Re: A dialogue in Old Urianian.

The only thing I have to say about the dialogue is that I was so
caught up in the story I was quite disappointed when it reached the
end haha - the sound changes you mentioned are rather noticeable too,
though I didn't scrutinise the samples to check for any errors (I'll
leave that to someone else heh). Is there a continuation of the story?
-grins

Eugene

2007/2/22, Lars Finsen <lars.finsen@...>:
> Hi, I've been looking at Old Urianian a little, and with this I mean
> the language spoken about 700 BCE, during the lifetime of Uttrediay.
> At this time Urianians were still performing pirate raids along the
> coast, but had formed settlements in coastal areas where strong local
> governments were not able to chase them, mainly in the east where
> Nunanja already more than a century ago had been the first Gaajan
> realm to be obliterated and the Urianians also had populated the
> adjacent highlands, but settlements existed in the southwest and
> northwest as well.
>
> The language was much closer to proto-IE than today, but I am
> postulating some changes due to a non-Gaajan substrate, possibly
> Uralic. To my best current knowledge these are as follows:
> 1)The short diphthongs /ei/ and /oi/ become /e/, and /eu/ and /ou/
> become /o/. This also helps simplifying the verbal system. In the
> longer corresponding diphthongs the second element is treated as a
> semivowel in many environments, causing the first element to shorten
> before consonants.
> 2)In compositions following the -VC-o-C- pattern, where -o- is any
> composition vowel, the composition vowel is ellipsed.
> 3)Stress is shifted to initial syllables. Final short vowels are
> dropped or reduced. Final long vowels become short. Short vowels in
> the first syllable become long before single consonants.
> 4)Final /m/ becomes /n/. An old change, so that an /m/ becoming final
> after 3) is not affected.
> 5)All unaspirated stops are aspirated.
> 6)/bh/ becomes /B/, written _v_, /dh/ becomes /D/, written _z_, and /
> gh/ becomes /G/, written _h_.
> 7)Unaspirated labiovelars become unaspirated stops, and will round a
> following vowel. Thus /gw/ becomes /g/, written _q_, and /kw/
> becomes /k/, written _c_. /gwh/ on the other hand becomes /w/,
> written _w_, and will not round a following vowel.
> 8)Initial /s/ is lost before double consonants. Internal s is lost
> before consonants, causing preceding short vowels to lengthen.
> 9)Prepositions and some conjuctions and connective pronouns are
> already lost.
>
> The vowel shifts, the changes in the other diphthongs and the further
> change of the labiovelars from unaspirated stops to fricatives as
> well as the voicing changes, final /s/ -> /t/ and more I leave to
> later centuries, because these seem to differ from dialect to
> dialect. I think the latter is relatively early though.
>
> I'd be glad for some comments from linguistic experts on this. And
> the following.
>
> Now for the dialogue. Old Urianian was an unwritten language and the
> writing system is only my tentative invention. The values will not
> differ from PIE except as noted above. Long vowels are marked with an
> aigu.
>
> ---
>
> Uttrediay has just conquered the Ity realm and the clouds over Ity
> town are breaking up in the morning after the battle. In the distance
> a monotonous, shrill song is swelling in the wind. Uttrediay's
> warriors have been toying with enemy girls in the night and now
> emerge one by one from the houses, some leading their new slaves in
> their hands and some leading them in ropes. Here and there citizens
> are emerging too, and find their way to the storage houses, but will
> return empty handed from those already discovered by Urianians.
>
> Karaguas too emerges, and he too leads his woman by the hand, but
> this is no fresh plunder from Ity, it is Upilase, the gift of
> Uttrediay. Rubbing her eyes, she says: "Cid ét krenka sa éla?" (What
> is that horrible noise?)
>
> "Cid krenka?" (What noise?) Karaguas is puzzled. Upilase glances in
> the direction of the song.
>
> "Oh, tód." (Oh that.) "Tód ét kantos déwomos." (That is the song of
> the gods.) "Utredinos érek wergim lawnon kaimio." (Uttrediay has
> decided that we make a thanksgiving.)
>
> Upilase turns half away, lowering her gaze. "In kánet kále." (She
> does not sing beautifully.)
>
> Karaguas is annoyed. "Wédes nékon toi," he says. (You know nothing
> about that.) "Vakaneka ésect Kluksencus Megistei." (Vakaneka has
> learned from Kluksencas in Megistis.) "Wédet alnon swersos déwomos cu
> génet alnon kantons." (She knows everything about the gods and all
> the songs.) "Nenlos kánet vadjos." (No-one sings better.)
>
> Upilase does not reply. She stands in silence for a while gazing
> towards the remote monotonous song. Then she turns towards Karaguas
> again. "Co sent déwe kais wóson?" (Who are these gods of yours?) "Cor
> wésent, cu cid zént?" (Where do they live and what do they do?)
> "Himne sent es ansoes, es cid?" (Are they humans or spirits or what?)
