The Shires of Somery - Language

LANGUAGE

SOMERISH

Somerish is the official language of the Shires of Somery, and spoken by very few people outside its borders. At a quick glance the Somerish language may resemble Ingallish, with which it is related, but its grammar is rather different, and its vocabulary and spelling is quite archaic in comparison. Most Somerish people have quite a good knowledge of Ingallish, though.

VOCABULARY

The main reason for the difference in vocabulary between Somerish and Ingallish is that more than half of the Ingallish words are loanwords, mainly from Liliani, while Somerish has kept most of its original words, e.g. lore for science, tilth for agriculture, kingly for royal, chirtness for beauty etc., and the incorporation of several Classical Estron words, e.g. kirth for music, and pridworth for beautiful, alongside with Ingallish ones. You can also find more archaic spellings, like the kept 'l' in whilch, Ing. which, and sulch, Ing. such, and that some words have developped differently in comparison which Ingallish, e.g. altheigh, Ing. although, swote, Ing. sweat (noun), yieve, Ing. give.

PRONUNCIATION

It is possible that a person which a normal knowledge of Ingallish could read and understand much of a Somerish text, but when it comes to understanding the spoken word, it is more doubtful. Generally the Somerish pronunciation is more orthographic than the Ingallish. E.g. 'gh' after 'i' at the end of words and between 'i' and 't' in words like 'night' and 'right' is clearly audible as a palatal fricative, 'wh' is a voiceless equivalent to the voiced 'w', the 'k' is audible as a light 'd' sound in words like 'knight' and 'know', and the 'w' in e.g. 'write' can be heard as a 'v'-sound.

DIALECTS

Dialectwise there are few variations, although people in the larger cities tend to speak more clearly than in the rural areas. A slightly rolling 'r' is more common in the northern shires, where also diphthongs are less marked. Ingallish spoken in Christiana is jokingly referred to, by the Somerish, as brawdish or troat.

GRAMMAR

Somerish grammar is not quite as polished as that of Ingallish. The most noticeable differences are probably the case inflections of the pronouns and the definite article, the more complicated verb inflections with a larger number of strong verbs, and the somewhat wider use of the plural ending -en in words like brother-brethren. Other irregular plurals are also more common.

TEXT SAMPLES

For your pleasure we can offer a collection of Somerish texts as samples:

Stathel law thore Shires of Somery
(The Somerish Constitution),
The Folksday Quide
(The Folksday Address),
The Equed of Acovered Selfwield
(The Declaration of Recovered Independence)
A short conversation.

We also offer a wordlist.

KEEPING THE SPEECH

is an organization working for the banning of new loanwords and for the invention of purely Somerish words in their place, e.g. fernmeller for telephone, and wireless for radio, although some of these inventions may seem impractical and confusing in the increasingly global society we see developing today.

ESTRON

Estron, the language of the aboriginal people of the Somerish peninsula, which in time was overshadowed by Somerish, supposedly died out as a spoken language at the end of the second century, popularly naming Frithall Kimbethery of Michel Moden, Ombridgeshire, as its last speaker. His great grandson, Rother Kimbethery, has taken the initiative, by forming An Geniol Ethuín, The Estron League, to start a campaign to restore this modern version of Estron.

The language, which had developed considerably since the classical Estron era has been preserved through old letters and a limited amount of literature up to the turn of the last century. The interest in the language has been on the increase in the last few years and time will tell if the League can keep that interest alive. In any case it is a way to preserve an important part of the culture and history of Somery.

PLACE NAMES

Like the words of a language, place names change over the centuries, as if they were polished through usage. A place name like e.g. Dawvellis was once known as Dawfeglwys. Through the study of early records you may find explanations to the meaning of a name where the original meaning is no longer obvious, or has even been distorted, or misunderstood. Sometimes this research still does not clarify the meaning, maybe because the name had already been "polished" before it was written down for the first time. Many of the Somerish place names have Estron origin, so even if the language is no longer commonly spoken, its presence is noticeable through the rich inheritance of names of towns and regions.

