Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk

Giants' Speech Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk
Progress: 14%
Type
Isolating
Alignment
Nominative/Accusative
Head direction
Initial	Mixed		Final
Primary word order
Subject-verb-object
Tonal
Yes
Declensions
No
Conjugations
No
Genders
None

General information

Real world disclaimer

Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk is a completely non-official fan imagining of the language spoken by the race of giants found "beyond the wall" in the fantasy realm described by George R. R. Martin in his series of novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. In the series of novels, there exists a language referred to as "the Old Tongue", which is implied to be the language spoken by the First Men - the human inhabitants of Westeros who were later largely subsumed culturally into the invading Andals. The Andals spoke "the Common Tongue", which for all intents and purposes is identical to English in the world of the series. The Old Tongue is now spoken only by a small number of wildlings who live north of the wall, a number of whom cannot speak the Common Tongue.

The giants are said to speak the Old Tongue "of a fashion". Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk (lit: Giants' speech) is my attempt to create a "giant speciolect" of the Old Tongue, based on the fragments included in the novels. Eventually I will work on a "human speciolect" as well, with a closely related vocabulary, but distinctly different structure.

Therefore, this is linguistic fan fiction, the samples of the Old Tongue derived from the books (primarily a very small number of fragments in personal names) are the intellectual property of George R. R. Martin.

In-Universe information starts here

The Giants' speciolect is an isolating, analytic language, characterised by a monosyllabic words (excepting sound changes in the system of reduplication) with four tones on vowels and extensive use of particles to show parts of speech.

The four tones are high, high falling, low rising and low/neutral; these are contrastive for meaning. There is also a distinctive system of reduplication, which is used to derive further vocabulary from the monosyllabic roots (although the meanings of the derived terms can be difficult to predict). The reduplication system follows specific tone-change rules.

The population still speaking the language is quite small, with only a few hundred giants still alive in the year 300 AL. There is a larger population of wildling humans still speaking the human speciolect, however it is quite divergent and mutual intelligibility is often not possible without some experience or training.

A large corpus of oral literature has been shown to exist among the giants, however this is also considered to be endangered as the giants face extinction as a race and few humans have studied the language.

Lessons

The following links will take you to a series of lessons, currently under development. They are based both on research found on the scrolls written in the Common Tongue under the title Understanding the Speech of Giants stored as Castle Black. The lessons were further developed in conjunction with both Giant native-speakers and human Wildlings with experience interpreting for them.

• 1. Meeting Giants
• 2. It's very cold

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Pharyngeal
Nasal	m		n		ŋ
Plosive			t d		k g
Fricative		θ ð	s			ħ
Approximant				ɻ	w
Lateral fric.			ɬ

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-mid	e	o
Open	a

Tones

Vowels exhibit contrastive tone, as follows:

High (ā) - ˥˥
High falling (à) - ˥˨
Low rising (á) - ˨˦
Neutral/low (a) - ˨˩

Orthography

The Giants do not write, but records of their speech recorded in the archives at Castle Black generally use the following orthography:

Consonants - M N NG T D K G TH DH S H R W LL
Vowels - A E I O U

M, N, T, D, K, G, W, S and R are close to their English equivalents, where the pairs T/D and K/G are contrasted voiceless/voiced. Voiceless plosives are usually aspirated (there appears to be some dialectal variance in this), however aspiration is not contrastive.

The digraphs TH/DH also form a voiceless/voiced pair, where TH represents /θ/ and DH represents /ð/.

The digraph LL represents the voiceless lateral fricative /ɬ/. The spelling as a digraph is redundant, as the giants do not have the sound represented by L in English; however, it is believed that the maesters originally studying the language wanted to make a clear distinction between the giants' pronunciation and that of the human "speciolects" which do include an English L sound in addition to /ɬ/.

The phoneme R is pronounced at the end of a syllable similarly to the rhotic 'r' sound found in American English, or Mandarin Chinese.

