Online Encyclopedia
D'ni language
Miscellaneous
Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and will be treated as facts.
The D'ni language (pronounced duh-NEE) was the language spoken by the D'ni, as presented in various games and novels of the Myst franchise. At the beginning of the Riven game, for instance, a native known as Cho will try and talk to you in rather broken and simple D'ni.
The people of D'ni, who live in an underground city located in a cavern in New Mexico, have a rich and tragic history that is quite interesting to learn about.
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The D'ni Alphabet
- The D'ni alphabet consists of 24 standard and 11 accented characters, combining to a total of 35 letters (11 vowels, 24 consonants).
Alphabetical Order
- D'ni alphabetical order is as follows:
- The sounds of the alphabet are as follows in D'ni alphabetical order:
'V' as in "victory"
'T' as in "take"
'S' as in "snake"
'J' as in "joke" (possibly like the French 'J' as in "jour")
'Y' as in "year"
'KH' as in the 'CH' in the German "ach" or Scottish "loch"
'AH' as in "ball"
'F' as in "funny"
'IH' as in "lit"
'EH' as in "red"
'R' as in "read"
'M' as in "mother"
'TH' as in "thin", "thorn" and "with"
'DH' as in the 'TH' in "then", "the" or "there"
'H' as in "hat"
'O' as in "own"
'CH' as in "cheat"
'W' as in "weed"
'UH' as in "but"
'TS' as in "puts"
'L' as in "leaf"
'A' as in "and"
'Z' as in "zero"
'N' as in "no"
'B' as in "ball"
'SH' as in "shoot"
'G' as in "grab"
'K' as in "king"
'I' as in "ice"
'P' as in "pun"
'EE' as in "feet"
'AI' as in "maid"
'D' as in "dog"
'OY' as in "boy"
'OO' as in "shoot"
D'ni Grammar
Basic Rules
- Punctuation is placed at the beginning of sentence.
- Sentences are written from left to right.
- To show that a partice is a prefix or a suffix, a dash (-) is attached before or after the particle. In the D'ni language however, the dash after the prefix and before the suffix is not shown when attached to a stem. Example: "reh-" is a prefix and attaches to the front of a word (rehkor), while "-tee" is a suffix and is attached to the end of a word (kortee).
- Words that are usually contracted (shortened with an apostrophe and attached to the front of the modified word) can be detached and used separately from the modified word when pronunciation becomes awkward. For example, the word "beh" is usually contracted to "b'-" and attaced to the front of the modified word, but in cases like "b'pahtsoy" which may be hard to pronounce, the words may be separated into "beh pahtsoy".
- When transliterating (converting a language to another alphabet without translating) D'ni to Roman letters, superficial H's can be removed after vowels when the vowel would be pronounced the same with or without the H. For instance, "kehnehn" can become "kenen" so the word is easier to recognize. However, H's cannot be removed when they stand alone (as in "hevtee") or when they are part of a two-letter consonant (as in "chev" or "shooth")
- In some cases, converterting suffixes may be used to change a word into a different part of speech.
- Prepositional phrases always come after the noun that is being modified.
- Adjectives always come after the noun.
- D'ni sentence structure is as follows:
noun/adjective/tense prefix-verb-actor suffix/adverb
The Parts of Speech
1. Nouns
- The definite article is the prefix "reh-". The indefinite article is the prefix "ehrth-". Example: the book = rehkor; a book = ehrthkor
- To make a noun plural, simply add the suffix "-tee". Example: city = pahts; cities = pahtstee
- The noun converter suffix "-ehts" (or just "-ts" if the noun ends in a vowel) makes a noun into an adjective. Example: peace = shorah; peaceful = shorats
2. Verbs
- The basic form, or 'stem' of the verb is the first person singular, present tense of the verb, which has no prefixes or suffixes. Example: I speak = mees
- The infinitive is formbed by adding the prefix "b'-" to the stem of the verb. Example: to write = b'sehl
- The actor is changed by the suffix attached to the verb. Since the subject is implied by the verb suffix, there are no subject pronouns in the D'ni language. Example: to flow = b'rehm, so: it flows = rehmehn, BUT: the stream flows = rehkooahn rehmehn
| Actor | Suffix | English Verb | D'ni Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | (no suffix) | I start | glo |
| 2nd sing. | -ehm | You start | gloehm |
| 3rd sing. | -ehn | He/She/It starts | gloehn |
| 1st pl. | -eht | We start | gloeht |
| 2nd pl. | -tee | You (all) start | glotee |
| 3rd pl. | -eet | They start | gloeet |
- Other tenses can be achieved by attaching certain prefixes to a verb. Example: to find = b'hoor, so: he found = kohoorehn
| Tense | Prefix | English Verb | D'ni Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | (no prefix) | I start | glo |
| Simple Past | ko- | I started | koglo |
| Simple Future | bo- | I will start | boglo |
| Present Progressive | do- | I am starting | doglo |
| Past Progressive | kodo- | I was starting | kodoglo |
| Future Progressive | bodo- | I will be starting | bodoglo |
| Present Perfect | leh- | I have started | lehglo |
| Past Perfect | kol- | I had started | kolglo |
| Future Perfect | bol- | I will have started | bolglo |
- Verb Converter Suffixes:
"-tahv" changes a verb into a noun. Ex: speech = meestahv "-tahn" changes a verb into a noun that performs the verb. Ex: speaker = meestahn "-ahl" forms a present participle/adjective from the verb. Ex: speaking = meesahl (as in "the speaking man") "-ah" indicates the imperative when attacted after the actor suffix of a verb. Ex: speak! = meesehmah
3. Adjectives
- The adjective is placed after the noun. Example: great = gahro, so: The Great Tree = rehtehr gahro
- Possessive adjectives are suffixes attached to the end of the possessed noun.
