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Darv

Page history last edited by Tim 10 years, 10 months ago

Back to Languages and Customs

 

Darv

 

A simplistic trade language spoken in Bizarkule, a city on the Westrenn Coast of The Sickle, as well as the language that peppers conversations in taverns throughout Battal.

 

References to Darv are made in the Tides of Epic Conflict Saga where Percy Mulligan who grew up on the streets of Bizarkule needs to negotiate the purchase of 27 Guybarkleys of Potatoes to provision The Kapiten's regimental guard for the encroaching winter.

 

In learning Darv it is interesting to note the three available future tenses. The zok tense is used to refer to things in the immediate future. The fot tense is used to refer to things in the slightly longer term future, and the pik tense is used to refer to things either in the distant future, or in the indeterminate future with no deadline attached. The fot tense is the default tense and almost the only tense used by children. Parents who are constantly are trying to urge their children to better grammar use the phrase, "Zik zok oif Zik pik?" with a fair amount of regularity. It is obnoxious to them just like the phrase, "Can you, or may you?" is to English speaking children.

 

"Druk Nak Nik Doka Shunak Qua." (I don't want to do this.) -- Percy Mulligan

 

Darv the the Dwarves

For a brief period, there was a movement to make Darv the official Dwarven Language. The language is particularly suited to both drinking and commerce, as are dwarves. The effort was spearheaded by Nikstoovkidol, Forge-King of the dwarves, and is described in the ElemenstorLance novel, The Perils of Shezdor. Nikstoovkidol, who himself had a darvish name (kind of the dwarf equivalent of having a hippie-name like "moonbeam"), was unsuccessful in convincing the majority of Dwarves and the effort died, quite spectacularly, with the Forge-King himself.

 

The Darv Language: A Primer

Darv Translation Darv Translation
ab to rise up, float to top, ascend abrae day
ahned formal hello annushka water
apnar book aynik nothing, none
ayta are ba set, lower, sink
bay very, extremely, large (can be a prefix adjective) baykile love (verb)
baykydole forest baynik alone
baytug No (very much so) banushka ocean, sea
beam effluvium beamer excrement -- also translated to offal
beaner tinkle begol drunk
bix with boink redundant, we already have that
bongor apple bor leave (as a prefix: go to)
bottad toggle brit and
bru to make or cause brubber silly, strange, unusual
brunt yes chugga please
dar ok, anyway (acceptance, then subject change) darv word, say, this language, speak
daum building, structure diggra twitch, jiggle, shake, vibrate
doka want, need doohg good
dookale man doonka moon
dooslee person druk me, I
droo my duk maybe
dum home, homeland eebo coin
ayneebo money engat I forbid, I forbid you to...
et lose fot will; in not too long
ga small, few, some gakydole toothpick
gish fire glark thank you
gollum head, face goma scared, fear
gop look groo

sun
grooba sunset guah liquid
guzag babe hak can, may
iarba night inta play, jest, kid
choyake plate kah a, single, one
kaff tree kale woman
ken why kernip read
kile like klodah door, gate, portal
koree buddy klodah pal, friend
kota restroom kydole wood
laheeb sleep lopok many individual items
loo near mada i am expressing myself
mahtoo sorry mahtooba i am getting better; i feel better
may for mitols own, have, hold
mool you're welcome motos city, town, village
mox think, compute, calculate muze love (noun)
nahnt wind, air, dance nak do
ned hello, goodbye, yo nee water
nehmok magic nehmokydole Elemenstave, also used to refer to Elemenstors
nehslee shadow ni plate, dish
nient container (carafe), cup nientake bowl
nik not nikbix without
nikstoovekydole tree nog similar to, like
nok mouth    
nook-nook (f) shrew (m) derogatory generic nushka drinking water
nutna furniture nyagy eat, drink, consume
malvoy road, street oif or
peeta was pik will; distant future
plahk mist, fog qua this, it
kuarum orange quatro what, how, question
kuo that quatroab what's up
kuatroba what's going down rae sun (this may also refer to an invisible star)
ranog hidden roo of
rooslee his, her roozik your
rozz recently, did ru close, near the body
ruteef here ryson how much? how many?
shnaken coffee simp pig-darv
slee other person outside of conversation, him, her soth we, us
steeb mitten, glove stoove dead, die, pass
stuz true stuzzen false
ta is, am tatluk music
tee

land

 thrax earth, dirt
trug definately not tsuka a rude or insulting action
tug no unta choose
vit in vot on
wataina tool wikka wikka procreate
wugga pass, give, pass, bring (to me) xyll see, look, (I am showing you, I am pointing to...)
zadden again zekkot alcohol
zik you zima a unique alcohol beverage
zok will; immediately, now zule long ago, did
prefix ay plural (aybongor = apples) prefix du possesive (dubongor = my apple)
prefix shu infinitive (to) ex. shunak (to do) prefix mo

like english suffix -y (mobongor = appley)

 

Practice Quiz!

Match the following common darv phrases with their English translations.

1. aybongor ab vit annushka a. Don't go to sleep!
2. aynik ayta ruteef b. I am a book.
3. druk baykile slee c. Look! Good sunset.
4. druk fot bordum d. I am drunk.
5. druk fot bor e. I'm lovin' it.
6. druk mitols aynik ayneebo f. Nothing is here.
7. druk ta begol g. It's a good day.
8. druk ta kah apnar h. Look! Good sunrise.
9. engat laheeb i. Jack is not big.
10. Jack ta nik bay j. Apples float in water.
11. kydole nik ba vit annushka k. I will go home.
12. annushka ta vit kah banushka l. I have no money.
13. qua abrae ta doohg m. There is water in the ocean.
14. xyll, doohg groo ab. n. I will leave.
15. xyll, doohg groo ba. o. Wood does not sink in water.

 

(Answers: 1. j, 2. f, 3. e, 4. k, 5. n, 6. l, 7. d, 8. b, 9. a, 10. i, 11. o, 12. m, 13. g, 14. h, 15. c)

 

Try saying these sentences out loud, Darv is fun to speak!

 

A Typical Tavern Sign

(Nikbix Nushka: Without Water)

 

(The notable absence of the dib makes this sign harder to read, even if you are versed in the Battal phonetic alphabet.)

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