Romini language

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Languages: Avlissian (OOC Terms) | Dwergan | Drangonari | Ganoom | Nanshilae | Orcish | Romini



The Romini language is one of the last human-based tribal languages left on Avlis. The language is not widely known outside the families and clans that make up the Romini people. Owing allegance to no nation or people, the Romini are the oldest and supposed favorite mortal creation of the god Mikon. The first humans to appear on Avlis were the ancestors of the Romini, created directly by Mikon. When created, Mikon commanded them to spread over the planet and bring balance to the world. They were told to be free, yet fair, and to call no one place their home, but rather many places. They are insular, and follow the strict guidelines set down by Mikon, and their culture and language are strongly gender-based.

Mikon's greatest gift to the Romini was the freedom to choose their life paths on an individual basis. He did not restrict them to the ways of good or evil, nor law or chaos. He simply told them to be. He told them that they must do what the moment requires and not to worry about past or future, but rather to exist as needed for the immediate time period. Much to Mikon's pride, his creation took his words to heart and did exactly as he bade them. The Romini spread throughout Avlis and adopted whatever personalities suited their cause. In addition to possessing the inner joy that nomad people often have, the Romini are crafty and cunning. No matter what their philosophy in life, they refuse to be oppressed and will strike back at oppression with eerie effectiveness, grace, and subversiveness. Romini live by the flow of the water in the rivers, and the smell of the air in the breeze. They do what is needed, when it is needed, and never any other time. The Romini as a people are on tolerable terms with all races and nations, though on a societal level they are seen as thieves and troublemakers whenever they roll into town. City-folk often have stories about being cheated or kidnapped by the Romini.

Although they are often berated for being loyal to no one, Romini are actually intensely loyal to each other. A Romini will not kill or harm another Romini unless it is totally necessary, and even then they will seriously consider not doing it. Whenever a Romini finds another of their kind in trouble, they will always find the best way to aid them when possible. Though they are diverse and scattered throughout the world, they have a tremendous sense of their own unity and culture. Even a Romini born in Tyedu who meets a Romini from M'Chek will converse as if they were brothers who have known each other their whole lives. It is this closeness that has allowed them to survive as a people and not become so scattered that they are forgotten. If one is Romini, they are part of the overall Romini identity... one of them. If one is not, they are georgio, the most common term for a non-Romini.


Conjugating Verbs

Infinitives end in “av” or “au” (masculine or feminine). Verbs are conjugated by taking off the suffix “av” or “au” and replacing it with the appropriate ending, and adding the personal pronoun before the verb.

Personal pronouns

  • I...........me
  • You.........tu
  • He/She......voj/vou
  • We..........ame
  • You (pl)....tume
  • They........von
  • It..........pe


Present tense

  • I............me (verb)
  • You..........tu (verb+es)
  • He/she.......vou/voj (verb+el)
  • We...........ame (verb+as)
  • You PL.......tume (verb+en)
  • They.........von (verb+en)
  • It...........pe (verb+el)

Example:

  • I arrive......me aresav
  • You arrive....tu areses
  • He arrives...voj aresel
  • She arrives...vou aresel
  • We arrive.....ame aresas
  • You (PL) arrive..tume asresan
  • They arrive......von areasen
  • It arrives.......pe areasel

Past tense

  • I.............me (verb+lem)
  • You...........tu (verb+ljan)
  • He/she........vou/voj (verb+ljas/laji)
  • We............ame (verb+ljam)
  • You (PL)........tume (verb+ljan)
  • They............von (verb+le)
  • It.............pe (verb+ljo)

Example

  • I asked.......me puslem
  • You asked.....tu pusljan
  • He asked......vou pusljas
  • She asked.....voj pusiljas
  • We asked......ames pusljam
  • You (Pl) asked.....tume pusljan
  • They asked.......von pusle
  • It asked.........pe pusljo


Future tense

  • I..........me (verb+dem)
  • You........tu (verb+djan)
  • He/she.....vou/voj (verb+djas/daji)
  • We.........ame (verb+djam)
  • You PL.....tume (verb+djan)
  • They.......von (verb+de)
  • It.........pe (verb+djo)

