Rivani and Its Cousins

[Zaarin]

I have a little assortment of closely related languages descended from an English-based creole spoken by the nomadic peoples of the Outer Solar System in my sci-fi setting. There's no name for them collectively as their speakers always identify them by their individual dialect. They have varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. At any rate, I decided to translate "Galadriel's Song of Eldamar" into the dialect of my main character, Rivani, as an exercise, plus the last line into the six major dialects I've developed. I'm not particularly satisfied with my syntax so far, but since it's chiefly a naming language I'm not too concerned at this point. Observations welcome.

(A note about the half-long vowels in Rivani and Shüsperi: these are chiefly to indicate vestigial length contrasts. That is, what were originally length contrasts [maintained in Zezbekhi and partially in Sharden, diphthongized in Bazai, and lost entirely in Ekshona] have primarily become quality contrasts in Rivani and Shüsperi, but historical long vowels may retain some non-contrastive lengthening.)

Rivani
Nåv-e vesa mæno Ṭiʾa pæn pæžræ qåš hæmeš hađ zu biš vorb?
[ˈnɒˑʋe ˈʋesɑˑ ˈmæno ˈt̪ˁeˑʔɑˑ ˈpʰæn ˈpʰæʐɾæˌqɔˑʂ hæˈmeʂˌhɑˑð zuˑˈviˑʂˌʋoɾb]

Sharden
Nōw-e wesā mano Ṭīʾā fan fažre ḳōš hameš hāđ zū bīš worb?
[ˈnoːwe ˈwesɑː ˈmäno ˈt̪ʼiːʔɑː ˈpʰän ˈfäʒɾeˌkʼoːʃ häˈmeʃˌhɑːð zuːˈviːʃˌwoɹb]

Ekshona
Nöw-ë wësa mënö Ṭeʾa pën hëžlë öš hëmëš had zo beš wölb?
[ˈn̺ɔwə ˈwɛs̠ə ˈmɛn̺ə ˈt̪ʰeʔə ˈpʰɛn̺ ˈçɝʐɭəˌʔɵ˞ʂ çəˈmɝʂˌhɐd̺ zoˈbɛ˞ʂˌwɔl̺b]

Bazai
Nuif-i visao manu Ṭaiʾao pan faṛṛa kuis hamis haod zuo bais vurb?
[ˈnuɪ̯ʋi ˈʋisɐɔ̯ ˈmanu ˈtˀɐ̰ɪ̯ʔɐ̰ɔ̯ ˈpan ˈfaɻˁɻʷˁɑˌquɪ̯s haˈmisˌhɐɔ̯d zuo̯ˈbɐɪ̯sˌʋuɹb]

Shüsperi
Noŕ-e ŕesa mänø Ṭia pän fäžrä qoš hämeš had zü biš ŕørb?
[ˈnoˑɹə ˈɹesɑˑ ˈmɛnøˑ ˈʈiˑɑˑ ˈpɛn ˈfɛʑɾəˌqoˑʃ həˈmeɕˌhɑˑd zyˑˈbiˑɕˌɹøˑɾb]

Zezbekhi
Nūv-i visā menu Ḥēʾā pen ḥeȝle qūḫ hemiḫ hād zī bēḫ vulb?
[ˈnuːvi ˈvisäː ˈmenu ˈħæ̥ːʔḁ̈ː ˈpʰen ˈħæɣɫæˌq͡χɔ̥ːx heˈmiçˌhḁ̈ːt ziːˈpe̥xˌvɔʊ̯p]


Ež šæƀžehan da šeŋ heđ, šæƀžehan-e gård da, vođ šæƀžehan-e gård ziš ġu heđ.
Ež žir da šeŋ heđ, žir ziš kem heđ vođ beræŋan dær boru heđ.
Horšeđ-za zađ, Maŋ-za zađ, Ṭiʾa-za pæn pum-za,
Vođ Ṭe-ze gård šuš-e-za Irmærin ġu heđ.
Eʾ æšṭehan-e-za Hæmeš-vešpeš nes Erdæmær dær romæš heđ,
Erdæmær dær devåšan-e-za Tiryon-e Erpan.
Šæƀžehan-e-za gård ṭovir dær ziš šåran-za šuꝑreʾænt dær ġu hev,
Ešen ŋohan-e-za Erpan Ṭiʾa-za Šešæštænt zađ heš aža oꝑtåđ æš.
U Ruryen! Veṛṭ-za kem ež, zåm-za næҟš šæƀžehan næ;
Šæƀžehan-za zæḍæ-za dær oꝑtåđ guž. ʿeveš-za vi kuṣ ež.
U Ruryen! Ež ṭovir pæžræ dær Šuš-za Heẓ dær qamæ heđ,
Vođ ež erænor-e-za gård keruneʾ teremænt dær toʾan heđ.
Žeṣe šæ ež nåvan da aža zu šeŋ em, nåv-e vesa mæno dær zu kem vorb?
Nåv-e vesa mæno Ṭiʾa pæn pæžræ qåš hæmeš hađ zu biš vorb?



