Marcas Brian MacStiofin Mhaiti Domhnaill

26 August 2015

Foriab: An Essential Grammar

and Dictionary
Foriab: Schgg d'Rime

FORIAB

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Cover image bottom: photo taken by myself of a view from the summit of Ben Cleuch looking north in the
Ochil Hills in the Scottish Lowlands. A local haunt of mine. This is how I picture Mforia in my mind. This
wide and open landscape is what Mforia is well known for and this photo gives a glimpse of the land of the
Forana.

Introduction
0.1

The Sumric languages -Page 4

0.2

The Forana people -page 6

Chapter 1 - Pronunciation
1.1

Consonants -page 7

1.2

Vowels -page 8
-1.2.1 Final Vowel Overriding

1.3

Stress

Chapter 2 - Nouns
2.1

Suffix hierarchy

2.2

Noun gender

2.3

Nouns and cases

2.4

Noun Formation

2.5

Locative clitics

2.6

Locative Nouns

2.7

Noun Enforcement

Chapter 3 - Pronouns and demonstratives

3.1

Pronouns and cases

3.2

Articles

3.3

Demonstratives

Chapter 4 - Adjectives and adverbs

4.1

Suffix hierarchy

4.2

Adjectival agreement

4.3

Adverbialisation

4.4

Adjective formation

4.5

Comparative and Superlative constructions

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Chapter 5 - Verbs
5.1

Suffix hierarchy

5.2

Present tense

5.3

Simple past tenses

5.4

Future tenses

5.5

Subjunctive mood

5.6

Forming questions

5.7

Negation

5.8

Imperative

5.9

Passive voice

5.10

Intransitive verbs

5.11

Verbal suffixes

5.11.1 -dynamic modality

Chapter 6 - Conjunctions
6.1.

and

-6.1.1 Nounal 'and'

-6.1.2 Verbal 'and'
6.2

if

-6.2.1 Affirmative subordinate clause 'if'

-6.2.2 Subjunctive subordinate clause 'if'

Chapter 7 -Similes
7.1 Similes

Chapter 8- Mastering Foriab

8.1

Text examples

8.2

Further reading

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Introduction
O.1 The Sumric Languages: a short history
In 1300AM in this world on the snowy mountainous continent called Malomanan (meaning land of deer). there
are 9 Sumric languages which belong to 6 branches
in the Moicha branch is Moicha and Foriab
in the Lelic branch is Lelic
in the Lemre branch is Lemre
in the A-Sumric branch is Shfre and Somi
in the M-Sumric branch is Pwr and Terch
in the Nmmezse branch is Nmmezse (created by /u/Tarheelscouse)

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All of these languages descend from a common ancestor, Old Sumr. Back in the good old days when that was
spoken in Malomanan the Sumric peoples were one people with one tongue. They lived by hunting wild deer
and followed the herds along their migrations giving them a nomadic lifestyle. As such Old Sumr was abound
with words deriving from the roots sum (travel) and loman (deer), even the name of the language itself is made up
from sum (travel) + r (language). The constant moving around meant no regional varieties could develop. But
that changed when a giant wolf spirit called gln mIn (evil wolf) came and gorged on the deer population, it ate
so much that there was hardly any left for the Sumn (the name of the people) to hunt, causing a famine. But all
was saved when another spirit called Moar Re (buzzard of language) came and fought gln mIn. After 12 epic
battles the evil wolf was defeated. But the deer population took a long time to recover, in fact it never did recover
to its previous numbers. This caused many Sumn to leave the nomadic life and settle in small villages. The first
to do this settled on a nearby island called Mlelwe lamnan and lived by fishing, they were known as the Lamn
(settled people). Over time the speech grew apart from those on the mainland becoming Lemre (settled
language) but the Antagan Empire invaded that island and imposed their own language in the natives causing
the extinction of Lemre, the Island was renamed by the empire to Lem Pars (Lem Island in the Tynes tongue.)
Lemre has since been "revived" due to nationalist sentiment against the Antagan Empire which outlawed the
language. it was recorded by Antagan scholars before its death, the record they created founded the base of
Lemre's revival many generations later During this time the mainland language also changed into Middle Sumri

picture: a 5th century text written in Tynes by Antagan scribe

describing Lemre verb conjugations

A century or so later more Sumn left the nomad life and settled on the Southeastern coast. They developed a
very basic form of agriculture (as much as the harsh land would allow) but also fished the seas and hunted in the
nearby forests, over time these settlements grew into small towns and began trading when the Antagan Empire
discovered them, causing the settlements to grow further, attracting even more trading from other nations. The
language of these people became Moicha. However the most southern of these settlements found themselves in
a vast temperate grassland with fertile soil and large stone deposits which the people, who now call themselves
the Forana (people of the plain) used to build stone houses with, the more powerful leaders built large stone
towers for defensive purposes and as status symbols. Although horses were introduced to Malomanan from the
Henda continent, the Forana imported them and became fine horsemen themselves and lead raids against the
Moicha on horseback. There is great tension and bloodshed between the Moicha and Forana due to the
Moicha's growing greed of land and insistence that the Forana are no more than 'rebellious Moicha on
horseback'. This tension caused the Forana to raid the Moicha border, these raids would then escalate into
Malomanan's first full scale war. The language of the Forana is related to Moicha and is called Foriab.

Sometime after that more of the Sumn abandoned the nomad life and settled on a small group of islands to the
south west, over time the speech grew apart from Middle Sumri and became Malelweri (island language) but as
the population on the islands grew they people expanded their settlements around the South West coast. By this
time the languages changed once more to become Maifri. Some of these people continued further up the

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western coast into a more mountainous and forested area, their language became Pwr. Those who remained on
the South West coast and islands now speak Terch, a sister language to Pwr.

During the seventh battle between gln mIn and Moar Re, which took place in the centre of the continent
by the eastern mountain range, Moar Re being the language spirit screeched a booming call in the divine
tongue to the skies to herald an epic rain storm. The heavy rain caused the surrounding land to become a
quagmire of wet and quick mud which trapped Ulam Yarun and allowed Moar Re to attack from the air (for
it had the form of a buzzard, hence it name Moar Re which means buzzard) though through trickery the wolf
spirit escaped, leaving a great depression in the ground where it had been stuck which quickly filled with water
to become a great lake. The battle itself and the now marshy land had trapped a band of Sumn and separated
them from the rest of nomads. These people learned to take advantage of the marshy habitat by living off the
new life the marshy wetlands would bring. They became the Lericnat , a quaint and isolated people and in time
their speech became Lelic.

Now back to the remaining nomads, now speaking Late Middle Sumri. The deer populations still not back to
their past numbers was putting more pressure on the remaining nomads. So yet again a great number of them
left the nomad life, they left Malomanan altogether. They set out on boats and headed south, praying that the
winds would blow them somewhere plentiful. And those prayers were answered. They came upon a tropical
archipelago bustling with natural resources. The islands were already inhabited by natives who spoke an isolating
tongue called Gl Ng, they called the islands Trez Gal meaning 'three warriors' referring to the 3 main islands.
But no conflict happened. None. Everyone was welcomed with open arms and it wasn't long before the two
people interbred in race and language, the Sumric tongue was the dominant language but it took on the voiced
sounds of Gl Ng and became Zvri, after more time and more mingling with natives the language simplified
greatly, dropping all cases and much of the tenses and became Shfre. In the Shfre language 'Trez Gl' became
Trgal. There the people became great seafarers and sailors known around the world for their nautical prowess.
Back home to Malomanan, the very few nomads left now speak Somi, which in itself changes greatly in terms of
sounds but simplified by dropping all cases, though this process started way back in Late Middle Sumri.

0.2 The Forana people

The Foriab language, whose name comes from foria'b meaning 'in the plain' is spoken by the Forana, whose
name comes from foria na which in Early Foriab means 'plain people'. They live in the Southern Plains of
Malomanan and call their country Mforia meaning 'plainland'. Though 'country' is a very loose term here, for
there is no central government, no law or dynasty or monarchy or any kind of truly central leadership. Instead
Mforia is divided into smaller sub-territories called tnma, each with it's own leader who is called a memierna.
The memierna may squabble amongst each other but they all answer to the mrnur or 'noble one' who is leader
over all of Mforia. The mrnur is more of a servant to his people with a duty to protect them and keep peace,
by no means does he rule. Several mrnur in the past had tried to seize total rule and control over the people
only to be gutted and hung with his own innards. This fierce opposition to a ruling class caused the Forana to
take up arms against the Moicha from Memoicha who are their neighbours and closest relatives in blood and
language. The Moicha see this common descent as a right to claim rule over Mforia. The fight between the two
started of as light skirmishes along the border but the fight is growing and growing. The Moicha may be more
numerous, more 'civilised' in their cobbled streets and cities, may have better technology but the Forana fight
like a cornered badger and will scratch, bite and gnaw anywhere they can. However the Forania have something
which the Moicha, and indeed the rest of Malomanan don't have; horses. Horses aren't native to Mforia or
Malomanan but they were introduced centuries ago by Wasgar traders from the Henda Continent, more
specifically from the northern Wasgar region Hendak Onihom (land of horses) where the natives are artists in
the saddle. It was them who introduced horses to Mforia which proved beneficial to life in the plainland. The
origin of this trade can be traced by the fact that most equestrian words in Foriab come from the Wasgar
language (via Late Middle Moicha), e.g Ml meaning horse comes from Wasgar Melezugados (via Late Middle
Moicha Mlyezugadios) which referred to a specific breed of horse which was the first breed to be introduced. The
Foriab personal name Mgl comes from the same root.

