Alternian

A fan-conlang (fanlang?) of questionable quality, based on whatever the standard(?) language of Alternia from Andrew Hussie's Homestuck may or may not be. Features plenty of semi-original non-Hussie-approved headcanons and worldbuilding, and currently needing a great deal more polish.

Obligatory Disclaimer and Credits

Obviously, I do not own Homestuck or Hiveswap. This is a transformative work, done purely for fun.

The Alternian script used here is from Hiveswap, made by Hussie and What Pumpkin, and the font itself was compiled by OrangeyPeels on DeviantArt. The alphabet belongs to Hiveswap/What Pumpkin and Hussie, not me. Further information can be found on the "Credits" page via the sidebar.

Phonology

Inventory

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Close-Mid	e		o o̰** o̰ː**
Mid		ə*
Open-Mid	ɛ
Open	a a̰** a̰ː**		ɑ* ɑ̰** ɑ̰ː**
Dipthongs	aɪ		oɪ

	Bilabial	Labio-Dental	Dental + Alveolar	Post-Alveolar	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n		ŋ̊* ŋ*
Plosive	p~pʼ pʰ b~bʼ		t~tʼ tʰ d~dʼ		k~kʼ kʰ g~gʼ
Affricate				d͡ʒ*
Fricative		f v	s z	ʃ* ʒ	x	χ* ʁ*	h
Approximant			l	ɹ̠*	j
Tap/Flap			ɾ*
Trill	ʙ̥* ʙ*					ʀ̥* ʀ

Co-Articulated Trills
f͡ʀ̥ v͡ʀ s͡ʀ̥ z͡ʀ

*Only present as allophones of other sounds, or in unusual cases.

**These are actually trilled vowels, not creaky voice (I just needed a reasonable looking diacritic). See "trills" section below for more details!

Phonotactics (very wip)

Syllable structure: (S)(C)(R)V(N)(D), where:
S = s
C = any consonant or [kw], or if no S onset, [ks]
R = ʀ/l/j
V = any vowel
N = n/m/s/t/k/ʀ/z/h/b/d
D = Alveolar or Velar stops /kʼ/, /g/, /tʼ/, /d/

S is only available before unvoiced consonants, and D is only after /n..

Syllabic l̩ and ʁ are acceptable in word codas, usually from erosion of a final or penultimate vowel.

Syllable stress is a little unpredictable. It shifts preferentially to /ta/ and /ka/ syllables, dipthongs, or to syllables with geminated vowels or codas, or to other syllables with /kV/ and /tV/ or /ʀV/ patterns. Otherwise, it typically defaults to the second syllable for two syllable words, or the penultimate syllable in longer words.

/x/, /ɑ/, /tʰ/ and /pʰ/ are marginal phonemes, found primarily in names, loanwords, highblood vernacular, and other particularly archaic terms.

Some general rules and patterns (very much subject to change as I figure out this bullshit phonology):

• /n/ becomes /ŋ/ before /k/ and /g/.
• Unvoiced ejective stops and their aspirated unvoiced counterparts become allophones before trills.

• /p/ /t/ /k/, and to lesser degree /b/ /d/ /g/, are typically ejectivized on stressed syllables when followed by vowels.
• Final /k/ and /t/ are also typically ejectives.
• /ʀ/ between vowels varies freely with [ʀ̥ ], [χ], and in some dialects and contexts even [ɾ]. At ends of words or syllables, or when neighboring close vowels like /i/, it is also realized as [ʁ] and [ɾ].
• Clusters /kg/ /gk/ and /td/ /dt/ usually becomes a single [g] and [d], respectively.
• The sequence /h/V tends voice stops directly after it (Ex: /hoti/ -> [hodi].) It also tends to palatalize /s/ into /ʃ/~/ɕ/ (Ex: /huski/ -> [huɕki].)
• /h/ is sometimes realized as [ŋ̊] in emphasized syllables.

Trill Spreading and Trill "Theft" (or, "what the hell are those coarticulations??")

You've heard of nasal spreading, now get ready for: trill spreading. And trill theft sometimes. (Here's hoping I'm transcribing any of this correctly!)

Basically, the trill /ʀ/ often spreads to and modifies neighboring sounds, adding a trilling influence to open and back vowels, some fricatives, and even a few bilabials.

