Officially called Cor'Skaraa (The Grand Language).
Coraabish (slang. korabish or raabish) is the official language on Coraab spoken today by the majority of the Unliving tribes as well as Miners. It is also called the common planetary language, neo-minerish, or Tal Coraabish.
Coraabish was gradually created in the first centuries of Miners' occupation of Coraab. This newly formed common language drew heavy influence from the Old Talic (the original language of Miners) and its expressions had a dramatic impact on the evolution of the Unliving culture during the following centuries.
Today, it is by far the most commonly spoken language on Coraab and it is also the official language in C'Ora. Its variations and dialects are spoken even by local xaliens that lived on Coraab for generations. However, the pronunciation of individual ethnic groups is sometimes so different their versions of Coraabish become mutually unintelligible.
Coraabish enjoys much smaller success in traditionalistic city-states like Min'Ora. The most common languages spoken there come from the Unliving roots, i.e. Old Zombic - Zomb'Skaraa or umpa - Dung Umpa.
Division[ | ]
Languages and dialects on Coraab
zomb. - Zomb'Skaraa, the language of Zombs, the original pre-coraabish of the olden days. Its lineage can be traced to times before -30,000 Tu. This language is known for its difficult to learn nuanced pronunciation. The word order heavily alters the meaning of the sentence, the language boasts countless idioms and grammatical exceptions. The "Zombic" is today spoken by only a handful of Unliving aristocrats (so-called zaans) and orthodox traditionalists.
dung. - Dung Umpa, a simplified Dung dialect
cor. - contemporary Cor'Skaraa - the contemporary version of Coraabish (being implied, the abbreviation is not used in dictionary words)
tal. - the ancient Tal dialect, also Old Talic - the remnants of the original dialect used in Tal colonies
Grammar[ | ]
Gender
Coraabish distinguishes 2 grammatical genders - unliving gender (Unliving - he, she, they) and alien gender (things, living beings - it).
Coraabish has 3 existentials - W, K (also C), and self-identifying existential O.
W'lachta - he (you, she, they) is good (Unliving)
K'lachta - it (you, she, they) is good (thing, xalien, Miner) - also C'lachta
O'lachta - I am good (O'Lachta - we are good)
Existentials W and K include you, he, she, it, you, they
Existential O includes I, we
T–V distinction
Coraabish uses distinct pronouns to convey varying levels of politeness and social distance between speakers. The more polite V form is create by capitalizing the first letter of the word connected to the existential.
W'lachta - you are good (slang, egalitarian)
W''Lachta - thou art good (archaic, polite)
Note: Using the existential K in the V form - e.g. K'Lachta is rarely used, usually when addressing the most important foreign dignitaries or in diplomatic communication. O'Lachta is not a V form but a plural of I -"we".
Personification
Coraabish personifies things and activities by adding the personificator B.
B'lachta - a good guy
Ba'lachta - a good guy (does not exist, is dead or fictional)
Bo'lachta - a good thing (materialization of activities into objects)
Tenses
Coraabish distinguishes three tenses - past tense, present tense, future tense
Ka'lachta - it was good
K'lachta - it is good
Ko'lachta - it will be good
Wa'lachta - he was good
W'lachta - he is good
Wo'lachta - he will be good
Oa'lachta - I was good
O'lachta - I am good
Oo'lachta - I will be good
Sentence classification
Declarative sentence
Indicates that something is real and true.
O'lachta B'chor. - "I am a good player."
Interrogative sentence Asks questions, requests information.
-kha? - what?, so?, a question tag appended to a declarative sentence
Wa'lachta B'chor -kha? - "Were you a good player?"
Imperative sentence Expresses authority, tells someone to do something.
Khe - works as "!", a stressing prefix before an imperative sentence. Never used in communication with superiors or members of high society.
Khe W'lachta B'chor! - "Be a good player!"
Irrealis sentence
Speculates, asks rhetorical questions, expresses wishes and hopes, suggests real and unreal possibilities. Works as an all-encompassing structure for expressing sentences in irrealis moods.