Example

  • I will buy......me tindem
  • You will buy....tu tindjan
  • He will buy.....vou tindjas
  • She will buy....voj tindaji
  • We will buy.....ame tindjam
  • You (pl) will buy....tume tindjan
  • They will buy........von tinde
  • It will buy........pe tindjo

Syntax and Grammar

Sentence structure in Romini is almost exactly the same as common. That is, generally, the sentence "The cat ran under the table" would be structured the same way in both common and Romini: "Le pisika pe prastaljo karing o skafidi." Adjectives tend to follow nouns, however, rather than procede them. Many times those fluent in Romini tend to slur, or run their words together, so that sometimes the articles or adjectives become appended to the nouns or verbs. For example, "Big man" becomes "Rom'bar'o," rather than "Rom barbo." Oftentimes this is one way that the insular Romini are able to tell those who are apart from them, non-Romini, or gadjen.

Possessives

  • My, mine............myro, muro
  • Your(s).............tiro
  • Their, theirs.......tumaro, tumuro
  • Our, ours...........amaro, amuro
  • His.................lesko
  • Hers................lako
  • All (all of us)......sa
  • Its..................pedes

Conjunctions. articles, prepositions

  • A................jekh
  • Above, across.....opral
  • About............miro
  • And.............thaj
  • Another.........vareso
  • Because.........omiral
  • Behind, back......doom
  • Both............duj
  • But.............per
  • End.............agor
  • Enough..........destul
  • For.............de
  • From............kerdi
  • Front...........anglal
  • In..............ande
  • If..............i
  • Middle..........mashkari
  • No..............na
  • Not.............naj
  • Of..............pa
  • Or.............ori
  • Out............avri
  • Some............niste
  • None............khon
  • That............kadoan
  • The............la (feminine)
  • The............le (masculine)
  • The............o (generic)
  • This............kadoa
  • To..............kaj
  • Under...........karing
  • Very............maj
  • With............peska
  • Yes.............hai

Interrogatives

  • How...........sar
  • What..........so
  • When..........kana
  • Where (is it?)......kaj
  • Which..........savo
  • Who.........kon
  • Why.........soske

Verb list

Regular Verbs
Common Romini
To arrive aresav
To ask for molinav
To ask pušau
To become (drunk) matojau
To begin lav
To believe patjav
To bless narbau
To bite dandav
To bring anav
To bring anav
To buy tinav
To carry igelav
To cast pav
To clean hoozharav
To come avav
To craft chatinav
To cut cshinav
To dance khelav
To die merau
To do kerav
To eat xav
To enjoy dehav
To fear darav
To fight marav
To finish resavav
To follow denedìnav
To forget bisterav
To free slobuzenav
To freeze marhonav
To get astrav
To give dau
To go zau
To greet resav
To grow baryovav
To hear, listen shoonav
To help akandav
To hide garavav
To hire yavav
To hit marav
To hope nadav
To kill maranau
To kiss choomidav
To know, understand zanau
To laugh asau
To learn siklovav
To leave mookav
To lie hohavav
To live mau
To look dikhav
To lose nashalav
To love jubisarav
To meet arakhau
To mix ehminav
To open putrav
To play (music) bashalav
To put tovav
To read chetinav
To recognize penjarav
To respect saidinau
To run prastav
To say phenav
To see dikhav
To sell tianau
To send bichalav
To serve (food) cshorav
To shoot farav
To shut, close phandav
To sing gilyavav
To sit beshav
To sleep sovav
To start astarav
To stop aschav
To survive nakhyarav
To take lau
To teach sikavav
To think godisarav
To wake jangarav
To walk phirav
To want, desire kamav
To watch dandinau
To weave katav
There are two, commonly used irregular verbs: “to be” sem and “to have” isi
Irregular Verb "To Be" Sem
Common Present Past Future
I me sym me symas me sydem
You tu san tu sanas tu syndan
He/She vou/voj sy vou/voj sas vou/voj sayjas/sayji
We ame sam ame samas ame samam
You.PL tume san tume sanas tume sanjan
They von sy von sas von syde
It pe sy pe san pe sydo
Irregular Verb "To Have" Isi
Common Present Past Future
I me isi me isas me isidem
You tu isan tu isnas tu isidan
He/She vou/voj isoi vou/voj isnan vou/voj isijas/isiji
We ame isam ame isamas ame isimam
You, PL tume isan tume isanas tume isijan
They von ision von isisas von iside
It pe isoi pe isnan pe isido

























