Let’s make a language, part 18b: Geography (Conlangs)

This time around, let’s combine Isian and Ardari into a single post. Why? We won’t be seeing too many new words, as geography is so culture-dependent, and I’m trying to keep our two conlangs fairly neutral in that regard. Thus, the total vocabulary for this topic only comprises 30 or so of the most basic terms, mostly nouns.

Isian

For Isian speakers, the world is sata, and that includes everything from the earth (tirat) to the sea (jadal) to the sky (halac). In other words, all of amicha “nature”. And in the sky are the sida “sun”, nosul “moon”, and hundreds of keyt “stars”, though these only come out at night.

A good place to look at the stars is at the top of a mountain (abrad), but a hill (modas) will do in a pinch. Both of these contrast with the flatter elshar “valleys” and abet “plains”. Another contrast is between the verdant forest (tawetar) and the dry, desolate serkhat “desert”. Isian speakers, naturally, prefer wetter lands, and they especially like bodies of water, from the still fow “lake” to the rushing silche “stream” and ficha “river”.

Water isn’t quite as welcome when it falls from the sky in the form of rain (cabil) or, worse, snow (saf). Speakers of Isian know that rain falls from alboni “clouds”, particularly during a gondo “storm”. Some of those can also bring thunder and lightning (khoshar and segona, respectively), as well as blowing winds (nafi). But that’s all part of the cansun, or “weather”, and the people are used to it.

Natural world
  • earth: tirat
  • moon: nosul
  • nature: amicha
  • planet: apec
  • sea: jadal
  • sky: halac
  • star: key
  • sun: sida
  • world: sata(r)
Geographic features
  • beach: val
  • cave: uto(s)
  • desert: serkhat
  • field: bander
  • forest: tawetar
  • hill: modas
  • island: omis
  • lake: fow
  • plain: abe
  • mountain: abrad
  • river: ficha(s)
  • stream: silche
  • valley: elsha(r)
Weather
  • cloud: albon
  • cold: hul
  • fog: fules
  • hot: hes
  • lightning: segona
  • rain: cabil
  • snow: saf
  • storm: gondo(s)
  • thunder: khoshar
  • to rain: cable
  • to snow: sote
  • weather: cansun
  • wind: naf

Ardari

Ardari is spoken in a similar temperate region, but those who use it as a native tongue are also acquainted with more distant lands. They know of deserts (norga) and high mountains (antövi), even if they rarely see them in person. But they’re much more comfortable around the hills (dyumi) and lakes (oltya) of their homeland. The rolling plains (moki) are often interrupted by patches of forest (tyëtoma), and rivers (dèbla) crisscross the land. Young speakers of Ardari like to visit caves (kabla), but many also dream of faraway beaches (pyar).

That’s all part of the earth, or dyevi. In their minds, this is surrounded by the sea (oska) on the sides and the sky (weli) above. That sky is the home of the sun (chi) and its silvery sister, the moon (duli). These are accompanied by a handful of planets (adwi) and a host of stars (pala), two different sets of night-sky lights, though most can’t tell the difference between them.

The sky, however, is often obscured by clouds (nawra). Sometimes, so is the earth, when fog (nòryd) rolls in. And Ardari has plenty of terms for bad weather (mädròn), from rain (luza) to wind (fawa) to snow (qäsa) and beyond. Storms (korakh) are quite common, and they can become very strong, most often in the spring and summer. Then, the echoes of thunder (kumba) ring out across the land.

Natural world
  • earth: dyevi
  • moon: duli
  • nature: masifi
  • planet: adwi
  • sea: oska
  • sky: weli
  • star: pala
  • sun: chi
  • world: omari
Geographic features
  • beach: pyar
  • cave: kabla
  • desert: norga
  • field: tevri
  • forest: tyëtoma
  • hill: dyumi
  • island: symli
  • lake: oltya
  • mountain: antövi
  • plain: moki
  • river: dèbla
  • stream: zèm
  • valley: pòri
Weather
  • cloud: nawra
  • fog: nòryd
  • lightning: brysis
  • rain: luza
  • snow: qäsa
  • storm: korakh
  • thunder: kumba
  • to rain: luzèlo
  • to snow: qäsèlo
  • weather: mädrön
  • wind: fawa

Moving on

Now that we’ve taken a look at the natural world, we’ve set the stage for its inhabitants. The next two parts will cover terms for flora and fauna, in that order. In other words, we’re going name some plants next time. Not all of them; even I don’t have time for that. But we’ll look at the most important ones. By the end of it, you’ll be able to walk down the produce aisle with confidence.

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