Mu - describes a desired state of events that did not happen
Mu W'Lachta B'Chor... - "If only you were a good player..."
Affirmative and negative
YES - caa (slang. ka)
NO - kche (slang. ke)
Negation is used as a prefix in the form ke' or ke
ke'chor - to not play
Mu W'keLachta B'Chor... - "If only you were a bad (not good) player..."
Singular and plural
Singular nouns are the base from which plural is created
Plural is created by adding the quantifier ai or ei (according to the last letter of the quantified word)
O'Lachta B'chorae - "We are good players"
O'Lachta B'unreei - "We are good prophets"
Word synthesis Adding an apostrophe between two words creates a word that combines meanings of the parent words, leading to neologisms, idioms, and phrases.
agcha'araa - to see things in perspective (to see the whole)
gokta'rokha - lucker (Luck's lover)
Dictionary[ | ]
A[ | ]
aabu - homebody, a Coraabian that never left Coraab (slang)
aana - to command, to dominate
abakh - orphan
abhta - to vomit
abhtakarr - pukecrete
accha - to condemn, to show disdain with a look or gesture
Abcarra - Dumpers (zomb.)
Abcayaa - Dump (zomb.)
aga - bubble
agcha - to look, to watch
aghra - to cover something with something else (an area, a building, etc.)
achtha - to want at all costs
agga - to zip, to fly at high speeds
aggaka - agrava
aggak - agraver, a pilot of agrava
agha - to mean, to represent
akee - to leave for later, to plan something for the next awakening (zomb.)
akka - to enslave, to exploit
amh - dam
ammarh - consideration, regard
amma - to tolerate, to be considerate
anna - to shine
annarh - star
Annori - Annorian, an inhabitant of Annor
annoi - wood (genuine)
angtha - sadness
anree - Unliving genome (zomb.)
antha - elite, the ruling class
antherra - quality, grade
aao - untruth; as if; optical illusion
aokha - to grow, to cultivate (agricultural)
aonei - pseudo-nature
aorra - pseudo-forest
aotha - cultivar
apa - to sell, to tout
apha - alone
appa - of course
aptha - store, shop (vernacular)
araa - whole, community
ar - everyone
arh - health
aro - pure being, sanctified person
ark - eight
arru - to fight
arrukhor - gravtron
arrunh - war
artherra - weird, peculiar
atho - firstborn (in an Unliving brood)
athoma - to subjugate
att - to must
atta - jail, detention
awothei - favor, good relations
B[ | ]
B'accha - judge-evaluator, member of the trial circle
B'Accha - judge-wordgiver, head judge of the trial circle
B'agcha - gaper
B'agga - pilot
B'akka - slaver
B'anna - spiritually enlightened person
B'aro - salesman, shopkeeper
B'arru - warrior
B'athoma - usurper
B'att - someone making a big deal about something, possibly demanding extra effort from others
B'bhan - conqueror, pillager
B'chor - player
B'cogtha - mysterious person
B'contha - inhabitant
B'coreei - someone processing corabit
B'dinna - feldsher, surgeon
B'donghta - usurper
B'drog - spokesperson, narrator
B'dungtha - mugger, rapist
B'ekh - thinker, philosopher
B'fatta - controller, activating switch
B'fon - negotiator, delegate
B'fuo - high-conflict person
B'gantha - payer
B'ghaar - slave, hard worker
B'gok - owner, high society
B'gokta - lover, favorite
B'gokha - person attracting trouble and problems
B'hoptha - sub-mag, network specialist
B'iar - clone
B'ilkarra - loud person
B'iolma - sender
B'iolkha - receiver
B'iotta - stringer
B'iraa - preacher, lecturer
B'irh - grower, breeder
B'irr - liar, gossiper
B'iuntho - person-of-the-world
B'izo - protector
B'kaa - spiritual authority
B'kaorra - arrogant person
