The King and the God - Proto-Indo-European spoken @quellant6937

Quellant An attempt to read EIEC's 2013 translation of "The King and the God." I am not a PIE scholar! My literal-ordered translation is not that accurate. I messed up the palatals! I know! Argh

This was my first video, so there are some mistakes.
English translation errors: "What willest thee" (not 3rd person "willeth"), and "I will (for) a son."

m-dot and n-dot are in fact syllabic resonants and not voiceless, (I'm too used to IPA, where they represent de-voicing)..

I pronounced "ǵ" and "ḱ" incorrectly. Most likely palatalized [gj] / [kj]. Some of the vocalic resonants (with circle underneath), I pronounced as de-voiced. My mistake.

Wérunos is related to the Sanskrit Varuṇa / Greek Ouranos / Latin Uranus

updated 8 years ago

The King and the God - Proto-Indo-European spoken

Quellant 2015-12-04 | An attempt to read EIEC's 2013 translation of "The King and the God." I am not a PIE scholar! My literal-ordered translation is not that accurate. I messed up the palatals! I know! Argh

This was my first video, so there are some mistakes.
English translation errors: "What willest thee" (not 3rd person "willeth"), and "I will (for) a son."

m-dot and n-dot are in fact syllabic resonants and not voiceless, (I'm too used to IPA, where they represent de-voicing)..

I pronounced "ǵ" and "ḱ" incorrectly. Most likely palatalized [gj] / [kj]. Some of the vocalic resonants (with circle underneath), I pronounced as de-voiced. My mistake.

Wérunos is related to the Sanskrit Varuṇa / Greek Ouranos / Latin Uranus

The Stele of Kuʀi - Ancient Egyptian Spoken

Quellant 2019-05-07 | * "embalmment-ium" ~ Shorthand for "Place of embalmment"

This is my casual, non-professionally informed, attempted reconstruction of an Old Kingdom memorial stele of an Ancient Egyptian policeman *Kuʀi from the 11th dynasty, (c. 2000 BCE)

Here I don't use Egyptological pronunciation, which typically inserts "e" between consonants as placeholders, or infers other vowels according to arbitrary conventions. These likely don't correspond to how the ancient pronunciation might've actually been like.

Since hieroglyphic Egyptian was a logoconsonantal script, the majority of vowels are not recorded, so the vowel values of the pre-Coptic stages of Egyptian are anyone's guess.

For many words, I just guessed the vowels based on my own esoteric reading method. It shouldn't be seen as authoritative. I also referred to the Ancient Egyptian vocalization project to inform my guesses: en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_vocalization_project/List_of_vocalized_forms

Note how Egyptological pronunciation reads the soul as "ka." The Ancient Egyptian Vocalization Project, however, reconstructs it as "kuʀ," with an uvular trill. This is important, since instead of "Kay," I try to reconstruct the policeman's name as "Kuʀi."

For the Egyptological transliteration I variously interpret the following (with IPA symbols):
ȝ - */a, l, ʁ, ʀ/
ỉ - */a, i, ʲa, ʲi, aʲ iʲ/
= - */a/
z - */ts s sˤ/
ṯ - */c/
ḏ - */ɟ/

The AEVP relies on Coptic, Akkadian, and other outside attestations to infer older Egyptian vowel qualities.

Moreover, I looked at Sergei Starostin's Afro-Asiatic database did a bit of cross-comparison between Semitic and Chadic forms to make guesses for related forms in Egyptian. Starostin's work is often treated with heavy skepticism, but I still found it useful for cross-comparing Afro-Asiatic languages. (e.g. PAA *kum "black" thus I'd guess "Kumat" for the name of Egypt in Egyptian, (not "Kemet" with arbitrary Egyptological e's inserted)).

While it is not professional practice to assume that PAA vowels would necessarily be 100% preserved in a daughter language like Egyptian, I didn't hold myself to any strict diachronic standards since this is a casual video.

Old Egyptian likely had a 3-vowel system of /i a u/, as in Classical Arabic. However, Egyptian also likely had /l/, yet it overlaps with /n/ and /r/ in the writing system. Due to this confusion, I pronounce them mostly as just /n/ and /r/ in my interpretation when there perhaps should be more /l/ in there. e.g. The preposition "to (the) venerable" might've had /l/, /li jamaχu/, yet I pronounce it /ni jamaχu/ due to this uncertainty.

