Update: First combined draft with additional material.

Use this script to generate vocabulary: https://75vwdt.csb.app/

Ligurian (Greek Λίγυες, Latin Ligurēs; natively Ligos) is an Indo-European language spoken in the city of Ligos, on the site of present-day Istanbul. Noun ligā (f.) = “tongue, binding speech.” In a parallel dimension, Ligurian never went extinct. Despite being conquered by Greeks several times during their wars with the Persians and Medes, the Ancient Ligurians still rule the Kingdom of the Strait (Rezā Dorās, Heart Speech Reazō-yō Nuorō̃).

Ligos is an Indo-European language that underwent partial satemization. It exists in a state of diglossia. Official communication occurs in Sauleis Bazdā (Solar Speech), the classical literary form. The spoken language is Mazdō-yō Heardō̃ (Heart Speech) when contrasted with Solar Speech, but is commonly called simply Liɣu (Ligurian). Between them lies Vulgar Ligurian, the late spoken register of Solar Speech that gave rise to Heart Speech, paralleling the relationship between Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin, and the Romance languages. Three stages: Solar Speech (Sauleis Bazdā) → Vulgar Ligurian → Heart Speech (Mazdō-yō Heardō̃, commonly Liɣu).

Ligos is an extremely conservative language dedicated to linguistic purity. The Ligurians are the most culturally conservative Indo-European nation in the world. When the Ligurians overthrew the Greeks and founded a native kingdom in the early 11th century, they removed all medieval religions from the state and revived Orphic Neoplatonism from Byzantine sources and surviving folk traditions. Official statements interpret this extreme conservatism as an attempt to revive ancient pluralism against medieval dogmatism. Adherents of other religions don’t quite see it that way.

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Notes on the Solar Speech

I · Phonology

Consonants: p t k · b d g · s z · m n · r l · w y

Vowels: a e i o u · ā ē ī ō ū

Diphthongs: ai ei oi au eu ou

Onsets: C · stop+liquid · s+stop · s+stop+liquid · z+stop · sw · sn · stop+s

Codas: -s -n -r -l -m -k · open vowel

Forbidden: aspirated stops · initial geminates · clusters of 4+ consonants · triple vowel hiatus

The voiced sibilant z marks the Indo-European layer (from *ǵ, *ǵʰ, and intervocalic *s). Its absence can indicate the pre-IE substrate, which uses prenasalized stops (mb, nd, ng), geminates (ss, ll, nn, tt), and Mediterranean suffixes (-inthos, -anthos, -assos).

II · Sound Changes (PIE → Solar Speech)

Stage	Rule	Example
0a	Laryngeal coloring: *h₂e→a, *h₃e→o, *h₁e→e; *eh₂→ā, *eh₃→ō, *eh₁→ē; *oh₂→ā, *oh₃→ō	*dʰeh₁s→dēs
0b	Laryngeal lengthening: *ih₁→ī, *ih₂→ī, *ih₃→ī; *uh₁→ū, *uh₂→ū, *uh₃→ū	*puHri→pūri
0c	Word-initial laryngeal before consonant: *h₂C→aC, *h₃C→oC	*h₂stér→aster
0d	Interconsonantal *h₂→ā; remaining laryngeals lost
1	Syllabic resonants: *m̥→am, *n̥→an, *r̥→ar, *l̥→al	*mr̥to→marto
2a	Depalatalization before nasal: *ḱ→k / _m	*h₂eḱmo→akmo
2b	Satemization (dominant, not absolute): *ḱ→s, *ǵ→z, *ǵʰ→z	*ǵʰel→zel
3	Labiovelar split: *kʷ→k; *gʷ→b / _ī, *gʷ→g elsewhere; *gʷʰ→b / _ī, *gʷʰ→g elsewhere	*gʷih₃w→bīw
4	Deaspiration: *bʰ→b, *dʰ→d, *gʰ→g; *rbʰ→rp	*h₃orbʰ→orp
5a	Vocalism: *o→a / _CC (non-initial)	*nokʷt→nakt
5b	Long-vowel shortening: *ā→a / _w (before diphthong formation)	*sāwel→sauel
5c	Diphthong normalization: *ey→ei, *oy→oi, *ow→ou, *aw→au
6	Cluster changes: *sr→str, *wr→br, *dt→st, *tt→st, *ln→ll, *dw→d, *dy→z, *ty→s	*srew→strew
7	s-voicing: *s→z / V_V (productive in verb paradigms; frozen in nouns)	*wes-eti→wezeti
8	Semivowel hardening: *w→b / V[s,z]_
9	Late syncope: *uel→ul	*sauel→saul

Satemization is the dominant reflex but not absolute. A number of words, especially numerals, ritual vocabulary, and body-part terms, preserve the original velar stops (*ḱ→k, *ǵ→g, *ǵʰ→g). These centum survivals are characteristic of the Balkan IE area and parallel the mixed reflexes attested in historical Thracian onomastics. Examples: genton “flesh” (centum *ǵ→g) beside satem zen- “beget”; dekam “ten” and kamtón “hundred” (centum *ḱ→k) beside satem s in serdā “heart.” The depalatalization before nasals (2a) may reflect an early centum tendency in certain phonological environments.

