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(fwd) Ferengi language
- From: [email protected] (Nick NICHOLAS)
- Subject: (fwd) Ferengi language
- Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 15:37:18 +1000 (EST)
>From sci.lang Sat Sep 10 15:29:38 1994
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From: [email protected] (Timothy Miller)
Newsgroups: sci.lang,rec.arts.startrek.tech
Subject: Language of the Ferengi, Version 1.1
Date: 9 Sep 1994 17:19:01 GMT
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Preliminary Ferengi Lexicon
Version 1.1
Written by Timothy Miller
Email: [email protected]
UsMail:
Timothy Miller
7519 Winging Way Drive
Tampa, FL 33615-1519
This file is intended to spark interest in the Ferengi language and get a
foot-hold in the community of Trekkers on the internet. Paramount doesn't
know who I am and doesn't know my experience with linguistics, so they
most certainly wouldn't take me seriously. On the other hand, if the
Trekkers see this file, accept the language, bring copies of this file to
Trek conventions, show it to others at Trek conventions, and basically
spread the word about this, then I'll have a chance.
This file itself is a public-domain work that can be distributed freely,
but you may not remove my name or email address from the file, nor may you
modify it in any way except with the intention of sending the file directly
back to me with comments.
And speaking of comments, please feel free to make any comments and
suggestions that you like. Tell me about errors, suggest additions,
express needs, etc. Any and all feedback is welcome.
Once the existence of this text file is brought to the attention of those
at Paramount, I will be able to put together a complete book that includes
a complete language, as well as some history of the Ferengi language
and culture and two glossaries, one of regular words, and one of an extensive
vocabulary of economic and mathematical terms.
This is by far not a final version of the language. There isn't enough
vocabulary to get much of a point across, and there are many necessary
concepts missing. I will be working from feedback I get from other
trekkers as well as people in the Foreign Language Department of the
University of South Florida. Therefore, anything in this file is subject
to change from one version to the next. I will try to keep continuity so
you don't find yourself wasting time reading this, but I will correct
flaws when I find them, however I need to.
Table of Contents:
1. Phonology: How do I pronounce Ferengi words?
2. Grammar: How do I put words and sentences together?
3. Vocabulary: What do these words mean?
4. Example Ferengi sentences, with English phonetics (yuck!)
5. English (American) words spelled using Ferengi phonetics
(to give you a better idea of how this writing system works)
Section 1 --- Phonlogy
This section describes a spelling system that I use to write Ferengi
words. It is a phonemic system that described Ferengi words sound-for-
sound, with a specific, consistent sound assigned to each letter.
Upper and lower case letters are distinct from one another. Do not
try to pronounce any vowels as if the Ferengi words were English words;
your pronounciation will be wrong.
Later, you will see that Ferengi words have large consonant clusters with
few vowels. In certain places, you need to insert a schwa (after voiced
stops), or a gap (after voiceless stops). These are not represented in
writing, although in section 5, they are shown.
Phonemic spellings of Ferengi sounds, words, and sentences are often shown
beween slashes (/.../).
In the native Ferengi writing system (which I am working on), most vowels
are usually spelled using two letters (the vowel followed by a glide), but
this spelling system does not usually represent that. Shown in braces
in the vowel section are representations of how the Ferengi actually
spell their vowels (sorta).
Mostly english words are used as examples, but for the vowels, it's very
hard, so I do my best.
CONSONANTS
Stops
Voiceless Labial /p/ -- [p]et, sto[p]
Alveolar /t/ -- [t]op, po[t]
Velar /k/ -- [k]ite, ba[ck]
Uvular /q/ -- Like /k/ but the back of the tongue
is against the uvula, rather than
the velum.
Glottal /?/ -- the stop in the middle of uh[-]oh
Also in Cochney or Scottish bo[tt]le
Voiced Labial /b/ -- [b]et, sta[b]
Alveolar /d/ -- [d]umb, ba[d]
Velar /g/ -- [g]ood, ba[g]
Fricatives
Voiceless Bilabial /P/ -- like /f/, but with the lips
Labiodental /f/ -- [f]an, hal[f]; becomes /P/ after /p/
Interdental /T/ -- [th]in, ba[th]
Alveolar /s/ -- [s]top, pa[ss]
Palatal /S/ -- [sh]ine, bo[sh]
Velar /x/ -- Ba[ch] (composer, German)
[H]annukah (Jewish holiday)
Analogy: s:t::x:k
Glottal /h/ -- [h]ello, [h]alf
Voiced Bilabial /B/ -- like /v/ but with the lips
Labiodental /v/ -- [v]ery, hal[v]e; becomes /B/ after /b/
Interdental /D/ -- [th]is, ba[th]e
Alveolar /z/ -- [z]ip, spa[zz]
Palatal /Z/ -- a[z]ure, mea[s]ure, [j]our (French)
Velar /G/ -- [gh]adha (Arabic for 'lunch')
Analogies: z:d::G:g, s:z::x:G
Uvular /R/ -- Pa[r]is (French), d[r]ei (German)
Like /G/ but with tongue against
the uvula.
