The World of the Riftkey Chronicles

The Dryad Language: Suffixes 1

Hello and welcome to the first Dryad Language Lesson!

Suffixes are extremely important in the Dryad language. They are used to indicate tense and a variety of other things.

Let's start simple. The Dryad word sema means "I/Me."

Sema ishani al ashtemete.

"I want to learn Dryad."

First thing to note is that the Dryad language is phonetic. There is only one way to pronounce each vowel, much like Latin languages in our world. A is always "ah," E is always "eh," I is always "ee," O is always "oh," and U is always "oo." Though it shares more in grammar with languages like Japanese.

Suffixes help to define the direction of sentences. Here's an example.

-sa, the possessive suffix

Adding -sa to a word makes it possessive.

Sema. I/Me. Semasa giel. My name.

Roga. Him. Rogasa sheida. His home.

Miga. We/Us. Migasa liande. Our love.

Mashiri. Construct. Mashirisa dhaku. The construct's mind.

-de, the past tense suffix.

Al ashte. To learn. Al ashtede. Learned.

Al palei. To speak. Al paleide. Spoke.

Al elei. To see. Al eleide. Saw.

-lam, the future tense suffix. Using the above examples:

Al ashtelam. Will learn.

Al paleilam. Will speak.

Al eleilam. Will see.

Let's read a simple conversation!

Words you'll need:

Tomi. You.

Vari. Where.

Al vashi. To go.

-mai. Suffix meaning "-ing"

ai- Prefix meaning "to" or "toward"

Gomei. Human

na. Particle that connects an adjective to its subject.

Hashan. Village.

Kaie. Why.

-shi. Imperative suffix meaning "have to" or "must"

Parun stepped out of the hollow, his green skin marked with the dark green blemishes of the Dryad sickness.

"Oi, Keuryth. Tomi vari al vashimai?"

Keuryth stared. Should she tell him? Nandaave had warned her not to disclose her task to the rest of the Dryads. But... Parun was her friend. She trusted him. Surely she could tell him, no?

"Sema... aigomei na hashan al vashimai."

Parun blinked. "Gomei na hashan? Kaie?"

The Dryad girl broke eye contact. "Semashi."

"Kaie, Keuryth?" Parun stepped forward, but Keuryth avoided him, disappearing into the forest.

"Tomi al eleilam."

Hope you enjoyed this lesson! Over time, you'll learn more words and be able to translate what the Dryads are saying throughout the series!