Laryngeal note: *oh₂ merges with *eh₂ → ā (a-coloring dominates), while *oh₃ → ō as expected. This asymmetry reflects the strong a-coloring power of *h₂ in the Balkan IE environment, paralleling similar developments in Thracian and Phrygian.

III · Nouns

Seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, vocative.

o-stems (masculine -os / neuter -on)

Case	M.sg	M.pl	N.sg	N.pl
Nom	-os	-oi	-on	-ā
Gen	-ō	-ōn	-ō	-ōn
Dat	-ōi	-omos	-ōi	-omos
Acc	-on	-ons	-on	-ā
Inst	-ō	-ois	-ō	-ois
Loc	-oi	-oisu	-oi	-oisu
Voc	-e	-oi	-on	-ā

dēsos “god” · aydos “blaze” · dómos “house” · zewtron “vessel” · aiwon “eternity”

ā-stems (feminine)

Case	Sg	Pl
Nom	-ā	-ās
Gen	-ās	-ān
Dat	-āi	-āmos
Acc	-ān	-āns
Inst	-ā	-āis
Loc	-āi	-āsu
Voc	-ā	-ās

zelā “wine” · Naktā “Night” · dázā “earth” · dīwā “heaven” · serdā “heart” · psūkā “soul” · orpā “darkness” · sanā “song” · menā “thought” · bendā “chain” · asā “ash” · zbelā “lightning” · aydolā “torch” · weidā “image” · yewā “rite” · lētā “forgetting” · atimenā “anamnesis” · moisā “ecstasy” · zāwā “joy” · zerā “glow” · sālā “beauty” · armonā “harmony” · dersā “gaze” · wērā “truth” · apā “water” · ligā “tongue, speech”

i-stems

Case	Sg	Pl
Nom	-is	-eies
Gen	-eis	-iyōn
Dat	-ei	-imos
Acc	-in	-ins
Loc	-ēi	-isu
Voc	-i	-eies

pūris “child” · pewtis “purification” · Sáulis “the Sun”

Consonant stems

n-stems (agents: -ōn): nom -ōn · gen -onos · dat -onei · acc -ona · voc -on. E.g. zelozewōn “wine-pourer.”

r-stems (neuter, irregular): pāwar / pāwnós / pāwarōi (fire) · esār / esnó / esārōi (blood)

Agent nouns in -tā: follow the ā-stem paradigm. E.g. pewtā “purifier” · werztā “worker” · znōtā “knower.”

IV · Adjectives

Thematic: -os (m) / -ā (f) / -on (n). Agree with head noun in gender, number, case.

Solar (M / F / N)	Heart (M / F)	Meaning
zeltós / zeltā / zeltón	zealtu / zealtō	golden
zebrós / zebrā / zebrón	zevru / zevrō	sacred
germós / germā / germón	gearmu / gearmō	warm
sersós / sersā / sersón	hearzu / hearzō	black
rudós / rudā / rudón	ruðu / ruðō	red
darsós / darsā / darsón	naorzu / naorzō	bold
pewtós / pewtā / pewtón	bevdu / bevdō	purified
senós / senā / senón	heanu / heanō	ancient
martós / martā / martón	maortu / maortō	mortal
anmartós / anmartā / anmartón	ãmaortu / ãmaortō	immortal
wisós / wisā / wisón	vizu / vizō	all, every
prāmós / prāmā / prāmón	brōmu / brōmō	first
semós / semā / semón	heamu / heamō	equal, the same
oinos / oinā / oinon	oinu / oinō	one, alone
seltós / seltā / seltón	healtu / healtō	concealed
ne-bazdetós / -ā / -ón	nebazdeaðu / nebazdeaðō	ineffable
ne-weidetós / -ā / -ón	neveiðeaðu / neveiðeaðō	un-seeable
ne-zebrós / -ā / -ón	nezevru / nezevrō	unholy

Negation prefixes: an- before adjectives (anmartos “immortal”). ne- before participles and verbal adjectives (ne-bazdetós “ineffable”).

Participles: present active -onts (m) / -ontī (f) / -on (n). Past passive -tos / -tā / -ton. E.g. zelonts “gleaming” · samonts “toiling” · znōnts “knowing.”

Comparison: Comparative -teros/-terā/-teron; superlative -tatós/-tatā/-tatón. E.g. zeltós “golden” → zeltóteros “more golden” → zeltótatós “most golden.” Heart Speech: zealtoðearu (comp.), zealtoðaoðu (sup.). Irregular: prāmós “first” (already superlative in sense).