• /vʀ/ and /fʀ/ are typically coarticulated as [v͡ʀ]~[v͡ʀ̥] and [f͡ʀ]~[f͡ʀ̥] (that is to say, teeth and lips stay in the [v] and [f] mouth position during the trill.)
  • (I have no idea how else to transcribe these sounds, but basically it's [v] or [f] with the uvular trill, but never actually gets to the point of being just the trill and not the [v] or [f] sound. So like, [v] or [f] but rumbly, if that makes sense.)
• /zʀ/ and /sʀ/ can similarly coarticulate with trills, as /s͡ʀ/ and /z͡ʀ/, though these are less common since they can only form by combining an /s/ or /z/ coda with an [ʀ] onset.
• /b/ and /p/ sometimes steal trills following them, causing /bʀ/ and /pʀ/ to be realized as [ʙʁ] and [ʙ̥ʁ], or [ʙʀ] and [ʙ̥ʀ].
• The vowels of /ʀa/ and /ʀo/ are often pronounced with a trill. I don't know how to notate this at all, but am currently using <a̰> and <o̰> and hoping for the best, lol.
  • Again, horrible IPA kitbashing. You have my apologies. (I mean technically if you fuck up a trill it can sound creaky I guess?)
• When /ʀ/ is followed by a consonant in a word and preceded by /a/ or /o/ (or /ɑ/), it merges into/hijacks the preceding vowel, lengthening it and making it trilled. /kaʀ/ in particular is almost always realized as [ka̰ː] unless placed after /ŋ/.
  • For example, "Karkat" would generally be pronounced [ka̰ːkʼatʼ].
• In some dialects (generally non-HV dialects), an /aʀ/->[a̰] or /oʀ/->[o̰] before a trill coarticulation "steals" the trill from it into the vowel, causing the coarticulation to lose its trill entirely. For example, zorvrik would be pronounced [zo̰ːvikʼ]
• In other dialects (generally highblood speech), a lengthened trill vowel preceding a coarticulation like [v͡ʀ] typically lengthens/geminates the consonant instead. For example, some speakers (usually highbloods) pronunce zorvrik, "thirty", as /zo̰v͡ʀːikʼ/.
• To distinguish between sounds like /v͡ʀ/ and /v͡ʀʁ/ (i.e. fully coarticulated vs. coarticulation followed by distinct non-trill 'r' sound), a doubled r is used. For example, "Porrim" is pronounced /po̰ːʁim/, whereas "Porim" would be pronounced /po̰ːim/.

Old historical rules (no longer in effect but maybe notable):

• /s/ becomes /ʒ/ before /m/ and /ʃ/ before /k/.

Troll Alphabet and Orthography

(If this isn't showing up for you as Hiveswap troll script, there's a problem, and this page won't be nearly as fun.)

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Alternian	a	aw	ar	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	hh	i	j	k
IPA	a, ə	ɑ	a̰ː	b	kʰ	d	ɛ	f	g	h	x	i	ʒ	k~kʼ
Romanized	a	aw	ar	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	hh	i	j	k

Alternian	l	m	n	o	or	p	ph	r	s	t	th
IPA	l	m	n	o	o̰ː	p~pʼ	pʰ	ʀ~ʀ̥~χ~ʁ	s	t~tʼ	tʰ
Romanized	l	m	n	o	or	p	ph	r	s	t	th

Alternian	u	v	x	y	z	q
IPA	u	v	z, ks	j, aɪ	z	kw~qʷ
Romanized	u	v	x	y	z	q

Doubled letters generally represent long vowels and geminated consonants, with two notable exceptions. One, "hh" (/x/), is indicated above. The other, "ee", is pronounced as /iː/ rather than /ɛː/.

Some historical spellings use kh (kh) or ch (ch) for /kʰ/.

In some highblood dialects aspiration becomes exaggerated and overcorrected as C/h/ or C/x/, while some lowblood dialects tend treat it as more equivalent to a generic non-ejective.

Grammar and Syntax

Basics

Descriptors and adjectives both precede their nouns. Word order is typically SOV, but flips to VOS for binary (yes/no) questions.

It has four noun classes: low (or "warm"), high (or "cool"), neutral (or "green"), and wild. It also has four-ish cases (nominative, accusative, dative/lative, genitive/ablative, sometimes a locative and even additional cases depending on dialect). Definite articles mark both class and case, and some nouns inflect for nominative/accusative. Pronouns mark case by inflection and are given noun classes by implicit status -- blood caste, the speaker's opinion, etc.

Verbs conjugate by three tenses (past, present, future), subject noun class groupings (low/mid versus high/wild), and five different registers of formality: honorific, humble, formal, informal, and intimate.

Verb Conjugation

Conjugation of verbs is fairly complex, involving tense, subject and object noun class, and several registers of formality/respect.

In most compounds, conjugation prefixes are applied directly to the root verb, after other prefixes.

Ex:

kakanga ([low or mid class noun] caused) --> kam'xemrikakangot (one [low or mid class] who caused [something] to be removed)
tiakanyi ([low class noun] shines) --> xanintiakanyi  ([low class noun] shines warmly)

Verb Conjugation (Prefixes)
	Past		Present		Future		Negative
	Low/Mid	High/Wild	Low/Mid	High/Wild	Low/Mid	High/Wild.	All
Honorific	kaya-	miya-	tama-	fro-	raya-	noya-	vekya-
Humble	kara-	mina-	ta-	fo-	rana-	nona-	veka-
Formal	kir-	min-	ti-	vi-	rin-	non-	vek-
Informal	ka-	ma-	-	-	ra-	no-
Intimate	ka-		-	-	ro-		ve-

In informal form, the final vowel of a verb becomes /a/. In intimate forms, the final vowel is discarded and the stem form is used instead.

