Real World

Sangheili (language)/Silver

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

Sangheili is a constructed language created for the Halo: The Television Series co-created by linguists David J. Peterson, creator of the Dothraki language used in Game of Thrones,[1] and Carl Buck.[2] Both conlangers began jointly developing the Sangheili language nearly three years prior to the series premiere.[3] 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 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.[4]

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 and his additional informative Tweets archived 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]

Basic Sangheili Primer

Phonology

Sangheili consonant phonemes
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Stops (p), b, p′

p, b, p′
(t), d, t′

t, d, t′
(k), g, k′

k, g, k′
(q), q′, *ɢ

q, q′
ʔ

Affricates px

pkh
tx, (ts), tsx, dz, ts′

tkh, ts, tskh, dz, ts′
(tʃ, tʃx, dʒ, tʃ′)

ch, chkh, j, ch′
kx

kkh
qx

qkh
Fricatives s, sx, z

s, skh, z
(ʃ, ʃx, ʒ)

sh, shkh, zh
x~χ, ɣ~ʁ

kh, gh
h

h
Approximants l, ɾ

l, r
j

y
ɰ

w
Nasals m

m
n

n
ɲ

n
ɳ

ng
ɴ

n
Sangheili vowel phonemes
Front Central Back
High i, iː

I, ii
u, uː

u, uu
Mid (e)

e
(o)

o
Low a, aː

a, aa
  • 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 language, names like Thel 'Vadamee and Fal 'Chavamee are English approximations of T'elo Badami and P'alo Chabami, respectively, in Sangheili.

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 case particles are placed after an noun. The ergative and absolutive are grammatical. The vocative case is used for direct address, while the rest pertain to locative functions.

Type Particle Use
Absolutive - -
Ablative ga Indicates movement from a source or starting point of an action. This particle expresses the idea of "away (from)" or "of."
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."
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."
Elative ba Indicates a separation or departure from a place or a starting point. This particle expresses the idea of "out of" or "from."
Ergative o Used after a noun to mark it as the subject of a transitive verb.
Illative zhi Indicates direction or movement toward a location or place. It expresses the idea of "into" or "onto."
Inessive me Indicates being in a certain place or object. It expresses the ideas of "inside, within, or along side."
Vocative ghu Used to address or gain someone's attention directly. "Hey, Oh, O ye..."

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"[5]

Verb Tenses

Sangheili has 8 tenses, but the meanings of those tenses vary depending on whether the verb is stative or dynamic.

Verb Tenses Dynamic Verbs Stative Verbs Suffix
Bare Imperative

(An action is issued as a command or order)
Present

(A state or condition is provided as a fact or general truth)
None (---)
Reduplicative Imperfect

(An action is ongoing or continuous)
Emphatic

(A state or condition is emphasized)
Varies
Inceptive Inceptive

(An action has begun)
Inchoative

(A state or condition is beginning)
-(i)khi
Completive Perfect

(An action has concluded)
Cessive

(A state or condition has ended)
-(i)tan
Declarative Present

(An action is occurring)
Probabilitive

(A state or condition holds an element of probability)
-(i)jo (irregular -cho)
Witnessed Emphatic

(A witnessed action is emphasized)
Past

(A past state or condition is referred)
-(i)ji (irregular -chi)
Overheard Uncertain

(An action has an element of uncertainty)
Possibilitive

(A state or condition carries past uncertain possibilities)
-(i)jen (irregular -chen)
Prospective Future

(An action will come in the future)
Future

(A state or condition will occur later)
-(i)jaga (irregular -chaga)


Sangheili Negation and Question forms:

Dynamic Stative Suffix
Negative Reverse action Contrary state -eya
Yes or No Question - - -jahe[6] (irregular -chahe) and is attached to a reduced set of 4 tenses: Bare, Reduplicative, Inceptive, and Completive.

Demonstratives

Adjective Singular Plural Adverb
Proximal (near the speaker) ne - this ine - this niri - these nis - here
Medial (neither near nor far) zo - that uzo - that zuri - those zus - there
Distal (far from the speaker) tkha - it, that (there) athka - that (over there) tkhaari - those (over there) tkhaas - over there, yonder
Unknown (indicating uncertainty) ba aba baari baas
Negative (indicating absence) ii - not, none ngajo - no one, nobody ngamaas - nowhere

Sangheili lines by David Peterson

* Denotes a word's spelling has not been confirmed.

Samples
Jan David *ngitkha. My name is David.[4]
*Haait'u ga k'utkho! From strength, fight! or Fight with strength! (Used by Sangheili as both a greeting and a farewell.)[4]
Jan o moa ba ngani rotkho *p'onji. I will eat a moa burger. or I will eat moa flesh.[4]
Ch'inji, k'utkho ba kkhosa k'entan ch'anoq'o sangheli et'ojo T'elo Badami oni. Taken, from a sangheili swordsman of great nobility named Thel 'Vadamee who chose to flee rather than fight.
Q'iitu. Et'o zwari. Maasa gwiri k'e o jan ni changongo oni jayatan. Mercy. Welcome. It's been a long time since you've visited my chambers.

