Taurahe

Bloodhoof 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. Bloodhoof Taurahe is by far the most common dialect, and the native tongue of High Chieftain Baine. Bloodhoof Taurahe has supplanted ceremonial Taurahe in areas of trade and tribal politics. The language has contributed several words to other languages, such as shaman, leather, mana, feral, lava, and totem, to name a few.

Writing and Alphabet
Taurahe doesn't strictly have an alphabet, since Tauren don't write. However, the language can be transliterated using the Latin alphabet, because the sound system of Taurahe is small and fairly easy to pick up for non-native speakers. There are 22 unique sounds in the language, which can be approximated with this alphabet:

a i o e u t th d p k f h v g ch sh j m n r l s

Vowels
There are 5 vowels and 2 diphthongs. The three vowels are:
 * a, as in lava or father
 * i, as in leaf or teeth
 * o, which overlaps with the vowels in cool/coal or moo/mow
 * e, which is between bet and bait
 * u, as in dude or yew

The two diphthongs are
 * ai, as in hey or table
 * au, as in cow

Consonants
There are 17 consonants.
 * t like talk
 * th like think.
 * d, which is pronounced like the sound in though or leather, not like dog
 * p like pink
 * k like king
 * f like feather
 * h, which is pronounced like a harsh, forceful ha at the beginning of words, but weakly when between vowels
 * v as in violet. This letter is sometimes written as b, but always pronounced as v.
 * g, which is pronounced kind of like a mix of g and w
 * ch like cheese
 * sh like sheet
 * j like measure or lesion
 * m like moon
 * n like name
 * r like red
 * l like like
 * s like saw

Stress and Elision
Taurahe has a particular rhythm in which syllables are preferentially pronounced in sets of three. Most content words (nouns, adjectives, verbs) in the language are three syllables in length: hakaji, kolovi, komapa, kathatha. However, some of these words are stressed on the first vowel and some on the second vowel. The distinction is important because it affects the middle vowel: if the first vowel is stressed, the middle vowel can be reduced or deleted. So for example, the words hakaji and kolovi are stressed on their second vowels, but komapa and kathatha are stressed on their first vowels, which means they can be pronounced and written as kompa and kaththa.

Nouns
Nouns are always usually 3 syllables, never less than 2, but generally not more than 5:


 * fuhi (tail)
 * thalo (woman)
 * pehiji (child)
 * rochi (animal)
 * lavo (wolf)
 * koravi (cougar)
 * urami (bird)
 * keliki (flower)
 * thavi (briarthorn)
 * alado (feather)
 * talani (stick)
 * kala (small egg)
 * mago (fruit)
 * nuka (milk)
 * goma (fat)
 * sheni (bone)
 * hakaji (arrow)
 * kolovi (earthenware object)
 * taurajo (campsite)
 * akalaki (man)
 * nosatoki (head)

Plural
Every noun also as a plural form

Words that end in final /-a/ or /-i/ or change the final stem to /-ahe/.


 * pehiji (child) > pehijahe (children)
 * tauri (story) > taurahe (stories)
 * koravi (cougar) > koravahe (cougars)

Words that end in /-o/ change the final stem to /-ino/.
 * alado (feather) > aladino (feathers)
 * thalo (woman) > ''thalino (women)
 * taurajo (campsite) > taurajino (campsites)

Words that end in a consonant add the suffix /-ahe/.


 * tokan (object) > tokanahe (objects)
 * kahakahim (strider) > kahakahimahe (striders)
 * totem (totem) > totemahe (totems)

There are a few exceptions to the rules.


 * lapo (stone) > lapaho (stones)
 * chi (you) > chake (y'all)

Numerals
Counting in Taurahe is exponential rather than linear. Every number is part of a set of three.


 * niko (one)
 * soham (two)
 * komapa (three)


 * kude 6
 * shatuhaji 9


 * sohamihaji 18
 * kavarantochi 27


 * sohamitochi 54
 * kavarandepi 81

Generally, when counting, the objects will be subitized into a few groups and counted as sets. For example, eleven arrows would be counted as komapa, kohide, shatuhaji ke soham (three, six, nine and two). Larger sums would be approximated.

Type
Taurahe has a few different types of verb:

Active verbs involve physical actions.

Lative verbs express movement.

