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As an extension of my hobby of storytelling, I also construct languages, or "Conlang". Badly. I do not use IPA, as a good Conlanger would (I could only barely tell you a voiced fricative from a dental voiceless stop) but I fumble along nonetheless. The Conlang of which I am the most proud is my take on Demonic. The goal of this language was to create words from which I could generate names for Demons. Furthermore, the existence of this language has led to the creation of a student project called "A Demon in the Circus" which I hope will showcase some of its sounds and aesthetic. The following will explore how I crafted my version of Demonic.
Demonic as a Conlang
To begin, I would like to talk briefly about different kinds of Conlangs--or Constructed Languages. There are Functional Conlangs, like Esperanto or Toki Pona, which are intended to be spoken and actually used. These tend to most closely mimic real languages. Then, there are Artistic Conlangs, which are typically incomplete and merely used to enhance works of fiction. Some of the most famous of these include Tolkien’s Elvish, Klingon, and Dothraki by David Petersen.
Demonic is, first and foremost, an Artistic Conlang. Therefore, as I mentioned, its primary goal is to create a basis for the names of my Demons--which means it has a heavy focus on nouns. Its secondary goal is to reinforce the themes and beliefs found in Demonic culture, which means the words I have created focus on the areas that Demons would be most interested in discussing, such as debts, fighting, and blood, but lacking in areas, such as astronomy or technology. Lastly, as a written Artistic Conlang, it is not meant to be spoken and mostly meant to look “correct”. Thus, it may not be easy to say any of this aloud.
An Interpretation of Demons
My particular interpretation of Demons, in most of my works of fiction, portray them as a race blood magic users who can change their forms, set things on fire, and maintain an intuitive and mental connection with other Demons via their shared blood. Demons can come in all different shapes, intelligence-levels, and strengths--determined by the strength of their blood. That being said, while low-intelligence Demons are little more than frightening beasts, the strongest of them are devilish deal makers, forging Faustian bargains with each other in lieu of ordinary friendships and loyalties. While this would initially make it appear as if they do not value empathy, their blood links ensure that Demons do feel deeply and strongly. A true friend is one whom one can trust to repay his or her debts. Furthermore, for a Demon, to have others owe oneself is just as much of a burden as for one to owe others. Demons, above all, value their independence--and even the low-intelligence Demons can feel this strange form of interdependence. Thus, debts are deeply infused in Demonic culture. So deeply, in fact, that Demons are incapable of not-discussing debt.
Sounds and the Alphabet
There are fewer sounds in Demonic than there are in English, because I wanted to be sure that birds, snakes, and other creatures without lips could still pronounce most of the sounds. For instance, there are no plosive sounds (which is to say, sounds formed with your lips). However, there are sounds in Demonic that seldom appear in English, if at all.
An important note when reading Demonic is that consonants never combine to make new sounds. For instance, “sh” is not pronounced as “sh” in “show”. Instead, it is pronounced almost like a separate syllable. So, in the Demonic word “shelair” (meaning “To die”), it is pronounced closer to “s’helair” or seh-heh-layd. This is true with any combination of consonants.
Writing in Demonic
Writing in Demonic is very similar to writing in Tolkienesque Elvish, Thai, or Punjabi--in that vowels attach to "slots" on the top and bottom of consonants.
Demonic was loosely inspired by the cuneiform from Babylon, but I knew I needed my Demonic to be very simple because it needed to be written with claws, fingers, tails, and drying blood. Hence the mostly straight lines and simple dots. Below is a collection of all the most important Demonic symbols:
Now, for the manner of writing. In Demonic, consonants are written as in English--one after another, left to right. But vowels are more like modifiers to the consonants, as mentioned above. Vowels sit on top of the consonants they come before and beneath the consonants they come after. See the little writings in the corner of the figure above? That is what it looks like written out.
