Elbensproak is the fictional regional dialect of the Elbgau, a triangle of land in modern-day Lower Saxony, between Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven and Hamburg. C.f., Ingvaeonic. It blends early Germanic linguistic traditions, drawing influences from Proto-Germanic, Old High German (OHG), and the evolving forms of what would later become Old English. Designed to be recognisable to modern German speakers as well as those familiar with Old English.
Pronunciation: Pronounced as written. As with modern German, “ie” is pronounced as the long “e” sound in English “sheen,” while “ei” is the shorter “i” sound as in “hiding.” An initial ‘d’ would have a slight fricative quality, falling between the harder ‘d’ of modern German (das) and the softer ‘th’ (/ð/) in English (that). It would be more breathy and lenited than its Old High German counterpart, but still distinct from the fully fricative sound of Modern English.
| aesc | ash tree | OE: æsc D: asche |
| alugaist | schnapps | OE: ealugāst “ale-spirit” i.e., distilled. c.f. D: bierbrand “beer brandy” |
| amsla | blackbird | OE: ósle D: amsel |
| arledag | completed, finished | D: erledigt | Bloudaks | Bloodaxe | Ethnonym (derogatory) used amongst Britons for Saxons, c.f., “Tommy” or “Fritz” |
| bloudig | stupid, foolish, silly | E: bloody D: blöde |
| daohas | servants | OE: þeowas c.f., E: thrall |
| deagnas | retainers, knights | OE: þegnas E: thains D: Degen “warrior” (arch.) “sword” |
| deofskip | pirate ship | “thief ship” OE: ðeofscip |
| deogh | positive response to a negative utterance | pronounced: doch as Scottish loch OE: þēah “yet” E: though D: doch (contradictory) “on the contrary”. |
| dodwach | wake, deathwatch | D: totenwache NL: dodenwacht |
| dorpe | settlement, village | OE: þorp NL: dorp D: dorf c.f., E: Scunthorpe |
| dwark | thick milk, curds | D: quark |
| ead | noble | D: edel noble |
| Eadgar | Noble spear (name) | |
| Eostsae |
The Baltic | OE: Ēastsǣ D: Ostsee |
| faedum | fathom | span of a man’s outstretched arms, from fingertip to fingertip, equivalent to 1.83 meters or six feet |
| fluk | curse | D: Fluch, verflucht curse, cursed c.f., E: fluke luck, chance event. |
| folgian | follow | D: folgan |
| folkmoot | citizen’s gathering | OS: folcmōt “folk-meet” D: Volksversammlung |
| Fridweard | Peace-keeper (name of sword) | OE: friþ-ward D: Friedenswart “peacekeeper” |
| gar | Spear, cooked | OS: gar spear, garo ready, cooked D: gar cook |
| gau | district, county | D: Gau, “area, province” c.f. E: yeoman from OE: ġēa |
| genou | exactly, precisely | OE: cnāwan D: genau E: know |
| gesida | comrade | OE: gesíþ, “companion, fellow” D: Genosse |
| gesidas | companions, warriors | |
| gewisso | certainly | OE: gewis D: gewiss |
| hael | good health! | greeting OE: hæl “Be well!” E: hale “healthy” |
| hagabud | rosehips | D: Hagebutte “hedge lumps” |
| hengst | stallion | OE: hengest “stallion, horse” D: Hengst “stallion” |
| Hildfara | Battle-traveller (name) | OS: hild “battle, war” + -fara “to go, to travel” |
| Holmen | A proto-Viking seafaring people | OE: holm- “sea, ocean, wave”, or sometimes “an island in water”
D: Holm (dialect.) “island” c.f., I: Lochlannach “Norseman” |
| huat | listen, quiet | command, “Lo!” OE: hwæt why, what! ah! |
| hwistlan | Whistling | OE: hwistlian to hiss, whistle |
| irminsuel | sacred pillar | OS: irmin great + súl post, column “great pillar” c.f. D: säule column |
| keowan-wealsh | gibberish, babble | D: Kauderwelsch lit. “chewing-welsh” unintelligible speech c.f. OE: wylisc sprǣc I: béarla gallda “foreign speech” |
| kerl | lad, fellow | D: Kerl “bloke, guy”
OE: ceorl fellow c.f. E: churlish “rude” |
| ketel | kettle | OE: cytel “kettle” or “cauldron” D: Kessel |
