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Rakahi Pidgin: Lexicon and Usage Guide
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:45 pm
by Pash Raj'oriq
Thanks for the approval, Maltruism! Gonna put something important here later. But for now, the pronunciation guide, usage, and words/phrases are all found below. Enjoy.
Special thanks to Djinn for being so enthusiastic, coming up with lots of phrases, and putting them all to good use.
Rakahi Pidgin: Lexicon and Usage Guide
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:45 pm
by Pash Raj'oriq
Bi’qat (beh-KITH) is a trade language spoken by Biqaj, humans, merchants, and pirates. Bi’qat is not a true language, but rather a pidgin—a collection of jargon, native Biqaj words and phrases mixed with both new and defunct Common. Bi’qat is often employed with colorful metaphors as well as the words below, in typical Biqaj style. The sentence structure of Bi’wat is extremely simple - unless absolutely necessary, most sentences lack any sort of conjugation, and no complex tenses or grammatical structures are used; most adjectives can be used as nouns, and vice versa.
No additional letters are necessary to make a noun plural, as plurality is mostly implied through context.
Non-native speakers of Bi’qat might make the mistake of using Bi’qat words like everyday slang words, pluralizing nouns and using made-up verb tenses. While this is looked down on by Biqaj and taken advantage of by merchants (because you out yourself as a noob), it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged in roleplay to add authenticity to your character.
Rakahi Pidgin: Lexicon and Usage Guide
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:45 pm
by Pash Raj'oriq
- Q is pronounced like K, and changes the vowel next to it slightly (see examples below).
- J at the end of a word is pronounced like an H; in other places, such as in “rayjim” it is pronounced /ʒ/ (sounds like the g in "beige"). When next to a consonant, it adds emphasis to the letter before it through a hard exhale, so as the word “nji’ir” is pronounced NHE’er.
- Ts is a digraph, like the one on the end of the word "its."
- T at the end of a word becomes "th," but is otherwise a regular hard "T" when found elsewhere in a word.
- Vr is a digraph pronounced like the "fr" in "from," but with more of a v sound.
- ’ is a guttural pause, dividing a word into obvious syllables.
“
I were headed down to the tumble hut with a couple o’ m’ qat. Run into this lyat. She punt on the place, tellin' us it be full o’ Lissira’s poxy. I talk ‘er up an’ we tack it to th’ nearest tavern so we can all just get railed instead.”
This is a really extreme example of usage, but after looking below, maybe you can get the idea. Some example threads where Rakahi pidgin is used can be found
here and
here.
Rakahi Pidgin: Lexicon and Usage Guide
Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:46 pm
by Pash Raj'oriq
Greetings and Conversation
PIDGIN | PRONUNCIATION | MEANING |
| Es’jah | ESH-ʒah | “Hello.” |
| Ve’yalos | ve-YA-lohs | “Goodbye.” |
| Ry’tsam! | RAI-tsahm | “It’s good to meet you!” or “Well met!” - can be used both for meeting someone for the first time and seeing someone again after a long time. |
| Qes, Ze | KAS, zeh | “Yes.”, “No.” |
| Nje’lu? | NHE-lyu | “How are you?” |
| Ot djal? | ooth DHAL | “Please,” more literally “If you please?” And is also used to indicate “Do you understand?” |
| Nelo qe. | NE-loh KA | “Thank you;” can be intensified by saying “Nelo nelo qe.” |
| Eja’yoama. | e-ʒAH-yoh-ah-mah | “I’m sorry.” |
| Des’penya. | des-PEN-ya | Literally: "No worries," or "Don't fret," it's used in a similar fashion. |
| Mes'me perto. | mez-MEH PER-toh | "Not even close." or "You've missed the mark." Used to indicate someone is wrong, lacking in their assumptions, or a bad aim. |
| Mezo! | meh-ZOH | An expression of surprise or disbelief; similar to “whoa!” |
| Vrelore. | FRE-loh-reh. | “Ah, I see.” or “As you wish.” |
| Qau’malu. | ko-MA-lu | I love you. |
| Hasta! | HA-stah! | Enough! Literally: Stop! Used both ways. |
| Tsu | ts’uh | A sound used to indicate indecisiveness or apathy, similar to “meh.” |
PIDGIN | PRONUNCIATION | MEANING |
| Biqaj | BEH-ki | Literally one who is free. The Biqaj term for their race. |
| Biqat | BEH-kith | A Biqaj who has settled in a city |
| Ki’at | KEH-ath | A merchant or someone who sells things |
| Gy’at | GYA-ath | an outsider, a non-Biqaj, anyone who isn’t “us” |
| Qe’at | QA-ath | A warrior, guard, or soldier |
| Zyqat | ZYAK-ath | A champion for a cause; someone who stands for good or is marked by an Immortal. A term of respect. |
| Zyem’at | ZY-em-ath | A defiler, someone who breaks the law or is generally not good. |
| Vja’at | FAH-ath | A magic user, a mage. This term is generally negative, but definitely depends on the opinions of the speaker. |
| Qat | KETH | A man, a guy, dude. |
| Lyat | Li-ath | A woman. |
| Ejat | Eʒ-ath | A tricky person, a thief, a liar. |
| Biraj | BEH-reh | An upstanding citizen; one who is a good example to follow for the clan. |
| Siera’ja | SIR-ah-ʒah | A priest or priestess of U’frek. |
| Siera’ma | SIR-ah-ma | Faith, devotion. The path one follows in a spiritual sense. |
