K'eliss
K'eliss is a language used by some smaller communities of Khu'ata's central deserts and archipelagos, as well as the underwater communities in the surrounding seas. Unique on the realm, it has no written form but combines both spoken and signed language, requiring the understanding of both as they happen simultaneously and, put together, form the speech. It is unsure how the language took its present form, and no theories that have been put forth have any base as of yet.
Pronouns are always signed, and so are names of places and people, though most names that exist outside the areas K'eliss is spoken in are also known by their spoken names, such as bigger cities.
Some K'eliss given names may have a spoken part, as well, most often ephitets. There are some locales that do not have a spoken name in K'eliss, and while outsiders may have named them, they are rarely incorporated into the language.
Beyond this, there is no set rule on which words are spoken and which are signed.
Thala means "friend."
'a is a plural marker.
'n is present marker.
' seperates markers from the main word, and also often marks a glottal stop.
To say, "We are friends," one would draw a horizontal circle with their index finger to mark "we" as a group of people. "We" referring to just two people is said with pointing first towards self and then the other person.
To make this a question, the intonation rises towards the end, and is most often accompanied with a tilted head.
Nona means, "bird."
Ve means, "to fly."
'ki is a past marker.
To say, "The bird flew away," one would add a sign for away: open palm turned towards self, moving it in an arc where the palm ends up open towards the sky.
K'eliss has two tenses, present and past, both of which are added to the end of the word, after possible plural markers. These tenses can be added to both verbs, nouns, and adjectives since the language lacks the 'be'-verb entirely.
Pronouns are always signed, and so are names of places and people, though most names that exist outside the areas K'eliss is spoken in are also known by their spoken names, such as bigger cities.
Some K'eliss given names may have a spoken part, as well, most often ephitets. There are some locales that do not have a spoken name in K'eliss, and while outsiders may have named them, they are rarely incorporated into the language.
Beyond this, there is no set rule on which words are spoken and which are signed.
Examples
Thala'a'n.
pronounciation: θɑlɑʔɑʔn
Thala means "friend."
'a is a plural marker.
'n is present marker.
' seperates markers from the main word, and also often marks a glottal stop.
To say, "We are friends," one would draw a horizontal circle with their index finger to mark "we" as a group of people. "We" referring to just two people is said with pointing first towards self and then the other person.
To make this a question, the intonation rises towards the end, and is most often accompanied with a tilted head.
Nona ve'ki.
pronounciation: nonɑ ʋeki
Nona means, "bird."
Ve means, "to fly."
'ki is a past marker.
To say, "The bird flew away," one would add a sign for away: open palm turned towards self, moving it in an arc where the palm ends up open towards the sky.
Tenses
K'eliss has two tenses, present and past, both of which are added to the end of the word, after possible plural markers. These tenses can be added to both verbs, nouns, and adjectives since the language lacks the 'be'-verb entirely.
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| 'n [ʔn] | 'ki [ki] |