Numerals

#	Solar	Heart	Note
1	oinos	oinu
2	dwō	dvū	archaic dw- resists Phase II; w→v (Phase IV)
3	treies	dreiez
4	ketwores	geðvorez	centum *kʷ→k
5	penke	bẽk
6	swes	zvez
7	septam	heptã
8	oktou	oktou	centum; diphthong preserved
9	newan	neavã
10	dekam	neaɣã	centum *ḱ→k
100	kamtón	gãtõ	centum *ḱ→k
1000	tūzontī	dūzõtī

Numerals resist satemization (see centum survivals) but undergo Heart Speech sound changes normally. Irregular: dwō “two” → dvū (archaic dw- resists Phase II initial stop shift; regular derivation would give *nvū). Compounds: dekam-oinos “eleven”; dwō-dekam “twenty.” Ordinals use -tos: dektós “tenth” (centum), prāmós “first.”

V · Pronouns

Personal

	1sg	2sg	1pl	2pl
Nom	az	tū	mes	yūs
Gen	mene	tewe	ansōn	yūsōn
Dat	menei	tebei	anmos	yūmos
Acc	me	te	ans	yūs

Heart Speech equivalents: Solar nom/acc → Heart direct/oblique. 1sg az/me → aoz/mī. 2sg tū/te → dū/dī. 1pl mes/ans → meaz/mũ. 2pl yūs → yūz/yũ. The genitive and dative cases merge into the oblique.

Demonstrative: sas / sā / san (this)

Case	M.sg	F.sg	N.sg	M.pl	F.pl	N.pl
Nom	sas	sā	san	soi	sās	sā
Gen	sō	sās	sō	sōn	sān	sōn
Dat	sōi	sāi	sōi	somos	sāmos	somos
Acc	san	sān	san	sons	sāns	sā

onas / onā / onan (that) follows the same pattern on the stem on-.

Heart Speech equivalents: Solar sas/sā → Heart hao (m) / hō (f) “this.” Solar onas/onā → Heart ũnao (m) / ūnō (f) “that.” The full paradigm collapses to a direct/oblique distinction.

Relative: yos / yā / yon (who, which)

The relative takes the case its own clause requires, not the case of its antecedent.

Interrogative: kas (who?) · kasān (what?)

VI · Verbs

Thematic present

	Sg	Pl
1	-ō	-ome
2	-esi	-ete
3	-eti	-onti

Athematic present

	Sg	Pl
1	-mi	-me
2	-si	-te
3	-ti	-nti

Athematic stems: es- (be), stā- (stand), dō- (give), lē- (release), plē- (fill), pō- (drink), slū- (hear), bā- (speak).

Past copula: ése (3sg only).

Imperative

	2sg	3sg (jussive)	2pl
Thematic	-e	-etu	-ete
Athematic	-i	-etu	-te

Prohibition: mē + jussive (-etu).

Sigmatic aorist

	Sg	Pl
1	-ésam	-ésame
2	-ésas	-ésate
3	-ése	-ésan

Vowel-final stems contract: stā- → stāse, dō- → dōse, bā- → bāse, slū- → slūse. Exception: lē- → lētése (stem extension).

Infinitive

-tei (dáletei “to protect,” zéwetei “to pour”).

Principal Parts

Imp. 2sg	Pres. 3sg	Aor. 3sg	Meaning	Heart stem
slūi	slūti	slūse	hear	hlūð-
ayde	aydeti	aydése	kindle	ayð-
zewe	zeweti	zewése	pour	zeav-
dale	daleti	dalése	protect	naol-
lēi	lēti	lētése	release	līð-
steige	steigeti	steigése	walk	teiɣ-
pewe	peweti	pewése	purify	beav-
pōi	pōti	pōse	drink	būð-
werte	werteti	wertése	turn	veart-
ezere	ezereti	ezerése	rouse	ezear-
bāi	bāti	bāse	speak	mōð-
pleke	pleketi	plekése	weave	bleaɣ-
stele	steleti	stelése	set, balance	teal-
tāze	tāzeti	tāzése	be silent	dōz-
derse	derseti	dersése	gaze	nearze-
geme	gemeti	gemése	come	geam-
sperze	sperzeti	sperzése	scatter	pearz-
klāwe	klāweti	klāwése	close	glōv-
were	wereti	werése	open	vear-
ede	edeti	edése	eat	eð-
epe	epeti	epése	offer	ev-
seke	seketi	sekése	follow	heaɣ-
plewe	pleweti	plewése	flow	bleav-
gene	geneti	genése	become	gean-
bere	bereti	berése	carry	mear-
treme	tremeti	tremése	tremble	dream-
weide	weideti	weidése	see	veið-
sele	seleti	selése	conceal	heal-
weze	wezeti	wezése	wear	veaz-
gebe	gebeti	gebése	seize	geav-
mare	mareti	marése	die	maor-
sāge	sāgeti	sāgése	seek	hōɣ-
reze	rezeti	rezése	direct, plan	reaz-
sane	saneti	sanése	sing	haon-
bende	bendeti	bendése	bind	mẽd-
mene	meneti	menése	remember	mean-
sente	senteti	sentése	send	hẽtea-
stāi	stāti	stāse	stand	tōð-
dōi	dōti	dōse	give	nūð-
plēi	plēti	plēse	fill	blīð-
esi	esti	ése	be	ez-
kele	keleti	kelése	strike	geal-
dere	dereti	derése	tear	near-

