For example:
Whan in Aprille the shoures soote,
the droughte of Merche hath perced to the roote. . .
=
W(ahh)n in Ah-pr(ih)l the sh(oo)r-es soat
the drou[ch]t of Merch hath per-ced to the roat. . .
There are almost as many dialects of Germanic and Gallic as there are subprovinces. There are more and less dominant dialects. For example, Sigrun speaks, initially, a dialect of Gallic common to the Bláthach peninsula; it serves her as a bridge to Trennus’ Pictish dialect, but it is about as close as, say, modern Dutch and modern German. Other dialects are more distant kin—more equivalent to modern Swedish to Swyzerdutch. This is attributable to how early colonization took place, how isolated individual colonia were for hundreds of years, and how little literacy/mass media was available to keep the languages from altering substantially over time.
Latin
Latin is spoken throughout the Empire. It is the universal lingua franca of the Western World. It, too, has not been preserved in a time capsule. It has a variety of dialects, but almost every schoolchild is taught “standard received” Latin (think BBC English) and “classical” Latin to ensure that the language doesn’t deviate too far from its roots.
Hebrew
Hebrew is a living language, rather than a resurrected one, in Edda. It has picked up thousands of loan-words from Latin, Persian, Egyptian, Carthaginian, and other languages of the Empire. Most students in Judea are taught, again, the classical form of their language, so that they may read their religious writings.
I am not a scholar of this language; therefore, I have used modern equivalents wherever possible.
Nipponese/Japanese
This island nation did not experience any periods of isolation. Their daily language has been highly influenced by Korean, Chinese, and even Raccian and Latin, as they have been a major hub for trade for hundreds of years. The language of the court in Kyoto is precise, formal, and harkens back to a bygone era—an older form of the language, entirely.
Again, I am not a scholar of this language. I have used modern equivalents wherever necessary, and I invite the reader to imagine what the language would sound like, if it had developed differently, due to different historical pressures.
The list of terms offered below is not exhaustive, and I have tried, whenever possible, to translate within the text.
Terms
ablutum — Latin, laundromat
Æðeles ides — Gothic, noble lady
æðelinga — Gothic, noble one, feminine ending
æðeling — Gothic, noble one, masculine ending
ælagol — Gothic, law-giver, law-keeper, adjudicator
a thaisce — Gallic, ‘my treasure.’
atzmay — Hebrew, Maverick
auhz — Hebrew, Goose
bitahevn — Hebrew, defense. Term used in place of Krav Maga.
cwealuwyrm — Gothic, deathworm
dominus, domina — Latin, lord, lady
ex nihilo nihil fit — Latin, “from nothing, nothing comes.”
forðferan, forðferest — Gothic, literally, “to go forth.” To perish.
fikken, fikkest thu — Gothic, to fuck; “fuck you” (informal second person)
géa — Gothic, yes. (equivalent to ja and yeah)
harah — Hebrew, Shit.
héodæg — Gothic, today. (Directly related to modern German heute)
hrímþursar — Gothic, rime-giant, frost-giant
hveðungr — An alternate name for Loki, it has also been used as "monster" in Old Norse.
inanwyrm — Gothic, gutworm, parasite
jaso — A joule
kami — Nipponese, spirit or god
leh lehizdayen — “Fuck you.” (to a man)
nið, niðing —Gothic, anathema, evil, malice, cowardly, unmanly, accursed.
nitzen – A Newton of force
ollamaliztli — Nahautl ball game
Paredes’ disease — Parkinson’s
perfututum — Latin, literally, “fucked out.”
photogram —coined word that describes a device that plays music encoded in light on crystalline storage discs.
Póg mo thóin — Gallic, “kiss my ass.”
rihtære scale — Richter scale
Sangua Foederis — Latin, Blood Pact
seiðr — Gothic, magic
sennin — Nipponese, immortal person, transcendent, mage, spirit, sage, hermit
shtoyut — Hebrew, Bullshit, crap, nonsense
thaum — Unit measuring magical energy, equivalent to wex
Tholberg coil — Tesla coil
Tlatoani — Nahautl, emperor of Nahautl
uisce beatha — Gallic, whiskey
wex — A watt of power.
ya ben shel zona. — Hebrew, “You son of a bitch.”
Air travel
Hatasahl Air — Judean airline, chemically-fueled jets.
Hellene Air — Hellene airline, chemically-fueled jets
Alroma — Roman state airline, ley-powered.
Qin Air — Quin state airline, ley-powered.
Motorcar brands
Judean:
Tsunams and Mehymans. All are electrically-powered.
Nipponese:
Kusabanas and Takas. Ley or electrical power, depending on market demand.
Hellene:
Arma, Aloga, and Epibintores. All luxury-brand vehicles, entirely ley-powered.
Weapons
Aphek 5 assault rifle
Velserk (Colt) .45 caliber pistol, which holds 6 rounds when fully loaded.
Vheva (Cobra) 9mm.
Legion organization and ranks
All levy forces, regardless of their province of origin, use Legion ranks.
Legion
1280 men. Commanded by Legion Legate, or legatus.
Tribuni angusticlavii – Tribune of the soldiers. A soldier who ranks above a centurion, but below the legate. (This is Sigrun’s rank, when she serves in the Legion actively.) These are officers, usually career military, and their rank gives them a fair degree of latitude. Many of them handle paperwork, but others are used to cut through paperwork, at the discretion of their legate.
Primus pilus centurion — Commanding centurion of the first century, first cohort and the senior-most centurion of the entire legion.
Cohort
4 centuries 320 men each, roughly; 4 cohorts per legion
Pilus prior centurion commands a cohort.
Century
80 men (16 centuries per legion;)
Primi ordines command a century.
Maniple
40 men.
Rank centurion.
Commands a maniple.
Optio
A junior lieutenant, essentially. This was Adam’s first rank. An optio commands 20 men, or half a manicple.
Hasta
Lowest enlisted rank.
The Valkyrie (The Saga of Edda-Earth Book 1) Page 134