Alternian has five commonly used registers of formality/intimacy:

• Honorific: used to respectfully describe actions of individuals significantly higher caste than the speaker, or by very high-caste speakers speaking about their own actions to a low-caste listener.
  The latter generally reads as pompous or arrogant, but is common with purples and above, or even a blueblood trying to throw their weight around.
• Humble: used to describe the speaker's own actions or actions of other lower-caste participants when addressing those of notably higher caste.
  In interactions where the speaker is only a few castes below, may come off as brown-nosing or suckup-y. Commonly heard in customer service.
• Formal: used formally as a neutral default, especially in cases of low caste disparity, or when addressing mixed groups or those of unknown color.
  Some highblood speakers use this to suggest politeness and refinement when addressing those below them.
• Informal or "plain": used in casual contexts, particularly among frenemies or in groups of similar caste, and by highblood speakers to lowblood listeners
• Intimate or "close casual": used primarily between quandrantmates, or sometimes other very close individuals.
  Doubles as default casual register among subjuggulators and similar subcultures, to reflect in-group closeness. Can come across as flirtatious if not already close.

Verbs beginning with a vowel /a/, /e/ or /i/ and non-geminated /t/, /r/, /l/, /s/ lose their initial vowel when conjugated with prefixes, unless the prefix ends in a nasal.

Kra eromma.
Kra eromma
I search.
Kra raromma.
Kra raromma
I'll (go) search.

Kra dokotavan aleda.
Kra dokotavan aledi.
I build bicycles.
Ka sum dokotavan vekleda.
Ka sum dokotavan vekleda
She did not build the bicycle.

Vamasmat etrezi.
Vamasmat etrezi.
They argue.
Vamasmat nimetrezi.
Vamasmat nimetrezi
They argued.

Verbs beginning with /h/ also lose their initial consonant to prefixes ending in consonants.

Kra tihuski.
Kra tihuski.
I'm afraid.
Kra kiruski.
Kra kiruski
I was afraid.

Since a duplicate /k/ generally becomes /g/, and /kg/ is not allowed, verbs beginning in /k/ and /g/ will conjugate slightly irregularly for some negatives.

Gama kul ka
Gama kul ka
1ST-SG-INF-NOM 3RD-SG-M-INF-ACC INF-PRES.hate
I hate him.
Gama kul vekka
Gama kul vega
1ST-SG-INF-NOM 3RD-SG-M-INF-ACC NEG.hate.INF
I don't hate him.

Gama tu vigapyna
Gama tu kagapyna
1ST-SG-INF-NOM 3RD-SG-INAN-ACC PAST-INF-HIGH/WILD.touch
I touched it.
Gama tu vekgapyna
Vakan tu vegapyna
1ST-SG-INF-NOM 3RD-SG-INAN-ACC NEG-INF.touch.INF
I (did) not touch it.

Verb chaining

Verbs can be chained together with other verbs, adverbs, or nouns. The kam prefix is often used to allow other verbs to act as auxiliaries by turning the first verb it is attached to into a gerund/noun.

When multiple verbs are chained together, the final verb is where the conjugation is applied. Ex: SAVFRODOVRRI, "demand(ing) your attention", is sav (attention, n.) + fro (high/wild honorific conjugation, present tense) + dovrri (to demand, v.).

Imperatives and Requests

Imperatives can be formed a few different ways.

An demand or request is usually something like kam[VERB]dovrri, with the politeness of dovrri conjugating to reflect the politeness of the request. An honorific form like frodovrri comes off as an imperious demand, appropriate for a high superior to subordinate, while a humble tadovrri or fodovrri would be more analogous to "please could you...?" or "I'd just like you to...".

An instruction might be given in second person, but otherwise unmodified from normal forms. Ex: naxa tu xi tara taraa... (2ND.NOM 3RD-INAN.ACC DEF.(I).DAT container INF.insert.PRES), "you put it into the container...", can also just be understood as "put it into the container...". Using future tense can imply an instruction intended for a later date/less immediately - for example, naxa tu xi tara notaraa, "you will put it into the container", implies the instruction isn't for right now, but for another time further in the future.

There's also the construction ar[2nd-SG.ACC] [verb] rei, which literally means something like "go [verb] yourself" - the word order keeps the accusative "you" as subject, but indicates something like "causing yourself to X" or "going and doing X".

Existence and Possession

The verb ni means both "to be" and "to exist".

To say someone has something, you say their thing is/exists... unless the thing is an inherent part of the owner, in which case it is described with the verb di (animate) or ti (inanimate), which is to possess something as a quality or trait.