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Transliterated text:

ḥtp-dỉ-nsw ỉnpw tpỉ-ḏw=f ỉmỉ-wt nb-tȝ-ḏsr
prt-ḫrw tȝ ḥnqt ḫȝ (m) kȝ ȝpd
n ỉmȝḫw ỉmỉ-rȝ nww-ḫȝswt ỉmỉ-rȝ smywt-ỉmntt Bšt sȝ kȝy mȝˁ-ḫrw
ḏd(=f) ỉnk nḏs n ḥw-nỉ-ḥr ḥȝt mšˁ hrw qsnt ḥssw
nb=f wpṯf pḥ.n=ỉ wḥȝt-ỉmntt ḏˁr.n=ỉ wȝwṯ
=s nbt ỉn.n=ỉ wtḫw gm.n=ỉ ỉm=s mšˁ wḏȝ
nn nhw=f swḏt.n=ỉ ỉỉ m ḥtp rdỉ.n wỉ
nb=ỉ m sȝ=sn m rwḏ(w)=f n ˁq-ỉb=f n mnḫ n
ỉrr=ỉ wpt n nb=ỉ ḥsw ỉmȝḫy ḳȝy mȝˁ-ḫrw

Note the absence of the majority of the vowel data.
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I've never taken any Egyptian language classes, so my understanding is fragmentary, limited, and not in accord with established conventions.

I do however notice typical Afro-Asiatic features in Egyptian:

- The "construct state," placing two nouns side by side, where the following noun possesses the former.
- Causative s
- Feminine suffix -t
- Consonantal root systems. While the Semitic languages usually have just triconsonantal roots, Egyptian had those in addition to biconsonantal and monoconsonantal roots as well, (and even as many as five consonants, but more rarely). PAA likely had similar variation, but the Semitic languages instead developed an emphasis on triconsonantal roots. Thus, Egyptian is perhaps more archaic in that respect.

Katharevousa with Ancient Greek pronunciation

Quellant 2019-02-25 | I attempt to read a passage of Katharevousa, polytonic "purist" Greek, (conceptually similar to Anglish / purist English), with my pronunciation based on models of reconstructed Ancient Greek phonetics.

I tend toward archaism, such as pronouncing "ου" as [o:] from 500 BCE Greek, as opposed to [u] in Hellenistic, Byzantine, and modern varieties.

Requested by YouTube user "Dude" / "1playerGameplay."

Inscription by Entemena of Lagash - Sumerian Language Spoken

Quellant 2018-06-22 | 2400 BCE border dispute between Lagash and Umma.
*Error: "kana pera" ("field measure," rather than "measure field")
My translation of the Sumerian is rather clunky / literal. I've never formally studied it. Just experimenting with the rendering the phonology and analyzing the cuneiform text in this video, mostly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Idiomatic English:

Enlil, king of all the lands, father of all the gods,
by his firm command, fixed the border between Ningirsu and Shara.

Mesilim, king of Kish, at the command of Ishtaran,
measured the field and set up a stele there.

Ush, ruler of Umma, acted unspeakably.
He ripped out that stele and marched toward the plain of Lagash.

Ningirsu, warrior of Enlil, at his just command, made war with Umma.

At Enlil's command, he threw his great battle net over it
and heaped up burial mounds for it on the plain.

Eannatum, ruler of Lagash, uncle of Entemena, ruler of Lagash
fixed the border with Enakale, ruler of Umma

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sumerian word "Etin" / "Eten" ("Edin, "Eden") meaning "plain, steppe, garden" may correspond to the name of the Biblical Garden of Eden,עֵדֶן (ʕ)eden ~ or the Hebrew could be from a Proto-Semitic root meaning "delight, pleasure."

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Been a year since my last upload. I hope to be more active in making content.

Possible upcoming projects:
- Middle Egyptian
- Hittite
- Vedic Sanskrit
- Classical Latin (or maybe Proto-Italic)
- Proto-Uralic (or Proto-Finno-Ugric)

Bran Stark meets the Three-Eyed Raven (in Proto-Indo-European!)

Quellant 2017-05-06 | Someone requested in a comment for me to do a Game of Thrones scene in Proto-Indo-European. This is my casual attempt.

I've never studied PIE at university. Tried to use instrumental of means, my own style of relative clause, subjunctive in a conditional statement.
(I don't know if these are real constructions in PIE).
Casually used the optative just to try it out.

I also tried to use the Future and the Pluperfect, (based on my study of Ancient Greek). (I dunno if these existed in PIE).

This is scene is from Season 4 Episode 10. I don't own the original clip. Belongs to Game of Thrones copyright.

Everlasting Honey - Proto-Indo-European Story

Quellant 2017-01-25 | Casual reading of a story written by University of Kentucky PIE students, (not by me!)
My approach is very literal ~ I want to know what the words are first, then worry about case, animate/inanimate, verbal aspects, etc.

Idiomatic English translation:
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"There once was a woman, who was the wife of the king.
She was famous across the land for her sweet honey.
The Sky God, in the form of a bear, smelled the honey and went to her house and tasted it.
The woman saw the bear and thought: “He has sweet eyes.”
She put some honey onto a tree for the bear at dawn.
The drunken king went to the house, saw honey on the bear’s nose, tongue, and mouth, and was furious.
He built a fire that made lots of smoke, and the bear went away.
The drunken king did not notice, but a large snake came and abducted the queen.
The bear returned and killed the snake, and he carried the queen to her house.
The queen gave her heart to the bear, and the bear revealed himself to be the Sky God! "
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Check out their "Bhlog" for more info.

