Hymmnos

Hymmnos is a language created by Akira Tsuchiya for the video game Ar tonelico. By the time of the game (3700 A.D.), it is obsolete as a spoken language and only used for interfacing with ancient machinery in the form of songs. It seems to be a distant descendent of English with influences from Japanese, Sanskrit and German.

It is interesting in that it has a very strong emphasis on communicating the emotions of the speaker.

=Writing=

The writing in Hymmnos is made up from some complicated glyphs, based on the ones that were used in the Sanskrit language, and also, adds number glyphs that look like sound waves.



=Grammar=

Basic Structure
Hymmnos is an SVO language, but the subject of a sentence is always 'I'. To talk about things other then oneself, the form V rre SVO is used - the first verb describes the emotional state or reaction of the speaker. If the subject is a pronoun, rre (and possibly the first verb) are usually omitted.

Most sentences in Hymmnos are prefixed by an "emotion sound."

Emotion Sounds
The emotion sound is a set of 3 words that describe the speaker's feelings towards the topic of the sentence. The first word describes the degree of emotion, the second represents the type of emotion, and the third represents the situation of the emotion.

For instance, one commonly used emotion sound is Was yea ra, meaning "very happy (and wanting it to last.)"

The emotion sound can be omitted. If it is, the last used emotional adjective is implied to carry over to the current sentence. Though there is also other method to carry over a same emotion sound to various sentences.

Numbers

 * neru - 0
 * noi - 1
 * ji - 2
 * dori - 3
 * fifu - 4
 * vira - 5
 * ikuse - 6
 * heputo - 7
 * okuto - 8
 * nei - 9
 * deku/de - 10
 * heku/he - 100
 * kiku/ki - 1000
 * miku/mi - 10000

The second form of the decimals is used when combining, in a manner similar to Japanese. For instance, jide is 20 and kiku okutohe ikusede okuto is 1868.

Dialects
Hymmnos and the Hymmnos letters are ancient, from the First Era, and they were made just before the father of Sound Science discovered the [Sound Magic]. Though in these times, the language wasn’t called Hymmnos, it name was [Tsukikanade (Moon Playing)], the ancient language the shamans used for their spell-casting verses. Though afterwards, Hymmnos began to be used for optimization on the control of the Tower and its telecommunications, though for that purpose, it was necessary to make changes in its format to optimize its functionality, and even so, its basic grammar and vocabulary remained unaltered from its basis, the shamans’ spell-casting verses. From there, the Hymmnos was spread around the game's world as a general-use language, though every region made their own and subtle changes to the format and vocabulary, and according to history, the vocabulary changed rapidly with the passing of time. In that way, Hymmnos is similar to Japanese, since both have ancient writings, and both developed different dialects for each region.

Currently, these are the Hymmnos dialects that are still in use during the Third Era:

・Central Pure Law (Standard Dialect) ・Cult Ciel Law (Ancient Language from Before the First Era) ・Cluster Law (Cluster Area Language) ・Alpha Law (Origin Spell) ・Ancient Meta Falss Law (Sacred Language from the First Era) ・New Testament of Pastalie (Pastalia Dialect) ・Readings of the Ancient Moon Story (Risshizentsukuyomi)(Ancient Language from Before the First Era) ・Corrupted Pastalia Hymmmnos

Central Pure Law (Standard Dialect):
It’s called [Central] because, during the First Era, it was called the heart of all the Song Magic in the First Tower of [Ar Tonelico]. That is, to control the Tower, they optimized the chanting lines used for spellcasting, and these optimized lines were called the Central Pure Law. However, even if in theory controlling the Tower was only possible through the use of this dialect, in the practice the Tower could be controlled using any other dialect. After that discovery, the Central Pure Law was chosen as the only format for the World Hymmnos Standard Dialect (called ISO standards in Earth) by the Tower Administration Bureau, based on the Capital of Sol Ciel, [El Elemia]. As a result, all the other [Dialects] were standardized and turned into the Central Pure Law, but after some investigations, it was discovered that they still could add their own words to the standardized Hymmnos, with the only condition being that they had authorization to do so. Because of that, it’s possible to find words from the Central Pure Law and the other dialects mixed up in the songs.

Cult Ciel Law (Ancient Language from Before the First Era):
This dialect is a direct derivation from the ancient [Tsukikanade (Moon Playing)] language, used by the ancient shamans in their spells, and it’s the origin of Hymmnos. In current times it has been mostly forgotten, and there aren’t many remains of its vocabulary and grammar.

Cluster Law (Cluster Area Language):
During the First Era, there was a dialect established and transmitted from generation to generation in a area very far away from Sol Ciel, separated from it by the (Hoshi no Uragawa (Lining of the Stars)). That area was called Sol Cluster, and the dialect established in there was called the [Cluster Law]. When seen from the standpoint of the Central Pure Law, it’s referred commonly as a [Dialect], and its practical effects are almost the same. Currently, in the surrounding areas of [Ar Tonelico], there aren’t any people that speak or use the [Cluster Law], though probably, somewhere in the world, there is still a colony of people that still use this dialect.