When listing multiple possessions of the same entity, possessions after the first are marked not with a full possessive, but with a genitive particle of the owner's noun class.

Ex:

Kro dokotavan so xa arikotavan na.
1ST-SG.GEN two.wheel.possess-inan.ADJ-INAN.device and GEN-L one.wheel.possess-inan.ADJ-INAN.device COP
I (l) have a bicycle and a unicycle.

Vocabulary

Particles

CLASS	Low	High	Neutral	Wild
Nominative	sa	fa	ta	ma
Accusative	sum	fu	to	o
Dative	xi	fi	ti	vi
Genitive	xa	a	ho	a
Locative*	su	vu	o	o

*Not always used.

Pronouns

Alternian has a large collection of personal pronouns with varying implications, not entirely unlike, say, Japanese or Thai. Most or all can be conjugated for the four cases by their vowel ending, and are given in default nominative form here.

For conjugation: the final or penultimate vowel typically becomes /a/ for nominative, /u/ for accusative, /i/ for dative, and /o/ or rarely /i:/ for genitive.

meaning
I (very humble)
I (generic, usually a safe bet)
I (casual, somewhat feminine)
I (casual)
I (very casual, intimate register)
I (humble)
I (arrogant, high-status - think JP. ore-sama)
I (formal, higher-status)

you (honorific)
you (respectful, generic)
you (casual)
you (casual, crude)
you (disparaging, common for kismesis)
you (archaic, typically older highbloods addressing lowbloods)
you (intimate, usually reserved for quadrants)

he/she/they (unfamiliar, dangerous)
he/she/they (formal, neutral, somewhat distant)
he/she/they (familiar, friendly)
he/she/they (informal) (sometimes archaically /kjan/)
he/she/they (crude, somewhat demeaning, common w/ close friends)
he (formal, respectful)
he (semi-informal)
she (respectful, implies danger)
she (formal, respectful)
she (semi-informal)


it

this (one)
that (one)
that (one) over there
any-

all, everyone, everything

who
what
why
when
where

*Does not inherently conjugate.
**Conjugates with /i:/ for genitive.
***Irregular.

Pronouns that do not conjugate are given class particles as prefixes in dative and genitive cases. In formal speech, the accusative case gets a prefix as well.

Na ma meer gakan?
Na ma meer gakan?
INF-PRES.be ACC-WILD what NOM-this?
What is this?

Kan aenoky akafi kirygi.
Kan aenoky akafi kirygi.
3RD-SG-INF 2ND-SG-HON-GEN HON.coffee PAST-FML-LOW.drink
They (sg.) drank your [troll equivalent of] coffee.

The word for "what", amir, conjugates irregularly, inflecting with the first vowel instead of the last.

Naxa tu kirmari imir?
Naxa tu kirmari imir?
2ND-SG-INF-NOM 3RD-SG-INAN-ACC FML-PAST-LOW.sell DAT-who?
Who did you sell it to?

Nouns

Nouns pluralize with the prefix /va(t)/, added to the head/root word.

For example:

/uspe/ (shirt) --> /vatuspe/ (shirts)
/taʀkos/ (tube) --> /vadaʀkos/* (tubes)
/kaʀo/ (beast) --> /vakaʀo/ (beasts)
/miakaʀo/ (meowbeast) --> /miavakaʀo/ (meowbeasts)

*/tt/ --> /d/, though the word would still be written as vattarkos

A noun for a general concept needs neither a plural nor an article.

Kra sum miakaro favri.
Kra sum miakaro favri.
I like the meowbeast.

Kra miakaro favri.
Kra miakaro favri.
I like meowbeasts (in general).

Kra sum miavakaro favri.
Kra sum miavakaro favri.
I like the meowbeasts.

Nouns with numbers don't need to pluralize.

Kra do miakaro kasava.
Kra do miakaro kasava.
I saw two meowbeasts.

Historically, classic Alternian nouns inflected with a case system like pronouns and articles, but in modern Standard Alternian this is limited to two cases: nominative (default) and genitive. Due to large influxes of loanwords and slow erosion of the case system, only nouns ending in /a/ or /a/C inflect in this way.

Nouns By Category/Grouping

Time

Nouns are marked here as Low (L), Green (G), High (H), or Wild (W).

time (L)
night (H)
season (from nio ko ro, "piece of planet's cycle") (G)
day (L)
end, after; back(side) (L)
(subdivision of time) (G)
a period of time, life (a person's past) (H)
beginning, (new) future, front (of)
solar sweep (= about 2.17 years) (L)