ež šæƀže-an da šeŋ heđ,
1s leaf-PL of sing PERF.PAST
[ˈʔeʐ ʂævˈʐehɑˑnˌdɑˑ ˈʂeŋˌheð]

šæƀže-an-e gård da,
leaf-PL-GEN gold of
[ʂævˈʐehɑˑne ˈgɒˑɾdˌdɑˑ]

vođ šæƀže-an-e gård ziš ġu heđ.
and leaf-PL-GEN gold there grow PERF.PAST
[ˈʋoð ʂævˈʐehɑˑne ˈgɒˑɾd ˈziˑʂ ˈɢoˑˌheð]

ež žir da šeŋ heđ
1s wind of sing PERF.PAST
[ˈʔeʐ ˈziˑɾˌdɑˑ ˈʂeŋˌheð]

žir ziš kem heđ vođ beræŋ-an dær boru heđ.
wind there come PERF.PAST and branch-PL among blow PERF.PAST
[ˈziˑɾ ˈziˑʂ ˈkʰemˌheð ˈʋoð beˈɾæŋɑˑnˌdæɾ boˈɾuˑˌheð]

Horšeđ-za zađ, Maŋ-za zađ, Ṭiʾa-za pæn pum-za.
Sun-the beyond Moon-the beyond, Sea-the upon foam-the
[hoɾˈʂeðˌzɑˑzɑˑð ˈmɑˑŋˌzɑˑzɑˑð ˈt̪ˁeˑʔɑˑˌzɑˑpæn ˈpʰuˑmˌzɑˑ]

vođ Ṭe-e gård šuš-e-za Irmærin ġu heđ.
and tree-GEN gold shore-GEN-the Ilmarin grow PERF.PAST
[ˈʋoð ˈt̪ˁɛze ˈgɒˑɾd ˈʂuˑʂeˌzɑˑ ʔiˑɾˈmæɾiˑn ˈɢoˑˌheð]

eʾ æšṭe-an-e-za Hæmeš-vešpeš nes Erdæmær dær romæš heđ,
3sn star-PL-GEN-the always-evening beneath Eldamar in shine PERF.PAST
[ˈʔeʔ ˈʔæʂt̪ˁɛhɑˑneˌzɑˑ hæˈmeʂˌʋeʂpeʂnes ʔeɾˈdæmæɾˌdæɾ roˈmæʂˌheð]

Erdæmær dær devåš-an-e-za Tiryon-e Erp-an.
Eldamar in wall-PL-GEN-the Tirion-GEN Elf-PL
[ʔeɾˈdæmæɾˌdæɾ deˈʋɒˑʂɑˑneˌzɑˑ ˈtiˑɾjone ˈʔeɾpɑˑn]

šæƀže-an-e-za gård ṭovir dær ziš šår-an-za šuꝑreʾ-ænt dær ġu hev,
leaf-PL-GEN-the gold long.time in there year-PL-the divide-PART amid grow PRES.PERF.3p
[ʂævˈʐehɑˑneˌzɑˑ ˈgɒˑɾd t̪ˁɔˈʋiˑɾˌdæɾ ˈziˑʂ ˈʂɒˑɾɑˑnˌzɑˑ ʂuˑfˈɾeʔæntˌdæɾ ˈɢoˑˌheʋ]

ešen ŋo-an-e-za Erp-an Ṭiʾa-za Šešæšt-ænt zađ heš aža oꝑtåđ æš.
while tear-PL-GEN-the Elf-PL Sea-the Sunder-PART beyond here now fall PRES.IMP.3p
[ˈʔeʂen ˈŋohɑˑneˌzɑˑ ˈʔeɾpɑˑn ˈt̪ˁeˑʔɑˑ ʂeˈʂæʂtæntˌzɑˑð ˈheʂ ˈʔɑˑʐɑˑ ʔofˈtɒˑðæʂ]

