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Youma'shak, Sorach Chouregshe Mai yk Shaizaare-vek-Arkajhia
(Youma'shak, the Speech of the Dark Kingdom of Arcadia-in-Exile)
Created for the Sailor Moon Expanded universe by Aponar Kestrel
A note on the various romanizations of Youma'shak:
Some romanizations of Youma'shak lean more toward a readily readable approximation than a strict phonetic rendering; for example, karawth is often rendered "karouth". This style of romanization, introduced and popularized by Michael Maxwell, is used in most works about Shaizaar; while it is much easier for a speaker of English to read, a phonemic transliteration has been deemed more apt for academic purposes. Several irregularities, however, have been retained in this text:
- Although the correct romanization of Youma'shak is technically Jouma'shak, the former is used in deference to the common spelling of "youma".
- Final f is written ph.
- Ks is frequently x, except at the beginning; e.g., Ks'chetek. Initial x is kz.
- Although not quite an irregularity, it should be noted that herein is used ch for the sound more popularly represented by kh.
Consonants:
k, g - kill, gill
s, z - send, Zen
sh, zh - fission, vision
f, v - fission, vision
t, d - tend, dent
p, b - Paul, Baal
th - thin, *never* this
l - line
n - Nile
r - rim
m - Mir
ch - (Scottish) Loch
gh - as ch, but voiced.
j - y in "yes"
jh - An extra sibilant. Form sh, then pull your teeth back and say it as you would s or sh.
' - glottal stop (the catch in your throat in "uh-oh")
Vowels:
a,e,i,o,u: As in Romance languages.
w: Cross between schwa and Swedish u.
y: Indeterminate vowel (cross between schwa and i in "pit"; Russian bI).
Nouns
Cases.
Nominative. The subject of the sentence. All high-ranking youma's names are put into this case, regardless of how one must twist the sentence for it to be grammatical.
Genitive. Usually similar to possessive (Beryl's) or the preposition "of" (of Beryl). Of course, as noted above, one would have to say "which Beryl owns", or a similar phrase; for most objects (and youma), this is not necessary.
Accusative. Direct object of a sentence.
Ablative. This case has atrophied much from Arcadian, and is not often used. It is called ablative only due to its direct relationship with the Latin and Arcadian ablatives; the implication of "source" or "separation" is lacking.
Agentive. The doer of an action; used only with the passive voice. The agentive is regularly used as the object of a postposition.
Prime Declension.
All nouns of the prime declension end in -(a/e/u)(l/r)i.
There is a slight difference in the endings for Prime R and Prime L.
Examples:
ompari: sentience
tsakeli: stone, rock
SP
Nom. ompari omparen
Gen. omparshe omparw
Acc. omparn omparul
Abl. omparphomparas
Agt. ompare ompael
Nom. tsakelitsakelen
Gen. tsakelshe tsakelw
Acc. tsakelntsakelur
Abl. tsakelph tsakelas
Agt. tsakeletsake'el(' only for eli/eri nouns.)
Tertiary Declension.
All tertiary declension nouns end in (consonant)s.
Examples:
eri'ins - east
SP
Nom. eri'inseri'inon
Gen. eri'inshe eri'in'w
Acc. eri'inseri'inul
Abl. eri'ineph eri'insas
Agt. eri'ine'e eri'inesha
Kajhdril Declension.
Most names fit in here, as do most words from Arcadian's secondary and quaternary declensions.
Examples:
kajhdril - "Everything else"; a sense of hodgepodge or mishmash. Commonly used to describe or indicate leftovers.
SP
Nom. kajhdrilkajhdrilon
Gen. kajhdril'she kajhdrilw
Acc. kajhdriln kajhdrilur
Abl. kajhdrilaphkajhdrilas
Agt. kajhdrile kajhdrilal
Pronouns
Personal pronouns are not kajhdril.
Ech, I (me) Nash, We (us)
Nom. ech nash
Gen. dyw neu
Acc. din'ul
Abl. daph nas
Agt. dinael
Verbs
End in -(s/sh/jh)a(k/ch).
Examples:
'sach - to do, make, etc. (irreg.)
archcharn'sach - to open a warpgate (<archcharn warpgate + 'sach to do)
a'shak - to speak, to say
uyrezak - to exist (irreg.)
The dictionary form is frequently used much as the infinitive, gerund, or participle forms are in English - as noun, clause, or adjectival. Little difference is seen between the three uses, and few (if any) fixed rules of grammar exist for their usage.
As nouns, they are treated as Prime R ending in -aki or -achi, although nominative singular lacks the i.
As verbs, they require a personal pronoun for the singular, but differentiate person in the plural.