Unsorted Nouns

Low/Warm

chitin, (thin) shell; skin (for mammal etc.)
thing, tool
temperature, heat
refrigerator ("thermal hull")
thief (common, low)
finger ("touch stub"), toe (less common)
insect, crawling thing
dirt, earth
cave fungus used for a popular Alternian drink
friend*
beast, animal
name
bone
bone bulge
hatred (platonic)
hatred (romantic)
kismesis (from kisam amesis)
wheel, circle, cycle (archaic)
friend, hatefriend*
cluster, blockage, clot
bicycle (two-wheel-having-device)
bottom, backside
woofbeast, dog
dream, hope
sun
friendship (relationship)
friend* (most literal English translation)
mountain
cartilage, gristle
fire, storm, cataclysm
wind
storm, windstorm
psychic, psionic (troll)
nub, stump, stub
fat
room, space, "block"
speck, crumb
tube, chute
container, basket, trap
face
house, hive
hatefriend* ("tolerated one")
vessel, container, cooking pan
mask
rope
cloth, shirt

High/Cool

bathtub (ablution trap)
person, enemy, friend* (rarely)
troll (species)
Alternia ("troll planet")
sexual partner (sort of crude, connotations of "fuckbuddy")
device, machine
strength, (physical) power
pain
hill
idea, concept
rage, wrath
leg (HV/archaic), limb, frond (of a plant)
fish (animal)
poem
mistake, accident
moon
sea, ocean
sea (archaic)
seadweller
pirate
mirror
blood (trollish); status; value
sponge
deity, god (non-specific)**
language
water
thief (noble, implies cleverness, trickery)
river
vehicle

Neutral/Green

kind, type (of)
ear (HV)
sphere, round object (usu. fist-sized or larger)
organ, brain
worth, value
mother, matron
female lusus
coin
Caegar (traditional Alternian currency)
cloak, hood
mother*** (sometimes HV)
tooth, fang
leaf
cat (meowbeast)
hand, foot
question
stone
head
horn
capacity, ability
planet, world
grub, thing (non-intelligent animal)
grub, livestock animal (generic)
tall, thin object, pole
chunk, solid piece (of something)
tube, sphincter, throat

Wild

fear
caretaker beast, guardian
(the) north
game
small round object
thing (generic)
protrusion, feeler
a common migratory fish
feeling, emotion
(the) south
troll (person), person (generic)
archaic form of trol
Empress (conj. as high when given def. article)
ally

HV: Highblood Vernacular - this word is typically only used by cooler castes, due to linguistic drift/dialect differences.

* The words for things like "enemy" or "friend" in Alternian are... complex. Any troll who isn't a quadrant or extremely close (and indeed, even those who are) can be classified as "enemy" due to Alternia's constantly hostile social scene. The terms often translated as "friend" and/or "enemy" identify connections to other trolls not by positive or negative relationship, but by familiarity and attachment. In a society rife with hate-romance and rule by intimidation, the strength of connection is considered more important than positive or negative relation -- assumption is that any relationship could easily flip to hostile, under the right circumstances.

Additionally, and tying slightly into the psychology behind kismessitude: a personally known enemy is considered a different kind of dangerous than an unknown one. While not necessarily safer, it is often seen more favorably, so "known enemy" terms often translate as more positive than unknown ones. Thus "akyon ho muxa" (my enemy) becomes a descriptor for someone probably (but not guaranteed!) semi-friendly -- this is your enemy in particular, one you know and can deal with -- but "sotan akyo" (that enemy over there) suggest a more potentially threatening individual -- a distant enemy, unpredictable and unknown.

Of words given: pemmun and derivatives suggest familiarity, but not necessarily pity or hate. Truvul, translated as "hatefriend", is literally someone who is tolerated, and implies a lack of threat, with feelings of affection, annoyance, or both. Kampavrot can mean friend, but is something more like "ally" or "compatriot" - a person you share a situation or goal with. (It can also colloquially mean "roommate", especially offworld.)

TL;DR: troll relationship terms prioritize familiarity over positive or negative relationship, so there are lots of troll words for various degrees of familiarity, tolerance, wariness, and percieved threat, most of which translate as "friend" as easily as they do "enemy".

/end worldbuilding ramble

** This word (jegok) is actually an old loanword, now used primarily for obscenities, metaphor, and general reference to higher powers. Alternian culture is largely secular in the current era -- religion tends to be restricted to small movements and cults, most notable the indigo-caste clown cults. Most trolls consider the two concepts synonymous.

Verbs

Basic noun form of a verb can be made by using the verb stem (i.e. without the final /i/.)

Generally gerunds are used for a general reference to an action, while stem form is used more for a single instance of a verb, or to a more general noun derived from the verb. (E.g. "the VERBing" = kam[VERB-STEM]i, "your verbing"/"a verbing" = [VERB-STEM])

The historical suffixes -ol and ul can sometimes be used to form "person who..." or "person (who is) ...", respectively.

