Treatise on the Durese Language

Treatise on the Durese Language, II Edition

By Prof. Vaasai Zhoks and Dr. Cad Trokseg

Foreword by Admiral Moog Jeiks 

 

Foreword

Being one of the first species to achieve spaceflight, the Durese language has become a common language along with Basic as the Duros journeyed farther into the universe. In the shipping and business sectors, knowledge of it is a most valuable asset. This treatise is meant as a guide, so to speak, for those interested in learning more about this ancient tongue, however it should be noted that this is merely a simplification. If one seeks a more complex and immersive dive into Durese, the holobooks Advanced Durese, LXXX Edition or Durese for Bantha-Brains are highly recommended alongside this treatise which explains in simplicity pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammatical structures. The writers, editors, and transcribers wish you great luck with this edition and hope that visions of starlines will fill your eyes.

Duraam taziks ceim kooll.

-Moog Jeiks sooktu zhogaa

 

Phonetics

-Consonants-

	Labial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Stops	b, p	t, d			k, g
Fricatives	ɸ,v	s, z	ʒ	ʝ	x		h
Nasal Stops	m	n
Trill						ʀ
Approximant	ʋ	l
Lateral Affricates		ts
Sibilant Affricates		tɬ

-Vowels-

	Front	Back
High		u
Near-Close	ɪ
Close-mid	e, ø	o
Open-Mid	ɛ	ʌ
Near-Open	æ
Low	a

Diphthongs: [aj]

-Phonotactics-

Coda: [k], [g], [n], [m], [s], [z], [t], [d], [a], [ʌ], [l], [æ], [u], [o], [ɛ], [e], [ø]

 

Pronunciation

Predominantly, many of the consonants in Durese are equivalent to their Basic counterparts, however there are some notable exceptions listed below as well as a transcription of vowel pronunciations.

-Vowels-

a [æ] - "a" as in English apple

aa [a] - "a" as in English father

ai [e] - “ai” as in English rain

e [ɛ] - "e" as in English end

ei [aj] - "ei" as in English time or German mein

i [ɪ] - "i" as in English tin 

o [o] - "o" as in English soda

oo [ø] - "ö" as in German Löwe

u [ʌ] - "u" as in English under

uu [u] - "u" as in English lute

-Consonants-

c [ts] - “ts” as in English pets 

ch [x] - "ch" as in German danach

f [ɸ] - wh as in Māori whakapapa

j [ʝ] - "g" as in Greek γεια 

ll [tɬ] - “ll” as in Icelandic fjall (pronounced like tluh)

zh [ʒ] - "j" as in French jour

r [ʀ] - "r" as in French rendez-vous

 

Verb Conjugation

 

-Class I Weak Verbs-

 

Stem	dur “to journey”	geillo “to cook”
Past	duroos	geilloos
Present	durog	geillog
Future	dureis	geilleis
Imperative	duraam	geillaam
Gerund	durud	geillud

 

-Class II Strong Verbs-

 

Stem	deltna “to speak”
Past	deltnas
Present	deltnag
Future	deltnais
Imperative	deltnaam
Gerund	deltnad

 

-Class III Strong Verbs-

 

Stem	juksu “to lie”
Past	juksus
Present	juksug
Future	juksis
Imperative	juksum
Gerund	juksud

Pronouns

In Durese, pronouns have four possible forms, three which indicate their role in a sentence, and another for possession. To be succinct, the Nominative is the subject, the Accusative is the direct object, and the Dative is the indirect object. 

	1st Person Singular	1st Person Plural	2nd Person Singular	2nd Person Plural	3rd Person Singular	3rd Person Plural
Nominative	vun	cem	lum	jull	vek	zhun
Accusative	vain	ceim	laim	jaill	veik	zhain
Dative	voon	caam	loom	jooll	vaak	zhoon
Genitive	vin	cim	lim	jill	vik	zhin

 

Nouns

	Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
Nominative	-O	-a	-elt	-ache
Accusative	-ail	-o	-eilt	-oche
Dative	-ool	-ai	-aalt	-aiche
Genitive	-il	-uu	-ilt	-uuche

 

Example: Leivaks

	Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
Nominative	Leivaks	Leivaksa	Leivakselt	Leivaksache
Accusative	Leivaksail	Leivakso	Leivakseilt	Leivaksoche
Dative	Leivaksool	Leivksai	Leivaksaalt	Leivaksaiche
Genitive	Leivaksil	Leivaksuu	Leivaksilt	Leivaksuuche

 

Conjugation of 'jos' (indefinite article)

Nominative	jos
Accusative	jais
Dative	juus
Genitive	jas

Misc.

-hul - noun to verb

-ceg - diminutive

-u - one who does

Adpositions

Unlike Galactic Basic, Durese has postpositions, meaning that the adposition follows the noun that they complement rather than in front of the noun. Additionally, nouns take the dative case endings if the postposition implies a static noun and takes the accusative case conjugations if the postposition implies a movement of the noun. 

Syntax

A few rules: Durese is an SVO (Subject, Verb, Object) language, when there are two verbs in a sentence the second verb appears at the end of the clause, and describers of any sort such as adjectives, adverbs, or prepositions follow the noun or verb that they describe. The sample sentences provided below should give direction on how these rules are to be utilized. 

