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.

Orthography
Taurahe does not have a standard orthography. There is no native script, and the spoken language has variously been transcribed by speakers of Darnassian, Orcish, and Common, so there are several different ways to write out the language. Even within Taurahe itself, there are multiple dialects which do not share all the same pronunciations. This page attempts to use some of the more common transcription techniques.
 * Long vowels are written as "au", "ie", and "ou". For example, "Taurahe" instead of "Tarahe" and "Hamoul Runetotem" instead of "Hamuul Runetotem".
 * Short vowels are written as "a", "i", and "o", with some exceptions. "Washti Pawni" instead of "Washte Pawne", but "shu Halo" instead of "sho Halo"
 * Unstressed vowels, which are all pronounced as [e], are spelled out based on their underlying form. "Taurajo" instead of "Terajo", and "Magatha Grimtotem" instead of "Megatha Grimtotem"
 * The syllable /hi/ is spelled "he" at the end of words: "Taurahe" rather than "Taurahi".

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 pronounced long or short. Long vowels are held about 50% longer than short vowels, but in Bloodhoof Taurahe there is no distinction and they are pronounced the same.
 * tari /tari/ pawprint
 * tauri /ta:ri/ oral story
 * piji /piɟi/ child
 * peiji /pi:ɟi/ chlorophyll
 * poma /poma/ berry juice
 * pouma /po:ma/ mace

The vowel [e] appears only in unstressed syllables, but never in the final syllable of the word.
 * taurahe [te'rahi] repertoire of stories

Stress
Stress is regular: the next-to-last vowel receives primary stress, with secondary stress falling on the fourth and sixth syllable from the end of the word. Single-syllable words may be always stressed or always unstressed depending on vowel length.

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 word is actually composed of two parts: the lexical root and the nominal suffix. This simply means that the final vowel is a separate entity. Sometimes the nominal suffix distinguishes the meaning of two otherwise identical words: for example, "piki" tool' and "pika" star''. When nouns are inflected, the inflections attach to the root, and the nominal suffix is always last.

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
Nouns are declined for 4 cases: ergative, accusative, genitive, and oblique.

The first case is the ergative case. It marks the subject of active verbs. The grammatical particle is /da/.
 * 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 active verbs and the theme of stative verbs. The grammatical particle is /a/.
 * Ogronki dai a poma. They drink juice.
 * Katthaki da thallo a kalkini. ''A woman picks flowers.
 * Tougmoki a ormi. A bird sleeps.
 * Matopoki a korvi pijini vi. Children see a cougar. (lit. A cougar is seen by children.)

The third case is the genitive case. The genitive case in Taurahe indicates that something is physically composed of another thing. The grammatical particle is /sho/.
 * Ai a talni shu mochi. It is a stick of pine.
 * Ai a lapo shu tagli. The rock is ''made of quartz'.

It is used to refer to body parts.
 * Ai rouja a palsi shu alki. The man's hair is brown.
 * Ai a kompa shujimi. It is my hand.

And it also indicates kinship.
 * Ai a mudouli a polodi shu thallo. The warrior is the woman's brother''.
 * Ai a pijahe shu Halo. They are children of the Earthmother.

The final case is the oblique case. It is unmarked, but requires a post-particle.

It is used to indicate setting, direction, and origin.
 * Tougmoki midi taurajo ni. I sleep at the campsite.
 * Digo ni vora go ogro-k-a rahta oulaha. Yesterday I drank gross water.
 * Ai a lapo loura do. A stone is from a river.
 * Palgaki da mudouli a kalki thallo to. A warrior gives a flower to a woman.

It indicates the instrument which with an action is performed.
 * Rouhoki da alki a kalkahe lapo mi. A man grinds a bunch of flowers with a stone.

It indicates a person who experiences or senses something else.
 * Matopoki a ormini alki vi. The man sees the birds.

It indicates how something is done.
 * Tekeki dai harauchi wai. He walks ''angrily.

Verbs
There are many different types of verbs in Taurahe.

The first type of verb is the active verb, and these verbs pattern very much like English. The concept of these verbs is that someone or something deliberately performs an action.
 * A warrior eats a fruit
 * A hunter hunts a strider.
 * A woman drinks some juice.


 * Maynato da mudouli a mago.
 * Koursoto da mupeithi a kakami.
 * Ogroto da thallo a poma.

A characteristic of active verbs, in both Taurahe and English, is that you can simply omit the object and the rest of the sentence remains the same.


 * A warrior eats (a fruit). A warrior eats.
 * Maynato da mudouli (a mago). Maynato da mudouli.


 * A woman drinks (some juice). A woman drinks.
 * Ogroto da thallo (a poma). Ogroto da thallo.

Some active verbs have no objects at all.


 * The man is walking.
 * Tekeki da alki.

These verbs form the passive tense somewhat like English. The verb is given the prefix /ma-/, and the subject is moved to the oblique-experiencer case.
 * A strider has been hunted (by a hunter).
 * Makoursoto a kakami (mupeithi vi).


 * Juice has been drunk (by a woman).
 * Maugroto a poma (thallo vi).

The passive construction is very similar to the second type of verb, sensory verbs. Sensory verbs involve the five senses and emotions, and are formed in the same way as accusative passives. In English, we would say "The man sees the birds", but in Taurahe, you have to say "Birds are seen by the man". This is because the man doesn't perform an action: he simply experiences the sight of birds.
 * The man sees birds.
 * Birds are seen (by the man).
 * Matopoki a ormini (alki vi).


 * I love my child.
 * My child is loved (by me).
 * Poukoki a piji shujimi (guvimi).


 * The kodo know the path.
 * The path is known (by the kodo).
 * Sirvriki a alo kodo vi.

Sensory verbs are formed in the same way as the third type of verb, stative verbs. These verbs indicate qualities and states.
 * The fire is burning.
 * Royoki a kosnahe.

The fourth type of verb includes the two copula "to be" and "not to be", ansaga (conjugated: ai) and tapthaga.
 * Dirt is brown.
 * Ai a yalaho rouja.


 * My brother is not a warrior.
 * Tapthau a polodi shujimi a mudouli.


 * He sleeps.
 * Tougmoki ai.