Drow language: Difference between revisions

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The '''Drow language''' is the language of the '''Drow''', a people often imprecisely referred to as ''Dark Elves''.  The Drow live in the Underdark of the [[Forgotten Realms]] (a game world of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' RPG; they also exist in several other ''Dungeons & Dragons'' settings) and are descendants of [[Elves]] who were cast out because they worshipped the evil spider goddess Lolth.
The '''Drow language''' is the language of the '''Drow''', a people also called [[Dark Elves]].  The Drow live in the Underdark of the [[Forgotten Realms]] (a game world of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' RPG; they also exist in several other ''Dungeons & Dragons'' settings) and are descendants of [[Elves]] who were cast out because they worshipped the evil spider goddess Lolth.


There are actually ''two'' Drow languages.  '''Common Drow''' or '''Low Drow''' is the language described in TSR's ''Drow Dictionary'' and various web sites based thereon.  It is a language with a simple grammatical structure not far removed from English, designed to be used easily by non-native speakers (extrafictionally, by roleplayers who play Drow characters).  '''High Drow''', designed by [[User:Jashan|Jashan A'al]], uses the same vocabulary, but has a much more elaborate grammar.  It is an agglutinating language, typologically comparable (but not related) to [[Quenya]], with nine noun cases and a set of formal personal pronouns used to address persons of higher rank.
There are actually ''two'' Drow languages.  '''Common Drow''' or '''Low Drow''' is the language described in the ''Drow Dictionary'' found on various web sites (it is apparently one of those texts that have been circulating in the Net for so long that nobody remembers its source).  It is a language with a simple grammatical structure not far removed from English, designed to be used easily by non-native speakers (extrafictionally, by roleplayers who play Drow characters).  '''High Drow''', designed by [[User:Jashan|Jashan A'al]], uses the same vocabulary, but has a much more elaborate grammar.  It is a richly inflected language, typologically comparable (but not related) to [[Quenya]], with nine noun cases and a set of formal personal pronouns used to address persons of higher rank.
 
Both Drow languages are fan creations and thus ''non-canon'', though a part of the vocabulary has a canon source.


==Low Drow==
==Low Drow==
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The third person singular of the verb carries a suffix '''-e'''.  The past tense is marked with a suffix '''-us'''; the same form is also the past participle.  The future is expressed by the auxiliary verb '''orn''' and the uninflected form of the verb.  A set of perfect tenses is formed with '''inbal''' 'to have' and past participle.  The passive is expressed with 'to be' and past participle.
The third person singular of the verb carries a suffix '''-e'''.  The past tense is marked with a suffix '''-us'''; the same form is also the past participle.  The future is expressed by the auxiliary verb '''orn''' and the uninflected form of the verb.  A set of perfect tenses is formed with '''inbal''' 'to have' and past participle.  The passive is expressed with 'to be' and past participle.
===Syntax===
Low Drow has a basic word order Subject Verb Object (SVO), and presumably follows the same syntactic patterns as English.


==High Drow==
==High Drow==
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||The Underdark
||The Underdark
|-
|-
|valign="top"|Timeline/Universe:
|valign="top"|[[Conworld]]:
||[[Forgotten Realms]]
||[[Forgotten Realms]] (non-canon)
|-
|-
|valign="top"|Total speakers:
|valign="top"|Total speakers:
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|-
|-
|valign="top"|[[Basic word order]]:
|valign="top"|[[Basic word order]]:
||
||SOV
|-
|-
|valign="top"|[[Morphological type]]:
|valign="top"|[[Morphological type]]:
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'''High Drow''' is a richly inflected language, and to be considered the true language the Drow use among themselves, while Low Drow is a sort of contact language.
'''High Drow''' is a richly inflected language, and to be considered the true language the Drow use among themselves, while Low Drow is a sort of contact language.


The language shows an unmistakable similarity to [[Quenya]] in its grammatical typology, though no phyletic relationship to that language - that is spoken in a completely different world, anyway - can be discerned.  It sounds much less mellifluously than Quenya, though.
The language shows an unmistakable similarity to [[Quenya]] in its grammatical typology, though no phyletic relationship to that language - which is spoken in a completely different world, anyway - can be discerned.  It sounds much less mellifluously than Quenya, though.


