Ikaarin (language)

**Ikaarin** is a language spoken by the **Ikraashi**, the inhabitants of the land of Merager. The language is known for its intricate grammar and vocabulary, as well as its unique rules. It has a long and rich history, dating back thousands of years. It has evolved over time, with influences from other nearby languages and cultures.

Ikaarin is divided into two main forms: **Old Ikaarin** and **New Ikaarin**. Old Ikaarin was spoken by the eldest Ikraan dating back thousand years and is considered an ancient language. New Ikaarin, on the other hand, is spoken in modern times and is a mix of Old Ikaarin and the *Standard Speech*, which is used as the lingua franca throughout Merager.

Despite being a relatively small language, Ikaarin is known for its beauty and complexity. It has a wide range of vocabulary, with many words that are difficult to translate into other languages. For example, there are many words that describe different types of weather patterns, animals, and plants that are unique to the Merager region.

The language is an important part of Ikraashi culture, and is taught to children from a young age. It is used in everyday life, as well as in literature, music, and other forms of art. Many Ikraashi people take great pride in their language and are passionate about preserving it for future generations.

## Grammar

### Basic rules

**Word order**: The basic word order in Ikaarin is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV), owever, word order can be altered for emphasis or to convey a different meaning. - ie. *The wind the leaves rustles.*

**Cases**: Ikaarin uses a system of cases to indicate the function of words in a sentence. The most common cases are *nominative* (subject), *accusative* (object), and *possessive* (possession).

**Adjective order**: Adjectives are positioned after the noun (ie. *Trees tall*)

**Gender**: Ikaarin has a system of grammatical gender, where nouns are classified as masculine, feminine, or neuter.

**Conjugation**: Ikaarin verbs are conjugated based tenses.

### Verb conjugation

One of the unique features of Ikaarin is its verb system. Unlike many other languages, Ikaarin verbs are not conjugated based on pronouns. Instead, they are only conjugated based on tenses.

There are three tenses in Ikaarin: past, present, and future. Each tense has a specific suffix that is added to the verb stem to create the correct form. For example, the suffix "-aer" is added to the verb stem to indicate the present tense. In addition to the tenses, every verb in Ikaarin ends with the suffix "-aer". This suffix is an essential element of Ikaarin grammar and is never omitted. It serves as a marker to indicate that the word is a verb and to distinguish it from nouns or other parts of speech.

Although the lack of pronoun-based conjugation may seem unusual to speakers of other languages, it is actually quite efficient and allows for greater flexibility in sentence structure. Because the verb form is not tied to a specific pronoun, speakers can use the same verb form for multiple subjects, which reduces the need for redundancy in speech and writing.

* **PAST TENSE**
	+ adds *-er*
	+ *Mezinaer* (to help) would become *Meziner* (helped)
* **PRESENT TENSE**
	+ adds *-ar*
	+ *Vaaer* (to see) would become *Vaar* (see/seeing)
* **FUTURE TENSE**
	+ adds *-so* to the base form
	+ *Itaer* (to get) would become *Itaerso* (will get/going to get)

#### To be

In Ikaarin, the verb "jaer" (to be) is a special case when it comes to conjugation. Unlike other verbs, "jaer" is conjugated based on both tense and pronoun. The table below shows all versions of the verb.

### Negative form

To create a negative sentence in Ikaarin, you simply add the prefix "*unn*-" before the verb. For example, to say "*I am not sorry*" in Ikaarin, you would say "*Unnpara sijar"*.

Interestingly, there are no dedicated negative words in Ikaarin such as "ugly", "hate", "whore", "bad", "stupid", "weak", and so on. If you want to express a negative sentiment using these words, you have to create a negative version of the existing word. For example, to call someone "ugly", you would use the negative prefix "unn-" and the existing word for "beauty"; so "you are ugly" in Ikaarin would be "*Tyjar unnbaasi*", which literally means "you are not beautiful".

Similarly, to say "I hate you" in Ikaarin, you would create a negative version of the verb "to like". So the sentence would be "*Si unnbalkar ty*", which means "I don't like you". This kind of construction allows for more nuanced and precise expression of negative sentiments, and also avoids the use of negative words that can be hurtful or insulting.

### Pronouns

The Ikaarin language has a system of two grammatical cases: the **nominative** case and the **accusative** case.
In the nominative case, the noun or pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence. The nominative form is also used when the noun or pronoun is used as a predicate nominative, meaning it renames or describes the subject of the sentence.

