High Cipritine

High Cipritine is the standardised form of the turian language. As the official state language of the Turian Empire, it is used in domestic governance, galactic diplomacy and interspecies relations, and acts as a vehicle for communication between the various turian colonies, each of which have their own colonial variants of the turian language. It is written in cuneiform script, which is read from left to right.

As turians are a member of the Citadel Council, High Cipritine is also recognised as one of the official languages of the Council. As such, it is a legal requirement in Council Space to provide a High Cipritine translation of any written language, in both the public and private sectors (signage, legal documentation, medical prescriptions, allergen listings, etc.) Since 900 CE, High Cipritine has served as the de facto language of Citadel Security Services (C-SEC), however, its officers are personally trained in the use of all Council languages, while also being able to provide VI-assisted translations for all known galactic languages on demand.

Alphabet
A - Short version: “a” as in “apple”. Long version: “a” as is “father”.

AE - Prefix/middle of a word: long “a” as in “day”. Suffix: long “i” as in “cry”.

AI -  “i”, as in “cry”.

AU - “ow”, as in “owl”.

B - Same as it is in English.

C - Hard “c”, as in “cat”. Is often a substitute for K as they both make the same sound. However, C can also make a “ch” sound if it comes before either E, I, AE, or Y. To avoid confusion, galactic translators will often add in an H after a C, if C comes before any of these letters. This results in Anglicised versions of turian words, such as “Chellick” - the original turian spelling would be “Cellik”.

D - Same as it is in English.

E - Short version: “eh” as in “bet”. Long version: “a” as in “date”.

EI - “ay”, as in “day”.

EU - “u”, as in “uranium”.

F - Same as it is in English.

G - Hard “g”, as in “garden”. However, G can also make a “j” sound, as in “giant”, if it comes before either E, I, AE, or Y. Galactic translators will often substitute the “j” sound for a hard “g”, if G comes before any of these letters. This results in Anglicised pronunciation of turian words, such as “Gellix” - the original turian pronunciation is “Jellix”.

H - Hard “h”, as in “hat”.

I - Short version: “ih”, as in “sit”. Long version: “ee”, as in “machine”.

J - Hard “j”, as in “jump”. However, J can also make a “y” sound, as in “yellow”, if it comes before either E, I, AE, or Y. Galactic translators will often substitute the “y” sound for a hard “j”, if G comes before any of these letters. This results in Anglicised pronunciation of turian words, such as “Jirris” - the original turian pronunciation is “Yirris”.

K - Hard “k”, as in “kick”. Is often a substitute for C as they both make the same sound.

L - Same as it is in English.

M - Same as it is in English.

N - Same as it is in English.

O - Short version: “o”, as in “off”. Long version: “oh”, as in “holy”.

OE - “oi”, as in “oil”.

P - Same as it is in English.

PH - Soft “f”, as it is in English.

Q - Most commonly pronounced as "qu", as in "queen", but may also be pronounced as "k" in certain words. Eg: Quentius is pronounced as "kwentius", but "Qui'in" is pronounced as "ki'in". There are no clearly defined language rules to determine which form of Q is correct in any given circumstance of its use; its pronunciation is therefore situational rather than absolute.

R - Alveolar flap, otherwise known as a "rolled R".

S - Same as it is in English.

T - Same as it is in English.

U - Short version: “o”, as in “foot”. Long version: “oo”, as in “hoot”

UI - “wih”, as in “quick”

V - Same as it is in English.

X - Breathy clicking sound, similar to the "ks" found in "socks". Unlike the English letter X, the turian letter X is never stressed or pronounced as "ex" or "z", regardless of its position within a word, eg: If "exam" were a turian word it would be pronounced as "ks-xam"; if "xenophobe" were a turian word it would be pronounced as "ks-enophobe".

Y - “i” sound, as in “cry”

Z - Same as it is in English.

