This site dedicated to the creation and preservation of the first ever fan-made Halo Covenant language. It is currently under construction, and will be updated daily with grammar and vocabulary. Maru wowort ajumet duk Seg'wanoku!
NOTE: Some changes have been made from the original copy of the language's grammatical outline. This is now going to be the go-to source, making some aspects of the original document invalid.
All letters in the Covenant Language are pronounced like they are in English, with a few exceptions. For vowels, make sure to remember that all are long, except for the letter e. So:
a is always long, like in 'father'
e is always short, like in 'letter'
i is always long, like the 'ee' in 'see'
o is always long, like in 'ocean'
u is always long, like in the 'oo' in 'boot', but not like in 'soot'.
u is never used as a vowel
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As far as consonants go, all letters are pronounced like they are in English, except for the following ones:
bh is pronounced between a 'b' and a 'v'
ch is just like the 'ch' in 'chomp'
dh is like the 'th' in 'that' (soft 'th')
kh is a guttural rasping sound, like in the Yiddish 'chutzpah'
ng is like the normal 'ng', but it can begin words
th is like the 'th' in 'thing' (hard 'th')
sh is just like the 'sh' in 'shoe'
zh is like the 's' in 'leisure'
' (the apostrophe) is not pronounced in words or names, but is a stop for a split second
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Try to pronounce the following words. Pronounce them forcefully and sharply, with stress always falling on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable.
injar (mouth), wort (to go), ngath (to ask), shuj (to see), uchtaz (path, way), zhawat (to deny), kubha (plate).
This section will detail nouns in the Covenant Language. Nouns can take on a variety of forms depending on how they are used in a sentence, and can take on various endings to change their meaning. At the end of each section, there will be quick checks to make sure you fully understand the content in the section.
Nouns in the Covenant Language form plurals by the reduplication of the initial syllable. No noun begins in its singular form with two of the same syllable.
EXAMPLE 1:
injar (mouth) → ininjar (mouths)
wojpo (man) → wowojpo (men)
Sangheili (Elite) → Sangsangheili (Elites)
Nouns that have a consonant cluster to begin them, such as ptarg (rodent), reduplicate by the first letter (in this case, the p) followed by the addition of an i and then the rest of the word.
EXAMPLE 2:
ptarg (rodent) → piptarg (mouths)
mbang (lip) → mimbang (lips)
rmazhu (boat) → rirmazhu (boats)
Nouns in this language can also take on a variety of prefixes and suffixes to further enhance or change their meanings.
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Locative
This describes the location of a noun, or the place where the noun exists. The ending for this is -shil.
EXAMPLE 1:
shodko (tree) → shodkoshil (at the tree)
Take note that whenever there is a preposition concerning the location of a noun, the -shil ending is not used.
EXAMPLE 2:
eshte (house) → uk eshte (in the house)
Thel (Thel) → harad Thel (Thel's house, at the house of Thel)
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Diminutive
The diminutive form implies the shrinking in size into a smaller, shorter, or younger type of a noun. This is done with the nouns suffix -oy. If there is a word that ends with a vowel, replace that final vowel and ad the ending.
EXAMPLE:
dgar (cat) → dgaroy (little cat)
monge (dog) → mongoy (little dog)
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Augmentative
The opposite of the diminutive form, the augmentative takes something and makes it larger. This is done with the suffix -ang. The same as with -oy, if there is a noun ending in a vowel, take the vowel away and then add the ending. This is the way it is for all noun endings beginning with a vowel.
EXAMPLE:
iwij (boy) → iwiwijang (big boys, young men)
pwafa (ship) → pwafang (big ship)
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Feminine
This is pretty self-explanitory. It takes a noun and makes it feminine with the suffix -dza. More basic nouns have separate forms for masculine and feminine, like iwij (boy) vs. mida (girl).
EXAMPLE:
khadib (animal) → khadibdza (female animal)
yuman (human) → yuyumandza (female humans)
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Honorific
The honorific form of a noun makes the anyone saying it treat it with authority, honor, class, or respect. The ending for this is -muj.
