capi3101
Admiral
Howdy, y'all. Long post ahead.
Back in 2009, forum member WCX began a discussion with the purpose of breaking down the meaning behind the fragments of the Kilrathi language that have appeared in various sources of WC canon (including the games and novels). That particular discussion, entitled "Dissecting the Kilrathi Language" ran from December 2009 through April 2010 (a little over a year before I started frequenting the CIC forums regularly; about the time StarflightRPG was going to print in my personal life). For the past several weeks as part of my work on the WCRPG Elegy campaign (which has the ultimate goal of having a main story set from a Kilrathi perspective), I've found myself increasingly in need of words from the Kilrathi language in an effort to improve the campaign's "flavor" and as a way of hoping to improve the level of immersion going on. When I could not find the word for "school" in Kilrathi, I ran a search of the forums to see if I could come up with any translations, and came across the original thread during the process. As my need for Kilrathi words has increased, I began an effort to continue the translation work. This has been going on for a few weeks now, and at this point I've completed about as much of the translation work as I can from my own perspective. I'd like to continue the discussion with y'all, let y'all know what I've come up with, get your opinions and see if there's anything I haven't thought of (and should've). To that end, I've started this thread rather than commit some rather heinous thread necromancy.
Alright. So. A caveat - language is not my strong suit. It's been a very long time since I've actively studied linguistics and IIRC I didn't do so well back then, so please feel free to contradict me on anything. I want opinions (though I do ask that those who contribute to this discussion to please explain their logic). Also, I don't give a flying rat's fart about a Kilrathi syllabry or glyphs or any of that nonsense - I want to talk about the language itself. Sources for Kilrathi words and phrases include CIC itself, WCPedia and a legacy Aces Club page (this has largely the same list as the CIC page, but the translations are different in spots; I've simply been taking those as another interpretation of the phrases.
I've mainly been continuing to use the concept of metathesis that WCX was using in the original thread - i.e. the notion that a slight change in a word would result in a different word that has a similar concept. I have a prime example of what I'm talking about which I'll discuss first. For right now, though, let's go over what WCX had translated in the original thread:
===========
LEXICON:
n’ikh = I / me / my
Nik’hra = my people
Ek'rah = Us / we people
-'hra / -'ra = persons / people (suffix referring to an unknown number of people)
ki'ha = Are / being
Ha = must
H'as = Will/shall
Ra = of/for (possession indicator partial)
Ras = of / for
Ta = for
Huma = this
Humas = that
Gar = They / These
Garga = Them / Those
-ga = emphatic /augmentative suffix
Duka = on /at / toward (action or destination indicator)
Erg = to / in / at / by (indirect object or direction marker)
Maks = and (some kind of linking word or connector)
Va = Not / no (a negative adverb or adjective)
-av = suffix to make a noun or a verb the negative form.
K’- = prefix denoting the absence or lack of something
-i = genitive case marker (?)
–s = final suffix acting as some kind of accusative / intensifier (?)
rakra = Attacked by / Engaged in combat with
tr'- = battle / struggle
kn' = Dark / nothing/ void
Thrak = Great / ultimate / noble / final / top.
Kal = lord / senior
-ar / -ahr = leader / active
Shint = ship
Khant = fleet
Kalral = sector
trathkh = tongues
hyilgh = assistant (?)
takh = equal (?)
Kil = person
Lerk = Drug / Chemical
Kalk = Torture
Rath = interrogation / question/ dominance
rakh = honor / honorable
K’rakh = dishonorable
Naru = spill / spilt
'nigath = a gift or present, presented from one to another.
Ka' = blood / (Spirit )
Tagu = “Suicide attack” / kamikaze (noun or adjective)
Rag'nith = Empire / Emperor
Agon = Glory / praise / honor.
Uncertain translation:
aiy'hra = enemies (?)
tugaga = launch / engage in
haganaska = assault
Krah- = very (?)
Nakh = doom / demise (?)
Ghayeer = unseen / sudden (?)
rash’ = wish/desire (?)
Ja’lra = An interrogative of some kind (“why”) (?)
“Dak” and “hath”
One means “Death/Killing” and the other “Stroke/Blow”.
“kir’kha” and “k’har”
One means “swear/vow” and the other “reclaim/avenge”.
Other translations:
drak = guard / guardian
Dork = Transport
Kam = Corvettes / Blockade Runners
Ral = Destroyer
Fral = Crusier
-ek / ekh = speed
-rani = cannon / weapon / firepower (?)
-ari = escort/auxiliary/support
“-arrad” = scout / light / small /agile / nimble (?)
“-axath” = Heavy / big (?)
NAME _ FAMILY dai EXTENDED FAMILY lak BLOODLINE nar CLAN
nar = of the clan
dai = of the hrai
lak = extended family/bloodline
jaq = lesser variant of dai
laq = non-noble toponym
ko = locative
lan = a form of mastery
===========
Alright. I have some issues with a few of these translations; we'll get into them as the discussion continues.