VII · Particles

Solar	Heart	Meaning	Solar	Heart	Meaning
ta	da	and	ne	ne	not
mē	mī	prohibitive	en	ẽ	in
ek	eɣ	from	anā	anō	upon
per	ber	through	anti	ãtī	in exchange
iti	iðī	thus	ōn	ū̃	therefore
swai	zvai	as	yana	yãō	when
tote	duoð	then	ēpite	īvið	but
māi	mū	truly	oisā	oizō	merely
aiwōi	aivū	always	ati	aðī	again
nūn	nū̃	now	prāmón	brōmõ	first
nedō	neðū	down	anō	anō	up
sewé	heav	hither	tenā	deanō	thither
eidō	eiðū	behold!	ō	ō	O!
euoi	evū	ecstatic cry	—	ðī	complementizer
—	ðō	yes/no question

VIII · Syntax & Word Formation

Word order: verb-initial by default in all clause types.

Prepositions: en + dat./loc. (in) · ek + gen. (from) · per + acc. (through) · anā + acc. (upon) · anti + acc. (in exchange for).

Negation: ne + indicative verb. mē + jussive for prohibition.

Relative clauses: yos/yā/yon introduces; takes own clause’s case.

Neuter plural subjects take singular verbs.

Compounds: determinant (stripped of thematic ending) + -o- + head. zelā + zew- + -ōn → zelozewōn. werzā + stelā → werzostelā.

Suffixes: -ā (fem. abstract) · -os/-on (thematic) · -is (i-stem) · -tā (agent) · -ōn (agent n-stem) · -tron (instrument) · -tis (action) · -tos (past part.) · -onts (pres. part.)

IX · Sample Sentences

Per pāwar ta zelān, per zbelān ta Naktān, geneti martos anmartos.

Through fire and wine, through lightning and Night, the mortal becomes immortal.

Esmi az dázās ta Naktās zeltās pūris.

I am a child of Earth and golden Night.

Genése en pāwarōi wisā oinon.

In fire all things became one.

Sā ligā esti pāwar dīwās, zelās zebrā yewā.

This tongue is the fire of heaven, wine’s sacred rite.

Zelāi Umnos (Hymn to Wine)

Ek brugō rudō zelān wisān pōi,

From the red fruit, drink all the wine,

sā esti esār Sabáziō, genton dēsōn,

this is the blood of Sabazios, flesh of the gods,

yos en Naktāi sersāi dēsos genése ta derése.

who in black Night was born as a god and was torn apart.

Zelā anā ōs martōn zewtā,

Wine, poured upon the mouth of mortals,

anmarton pōtón en martāi serdāi aydeti,

kindles an immortal drink in the mortal heart,

ta psūkān ek dázās anā asteróns lēti.

and releases the soul from earth up to the stars.

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Vulgar Ligurian

Phase I: Stress → penultimate. The sole phonological innovation of the spoken register. Creates conditions for Heart Speech vowel breaking.

Feature	Solar Speech	Vulgar Ligurian
Stress	mobile (lexical)	fixed penultimate
Cases	7	5 (instrumental merges with locative)
Genders	3	2 (neuter → masculine)
Verb system	thematic / athematic	athematics regularizing to thematic
Word order	VSO	SOV emerging as prose default
Relative *yos	clause-introducer	postpositive linker (→ ezafe)

The relative pronoun yos/yā/yon begins postpositive use as a linker: pāwar-yos dīwās “fire which-is of-heaven” → “the fire of heaven.” This is the precursor of the Heart Speech ezafe, paralleling Old Persian hya-/tya- → modern Persian ezafe -e.

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Notes on the Heart Speech

A descendant of the Solar Speech (Sauleis Bazdā). Predominantly voiced, with voiceless stops and /s/ preserved from cluster reductions.

