Runic Aether
Origins & Use
This ancient language is the written form of arcane spell creation and knowledge. Only those with the ability to channel Aether can even see this language when it is written. All student are taught this language early during their time at the Otemus Arcanium. Besides the basic uses of scribing scroll and spellbook, Runic Aether is also used at a communication system between the headquarters of the Arcanium and its agents and members in the field. Messages created in this script can also be locked behind arcane seals that only the recipient can unlock, adding a bit a safety to the delivery of messages.Natively known as: Nilwan /ˈnilwan/
Nilwan, was the original name in which this language held before the other races gained the knowledge of it from stolen Elven texts. It was changed with the founding of the Arcanium. ...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind... lets chif fam tif tan tsumi lets etpulu tan het tafshats chi fats Pronunciation: /ləʦ ʧif fam tif tan ʦuˈmi ləʦ ətˈpulu tan hət ˈtafʃaʦ ʧi faʦ/ Nilwan word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the windSpelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /f h j k l m n p t w ŋ ʃ ʦ ʧ/↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
Stop | p | t | k | ||||
Affricate | ʦ | ʧ | |||||
Fricative | f | ʃ | h | ||||
Approximant | j | ||||||
Lateral approximant | l |
↓Manner/Place→ | Labio-velar |
---|---|
Approximant | w |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid | ə | ||
Low | a |
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: f, h, j, l, n, p, t, w, ŋ, ʦ, ʧ
Mid-word consonants: f, ff, fm, fp, fw, fʃ, h, hk, hl, hm, j, jf, jj, jl, jt, jʃ, k, kf, kh, kt, kw, kʃ, kʧ, l, lj, ll, lm, lp, lt, lw, lʃ, lʧ, m, mj, mk, mn, mp, mt, n, nh, nʃ, nʦ, nʧ, p, pm, pn, pw, pʧ, t, th, tj, tk, tm, tn, tp, tw, tʃ, w, wk, wp, wt, ŋ, ŋh, ŋj, ŋk, ŋm, ŋt, ŋw, ŋʦ, ʃ, ʃl, ʃp, ʦ, ʦt, ʦw, ʧ, ʧf, ʧl, ʧm, ʧn
Word final consonants: f, k, l, m, n, t, w, ŋ, ʦ, ʧ
Phonological changes (in order of application):
- l → d / n_
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
j | y |
ŋ | ng |
ə | e |
ʃ | sh |
ʦ | ts |
ʧ | ch |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary opened the door with a key.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
Definite | If ends with vowel: Suffix -f Else: Suffix -af yuthef /ˈjuthəf/ the dog | Suffix -ul yutheul /juthəˈul/ the dogs |
Indefinite | Suffix -u yutheu /jutˈhəu/ a dog | If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -əm yuthem /ˈjuthəm/ some dogs |
Articles
Nilwan encodes definite article ‘the’, and indefinite article ‘a’ in noun affixes. See Noun section.Pronouns
1st singular | i /i/ I, me, mine |
2nd singular | che /ʧə/ you, yours |
3rd singular masc | chif /ʧif/ he, him, his |
3rd singular fem | hew /həw/ she, her, hers |
1st plural | te /tə/ we, us, ours |
2nd plural | at /at/ you (all), yours |
3rd plural | nan /nan/ they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | yung /juŋ/ my |
2nd singular | pa /pa/ your |
3rd singular masc | tan /tan/ his |
3rd singular fem | nga /ŋa/ her |
1st plural | he /hə/ our |
2nd plural | ta /ta/ your |
3rd plural | na /na/ their |
Verbs
Nilwan uses a standalone particle word for past tense:Past | ful /ful/ past particle |
Future | fu /fu/ will |
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present. Nilwan uses the word for ‘finish’ iti for the perfect aspect.Numbers
Nilwan has a base-10 number system: 1 - wam2 - lew
3 - liw
4 - ning
5 - ye
6 - pa
7 - ek
8 - ni
9 - futse
10 - chi
11 - chiwam “ten-one”
100 - tsulli “hundred”
101 - tsulli wam “hundred one”
200 - lew tsulli
1000 - tik “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -amAdjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -i
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -im
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -m
Else: Suffix -im
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -il
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧ
Else: Suffix -iʧ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -iŋ
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -al
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ul
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lji
Else: Suffix -ilji
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -t
Else: Suffix -ət
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -af
Diminutive = Suffix -ə
Augmentative = Suffix -am
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