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Chapter 1 - Pronunciation
1.1 Consonants

Letter

IPA value

Example

bat

cat

ch

chair

dad

fun

get

jam

gl

Danish fugl

hue

mat

not

brick

sat

sch

shoe

bat

tg

vet

yet

ss

zoo

If a root word ending in /m/ takes on a suffix beginning with /n/ then the two assimilate into /n/ e.g
mmei to hunt + -na = mna hunter

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1.2 Vowels
Letter

IPA value

example

apple

ball

au

English house

let

day

ei

lime

flee

pin

thought

French tu

bun

only occurs occasionally as a post

vocalic variant of //

When a vowel has the diacritic < > underneath it then it is a nasal vowel e.g <u > // or < > //. Digraphs
take the diacritic on the first letter e.g <a u> // or <e i> / /

1.2.1 Final Vowel Overriding

If a word which ends in a vowel takes on a suffix which begins in a vowel, the vowel in the suffix overrides the
vowel in the root word
E.g
na forest + -a deer nominative plural case ending = na forests

1.3 Stress
Stress in Foriab is unmarked due to its fixed position on the second syllable e.g
foria plain
dnt soon
ar cold
iernoglmena wise

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Chapter 2 -Nouns
2.1 Suffix Hierarchy
Being an inflecting language, nouns very often do take on several suffixes so there is a specific order in which
these suffixes attach to the noun which is as follows. The brackets denote a suffix may or may not be included,
depending on context.
definate/indefinite article + noun + (case) + (conjunction)
in > in = wolf
c' + in > c'in = the wolf
c' + in +e > c'ine = of the wolf
c' + in + e+ h> c'ineh = and of the wolf

2.2 Noun Gender

There are two genders which are Buzzard and Deer. The noun genders have nothing to do with their namesakes
but rather by the past phoneme in the word. The way to tell which gender a noun belongs to is very simple. If
the nouns ends in a vowel then it is in the deer gender, if it ends in a consonant then it is on the buzzard gender.
e.g.
Buzzard: ends in a consonant
in wolf
murgl fox
arfat coat
ar cold
Deer: ends in a vowel
nma daughter
ossa day
issa fire
nna tribe

2.3 Noun case

Foriab has 3 noun cases which inflect for gender and number. the 3 cases are:
Nominative: marks the subject
Oblique: marks the direct object, indirect object.
Genitive: marks possession or origin

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A table showing all the noun case endings according to Gender and Number.

Case

Buzzard Singular

Buzzard Plural

Deer Singular

Deer Plural

Nominative

--

--

-a

Oblique

1u

-i

-u

-m

Genitive

-e

-ai

-e/-a*

-aun

*if a deer noun ends in a consonant followed by a vowel then the final vowel is replaced by -e (as per the Final
Vowel Overriding) and if it ends in two vowels then the final vowels end in -a.
The object of a past tense verb becomes eclipsed with m- whose pronunciation overrides the first consonant.
Note that the eclipsis goes after any articles and adjectives modifying the object aren't affected
e.g
mma c'imu I am hunting the deer /myma kym/
mma c'mimu I hunted the deer /mym kmym/

The reason for this eclipsis is that Middle Moicha sound changes deleted word final -m. Except the dialect of
Middle Moicha that would become Foriab didn't delete it entirely but instead attached that m to the beginning
of the next word (something similar happened with Foriab adjective agreement). As the past tense suffixes ended
in m, the m was attached to the start next word which was the object of the verb. This sound change then
became a grammatical way of marking the past tense on the object. Such that subjects of intransitive verbs took
on m- (discussed further in 5.10), and also to form the reflexive
e.g
mtger sgler you see yourself /mr sylr/

Foriab makes use of the collective plural to refer to a mass of things as a whole with the the suffix -nu (from
Middle Moicha nn 'all'). Here is a table showing the collective plural in all the cases
Nominative

-nu

Oblique

-nu

Genitive

-ne

E.g
c'murglnu 'the foxes, fox kind' (in a general sense)
c'nurnu 'the men, mankind, human race,man'
the collective plural gives a distinction between a specific object or a general object e.g
mma c'murgli I hunt the foxes (referring to specific individual foxes)

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as opposed to mma c'murglnu I hunt the foxes (in general, not referring to any timeframe or specific foxes, it can
be stretched to be considered a marker of the gnomic tense on the noun)

2.4 Noun Formation

A verb can be turned into a noun by removing the infinitive ending -ei and adding the gerund suffix -ar
mmei to hunt > mmar hunting
-ira mmaru I like hunting

schgemei to be hungry > schgemar hunger

-iram schgemaru I dont like hunger

rnei to speak > rnar speaking

-ira rnaru I like speaking
Agent nouns come in two forms which are human and nonhuman. If the agent is human then the agent suffix na is attached to the verb (from na 'person) or if the agent is not human then the agent suffix - is used
mmei to hunt > mna hunter (human) or mm hunter (non human)

Foriab has four diminutive suffixes which correspond to man, woman, child, human and associative. Diminutives
in Foriab are used to give a sense of littleness or intimacy (more so the female and child diminutives) or are used
to derive nouns from associated concepts (more so the male and nonhuman diminutives)

The male diminutive to derive from an associated concept is -nur mnur male hunter

The associative diminutive is used for someone or something associated to the root, much like the Latin -ris.
It can be attached to any kind of word to derive a noun. The suffix -eg (from Old Sumr apal meaning
'other thing') e.g cvoneg grazer, thing or person associated with grazing (cvonei to graze)

The female diminutive is -ne mne woman hunter

The child diminutive is -tga mmtga child hunter
The nonhuman diminutive is - mm hunting creature/tool
Abstract nouns are formed with the suffix -agl. This suffix comes from the noun iagl meaning temptation, this
noun looks as if someone took the verb iei 'to temp' and stuck -agl on it (which wasn't the case, the words have
separate etymologies, coming from Middle Moicha yorgiadul and yorgie respectively) but as such -agl was
reanalysed as a abstract noun forming suffix
e.g
ir heavy > iragl weight (heaviness)
nnei to divide > nnagl division

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2.5 locative clitics

Foriab locative clitics descend from Middle Moicha postpositions. They go after the noun or noun phrase and
have no agreement whatsoever and are a closed class set of clitics
Locative clitic

Meaning

Example

Meaning

'l

on

c'in'l

on the wolf

'n

under

c'in'n

under the wolf

'b

into

c'in'b

into the wolf

'se

along

c'in'se

along the wolf

't

to

c'in't

to the wold

'ss

with

c'in'ss

with the wolf

'an

next to

c'in'an

next to the wolf

'u

from

c'in'u

from the wolf

'c

above

c'in'c

above the wolf

'er

beside

c'in'c

beside the wolf

'f

instrumental clitic

c'in'f

by the wolf

'ub

in

c'in'ub

in the wolf

2.6 Locative Nouns

To describe a location that isn't covered by the locative clitics you use locative nouns in Foriab. When used to
describe the location of a noun the locative noun is possessed by the noun
e.g
c'iamev enr c'iamara agmh >The house is on the other side of the street (Literally: house is street's opposite)
c'iama u enr c'mna ianc merimshah >The deer is in front and to the left of the hunter (Literally: deer is hunter's
before his left-and)
tger nmarjei ch'tgu me nmerimsh'l > put the bread to the left of me (Literally: put the bread my left-on).

2.7

Noun Enforcement

Foriab has a way of enforcing the quality or meaning of a noun. Much like how an intensifier works on
adjective, but for nouns. This is done by placing dre before the noun (from Old Sumr do 'one' + -sa comitative
case ending. i.e with one). In English this can roughly translate as 'very much a X'
E.g
gjogl hero
ri enr gjogl ri is a hero
ri enr dre gjogl ri is undoubtedly/very much a hero

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Chapter 3 - Pronouns and demonstratives

3.1 Pronouns
Possessive pronouns must agree to the gender of the possessed noun. The buzzard forms are given first followed
by the deer. Where one form is given that means it can be used with buzzard and deer nouns.

