Editing Goblin Language

The unnamed [[Goblins|Goblin]] language is one of the few languages in [[Innworld]].

== Overview ==

{| class="article-table sortable"
!Goblin Phrases
!Confirmed Translation
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Kru o naefoma?”<ref name="10.06">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/03/06/10-06/ 10.06]</ref>
|___ you help?
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Seh! Fraershi an. To Ihumina an.”<ref name="10.06"/>
|___! Of Fraerlings. And of Humans.
|-
|[[Cotm]]: “Van he elame zelmalaile Velan an.”<ref name="10.06"/>
|We are friends of Velan’s tribe.
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Velan Fasna he arek!”<ref name="10.06"/>
|Velan the Kind is ___!
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Ahoro he pach! S’ho va tizan viti Mirak-Elame na. Masku tok is naefoma?”<ref name="10.06"/>
|___ is ___! ___ I ___ Goblinfriend. ___ ___ she help?
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Pexa! Is he elame Mirake an! Uro faira o tizan elame Gredathe Pasai, Kanadith Pasai?”<ref name="10.06"/>
|___! She is a friend of Goblins! Do you not want to ___ a friend of Lord Greydath, Lord Kanadith?
|-
|[[Kanadith]]: “Uro is Elame-Mirak. Stan is zan aimaste.”<ref name="10.06"/>
|She is not the Goblinfriend. ___ she ___ ___.
|-
|unnamed Goblin: “Sku o he elame, Mirak-Elame kufa, te mota. Sku o he kiskai, tere tarek o zifu. Aho razivin Naga an si—”<ref name="10.06"/>
|___ you are a friend, ___ Goblinfriend, ___ ___. ___ you are ____, ___ ___ you ___. ___ ___ Naga ___—
|-
|[[Niers]]: “O he Elame-Mirake. Uro Kinita-shónu. Funu Erin Solstice! Va he Tilhatan. Kótómehie va o…faira o kava?”<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/03/20/10-08-pt-2/ 10.08 (Pt. 2)]</ref>
|You are the Goblinfriend. You are not an ‘Earth-girl’. You are only Erin Solstice. I am Titan. I appreciate you…do you want to speak?
|-
|[[Naumel]]: “Wivernan kumis. He pan smak. To óvan o selan-mil! [Mage] to Ulmanal. Menti uro zech o va tilin?”<ref name="Goblin Days 1">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/07/28/goblin-days-pt-1-the-wedding/ Goblin Days (Pt.1) — The Wedding]</ref>
|Cold Wyverns. Is very nice. And you do magic! [Mage] and Chieftain. Why you not blast me first?
|}

==Lexicon==
''(Conjecture is marked with *)''