Sentence Structure
In Demonic, they have a VSO-word order—which is to say, Verb-Subject-Object. If you’re unaware, Verb is the action, Subject is the thing doing the action, and Object is the thing to which the action is being done. This is very different from English, where we tend to use SVO-word order. My reasoning for this was twofold: Firstly, VSO is one of the rarest amongst human cultures and so it would seem more alien if structured this way. Secondly, Demons are an action-oriented culture. Thus, an entire sentence can consist simply of a verb and the verb is the most important part of the language. It is second most important to know who is doing the verb (Subject), and lastly, to who or what the verb is being done (Object). Direct Objects always come before Indirect Objects.
Turning a statement into a question is similar to Chinese and Japanese, in that all one does is place the marker "e?" at the end of a sentence and then says it with an upward tone.
Conjugation and To-Be
Conjugation is very important in any language but in Demonic, it is tied deeply with manners and culture. As mentioned, Demons strive to repay their debts. As such, it is vitally important that you are always aware of who you owe, who owes you, and conjugate your verbs to the appropriate mood. (This may actually have another name linguistically, but I’m sticking with “conjugate”.)
There are four kinds of verbs in Demonic: -ir, -yr, -irr, and -yrr. All verbs end in these letters. I will demonstrate conjugations with Ir, the prototypical -ir verb.
Vocabulary and Sample Writing
What follows is a collection of sample sentences in Demonic as well as the current full lexicon, if you happen to be interested in constructing your own sentences.
Ein is Arlasair.
I am Arlasair. (Literally, "I am born of flames", though "Arlasair" is a name.)
Ic oru heirat!
You are a Demonspawn! (Negative/In-Debt Connotation: You are nothing but a Demonspawn.)
Srretev is ev'is ar'oru.
I come to reclaim what is mine from you. ("Evis" is used for "what is mine". Literally, "for use by me".)
Ev sehat ulif ehas Rrholein ir is Syen srreven ynas Shalirr uin'Ycav shalen Sicavyrr eharus Cavein ar'Ordu gevys
For my sweetest one
I want to be together
with you again very much
To dream dreams
To make love
Ir o iranat. Rrholaein urryr. Ic sena eryrr ev'is rrejrracain e? O ic sena ehas ev'is shelairr e? Ycavrryr e? Ycavrryr ja isas shalirr uin'Ycav? Aa, ir asetun. Uin ycavrryr ar shelairr, shalirrn is shalen e?
To be or not to be. I want to know.
Is it good for me to feel injustice?
Or is it the most good for me to die?
To sleep? To sleep and probably to dream?
Ah, it is a problem.
In the sleep of death, will I dream dreams?
(This is essentially Hamlet's To Be or Not To Be speech.)
Vocabulary
Basic
Greetings (Formal)--Rracuin
Greetings (Informal)--*Nod*
To thank--Hasirr
To be--Ir (Pronounced "Id")
I--Is
You--Oru ("Odu")
You all--Oren ("Oden")
Us (Pair)--Syen
Us--Isen
They--Rruin
Person--Se
Also/Again--Srreven
Sweetling--Sehat
Very--Ulif
Much--Ynas
The most/superlative--Ehas
Likely/Probable (adj)--Isas
Therefore--Suteve
However--Ytul
Yes--Eha
No--Rre
Numbers, Demonstratives, Questions
Who--Nese
This (person)--Ese
That (person)--Ase
