Taurahe

Taurahe is the language spoken by the Tauren from the Warcraft universe.

Phonology
Taurahe has 4 vowels, 4 semivowels, 2 diphthongs, and 12 consonants.

Vowels
There are 4 vowels, e, ø, a, and o. This yields 2 front vowels with rounding contrast, and 2 non-front vowels with rounding contrast. All vowels can be doubled in length, which changes the syllable structure of the word. There are also 2 falling diphthongs, aw and ay. All vowels/diphthongs can be nasalized with some bilabial coarticulation, written as m following the vowel.

Semiconsonants
Each vowel corresponds with a semiconsonant, which is articulated when that vowel appears in the syllable onset. In the Taurahe script, no distinction is made between e and y, ø and r, or o and w. However, due to historical phonological changes, a and l are treated as distinct despite their relationship parallel to that of the other vowels and semiconsonants.


 * a → l
 * e → y
 * ø → r
 * o → w

Consonants
Lastly, there are 12 full consonants, t d s ts st n p f m k h ng. The orthography here only roughly corresponds to its English counterpart. , ,  and  correspond to slightly different sounds than those found in English.  is the velar nasal.  and  are considered unique letters, rather than clusters of s and t.

Phonotactics
Syllables follow the form CV. Syllables can have a null onset word initially, or word internally if the preceding syllable has the same vowel, i.e. /ta.ho.o/ (tongue) but not */ta.ha.o/. Most words have a length of 2 or 3 consonants.

Forming a sentence
Sentences are composed of phrases, discrete noun and verb phrases which move together. The typical phrase order is SVO, but this is not rigidly followed, as the role marker is more important.

Noun Phrases
Noun phrases are composed of four pieces of information: the class, the role, any adjectives if applicable, and finally the noun itself.

Classes
Taurahe has six noun classes. They are not arbitrary and are typically intuitive. The majority of nouns fall into one of the first four classes, since the final two are very limited in breadth. Each of these class words can stand alone to mean him, her, it, or are sometimes untranslatable.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Class !What sorts of things fall into this class?
 * law
 * living creatures, animals, persons
 * ko
 * natural objects, trees, ores
 * o
 * constructed objects, buildings, tools, prepared food
 * ha
 * mythology and weather, fire, clouds, spirits, other intangibles
 * am
 * body parts
 * tsaw
 * locations
 * }
 * am
 * body parts
 * tsaw
 * locations
 * }
 * }

Roles
The second part of the determiner is the thematic role. This typically tells how it relates to the verb phrase. The two most common roles are yo and so. Yo is only used to set up the subject of active verbs. So is used as the subject of stative verbs, and for other arguments relating directly to the verb. This is explained in the verb phrases section. Na is explained in the referents section.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Te
 * payrem
 * lawso
 * taloha
 * e
 * nomke
 * lawmso
 * royomam
 * soom.
 * PRS
 * want
 * it.STV
 * mother
 * conj
 * find
 * it.pl.STV
 * REFER-STV.pl
 * child.pl
 * colspan="9"|The mother wants to find her children.
 * }
 * colspan="9"|The mother wants to find her children.
 * }


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Lawyo
 * masaranatse
 * fø
 * sekada
 * lawso
 * resolo
 * feete.
 * it.ACT
 * Mazzranache
 * PST
 * chase
 * it.STV
 * gentle
 * hunter
 * colspan=7| Mazzranache chased the gentle hunter.
 * }
 * colspan=7| Mazzranache chased the gentle hunter.
 * }

Referents
There are three adjectives known as referents: mada, royoma, and noo. Each one acts as a possessive (his, her, its, their, our) for the corresponding noun phrase. Mada refers to the yo phrase, royoma to a nearby soo phrase, and noo to a nearby na phrase.


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * lawna
 * soohalo
 * amso
 * noo
 * nostoka
 * it.POS
 * Tauren
 * it.STV
 * REFER-POS
 * face
 * colspan=5|The Tauren's face.
 * }
 * colspan=5|The Tauren's face.
 * }

In this example, noo acts as the word "its", where "it" refers to soohalo, the head noun of the noun phrase lawna soohalo, "the Tauren".

Pronomial Phrases
Class tags can stand on their own, acting as English pronouns, if they are preceded by the appropriate case tag. The two words ana "I" and tsee "you" are also used in this way. Pronouns can also be combined with a hyphen, such as ana-tsee "we", literally "me-you".


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Løyo
 * doole
 * lømsoo
 * kaakam
 * te
 * feete.
 * Yo
 * lø
 * soo
 * løm
 * te
 * mem
 * maama.
 * it.AGT
 * warrior
 * it.PAT.PL
 * strider.PL
 * PRS
 * hunt.
 * AGT
 * it
 * PAT.PL
 * it.PL
 * REL
 * and
 * eat.
 * colspan=13|The warrior hunts the striders, and he eats them.
 * }
 * colspan=13|The warrior hunts the striders, and he eats them.
 * }


 * {|class="wikitable"


 * Hayo
 * køømke
 * moosa
 * ya
 * pawene
 * nastemde
 * soo
 * ana.
 * it.AGT
 * great
 * moon
 * HAB
 * always
 * wake
 * it.PAT
 * I.
 * colspan=8|The full moon always wakes me up.
 * }
 * colspan=8|The full moon always wakes me up.
 * }

Verb Phrases
Perhaps the most important part of the sentence is the verb phrase, and every proper sentence will have at least one. Like noun phrases, the verb phrase follows a pattern: tense marker, any adverbs as desired, and the verb proper.

