Winter in Eden

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Winter in Eden Page 40

by Harry Harrison


  alutoroq he likes

  alutorut she likes

  alutorauk does he like?

  salutorassuk do they like?

  alutorliuk may he like (Optative)

  alutorlissuk may they like

  alutorpagit he may like (Subjunctive)

  alutorpatigik they may like

  Although Marbak and Angurpiaq are not linguistically related, they are structurally related, even if in a mirror-image fashion. If Armun, for instance was to use alutora for “like”, then point to herself and then to some object that she likes it would be comprehensible. The Angurpiaq might consider her stupid for getting the ending wrong, but they would understand what she was trying to say. This is opposed to Yilanè where nothing would be understood at all that wasn’t expressed within specific and precise narrow bounds.

  One thing that is very imprecise in Angurpiaq is the sense of time, for they are indifferent time-keepers at the best. There is a vague form of future tense, but it is rarely used. The term most often heard is tamnagok which can mean once upon a time, or it can also mean then or now—or even in a bit. The only other time-related term is eetchuk which signifies a long long time ago. This is so unspecific that it could mean forty or even two-thousand years.

  As is to be expected their language reflects their physical existence. They mark many distinctions that do not exist in Marbak, yet completely ignore others. For obvious reasons there are a number of terms for snow. They refer to packed snow, powder snow, frozen snow, wet snow, snow that you can cut blocks from and even snow that balls underfoot. Yet on the other hand green and blue are not distinguished as separate colors. And while red can be told from yellow there is no separate designation for orange. Since the terms for these colors are only affixes, never used as words of their own, there is really no clear sense of their exact meaning.

  It has been theorized that their strong feeling for affixes and innumerable connections and cross-connections may have some relationship with the Angurpiaq deftness and ability to see how mechanical parts fit together. Though it is certainly true that their assembled and tied boat frameworks, their navigational charts, reflect this it must be emphasized that this is a theory only.

  DICTIONARIES

  YILANÈ-ENGLISH

  (Note: this list includes both single elements and some commonly repeated gestalts.)

  aa: in

  aga: departure

  aglè: passage

  aka: disgust

  akas: growing land

  akel: goodness

  akse: stone

  alak: succession

  Alakas-aksehent: Florida Keys

  alè: cage

  alpè: beauty

  ambei: height

  ambesed: central meeting place

  anat: bodily extremity

  ankanaal: land-surrounded ocean

  ankè: presence

  apen: demand

  asak: beach

  ast: tooth

  asto: movement

  awa: pain

  ban*: home

  buru: circumambience

  dee: this

  ee: out

  eede: that

  eesen: flatness

  efen: life

  efenburu: group formed in childhood

  efeneleiaa: spirit of life

  efenselè: member of an efenburu

  eisek: mud

  eisekol: dredging animal

  eiset: responsibility

  eistaa: city leader

  eksei: caution

  elin: small

  elininyil: pre-fargi stage of development

  elinou: small saurian carnivore

  embo: pressure

  empè: commendation

  end: vision

  enet: lake

  ènè: suppleness

  enge: love

  enteesenat: plesiosaur

  ento: each single

  Entoban*: Africa

  epetruk: tyrannosaurus rex

  erek: speed

  esek: top

  esekasak: birth-beach guardian

  esik: south

  espei: posture

  estekel*: pterodactyl

  eto<: shoot

  fafn: catch

  far<: inquiry

  fargi: one learning to speak

  gen: new

  Genaglè: Straits of Gibralter

  Gendasi*: North America

  gul: hearing

  gulawatsan: buzzer animal

  han: maleness

  hais: mind

  hanalè: male residence

  N.B. These two has female concepts are always has yellowness distinguished by voice of controller

