Isian, as we have seen, has borrowed more than a few terms from European languages. That shows up again in the matter of religion. Its speakers are mostly Christian, thanks to an earlier period of conversion and reformation. Before that, however, they had a polytheistic faith similar to many of their neighbors.
Remnants of this still show through in terms like alam “god”, which stands alongside the Latinate loan Domo “Lord”. The latter refers specifically to the God of Christianity, while the former, native, word can be used for any deity. It’s also more amenable to derivation, such as alanchi “demigod” or alamel “godly”. Domo on the other hand, is essentially fixed in form.
Other borrowings include engel “angel” and sacrel “sacred”, though the second is more of a calque. The word helin, meaning “ghost” or “spirit”, may also be related to the Germanic root underlying English “holy”. And it’s clear that priests have always been considered “holy men”, as the Isian word for them is a direct compound: chisam.
Word List
- angel: engel (borrowed, possibly from Germanic)
- devil: nukh
- fairy: su
- faith: sahe
- ghost: helin
- god: alam (Christian God usually trans. as Domo)
- heaven: timiro
- hell: hasilo
- holy: chi
- magic: ampen
- priest: chisam (lit. “holy-man”)
- religion: caltir
- ritual: ronden
- sacred: sacrel (borrowed from Latin/Romance)
- soul: mit
- to bless: leya
- to curse: murgo
- to pray: barda