| Yipat | YE-path | A jack-of-all-trades, someone who has many talents. |
| Ej'qy | Eʒ-ki | Someone who has been forsaken/shunned/exiled and is without a clan; a traitor worthy of nothing but contempt—a very strong word |
| Toraqat | TO-ra-qeth | A trustworthy guy. |
| Toralat | TO-ra-lath | A good woman. |
| Noch, nochi (pl.) | noh-ch, NOH-che | child, children |
| Qaunobo | ko-NO-bo | A term of endearment. Also adjective for cute, endearing; ‘bo can be used at the end of a name as a diminutive (i.e. Pa’bo as a term of endearment for Pash) |
| Da’oat | DAU-ath | Mother |
| Da’at | DA-ath | Father |
| Ly’akor | LI-ah-kur | sister, close friend (feminine), used as a term of respect Ly’Navyri (Miss Navyri) |
| Qa’akor | KE-ah-kur | brother, close friend (masculine), used as a term of respect Qa’Pash (Mister Pash) |
| Qy’akot | KI-ah-koth | family (literally “clan of the heart”), not necessarily blood-related |
| Seq’at, Seq’lat | SEK-ath, SEK-lath | cousin (m, f), more loosely “one of us” or not an outsider; can include non-Biqaj but generally refers to those who are “our people” whether related or not |
| Ly'oat | LI-oh-ath | Daughter |
| Qu’oat | KE-oh-ath | Son |
| Qau’ma | KOA-ma | Literally, heart. Refers to a loving relationship, either the love one has for a person or the object of affection. |
PIDGIN | PRONUNCIATION | MEANING |
| Gant | gahnth | adj. big |
| Ipi | eh-pi | adj. small |
| Lemmy | LEH-mee | adj. really good |
| Aoja | AH-uh-ʒah | Favorable, as in favorable circumstances |
| Djout | DHO-uth | lowlife; petty; also means dirty, filthy |
| Tsuvet | TSU-fith | cruel or bastardly |
| Rajo | RAH-ʒoh | Literally: blinding, but used to mean beautiful, lovely. |
| Alore | ah-LOH-reh | smooth, sexy |
| Meja | MAY-ʒah | SQaure, even, made right, usually in the form of trade or as a deal of some sort. |
| Esh’ve | esh-FEH | A story, a tale, but one that refers to spoken word and not music. |
The Bad Words and Other Bad Things
PIDGIN | PRONUNCIATION | MEANING |
| Bija | BEH-ʒah | A slang term for an unmarried Biqaj, typically referred derisively to a sexually promiscuous member of the opposite sex |
| Jhi'nat | JHE-nith | Derogatory term for "ass", often used by Biqaj when threatening to punish their children. |
| It'qaj | it-KEH | Literally, the fecal matter of a chicken or other fowl. Used in most places to denote a coward. |
| Wo Chet! | woah sheth | "Oh no!" or more more literally, "Oh shit!" |
| Havakda! | ha-FAHK-da | "Away with you!" only much ruder (the equivalent of "Fuck off!") |
| Chunta! | CHOON-ta | "Dammit!" as in "Chunta! You've got the fishing lines all tangled again." |
| Vrung! | frung | Human waste. Used as an expletive accordingly. |
| Vji’at | FEH-ath | Literally: filthy one; used as a mostly derogatory term for those who practice Necromancy. It implies disrespect of the dead, though between magic users, the term is just acceptable slang. |
| Tia'mja | TEA-meh | Transmutation magic or the one who practices it, can also be used to indicate falsehood or change. |
| Na’qa | nah—key | to kill, murder |
| Tumble | — | A prostitute. Also, tumblehut: a brothel |
| Poxy | — | Diseased or cursed. Generally bad stuff; can be made stronger by mentioning Lissira as the origins. |
PIDGIN | PRONUNCIATION | MEANING |
| Qau’jave | KO-ʒah-feh | To court, especially a Biqaj pursuing another Biqaj |
| Crimp | Krimp | From Common, to procure by trickery or coercion. Also: one who crimps. |
| Furl | Fərl | From Common: to secure, usually a ship’s sail, but also used to describe the act of making somewhere safe. (i.e. “Furl th’ door!”) |
| Punt | punt | to inform, to tattle |
| Drift | — | From Common: to leave one’s family, clan, or group |
| Handsomely | — | From Common: carefully. |
| Smartly | — | From Common: quickly. |
| Fair | — | From Common: very. |
| Close | — | From Common: familiar. |
| Spitch | — | Twisted from Common (probably spit): worthless junk. |
| Trawl | — | From Common: to go looking for trouble, usually of the alcoholic or sexual kind |
| Underway | — | From Common: to get going, usually with haste, as in: “C’mon. Let’s be underway.” |
| Keel | — | From Common: the backbone of a ship’s hull; used to indicate the condition of someone’s spine. (i.e. much the same as we say things like “even keeled” today: “He’s got a right keel, he does.”) |
| Tiller | — | From Common: brain, mind, in control. As in, “Who’s at yer tiller?” |
| Tack | — | From Common: to run very fast, to flee the area. As in, “Let’s tack!” |
| Rail | — | From Common "gunrail" or "gunnel": to get drunk, to drink. As in, “Screw it, I’m going to go get railed.” Ne'Haer pidgin uses "gunnel'd," implying that one gets drunk enough to throw up over the side of their own ship. |
Rakahi Pidgin/Tradespeak (WIP)
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 2:05 am
by Maltruism
Feel free to add as much as you want.
I have no issue with a "Pidgin" language being used to spice up dialogue
anywhere.
I don't really see this as a specific language, requiring any "leveling up", as it will be so affected by dialects as to never be the same from group to group; never being much more coherent than Broken.
I would invite anyone to invent their own disjointed pseudo languages of this type for rp "color" purposes.