Tvern El

One language I have done enough work on to start writting in is Tvern El. Here is a short text in Tvern El.

Gvel Tkal tar e. Gvel kan Tgern kteln. Dtal e Gvel Tgern gtinerl. Gen Tkal tar e Gdarn kvaln. Gdarn e fgenern Gvel kfaln. Gdarn e Tkal tar e veln ki fgenern. Veln e aln Gdarn ktirn. Ktrin e dernal kvil ga. Gvel dgani ga il. Tkal dgani ktal. Dgani i ktal il. Tkal gdarn tar e. Tkal gfarlnal ktal. Gdarn e kverln ga. Tkal e vkaln gdar vkerl gdarn e. Gdarn e Tkal faln kvel Tkal. Tkal dgarin ki Gdarn e kvel fval. Tkal Gdarn gferln e arn fgern veln ki. Tkal gilnar ga. Tkal ilern. Gvel kteln. Ilern kteln. Tkal ilern kiren. Teln. Teln dtaln. Tkal ilern kiren. Ilern e gdarn fval. Gdarn e ktirn ga. Gdarn Tkal dfan. Gdarn dgi. Tkal e Gdarn tdin. Tkal Gdarn kverln kverln. Gdarn kdi. Tkal gfe dtaln. Tkal gkarln.

Tvern El has a very limited set of phonemes, as you probably noticed. The phonetic enventory is as follows:

Consonants

Vowels

None of these are unusual sounds, but the ways in which Tvern El chooses to put them together are somewhat difficult. Tvern El initial clusters disreguard the sonority principle which governs the construction of most consonant clusters in most human languages. The following are the permissible initial clusters:

 T    D    K    G    V    F 
      TD   TK   TG   TV   TF 
 DT        DK   DG   DV   DF 
 KT   KD        KG   KV   KF 
 GT   GD   GK        GV   GF 
 VT   VD   VK   VG        VF 
 FT   FD   FK   FG   FV

The permissible finals are:

n
l, ln
r, rn, rl, rln

Tvern El Writing System

The alphabet in which Tvern El is written is not truely an alphabet. Neither is it a syllabrary. In stead the Tvern El writing system is based on the principle of initials and finals which will no doubt be unfamiliar to you if you are unacquainted with the Chinese phonetic system known as BePeMeFe (or Bo Po Mo Fo). While the Tvern El system is not identical to BePeMeFe, it is similar in its organizing principle. Most Tvern El words can be written with two (2) characters. The first character represents the initial consonant or consonant cluster. The second character represents the vowel plus any final consonants. Two syllable words usually require three characters. However, those monosyllabic words which do not have initial consonants can be written with a single character.

Vocabulary

This is the vocabulary relevant to the above story. At a later date I may post more, but first I need to do some editing on the story. For now I'll arange the vocab in the order in which it appears in the story. However, you might prefer to see the new Tvernel-English dictionary.

Gvel=the greater of Tvern's three moons
Tkal=a name
tar=see/look at
e=well I'll leave "e" for later. Let's just call it a "mystery particle" for now. See if you can figure out its function. ;-)
kan=nearby
Tgern=the third or astroidal moon of Tvern. It means "the bright one."
kteln=shine
dtal=southeast
gtinerl=pass beneath
gen=when/happen/during
gdarn=a large flying creature
kvaln=notice
veln=nest
ki=posessive particle
fgenern=fly
aln=arrive
ktirn=cry out
dernal=night
kvil=disrupt
ga=augmentative particle
dgani=shivver
il=even/inclusive particle
ktal=absolutely not
i=diminutive particle
gfarlnal=fear
kverln=angry
vkaln=stand defiantly
gdar=why
vkerl=challenge
faln=swoop/dive
kvel=grab
dgarln=shoulder
fval=pierce
gferln=mighty
arn=lift
gilnar=pain
ilern=sword/to draw a sword
kiren=thrust at
teln=miss
dtaln=again/repeat
dfan=drop
dgi=fall
tdin=run toward

Back to previous page.

This page hosted by GEOCITIES. Get your own free homepage!