In the accusative case, the noun or pronoun is used as the object of a sentence. This could be the direct object of a transitive verb, or the object of a preposition. With the exception of the first-person singular pronoun, the accusative form is created by adding the suffix '-s' to the end of the nominative form.

In addition to the nominative and accusative cases, Ikaarin also has a **possessive case**. The possessive case is used to indicate ownership or association. It is created by adding the suffix '-r' to the end of the nominative form.

## Numbers

The Ikaarin language has a unique numerical system, which includes fourteen digits. Each digit has its own specific word and symbol to represent it.

* 0 = *naan*
* 1 = *aace*
* 2 = *daace*
* 3 = *traace*
* 4 = *maa*
* 5 = *saale*
* 6 = *vaale*
* 7 = *kaal*
* 8 = *paasok*
* 9 = *maasok*
* 10 = *klaan*
* 100 = *olmaan*
* 1.000 = *almaan*
* a million = *milaan*

These symbols are based on a combination of lines and dots and are used in conjunction with the numerical words to represent quantities. This system is particularly useful in written communication as it enables clear representation of numbers without the need for spelling out each individual word. In this system, each dot represents a value of one, and each circle represents a value of five. For example, the number six is represented by a circle followed by a dot, while the number nine is represented by a circle with eight dots arranged around it. Overall, the use of this system allows for the clear and efficient representation of numerical information.

In Ikaarin, creating numbers is based on a simple pattern of combining the appropriate words for specific numbers. Few examples could be:

* 15 = created by combining the words for 10 (klaan) and 5 (saale), resulting in *klaansaale*
* 86 = created by combining the words for 80 (paasok), 10 (klaan), and 6 (vaale), resulting in *paasokklaanvaale*
* 312 = created by combining the words for 3 (traace), 100 (olmaan), 10 (klaan), and 2 (daace), resulting in *traaceolmaanklaandaace*
* 31.491 = created by combining the words for 3 (traace), 10 (klaan), and 1 (aace) in the first group, followed by the words for 1,000 (almaan), 4 (maa), 1,00 (olmaan), 9 (maasok), and 10 (klaan) and 1 (aace) in the second group, resulting in *traaceklaanaacealmaanmaaolmaanmaasokklaanaace*.

To make pronouncing large numbers easier, Ikaarin tends to shorten the pronunciation of the 'aa' sound to a simple short 'a' when used in higher value numbers. This allows speakers to communicate larger numbers more efficiently and quickly.

### Nominal numbers

nominal numbers are formed by changing the ending of the base number word and adding '-ro' at the end. Specifically, the sound 'aa' is changed to a simple short 'a', and then the '-ro' suffix is added. For example:

* *Aace* (one) would be *Acero* (first)
* *Saale* (five) would be *Salero* (fifth)
* *Klaan* (ten) would be *Klanro* (tenth)

This pattern can be applied to other numbers as well to create the corresponding ordinal numbers. This system of nominal numbers is useful for indicating the order of items in a list, such as in a sequence of events or a ranking of items.

## Lexikon

### Basic phrases

* *Aeno* = yes
* *Naa* = no
* *Aa* = and
* *Alee* = or
* *Sak* = the
* *Sa* = a
* *Wo* = so (as in 'so many', 'so much' etc.)
* *Afa* = of
* *Yaasou* = hello/goodbye
* *Daki sakro* = welcome
* *Yaamorniri* = good morning
* *Morniri* = morning
* *Yaaeveri* = good evening
* *Everi* = evening
* *Yaadaryk* = good night
* *Daaryk* = night
* *Aera* = day
* *Parat* = afternoon
* *Kaasi* = please
* *Naa pakin* = no problem
* *Seop ty* = thank you
* *Para ja* = excuse me
* *Para sijar* = I'm sorry

### Question Words

* *Spiz* = how
* *Rayt* = which
* *Dafast* = what
* *Deheir* = where
* *Inm* = why
* *Iet* = who
* *Atime* = when

