Uruman
Uruman is both a language family and the lingua franca of the urumashi. Its name for itself is Uru'ntai; the -an suffix was likely added by Shamalians, who then introduced it to Sonnern speakers.
Uruman uses a pictographic writing system consisting exclusively of straight lines.
Uruman Phonemes
| Symbol(s) | Sound | Alternative Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ' | glottal stop or break between syllables | |
| i | 'ee', as in "feel" | |
| kh | an aspirated k, similar to a French 'r' | 'k' |
| tt | teeth clack | 't' |
| u | 'oo', as in "food" |
Uruman Dictionary
Word▼ | Meaning | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|
| kai | something that is chosen | |
| Kaitu'khttum | the religious order of mutant male urumashi or one of its members | "chosen by the power" |
| kho | cave | |
| Kho'ntai | the language spoken by the Cave Tribe | "cave speak" |
| Khomashi | the Cave Tribe or one of its members | "cave people" |
| khttun | power | |
| luam | trader | |
| mashi | people | |
| ntai | language, way of speaking | |
| tsi | ice | |
| Tsi'ntai | the language spoken by the Ice Tribe | "ice speak" |
| Tsimashi | the Ice Tribe or one of its members | "ice people" |
| uru | three, triple | |
| Uru'ntai | the common language of the urumashi | "triple language" |
| urumashi | the native denizens of northern Ata | "three peoples" |
| zu | forest, taiga, woodland | |
| Zu'ntai | the language spoken by the Taiga Tribe | "woodland speak" |
| Zumashi | the Taiga Tribe or one of its people | "woodland people" |
Daughter Languages
Members of each greater tribe speak their own language in addition to Uruman. The Kaitu'khttum also have a language, Khttumic, although it seems unrelated to Uruman.
Zu'ntai
This language is spoken by the Zumashi, or the Taiga Tribe. Zu'ntai is more similar to Uruman than either of its sister languages, but its dialects are somewhat varied.
Kho'ntai
This language is spoken by the Khomashi, or the Cave Tribe. Dialects of Kho'ntai vary so greatly that Khomashi from far-apart cave systems often prefer to communicate in Uruman.
Tsi'ntai
This language is spoken by the Tsimashi, or the Ice Tribe. Tsi'ntai itself is somewhat diverged from Uruman, but it has only one major dialect.
Tsi'ntai Dictionary
Word▼ | Meaning | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|
| dab | evil, terrible | |
| dab kuanab | massive, iceberg-dwelling seaworm | "terrible worm" |
| kuanab | worm | |
| laki | a whale-like arctic predator | |
| si | ice | |
| Zad os Laki | a rare tradition of hunting laki | "hunt for laki" |