Hariiji, Language of the Hariij Empire

[Wensleydale]

Hariiji, known variously as Haribse-ven, Harij'ayi, Hariiji and Sha-Harijemus, is arguably the most-spoken language in the known world. It is a first or second language of probably about half of the Duer of the Tandhus Archipelago, almost all of the elves, and a good proportion of humans. It is the most widely spoken of the Dracon languages, and although it is rapidly being replaced in the Hariij Continent by Kheprerven, it still survives and is going strong across the seas and in the Tandhus Archipelago.

 Basic Grammar

Verbs[/b]

The basic unit of all Hariiji speech is the verb - there are no nouns, as such, or adjectives or even adverbs, that are not formed out of the verb. For this reason, this is the part of speech that will be analysed first.

Verb Classes

There are four verb 'classes' in Hariiji, each of which takes a different pronoun set -

Utna: Literally, 'ours'. These are primarily words from draconic originally, although some loanwords have found their way into this category. These are the most common verbs, and include such words as lali (to be unfaithful) and 'ayi (to speak).

Atna: Literally, 'yours'. These are mostly loanwords from the Eldritch and Sharussi families - which themselves are full of loanwords from draconic, making placing words into this and the Utna category confusing for draconic scholars. This includes words like muhidi (to die) and Jjada (to go).

Meziit: Literally, 'those who are something'. These are primarily passive versions of other verbs (such as Maha, 'to be married', and Mudi, 'to be dead'), as well as several words such as Gwazi ('to be fast'). These are also extremely common, especially as sections of noun phrases.

Ip'Rani: Literally, 'those that are needed'. These are primarily transitive verbs that require objects, such as Munédi, 'To kill', and Mahani, 'to get married to/be married to'.

[table=Pronouns]
[tr][th][/th][th]Utna[/th][th]Atna[/th][th]Meziit[/th][th]Ip'Rani[/th][/tr]
[tr][th]First Person (sing.)[/th][td]Uj[/td][td]Us[/td][td]Uj[/td][td]Uz[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Second Person (sing.)[/th][td]Up[/td][td]Ut[/td][td]Up[/td][td]Ur[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Third Person (sing.)[/th][td]Aj[/td][td]As[/td][td]Aj[/td][td]Az[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]First Person (plu.)[/th][td]Ap[/td][td]At[/td][td]Ap[/td][td]Ar[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Second Person (plu.)[/th][td]Ij[/td][td]Is[/td][td]Ij[/td][td]Iz[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Third Person (plu.)[/th][td]Ip[/td][td]It[/td][td]Ip[/td][td]Ir[/td][/tr]
[/table]

Using the correct pronoun is always important. Auxiliary verbs are ignored when deciding which pronoun to use in most dialects.

Conjugation and Placement

Hariiji is relatively morphologically simple - a verb has only four possible forms. However, these forms combined with auxiliary verbs and word placement can imply and produce a wide range of tenses.

Firstly, in the present tense, a verb has two possible forms. The first form, often called the infinitive, almost always ends with a vowel - for example, 'ayi, which means 'to speak'. This form normally ends with an 'i', and less commonly an 'é' or 'a' This is used for practically everything. The second form, spoken without the final sound ('ay) implies that it is a definite action, occurring now (she is speaking now).

A verb can be placed before or after the subject - Ij 'ayi and 'ayi ij translate similarly to he/she/it speaks. However, placing it after the subject implies that the verb is either generic (i.e. Ip 'ayi, 'they speak', making a generalisation) or that it is something that will continue on into the future indefinitely (i.e. in the construction Ij 'ayi hariiji, meaning, in literal translation, 'He/she/it speaks Hariiji'. It would be taken, however, by a fluent speaker, to mean 'his/her/its first language is Hariiji' or 'he/she/it speaks Hariiji fluently'. This is the direct opposite of the 'ay form.

In the past tense, verbs take the suffix 'aa. Verbs which have an infinitive ending in -a often have special infinitive forms to which the 'aa is added. The form ''ayi'aa' literally means 'spoke'. This, too, can be placed before or after the subject to imply various things. The 'aa suffix can be (and is, less commonly) applied to the 'definite' 'ay form ('ay'aa). This strongly implies that it is a completed action - 'I spoke'. 'Ayi'aa, on the other hand, could be 'I was speaking' (particularly if it follows the subject).

