Taurahe

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

Osoo Yanoretek
Taurahe has 16 letters. Osoo yanoretek (pictured below) is the traditional layout of the letters. Osoo yanoretek is 4 lines, starting with the pure vowel A on top, the fluid vowels/semiconsonants on the next row down, the coronal consonants beneath that, and the labial and dorsal consonants on the bottom tier. Note that st and ts, while digraphs in the Latin alphabet, are single letters in the Taurahe script.



 osoo yanoretek

⟨a⟩

⟨y⟩/⟨e⟩ • ⟨r⟩/⟨ø⟩ • ⟨w⟩/⟨o⟩

⟨t⟩ • ⟨d⟩ • ⟨s⟩ • ⟨ts⟩ • ⟨st⟩ • ⟨l⟩ • ⟨n⟩

⟨p⟩ • ⟨f⟩ • ⟨m⟩ • ⟨k⟩ • ⟨h⟩

Phonology
Taurahe has 4 vowels, 4 semiconsonants, and 11 proper consonants.

Vowels
The four vowels are [ä ɛ œ ʌ], which correspond orthographically with . Each vowel acts as a nucleus for a single syllable, and two different vowels may not appear next to each other. Vowels can be doubled, which phonemically counts as two syllables and is spoken as a double-length vowel. Additionally, all vowels can be nasalized and labialized, such as ⟨em⟩ [ɛ̃ʷ].


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

! ! Front ! Back ! Open Mid ! Open
 * e [ɛ] ø [œ]
 * o [ʌ]
 * colspan=2|a [ä]
 * }

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


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

! ! Labial ! Coronal ! Guttural ! Semiconsonants
 * l r  y
 * w
 * }
 * }

Consonants
Lastly, there are 11 proper consonants as oyo yanoretek shows in its third and fourth rows: .  and  act as single consonants. The orthography here only roughly corresponds to its English counterpart. , ,  and  correspond to slightly different sounds than those found in English, and note that the labial and coronal consonants are velarized. These differences are explained by the shape of the Tauren mouth which results in a more guttural language than humans naturally speak.


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

! ! Labial ! Coronal ! Guttural ! Plosive ! Nasal ! Fricative
 * p
 * t d
 * k
 * m
 * n
 * f
 * s
 * h
 * }

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. A very few, very old words can end in a single k, such as wøfak, combat. The k may or may not be pronounced.

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?
 * lø
 * 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
 * tsoo
 * locations
 * }
 * am
 * body parts
 * tsoo
 * 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 soo. Yo is only used to set up the subject of active verbs. Soo 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;"


 * Løsoo
 * taloha
 * te
 * føyee
 * emke
 * nomke
 * lømsoo
 * madam
 * soom.
 * it.STV
 * mother
 * PRS
 * want
 * REL
 * find
 * it.pl.STV
 * REFER-ACT.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;"


 * Løyo
 * masaranatse
 * løsoo
 * resolo
 * feete
 * fø
 * sekada.
 * it.ACT
 * Mazzranache
 * it.STV
 * gentle
 * hunter
 * REM
 * chase
 * colspan=7| Mazzranache chased the gentle hunter.
 * }
 * colspan=7| Mazzranache chased the gentle hunter.
 * }

Location and Motion
Additionally, there are three locative tags, corresponding to inside, outside, and touching surface. There are also three motion tags, describing motion towards, away from, and along. These fuse to form twelve basic tags describing location and motion.


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

! !Inside !Outside !Surface !no motion !towards !from !past
 * da (inside)
 * fo (outside)
 * ka (on)
 * dom (into)
 * fom (towards)
 * kom (onto)
 * dø (from)
 * fø (out of)
 * kø (off of)
 * dato (through)
 * foto (past)
 * kato (along)
 * }


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * Hayo
 * po
 * emke
 * we
 * amkom
 * noo
 * soopo
 * na
 * tsee.
 * it.ACT
 * wind
 * HAB
 * be
 * it.onto
 * REFER-POS
 * back
 * POS
 * you
 * colspan=7|May the wind be at your back.
 * }
 * colspan=7|May the wind be at your back.
 * }

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"


 * løna
 * soohalo
 * amsoo
 * 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 løna 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, while gnomic and habitual present just refer to generic truths or habits. The remote future contrasts with the predictive future in that they refer to certain and uncertain events, respectively. The relative tense is more complicated, being used to in multiple ways to form complex sentences and form certain verb phrases.
 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Past !Present !Gnomic/ Habitual !Remote Future !Predictive !Relative
 * fø
 * te
 * ya
 * tsøla
 * kowa
 * emke
 * }
 * }

Near futures and recent pasts are constructed using te we, the present form of "to be", and the relative form of a verb, modified by the locative tags dom, fom, kom; and dø, fø, kø.


