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.

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

Vowels: a ɛ e i ə* u o ɑ*
Dipthongs: aɪ
Consonants: ʀ k g t tʃ* d s z ʒ m l f v p b n h~ħ x* j kʼ* tʼ* pʼ* ʒ* dʒ* ʃ* ŋ* ʀ̥* χ*
(Sounds marked with an asterisk are rare, archaic, of foreign loan origin, or are exclusively allophones of other sounds or phoneme combinations.)

Syllable structure (WIP): (S)(C)(R)V(N), where:
S = s
C = any consonant, [ks] or [kw]
R = ʀ/l/j
V = any vowel
N = n/m/s/t/k/ʀ/z/h/b/d

Syllable stress is a little unpredictable. It shifts preferentially to /ta/ and /ka/ syllables, or else to dipthongs or geminated vowel syllables, 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/, /tʃ/, /ɑ/ and /ʒ/ are 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/.
• The trill [ʀ] often modifies preceding labial sounds, adding a trilling influence to /f/, /v/, /b/, and /p/.
  • [vʀ] and [fʀ] are often realized as [v͡ʀ] and [f͡ʀ].
  • [bʀ] and [pʀ] are sometimes realized as [ʙʀ] and [ʙ̥ʀ].
• p, k and t are generally /p'/, /k'/ and /t'/ on stressed syllables when followed by vowels.
• A /ʀ/ surrounded by only vowels sometimes becomes /ʀ̥ / or /χ/, depending on the speaker's pronunciation or dialect. At ends of words or syllables, it is also an allophone of /ʁ/.
• A doubled /k/ or /t/ usually becomes a single /g/ or /d/, respectively.
• /f/ following /m/ usually becomes /p/.
• /ʀk/ is probably an allophone of or generally becomes /ʀq/.
• [hV] tends to make the following vowel nasalized, and turns unvoiced consonants directly after it voiced (Ex: [hoti] -> [hodi].) It also tends to turn /s/ into /ʃ/~/ɕ/ (Ex: [huski] -> [huɕki].)

Old historical rules (no longer in effect but maybe notable):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 ch 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	b	ch	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	m
IPA	a, ə	ɑ	b	tʃ	d	ɛ	f	g	h~ħ	i	ʒ	k, kʼ	l	m
Romanized	a	aw	b	ch	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	m

Alternian	n	o	p	r	s	t	u	v	x	y	z	qu	hh
IPA	n	o	p	ʀ~χ~ʁ	s	t, tʼ	u	v	z, ks	j, aɪ	z	kw	x
Romanized	n	o	p	r	s	t	u	v	x	y	z	qu	hh

Doubled letters are also meaningful. Normally they represent consonant or vowel gemination (making a sound longer than normal), with two notable exceptions. One, "hh" (/x/), is indicated above. The other, "ee", is pronounced as /iː/ rather than /ɛː/.

Grammar and Syntax

Basics

Alternian is agglutinative and heavy on prefixes. 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), optionally marked by prepositional particles which agree with the noun's class (with the exception of pronouns, which are conjugated by inflection and classed by implicit status -- blood caste, the speaker's opinion, etc.) These are only needed for definite articles (i.e. "the".)

Verbs conjugate by tense (past, present, future), number (singular versus plural), and five different registers of formality: honorific, humble, formal, informal, and intimate.

Verb Conjugation

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

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

Ex:

kakangi (caused) --> kamxemrikakangvrol (one who caused [something - Warm or Green class] to be removed)
tiakanyi ([Warm noun] shines) --> xanintiakanyi  ([Warm noun] shines warmly)

Verb Conjugation
	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.

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

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

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.

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	a	ho

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 (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 (formal, respectful)
he (semi-informal)
she (respectful, implies danger)
she (formal, respectful)
she (semi-informal)
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)

it

this (one)
that (one)
that (one) over there

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.

Low/Warm

thing, tool
temperature, heat
refrigerator ("thermal hull")
thief (common, low)
insect, crawling thing
dirt, earth
cave fungus used for a popular Alternian drink
friend*
beast, animal
name
bone
hatred (platonic)
hatred (romantic)
wheel (archaic), circle
friend, hatefriend*
cluster, blockage, clot
bicycle (two-wheel-having-device)
bottom, backside
woofbeast, dog
day
dream
sun
end, back, after
friendship (relationship)
friend* (most literal English translation)
cartilage, gristle
fire, storm, cataclysm
wind
storm, windstorm
psychic, psionic (troll)
fat
room, space, "block"
tube, chute
container, basket, trap
house, hive
vessel, container, cooking pan
mask
rope
cloth, shirt

High/Cool

bathtub (ablution trap)
person, enemy, friend* (rarely)
troll (species)
Alternia ("troll planet")
device, machine
strength, (physical) power
pain
idea, concept
rage, wrath
leg (HV/archaic), limb, frond (of a plant)
fish (animal)
poem
moon
sea (archaic)
seadweller
pirate
night
mirror
sponge
deity, god (non-specific)**
a period of time, life (a person's past)
beginning, front, future
thief (noble, implies cleverness, trickery)
vehicle

