Dwergan

Dwarvish

An Avlissian language by Orleron, KinX, Vergilius and Deider

Nouns
Common	Dwarvish
ability	urkit
adamantium	ababel
adult	Volwach
ale	aalen
alloy	mearung
ally	Verbond
altar	clagta
anger/wrath	woarg
anvil	ambnean
armor	pantsung
arrow	pieil
axe	tuxt
back (of torso)	hintug
balance	eveich
bandit	raubicht
bartender	buftander
battle	shlegh
beard	feubart
beer	leanr
bellows	bualg
boulder	grobbiges
bow	bevergung
boy	laddie
castle	kargh
child	kindligh
coal	guhle
copper	cupbel
Council	raad
desire/want	wofel
dew	daegh
drum	trollan
dwarf/dwarven	dwergen
Elf (singular), Elven	fing
elven (language)	finglen
experience	iarfah
Fall/autumn	stherz
father	vadeugh
field	veld
fire	vurbren
fish	vish
forest	bosfich
forge	miedlach
friend	vruend
friendly	fruendlich
fruit	frucht
girl	lassie
gnome	gnom
god/deity	deigott
gold	gald
goodbye	gudein rois
gratitude/thanks	altach
grove	hain
guard	grimnigh
guild/clan	treun
hair	haar
half	lelb
half-elf	lelbfing
halfling	berrynkind
hammer	faircham
haven/safe place	zehebben
heart	herzode
here	heir
hole	lowl
house	haut
human	muine
ingot	caagen
inn	gestagh
iron	iarsen
journey	reisegh
keep/small castle	reikost
leaf	bleagh
leather	ledar
magic	zatagh
metal	meghe
mine	gruan
mithril	mitbel
moon	moan
mother	madeugh
night	naght
No	nae
nose	naus
now	jenugh
obligation	verpiach
orc	muc
ore	merz
passage	durrak
pickaxe	breakel
platinum	plabel
potion	trankplaagh
pound	pfent
purpose	zwos
raven	rabgang
recommendation	moyemb
road	stragenaan
rock/stone	gesraig
Sea	aibheis
season	jahrozen
shadow	schadeugh
shield	washelg
silver	airbel
something	ietwas
spice	beschuld
Spring	lentuzt
steel	staidh
store/merchant	tighmann
stranger	vreud
stronghold	hochbol
Summer	zommer
sun	szonne
tavern	schanke
thank you	altach
there	doer
thing	ding
time	zijd
tourist	touregh
trade	handel
traveler	reisgander
tree	beum
tunnel	garnel
undead	versanae
way	weg
weapon	waffen
Welcome	velkom
Winter	vinter
wood	fiolz
Yes	aye

A Dwarvish Grammar Primer

Simple Sentences

Dwarvish follows the word order structure of English to determine the function of a word in the sentence. This is the subject-verb-object word order. For example:
	I buy a shield.	Mich caufoch washelg.
Dwarvish is a simple but robust language. The particles ?a? and ?the? do not exist in dwarvish. Dwarvish also has no verb tenses. This means that the following sentences?
	I buy a shield.	Mich caufoch washelg
	I bought a shield.
	I will buy a shield.
Dwarves usually understand through the context of a sentence which tense is intended. When the meaning is ambiguous, dwarves use time words to clarify. For example:
	I bought a shield yesterday.	Mich caufoch washelg voromlag.
	I will buy a shield tomorrow.	Mich caufoch washelg nairlag.
Dwarvish has no plural forms. So again the sentences?
	I bought a shield.	Mich caufoch washelg.
	I bought shields.
Again, dwarves usually understand from the context of the conversation, but in ambiguous situations numbers or adjectives are used. For example:
	I bought two shields.	Mich caufoch dwei washelg.
	I bought many shields.	Mich caufoch vieluth washelg.
Speaking of adjectives, as in English adjectives are placed in front of the nouns they modify.
	I bought two old shields yesterday.	Mich caufoch dwei beddegh washelg voromlag.
Negative sentences are also simple. To make a negative sentence, add the word for no, ?nae,? before the verb.
	I did not buy a shield yesterday.	Mich nae caufoch washelg voromlag.
	I will not buy a small shield tomorrow. I will buy a big shield.	Mich nae cauloch klein washelg nairlag. Mich cauloch grobbi washelg.
Dwarves have a very tight-knit clan and guild-based culture. As such, they understand each other very well, to the point that they can often finish each others? sentences. So when it would be understood, the subject is sometimes omitted from a sentence. For example:
	I bought a shield	mich caufoch washelg,
But many dwarves would simply say caufoch washelg.