  has: female

  has: yellowness

  hè: numeral 1

  hen: male/female

  hent: revolution

  hèsotsan: dart-firing weapon

  hornsopa: genetic shape

  huruksast: monoclonius

  igi: entry

  ihei: sense of smell/touch/feel

  ineg: old

  inlè: large size

  intè: hunt

  ipol: rub, buff

  Isegnet: Mediterranean

  isek: north

  ka<: cessation

  kain: line of sight

  kakh: salt

  kal: poison

  kalkasi: thornbush

  kasei: thorn

  kem: light

  khets: convexity

  kiyis: east

  kru: short

  lan<: copulation

  leibe: difficulty

  lek: badness

  mal: absence of worry

  man<: last

  Maninlè: Cuba

  masinduu: optical projection

  melik: dark

  melikkasei: poison-thorn vines

  natè: friend

  nefmakel: bandage-creature

  neni: skull

  nenitesk: triceratops

  nin: absence

  ninsè: the unresponsive

  nu*: adequacy

  okhalakx: herbivore

  okol: gut

  onetsensast: stegosaurus

  pelei: discovery

  rubu: weightlessness

  ruud: cessation

  ruutsa: ankylosaurus

  sanduu: microscope

  sas<: speed

  sat: equality

  selè: bondage

  sèsè: motion

  sete: purpose-oriented group

  shak: change

  shan: volition

  shei: cold

  sokèi: cleared land

  son*: element

  stal: prey

  takh: clean

  tarakast: mount for riding

  tesk: concavity

  top: run

  tsan: animal

  tso: excrement

  trumal: a joint attack

  tuup: fat, torpid

  ugunkshaa: recording device

  umnun: treated meat

  unut: crawl

  unutakh: hair-eating slug

  uruketo: mutated icthyosaur

  uruktop: eight-legged beast of burden

  urukub: brontosaurus

  ustu: blood

  uu: increase

  ustuzou: mammalia

  yil: speech

  yiliebe: incapable of speech

  MARBAK–ENGLISH

  allas: path

  alladjex: shaman

  amaratan: immortal ones (divine creatures)

  arnwheet: hawk

  as: how

  atta: father (dim.)

  bana: son (dim.)

  beka: to knot

  benseel: sphagnum moss

  bleit: cold

  dalas: soup

  dalasstar: strong soup

  dia: to be

  drija: bleed

  eghoman: the vowed ones

  ekkotaz: nuts & berry paste

  elka: to light

  erman: sky

  Ermanpadar: sky-father, a spirit

  es: if

 
ey: always

  fa: to look

  falla: to wait

  faldar: fire

  gentinaz: leader

  grunnan: misery

  ham, hammar: to be alble to (sing., pl.)

  hans: war party

  hannas: man

  hannasan: men

  hardalt: squid

  harian: joyful ones

  hault: twenty (count of a man)

  himin: mountain

  hoatil: everyone

  istak: path

  Kargu: mountain people

  katisk: cheerful

  kell: wedge

  kurmar: river

  kurro: boss

  las: down

  levrelag: camping ground

  Levrewasan: the black tent people

  ley: (burnt) clearing

  linga: woman

  lingai: women

  lissa: to know

  madrap: moccasin

  mal: good

  man: must

  margalus: murgu counsellor

  mar: hair

  marag: cold-blooded animal

  marin: star

  markiz: winter

  marsk: icthyosaur

  mensa: to arrange

  modia: maybe

  mo trig: my child

  murgu: plural of marag

  nat: killer

  naudinz: hunter

  nenitesk: triceratops

  nep: long

  parad: ford

  Paramutan: raw-meat-eaters, Northern people

  rath: hot

  sammad: mixed male/female band

  sammadar: elected head of the sammad

  sassi: few

  sia: to go

  skerm: period of time

  so: as, that, who

  stakkiz: summer

  stessi: beach

  tais: grain

  tanu: people

  tarril: brother

  ter: person

  terred: group of people on a mission

  terredar: leader of a terred

  tharm: spirit of soul

  tina: to bear

  to: at

  torsk: ichthyosaur

  torskan: ichthyosaurs

  torskanat: ichthyosaur’s bane

  ulfadan: long-beards

  veigil: heavy, important

  wedam: island

  SESEK–ENGLISH

  bansemnilla: marsupial carnivore

  charadis: flax

  Deifoben: place of the golden beaches

  porro: beer

  tagaso: maize corn

  waliskis: mastodon

  ANGURPIAQ–ENGLISH

  NOUNS

  Angurpiaq: real people

  Erquigdlit: fantasy people

  etat: forest

  ikkergak: large boat

  imaq: open sea

  inge: vulva

  munga: small fish, codling

  nangeq: destination

  paukarut: tent

  qingik: house, shelter

  qivio: path

  qunguleq: arctic seaweed

  ularuaq: large squatic mammal

  VERBS

  alutora: like

  ardlerpa: hunt

  ikagput: be many

  liorpa: build

  misugpa: eat

  muluva: be absent

  nagsoqipa: be equal, make no distinction

  nakoyoark: be excellent

  siagpai: be important

  takugu: see

  tingava: intercouse

  AFFIXES

  -adluinar: completely

  -eetchuk: long ago

  -guaq: inferior

  -kaq: small

  -luarpoq: too much

  -qaq: quick

  -taq: new-caught

  -tamnagok: then, now, soon

  ZOOLOGY

  BANSEMNILLA

  (Metatheria: Didelphys dimidiata)

  A reddish-gray marsupial with three deep black bands down its back. It has a prehensile tail and opposable toes on its hind feet. It is carnivorous, favoring rats and mice, and is bred by the Sasku to eliminate these vermin from their corncribs.

  BOAT

  (Cephalopoda: Archeololigo olcostephanus mutatus)

  Yilanè surface water transport. Propulsion is obtained by a strong jet of water expelled to the stern. The creatures have only rudimentary intelligence like their ancestral squids, but can be trained to follow certain simple commands.

