Ayleidoon

Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:20 pm

Because you are all so tiring and disappointing, I have decided to try to raise the level of discourse in Ayleid scholarship with this description of the Ayleidoon language.

Ayleid pronunciation is surprisingly regular compared to the result of the frequent hybridization leading to contemporary Cyrodiilic. All consonants are voiced in their hard forms, and each vowel is voiced in only one form: ah,ay,ee,oh,ooh. There are no diphthongs or silent letters - every letter is voiced, and voiced individually. Emphasis is generally on the first syllable of a word, unless it begins with a vowel, in which case emphasis falls to the second syllable. Although the sequences ia and ya have quite distinct grammatical functions, their pronunciation is indistinguishable, which has been a source of error in many transcriptions both ancient and modern.

The order of words in the Ayleidoon is not as syntactically significant as in Cyrodiilic. The most idiomatic use is to follow the order subject-verb-object and to place adjectives or adverbs after the word that they modify, but both of these patterns can be varied for emphatic or aesthetic effect. Compound words may also be formed arbitrarily by prefixing stem forms of modifying words. Such prefixes denote that the modifier is more essential to the nature of the object or action described than would be by a separated adjective or adverb. For example, aldmer (the ancestral elven racial group) would be distinguished from meri aldai (elves who happen to be old.)

Nouns are declined by case and number. These combinations are illustrated here using ehln- (mortal)
nominative singular: ehlno	 plural: ehlniaccusative singular: ehlna	plural: ehlnaiadative singular:   ehln			plural: [unattested]genitive singular: ehlne		plural: ehlnaie [speculative]locative: singular: ehlnas	   plural: ehlnaisablative singular:  ehlnis		plural: ehlneisinstrumental singular: ehlnu   plural: ehlnuaessive singular: ehlnia		   plural: ehlnai


Rather than possessing distinct adjectives or adverbs, Ayleidoon employs nouns in the essive case. Consequently, "adjectives" can be deduced from any known noun, and vice-versa. The essive case is frequently irregular, dropping the first vowel from the ending. In particular it is usually dropped when the stem ends in a vowel, though it is also frequently dropped from other stems.

Prepositions complement and refine contextual information provided by noun cases. Va (in/into), Av (on/from), and An (to/for) clarify the position or motion of objects implied by the accusative, locative, ablative, or genitive cases. Ry connotes that the comparison denoted in the essive case should be taken metaphorically rather than literally. The function of As apropos the instrumental case is unclear, and may be stylistic or vestigial.

Pronouns are stems, which in some cases have standard declension, but are more frequently irregular. Many forms are not attested. Here follows the few known forms:
1st person singular nominative: a	singular genitive: angu	plural genitive: nou	2nd person singular nominative: ni	plural genitive: sou

Pronouns may be, and frequently were, omitted where an understanding of referents is fully supplied by case endings or understood to be implicit. Third person forms, if they even existed, were likely rarely used, as the referent of a 3rd person pronoun is necessarily implied deictically.

In at least the first person genitive case, pronouns can be used as infixes between the stem and case ending, indicating ownership, as in balangua. How this differs from use of a separate pronoun is unknown, though it could be surmised that it is parallel to the use of prefixes, wherein the prefix denotes an attribute that is essential, rather than incidental, to the referent. One would assume that other persons and even cases could be used in similar fashion, but this is unattested. It is tempting to read into the 'g' in molag's irregular declension (or total lack thereof) some influence of the possessive infix, but this may simply be a case of not applying standard grammar to certain elements preserved from the Ehlnofex, as in the very name Ayleidoon.

The person of the subject along with the tense and voice of the verb inform the conjugation of verbs. There is insufficient evidence for the influence of subject number on conjugation. Here follows a conjectural conjugation of aur- (hear) with an attested usage of the conjugational form in the corpus:

1st person singular present: aurye	 /   Abagainye Ehlnadaya (forbidden-fear-(I) mortal-spirits-your)2nd person singular present: auryat   /   Hilyat sino (follow-(you) here)	 3rd person singular present: aura	 /   Man mitta abasel (who enters forbidden-hall)plural present: [unattested]1st person singular past: [unattested]2nd person singular past: [unattested]3rd person singular past: aurane	/	Agea haelia ne jorane emero (the master never betrayed terrible wisdom)1st person plural past: [unattested]2nd person plural past: [unattested]3rd person plural past: aurane	/	Aldmeris [...] aurane gandra sepredia (ancestors-elven heard gifts peaceful)future: [unattested]perfect: [unattested]aorist: aura	/	Barra agea ry sou karan (wear lore as your armor)3rd person future passive: auravar	/	Ehlnada racuvar (mortal-gods down-[cast]-will-be)other passive forms: [unattested]imperative: auravoy	/	Tyavoy balangua (taste power-[mine])


Unlike adjectives, Ayleidoon verbs are a distinct set from nouns; however, fairly regular rules exist for transformation between the two. Gerunds, or verbs functioning in the role of a noun, employ the infix -b-. Notably, such use of a verb retains the conjugational endings, so for example tarnabye (passage of myself in the present) is distinct from tarnabane (passing of other people in the past). In the converse case of a verb acting in place of a noun, the postfix -n is appended to the conjugated form. Nouns in the sense of "one who..." can also be created from verbs when the infix -r- is injected before a standard declination, as in bua (submit) to buro (vassal).

