Editing Sangheili (language)/Silver

{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id=bnJ0Y4So_Cc|width=400|right}}
'''Sangheili''' is a constructed language created for the ''[[Halo: The Television Series]]'' co-created by linguist [[Wikipedia:David J. Peterson|David J. Peterson]], known for the Dothraki and Valyrian languages used in ''Game of Thrones'' and the Chakobsa language in ''Dune'' (''Parts 1, 2 & 3''){{Ref/Twitter|k_wolfkill|1507493397807788032|Kiki Wolfkill|Quote=@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|D=25|M=03|Y=2022}}, and language creator Carl Buck.{{Ref/Twitter|tlacamazatl|1506947170490060800|C. Buck|Quote=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.|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}} Nearly three years before the series premiere, both conlangers began jointly developing a fleshed-out version of the fictional [[Sangheili (language)|Sangheili language]] from the ''[[Halo]]'' universe.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://archiveofourown.org/series/2828287|Site=Archive of Our Own|Page=Conlang Dialogue: Halo (Paramount+)|D=17|M=06|Y=2024}} By early [[2022]], Carl Buck estimated they had crafted close to 250 Sangheili words, those being base words and not variations of verbs and nouns. Actress [[Wikipedia:Charlie Murphy (actress)|Charlie Murphy]] learned to speak Sangheili for her role as [[Makee]] on the show and was noted to have done a phenomenal job capturing the emphasis, pitch and pronunciations of the alien language.{{Ref/YouTube|Id=S101|bnJ0Y4So_Cc|Halo The Series|Learn To Speak Sangheili|Y=2023|M=8|D=28}}

Peterson posts transcripts for the words and their translations on his [https://wiki.languageinvention.com/index.php?title=Sangheili_language language wiki], as well as in a series of posts on ''Archive of Our Own'', accessible [https://archiveofourown.org/series/2828287 here]. See also [https://dedalvs.com/work/halo/ David Peterson's records here] and his additional informative [https://www.halopedia.org/Archive:Twitter_-_David_J._Peterson_Sangheili_primer Tweets archived here].

A full list of terms can be found in our [[Halopedia:Projects/Sangheili - English dictionary|Sangheili-English dictionary here]].

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
! colspan="2" | <big>'''Sangheili'''</big>
<span style="font-family:Monospace">'''[san.ɣei.li]'''</span>
|-
! '''Setting'''
| <center>[[Silver Timeline]]</center>
|-
! '''Canonical name'''
| <center>'''Sangheili'''</center>
|-
! '''Aliases'''
| 
* Sangheili language
* Covenant
* Covenant language
* Elite
* Elite language
|-
! '''Language code'''
| <center><span style="font-family:Monospace">sanɡ</span></center>
|-
! '''Ancestors'''
| 
* Proto-Sangheili
|-
! '''Scripts'''
| 
* Latin
|-
! '''Alignment'''
| <center>ergative-absolutive</center>
|-
! '''Head direction'''
| <center>head-final</center>
|}

==Videos==
{{#widget:YouTube|id=KeaMkA2nLFY|width=300|inline}} {{#widget:YouTube|id=7lRdXjv8H7s|width=300|inline}} {{#widget:YouTube|id=LUt782jb_zM|width=300|inline}}

==About==
During the development of Paramount+'s ''Halo'' adaptation, [[343 Industries]] consulted with language expert David Peterson to examine the Elites' mandibles and facial structure and then produce a more robust and complete Sangheili language that reflected their actual physiology. Peterson, in turn, reached out to the conlanging community and recruited military veteran Carl Buck to assist in creating the Sangheili language that would be utilized among the species of the [[Covenant]].{{Ref/Site|Id=Debrief|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/silver-debrief-unmasked|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Silver Debrief: Unmasked|D=12|M=3|Y=2024}}{{Ref/YouTube|Id=YTpod|aXwFu792B6s|Conlangery|Carl Buck on Conlanging for Halo|Y=2024|M=6|D=11}}

The creative choices in the language's phonology were guided by the producers and showrunners who desired Sangheili to sound alien and have a word structure similar to Japanese. Working with those parameters, Buck and Peterson infused various concepts of warrior culture into the language, ensuring it reflected the species' martial ethos. One such example is the Sangheili salutation ''"Hait'u ga k'utkho"'', a greeting and parting phrase which translates to "Fight with strength / Fight well."{{Ref/Reuse|Id=YTpod}}

