Taurahe

Taurahe refers to the native languages spoken by the Tauren from the Warcraft universe. There are numerous dialects of Taurahe, as most tribes retain their own version of the language. The most common dialect by far is Bloodhoof Taurahe, the native tongue of High Chieftain Baine. Bloodhoof Taurahe has supplanted ceremonial Taurahe in areas of trade and tribal politics.

Consonants
There are 18 consonants.
 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! !! Labial!! Dental !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !Nasal !Plosive !Voiceless Fricative !Voiced Fricative !Approximant
 * m || n || || ||
 * p || t || || c (ch) || k
 * f || θ (th) || s || ʃ (sh)|| x (h)
 * v || ð (d) || || ɟ (j) || ɣ (g)
 * w || l || r || j (y) ||
 * }

Symbols in parenthesis indicate transcription of the sound.
 * kodo [koðo] kodo
 * thouja [θo:ɟa] troll

Vowels
There are four vowels.
 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! !! Front !! Central !! Back
 * High || i || || o
 * Mid ||colspan=3| e
 * Low || || a ||
 * }
 * Low || || a ||
 * }
 * }

The vowels /a/ /i/ and /o/ can be phonemically long or short. Short vowels are written as < a >, < i > or < e >, and < o >, while long vowels are written as ,  or , and .
 * tari /tari/ pawprint
 * tauri /ta:ri/ oral story
 * piji /piɟi/ child
 * peiji /pi:ɟi' chlorophyll
 * poma /poma/ berry juice
 * pouma /po:ma' mace


 * In Bloodhoof Taurahe, there is no distinction and words are always pronounced with short vowels. For example, "poma" and "pouma" are homonyms.

The vowel /e/ appears only in unstressed syllables, but never in the final syllable of the word. An  written at the end of a word represents the vowel /i/.
 * taurahe /te'rahi/ repertoire of stories

Stress
Stress always fall on the next-to-last syllable of a word, or the final syllable if it is a long vowel.

Nouns
Nouns are typically two syllables.
 * alki man
 * thallo woman
 * piji child
 * rochi animal
 * lauvo wolf
 * korvi cougar
 * ormi bird
 * kalki flower
 * thavi briarthorn
 * aldo feather
 * talni stick
 * mago fruit

They are sometimes three syllables. Regardless of spelling, the first vowel is always pronounced /e/.
 * hakaji arrow
 * kolouvi earthenware object
 * taurajo campsite
 * tanayo yesterday
 * nosothe head

Each noun is formed from two parts: the lexical root and the nominal suffix. For example, "hakaji" is composed of the root "hakaj" and suffix "-i".

Taurahe has both plural and collective forms for nouns. The plural is marked by the suffix "-in":
 * alki > alkini man > men
 * lauvo > lauvino wolf > wolves
 * kolouvi> kolouvini earthenware object > earthenware objects

The collective is marked by the suffix "-ah":
 * alki > alkahe men > group of men
 * lauvo > lauvaho wolf > pack of wolves
 * kolouvi > kolouvahe earthenware object > collection of earthenware objects

Some words are always collective. They typically refer to objects whose volume can be changed.
 * oulaha water
 * kosnahe fire
 * yalaho dirt

Case
Every noun is preceded or followed by a particle that identifies its case.

The first case is the ergative case. It marks the subject of active verbs.
 * Ogronki da pijini a poma. Children drink juice.
 * Maynaki da thallo a mago. A woman eats fruit.
 * Tekenki da alkahe. A group of men walk.
 * Doulonki i da lauvo i da kodo. A wolf and a kodo fight.

The second case is the accusative case. It marks the objects of transitive verbs, and the subjects of stative verbs.
 * Ogronki dai a poma. They drink juice.
 * Katthaki da thallo a kalkini. ''A woman picks flowers.
 * Tougmoki a ormi. A bird sleeps.
 * Topoki a korvi pijini vie. Children see a cougar. (lit. A cougar is seen by children.)

The third case is the genitive case. It marks a noun that influences another.
 * Ansanki ai a pijahe shu Halo. They are children of the Earthmother.

The final case is the oblique case, which is an unmarked case that interacts with postpositional particles that can indicate location, origin and goal, manner, instrument, and more.
 * Rouhoki da alki a kalkahe lapo mi. A man grinds a bunch of flowers with a stone.
 * Ai a lapo loura dou. A stone is from a river.
 * Tougmoki midi taurajo nei. I sleep at the campsite.
 * Tanayo nei voura midi ogrou-k-a rahta oulaha. Yesterday I drank gross water.
 * Tekeki dai harauchi wai. He walks ''angrily.

Verbs
The nonfinite, unconjugated form of the verb is typically 2 syllables as well. The first vowel is always pronounced /e/, and the second vowel is always stressed.
 * ogrou drinking
 * maynau eating
 * ansau being
 * palgau putting
 * tougmou sleeping
 * srivrie knowing
 * topou seeing
 * tapthau not being
 * koursou hunting

Verbs are split into two groups: active verbs and stative verbs. Active verbs include actions that a person can willingly perform, such as hunting, working, eating, and looking. Stative verbs include existence and experiences such as hearing, knowing, and feeling.

Tense
There are three tenses: past, present, and future. Present tense is indicated by the suffix "-ki", and the reduction of the long vowel to a short one. For active verbs in the first person, the sequence "-ki go" is replaced with "-go".
 * koursou > koursoki hunting > hunts
 * Koursoki da peithi a korso. A hunter hunts deer.
 * maynau > maynaki eating > eats
 * Maynaki chie a moga. You eat fruit.
 * Koursogo a goma lauvo. I hunt a fat wolf.

Past and future tense are indicated by a different syntax. In the past tense, the particle "voura" takes the place of the verb, which remains unconjugated. In the future tense, the particle "ori" is used instead.


 * Voura chou koursou. You hunted.
 * Koursoki chie. You hunt.
 * Ori chou koursou. You will hunt.