Stative verbs express mental and physical states.

Gerund
The gerund form of every verb locks in its basic meaning, which depends on the verb type.

Gerunds of active verbs always refer to the act of doing that verb.


 * to eragan(the act of doing something)
 * to tekihan (the act of walking)
 * to mohiran (the act of eating)
 * t' ogaran (the act of drinking)
 * to erithan (the act of cutting down)

Gerunds of lative verbs refer to movement.


 * to filan (the movement forwards on a plane)
 * to rasherikeran (the movement upwards a rope/ladder)
 * to salachasan (the movement through the air)

Gerunds of stative verbs refer to states or non-active actions.


 * to jahihan (the state of happiness)
 * to bohihiran (the state of sadness)
 * to krachan (the state of hunger)
 * to fohan (the state of obligation)

Object
There are three types of objects in Taurahe: patients, themes, and locations.

Patient objects are those that are affected by an action.


 * moja to erithan (the act of cutting down a tree)
 * mago to mohiran (the act of eating a fruit)

Theme objects are those that are not affected by an action.


 * bahe moja to raganan (the act of climbing a tree)
 * bahe mago to paulakan (the act of holdng a fruit)
 * bahe sikimba to rashirikeran (the act of climbing upwards on a rope)

Location objects are used to describe the origin, location, or destination of motion.


 * to taurajo to filan (forward movement towards a campsite)
 * to mojache to filan (forward movement towards a forest)
 * dehi taurajo to defuhihan (movement away from a campsite)
 * dehi mojache to defuhihan (movement away from a forest)

Subject
Using gerund phrases as verbs simply involves changing the particles in the sentence, and stating the subject.

For example,
 * mago to  mohiran + pehijahe (eating a fruit + children)

To assemble these two concepts grammatically, simply drop the "to" and the final "-n" on the verb:
 * Mago mohira pehijahe. (The children eat a fruit.)

Other examples:


 * to muriran + fisaki (crying + girl)
 * Murira fisaki. (The girl cries.)


 * to yana +  go (stretching + I)
 * Yana go. (I stretch.)


 * to fithihan + ji kanagi (hunting + my uncle)
 * Fithiha ji kanagi. (My uncle hunts.)


 * bahi e krachi to servaran + Halo (thinking about hunger + Halo)
 * Bahi e krachi servara Halo. (Halo thinks about hunger.)


 * bahi korasakorahe to fithihan + anahiche chirino (hunting for deer + our brothers)
 * Bahi korasakorahe fithiha anahiche chirino. (Our brothers hunt for deer.)


 * dehi erabi to defuhihan + rochahe (moving away from a mountain + animals)
 * Dehi erabi defuhiha rochahe. (The animals move away from a mountain.)

Tense
Taurahe has 3 verbal tense: past, present, and future. The present tense has already been covered. The future tense form of the verb is similar to the present tense. Instead of dropping the -n from the end of the verb, the -an becomes -aule.

Using some of the examples above:
 * Yana go. (I stretch.)
 * Yanaule go. (I will stretch.)


 * Bahi e korachi servara Halo. (Halo thinks about his hunger.)
 * Bahi e korachi servaraule Halo. (Halo will think about his hunger.)

There are two ways to form the past tense of the verb.

Type I:

The gerund particle changes from to to fu.


 * kodo to paunan + koravi (biting a kodo + cougar)
 * Kodo fu paunan koravi.'' (The cougar bit a kodo.)


 * to fithihan + ji kanagi (hunting + my uncle)
 * Fu fithihan ji kanagi. (My uncle hunted.)

Type II:

Similar to the present and future forms, except the final vowel changes from -an to -o.
 * to kodo paunan + koravi (biting a kodo + cougar)
 * Kodo pauno koravi. (The cougar bit a kodo.)


 * to fithihan + ji kanagi (hunting + my uncle)
 * Fithiha ji kanagi. (My uncle hunted.)

Copula
Taurahe has a few linking words that somewhat act like the verbs "to be" and "to have".
 * sehi (to be, to exactly be something)
 * Sehi akalaki ji sahakanagi. (My father is a man.)
 * Sehi rochi kodo. (The kodo is an animal.)


 * kehi (to have a quality or thing)
 * Kehi korachi lavo. (The wolf is hungry./The wolf has hunger.)
 * Kehi e agam goma. (Their mother is fat./Their mother has fat.)


