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Lore:Falmer Language

< Lore: Linguistics

This article is about the Falmer language. For the race, see Snow Elf. For the creatures, see Falmer.

The Falmer language, also known simply as Falmer,[1] is an elven language used by the ancient Snow Elves.

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Known ExamplesEdit

The Falmer Alphabet is, or rather was, the alphabet used by the Snow Elves. It is a very stylized script, quite the opposite of the minimalist script of their Dwemer captors. There are only two known examples of the language, both appearing in Skyrim. The very low number of examples is probably due to the fact that the many Snow Elves who sought asylum with the Dwemer were forced to lose their sight, at which point they ceased to require a written language.

Gallus's Encoded Journal, written by a former Guild Master of the Thieves Guild, is written in the Falmer alphabet, but it directly transliterates into English. The Skyrim add-on Dawnguard adds an additional four books, Unknown Book, Vols. I, II, III, and IV, but they too directly transliterate into English.

 
A stone which translates both Dwemeris and the Falmer language.

The largest and only example of the Falmer language is inscribed on a stone in Calcelmo's Tower. The half that is in the Falmer language transliterates into:

ye sa sou meldi calne tarn va nou molagnenseliye trumbi nou bala
ilpen av sou meldi nagaiale as guntumnia spantelepelaelia arani morae
ye sou liebali racuvane ye nu rautane sye ye nu hautalle nou buroi
gume sou gravuloi sa metane sye garlis frey as gandra dwemera tarcel
lane sou agea ye frey as emeratis avatheledia carelle sou anyamissi
bisia silya nu hecta sou arcten rias nu nemalauta ge nu hecta sou epe
gandra rias ne nemalauta ge nu frey sepa sye arcta varlor denai
cullei noue staneiaye ry sou alasil auta ry loria shanta abagaiavoy
malautavoy fey nou darre ye alata nou malae asma moraga sou anyamis
av sercen pado ye gethena sou wend narilia vey emeratu sou oia bisia


The text appears in the Falmer Alphabet as follows:

YE SA SOU MELDI CALNE TARN VA NOU MOLAGNENSELIYE TRUMBI NOU BALA
ILPEN AV SOU MELDI NAGAIALE AS GUNTUMNIA SPANTELEPELAELIA ARANI MORAE
YE SOU LIEBALI RACUVANE YE NU RAUTANE SYE YE NU HAUTALLE NOU BUROI
GUME SOU GRAVULOI SA METANE SYE GARLIS FREY AS GANDRA DWEMERA TARCEL
LANE SOU AGEA YE FREY AS EMERATIS AVATHELEDIA CARELLE SOU ANYAMISSI
BISIA SILYA NU HECTA SOU ARCTEN RIAS NU NEMALAUTA GE NU HECTA SOU EPE
GANDRA RIAS NE NEMALAUTA GE NU FREY SEPA SYE ARCTA VARLOR DENAI
CULLEI NOUE STANEIAYE RY SOU ALASIL AUTA RY LORIA SHANTA ABAGAIAVOY
MALAUTAVOY FEY NOU DARRE YE ALATA NOU MALAE ASMA MORAGA SOU ANYAMIS
AV SERCEN PADO YE GETHENA SOU WEND NARILIA VEY EMERATU SOU OIA BISIA

No translation to this is provided, but parts of it can be translated, as detailed below.

Falmer LanguageEdit

Note: The partial translation below is just expert opinion.

The Falmer language appears to be heavily based on the Ayleid language. A large number of words are shared by both languages and it appears that the Falmer language also uses the same grammatical structure. Details on the Ayleid grammatical structure can be found here. One difference is the complete lack of punctuation and capitalization, making separating sentences and clauses very difficult. Punctuation has been inferred from the Dwemer version of the text.