B'kche - hitchhiker
B'khaa - optimist
B'khei - graver, driver
B'khera - genomant, genetic manipulator
B'khopta - winner
B'khor - proud person
B'khorra - absolutist, absolutist leader
B'knechta - useless dimwit
B'koha - drover, meta-insect catcher
B'kohta - walker
B'konghta - miner, hard worker
B'kuua - glutton
B'lakhta - judge, evaluator
B'leekai - freshly awakened (Zomb)
B'lokha - opponent, competitor
B'lonta - gasbag
B'lop - servant
B'lun - revolutionary
B'ma - being that walks on rear legs
B'mag - flyer
B'maghta - vi-mag (archaic)
B'maora - hard worker
B'mea - flying squirrel
B'meeka - writer, loger
B'nar - administrator
B'noi - creator
B'nomma - wrestler
B'noor - digger
B'nua - slave
B'ogtha - translator
B'okhta - murderer
B'okka - killer
B'olt - ruler
B'onkh - honored person
B'omtha - risk-taking person, gambler
B'ontha - record-holder
B'optha - boter
B'pokha - fighter
B'redha - anti-Reddan activist
B'reei - Unliving near the end of its unlife's cycle
B'ro - terminator
B'rooa - - terminator of unlife, mass murderer
B'rukkha - ruuk breeder
B'ruuka - savage
B'sei - gatherer
B'sontha - supplicant, wretch
B'sontharra - alm-seeker (archaic)
B'sokhurra - provocateur
B'sonnataraa - representative, deputy
B'sowa - seducer
B'sunn - refugee
B'sua - scholar, student, nerd
B'suua - old-timer, someone who remembers past times
B'taan - dumpdigger
B'tah - slacker
B'tanna - wrestler
B'tanokha - athlere, fighter
B'teeka - humiliator
B'thapta - rookie, beginner
B'thu - hunter
B'tua - miner
B'tunga - T'ung matter miner
B'turra - miner
B'tuura - trouble maker
B'ug - newborn
B'umtha - thief
B'una - lightbringer
B'uokha - masked person
B'uukka - hysteric
B'wakka - trader with WaalkWak
B'warh - singer
B'wokha - helper
B'wor - spokesperson
B'yabha - fucker (derogatory)
B'yokhta - specialist, expert
B'yop - parasite
B'zon - patron, sponsor
bael - bone, skeleton
Bael - descendant of Wild Bones
baezaan - skelethor
bachaar - lever, crowbar
bachta - to write, to log
bahha - will to do something
baharr - person with a good heart
bahoof - Bael purple (color shade)
bak - body
bakhta - body science (medicine)
bal - hall, dome; hollow
balla - married Bael
ban - rule, power, upper hand
banno - to control, to be provided with
banree - Miner (zomb.)
baraa - to try
barra - to wander
batu - Miner (dung.)
berrekh - council
beupha - strict upbringing
bhan - to conquer, to pillage
Biia - Coraabian that left the homeworld (slang.)
bilorra - assembly, council (tal.)
Bi'Tol - 4th era of the Year of Excavation
bo - hill, summit
bog - volcano
boi - age, eternal
bop - bio- (prefix)
boph - sour
bopha - to make sour, to acetify
bopharr - bio-robot
bophakarr - bio-acid
boppa - leader, commander
boppha - to issue orders
boppo - environment, climate
bokh - pain
bokha - to hurt, someone who causes pain for someone else
bokh - bulge (in the Dump)
bol - unit of height on Coraab
bolh - down, downwards
boltha - to crave
boroa - council, lodge
breechai - matriarch, high-ranked female title (zomb.)
bsukka - unit of weight
B'Um - He Who Creeps from the Vat, one of the three Dungic deities
bugu - to crush (dung.)
bumtha - vatter
bumma - to guard, guardian
buonth - resistance
buokha - to pardon someone, merciful person
bun - evil (noun & adjective)
bunh - noha, rear limb
bunth - doom
burra - dune, heap
burrakarr - desert
buun - depth
bu-magu - to lose, to fail
bu'nuth - deathbringer, terminator
Phrases[ | ]
Phrases often omit the existential (instead of B'Toch Thubo, we say Toch'Thubo).