H represents the voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/, referred to in old text at Castle Black as "akin to the sound made when blowing on your hands to keep warm, or when one puffs against glass or steel to make fog". It should be noted that in the human speciolect of the Old Tongue, the sound is replaced by /χ/ or /x/.

Tones are marked as follows; high - macron ā, high falling - grave accent à, low rising - acute accent á, and neutral - unmarked a.

Apostrophes are used only in the compound syllables created by reduplication, they serve only to signal a deleted consonant and do not have a phonetic value.

Phonotactics

There are two permitted syllable structures in Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk; CVC and CCVC. There are numerous restrictions regarding which consonants are allowed in onset and coda.

Onset

All syllables begin with a consonant. Any consonant except 'h' may begin a syllable. Permitted complex onset clusters are; sk-, dhg-, thk-, dhr-, gr-, kr-, mr- and thr-.

Coda

Syllables may only end in the consonants m, n, g, k, ng, r and h. All syllables require a consonant coda, with the exception of in reduplication compounds, in which the coda of the first duplication is deleted (gemination does not occur).

e.g. rik (to say, to speak), reduplicates as ri'rìk (tongue, language).

Tonal sandhi

Duplication also affects the tones and the stress patterns in the resulting compound words.

• When words with the high tone are duplicated, the second syllable of the compound becomes neutral tone.

dōh (hot) → dō'doh (fire)

mág (smile, to smile) → má'mag (laugh, to laugh).

• When a word with the falling tone is duplicated, the first syllable becomes neutral tone.

dàn (arm, hand) → da'dàn (finger)

• When a word with the neutral tone is duplicated, the second syllable changes to falling tone.

ngak (that) → nga'ngàk (those)

Grammar

Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk does not have grammatical gender or articles, nor do verbs conjugate. As an analytic language, meaning is indicated primarily by word order (SVO), in addition to the use of particles to indicate plurals, interrogatives and cases. Time expressions are generally the last element in a sentence, although they can be placed first for emphasis (see the section on syntax below).

Particles are also used to mark perfective or habitual aspect; verbs without an aspect marking particle imply progressive or continuous aspect, depending on context.

Tense is not marked, time expressions must be referenced discretely if it is not clear from context what is meant.

There are no true pronouns, instead there are a range of nouns and nominalised determiners which are used in their place.

Yes/no questions are marked by placing the particle sīk at the start of a statement.

Nouns

Nouns are constructed from single-syllable roots, which may be arranged in compounds of multiple syllables. The particle dak marks plurals, and is obligatory when referring to animate objects (humans & animals, but also certain natural phenomena such as streams and lightning). When referring to inanimate objects, the plural marker is omitted, unless preceded by a number or either of the words dòk (many) or dhgāh (few).

Examples:

wōh → human, wōh dak → humans

skàg → stone, stones; dòk skàg dak → many stones

Noun-like adjectives

Adjectives fall before the noun they modify. However, certain words can function as either a noun or adjective depending on context. The most common examples in this category are the words gràm and dóh, which when used as adjectives mean small and large respectively. However, they can also be used to mean small thing or large thing, particularly when referring to animals. The common names of numerous animals include either gràm or dóh. If it is required to emphasis the size of the animal rather than just what species it is, the order of syallables is reversed, putting the adjective back into its regular position.

Examples:

nàg gràm → squirrel, gràm nàg → small squirrel

thān gràm → rabbit, gràm thān → small rabbit

llàk dóh → bear, dóh llàk → large bear (although wèg llàk dóh (mighty bear) is more often used in this situation, as a sign of cultural respect).

Nomalising particle nar

The particle nar is used to nominalise certain adjectives or verbs.