Below is a list of some Somerish place names with their etymological backgrounds if known, with the earliest recorded forms (ERF) of the names, along with their pronunciation if not obvious. The abbreviation E means Estron, OS means Old Somerish.

Ackridge ['äkridj] LY
"the field on the ridge". OS æcer, 'field', OS hrycg, 'ridge'.
ERF Aecrige.
Arkendale ['a:köndeil] MA
"valley of oaks". OS acena, gen. of 'oak', OS del, 'valley'.
ERF Acendelle.
Arradawe ['ärödo:] EW
"the meadows by the river Arra". E Araf, river Arra, 'the calm one', E dôl, 'meadowland', 'wide valley'.
ERF Aradôl.
Audwy ['o:dwi] SI
"where the river Aud ends". Aud, river name, E wyw, 'ending'.
ERF Awdwyw.
Averbrawe ['eivöbro:] WI
"the lowland region where people gather". E aethfed, 'gather', E bro, 'lowland', 'region'.
ERF Aethfedbro.
Bramleigh ['brämli] BR
"the open land where bramble grows". OS bremel, 'bramble', OS leah, 'open land'.
ERF Bremleah.
Bray WI
"on the hillside". E brae, 'hillside'.
ERF Brae.
Bridglea ['bridjli] UA
"the bridge in the open land". OS brycg, 'bridge', OS leah, 'open land', 'clearing'.
ERF Brygeleah.
Brynglas ['briŋglas] WI
"the blue hill". E bryn, 'hill', E glas, 'blue'.
ERF Brynglas.
Calvern ['ko:lvörn] LY
"the hill with hazels". E collen, 'hazel', E bryn, 'hill'.
ERF Collfyrn.
Campton ['kämtön] CA
"the homestead on the ridge". OS camb, 'ridge', 'comb', OS tun, 'homestead'.
ERF Cambtune.
Colme [koum] SI
"stone circle". E cylch, 'circle', E maen, 'stone'.
ERF Cylhmen.
Cornant ['ko:nönt] CO
"the chanting river". E côri, 'chant', 'sing', E nant, 'river'.
ERF Corynant.
Covelant ['kavölönt] WI
"the bend of the river". E cyfel, 'bend', E nant, 'river'.
ERF Cyfelnant.
Coverbyn ['kavöbin] SI
"opposite to the Isle of Milne". E cyferbyn, 'opposite to', E Melyn, Isle of Milne.
ERF Cyferbynmelyn.
Curwich ['karidj] SY
"the town by the riverbend". OS curban, 'bend'. OS wic, 'town'.
ERF Curbewic.
Dawvellis [do'velis] FO
"the temple of Dawf". Dawf, Estron personal name, E eglwys, 'temple'
ERF Dawfeglwys.

Daylowe ['deilou] SI
"the two lions". E deu, 'two', E lew, 'lion'.
ERF Deullew.
Derrellin ['derölin] WS
"the oak grove". E derw, 'oak', E lwyn, 'grove'.
ERF Derwlwyn.
Douglan ['duglön] MA
"the south shore". E dogleth, 'south', E glan, 'shore'.
ERF Doglethlan.
Duffrin ['dafrin] MO
"the valley". E dyffryn, 'valley'.
ERF Dyffryn.
Estwith ['estwiþ] MO
"rivermouth". E ystwyth, 'river mouth'.
ERF Ystwyth
Ewst [ju:st] EW
"settlement on the river Ewe". E Ewyn, river Ewe, 'the frothy one', OS sæti, 'settlement'.
ERF Ewnsete.
Gangle LY
"the river by the hazel". E gan, by', E cyll, 'hazel trees'.
ERF Ganghyll.
Hillwy ['hilwi] FO
"where the river Hiddle ends". E Hidl, river Hiddle, 'rich in water', E wyw, 'ending'.
ERF Hidlwyw.
Lynnest ['linist] LY
"the settlement around the river Lynne". OS Hlynne, river Lynne, 'the noisy one', OS sæti, 'settlement'.
ERF Lynnesete.
Malgary ['mo:lgöri] FO
"the peninsula of seals". E. morlo, 'seal', E. gorynys, 'peninsula'.
ERF Morlogoryn.
Marstwith ['ma:stwiþ] MA
"mouth of the river Mar". Mar, river name, E ystwyth, 'river mouth'.
ERF Maraestwyth.
Marthen ['marðön] MA
"homestead of the thane of Mar". Mar, old thanage ('lathe') in western Somery, OS thegn, 'thane', OS ham, 'homestead'.
ERF Marthegnahame.
Meaham ['mi:öm] EW
"the homestead with horses". OS mearh, 'horse', OS ham, 'homestead'.
ERF Mearahame.
Melster ME
"the fortified town with the mill". OS myln, 'mill', OS ceastre, 'fortified town'.
ERF Mylnceastre.
Milltree MO
"the mill by the tree". OS myln, 'mill', OS treow, 'tree'.
ERF Milntrewe.
Noss WI
"by the dashing waters?". OS cnossan, 'dash'.
ERF Knoss.
Omma OM
"the misty (river)". OS omma, 'mist'.
ERF Omma
Prydwirth ['pridwö:þ] ER
"beautiful place". E prydferth, 'beautiful', E le, 'place'.
ERF Pridwerthe.
Shaurnsea ['sho:nsi:] LY
"where the wind whispers". E siôre, 'rush of wind', E yn si, 'whispers', pres. tense of si.
ERF Siorynsi.