Proto-Indo-European Gandalf

Quellant 2016-09-20 | Not accurate... My messed up translation attempt of Gandalf's Khazad-dûm speech into Proto-Indo-European.

Some errors:

Should be "h₁ésmi" (I am) instead of "*h₁ésti(n)" (he is)
~I am~ a servant of the secret fire, wielder of the sun's flame (flame of Anor).

"Gandalf" should be in the Vocative. "bʰlē-" means "shine / gleam" rather, giving rise to "flame"

Perhaps "ád yewh₂si" or ád yewh₂tosi" or "h₂ed yewh₂tos" (arbitrarily chose Secondary Active eventive ending for 2nd person singular "-s", yewh₂to-s(i))

apó Udunsyo ~ variously h₂epó Udun-oad (unsure whether to use ablative Udun-oad here, or genitive -osyo / -syo(?), corresponding to Sanskrit Genitive -sya)

Footage belongs to WingNut films and Peter Jackson. (Not my property!!)

I pronounce h3 as labialized voiced pharyngeal fricative, and h1 as voiceless glottal fricative, just my preference.

Gina (Sumerian - "cane / reed"), borrowed into Akkadian as qanû, and then Greek as kánna, "cane," I assumed possibly related to Old Norse gandr, (but likely not).

albʰe ( or h₂elbʰós) ~ albus / albino // white (as in a fairy / elf).
Supposed to be in the vocative, (but I said nominative albʰos in the audio)..

I think in Tolkien's Quenya, "Anor" means "Sun."

Classic Maya Spoken (Yokib Stela 3)

Quellant 2016-08-04 | *elapsed
*sihyaj ~ "born" or "sky-born" rather than "she born"
I'm not a Maya scholar. Made some mistakes. Just an amateur. My attempt at reading and interpreting Yo'k'ib Stela 3 in the extinct Cholti Maya dialect.

Stela 3 from Yo'-k'ib city (Great gateway or Great pit, possibly referring to a massive sinkhole), also known in Spanish as the Piedras Negras ("stones black") site.

Commissioned by king K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II (born December 29, 664 CE), in what is now Guatemala.

Serious resources for Maya script are very rare and often too informal.

I know Maya text is typically read in columns of horizontal pairs ( two squares per pair). However, like Chinese was once written vertically, but now horizontally on computers, I have done the same thing for this Maya text, (out of convenience). Stela 3 translation made popularly available on PBS Nova via Dr. Mark Van Stone and others.

Yes, the number 3, (Proto-Mayan "osh"), in the Cholan-Tzeltalan dialect cluster, "ush" / "osh" both occur. (Spanish Romanization, ux, ox), so I chose the more conservative "osh."

For "Crocodile day" I found conflicting reconstructions in classic Maya "Imix" and "imox," so I went with the first...

Apologies if my voice sounds nasal-y or annoying. Overarticulated open front unrounded vowel [a] at some points.

Reconstructed Ancient Greek Spoken (Iliad and Euclid)

Quellant 2016-06-25 | (Update: I was still in uni when I made this. My interpretation of Ancient Greek phonology is now slightly different from back then. Time passes!)

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Some readings (in Attic~Ionic style) of the opening Lines 1-7 of the Iliad, and the start of Euclid's Elements Book 13.17 (on dodecahedron)

I loosely transliterated the Iliad lines into Mycenaean Linear B, (for fun), since the Iliad likely depicts the Mycenaean Greek era.

Digamma 'w' was lost in Classical Greek, but persisted in some dialects.
Diaresis iota ï indicated a syllable boundary.
Doubled consonants are geminated / long.

Some guesses I made:
- Acute accent as a high tone on short vowels, rising tone on long vowels ω ει η ου.
- Circumflex as a universal high falling tone.
- Grave as a neutral or mid-low tone.

Oracle Bone Text - Old Chinese Spoken (上古漢語)

Quellant 2016-01-05 | (Reading starts 0:07) - *Earthly branch (not stem)

Very dubious attempt at speaking Old Chinese. Oracle bone characters borrowed from an Indiana University paper from 2010.

Old Chinese is said to be atonal. I'm unsure if there was vocalic stress. Maybe all the final stops should be unreleased / inaudible.

Columns are:
Regular Script, Small Seal Script, Oracle Bone, IPA Translit., and English literal
English idiomatic translation underneath.

Baxter-Sagart includes emphatic consonants in their reconstruction. For some words I prefer the Zhengzhang version. Most Chinese characters on Wiktionary feature both as options with a bearing on the original sounds.