Back in 2009, forum member WCX began a discussion with the purpose of breaking down the meaning behind the fragments of the Kilrathi language that have appeared in various sources of WC canon (including the games and novels). That particular discussion, entitled "Dissecting the Kilrathi Language" ran from December 2009 through April 2010 (a little over a year before I started frequenting the CIC forums regularly; about the time StarflightRPG was going to print in my personal life). For the past several weeks as part of my work on the WCRPG Elegy campaign (which has the ultimate goal of having a main story set from a Kilrathi perspective), I've found myself increasingly in need of words from the Kilrathi language in an effort to improve the campaign's "flavor" and as a way of hoping to improve the level of immersion going on. When I could not find the word for "school" in Kilrathi, I ran a search of the forums to see if I could come up with any translations, and came across the original thread during the process. As my need for Kilrathi words has increased, I began an effort to continue the translation work. This has been going on for a few weeks now, and at this point I've completed about as much of the translation work as I can from my own perspective. I'd like to continue the discussion with y'all, let y'all know what I've come up with, get your opinions and see if there's anything I haven't thought of (and should've). To that end, I've started this thread rather than commit some rather heinous thread necromancy.
Alright. So. A caveat - language is not my strong suit. It's been a very long time since I've actively studied linguistics and IIRC I didn't do so well back then, so please feel free to contradict me on anything. I want opinions (though I do ask that those who contribute to this discussion to please explain their logic). Also, I don't give a flying rat's fart about a Kilrathi syllabry or glyphs or any of that nonsense - I want to talk about the language itself. Sources for Kilrathi words and phrases include CIC itself, WCPedia and a legacy Aces Club page (this has largely the same list as the CIC page, but the translations are different in spots; I've simply been taking those as another interpretation of the phrases.
I've mainly been continuing to use the concept of metathesis that WCX was using in the original thread - i.e. the notion that a slight change in a word would result in a different word that has a similar concept. I have a prime example of what I'm talking about which I'll discuss first. For right now, though, let's go over what WCX had translated in the original thread:
===========
LEXICON:
n’ikh = I / me / my
Nik’hra = my people
Ek'rah = Us / we people
-'hra / -'ra = persons / people (suffix referring to an unknown number of people)
ki'ha = Are / being
Ha = must
H'as = Will/shall
Ra = of/for (possession indicator partial)
Ras = of / for
Ta = for
Huma = this
Humas = that
Gar = They / These
Garga = Them / Those
-ga = emphatic /augmentative suffix
Duka = on /at / toward (action or destination indicator)
Erg = to / in / at / by (indirect object or direction marker)
Maks = and (some kind of linking word or connector)
Va = Not / no (a negative adverb or adjective)
-av = suffix to make a noun or a verb the negative form.
K’- = prefix denoting the absence or lack of something
-i = genitive case marker (?)
–s = final suffix acting as some kind of accusative / intensifier (?)
rakra = Attacked by / Engaged in combat with
tr'- = battle / struggle
kn' = Dark / nothing/ void
Thrak = Great / ultimate / noble / final / top.
Kal = lord / senior
-ar / -ahr = leader / active
Shint = ship
Khant = fleet
Kalral = sector
trathkh = tongues
hyilgh = assistant (?)
takh = equal (?)
Kil = person
Lerk = Drug / Chemical
Kalk = Torture
Rath = interrogation / question/ dominance
rakh = honor / honorable
K’rakh = dishonorable
Naru = spill / spilt
'nigath = a gift or present, presented from one to another.
Ka' = blood / (Spirit )
Tagu = “Suicide attack” / kamikaze (noun or adjective)
Rag'nith = Empire / Emperor
Agon = Glory / praise / honor.
Uncertain translation:
aiy'hra = enemies (?)
tugaga = launch / engage in
haganaska = assault
Krah- = very (?)
Nakh = doom / demise (?)
Ghayeer = unseen / sudden (?)
rash’ = wish/desire (?)
Ja’lra = An interrogative of some kind (“why”) (?)
“Dak” and “hath”
One means “Death/Killing” and the other “Stroke/Blow”.
“kir’kha” and “k’har”
One means “swear/vow” and the other “reclaim/avenge”.
Other translations:
drak = guard / guardian
Dork = Transport
Kam = Corvettes / Blockade Runners
Ral = Destroyer
Fral = Crusier
-ek / ekh = speed
-rani = cannon / weapon / firepower (?)
-ari = escort/auxiliary/support
“-arrad” = scout / light / small /agile / nimble (?)
“-axath” = Heavy / big (?)
NAME _ FAMILY dai EXTENDED FAMILY lak BLOODLINE nar CLAN
nar = of the clan
dai = of the hrai
lak = extended family/bloodline
jaq = lesser variant of dai
laq = non-noble toponym
ko = locative
lan = a form of mastery
===========
Alright. I have some issues with a few of these translations; we'll get into them as the discussion continues.
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