Using Ayleid words to translate Calcelmo's Stone, it partially translates into:

And your people driven CALNE pass into our Halls of Fire, and TRUMBI our power.
ILPEN of your exiles killed by GUNTUMNIA SPANTEL-speak-throat kings of the wood,
and your LIE-stones down-in-never, and you RAUTANE SYE, and you shall become our slaves,
GUME your GRAVULOI. METANE SYE caverns FREY, by Dwemer gifts endured
LANE your wisdom and FREY by music of Avatheled CARELLE your new lives
BISIA SILYA. We exile your ARCTEN, RIAS you NEMALAUTA GE. We exile your gifts of speech,
RIAS you NEMELAUTA GE. You FREY SEPA SYE acknowledge dark-cast treaties
CULLEI our STANEIAYE. As your vision fades, as darkness comes forbidding,
MALAUTAVOY FEY our DARRE, and light our high, by what MORAGA your life
of SERCEN, and GETHENA your final journey VEY guiding your eternal BISIA.

An official, albeit out of game, translation of the text has also been provided, which reads like this:

And so it was that your people were given passage to our steam gardens, and the protections of our power.
Many of your people had perished under the roaring, snow-throated kings of Mora,
and your wills were broken, and we heard you, and sent our machines against your enemies, to thereby take you under.
Only by the grace of the Dwemer did your culture survive,
and only by the fifteen-and-one tones did your new lives begin.
We do not desire thanks, for we do not believe in it. We do not ask for gratitude, for we do not believe in it.
We only request you partake of the symbol of our bond, the fruit of the stones around us.
And as your vision clouds, as the darkness sets in, fear not.
Know only our mercy and the radiance of our affection, which unbinds your bones
to the earth before, and sets your final path to the music of your new eternity.[UOL 1]

Falmer DictionaryEdit

Below is a list of known Falmer words, gleaned from the official translation of Calcelmo's Stone. Definitions are provided when known. Because of the large number of compound words in the Falmer language, many words in the list will have similar parts.

AEdit

Abagaiavoy
fear not
Agea
culture
Alasil
vision
Alata
radiance
Anyammisi
lives (i.e. plural of life, most likely "Anyammis" as in Ayleidoon)
Anyamis
bones
Arani
kings (plural form most likely of "Aran" as in Ayleidoon)
Arcta
partake
Arcten
thanks
As
by
Asma
which
Auta
clouds (i.e. becomes unclear, foggy, etc.)
Av
of, to the

BEdit

Bala
power
Bisia
new
Buroi
machines

CEdit

Calne
given

DEdit

Darre
mercy
Denai
bond

EEdit

Emeratis
tones
Emeratu
music

FEdit

Falkreath[2]
Fey/frey
only

GEdit

Gandra
grace (e.g. "epe gandra": gratitude, lit. speak-grace)
Garlis
[physically] under
Ge
it
Gethena
sets
Gravuloi
enemies (compare with Ayleidoon "garauvoli")
Gume
against
Guntumnia
under (i.e. subordinate)

HEdit

Hautalle
sent
Hecta
undesired (e.g. "nu hecta": we do not desire)

LEdit

Liebali
wills
Loria
darkness

MEdit

Malae
affection
Malautavoy
know
Meldi
people
Metane
[to] take
Molagnenseliye
steam (lit. fire-water) gardens
Moraga
unbinds

NEdit

Nagaiale
[had] perished
Narilia
final
Nemalauta
believe/do not believe
Nu
we
Nou
our
Noue
us

OEdit

Oia
eternity

PEdit

Pado
before

REdit

Racuvane
[were] broken
Rautane
heard
Rias
for (i.e. because)
Ry
as

SEdit

Sa
so [it was]
Sepa
request
Sercen
earth
Shanta
sets in
Silya
begin (?)
Sou
your
Sye
you

TEdit

Tarn
passage
Trumbi
protections

VEdit

Va
to
Varlor
symbol
Vey
to the

WEdit

Wend
path

YEdit

Ye
and

ResourcesEdit

Falmer FontEdit

This font was created by GodRaine and is available for download. Note that all of the Falmer letters are written in entirely upper-case.

  • FalmerFont.zip 8Kb
  • For Windows: Unzip and copy the FalmerFont.ttf file into the WINDOWS\FONTS (95, 98/ME, XP, Vista and 7) or WINNT\FONTS (NT, 2000) directory.
  • For Mac: Unzip (Stuffit Expander should work), and copy the FalmerFont.TTF file into your /Library/Fonts folder.
  • For Linux: Open the TTF file and click on "Install Font".

UESP TemplateEdit

The usage on the wiki is described in more detail on its template.

ReferencesEdit

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.