U Ruryen! Veṛṭ-za kem ež, zåm-za næҟš šæƀže-an næ;
O Lórien Winter-the come PRES.IMP.3s day-the naked leaf-PL NEG
[ˈʔuˑ ˈruˑɾjen ˈʋeɾ̪ˁt̪ˁˌzɑˑ ˈkʰemeʐ ˈzɒˑmˌzɑˑ ˈnæxʂ ʂævˈʐehɑˑnˌnæ]

šæƀže-an-za zæḍæ-za dær oꝑtåđ guž.
leaf-PL-the stream-the in fall PRES.PROG
[ʂævˈʐehɑˑnˌzɑˑ zæˈd̪ˁæˌzɑˑdæɾ ʔofˈtɒˑðˌguˑʐ]

ʿeveš-za vi kuṣ ež.
River-the away flow PRES.IMP.3s
[ˈʕɛʋeʂˌzɑˑ ˈʋiˑ ˈkʰuˑs̪ˁeʐ]

U Ruryen! Ež ṭovir pæžræ dær Šuš-za Heẓ dær qamæ heđ,
O Lórien 1s long.time much in Shore-the Near amid dwell PERF.PAST
[ˈʔuˑ ˈruˑɾjen ˈʔeʐ t̪ˁɔˈʋiˑɾ ˈpʰæʐɾæˌdæɾ ˈʂuˑʂˌzɑˑ ˈhez̪ˁˌdæɾ ˈqäˑmæˌheð]

vođ ež erænor-e-za gård keruneʾ terem-ænt dær toʾan heđ.
and 1s elanor-GEN-the gold crown fade-PART in braid PERF.PAST
[ˈʋoð ˈʔeʐ ˈʔeɾænoɾeˌzɑˑ ˈgɒˑɾd kʰeˈɾuˑneʔ tʰeˈɾemæntˌdæɾ tʰoˈʔɑˑnˌheð]

žeṣe šæ ež nåv-an da aža zu šeŋ em,
yet if 1s ship-PL of now IRR sing PRES.IMP.1s
[ˈʐes̪ˁɛ ˈʂæ ˈʔeʐ ˈnɒˑʋɑˑnˌdɑˑ ˈʔɑˑʐɑˑ zuˈʂeŋem]

nåv-e vesa mæno dær zu kem vorb?
ship-GEN which.one 1s at IRR come FUT.IMP
[ˈnɒˑʋe ˈʋesɑˑ ˈmænoˌdæɾ zuˈxemˌʋoɾb]

nåv-e vesa mæno Ṭiʾa pæn pæžræ qåš hæmeš hađ zu biš vorb?
ship-GEN which.one 1s Sea wide much across ever back IRR carry FUT.IMP
[ˈnɒˑʋe ˈʋesɑˑ ˈmæno ˈt̪ˁeˑʔɑˑ ˈpʰæn ˈpʰæʐɾæˌqɔˑʂ hæˈmeʂˌhɑˑð zuˑˈviˑʂˌʋoɾb]

[mèþru]

I would like to see more of these languages

[Pedant]

Most interesting indeed! Tell me, how is space nomadism made possible in your world? What kind of effect has it had on the languages’ development? How far does civilization extend? What’s the Inner Solar System like?

[Zaarin]

I would like to see more of these languages

I'll post more soon.

Most interesting indeed! Tell me, how is space nomadism made possible in your world? What kind of effect has it had on the languages’ development? How far does civilization extend? What’s the Inner Solar System like?

Thank you. Space nomadism chiefly came about as a matter of necessity when the Sol System was invaded by the Mazzahi Empire ~500 years ago. Colonists, scientists, miners, traders, and Inner System refugees were thrust together as they fled the onslaught. Though the Mazzahi Empire collapsed within two centuries after the conquest, the effects of its invasion are felt to this day. This band of refugees living from their flotilla initially banded together for their own protection. Coming from linguistically diverse regions, a common language became necessary, eventually resulting in the pidgin that became the ancestor of these dialects. Over time, the flotilla dispersed (sustaining themselves in part through hydroponics and in part through trade and/or piracy--indeed, in the minds of the rest of the system the tribes are pirates), resulting in the variation of the dialects. The tribes are held together through common culture and, in many cases, common religion (a religion founded by a Rivani prophet a few hundred years ago, with its chief deity being Fortuna and emphasizing the role of chance in determining fate). Frequent exchanges in marriage and commerce have done much to prevent the dialects from drifting away from being mutually intelligible (except for Zezbekhi, which is in many ways distinct from the other tribes). The tribes keep their ships patched together as well as they can and acquire new ones via trading or theft when possible. The heart of every clan within the tribe is the zone, or home ship, a civilian ship which is kept in good repair at whatever cost necessary and that serves as the home for the clan's children, elderly, and sick. Tribal customs dictate that under no condition is it permissible to attack a clan's zone, and for the most part this taboo is respected since destroying another clan's zone would invite attack on one's own. Rarely united, the clans recently came together in a war with Aiaia (see below) almost to their own extinction when Aiaia unwittingly destroyed a Rivani zone. Neither the tribes nor Aiaia has yet recovered from that war.

