Languages

[Zhong]

Vaic.

Verb. 'Nother sensory-related one.

[123456789]

I feel like I said it before...

Fall?

[Zhong]

You've said it, maybe? Probably?

Only three letters.

[123456789]

Okay nevermind.

Is it Luv?

[Zhong]

No...

[Zhong]

◔︵◔

Plz respon.

[123456789]

Does it have something to do with sight?

[Zhong]

It might...

[123456789]

Smell?

[Zhong]

__e

[Sent]

Vaic is "See", right?

Here's a fun phrase in Meghite:

Muhl tebtar belta.

In this exclamation, muhl is an adjective, (Although it's only ever an adjective)  as is tebtar. (Although it isn't always an adjective.)

Tebtar can also be modified (tebta, taebt, tebel, etc.) for different tenses and uses as verbs, adverbs, nouns, etc. and, unlike its equivalent in other languages, has its own future-tense, taebar, which literally means, "will 'tebta'".

Belta is a noun in this case, but it can also be a verb and adjective, etc. too. Likewise, there's beltaet, beltel, beltar, and baetar. In fact, another popular version of this phrase is "Muhl beltar tebta!" which is considered funnier because it makes less sense.

This whole sentence is very profane, of course, and the middle word is emphatic. Because the base varieties of Penguinite words and R-tapping accents don't have the same consonant "punch" of other languages, the passionate/threatening delivery of a cuss relies very strongly on the long, loud emphasis of vowels. If your were angry or exasperated with someone, you'd come down hard on those first sounds. "MOOhl TEHBter BALteh!" If you uttered this out of surprise or fright, you'd emphasize the latter syllables (if any) in much the same way, sort of symbolizing yourself "jumping" out of fear.

[Zhong]

YES.

In other news, that's interesting as hell. I don't think I've heard of stress being used that way very often.

[Sent]

More fun with Penguinite:

Here's some words that aren't in English. "Unal" and "dunal". They sound like noises people make when they're trying to imitate a Scottish accent but can't, and they roughly translate to "Literally". They're meant to establish the truth of things that sound like exaggerations but aren't. Unal is used to establish seriousness/truthfulness of feats achieved or failed with less resources than typically available.

Therefore, "Unal" would go in the place of "Literally" or "Only" in sentences like "Izlech literally killed the lion with his bare hands!" and "Yes, Jim The Mighty was defeated by the Romans, but he's only one man."

Dunal is exactly the opposite, and refers to tasks achieved or failed with more than the usual resources.

"Dunal" goes in place of "Literally" and "a whole" in sentences like "There was no question that Izlech would win the duel. He was literally a dragon." and "What the hell is Jim thinking!? We have a whole goddamn army!"

So you hear this kind of thing a lot in Penguinite songs and sagas, like this rhyme related to the siege of Ug-Beknar

"Skitenhite ul Ihite Gul Lektai,
Lokt denau unal che-che-dai!
Lokt Crictau ul Arthehite,
Chik crictau dunal che-ko-li!"

Translates to:

Armsmen/Soldiers* of General Gul Lektai,
Broke/pierced/impregnated [the] shield wall** with only eleven blades!
Impregnated/broke/pierced [the] castle/fortress*** of [the] Orcs,****
Took/Conquered/Broke [the] castle/fortress [from] 105 [soldiers]!

*Lit: "Weapon-people"
**Lit: "Shield-House"
***Lit: "War-House"
****Arthe, two syllables, means "bear", as I've referenced before. "Arthehite" means "Bear-people", owing to the ancient Penguinite belief that Orcs were descended from bears. Not to be confused with the word meaning "Bare-people", which refers to Elves, because they have less hair and other natural body-coverings than other races.

Now, how do I know the numbers in that song? Penguinite has a simple, if long-winded numerical system.

Ko: 0 Che: 1 De: 2 Ne:3 Se: 4 Li: 5 Te: 6 Ge: 7 Je: 8 Ke: 9

Penguinite, like Roman numerals, describes each digit as a number. "Dai" means blade, so if you say che-che-dai, you mean "Exactly 11 blades". In fact, there are no plurals in Penguinite. Multiples of a noun are preceded by exact numbers or estimates. If you're sure of something, you say it like you're sure, by emphasizing the vowel sound. The pronunciation of "Cheh" becomes "Chay", because you know a one goes there. This is often represented by a das.

"I know I saw Che-Che-Convertibles on the way to work today!"