 

NP -> NP AdjP

PP -> NP P

VP -> NP V AdvP NP V

 

Sample Sentences

These examples as follows. The top row is the sentence in the original Durese. Following that is a literal translation with bottom row being a more polished and exact Basic sentence. 

Jozhaam, vun Jal Mes kadog molguu jes Tolli Sierras zaatol vin kadog.

[ʝoʒam vʌn ʝæl mɛs kædog molgu ʝɛs toli sieras zatol vɪn kædog]

Greetings, I Jal Mes to be and demonstrative Tolli Sierras friend-gen my is 

Greetings, I am Jal Mes and this is my friend Tolli Sierras.

 

Zhona jes kadog Leivaksail sodoos.

[ʒona ʝɛs kædog lajvæksel sodøs]

Drink demonstrative to be Leivaks-acc called 

This drink is called Leivaks.

 

Vadnu jos aneik

[vædnʌ ʝos ænajk]

bantha a like

Like a bantha!

 

Kadaam truuno naazheiks juus stallud oos.

[kædam tʀuno naʒajks ʝus stætɬʌd øs]

To be here letter article recommendation of 

Here is a letter of recommendation.

 

Vun dureis taziks koollazil laim. 

[vʌn dʌʀajs tæzɪks køtɬæzɪl lajm]

I travel [future tense] with luck-gen your

I will travel with your luck.

 

Deltnaam duro stezhu

[dɛltnam dʌʀo stɛʒʌ]

Speak duro-wanderer 

Speak Duro (Formal Version)

 

Cim geillteinil baizais Hachoks aneik!

[tsɪm gajtɬtajnɪl bezes hæxoks anajk]

Our kitchen will smell like Hachoks! 

 

Lexicon

It should be noted that all verbs are presented in the present tense. 

aajon - (prep) through

aneik - (p) like

baizag - (v) to smell, to reek

beik - (v) to sell

beiku - (n) merchant

beiku zhogaa - (n) manager

bellag - (v) to brew

bellu - (n) brewer

beks - (n) space, void, spiritual plane

boozham - (n) engine

boozham zhusu - (n) engineer

cem - (pro) we

challai - (n) energy

challaiceg - (n) laser

chillug - (v) to detect

ceidaam - (ph) thank you

ceidog - (v) to thank

deltnag - (v) to speak

deigoks - (n) fine powder used in brewing Leivaks

dunu - (v) to sit

dunwen - (n) chair

durog - (v) to travel

fimei - (n) metal

geillog - (v) to cook

geillu (n) - chef

jab - (v) to annoy, to irritate

jabom - (n) mynock

jabud - (n) nuisance

jachas - (n) net

jecool - (n) popular, in demand

jes - (dem) this, that

jeime - (n) sword

jeime challai - (n) lightsaber

juksug - (v) to lie, to fib

jomni - (n) refresher

jos - (art) a

jozhag - (v) to greet 

Hachoks (n) - steak cooked using Suunbaz worm meat and seasoned with zhoguum seeds

hechu - (n) strut, beam, pillar, limb 

kadog - (v) to be

koollaz - (p) with

lahaaks - (n) life

leinsa - (v) to repair

leinsai - (n) mechanic

Leivaks - (n) popular Durese drink

lum - (pro) you

maamad - (n) leaf

meilu - (n) starship

meilom - (n) purgil

meizol - (n) insect monster

molguu - (conj) and

naazheiks - (n) letter, document

neidi - (n) brick, stone

neidiceg - (n) rubble

neicha - (v) to bring, to deliver

neichad - (n) cargo

oos - (p) of

seimllu - (n) star-lover

sooktu - (n) leader

sooktu trugu - (n) senator

sooktu zhogaa - (n) Admiral

stadaks - (n) member, piece

stai - (p) after

stezhu - (n) wanderer

stezhuhul - (n) to migrate, to make a pilgrimage

stom (v) - to worship

stompeks - (n) temple

stuk - (det) what

sodog - (v) to call, to name, to nominate, to select, to choose

suudwe - (n) root, beginning, prelude

suudweceg - (n) seed

suudwehul - (v) to prelude, to begin

sugwe - (n) cup

taziks - (n) luck

tein - (n) room

trood - (n) light

trugug - (v) to deliberate, to decide

trugud - (v) discussion, council, debate

truuno - (adv) here

raan - (n) thing

raabnell - (n) pot, kettle

vaas - (adj) low

vabna - (v) to bend, to distort, to alter

vabnai fimei - (n) welder

vadnu - (n) bantha

ven - (n) surface, plane

vumis - (p) for

vun - (pro) I

zaato - (n) friend

zeis - (n) moon

zeisail stai - (adv) soon (lit: "after moon," moon.acc after)

zema - (adv) never, (n) no, (det) not

zhaallum - (n) world, planet 

zhogaa - (adj) high

zhoguum - (n) plant native to Duro

zhona - (n) drink

zhus - (v) to calculate 

zhusud stezhud - (n) nav computer

zhuuvez (n) - air, atmosphere, sky

zud - (v) to teach

zudu zhogaa - (n) teacher