Human civilization spans most of the Sol System in one form or another. The tribes wander as far as the Kuiper belt, though it's more usual to find them in the asteroid belt to Neptune range. The Free State of Aiaia is a city-state in the upper cloud decks of Saturn that claims the entire Saturnine system as its sovereign domain. It is wealthier and more civilized than the tribes, with whom it frequently comes into conflict, and started before the invasion as the pet project of an eccentric philanthropist. Settlements exist on both the Galilean moons of Jupiter and on Earth's Moon, the latter being the de facto capital of the Sol System and the seat of administration for the local governor (after the fall of the Mazzahi Empire, Sol was annexed as a territory of the Zrad Palatinate--in which being posted as governor of Sol is seen as a political exile of sorts.) The bulk of humanity still lives on Earth, but Earth did not fare the invasion well and is still an extremely unpleasant place to live. Mars is also lightly inhabited, but civilization there is, I believe, on decline.

[Pedant]

Thank you. Space nomadism chiefly came about as a matter of necessity when the Sol System was invaded by the Mazzahi Empire ~500 years ago. Colonists, scientists, miners, traders, and Inner System refugees were thrust together as they fled the onslaught. Though the Mazzahi Empire collapsed within two centuries after the conquest, the effects of its invasion are felt to this day. This band of refugees living from their flotilla initially banded together for their own protection. Coming from linguistically diverse regions, a common language became necessary, eventually resulting in the pidgin that became the ancestor of these dialects. Over time, the flotilla dispersed (sustaining themselves in part through hydroponics and in part through trade and/or piracy--indeed, in the minds of the rest of the system the tribes are pirates), resulting in the variation of the dialects. The tribes are held together through common culture and, in many cases, common religion (a religion founded by a Rivani prophet a few hundred years ago, with its chief deity being Fortuna and emphasizing the role of chance in determining fate). Frequent exchanges in marriage and commerce have done much to prevent the dialects from drifting away from being mutually intelligible (except for Zezbekhi, which is in many ways distinct from the other tribes). The tribes keep their ships patched together as well as they can and acquire new ones via trading or theft when possible. The heart of every clan within the tribe is the zone, or home ship, a civilian ship which is kept in good repair at whatever cost necessary and that serves as the home for the clan's children, elderly, and sick. Tribal customs dictate that under no condition is it permissible to attack a clan's zone, and for the most part this taboo is respected since destroying another clan's zone would invite attack on one's own. Rarely united, the clans recently came together in a war with Aiaia (see below) almost to their own extinction when Aiaia unwittingly destroyed a Rivani zone. Neither the tribes nor Aiaia has yet recovered from that war.

...huh. So an alien race came in to invade the Solar system? Okay, generic but possible. So why come here? What did they need in our solar system that they couldn’t have gotten from a hundred-odd closer systems?
Another question in my mind is how did “tribes” become a thing? What sort of ships are there that make it possible for humans to have gone “tribal,” as opposed to coming up with some other name for themselves? How often do people come across one another in the void?

Human civilization spans most of the Sol System in one form or another. The tribes wander as far as the Kuiper belt, though it's more usual to find them in the asteroid belt to Neptune range. The Free State of Aiaia is a city-state in the upper cloud decks of Saturn that claims the entire Saturnine system as its sovereign domain. It is wealthier and more civilized than the tribes, with whom it frequently comes into conflict, and started before the invasion as the pet project of an eccentric philanthropist. Settlements exist on both the Galilean moons of Jupiter and on Earth's Moon, the latter being the de facto capital of the Sol System and the seat of administration for the local governor (after the fall of the Mazzahi Empire, Sol was annexed as a territory of the Zrad Palatinate--in which being posted as governor of Sol is seen as a political exile of sorts.) The bulk of humanity still lives on Earth, but Earth did not fare the invasion well and is still an extremely unpleasant place to live. Mars is also lightly inhabited, but civilization there is, I believe, on decline.

