Black Speech Grammar Guide
This document is intended to be a concise overview of the grammar of LoS Classical Black Speech as understood by Lugrekh from reading the lessons written by Scatha of the Land of Shadows and expanded on by Un4givenOrc of the Black Speech School, and others.
Those lessons contain a number of errors and many contradictions which make learning the language rather difficult. When the examples contradict the written rules, the rules take precedence. Where newer lessons contradict older lessons, the older lessons take precedence. Scatha's written rules take precedence over rules written by others.
In situations where there are no rules in Scatha's lessons, I will be creating my own rules based on what has already been created. I will attempt to stick to a strict word order and will avoid using English grammar as much as possible. This may lead to situations where my grammar does not agree with what others may have done in the past.
While my intent is not to create a new dialect, the rules presented here could be called "The Redhandian Dialect of the Land of Shadows Classical Black Speech".
Syntax
Basic Sentence structure
| 1. Subject | 2. Attribute | 3. Predicate | 4. Direct object | 5. Indirect object | 6. Adjunct |
| Noun | Adjective | Verb | Noun Pronoun (attached to the verb) |
Noun (+ Prep) Pronoun (+ Prep) |
Adverb Noun (+ Prep) |
Verbs
Verbs can be followed by a number of suffixes. They are attached in the following order and there is only ever one of each type:
Type 1 - Infinitive
Type 1 turns verbs into other types of words.
-at turns a verb into the infinitive: srinkhsha- understand, srinkhshaat to understand.
-arz turns a verb into an adverb: srinkhshaarz understandably.
-ûrz turns a verb into an adjective: srinkhshaûrz understandable.
Type 2 - Active/Passive
Type 2 turns the verb into the passive voice. gimb- find, olog gimbuzat golug The troll found the elf, olog gimbaguzat golug The elf was found by the troll.
Type 3 - Tense
Type 3 determine the tense. It is selected based on the following chart. hon- look, see, watch, honubizg, I will look, see, watch
Type 4 - Person
Type 4 conjugates the verb based on the subject's person. hon- look, see, watch, honuzutta They watched him
| Present | Future | Past | Pres Active | Past Passive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I/We/You | -0 | -ub | -uz | -ug | -uga |
| He/She/It | -at | -ubat | -uzat | -ugat | -ugaat |
| They | -ut | -ubut | -uzut | -ugut | -ugaut |
Type 5 - Object
Type 5 is the pronoun that represents the object. It is selected from the list below. shakol- kick, shakolubtaizg I will kick him.
|
Personal Pronouns |
|||
| Subject (first person is a verb suffix, others are stand alone words) | Object (verb suffixes) | ||
| I | -izg | Me | -izish |
| We | -izgu | Us | -izishu |
| You (singular) | lat | You (singular) | -lat |
| You (plural) | latu | You (plural) | -latu |
| He/She/It | ta | Him/It | -ta |
| They | ulu | Her | -to |
| Them | -ul | ||
Type 6 - Aspect
Type 6 is used to mark if a verb has been partially or totally completed. fargh- jump, farghuzatâzh He jumped a little, farghuzatûk He completed jumping.
Type 7 - First Person Subject
Type 7 is the first person pronoun that represents the subject. These are always attached to the verb. They are chosen from the pronoun table above. Only first person subject pronouns are suffixes, others are stand alone words that go before the verb. fargh- jump, farghuzizg I jumped
Nouns
Nouns can also be followed by a number of suffixes. They are attached in the following order and there is only every one of each, except for type 7, postpositions, of which there can be many.
Type 1 - Noun Forming
Type 1 converts verbs into nouns. fargh- jump, farghal jumper, one who jumps.
Type 2 - Gender modifier
Type 2 converts a noun into a female version of the noun. uruk ork, uruklob/urukniz she-orc.
Type 3 - Short adjective
Type 3 is short adjectives. Longer adjectives should follow the noun. mi cat, mimorraz the strange black cat.
Short Adjectives |
|||
| all | ûk | high; tall | târ |
| bad; wrong | fik | hollow | ûnk |
| beautiful; comfortable; pleasant; nice; fine | tor | hot | muz |
| better | mâz | last | tîl |
| big; large | dur | less | yûl |
| bitter (taste) | sâr | narrow; tight | yat |
| black | mor | new | fîn |
| blue | ulb | new | ûn |
| brave | hûr | odd; strange; weird | raz |
| brown (skin, hair) | gru | old | kû |
| cruel | bol | only; single | tug |
| each | ûgh | opposite | bug |
| easy; simple; light | gat | past; previous | gûg |
| eternal | ukû | proud | mîb |
| famous; celebrated; famed; knewn; well-known | sul | scary; frightening | uf |
| fast; quick | hîs | small; little; short | gaz |
| fat; fleshy; porky | tû | such; so | zam |
| fertile | hru | sure | rûz |
| flabby | tû | tough | gor |
| flat | gok | ugly | kûf |
| full | gûk | whole | fol |
| gentle | mûk | wise; sly; smart; cunning; shrewd; astute | zûr |
| great | mad | yellow | mâl |
Type 4 - Demonstrative Pronouns
Type 4 means "this/that" -za or "these/those" -zaz
Type 5 - Possessive Pronoun
Type 5 is a Possessive pronoun. nazg ring, nazgulub their ring.
|
Possessive Suffixes |
|||
| My/Mine | -izub | Your (sing) | -lab |
| Ours | -izubu | Your (plural) | -latub |
| His/its | -tab | Their | -ulub |
| Her | -tob | ||
Type 6 - Specific Prepositions
Type 6 is few specific prepositions. These all seem to also mark if a noun is the indirect object.
|
Case Prepositions |
|||
| of | -ob | to | -u |
| in | -ishi | by; via; by mean(s) of; by use of; with use of | -irzi |
Type 7 - Prepositions
Type 7 is any post(pre)position from the list.
Type 8 - Plural
Type 8 is a plural marker. -u is used when a noun ends with a consonant, while -z is used when a noun ends with a vowel.
|
Noun Plurals |
|||
| Ends with a Consonant | -u | Ends with a Vowel | -z |
| Race/People | -hai | All | -ûk |
Adjectives
Adjectives can also be followed by a number of suffixes.
Type 1 - Adjective Forming
Type 1 suffix added to a root to turn it into an adjective.Type 2 - Degree of comparison
WIP
Type 3 - Plural
Type 3 suffix must agree with the plural suffix on the noun that adjective is describing.
Adverbs
To create an adverb, put -arz on the end of a stem. Adverbs follow the verb they modify.
Miscellaneous
Indirect Objects: Follow the direct Object and are suffixed with -u
1. If the direct object is a pronoun, and the indirect object is not a pronoun, the direct object is attached to the verb and the indirect object is separate and follows. The suffix -u is attached to the indirect object. Thrakul Scathazu = bring them to Scatha.
2. If the direct object is not a pronoun and the indirect object is a pronoun, the indirect object is attached to the verb with the suffix -u and the direct object is separate and follows. Thrakulu nazgu = bring them rings
3. If neither the directnor the indirect object are pronouns, the indirect object comes after the direct object. Both are separate from the verb. The suffix -u is attached to the indirect object. Thrak nazgu Scathazu = bring Scatha rings
4. If both the direct and the indirect object are pronouns, the direct object is attached to the verb and the indirect object follows. The suffix -u is attached to the indirect object. Thrakul izishû = bring them to us