1 · Sound Changes (Vulgar Ligurian → Heart Speech)

Phase	Rule	Example
I	Stress → penultimate	zelā: stress shifts to ze-
II	#sC[stop]→C (voiceless preserved); #ps→s; #s→h/_{V,liquid}; #s→z/_{other C}; #p→b; #t→d; #k→g; #b→m; #d→n	stelā→tealō; serdā→heardō; bazdā→mazdō; psūkā→hūɣō
III	Drag chain: ā→ō; ō→ū; ē→ī	mazdā→mazdō; dēsos→nīzu
IV	w→v; u→v / _V	bōwar→bōvar; euoi→evū
V	Stops→voiced fricatives / V(glide)__ [not after liquid; not before obstruent]	geneti→geaneðī; zebrós→zevru
Va	Nasal+voiceless stop → nasalize vowel + preserve stop; stop+sibilant → sibilant; voiced obs.+voiceless → voiced	senti→hẽtī; tekstā→destō; pewtā→bevdō
Vb	s→z / _[+voiced C]	esmi→ezmī
VI	Stressed short a→ao, e→ea, o→uo / open syllable or liquid+C [not word-initial; not after v/ɣ]	zelā→zealō; serdā→heardō
VII	V→Ṽ / _coda nasal; coda m,n→∅	bendā→mẽdō; -on→-õ
VIII	-eus→-eau; -os→-u; -us→-u; -is→-i; -oi/-ōi/-ūi→-ū; -ei/-īi→-ī; final -e→∅; -i→-ī / {t,d,ð,z,n,m}_#	Zagréus→Zaɣreau; dēsos→nīzu
IX	Final -s→-z
X	Initial zb→zv; initial ztr→zdr; hiatus oo→ō, uu→ū, etc.	zbelā→zvealō
XI	s→z except before voiceless stops (st/sp/sk preserved); geminate zz→z, vv→v, ðð→ð

Breaking details (VI): Breaking is blocked after voiced fricatives (v, ɣ) to avoid awkward clusters. In trisyllabic words, breaking targets the first non-initial nucleus first; if blocked, it falls back to the penultimate. In words of four or more syllables, the penultimate is tried first, with fallback to the antepenultimate. The nucleus detector treats sequences of i + non-high vowel (a, e, o, ā, ō, ē) as separate nuclei.

Final -i lengthening (VIII): Word-final -i lengthens to -ī after dental, nasal, and fricative consonants (t, d, ð, z, n, m), preserving the distinction between noun -i (i-stem DIR) and verb -ī (2sg, infinitive).

Late cluster repair (X): Initial ztr- voices to zdr- alongside zb- → zv-, maintaining the Heart Speech preference for voiced onsets.

Consonants: b d g · p t k · v ð ɣ · z (s only in st/sp/sk) · h (initial) · m n · r l · y

Voiceless stops occur: word-initially (from #sC reduction), after liquids, after nasal vowels, and in voiceless clusters (st, sk, kt, pt). /s/ only before voiceless stops. /h/ word-initially (from #s-).

Vowels: a e i o u · ā ō ī ū · ã ẽ ĩ õ ũ ō̃ ī̃ ū̃ (nasal). Diphthongs: ao ea uo (from breaking); ai au oi ou ev (inherited).

Stress: penultimate, invariable. Stressed short a/e/o break to ao/ea/uo in open syllables and before liquid+C (not word-initially).

3 · Nouns

Two genders (masculine, feminine). Former neuters → masculine. Five cases:

Case	Function
Direct	Subject (prs.), patient (pst.), citation
Oblique	Object (prs.), agent (pst.), possessor, postposition complement
Construct	Head noun + Ezafe linking to modifier
Locative	Location, goal, temporal setting
Vocative	Direct address (archaic parent-language endings)

Masculine (o-stems): nīzu “god”

	Sg.	Pl.
DIR	nīz-u	nīz-ū
OBL	nīz-õ	nīz-õz
EZ	nīzu-yo	nīzū-yũ
LOC	nīz-ū	nīz-ūz
VOC	nīz-e	nīz-oi

Feminine (ā-stems): zealō “wine”

	Sg.	Pl.
DIR	zeal-ō	zeal-ōz
OBL	zeal-ō̃	zeal-ō̃z
EZ	zealō-yō	zealōz-yũ
LOC	zeal-ū	zeal-ūz
VOC	zeal-ā	zeal-āz

i-stems (būri “child”): DIR -i, OBL -ĩ, LOC -ī.

r-stems (bōvar “fire”): DIR bōvar, OBL bōvarnõ, LOC bōvarū, VOC bōvar.

Former neuters in -õ (ostõ “bone,” aivõ “eternity”): DIR/OBL syncretic (-õ).

4 · Pronouns

	Direct	Oblique
1sg	aoz	mī
2sg	dū	dī
3sg	hao	hõ (m) / hō̃ (f)
1pl	meaz	mũ
2pl	yūz	yũ
3pl	haoi	hũ

Demonstratives: hō (f) / hao (m) “this”; ūnō / ũnao “that.”

Interrogatives: gao “who?”, gaozõ “what?”

Note: Heart Speech mī is both the 1sg oblique pronoun (from Solar me) and the prohibitive particle (from Solar mē, via Phase III ē→ī). The prohibitive always precedes a jussive verb form. 1sg DIR aoz is irregular (breaking in monosyllable; cf. Solar az).

5 · Adjectives

Agree in gender: masculine –u, feminine –ō. Linked to head by Ezafe (§6). Past passive participle in –ðu (f. –ðō) functions as adjective.