Sangheili war chant : The Ballad of Kel 'Darsam

A poem was crafted for the series inspired by the Ballad of Kel 'Darsam in Joseph Staten's short novel, Halo: Shadow of Intent. In the show, this ballad is sung as a Sangheili war chant.[7] These are only the first eight lines of a lengthier poem.[8]

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.

Vocabulary

Transcribed words

The following words were transcribed phonetically and showcased in Episode 4 of the TV series.

  • [qˣe.p'os] - "qkhep'os" : needler
  • [saŋ.'ɣe.li.sˣu] - "sangheliskhu" : Sanghelios
  • [saŋ.ɣe.li] - "sangheli" : Sangheili
  • [xo.bu] - "khobu" : shoot
  • [ki:.'gia:.ra] - "kiigiaara" : Kig-Yar
  • [ɣa.ˈʃaŋ.k'o.] - "ghashank'o" : demon
  • [o.' q'o.ga.xa] : "oq'ogakha" : Keystone
  • [tʃ'aŋ.'ga.go.mo] - "ch'anggagomo" : Halo
  • [tʃ'aŋ.go.no] - "ch'anggono" : shield
  • [sˣu.tʃo] - "skhucho" : Down
  • [do.tʃo] - "docho" : Up

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 : Prophet of 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 : (v.) to promise something to someone, to hold in reserve or specially something for someone (derived from the verb: bit'a)
    • bambit'agha : promise
  • banghaina : (v.) to sense, to pick up on (derived from the verb: ghaina)
  • bank'utkho : (v.) to defend, to resist (derived from k'utkho, bank'utkho literally means "to fight with the back" and by metaph. extension, "to fight back")
  • bekkhajo : creature, animal
  • bit'a : (v.) to bear, to carry, to hold
  • bojo : mother(s)

C

  • ch'aamosik'o : (v.) to better understand, to comprehend (derived from the verb: mosik'o)
  • ch'ana : (v.) to read
  • ch'anaani : pillar
  • ch'anghutkho : combat, skirmish
  • ch'anik'o : (v.) to see
    • ch'anik'otan : saw
    • ch'anik'oji : seen
  • ch'anoq'o : great nobility
  • ch'anu : head
  • ch'apkhaat'u : grace
  • ch'imo : (v.) to take, to get, to gather, to collect
  • ch'in : (v.) to take, to seize (ch'in literally means stab ~ stabbing)
  • chkhan : all, whole, endless
    • chkhan ba : all by
    • chkhan ni : over all

D

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

E

  • et'ojo : swordsman(men)
  • eya : no, or to negate something (if added at end of a verb)

G

  • gadi : lower mandible
  • gaibaat'u : fortune, riches
  • gaiduje : (v.) to sully, to dirty, to pollute (derived from the verb: duje)
  • gaikhawa : (v.) to guess, to predict (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • gakha : rocks, stones
  • ghaadi : where, in what place or position (See also: diibe)
  • ghaazhi : [causal conjunction] (Because..., So..., For..., And if..., When...)
  • ghaina : (v.) to hear
  • ghajaya : (v.) to return, to come back
  • ghamaaziit'u : jealousy
  • ghaq'aaga : map
  • ghashango : (v.) to accompany, to follow to join
  • ghashank'o : demon, monster
    • baghashank'o : little demon
  • ghunu : (v.) to destroy
  • guulo : master(s)

H

  • haala : strong
    • haali : stronger
  • hira : bless, praise
  • hodu : wait, pause
  • hunt'u : radiation, radiance

I

  • iiku : (v.) to know (information), to be familiar with
  • ik'o : eye(s)
  • ikhi : now, presently
    • ikhi ga : right now, right away
    • ikhi jaya : come quickly, come now
    • ikhi baazhi : previously

J

  • jaja : perhaps
  • jan : [First Person Singular] : I, me
  • jaya : (v.) to come, to arrive
    • jayaleya : can not arrive
    • jayatan : arrived
    • ruujaya : come quickly
  • juq'u : to join, unite
  • juuch'in : (v.) to accept, to adopt, to embrace (derived from the verb: ch'in)
  • juukhawa : (v.) to claim (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • juun : upper mandible
  • juunduje : (v.) to make look good, act good, perform well (derived from the verb: duje)
  • juutkhaat'u : defeat

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 : (v.) to fight
  • k'uucho : warrior(s), fighter(s)
  • khaayagha : profit, benefit
  • khaayajo : someone of worth, value, or importance
  • khawa : (v.) to say
  • khebit'a : (v.) to have, to possess, to retain (derived from the verb: bit'a)
  • khech'imo: (v.) to retrieve, to get and bring back, to reclaim (derived from the verb: ch'imo)
  • khekhawa : (v.) to respond (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • kheluuga : artifact, relic
  • khis : mongrel
  • khobu : (v.) to fire (from a weapon), to shoot
    • khobuuya : hold fire, cease firing
  • khoya : wise
  • khuut'a : brother(s), kin
  • kkhaaya : (v.) to be worthy of
    • kkhaayeya : not worthy, hardly worth
  • kkhagadza : correct, affirmative, that's right
  • kkhosa : (v.) to flee