>
> Karaguas regards her stunned and casts a short glance towards the
> sky. "In...in déwe wóson sent?" he stotters. (Don't...don't you have
> gods?)
>
> "In havrem." (I don't think so.) She has turned half away again, eyes
> turned down. "In hossens weswon kemnu es statu octu nenloi, wítos
> ét." (We don't pray to someone living in the sky or a place that no-
> one can see, that's for sure.) She casts a quick glance towards
> Karaguas, who stands speechless staring at her. Then she continues.
> "Net ancus ét altu." (But there is spirit in everything.) "Nucu
> swersu in tu octu." (Also in things you cannot see.) She turns
> towards him again. "Cid ancus ét two déwu?" (What spirit is in your
> gods?)
>
> Karaguas coughs. "In lésem two socton, céna." (I don't understand
> what you are talking about, woman.) He grips her arm. "Toi tolcujon
> te amze." (I will explain this to you later.) "Nu atjom vágunti
> édon." (Now we shall go and get some food.)
>
> They walk to the nearest storage house. Before they arrive, Upilase
> speaks again. "Karaguas?"
> "Ém?" (Yes?)
>
> "Éwednu keimin síet domdewon vrewrio." (I have heard there is
> supposed to be a temple of the source here.) "Atomes tómin?" (Can we
> go there?)
>
> Karaguas doesn't reply. The behaviour of his woman baffles him. She
> seems changed. Maybe she needs a hiding. He cannot recall anything
> but submission in her since they left Nomag, Uttrediay's first
> conquest. But now he senses obstinacy.
>
> They arrive at the storage house and receive bread, butter, dried
> meat and some ale. Karaguas is well known by the Urianian guards.
> They sit down to eat. Karaguas looks at Upilase. She is more than ten
> years older than him, but pretty as an elf. She's shorter than him by
> more than a head, thin and frail, pale-skinned. Maybe she needs a
> hiding. He has treated her well until now, out of respect for
> Uttrediay. But he couldn't spoil her either. That would ruin her as
> well, and it wouldn't do, although he has no plan to sell her, not at
> an ordinary price at any rate. He looks at her again. She bites off a
> piece of meat and chews it without heeding his gaze. Follows it with
> a sip of beer, dips the bread in the butter and takes a bite. No, he
> won't beat her up. She looks fragile, like a costly object. Her
> collarbone is like a twig. Violence will break her, he fears.
>
> "Cid ét domdewon vrewrio?" (What is a temple of the source?)
>
> Upilase throws him a long stare. She finishes chewing before she
> replies. "Ékios swerson sent ancus mukjos cu aldjos aljomos." (Some
> things have more and stronger spirit than others.) "Í nes sécon
> veslons nuce nes sécent vrewrons." (They who send us medicines also
> send us sources.) "Vrewrio ét qéris erginos." (The source has a
> wonderful power.)
>
> Karagues doesn't like this. "Tupila, terkjes sítas..." (Tupila, if
> you are scheming some magic...) He doesn't know what to threaten her
> with.
>
> She looks down. "In síta ét." (It is not magic.) "Sinos qéris vrewrio
> ét." (It's just the power of the source.) "Vádos ét alnomos." (It is
> good for everyone.) She sighs. "Delse mu nomnos in Tupila
> ét." (Besides my name isn't Tupila.)
>
> She stands up, grabs his hand and sends him a brief little smile.
> "Cum!" (Come!)
> Karaguas wonders. She's never smiled to him like that before.
> Friendly, inviting, and prettily. He rises up. They wander about the
> town a while until they find a low, domed house with a mass of little
> blue flowers on the grassy roof. Upilase is sure. "Keimin ét." (Here
> it is.)
>
> She pulls the curtain aside and wants to pull him in. Karaguas gasps,
> because the doorway emits a blue glare that reflects in Upilase's
> skin, giving it a strange blue glow. As he breathes in he senses a
> strange smell in the air. But not unpleasant. Fresh, like a flowery
> meadow a sunny day in the spring. Or after a thunderstorm. He follows
> her inside. There is only one chamber. Benches along the walls. Naked
> floor. Hard-trodden earth without straw. Opposite the entrance is a
> table with dark bronze dishes before a low stony wall, and from
> behind the wall the blue light shines with remarkable force.
>
> But between them and the wall stands two shadows. Urianians. The one
> to the left bends over the light, which bathes him in an intense blue
> glare. And as he unbends, he has something in his hands. A sight
> Karaguas never shall forget. A ball, clear as crystal, with two rods
> jutting to opposite sides, of black metal, like wrought iron. And
> from inside the ball comes the mysterious blue light, dazzling,
> unearthly and incomprehensible.
>
> "Aa!!!" It is Upilase's cry. "Ara auguk an! Rakabis iu!" Only now she
> realises that she has used her own language, and repeats the warning
> in Urianian: "Id in takte! Péros ét!" (Don't touch it! It's dangerous!)
>
> ---
>
> Dialogue over. Does this work, or what?
>
> LEF
>

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