Valada—a wise woman
Vitmaers—Thrithings word for witnesses to a declaration
War of Return—Hikeda’ya name for the Storm King’s War
Westerling—language originating from Waristen Island; now the common tongue of Osten Ard
White Hand—a mark left on dead Hikeda’ya
Witchwood—rare wood from trees brought from the Garden; as hard as metal
Witchwood Crown—Sithi: “kei-jáyha”; a circlet for heroes; a group of witchwood trees; a move in Shaynat/Shent
Witness—a Sithi device to talk over long distances and enter the Road of Dreams, often times a mirror.
Wormglass—Hernystiri name for certain old mirrors
Yedade’s Box—a Hikeda’ya device for testing children
Yew Tree—Aengas’ ship
Yerut—fermented mare’s milk that the Thrithings-folk have drunk since time before time
STAR CONSTELLATIONS
Gate—Hikeda’ya
Hare—Erkynlandish
Kingfisher—Nabbanai
Lantern—Hikeda’ya
Lobster—Nabbanai
Mantis—Hikeda’ya
Mixis the Wolf—Nabbanai
Owl—Hikeda’ya
Serpent—Nabbanai as well as Norn
Spinning Wheel—Erkynlandish
Storm’s Eye—Hikeda’ya
Winged Beetle—Nabbanai
Yuvenis’ Throne—Nabbanai
KNUCKLEBONES
Qanuc auguring tools
Patterns include:
Wingless Bird
Fish-Spear
The Shadowed Path
Torch at the Cave-Mouth
Balking Ram
Clouds in the Pass
The Black Crevice
Unwrapped Dart
Circle of Stones
Mountain Dancing
Masterless Ram
Slippery Snow
Unexpected Visitor
Unnatural Birth
No Shadow
NORN ORDERS:
Order, Ordination, Ordinal
Order House—actual location of Order’s school, offices
Orders mentioned: Sacrifices; Whisperers; Echoes; Singers; Builders; Celebrants; Harvesters
THRITHINGS CLANS (AND THEIR THRITHING):
Adder—Lake
Antelope—Meadow
Crane, aka “Kragni”—Lake
Dragonfly—Lake
Fitch—Lake
Kestrel—Lake
Lynx—Lake
Stallion, aka “Mehrdon”—High
White Spot Deer—Lake
HOLIDAYS
Feyever 2—Candlemansa
Marris 25—Elysiamansa
Marris 31—Fool’s Night
Avrel 1—All Fool’s Day
Avrel 3—St. Vultinia’s Day
Avrel 24—St. Dinan’s Day
Avrel 30—Stoning Night
Maia 1—Belthainn Day
Yuven 23—Midsummer’s Eve
Tiyagar 15—Saint Sutrin’s Day
Anitul 1—Halfmansa
Septander 29—Saint Granis’ Day
Octander 30—Harrows Eve
Novander 1—Soul’s Day
Decander 21—Saint Tunath’s Day
Decander 24—Aedonmansa
Days of the Week
Sunday, Moonday, Tiasday, Udunsday, Drorsday, Frayday, Satrinsday
Months of the Year
Jonever, Feyever, Marris, Avrel, Maia, Yuven, Tiyagar, Anitul, Septander, Octander, Novander, Decander
WORDS AND PHRASES
QANUC
Amaq and kukaq—“urine” and “feces”
Falku—“Tasty white fat”; Snenneq’s ram
Henimaa!—“Don’t talk!” / “Shut up!”
Nihut—“Attack”
Ninit-e, Afa!—“Come on, Father!”
Nukapik—“Betrothed”
Qallipuk—“River Man”
Shummuk—“Wait”
So-hiq nammu ya—“The night of thin ice”
Ummu Bok!—“Well done!” (roughly)
SITHI (KEIDA’YASAO)
Chiru—“Pregnant”
Hikeda’ya—“Cloud Children”; Norns
Hikka Staja—“Arrow-Bearer”
S’hue—“Lord”
Sojeno nigago-zhe—“Little Gardens of Memory”
Staja-hikkada’ya—“Descendant of the arrow-bearer”
Sudhoda’ya—“Sunset Children”: mortals
Tinukeda’ya—“Ocean Children”: Niskies and Dwarrows
Tsa—equivalent of a human cluck noise or “tsk”
Venyha s’ahn!—“By the Garden!”
Zida’ya—“Dawn Children”: Sithi
NORN (HIKEDA’YASAO)
Do’Nakkiga—the mountain where the Hikeda’ya live
Do’sae né-Sogeyu—“The Shadow Garden”; aka Osten Ard
Furi’a—“Diggers”
Hikeda’yasao—the language of Nakkiga
Kei-in—“the holy witchwood seed”
Keta-Yi’indra—a deep, decades-long sleep
K’rei!—“Hail!”