===Phonology===
===Phonology===
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|-
|-
! colspan="2" |  
! colspan="2" |  
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!Labial
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
!Alveolar
![[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
!Post-<br>alveolar
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!Palatal
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
!Velar
![[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
!Uvular
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
!Glottal
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" |Stops
! rowspan="2" |Stops
Line 200: Line 206:


The vowels transcribed &lt;aa&gt; and &lt;ee&gt; are long vowels.  Diphthongs are /au/, /ui/, /ue/ and a rare /ou/, the latter not considered a diphthong by native grammarians.
The vowels transcribed &lt;aa&gt; and &lt;ee&gt; are long vowels.  Diphthongs are /au/, /ui/, /ue/ and a rare /ou/, the latter not considered a diphthong by native grammarians.
===Morphology===
====Nouns====
High Drow distinguishes between ''inanimate'' and ''animate'' nouns, which are declined differently.  The inanimate nouns form their plural in '''-a''' and are thus also called "A-class" nouns.  Most animate nouns form their plural in '''-en''', '''-in''' or '''-n''' and are thus called "N-class" nouns.  A few animate nouns pluralize irregularly in the nominative-accusative; all of them refer to Drow or other Elven beings.
In the other cases, they pluralize like N-class nouns.  Besides the normal plural, there is a ''partitive plural'', which expresses that the referents belong to a larger group.
There are nine noun cases: nominative, accusative (mostly the same form as the nominative), dative, genitive, possessive, allative, ablative, locative, instrumental.  The difference in meaning between the genitive and the possessive is similar to that of their counterparts in [[Quenya]], or the partitive and genitive in [[Old Albic]]: the possessive expresses possession or ownership, the genitive a more general notion of origin, composition or association.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! &nbsp;
! colspan="3" | A-class<br>''che'el'' 'city'
! colspan="3" | N-class<br>''dalhar'' 'child'
|-
! &nbsp;
! Singular
! Plural
! Partitive<br>plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Partitive<br>plural
|-
! Nom./Acc.
| che'el
| che'ela
| che'elau
| dalhar
| dalharin
| sshadalhar
|-
! Dative
| che'elesh
| che'elesha
| che'elsshau
| dalharassh
| sshasalhar
| sshadalharassh
|-
! Genitive
| che'eles
| che'elesa
| che'elesau
| dalharass
| ssadalhar
| sshadalharass
|-
! Possessive
| che'eles
| che'elesa
| che'elesau
| dalharassre
| ssradalhar
| sshadalharassre
|-
! Allative
| che'eler
| che'elera
| che'elerau
| dalhararro
| rradalhar
| sshadalhararro
|-
! Ablative
| che'elen
| che'elena
| che'elenau
| dalharath
| tadalhar
| sshadalharath
|-
! Locative
| che'elel
| che'elela
| che'elelau
| dalharin
| dalharinin
| sshadalharin
|-
! Instrumental
| che'eled
| che'eleda
| che'eledau
| dalharand
| andadalhar
| sshadalharand
|-
|}
====Adjectives====
Adjectives follow the noun and agree with it in case and number.  Sample declension ('''olath''' 'dark'):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! &nbsp;
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom./Acc.
| olath
| olatha
|-
! Dative
| olathshe
| olathshem
|-
! Gen./Poss.
| olathse
| olathsem
|-
! Allative
| olathre
| olathrem
|-
! Ablative
| olathne
| olathnem
|-
! Locative
| olathle
| olathlem
|-
! Instrumental
| olathde
| olathande
|-
|}
So, 'to the dark city' is '''che'eler olathre''', for instance.
The comparative is expressed with the suffix '''-ur''' ('''olathur''' 'darker'), the superlative with '''-url''' ('''olathurl''' 'darkest').
Adverbs are derived from adjectives with the suffix '''-ne''' (just '''-e''' after '''n'''): '''olathne''' 'darkly'.
====Pronouns====
There are personal pronouns for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person; the 3rd person pronouns distinguish gender (feminine, masculine and generic).  In addition, there is a set of formal pronouns for addressing persons of higher rank.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! &nbsp;
! colspan="2"| 1st person
! colspan="2"| 2nd person
! colspan="2"| 3rd person<br>feminine
! colspan="2"| 3rd person<br>masculine
! colspan="2"| 3rd person<br>generic
! colspan="2"| Formal
|-
! &nbsp;
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom.
| usstau
| udos
| tau
| dos
| il
| ida
| uk