I am We are
You are Y'all are
He/She/It/There is They/There are
ech uyrez'tauyrez'ka
tur uyrez'tauyre'as
xar/jhal/t'a/(none) uyrez'ta uyrel
imperative: uyrek Exist!
pl: uyrek'sa
+self: uyrek'a
I do We do
You do Y'all do
He/She/It does They do
sa'ek sa'ka
sa'ur sa'as
xar/jhal/t'a/(none) sa'ta sael
I am being done We are being done
You are being done Y'all are being done
He/She/It is being done They are being done
sa'chek sa'kja
sa'jursa'az
xar/jhal/t'a/(none) sa'tja saer
imperative: s Do!
pl: sa
+self: ch'a
I speak We speak
You speak Y'all speak
He/She/It speaks They speak
ech a's'ta a's'ka
tur a's'ta a'sa'as
xar/jhal/t'a/(none) a's'ta a'sal
I am spoken (of) We are spoken (of)
You are spoken (of) Y'all are spoken (of)
He/She/It is spoken (of)They are spoken (of)
ech a's'tja a's'kja
tur a's'tja a'sa'azh
xar/jhal/t'a/(none) a's'tjaa'sar
imperative: a's Speak!
pl: a'k'sa Speak!
+self: a'k'a Let us speak.
Negatives.
Negative prefix: kt' (nouns)
Negative suffix: 'kt (verbs, etc.)
Tense Markers.
Tense markers are words which identify the verb as being in a particular tense. They are usually only used when switching from one tense to another, or at the beginning of a passage. In Arcadian, these were full-fledged secondary or "helping" verbs, and it is not unheard of for them to be declined as such in poetic works.
Examples:
tloph - past
paw - present (opt. for first sentence)
vri - future
The copula, English "to be" or Japanese desu, is not quite a verb. It is w, and is unconjugatable. Tense markers may be added, however.
Postpositions.
Postpositions serve the same function as English prepositions, but come AFTER their object instead of before, as a preposition would. The object of a postposition is in the agentive case, although the ablative is frequently used in poetry.
Adjectives
Most adjectives do not decline, having lost that ability from Arcadian; all regularly follow their targets.
The following adjectives are also sometimes pronouns.
Uvari, this; declines with noun
Nom. uvari uvaron
Gen. uvarshe uvarw
Acc. uvarynuvarul
Abl. uvarphuvars
Agt. uvare uva'al
Ste'kari, that; declines with noun
Nom. ste'kari ste'karen
Gen. ste'karshe ste'karw
Acc. ste'karn ste'karul
Abl. ste'karphste'karas
Agt. ste'kare ste'kael
Kwturi - the other, aught else, the remaining; declines with noun
Nom. kwturi kwturon
Gen. kwturshe kwturw
Acc. kwturn kwturul
Abl. kwturphkwturas
Agt. kwtur kwtual
Kwri, who, which, that (the relative pronoun)
Nom. kwri kwren
Gen. kwrshe kwrw
Acc. kwn kwrul
Abl. kwph kwras
Agt. kwre kw'el
Case determined by use in clause; comes after its antecedent like a good adjective should.
fachikwri, everyone, everything
kylikwri, anyone, anything
alikwri, someone, something
kt'ukwri, no one, nothing
Thikai - previous word reference (anything from this/that to he/they)
Nom. thikai thikon
Gen. thikashe thikw
Acc. thikan thikul
Abl. thikaphthikas
Agt. thikae thika'al
The agentive is frequently used to show cause/effect.
ech, Kele Jhaide nei sheijhache, tloph chrul'sa'ta.
Because I live (or: lived) in Kel Jhaide, I went crazy.
Kele Jhaide, ech tloph chrul'sa'ta.
Because of Kel Jhaide, I went crazy.
Similarly, the ablative is used to denote result or purpose; this usage is frequently interchangeable with fw.
lechpaw w lech ber kwturph shyrshachph!
Today is a good day for someone else to die!
Genesis 11:1-9, King James Version
The Babel Text
1. M terath o'tlas w tloph tlunurshe sholon, m sorach'she sholon.
2. M, eri'ine'e rach etrajhael cheish, np'larn choue yk Shinar vek wt'sael vel'nash'tja (passive); m ste'karnei sheijhal.
3. M a'sal zeas ych, "Y'ph ish'ka, kt'burul myfak'a, m thikul pyrnek'a t o'tlas." M kt'burul t chakarul beshal, m beshal wik'seln t mrenarn.
4. M a'sal, "Y'ph ish'ka, dwfach'a keln m trern nael a'twr, kwrshe chaknem vri y'ph eskelur tynges'ta; m fnamathsur myfak'a, fw terathe o'tlas xak fyn'kejh'kja'kt."