| Possessor | Suffix | English Noun | D'ni Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | -oy | My book | koroy |
| 2nd sing. | -ohm | Your book | korom |
| 3rd sing. | -ohn | His/Her/Its book | koron |
| 1st pl. | -oht | Our book | korot |
| 2nd pl. | -oyt | Your book | koroyt |
| 3rd pl. | -ohs | Their book | koros |
- Adjective Converter Suffixes:
"-(eh)th" changes an adjective into a noun. Ex: greatness/Great One = gahroth "-(eh)sh" changes an adjective into an adverb. Ex: greatly = gahrosh
4. Prepositions
- D'ni prepositions are usually one syllable words which consist of one or two consonants and the vowel "eh". Example: to = beh, on/upon = feh, from = kheh
- A preposition may be contracted and attached to its antecedent (object) if pronunciation premits. Example: from the city = kh'rehpahts
- The D'ni language has multiple forms of 'of' that are used in specific situations:
"okh/oykh" is used when posession is direct and personal. It is sometimes suffixed to the possessed noun.
Ex: Gehn's book (the book of Gehn) = rehkorohk Gehn
"teh" is used to express amount or quantity of something. Ex: one of the group = fah t'rehtehs
"meh" is used to indicate composition. Ex: the house of rock = rehtomahn meh prad (the house is made of rock)
"tso" is used to express non-personal possession of characteristics that imply cause and effect.
Ex. the Age of death = rehsehv tso shooth (the Age causes death)
5. Conjunctions
- The three main D'ni conjucntions are "gah", "roob", and "pahm". They mean "and", "but", and "or" respectively.
- The conjunction "gah" is contracted to "g'-" when followed by a noun with a definite article. Example: and the people = g'rehrovtee
- There are no known examples of D'ni compound conjunctions such as "either/or", or "not only/but also".
6. Numbers Acting as Adjectives and Adverbs
- Numbers act as adjectives when they describe how much of something exists. These numbers are called Quantifiers. Numbers can be written in a cardinal fashion (one, two, three), or an ordinal fashion (first, second, third), or symbolically (1, 2, 3).
- In the D'ni language, the "b'[number]" construction can be used to give a general idea of amount. Example: We have few books = sehkhet kortee b'sehn (Literally, we have books to three), BUT: We have three books = sehkhet kortee sehn.
- Additionally, the "b'[number]" construction can be used as an adverb to indicate extent. Example: I am brave to the greatest extent = Ken kera b'fahsee.
- The number indicates, on a scale of 1-25, the degree of emphasis. b'fahsee = to the greatest extent; literally, "to twenty-five". b'fah = to the least extent; literally, "to one". b'roon = not at all; literally, "to zero".
- To express a hyperbolic extent or amount, a number higher than 25 is used (usually 30).
Similarity to Surface Languages
The D'ni language has many similarities to many surface languages including Semitic languages like Hebrew and Arabic, Germanic languages like German, Slavic languages like Russian, and Romance languages like French, Spanish, etc. Some have noted similarities to Native American dialects as well.
Since the D'ni have lived on Earth for nearly 10,000 years, some have speculated that our modern surface languages have been influenced by people from D'ni who ventured to the surface in ancient times. This is somewhat unlikely however, since most of the D'ni never reached the surface. They "found solace in the dark [of the cavern]," according to Yeesha, a descendant of the D'ni people.
Rehevkor
Rehevkor (literally, "the word book") was the 'official' dictionary of the D'ni, and is mentioned in The Book of Ti'ana and The Book of Atrus. According to The Book of Atrus (adapted from Cathrine's journals), the hevkor consists of double-page spreads that are filled with detailed diagrams of how to write a certain D'ni word. The diagrams show which penstrokes must be used and in what order. Since no known copies of the hevkor have been found (or at least revealed to the public), our knowledge of the D'ni vocabulary is extremely limited. For known word lists and dictionaries, check the external links.
External links
Dictionaries
- Yohshee's English-to-D'ni dictionary
- tay's Interactive Pocket D'ni Encyclopedia, a Windows application
- Guild of Linguists web site with lots of information, and a dictionary, not updated
- D'ni Pocket Dictionary, in PDF form, to print out
- D'ni Linguist's Notebook, a cross-platform dictionary and crude translator (still in beta)