EXAMPLE:
pwafakima (shipmaster) → pwafakimamuj (honorable shipmaster)
San 'Shyuum (San 'Shyuum) → San 'Shyuummuj (O great San 'Shyuum!)
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Pejorative
The opposite of the honorific form, the pejorative marker indicates that the person is speaking of or to the noun with distaste, anger, cursing, dishonor, or disrespect. It is indicated by the prefix duz-.
EXAMPLE:
diman (Demon) → duzdiman (accursed Demon!)
rakatu (planet) → duzrakatu (terrible planet)
While there are words for these emotions, like bwanga (terrible, awful, sickening), and ukvejim (accursed), they are all implied with the addition of this suffix.
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Charge
This prefix indicates that the noun is the leader, ruler, commander, government official over, etc. a certain other thing. This is a suffix, which is -kima.
EXAMPLE:
pwafa (ship) → pwafakima (shipmaster)
makhut (city) → makhutkima (mayor)
Also like with the masculine/feminine distinction, there are also nouns, like motsu (king) and motsudza (queen), which have their own independent noun forms.
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Citizen
This prefix indicates that the noun is the from or living in a certain other thing. This is a prefix, which is yath-.
EXAMPLE:
Eurth (Earth) → yatheurth (Earthing)
paskaj (country) → yathpaskaj (countryman)
Qualification on a noun is defining its state in the eyes of an onlooker or speaker. There are four levels of qualification, the 'basic' form (just the noun), 'so-called', (noun + -kork), 'apparent' (noun + -pakt), and 'definite', or 'evident' (pna- + noun).
EXAMPLE:
jiraj (soldier) → jirajkork (the so-called soldier) → jirajpakt (an apparent soldier, apparently a soldier) → pnejiraj (obviously a soldier).
These endings can also be applied to adjectives, as well, but they are less common, and their meanings can change a little bit. The translation aspect of this that is not the actual noun or adjective is left up to the speaker, so the 'apparent' level of qualification, for example, can either mean 'apparently', 'most likely', 'discernible', etc.
debs (tired) → debskork (tired, probably) → debspakt (most likely tired) → pnedebs (clearly, definitely tired).
This next section will now explain the semi-complicated yet very useful system of verbs which exist in the Covenant Language. The language contains a rich variety of verbs and verb conjugational possibilities. Conjugation, or the varying of a verb form by altering it because of person, has easy rules when forming conjugations, but those rules are difficult and full of semantic assumptions, such as the fact that each grammatical person either increases or decreases the richness of the sounds depending on how they are perceived in society. So, to what person are you most respectful? The person to whom you're talking, the 2nd person. Then next comes yourself (1st person), and then comes a third part not directly talked to (3rd person). Below is a list that indicates the progression of consonants as they move from first person, second person, and third person:
b-br-p; bh-bhr-b; ch-chr-j; d-dr-t; dh-dhr-d; f-fr-p; g-gr-k; h-hr-h; j-jr-ch; k-kr-g; kh-khr-k; l-lr-y; m-mr-m; n-nr-n; n-ngr-nk; p-pr-f; r-r-r; s-sr-z; sh-shr-s; t-tr-th; th-thr-t; w-p-b; y-yr-l; z-zr-zh
So, this means that the first consonant in this sequence is the one for everything first person. The second person is almost always the same, except for the addition of an r after that consonant, and the third is another consonant, similar-sounding, but less rich relative to its previous consonants. Special triads include the w-p-b because the second person descends a level from the w and does not contain any r. Also, the r-r-r does not change, because another r in addition to it would be redundant. Others that do not change (except for the 2nd person r) are the n-n-n triad and the m-m-m triad.