Glides
Voiced Labial /w/ -- [w]et, ho[w]
Palatal /j/ -- [y]ou, bo[y]
Nasals
Voiced Labial /m/ -- [m]ud, spa[m]
Alveolar /n/ -- [n]ed, fa[n]
Velar /N/ -- ba[ng], si[ng], [ng]uyen
VOWELS
Tense
Front Unrounded High /i/ -- b[ee]t, p[ee]k {iy}
Mid /e/ -- b[ai]t, p[ay] {ey}
Low /&/ -- b[a]t, c[a]t, p[a]ddle (not in Ferengi)
Rounded High /y/ -- m[ue]de (German). Say /i/, but with
lips rounded for /u/. {iw}
Mid /0/ -- l[oe]sen (German), Say /e/, but with
lips rounded for /u/. {ew}
Central Unrounded Mid /^/ -- b[u]t, m[u]d {^h} In English, this
is allophonic with /@/, but here it is
strongly tense and distinct from /@/.
Retroflex /r/ -- [r]un, f[ur], wat[er]. These are
the American pronounciation. They
most be pronounced correctly, and
strongly retroflex. Used as a vowel.
Sounds just like "er" in American. {r}
Back Rounded High /u/ -- m[oo]d, f[oo]d, g[oo]p {uw}
Mid /o/ -- b[oa]t, t[o]ne, tac[o] {ow}
(NOT Brittish /@U/)
Low /A/ -- br[a], b[o]x (American) {aw}
(interchangable in Ferengi with /a/)
Lax
Front Unrounded High /I/ -- b[i]t, m[i]lk {i}
Mid /E/ -- b[e]t, f[e]lt {e}
Rounded High /Y/ -- k[ue]ster (German). Say /I/, but with
lips rounded for /u/. {iw}
(interchangable in Ferengi with /y/)
Mid -- m[oe]chte (German). Say /E/, but with
lips rounded for /u/. No symbol here,
and interchangable in Ferengi with /0/)
Central Unrounded Mid /@/ -- Schwa. Fers[e] (German), c[o]mputer {@}
Low /a/ -- m[a]nn (German), t[a]sk (Brittish), {ah}
Back Unrounded High /U/ -- b[oo]k, f[oo]t {u}
Mid /O/ -- b[o]y, w[a]ter (Brittish), m[o]re {o}
Ferengi have the dendancy nazalize vowels. This means that the velum is
lowered so that air can resonate through the nazal cavities as well as in
the mouth. For example, in English, all vowels before nazal consonants
are nazalized. The nazalization in Ferengi has no affect on meaning, but
there is a pattern to it:
Front vowel + /n/ -- nazalize vowel and often drop /n/
Back vowel + /N/ -- nazalize vowel and often drop /N/
/m/ seems to be generally unaffected and isn't dropped. These aren't the
only places where vowels are nazalized, but to derrive a predictable
pattern will require further study.
Long (double in length) vowels are written as the letter doubled.
The basic vowels used are a, o, i, u, ^, e, y, O, and r. The others are
allophones of their corresponding tense vowels. Short (in length) vowels
may be pronounced lax (/I/ for /i/, /U/ for /u/, /E/ for /e/), but long
vowels are always as written.
The above may be too technical. If it's confusing, just relate the phonemes
to the examples to their right.
Section 2 --- Grammar
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are usually attached to the beginning of the verb. If the verb has
only a subject pronoun, the pronoun particle is attached to the beginning of
the verb. If the verb has both a subject and a direct object, then subject
pronoun particles are used for both the subject and object (subject then
object). If the verb only has a direct object, then the object paticle is
used.