M / F	Meaning	Source
nuvu / nuvō	deep	dubos
zvōðu / zvōðō	sweet	swādos

Hymnic register: Sacred epithets take feminine -ō regardless of head gender: Zealtō Bōvaryo Ãmaortō “To the Golden Undying Fire.”

6 · The Ezafe (Construct State)

Suffixed linker on the HEAD noun, agreeing with the head’s gender: -yo (m), -yō (f), -yũ (pl). Links to adjectives and possessors. Possessors take oblique. Origin: Solar relative pronoun *yos/yā/yon → Vulgar postpositive linker → Heart Speech agreement suffix (cf. Old Persian hya- → Persian -e).

bōvar-yo nīvō̃

fire-EZ.M heaven.OBL = “fire of heaven”

yeavō-yō zevrō-yō zealō̃

rite-EZ.F sacred-EZ.F wine.OBL = “wine’s sacred rite”

7 · Verbs

Two stems: present (imperfective) and past (present stem + -ī-, perfective). One agreement paradigm for both:

	Sg.	Pl.
1	–ã	–ãr
2	–ī	–ĩ
3	–eð	–ũð

Copula: 1sg ezmī, 2sg ezī, 3sg estī, 3pl hẽtī. Past: īz.
Imperative: Thematic –ea (2sg), athematic –ī (2sg). Prohibition: mī + jussive.
Participles: Present active –ũð (zealũð “gleaming”); past passive –ðu (geanðu “born,” nearðu “torn”).
Infinitive: –ðī (zeaveðī “to pour”).
Negation: ne + indicative.

Geminate simplification (XI): Phase XI voicing of s→z may create geminate zz (from original ss), which simplifies to z. E.g. copula 2sg Solar essi → ezī. Phase VIII final -i lengthening applies after dental, nasal, and fricative consonants (t, d, ð, z, n, m).

Verb Stems

Present	Past	Meaning	← Solar
ayð-	ayðī-	kindle	ayd-
blīð-	blīðī-	fill	plē-
dream-	dreamī-	tremble	trem-
ez-	ezī- / īz	be (copula)	es-
geam-	geamī-	come	gem-
gean-	geanī-	become	gen-
haon-	haonī-	sing	san-
hẽt-	hẽtī-	be (3pl copula)	es- (3pl senti)
hẽtea-	hẽteaī-	send	sent-
hlūð-	hlūðī-	hear	slū-
mear-	mearī-	carry	ber-
mōð-	mōðī-	speak	bā-
naol-	naolī-	protect	dal-
nearze-	nearzeī-	gaze	ders-
nūð-	nūðī-	give	dō-
reaz-	reazī-	direct, plan	rez-
tōð-	tōðī-	stand	stā-
veart-	veartī-	turn	wert-
veaz-	veazī-	wear	wes-
vear-	vearī-	open	wer-
veið-	veiðī-	see	weid-
zeav-	zeavī-	pour	zew-
beav-	beavī-	purify	pew-
bleaɣ-	bleaɣī-	weave	plek-
bleav-	bleavī-	flow	plew-
būð-	būðī-	drink	pō-
dōz-	dōzī-	be silent	tās-
eð-	eðī-	eat	ed-
ev-	evī-	offer	ep-
ezear-	ezearī-	rouse	ezer-
geal-	gealī-	strike	kel-
geav-	geavī-	seize	geb-
glōv-	glōvī-	close	klāw-
heaɣ-	heaɣī-	follow	sek-
heal-	healī-	conceal	sel-
hōɣ-	hōɣī-	seek	sāg-
līð-	līðī-	release	lē-
maor-	maorī-	die	mar-
mean-	meanī-	remember	men-
mẽd-	mẽdī-	bind	bend-
near-	nearī-	tear	der-
pearz-	pearzī-	scatter	sperz-
teiɣ-	teiɣī-	walk	steig-

8 · Split Ergativity

Tense-based split: the verb always agrees with whichever argument is in Direct case.

	Agent	Patient	Verb agrees with
Present transitive	DIR	OBL	Agent
Past transitive	OBL	DIR	Patient
Intransitive (both)	S = DIR		S

Aoz zealō̃ zeavã.

“I pour wine.” (present: aoz DIR, zealō̃ OBL, verb 1sg)

Mī zealō zeavīeð.

“Wine was poured by me.” (past: mī OBL, zealō DIR, verb 3sg agrees with wine)

Līðō̃ aoz ne meanīã.

“Forgetting did not hold me.” (past: līðō̃ OBL agent, aoz DIR patient, verb 1sg)

9 · Syntax & Particles

Word order: SOV (prose); V-initial or free (hymnic).
Postpositions: ẽ “in” (+LOC), eɣ “from” (+OBL), ber “through” (+OBL).
Coordination: da “and”; asyndeton in hymnic register.
Relative clauses: complementizer ðī.
Questions: fronted interrogative; particle ðō for yes/no.
Conditional: yãō “if/when” + present (realis) or past (irrealis).
Copula drop: permitted in equative sentences (hymnic register).