Nominative

Oblique

Genitive

1st.sg

me

mu

ma /me

2nd.sg

tger

tgeru

tgera /tgere

3rd.buzz.sg

iemur

iemuru

iemura /iemure

3rd.deer.sg

iemu

iemu

iema /ieme

1st.pl.inc

matger

matgeru

matgera

1st.pl.exc

maiem

maiemu

maiema

2nd.pl

tger

tgeru

tgera

3rd.pl

iem

iemu

iema

Genitive pronouns cause eclipsis as a remnant of the final -n on plural pronouns which was lost. This was later
stretched to all genitive pronouns by levelling e.g
tger ntge your bread /r ny/
iema nsma their feet /m nymia/
Note that if an object possessed by a subject which is a pronoun is the object of a past tense verb, the eclipsis mwill override the possessive eclipsis ne.g
sgla tgere mtge I saw your bread.
Note that in Foriab there is no inanimate or genderless pronoun, only the Buzzard or Deer pronouns can be
used for the 3rd person.If the gender of an object if unknown then the Buzzard pronouns are used as a
substitute. Also while noun gender doesnt align with biological gender, males are referred to by Buzzard
pronouns and females by the Deer pronouns. This is because Buzzards are hunters and Deers are the hunted,
which is a reference to courtship between men and women.

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3.2 Articles
Definate and indefinate articles descend from those in Middle Moicha but only survive as contractions on the
noun.
Animate

c'

Inanimate

ch'

Locative

c'

Indefinite

d'

Some examples:
ossa day
c'ossa the day
c'ossa the days
d'ossa a day
d'ossa some days

3.3 Demonstratives
Demonstrative pronouns in Foriab dont agree with noun case or number and are distinguished by animacy
rather than gender. For example the animate singular pronoun is schn (that) which refers to things that are alive
but schd (that) refers to objects that arent alive
e.g
schn moar nar schd tgu that buzzard is eating that bread
schd tge na schn moaru that bread is eating that buzzard
notice how when the nouns inflect for case, the demonstrative pronouns dont

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interrogat this
ive

that

some

none

every

each

adjective

tgen
(which)

sch (this)

son (that)

id (some)

m (no)

vene (every) ggl (each)

animate

g (who)

sch (this)

schn (that)

ina
(someone)

mne (no
one)

venene
(everyone)

inanimate

tged (what)

sch (this)

schd (that)

i
(something)

m
(nothing)

vene
ggl (each
(everything) thing)

location

cr (where)

sur (here)

schun
(there)

imu
mr
(somewhere (nowhere)
)

veneur
(everywher
e)

gglcr
(each place)

time

ssin (when)

dia (now)

dt (then)

ina
(sometime)

min
(never)

vene
(always)

ggldne
(each time)

reason

c (how,
why)

schi
(because)

so (that
way,
therefore)

i
(somehow)

m (noway) veneu
(everyway)

gglne
(each
person)*

gglc
(each way)

*while translated as each person, gglne refers to any animate object

examples:
g nar me mtgu? who ate my bread? (as the subject and time is unknown, the 3rd person Buzzard gender near
past ending is used to conjugate the verb)
tged na r me mtgu? what ate my bread?
cr c'moar na r me mtgu cr? where did the buzzard eat my bread? (literally: buzzard ate my bread where?). Here
where goes at the end due to a rule in Foriab that says Locative Phrases (or words dentoning where an action
happened) go at the end of the sentence.
ssin c'moar na r me mtgu ssin? when did the buzzard eat my bread? (literally: buzzard ate my bread when?). Here
when goes at the end due to a rule in Foriab that says Time Phrases (or words dentoning when an action
happened) go at the end of the sentence.
c c'moar na r me mtgu? why/how did the buzzard eat my bread? (Literally: how/why buzzard ate my bread)
Foriab doesnt distinguish between how or why.
sch moar na r sch mtge. this buzzard ate this bread
schn moar na r schd mtgu ch'ragut'n sun. that buzzard ate that bread under the tree there. (literally: that buzzard
ate that bread the tree under there). When a sentence has both a locative phrase and a time phrase, the time
phrase goes to the very end of the sentence following the locative phrase)
schn moar na r schd mtgu c ossa tgarf that buzzard ate that bread 4 days ago. c ossia tgarf is a time phrase
and so is placed at the end of the sentence.
schn moar nagi schd mtgu schgemi schi those buzzards ate that bread because they were hungry (literally: that
buzzards ate that bread they hungered because). again the pronoun schi goes at the end of the sentence. Also
notice how even though the subject moar is plural the demonstrative pronoun doesnt change.
The demonstrative pronouns can be used at relative pronouns also. Although none of the interrogative pronouns
can be used as relative pronouns as they are in English e.g The man who walks, the mountain where he lived,
when he walked. instead Foriab uses the pronouns in the That column to fill this role
e.g
c'nur schn nor the man who walks (man that walks)

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ia mr c'mvei sun the mountain where he lived (he-lived the mountain there). As said earlier words or phrases that
denote where the verb happened go at the end of the sentence, though words or phrases that denote when it
happened always go at the end after locative phrases.
no r dt when he walked (he-walked then). Again. the time phrase is at the end.

Chapter 4 - Adjectives and adverbs

4.1

Suffix hierarchy

Being an inflecting language, adjectives very often do take on several suffixes to agree with nouns so there is a
specific order in which these suffixes attach to the adjective noun which is as follows. The brackets denote a suffix
may or may not be included, depending on context.
adjective + (gender agreement) + (case)
ar > ar = cold
ar+ e > are = cold (deer gender)
ar + e + u > aru = to cold X (deer gender)

4.2

Adjectival agreement

Foriab adjectives must agree to the noun they modify in gender, case and number. They do this by taking on the
exact same case endings as the nouns after they have been made to agree with gender.

Agreeing with Buzzard nouns

Buzzard adjectives are the most erratic in Foriab as instead of simply taking on a suffix when the adjective didn't
already agree (which was what Middle Moicha did). They have several ways to agree with buzzard nouns
Monosyllabic and disyllabic adjectives
Monosyllabic or disyllabic adjectives agree with Buzzard nouns by using the ablaut which changes the vowel in
the adjective. The shift in vowels is quite regular in itself as the ablaut causes the vowel to change height (low
vowels become low-mid, low mid vowels become high-mid and high mid vowels become high, high vowels
become low). Here is a table of how the vowels change:

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Original Vowel

Changed Vowel

a /a/

/i/

//

u /u/

au /a

u /i/

e //

a /a/

/e/

e //

ei //

ai /a/

i //

e //

/i/

/e/

o //

// though allophone with //

/y/

ui //

u //

//

When an adjective must agree to case then the case ending must also be changed to agree (due to Final Vowel
Overriding 1.2.1)
Here is a table to show the noun case endings for buzzard adjective agreement in monosyllabic and disyllabic
adjectives:

Case

Buzzard Singular

Buzzard Plural

Nominative

--

Oblique

-uiy

Genitive

-a

-y

An example:
ern big > arn tgerm big stone
nn green > nn tgerm green stone
rah strong > rh tgerm strong stone
in the oblique case:
arn tgermu to big stone
nn tgermu to green stone
rh tgermu to strong stone

If the adjective ends in a vowel (regardless of how many syllables has) then the noun gets eclipsed with m-. This
is due to a sound change in Middle Moicha which deleted word final -m, and word final -m was used for gender

FORIAB

!17

agreement. But the dialect of Middle Moicha which became Foriab kept the m and eclipsed it onto the noun
where it overrides the initial consonant (if there is one) e.g
e.g
sa old > s mtgerm (si mrm/
glna bad > gln mtgerm bad stone /ylna mrm/
io good > i mtgerm good stone / mrm/
in the oblique case
s mtgermu /si/
uigln mtgermu to bad stone
i mtgermu to good stone
Adjectives with 3 or more syllables
Buzzard adjectives that end in a consonant and have three or more syllables don't change
e.g
murmr boring > murmr ernur
Buzzard adjectives that end in a vowel and have three or more syllables don't change any vowels but add the
eclipsis me.g
iernoglmena wise > iernoglmena mernur wise father

Agreeing with Deer nouns

Deer nouns are more regular and agree by simply adding the suffix -e to the adjective, unless the adjective ends
in a vowel then no change is needed and can be used as is
e.g
sa old > sa ma old world
scha holy > scha ma holy world
onssa healthy > onssa ma healthy world
in the oblique case
su c'mau the old world
scha c'mau to holy world
onssa c'ma to healthy world
if an adjective ends in a consonant however then -e is added onto the adjective
e.g
ar cold > are ma cold world
ern big > erne ma big world
brar bright > brare ma bright world

FORIAB

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in the oblique case

aru mau to cold world
ernu mau to big world
brare mau to bright word

A table showing every possible form of io 'good'

