Dark Demon (56 page)

Noun cases.
Like all languages, Carpathian has many noun cases; the same noun will be "spelled" differently depending on its role in the sentence. Some of the noun cases include: nominative (when the noun is the subject of the sentence), accusative (when the noun is a direct object of the verb), dative (indirect object), genitive (or possessive), instrumental, final, supressive, inessive, elative, terminative, and delative.  

We will use the possessive (or genitive) case as an example, to illustrate how all noun cases in Carpathian involve adding standard suffixes to the noun stems. Thus expressing possession in Carpathian—"my lifemate," "your lifemate," "his lifemate," "her lifemate," etc.—involves adding a particular suffix (such as "=
am
") to the noun stem ("
päläfertiil
"), to produce the possessive
("päläfertiilam"
—"my lifemate"). Which suffix to use depends upon which person ("my," "your," "his," etc.) and whether the noun ends in a consonant or vowel. The following table shows the suffixes for singular nouns only (not plural), and also shows the similarity to the suffixes used in contemporary Hungarian. (Hungarian is actually a little more complex, in that it also requires "vowel rhyming": which suffix to use also depends on the last vowel in the noun; hence the multiple choices in the cells below, where Carpathian only has a single choice.)

Note:
As mentioned earlier, vowels often get inserted between the word and its suffix so as to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which would produce unpronouncable words). For example, in the table above, all nouns that end in a consonant are followed by suffixes beginning with "a."    

Verb conjugation.
Like its modern descendents (such as Finnish and Hungarian), Carpathian has many verb tenses, far too many to describe here. We will just focus on the conjugation of the present tense. Again, we will place contemporary Hungarian side by side with the Carpathian, because of the marked similarity of the two. As with the possessive case for nouns, the conjugation of verbs is done by adding a suffix onto the verb stem:    

As with all languages, there are many "irregular verbs" in Carpathian that don't exactly fit this pattern. But the above table is still a useful guideline for most verbs.

3. Examples of the Carpathian language

Here are some brief examples of conversational Carpathian, used in the Dark books. We include the literal translation in square brackets. It is interestingly different from the most appropriate English translation.

Susu.

I am home.

["home/birthplace." "I am" is understood, as is often the case in Carpathian.]

Möért?

What for?

csitri

little one

["little slip of a thing", "little slip of a girl"]

ainaak enyém

forever mine

ainaak'sívamet jutta

forever mine (another form)

["forever to-my-heart connected/fixed'"]

sívamet

my love

["of-my-heart," "to-my-heart"]

Sarna Rituaali
(The Ritual Words)
is a longer example, and an example of chanted rather than conversational Carpathian. Note the recurring use of "
andam"
("I give"), to give the chant musicality and force through repetition.

Sarna Rituaali
(The Ritual Words)

Te avio päläfertiilam.

You are my lifemate.

[You wedded wife-my. "Are" is understood, as is generally the case in Carpathian when one thing is equated with another: "You-my lifemate."]

Éntölam kuulua, avio päläfertiilam.

I claim you as my lifemate.

[To-me belong-you, wedded wife-my.]

Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.

I belong to you.

[To-you belong-I, lover-your, man/husband/drone-your.]

Élidamet andam.

I offer my life for you.

[Life-my give-I. "you" is understood.]

Pesämet andam.

I give you my protection.

[Nest-my give-I]

Uskolfertiilamet andam
. I give you my allegiance.

[Fidelity-my give-I. ]

Sívamet andam.

I give you my heart.

[Heart-my give-I.]

Sielamet andam.

I give you my soul.

[Soul-my give-I.]

Ainamet andam.

I give you my body.

[Body-my give-I.]

Sívamet kuuluak kaik että a ted.

I take into my keeping the same that is yours.

[To-my-heart hold-I all that-is yours.]

Ainaak olenszal'sívambin.

Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.

[Forever will-be-you in-my- heart.]

Te élidet ainaak pide minan.

Your life will be placed above my own for all time.

[Your life forever above mine.]

Te avio päläfertiilam.

You are my lifemate.

[You wedded wife-my.]

Ainaak'sívamet jutta oleny.

You are bound to me for all eternity.

[Forever to-my-heart connected are-you.]

Ainaak terád vigyázak.

You are always in my care.

[Forever you I-take-care-of.]

See Appendix 1 for Carpathian healing chants, including both the
Kepä Sarna Pus
("The Lesser Healing Chant") and the
En Sarna Pus
("The Great Healing Chant").

To hear these words pronounced (and for more about Carpathian pronunciation altogether), please visit:
http://www.christinefeehan.com/members/

4. A much abridged Carpathian dictionary

This very much abridged Carpathian dictionary contains most of the Carpathian words used in these
Dark
books. Of course, a full Carpathian dictionary would be as large as the usual dictionary for an entire language.

Note: The Carpathian nouns and verbs below are word stems. They generally do not appear in their isolated, "stem" form, as below. Instead, they usually appear with suffixes (e.g., "
andam"—
"I give," rather than just the root, "
and")
.

aina
—body

ainaak
—forever

akarat
—mind; will

ál
—bless, attach to

alatt
—through

ala
—to lift; to raise

and
—to give

avaa
—to open

avio
—wedded

avio päläfertiil
—lifemate

belső
—within; inside

ćaδa
—to flee; to run; to escape

ćoro
—to flow; to run like rain

csitri
—little one (female)

ekä
—brother

elä
—to live

elävä
—alive

elävä ainak majaknak
—land of the living

elid
—life

én
—I

en
—great, many, big

En Puwe
—The Great Tree. Related to the legends of Ygddrasil, the
axis mundi
, Mount Meru, heaven and hell, etc.

engem
—me

eći
—to fall

ek
—suffix added after a noun ending in a consonant to make it plural

és
—and

että
—that

fáz
—to feel cold or chilly

fertiil
—fertile one

fesztelen
—airy

fü
—herbs; grass

gond
—care; worry (noun)

hän
—he; she; it

hany
—clod; lump of earth

irgalom
—compassion; pity; mercy

jälleen
—again.

jama
—to be sick, wounded, or dying; to be near death (verb)

jelä
—sunlight; day, sun; light

joma
—to be under way; to go

jŏrem
—to forget; to lose one's way; to make a mistake

juta
—to go; to wander

jüti
—night; evening

jutta
—connected; fixed (adj.). to connect; to fix; to bind (verb)

k
—suffix added after a noun ending in a vowel to make it plural

kaca
—male lover

kaik
—all (noun)

kaŋa
—to call; to invite; to request; to beg

kaŋk
—windpipe; Adam's apple; throat

Karpatii
—Carpathian

käsi
—hand

kepä
—lesser, small, easy, few

kinn
—out; outdoors; outside; without

kinta
—fog, mist, smoke

koje
—man; husband; drone

kola
—to die