The future tense is formed by use of the auxiliary 'ala, which in itself has no other meaning. This is placed in between the modified verb and the subject - for example, Uj 'ala 'ayi or 'Ayi 'ala uj. This can be combined with the past tense to produce all sorts of interesting translations such as 'Ayi 'al'aa uj (I was going to speak) and 'Ayi'aa 'ala uj (I will have spoken) and even 'Ay'aa 'al'aa uj (I was going to have spoken).

Reflexives

Although reflexives are often indicated by context, particularly in the choice of verb (for example, Sliya (to shave 'oneself') as opposed to Slinéyi (to shave another, the Ip'Rani equivalent), reflexive and objective pronouns are sometimes marked by 'i' or 'o' respectively (see the preposition section).

Negation

The Ota' prefix/particle placed before the verb indicates negation (Ota' Hari Ij, I am not a dragon). This is the same in all tenses.

Interrogative

An I' is prefixed to/placed before an interrogative verb. This often replaces words like 'who' and 'what' - I'sem uj, 'I do?', is translated as 'I do what?', whilst I'hari, 'Is a dragon?', is often translated as 'who is a dragon?'.

Imperative

Imperatives and commands are formed using the É' prefix/particle, placed before the verb - É'Hari! - 'Be a dragon!' - É Gwazi! - 'Be strong!' It can also be used to indicate formality, and usually makes the verb drop its pronoun, unless specific emphasis is desired - É Gwazi Aj! - You be fast!

Nouns and Adjectives

There are not strictly any nouns in Hariiji at all, merely pronoun phrases. However, there are many contractions which turn two words into one which could be considered a noun - for example, Hari and Ij becoming Hariij (or Harij, depending on dialect). Pronouns can serve as the object of both a qualitative verb (for example, 'is a dragon' in 'one who is a dragon') and a standard verb (for example, 'kill' in 'I kill the one who is a dragon'). This can frequently rely on context. Adjectives work identically.

An example here is in the phrase: Munédi 'aja ij hari uj. This could mean either 'He is going to kill me who is a dragon' (Munédi 'aja iz hari uj) or 'He who is a dragon is going to kill me' (Munédi 'aja ij hari uj). Normal word order and convention would dictate in this case that it was the 'I' who is a dragon, but there may always be some doubt. This can be particularly confusing to learners in poetry, where context is almost always the most important factor.

Prepositions and other suffixes

Hariiji has several words which are attached to pronouns to indicate their role in the sentence as well as to serve as prepositions. These words are known as Ip'Maha by Hariiji grammaticians - translating directly as 'those which are married', although 'Maha' more implies 'joined' in this sense. These words are always attached directly to the pronoun - for example, 'Ayi hari uj mazi ij-na hari ij-si 'ayi. This means 'I who am a Hariij am speaking of a safe place in Hariiji'. Hariiji is a contraction of Hari ij 'ayi ('what a dragon speaks'), which is shown here by the addition of the suffix 'si' ('in' a language, writing etc). Also seen here is -na, which means literally 'of' or 'about' and is sometimes used to indicate possession (although not here).

Mutiit damoniitna - Hunters  of ones who are daemons.

Possession

Possession can be indicated in a number of ways. Sometimes it is indicated by context - Ij Mazi Hariij, 'the Hariij place'. Sometimes, it can be indicated by contextual use of an adverb - Ij Har'Mazi. It can formally be created using the construct state ('possessed') '-ya' suffix - Maziijya Hariij. The -na suffix can also indicate possession - Maziij Hariijna. Finally, it can be indicated by treating the possessor as the object of a sentence using the -o suffix - Maziij Hariij-o. A mix can also be used - particularly in formal names, such as Muziitya Damoniitna-o. All of the illuminated red sections indicate possession here.

Place Names

Hariiji place names are often formed by the placement of the archaic particle Na (now 'about' or 'of', developed from a much older usage) in front of a standard sentence, thus Na Mal Maziij. Na Mal Maziij itself implies that the settlement is extremely temporary - Mali (to be a place) is in the definite and is placed before the subject, making it seem as if the speaker is unsure that it will even be a place for very long, never mind safe (Mazi).