Case

Buzzard Singular

Buzzard Plural

Deer Singular

Deer Plural

Nominative

io

io

ia

Oblique

iuij

iu

im

Genitive

ia

iy

ia

iaun

Buzzard Sg
io c'murgl the good fox
i c'murglu the good fox (obl)
ia c'murgle of the good fox
Buzzard Pl
i c'murgl the good foxes
iuij c'murgli the good foxes (obl)
iy c'murglai of the good foxes
Deer Sg
io c'duvero the good crow
iu c'duveru the good crow (obl)
ia c'duvere of the good crow
Deer Pl
ia c'duvera the good crows
im c'duverm the good crows (obl)
iaun c'duveraun of the good crows
A summary of adjective agreement in Foriab:
Buzzard Gender
-monosyllabic/disyllabic: change final vowel
-adjective ends in a vowel: add m- onto the modified noun
three or more syllables:
-adjective ends in a vowel: add m- onto the modified noun

FORIAB

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-adjective ends in a consonant: no change at all

Deer Gender
Adjective ends in vowel: no change
Adjective ends in consonant: add -e onto the adjective

4.3

Adverbialisation

The process of creating adverbs is relatively simple, there are four suffixes which attach to an adjective and agree
with the gender and number of the subject. Adverbs always follow the object
Buzzard

Deer

Singular

-sn

-rn

Plural

-sn

-rn

Example:
c'moar na r mtgu fersn the buzzard quickly ate the bread
c'moar nagi mtgu fersn the buzzards quickly ate the bread
c'iarna rr iorn the soldier fought well
c'arn ri iorn the soldiers fought well
There are a few irregular fixed adverbs which do not bear the adverbial suffix such as ragssa 'mightily', tger
'immediately' though these are few and far between.

4.4

Adjective formation

To turn a verb into an adjective the participle adjective suffix -l is attached to the verb, this corresponds with
the English participle adjective -ing. Which can in turn be made to agree with the gender and case of the noun it
modifies.
mmei to hunt > mml hunting
mml moar hunting buzzard
h mml moar two hunting buzzards
ira h mmli moari I like two hunting buzzards
mml rmierna raiding leader
h mmla rmierna two raiding leaders
ira h mmlm rmiernm I like two raiding leaders

FORIAB

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The suffix -l in all the cases

Case

Buzzard singular

Buzzard plural

Deer singular

Deer plural

Nominative

-l

-l

-l

-la

Oblique

-lu

-li

-lu

-lm

Genitive

-le

-lai

-le

-laun

To turn a verb into a past participle adjective the suffix -g is attached to the verb, this corresponds the the
English participle -ed. Which can in turn be made to agree with the gender and case of the noun it modifies.

mmei to hunt > mmg hunted

mmg moar hunted buzzard
h mmg moar two hunted buzzards
ira h mmgi moari I like two hunted buzzards
The suffix -g in all the cases
Case

Buzzard Singular

Buzzard Plural

Deer Singular

Deer Plural

Nominative

-g

-g

-g

-ga

Oblique

-gu

-gi

-gu

-gm

Genitive

-ge

-gai

-ge

-gaun

To turn a noun into an adjective the suffix -re is attached to the noun, this corresponds with the English suffixes
-ly/-y/-ish. Which can in turn be made to agree with the gender and case of the noun it modifies. Though
adjectives formed this way are placed after the noun
nt fool > ntre foolish
moar ntre foolish buzzard
h moar ntr two foolish buzzards
ira h moari ntri I like two foolish buzzards
Case

Buzzard Singular

Buzzard Plural

Deer Singular

Deer Plural

Nominative

-re

-r

-re

-ra

Oblique

-ru

-i

-ru

-irm

Gentive

-re

-ran

-re

-raun

-re is cognate to the Old Moicha comitative case endings. It literally translates as with e.g moar ntre literally
means buzzard fool-with or buzzard with fool. This is why adjectives formed this way are placed after the noun.

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4.5

Comparative and Superlative constructions

A comparative sentence structure is as follows:

subject + to be + nouned adjective -eg+ object -uh
Where in English one would simply add the suffix -er to an adjective or place more before the adjective, Foriab
uses the sentence structure above to form a comparative sentence e.g
Dne r enr erneg Tgarhe ruh
[john.gen dog is.3rd.buzzardG big.one tgarh.gen dog.sup]
Johns dog is a big one Tgarhs dog above
(Johns dog is bigger than Tgarhs dog)
The -eg suffix here is the same one as the associative diminutive. So erneg literally means 'big one'

the object or thing being compared to takes the suffix -uh which comes from the Old Moicha suppressive case
meaning 'above'. Though now it has lost that meaning due to the loss of many cases and serves purely as a
comparative suffix.
When using the comparative in a subordinate clause (dog that is bigger) then the following sentence structure is
used
(subject) (verb) subject/object + demonstrative +to be + nouned adjective -eg + object-uh
e.g.
dauna d'ru schn enr erneg Tgarhe ruh
[want.1st.sg dog.acc dem to be.3rd.buzzardG big.one taruc.gen dog.sup]
I want a dog that is big one Tgarh's dog beside
(I want a dog that is bigger than Tgarh's dog)
A superlative sentence is formed by adding the suffix -egnuh to the adjective (from Old Moicha -aqual + nnc
'above all')
subject + to be + adjective+ -aqualnnc
Therefore -egnuh is equivalent to -est in English with the exception that in Foriab adjectives with the suffix egnuh can only be predicative.
Dne r enr ernegnuh
[john.gen dog is.3rd.buzzardG big.sup]
Johns dog is biggest
When using the superlative in a subordinate clause (dog that is biggest) then the following sentence structure is
used
(subject) (verb) subject/object + demonstrative +to be + adjective + -aqualnnc
e.g.
dauna d'ru schn enr ernegnuh
[want.1st.sg dog.acc dem to be.3rd.buzzardG big all.par]
I want a dog that is biggest

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(I want a dog that is biggest/I want the biggest dog)

Example
I saw the biggest dog today eat your bread
sgla c'mru schn enr ernegnuh, na r tgere mtgu schssa
[see-1st-pst dog-acc dem to be-3rd-buzzardG big-sup, eat-3rd.buzzardG-pt your bread-acc today]

Chapter 5 - Verbs
5.1 Suffix Hierarchy
Being an inflecting language, a verbs very often do take on several suffixes so there is a specific order in which
these suffixes attach to the verb which is as follows, the brackets denote a suffix which isnt essential and can be
left out, though they often are included depending on context.
verb + (dynamic modality) + tense + (negation) + (imperative) + (interrogative)
sm + ariei > smariei = you will travel
sm + un + ariei > smunariei = you will be able to travel
sm + ariei + gss > smarieigss = will you travel?
sm + ariei + m > smarieim = you won't travel
sm + ariei + m + gss > smarieimgss = won't you travel?
sm + m + je > smmje = dont travel

5.2

Present tense

Due to the specific nature of the verb endings the pronouns can be dropped entirely when they are the subject.
To conjugate a verb remove the infinitive ending -ei and attach the appropriate suffix
Person

Suffix

Example

Meaning

-a

sma

I am travelling

You

-ar

smar

You are travelling

It.buzzard

s*

It is travelling

It.deer

-r

smr

It is travelling

We.inclusive

-l /l /

sml

We are travelling

We.exclusive

-aun

smaun

We are travelling

You.pl

sm

You are travelling

They

-n

smn

They are travelling

FORIAB

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*verbs which end in -m and are conjugated in agreement with a singular deer subject just drop the -m e.g
mmei > m it hunts
rmei > r it walks
iamei > ia it dwells
Verbs which don't end in m conjugate for the deer singular present by removing the infinitive e.g
inei > in it drinks

5.3

Simple past tenses

Person

Suffix

Example

Meaning

-a

sma

I travelled

You

-era

smera

You travelled

Deer

-u

smu

It travelled

Buzzard

-r*

s mr

It travelled

We.inclusive

- gl

sm gl

We travelled

We.exclusive

-gle

smgle

We travelled

You.pl

sm

You travelled

They

-i

smi

Thry travelled

The object of a past tense verb becomes eclipsed with m- whose pronunciation overrides the first consonant.
Note that the eclipsis goes after any articles and adjectives modifying the object aren't affected
e.g
mma c'imu I am hunting the deer /myma kym/
mma c'mimu I hunted the deer /mym kmym/
*the buzzard gender singular -r causes the final vowel of a verb to become nasal. The vowel becoming nasal is
the only way to distinguish the buzzard singular past tense from the buzzard present tense.
e.g
mmr it hunts
m mr it hunted

FORIAB

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5.4

Future tenses

Person

Suffix

Example

Meaning

-e

sme

I will travel

You

-aiei

smaiei

You will travel

Deer

-uei

smuei

It will travel

Buzzard

-riei

smriei

It will travel

We.inclusive

-gle

smgle

we will travel

We.exclusive

agle

smagle

We will travel

You.pl

-i

smi

You will travel

They

sm

They will travel

5.5

Subjunctive mood

Thee subjunctive mood is formed by placing the auxiliary engss after the verb
sma engss I may be travelling
sma engss I may have travelled
sme engss I may travel/I would/might travel
c'moar nariei engss tgere tgu the buzzard may/would/might eat your bread

When in the subjunctive the auxiliary takes on the negating suffix -m

E.g
sma engssm I may not be travelling
sma engssm I may not have travelled
sme engssm I wouldn't travel
c'moar nariei engssm tgere ntgu the buzzard wouldn't eat your bread

5.6

Forming questions

In Foriab questions can be formed by using interrogative pronouns, but to form a question that doesn't use an
interrogative pronoun then the interrogative suffix -gss is placed on the verb
e.g
sma I travel > smagss? Am I travelling?
sma engss I may be travelling > smagss engss? May I be travelling?
sma I travelled > sma gss? Did I travel?