In this list, the subject phoneme is given, then the object, then the
description:
t s -- I, first person singular
k f -- you/thou, second person singular
? h -- one/he/she, third person singular, animate
p T -- it, third person singular, inanimate
d z -- we, first person plural, including person spoken to
n Z -- we, first person plural, excluding person spoken to
(/n/ turns to /d/ when both /n/ and /Z/ are used)
g v -- you/ye, second person plural
b D -- they, third person plural, animate
m S -- they, third person plural, inanimate
(/m/ turns to /t/ when both /m/ and /S/ are used)
x l -- that, last sentense/concept.
CASE PARTICLES
Ferengi has a set of vowels that are attached to word roots to show what
type of word it is. These somewhat resemble cases in Latin, so the
names from Latin cases are used. These vowels are attached to the end of
the ROOT of a word.
o Nominative (subject)/Default
^ Accusative (direct object)
i Dative (indirect object)
u Genative (possesive)
e Gerund/Process
y Adjective/Participle
a Verb
r Verb 'to be' (attached to adjectival root)
VERB PARTICLES
Verb modifiers are items that are attached to the end of the verb,
following the case vowel /a/. They are listed in the relative order in
which they are usually attached.
Tense (listen in order of most common usage)
(nothing), t, v present
s, g, z past
k, x future
vt Imperative/NOW/Emphatic
ts Present perfect
xt Future imperfect (now and in the future)
gz Past perfect
ks Future perfect
Auxiliary
p Not/Negation
z Question
m Plural (Actually for nouns)
ub Passive
CONSTRUCTING VERB PHRASES
Now that you have pronouns, cases, and modifiers, you need to know now to
attach them to verbs. Verb phrases in Ferengi usually end up being single
words, and they can get rather long. Here, I will build a few example
words, using the root for 'see', which is /v/:
"Have I not seen you?"
t {I} k {you} v {see} a {verb} ts {present perfect} p {not} z {question}
/tkvatspz/
"Do I see myself?"
t {I} s {me} v {see} a {verb} z {question}
/tsvaz/
"I will have been seen."
t {I} v {see} a {verb} ks {future perfect} ub {passive}
/tvaksub/
"To be seen"
v {see} a {verb} t {present} ub {passive}
/vatub/
In the case of imperatives, the pronoun (/k/ or /g/) is usually given
explicitly.
"See!" (command to no one in particular or emphatic)
v {see} a {verb} vt {imperative}
/vavt/
"(thou) see!"
k {thou} vavt
/kvavt/
"(ye) see!"
g {ye} vavt
/gvavt/
PARTICLES STANDING ALONE
There are cases when some of the above listed particles and attachments
will have to stand alone. For example, the word "my" is the pronoun /t/,
attached to the genative particle /u/, making the word /tu/.
Pronouns can even stand alone if it is necessary to emphasize them. In that
case, object pronouns are used in conjuntion with the accusative case
particle in proper circumstances. For example, "I see you", which is /tkva/,
can be split up into:
to {I + nominative} f^ {thou + accusative} va {see + verb}
/to f^ va/
Genative pronouns act as adjectives and therefore follow the word the modify:
"My hand"
kaxo {hand + default} tu {I + genative}
/kaxo tu/
WORD ORDERING and EMPHASIS
In some cases, when one word modifies another, the modifier (adjective or
adverb) immediately follows the word it modifies. The phonemic system
used here shows them seperate, but the Ferengi often attach the modifer
directly to the end of the modified word in their writing system.
However, there is no other default word ordering in the sentence. Since
all parts are marked in the word by a case particle, there is no need for
a specific ordering to the words. Therefore, the Ferengi take advantage
of this for emphasis. Words are generally placed in order of importance,
and loosely in order of newest-to-oldest.
For example, if you wanted to say, "_I_ see you", with "I" being very
important, then the sentence would be ordered thus:
/to kva/
However, if the verb "see" were more important, it could be ordered like
this:
/va to f^/
But most often, pronouns aren't emphasized, and the sentence would simply
be /tkva/.
Now consider a sentence that doesn't need much emphasis, but is presenting
you with new information. Take the sentence, "Dak sees PraaN", where
you know who /Dak/ and /PraaN/ are, but you don't know that one sees the
other (which is why you are being told this sentence in the first place).
Then the sentence would be ordered thus:
/va Dako PraaN^/
In the case of imperatives, the pronoun (/k/ or /g/) is given explicitly.
In addition to word ordering, there is a suffix which is often used for
emphasis. As an example, here is the Ferengi standard greeting:
bj {profit} a {verb} vt {imperative}
/bjavt/
This sentence means "Profit!", but it is not directed at anyone (no subject
pronoun), so in actuality, its meaning is a strong emphasis on the word
'profit', which is what Ferengi like to make a lot of.