Example Sentences

We bought old armor.	Wair caufoch beddegh pantsung.
They attacked us.	Siad anspoch wair.
You killed him!	Daibh mabtoch ee!
She will not bless me.	Ie nae behnoch mich.

In many languages the verb ?to be? is irregular. Not in dwarvish. The dwarvish verb ?aeoch?, to be, does not change.

I am a dwarf.	Mich aeoch dwerven.
She is not nice.	Ie nae aeoch gehagh.
Gorethar is a good deity.	Gorethar aeoch gude deigott.

Pronouns and to be

In English, the personal pronouns change when converted from subject to object (I versus me, for example). This is not the case in dwarvish.

Pronouns
I/me	mich
We/us	wair
He/him	ee
She/her	ie
It	edh
You	daibh
They/them	siad
This	ses
That	din

Expressing Possession

There are two ways to show possession in dwarvish. The first uses the conjunction 'ov,' which means 'of.'

The Fields of Fire are here.	Veld Ov Vurbren aeoch heir.
I sold my house.	Verifoch mich ov haut.

The second is even simpler. Just combine the words signifying the owner and the possession:

I sold my house.	Verifoch michhaut.
My shield is old.	Michwashelg aeoch beddegh.
Fifur killed my friend.	Fifur mabtoch michvruend.

Imperatives

Dwarvish verbs are not conjugated. The only exception is when it comes to giving commands. All dwarvish verbs end with ?och. Dropping ?och from a verb results in its imperative form.

Rauf! Rauf!!

Run! Run!!

Dlomm heir

Come here.

Nae versa!

Don't die!

Mabt siad!

Kill them!

Expressing Desires

The verb 'wofeloch' means 'to want.'

Wofeloch washelg.

I want a shield.

Ee wofeloch michhaut.

He wants my house.

Wofeloch ceudert gude dwergen!

I want a hundred good dwarves!

'Wofel' is a dwarvish noun meaning 'desire, want.' When 'wofel' precedes a verb, the following expression can be made:

Mich wofel caufoch washelg.

I want to buy a shield.

Ie wofel fascoch madeugh.

She wants to see her mother.

Mich nae wofel mabtoch daibh.

I don?t want to kill you.

Conjunctions, Conditionals, and Explaining Reasons

Conjunctions can be used to combine simple sentences into complex ones. Conjunctions are used in dwarvish exactly as they are in English. A list of common conjunctions follows:

And : ind

Because : wegoir

But, yet : bach

If : wem

Or : nad

Famoch tighmann ind caufoch washelg voromlag.

I went to the store and I bought a shield.

Anspoch din muc bach ee nae versaoch.

I attacked that orc but he didn?t die.

Verifoch michtuxt ov staidh wegoir edh aeoch flamh.

I sold my steel axe because it was dull.

Wair desufoch aalen nad leanr.

We will drink ale or beer.

The word 'wem' can be used with the adverb ?mann?, which means ?then,? to form conditional sentences.

Wem famoch tighmann, mann caufoch nudh washelg.

If I go to the store, then I will buy a new shield.

The conjunction 'wegoir,' which means 'because,' can be used to explain reasons.

Famoch tighmann voromlag wegoir wofel caufoch nudh washelg.

I went to the store yesterday because I wanted to buy a new shield.

Prepositions

Prepositions come before the words they modify, as in English. Below is a list of common dwarvish prepositions:

Above : ciob

After : nair

Before : vorom

Behind : hintacht

Below : fon

By : de

For : cal

From : bhon

In front of : coivern

In, inside : ain

Of : ov

On : oin

To : chau

With : meit

Examples:

Moan aeoch ciob Galdos, bach nae faschoch.

The moon is above Galdos, but I never see it.

Michbreakel aeoch ain haut, hintacht miedlach.

My pickaxe is in the house, behind the forge.

Muc dlommoch bhon fon garnel.

The orcs came from below the tunnel.

Drop your weapon on the road!

Grib daibhwaffen oin stragenaan!

I bought this shield for you.

Caufoch ses washelg cal daibh.

Asking Questions

In written dwarvish, interrogative questions start with a question word and end with a rune that denotes that the question is a sentence. This rune is analogous to the English question mark. Also similar is the fact that when dwarves speak a question they end the sentence with a rise in tone. In other words, asking a question in dwarvish is the same as asking one in English. Below is a list of dwarvish question words:

Who : cor

What : cas

When : cuan

Where : co

Why : cashalb

How : cie

How much, how many : cieliol

Which : celch

Cor aeoch din lelbfing?

Who was that half-elf?

Cas aeoch ses waffen, ind co aeoch dlommoch bhon?

What is this weapon, and where did it come from?

Why did you attack me?

Cashalb daibh anspoch mich?

Which shield do you like, the red or the blue one?

Celch washelg daibh wofeloch, rodh nad blorm?

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses use the appropriate question word to best describe the noun they modify. In English, where ?that? is used the word for ?what,? ?cas,? is used instead. For example:

The elf who killed my father

Fing cor mabtoch michvadeugh

The ore that I smelted yesterday

Merz cas mich leagoch voromlag.

The stronghold where they fought the battle

Hochbol co siad neutoch shlegh

When I was a boy, I wanted a long beard.

Cuan mich aeoch laddie, wofeloch buang feubart.

Time expressions

A list of common dwarvish time words is detailed below:

Second : dakun

Minute : pairgen

Hour : stuair

Day : lag

Week : woach

Month : mionat

Year : jahdna

Today = this + day = ses + lag = seslag

Yesterday = before + day = vorom + lag = voromlag

Tomorrow = after + day = nair + lag = nairlag

Similar compound nouns are used to modify the words for week, month, and year. Thus ?voromjahdna? means 'last year' and 'nairmionat' means 'next month.'

More time expressions can be used by combining time words, numbers, and certain prepositions. For example:

Two seconds ago = two second before = dwei dakun vorom

Five years from now = five year after = conf jahdna nair

In twenty-four hours = twenty-four hour inside = dweideihn-veith stuair ain

Come to Deglos in two days.

Dlomm Deglos dwei lag ain.

I learned Elvish ten years ago.

Leornoch finglen deihn jahdna nair.

Culture note: 'mionat' is translated as 'month,' but many dwarves live their entire lives underground and hence never seen the moon. 'Mionat' does not describe an actual lunar cycle, but rather the length of time of the birth and death cycle of a type of glowing fungus that grows in the Underdark. The life cycle of this fungus roughly corresponds to one month.

Saying 'I Can'

In dwarvish the word 'urkit' means 'ability.' When urkit precedes a verb it forms the grammatical expression 'I can (verb).' For example:

Mich urkit fascoch daibh.

I have the ability to see you.

I can see you.

Wair nae urkit vercaloch!

We cannot lose!

Gerunds

Perhaps the hardest thing for foreigners to understand about dwarvish is gerunds. Just as dwarvish verbs do not distinguish between tenses, they also do not distinguish the gerund form. So 'see', 'to see,' and 'seeing' are all expressed by the word 'fascoch.' This sometimes creates sentences that are hard for non-dwarves to understand, such as:

Desufoch aalen aeoch gude.

Drinking ale is good.

Vercaloth aeoch versaoch.

To lose is to die.

Expressing Likes and Dislikes

The verb meaning 'to like' is 'mesikoth.' The verb meaning 'to hate' is 'fuasoch.'

I like winter, and I hate summer.

Mich mesikoth vinter, ind mich fuasoch zommer.

The imperative forms of the above verbs are also nouns meaning ?preference? and ?dislike.? When they precede a verb the following grammatical construction is formed:

Mich mesik leagoch merz.

I like to smelt ore.

Mich fuas faichoch hochbol.

I hate guarding the stronghold.

Expressing Past Experiences

The noun 'iarfah' mean 'experience.' When it precedes a verb it forms the following grammatical construction:

Mich iarfah famoch Le'Or T'Nanshi.

I have the experience of going to Le'Or T'Nanshi.

I have been to Le'Or T'Nanshi before.

Ee iarfah fascoch nudh gebuid michpantsung?

Has he seen my new yellow armor before?

Cor iarfah famoch Mikona dri jahdna ain?

Who's been to Mikona in the past three years?

Similes and Metaphors

The adjective 'cealich' means 'similar to.' It can be used to form similes, such as:

My mother's beard is black like iron.

Michmadeugh ov feubart aeoch wabh cealich iarsen.

That human fights as hard as adamantium!

Din muine anspoch chart cealich ababel!

Though dwarves do like a good drinking song, dirge, battle ballad, or limerick, they are not fond of metaphor. In fact, they do not use metaphor in their language.

