Isian, as you’ll recall, is a language whose speakers live in a remote part of our world. They’ve been cut off from modern civilization for a couple of centuries, but they’ve recently been rediscovered. Because of this, they’ve got a lot of native vocabulary to describe work, but some newer concepts require compounds.
In general, work is lodunas, an abstract noun derived from lodu “to work”. But a specific job, career, or occupation goes by bor instead. Most jobs are intended to create (tinte), but some instead destroy (dika), and a select few repair (efri) what is broken.
Workers (lodumi, plural of lodum) can perform many actions, based on their jobs. Some might teach (reshone), others build (oste). Makers of food include bakers (ogami, from oga “to bake”) and simple cooks (pirimi; piri “to cook”). These aren’t the only “domestic” occupations, either. Many Isian speakers, for their jobs, must clean (nolmi), wash (hishi) clothes, sew (seshe), or simply act as servants (dulcami; dulca “to serve”). More important for the town are craftsmen such as totasami (carpenters, literally “wood men”).
Isian is the language of a society that is still very agrarian. Thus, many of its speakers work as farmers (sepami) or just as assistants on a ban “farm”. In cities, however, most working men are instead simple lodumi, day laborers. Women who work are more likely to be reshonemi “teachers” or seshemi—in this context, a better translation might be “seamstresses”.
Finally, the places where people might work can be just as interesting as what they do. Well-to-do Isian speakers might run their own seb “shop” or chedom “inn”. Cooks can work at a restaurant (hamasim, literally “eating house”), though some isimi (“bars” or “pubs”) also serve food. And it remains common for most of the town to gather one day a week at the rishan “market”.
Word List
General terms
- job: bor
- poor: umar
- rich: irdes
- to borrow: mante
- to create: tinte
- to destroy: dika
- to lend: hente
- to repair: efri
- to use: je
- to work: lodu
- work: lodunas
Places of work
- bank: mantalar (from mante + talar)
- bar (pub): isim
- farm: ban
- inn: chedom
- market: rishan
- mill: mur
- restaurant: hamasim (hama “eat” + isim)
- school: teju
- shop: seb
Work actions
- to bake: oga
- to build: oste
- to clean: nolmi
- to cook: piri
- to dig: daco
- to drive: foro
- to fold: efe
- to grind: harca
- to guard: holte
- to hunt: ostani
- to pour: lu
- to press: hapa
- to serve: dulca
- to sew: seshe
- to shoot: chaco
- to sweep: wesa
- to teach: reshone
- to tie: ane
- to wash: hishi
- to weave: sumbe
Occupations
- baker: ogam
- carpenter: totasam (totac “wood” + sam “man”)
- cooking: pirinas
- driver: forom
- farmer: sepam
- hunter: ostanim
- hunting: ostanas (ostani + -nas)
- janitor: wesam or nolmim
- laborer: lodum
- miller: mursam (mur + sam “man”)
- servant: dulcam
- tailor: seshem
- teacher: reshonem
- teaching: reshonas (reshone + -nas)