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5.7

Negation

Negation in Foriab is achieved by placing the suffix -m onto a verb

c'moar na rm tgere mtgu the buzzard didnt eat your bread
c'ima cvonu m sur the deer didnt graze here

5.8

Imperative

The imperative suffix -jei turns a verb into a demand. When a verb is imperative it can only take on the suffixes jei and -m meaning that it cant inflect for person or tense so in imperative phrases the subject is always included
(where-as English leaves it out), with locative and time phrases being optional and taking their respective second
last and last places of the sentence.
tger najei tgere ntgu! eat your bread!

tger najeim tgere ntgu! dont eat your bread!

tger najei tgere ntgu c'moar nariei engss iemu dnh! eat your bread before the buzzard eats it! (you eat your bread
buzzard may eat it before)

5.9 Passive voice

A literal word for word translation of the Foriab passive looks like the X has the X-ness from X. Or to be more
detailed
Subject + to have +verb nouned with -l + Object +-from
So 'the bread is being eaten by the wolf' is ch'tge eschtga nalu c'in'u or 'the bread has eat-ness from the wolf'
-the verb eschtgamei 'to have' is always placed after the subject and conjugates accordingly. Any verb endings can
be added from any tense. Meaning the tense of the passive is decided by the verb endings on eschtgamei. For
example here if the above sentence in all the tenses
Present: indicative: ch'tge eschtga nalu c'in'u
subjunctive: ch'tge eschtga engss nalu c'in'u
Past: indicative: ch'tge eschtgamu mnalu c'in'u (here nalu is an object so it is eclipsed for the past tense)
subjunctive: ch'tge eschtgamu engss mnalu c'in'u
Future: indicative: ch'tge eschtgamuei nalu c'in'u
subjunctive: ch'tge eschtgamuei engss nalu c'in'u

-Passive forms of verbs are formed by turning them into nouns. This is done by removing the infinitive ending -ei
and adding the suffix -lu (the oblique of -l )

5.10

Intransitive verbs

In Foriab subjects intransitive verbs are eclipsed with me.g

Transitive: c'duvero rr c'moaru the crow fought the buzzard
Intransitive: c'mduvero rr

FORIAB

the crow fought

!26

The reason for this is due to the before mentioned sound change in Middle Moicha which deleted word final -m
which caused objects of past tense verbs to be eclipsed (explained in 5.3). This was then stretched to eclipse
subjects of past tense intransitive verbs, this was levelled even further to eclipse subjects of all intransitive verbs.
The Forana linguist glfer (educated at Clrnoume rjmua 'University of rjmu') speculates that this may
cause Foriab to become a ergative-absolutive language in the future with the absolutive case being marked with
m-. This is of course a theory and it is difficult to predict future changes in a language.
The only exception to this rule is verbs that are inherently intransitive such as smatgei 'to fall'.

5.11

Verbal suffixes

This section is for suffixes which attach to the verb but don't deserve their own section

-5.11.1 -dynamic modality

Dynamic modality expresses the subject's ability or capacity to to do something. In English this may be done
with the auxiliary 'can'. In Foriab the infix -un- (or -n- if the verb ends in a vowel) is placed onto the verb and
before verb conjugations which mark the person and tense, after which the usual negation and subjunctive mood
can be marked
e.g
arjei to open, to release, to set free

arja c'inu
arjna c'inu
arjagss c'inu?

I am releasing the wolf

I am able to release the wolf
Am I releasing the wolf ?

arjnagss c'inu? Am I able to release the wolf ?

arja engss c'inu I may be releasing the wolf
arjna engss c'inu I may be able to release the wolf
arjagss engss c'inu May I be releasing the wolf ?
arjnagss engss c'inu May I be able to release the wolf ?
arjam c'inu
arjnam c'inu

I am not releasing the wolf

I am unable to release the wolf

arjamgss c'inu? Am I not releasing the wolf ?

arjnamagss c'inu? Am I not able to release the wolf ?
arjam engss c'inu I may not be releasing the wolf
arjnam engss c'inu I may not be able to release the wolf
arjamgss engss c'inu May I not be releasing the wolf ?
arjnamgss engss c'inu May I not be able to release the wolf ?

FORIAB

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Chapter 6 - Conjunctions
6.1 and
Foriab still retains the distinction between the conjunction 'and' when used with nouns or with verbs which
descends from Old Sumr's distinction. Foriab is the only Sumric language which can proudly claim to have
preserved this feature through the millennia. The only other Sumric language to have this feature is Lemre but
that language died many centuries ago and was only recently revived.

-6.1.1 Nounal and

When used with nouns the conjunction for and is the suffix -ah/-h which one is used depends on the whether the
last phoneme in a word is a vowel or consonant. Nouns endings in consonants use -ah while nouns ending in
vowels use -h
c'moarah and the buzzard
ch'tgeh and the bread
-ah/-h will always be the last suffix on a noun so in most instances it attaches itself to the case ending before e.g
c'moareh and of the buzzard
ch'tgaunah and of the breads'
The same rule applies to adjectives describing one noun.

-6.1.2

Verbal and

Unlike the nominal conjunction -ah/-h which suffixes onto nouns, the verbal conjunction ah behaves more like
how and does in English in that it goes between the two verbs e.g
naei ah inei to eat and drink
nau mtgu ah ina mcglu she ate bread and I drank beer

6.2 if
Foriab also has two words for the conjunction 'if' though this feature is not descended from Old Sumr but rather
a Foriab innovation. This came about in Middle Moicha where the original word for 'if' e was being used
alongside interchangeably with a new Middle Moicha word for 'if' adunqu (literally meaning 'given'). During the
development of Foriab the two ceased to be interchangeable and each took on their own niche meanings, with
one being used in the affirmative subordinate clause and the other in the subjunctive subordinate clause. The
following sentence structure is used with the words for 'if'
The cause of an action or state - if - reaction or effect of the cause

-6.2.1 Affirmative subordinate clause 'if'

In an affirmative subordinate clause the word for 'if' is adngi. The use of adngi requires the sentence structure to
change slightly. With the effect/reaction/state being placed after adngi and the cause of said effect/reaction/
state being placed before adngi.
I will attempt to explain this further:
effect/reaction/state will be in blue
The cause will be in green

FORIAB

!28

 English: If you can't see the mountains then it is raining

Foriab: mjnugei adngi sglarm c'mvm

This explains that you can't see the mountains (the effect) and the reason is because it is raining (the cause). A
few more examples:
English: if you won't eat your bread, the crow will take it
Foriab: c'duvero giarineiei tger ntgu adngi naaieim iemu

This explains that if you don't eat your bread (the cause) the crow will come along and take it (the effect)

-6.2.2 Subjunctive subordinate clause 'if'

In a subjunctive subordinate clause the word for 'if' is ei (from Old Sumr hen). The use is quite similar to adngi
except if the Subjunctive auxiliary is used then ei is used
English: the dog may die if it doesn't eat
Foriab: c'mr *eschtgamuei glnaru engss ei naueim

*sidenote: Foriab has no verb for 'to die'. Rather the phrasal verb 'to have deathness' is used

Chapter 7-Similes
7.1 Similes
Where in English a simile is formed by using 'like' or 'as' e.g you are noble like a hero or you are as noble as a
hero. Foriab handles this by putting the suffix -re onto the descriptor (in this case it is 'hero') the suffix -re comes
from the Old Moicha deer singular comitative case ending -ra, although Middle Moicha lost the comitative case
the case ending was fossilised here as a simile forming suffix
e.g
enar mr d'gjoglre
you are noble like a hero

c'duvero en duv ch'nssare

The crow is as black as the night sky

rar d'iere
you fight like an effeminate man

ch'issa brarrn ietgaglu ch'arglre

the fire burned as bright as the sun

FORIAB

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ch'mmar en erad d'duverore 'b

the spear is as high as a crow in the sky

Chapter 8- Mastering Foriab

8.1

Text examples

The following texts is an ancient Sumric legend called about how a great and famous healing tree came to be.

