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2. Carpathian grammar and other characteristics of the language
Idioms. As both an ancient language, and a language of an earth people, Carpathian is more inclined toward use of idioms constructed from concrete, «earthy» terms, rather than abstractions. For instance, our modern abstraction, «to cherish,» is expressed more concretely in Carpathian as «to hold in one's heart»; the «nether world» is, in Carpathian, «the land of night, fog, and ghosts»; etc.
Word order. The order of words in a sentence is determined not by syntactic roles (like subject, verb, and object) but rather by pragmatic, discourse-driven factors. Examples: «Tied vagyok.» («Yours am I.»); «Sivamet andam.» («My heart I give you.»)
Agglutination. The Carpathian language is agglutinative; that is, longer words are constructed from smaller components. An agglutinating language uses suffixes or prefixes whose meaning is generally unique, and which are concatenated one after another without overlap. In Carpathian, words typically consist of a stem that is followed by one or more suffixes. For example, «sivambam» derives from the stem «siv» («heart») followed by «am» («my,» making it «my heart»), followed by «bam» («in,» making it «in my heart»). As you might imagine, agglutination in Carpathian can sometimes produce very long words, or words that are very difficult to pronounce. Vowels often get inserted between suffixes, to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which can make the word unpronouncable).
Noun cases. Like all languages, Carpathian has many noun cases; the same noun will be «spelled» differently depending on its role in the sentence. Some of the noun cases include: nominative (when the noun is the subject of the sentence), accusative (when the noun is a direct object of the verb), dative (indirect object), genitive (or possessive), instrumental, final, supressive, inessive, elative, terminative, and delative.
We will use the possessive (or genitive) case as an example, to illustrate how all noun cases in Carpathian involve adding standard suffixes to the noun stems. Thus expressing possession in Carpathian-«my lifemate,» «your lifemate,» «his lifemate,» «her lifemate,» etc.-involves adding a particular suffix (such as «=am») to the noun stem («palafertiil»), to produce the possessive («palafertiilam»-«my lifemate»). Which suffix to use depends upon which person («my,» «your,» «his,» etc.) and whether the noun ends in a consonant or vowel. The following table shows the suffixes for singular nouns only (not plural), and also shows the similarity to the suffixes used in contemporary Hungarian. (Hungarian is actually a little more complex, in that it also requires «vowel rhyming»: which suffix to use also depends on the last vowel in the noun; hence the multiple choices in the cells below, where Carpathian only has a single choice.)
¦m
OiJ
Note: As mentioned earlier, vowels often get inserted between the word and its suffix so as to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which would produce unpronouncable words). For example, in the table above, all nouns that end in a consonant are followed by suffixes beginning with «a.»
Verb conjugation. Like its modern descendents (such as Finnish and Hungarian), Carpathian has many verb tenses, far too many to describe here. We will just focus on the conjugation of the present tense. Again, we will place contemporary Hungarian side by side with the Carpathian, because of the marked similarity of the two. As with the possessive case for nouns, the conjugation of verbs is done by adding a suffix onto the verb stem:
saj
As with all languages, there are many «irregular verbs» in Carpathian that don't exactly fit this pattern. But the above table is still a useful guideline for most verbs.
3. Examples of the Carpathian language
Here are some brief examples of conversational Carpathian, used in the Dark books. We include the literal translation in square brackets. It is interestingly different from the most appropriate English translation.
Susu.
I am home.
Moert?
What for?
csitri
little one
ainaak enyem
forever mine
ainaak'sivamet jutta
forever mine (another form)
sivamet
my love
Sarna Rituaali (The Ritual Words) is a longer example, and an example of chanted rather than conversational Carpathian. Note the recurring use of «andam» («I give»), to give the chant musicality and force through repetition.
Sarna Rituaali (The Ritual Words)
Te avio palafertiilam.
You are my lifemate.
Entolam kuulua, avio palafertiilam.
I claim you as my lifemate.
Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.
I belong to you.
Elidamet andam.
I offer my life for you.
Pesamet andam.
I give you my protection.
Uskolfertiilamet andam. I give you my allegiance.
Sivamet andam.
I give you my heart.
Sielamet andam.
I give you my soul.
Ainamet andam.
I give you my body.
Sivamet kuuluak kaik etta a ted.
I take into my keeping the same that is yours.
Ainaak olenszal'sivambin.
Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.
Te elidet ainaak pide minan.
Your life will be placed above my own for all time.
Te avio palafertiilam.
You are my lifemate.
Ainaak'sivamet jutta oleny.
You are bound to me for all eternity.
Ainaak terad vigyazak.
You are always in my care.
See Appendix 1 for Carpathian healing chants, including both the Kepa Sarna Pus («The Lesser Healing Chant») and the En Sarna Pus («The Great Healing Chant»).
To hear these words pronounced (and for more about Carpathian pronunciation altogether), please visit: http://www.christinefeehan.com/members/
4. A much abridged Carpathian dictionary
This very much abridged Carpathian dictionary contains most of the Carpathian words used in these Dark books. Of course, a full Carpathian dictionary would be as large as the usual dictionary for an entire language.
