TOWARDS a GVEGH GRAMMAR
METHOD
Depending on the degree to which DGP has already done it, I'd cipher off of Arrghoun for conjugations (i.e. different sounds but the same tables), add in some enclitics, but replace the root verbs and nouns using the Gvegh word generator. Come to think of it, there must be some Gvegh wordlists out there somewhere.
DGP Vilani & Vargr
"Low charisma Vargr use more grammatical markers and a certain word order. High-charisma Vargr, on the other hand, may use bare root forms of words, and they have more freedom in choosing the structure of their sentences." p58
Page 42 terms: Kfaegzoukhin "Gvegh" (as a cultural group); kaenguerradz, "racial superiority".
Page 45 terms: Uerul "small one".
Page 51 terms: Zhosokh Urs "well-respected ear", llananae tourz "the devoured sector".
Page 58 also has proverbs which appear to illustrate several grammatical principles. Gary Thomas knows eight real languages, after all...
The explanatory text notes that proverbs are in "high charisma" form. This means the speaker "relies on the high charisma of the Gvegh race as a whole." This also means the phrases can be grammatically sparse/free. (This gives Gary the leeway and power of brevity.)
(#1) Thursuth gha kvaekh?
Where is death not allowed to go?
(#2) Ghakse faeng faeng faeng faengeg; dzedzdhoughz faeng faeng kufaeng udheg.
A pup's ball is the pups; a pup's teeth are the pack's.
(#3) Khofaeghorz gvegh gvegh gnaedh faeng vargr rrirrg.
Vargr speech without Vargr teeth.
(#4) Aekh kfaegzoukhin zersakha vargr; kfaegzoukhin zersakh kuvargr.
A Vargr without charisma is no better than a rock; a rock with charisma is better than an entire pack.
In order to tease out a structure, I'll start with #4 and go from there.
Kfaegzoukhin literally means "Gvegh culture" (p42), implying high charisma.
Vargr is clearly "[a] Vargr". The ku- prefix might mean something like "a pack of", "a group of", or some sort of collectivizer (not just a plural). Kufaeng from #2 is likely also a collective noun: probably "pack" given the usage in #2 overall.
Zersakh means "rock". That includes the form zersakh-a.
The second half of the proverb therefore reads: HIGH-CHARISMA ROCK [is-better-than] PACK-OF-VARGR.
The first half of the proverb might then read: NO/"WITHOUT" HIGH-CHARISMA, ROCK-IS VARGR.
Looks like #4 is an informal contrast, with the -a in zersakh turning the noun into an epithet of VARGR.
In #2, faeng faeng appears to be "pup"; the suffix -eg could indicate possession (like the English -'s suffix), while a noun following another noun (assuming ghakse means 'ball') indicates association. So, "the ball of the pup is owned by the pup".
Thus, dzedzdhoughz faeng faeng means "the teeth of the pup". Kufaeng udheg (see the -eg ending there too?) means "owned by the pack" or "the pack's".
Now on to #3. Duplication appears to imply an instance of a concept; here, gvegh gvegh means "speech". Its single form, Gvegh, is presumably the name of the language. Doubling it seems to turn the abstract noun into a concrete example of it: speaking in Gvegh, or just talking in general.
That says to me that "faeng" in #2 may be an abstract noun, and "faeng faeng" is its concrete form (a pup). But that runs into trouble with #3, where we have the form "faeng vargr" together. What is THAT?
METHOD
Depending on the degree to which DGP has already done it, I'd cipher off of Arrghoun for conjugations (i.e. different sounds but the same tables), add in some enclitics, but replace the root verbs and nouns using the Gvegh word generator. Come to think of it, there must be some Gvegh wordlists out there somewhere.
DGP Vilani & Vargr
"Low charisma Vargr use more grammatical markers and a certain word order. High-charisma Vargr, on the other hand, may use bare root forms of words, and they have more freedom in choosing the structure of their sentences." p58
Page 42 terms: Kfaegzoukhin "Gvegh" (as a cultural group); kaenguerradz, "racial superiority".
Page 45 terms: Uerul "small one".
Page 51 terms: Zhosokh Urs "well-respected ear", llananae tourz "the devoured sector".
Page 58 also has proverbs which appear to illustrate several grammatical principles. Gary Thomas knows eight real languages, after all...
The explanatory text notes that proverbs are in "high charisma" form. This means the speaker "relies on the high charisma of the Gvegh race as a whole." This also means the phrases can be grammatically sparse/free. (This gives Gary the leeway and power of brevity.)
(#1) Thursuth gha kvaekh?
Where is death not allowed to go?
(#2) Ghakse faeng faeng faeng faengeg; dzedzdhoughz faeng faeng kufaeng udheg.
A pup's ball is the pups; a pup's teeth are the pack's.
(#3) Khofaeghorz gvegh gvegh gnaedh faeng vargr rrirrg.
Vargr speech without Vargr teeth.
(#4) Aekh kfaegzoukhin zersakha vargr; kfaegzoukhin zersakh kuvargr.
A Vargr without charisma is no better than a rock; a rock with charisma is better than an entire pack.
In order to tease out a structure, I'll start with #4 and go from there.
Kfaegzoukhin literally means "Gvegh culture" (p42), implying high charisma.
Vargr is clearly "[a] Vargr". The ku- prefix might mean something like "a pack of", "a group of", or some sort of collectivizer (not just a plural). Kufaeng from #2 is likely also a collective noun: probably "pack" given the usage in #2 overall.
Zersakh means "rock". That includes the form zersakh-a.
The second half of the proverb therefore reads: HIGH-CHARISMA ROCK [is-better-than] PACK-OF-VARGR.
The first half of the proverb might then read: NO/"WITHOUT" HIGH-CHARISMA, ROCK-IS VARGR.
Looks like #4 is an informal contrast, with the -a in zersakh turning the noun into an epithet of VARGR.
In #2, faeng faeng appears to be "pup"; the suffix -eg could indicate possession (like the English -'s suffix), while a noun following another noun (assuming ghakse means 'ball') indicates association. So, "the ball of the pup is owned by the pup".
Thus, dzedzdhoughz faeng faeng means "the teeth of the pup". Kufaeng udheg (see the -eg ending there too?) means "owned by the pack" or "the pack's".
Now on to #3. Duplication appears to imply an instance of a concept; here, gvegh gvegh means "speech". Its single form, Gvegh, is presumably the name of the language. Doubling it seems to turn the abstract noun into a concrete example of it: speaking in Gvegh, or just talking in general.
That says to me that "faeng" in #2 may be an abstract noun, and "faeng faeng" is its concrete form (a pup). But that runs into trouble with #3, where we have the form "faeng vargr" together. What is THAT?
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ae past perfective (llanan, to devour)
