QANUC
Henimaatuq! Ea kup!—“Beloved friend! You’re here!”
Inij koku na siqqasa min taq—“When we meet again, that will be a good day.”
Iq ta randayhet suk biqahuc—“Winter is not being the time for naked swimming.”
Mindunob inik yat—“My home will be your tomb.”
Nenit, henimaatuya—“Come on, friends.”
Nihut—“Attack”
Shummuk—“Wait”
Ummu Bok—“Well done!” (roughly)
SITHI
A y’ei g’eisu! Yas’a pripurna jo-shoi!—“You cowardly ones! The waves would not carry you!”
A-Genay’asu—“Houses of Traveling Beyond”
Hikeda’ya—“Cloud Children”: Norns
Hikka Staja—“Arrow Bearer”
Hikka Ti-tuno—“Bearer of Ti-tuno”
M’yon rashí—(Sithi) “Breakers of Things”
Sinya’a du-n’sha é-d’treyesa inro—“May you find the light that shines above the bow”
Sudhoda’ya—“Sunset Children”: Mortals
Sumy’asu—“Fifth House”
Tinukeda’ya—“Ocean Children”: Niskies and dwarrows
Venyha s’ahn!—“By the Garden!”
Zida’ya—“Dawn Children”: Sithi
NABBANAI
á prenteiz—“Take him!” or “At him!”
Duos preterate!—“God preserve”
Duos Simpetis—“Merciful God”
Em Wulstes Duos—“By God’s will”
Matra sá Duos—“Mother of God”
Otillenaes—“Tools”
Soria—“Sister”
Ulimor Camaris? Veveis?—“Lord Camaris? You live?”
HERNYSTIRI
Goirach cilagh!—“Foolish (or mad) girl!”
Moiheneg—“between” or “empty place” (a neutral ground)
Smearech fleann—“dangerous book”
RIMMERSPAKK
Vad es … Uf nammen Hott, vad es …?—“What? In the name of God, what?”
OTHER
Azha she’she t’chakó, urun she’she bhabekró … Mudhul samat’ai. Jabbak s’era memekeza sanayha-z’á … Ninyek she’she, hamut tke agrazh’a s’era yé …”—(Norn song) means Something Very Unpleasant
Shu’do-tkzayha!—(Norn) “mortals” (var. of Sithi “Sudhoda’ya”)
S’h’rosa—(Dwarrow) Vein of stone
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 yoo 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”
Il—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”
ë—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 be not voiced by mortal readers.
EXCEPTIONAL NAMES
Geloë—Her 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 Rimrnersman, 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.
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Tad Williams, To Green Angel Tower
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