Note: The Carpathian nouns and verbs below are word stems. They generally do not appear in their isolated, «stem» form, as below. Instead, they usually appear with suffixes (e.g., «andam»-«I give,» rather than just the root, «and»).
aina-body ainaak-forever akarat-mind; will al-bless, attach to alatt-through
ala-to lift; to raise
and-to give
avaa-to open
avio-wedded
avio palafertiil-lifemate
belso-within; inside
ca?a-to flee; to run; to escape
coro-to flow; to run like rain
csitri-little one (female)
eka-brother
ela-to live
elava-alive
elava ainak majaknak-land of the living
elid-life
en-I
en-great, many, big
En Puwe-The Great Tree. Related to the legends of Ygddrasil, the axis mundi, Mount Meru, heaven and hell, etc.
engem-me
eci-to fall
ek-suffix added after a noun ending in a consonant to make it plural
es-and
etta-that
faz-to feel cold or chilly
fertiil-fertile one
fesztelen-airy
fu-herbs; grass
gond-care; worry (noun)
han-he; she; it
hany-clod; lump of earth
irgalom-compassion; pity; mercy
jalleen-again.
jama-to be sick, wounded, or dying; to be near death (verb)
jela-sunlight; day, sun; light
joma-to be under way; to go
jorem-to forget; to lose one's way; to make a mistake
juta-to go; to wander
juti-night; evening
jutta-connected; fixed (adj.). to connect; to fix; to bind (verb)
k-suffix added after a noun ending in a vowel to make it plural
kaca-male lover
kaik-all (noun)
ka?a-to call; to invite; to request; to beg
ka?k-windpipe; Adam's apple; throat
Karpatii-Carpathian
kasi-hand
kepa-lesser, small, easy, few
kinn-out; outdoors; outside; without
kinta-fog, mist, smoke
koje-man; husband; drone
kola-to die
koma-empty hand; bare hand; palm of the hand; hollow of the hand.
kont-warrior
kule-hear kuly-intestinal worm; tapeworm; demon who possesses and devours souls
kulke-to go or to travel (on land or water)
kuna-to lie as if asleep; to close or cover the eyes in a game of hide-and-seek; to die
kunta-band, clan, tribe, family
kuulua-to belong; to hold
lamti-lowland; meadow
lamti bol juti, kinta, ja szelem-the nether world (literally: «the meadow of night, mists, and ghosts»)-crack, fissure, split (noun). To cut o hit; to strike forcefully (verb).
lewl-spirit
lewl ma-the other world (literally: «spirit land»). Lewl ma includes lamti bol juti, kinta, ja szelem: the nether world, but also includes the worlds higher up En Puwe, the Great Tree
loyly-breath; steam, (related to lewclass="underline" «spirit»)
ma-land; forest
mane-rescue; save
me-we
meke-deed; work (noun). To do; to make; to work (verb)
minan-mine
minden-every, all (adj.).
moert?-what for? (exclamation)
molo-to crush; to break into bits
molana-to crumble; to fall apart
mozdul-to begin to move, to enter into movement
na-for ?ama?-this; this one here
nelkul-without
nena-anger
no-like; in the same way as; as
numa-god; sky; top; upper part; highest (related to the English word: «numinous»)
nyelv-tongue
nyal-saliva; spit (noun), (related to nyelv: «tongue»)
odam-dream; sleep (verb)
oma-old; ancient
omboce-other; second (adj.)
o-the (used before a noun beginning with a consonant)
ot-the (used before a noun beginning with a vowel)
otti-to look; to sec; to find
owe-door
pajna-to press
pala-half; side palafertiil-mate or wife
pel-to be afraid; to be scared of
pesa-nest (literal); protection (figurative)
pide-above
pira-circle; ring (noun). To surround; to enclose (verb).
pita-keep, hold
piwta-to follow; to follow the track of game
pukta-to drive away; to persecute; to put to flight
pusm-to be restored to health
pus-healthy; healing
puwe-tree; wood
reka-ecstasy; trance
rituaali-ritual
saye-to arrive; to come; to reach
salama-lightning; lightning bolt
sarna-words; speech; magic incantation (noun). To chant; to sing; to celebrate (verb)
saro-frozen snow
siel-soul
sisar-sister
siv-heart
sivdobbanas-heartbeat
so?e-to enter; to penetrate; to compensate; to replace
susu-home; birthplace (noun), at home (adv.)
szabadon-freely
szelem-ghost
tappa-to dance; to stamp with the feet (verb)
te-you
ted-yours
toja-to bend; to bow; to break
toro-to fight; to quarrel
tule-to meet; to come
ture-full, satiated, accomplished
tyvi-stem; base; trunk
uskol-faithful
uskolfertiil-allegiance
veri-blood
vigyaz-to care for; to take care of
vii-last; at last; finally
wake-power
wara-bird; crow
wenca-complete; whole
wete-water