Some meanings require specific case or object/subject prepositions, marked accordingly.

to wash, to submerge (in water)
to laugh
to construct, to assemble
to shine, to glow
to choose; to favor (DAT obj)
to hatch, to emerge, to be born
to be casual with, to be ~friendly with
to be related to, to be associated with
to hear, to listen
to feel neutral/indifferent toward
to copulate (for animals, obscene)
to blame, to accuse
to strike (with a blunt object), to drum
to meet
to have (a trait or quality) (anim.)
to copulate (for trolls, not really a swear)
to demand
to arrive
to search
to rage, to be wrathful, to be a highblood (inf.)
to argue
to like, to be comfortable around
to sleep
to touch, to sense
to change
to say
to wriggle, to squirm, to be alive
to blow (on), to push (for inanimate actor)
to fear (something), to be afraid
to abandon, to depart (from)
to attempt
to oblige, to require
to wear (under something, or closely fitted)
to lose
to cause
to hate
to come (somewhere)
to confess, to admit
to use
to stab, to cut (with the point of a blade)
to sell, to trade away
to desire, to want
to dance, to show off (from "matin hori", "writhe desirably")
to give (a gift)
to cut up, to divide, to split
to call out, to scream, to warn
to ask, to interrogate
to be fond of, to pity
to fail; to die (passive)
to be able to; to be possible
to be
to buy, to trade for (something)
to kill
to speak (generic)
to pose, to show off
to wear (outer layer, or loosely), to be dressed
to craft, to produce, to cause
to be familiar with, to know well
to share
to be lively, to be in good health
to give (something), to surrender
to do
to speak (with)
to cry
to mean; to intend
to fly
to dwell, to live (in)
should... (aux.)
to see, to observe, to pay attention to
to cut (with a flat cutting blade)
to strike, to stab
to fight
to pick over, to examine
to put, to insert
to imagine, to concieve of
to agree, to accept
to have (a trait or quality) (inan.)
to think
to watch
to prepare for
to protrude, to bulge
to sit (down), to rest
to bother, to harass, to call out to
to tolerate
to know (of), to be aware (of), to speak (a language)
to make, to cook
to run
to write
to travel (a long distance)
to increase
to follow
to steal, to rob
to go
to be greater than (comparator)
to remove, to doff
to eat, to drink

Verb Modifiers

(prefix indicating a gerund)
(prefix for passive voice) (uncommon)
(prefix for continuous action)
(perfect prefix, used like 'yet' or 'already')

Adjectives

Adjectives are negated with prefix /vek/.

Verbs can become adjectives/modifiers by conjugating the final /i/ as /ot/, for animate nouns, or /av/ for inanimate, or by simply using the verb's stem (i.e. removing the final /i/.) The latter is more common in older, calcified terms; the former is more modern and sometimes has a different meaning to the verb-stem version of a compound.

Nouns can be adjective-ified by the verb /di/ or /ti/ (to possess a trait or quality, for animate and inanimate actors respectively) or /yi/ (relating to, being associated with.)

General

whole, complete
one's own; self
other; foreign
simple, easy (a task); stupid (a person)
strange
strong
happy
juvenile, young
small, short (for time)
true, real
close (distance)
far
sharp
dull, poor (quality), ineffective; weak
(right) now
skilled, competent
big, great
many, much
narrow, closed (space or opening), cramped, tight
all
high, tall
low, short
more
broad, open (space or opening), wide, loose

Colors (vater)

color
red (usually dark); warm; low (blood)
brown, orange
yellow
gold (material)
light/yellow green
mid-green/"olive"
jade
teal
cerulean, greener blue (from /xa iquv/, "blue (low)")
indigo, purpler blue (from /kraro iquv/, "true blue")
purple
violet, "royal purple" (from /harum ter/ "sea color"); cold
pink (tyrian); royal
rust (from /ta nivrot ter/, "metal decay color")
yellow-green (spectrum)
green (generic)
blue (generic); high (blood)
bright, light, luminous; pale
dark, black

Adverbs

very, extremely
already
eventually, at last
probably
ideally, perhaps, if (one is) lucky
only

(adj -> adverb; for verb or noun, "for...")

Prepositions

with, at (for high or neutral nouns)
with, at (for low or wild nouns)
in, within, in relation to
above, over, greater than
below, under, less than
about

Conjunctions, Etc

but, however
as, while
and then
so, therefore, because (inf.)
so, therefore (formal)
too, as well
and
maybe...

Interjections, Etc.

hey, oy

Numbers

one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
11
12
13
14
16
18
20
21
22
23
24
25
28
30
31
32
(ordinal suffix)

1st (irreg.)
2nd (irreg.)
3rd (irreg.)

Number Variant - Highblood Vernacular

Highblood terms sometimes make use of more archaic numbers forms, which also inflect like pronouns for case. All are given in nominative form.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
30

Dialect Variations

A Worldbuilding Note

The Alternian given here is "Standard Alternian", as taught by official resources to juvenile trolls on the homeworld. However, Alternia actually has many localized dialects which range from regional or cultural accents to borderline distinct languages, spoken informally and unofficially in pretty much any area with high enough population density for consistent peer-to-peer cultural transmission.

