Dalcurian Language Homepage
Overview
First of all, through my own experiences, I have purposely used only basic grammar terminology in this article, and I have also included brief descriptions of grammatical words and expressions in each respective sections. This is because I want newcomers to language study not to feel intimidated by heavy terminology and explanations. As I can remember when I first began to study German, I was very confused with 'intense, grammatical explanations'. Of course, when studying or creating a language, one must have some understanding of grammar to begin with, however, for the above reasons I have written this article in simple English.
I should also state that most of the examples and references here are based in comparison to the English language.
The dal'qörian language
dal'qörian (pronounced: dal-koo-ree-yan) is the language of dal'qöria-a small group of islands approx 300 miles south-westerly off the southwest coast of Ireland, the main island roughly the size of Cornwall in southwest England. It's basic style is Indo-European, with strong influences from English, German, Welsh, Cornish and Latin. When spoken, it actually sounds like a hybrid of Romance and eastern European languages. There are 2 dialects to the language: modern/standard dal'qörian or dal'qöriádan, and Eastern dal'qörian, spelled dal'qöréan. The latter has a different case system, including a modal, ablative and an abessive case, plus there are a few spelling and grammatical differences (with the adjective-preposition rule). This is only spoken around the eastern coastal areas and in the north east valley region. However, very recently dal'qörian youth (mainly teenagers) seemed to have adopted it as their 'everyday speak'. Ironically, modern dal'qörian actually sounds slightly archaic by comparison, but is the most widely spoken and used in formal contexts. Both are understood by all dal'qörians but are not interchangeable.
Dal'qörian has 3 alphabets. Modern day standard and western dal'qörian both use the latin alphabet-especially since English and German have been the second languages for over 200 years. But up until around this time, it used the Cadoc writing system; a system devised by Dalin Cadoc of Cornwall in the 11th. The original alphabet was a script of no known origin, and not seen anywhere else in the world apart from the islands. Cadoc, who was related to King henry III, was himself a wealthy hemp magnate and took over the islands with relative ease in 1145, in order to extend his empire and to cultivate massive hemp fields. At that time the islands inhabitants numbered around 10,000, and were of Gothic descent. Cadoc was generous to these people, giving them work and building them better homes and towns, sanitation, law and order and education. The language at that time was almost unique to dal'qöria, and although there is still ambiguity as to its origins, Cadoc's own studies revealed that the first people on the islands were a group of persecuted Goths and Anglo-saxons (and possibly some Celts, though this cannot be substantiated) and the language had developed in an attemt at isolating themselves from the rest of Europe. This included the creation of the old dal'qörian script.
By the time Cadoc took over the islands, dal'qörian had undergone a significent change from its early origins, and had become influenced by Old English, Low German and Latin-thought to have stemmed from an exodus by Europeans years before. These were mainly land owners and Barons seeking new worlds to extend their trades, thus making it easier for them to avoid invasions and piliging from rival factions and clans. However, most of them failed to leave behind anywhere near the legacy that Cadoc did
Cadoc was himself a linguist, as was his father, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, (who was the brother of King Henry III), and was fluent in German, Welsh, Cornish and Latin. But he hated the writing system, and so created a new alphabet based on Old English, Gothic, Latin and arbitrarily invented characters (although out of respect, he decided to take grammatical influences from it which became a large feature of the new writing system). By decree, he banned the old script and ordered the dal'qörians to learn the new alphabet (he graciously set up an education programme for this), and within 3 years it was fully functional. Over the next 30 years, during Cadoc's reign, the language was modified through his own influence, and his successors continued refining the language. Over the next 600 years or so, dal'qörian continued to be influenced by migrators from all over Europe.
This is where Eastern dal'qörian was developed. These were the fishing villages and ports and there were a lot of traders in and around these parts. Whislt under regional control around the mid 1600's, Governor Rassmussen, a Flemish politician who was enticed to dal'qöria by a group of Flemmish traders (relatives in fact, who had strong influences with the councillors of the Eastern province)
ela mantábel, am gravætas ön jerandel, nämambr eƒragörädn ön equahörädn.
