Ruulden
Ruulden is the oldest surviving language in the world and remains the official tongue of Ruulran. Though once widespread across Directionland, it diverged over centuries into modern Common Directian. Today, Ruulden is reserved for religious rites, ancient texts, formal diplomacy, and cultural ceremonies.
- Phonetics and Pronunciation
Ruulden has a flowing and sacred tone, emphasizing clarity, reverence, and elegance. It employs soft consonants, front-focused vowels, and distinctive diacritical marks.
Consonants
- Generally soft: r, l, n are fluid and common.
- Emphatic or authoritative terms use hard consonants: k, g, t.
- “Ch” is always pronounced as /x/ (as in Scottish “loch”) or /ʃ/, depending on context.
Vowels
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
| a | /ɑ/ as in “father” | Tharn |
| e | /e/ as in “bed” | Miran |
| i | /i/ as in “machine” | Y’ie |
| o | /o/ as in “more” | Orin |
| u | /u/ as in “moon” | Ruul |
| ö | /ø/ as in German | G’öu |
| æ | /æ/ as in “cat” | Ichæ |
Stress Patterns: Stress falls on the first syllable, unless a divine or proper root demands priority.
- Vowel Harmony: Words favor consistent vowel frontness or backness. Front vowels (e, i, ö, æ) group together; back vowels (a, o, u) likewise cluster.
- Glottal Stops: Represented by apostrophes (’), glottal stops occur in contractions, sacred names, and compound formations (e.g., Ruul’yun, Y’ie).
- Grammar Structure
- Word Order: Subject–Object–Verb (SOV). Y’ie Ruulran vath → “I see God’s Home.”
- Poetic Variation: In invocations (chants, blessings), Verb–Object order is acceptable for rhythm or emphasis. Kesh uth! → “Save us!”
- Articles and Determiners
- Definite: nai = “of / with / from” (possession or relation). Nai Ruul’fa → “of the Divine Father.”
- Indefinite: dri = “a / an.” Dri vortha → “a tribe.”
- Nouns and Pronouns
- Nouns: No gender inflection or case declension. Possession indicated by prefixes (e.g., Ruul’yun, Tin vortha)
- Pronouns:
| Role | Singular | Dual | Plural |
| I | Y’ie | — | Uhce |
| You | U’me | U’alæ* | U’chæ |
| He/She/It | K’ou / G’öu / Umte | — | — |
| They (singular) | U’tha | — | — |
| They (dual/plural) | — | — | Ichæ |
| Us (object) | — | — | Uth |
| Possessive | Y’ier (“my”), U’mer (“your”), Tin (“their”), Uhrer (“our”) | Y’ieralæ (“my two”), U’meralæ (“your two”), Tinalæ (“their two”), Uhreralæ (“our two”) | Y’ier (“my”), U’mer (“your plural”), Tin (“their”), Uhrer (“our”) |
*Use duplicated prefixes with “-alæ” for dual possessive as needed
*U’chæ (you all) is used for clarity, though rarely needed in formal Ruulden.
- Verb Conjugation
Ruulden verbs take prefixes or suffixes to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and negation
Tense
| Tense | Form | Example |
| Present | Root verb | vath = to see |
| Past | n’ prefix / -an | n’vath, kethan |
| Future | -rath / r’ | vathrath, r’keth |
“n’” is formal; “-an” is more colloquial.
Aspect
- Perfective (completed): n’ prefix (n’vath = saw/have seen).
- Continuous (ongoing): -sha suffix (vathsha = seeing).
Mood
- Indicative: Standard form.
- Imperative:
- Standard: ver- prefix + verb (e.g., vervath! = “See!”).
- Formal/Plural (optional): add -en (vervathen! = “All of you, see!”).
- Poetic/Colloquial Pleas: bare-root verbs (e.g., kesh! = “Save!”).
- Subjunctive (wish/hypothetical): -æth suffix (vathæth = “may see”).
- Existential Statements
Use ya as a copula (“is/are”):
Ruul ya. → “God is.”
Nromitscha nai Ruul’chtan ya sar vathal. → “The north of God’s Mountain is so beautiful.”
- Possession
Use possessive prefixes for nouns:
Ruul’yun = “God’s Children.”
Tin vortha = “Their tribe.”
Y’ier tsor = “My heart.”
- Plurals
Plurality is implied by context or marked with -ithæ suffix:
Ruulithæ = “gods.”
Vorthæ = “tribes.”
- Adjectives and Adverbs
- Adjectives precede nouns: Tharnæ vortha = “ancient tribe.”
- Adverbs usually precede verbs, but may follow for emphasis: vath umsha = “sees clearly.”