But this /vt/ attachment has spread to other words, and can be used to
emphasize something. /Gal/ is the root of "red", and therefore, /Galy/
is the adjectival form of the word used in speech. If you wanted to say
"RED" or "very red" or "really red", putting much emphasis on the fact that
something is red, then you could use the word /Galyvt/. Since adjectives
must follow the nouns they modift, this can be very useful.
THE VERB "TO BE"
There is no root word for "to be" in Ferengi. Rather, it is a vowel that
is attached to an adjective, turing the adjective into part of a verb
phrase. From above, you saw that /Gal/ is the root for "red". If something
"IS" red, then you attach the vowel /r/ and get /Galr/. If _I_ am red, then
you get this:
t {I} Gal {red} r {is/am}
/tGalr/
In a case where you absolutely NEED the verb "to be", then you simply
stand it alone with tense and auxilaries attached to the end.
"to be"
/rt/
"to have been"
/rts/
"to not be" or "not to be"
/rpt/
(notice the change in attachment ordering for ease of pronounciation)
"to be been" (which makes no sense in English; passive of "to be")
/rtub/
"to be?"
/rtz/
QUANTIFIERS
In English, quantifiers act just like adjectives, but in Ferengi, where
numbers and quantities are very important, words that specify how much
there is of something go before the nouns they modify. They are used as
shown with out any sort of ending attached.
/puk/ None of
/kyf/ All of/Every
/Goz/ Many
/Zrn/ Some of
/gip/ Not all of
/fis/ Few
/kjy/ Only
/gelm/ More
Numbers:
QUESTION WORDS
The following is a list of roots for basic question words. To them, you
would attach the proper case ending for its place in the sentence.
Additionally, the verb needn't necessarily have the question auxiliary
/z/ attached, and if the verb is "to be", the verb can be omitted
altogether.
/ug/ Who/whom
/am/ What
/pod/ Why
/in/ When
/pk/ Where
/a?/ How
/Ng/ How much
When Ferengi greet each other, it is polite to ask how one feels. In
Ferengi, you do not ask how one feels; you ask what is the state of one's
inner peace. The root word for "inner peace" is /hin/. Here is the
proper form of the question:
"How are you?"
amo {what + nominative} kino {inner-peace + default} ku {you + genative}
/amo kino ku/
As you can see, there is no "is" in this sentence. That is implicit in
the use of /amo/.
English puts predicate nominatives ('object' of "to be" sentence) into the
nominative case, but Ferengi does not. If I were to say "I am he" in
Ferengi, it would be /to rt h^/ (or whatever word ordering you choose),
which puts /h^/ (him, actually) into the accusative case. However, there
are cases where this rule is violated, and the above greeting is one of
those cases where a gramatically incorrect statement is so often used
that it becomes accepted as standard. (Like "It is me" in English which is
technically wrong but generally accepted.)
CONJUNCTIONS
When you need to join together more than one word as the subject of or
object of a sentence, in English, you use conjuntions. The same is done
in Ferengi. Most often, the conjunction is placed between each of the
elements of a list. The whole list is kept together as a unit, and the
items are listed in order of importance or arbitrarily, depending on the
point of the sentence.
"A and B and C and D...."
/A wen B wen C wen D..../
However, due to influence from alien languages, some Ferengi have adopted
a slightly more efficient (but some times confusing) approach:
"A, B, C, and D...."
/A, B, C, wen D..../
Also, in place of /wen/, the suffix /wn/ can be attached to the end of each
word:
"A and B and C and D...."
/Awn Bwn Cwn D..../
When more than one pronoun is the subject or object of a sentence, the
pronouns are detached from the verb:
"You and I see him."
kown {you + nominative + and} to {I + nominative} ?va {him + see + verb}
/kown to ?va/
or
/ko wen to ?va/
Other conjuntions function in the same way.
and -wn or wen
or (inclusive) lala
or (exclusive) mala
but imp
PHATIC SPEECH
As with any language, Ferengi has a number of commonly used phrases that
are used for greeting and politeness. The commonly used Ferengi greeting
show a strong bias toward the Ferengi general mindset and attitude.
The Ferengi word for 'hello' expresses their strong desire for acquiring
profit. It is a verb which means 'profit', is had the emphatic/imperative
suffix attached, and it does not have any pronoun attached, showing that
'profit' is basically a very important thing.