...okay, I am really looking forward to the explanation of all this technology. Are the colonists bearing up well against the background radiation from Saturn/Jupiter/Sol? What’s the state of government, and how is it structured? If the bulk of humanity still lives on Earth, how many humans can we assume live in the outer worlds?

[Zaarin]

...huh. So an alien race came in to invade the Solar system? Okay, generic but possible. So why come here? What did they need in our solar system that they couldn’t have gotten from a hundred-odd closer systems?

The Mazzahi were on an expansionist blitz at the time, motivated by a sort of Manifest Destiny attitude, which is what ultimately led to their collapse: overexpansion, local uprisings, and the sheer bureaucratic weight became an administrative nightmare. The Zrad Palatinate emerged out of the ashes as a less centralized "space feudalism," which eased both local dissatisfaction and bureaucratic entanglement.

Another question in my mind is how did “tribes” become a thing? What sort of ships are there that make it possible for humans to have gone “tribal,” as opposed to coming up with some other name for themselves? How often do people come across one another in the void?

...okay, I am really looking forward to the explanation of all this technology. Are the colonists bearing up well against the background radiation from Saturn/Jupiter/Sol? What’s the state of government, and how is it structured? If the bulk of humanity still lives on Earth, how many humans can we assume live in the outer worlds?

Before I talk about tech I want to hasten to add that I think of my work as "medium hard," which is to say I try to avoid egregiously offending the laws of physics but I also don't overthink how the technology works--I'm quite content to accept certain tropes of space opera such as FTL and artigrav. (Humans never developed the former, but they had just developed artigrav at the time of the invasion, replacing older designs with von Braun wheels.)

Regarding the radiation, Aiaia, the Galilean colonies, and starships are shielded against it.

Regarding government, there are essentially three major governments in the Sol System. (There are numerous governments on Earth, much as there are now. Nominally they're under the authority of the Palatinate; practically most Terran humans have never heard of such a thing.)

Aiaia is probably the most locally powerful faction and is an oligarchic republic, governed by an assembly of hereditary electors who in turn appoint the republic's executive head, the chancellor. Over the past few centuries the power of the chancellor has weakened in favor of the electors, but the current chancellor has done much over the past 30 years to strengthen her office--and recently made such strides as to make the chancery a lifetime appointment. She's pushing to also gain the power to appoint her successor, making Aiaia essentially an elected monarchy, but so far the electors are not so prepared to surrender their power in that manner.

The Zrad Palatinate is more of a multi-system confederation than it is a centralized government. Though the palatine is nominally the head of state, under most circumstances power is distributed locally rather than centrally. The Palatinate directly controls Luna and the Galilean colonies and nominally controls the entire Sol System. The Palatinate's administrative language (I forget the name at the moment--it's been a little while since I've worked on it and is almost always rendered as English in my book) is the closest the Sol System has to a lingua franca, and it serves as a native language for many born in the upper echelons of society on Luna and the Galilean colonies. The Palatinate governor is highborn on his homeworld and considers his posting in Sol as rather a personal affront; consequently he's been working diligently to expand Palatinate power, particularly in driving the tribes away from shipping lanes and alternately courting and combating Aiaia. His success on both fronts has been limited.

The tribes have no centralized governance. Each clan within a tribe acts more or less independently, governing either by consensus or representation. Periodically but not exactly regularly the clans meet to trade, exchange news, and discuss tribal policy; more rarely the tribes send representatives to discuss pan-tribal affairs. The last such case resulted in the war with Aiaia. Why tribalism? That's really just a term given to them by their neighbors (especially the Aiaians), due to their being nomadic and less technologically sophisticated. Nomadism became appealing because the Mazzahi controlled the planetside population; interplanetary nomadism became the only way of maintaining independence. (The Mazzahi were too busy to actively patrol every part of space, and as long as the tribes kept to themselves they didn't really care about them.) Now the tribes could settle if they chose, but their lifestyle has become a point of independent pride.

Regarding population: I have more specific notes somewhere, but for the moment accept these figures as estimates. The population of Luna and the Galilean colonies is very small, probably ~20-25 million all told, but quite wealthy. The population of Aiaia, including both the capital city of Elysium on Saturn plus its outposts on Saturn's moons, its space stations, and its fleets, is much larger, probably around 500,000,000. I believe the tribal population all told was around 200,000,000--but bear in mind that was before the war. The sustainable future of the tribes is now very much in doubt.