The Vaasi Language Is Danish, Correct?

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Just because I've been spending *way* too much time rereading Nova Vaasa's entry in Gaz V and so this would make things much easier for me to know, but...

The in-game language of Vaasi is largely based on the real-world language of Danish, correct?

I'd remembered that, on http://www.dictionary.com, the sixth entry or so is an entry for a multilingual dictionary. I checked a few of the words presented in the Language Primers for Vaasi and found that most of them lined up with Danish. However, not all...

If anyone knows, where might I find some of the others? Or is Vaasi entirely based on Danish but with a few words having fallen out of use? (For example, a long Google search turned up that "kesjer" does *not* mean "king" but instead is a modification of "caesar" or "kaiser.")

Specifically, I'm hoping to find out what "Den Bjaergekesjer" means, which is one of the epic poems that the Vaasi poet Ansgar wrote, as I can't find a translation for "bjaerge" and doubt that it's a compound in itself. But generally, I'd also like to find out what Vaasi derives from, if in fact it's more than just Danish, so that I can do future translations on my own.

For others who're interested, a half-way decent online translator can be found here: http://www.translation-guide.com/free_o ... &to=Danish

As always, though, for best results you'll want to translate just one word at a time, as grammar and syntax seem to be beyond almost all online translators...

[Nathan of the FoS]

Just because I've been spending *way* too much time rereading Nova Vaasa's entry in Gaz V and so this would make things much easier for me to know, but...

The in-game language of Vaasi is largely based on the real-world language of Danish, correct?

I'd remembered that, on http://www.dictionary.com, the sixth entry or so is an entry for a multilingual dictionary. I checked a few of the words presented in the Language Primers for Vaasi and found that most of them lined up with Danish. However, not all...

If anyone knows, where might I find some of the others? Or is Vaasi entirely based on Danish but with a few words having fallen out of use? (For example, a long Google search turned up that "kesjer" does *not* mean "king" but instead is a modification of "caesar" or "kaiser.")

Specifically, I'm hoping to find out what "Den Bjaergekesjer" means, which is one of the epic poems that the Vaasi poet Ansgar wrote, as I can't find a translation for "bjaerge" and doubt that it's a compound in itself. But generally, I'd also like to find out what Vaasi derives from, if in fact it's more than just Danish, so that I can do future translations on my own.

For others who're interested, a half-way decent online translator can be found here: http://www.translation-guide.com/free_o ... &to=Danish

As always, though, for best results you'll want to translate just one word at a time, as grammar and syntax seem to be beyond almost all online translators...

AFAIK it's just Danish, with some odd Anglicizations (I remember a Danish-speaking board member complaining about this back on the SotK boards).

FWIW, "Caeser/Kaiser" is a fairly common title for a ruler--Kaiser and Czar are two derivatives of the root.

EDIT: "bjerg" is "mountain", so the title is probably just a slight odd take on "The Mountain King".

[Lord Cyclohexane]

AFAIK it's just Danish, with some odd Anglicizations (I remember a Danish-speaking board member complaining about this back on the SotK boards).

Okay, cool! It just looks like, with some words, I'm going to have to do some research, then. Thanks!

FWIW, "Caeser/Kaiser" is a fairly common title for a ruler--Kaiser and Czar are two derivatives of the root.

Yep, Caesar being the normal Roman Empire term and Kaiser being the Byzantine term. It's also the origin for "tsar" IIRC.

My problem was that, since Gaz V translated "kesjer" as "king", I thought I had the wrong language when "kesjer" turned up no translation in English and the English-to-Danish from "king" kept giving me "konge." So I figured Vaasi might be more than just Danish...

Turns out, if I'd been paying attention to the Nova Vaasa history section, I'd realize that "emperor" or "kaiser" kept the meaning better, since Vaasa was a world-spanning thing. So "kesjer" seems to be the best title, it just threw me off since apparently it's not used enough to be put in a Danish-to-English dictionary...

[Lord Cyclohexane]

EDIT: "bjerg" is "mountain", so the title is probably just a slight odd take on "The Mountain King".

Sweet! Thanks!

Plus, now I understand the derivation for "iceberg" doesn't have to do with a town of ice...

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Actually, I guess if I could ask for one more aid... For translating the title "Fare imod de Aften", I'm a touch confused...

Fare - bucket, danger, brush, risk
Imod - to, towards, against, contrary to, opposed, in return for, compared with
De - they, those, you
Aften - evening, night

Best I could figure is something like "Dangers of the Night" and it'd be about all of the Vaasi beasties that prowl the darkness, like the hestdrikker and other things from the flora/fauna section of Nova Vaasa?

[Nathan of the FoS]

Actually, I guess if I could ask for one more aid... For translating the title "Fare imod de Aften", I'm a touch confused...

Fare - bucket, danger, brush, risk
Imod - to, towards, against, contrary to, opposed, in return for, compared with
De - they, those, you
Aften - evening, night

Best I could figure is something like "Dangers of the Night" and it'd be about all of the Vaasi beasties that prowl the darkness, like the hestdrikker and other things from the flora/fauna section of Nova Vaasa?

Your interpretation is the best fit I can get out of those possibilities. I think you've got it right.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Your interpretation is the best fit I can get out of those possibilities. I think you've got it right.

Cool! Thanks again, Nathan!

[Bluebomber4evr]

It's not just Nova Vaasa that speaks Vaasi, but all the domains with darklords originally from the Forgotten Realms: Hazlan, Kartakass, and Valachan. It seems to me that Vaasi is essentially "Faerun Common Tongue"; with the prevalance of Scandanavian-inspired cultural elements (the Norse god Tyr, for example) in Faerun it would make a good fit.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Hmmm, from looking into the Danish alphabet, it appears that spelling it "Vaasi" or "Våsi" render the same pronounciation.

For a great list of Danish words (including occupations/professions), check this out: http://www3.sympatico.ca/colin.swift/danish.htm

For a pronounciation guide for the Danish (Norwegian) alphabet, here: http://www.hadelandlag.org/resources/resnorseltrs.htm

And for a huge list of first names that'll be swell for Vaasi, here: http://www.borgos.nndata.no/1stnames.htm

I hope this helps somebody at some point!

[Brandi]

That reminds me; I should do more tweaking of my old language list (and language links).