{| class="article-table sortable"
!Word
!Translation
!Annotation
!Instances
|- 
|aho 
|
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|ahoro
|
|plural of aho? Both are found in initial position; *this/that?
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|aimaste
|*imposter
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|an
|(''possessive determiner'')
|always following a group (Fraershi an, Ihumina an, Mirake an, zelmalaile Velan an, Naga an), so it might just be denoting a collective instead
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|arek
|*dead
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|aspat
|*(''expletive'')
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.18 E">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/06/16/10-18-e/ 10.18 E]</ref><ref name="Goblin Days 3">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/07/30/goblin-days-pt-3-vengeance-and-talking/ Goblin Days (Pt. 3) – Vengeance and Talking]</ref><ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/08/01/goblin-days-pt-5-redblade-and-lilbrasi/ Goblin Days (Pt. 5) – Redblade and Lilbrasi]</ref>
|-
|cha
|
|found in final position; possibly adverb or pronoun
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|elame
|friend
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|elame Mirake an 
|friend of Goblins
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Elame-Mirak 
|Goblinfriend
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Elame-Mirake
|Goblinfriend
|only Niers uses this version, so maybe he got it slightly wrong, but there are apparently many ways to say this
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|faira
|want
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|fasna
|kind (adj.)
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Fraershi
|Fraerling / Fraerlings
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|funu
|only
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Gredathe 
|Greydath
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|hairó
|river
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/04/06/10-10-e-pt-1/ 10.10 E (Pt. 1)]</ref>
|-
|he
|(''copula'')
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|Ihumina
|Human / Humans
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|is
|she
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Kanadith 
|(name)
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|kava
|speak
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Kinita
|Earth
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Kinita-shónu 
|Earth-girl
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|kiskai
|*enemy
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|kopo
|tree
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|kos 
|rock
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|kótómehie
|appreciate
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|kru
|*can / *need
|initiates a question
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|kufa 
|*false
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|kumis
|cold
|
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|masku 
|*what if
|initiates a question and similarity to 'sku'
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|mentil
|why
|
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|Mirak
|Goblin
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|Mirak-Elame
|Goblinfriend
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Mirake
|*Goblins
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|mota
|
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|na
|
|found in final position, possibly adverb or pronoun
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|naefoma/næfoma
|help
|noun and verb?
|<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2023/11/28/9-68/ 9.68]</ref><ref name="10.06"/><ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/03/24/10-09-e/ 10.09 E]</ref><ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|Naga
|Naga
|singular and plural?
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|o
|you
|only singular?
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/><ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|óvan
|do
|found in phrase "do magic"; *cast?
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|Ovanai
|mage
|lit. *caster if the above is true
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|pach
|
|adjective or noun
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|pan
|nice
|
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|Pasai
|Goblin Lord
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.18 E"/>
|-
|pexa 
|*wait
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|razivin
|
|noun or verb
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|se
|
|found in initial position, possibly modal verb or adverb
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|seh
|*you (pl.) / *they
|found in an ellipsis; could also be a verb instead
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|selan-mil
|magic
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|s'ho
|
|might be a contraction of 'se' and 'aho'
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|shónu
|girl
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|shu
|water
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|shuli
|ocean
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|shush
|wet
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|si—
|
|(incomplete/cut off)
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|sku
|*if
|seems to initiate the antecedent clause of a conditional sentence
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|smak
|very
|
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|smak shush
|drenched
|lit. 'very wet'
|<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|stan
|
|possibly a verb
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|tarek
|
|possibly a verb
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|te
|
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|tere
|
|plural of te? comparative of te? Both seem to initiate the consequent clause of a conditional sentence
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Tilhatan
|Titan
|
|<ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|tizan
|
|possibly a compound of 'ti' (one) and 'zan'; *oneself? *once (=one time)? But from context it seems to be a verb
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|to
|and
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|tok
|*need
|
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Ulmanal
|Chieftain
|
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|uro 
|(''negation particle'')
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|urorouro
|*ourobouros
|“A…snake that eats its tail forever. In a circle. A forever pattern.”
|<ref name="Goblin Days 3"/>
|-
|va 
|I
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/><ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/><ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|van
|we
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/><ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>
|-
|viti
|
|possibly preposition
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|Wivernan
|Wyverns
|also singular?
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|zan
|
|possibly reflexive pronoun or preposition
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|zech
|blast
|
|<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>
|-
|zelmalaile
|tribe
|
|<ref name="10.06"/><ref name="10.08 Pt. 2"/>
|-
|zifu
|
|found in final position, possibly adverb or noun
|<ref name="10.06"/>
|-
|*-ai
|*(''agent noun derivation suffix'')
|
|possibly óvan → ovanai
|-
| -i- / i
|*and
|might just be a regular infix in number formation
|see numerals
|-
|*-li
|*(''collective noun? derivation suffix'')
|
|shu → shuli
|-
|*-lin
|*(''ordinal number suffix'')
|
| ti → tilin
|-
|*-sh
|*(''adjective derivation suffix'')
|part of 'Fraershi'?
|shu → shush
|}

== Numbers ==

* ''ti'' = one
* ''fa'' = two
* ''sif''  = three
* ''keta''  = four
* ''mien'' = five
* ''pru''  = six
* ''hast'' = seven
* ''hax'' = eight
* ''chur'' = nine 
* ''pir'' = ten
* ''pir-i-ti'' = eleven 
* ''pir-i-fa'' = twelve

<ref name="10.10 Pt. 1"/>

* ''tilin'' = first

<ref name="Goblin Days 1"/>

==Sentence Structure ==

*Verb-Subject-Object 
**''Kótómehie va o'' → Appreciate I you
*Auxiliary/ModalVerb-Subject-Verb-(Object)  
** ''Faira o kava?'' → Want you speak?
*Subject-Copula-Predicative Expression  
** ''O he Elame-Mirake'' → You are Goblinfriend
*Questions don't modify word order 
**''Is he elame Mirake an!'' → She is friend of Goblins!
**''O he elame Mirake an?'' → You are friend of Goblins?
*Adjectives and attributes are postnominal 
**''Mirak-Elame kufa'' → Goblinfriend false
**''Velan Fasna'' → Velan Kind
**''Gredathe Pasai'' → Greydath Lord

== Miscellaneous ==

* “Torek’dale an misghet! Salvit Torek agn!” (’warriors of Torek’dale, salute to Torek!’)<ref name="10.16">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/06/02/10-16-n/ 10.16 N]</ref> is a phrase in the "odd quasi-language" of Torek’dale in [[Erribathe]]. It shows some striking similarities to Goblin: "an" as possessive determiner, V1 word order, a postnominal particle "agn".

* "garguile" might be a Goblin word used in an alternate reality [[Forgotten Wing Company]] phonetic alphabet for G (“Aspat garguile echo” – 'A-G-E'),<ref name="1.27">[https://wanderinginn.com/2024/11/13/10-27-gmg/ 10.27 GMG]</ref> possibly meaning "gargoyle".

* “eenu, mettva, methke—” appears to be the beginning of a Goblin counting rhyme analogous to ''eeny, meeny, miny…''<ref name="1.27"/>

==References==
{{Refbox}}
[[Category:Goblins]]