5. M Jawei ues'ta fw keln m trern, kwn jw jhomyn'she dwfash'ta, vw'sh'ta.
6. M Jawei a's'ta, "Bw'e'ch'sa, pybuli w sholon, m o'tlas tlunurn sholon beshal; m uvarn 'sach chwpjhal: m paw kt'ukwri kwrn 'sach chyma'nisal thikas rach vri ret'pysha'ta.
7. "Y'ph ish'ka, ish'ka zheven, m ste'karnei tlunurn thikw chrush'ka, kt'ukwri thika'al j'chil kwturshe kylikwrshe sorach'she uecharn beshachph."
8. Dezh Jawei thikas kwturnei ste'karnei terathe o'tlas xak fyn'kejha'ta: m keln dwfashach de'kisal.
9. Chw na'eri kelshe w Babel; ste'karnei Jawei tlunurn terath'she o'tlas chrushake: m ste'karach Jawei kwturnei terathe o'tlas uch fyn'kejhake.
// Notes on the Babel Text:
//
// vel'nash'tja
// it was occurred
// -odd...-
//
// zeas ych
// themselves to
// "among themselves"
//
// vriy'ph
// (fut) (~fut)
// together, represent possibility
//
--
I think, therefore (I) am.
ech kin'sh'ta, chw uyrez'ta
-- Rene Descartes
-- Renei De'kart
--
J' is a contracted form of ji, a poetic article not in use even at the time of the Fall; J'varn, for example, would literally be the Varn (ie, the one & only). The first poet to use this was J'lir
(546 BF-500? BF).
Vocabulary
Nouns
akivs - member (of a society or community)
asteli - star
astelkoch'neri - astrology
bechuli - war
chakari - stone
chaknem - top
chou - realm
chruli - insanity
culesai (Arcadian, 2nd) - society or college (many of the latter were also the former; the word was used only in Rek'she Culesai Bechulshe [The Royal War Academy] at the time of the Genocide.)
eri'ins - east
eskeli - sky
fnamaths - name, reputation
Jawei - transliteration of Yahweh
jhomyn - mankind
jw - children
karth - snow
kel - city
kocheri - knowledge (both kinds of know)
koch'neri - science, study
kt'buri - brick
lech - day
ma - darkness; mother
maneri - evidence
mrenari - mortar
na'eri - name
nax - distance
np'lari - plain
ompari - sentience
peituli - eye (archaic)
pybuli - people, populace, protelariat (will take singular or plural)
rex - ruler
shekeli - wisdom
sorach - speech
terath - earth
tlunuri - language
trenali - forever, eternity
treri - tower
uechari - understanding, comprehension
va - father
vurak - fire
vw - eye (modern; backformation from vw'shach)
Verbs
beshach - to have
bw'esach - to behold
chrushak - to confuse
chrul'sach - to go crazy
chwpjhak - to begin
chyma'nisak - to imagine
de'kisak - to cease, stop
dwfashach- to build
etrajhak - to travel
fyn'kejhak - to scatter, disperse
geshak- to be compelled (informal) (Gotta go!)
ishak - to go
je'shak - to come (modern)
koch'nijhak - to know (intellectual, to know by virtue of learning)
myfasak - make
pelsach - to be compelled (formal) (I must go.)
pyrnejhak- to burn
ret'pyshak - to restrain, withhold (+rach)
sheijhak - to dwell
she'klishak - to know (instinctual, to know by virtue of being)
shyrshach- to die
tyngesach- to reach, attain
uesach- to come (archaic)
uecharn beshach (+gen.) - to understand
utshach - to use
vel'nashak - to occur
vw'shach - to see
wt'sach - to find <wt' ??? + 'sach to do>
Adjectives
ber - good
mai - dark
nax - far
o'tlas - all of, whole of, Latin totus (adj)
sholon - single, one, lone
Postpositions
a'twr - for, on behalf of, indicating the person for whom the act is being done
cheish - while (takes verb in agt.)
j'chil - among
nei - at
rach - from
tla - before
uch - on, upon, on top of
vek - in, in a state of, contained by
vyw - for, towards the end of
xak - covering, across, throughout
ych - to (in the direction of; also used with a'shak, etc.)
zheven - down
Conjunctions
chw - therefore
dezh - and so, accordingly
fw - in order that, so that
m - and
n - or
Tense Markers
paw - present (opt. for first sentence)
tloph - past
vri - future
y'ph - future and/or "subjunctive"
Other
kwturnei - far and wide, abroad, elsewhere
kwturtla - before all else
lechpaw - today
ste'karych - thither
ste'karnei, ste'karni - there
ste'karach - thence
t - before adj to become adv; before noun to suggest substitution, replacement, usage as, function as.
uvarnei, uvarni - here
uvarych - hither
yk - known as, called, by the name of; used as adjective with following word
zeas - subj. ref. pronoun in abl. pl.