{{Listen|title=Carl Buck - "Wort, wort, wort!"
|filename=HTVlang_Wort.mp3
}} 
Building on the cultural aspects of the Sangheili race, Peterson and Buck also incorporated metaphorical elements pertaining to the species' distinct physical features and their reptile-like ancestry. They integrated the aliens' unique hinged mandibles into the grammar to convey different levels of certainty. Within the mindset of the Sangheili, utilizing their upper mandible signifies certainty, while using their lower mandible expresses uncertainty.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=YTpod}}

The language they devised for the series drew minimally from past ''Halo'' material and video games as previous dialogue crafted for Covenant speak was primarily gibberish.{{Ref/Site|Id=Imeimei|URL=https://dedalvs.tumblr.com/post/741879670666100736/re-inspiration-not-really-it-was-all-gibberish|Site=Tumblr|Page=Dedalvs|Quote=Inspiration, not really. It was all gibberish. Specifically, for the later games, they’d just throw the lines into Google Translate, translate them to Japanese, reverse them, and have the voice actors read it. This is rather common for video games.|D=12|M=3|Y=2024}} For instance the word "''domo''" for "human" and the negative "''eya''" come directly from the latter games. The games' famous word "''wort''" for "go" did not fit phonologically and was altered to "''warut'o.''"

==Overview==
Sangheili, the language featured in the show, is an [[Wikipedia:Ergative–absolutive alignment|ergative-absolutive language]] spoken by the [[Sangheili]] warrior race, commonly referred to as Elites, as well as generally inside the [[Covenant]], an alien alliance that worships the Halo Array. It is a lightly inflectional head-final language with distinctive vowel length and ejectives. The language has some case-like postpositions, with no agreement.

In the tradition of his other constructed languages, Peterson crafted the language by laying the groundwork with a proto-language known as Proto-Sangheili. This ancient Elite language evolved organically, undergoing both phonological and grammatical changes, eventually giving rise to the modern Sangheili language spoken within the Covenant empire.

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]

==Basic Sangheili Primer==
<gallery>
File:HTV Basic Sangheili Primer page 1.jpg
File:HTV Basic Sangheili Primer page 2.jpg
</gallery>