Adjectives:

  • alive ........žuvindo
  • bad ..........nasul
  • beautiful.....divani
  • better........maj mišto
  • big...........barba, barbo
  • clean .........užo
  • cold..........sudri
  • dead.........merani
  • dirty........midsek
  • free........slobuzen
  • good.........misto
  • hard(er).....angalin
  • hot...........tato
  • new............nevi
  • old (age)........phura (f), phural (m)
  • old.........purano
  • short........skurto
  • small........tikno
  • smart........barlo
  • stupid........dilo
  • tall..........uce
  • unclean (status).......magerdo
  • young..........novi

Colors:

  • White......parne
  • Black......kalo
  • Blue.......naja
  • Green.......aveda
  • Red........lolile
  • Orange.......ojako
  • Yellow.......khaja
  • Brown........trinel
  • Purple.......oolija
  • Grey, silver......suy

Numbers:

  • Zero.......khono
  • One........ehk
  • Two........dooy
  • Three......ootrin
  • Fouur......ooshatar
  • Five.......oopanch
  • Six........ooshov
  • Seven......efta
  • Eight......ohto
  • Nine.......eyna
  • Ten........desh


  • Eleven......deshehk
  • Twelve.......deshdooy

(etc)

  • Tens...........-desh (ie, seventy is “eftadesh”)
  • Hundreds......-shel (ie, seven hundred is “eftashel”)
  • Thousands.....-milya (ie, seven thousand is “eftamilya”)

Emotions

  • Anger.......range, holyan
  • Sorrow......rovga
  • Happiness...bruvja
  • Fear........menga



Nouns

Plural: add “ja” if feminine, “ji” if masculine.
Female nouns end in vowels, male nouns in consonants. Inanimate objects tend to use the generic article; and any beings of indeterminate gender tend to use the generic article as well.
Suffix “-da”, forming nouns denoting a state of, domain, collection of persons, rank or station, general condition.

Animals

  • animal........animalo
  • hide (animal skin).........morči animalosti
  • ant.........kir
  • bull.........guruv
  • cat......pisika
  • chicken...........khajni
  • cow.......guruvni
  • dog........žukel
  • mouse....kadessa
  • ox..........gooroov
  • rabbit....sosoj
  • wolf.........ruv
  • wyrm (dragon)..........omida

Body parts

  • arm.....vast
  • back..........zeja
  • belly......peř
  • body..........trupo
  • breast........čuči
  • ear......kan
  • elbow........kui
  • eye......jakh
  • eyebrow.........phova
  • finger..........naj
  • foot..........laban
  • hand...........vaste
  • hair..........bal
  • heart, soul.......ilo
  • hip..........maškar
  • horns............singa
  • knee..........čang
  • leg.........punřo
  • lip..........ušt
  • mouth..........muj
  • neck, throat........koř
  • nose.......nak
  • skin......morči
  • teeth.........danda
  • teardrop......jasfa
  • tail........pori
  • tongue........šib

Food

  • Apple.........phaba
  • bacon.........mas thulo
  • beer.......lovina
  • bread.........manřo
  • butter........unto
  • cake.........prežitura
  • cheese.......tiral
  • corn.........misiri
  • egg.........anřo
  • flour..........ařo
  • salt........lon
  • sugar..........thud
  • milk...........zaro
  • nut..........anchor
  • wheat..........div
  • wine..........moljasa