 * nehi (to be at a place, or moving towards/away from a place)
 * Nehi nano erabi kelikahe. (The flowers are on the mountain.)
 * Nehi na kurasipisatachi urami. (The bird is in the nest.)

Adjectives
Adjectives inflect to agree with the nouns they modify. If a noun is plural, it's adjectives will be plural as well.
 * ichi keliki (white flower)
 * ichahe kelikahe (white flowers)


 * ji maro kosidi (my short sister)
 * ji marino kosidahe (my short sisters)


 * rufa alado (red feather)
 * rufahe aladino (red feathers)

However, in copular phrases, the adjective is always in the singular form.


 * Kei ichi keliki. (The flower is white.)
 * Kei ichi kelikahe. (The flowers are white.)


 * Kei saubita lapo. (The stone is black.)
 * Kei saubita lapaho. (The stones are black.)

Negative
Negative verbs are formed with the particle taha directly preceding the verb. If the verb has a patient object, taha will precede that as well.
 * Duma kodo. (The kodo sleeps.)
 * Taha duma kodo. (The kodo does not sleep.)


 * Totemahe fu pelakopelan chi gorata. (Your grandfather carved totems.)
 * Taha totemahe fu pelakopelan chi gorata. (Your grandfather did not carve totems.)


 * Nano tasaribo baurajinaule ana. (We will wake up at dawn.)
 * Nano tasaribo taha baurajinaule ana. (We will not wake up at dawn.)

Interrogative
Forming questions in Taurahe is relatively easy. To ask a yes-no question, the subject (and object, if there is one) are preceded by the interrogative particle /wa/.


 * Kei chi korachi. (You are hungry.)
 * Wa kei go korachi? (Are you hungry?)


 * Moja eritho ji sahakanagi. (My father cut down a tree.)
 * Wa moja wa eritho ji sahakanagi? (Did my father cut down a tree?)

The interrogative particle immediately precedes the object or verb, therefore sometimes between the object/verb and their other particles.


 * Bahi e galo fu tefuhan chi. (You saw their sister.)
 * Bahi e wa galo fu wa tefuhan chi. (Did you see their sister?)

Correlatives

 * waha (what)
 * waha dugan (what thing)
 * waha rochi (what creature)
 * waha logan (what place)
 * lu (this/that)
 * lu dugan (this thing)
 * lu rochi (this creature)
 * lu logan (this place)
 * eli (some)
 * eli dugan (some thing)
 * eli rochi (some creature)
 * eli logan (some place)
 * taha (none)
 * taha dugan (no thing)
 * taha rochi (no creature)
 * taha logan (no place)

Possessives
Unlike English, Taurahe has a linguistic as well as social limitation on what can be owned. Within the language, body parts, family members, and thoughts and ideas are the only things that can be considered as belonging to someone. Furthermore, these words are always tied to a possessive. It is not possible to just say "father"; you must include whose father you mean. This is indicated simply by a particle:


 * ji my
 * chi your
 * anahiche our
 * chakiche your (plural)
 * e their

Kinship
To make sense of kinship terms in Taurahe, it is useful to understand how Tauren families are organized. Tauren society is strongly patrilineal and patrilocal, meaning that people trace their bloodline through their father and live in their father's household. After marriage, a woman leaves her family and joins her husband with his father. As a result, there is a lot of focus on the paternal bloodline and very little on the maternal bloodline.

Tribe: e samihi
 * paternal grandfather: e gorata
 * paternal grandmother: e agam
 * father: e sahakanagi
 * brother: e chiro
 * sister: e kosidi
 * self: go
 * son/nephew: e galo
 * daughter/niece: e pisaka
 * grandson: e pirogalo
 * granddaughter:piropisaka
 * uncle: e kanagi
 * male cousin: e chiro
 * female cousin: e kosidi
 * aunt/uncle's wife: e skaraja


 * mother: e agam

These family members are not part of someone's household but they are blood-relatives through the mother. There in incest taboo against these people, and therefore unpaired men and women are strongly discouraged from interacting with these people.


 * maternal grandfather: e jagiro
 * maternal grandmother: e mathi
 * any male descendant: e jagiro
 * any female descendant: e mathi