With the full set of principles laid out, translations of the standard textbook examples can be improved.

Av molag anyamis, av latta magicka.
"From fire, from life; through light, to magic." Proper attention to declension reveals a much more nuanced view of the nature of magic than the animism of "From fire, life."

Barra agea ry sou karan.
"Wear lore as your armor." Raelys Anine managed not to botch this one. The use of the aorist tense is of note - this is advice for anyone in any age.

Agea haelia ne jorane emero laloria.
"The master of darkness never betrayed terrible wisdom." Word order is quite variable in the Ayleidoon. Emero, or "master", as the only nominative noun, can be marked as the actor in this sentence. The meaning of the la- prefix remains unknown.

Nou aldmeris mathmeldi admia aurane gandra sepredia av relleis ye brelyeis ye varlais.
"Our exiled Elven ancestors heard the welcoming gifts of peace in the streams and beech trees and stars." Anine again got the sense correct, but this one is full of traps for those trying to derive the meanings of specific words. One might suppose that gandra sepredia are the welcoming gifts, however there is no gerund present. Although the Ayleidoon custom of giving welcoming gifts is well known, in this sentence it is the exiles (mathmeldi) who are welcome (admia) and who heard (aurane) peaceful gifts (gandra sepredia).

Suna ye sunnabe.
"Bless and belong to blessedness." Sunnabe is a counter-gerund (blessedness) in the genitive case, giving the sense of "belonging to."

Va garlas agea, gravia ye goria, lattia mallari av malatu.
"In the caverns of lore, ugly and obscure, treasure shines by means of truth." Just a nitpicking, slightly more literal rendition of the concluding clause.

Vabria frensca, sa belle, sa baune, amaraldane aldmeris adonai.
"The foaming wave, so thunderous, so mighty, heralds the lordly Elves." Anine's translation was again correct, but its worth pointing out that the direct object of the transitive verb "heralded" is absent. Of the implied elves, we are only told that they are lordly and "from the Aldmer" (in the ablative case). It is mathmeldi in the earlier example who occupy the position left open here, so one might interpolate the accusative form mathmeldaia.
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cassy
 
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Post » Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:46 am

sorry, but half of this looks like it should go into fan fiction (in that it is hardly sourced). literal translations and attempted extrapolations of grammar have also already been done.
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Marnesia Steele
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:03 pm

Because you are all so tiring and disappointing,

Now that's no way to make friends.

I'd also like to see the sources for your deductions, especially the paragraph about how the language would have been vocalized.
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lilmissparty
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:10 pm

Now that's no way to make friends.

I'd also like to see the sources for your deductions, especially the paragraph about how the language would have been vocalized.


This...
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Wayne W
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 1:05 pm

he was probably making an assumption and wanting to know if it was at all right, and if not what was wrong.

I do that a lot at least.
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Marie
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 9:28 pm

I assume your basing most of your assumptions off the assumption that the Ayleid language is like Latin?
That makes sense. I agree with this.
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Katie Samuel
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:37 pm

Because you are all so tiring and disappointing,


Not the best way to endear the community to your fanon, as someone else already noted. Still, it sounds pretty interesting -- would've made a nice FSG article, were FSG not dead. Add me to the list of people who'd like to know your sources.

But I know you'll come back with something unnecessarily cryptic and obfuscatory, so I probably shouldn't even bother asking.
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Mr. Ray
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:31 pm

But I know you'll come back with something unnecessarily cryptic and obfuscatory, so I probably shouldn't even bother asking.


QFT.

I eagerly await the next barrage of guano that comes up. I had more fun waiting for that "888888888888888888888888888" guy to make his BS revelation.
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Tanya
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:48 pm

I assume your basing most of your assumptions off the assumption that the Ayleid language is like Latin?
That makes sense. I agree with this.

Why does that make sense? :wave:

And while I'm at it, why does it apparently make sense for all evil incantations and whatnot to be in Latin? Its not like Latin is the most ancient and awesome language or anything...

:turtle:
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Andrew Tarango
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:48 pm

Because you are all so tiring and disappointing

Know what else is tiring and disappointing? Oblivion. :stare:
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Pants
 
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Post » Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:09 am

Why does that make sense? :wave:

And while I'm at it, why does it apparently make sense for all evil incantations and whatnot to be in Latin? Its not like Latin is the most ancient and awesome language or anything...

:turtle:

Latin is far from the most ancient language...and most awesome is subjective.

As to the OP, I'm not sure even the devs have put as much thought into the Ayleid/Aldmer/Ehlnofex languages, to be honest. There's some more Ayleid phrases to anolyse, though, and the more the better I'm guessing for your purposes (these from the UESP, utterances by Umaril the Unfeathered):

Heca!
Begone/Stand aside!

As balangua, Ehlnada racuvar!
By my power, the mortal gods shall be cast down!