| Kookamonad | January | Lit. “Cake Month” OE: Solmōnaþ |
| kraka | octopus | D: Kraken, Krake |
| krikkil | deer skull and antlers | D: Griggal or Krickal (Bavarian) Derived from Proto-Germanic krikk, “twig” (D: Zweig) |
| lur | War horn | Swedish: Lur phone |
| maki | sword | OE: mēce |
| nai | no (contradictory) | OE: nay D: nee |
| neiding | coward | OE: niþing “villian, vile person” E: nithing “coward or villain” (archaic) D: Neid “envy” |
| netla | nettle | OE: netele D: Nessel |
| niwiht |
fool, idiot | E: nitwit “idiot” D: Taugenichts “good-for-nothing” |
| Nordsae |
North Sea | OE: Norðsǣ D: Nordsee |
| rakat | loud noise, rattle, scrape | Old Norse: rakka, Middle Dutch: Raken D: Rabatz |
| raeda | advice, counsel | OE: rǣd “advice” D: Rat “advice” reden “talk” |
| schupp | storyteller, poet | (see skop) |
| Skeargá | warrior’s steed (name) | “battle-go” OS: scea battle + gá go |
| sieg-wife | victory woman | OE: sīgewīf victory-woman “bee” D: sieg- victory + weib woman Might be related to valkyrie |
| skirmen | skirmish, raid | D: Scharmützel |
| skoni magudi | pretty girls | D: schöne Mädchen NL: schoon meisjes |
| skop | bard, poet | OE: scop, sceop “poet” D: Schöpfer “creator” Rheinisch: Schüpp |
| skramsaks | short sword, knife | “wounding-knife” c.f., skram “wound” D: Schramme “scratch” |
| steorniess | shooting star | “star-sneeze” D: Stern “star” + niesen “sneeze” |
tolna | toll, tax, duty | OE: toln D: Zoll |
| walfish | whale (-fish) | OE: hwæl + fisc |
| wealsh | foreign, foreigner | E: Welsh, OE: wealh (pl. wealhas) D: Welsch c.f. Wallis (Valais canton, CH); |
| wara | take care, mind | E: warning (exhortation) D: Warnung, Pass auf! |
| warft | an artificial mound raised as a sea defence | OE: hweaf “embankment”, “shore” E: wharf D: werft “dock”, “shipyard” c.f. placename Lüdingsworth in Lower Saxony |
| wurda | fate | OE: wyrd E: weird “strange”
D: werden “become” |
| wurts-geba | herbalist, healer | OE: wyrtgifa
D: (Ge)würzgeber “spice/herb-giver” |
Phrases
| An swa? | And that is? D: Und zwar? |
| Be it swa | So be it |
| Dit bringit mik to spiotanne! | It makes me spit! D: Es bringit mich zum Spucken! |
| Deogh me skuld bindet, deina steorn me wider om tsieht | Though duty binds me, your star will draw me back D: Doch die Schuld mich bindet, dein Stern zieht mich zurück OE: Þeah me sceolde binde, þin steorra me eft teohð |
| Doast dou ken em? | Do you know him? Brythonic/Saxon creole phrase W: Wyt ti’n gwybod (ef)? |
| Godan morgen/dag | Good morning/day OE: Gōd morgen/dæg D: Güten Morgan/Tag |
| He bid ge’munen | He will be remembered OE: Hē bið gemunod |
| Ik understande no’wt (no wiht) | I understand nothing (not a whit) OE: Ic understande nāwiht |
| Ik im on standinge toniht on dera villa | I am a’staying tonight at the villa Brythonic-influenced ‘gerund’ speech pattern applied to Saxon language (progressive tense) I: Tá mé ag fanacht anocht ag an Villa W: Dw i’n aros yn y fila heno |
| Ik willen toniht an dera villa standan | I will tonight in the villa stay Regular Germanic form (verb-final) |
| Kenst dou em? | Know you him? Correct Germanic form for: “Do you know him?” |
| Krawan steinnigan! | Stone the crows! D: Die Krähen steinigen! |
| Moig morgen | Pleasant morning (greeting) c.f., Ostfriesisch: Moin moin NL: Mooie morgen |
| Seaxa! Ef dou hider kummst, leorn to sprekan tha fukkan tunge! | Saxon! If you come over here, learn to speak the fucking language! |
| Sorg ligid ubir me | Sorrow lies upon me D: Sorgen liegt auf mir from I: Tá brón orm “I am sad” lit. “Sorrow is on me” |
| Stilla nou | Quiet now (Still now) NL: Stil nu |
| Wes du hael | Good health to you (sing.) |
| Wesad ge hael | Good health to you (plural) |
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