Written by Timothy Miller
Email: tmiller@suntan.eng.usf.edu
UsMail: Timothy Miller 7519 Winging Way Drive Tampa, FL 33615-1519
This file is intended to spark interest in the Bajoran language and get a
foot-hold in the community of Trekkers on the internet. Paramount doesn't
know who I am and doesn't know my experience with linguistics, so they
most certainly wouldn't take me seriously. On the other hand, if the
Trekkers see this file, accept the language, bring copies of this file to
Trek conventions, show it to others at Trek conventions, and basically
spread the word about this, then I'll have a chance.
This file may be freely distributed to anyone, but you may not remove my
name or email address from the file, nor may you modify it in any way
except with the intention of sending the file directly back to me with
comments. This language, not associated with the Bajoran name, is
copyrighted to me, Timothy Miller. The name "Bajor" is a trademark
of Paramount. Since I do not have rights to use the name "Bajor", I
cannot publish this text with the intent of making profit, but it is my
intention to contact Paramount to get rights to use this language in a
book. If anyone can tell me who I should contact in this regard, please
tell me.
And speaking of comments, please feel free to make any comments and
suggestions that you like. Tell me about errors, suggest additions,
express needs, etc. Any and all feedback is welcome.
Once the existence of this text file is brought to the attention of those
at Paramount, I will be able to put together a complete book that includes
a complete language, as well as some history of the Bajoran language.
This file is totally incomplete. It has a phonology and the beginning
of the grammar. I'm releasing it so people can get a look at what I've
started working on.
Table of Contents:
1. Phonology: How do I pronounce Bajoran words?
2. Grammar: How do I put words and sentences together?
On < bejor >, there are 4 major languages, along with countless dialects
and lesser-known languages. Of those 4, the most prominant is called
< fneHak >. < fneHak > is known, to some degree or other, by just about
every < bejorne > native.
< fneHak > is an ancient language, and its writing system is thousands
of years old. As a result, the spoken language has evolved so far
beyond the writing system that the written language does not phonetically
match the spoken word. There are rules that allow one to turn the
written word into something resembling what is spoken, but it's a bit
ackward and hard to get used to.
To begin with, I will describe each of the letters and how they are
SUPPOSED to be pronounced. I have developed an ASCII representation
for each of the < fneHakeC > letters. Also in the table are some digraphs
which < fneHak > uses to represent other sounds.
CONSONANTS
Stops
Voiceless Labial < p > -- [p]et, sto[p]
Alveolar < t > -- [t]op, po[t]
Apico-Palatal < T > -- Like < t > but with the tip of the
tongue pulled back to the palate.
Velar < k > -- [k]ite, ba[ck]
Glottal < ? > -- the stop in the middle of uh[-]oh
Also in Cockney or Scottish bo[tt]le
Voiced Labial < b > -- [b]et, sta[b]
Alveolar < d > -- [d]umb, ba[d]
Apico-Palatal < D> -- Like < d > but with the top of the
tongue pulled back to the palate.
Velar < g > -- [g]ood, ba[g]
Fricatives
Voiceless Labiodental < f > -- [f]an, hal[f]
Alveolar < s > -- [s]top, pa[ss]
Apico-Palatal < S > -- Like < s > or English "sh" but with
the tip of the tongue pulled back
to the palate.
Velar < x > -- Ba[ch] (composer, German)
[H]annukah (Jewish holiday)
Analogy: s:t::x:k
Pharyngial < H > -- like "h" but in the throat
Voiced
Labial < v > -- [v]ery, hal[v]e
Alveolar < z > -- [z]ip, spa[zz]
Apico-Palatal < j > -- Like < z > or French "j" but with
the tip of the tongue pulled back
to the palate.
Affricates
Voiceless Alveolar < c > -- < ts > sound; ca[ts]
Apico-Palatal < C > -- Like < c > or English "ch" but with
the tip of the tongue pulled back
to the palate.
Velar < X > -- Sounds like < kx >
Voiced Alveolar < nz > -- < dz > sound; be[ds]
Apico-Palatal < dj > -- Like < dj > or English "j" but with
the tip of the tongue pulled back
to the palate.
Trills
Voiced Postalveolar < r > -- Like trilled 'rr' in Spanish
bu[rr]o
Uvular < R > -- Kind of a gargle sound. Similar
to a trilled form of a French 'r'.
Liquids
Voiced Alveolar < l > -- [l]ive, ta[ll]
Apico-Palatal < L > -- Like < l > but with the tip of the
tongue pulled back to the palate.
Nasals
Voiced Labial < m > -- [m]ud, spa[m]
Alveolar < n > -- [n]ed, fa[n]
Velar < kn > -- ba[ng], si[ng], [ng]uyen
Voiceless Labial < fm > -- Like < m >, but with vocal chords
NOT vibrating
Alveolar < fn > -- Like < n >, but with vocal chords
NOT vibrating
VOWELS
Tense
Front Unrounded High < i > -- b[ee]t, p[ee]k
Mid < e > -- b[ai]t, p[ay]
Rounded High < y > -- m[ue]de (German), t[u] (French)
Say < i >, but with lips rounded for < u >
Back Rounded High < u > -- m[oo]d, f[oo]d, g[oo]p
Mid < o > -- b[oa]t, t[o]ne, tac[o]
(NOT Brittish <@u>)
Low < a > -- br[a], b[o]x (American)
Lax
Central Unrounded Mid < @ > -- Schwa. Welch[e] (German), c[o]mputer
Dipthongs
< ai > -- long 'I' in English
< oi > -- long 'I' in English or < ai >
< oei > -- b[oy], t[oy]
< aw > -- c[ow], n[ow]
< ow > -- same as < aw >
Now for some of the spelling rules:
- < a > following any vowel makes that vowel lax.
- < e > following any vowel makes that vowel pronounced for twice as long.
- < o > at the end of a word is never pronounced unless followed by < e >
- < o > is often pronounced like < a >, especially in unstressed syllables
- < oa > is pronounced like < a >
- < gd > is pronounced like < zd >, except when the < g > and < d > are from
different syllables (1)
- < sz > is often < S >
Section 2 -- GRAMMAR
Pronouns
< fneHak > pronouns are stand-alone words that are often not used because
of conjugation of the verb.
< piaf > -- I, first person
< gdeno > -- you, second person
< foa > -- it, third person
To make the pronoun plural, see the section on Morphophonemics
Morphophonemics
For some common meaning changes in meaning, < fneHak > makes a complete
phonetic change to the word or part of the word. These changes are
phonetic, not orthographic, so you have to know how to pronounce the
word before you can change it according to this table. This table doesn't
include everything because there are some rules:
- Lax vowels make the change but stay lax.
- Voiceless nasals name the change but stay voiceless
- Dipthongs keep the same glide
If multiple changes are iterative. If something needs to be Plural
and Negative, first make it Plural, then treat it as Normal and use
the table again to make it Negative.
Norm. Plur. Neg. Accu. Dat. Gen.
p k f
t T s
T p S
k D x
? g H
b ? v
d t z
D b j
g d R
f x p
s S t
S f T
x j k
H v ?
v H b
z s d
j dj D
c X nz
C nz dj
X C R
nz j c
dj c C
r m kn
R n X
l kn L
L r l
m L n
n l m
kn R r
i y e
e o i
y u o
u i a
o @ y
a e u
@ a @