Form	Meaning	Notes
da	and	coordinator
ne	not	+indicative
mī	don’t	prohibitive +jussive
ẽ	in, within	+LOC
eɣ	from	+OBL
ber	through	+OBL
anō	upon	+OBL
ðī	that	complementizer
ðō	(question)	yes/no particle
yãō	when, if	conditional
iðī	thus
nū̃	now
eiðū	behold!
evū	(ecstatic cry)
ō	O!	vocative interjection

Irregular particles: yãō “when/if” (← Solar yana): nasalization and contraction (regular: *yaona). neðū “down” (← nedō): prefix ne- blocks Phase VI breaking (regular: *neaðū). anō “up” (← anō): frozen before Phase III ō→ū (regular: *anū). dvū “two” (← dwō): archaic dw- resists Phase II (regular: *nvū).

10 · Sample Sentences

Hao nīzu-yo nuomõ bōvarū ẽ estī.

“The god’s house is in the fire.” (nīzu-yo nuomõ = god-EZ.M house.OBL)

Dū gao ezmī ðō?

“Who are you?” (fronted interrogative + yes/no particle)

Yãō bōvar ayðeð, heardō geanīeð.

“When fire kindles, the heart is born.” (conditional + past intransitive)

11 · Register

Feature	Prose	Hymnic
Word order	SOV	V-initial / free
Adjective gender	Agrees with head	Feminine -ō for sacred epithets
Vocative	DIR + ō	Archaic parent-language endings
Coordination	da “and”	Asyndeton
Copula	Required	May be dropped
Ezafe	Required	May be dropped in epithets and invocations

12 · Hymn to the Golden Undying Fire

I · Proem

Ō bōvar! Ō bōvar heanu da zevru!
O fire! O ancient, sacred fire!

Ō brōmu ayðu, orpō̃ eɣ zealũð!
O first blaze, gleaming from darkness!

Naktō̃ eɣ geanðu, nīvō̃ eɣ ayðu
Born from Night, kindled from heaven

heardō̃ veartō̃ da aivõ reazu!
lord of the heart’s wheel and eternity!

II · Theogony

Bōvarū ẽ vizō oinu geanīeð.
In fire, all things became one.

Hao bōvar-yo nīvō̃ īz; hao oinu, hao brōmu.
He was the fire of heaven; he, the one, the first.

Hũ nīzõz-yũ Naktō̃ hao nearīeð.
The gods of Night tore him.

Hũ ostõ-yo hõ azō̃ ber pearzīeð.
They scattered his bones through ash.

Hũ ezōr-yo hõ naozō̃ ber zeavīeð.
They poured his blood through earth.

III · Anthropogony

Hũ naozō̃ da zvealō̃ eɣ ayðīeð bōvar.
From earth and lightning, fire was kindled.

Hũ azō̃ da ostõ eɣ geanīeð heardō.
From ash and bone, the heart was born.

Maortō heardō ãmaortō̃ bōvar ẽ.
A mortal heart with immortal fire within.

IV · Declaration

Aoz būri-yo naozō̃ da Naktō-yō zealtō̃ ezmī.
I am a child of Earth and golden Night.

Aoz maortu ezmī ezōr-yo mī nīvō̃ eɣ estī.
I am mortal but my blood is from heaven.

Aoz bōvar-yo heardō̃ znūðu ezmī.
I am a knower of the heart’s fire.

Aoz avō-yō aðimeanō̃ eɣ būðīã.
I drink from the water of memory.

Līðō̃ aoz ne meanīã.
Forgetting did not hold me.

V · Prayer

Bōvar ber da zealō̃ ber,
zvealō̃ ber da Naktō̃ ber,
maortu ãmaortu geaneð!
Through fire and wine, through lightning and Night, the mortal becomes immortal!

Hūɣō-yō mũ ber zealō̃ zeavea!
Pour wine through our souls!

Mẽdō̃z-yũ mũ nearea!
Tear our chains!

Mũ veartō̃ eɣ lī!
Release us from the wheel!

