Lesson #1: Good morning!
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A brief intro to Beoǧǧen for the non-linguistically inclined English speaker.
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 9 Aug 2016, 07:06.
[comments] glflessonslesson 1
6. My name is...
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Beoǧǧen is a language spoken by the inhabitants of the northern Ǧoun sea coast in southern Gyüpxeosk. The name of the language literally means 'Language of the Bay'. Beoǧǧen is separated into three major dialects - Standard Beoǧǧen, Essetum and Flouǧs. We will be learning the standard here, though hopefully we'll get a chance to look at some examples of dialect variation at a latter stage.
Beoǧǧen people tend to be a friendly bunch, though they are very protective of their independence and culture, so as a foreigner, you might encounter a little suspicion as people get to know you (especially if you head to Essetum!) Nonetheless, the Beoǧǧen speaking world offers a rich and varied culture to explore, and very different from the large Lartautian empire to the north.
Beopren, as Beoǧǧen speakers are called, live mostly in or around city states, known as gyütum, or Great Walls. The largest gyütum is Tubeoǧ, a bustling port city of around 120,000 inhabitants. As well as being a hub of commerce and trade, Tubeoǧ is known for it's smouyaug, or 'soft mead', made with honey from the mildly psychoactive nectar of the Ersan tree.
Let's dive right in with some typical greetings you might hear on a Tubeoǧ street in the morning (I'll be showing you the Beoǧǧen in bold, a direct translation under that, and the English translation in italic):
Wom
good gut!
seeing!
Hello!
Gut!
seeing!
Hi!
Tǧouřu
wake-up.you
Good morning!
So, how do you say all that? Luckily, Beoǧǧen written in Latin letters is pretty consistent, though it does have a few sounds we don't. All the consonants are the same as English, excect 'r' is always rolled, as in Scottish English, and to make the 'f' sound, you just blow air between your lips, rather than put your lower lip between your teeth as we do in English. 'X' is pronounced like the 'ch' in loch. 'C' is like 's', but instead of using the tip of your tongue at the front of your mouth, use the flat of your tongue at the roof of your mouth. If it's easier, try doing this; say 'sss', but keep the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth! What about those letters with the little hats? Well, 'ǧ' is pronounced a little like the 'ch' in loch, but a little further back in your throat (if it sounds like your dragging a big stone across the floor, you're doing it right!) and 'ř' is sometimes like a french 'r' - a soft r sound made with the back of your tongue - and sometimes like a rolled r, but also at the back, a little like a cartoon snoring sound, but blowing the air out! The 'ř' above is the french type. There are a couple more letters that are different, but we'll look at those another time.
The vowels are super simple - they'll (almost!) always be pronounced the same, so you don't have to learn different pronunciations depending on what letters they come with, like in English. (Examples are in British English)
| Letter | Sounds like... |
|---|---|
| a | Father |
| ä | cat |
| i | sheet |
| u | shoot |
| ü | (German) güt |
| e | help |
| o | cot |
| ö | (German) schön |
Let's talk about those German letters a little - if you've never learned German, you might not know how to say them. They're like 'i' and 'e', but with round lips. So, to make an 'ü', start with an 'i' sound, then make your lips round, like you do when you say 'shoe'. The 'ö' is the same, but your start sound is 'e', rather than 'i'. What if two vowels come after each other? Easy! Just pronounce the two vowels, one after the other quickly. Be careful not to default to English readings though. For example; 'ou' sounds like the 'o' in cold, not the 'ou' in though or through!
Try:
Go back to the greetings and see if you can say them!
Let's finish off with a nice simple way to introduce yourself.
Idid
call-they sou
me Cnüssyanit
Cnüssyan
I'm called Cnüssyan (lit. people call me Cnüssyan)
Note: The second 'i' in idid and the 'i' at the end of Cnüssyanit are pronounced like the 'u' in cut.
Don't worry about the '-it' ending for now!
Try filling in the blanks:
1. Wom ____ : Hello!
2. Tǧouřu : _______
3. Ibid ____ Tom : I'm called Tom.
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