Linguistically speaking, one of the main differences between Ardari and Isian is that the former doesn’t use compounding to create the names of its rooms. The basic term for a room is dan, but room names all use the -ègh suffix denoting a place or location where an action takes place. So the bedroom is rhèchègh “sleeping place”, the kitchen a lòstyègh “cooking place”, and so on. These are actually generic terms created relatively recently, and some Ardari people still use older, nonstandard words for them.
Inside the rooms, things are much as you’d expect. The bedroom has a mäs “bed”, the dining room features kombas “table” and söton “chair”. In the kitchen you’ll find a sink, or pläsimi. The list goes on, but that’s assuming you’re allowed in. Ardari speakers value their privacy, so the front door will often have a lock (èpri), for which you will need a key (äkja).
Because Ardari has its more complex nominal morphology, we can see a little more of the cultural context here. Note, for example, the gender of some of the words for tools and furnishings. The basket (vevi) is feminine, as are the pot (gyazi) and dish (alli), whereas the knife (yagha) is decidedly masculine. This is most likely a result of certain tasks once being seen as preferring men or women—Ardari women do the cooking and washing, for instance, while cutting things is more of a man’s job. Finally, there’s the curious case of the masculine äkja and feminine èpri; this may be most easily explained as a kind of sexual connotation. Keys fitting into locks, you know.
Word List
Areas
- room: dan
- bedroom: rhèchègh
- bathroom: oznèrègh
- kitchen: lòstyègh
- dining room: tumègh
- living room: simègh
Tools
- blade: kirda
- brush: sols
- clock: khrona
- fork: bènk
- hammer: tojrin
- key: äkja
- knife: yagha
- lamp: djol
- lock: èpri
- spoon: lyom
Furniture
- basket: vevi
- bathtub: pläs
- bed: mäs
- bottle: cholya
- bowl: ghob
- box: aröng
- chair: söton
- cup: kykad
- desk: kyard
- dish: alli
- pan: mir
- pot: gyazi
- sack: sòpya
- sink: pläsimi
- table: kombas