If you're a general, and you want a line of spearmen to advance, you don't know how many of your guys are left, but you have a line you need to push. You will command roughly an amount, the uncounted amount in the nearby formation, so you will command the rough estimation of the remainder of the troop, so you use the short vowels to de-emphasize your sureness. (The | is used to separate words for tutorial purposes, but numbers are usually in the same word.)

"You CheChe|Gethite/Spearmen, advance!"

This emphasis can also be mixed,

If you're estimating certain digits, for example:

20-something = De-Ko.

80 or 90% = JeKo-KeKo-%

You sometimes have to listen really carefully when a lot of digits get involved, and saying things longform can be tiring/inconvenient, so there's a convenient shortcut called "La". La is an addition to a number that indicates how many other digits follow this number, emphatically pronounced as "Lay" when they're for sure all 0s.

One thousand = Che-La-Ne-

"Thousands of people" = "CheLaNeHite"

I think that's enough lesson for today. I wanna hear other people's shit now.

[Sent]

Here's more, becaue I just came up with it.

A lot of Penguinite speakers use the emphasis of vowels because that's how a lot of songs and poetry in Proto-Penguinite languages were communicated. Anger is usually yelled, growled, etc., depending on what kind of anger you're having, but if you're speaking pointedly with somebody, the front syllables are emphasized, like with the swears up above*. Linguistic historians believe that this springs from the rthym of epics wherein villains or adversaries of the hero were being passionately killed, wherein the singer would usually proclaim "ISH! [word] ISH! [word] ISH!". The singer would quote the character or narrate what was going on between the loud onomatopoeia for stabbing, symbolizing the sweetness of vengeance, or, in darker tones, wrath overpowering thought. Epics in written form often have the label "Isht" and "Nuul Isht" ("Stabbed" and "Not Stabbed") to denote the beginning and end of segments that should be read "ISH! [word] ISH! [word]".

The term "ish" has  also earned use in "real life" situations as well because of it. Warriors were known to actually yell "ISH!" where English speakers would yell "DIE!" under Penguinite practice, the Kiai of Japanese martial arts is translated to "The Ish" and is often the literal shouting of "ISH!" when a move is made. Breathing techniques in Penguinite martial arts often restrict exhaling until optimum times, sounding a little bit like "Issshh..." and warriors often say things in battle in the "ISH! [word]" format when they're fighting someone. It has been repeatedly described in old literature as "A very bloody insult" and "A threat, and even a dire command".

Nuul is the Penguinite word for No, Not, Nobody, and Nothing.

"ISH TOKK NUUL!" is among the worst things you can say to anyone in Meghite, meaning, "Die/Be killed by me, Burn/Languish in Nothingness [Forever]."

it was uttered in an epic, allegedly by an old warrior named Hagraka, who, when defending his house from a squad of orcs, shouted something different.

"Yaege Qi uun megh dai, et gradon Che-LaDe Ohite en Loeg, shene ol anetyne nuul!"

The most trusted translation is:

"Jump ye, upon my sword, and commune with the hundreds of Strangers in Hell, who will be remembered for nothing but their death!"

The literal translation, for those who want to learn the finer points:

"Jump/throw ("Throw", for the more common English usage.) yourselves (Qi is shorthand for "Qihite" or "You people" which can mean a litany of specific groups depending on context. AHEM, STEVE. It also means "Yourself" "You" or any other number of variations on the word "You".) on/upon my blade, and join/commune with [the] hundreds of Strangers in Hell, [who] will/shall be remembered (Portmanteau "Thought Again") for nothing!"

This was the first instance of a lot of insults that have been referenced by warriors in epics since, like "The best/most notable thing you ever did was die at my hands!" "There is no fame in joining hundreds dead." and, in cultures that adopted the religious views of Viking immigrants, "There is no Heaven for nobodies like you!" which is essentially what "Ish tokk nuul" implies.

There are varying ways to deliver this pointedly, since they're all one-vowel words. Some would shout it all the way through, some would deliver it in the "Stabbed" rthym of the old poems. Some would rather not think about it in general, because this is a 'Fuck You' so big that you'd better actually be ready willing to murder the person you say it to the moment you say it to them. This is the "Will you marry me?" of a hateful relationship, and is said to initiate a duel that WILL end in death, or as a final word delivered with a coup de grace. It's serious enough that it's actually illegal to say in some parts of England, and can be incriminating as a threat or conspiracy to commit murder.