What--Nesac
This (thing)--Esac
That (thing)--Asac
Where--Nuce
Here--Ece
There--Ace
When--Nerev
Before--Erev
After--Arev
Why--Cune
How--Cane
1--ji
2--rru
3--she
4--onu
5--eji
6--eru
7--eshe
8--enu
9--crre
10--sal
11--sal'ji
12--sal'rru
20--rrusal
100--ratus
1000--juta
Million--juten
Light versus Dark
Light (n)--Alohe
Light (adj)--Alof
Dark (n)--Enevre
Dark (adj)--Enes
Lucian--Aralohe
Demonspawn--Heirat (Halfling)
Demon (Beast/Creature)--Arenevre
Demonic Language (Lit. Darkspeak)--Enslavar (pronounced "En-slav-ad")
Debts & Other Relations
To owe--Etyrr
To repay/reclaim (conjugated differently)--Srretirr
Debt--Tyarr
Debtor--Artiarr
Lender--Rretyrr
To make love (root)--Cavyrr
To make love passionately--Sicavyrr
To make love roughly--Frrecavyrr
To procreate--Cusrravyrr
Mother/Mom/Mommy--Unna/Un/Unnat
Father/Daddy--Jati/Jatjat Arcyhol (Ar-ki’e-hoil)--Sibling/Blood relative
Verbs
To be--Ir (Pronounced "Id") To have--Nenair To like--Sigaryrr To dislike--Vrrisaryrr To make--Nrrejir To be made of--Arnrrejir To use--Nacajir To eat--Vrrongir To drink--Frrongir To sing/Perform--Cavair Performance--Cavaen Performer--Arcavaen Circus--Cavaen Arclaica To speak/say--Lavairr To listen/view a performance--Tangyrr To see--Sovair To feel/believe--Eryrr To think/imagine--Shalirr To dream--Shalirr uin'Ycav Dream/thought (n)--Shalen To understand--Sunrrejir To know--Urryr To sleep--Ycavrryr To be capable--Hongyrr To want--Rrholair To make love (root)--Cavyrr
To owe--Etyrr
To repay/reclaim (conjugated differently)--Srretirr To spark/To be born--Lasair To hunt--Frrehyr To bleed--Cyholir To rebuke--Yholir To use magic--Sihir
Philosophies and Lofty Goals
Good (n)--Sena
Good (adj)--Senav
Evil (n)--Rresena
Evil (adj)--Rresenav
Quality (n)--Arhuin
High Quality (n)--Eharhuin
High Quality (adj)--Eharus
Poor Quality (n)--Rehauin
Poor Quality (adj)--Rehus
Justice/Equality--Jrracain
Injustice--Rrejrracain
Inequality--Irtyarr
Freedom--Clanain
Beauty--Gevyna
Beautiful--Gevys
Hunting, Conflict, and Warfare
To hunt--Frrehyr Hunter--Arfrrehiar Inquisitor--Alohar Conflict/Problem--Asetun War--Ehaset To bleed--Cyholir Blood—Cyhol To die--S'helair To kill (Root, Rarely spoken)--Rhacyrr To kill in self-defense--Rhacangyrr To kill for a just cause--Jrracaisyrr To kill on behalf of a loved thing (i.e. Family, Country, etc.)--Rhevatuir To kill for sport--Reflanair To murder/kill without cause--Ejrracair To rebuke--Yholir To use magic--Sihir King/Queen--Enharr Prince/Princess--Enharrat Noble Fighter--Arhaircyrr Champion (fighter)--Arevjrra Guardian--Arhevar One who fights to repay a debt--Arsetir
Natural World Phenomenon
Fire--Santyrr
Spark--Lasa To spark/start a fire/To be born--Lasair
Smoke--Claica
Water--Fla
Earth (Stone/dirt)--Hrru
Sky--Lasarre
Wind--Sota
Cloud--Nrresota
Storm Clouds--Nrrecela
Rain--Crrela
Snow--Ynerre
Lightning--Shelata
Sand--Trrenoc
Salt--Shelesana
Plant--Nrresana
Mountain--Eharrui
Peak--Senaharr
Mid-Way-Down-a-Hill--Jeveng
Valley--Evongcal
River--Vrrasofa
Photosynthesis--Alonrre
Plague--Flahega
Creatures
Beast/Creature (Demon)--Arenevre
Canine/hound (n)--Cujong
Feline (n)--Arclaic
Bat-Wing--Enele
Feathered-Wing--Sihita
Dragon--Arenele
Spider--Cenain
Rat--Arflahaig
Horn--Vrrese
Claw--Grra
Hoof--Vlono