Most of these dialects are regarded as "horotrihem", "child(ish) speech", and are heavily frowned upon offworld - speaking horotrihem in adult spaces could be anything from merely childish and inappropriate to a culling offense if spoken openly by low-caste trolls in front of superiors.

(To be fair, many things are culling offences when a low-caste troll is doing them. You get the idea, though.)

Most nonstandard dialects are spoken in urban centers of population by low- and mid-caste trolls, often segregated by caste grouping (i.e. rust, yellow-to-green, jade, teals, blue, indigo, seadwellers.) The most common and varied are the often overlapping rust and yellowgreen dialects, but jades also have a pidgin associated with the brooding caverns, and blues and teals are seen as having an "accent" and have shifted vocabulary toward Highblood Vernacular. Indigos are expected to speak the subjuggulator dialect, and speaking Standard Alternian is usually either an intentional gesture of clarity or deference, or a social signal of non-affiliation with the clown church.

Seadweller dialect is less peer-to-peer transmitted, but instead a mixture of environmentally induced idiolects (speaking underwater changes what sounds are distinct or audible) and cultural affectation (imitating adult seadwellers in media, whose dialect is in turn just older Standard Alternian from however many hundreds of sweeps ago.)

Any dialect notes here should be assumed to be generalizations and common features, not necessarily describing specific regional forms of Alternian.

Lowbloods

The /a/ sound is often raised slightly, closer to /æ/. Dropping of initial /ʀ/ in /ʀa̰/ and /ʀo̰/ after consonants, or reduction to /ha̰/ and /ho̰/, is not uncommon.

/ɑ/, being a fairly rare and archaic sound in modern Alternian, is also sometimes pronounced /aː/.

SAVFRODOVRRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
sæv'f͡ʀo.dov͡ʀ.ʀi ik.hæ̰'vɛk.dot h(j)u.man
pay-attention.N.PRES-HON-HIGH.demand worth.NEG.have.ADJ human
GREETINGS, WORTHLESS HUMAN.

Some regional dialects, spoken primarily by lowbloods, also have variant articles for locative case, using su and vu for warm and cool class nouns, while the neutral and wild classes both use the wild accusative form o.

Indigos & Subjuggulators

The first person pronoun /maz/ and second person pronoun /aka/ are used more frequently, especially when speaking with other trolls within the church.

Some particles are doubled up for extra cases - ablative is constructed with genitive followed by nominative, lative is formed with dative and accusative, and instrumental is formed with dative and genitive.

Ejectives are less common and reserved more for emphasis.

Aka o ankir xadtaza?
a.kʼa o aŋ.kiʁ za.da.za
1ST-SG-INT ACC where-DAT go.think.PRES-INF
Where d'you think you're going to?

Seadwellers

Seadwellers typically turn initial /h/ into a glottal stop, pronounce midword /h/ as [j], and drop the final h (h) sound. They also often slur the midword x (x, /ks/) as a /kʃ/ or /kt͡ʃ/ sound, which is sometimes formalized in name pronunciations (ex. Peixes gets pronounced as /pekʃis/.)

/ʀ/ is commonly realized as [ʁ] or even [ɾ] in some cases, and trilled vowels often go untrilled, through still appropriately lengthened. Occasionally long /a:/ gets converted back into /ɑ/ or /ɑ:/. Eridan probably sounds insufferably Troll British.

Vrota ka 'arumvrit kamnataza.
v͡ʀo.ta ka ʔaʁ.um.vʁit kʼam.na.tʼa.za
1ST-HON-SG-NOM 3RD-F-NOM pirate GERUND.PRES-INF.be.PRES-INF.think
Vrota ka 'arumvrit kamna taza.
I think she's a pirate.

Jadeblood Pidgin

Also known as Jadeblood Creole, as the name would suggest, this is not actually a dialect of Alternian, but a separate, related language.

Jadeblood Pidgin/Creole is an artifact of the early days of the Empire's global unification, in which many Jadebloods from previously separate brooding caverns and regions were placed together and expected to learn then-Standard Alternian. The resulting pidgin was passed along to new-hatched Jades and became a functioning full creole language for a few hundred sweeps before the Empress forced adults off-planet, then returned to pidgin status as most Jadebloods were taught Standard Alternian first by official feeds and learned Jadeblood Creole as slightly older juveniles assigned to their creches in the caverns, resulting in a mixed-language speech that makes use of both shared Standard Alternian substrate and syntax, and specific constructs and vocabulary from Jadeblood speech.

It's still considered horotrihem, but since Jadebloods are more consistently raised together in the caverns, their dialect is more consistent and caste-universal, and often used privately even between adult Jadebloods offworld.

