Nirdaen is one of the
constructed languages that I have been developing for fictional
purposes since 1997, inspired by the discussions on the ConLang
and TolkLang email lists and by the works of the late Professor
J.R.R. Tolkien.
I must apologize for the incompleteness of
this material. I am devoting as much time as I can (not much,
actually) to transcribing and editing it, but my notes are not
organized as I would like.
Please note that like all conlangs, this is
a work in progress and is subject to revisions.
If you want to discuss about constructed languages, you
can reach me at conlang@ucsd.com.
Any comments or feedback are welcome.
Note to spammers:
usage of any email address on
this web page for unsolicited commercial email, mailing lists
and/or any other form of advertisement shall be prosecuted.
2. Samples
The following is a text of
medium grammatical complexity that I wrote as a sample to be
translated in Nirdaen. Both the transliterated
and script versions are presented.
When Knaar fell in 441, the land of Vaenthyr barely survived
the destruction
by the northern kingdom of Dhamog.
An army of 50,000 horsemen held the once-majestic stronghold
of Irhang
against a 27 days-long siege and entered the country.
The people were brought unto bondage, and all of the near
villages were
captured or razed.
Over the next two years, Dhamog quickly grew in strength and
power.
Having studied the writings found in the ruins of Knaar, they
restored
ancient customs and arts.
Suddenly and mysteriously Dhamog became a grand and glorious
empire
like Knaar before them.
Soon, Dhamog demanded total enslavement of the entire land
of Vaenthyr.
Every kingdom that was not rich enough to make a covenant
with them, fell
to their rule and was razed or enslaved. Whole villages were
destroyed
overnight, and no trace of the invaders could be found.
In 491, the glorious empire of Dhamog abruptly vanished.
Like Knaar before it, Dhamog disappeared as mysteriously as
it had risen.
This is the translation of
the above text in Nirdaen:
Shenid lort iadhro Knaar em teur-nas ar, loetras nari Vaenthyr
noeg
lac innecorat saer lac imegen Dhamog raun.
Arin i vaenig am ustriel raeyn obennac iorhan am Irhang nim'igrel
baes ast miarth naroch.
Maug edhras, ast iverion an imaen rissaenym iend.
Em endar mig leem, orn thaeln Dhamog em ithien ast verat.
Ylie'ri connach ithrad em Knaar resiel, miger nar udiad maelcor
ast ledar.
Sernad ast magen na Dhamog i naert ast nareith raun il
Knaar elam nar.
Orn edhriat Dhamog noriad lac taeron am lac Vaenthyr noeg.
Na tarnach ast imaen aar taeron, r'yn mai raun egrimor laoth
nim
iridhas et nar.
Eom na innecorat blith rissaen, ast r'ylem na ithrad elnar
am sindael.
Em teur sil ar, mitien inram lac nareith raun.
Niun Knaar elam nac, iryan Dhamog magennoras ylie midren nac.
This is the Nirdaen script
version:
3. Phonetics
Nirdaen has six vowels (y, i, e, a, o, u)
and twelve consonants (b, c, d, g, h, l, m, n, r, s, t, v).
Diphtongs always begin with the semivowel "y". All
other vowel pairs are never bent.
a - open central not rounded b - voiced bilabial plosive c - voiceless dorso-velar d - alveolar plosive e - open-mid front not rounded g - voiced velar plosive h - voiceless glottal fricative i - high-mid front not rounded l - apico-dental lateral resonant m - voiced bilabial nasal n - apico-alveolar nasal o - high-mid back rounded r - voiced uvular s - voiceless alveolar fricative t - voiceless dental u - high back rounded v - voiced labio-dental fricative y - semi-vowel and glide ch - voiceless velar fricative (sometimes represented
by "k") rh - retroflex approximant "r" dh - voiced "th" (like English "then") sh - voiceless apico-alveolar fricative th - voiceless dental double "t" (like Italian
"tt" in "gatto")