So, how does this all work with a real verb? The example below will give some insight. Remember: all consonants in a conjugated verb change, except for vowels, which will always remain the same. Next, remember that, for plural grades, there is also a reduplication of the initial syllable. So:
EXAMPLE (wort = to go):
wort (I go)
port (you go)
borth (he/she/it goes)
wowort (we go)
poport (you (pl.) go)
boborth (they go)
While there are pronouns which are used, maybe even before any given verbs (especially for emphasis, but that will be discussed in the 'Pronouns' section), just saying the conjugated form of the verb will allow the pronoun to be understood. Also, if you know any one of the verb forms, you can tell the infinitive (pure, dictionary, 'to...') form. As an example, if you get the word such, if you know that it is 3rd person singular, you can trace back the consonant progression to get to the original form, which is shuj.
Verbs rarely begin with a consonant cluster; those are more common in nouns, but those verbs are reduplicated for the plural grades in the same way, with the adding of an i in between. Remember that the r must still be added to the final consonant in the initial consonant cluster in this case.
EXAMPLE (tmong = to fall):
tmong (I fall)
tmrong (you fall)
thmonk (he/she/it falls)
titmong (we fall)
titmrong (you (pl.) fall)
thithmonk (they fall)
Verbs in the Covenant Language can also take on a variety of aspects in the form of a junction (suffix with a hyphen (-) included). Aspect is referring to the time or manner in or of which a verb is happening, and more. There are 21 of these junctions, as I call them, and the list of them are below. Their forms are mentioned, but the true meanings are within the parentheses for each one. Examples are listed below:
-le = perfected (it has happened and now it is done)
-mow = momentane(it happened only once)
-pdon = continuous (it is ongoing, still happening)
-ther = habitual (it used to happen, it happened/happens a lot)
-roth = continuative (it is still happening now)
-gwal = inceptive (it just started happening)
-kes = terminative (it just finished happening now)
-dwa = defective (it almost happened)
-tab = pausative (it stopped happening for a while)
-pren = resumptive (it resumed happening)
-doya = durative (it happened for a while, long time)
-sha = protractive (it happened on and on again, incessantly)
-soj = intensive (it happened intensely)
-fal = iterative (it happened over and over again)
-habho = intentional (it happened carefully)
-bota = benefactive (it happened for someone's benefit)
-kojko = detrimental (it happened to someone's detriment, misfortune)
-obusk = accidental (it happened accidentally, by accident)
-mabu = purposeful (it happened on purpose, intentionally)
-roks = occasional (it happened/happens infrequently, on occasion)
-tota = intermittent (it happened briefly)
EXAMPLES:
Ungunggoy babagra-doya yuman. = The Unggoy shoot the human for a while. (From bhakra.)
Shuj-tota yuman. = I glimpsed the human (saw him briefly). (From shuj.)
Ninpit-tab. = It stopped raining for a little while. (From ninfith.)
So now you can see that a lot of semantic and grammatical information can be stored in such little verb endings. While there are a lot of aspects, knowing them is a powerful tool when writing or speaking the Covenant Language.
There are three basic tenses (disregarding aspect) in the Covenant Language: the simple present (the main verb form), the past tense, and the future tense, plus something that can intensify the period of time.
The first tense covered here is the simple PAST TENSE. This can be translated in a variety of ways, such as with the verb lubu (to love): 'I loved', 'I have loved', 'I did love', etc. This tense is formed with the infix -wo, which goes after the first non-reduplicated syllable. So, with lubu, we get the following conjugation. Remember that the -wo changes form along with the rest of the word.
EXAMPLE (lubu = to love):
luwobu (I loved)
lrupobu (you loved)
yubopu (he/she/it loved)
luluwobu (we loved)
lulrupobu (you (pl.) loved)
yuyubopu (they loved)
The next tense is the simple FUTURE TENSE. This can also be translated easily with the words 'will' and 'shall' in English. So, say with another verb, like har (to look), the infix -tho- is added, which will also change form. Like the previous past tense infix -wo-, it will be placed after the first syllable in the word which is not reduplicated. Again, consonant clusters count as one syllable.