Abagaianye Ehlnadaya!
I do not fear your [mortal] gods!

Rahtan Pelinale na anda!
Pelinal's reach is long!

Asma bala ni hilyat sino?
By what power do you follow here?

Man kana mitta abasel Umarile?
Who dares enter Umaril's forbidden hall?

Pelinal na vasha. Sa yando tye.
Pelinal is gone [dead]. So also [will] you [be].

Shanta, ehlno. Tyavoy balangua!
Come, mortal. Taste my power!
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Caroline flitcroft
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 1:31 pm

And while I'm at it, why does it apparently make sense for all evil incantations and whatnot to be in Latin? Its not like Latin is the most ancient and awesome language or anything...


Latin was the lingua franca for most of Europe, as well as parts of Asia and Africa for many centuries. Since love of money is the root of all evil, it would stand to reason that prayers to the devil be in the Roman tongue.

Really though, Latin is simply a convenient mixture of ancient, widespread, and well structured languages that have a proper alphabet and written records. Sumerian and Babylonian are more ancient, but were rarely used outside those cultures, as well as lacking proper grammar, cuneiform being only a slight alteration of pictographic writing. Greek and Hebrew shared similar traits of structure and use as languages of academics and commerce, but were still not as widespread.

Also, since Latin was the language under which Christianity was spread the farthest, it would also be the language used in occult practices that were counter to that belief system.
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Andy durkan
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:50 pm

I'd say imperial names are also based on latin. The Ehlnofex language, has some latin elements too. Aad Semblio Impera, dela can carpio semblex. "as in the image of the kings become the hearts of their shadows" Impera must come from imperator , from wchich the word emperor is derived.
We can discuss for hours about latin influences on elder scolls things, but it is clear there are lots of influences. The idea of a latin conjugation on ayleidoon words isn't so stupid at all I think.
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Angus Poole
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:48 pm

That makes sense


It doesn't. The Ayleids and the Romans aren't that similar, and the reputation of Latin for being the base of most modern languages is a false statement by biased historians. Latin is simply a language spoken by a group of people who conquered a relatively small empire. If it hadn't been the language the Bible was written in, it wouldn't be that important.

Also, what we know of the Ayleid language is nothing like the grammar and spelling of Latin, and from what we hear of Umbacano's speech in Oblivion (note: lore in Oblivion!) then it's not pronounced like modern Italian, either.
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Eire Charlotta
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:21 pm

I think the reason why it's getting associated with Latin is because we've only heard spoken Ayleid in proclamation form, similar to the 'ominous Latin' trope that exists in peoples minds.

In conversation it's possible that Ayleid would sound in cadence akin to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rlE4y0ijIc&feature=PlayList&p=B97A537DD8BB975F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=32, or possibly even http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-PDArBZrz8, a kind of throat-y 'guttural' sound.
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Hot
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:09 pm

Latin is simply a language spoken by a group of people who conquered a relatively small empire. If it hadn't been the language the Bible was written in, it wouldn't be that important.

???

The bible was not written in latin. The old testament was written mainly in hebrew, with some aramaic words, the new testament was written in a greek language variant and here, too, aramaic passages can be found. I would not judge the importance of a language just by the people who originally spoke it. It's the use that determines the importance of a language.

As to the original post. It would have been interesting to discuss Ayleid grammar, even on a speculative basis, however the tone in which the post was made and given the history of the poster, I highly doubt it will be a good discussion.

As to Ayleid grammar, I still hold the work of Solin in high regard. Unfortunately, the original thread isn't available here anymore, but I posted a personal backup copy in here recently:
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1042927&view=findpost&p=15123828
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Crystal Birch
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:11 pm

Attempted extrapolations have been done, but not successfully, or else I would not have had to. Where are the sources, you ask? The only source is the totality of the corpus. The standard of justification for an inductive process is falsifiability, or the absence of an argument in modus tollens. The systematization I have presented is yet imperfect, but it is more justified than any previous effort on the basis of the corpus texts that can be generated from this grammar.

And Stephen, leave a note in the sand and expect a response via the ontogeny of the aurbis.
That is, later.
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Trevi
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 1:46 pm

You know, unless your a Dev, you come off as very conceded.
Also it is interesting what you have worked out but as there is no information from the Devs to support it it is only speculation.
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Tinkerbells
 
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Post » Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:11 am

Attempted extrapolations have been done, but not successfully, or else I would not have had to. Where are the sources, you ask? The only source is the totality of the corpus. The standard of justification for an inductive process is falsifiability, or the absence of an argument in modus tollens. The systematization I have presented is yet imperfect, but it is more justified than any previous effort on the basis of the corpus texts that can be generated from this grammar.

And Stephen, leave a note in the sand and expect a response via the ontogeny of the aurbis.
That is, later.

So why don't you point to the specific pieces of lore that you used as the basis for your work? Or do you not have any sources and are merely attempting to avoid a proper confrontation? The nature of the original post would require that the source documents, audio files, and the like be available so that your conclusions can be properly evaluated.
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maria Dwyer
 
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