L

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

M

  • maaro : (v.) to find, to look for, to seek
    • maarotan : found
    • q'amaaro : keep looking, continue looking
  • maasa : time, period, length of event
  • maaziit'u : revenge
  • maikhu : tool, device
  • matkha : (v.) to kill, to slay
    • matkhaji : killed, slew
    • matkhaya : do not kill
  • mech'imo : (v.) to take with, to bring, to obtain (derived from the verb: ch'imo)
  • mech'in : (v.) to cut
  • mejaya : (v.) to prepare, to get ready
    • mejayajo : preparing
    • mejayaq'u : get equipped
  • moduje : (v.) to lose track of (derived from the verb: duje)
  • mobaat'u : revelation
  • mobit'a : (v.) to recall, to remember, to think back on/to (derived from the verb: bit'a)
  • mogha : waves, surge
  • moq'aa : (v.) to be pious
    • moq'aaji : pious, devout
  • moq'aajo : zealot(s)
  • mos : brain, mind
    • me mos ba : like, as, just as
  • mosik'o : (v.) to think, to understand
    • mosik'weya : do not understand
  • mosone : counsel, advice
  • mot'onguut'u : vindication
  • mu : him/her, himself/herself
  • muuri : [Third Person plural] they, them

N

  • nasa : bit much, much too, far too
  • nejo : father(s)
  • ngajo : nobody, no one
  • ngani : need to, must, will
  • nizhi : also, in addition, about, as well
  • nuju : weak, cowardly
  • 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 used for emphasis or to convey a sense of urgency]
  • pkhada : (v.) to stop, to halt, to cease

Q

  • q'unqa : (v.) to forget, to forgive
    • q'unqijaga : will forget
  • 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'echkha : (v.) to burn, to shine, to illuminate
  • ruq'ota : (v.) to burn, to scorch
  • ruuk'ina : (v.) to attack
  • ruut'sag : (v.) to light, to kindle, to ignite

S

  • shaadat'u : loyalty
  • shkhoot'u : sign, signal
  • satkha : (v.) to be certain, to be sure

T

  • t'iis : word
  • t'ighaina : (v.) to hear and understand, to read one another (derived from the verb: ghaina)
  • t'ikhawa : (v.) to speak, to chat (derived from the verb: khawa)
  • t'isqukho : (v.) to let go, to let loose, to set loose
  • t'iswaqkho : (v.) to permit, to allow, to sanction (derived from the verb: waqkho)
  • t'ulu : bone
  • tkha : [Inanimate Third Person] it(s)
    • tkhaari : those, them
    • tkhaas : that
    • tkhazhi : then, and then
  • tkhahan : (v.) to finish, to conclude
  • tkhet'a : species, people, kin, nest
  • tkhunga : (v.) to send, to deliver
  • tkhungat'u : herald, bearer
  • tkhuyujo : ancients, forerunner(s)
  • tonguu : (v.) to meet
  • ts'ukho : (v.) to be
    • ts'uutsukho : (reduplication) : (v.) to be emphatically true
    • ts'ukhi : come to be, turn out to be, was
  • ts'uuchaga : yes, will be, shall be
  • ts'uutsughaleya : impossible, cannot be possible
  • tskha : to do

U

  • uro : claws
  • uuri : very much, nearly, fairly, quite
  • uutu : evil

W

  • waaka : gift, offering
    • gawaaka : sacrifice
  • waqkho : (v.) to give, to grant, to offer
  • warut'o : go, forward, charge (inspired by wort from the games)
    • q'awarut'o : continue on, onward
  • wele : ship, vessel
  • welekkhosa : (v.) to retreat (derived from the verb: kkhosa)

Y

  • yodu : soon

Z

  • zhuro : weapon(s)

Uncertain Vocabulary

The following words do not appear frequently in Peterson's translations.

  • banechkha : (v.) to release, to let go of
  • bap'umo : source, origin
  • dunga : world
  • gazhumaaka : alert
  • has : sun
  • kkhago : ring
  • lushkho : star
  • nga : nothing
  • ngitkhagha : controls
  • p'umo : start, beginning
  • res : to die
  • ruubaabaacho : intruder(s)
  • zhaan : day

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. ^ Archive of Our Own - Conlang Dialogue: Halo (Paramount+)
  4. ^ a b c d YouTube - Halo The Series, Learn To Speak Sangheili (Retrieved on Aug 28, 2023)
  5. ^ Twitter, David J. Peterson (@Dedalvs): "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"" (Retrieved on Apr 6, 2022) [archive]
  6. ^ Twitter - David J. Peterson
  7. ^ Halo Waypoint, Silver Debrief: Transcendence (Retrieved on Aug 22, 2023) [archive]
  8. ^ Archive of Our Own - Conlang Dialogue: The Ballad of Kel Darsam