Ragut Osscgle
Do imaun sgla tgarf, c'schauna ch'iamne areh, Osscgl o S mNur Iamne, nss mr iemure miamu
eradia c'eramia'ub Mmauna c'm't. Esschtgame rr mtnmu nssassa, tn ch'smar Osscgla smr iamna
s Mmauna. Osscgl s mr c'Ianv't ah dssru tgr miemuru. Ga unr c'mnssassa smatgu c'ianv'l ssin. S mr
c'Nnmae't ah dssru tgr miemuru. Ga unr c'mnssassa smatgu c'Nnmaet'l ssin. S mr iestgegle't, mut
dssrutgu nr iemuru iemur nssnei re'f dnh. Osscgl s glr braru gaunaruh d'msglaru, s glr c'schaunanu
Arglnu. c'schaunane ch'iamia mraglah. Smu oglra c'meglva't tn ch'iami nssmu ch'mu s
ch'iamna. Ieme schtgad nfei schtgad msgl nmari mbrioglu ch'anva'b Osscgle. Osscgl daun r
nmbrioglei Arglnu, esschtgame rr ch'mbrglereu ah nma rr iemure netghu ah r nr miemu nmbrioglei
iemuru. Arglnei rnu c'mschaunu ch'iamne "giarinar me mi ah dssrutgar iemu, nssassnar nnu
nglanu, naaieigss ch'nssmaru ch'iamia ei nmbriogle engss tgeru?" Snerah mOsscgl r nr "Arglne,
me rglnei, tn ossanu nss s ch'duvdnanu , tn ierhnu nss s glnarnu , tn iami nu nss s iamnenu .
Naem ch'nssmaru ch'iamia, me nanva eschtga giarinelu" mArglne rnu "ah me nanva eschtga
giarinelu, Osscgl" Snerah Arglne ssemu ch'metghu Osscgle ah ch'regutge eu c'ma't. Arglne smu oglra
c'meglva't ah smuu ch'iamiu iemu'ss. Osscgl s glr iemure mbrioglu s. er'ss iemure nanva'b giah'ss
iemure nvei'b f mr ru, iru nssassu ah dre sr arah. Mmauna eschtgamu m o eschtgamueim tr
aru iamnu. ch'Nssassa nssassnu schd regutge ch'nssassa'n iamu . Nrletgagl smu dnt, ch'r
ch'arah nai , ah schd regutge enu dre ferrn, dre ferrn ger ssiroga erad, do etgha ah neg ed none
etgh ragut ia mr ch'regutge enu ssin. Ernsmardna schd ragut iamr ch'ari'ss Ragut Osscgle. ch'Retgha
nag imsn d'arglagiu.

Osculs Tree
One autumn long ago the god of winter and cold, Oscul, also known as Old Man Winter, was moving from his
home in the high mountains of Malomanan to the lowlands. He took with him his kingdom of Snow, for Osculs
coming heralds winter for Malomanan. Oscul travelled to Nonma Lamucevan (territory of forest dwellings)
and declared it his. He was happy when the snow fell on the land of forest dwellings. Next he travelled to Ralm
Nonma (long territory) and declared it his own. He was happy when the snow fell on the long territory. Next he
travelled to Nonma Lefscla (territory of deers birthing) but before he declared with his voice of howling wind,
Oscul saw a bright and beautiful sight..he saw the goddess of summer and warmth Arglne, herself travelling to
the southern islands as summer gives way to winter. Her brown hair and brown eyes put a warmth in Osculs
heart, such that Oscul wanted to make Arglne his wife. He took a seed of the brglere tree and put forward his
hand and asked Arglne to marry him. Arglne said to the winter god You take my lands and make them your own,
burying green grass under white snow, if I marry you will you stop the retreat of summer? to which Oscul said Arglne, me
iami ne (my summer one), day must give way to night, life must give way to death and so summer must give way to winter, it breaks
my heart but I cant stop the retreat of summer". it breaks my heart too, iamnunur (winter one)". And with that she slapped
Osculs hand and sent the seed flying away and down to the ground. Arglne travelled to the southern islands
taking summer with her. Oscul saw his love go away with sorrow in his heart and rage in his blood. He blown a
screaming wind, heavy snow and a fierce cold. Malomanan has not had such a cold winter before or since. The
snow buried the seed and under the snow it lay until spring came and the wind and snow stopped. And the seed
grew so fast that within a few minutes a 25 foot tall tree stood where a seed once was. Thousands of years later
the tree still stands, bearing the name Ragut Osscgle (Osculs tree). When eaten the leaves are said to help cool
down a fever.

FORIAB

!30

8.2

Further reading

Middle Nmmezse: An Essential Grammar by /u/Tarheelscouse

Old Sumr: An Essential Grammar
Old Lelic: An Essential Grammar
Modern Lelic: An Essential Grammar
Middle Sumri: An Essential Grammar
Malelweri: An Essential Grammar
Maifri: An Essential Grammar
Pwr: An Essential Grammat
Terch: An Essential Grammar
Old Moicha: An Essential Grammar
Middle Moicha: An Essential Grammar

FORIAB

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Foriab-English Dictionary
Key
n noun
v verb
adj adjective
loc locative clitic
ln locative noun
interj interjection
intens intensifier
inf infix
suff suffix
conj conjunction
adv adverb

A
a intens very
- suff nonhuman agent
adngi conj if
afei v to remove
ag n/adj other
agmh ln opposite
ah conj and, -ah suff and
aiei v agree
'an loc next to
areg n defenceless person/thing (from aro wounded bird + -eg diminutive)
argl n sum
arglagia n fever

FORIAB

!32

Arglne n name of the sun goddess

arfat n coat, jacket, cloack
ari n name
ariminei v -to be named; arimina Dug 'I am called Dug'
arjei v to open, to release
aro n wounded bird
asso adj white
anva n heart
anei v give

B
brar adj bright
brarei v to shine
brari n brightness
briogl n love
brioglagl n romance
brioglei v to love
-b ordinal number suffix

C
'c loc above
china n Scotland
cier n friend
c why
cr where
cgl n beer
cvonei v to graze

D
daunagl n desire
daunei v to want
dessh adj special, unique, rare
derc n antler

FORIAB

!33

dergier n stag
dia adv now
dna n time
dnaun adv right now, very soon, immediately
dnt adv soon
dssrutgei v to claim
d adj first
dciera n milk
damsa n fire drink
dei v to drink something that isnt water
dmei v to build, to make
dmg adj built
dmtgera n brick
dre intens very
dna n builder
dt then
duv adj black, dark
duvdna n night
duvero n crow

E
eei v to disapear
ei conj if
enei v be
engss aux may
'er loc beside
era n tower, fort
erad adj high
erama n hill
eram n highlands
eramr n gidhlig
erb adj last
erbssa adv finally
ern adj big, much

FORIAB

!34

erniglvei n sea
ernia n town
ernur n father
ernsmardna n eon
eschtgamei v to have
esschtgamerei v to take
esschtgei v to bear, to carry
essrgl v to wear
esstufemu ln centre, middle of
esschtgna n bearer
etgh n hand
eva u n afterlife

F
'f loc through
farei v to see the truth, to see past lies
fei n hair
feglerh n mammal
ferah n night vision
ferei v to prefer
fer adj fast
fessra n wool
forana n race of Forana people; foranur forana man; forane forana woman
foria n plain
fmei v to blow

G
gaunar adj beautiful
gaunei v to be happy, to rejoice
gaunerer n song
gaunernei v to sing
gegss n breast, teet, boob
enei v to grow
gnei v to long for, to yearn for

FORIAB

!35

er n sorrow
r n fight
rei v to fight
g who
adj tight
gia n rage
gia n try, attemp
giaragl n obedience
giarei v to force
giarinei v to steal
gja adj an easy task, easy to do, simple
gjogl n hero
gjrt n moon
o or
onssa adj healthy
adj low
fei v to buy
fna n customer
m n lowlands
mr n Scots Language
n n health
-gss suff question forming suffix
gutga n arse

H
-h suff and

I
- suff inanimate diminunitve
i adj many
'i loc into, in
ia n effeminate man
ia adj still
ia interj yes

FORIAB

!36

iab n arm
iafei v to hold
iama n home
iamieglvei n lake
iamei v to dwell
iamev n house
iami n summer
iamna n winter
iamnev n tent
iamu n campsite
iamar n street
ianh ln before
iar n war
iar n weapon
iarmmar n hunting weapon
iarei n battle
iarra adj warlike
iarna n soldier
iarsmei n war march
iaunei n mother
iaun n Lemne
id n wet meadow
iegl adj blue
iei v to hope
ietgagl n birth
ieglei v to wrap
ieglvei n water
ieglvermei n sail
ieah adv again
ierhgaunars n art
ierei v to do
ierei v to look
ieriamei v to conserve

FORIAB

!37

ieriavei v succeed
ierinio adj correct
iernoglememm n question
iernoglmei v to follow; to know
iernoglmena adj wise
iernoglm n secret
iernoglmenei v to learn
ier n colour
ierh n life
ierna u n peachy skin colour
ietgaglei n burne
i v to temp
iagl n to tempt
imei v to decide
ina adj easy to learn
io adj good
issa n fire
issagl n arson
issei v burn
issna n arsonist
itgei v argue
itgra n large burrowing rodent found on the Mforia plains.
itgl n arguing
i somehow
i n something
ib n pile
id some
iei v to help
ir adj heavy
ima u n deer
imauna nraunei n consonant
inei v to protect
inamei v to get