Examples:

wèg → strong, wèg nar → strong man, giant (as a colloquial abbreviation of wèg dóh wèg nar)

màg → to rule, to control; màg nar → ruler, lord

ngam → this, ngam nar → this one (also commonly used as the 1st person singular pronoun)

Reduplication

Reduplication is a common way of deriving new vocabulary. However, while the single syllable root and the compound will be related in meaning, it is not always easy to guess what the resultant compound will mean. Some examples are:

dàn (arm, hand) → da'dàn (finger)
dhúk (sky) → dhú'dhuk (wind, air)
dōh (hot) → dō'doh (fire)

For rules on tonal sandhi related to compounds, see the phonology section above.

Noun compounds

There exist a number of compounds, where one noun is used as an adjective to modify another. Examples include:

wōh dak nàg gràm = the Children of the Forest (literally "human squirrels")
wōh dak lléh wāh = members of the Night's Watch (literally "human crows")

In compound such as these, the plural marker follows the first noun, rather than the second.

Pronouns

Technically, there are no true pronouns in the Giants' Speech. There are three options used in their place; to use personal names, to use nouns which reflect the relative age and status of the speaker and audience, or to use nominalised determiners such as ngam nar (this one = I). This gives rise to wilding speakers of the Old Tongue (who use true pronouns) characterising the Giants as always referring to themselves in the 3rd person.

Examples:

Mág rik sig → literally: Mag speaks the truth

If Mág was the speaker, it could mean "I'm telling you the truth." If Mág was the addressee, it could mean "you are correct" or more loosely "I agree with what you said, Mág."

Dhōh nar rik sig → literally: the old one speaks the truth.

If an older giant was speaking to a younger, or if the speaker was of a higher social status, this would mean "I'm telling you the truth". A younger speaker may say it to an older speaker, to mean "you are correct."

Common pronouns include:

Noun	Literal translation	Usage Notes
dém	sibling	Neutral pronoun used between giants of a similar age
dhōh nar	old one	Implies respect, filial piety
wèg nar	strong one, giant	Implies mutual respect, used between giants to show camaraderie
wùn	child, son	Used by elder giants to those younger than them, regardless of actual age or relationship
wōh	human	Used when speaking to or about a human, also used jocularly to tease a giant seen as small or weak.
ngam nar	this one	neutral 1st person singular
nga'ngàm nar	these ones	neutral 1st person plural
ngak nar	that one	neutral 2nd or 3rd person singular
nga'ngàk nar	those ones	2nd or 3rd person plural

Verbs

Verbs do not show number or gender, nor do they conjugate. However, there are a number of particles which mark mood and aspect. There is no morphological tense, the role being filled by time expressions, e.g. wáh wùg = in the past, or by particles such as the perfective marker nūh which shows completion and thereby implies past.

Aspect

Unmarked verbs imply continuous and/or progressive aspect.

Mág rik = Mag is speaking.

Time expressions in the future or past may be added:

Mág rik wáh wùg = Mag was speaking.

Mág rik wáh ngūk = Mag will be speaking tomorrow.

• The particle mràh denotes habitual aspect, and can often imply regularity or large amount.

Mág rik mràh = Mag speaks (often and/or a lot).

Mág rik mràh sig = Mag tells the truth (compare with unmarked Mág rik sig = Mag is telling the truth).

When used with a time expression in the past, it becomes the equivalent of the English used to.

Mág rik mràh wáh wùg = Mag used to talk (a lot/often).

• The particle nūh denotes perfective aspect. It often translates as simple past tense or present perfect tense in English:

Mág rik nūh = Mag spoke, Mag has spoken.

When used with a time expression in the future, it implies that the action will be completed.

Mág rik nūh wáh ngūk = Mag will speak tomorrow.

Mood

Unmarked verbs are in indicative mood. Other moods (imperative and conditional) are indicated by particles which follow the verb, as illustrated in the following table:

Particle	Mood	Example sentence	Translation
krāh	Imperative	Rik krāh!	Speak!
kròh... krāh	Prohibitive	Kròh rik krāh!	Do not speak!
mròg	Conditional	Wah Mág ràk mròg, wah rik mròg	If Mag knew, then he would say something.