- Compound Words
Compounds are frequent and semantically rich, preserving divine roots with internal stress:
Ruulran = “God’s Home.”
Ruul’fa = “Divine Father.”
Ruul’chtan = “God’s Mountain.”
Druinithæ’Rathil = “Connected Ones of the Forest and Land.”
- Negation
Two negation prefixes:
- nu- for verbs (nu’vath = “do not see”).
- na- for nouns/adjectives (na vith = “no death”).
- Questions
- Interrogative Particle: rath- = what/why/where (rathvath? = “What do you see?”).
- Auxiliary Questions: u’ie = “can you?” (rathu’ie uth nu’vath? = “Can you not see us?”).
- Key Vocabulary
13.1 Pronouns
| Ruulden | English | Role |
| Y’ie | I | Subject singular |
| U’me | you (singular) | Subject |
| K’ou | he | Subject |
| G’öu | she | Subject |
| Umte | it | Subject |
| Uhce | we | Subject plural |
| U’chæ | you (plural) | Subject plural |
| U’tha | they (singular) | Subject |
| Ichæ | they (plural) | Subject plural |
| Uth | us | Object |
| Y’ier | my | Possessive singular |
| U’mer | your (singular) | Possessive singular |
| Tin | their | Possessive singular |
| Uhrer | our | Possessive singular |
| Y’ieralæ | my (dual) | Possessive dual |
| U’meralæ | your (dual) | Possessive dual |
| Tinalæ | their (dual) | Possessive dual |
| Uhreralæ | our (dual) | Possessive dual |
13.2 Nouns
| Ruulden | English |
| Aitha | cold |
| Chtan | mountain |
| Chtomia | south |
| Draveth | time |
| Druvath | darkness |
| Dröka | mineral |
| Finor | truth |
| Gref | gold / currency |
| Karr | noise |
| Markt | market |
| Miran | energy (light in Old Ruulden) |
| Nalketh | knowledge |
| Naneth | sanity |
| Nromitscha | north |
| Orrichia | east |
| Orrin | there |
| Ran | home |
| Rathsern | the Cursed One (Dark One) |
| Ron | sound |
| Ruul | god |
| Ruul’fa | Divine Father |
| Ruul’sha | Sacred Mother |
| Ruulran | God’s Home |
| Ruul’chtan | God’s Mountain |
| Ruul’yun | God’s Children |
| Sharnith | centuries |
| Tharn | cycle; forest (old Ruulden) |
| Tharun | land |
| Tsor | heart |
| Umsha’ron | loudness |
| Valth | clarity / lucidity |
| Venshar | bell |
| Vethal | pride / healing |
| Vith | death |
| Vorthæ | tribes |
| Yierka | festivity |
| Yun | child |
| Yun’tharn | birthday |
13.3 Verbs
| Ruulden | English |
| drenai | come |
| draveth | happen |
| fina | feel |
| finai | have felt |
| keth | find; to claim / seize |
| kesh | save |
| nathën | mourn |
| n’rith | live inside |
| orin | go |
| rath | ask |
| rathav | create |
| rathûn | speak |
| shail | touch |
| tharnav | grow |
| valar | help; strengthen |
| vath | see |
| verthal | wake |
| drailun | guide |
| orrith | carry |
| druin | protect |
13.4 Adjectives
| Ruulden | English |
|---|---|
| draunak | sacred / holy |
| N’val | wrong |
| N’veth | worse |
| Nornæ | every |
| Rathin | cursed / accursed |
| rith | living / alive |
| sharn | eternal / continuous |
| umsha | loud / strong |
| vathal | beautiful |
13.5 Particles / Prepositions
| Ruulden | English |
| ai | and |
| dri | a / an (indefinite article) |
| e’ | of / linking particle |
| inna | in / within |
| nai | of / with / from (possession) |
| sar | so / thus |
| ya | is / are (copula) |
14. Curse Words
The following terms and phrases are used colloquially (or offensively) in Ruulden.
14.1 Curse Nouns
| Ruulden | English |
| Dranöth | Shit / excrement |
| bosan | Breasts / tits |
| netha | Nether |
| porsha | Pig / Swine |
| butan | Butt / ass |
| dornun | Idiot; stupid person |
14.2 Curse Phrases
| Ruulden Phrase | English Equivalent |
| Nai Odivia bosan! | By Odivia’s tits! |
| Porsha butan dornun! | Pig-assed idiot! |
| Netha butan! | Nether-ass! |
| Nai tharn! | By the cycles! |
| Druvath n’kethæ U’me! | May darkness claim you! |