Adverbs

Adverbs always precede the verb they modify. Here is a list of common dwarvish adverbs: Also : auscht

Always : aozeit

Never : noer

Often : trit

Only : unzig

Seldom : senamh

Sometimes : uairmal

Then : mann

I always drink ale before a battle.

Aozeit desufoch aalen vorom shlegh.

Attack the heart only!

Ansp trit herzode!

I never think about the orcs I have killed.

Noer nae smenoch muc cor mich mabtoch.

Adjectives can be made into adverbs by adding ?-in? at the end of the word. Again, adverbs always precede the verb they modify.

She spoke quickly.

Ie lunellin sprucoch.

When he saved me, I felt deep gratitude.

Cuan ee rabhoch mich, toimin fothloch altach.

Passive Voice

Dwarves are a people who believe in actions. This attitude is expressed in their language. In dwarvish there is no passive voice. To quote a famous dwarf linguist, 'Passive voice is for wussies.'

Using the verb 'ferdoch'

'Ferdoch' means simply 'to make.' But dwarves rarely use the verb in its naked form. Being a race of smiths, dwarves almost always combine the verb 'ferdoch' with the noun for the material used in whatever was made. For example:

Mich staidhferdoch washelg.

I made a shield (out of steel).

Mich mitbelferdoch faircham nairlag.

I will make a mithril hammer tomorrow.

Cor iarsenferdoch nudh ambnean?

Who made the new (iron) anvil?

Common Expressions

Last but not least, a list of common expressions in dwarvish for general use:

Hello ' Gorr!! (this is an abbreviation of a phrase that means ?Gorethar bless you?)

Goodbye : gudein rois (lit. trans. : 'journey well')

How are you? : chart faircham? (lit. trans. : 'is your hammer hard')

I am well : lichaba! (abbr. of 'cealich ababel', 'like adamantium!')

Thank you : altach

You?re welcome : kleinmerz ('it's just a small ore?)

Holy smokes, great scott! : ach!

Damn! : verlooghlag! ('forsaken day')

Excuse me : vercalwoarg (lit. trans. : 'lose your anger')

Dwergan Vocabulary

Verbs Common Dwergan to attack anspoch to be aeoch to bless behnoch to buy caufoch to come dlommoch to die versaoch to dig/ to mine ruamhoch to do neutoch to drink desufoch to eat esithoch to feel fothloch to fly ilieoch to go/ to walk famoch to hate fuasoch to have teuwoch to hope horboch to journey roisoch to kill mabtoch to know kaithnoch to learn leornoch to like/ to enjoy mesikoch to lose vercaloch to love griboch to make ferdoch to open fosoffoch to recommend moyempoch to run raufoch to save rabhoch to say sairoch to see fascoch to sell verifoch to sing cronnoch to smelt leagoch to speak sprucoch to stand stehoch to think smenoch to want/ to need wofeloch to watch/to guard faichoch to win gebuihoch		Adjectives Common Dwergan acceptable annedeagh agile aglich all allegh any irgnig armed bewapnend bad shlect big grobbi black wabh blue blorm brown dhaun deep toim dull flamh enduring karagh fast lunell few beparr forsaken verloogh full vollen good gude green grurn hard chart long buang many vieluth new nudh old beddegh pleasant/nice gehagh purple purcur red rodh shallow seilach sharp biorarf short gorurz similar to cealich slow songsam small klein soft weoth white weel yellow gebuid young juch
Adverbs Common Dwergan also auscht always aozeit maybe foddecht never noer often trit only unzig seldom senamh sometimes uairmal then mann		Numbers Common Dwergan one eaon two dwei three dri four veith five conf six se seven siechd eight oht nine naun ten deihn hundred ceudert thousand taumil
Conjunctions Common Dwergan although obged and ind because wegoir but/yet bach if wem or nad		Time Indicators Common Dwergan second dakun minute pairgen hour stuair day lag week woach month mionat year jahdna today seslag yesterday voromlag tomorrow nairlag
Question Words Common Dwergan who cor what cas when cuan where co why cashalb how cie how much/how many cieliol which celch		Pronouns Common Dwergan I/me mich we/us wair he/him ee she/her ie it edh you daibh they/them siad this ses that din
Prepositions Common Dwergan above ciob after nair before vorom behind hintacht below fon by de despite tratz during wroid for cal from bhon in front of coivern in/inside ain of ov on oin to chau with meit