People

  • Non-Romini.....georgio(f), georgen (m), also: gadzo (f), gadzen (m); also: gadjo (f), gadjen(m) For this term, no suffix is needed to indicate plurals
  • Child........chavo
  • Baby........chiya
  • Boy..........raklo
  • Son..........sejo
  • Brother......phral
  • Man..........rom
  • Husband......mursk
  • Girl.........rakli
  • Daughter.....seji
  • Sister.......phrali
  • Woman........romjo
  • Wife.........zuvli
  • Father.......dadesk
  • Mother.......mameska
  • Grandfather.....papesk
  • Grandmother......mamoska
  • Aunt.........baba
  • Uncle........babosk
  • Niece........raklori
  • Nephew.......rakloro
  • Cousin.......pralisko (f), pralisken (m)
  • Friend.......prieteno (f), prieten (m)
  • Enemy........jostumalo(f), jostumalen(m)
  • Witch........drabarni
  • Wizard.......drabarn
  • Priest, shaman.....drabeneshya
  • Healer........drabengro
  • Druid.......drabuv
  • Ranger.......phireskuv
  • Bard, singer.....giliri
  • Thief.........choro
  • Warrior.......ketano
  • Nobody........khonik
  • Somebody......nistenik
  • Family........kompania
  • Clan..........shena
  • Tribe.........natsia
  • Judge........krisatora
  • Smith.......tamar

Miscellaneous Nouns

  • Axe....bradva
  • Basket....suvi
  • Bed.....pato
  • Berry....mura
  • Boat.....barka
  • Book....lel
  • Castle...kastelo
  • Chair....skamin
  • Cloak....choha
  • Clothes........gada
  • Demon, devil.......beng
  • Door.........udar
  • Dress.......rokja
  • Earth.......phuv
  • Fire........jag
  • Freedom........slobuzenda
  • Flower........luludi
  • Forest.....ves
  • Gold....sumnakaj
  • Grass.....cjar
  • Guitar, lute....chalkiya
  • Honor......pativ
  • House......ker
  • Ice....payo
  • Inn, Tavern.....albergo
  • Land.......tan
  • Light........lumina
  • Luck........baxt
  • Magic........drabi
  • Market.......piaco
  • Moon.....sonuto
  • Mountain.....bur
  • Name.........anav
  • Rain.........brisind
  • River..........len
  • Road......drom
  • Rose.....rusji
  • Sea......marja
  • Silver.....roop
  • Snow.........iv
  • Song......gili
  • Spring........sartiura
  • Spirit, bad.......mulo
  • Spirit, good.........leshya
  • Star.........ceraja
  • Summer.....khamende
  • Sun.......kham
  • Sunrise..........drosin
  • Sunset.......drosara
  • Sword..........spada
  • Table...........skafidi
  • Thorn.......kanro
  • Thunder....seviba
  • Town........foros
  • Treasure....bestipen
  • Tree........kast
  • Tribunal....kris
  • Village........gav
  • Wagon...........vurdo
  • Water...........paj
  • Way...........dromoi
  • Weather........tsiroos
  • Wind...........braval
  • Winter........ivende
  • Wood.........kascht

Time (timpo)

  • Years..........ando
  • Days...........dies
  • Months.........sono
  • Hours..........hories
  • Minutes........minos
  • Now............akana
  • Long ago........demult
  • Today..........ades
  • Tomorrow.......texara
  • Yesterday......arati
  • Morning........drosi
  • Afternoon........drosa
  • Evening, night.......iraat
  • Midnight...........mashkari iraat (literally, middle night)


Expressions:

How many, how much?.......Sode?
Goodbye.........Kele! (literally, "Go forth!")
Hello....................Sastipe!
Thank you............Gestena
You’re welcome.........Pesan khuno (literally, “it was nothing.”)
I’m sorry..........M’sym rovgi
Please...............Karkurni
Of course...........Hai shava
Good morning!..........Misto drosi!
Good night!...........Kushti irrati!
My love...............Myro jubisarel
Beloved................ves' tacha
Yes, I swear!...........Hai'she'li!
Truth?....................Her’y?
There are many paths............Vai’datha ( an expression of either hope or resignation)
By the gods!...........Li' ha' eer!
Nonsense!...............Shesti!
Do you understand?.............Hai zana? Also: Hai shala?
Shit!...................Sheka!
What a fool!................So trekoth! (what a gullible person!)
Wonderful!...............Forshava!