Diphthongs
Turian diphthongs differ from human ones, in that they do not follow the standard rule of the first vowel dictating the sound of the rest of the diphthong. For example, in English “ai” is always pronounced as a long “a”, as like “raider”, but for turians it is pronounced as a long “i” instead. This can confuse prospective human students of turian languages, and vice versa.

The sounds which turian diphthongs may also change depending on where they are located within a word. For example, “ae” makes a long “a” sound when used as a prefix or in the middle of a word, as in the words Aephus and Taetrus. However, if “ae” is fulfilling the role of a suffix, it has a long “i” sound instead, as in the words Menae and Krysae.

Turian languages rely heavily on diphthongs and thus these vowel combinations are included in their alphabet as individual alphabetical characters, rather than two single ones put together.

Stress
The position of stress in High Cipritine words is dictated by the penultimate stress rule. In words that have three of more syllables, this rule is used to determine where stress is placed. If the penultimate syllable in a word contains a long vowel or ends with a consonant, stress is placed on the syllable. If it contains a short vowel or does not end with a consonant, stress is instead placed on the previous syllable. For example; the word Imperator ("emperor") contains four syllables. The penultimate syllable in Imperator contains a long "a" vowel. This, this is where the stress is placed when speaking the word: Im-pe-RA-tor. Comparatively, the word Vastitas ("desert") has three syllables. The penultimate syllable in Vastitas does not contain a long vowel and does not end with a consonant. Because of this, the stress is instead placed on the previously syllable: VA-sti-tas.

In words with two or less syllables, stress is always placed on the first syllable. For example; LOU-za and LUX.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, specifically in the pronunciation of names, which tend to borrow pronunciation rules from the colonial dialects. For example; the name Desolas would be pronounced as Des-SOL-las under High Cipritine rules. However, because the name is of Thracian origin, it is instead bound by Thracian stress rules and is subsequently pronounced as DES-sol-las. Stress rules can sometimes indicate what a person's name will be shortened to by their family and close friends. Using Desolas as an example again, the name is shortened to Des as a nickname, because of the stress placed on the first syllable of Desolas.

Colonial citizens will often have their names mispronounced by native Palavenians, which can be a point on contention between different cultural groups. Primarchs, Duarchs and Conjuges of Palaven with colonial ancestry have their names pronounced according High Cipritine grammar rules as standard. For example, Primarch Adrien Victus was of Bostran ancestry but his first name was pronounced as Ad-DRI-en, as opposed to the correct Bostran pronunciation of AD-dri-en.

Tenses
In High Cipirtine, there are six tenses - three simple and three perfect. The three simple tenses are the present, future and imperfect tenses. The three perfect tenses are the perfect, future perfect, and pluperfect tenses. These are illustrated below using the verb amo, meaning "I love". Notice how the verb ending changes depending on both which tense it is in and who is doing the verb.

Cases
In High Cipritine, there are seven cases -  nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, and ablative.

Word order
In High Cipritine, the word order of a sentence is very different from human English. Whereas sentences in English are structured using the subject - verb - object format (SVO), sentences in High Cipirtine are structured using the subject - object - verb format (SOV).

If one were to take a typical sentence in English - " The dog chases the cat " - and change its format from SVO to SOV, it would then read as " The dog the cat chases ". This completely changes the way in which a sentence is read, corrupting its original meaning.

High Cipritine accounts for this corruption by changing the case a word, based on its role within a sentence. This grammatical rule firmly establishes who is doing the action and who is the receiver of the action, allaying any potential confusion on the part of the reader/listener. The subject of a sentence will always be written/spoken in the nominative case. Likewise, the object of a sentence will always be written/spoken in the genitive case.

