Taurahe

Taurahe is the language spoken by the Tauren from the Warcraft universe. The article outlines Bloodhoof Taurahe, spoken by the phakatiki tribe in Mulgore.

Orthography
Until recently, Taurahe had no written language, thus there are several possible ways to transcribe the sounds of the language. The spelling format used on this page is based on morphophonological patterns but does not represent any standard, so words elsewhere may be transcribed differently.

Phonology
Bloodhoof Taurahe is a cosmopolitan dialect of Taurahe originating in Mulgore. Since the founding of Thunder Bluff, it has become the de facto standard dialect of Taurahe, supplanting ceremonial Taurahe in areas of trade and tribal politics. Most tribes now speak the language; a notable exception is the Grimtotem tribe, who have actively resisted incorporation into greater Tauren society.

Vowels
There are 5 vowels in Taurahe.
 * a - as in dad
 * e - as in debt
 * o - as in dot
 * (y)i - as in did
 * (y)u - approximately dude


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

! !Front !Central !Back !High !Mid !Low
 * ɪ
 * ʊ
 * ɛ
 * ɔ
 * ɔ
 * a
 * }
 * }
 * }

Consonants
There are 19 consonants.


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

!IPA !English Approximation !Example !Meaning
 * m || meat || muangi || flesh
 * n || neat || nosthoki || head
 * ɲ || canyon || nyuki || milk
 * ŋ || thing || ngamas || frog
 * p || spot || papau || droplet
 * t || stop || tazi || chair
 * t͡ʃ || cheap || tyangavi || snack
 * k || skip || kakam || strider
 * pʰ || pot || phu || wind
 * tʰ || tea || thavi || thorn
 * kʰ || call || khompi || hand
 * f || fish || tumapha || sleep
 * s || sit || satatyi || basket
 * ɬˠ || || palsi || fur
 * ʃ || sheep || syupei || tail
 * x || loch || zokhi || dust
 * h || hello || homasyi || hide
 * v || vase || valsi || spirit
 * z || || zaki || arm
 * ɮˠ || || alzu || wing
 * ʒ || measure || zyaki || mist
 * lˠ || bull || lapu || stone
 * }
 * f || fish || tumapha || sleep
 * s || sit || satatyi || basket
 * ɬˠ || || palsi || fur
 * ʃ || sheep || syupei || tail
 * x || loch || zokhi || dust
 * h || hello || homasyi || hide
 * v || vase || valsi || spirit
 * z || || zaki || arm
 * ɮˠ || || alzu || wing
 * ʒ || measure || zyaki || mist
 * lˠ || bull || lapu || stone
 * }
 * v || vase || valsi || spirit
 * z || || zaki || arm
 * ɮˠ || || alzu || wing
 * ʒ || measure || zyaki || mist
 * lˠ || bull || lapu || stone
 * }
 * ʒ || measure || zyaki || mist
 * lˠ || bull || lapu || stone
 * }
 * }


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

! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | ! rowspan=2 |Labial ! colspan=2 |Coronal ! rowspan=2 |Palatal ! rowspan=2 |Velar ! rowspan=2 |Glottal ! Central ! Lateral (Velarized) ! colspan=2| Nasal ! rowspan=2| Plosive || Plain !Aspirated ! rowspan=2 | Fricative || Voiceless ! Voiced
 * m
 * n
 * ɲ
 * ŋ
 * ŋ
 * p
 * t
 * rowspan=2 | t͡ʃ~t͡ʃʰ
 * k
 * k
 * rowspan=2 | pʰ~f
 * tʰ
 * rowspan=2 | kʰ~x
 * rowspan=2 | kʰ~x
 * s || ɬˠ
 * ʃ
 * h
 * v
 * z || ɮˠ
 * ʒ
 * lˠ
 * }
 * }

Phonotactics
The maximum syllable structure is consonant-vowel-consonant, as in /puk/. Some degenerate words lack vowels, such as /s/ which marks the absolutive case and /h/ which is a determiner for mystical objects and phenomena.

Stress
Stress presently seems to be lexically encoded.