"If-then" sentences are created using the particle wah to introduce both clauses. In each clause the verb stands in conditional mood.

Mròg is also used as a standalone verb, meaning "would be":

Wah dhe'dhèr mròg nā'nag, wah mròg thū'thuh = If there were something to eat, that would be great.

Adjectives

Adjectives come before the noun they modify.

Order

Modifier comes before modified, e.g. very big man.

Comparative and Superlative

Comparative sentences are structured as follows:

A is more adj. than B = A llóh B adj.

Examples:

Wōh dak llóh nàg gràm dak wèg. = Humans are stronger than squirrels.

Thèn gōs llóh gāh gōs gor. = The north is colder than the south. (It would generally be assumed that "north" refers to Thenn and "south" to Westeros below the wall).

The superlative is formed by placing lló'lloh before the adjective. The adjective is then followed by the genitive particle dar.

Example:

Samwell Tarly lló'lloh ngàr dar wōh lléh wāh. = Samwell Tarly is the noisiest night's watchman.

Adpositions of location

Locations relative to a noun are marked by placing the preposition dhèr (at) in front of the noun, then following the noun with the relevant locator, such as dōk (in), dhàk (under), thāk (behind) or dhgèm (in front). Dhèr does not require any copula, in the absence of another verb in the sentence, it functions in the manner of the verb to be at....

Examples, using skàg (rock) and tāk (forest):

Nàg gràm dhèr skàg thāk - The squirrel is behind the rock.

Thān gràm dhèr skàg dhgèm - The rabbit is in front of the rock.

Dòk llàk dóh dak dhèr ngam tāk dōk - Many bears are in this forest.

Also derived from the preposition dhèr are the words ngam dhèr (here) and ngak dhèr (there). From this, it is also possible to remove the noun entirely, and make sentences such as these:

Nàg gràm ngam dhèr dōk! - The squirrel is in here!

Sīk dòk llàk dóh dak ngak dhèr dōk? - Are there lots of bears in there?

Gloss:

Sīk	dòk	llàk dóh	dak	ngak	dhèr	dōk
Y/N?	many	bear	plural	that	at (place)	in

Syntax

Sentences in the Giants' Speech are almost always of the form SVOAPT, where A = adverbial phrase, P = place or locational phrase and T = time phrase.

Wōh dak nāg thān gràm dak ngàr weh dhèr tāk dōk wáh wùg. = The humans were noisily eating rabbits in the forest.

Wōh	dak	nāg	thān gràm	dak	ngàr weh	dhèr	tāk	dōk	wáh wùg
Human	plural	eat	rabbit	plural	noisily	at	forest	in	in the past

The main exception to this rule is in the 'temporal declarative mood' (as termed by early maesters at Castle Black), where the time phrase is moved to the start of the sentence and 'bookended' by the particle set dhēk ... dhèk. Besides a few archaic set expressions, this mood is mainly used for affecting an air of formality, for example when giving a 'pep talk' to a group of warriors before a battle.

• Direct objects always come before the indirect object. Indirect objects are usually marked with the preposition dáh (=to, towards).

Ngam nar kūh mràh thān gràm dak dáh wōh dak wá'wah. = I sometimes give rabbits to the humans.

Ngam nar	kūh	mràh	thān gràm	dak	dáh	wōh	dak	wá'wah
This one (I)	give	habitual aspect	rabbit	plural	to	human	plural	sometimes

List of particles and adpositions

Particle	Meaning/use	Example sentence
dar	Genitive-marking particle	wōh dar da'dàn = The human's finger
dhēk ... dhèk	at (temporal) (declarative at start of sentence)
dhèr	at (spatial)
mràh	habitual aspect marker
nar	Nominalising particle
nūh	perfective aspect marker
sīk	Syntactic marker for questions	Sīk nàg gràm dhèr skàg thāk? = Is the squirrel behind the rock? Sīk ngak nar tùn wèg dar ri'rìk? = Do you know how to speak the Giants' Speech?
wáh	at (temporal)	wáh wùg = in the past
weh	adverb marker	ngàr = noise, ngàr weh = noisily

