Sh'oramelai - Morphology
A primer on the morphology of the Sh'oramelai language.
More on Sh’oramelai:
About Sh’oramelai
Alphabet and Pronunciation
Dictionary
Core Grammar
High Sh'oramelai
Sh’oramelai is agglutinative – words are built from roots + affixes, following a preferred syllable structure.
Example:
Root: sira (light)
Plural affix: -is
sirais = lights
Please keep in mind that the day to day person would not think about affixes. They just understand and use words as whole units without analyzing the parts.
Think of English: most speakers don’t stop to consider that “walked” is walk + -ed. They just know what “walked” means.
Similarly, a Sh’oramelai speaker wouldn’t think, “I need to add ‘-ir’ to ‘melyaun’ to say ‘I’m singing.’” They would simply say “Ei melyaunir.”
These lists of root words and affixes are for people who want to study the language! (And my own use in creating new words for the dictionary.)
Syllable Structure
V=Vowel, C=Consonant
Allowed Syllables: V, CV, VC, CVC
Preferred syllable endings: Vowels or L, M, N, R, -Ph, -Th
Max 2 consonants per syllable.
A Note on Vowels
If a root + suffix, modifier, or prefix combination results in either:
three or more adjacent vowels, OR
two identical vowels in sequence,
the form must be simplified for clarity and ease of pronunciation.
When three vowels appear between consonants, replace the middle vowel with “y.”
When two repeated vowels appear between consonants, replace the second vowel with “y.”
Examples:
virelliiel changes to virelliyel
virelliir changes to virelliyr
Root Words
aenil- = dream, to dream
aevon- = orb
ahel- = words
alei- = eye
alur- = jewelry
amier- = home
amur- = change, chaos
ane- = ember
auph- = to own
elen- = sight, to perceive, to see
elir- = star
enal- = chant, dream-sing
hael- = being, to be
halin- = fear, to fear
iesphil- = intelligent, immortal race of horses
ila- = lack of control
ilen- = group
iren- = to go, to move, to walk
ithral- = place
jain- = grace
jan- = defiant
jel- = ocean
jem- = dog
jenil- = peace, rest, to rest
lae- = education, learning
loar- = bowl, cup, vessel
lor- = earth, growth, life, to grow, to live
maph- = volcano
mas- = destiny, fate
mel- = flow, water, to flow
mer- = intention
mien- = ambition
mila- = celebration, party
min- = ice
mir- = sound, to hear, to listen, to sound
mivra- = life force
morai- = necklace, pendant
nael- = name, identity, to declare identity, to name
nau- = body
neah- = dance
nis- = shadow, darkness
niv- = divinity
omel- = tree, to root, to settle
osil- = uncertainty
osmi- = conflict, fight
oya- = loyalty
phar- = honest
phel- = friend, trust, to trust, to befriend
phen- = sky
phier- = palace
photh- = object, item
push- = fish
rau- = reason
s’al- = to come
s’an- = anger
s’aeth- = cause
s’el- = tool, to use
sael- = beauty
sar- = rank
sela- = celestial (being), heaven
sen- = echo, memory, to echo, to remember
senth- = strength
ser- = hope
sh’ael- = building
sh’ar- = connection
sh’ath- = shield
sh’eir- = to take
sh’en- = person
sh’enel- = emotion, feeling
sh’ivel- = hate, rejection, to hate, to reject
sh’ivar- = magic, to cast/use magic
sh’olen- = grief, sorrow, to grieve, to mourn
sh’ora- = spirit (formless people existing in the life force, not ghosts)
s’iej- = kindness
s’il- = to drift, to float, to let go
sith- = heal
siph- = fertility, robustness
sira- = light, to light
siven- = fire, to set on fire
s’oal- = royal
thaen- = elder
thar- = stone, mountain
ther- = knowledge
thimo- = patience
thiren- = time
thevim- = home
thres- = ancient (as in the being, not age)
thun- = bravery
una- = sun
uri- = unknown (noun)
vale- = guide
velin- = death, to die
valeth- = blade, cut, edge, to cut, to slash
vanel- = gift, to give
vani- = cross, to cross, to pass through
ven- = balance
ves’u- = dragon
vira- = happiness, joy, to rejoice
virel- = breath, wind, to breathe
yaun- = voice, to speak, to voice
yeth- = quiet
yel- = moon, thought, to consider, to think
yon- = confidence
Suffixes
These directly change the meaning of root words, creating new word forms.
Action Suffixes
Most often used for verb forms but can appear in noun forms.
-ae – timeless/permanent condition/state – melae – exists in a state of flow
-ai – wanting/longing – melai – wants to flow
-ar – command – melar! – flow!
-el – completed/stopped – melel – has flowed
-en – just started/beginning – melen – is beginning to flow
-eth – possibility – meleth – might flow
-iel – wishing/hoping – meliel – may it flow – less active than “-ai”
-ir – in progress – melir – is flowing
-tha – definite future – meltha – will flow
Nominal Suffixes
Used to derive new nouns from root words, but may also apply to verbs.