Adverbs

Adverbs modifying verbs are formed quite simply, by placement into the 'definite' form and affixiation to the verb they are modifying, followed by a glottal stop. For example, Gwaz'haadi ij, 'one runs quickly'. A theoretically infinite amount of verbs can be affixed: Maz'gwaz'haadi ij - 'one runs quickly (and) safely'.

Contractions

Whilst in writing, Hariiji is almost always written completely without contractions, in speech, practically everything is shortened, particularly verbs ending in 'a' with the second person pronouns (Sliyas from Sliya and As) and verbs ending in 'i' with the third person pronouns (Hariij from Hari and Ij). This can result in extremely long and complex words, despite the fact that the agglutinative properties of the original Dracon languages have mostly died out in Hariiji.

Status as a Language

Hariiji is the first language of millions of people and the second language of thousand more. As the day-to-day language of the old Hariiji empire, it is the speech of immigrant duer and elves across the Tandhus Archipelago. It is also the trade tongue practically everywhere in the civilised world, and at least a few words are known by everybody in any settlement larger than a small town. Despite the fact that it is being replaced by Mererven in its homeland, it is still thriving elsewhere in the world.

[LordVreeg]

Actually quite fascinating, especially the part about the place names.  
One wonders if an overly verbose and descriptive elf would end up with 5 frontally affixed adverbs.
Your hard work and care is obvious.

[Wensleydale]

Actually quite fascinating, especially the part about the place names.  
One wonders if an overly verbose and descriptive elf would end up with 5 frontally affixed adverbs.
Your hard work and care is obvious.

Thankyou.

And yes... I was fiddling about with extremely long verb phrases at one point, and I came up with (and this is with only two adverbs): Ota'mal'gwaz'mahani 'ali'aa iz ij-o - One was not going to marry him/her safely and quickly.

In comparison to Sharuss, however, which is very agglutinative, this has fewer VERY long words. Also, Eldritch (if I ever get around to writing up a language, it's hardly a big priority for me as hardly anyone in the Tandhus isles speaks it) can be even more long-winded - because it has so many verb moods and forms whilst Hariiji tends to depend on context. Of course, one of the reasons I'm shying away from creating eldritch is because then I'll probably need to write up a skeletal form of draconic from which both of them can be descended... not a task I'm relishing. ;)

[Wensleydale]

Nomenclature

Native names in Hariiji are often perceived as the most complicated aspect of the language - simply because they, unlike other common naming systems, utilise normal, standard words from the language itself. These are normally qualitative verbs, such as 'Gwazi' (to be fast), in unconjugated form (although some dialects favour placement in the definite to indicate that life is a finite force, a rather pessimistic viewpoint). As there is no capitalisation in Hariiji writing, names are primarily distinguished by context. Also, in many dialects, certain prepositions (or leaving out pronouns) may be used to clarify things. For example:

I speak to myself (as) Gwazi - 'Ayi ujuj gwazi

As opposed to:

I speak to myself (as) one who is fast - 'Ayi ujuj gwaziij

Similarly, in some dialects:

I speak to myself (as Gwazi) - 'Ayi ujuj gwaziha

As opposed to:

I speak to myself (as) one who is fast - 'Ayi ujuj gwaziij

The -ha suffix is distinctively coastal Hariiji, and is applied to all names, at almost all times (except in shortened forms of names, such as 'Gwaz').


Foreign names are usually rendered either with or without the -ha and treated as regular noun phrases, for example -Munédiitya Dakrathukna in the phrase 'Dakrathuk's killers' (infamous House Guards known to harass and sometimes assault elves in the streets). Some names, particularly if they are plural forms, may have a pronoun affixed to the end and be treated like a regular verb.


Gender is not normally distinguished, as in the rest of Hariiji. However, some distinctions can be made using the relatively young auxiliary verbs Hiri and Ishi (taken from the Eldritch Hir'ish and Ish'hir meaning a male dragon and a female dragon respectively), used as adverbs:

'Ayi ujuj hir'gwazi - I am Gwazi (a male)
'Ayi ujuj ish'gwazi - I am Gwazi (a female)

Obviously in first-person terms this has very little usage, but in:

'Ayi nisiijya ijij ujna gwazi - My child calls him/herself Gwazi

The distinction may need to be made. In this case, the sentence could be said:

'Ayi nisiijya ijij ujna hir'gwazi - My son calls himself Gwazi
'Ayi nisiijya ijij ujna ish'gwazi - My daughter calls herself Gwazi

The gender verb could also be affixed to Nisi (to be a child).