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Vocabulary

Nouns

Solar	Heart	Meaning	Type
aiwon	aivõ	eternity	M‹N›
algos	algu	pain, grief	M
apā	avō	water	F
armonā	armuonō	harmony	F
asā	azō	ash	F
atimenā	aðimeanō	anamnesis	F
ausā	auzō	dawn	F
awēā	avīō	wind, breath	F
aydolā	ayðuolō	torch	F
aydos	ayðu	blaze	M
bazdā	mazdō	word, speech	F
bendā	mẽdō	chain	F
berzā	mearzō	mountain, height	F
bewdā	mevdō	awakening	F
brugos	mruɣu	fruit	M
bīwā	mīvō	life	F
danzwā	nãzvō	tongue	F
dekam	neaɣã	ten (centum *ḱ→k)	—
dersā	nearzō	gaze	F
dorā	nuorō	gate	F
dázā	naozō	earth	F
dómos	nuomu	house	M
dēsos	nīzu	god	M
dīwā	nīvō	heaven	F
esbos	ezbu	horse	M
esār	ezōr	blood	M‹N›
gebā	geavō	seizure	F
genton	gẽtõ	flesh, body (centum *ǵ→g)	M‹N›
genuā	gẽvō	knee (centum *ǵ→g)	F
hūlā	hūlō	matter	F
kamtón	gãtõ	hundred (centum *ḱ→k)	M‹N›
kósmā	gozmō	cosmos	F
lewdā	levdō	the people, freedom	F
lezā	leazō	law	F
ligā	liɣō	tongue, speech	F
lētā	līðō	release, forgetting	F
menā	meanō	thought	F
moisā	moizō	ecstasy	F
mēlon	mīlõ	limb, joint	M‹N›
mētron	mīðrõ	measure	M‹N›
Naktā	Naktō	Night	F
nóos	nou	mind	M
orpā	orpō	darkness	F
ostón	ostõ	bone	M‹N›
pewtis	bevdī	purification	F.i
psūkā	hūɣō	soul	F
pāwar	bōvar	fire	M‹N›
pōtón	būðõ	drink, potion	M‹N›
pūris	būri	child	i
ramā	raomō	calm, peace	F
rezon	reazõ	principle	M‹N›
rezós	reazu	ruler, lord	M
rezā	reazō	governance	F
sanā	haonō	song	F
sarsā	haorzō	head, summit	F
selā	healō	concealment, veil	F
serdā	heardō	heart	F
sewā	heavō	void	F
smeā	zmeō	smile, laughter	F
snēā	znīō	thread, web	F
stelā	tealō	balance	F
strewā	treavō	stream	F
sunos	hunu	dog, hound	M
swepós	zveavu	sleep	M
Sáulis	Hauli	the Sun	i
sālā	hōlō	beauty	F
teksā	deazō	craft, art	F
tāsā	dōzō	sacred silence	F
umnos	ũnu	hymn (Greek ὕμνος)	M
weidā	veiðō	image, vision	F
wertā	veartō	revolution, wheel	F
werzā	vearzō	work, labor	F
westis	vestī	garment	i
wērā	vīrō	truth	F
wōkā	vūɣō	voice, utterance	F
yewā	yeavō	rite, sacred law	F
yugon	yuɣõ	yoke	M‹N›
zbelā	zvealō	lightning	F
zelā	zealō	wine, gleam	F
zerā	zearō	glow	F
zewtron	zevdrõ	vessel	M‹N›
zāwā	zōvō	joy	F
ōson	ūzõ	mouth	M‹N›

Agent Nouns

Solar	Heart	Meaning
pewtā	bevdō	purifier
werztā	vearzdō	worker
znōtā	znūðō	knower
tekstā	destō	craftsman
zelozewōn	zelozeavū̃	wine-pourer, hierophant
naktosanōn	naktohaonū̃	night-singer

Compounds

Heart Speech compounds are formed from already-derived Heart stems (post-change compounding). Each element undergoes the full sound change pipeline independently; the first element is stripped of its case ending and joined to the head by the linking vowel -o-.

Solar	Heart	Meaning
noopāwar	nūbōvar	mind-fire
zelopāwar	zealobōvar	wine-fire
pāwaroserdā	bōvaroheardō	fire-heart
werzostelā	vearzotealō	labor-balance
werzomētron	vearzomīðrõ	labor-measure
lewdorezā	levdoreazō	democratic planning
lewdobazdā	levdomazdō	the people’s word
saulorezā	hauloreazō	solar governance
wēroselā	vīrohealō	truth-shield
serdoaydā	heardoayðō	heart-kindling
snēokósmā	znīogozmō	world-thread
wisodamā	vizonaomō	all-taming
wisodaltā	vizonaoltō	all-protector
orpodertā	orponeardō	darkness-tearer
bendodertā	mẽdoneardō	chain-breaker
asterozelonts	asterozealũð	star-gleaming
zeltozelonts	zealtozealũð	gold-gleaming
zāwodōtā	zōvonūðō	joy-giver
psūkolētā	hūɣolīðō	soul-releaser
saulozenís	haulozeanī	sun-born
dīwozenís	nīvozeanī	heaven-born

Theonyms

Solar	Heart	Meaning
Sabázios	Havaoziu	ecstasy god
Zbelsurdos	Zvealzurdu	thunder god
Zagréus	Zaɣreau	the torn child
Pānēs	Bōnīz	the First Light
ne-bazdetós	nebazdeaðu	the Ineffable

Substrate Vocabulary (Pre-Indo-European)

Form	Meaning
nassesessā	ferment-vat
sittālassā	sacred grove
kānnullessā	grain offering