A

 * Abrudas: The state of being emancipated, lit. "he of broken chains"
 * Abrulorum: Chains, fetters, bondage
 * Aequita: Equality
 * Aequitor: Equaliser 
 * Aethon: Shining light, blaze
 * Aquila: Darkness
 * Antaeus: Shield
 * Apparita: Certainty
 * Arrae: Sanctuary, refuge
 * Aurelian: Of or pertaining to Aurelion Imperator

C

 * Caelum: Airforce
 * Caelus Coronae: Crown of Caelus, turian name for the "Milky Way"
 * Caesor: Breaker, he who breaks
 * Caestum: Trial, ordeal
 * Canrum: Costly endeavour, great loss
 * Carifinum: Ministry of Emergency Management
 * Castellus: Fortress
 * Choitadix: Gap-toothed
 * Classis: Navy, fleet

D

 * Daemon: Spirit of Protection
 * Datrium: A type of religious offering to the Spirits, lit. "tribute"
 * Digera: Order
 * Diluvian: Flooded, saturated
 * Duarch: Military advisor to a Primarch, lit. "second ruler"
 * Duis: Second

E

 * Enrarium: Postal office
 * Erros: An overlook, beautiful view
 * Essenus: The act of existence, lit. "being"
 * Exercitus: Army

F

 * Facinus: Evil deed, crime, wickedness
 * Fortis: Strength

G

 * Galactica: Galactic
 * Gemmae: Jewel, precious gem
 * Graxen: Dextro equivalent of popcorn

H

 * Hastatim: Citizen suppression units, lit. "execution squads"
 * Hielae: Courts on which the turian sport of throwball is played
 * Hierarchia: The Turian Hierarchy
 * Horosk: Dextro hard liquor, green in colouration. Induces stupors if ingested in large enough quantities
 * Hyax: Herbivorous animal native to Palaven, bred as livestock

I

 * Impera: Command, governance, the rule of law
 * Imperator: Emperor
 * Invictus: Unconquerable, undefeated
 * Iritum: Anger, rage

L

 * Labina: Avalanche
 * Laena: Cloaked, disguised
 * Laudatix: Ministry of citizenship rankings
 * Louza: Domesticated fowl native to Palaven, bred as poultry
 * Lux: Light

M

 * Magna: Largest, greatest, most important
 * Maitrum: Lit. "place of suffering"
 * Mater: Mother
 * Materaab: Grandmother
 * Mornax: Mistake

N

 * Navarch: Admiral, lit. "ship ruler"
 * Nihlus: Emptiness, the absence of life, The Void
 * Nios: Nest

O

 * Oserun: Promotion ceremony

P

 * Palavenicus: Palavenian-born citizen, lit. "of Palaven"
 * Parriarch: Head of a turian bloodline or household, lit. "equal ruler"
 * Pater: Father
 * Pateraab: Grandfather
 * Pax: Peace
 * Phaeston: Spirit of Creation
 * Pheiros: Lighthouse
 * Pietas: Duty
 * Praedator: Predator
 * Primarch: Ruler of an imperial colonisation cluster, lit. "first ruler"
 * Primus: First
 * Punitor: Punisher

R

 * Radiatum: Turian legislative building in which Primarchs and their advisors legislate planetary laws
 * Restitutor: Restorer, he who restores
 * Rixor: Brawler

S

 * Septemis: Seven
 * Signis: Turian executive building which acts as the official home and workspace of a ruling Primarch
 * Spiritus: Spirit
 * Stilus: Pointed tool

T

 * Taetrus: Gloomy, foreboding
 * Taitus: Honourable
 * Temerarus: Spirit of Daring
 * Tonitrus: Thunder
 * Trasiro: Crossfire
 * Trebian: Relating to a star or stars
 * Triginta: Thirty
 * Turbinis: Tornado

U

 * Unitatis: Oneness, unity; state of being one or undivided
 * Umbra: Ghost

V

 * Vallum: Bulwark, fortification
 * Vastitas: Desert, barren wasteland
 * Vasto: Havoc, destruction, lit. "I devastate, ravage or lay waste"
 * Vecchio: Lit. "old one"
 * Victus: Lit. "he who brings victory"
 * Vinkaar: Bad
 * Vir: Soldier
 * Vivus: Living, alive

X

 * Xemna: Herbivorous herd animal native to Palaven, bred as livestock
 * Xera: - Conception, beginning of life