== Standard Romanization ==
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5"
|-
! Letter
! IPA
! English example
! Notes
|-
| '''a'''
| a
| f'''a'''ther
| 
|-
| '''aa'''
| aː
| like '''a''', but longer
| 
|-
| '''ai'''
| ai
| sk'''y'''
| 
|-
| '''au'''
| au
| h'''ow'''
| 
|-
| '''b'''
| b
| '''b'''ad
|
|-
| '''ch'''
| tʃ
| mat'''ch'''
|
|-
| '''ch''''
| tʃ'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
|-
| '''chkh'''
| tʃˣ
| —
| Like '''ch''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''d'''
| d
| '''d'''ie
|
|-
| '''dz'''
| dz
| ki'''ds'''
| Pronounced as such even at the beginning of a word.
|-
| '''e'''
| e
| g'''e'''t
| Always pronounced like the '''e''' in ''get''.
|-
| '''g'''
| ɡ
| '''g'''oat
| Never pronounced like the '''g''' in ''genius''.
|-
| '''gh'''
| ɣ
| fue'''g'''o (spanish)
| Pronounced like the French '''r''' in ''rouge'' (the harsher pronunciation; not trilled).
|-
| '''h'''
| h
| '''h'''op
|
|-
| '''i'''
| i
| mach'''i'''ne
| 
|-
| '''ii'''
| iː
| like '''i''', but longer
| 
|-
| '''j'''
| dʒ
| '''j'''am
| 
|-
| '''k'''
| k
| s'''k'''y
| Never aspirated.
|-
| '''k''''
| k'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
|-
| '''kh'''
| x~χ
| ble'''ch'''!
| Like German '''ch''' in Bu'''ch'''.
|-
| '''kkh'''
| kˣ
| —
| Like '''k''', but released very slowly with strong frication.
|-
| '''l'''
| l
| '''l'''ove
| 
|-
| '''m'''
| m
| '''m'''atter
|
|-
| '''n'''
| n
| '''n'''ever
| Has the allophones [ɲ] (o'''ni'''on) before a palatal consonant and [ɴ] (like si'''ng''', but further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula) before a uvular consonant.
|-
| '''ng'''
| ŋ
| si'''ng'''
| Can occur at the beginning of a word.
|-
| '''o'''
| o
| t'''o'''te
| 
|-
| '''p'''
| p
| s'''p'''ike
| Never aspirated.
|-
| '''p''''
| p'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
|-
| '''pkh'''
| pˣ
| —
| Like '''p''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''q'''
| q
| —
| Like a '''k''', but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula.
|-
| '''q''''
| q'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound. 
|-
| '''qkh'''
| qˣ
| —
| Like '''q''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''r'''
| ɾ
| pe'''r'''o (spanish)
| Nearly identical to the '''t''' or '''d''' sound in English ''matador'' when pronounced quickly.
|-
| '''s'''
| s
| '''s'''ad
| 
|-
| '''sh'''
| ʃ
| '''sh'''ack
| 
|-
| '''shkh'''
| ʃˣ
| —
| Like '''sh''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''skh'''
| sˣ
| —
| Like '''s''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''t'''
| t
| s'''t'''ake
| Never aspirated.
|-
| '''t''''
| t'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
|-
| '''tkh'''
| tˣ
| —
| Like '''t''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''ts'''
| ts
| cu'''ts'''
|
|-
| '''ts''''
| ts'
| —
| Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
|-
| '''tskh'''
| tsˣ
| —
| Like '''ts''', but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
|-
| '''u'''
| u
| r'''u'''minate
| 
|-
| '''uu'''
| uː
| like '''u''', but longer
| 
|-
| '''w'''
| ɰ
| '''w'''agon
| Almost like wet, but with one's lips unrounded.
|-
| '''y'''
| j
| '''y'''oung
| Never occurs as a vowel.
|-
| '''z'''
| z
| '''z'''ebra
| 
|-
| '''zh'''
| ʒ
| a'''z'''ure, mea'''s'''ure
| 
|-
| ''' ' '''
| ʔ
| uh'''-'''oh
| Unwritten word-initially.
|}

==Phonetics==
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Sangheili consonants
|-
!  !! Labial !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Uvular !! Glottal
|-align="center"
! Stops
| (p), b, p′<br><br>'''p, b, p′'''|| (t), d, t′<br><br>'''t, d, t′'''|| || (k), g, k′<br><br>'''k, g, k′'''|| (q), q′, *ɢ<br><br>'''q, q′''' || ʔ<br><br> '''′'''
|-align="center"
! Affricates 
| p<sup>x</sup> <br><br>'''pkh''' || t<sup>x</sup>, (ts), ts<sup>x</sup>, dz, ts′ <br><br> '''tkh, ts, tskh, dz, ts′'''|| (tʃ, tʃ<sup>x</sup>, dʒ, tʃ′) <br><br> '''ch, chkh, j, ch′''' || k<sup>x</sup> <br><br> '''kkh''' || q<sup>x</sup> <br><br>'''qkh''' ||
|-align="center"
! Fricatives
|  || s, s<sup>x</sup>, z <br><br> '''s, skh, z''' || (ʃ, ʃ<sup>x</sup>, ʒ) <br><br> '''sh, shkh, zh''' || colspan=2 | x<sup>~</sup>χ, ɣ<sup>~</sup>ʁ <br><br> '''kh, gh''' || h <br><br>'''h'''
|-align="center"
! Approximants
|  || l, ɾ <br><br>'''l, r''' || j <br><br>'''y''' || ɰ <br><br>'''w''' || ||
|-align="center"
! Nasals
| m <br><br>'''m''' || n <br><br>'''n''' || (ɲ) <br><br>'''n''' || ŋ <br><br>'''ng''' || (ɴ) <br><br>'''n''' ||
|}
</div>

<div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top; margin-left:4em;">
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Sangheili vowels
! style="width:4em;" |  !! style="width:4em;" | Front !! style="width:4em;" | Central !! style="width:4em;" | Back
|-align="center"
! High
| i, iː <br><br> '''i, ii''' || || u, uː <br><br> '''u, uu'''
|-align="center"
! Mid
| (e) <br><br> '''e''' || || (o) <br><br> '''o'''
|-align="center"
! Low
| || a, aː <br><br> '''a, aa''' ||
|}
</div>

===Phoneme inventory===
* Sangheili has 40 consonants.
* Sangheili has 5 vowels, the 2 mid ones are always short, but the other 3 may be short or long. Long vowels are indicated by doubling the vowel symbol.

