Real World

Sangheili (language)/Silver

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

Sangheili is a language created for the Halo: The Television Series created by David Peterson, creator of the Dothraki language used in Game of Thrones,[1], and Carl Buck.[2]

Peterson posts transcripts for the words and their translations in a series of posts on Archive of Our Own, accessible here. See also David Petersons records here.

Overview

Sangheili, the language featured in the show, is a language spoken by the Sangheili, as well as generally inside the Covenant, an alien alliance that worships the Halo Array. The language is a lightly inflectional head-final language with distinctive vowel length and ejectives.

Sangheili uses Standard American Romanization. Ejective consonants are written with a following apostrophe, and the r is the tap [ɾ]. The language has long vowels, represented by a doubled vowel, and occasionally has geminates, also written doubly. Likely the most challenging aspect of the phonology are the consonants with a velar release. These are written as if they began with a consonant cluster, but they occur at every point of articulation—namely, pkh [pˣ], tkh [tˣ], kkh [kˣ], and qkh [qˣ], and even the fricative (or fricative-ending) consonants skh [sˣ], shkh [ʃˣ], and chkh [tʃˣ]

Primer

Grammar and Morphology

Pronouns

Singular Plural
Inclusive Exclusive
First Person jan riin jaari
Second Person k'e k'iri
Third Person Animate mu muuri
Third Person Inanimate tkha tkhaari

Case Particles / Postpositions

These particles are placed after an object.

Type Particle Use
Ablative ga
Adessive ni
Allative oni
Elative ba
Ergative o
Illative zhi
Inessive me
Vocative ghu

Verb Tenses

Dynamic Stative Suffix
Bare Imperative Present
Reduplicative Imperfect Emphatic Varies
Inceptive Inceptive Inchoative -(i)khi
Completive Perfect Cessive -(i)tan
Declarative Present Probabilitive -(i)jo
Witnessed Emphatic Past -(i)ji
Overheard Uncertain Possibilitive -(i)jen
Prospective Future Future -(i)jaga (irregular -chaga)
Negative Reverse action Contrary state -eya
Yes or No Question -jahe[3]

Demonstratives

Adjective Singular Plural Adverb
Proximal ne ine niri nis
Medial zo uzo zuri zus
Distal tkha athka tkhaari tkhaas
Unknown ba aba baari baas
Negative ii ngajo ngamaas


Vocabulary

Basic Nouns / Names

  • Ch'adomo : Spartan(s)
  • Ch'ambuujo : Hierarch(s)
  • Ch'anggagomo : Halo, The Halo Ring
    • Qkhado Ch'anggagomo : The Sacred Ring, The Holy Ring
  • Ch'awaruutu : The Journey
    • Oq'o Ch'awaruutu : The Great Journey
  • Domo : Human(s)
  • Gaik'inat'u : Regret, regret
  • Ghashank'o : Demon, Master Chief
  • Hirajo : Blessed One
  • Juukhojo : Prophet(s)
  • Q'iitu : Prophet of Mercy, mercy
  • Maduriga: Madrigal
  • Mak'ii : Makee
  • Oq'ogakha : Keystone
  • Sangheli : Sangheili
  • Shak'o : The Path, the way
  • Shandi : The Covenant, alliance
  • T'iiwajo : Heretic(s)

A

  • aamu : god(s), deity(ies)
  • akke : hand

B

  • baan : spine or back, behind
  • baashi : ceremony
  • bak'ontu : justice
  • bambit'a : to promise
  • bambit'agha : promise
  • banghaina : to sense, to pick up on (derived from the verb: ghaina)
  • bekkhajo : creature, animal
  • bojo : woman

C

  • ch'aamosik'o : to understand, to comprehend
  • ch'anaani : pillar
  • ch'anik'o : to see
    • ch'anik'otan : saw
    • ch'anik'oji : seen
  • ch'anu : head
  • ch'imo : take, get, gain
  • chkhan : all, whole, endless
    • chkhan ba : all by
    • chkhan ni : over all

