Diaboli Language
Writing
There has never been any writing to render the Ignf. Indeed, Diaboli's homeland was so hard a place to survive, that these people couldn't spare time to think about writing system, whether alphabetical or runic. For the same reason, Ignf is quite thrifty a language - as one could see later. Only few runes have been forged long ago, in so distant a past that the only thing remembered about them is that these runes symbolize gods, or concepts affiliated with them.
It is only when Diaboli arrived in Yliakum that they discovered writing. Nonetheless, they use it rarely, being suspicious about it. They prefer speech and oral transmission of knowledge. That is why there are only few texts in Ignf available in the world; these are in fact transcriptions of Diaboli knowledge and traditions made by non-Diaboli scholars.
Language elements
Vocalization
Ignf is the short word for Ignfarling. This word is one of the longest words in this language, having three syllables. Given the climate of Diaboli's homeland, it was difficult to breathe and so, to utter long sentences. So, Ignf is a language with a majority of bisyllabic and monosyllabic words. The vocalization is helped by semi-consonants, inappropiately called "vowels". These semi-consonants are rendered in Common Language by the vowels a, i and u. Generally, words contain one of these semi-consonants per syllable, rarely two. When a word does not contain such a semi-consonant, it is used to vocalize it with the help of an i. Where this i is to be used, however, only experience may tell.
Nouns, pronouns and adjectives
Nouns, gender and number
Nouns are generally the raw form (scholars in linguistics would say the infinitive form) of a verb. One must know that, though Diaboli can be either male or female, there is in Ignf only one gender, and two numbers: singular and plural. Plural is indicated by a t suffix.
Pronouns
There are only three personnal pronouns, related to the three singular persons - plural here does not matter, only context helps to determinate if it is employed as singular or as plural. These pronouns are:
- ub
- um
- un
These pronouns are also used as possessive pronouns. There is only one demonstrative pronoun: ic. All these pronouns have a t suffix, when plural.
Adjectives
Adjectives follow the noun/pronoun which they are related to. In fact, it means either singular or plural.
Adverbs
Adverbs can help to nuance the meaning of a verb: throw > over-throw, for example. The adverb always follow the verb which it is related to, but it is never prefixed nor suffixed to it.
| Ignf | Common |
|---|---|
| zpar | above, on, over, up |
| nfar | down, under |
| prar | near, beside |
| ntar | before, in front of |
| psar | after, behind |
| qan | with |
Verbs
Conjugation / Inflexion
Quite simple, indeed. Three tenses (past, present, future), two forms (singular and plural) for each tense. Two modes (indicative and subjonctive) and two voices (active and passive). So, each verb can have twenty-four forms. There is no irregular verb; all are being built upon a root. Marks of conjugation are added as prefixes or suffixes on this root.
- The plural form is obtained by adding a t as suffix.
- The past tense is obtained by adding a z as prefix; the future tense is obtained by adding a z as suffix.
- The subjonctive mode is obtained by adding an u as prefix.
- The passive voice is obtained by adding an i as suffix.
The order of this additions is as follows: root-plural-tense-mode-voice.
Vocabulary
One does not know much about Ignf language, and so only few words have passed. Some words directly come from Common Speech, reduced and "devowelized", in a typical Diaboli fashion.
More to come (list)