Neutral/Green

ear (HV)
organ, brain
worth, value
coin
Caegar (traditional Alternian currency)
cloak, hood
mother***
question
leaf
cat (meowbeast)
hand, foot
stone
head
horn
capacity, ability
planet, world
grub, livestock animal (generic)
language
water
tube, sphincter, throat

Wild

finger ("touch stub"), toe (less common)
fear
caretaker beast, guardian
mother, matron
(the) north
game
thing (generic)
nub, stump, stub
protrusion, feeler
a common migratory fish
feeling, emotion
(the) south
troll (person), person (generic)
archaic form of tirol
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.

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])

to wash, to submerge (in water)
to hatch, to emerge, to be born
to be casual with, to be ~friendly with
to construct, to assemble
to shine, to glow
to be related to, to be associated with
to hear, to listen
to feel neutral toward
to copulate (for mammals, obscene)
to strike (with a blunt object), to drum
to meet
to have (a trait or thing) (anim.)
to copulate (for trolls)
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 attempt
to oblige, to require
to wear (under something, or closely fitted)
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 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 die
to be able to
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 be familiar with, to know well
to be lively, to be in good health
to give (something), to surrender
to do
to speak (with)
to dwell, to live (in)
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 imagine, to concieve of
to agree, to accept
to have (a trait or thing) (inan.)
to think
to watch
to prepare for
to bother, to harass, to call out to
to dislike but tolerate
to know (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
kind, type
juvenile, young
small, short (for time)
true, real
(right) now
skilled, competent
big, great
narrow, closed (space or opening), cramped, tight
all
close (distance)
far
high, tall
low, short
more
broad, open (space or opening), loose

Colors (vader)

color
red (usually dark); warm
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)
rust (from /ta nivrot ter/, "metal decay color")
yellow-green (spectrum)
green (generic)
blue (generic)
bright, light, pale

Adverbs

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

(adjective -> adverb, or "for...")

Conjunctions, Etc

but, however
as, while
with, at (for high or neutral nouns)
with, at (for low or wild nouns)
and then
too, as well
and
about

Interjections, Etc.

hey, oy

Numbers

one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
(ordinal suffix)

Dialect Variations

Lowbloods

The /a/ sound is often raised slightly, closer to /æ/.

/ɑ/ is a fairly rare sound in modern Alternian is also sometimes pronounced /aː/.

SAVFRODOVRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
sævf͡ʀodov͡ʀi ikʀævekdot human
GERUND.pay-attention.PRES-HON-HIGH.demand worth.NEG.have.ADJ human
GREETINGS, WORTHLESS HUMAN.

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.

When auxiliary verbs are used, the affected verb is often just used in stem form.

Ejectives are less common and reserved more for emphasis.

Aka o ankir xadtaza?
aka o aŋkiʁ zadaza
1ST-SG-INT ACC where-DAT go.think.PRES-INF
Where d'you think you're going?

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 /ktʃ/ sound, which is sometimes formalized in name pronunciations (ex. Peixes gets pronounced as /pekʃis/.)

/ʁ/ is a more common realization of /ʀ/.

Vrota ka 'arumvrit kamnataza.
v͡ʀota ka ʔaʁumvʁit kamnataza
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.

Idioms and other fun stuff

"Dressed for your ninth"

xitamitatotan otri
zitamitatotan 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.

CG: SAVFRODOVRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
CG: SAVFRODOVRI IKRAVEKDOT HUMAN
savf͡ʀodov͡ʀi ikʀavɛkdot 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 ʒegokʼ kʼamf͡ʀonajaɪ 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 qʷot sat kʼamuska itʼakʼaʀanati zaqʷa sutv͡ʀokʼisamotʼ f͡ʀostosot dʒɛgok f͡ʀoni.
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: Kri Ulto Kamtukritadovri
GA: Kra Ulto Kamtukritadovri
kʀa ulto kʼamtukʀitʼadov͡ʀi
I-FML-NOM only GERUND.know.HMBL-PRES-LOW.demand*
GA: I Just Want To Know

GA: Tomvinafi Novros Lusus
GA: Tomvinafi Novros Lusus
tomvinafi nov͡ʀos lusus
yet.FML-PRES-HIGH-die GEN-HIGH.you-FML-GEN lusus
GA: Is Your Lusus Dead Yet

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

And, for even more fun:

enoky ankayon oja, vrix fitamitin otra
enokaɪ aŋkajon oʒa, v͡ʀiks fitamitin 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 gotʀakja vekbita
PL.clot (ear) PL.2ND-INF-GEN scream and PRES-INF.change.ADJ.time NEG-INF.hear
Clots deaf to our screaming / And to the changing times

Bonus

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