Sonen Rin-Kodon

Language

• Common Phrases

  You may encounter some or all of the following phrases when interacting with Sonen. Here's a handy (OOC-knowledge) translation guide:
  

  • (Nan e) Sarentah!: Hello/Greetings (to you)!
  • Saren dobere! / Saren dóre! / Sardór! : Good day!
  • (Nan) rala!: Peace (to you)/Good-bye!
  • Senalet (saren/rok) nan, rón?: How are you (this day/night)?
  • Al dobere yah. / Al dóre yah.: I'm fine.
  • E nale nan.: Thanks.
  • Salos/Saloset.: Please.
  • Tasel/Taselet.: You're welcome.
  • Yan ni áhne ée? (most commmonly as Yan'yáhne ée?): What in the world?
  • Yet sá, ée?: Is that so?
  • Ke...: Good.
  • Es/De: Yes/No
  • Nah terónahket!: Forgive me!
  • Ió...: Verbal comma, a bit like the "eh" he will often say when trying to come up with the right word.
    

• Accent Notes

  Sonen's language, Ahnakáh, has a much more limited variety of sounds than the Common tongue (i.e., English). Therefore, the following irregularities may be noted about his speech:
  
  Vowels
  Sonen's native tongue contains the following vowel sounds:

  • A – like "ah" in "father" (British pronunciation, not American), or "git aht a' tahn" if you're from certain areas of Pennsylvania.
  • AH – like "ah" in "father" (American pronunciation), or in the American pronunciation of "always" or "on." Pronounced further back in the mouth than A.
  • E – like "eh" in "bet" when unstressed/short, but more like in the Spanish word "peso" when stressed/long.
  • I – like in "bit" when unstressed/short, but more like in "machine" when stressed/long.
  • O – halfway between "boat" and "put" when unstressed/short, but more like "boat" when stressed/long.

  
  Note: "Long" vowels in this sense means that they are pronounced for double the duration of "short" vowels, not necessarily that they are a different sound. If Sonen is emphasizing a word, even where the vowel is "short," it will probably sound more like the "long" version as listed above. Long vowels are noted by an acute accent: á, áh, é, í, ó.
  
  The lack of a U vowel means that Sonen will often replace any U sounds with the closest approximation, an O. He's working on it, though.
  
  Consonants
  Sonen's native tongue does not have the following consonant sounds:

  • H – often either omitted or transmuted to a K sound
  • J – often pronounced as DY
  • M – He tries with this one, he really does. Closest he gets sometimes is BN, but he may just gloss over it with an N sound.
  • NG – Will mostly be pronounced as an N, though he's getting better.
  • SH – often pronounced as SY
  • TH – the "soft" version may come out either as a T, TY, or S; the "hard" version may sound more like a D or DY.
  • W – most often as an O

  
  In the interest of clarity, and because Sonen is genuinely getting better as he practices, I will usually spell words normally, not as he usually pronounces them. His accent will always be noticeable, but the words should be more or less intelligible (more if he's been practicing, less if he's frustrated or tired).