Alpha Law (Origin Spell):
In the world there are only 3 [Origin Reyvateils], and inside their minds, they can craft optimized versions of the Hymmnos vocabulary. Thus, these optimized words are called [Origin Spells]. Though this [Alpha Law] has a small problem, if it’s not performed in the area of the Tower that the Origin manages, then it won’t be able to manifest its full power. Because of that, each Origin crafted a vocabulary for their [Law] that adapted to the specifications of their Tower (strictly being some existing words that were picked by the Reyvateils), so they could expand its functions, because the new words activated some dormant functions in the Tower. But that means that they exist only in the Tower that they were crafted in, if it’s used in another Tower, since it doesn’t have the same vocabulary to activate these, or these functions are downright absent, then, these words will become unusable in the other Tower, so this dialect is characteristic because it doesn’t serve to all purposes. (For example: the Chronicle Key Hymn is a Alpha Law, Eolia Genus word, meaning that it was crafted in the first Ar Tonelico Tower, managed by the Origin Eolia, and it’s unusable in the other Towers because these Towers don’t have any of the sealing mechanisms or programs that the hymn needs to be executed).

Ancient Meta Falss Law:
In the early days of the First Era, around the year 2000 AD; during the sweeping conquests in the name of the holy land [Meta Falss], in that land was created a peculiar dialect. The average power that these words had was much higher than the ones from the Central Pure Law possessed. This great level of power was the reason behind the creation of this Hymmnos dialect, though it’ said that the power was in the land from where it was originated. In this area, there was a very high spiritual ideology, and its investigations and development from the songs of the Tsukikanade language were very prosperous. Hence, for that reason, when they felt that other lands were passing their limits, they got over them little by little, through the training of their bodies and the polishing of their skills, so they could craft stronger songs, and then, they polished and developed these songs. Though, for good or for bad, under the influence of that spiritualism, while the other lands turned the crafting of the songs into a science, and realized the importance of the emotions and breath in the use of the Tsukikanade language, around the year 3000 AD, the culture in Meta Falss wasn’t advancing anymore, and was rapidly going in decadence. Though, thanks to their diplomatic relations with Sol Ciel, they managed to get their dialect registered as one of the ones used in the Song Magic servers, under the name of Meta Falss Law.

New Testament of Pastalie:
Approximately around year 3400 AD, in the land of Meta Falss, there was crafted a new dialect. The Song Magic Server called [Infel Phira] is a different server from the [Ar Tonelico] server, and only the Reyvateils connected to that server, called I.P.D.s (Infel-Phira Dependency), are able to use that dialect. Its special characteristic is that is incompatible with the other dialects, because of its grammar and syntax. Because of that, its execution declaration isn’t [EXEC_XXXX/.], but rather it was revised as the more original [METHOD_XXXX/.]. Still, in its practical use still has available some functions from the other dialects, thanks to an emulation system. Inside Infel Phira, the other dialects are translated to the New Testament of Pastalie dialect, though in the outside they can be used as normal, for example: the [Central Pure Law]. Its grammar totally differs from the other dialects made during the First Era, so it’s a pretty good idea to review it.

Readings of the Ancient Moon Story (Risshizentsukuyomi):
It’s an ancient dialect, and similarly to the Cult Ciel Law, it’s a derivation from the Tsukikanade language. There is no deeper info about its history, grammar and syntax available yet.

Corrupted Pastalia Hymmnos:
There isn't any information available yet. Unofficial name.

=Lexicon=

This will replace the Vocabulary section when complete.

=Vocabulary=

Particles, etc
I don't have information on how to use most of these, they are approximate translations from the Japanese lexicon. When in doubt, try following English grammar.


 * acra - surely, certainly
 * aiph - if
 * ag - and
 * an - together (with a person)
 * anw - direct object indicator
 * art - because of
 * beng - before (time)
 * den - but
 * du - direct object indicator
 * elle - from
 * elye - hitherto; yet
 * en - and; because
 * enw - while
 * ess - in
 * fatere - probably
 * folten - before (position/direction)
 * goa - only
 * llizz - maybe; perhaps
 * na - negative suffix
 * naave - because (prefix)
 * oz - possessive article
 * presia - please (do something)
 * reta - how about...
 * rol - like
 * rre - subject marker
 * sev - at the time
 * sos - for
 * targue - as
 * tes - location marker
 * tie - as opposed to
 * ttu - for the purpose of
 * ut - location marker
 * we - more than
 * ween - inside, within
 * whai - why
 * won - on (top of something)
 * yanje - forever, for eternity
 * yetere - if done it will...

Nouns

 * [A] - also usable as an adjective
 * [V] - also usable as a verb

How to Use
The vowel sounds of an emotional verb can be chosen to communicate a variety of emotions. There are three categories of vowels: those pertaining to oneself, those communicating one's emotions towards a companion, and those communicating one's emotions towards the world.

Inflected vowels are usually written with capital letters to clearly mark an emotional verb. (I think the glyphs used in the Hymmnos alphabet are different, too.)

Examples:
 * rEfYEm - r.f.m (see) + E + YE - "I'm happy to see you"
 * sYAlA - s.l. (believe) + YA + A - "I believe in you with all my strength"
 * wUhLYOh - w.h.h. (feel) + LYO + U - "I don't like all this hostility in the air"

Important Note: The emotional verbs are only used in Pastalia dialect sentences, and for that reason, they can't be used in standard sentences, nor combined with emotion sounds.

Adjectives
=Examples=

(These were kind of embarrassing >_>... let's put some better ones later, after the lexicon is done)

=Reference=

Hymmno Server (Japanese language) Hymmno Dictionary (Japanese language)