Vocabulary

For a Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk to English lexicon, see Wèg Dar Ri'Rìk/Vocabulary

Kinship
																					Grandmother		Grandfather				Grandmother		Grandfather
Uncles Wife		Uncle		Uncles Wife		Uncle		Uncles Wife		Uncle		Aunts husband		Aunt		Aunts husband		Aunt		Aunts husband		Aunt		Father		Mother		Uncles Wife		Uncle		Uncles Wife		Uncle		Uncles Wife		Uncle		Aunts husband		Aunt		Aunts husband		Aunt		Aunts husband		Aunt
Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin						Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin		Male Cousin		Female Cousin
										Twin Sisters Husband		Twin Sister		Little Sisters Husband		Little Sister		Big Sisters Huband		Big Sister		Wife		Self				Husband		Big Brother		Big Brothers Wife		Little Brother		Little Brothers Wife		Twin Brother		Twin Brothers Wife
										Niece		Nephew		Niece		Nephew		Niece		Nephew		Son		Daughter		Son		Daughter		Niece		Nephew		Niece		Nephew		Niece		Nephew

Swadesh list

No.	English
0
1	I
2	you (singular)
3	he
4	we
5	you (plural)
6	they
7	this
8	that
9	here
10	there
11	who
12	what
13	where
14	when
15	how
16	not
17	all
18	many
19	some
20	few
21	other
22	one
23	two
24	three
25	four
26	five
27	big
28	long
29	wide
30	thick
31	heavy
32	small
33	short
34	narrow
35	thin
36	woman
37	man (adult male)
38	human being
39	child
40	wife
41	husband
42	mother
43	father
44	animal
45	fish
46	bird
47	dog
48	louse
49	snake
50	worm
51	tree
52	forest
53	stick
54	fruit
55	seed
56	leaf
57	root
58	bark
59	flower
60	grass
61	rope
62	skin
63	meat
64	blood
65	bone
66	fat
67	egg
68	horn
69	tail
70	feather
71	hair
72	head
73	ear
74	eye
75	nose
76	mouth
77	tooth
78	tongue
79	fingernail
80	foot
81	leg
82	knee
83	hand
84	wing
85	belly
86	guts
87	neck
88	back
89	breast
90	heart
91	liver
92	drink
93	eat
94	bite
95	suck
96	spit
97	vomit
98	blow
99	breathe
100	laugh
101	see
102	hear
103	know
104	think
105	smell
106	fear
107	sleep
108	live
109	die
110	kill
111	fight
112	hunt
113	hit
114	cut
115	split
116	stab
117	scratch
118	dig
119	swim
120	fly
121	walk
122	come
123	lie
124	sit
125	stand
126	turn
127	fall
128	give
129	hold
130	squeeze
131	rub
132	wash
133	wipe
134	pull
135	push
136	throw
137	tie
138	sew
139	count
140	say
141	sing
142	play
143	float
144	flow
145	freeze
146	swell
147	sun
148	moon
149	star
150	water
151	rain
152	river
153	lake
154	sea
155	salt
156	stone
157	sand
158	dust
159	earth
160	cloud
161	fog
162	sky
163	wind
164	snow
165	ice
166	smoke
167	fire
168	ash
169	burn
170	road
171	mountain
172	red
173	green
174	yellow
175	white
176	black
177	night
178	day
179	year
180	warm
181	cold
182	full
183	new
184	old
185	good
186	bad
187	rotten
188	dirty
189	straight
190	round
191	sharp
192	dull
193	smooth
194	wet
195	dry
196	correct
197	near
198	far
199	right
200	left
201	at
202	in
203	with
204	and
205	if
206	because
207	name