Phrases
Il'wree - a dignified Zombic greeting (all of you worthy of my attention are my equals)
Tal'Wor - a polite greeting addressing an official (Tal talk)
Khe Iblort! - By Iblort!
Khe'Bun! - an expression of despair or shock (Evil!)
Ekka'kha - what do you think?
Iblort Kaa - Iblort bless you! (May Iblort be with you, Iblortspeed)
O'lachta - a common greeting
O'Lachta - a polite greeting
agcha'araa - to see things in perspective (to see the whole)
arru'taal - to fight till death, a fatal struggle
gokta'rokha - lucker (Luck's lover), wishing of luck
tah'bun - to be soundly defeated (to lie at someone's feet)
suua'tuua - if I'm not mistaken (to deceive memory
wat'nomtha - coming into effect immediately (to become forever effetive)
mao'duorh - to be skilled (have hands for work)
rokha'Tu - lots of luck in the new Year of Excavation (PF)
khe ik'katta - wait for seven! (to be prepared to die, to come into terms with truth, etc.)
luun'innto - Peace! I surrender! (immediate ceasefire)
Yo'oor - ready for action! (to be present)
Ku'dun'pa - to defend at all costs (dung.)
Sayings
Tarru thonta'noa - the stone is heavier than the head - an old Dung saying (see Mono)
Numbers and units[ | ]
Numbers[ | ]
A duodecimal, the so-called "Circular", system is used on Coraab.
- 0 - Og
- 1 - Wr
- 2 - Hak
- 3 - Rab
- 4 - Ko
- 5 - War
- 6 - Ech
- 7 - Ik
- 8 - Ark
- 9 - Khno
- 10 - Ba
- 11 - Ukk
- 12 - To
- 144 - Ton
- 1728 - Tonn
- 20 736 - Tonna
- 248 832 - Tonnarh (slang Tonnar)
- 2 985 984 - Tonn'rah (slang Tonnra)
- 35 831 808 - Tonn'arra (slang Tonnara)
- 429 981 696 - Tonn'haru (slang Tonnhar)
- 5 159 780 352 - Tonn'gha (slang Tonnga)
Time units[ | ]
Gul - a Six-Year Plan of Excavation (introduced by Miners around [[Timeline|700 Tu) | has 6 Years of Excavationy (some Unliving do not acknowledge Guls at all)
- 1. Tu - Ta'Tu
- 2. Tu - Nuu'Tu
- 3. Tu - Ka'Tu
- 4. Tu - Bi'Tu
- 5. Tu - Tha'Tu
- 6. Tu - Ro'Tu
Tu - 1 Year of Excavation | has 8 Tols
- 1. Tol - Ta'Tol
- 2. Tol - Nuu'Tol
- 3. Tol - Ka'Tol
- 4. Tol - Bi'Tol
- 5. Tol - Tha'Tol
- 6. Tol - Ro'Tol
- 7. Tol - Ca'Tol
- 8. Tol - Raa'Tol
Tol - 1 Period of Excavation | has 2 days
- 1. Oonar - Light Day
- 2. Hakkar - Haze Day
- 1. Oonar has 96 Uns
- 2. Hakkar has 72 Uns
Unt - so-called "shard" of an hour | has 60 Oms
Om - so-called "blink" - the shortest commonly used time unit (shorter intervals are a fraction of Om, e.g. 0.0055 Om etc.)
Physical units[ | ]
Mass
- mantha = 144 nahha
- nahha = 144 taah
- taah = 144 baggu
- baggu = 144 bsukka
- bsukka = 144 driia
Length and height
- Bol (+Bol, -Bol) - a vertical unit of height
- Lant - a horizontal unit of length
Pronunciation[ | ]
- C'Ora [Kho:ra] - metallic o (also uo)
- Ora [ooo:ra] - bent o (round o)