| nind
| ol
| nind
| idaes
| udaes
|-
! Acc.
| usst
| udosst
| tausst
| dosst
| ilt
| idat
| ukt
| nint
| olt
| nint
| idaest
| udaest
|-
! Dat.
| usstiv
| udosstiv
| tausstiv
| dosstiv
| iltiv
| idiv
| uktiv
| nindiv
| oltiv
| nindiv
| idaev
| udaev
|-
! Gen./Poss.
| ussta
| udossta
| taussta
| dossta
| ilta
| idalta
| ukta
| ninda
| olta
| ninda
| idaeta
| udaeta
|-
! Inst.
| usstue
| udosstue
| tausstue
| dosstue
| iltue
| idue
| uktue
| nindue
| oltue
| nindue
| idue
| udue
|-
|}
An additional pronoun is the ''proxy pronoun'', which is used when someone acts in someone else's place.  It has 1st person and formal forms.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! 1st person
| usstil
| udosstil
|-
! Formal
| idaestil
| udaestil
|-
|}
The interrogative pronoun has the following forms:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Gen./Poss.
! Instrumental
|-
! 'who'
| vel'uss
| vel'usst
| vel'usstiv
| vel'ussta
| vel'usstue
|-
! 'what'<br>(concrete)
| vel'bol
| vel'bolst
| vel'boliv
| vel'bolta
| vel'bolue
|-
! 'what'<br>(abstract)
| vel'hyrr
| vel'hyrrst
| vel'hyrriv
| vel'hyrrta
| vel'hyrue
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Allative
! Ablative
! Locative
! Instrumental
|-
! 'when'
| vel'drav
| vel'draver
| vel'draven
| vel'dravel
| &nbsp;
|-
! 'where'
| vel'klar
| vel'klara
| vel'klarn
| vel'klar'l
| vel'klard
|-
! 'why'
| vel'inth
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| vel'inth
|-
! 'how'
| vel'ind
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| vel'ind
|-
|}
The relative pronouns are similar, but with the stem '''ha''' instead of '''vel'''.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Gen./Poss.
! Instrumental
|-
! 'who'
| ha'uss
| ha'usst
| ha'usstiv
| ha'ussta
| ha'usstue
|-
! 'what'<br>(concrete)
| ha'bol
| ha'bolst
| ha'boliv
| ha'bolta
| ha'bolue
|-
! 'what'<br>(abstract)
| ha'hyrr
| ha'hyrrst
| ha'hyrriv
| ha'hyrrta
| ha'hyrue
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Allative
! Ablative
! Locative
! Instrumental
|-
! 'when'
| ha'drav
| ha'draver
| ha'draven
| ha'dravel
| &nbsp;
|-
! 'where'
| ha'klar
| ha'klara
| ha'klarn
| ha'klar'l
| ha'klard
|-
! 'why'
| ha'inth
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| ha'inth
|-
! 'how'
| ha'ind
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| ha'ind
|-
|}
====Verbs====
The High Drow verb inflects for tense (present, past, future) and the person and number of the subject.  There is also an infinitive and two participles, and an imperative which consists of the bare stem.
Sample conjugation ('''khalyrr''' 'to trust'):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|&nbsp;
! Present
! Past
! Future
|-
!rowspan="4"| Singular
! 1st person
| khali
| khalusi
| khalith
|-
! 2nd person
| khale
| khaluse
| khalesh
|-
! 3rd person
| khal
| khalus
| khaloss
|-
! Formal
| khalazh
| khalusazh
| khalata
|-
!rowspan="4"| Plural
! 1st person
| khalui
| khalusui
| khalue
|-
! 2nd person
| khalet
| khaluset
| khalesst
|-
! 3rd person
| khalar
| khalusar
| khalosst
|-
! Formal
| khalazhim
| khalusazhim
| khalatau
|-
!colspan="2"| Infinitive
|colspan="3"| khalyrr
|-
!colspan="2"| Participle
| khal
| khalus
| &nbsp;
|-
!colspan="2"| Imperative
|colspan="3"| khal
|-
|}
The perfect tenses are formed by placing the particle '''xa''' before the verb:
* '''xa khali''' 'I have trusted'
* '''xa khalus''' 'I had trusted'
* '''xa khalith''' 'I will have trusted'
The passive is formed with the verb '''tlu''' 'to be' and past participle.
The conjugation of '''tlu''' is irregular:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"| &nbsp;
!colspan="2"| Present
!colspan="2"| Past
!colspan="2"| Future
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! 1st person
| uil
| uel
| tlusi
| tlusui
| uith
| uel
|-
! 2nd person
| phuul
| phet
| tluse
| tluset
| phush
| pheest
|-
! 3rd person
| zha
| zhar
| tlus
| tlusar
| zhaloss
| zhalosst
|-
! Formal
| tluzh
| t'zhim
| tlusazh
| tlusazhim
| tant
| tatau
|-
|}
There are two types of verb negation.  The prefix '''ne-''' turns the verb into its opposite: '''nekhali''' 'I distrust'.  The particle '''naut''' corresponds to English 'not': '''naut khali''' 'I do not trust'.  Both can be combined: '''naut nekhali''' 'I do not distrust'.
===Syntax===
The rich inflectional morphology of High Drow allows for much freedom in word order.  If the subject is first person, the verb goes first; otherwise, SOV word order is the norm.  Indirect objects usually precede direct objects.  Modifiers, such as adjectives or relative clauses, always follow the noun.