Names of Hariij

The full names of actual Hariij are commonly draconic-based, and cannot be articulated by creatures with only one set of vocal cords. Therefore, they often choose a name for themselves, completely without meaning, for use with lesser creatures - such as Majj. These are usually treated as full noun phrases, just as foreign names are.

Second names

Traditionally, as in Kheprer culture, elves were named for their master - Abuli Majj or Abuli Majjna. Now, however, many choose to be named after one of their parents - for example, Abuli Gwazihana (an influential elven criminal whose parents were of mixed coastal and inland breeding) or Gwazi Mazina. Some may choose to name themselves after places (shortened, obviously), such as Maziha Na-Maziijna (one of the highest elven officials in Na Mal Maziij and born there) or Gwazi Na-Tandusiijna (a high-ranking member of the Daemonhunters). Many also choose titles such as Damon'Munédij (Daemon-killer) or Elvijya-T'qet (Servant of T'qet). One of the longest well-known Hariiji names is the full title of Abdhuli, one of the founding disciples of the Daemonhunters - Abdhuli Mazi Na-Ijna-Mazi, Damon'Munédij, Elviij-Ramzetna, Mud'Mutiijya Damoniitna-o, Ota Elviijya Mud'Hariijna - Abdhuli Mazi, of Na Ij Mal Mazi, Killer of Daemons, Servant of Rameset, Deceased Daemonhunter, No Servant of the Dead Dragons (free man).

[Wensleydale]

The Lord's Prayer in Hariiji

As in the T'qetan faith, the Cult of the Dragon has many equivalents to our own, real Lord's Prayer. Whilst the wording is obviously different, the Lord's Prayer serves to illustrate certain Hariiji conventions - such as the exclusion of contractions in the written form.

Ij-ya 'Ayéda Olvi ij-na (The one that is said of the one who is a ruler)
Hir'Padi Ij-ya Ut-na - Our him who is a male parent
Hada At Paji Ij-no - You live in sky
Man'Ayi Aji - You speak to yourself is holy
Na É Sadi Ij-ya Mali At-na - Your one that is a kingdom come
É Semédi Ij-ya Deji At-na - Your one that is a will be done
Mali Ij-no Had'Mali Ij-no-na - In (This) one that is place like in one that is sky place
Sidi Ij, É'Sani At Uto Ip-ya Sid'Baji Uj-na - (This) day, give us ones that are day bread of us
Manazé At Uto Misi Ipya Ut-na - Forgive us our ones who are sins
Manazé Ut-na Misisa Ipo Uto - As we forgive ones (who) sin us
E', É Ota' Jjaré Uto Sim'Mal Ij-No - And, take us not in(to) (the) place of tempting
É Jjaré Izevi Ip-Ja - Take us from evil
Mali Ij-Ya, Nari Ij-Ya, Ara Ij-Ya, Atna - Your place, your power, your adoration
Sapep - Forever
'Aja Ij Semédi - It will be done (Amen)

Most noticable in the prayer is the adoption of two particular loanwords from daemonic - Sapep (Mer. Sabwakeb), meaning forever, and Izevi (Mer. Isef), 'To be evil'. Sapep is simply a simpler term than the Hariiji equivalent, Semédi Zaji At Ijo Jini Ip-si - Let it be done in those who are time. Isef, on the other hand, has much more to do with a kind of cultural fear - it crept in with waves of escaping humans, who called the daemons 'Isef' (evil) in their own language. Hariiji speakers took to the same practice, and retained the word even when Mererven took 'Kopr' into much more common use.

[SA]

I've just been reading some of The Lord's Prayer aloud.  It sounds quite beautiful.

[Nomadic]

Amazing job, I think that if I tried to create my own language like this my head would explode. Pure genius.

[Wensleydale]

I've just been reading some of The Lord's Prayer aloud.  It sounds quite beautiful.

Thankyou. I've read it aloud only once (to make sure I hadn't really messed any sound combinations up) but I certainly think it sounds nicer than the Mererven version. One of the main problems with writing this one was Hariiji's lack of nouns (or, so far, the verb 'to have') and an extremely small syntax to work with, so I was making up words as I went along. :P

Mererven[/url]'s easier, but sounds quite different, if you want to have a look at it (shameless plug).