D

  • diibe : where (conjunction), in/to a particular place, at/from which (See also: ghaadi)
  • dokkhat'u : kindness
  • duje : to molt
  • dzana : woman, mortal female
  • dzima : brave
  • dzumu : to be sharp
  • dzuk'uuchi : battled

E

  • et'ojo : swordsman(men)
  • eya : no

G

  • gadi : lower mandible
  • gaibaat'u : fortune, riches
  • gaiduje : to sully, to pollute (derived from the verb: duje)
  • gaikhawa : to guess, to predict (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • gakha : rocks, stones
  • ghaadi : where, in what place or position (See also: diibe)
  • ghaina : to hear
  • ghaazhi : [causal conjunction] (Because..., So..., For..., If..., When...)
  • ghaq'aaga : map
  • guulo : master(s)

H

  • haala : strong
    • haali : stronger
  • hira : bless, praise
  • hodu : wait, pause

I

  • ik'o : eye(s)
  • ikhi : now, presently
    • ikhi ga : right now, right away, immediately
    • ikhi jaya : come quickly, come now
    • ikhi baazhi : previously

J

  • jaja : perhaps
  • jan : [First Person Singular] : I, me
  • jaya : come, arrive
    • jayaleya : can not arrive
    • jayatan : arrived
  • juuch'i : to adopt, to embrace
  • juukhawa : to claim (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • juun : upper mandible
  • juunduje : to make look good, act good, perform well (derived from the verb: duje)

K

  • k'aidon : kaidon
  • k'e : [Second Person Singular] : you, your
  • k'iis : light
  • k'iisho : luminary
  • k'ung : both
  • k'unjo : others, the rest
  • k'utkho : to fight
  • k'uucho : warrior(s), fighter(s)
  • khaayagha : profit, benefit
  • khawa : to say
  • khebit'a : to have, to possess
  • khech'imo: retrieve, bring, reclaim
  • khekhawa : to respond (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • kheluuga : artifact, relic
  • khis : mongrel
  • khobu : fire (from a weapon), to shoot
    • khobuuya : hold your fire, cease firing
  • khoya : wise
  • khuut'a : brother(s), kin
  • kkhaaya : worthy
    • kkhaayeya : not worthy, hardly worth
  • kkhagadza : affirmative, that's right

L

  • la'ajo : twin, partner, counterpart
  • lakhi : to rise up, to ascend
  • loshkho : to show
    • loloshkho : reveal
  • luk'a : spear
  • luuka : blood

M

  • maaro : to seek, to search
    • maarotan : found
    • q'amaaro : keep looking, continue searching
  • maasa : time, period, length of event
  • maaziit'u : revenge
  • maikhu : tool, device
  • matkha : kill, slay
    • matkhaji : killed, slew
    • matkhaya : do not kill
  • mejaya : get ready, prepare
    • mejayajo : preparing
    • mejayaq'u : get equipped
  • moduje : to lose track of (derived from the verb: duje)
  • mobaat'u : revelation
  • mogha : waves
  • mos : brain, mind
  • mosone : counsel, advice
  • moq'aaji : pious, devout
  • moq'aajo : zealot(s)
  • mu : him/her, himself/herself
  • muuri : [Third Person plural] they, them

N

  • nejo : father(s)
  • ngani : to need, to obtain
  • nizhi : also, in addition, about, as well
  • nujut'u : weakness

O

  • ogha : foot
    • ogha ni : near, close
  • oq'o : great, glorious, noble
  • oq'otu : glory

P

  • p'ikhe : creature, animal
  • pkha : [an auxiliary marking an order]
  • pkhada : stop, halt, cease

Q

  • q’unqi : to worry
  • q'a : but
  • q'ii : dead, death, demising
  • qkhaat'u : holiness
  • qkhado : holy, sacred
  • qkhan : enemy(ies)
  • qkhe : [interjection] oh