More on this will be added when I actually, uh... get around to making it. XD

Idioms and other fun stuff

"Dressed for your ninth"

xitamitatotan otri
zi.tʼam.(i)t.at.ota.n otʀi
DEF-LOW.nine.ORD.hatch.day.ADV be-dressed
(to be) dressed for the ninth hatchday

Sometimes also phrased variously as xitamitorotan otri ("dressed for the ninth wriggling day") or naxotamitin otri ("dressed for your ninth"), or even xitamitin otri ("dressed for the ninth").

To put on airs of maturity and importance. To be literally "dressed for [one's] ninth hatchday" is to be dressed for one's conscription day, when a young troll leaves the Alternian homeworld for enlistment into Imperial forces. Conscription is usually a young troll's first big interaction with the larger empire. Offworld, it suggests immaturity, in the sense of being young and inexperienced; on Alternia, it implies attempting to look older and more important than one actually is.

Translations

Subject to repeated changes and alterations. Might need to take with a grain of salt, depending on how recently I've made any drastic changes to the language and/or updated this.

CG: SAVFRODOVRRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
CG: SAVFRODOVRRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
sav.f͡ʀo.dov͡ʀʀi ikʀa̰ː.vɛk.dot hjuman
attention.PRES-HON-HIGH.demand worth.NEG.have.ADJ human
CG: GREETINGS (lit. "[DEMAND] ATTENTION") WORTHLESS HUMAN

CG: GAKAN SIT JEGOK KAMFRONAYY NA.
CG: GAKAN SIT JEGOK KAMFRONAYY NA.
gakʼan sit ʒɛgokʼ kʼam.f͡ʀo.najaɪ na
this-NOM you-GEN deity GERUND.PRES-HON-HIGH.speak INF.be
CG: THIS IS YOUR GOD SPEAKING.

CG: KALTA QOT SAT KAMUSKA ITAKARANATI XAQA SUTKISAMOT FROSTOSOT JEGOK FRONI.
CG: KALTA QOT SAT KAMUSKA ITAKARANATI XAQA SUTKISAMOT FROSTOSOT JEGOK FRONI.
kʼaltʼa kʷot sat kʼam.uska itʼa.kʼaʀa.nati zakʷa sutʼ.kisam.otʼ f͡ʀo.stos.otʼ dʒɛgok f͡ʀo.ni.
he-HON-NOM than you-NOM GERUND.PRES-INF-fear attempt.PAST-HUMBLE-LOW.be-able-to be-greater you-ACC romantically-hate.ADJ PRES-HON-HIGH.be-wrathful.ADJ deity PRES-HON-HIGH.be
CG: IT IS A WRATHFUL GOD WHO DESPISES YOU MORE THAN YOU COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DARED TO FEAR.

Another sample, with some different politeness and pronoun choices.

GA: Kra Ulto Kamtukritadovrri
GA: Kra Ulto Kamtukritadovrri
kʀa ulto kʼam.tukʀi.tʼa.dov͡ʀʁi
I-FML-NO only GERUND.know.HMBL-PRES-LOW.demand*
GA: I Just Want To Know

GA: Tomvinafi Novros Lusus
GA: Tomvinafi Novros Lusus
tom.vi.nafi nov͡ʀos lusus
yet.FML-PRES-H.die you-FML-GEN lusus
GA: Is Your Lusus Dead Yet

*Using the humble register changes the verb dovrri ('to demand') to something like 'to want' or 'to request'.

And, for even more fun:

enoky ankayon oja, vrix fitamitin otra
ɛnokʼaɪ aŋkʼajon oʒa, v͡ʀiks fitʼamitʼin otʀa
2ND-SG-HON bright.ADV PRES-INF.pose ten DEF-DAT-HIGH.nine.ORD.ADV PRES-INF.be-dressed
You pose brightly / A ten dressed for the ninth

vatku vatgamo mik so gotrakya vekbita
vatkʼu vatgamo mik so gotʀa̰'kja vɛkbitʼa
PL.clot (ear) PL.2ND-INF-GEN scream and PRES-INF.change.ADJ.time NEG-INF.hear
(Sponge) (c)lots deaf to our screaming / And to the changing times

frivatny by'umiba rumter vikunavkampyni'xaqa
f͡ʀivatnaɪ baɪumiba ʀumtɛʀ vikʼənavk'ampaɪnzakʷa
in mention.PL CONT.swim.continue cold DAT-W.come.DOER-INAN.GERUND.sense.PRES-INF.outweigh
Keep swimming in mentions / too cold to feel the thing that's coming

mirok vakra vakamza fa - dan dan ulto frobita*
miʀokʼ vakʀa vakʼamza fa dan dan ultʼo f͡ʀobitʼa
why PL.1ST-INF PL.intention PRES-INF.disguise drum drum only HON-H.hear.INF*
Why do we hide intentions? You only hear drumming, drumming

*Technically grammatically incorrect - should be either bita or frobiti, but the mixed register is used colloquially sometimes to indicate sarcastic honorifics, which is the case here.

Bonus

Because I felt like it, I'm trying out some different homebrewed Alternian script fonts. You can see the test page here.