===Phonotactic & Historical Notes===
* Most of Sangheili's syllables are open, only three codas are allowed: '''n''', '''ng''' and '''s'''. Syllables must start with one and only one consonant, and consonant clusters tend to be deleted word-medially, causing compensatory lengthening of the previous vowel.
* Diphthongs: There are 6 diphthongs, '''yu''' [ju], '''ya''' [ja], '''wi''' [ɰi], '''wa'''  [ɰa], '''ai''' and '''au''', the latter 2 mainly occur due to affixation and reduplication.
* Proto-Sangheili also had a phonemic /ɢ/, which merged with /ɣ/. The consonants with a velar release were aspirated in Proto-Sangheili.
* Arabic Vowels (i.e. ai > e)
* Sequences of ejectives are not allowed, when one occurs, the second ejective is deglottalized. Most plain voiceless stops and affricates are just deglottalized allophones of ejectives, but they are phonemic in some affixes.
* Certain sounds that are found in proper names among the Sangheili, which are not part of Sangheili phonology, are treated as approximations resulting from human attempts at Latinizing these names. Because there are no [f], [θ], or [v] sounds in the Sangheili language, names like [[Thel 'Vadamee]], [[Var 'Gatanai]], and [[Fal 'Chavamee]] are English approximations of ''T'elo Badami'', ''Baro Gat'anai'', and ''P'alo Chabami'', respectively.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://archiveofourown.org/works/37951303/chapters/105183123#workskin|Site=Archive of Our Own|Page=Conlang Dialogue: Chapter 6|D=17|M=06|Y=2024}}{{Ref/Twitter|Dedalvs|1511104056244154368|David J. Peterson|Quote=P and T. Wasn’t too concerned. After all, München becomes Munich in English; Köln Cologne, etc.|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}}{{Ref/Twitter|Dedalvs|1511105091167670274|David J. Peterson|Quote=B, I’m that case.|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}}

===Stress===
Stress falls on the penultimate syllable if it is heavier than the antepenultimate, otherwise it falls on the antepenultimate. Secondary stress is placed on every other syllable radiating outward from the syllable with main stress. The final syllable never attracts stress, regardless of length.

==Proposed Sangheili orthography==
The Covenant script featured very briefly in the show consists of triangular glyphs, visuals directly taken from the Halo franchise, yet remains nonsensical. Early into their project, David J. Peterson and Carl Buck proposed the creation of a writing script for the series, presenting a crafted sample that envisions a cohesive Sangheili writing system to complement the language they developed. Their conceptualization involved acknowledging the unique phonetics of Sangheili and led them to design an [[Wikipedia:Abugida|abugida]], a script centered around syllables as the foundational unit, similar to [[Wikipedia:Tibetan script|Tibetan script]].{{Ref/Reuse|Id=YTpod}} Each syllabic glyph would contain a base consonant with the potential for vowel modifications and additional diacritics to indicate coda consonants when necessary.

The initial writing system Carl Buck designed was intended to look as though it could be scratched out by the Elites' claws. It was later refined to appear more technical, featuring two distinct styles: one brush style and another resembling a digital typed script. However, the showrunners of the series declined their proposal for a new functional script.{{Ref/YouTube|Id=AtoZ|LzdZELhQggs|Neography A to Z|Halo Script Review|Y=2025|M=9|D=13}}

<gallery>
File:HTV Sangheili Font sample A.jpg
File:HTV Sangheili Font sample B.jpg
</gallery>

==Grammar and Morphology==
===<u>Syntax</u>===
Sangheili generally follows SOV (subject-object-verb) word order akin to Japanese and Latin:

::'''<u>K'uucho o</u> <sub>1</sub> domo <sub>2</sub> ruuk'inatan <sub>3</sub>''' — ''"<u>the warrior</u> <sub>1</sub> attacked <sub>3</sub> the human <sub>2</sub>"''

In content questions, question words appear in situ (the default or expected position within a sentence):

::'''K'e o <u>gha</u> ts'aachi?''' — ''"<u>what</u> have you done?"''

