dwarven
The Dwarven spoken today has changed little from the ancient
dwarven language that originated eons before the advent of humans
on Tellene. Dwarven vocabulary is comprised of short words with
specific meanings; there is little ambiguity. Many dwarven words are
under three syllables long, and most words are only two syllables.
Double consonants are used infrequently, and double vowels are used
sparingly.
Both written and oral Dwarven revolve around the use of verbs.
When conjugated, all verbs end in a vowel, with the stress usually
being placed on that last vowel. The vowel used will indicate the
subject of the verb. For example, the dwarven word for “to run” is
dorom. An ‘i’ on the end (doromi) means “She (or it, female) runs;” an
“o” (doromo) means “He (or it, male) runs;” an “e” (dorome) reflects
first person (I run). Plurality (they, male and female, and we) is
reflected in the length of time the final vowel sound is held. For
example, an “o” held for longer than three seconds would indicate a
large number of people or items (they an “e” held for a full second
would indicate two or three people (we). Plurality in the written
language is expressed by a series of backslashes (\) after the vowel.
The number of backslashes also indicates the length of time the final
vowel is to be held. The dwarven language uses the following letters:
A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, TH, U, W, X, Y and Z.
Dwarven is written from right to left or up to down. Even though
dwarven writers know how to use ink, they chiseled dwarven characters
for centuries, and still scribe often in stone. A right-handed
scribe needs to chisel the letters from right to left, thus the language
is written in that fashion.
Dwarves are clannish and reluctant to break a family tradition by
brazenly claiming to start their own dynasty. Therefore, they have
retained only a handful of family names for centuries. Dwarves
typically name their children after deceased relatives. The full name
of a dwarf includes his entire bloodline and is very sacred. Thus,
dwarves reveal their full name only to a trusted few, if anyone, and to
a non-dwarf in only extremely rare circumstances. Dwarves mingling
among other races will typically choose first and last names based
either on a personal trait, a stone, a metal, an element or an occupation.
These names might be in Dwarven, but more often dwarves will
choose names in Merchant’s Tongue or the local human language.
Examples include Bromide, Ironheart, Steelhead, Silverbeard the
Axe, Borli the Smith, Plumb, Cesium Stonecraft and Ferrous.
Successor Languages
Common Female Names
Agmar, Darloka, Elta, Farada, Gunor, Inafa, Kantotha,
Ketda, Kombar, Kuoto, Maska, Nadel, Zedda
Common Male Names
Adurmak, Borli, Burlom, Dargrum, Fargad, Forbarek,
Fulkaft, Guruth, Klim, Kordur, Lomburd, Rorak,Tregel, Ulgrum, Urgaz
Common Family Names
Angklin, Damwalk, Fermost, Gramdal, Gunterm,
Kerak,Talek,Tukurz, Zarduk