Tense markers
The tense markers are short, standalone words that indicate the tense of the verb. The past tense refers to events that happened a relatively long time ago. Events in the present are happening as the phrase is being said, as well as generic truths or habits. The remote future contrasts with the predictive future in that they refer to certain and uncertain events, respectively.


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Past !Present !Remote !Predictive
 * fø
 * te
 * tsøla
 * kowa
 * }
 * }

Active versus Stative
Verbs are either active or stative. Active verbs typical involve voluntary effort, such as running, hunting, or eating. Stative verbs involve less voluntary actions, such as sleeping, being seen, falling in love, or having a quality.

Valency
Every verb must have at least one argument, which is typically the subject, or the object in passive constructions.

Monovalent verbs have a single argument. The verb type, active or stative, is important now because it determines whether the argument uses yo or so. Active verbs use yo. Stative verbs use so.

For monovalent verbs, the verb phrase moves in front of the subject phrase, unless the sentence is passive.


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Te
 * maama
 * lawyo
 * laworo.
 * PRS
 * eat
 * it.ACT
 * wolf
 * colspan=4|The wolf is eating.
 * }
 * colspan=4|The wolf is eating.
 * }


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Te
 * tsootsa.
 * so
 * law.
 * PRS
 * sleep
 * STV
 * it.
 * colspan=4|He is sleeping.
 * }
 * colspan=4|He is sleeping.
 * }

Some active verbs can be made passive by using so instead of yo. Compare the wolf example above with:


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Koso
 * stawko
 * te
 * maama.
 * it.STV
 * wheat
 * PRS
 * eat
 * colspan=4|The wheat is being eaten.
 * }
 * colspan=4|The wheat is being eaten.
 * }

Multivalent verbs take two or more arguments: active verbs take one yo and so, while stative verbs take multiple so. For stative verbs, phrase order becomes important because the agent of the verb will appear before the verb.


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Lawyo
 * laworo
 * fø
 * sekada
 * lawso
 * køsødø.
 * it.ACT
 * wolf
 * RCT
 * chase
 * it.STV
 * deer.
 * colspan=6|The wolf chased the deer.
 * }
 * colspan=6|The wolf chased the deer.
 * }

The following example illustrates the effects of word order.


 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * So
 * anga
 * so
 * tsay
 * te
 * pooka.
 * STV
 * I
 * STV
 * you
 * HAB
 * love.
 * }
 * }

This sentences essentially states, "I, you, love." The verb pooka uses so for both parties regardless of who loves whom. By placing both noun phrases anga and tsay before the verb phrase, neither takes precedence. This leaves us with a sentence "we love". However, pooka is multivalent, so both anga and tsay cannot be the subject. The sentence is ambiguous, but phrase order can resolve this ambiguity. Note that it is not important whether anga appears before or after tsay, it is only their order with regards to the verb that matters.


 * So anga so tsay te pooka: We love each other.
 * Te pooka so anga so tsay: We are loved by each other.
 * So anga te pooka so tsay: I love you.
 * So tsay te pooka so anga: You love me.

Mythology

 * {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! Løsoo doore Halo fø nakaye (Sorrow of the Earthmother)
 * Tsoona wehese lømsoo noom soohalom emke fasahø, soo løm fø peyeso hasoo tsenowe asale emke we hafø dømee. Hayo asale fø søføhe hasoo neetse-døfewe wøfak løfom soohalom. Lømsoo kamsesem soohalom fø kowawe hayo neetse-kakøø asale, emke nomketø soo løm soo ha. Yo løm fø doole lømsoo madam yamehem. Soo løm hasoo royoma alamam fø ranope tsooka wehesa.
 * Tsoona wehese lømsoo noom soohalom emke fasahø, soo løm fø peyeso hasoo tsenowe asale emke we hafø dømee. Hayo asale fø søføhe hasoo neetse-døfewe wøfak løfom soohalom. Lømsoo kamsesem soohalom fø kowawe hayo neetse-kakøø asale, emke nomketø soo løm soo ha. Yo løm fø doole lømsoo madam yamehem. Soo løm hasoo royoma alamam fø ranope tsooka wehesa.

Løsoo etsene-doore Halo fø pøweste emke tefoo. Yo lø ketsetse amsoo mada tefoom emke tsafaa hana wørom hamdato noom payesøm soo am. Hasoo amsee hasoo moosa fø føyee, emke stesøø yo ham soo ham, emke mem sekada yo ha soo ha-emtee. Yo ham soo ham ya sekada amfoto layøøm noom nostokam løna ana-tsee.

Hayo Halo fø pøweste emke pahowa tsoosoo mada kalemdø. Soo ha fø peyeso hasoom howaha. Hayo po fø wøtse hasoo noo asale tsoona wehese. Hasoo Halo fø pawene lømka royomam soom. Hana Halo hayo noo asale fø neetse pahowa kø løm. !The sad Earthmother reacted
 * [[image:Løsoo doore Halo fø nakaye.jpg]]
 * [[image:Løsoo doore Halo fø nakaye.jpg]]
 * The Tauren of the plains, going about their lives, they heard evil knowledge coming out of the darkness. The knowledge taught dishonest war to the Tauren. Some Tauren were defeated by the impolite knowledge, them accepting it. They fought their own families.
 * The Tauren of the plains, going about their lives, they heard evil knowledge coming out of the darkness. The knowledge taught dishonest war to the Tauren. Some Tauren were defeated by the impolite knowledge, them accepting it. They fought their own families.

The very sad Earthmother refused to watch. She tore out her eyes, throwing them through the fires of the sky. The sun and the moon wanted to heal one another, chasing one another. They chase each other above our heads.

The Earthmother refused to leave her world. She listened to the winds; the winds carried the knowledge of the fields. The Earthmother stayed with her children. Her knowledge never left them.
 * }