FORIAB

!38

imaun n autumn
imaunva n boat
imenah n dinner
imsei v to cool down
imu somewhere
in n wolf
ina someone
inei v drink
inna to sometimes
irei v to like
iregl n river
iregl n stream
vei v to greet

J
-ja suff multiple number suffix
-jei suff imperative

L
'l loc on
-l suff -ness
-l suff participle adjective suffix
-lrna suff -phobe

M
ma n land
mai adj angry
mainssu n horizon
ma n world
mjnu n rain; mjnugei it is raining
mlagl n equestrianism
mlauglra adj equestrian
mleg n equestrian
ml n horse
mlne n horsewoman

FORIAB

!39

mlnur n horseman
mltga n child horse rider
meriu n normal
meri n wesr
merimsh ln left
mevuvu n coast
mr n top
mrma n head
mornraunei n vowel
moar n buzzard
mu n place
m no, no way
m nothing
meglvei n island
memr nn hunter dog
memierna n leader of a territory
mfessmei v to climb
mgl only
-mglrna suff -phobe
mglei n to hang
mmar n spear
mmarei v run down and kill off a scattered army
mmei v to hunt
mmtr adj late
mmm adj lazy
munei v to breed, to have sex
min never
mn n speed
mna n hunter
mna no one
munaei v to think
-mn suff -less
mr adj noble

FORIAB

!40

mr nowhere
mur adj gray
mragl n warmth
murmr adj boring
mro adj warm
murgl n fox
mut conj but
mvei n mountain

N
'n loc under
-n- inf able
-na suff denotes origin -ish, -ian, -ese; e.g Mforiana 'Mforian'
-na suff human agent suffix
na n person
nacmei v to miss
naei v to eat
naei v to stop
-ne suff female dimunitive
ni n woman
neglmad n common path used by horsemen
nmcur n married woman, wife
nma n daughter
nemg n adult offspring
ner adj short
ngla n grass
nn adj green
nm adj alone
nr n faun
nrletgagl n spring
noei v to walk
noglei v to understand
nu n many

FORIAB

!41

n all
na few
na adj odd, weird
na n forest
nma n region, territory, country
nmarei v to put
nmei v to run
numa n son
nmbrioglei v to marry
nmei v to bind, to tie, to unite
nmgmagl n freedom
nmgl adj united
nun n boy
nn n fraction
nna n tribe
nnei v to divide
nnesschtgamei v to disown
nunre adj boyish
nunmi n child
nur n man
nr n married man, husband
nra n word
nraunei n letter, grapheme, symbol
nurmema n raiding party
nss n different
nssa n night-sky
nssaei v to finish
nss n breath
nssafa n blizzard
nssassa n snow
nssassnei v to bury with snow
nssmei v to leave
nt n fool

FORIAB

!42

ogl n south
oglre adj southern
ossa n day, yesterday

R
r adj long (distance, length)
raga adj sharp
ragar n wind instrument
ragssa adv mightily
ragut n tree
ragutga n tree-seed
rah adj strong
reet adj funny
regutge n seed
retgh n leaf
r n language, speech
r adj difficult
rnei v to ask, to speak
rssra n writing
rssrei v to write
r n dog
rcier n companion dog
ruei n murder
rglna n dog owner
rglnei v to own a dog
rglnei n sweetheart, darling
rma n puppy
rmierei v to lead

FORIAB

!43

rmierna n leader of a raiding party

rne n bitch dog
rnem n castrated dog
rmu n bitch dog in heat
rss n bird
rsschei v to fly (this verb only refers to bird flight)
rssre adj bird-like

S
saei v to forget
sia adj old
siamschi n history
scha adj holy
schd adj new
schierh n sacred deer
schm n offspring
schauna n god
schaunane n goddess
schdna adv now
schemei v to be hungry
scherah n dream
schgei v to encourage
schgg adj essential
schi n story
schd dem that (inanimate)
schn dem that (animate)
schtadi adj brown
schssa n today
'se loc along
sor adj free
'ss loc with
ssei n valley
ssemei v to hit

FORIAB

!44

ssin when
su suff approximate eg schtadisu 'brownish'
s n air, wind
s for
sar n road
sei v to find
sei v to go
sagl n failure
sei v to fail
sglar n day-vision, eye, view, sight
sglei v to see
sm n foot
smaei v to come
smatgei v to fall
smar n arrival, travel
smamei v to climb down, to descend, to get down from
smei v to travel
smfernei v to hurry
smiar n entrance
smiei v to arrive
smieri v to guide
smierna n clue
smuei v bring
smmima u n flight
sun there
snerah therefore
sr n cloth
sr there
srei v to own
sr adj painful

FORIAB

!45

T
't loc to, at
tamar adj crazy
tamaragl n craziness
tar adj thick
-tga suff child diminunitve suffix
tgah n job
tged what
tgen which
tger adj hard
tger asv immediately
tgercb n bone
tgercbre adj boney
tgarf since, ago
tgerm n stone
tger n wood
tgeruei v to admit
tgerssm n wagon
tn adj little
tnma n sub-territory
tr adj sad
t n north
tau adj difficult to carry
teg n burden
tmar n accusing
tmagl n accusation, implication
tmei v to accuse
tmg adj accused
tml adj accusing
tn as

FORIAB

!46

tna n accuser
tr such

U
'u loc from
ab n the dragon
'ub loc in, inside, into
n attention; interj attention! hey!
ar adj cold
ei v to reveal
gl n doe
glna adj bad
glnaonssa adj unhealthy, sickly, unwell
glnir n sin
glnirei v to sin
glnaraei v to forgive
glnarei v to kill
mima u n heron
mnoei v to fly
mnogjei v to glive
-un inf able
unsch n east
raei n stutter
ri adj yellow
sst n tomorrow
tge n bread

V
vaune always, every
vaune everything
vaunena everyone
vauner everywhere

FORIAB

!47

vei n blood
vegei v to fold
veglreglei v to flow
veglerauna n ancestor
verss n duck

English-Foriab Dictionary
A
able inf -un-; -naccusation n tmagl
accuse v tmei
accused adj tmg
accuser n tna
accusing n tmar; adj tml
admit v tgeruei
above loc 'c
afterlife n eva u
again adv ieah
agent suffix (human) -na
ago tgarf
agree v aiei
air n s
all n
alone adj nm
along loc 'se
always vaune
ancestor n veglerauna

FORIAB

!48

and conj ah, -ah, -h

angry adj mai
antler n derc
arrival n smar
arrive v smiei
argue v itgei
arguing n itgl
arm n iab
arse n gutga
arson n issagl
arsonist n issna
art n ierhgaunars
as tn
ask v rnei
attention 1) interj ;n
autumn n imaun

B
bad adj glna
baseline in Rsora script n mainssu
battle v iarei
be v enei
bear v esschtgei
bearer n esschtgna
beautiful adj gaunar
beer n cgl
before ln ianh
beside loc 'er
bird n rss
bird-like adj rssre
birth n ietgagl
big adj ern
bind v nmei

FORIAB

!49

bitch dog n rne (originally r but sound changes made it identical to r 'dog' so the female diminutive suffix
was added to enforce the meaning of 'bitch dog')
bitch dog in heat n rmu
black adj duv
blizzard n nssafa
blood n vei
blow v fmei
blue adj iegl
boat n imaunva
bone n tgercb
boney adj tgercbre
boob n gegss
boring adj murmr (from mur gray + mr noble, to mean someone that has good intentions but is boring
because them)
boy n nun
boyish adj nunre
burn v ietgaglei
bread n tge
breath n nss
breed v munei
brick n dmtgera
bright adj brar
brightness n brari
bring v smuei
brown adj schtgad
build v dmei
builder n dna
built adj dmg
burden n teg
burn v issei
bury with snow v nssassnei
but conj mut
buy v fei
buzzard n moar

FORIAB

!50

C
campsite n iamu
carry v esschtgei
castrated dog n rnem
centre ln esstufemu
child n nunmi
child diminutive suffix -tga
claim v dssrutgei
climb v mfessmei
climb down v smamei
cloak n arfat
cloth n sr
clue n smierna
coast n mevuvu
coat n arfat
cold n ar
colour n ier
come v smaei
common path used by horsemen n neglmad
companion dog n rcier
conserve v ieriamei
consonant n imauna nraunei
cool down v imsei
correct adj ierinio
country n nma
craziness n tamaragl
crazy adj tamar
crow n duvero
customer n fna