"Hello!"
/bjavt/
"Profit!" (imperative/emphatic)
Normally when you say 'goodbye' to someone, you usually have the wish to
see them again (so you can sell them more things). The Ferengi use the
same very important word /bjavt/, plus an expression of interest in
being seen again.
"Goodbye!"
/bjavt vatub/
"Profit! To be seen."
It is always polite to ask how someone is feeling, etc. The Ferengi have
discovered the value of being polite to their customers and suppliers, and
to a Ferengi, one way of being polite is to express a positive interest in
how well one's business is going. The Ferengi have a root word /kin/ which
means a number of emotionally associated things, including "inner peace"
and "economic status".
"How are you?"
/amo kino ku/
"What is your inner-peace/economic-state?"
When greeting anyone, it is polite to refer to them with a title that
honors him. In any case where you don't know what the title of the person
to whom you are speaking, or you just want to be brief about it, you
can refer to them as /blk/. /blk/ is used regardless of relative rank or
standing.
In cases where you do know what the rank of someone is, these are the
standard ranks:
Pilch /piltS/
Zok /zak/
TarkMon /tark man/
QuoMon /kwo man/
KoMon /ko man/
Sub DaiMon /uf de man/
DaiMon /de man/
Miser /ekfaple/
Sub Nagus /uf ne g^s/
Nagus /ne g^s/
Section 3 --- Vocabulary
The following is a list of every Ferengi word with its English meaning
to the right. They are in no particular order, and case endings are not
attached. If there is a dash (-) at the beginning, then it's a suffix,
and if there is a dash at the end, it is a prefix. When a suffix is
attached to a word, no case particle is attached.
v see
tx give
sl go
m have
mn want
da read
pj write
sxt exist
pZ speak
il buy
bj profit
k? sell
ndf open
vw strike/hit
n act/do
eek make
dxn punish
idl love/like
lf need
wl eat
ekf keep
Nouns and Adjectives
-ple one who does
dZfk name
w here
kax hand
Gal red
pfat person
fren Ferengi culture
-gi belonging to/part of
bv money
sz ear
ps good
hin inner peace/economic status
-al home of
dak thing
blk Sir/Mister/Honorific (no case ending when used as title)
Prepositions and comparitors
uf Under
ti- from
Adverbs (do not take case endings)
paag always
spy ever
gmeef again
Question words
ug who
am what
pod why
in when
pk where
a? how
Ng how much
Quantifiers
puk None of
kyf All of/Every
Goz Many
Zrn Some of
gip Not all of
fis Few
kjy only
gelm more
Conjuntions
-wn and (suffix)
wen and
lala or (inclusive)
mala or (exclusive)
imp but
Interjections
ki yes
pax no
Section 4 --- Examples of Ferengi Sentences
(plus English phonetics)
Here are some sentences for you to ponder and take apart. If you want some
added, email them to me. If you make some of your own, you can email them
to me also and I'll add them to the list. The English phonetics (in single
quotes) is the closest I can get to how it should sound, written in a way
that an English speaker would understand it.
"Hello, my name is 'ofr'."
/bjavt, dZfko tu rt ofr/
'byahvt, jf-koh too ert oh-fer'
"Sir, do you want food?"
/blk, kmnaz wl^/
'bl'k, k'm'naz w'luh'
"Dhak has seen Omei's hand."
/Dak vats kax^ omeju/
'Thahk vahts kah-khuh oh-may-yoo'
"Fiddle is red."
/fIdl Galr/
'Fiddle ghahl-er'
"No good deed ever goes unpunished."
/puk no psy dxnapub spy/
'pook no psue d'x-nah-poob spue'
Section 5 -- English words written Ferengi-style
This section is to give you a better understanding of how this phonemic
system works. If you want any more added, just ask me in email.
/DIs sEkS^n Iz tu gIv yu e bEtr ^ndrst&ndIN ^f haw Tis fonimIk sIstEm
wrks. If yu w^nt @ny mOr &dEd, dZ^st &sk mi In imel/
"Have a nice day."
/h&v e najs de/
"The Ferengi are a race that grasp the concept of capitalism with a passion."
"D@ frEngi ar e res D&t gr&sp D@ cansEpt ^f k&pIt@lIzm wIT e p&S@n."
--
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Nick Nicholas. Linguistics, University of Melbourne. [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
AND MOVING REAL SOON NOW TO: [email protected]