==External links==
==External links==


* [http://www.mindspring.com/~sylverion/nwn/dicttop.htm Drow Dictionary] ("Low" Drow)
* [http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn/resources/language.html Drow Dictionary] - Low Drow (one of several sites)
* [http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn/resources/language.html A grammar sketch and a small list of words and proverbs] (seems to be the same as above)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050307204236/www.jashan.net/sites/conlangs/drow/index.html Talentha Ilythiiri] - High Drow by Jashan A'al (archived)
* [http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn/resources/translator/ A translator]
 
* [http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/elephant_mask/learndrow.html A lesson set]
 
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050307204236/www.jashan.net/sites/conlangs/drow/index.html Talentha Ilythiiri] ("High" Drow by Jashan A'al)
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Forgotten Realms]]
[[Category:Languages in role-playing games]]

Latest revision as of 13:13, 14 March 2017

The Drow language is the language of the Drow, a people also called Dark Elves. The Drow live in the Underdark of the Forgotten Realms (a game world of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG; they also exist in several other Dungeons & Dragons settings) and are descendants of Elves who were cast out because they worshipped the evil spider goddess Lolth.

There are actually two Drow languages. Common Drow or Low Drow is the language described in the Drow Dictionary found on various web sites (it is apparently one of those texts that have been circulating in the Net for so long that nobody remembers its source). It is a language with a simple grammatical structure not far removed from English, designed to be used easily by non-native speakers (extrafictionally, by roleplayers who play Drow characters). High Drow, designed by Jashan A'al, uses the same vocabulary, but has a much more elaborate grammar. It is a richly inflected language, typologically comparable (but not related) to Quenya, with nine noun cases and a set of formal personal pronouns used to address persons of higher rank.

Both Drow languages are fan creations and thus non-canon, though a part of the vocabulary has a canon source.

Low Drow

Any closer look at the grammar of Low Drow will reveal that the language is actually a relex of English. The grammatical categories are exactly the same and are expressed in ways precisely parallel to the corresponding English categories, imitating even such English idiosyncrasies as the marking of the third person singular on verbs and the homophony of past tense and past participle.

Phonology

The phonology of Low Drow is not specified in the Drow Dictionary, but one probably does not err much if one pronounces the language as given for High Drow below.

Morphology

Low Drow is a mostly analytical language, inflecting words for the same categories as English.

Nouns

Nouns are marked for plural with the suffix -en (after consonant) or -n (after vowel). The only case besides the unmarked form is the possessive, which is formed by a suffix -s. If the noun already ends in /s/, the form is not changed, but an apostrophe is written.

Adjectives

The comparative is formed with -ur, the superlative with -url.

Verbs

The third person singular of the verb carries a suffix -e. The past tense is marked with a suffix -us; the same form is also the past participle. The future is expressed by the auxiliary verb orn and the uninflected form of the verb. A set of perfect tenses is formed with inbal 'to have' and past participle. The passive is expressed with 'to be' and past participle.

