, farewell (lit: walk under the sun)

xxü

yes

ssoi

no

mmuë

thank you

ämmaazz

you're welcome