Hirathic

From Linguifex
Revision as of 06:05, 13 November 2013 by Chrysophylax (talk | contribs) (→‎Name)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Hirathic
ΧΙΡΑΘΙΣ hirathis
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|χiˈɾaθis]]
Created by
Native speakers- (2013)
Indo-European
  • (unclassified) (?)
    • Hirathic
Language codes
ISO 639-1hi
ISO 639-2hi
ISO 639-3qhi

Background

Hirathic is my latest attempt at making an a posteriori language based on Proto-Indo-European. It is primarily inspired by developments found in the Greek and Albanian branches of the Indo-European language family. It also serves as yet another opportunity for me to delve into Indo-European linguistics. Hirathic has furthermore a set of words from an in-universe pre-Indo-European language termed the Hirathic substrate language which is basically my excuse to plop in words here and there without having to take them from a PIE root.

Unlike Dhannuá which was originally envisioned as a plausible modern Indo-European-descended language, I aim for Hirathic to be more like Old Norse, Sanskrit, Old Latin, Ancient Greek, that is, a language of epic cants and myths that is no longer spoken.

Name

Hirathic's English name derives from the autoglottonym hirathis~khirathis which is believed to be a derivation of PIE *gʰreH- 'to grow' with a suffix *-tis 'abstract', thus meaning 'that which is grown', 'that which is cultivated', and by extension 'that which is refined'. Related is the auto-ethnonym hirathēi 'the high ones'.

Other names for the language include hirathōn 'of the high ones', vepos 'speech', a combination of both (as seen in the Smyrna cave inscription ϜΕΠΟΣΧΙ(Ρ)ΑΘ(Ω)Ν), vepos nim 'our speech'.

Linguistic classification

Hirathic is a centum language which bears similarity to Greek in its development of the inherited voiced plosive series of Proto-Indo-European. It is believed to share some innovations with early Albanian though whether or not this points to a common origin is still hotly debated.

Features

Phonology

Language sample

Hymn to Vukhodava,

Hirathic (Greek): θη θανες εθι τυ φρατηρ η ϝατε ϝυναχωι δε θυγον ορεχων
Hirathic: thē thānes ethi tu phratēr ē vāte vunakhōi de thugon orekhōn
English: O wind of poet, how thou art the brother of thought and yoke of kings!

Adapted from Beowulf,

Hirathic (Greek): θη ϝη περθενων ην δαθηδιτε τύθωρεχων νωρεν εχίλευμος δε θη τοι χαφταφωι βελτων μιμων
Hirathic (Latin): thē vē perthenōn ēn dathēdite, tūthōrekhōn nōren ekhíleumos, de thē toi khaphtaphōi beltōn mimōn
English: How we of the spear-danes in yesterdays, of people-kings' glory heard, and how those warlords courage took!