Subjects of transitive verbs are marked by the postposition ''"o"'', while subjects of intransitive verbs and objects of transitive verbs remain unmarked.

::'''<u>K'uucho o</u> domo ruuk'inatan''' — ''"<u>the warrior</u> attacked the human"''
:::*K'uucho is followed by ''o'' because it's the warrior that caused the attack on the human. Domo, the recipient in the sentence, gets no mark.

::'''<u>K'uucho</u> mejayatan''' — ''"<u>the warrior</u> is ready"''
:::*K'uucho is unmarked because there is no direct object affected by the warrior's action of getting prepared.

Nouns are preceded by adjectives, possessors, and relative clauses, while main clauses come after dependent clauses. Creating relative clauses is achieved by positioning their verb before the noun or relative pronoun they modify.

::'''K'aidon k'uucho o domo ruuk'inatan''' — ''"the kaidon warrior attacked the human"''

:→ '''Domo <u>ruuk'inatan</u> k'uucho''' — ''"the warrior <u>who attacked</u> the human"''

:→ '''K'uucho o <u>ruuk'inatan</u> domo''' — ''"the human <u>whom</u> the warrior <u>attacked</u>"''

===<u>Head-directionality</u>===
Sangheili is a head-final language, meaning everything comes first while the main head verb (the most important component of a phrase that determines the type of phrase) is relegated to the very end, hence ''head-final''.

:English:

::'''<u>I won't let</u> you take the holy relic.'''

:English (''head-final''):

::'''You holy relic take <u>I will-not-allow</u>.'''

:Sangheili:

::'''K'e o qkhado kheluuga ch'imo <u>jan o t'iswaqkhijaga</u>.'''

===<u>Pronouns</u>===
Sangheili has an inclusive / exclusive distinction in its first-person plural pronouns for "we, us" ("Riin" for  <u>''you and us''</u> and "Jaari" for  <u>''us and not you''</u>).  The Sangheili language also recognizes both animate and inanimate entities, but the third-person singular pronoun "Mu" makes no gender distinction between "he" (masculine) and "she" (feminine), acting neutral as "it, itself, they". 
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2 | Personal pronouns !! rowspan=2 | Singular !! colspan=2 | Plural
|-align="center"
! Inclusive !! Exclusive
|-align="center"
! First Person
| jan || riin || jaari
|-align="center"
! Second Person
| k'e || colspan=2 | k'iri
|-align="center"
! Third Person Animate
| mu || colspan=2 | muuri
|-align="center"
! Third Person Inanimate
| tkha || colspan=2 | tkhaari
|}

===<u>Noun derivations</u>===
Nouns, as well as verbs, have a series of affixes that produce groups of related or semi-related words that help to differentiate many nuances of meanings.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ ''akhe'' (*akhai) "hand"; ''khuut'a'' (*khuut'a) "brood mate"; ''dzuro'' (*dzurau) "circumstance"
|-
! Noun > Noun
! Vowel-Initial
! Consonant-Initial (Voiceless)
! Consonant-Initial (Voiced)
|-
! Diminutive<br><span style="color:cyan"><i>ba(gh)-</i></span>
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>bagh</i></span>akhe''
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>ba</i></span>khuut'a''
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>ba</i></span>dzuro''
|-
! Augmentative<br><span style="color:cyan"><i>ch'an-</i></span>
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>ch'an</i></span>akhe''
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>ch'angh</i></span>uut'a''
| ''<span style="color:cyan"><i>ch'an</i></span>dzuro''
|-
! Place<br><span style="color:cyan"><i>-di</i></span>
| ''akhe<span style="color:cyan"><i>di</i></span>''
| ''khuut'a<span style="color:cyan"><i>di</i></span>''
| ''dzuro<span style="color:cyan"><i>di</i></span>''
|-
! Collective<br><span style="color:cyan"><i>-ri</i></span>
| ''akhe<span style="color:cyan"><i>ri</i></span>''
| ''khuut'a<span style="color:cyan"><i>ri</i></span>''
| ''dzuro<span style="color:cyan"><i>ri</i></span>''
|}