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * Soo
 * ana
 * te
 * we
 * emke
 * dom
 * toome.
 * STV
 * me
 * PRS
 * be
 * REL
 * into
 * sleep
 * colspan=7|I am going to sleep.
 * }
 * colspan=7|I am going to sleep.
 * }


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * Soo
 * ana
 * te
 * we
 * emke
 * dø
 * toome.
 * STV
 * me
 * PRS
 * be
 * REL
 * out of
 * sleep
 * colspan=7|I woke up.
 * }
 * colspan=7|I woke up.
 * }

This form can be used in other tenses to narrate.


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * Soo
 * ana
 * fø
 * we
 * emke
 * dom
 * toome.
 * STV
 * me
 * PRS
 * be
 * REL
 * out of
 * sleep
 * colspan=7|I had gone to sleep.
 * }
 * colspan=7|I had gone to sleep.
 * }

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
Verb phrases may be directly related to 0, 1, or 2 noun phrases (arguments). This is referred to as valency.

Avalent verbs have 0 arguments, and can stand alone as sentences.
 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


 * Te
 * kahee.
 * PRS
 * snow
 * colspan="2"|It is snowing.
 * }
 * colspan="2"|It is snowing.
 * }

Monovalent verbs have a single argument. The verb type, active or stative, is important now because it determines whether the argument uses yo or soo. Active verbs use yo. Stative verbs use soo.
 * {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"


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


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


 * Soo
 * lø
 * te
 * tsootsa.
 * STV
 * it
 * PRS
 * sleep.
 * colspan=4|He is sleeping.
 * }
 * colspan=4|He is sleeping.
 * }

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


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


 * Kosoo
 * stooko
 * 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 soo, while stative verbs take multiple soo. For stative verbs, this sometimes causes ambiguity, which can be resolved by word order. Typically the first noun phrase should be regarded as the one performing the action to the following phrases.


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


 * Løyo
 * laworo
 * fø
 * sekada
 * løsoo
 * 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 is a typical case of multivalent stative ambiguity.


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


 * Soo
 * ana
 * soo
 * tsee
 * ya
 * pooka.
 * STV
 * I
 * STV
 * you
 * HAB
 * love.
 * }
 * }

This sentences essentially states, "I, you, love." The verb pooka uses soo for both parties regardless of who loves whom. By placing both noun phrases ana and tsee before the verb phrases, neither takes precedence so the meaning could be "I love you", "You love me", or even "We love each other." There are several ways to resolve this ambiguity.


 * Word order
 * Soo ana ya pooka soo tsee.
 * Still somewhat ambiguous, but seems to say "I love you."
 * Stress
 * Soo aa ana soo tsee ya pooka.
 * Here, aa moves stress towards the ana phrase. Would be interpreted as "I love you."
 * Rephrase
 * Soo tsee te towe soo lø emke pooka soo ana.
 * Literally "You are it what I love." The meaning here is certain.

Sample sentences

 * moo: hello (used only between Tauren)
 * soo tsee ya keyeyo we (or soo tsee keyeyo): how are you?
 * soo ana _____ ya towe: I am ____.
 * løsoo samaam: a shaman (or, a mage)
 * løsoo halo samaam: a priest, lit. a light shaman
 * løsoo tsenowa samaam: a warlock, lit. an evil shaman
 * løsoo ramolø: a druid
 * løsoo feete: a hunter
 * løsoo doole: a warrior
 * løsoo tsenowa doole: a death knight, lit. an evil warrior
 * løsoo pekeye doole: a rogue, lit. a swift warrior
 * løsoo noo doole hana amsee: a paladin, lit. a warrior of the sun. More likely, you would say something like soo ana ya teke hafom amsee/halo, "I walk towards the sun/light."

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.
 * }