Syntax

Low Drow has a basic word order Subject Verb Object (SVO), and presumably follows the same syntactic patterns as English.

High Drow

Drow
Ilythiiri
Spoken in: The Underdark
Conworld: Forgotten Realms (non-canon)
Total speakers:
Genealogical classification: Tel'Quessir
Drow
Basic word order: SOV
Morphological type: fusional
Morphosyntactic alignment: accusative
Created by:
Jashan A'al

High Drow is a richly inflected language, and to be considered the true language the Drow use among themselves, while Low Drow is a sort of contact language.

The language shows an unmistakable similarity to Quenya in its grammatical typology, though no phyletic relationship to that language - which is spoken in a completely different world, anyway - can be discerned. It sounds much less mellifluously than Quenya, though.

Phonology

Consonants

The High Drow language has 24 consonant phonemes, tabulated below. The transcription conventions are given in angle brackets. The phoneme /ks/ is, of course, not really a velar affricate; it is placed in its cell for convenience.

  Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Stops Unaspirated p <b> t <d>     k <g>    
Aspirated pʰ <p> tʰ <t>     kʰ <k>    
Affricates Voiceless pf <ph> ts <ss> tʃ <ch>   ks <x>    
Voiced     dʒ <j>        
Fricatives Voiceless f <f> s <s> ʃ <sh>       h <h>
Voiced v <v> z <z> ʒ <jh, zh>        
Nasals m <m> n <n>          
Liquids   l <l>       ʀ <r>  
Semivowels w <w>     j <y>      

Vowels

The Drow language has seven monophthongs:

  Front Central Back
High i, ii   u, uu
Mid e   o
Low   a  

The relationship of /ii/ and /uu/ to /i/ and /u/ varies from dialect to dialect. In some dialects, /ii/ is [wi] and /uu/ is [wu]; in others, the distinction is one between tense and lax.

The vowels transcribed <aa> and <ee> are long vowels. Diphthongs are /au/, /ui/, /ue/ and a rare /ou/, the latter not considered a diphthong by native grammarians.

Morphology

Nouns

High Drow distinguishes between inanimate and animate nouns, which are declined differently. The inanimate nouns form their plural in -a and are thus also called "A-class" nouns. Most animate nouns form their plural in -en, -in or -n and are thus called "N-class" nouns. A few animate nouns pluralize irregularly in the nominative-accusative; all of them refer to Drow or other Elven beings. In the other cases, they pluralize like N-class nouns. Besides the normal plural, there is a partitive plural, which expresses that the referents belong to a larger group.

There are nine noun cases: nominative, accusative (mostly the same form as the nominative), dative, genitive, possessive, allative, ablative, locative, instrumental. The difference in meaning between the genitive and the possessive is similar to that of their counterparts in Quenya, or the partitive and genitive in Old Albic: the possessive expresses possession or ownership, the genitive a more general notion of origin, composition or association.

  A-class
che'el 'city' 		N-class
dalhar 'child'
  Singular Plural Partitive
plural 		Singular Plural Partitive
plural
Nom./Acc. che'el che'ela che'elau dalhar dalharin sshadalhar
Dative che'elesh che'elesha che'elsshau dalharassh sshasalhar sshadalharassh
Genitive che'eles che'elesa che'elesau dalharass ssadalhar sshadalharass
Possessive che'eles che'elesa che'elesau dalharassre ssradalhar sshadalharassre
Allative che'eler che'elera che'elerau dalhararro rradalhar sshadalhararro
Ablative che'elen che'elena che'elenau dalharath tadalhar sshadalharath
Locative che'elel che'elela che'elelau dalharin dalharinin sshadalharin
Instrumental che'eled che'eleda che'eledau dalharand andadalhar sshadalharand

Adjectives

Adjectives follow the noun and agree with it in case and number. Sample declension (olath 'dark'):

  Singular Plural
Nom./Acc. olath olatha
Dative olathshe olathshem
Gen./Poss. olathse olathsem
Allative olathre olathrem
Ablative olathne olathnem
Locative olathle olathlem
Instrumental olathde olathande

So, 'to the dark city' is che'eler olathre, for instance.

