Andorian/Graalen

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Andorians

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The Andorians speak a unified language known as Graalen.

Origins of Graalen

It is believed that because they can sense subtle variations in pitch and vibration that Andorian speech is soft and sibilant. This is also believed to be partially due to their language originating from music and partially due to their hearing being different from other races. This theory is lent support by the fact that as a culture Andorians have a great interest in music.

Pronunciation Notes

In most Andorian words, emphasis is usually on the second to last syllable. As dual consanants (such as in tlaal meaning “management” or “government”) often appear at the beginning of words, a type of partial vowel is sometimes added when speaking outloud (like an implied pause, light grunt or glottal-stop). Thus tlaal would be pronounced utlaal, with the “u” being very slight and quick

Examples

Handwritten Graalen.

Below is an example of Graalen, showing the ways in which the four genders are referred to in various situations and through varying levels of politeness.

Apparent Sex	Gender	Polite form of Address	Bondmate Endearment	Parental Name	Offspring Name	Sibling	Parent by Marriage	Child by Marriage
She	Zhen	Zha	Zh'yi	Zhavey	Zhei	Zhi	Zhadi	Zhri'za
She	Shen	Sha	Sh'za	Shreva	Shei	Shi	Shidei	Shri'za
He	Chan	Cha	Ch'te	Charan	Chei	Chi	Chada	Chri'ze
He	Thaan	Tha	Th'se	Thavan	Thei	Thi	Thadu	Thri'ze

Examples taken from the table above include the Andorian equivalents to the Federation Standard "sister", being shi or zhi, depending on gender, and the equivalents for "father" being charan and thavan.

Nouns

• Atlirith: Andorian eagle
• Hybor: small Andorian mammal, similar to a rabbit
• Shla’hlast: baby, infant; literally “the outcome of love: a living person”

Word Order

Graalen is a simplistic contextual language. It has no articles; an Andorian would not say "the knife" they would simply say "knife." (Although some nouns have implied articles). In addition, there are no verbs for "is" or "are" in present tense, and Andorians usually refer to themselves and each other by name, even in third person to refer to themselves instead of using pronouns. Others have created gender specific pronouns for convenience, such as "zhe" to refer to a zhen, but they are only used by other languages such as Standard and not by Graalen speakers themselves. Aside from these and a few eccentricities, the sentence structure of Graalen is typically that of Standard.

Syntax Morphology

Graalen is a "consonantal root" language, meaning basic units of meaning (or core concepts) are expressed in the form of a string of consonants. For example, ND-R forms the root of words meaning "world", "planet", or "everything there is." Vowel modifiers turn these core concepts into words. Thus, Andor means "world" but Andoria means "The World."

Core Concepts

(Note: This list is from Star Trek Role Playing Game: Among The Clans. It is currently incomplete)

CH-K: War, violence, destruction (typically large-scale)
CH-LD: Renewal, replenishment
D-GR: Food, agriculture, eating
D-LD: Plants (particularly woody ones), wood, vines
D-LN: Edible plants, fruits, and vegetables
D-R: Escape, shelter, evasion
D-S: Fear, dread
DH-R: Trade, commerce, bargaining
F-L: Passion, emotion
F-RK: Naivete, innocence
FL-N: Creative drive, creative need
FL-V: Happiness, good feeling
GH-L: Masculinity, man
GR-K: Anger, hatred, contempt
GR-L: Communication
HL-S: Fire, heat
HL-SH: Effort, power, energy (physical)
HL-ST: Life, vitality
HR-K: Weakness, frailty, impotence
HR-S: Death, dying