Sherminny [shö'mini] FO
"the town by the hill". E tre, 'town', E ar, 'by', E mynnyth, 'hill'.
ERF Trearmynny.
Shird [shö:d] ME
"ford on the river Shawe". E Siôin, river Shawe, 'the murmuring one', E ryd, 'ford'.
ERF Sioryd.
Shirdover [shö'douvö] OM
"land of water". E tir, 'land', E dwfr, 'water'.
ERF Tirdwfre.
Stambeigh ['stämbi] WS
"stone circle". OS stan, 'stone', OS beag, 'ring', 'circle'.
ERF Stanbeagh.
Sumpton Hill SY
"hill of the summer town". OS sumor, 'summer', OS tun, 'town', OS hyll, 'hill'.
ERF Sumortunehyll.
Sweighmond ['sweimön] SU
"the heavenly guarded". OS swegl, 'heaven, sky', OS mund, 'hand, guard'.
ERF Sweglmund
Tostrith ['tostriþ] WS
"the mouth of the river Tor". E Twrw, river Tor, 'the noisy one', E ystwyth, 'river mouth'.
ERF Torstwyth.
Towen ['tauön] WI
"on the seashore". E tywyn, 'seashore'.
ERF Tywyn.
Towndon ['taundön] LY
"the farmstead under the hill". OS tun, 'farmstead', OS under, 'under', OS dun, 'hill'.
ERF Tunadun
Troswy ['troswi] LY
"the end of the river Trost". E Trwst, river Trost, 'the noisy one', E wyw 'ending'.
ERF Trwstwy.
Tueswy ['tju:swi] SI
"the end of river Tue". E Tiwd, river Tue, 'the sandy one', E wyw, 'ending'.
ERF Tiwswy.
Tulldover (Bay) [tal'douvö] LY
"the calm water". E tawel, 'calm', E dwfr, 'water'.
ERF Tawldwfre.
Twillingham MA
"the town of the people by the river Toyle". E Tywyll, river Toyle, 'the dark one', OS ingas, 'people of', OS ham, 'town', 'homestead'.
ERF Toilingahame.
Washford ['woshföd] WA
"the ford on the river Wash". OS Wosce, river Wash, OS ford, 'ford'.
ERF Wasceford.
Wednesbury ['wensbri] WI
"the fort on the river Weden". OS Weden, river Weden, 'the blue one', OS burh, 'fort'.
ERF Wednesburg.
Winster WI
"the fortified town on the river Weden". OS Weden, river Weden, 'the blue one', OS ceastre, 'fortified town'
ERF Wedenceastre.
Yeath [ji:þ] MO
"rivers meeting". OS ea, 'river', OS gædrian, 'get together'.
ERF Eagaedh.