### Often used words

* *Dwinaer* = young
* *Dajjaer* = old
* *Kajaj* = large
* *Defin* = small
* *Baasi* = beauty
* *Unbaasi* = ugly
* *Kain* = good
* *Unnkain* = bad
* *Luppat* = clever
* *Unnluppat* = stupid
* *Baewat* = broken
* *Nubi* = strong
* *Unnnubi* = weak
* *Lieran* = courage
* *Fash* = fear
* *Taylean* = happy
* *Unntaylean* = anger
* *Nove* = pride
* *Unnove* = shame

#### Comparative and superlative adjectives

In Ikaarin, to form comparative and superlative adjectives, the word '**tar'** and '**tarso**' are added before the adjective. For instance, the word 'defin' means small, and to say smaller, 'tardefin' is used. Similarly, to express the superlative form, 'tarsodefin' is used to mean 'the smallest.' It's important to note that the use of the word 'sak' before 'tarsodefin' means 'the' smallest, where 'sak' is the definite article in Ikaarin. This pattern is consistent across all adjectives, making it easy to create comparative and superlative forms.

### Verbs

Verbs in Ikaarin have a consistent pattern in their endings - they all end with the suffix "-aer". This makes it easy to recognize a verb in a sentence, and helps to distinguish it from other parts of speech.

* *Stolkaer* = to work
* *Biwanaer* = to break
* *Toraer* = to have
* *Lemaer* = to give
* *Semaer* = to say
* *Itaer* = to get
* *Asmaer* = to come
* *Creataer* = to become
* *Ewropaer* = to make
* *Mezinaer* = to help
* *Finarmaer* = to take
* *Vaaer* = to see
* *Lejaer* = to hear
* *Determaer* = to know
* *Swaer* = to sell
* *Koupaer* = to buy
* *Essaer* = to trade
* *Webaer* = to steal
* *Laaer* = to love
* *Balkaer* = to like
* *Unnbalkaer* = to hate
* *Warpaer* = to wait
* *Lejosaer* = to put down
* *Faaer* = to return, to go back
* *Sintaer* = to continue

### **Family and people**

* *Aavka* = father
* *Aarathe* = mother
* *Dantith* = brother
* *Aadrothe* = sister
* *Som* = son
* *Daugh* = daughter
* *Laadaen* = friend
* *Daemon* = enemy

#### Titles

* *Araith* = king
* *Arothe* = queen
* *Tykaith* = prince
* *Tykathe* = princess
* *Luppath Khtai* = high lord
* *Luppath* = lord

### Suffixes

* *-ith* (a male suffic)
* *-the* (a female suffix)

### Religion and spirituality

* *Aewyt* = soul (the spiritual or immaterial part of a person)
* *Laith* = love
* *Lasalanta* = leaf-song (representing the deep connection to the natural world)
* *Taela* = earth
* *Niryth* = star
* *Faevi* = life, cycle of life

### Colors

* *Kia* = red
* *Nein* = green
* *Luuni* = white
* *Taepa* = brown
* *Kaenu* = black

### Others

* *Lasa* = leaf
* *Lanta* = song
* *Aki* = apple
* *Kaalas* = trees
* *Kretha* = animal
* *Kyari* = horse
* *Arwhay* = deer
* *Kaeri* = weapon
* *Mat* = for
* *Sadana* = gift, present
* *Vera* = can, may; be able to
* *Ath* = to

### Sample phrases

* *Luppath araith sak tyswarpar*. = The king awaits you. (literally "lord king" using the title "luppath")
* *Tywa kain, milaadeen*. = Calm down, my friend.
* *Lejosar tyrkaeris*. = Put down your weapons.
* *Seop ty, Kthai Tári, mat tyr sadana. Vera tar aewyt far ath sak taela aa sak faevi sintar unnbaewat*. = **Thank you, mighty Tári, for your gift. May its spirit return to the land and the cycle of life continue unbroken.**

## Trivia

* Ikaarin is considered the *language of the kind* based on the fact that it values kindness and positivity, as evidenced by the absence of ugly, hateful, and degrading words. This is in line with the cultural values of Ikraashi, who prioritize respect and compassion towards others and nature itself. In fact, there are even specific terms in Ikaarin that express concepts of kindness and benevolence, such as 'lantra' which means 'to be kind-hearted'.
* One interesting aspect of Ikaarin grammar is the lack of "helping verbs", which are commonly used in many other languages. For example, the words 'is', 'are', and 'were' do not exist in Ikaarin.
* Native speakers often times don't pronounce **r**. For example *Determar* (I know) would sound like *Detema*.