-al – thing/result – melal – water produced
-as – of the ancients, touched/blessed by the ancients – melas – water of/touched/blessed by the ancients
-est – living essence/person/role – melest – singer
-ith – of the life force/blessed by the life force (mivra) – melith – water blessed by the life force
-iv – relating to family honor – meliv – family water (honored, revered)
-on – location/place – melon – river
-oph – abstract/sacred form – meloph – sacred water (as in blessed by a religion)
-oth – object/item – meloth – drink
-pha – ordinal – amipha – first (see Ordinals under Numbers below)
-ya – instrument/tool – melya – well
Descriptor Suffixes
Used to modify meaning or intensity. Most often used for nouns, but can appear with verbs.
-a – name – Mela – someone named after water
-is – plural – melis – multiple waters
-li – augmentative – melli – ocean
-min – cold – melmin – cold water
-ri – diminutive – melri – creek
-siva – hot – melsiva – boiling water
Suffix Stacking Rules
If there are multiple suffixes used, they go in this order:
Word – Action Suffix – Nominal Suffix – Descriptor Suffix
No more than one suffix from each category may appear in a single word.
That means a word should have no more than three suffixes.
The order reflects how meaning builds: what the action is, what form it takes, then how it’s described.
Root Stacking Rules
Multiple root words may be combined to form compound words.
The primary or dominant root always comes first.
No more than three roots may be stacked to create a single derivative.
Suffixes are applied after the full compound is formed.
Suffixes follow the same stacking order as in single-root constructions.
Numbers
Sh’oramelai has its own written symbols for numbers, but when they are spelled out, this is how it works.
1 – ami
2 – reja
3 – uni
4 – sh’ava
5 – nieri
6 – phosa
7 – rasi
8 – s’aena
9 – thieri
0 – sana
When escalating value, numbers change into compounds and drop the last vowel (a or i). This creates smoother combinations during compounding.
So the 10s affix would be am-
10 – amsana
11 – amami
12 – amreja
13 – amuni
14 – amsh’ava
15 – amnieri
16 – amphosa
17 – amrasi
18 – ams’aena
19 – amthieri
20 – rejsana
30 – unsana
40 – sh’avsana
50 – niersana
60 – phossana
70 – rassana
80 – s’aensana
90 – thiersana
When reaching hundreds, more prefixes are added, now separated by hyphen. Added before tens prefixes.
To form hundreds, use the prefix vi- with the base number root.
viami- = 100
vireja- = 200
viuni- = 300
vish’ava- = 400
vinieri- = 500
viphosa- = 600
viras- = 700
vis’aen- = 800
vithier- = 900
Thousands act similarly, coming before hundred markers. This is added before the hundreds prefixes.
To form thousands, use the prefix ra- with the base number root.
raymi- = 1000
rareja- = 2000
rauni- = 3000
rash’ava- = 4000
ranieri- = 5000
raphosa- = 6000
rarasi- = 7000
ras’aena- = 8000
rathieri- = 9000
Tens of thousands act similarly to tens. Drop the last vowel of the thousand and compound with original words for 1-9 and 0.
So the 10000s affix would be raam-… or you could just look at it as adding ra- (thousand) to the original double tens.
10000 – raymsana
11000 – raymami
12000 – raymreja
13000 – raymuni
14000 – raymsh’ava
15000 – raymnieri
16000 – raymphosa
17000 – raymrasi
18000 – rayms’aena
19000 – raymthieri
20000 – rarejsana
30000 – raunsana
40000 – rash’avsana
50000 – raniersana
60000 – raphossana
70000 – rarassana
80000 – ras’aensana
90000 – rathiersana
Hundred Thousands act similarly to hundreds and thousands, pairing vi- and -ra. This is added before the thousands prefixes.
To form hundred thousands, use the prefix vira- with the base number root.
viraymi- = 100,000
virareja- = 200,000
virauni- = 300,000
virash’ava- = 400,000
viranieri- = 500,000
viraphosa- = 600,000
virarasi- = 700,000
viras’aena- = 800,000
virathieri- = 900,000
Millions act the same way as hundreds and thousands. It is placed before the hundreds thousands place. (“Millions” isn’t used frequently.)
To form millions, use the prefix mu- with the base number root.
muami- = 1mil
mureja- = 2mil
muyni- = 3mil
mush’ava- = 4mil
munieri- = 5mil
muphosa- = 6mil
murasi- = 7mil
mus’aena- = 8mil
muthieri- = 9mil
There is no separate word for “billion” or “trillion.” Larger numbers would be built by using the same pattern above up to 9,999,999 and then adding it together. They don’t really have a need for numbers in the billions and above, and scientific numbers use a different numeral system not covered here.
Examples:
Ninety-Two = thierreja
Five-Hundred-Seventy-Four = vinieri-rassh’ava
Seven-Thousand-Four-Hundred-Twenty-Five = rarasi-vish’ava-rejnieri
Nine-Hundred-Thousand-And-Fifty-Four = virathieri-niersh’ava
Eight-Million-Six-Hundred-Fifty-Five-Thousand-Two-Hundred-Thirty = mus’aena-viraphosa-raniernieri-vireja-unsana
Numbers Template
Millions Prefix – Hundred Thousands Prefix – Compound Tens of Thousands or Thousands Prefix – Hundreds Prefix – Compound Tens or Single Jennilt.
If someone is being extremely formal, they may space out the tens and single Jennilts, separated by “e” (and).
Example: rejsana e s’aena = twenty and eight.
Ordinals
Ordinals – first, second, third, etc.
Ordinal words are formed by adding -pha to the full base number, without dropping the final vowel.
Examples:
First – amipha
Second – rejapha
Third – unipha
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