  CLOAK

  (Selachii: Elasmobranchus kappa mutatus)

  Used by the Yilanè for warmth during the night or inclement weather. These creatures have absolutely no intelligence, but if they are well fed they will maintain a body temperature of approximately 102 degrees F.

  DEER

  (Eutheria: Cervus mazama mazama)

  A small deer with antlers as unbranched spikes. It is found in great numbers in the North Temperate Zone. The Tanu value these creatures both for their meat and their skins. The hides are tanned to make clothing and small leather articles (e.g. moccasins [madrap] and bags).

  ENTEESENAT

  (Sauropterygia: Elasamosaurus plesiosaurus)

  A predaceous marine reptile well adapted to pelagic life and relatively unchanged since the Cretaceous period. They have small short heads and long snakelike necks. The paddlelike flippers are similar to those of the marine turtle. Newer varieties have been developed with greater cranial capacity that enable them to be trained to supply food for the larger uruketo (Icthyosaurus monstrosus mutatus).

  EISEKOL

  (Eutheria: Trichecbus latirostris mutatus)

  An herbivorous aquatic mammal which dredges for underwater plants in its original unaltered state. Gene manipulation has greatly increased the animal’s size so that it can be utilized for underwater channel clearing, as well as dredging.

  ELINOU

  (Saurischia: Coelurosaurus compsognathus)

  A small and agile dinosaur, much appreciated by the Yilanè for its pursuit and destruction of small mammalian vermin. Because of its colorful markings and complaisant nature it is often given the status of a pet.

  EPETRUK

  (Saurischia: Tyrannosaurus rex)

  The largest and most powerfully armed of the great carnosaurs. Over 40 feet long, the males weigh up to 7 tons. The forearms are small but strong. Because of its great weight it is quite slow, therefore attacks only the largest animals. A large amount of its diet is obtained by driving smaller carnivores from their kill.

  ESTEKEL*

  (Pterosauria: Pterodactylus quetzalcoatlus)

  The largest of the flying reptiles with a wingspan of over thirty feet. The bones are very light and strong, while the weight of the immense toothed beak is balanced by the bony outcrop on the back of the skull. They are found solely at the mouths of large rivers since they can only become airborne in locations such as this where large waves run counter to the prevailing winds.

  GREATDEER

  (Eutheria: Alces machlis gigas)

  The largest of all the deer. It is distinguished from other members of the Cervidae by the spread of the impressive antlers of the males. Hunted by the Tanu, not only for its meat, but for its hide which is preferred for use in covering their tents.

  GULAWATSAN

  (Ranidae: Dimorphognathus mutatus)

  The application of gene-splitting for controlled mutation can be appreciated when the gulawatsan is examined closely. This was formerly a toothed frog, but the present form appears to have little resemblance to its forebears. Their powerful croaking, heard in tropical jungles during the mating season, has been enhanced and increased until the sound emitted is deafening in the close proximity.

  HÈSOTSAN

  (Squamiata: Paravaranus comensualis mutatus)

  This species of monitor lizard has been so modified that it now bears little resemblance to the original. Steam generating glands from Brachinus beetles violently project a dart which is poisoned when it passes over the sex organs of a commensal Tetradontid fish. This poison, the most dead
ly known, produces paralysis and death when as little as 500 molecules are present.

  LONGTOOTH

  (Metatheria: Machaerodus neogeus)

  Long-tusked member of the marsupial tiger family. A large and ferocious carnivore that uses its greatly extended upper canine teeth to bring down its prey. Some Kargu hunters have a commensal relationship with these beasts to aid them in hunting.

  ISEKUL*

  (Columbae: Columba palumbus)

  This gentle bird presents an ideal example of Yilanè science at its most practical. Like many other species, this one uses magnetized iron particles in its forebrain to detect the Earth’s magnetic field as an aid in navigation. Through selective breeding the Isekul* will now point its head in any selected direction for long periods of time, until distracted by thirst or hunger.

  MASINDUU

  (Anuva: Rana catesbiana mutatus mutatus)

  The sanduu is an accepted laboratory creature for magnifying images up to 200 times. However it lacks versatility in that only one observer at a time can utilize it. The masinduu is a variation that permits the image to be projected onto any white surface to be viewed by two or more researchers.

  MASTODON

  (Eutheria: Mastodon americanus)

  A large mammal noted for its long upper tusks. It has a prehensile trunk reaching to the ground. Its domestication by the Tanu permits them to cover great distances when hunting and foraging, using the mastodons to pull large travois.

  NENITESK

  (Ornithischia: Triceratops elatus)

  Herbivorous quadruped characterized by the possession of three horns set in a bony protective shield, unchanged since the Cretaceous period. They reproduce by laying eggs. Their brain capacity is small and their intelligence even smaller. Since they are slow growing they are of little use for meat supply, but are extremely decorative.

 

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