Class
There are four classes of nouns. Derived nouns, particularly those from verbs, have no article.


 * h: magical objects as well as astrological phenomena, weather, and fire
 * els: sentient creatures who are not magical
 * ko: naturally occurring objects, places, and phenomena. All nouns in this class end in either /i/ or /u/.
 * o: objects such as tools, clothing, and such implements, as well as buildings and such constructions. All nouns in this class end in either /i/ or /u/.
 * ∅: abstract concepts


 * h phu the wind
 * els thalu the woman
 * ko motyi the tree
 * o hatyaki the arrow
 * alsi the knowledge

Case
There are three core argument cases: ergative, absolutive, and genitive. The ergative case is marked by the article t. It is used to mark the active subject of a verb.


 * i lasfak t'els thalu. The woman stretches.
 * i manyamak t'els lavozoty s'ko moagi. The wolf ate the meat.

The ergative case typically used with an animate noun, but can be used with any class for semantic effect.


 * i tompe n'ag t'o nyo kumu. My heart is beating.

The t is silent before tyi.
 * i manyamak t'tyi s'ko moagi. You ate the meat. [i 'tʃi maɲa'mak s̩ko mo'ãi]

The absolutive case is marked by s before the noun phrase. Firstly, it marks the direct object of verbs.
 * i manyamak t'els lavozoty s'ko moagi. The wolf ate the meat.

By deleting the ergative, it also marks passive subjects. Certain verbs never have ergative subjects.
 * i manyamak s'ko moagi. The meat was eaten.
 * i papak s'h khahi. It rained gently.

The ergative and absolutive are used together in identity expressions. The ergative marks the focus of the.


 * i t'els phamei s'els koto. The animal is a kodo.
 * i t'ag s'els akalake. I am a male.

The genitive case is indicated by n.
 * n'els syuhalo of the Tauren

The genitive noun phrase must appear before the noun phrase which it modifies. The adjective nyo, which means its, refers back to the genitive phrase.


 * n'els syuhalo i s'o nyo kaizu It is the Tauren's book.

Pronouns
In addition to ag I and tyi you, determiners can also act as pronouns.
 * i tumek s'els kozep. The cat was sleeping.
 * i tumek s'els. It was sleeping.
 * i tumek s'ag. I was sleeping.

Pluralization
Pluralization is marked by the word /mu/ before the noun.


 * els koto kodo
 * els mu koto kodos


 * els syup child
 * els mu syup children

Verbs
The word /i/ means be. It is used to mark every verb:


 * i puk to love
 * i luk to go (somewhere)
 * i kenyi to climb
 * i khonga ''to have an idea"
 * i pezyes to hear
 * i mazyuve to cry

Tense
There are 2 tenses, past and non-past. The past tense is marked by the suffix /-(e)k/.


 * i puk / i pukek
 * i luk / i lukek
 * i kenyi / i kenyik
 * i pezyes / i pezyesek
 * i khonga / i khongak
 * i mazyuve / i mazyuvek

Aspect
Taurahe contrasts perfective and imperfective aspect, with the perfective being unmarked and the imperfective marked by the adverb va.


 * i lukek t'els s'o mu pazyi. S/he went to the market/shops.
 * i lukek va t'els s'o mu pazyi i kahik h. S/he was going to the market/shops when it started to rain.


 * i paone t'els kanyak s'els kozep. The dog bites the cat.
 * i paone va t'els kanyak s'els kozep. The dog is biting the cat.

Mood
Adverbs placed after the verb mostly indicate mood, however there are three exceptions.


 * Mirativity, indicating surprise (and sometimes politeness) is indicated by replacing the /i/ with /za/.
 * i pezyes va t'ag s'els lavozoty. I hear a wolf.
 * za pezyesek t'ag s'els lavozoty. Oh wow! I heard a wolf!


 * Interrogation is marked by transforming the stressed vowel into a diphthong starting with [w]. The diphthong also takes a rising intonation.
 * i khongak t'tyi. You came up with a plan.
 * i khongwak t'tyi; Did you come up with a plan?