EXAMPLE (har = to look):
hathor (I shall look)
hrathor (you will look)
hator (he/she/it will look)
hahathor (we shall look)
hahrathor (you (pl.) will look)
hahator (they will look)
You can intensify the time in a tense by adding the particle gaj. When placed immediately after the verb in its conjugated tense form (either future or past - it doesn't make a difference), it makes the verb go 'deeper' into that time period. In past tense, it changes to 'had', so the phrase hawor gaj means 'I had looked'. This tense, the pluperfect tense, is the farthest back tense. The same way, we can add gaj after future tense to make it even farther into the future. So, the phrase hathor gaj means 'I shall look (later, eventually)'. In addition, couple the future tense (without gaj with the aspectual junction le, and the future perfect tense is formed, so hathor-le means 'I will have looked, or I will have looked (by now, by then)'.
Evidentiality in this language describes how the speaker or observer knows the thing which is being said. While not every verb requires an evidentiality marker, they become useful when telling stories, or recounting things with more detail. Like qualification, there are several levels to this hierarchy, however evidentiality has seven cases. For all of these, the verb thabom (he was tired), from the verb tam (to be tired). Keep in mind that all of the evidentiality markers are used as junctions.
thabom = he was tired
thabom-la = he was tired (because I perceived it myself and I know it to be true)
thabom-fik = he was tired (because I remembered it being that way, and it probably was true)thabom-zhad = he was tired/he must have been tired (because there was evidence for it)
thabom-gaw = he was tired (because he actually felt the sensation himself)
thabom-wim = he was tired (because everyone around him could see it as such)
thabom-pran = he was tired (because I perceived it in a dream)
thabom-pithik = he was tired (I trust the source and so it must be true)
thabom-pothag = he was probably not tired (I do not trust the source and assume it's false)
thabom-bin = he could have been tired (I imagined it; it's hypothetical; it's possible, maybe)
thabom-yutu = he was tired (I have a total lack of knowledge whether it was true or not)
thabom-pirja = he was tired (and while I'm not sure, I would say that it was truth)
thabom-porjok = he was tired (and while I'm not sure, I would say that it was not truth)
Some of these markers are rarely used, and so they are not incredibly common, such as the -pran junction, but the other ones can be used more often than one might think possible. It gives anyone a better background knowledge without them having to infer what the grounds of your statement are.
There are six kinds of participles in the Covenant Language: present active participle (PAP), the past active participle (PstAP), the perfect passive participle (PPP), the future active participle (FAP), the future passive participle (FPP), and the obligatory participle (ObP).
The first one, the PAP, is formed in English with the -ing ending, such as the running person, the the walking dog, the burning fire, etc. This is made in the Covenant Language with the prefix ge-.
EXAMPLE:
Kaidon gesuch = the seeing Kaidon (from shuj)
The second participle is the PstAP. In English, we supply the word having before the verb and then change the ending, like ...the man, having eaten... The ending for this is -wey
EXAMPLE:
Sathibwey hupruj... = I, having written the book... (from sathib)
Next is the PPP. In English, we supply the two words having been, so a phrase like ...the house, having been built... The prefix for this is ezhu-.
EXAMPLE:
Hanjwoy ezhubut dim Sangheili... = The weapon, having been grabbed by the Sangheili... (from puth)
Fourth, we have the future active participle, which translates to about to, such as About to eat the food, they picked up the forks. This is a prefix, which is yong-.
EXAMPLE:
Yongbokh zhut, bububot twatwang. = About to eat the food, they picked up the forks. (from bokh)
Next, there is the future passive participle, which is translated as ...about to be..., like in About to be killed, the human fled. This is a suffix, which is -liji. Keep in mind the difference between this (the FPP) and the FAP. Note how the verb is passive.
EXAMPLE:
Begliji yuman buzbothop. = About to be killed, the human fled. (from pek)
Finally comes the obligatory participle. The translation for this is must be, ought to be, or should be. The suffix for this final one is -bal.
EXAMPLE:
Rakatu kupbabal. = The planet must be burned. (from khubwa)
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