Ra’haishu—“Tunnel meeting”; signifies a mistake that could lead to sudden death
Rayu ata na’ara—“I hear the Queen in your voice”
San’nakuno—“Sad Little Dog”; nickname given to Jarnulf
Shu’do-tkzayha—Hikeda’ya name for mortals: “Sunset Children”
Srinyedu—Hikeda’ya name for weaving art
Z’hue—term of respect for an elder
NABBANAI
Agarine—of St. Agar
Caimentos—quicklime cement
Exsequis—a prayer
Mansa sea Cuelossan—a funeral ceremony prayer
Orxis—a giant
Podos orbiem, quil meminit—“He who remembers can make the world anew”
Secundis primis edis—“Second will be first”
HERNYSTIRI
Eolair Tarna—“Lord Eolair”
Mu’ harcha!—“My love!”
Och, cawer lim!—“Help me!”
RIMMERSPAKK
Jarl—“Earl”
Refarslod—“The Fox’s Road”
Valada—“Wise woman”
OTHER
Cockindrill—northern word for “crocodile”
Higdaja—giants’ name for Norns
Hojun—giants’ name for themselves
Samuli—“Delicate flowers”; Wranna word for female genitalia
Njar-hunë—“Corpse giant”
A GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION
ERKYNLANDISH
Erkynlandish names are divided into two types, Old Erkynlandish (O.E.) and Warinstenner. Those names which are based on types from Prester John’s native island of Warinsten (mostly the names of castle servants or John’s immediate family) have been represented as variants on Biblical names (Elias—Elijah, Ebekah—Rebecca, etc.) Old Erkynlandish names should be pronounced like modern English, except as follows:
a—always ah, as in “father”
ae—ay of “say”
c—k as in “keen”
e—ai as in “air,” except at the end of names, when it is also sounded, but with an eh or uh sound, i.e., Hruse—“Rooz-uh”
ea—sounds as a in “mark,” except at beginning of word or name, where it has the same value as ae
g—always hard g, as in “glad”
h—hard h of “help”
i—short i of “in”
j—hard j of “jaw”
o—long but soft o, as in “orb”
u—oo sound of “wood,” never yo
o as in “music”
HERNYSTIRI
The Hernystiri names and words can be pronounced in largely the same way as the O.E., with a few exceptions:
th—always the th in “other,” never as in “thing”
ch—a guttural, as in Scottish “loch”
y—pronounce yr like “beer,” ye like “spy”
h—unvoiced except at beginning of word or after t or c
e—ay as in “ray”
ll—same as single l: Lluth—Luth
RIMMERSPAKK
Names and words in Rimmerspakk differ from O.E. pronunciation in the following:
j—pronounced y: Jarnauga—Yarnauga; Hjeldin—Hyeldin (H nearly silent here)
ei—long i as in “crime”
e—ee, as in “sweet”
ö—oo, as in “coop”
au—ow, as in “cow”
NABBANAI
The Nabbanai language holds basically to the rules of a romance language, i.e., the vowels are pronounced “ah-eh-ih-oh-ooh,” the consonants are all sounded, etc. There are some exceptions.
i—most names take emphasis on second to last syllable: Ben-i-GAR-is. When this syllable has an i, it is sounded long (Ardrivis: Ar-DRY-vis) unless it comes before a double consonant (Antippa: An-TIHP-pa)
es—at end of name, es is sounded long: Gelles—Gel-leez
y—is pronounced as a long i, as in “mild”
QANUC
Troll-language is considerably different than the other human languages. There are three hard “k” sounds, signified by: c, q, and k. The only difference intelligible to most non-Qanuc is a slight clucking sound on the q, but it is not to be encouraged in beginners. For our purposes, all three will sound with the k of “keep.” Also, the Qanuc u is pronounced uh, as in “bug.” Other interpretations are up to the reader, but he or she will not go far wrong pronouncing phonetically.
SITHI
Even more than the language of Yiqanuc, the language of the Zida’ya is virtually unpronounceable by untrained tongues, and so is easiest rendered phonetically, since the chance of any of us being judged by experts is slight (but not nonexistent, as Binabik learned). These rules may be applied, however.
i—when the first vowel, pronounced ih, as in “clip.” When later in word, especially at end, pronounced ee, as in “fleet”: Jiriki—Jih-REE-kee
ai—pronounced like long i, as in “time”
’ (apostrophe)—represents a clicking sound, and should not be voiced by mortal readers.
EXCEPTIONAL NAMES
Geloë—He origins are unknown, and so is the source of her name. It is pronounced “Juh-LO-ee” or “Juh-LOY.” Both are correct.
Ingen Jegger—He is a Black Rimmersman, and the “J” in Jegger is sounded, just as in “jump.”
Miriamele—Although born in the Erkynlandish court, hers is a Nabbanai name that developed a strange pronunciation—perhaps due to some family influence or confusion of her dual heritage—and sounds as “Mih-ree-uh-MEL.”
Vorzheva—A Thrithings-woman, her name is pronounced “Vor-SHAY-va,” with the zh sounding harshly, like the Hungarian zs.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
* * *
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.
Tad Williams, The Witchwood Crown
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends