Idioms and Jargon
Here are some examples of typical sayings, aphorisms, colloquialisms, and jargon that can be heard in the Tondene Empire.
“By the two moons!” Saying of exasperation, frustration, or any other situation that requires swearing. It’s an old saying, and predates the destruction of the smaller moon. It is sort of like when an atheist says “God damn it”, despite not believing in gods. It’s just a social expression.
“By the blood of the Morrigan!” Similar to the above in usage, but this one invokes the name of a war deity. Usually used by soldiers, or others that have spent time on a battlefield. Also an old saying, it comes from the idea that the blood spilt in battle is an aspect of the Morrigan’s blood. It usually has a more symbolic meaning to the speaker than “By the two moons”.
“May Lir guide you home” (or, alternatively, “May Lir guide you”) Often used by sailors, but it is also very common in coastal cities even if the speaker isn’t a sailor. It’s a wish that is similar in meaning and application to “may God go with you”, although usually with ocean voyages in mind.
“Belisama bless this house” Usually used by guests upon arriving or leaving, aimed at the owners of the house in response to hospitality. It is considered something of an insult to not say it when leaving, especially if the owner has been a good host. Withholding the blessing is also used to indicate that the guest didn’t appreciate the hospitality (or lack thereof).
“May Mithras stand between you and darkness” Usually said when making a goodbye, it invokes Mithras’ more protective nature, it references the fact that darkness (for most) conceals dangers. The light of Mithras is supposed to aid travelers or anyone else who must brave the night.
“May the strength of Grome hold fast” Used to bless ships, for protection against the vagaries of Lir. It’s also used for important buildings, in a general sense to keep them from falling apart. There are few building codes, so invoking the strength of Grome certainly can’t hurt.
“The wind is as sharp as Taranis’ teeth!” “It’s as cold as Taranis’ heart!” Used to describe the weather. It comes from the concept that the weather is anthropomorphized. Other examples are “Taranis clawed at the eaves” (usually a literary reference to the wind blowing at the thatch roofs), “It smells like Taranis’ ass in here!” (referencing a great stink, usually hyperbole). Clouds are often described as “Taranis’ thoughts, drifting on the wind”.
“Raiden’s pissing on us” references a downpour or deluge. Sometimes people reference it not as urine, but of tears; usually this is due to a melancholy attitude on the part of the speaker.
“Tight as a miser’s purse” used to signify that a person is either very tight with their spending, or, more likely, to signify someone is uptight, inflexible, or has a stick up their ass. Sometimes used to describe two people who are very close and inseparable.
“She’ll be right” means “it will be all right/it will be fine”. The “she” comes from the idea that Belisama is the world.
“Ace” or “Brilliant” is often used to describe something excellent/really great.
“Dog’s breakfast”: something that is a mess. Can be a literal mess (“It’s a dog’s breakfast in here! Kids, clean this place up!”) or metaphorical (“That so-called plan is a dog’s breakfast! It’ll get us all killed!”)
“Cattywampus” or “Kittywampus” refers to something crooked, off-kilter, or not quite aligned properly.
“You think like a flickerbug” means that someone’s thoughts aren’t logical, don’t follow, or are completely scatterbrained. It comes from the flickerbug’s ability to project it’s image away from itself, so that it appears to be teleporting all over the place.
A “Bludger” is a lazy person.
“Swag” is a term for gifts, presents, purchased goods. Basically, any stuff you may be carrying.
A “Swagbag” can be purse, sack, or backpack. Anything you carry your swag in, really.
“Ice box” not really a colloquialism, as it’s literally the proper definition of a box with ice in the top compartment, used to keep food fresh and chilled. It is usually wood, with a small compartment (usually with a drain into a drip tray beneath it) on top of a larger compartment, usually with shelves, for storing foodstuffs. Ice is either imported from cold areas, made in icehouses, or formed by mages, and then delivered to clients who subscribe to the delivery service. Only the wealthy can really afford it, but often restaurants have them.
“You hit like a stun lizard!” means that you hit hard. Stun lizards aren’t terribly fast, but they have a mental stunning ability that helps them hunt food. The effects of their stunning ability have been described as having someone sawing at your skull, white-blindness, or sticking one’s head beneath a series of trip hammers.
Languages on Velyri
Imperial: Spoken in the Tondene Empire, it is descended from Old Araterre. It is the “common tongue” of the Empire.
Quenya: One of the two major tongues of the Elves. The other is Sindarin. Those wanting to know what it looks and sounds like can visit https://www.elfdict.com/ or https://realelvish.net/phrasebooks/quenya/vanyar/#hi or https://eldamo.org/.
Roquenya: A dialect of Quenya spoken by the Elves of the Western Prairie.
Sindarin: An Elven tongue spoken in the Maegorod Confederacy.
Northern Khuzdul: spoken by the Dwarves in the northern part of the continent. Information on Khuzdul can be found here: https://thedwarrowscholar.com/khuzdul/documents-dictionaries/
Lake Khuzdul: A dialect of Khuzdul that is quite closely related. Spoken in the Upland Domain, and the Kingdom of the Lake.
Khuzdul: A Dwarven language, generally considered to be the original, or root language that Northern Khuzdul and Lake Khuzdul are evolved from. It is used as a ceremonial language primarily, rather than a commonly spoken one.
Lurkash: Spoken by the Orcs, primarily in the northern portions of the continent. It’s a harsh sounding language, based upon Tolkien’s Black Speech.
Southern Lurkash: An Orc dialect spoken in the southern parts of the continent.
Mekiitagi: spoken by the Goblins; it doesn’t seem to experience much linguistic drift, perhaps due to most Goblin societies being “hidebound”. J’radi is adding words to the language, as they are rapidly inventing new sailing technologies, but that is an isolated case.
Windsong: spoken, if that is the proper word, by the Aarakocra. Other races can simulate some of the sounds, but lacking syrinxes, they cannot speak it. Many “words” can be learned by non-Aarakocra, however (this happens in the Tondene military and Rural Watch forces, since they use Aarakocra as scouts and air patrols).
Harada: a language spoken in the northern parts of the continent. It has similar sounds to African languages, such as Swahili or Xhosa.
Skaar’t’aghh: One of the two dialects of reptile man speech. Considered the more civilized of the two (although it’s more of an urban/rural divide).
Skaar’t’aahk: the more rural of the two dialects that the reptile folk speak.
Farsski: A tongue spoken in Farsskal. It has sounds similar to Scandinavian languages.
Jemalese: A language spoken in Upper and Lower Jemal, with a sound similar to Tagalog.
Meriniri: A language spoken by the Kingdom of Merinira, Lerindol, and the Republic of Norossin. It has sounds that are similar to Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.
Janoori: A language spoken in Janor.
Mountain Speech: a dialect of Janoori, spoken in the Baldred Monarchy, and the Kingdom of Maukor.
Gloddi: Spoken in the Kingdom of Thalidien, it is a mishmash of Human and Dwarven languages. It’s diverged so much that it doesn’t really default to any other particular language, although many root words are shared.
Ghannamic: A language spoken in the Ghannam Empire. It has sounds similar to Chinese.
Talethian: Spoken in the Astaleth Monarchy and Talthor. It has sounds similar to Arabic or Farsi.
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