===<u>Case Particles / Postpositions</u>===
These case particles are placed after a noun to indicate the role they play in a sentence. The ergative and absolutive are grammatical. The vocative case is used for direct address, while the rest pertain to locative functions. Nouns in Sangheili otherwise do not change form to indicate their grammatical role.{{Ref/Twitter|Dedalvs|1511090947278311427|David J. Peterson|Quote=Cases are, in this case, little tags that let you know what role a noun plays in the sentence. Ergative and absolutive are grammatical; vocative is for direct address; the rest are locative. I’ll explain these.|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Type !! Particle !! Use
|-style="text-align: center
! Absolutive
| - 
| - 
|-style="text-align: center
! Ablative
| ga 
| Indicates movement from a source or starting point of an action. This particle expresses the idea of "away (from)" or "of."
|-style="text-align: center
! Adessive
| ni
| Indicates the location or position of an object or a person in relation to another object or place. It expresses the notions of "near, by, at, on, with, or upon."
|-style="text-align: center
! Allative
| oni
| Indicates movement toward a location, destination, or recipient of an action. This particle expresses the ideas of "to, onto, at, for, or of."
|-style="text-align: center
! Elative
| ba
| Indicates a separation or departure from a place or a starting point. This particle expresses the idea of "out of" or "from."
|-style="text-align: center
!Ergative
| o
| Used after a noun to mark it as the subject of a transitive verb (a verb that can accept one or more objects).
|-style="text-align: center
!Illative
| zhi
| Indicates direction or movement toward a location or place. It expresses the idea of "into" or "onto."
|-style="text-align: center
!Inessive
|me
| Indicates being in a certain place or object. It expresses the ideas of "in, inside, within, or along side."
|-style="text-align: center
!Vocative
| ghu
| Used to address or gain someone's attention directly. "Hey, Oh, ''O ye''..."
|}
[[File:Sangheili conlang cases.png|thumb|350px|Sangheili has six locative cases, identical to the Finnish and Estonian languages.]]
The locative cases are analogous to the following English prepositions{{Ref/Twitter|Dedalvs|1511092864859602944|David J. Peterson|Quote=The locative cases are analogous to the following English prepositions: Ablative: wele ga “from the ship” Adessive: wele ni “on the ship” Allative: wele oni “to the ship” Elative: wele ba “out of the ship” Illative: wele zhi “into the ship” Inessive: wele me “in the ship"|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}}:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Locative Case !! Example !! Translation !! Example Sentences
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! Ga
| wele ga 
| from the ship, away from the ship
| K'uucho wele ga jayatan.  (''The warriors came from the ship.'')
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! Ni
| wele ni 
| by the ship, on the ship
| K'uucho welegoja ni ts'aha.  (''The warriors are on the bridge.'')
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! Oni
| wele oni 
| onto the ship, toward the ship
| Wele oni warut'o!  (''Go to the ship!'')
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! Ba
| wele ba 
| out of the ship
| K'uucho wele ba jayatan.  (''The warrior came out of the ship.'')
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! Zhi
| wele zhi 
| into the ship
| K'uucho wele zhi waruutan.  (''The warrior went into the ship.'')
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! Me
| wele me 
| inside the ship, within the ship
| K'uucho wele me ts'aha.  (''The warriors are in the ship.'')
|}

In contrast to English, which has dedicated possessive pronouns ("mine," "your," "his," "her," "ours") and a possessive ('s), Sangheili lacks dedicated possessive cases for nouns, instead using other cases for possession depending on the nature of the possessive relationship.{{Ref/Twitter|Dedalvs|1511093172432109568|David J. Peterson|Quote=Those familiar with cases may notice there are no possessive cases. This is because one uses various of the other cases for possession depending on the nature of the possessive relationship.|D=6|M=04|Y=2022}}

''Examples'':

*''K'uucho <span style="color:yellow">oni</span></div> zhuro'' - would be “the warrior’s weapon” or better yet "the weapon <span style="color:yellow">TO</span></div> the warrior". This would presumably mean the weapon is one the warrior owns.

*''K'uucho <span style="color:yellow">ni</span></div> zhuro'' - would also be “the warrior’s weapon” or better yet "the weapon <span style="color:yellow">ON</span></div> the warrior". This would imply the weapon nearby is one the warrior just picked up or happened to have.

*''K'uucho <span style="color:yellow">on