#language reference

So, I was absolutely ASTOUNDED to discover there isn't, as far as I could find, any dedicated directory of a List Of Words for the Cybertronian languages, though there is some documentation on the written languages themselves.

Inspired by those, I started creating a document to keep track of Cybertronic languages used in the fanfictions I write, because I have an obsession for fantasy language in a story actually being written out.

Would anyone be interested in sharing this resource? I don't have terribly many words installed yet, and I mostly focus on the common tongue since that's what comes up most often in my stories so far, but I plan to flesh out all of them with time.

Finding comprehensible input material to study from can be hard sometimes. There’s an old type (and I mean OLD) of learning books usually called something like “X-language by The Natural Method.” Of all the books I’ve seen, those seem most suited to trying to learn from comprehensible input starting immediately.  Le Français par le Méthode Nature (for French), L'italiano par le Méthode Naturelle (for Italian), and Lingva Latina (for Latin) are two of some of the books made in this style. 

It should be mentioned that there are a lot of books from similar time periods labelled ‘the nature method’ or ‘the direct method,’ but they are not all the same. The best books I’ve found for this are written entirely or almost entirely in the target language, and use pictures along with starting incredibly basic and then slowly building up complexity over time - intending for you to be able to learn new words and new grammar from the context of the book and from what you’ve learned earlier in the book. Lingva Latina is probably the most well known book that is designed this way, and it’s the book that made me want to see if there were any books for other languages written this way. 

I’ve also been looking up youtube channels that teach this way (basically, that teach mostly with comprehensible input based lessons):

For Spanish: Dreaming Spanish (one of the best examples I’ve seen of this kind of content)

For French: Alice Ayel (the first channel I found for this in French), French Comprehensible Input (which has few followers considering how useful I’m finding the lessons)

For Italian: impara l'italiano con italiano automatico

For Polish: MrRealPolish (specifically if you start with their Learn Polish - Polish For  Beginners videos).

For Chinese: Hit Chinese (they’ve made a lot of content for this, and it’s appreciated), Unconventional Chinese with Keren (I really like the way she structures her lessons).

A short-list of my favorite places to go to for info about Tolkein’s various conlangs. The list is heavy on Sindarin references because that’s my favorite, but many of the below are multi-language reference sites. Enjoy!

Ambar Eldaron - Basic English-Sindarin Dictionary PDF

Ardalambion - This is actually a grammar primer of all of Tolkein’s various languages; an amazing resource for those who need to extrapolate the conjugations of various words. It’s a little bit dense, but packed full of useful info (Sindarin)

JRRVF.com - A digitalization of The Didier Willis Sindarin Dictionary Project

Mellonath Daeron - A brief Tolkein Language Guild reference with several useful words/phrases in Quenya and Sindarin

Parf Edhellen - High end, completely searchable open-sourced dictionary of Quenya, Sindarin, Noldorin, Telerin and Dwarvish; it even includes Primitive Elvish, Khuzdul and Adunaic (My favorite resource!)

Sindarin Lessons - Easy to understand set of Sindarin language lessons; a great place to start learning!

Tecendil - This isn’t a dictionary, but a super-fun, easy-to-use site that transliterates anything from English into Tengwar (fancy Elvish script); great for fanart or just to see what your name looks like in Elvish, lol

хозяин - (n) boss, chief, employer; landlord; owner, proprietor настроение - (n) emotions, mood, spirits чудак - (n) strange person, eccentric спор - (n) dispute, controversy, argument преступник - (n) criminal саботаж - (n) sabotage полиция - (n) police

They refer to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). They give sort of a guide for different understanding and fluency levels for language learners.

A1: is the first “stage”. You can use and understand basic phrases and have a very basic vocabulary and grammar. Usually at this level you can introduce yourself and answer common questions like: what’s your name?, where do you come from?

A2: is the next level, in which you understand conversations in a basic level but are able to use grammar more properly and come up with more complex sentences. A little bit under a native speaker child.

B1: this is like saying you can speak and understand a language in an intermediate level. You can understand more abstract situations and can speak more fluently without having to “miss” some parts of the speech while talking.

B2: like saying you’re advanced intermediate. You can understand complex topics either concrete or abstract. You can deal more spontaneous situations that might arise. The complexity of the sentences you can write and understand is more advanced and can read most texts even if you don’t know beforehand what it is about.

C1: this level is pretty advanced. You can deal with any situation that you might encounter whether it’d be a conversation or a text. Your vocabulary is really extended (most native speakers talk to this degree).

C2: this is the last level. Usually translators need to have this level of proficiency. You are completely fluent in your target language and your understanding of grammar is very complex and can deal with the most difficult texts in said language.

人気な （にんきな） popular

When the cause of something is the speaker's fault, it can sound rude to use から, so use ので

体調が悪い （たいちょうがわるい）not feeling well (more temporary)

授業 （じゅぎょう）class

返事が遅れてすみません （へんじがおくれて）sorry for the late reply (use が for the verb 遅れる) -- can also use 遅くなる （おそく）conjugated as 遅くなって

〜をなくす to lose (something)

入る to enter (exception verb)

A tiny cheat sheet for customer service Spanish, focused on fabric stores. There are obviously more professional or correct ways to say these things, but it’s aimed at people who don’t really know Spanish, and trust me, your Spanish-speaking customers will appreciate the effort.

Obviously I’m not fluent in any way, shape, or form, so if anyone has corrections, please tell me!

How can I help you? ¿Como te puedo ayudar? (Coh-moh tay pweh-doh ah-you-dahr)

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Lo siento, no entiendo. (Loh see-en-toh, no en-tee-endo)

I only speak a little Spanish. Solo hablo un poco de Español. (Solo ah-blow oon poh-koh day ess-pan-yol)

Slower, please. Más lento, por favor. (Mahs len-toh, pohr fuh-vohr)

Do you speak English? ¿Habla Inglés? (Ah-blah in-glays)

How many yards? ¿Cuántas yardas? (Kwan-tahs yard-ahs)

Okay, one yard. Bueno, una yarda. (Bwen-oh, oo-nuh yard-ah)

One and a half yards. Una y media yarda. (Oo-nuh ee meh-deeuh yard-ah)

Two yards. Dos yardas. (Dohs yard-ahs)

Anything else? ¿Algo más? (Ahl-go mahs)

Thank you, have a nice day. Gracias, que tengas un buen día. (Grahsee-ahs, kay ten-gahs oon bwen dee-ah)