éren Þöldr, máriÞ resæÞámn ön qevésenámn, néba qväombr,, ön, máriÞ ela, am perös qve beröjelperös, agöentr.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They should be endowed with reason and conscience and act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Style
dal'qörian is a 'rhotic' language; the letter 'r' is pronounced after every vowel. It's pronounciation is very deliberate. In fact, by and large, dal'qörian is quite formal; it has no 'slang' form, although there is a small colloquial element to it.
I created this language out of my interest in Elvish. I became fascinated with Lord of the Rings when the films were released. With that, I started studying the Quenyan alphabet and learned to write using the Tengwar system. I've also studied German for the last 3 years. Through learning German, I 're-educated' myself in English grammar and around the same time began to create dal'qörian.
Initially, I wanted dal'qörian to sound like Elvish, to be spoken with a 'flowing tongue' if you like. However, as it developed, I guess it took on its own flavour and sounds-which is fine by me; it gives it its own character then.
Alphabet and pronunciation
| letter | letter name | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| a | al | as in cat |
| b | bri | as in bat |
| c | ca | as in cat |
| d | da | as in day |
| e | era | as in end |
| f | ƒe | as in fall |
| g | géø | see special pronounciation |
| h | hal | as in hat |
| i | il | as in kill |
| j | öja | as in the French name Jean |
| l | lá | as in like |
| m | ma | as in man |
| n | na | as in not |
| o | ol | as in top |
| p | pä | as in pat |
| q | qöc | as in 'k' in kick |
| qu | q'qöa | as in quick |
| r | ræ | see special pronunciation |
| s | siri | as in sit |
| t | tø | as in take |
| v | vála | as in van |
| x | séca | as in wax |
| y | yenta | see special pronounciation |
special vowels and characters
| letter | letter name | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ä | äli | as in 'ey' in they (see also special pronunciation) |
| á | áli | long as in bar |
| é | éga | long as in feel |
| ö | öli | long as in cool |
| ø | ø | as in German doch |
| æ | æ | as in the 'i' in find |
| Þ | eÞ | th as in bath but not in the |
special pronunciations
g is pronounced hard at the beginning and middle of a word, like g in get but soft at the end of a word,like g in the German word swanzig.
r is an alveolar trill. Its place of articulation is alveolar which means it is articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (or just behind the top teeth). It can be likened to the way in which a Scottish person with a strong accent would say great, straight, road, etc.
ä is pronounced like the ey in they. However, at the end of a word, or where it is separated by a high apostrophe, it is pronounced 'ey ya'.
y is always pronounced as the English upper case 'y'.
q on its own is only found at the beginning of a word, including words that are separated by a high apostrophe, as in dal’qörian or qatáj-cat, and is always pronounced like an English 'k'.
c only appears in the middle or end of a word such as qurvecsár-to annoy and dörac-through, and is sounded like an English hard 'c'.
x is used only to denote a negative word and attaches to the end of a verb. (see verbs and negatives)
As well as being a 'rhotic' lanuage, dal'qörian is also PHONETIC; its spoken exactly as it is written. Once you have learned to pronounce the letters, speaking and reading dal'qörian should be relatively easy. For example, dal'qörian is pronounced dal-koo-ree-yan. Here are a few more examples, in syllabic form, to give you a flavour of how words sound:
| dal'qörian | meaning | phonetic pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| strömi | hot | stroo-mi |
| binä | I/Iam | bin-Aya |
| stæcnáÞrädn | thankless | sty-kun-arth-rey-dun |
| ädiáda | yesterday | ey-dee-ar-da |
| yenø | immense | why-en-och |
| ødérämös | steadiness | och-dee-rey-mooss |
| qsendaréø | scenario | ku-send-a-ree-och |
| embáragadöraj | puppy | em-bar-ra-gad-oo-raj |
| siagentöj | aunty | see-a-gent-ooj |