R

  • riikhe : as a group, collectively
    • riikhe ni : together, all together
    • riikhe oni : regroup, rally together
    • riikhe zi : among, in company
  • riin : us, we
  • rotkho : flesh, skin, hide
  • ruq'a : fire
  • ruq'ota : to burn
  • ruuk'ina : to attack

S

  • shaadat'u : loyalty
  • shkhoot'u : sign, signal

T

  • t'iis : word
  • t'ighaina : to hear and understand, to read one another (derived from the verb: ghaina)
  • t'ikhawa : to chat, to speak with (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • t'ulu : bone
  • tkha : [Inanimate Third Person] it(s)
    • tkhaari : those, them
    • tkhaas : that
    • tkhazhi : then, and then
  • tkhahan : to finish, to complete
  • tkhet'a : species, people, ilk, kin
  • tkhunga : to send, to deliver
  • tkhungat'u : herald, bearer
  • tkhuyujo : ancients, forerunner(s)
  • tskha : to do
  • ts'uuchaga : yes
  • ts'uutsughaleya : impossible

U

  • uro : claws
  • uutu : evil

W

  • waaka : gift, offering
    • gawaaka : sacrifice
  • waqkhi : to leave, to allow
  • warut'o : go, forward, charge (inspired by wort from the games)
    • q'awarut'o : continue on, onward
  • wele : ship, vessel
  • welekkhosa : retreat

Y

  • yodu : soon

Z

  • zhuro : weapon(s)

Sangheili war chant : The Ballad of Kel 'Darsam

These are only the first eight lines of a lengthier poem.[4]

English Sangheili
Born of woman, fathered by Deity, Kel ‘Darsam was a pillar of piety, Dzana bojo ba, aamu nejo ba, K’elo Daasamu moq’aaji, ch’anaani,
Brave and noble, strong and wise, he sought only justice and no other prize, Dzima ze oq’o, haala ze khoya, gaibaat’u ba q’a bak’ontu maaroji,
He battled with monsters, slew terrible beasts, to make his lands safe and to guarantee peace, Mu o ghashank’o dzuk’uuchi, matkhaji; tkhaati’ni baat’u, dzukhunt’u waqkho’ni,
But jealous were others, who envied his grace, a rival Kaidon sought his rival’s disgrace, Q’a k’unjo’ mu’m ch’apkhaat’u ghamaaziji, K’aidon o mu juutkhoma maaroji,
But a cowardly fighter, disgraced and defeated, took aim at the two as they finally retreated, Q’a juutkhaat’u ba nuju k’uucho o muuri ni welekkhosa ni dzushkhaatan,
Kel ‘Darsam fell, spear in his back, down to the rocks where the waves did crack, Mu ni baan me luk’a o K’elo Daasamu mogha ni gakha oni ts’aatan,
But as Kel was falling, the sun was arising, the first rays of Urs halted ‘Darsam’s demising, K’elo ni ts’aha ni has o ruuekhi tkhazhi Daasamu ba q’ii pkhadatan,
The light found him godly with noble intention, and embraced him as kin and confirmed his ascension. K’iis o aamu ni mu maaroji, tkhazhi tkha o tkhet’a oni mu juuch’iitan.

Sources

  1. ^ Twitter, Kiki Wolfkill (@k_wolfkill): "@CharlieBMurphy literally learned an entire new language and performed beautifully in that language. Unreal. Language created by David Peterson who created Dothraki for GoT #HaloWatchParty" (Retrieved on Mar 25, 2022) [archive]
  2. ^ Twitter, C. Buck (@tlacamazatl): "If you have #ParamountPlus, are a fan of #HaloSeries , and enjoy a good #conlang. You might be interested to know that I helped @Dedalvs develop the language for the Covenant." (Retrieved on Apr 6, 2022) [archive]
  3. ^ Twitter - David J. Peterson
  4. ^ Archive of Our Own - Conlang Dialogue: The Ballad of Kel Darsam