D
FORIAB

!51

dark adj duv

daughter n nma
day n ossa
day vision n sglar
death n glnar
decide v imei
deer n ima u
defenceless person/thing n areg (from aro wounded bird + -eg diminutive)
descend v smamei
desire n daunagl
different adj nss
difficult adj r
difficult to carry adj ta u
dinner n imenah (from a word meaning 'hunted deer')
disappear v eei
disown v nnesschtgamei
divide v nnei
do v ierei
doe n gl
dog n r
dog owner n rglna
the dragon n ab
dream n scherah
drink 1) v inei; to drink something that isnt water v dei
duck n verss
dwell v iamei

E
east n unsch
easy 1) to learn adj ina 2) to do; adj gja
eat v naei
encourage v schgei
entrance n smiar
eon n ernsmardna

FORIAB

!52

effeminate man n ia
equestrian n mleg; adj mlaglra
equestrianism n mlagl
essential adj schgg
every vaunei
everyone vaunena
everything vaune
everywhere vauner
eye n sglar

F
fail v sei
failure n sagl
fall v smatgei
fast adj fer
father n ernur
faun n nr
female diminutive suff -ne
fever n arglagia
few na
fight n r
fight v rei
finally adv erbssa
find v sei
finish v nssaei
fire n issa
fire drink n damsa
first adj d
flag n sraunma
flight n smmima u
flow v veglreglei
fly v mnoei; a bird to fly v rsschei
fold v vegei
follow v iernoglmei

FORIAB

!53

fool n nt
for (Benefactive) s
force v giarei
forest n na
forget v saei
forgive v glnaraei
foot n sm
fort n era (from erama 'hill')
fox n murgl
fraction n nn
free adj sor
freedom n nmgmagl
friend n cier
from loc 'u
funny adj reet

G
gidhig n eramr
get v inamei
give v anei; to give someone a stolen object v iei
glide v mnogjei
go v sei
god n schauna
goddess n schaunane
good adj io
grammar n rime
grass n ngla
gray adj mur
graze v cvonei
green adj nn
greet v vei
grow v enei
grown up children n nemg
guide v smieri

FORIAB

!54

H
hair n fei
hand n etgh
hang v mglei
happy v gaunei
hard adj tger
have v eschtgamei
have sex v munei
head n mrma
health n n
healthy adj onssa
heart n anva
heavy adj ir
help v iei
hero n gjogl
heron n mima u
hey! interj
high adj erad
highlands n eram
hill n erama
history n siamschi
hit v ssemei
hold v iafei
holy adj scha
home n iama
hope v iei
horizon n mainssu
horse n ml
horseman n mlnur; horsewoman n mlne ; child/child horse rider n mltga
house n iamev
hunt v mmei
hunter n mna
hunter dog n memr

FORIAB

!55

hunting weapon n iarmmar

hungry v schgemei
hurry v smfernei

I
if conj ei; adngi
immediately adv tger
imperative suff -jei
implication v tmagl
inanimate diminutive
in loc 'ub
into loc 'i
-ish (approximate) -su
-ish (denotes origin e.g Scottish) -na
island n meglvei

J
jacket n arfat
job n tgah

K
kill v glnarei
know v iernoglmei
L
land n ma
language n r
last adj erb
late adj mmtr
lazy adj mm
lead v rmierei
leader of raiding party n rmierna

FORIAB

!56

leader of a territory n memierna

leaf n retgh
learn v iernoglmenei
leave v nssmei
left ln merimsh
Lemre n iaun
-less -mn
letter n nraunei
life n ierh
like v irei
little adj tn
loch n iamieglvei
long (distance, length) adj r ;(time) adj sgla
long for v gnei
look v ierei
love v brioglei; n briogl
low adj
lowlands n m

M
make v dmei
mammal n feglerh
man n nur
many n nu (i.e 'the masses')
many adj i
married man n nr
married woman n nmcur
marry v nmbrioglei
mate v munei
may aux engss
middle ln esstufemu
mightily adv ragssa
milk n dciera
miss v nacmei

FORIAB

!57

moon n gjrt
mother n iaunei
mountain n mvei
much ern
multiple number suffix -ja
murder v ruei

N
name n ari
-to be named v ariminei
-ness -l
never min
new adj schd
next to loc 'an
night n duvdna
night vision n ferah
no m
noble adj mr
nonhuman agent suff -
no one mna
normal adj meriu
north n t
nothin m
now adv dia, schdna
no way m
nowhere mr

O
obedience n giaragl
odd adj na
old adj sia
on loc 'l
only mgl
open v arjei

FORIAB

!58

opposite ln agmh
or o
ordinal nmber suffix -b
other n/adj ag
own v srei
own a dog v rglnei

P
participle adjective suffix -l
painful adj sr
peachy skin colour adj ierna u
person n na
-phile -lrna
-phobe -mglrna
pile n ib
place n mu
plain (habitat) n foria
powerful screaming wind adj r
prefer v ferei
protect v inei
puppy n rma
put v nmarei

Q
question n iernoglememm
question forming sffix -gss

R
rage n gia
raiding party n nurmema
rain n mjnu ;it is raining mjnugei
red adj veglr
region n nma
release v arjei
remove v afei

FORIAB

!59

rejoice v gaunei
reveal v ei
river n iregl
road n sar
romance n brioglagl
run v nmei
run down and kill off a scattered army v mmarei (from Middle Moicha mumerae to hunt birds)

S
sacred deer n schierh
sad adj tr
sail v ieglvermei
Scotland n china
Scots Language n mr
sea n erniglvei
secret adj iernoglm
see v sglei; to see the truth, to see past someone's lies v farei (from the Middle Moicha fare to see at
night, as the night is believed to reveal the true nature of the world. This belief comes from the fact that when
the sun sets the stars in the sky are revealed)
seed n regutge
set free v arjei
sharp adj raga
shine v brarei
short adj ner
sickly adj glnaonssa
sight n sglar; used for a view or something seen; gaunar d'sglar a beautiful sight.
sin v glnirei; n glnir
since tgarf
sing v gaunernei
sky at night n nssa; at day. n
snow n nssassa
soldier n iarna
some id
somehow i
someone ina

FORIAB

!60

something v i
sometimes ina
somewhere imu
son n numa
song n gaunerer
soon adv dnt; very soon dnaun
sorrow n er
south n ogl
southern adj olgre
spear n mmar
speak v rnei
special adj dessh
speech n r
speed n mn
spring n nrletgagl
stag n dergier
steal v giarinei
still adj ia
still young children of a person n schm
stop v naei
story n schi
stream n iregl
street n iamar (from ia 'still' msar eclipsed form of sar 'road')
stone n tgerm
strong adj rah
stud dog n rmu
stutter v raei
succeed v ieriavei
such tr
sub-territory n tnma. In Mforia each territory is ruled by one high leader, and each territory is divided into
smalled sub-territories each ruled by a lesser leader.
summer n iami
Sumric script n rssra
sun n argl; Arglnei name of the sun goddess

FORIAB

!61

sweetheart n rglnei

T
take v esschtgamerei
task n tgah
tempt v i
temptation n iagl
tent n iamnev
territory n nma
that dem schd (inanimate) schn (animate)
then dt
there sun, sr
therefore snerah
think v munaei
thick adj tar
through loc 'f
tie v nmei
tight adj
time n dna
to loc 't
today n schssa
tomorrow n sst
top n mr
tower n era
town n ernia
travel n smar; v smei
tree n ragut
trees seed n ragutga
tribe n nna
try n gia

U
un- -m
under loc 'n

FORIAB

!62

understand v noglei
unite v nmei
united adj nmgl

V
valley n ssei
very ern, a, dre
vowel n mornraunei

W
wagon n tgerssm
walk v noei; without a designation v rmei
want v daunei
war n iar
warlike adj iarra
war march n iarsmei
warm adj mro
warmth n mragl
water n ieglvei
weapon n iar
wear v essrgl (ess+ rgl)
weird adj na
west n meri
wet meadow n id
what tged
when ssin
where cr
which tgen
white adj asso
who g
why c
wind n s
winter n iamna
wind instrument n ragar

FORIAB

!63

wise adj iernoglmena

with loc 'ss
wolf n in
woman n ni
wood n tger
wool n fessra
word n nra
world n ma
wounded bird n aro
wrap v ieglei
write v rssrei
writing n rssra

Y
yearn v gnei
yellow adj ri
yes ia
yesterday n ossa

SCA2 code for Middle Moicha > Foriab

ch//V_V
e/ei/_#

FORIAB

!64

/i/_#
u//_
/u/_
aV/e/_
g//_a
g//_e
gi//_
y/j/_
CjV/CiV/_
ti/tg/_
ch/tg/_a
c/z/_e
c/z/_i
z/ss/_
n/m/_t
n/m/_f
a/e/c_
Z//V_V
S/Z/V_V
c/ch/_a
ch/tg/ss_
/a/_
ssc/tg/_
a/au/_n
se/sch/_
s/sch/_
s/sch/_t
aj/ai/_
j/i/_
c/h/_#
/i/_V
l/i/C_
q/g/_

FORIAB

!65

l/gl/V_
l/i/_V
Loss of final nasal consonants in polysyllabic words.

FORIAB

!66