The comparative is expressed with the suffix -ur (olathur 'darker'), the superlative with -url (olathurl 'darkest').

Adverbs are derived from adjectives with the suffix -ne (just -e after n): olathne 'darkly'.

Pronouns

There are personal pronouns for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person; the 3rd person pronouns distinguish gender (feminine, masculine and generic). In addition, there is a set of formal pronouns for addressing persons of higher rank.

  1st person 2nd person 3rd person
feminine 		3rd person
masculine 		3rd person
generic 		Formal
  Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom. usstau udos tau dos il ida uk nind ol nind idaes udaes
Acc. usst udosst tausst dosst ilt idat ukt nint olt nint idaest udaest
Dat. usstiv udosstiv tausstiv dosstiv iltiv idiv uktiv nindiv oltiv nindiv idaev udaev
Gen./Poss. ussta udossta taussta dossta ilta idalta ukta ninda olta ninda idaeta udaeta
Inst. usstue udosstue tausstue dosstue iltue idue uktue nindue oltue nindue idue udue

An additional pronoun is the proxy pronoun, which is used when someone acts in someone else's place. It has 1st person and formal forms.

Singular Plural
1st person usstil udosstil
Formal idaestil udaestil

The interrogative pronoun has the following forms:

Nominative Accusative Dative Gen./Poss. Instrumental
'who' vel'uss vel'usst vel'usstiv vel'ussta vel'usstue
'what'
(concrete) 		vel'bol vel'bolst vel'boliv vel'bolta vel'bolue
'what'
(abstract) 		vel'hyrr vel'hyrrst vel'hyrriv vel'hyrrta vel'hyrue
Nominative Allative Ablative Locative Instrumental
'when' vel'drav vel'draver vel'draven vel'dravel  
'where' vel'klar vel'klara vel'klarn vel'klar'l vel'klard
'why' vel'inth       vel'inth
'how' vel'ind       vel'ind

The relative pronouns are similar, but with the stem ha instead of vel.

Nominative Accusative Dative Gen./Poss. Instrumental
'who' ha'uss ha'usst ha'usstiv ha'ussta ha'usstue
'what'
(concrete) 		ha'bol ha'bolst ha'boliv ha'bolta ha'bolue
'what'
(abstract) 		ha'hyrr ha'hyrrst ha'hyrriv ha'hyrrta ha'hyrue
Nominative Allative Ablative Locative Instrumental
'when' ha'drav ha'draver ha'draven ha'dravel  
'where' ha'klar ha'klara ha'klarn ha'klar'l ha'klard
'why' ha'inth       ha'inth
'how' ha'ind       ha'ind

Verbs

The High Drow verb inflects for tense (present, past, future) and the person and number of the subject. There is also an infinitive and two participles, and an imperative which consists of the bare stem.

Sample conjugation (khalyrr 'to trust'):

  Present Past Future
Singular 1st person khali khalusi khalith
2nd person khale khaluse khalesh
3rd person khal khalus khaloss
Formal khalazh khalusazh khalata
Plural 1st person khalui khalusui khalue
2nd person khalet khaluset khalesst
3rd person khalar khalusar khalosst
Formal khalazhim khalusazhim khalatau
Infinitive khalyrr
Participle khal khalus  
Imperative khal

The perfect tenses are formed by placing the particle xa before the verb:

  • xa khali 'I have trusted'
  • xa khalus 'I had trusted'
  • xa khalith 'I will have trusted'

The passive is formed with the verb tlu 'to be' and past participle.

The conjugation of tlu is irregular:

  Present Past Future
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st person uil uel tlusi tlusui uith uel
2nd person phuul phet tluse tluset phush pheest
3rd person zha zhar tlus tlusar zhaloss zhalosst
Formal tluzh t'zhim tlusazh tlusazhim tant tatau

There are two types of verb negation. The prefix ne- turns the verb into its opposite: nekhali 'I distrust'. The particle naut corresponds to English 'not': naut khali 'I do not trust'. Both can be combined: naut nekhali 'I do not distrust'.

Syntax

The rich inflectional morphology of High Drow allows for much freedom in word order. If the subject is first person, the verb goes first; otherwise, SOV word order is the norm. Indirect objects usually precede direct objects. Modifiers, such as adjectives or relative clauses, always follow the noun.

External links

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