My 2nd constructed language (the first being Færnlithæl) intended to be featured in my 8-realm children's novel "The Sanctuary Seed"

See the information about my Færnlithæl, Shalári, and modern and archaic Thrâvënar languages linked below

Verglossan Language Construction

The Verglas People

The Verglas (pronounced VER-glas) are refugee ice elves whose homeland unexpectedly thawed and flooded, forcing them to flee to the Moonhollow Woods realm in this author’s eight-realm children’s novel “The Sanctuary Seed”. Their name derives from the meteorological term for thin, dangerous ice that forms over surfaces - beautiful yet treacherous, much like their emotional state. They exist between preservation and transformation, ice and water, grief and hope. Verglossan is in its infancy.

Phonology & Sound System

Consonants

Ice-Cluster Consonants (Crystalline):

• vr’, štęl, kvęl - Sharp, preserved sounds

• þ (thorn), š, ř - Fricatives suggesting wind over ice

• gh, kh, x - Harsh gutturals (frozen breath)

Water-Flow Consonants (Fluid):

• m, n, ł, r - Liquid sounds that can link words

• v, w, j - Glides that suggest movement

• s, z - Sibilants like water over stones

Vowels

Frozen Vowels (Precise, Compartmentalized):

• ī, ū, ē - Long, held vowels (crystalline clarity)

• ę, ǫ - Nasal vowels (breath freezing in air)

Flowing Vowels (Emotional States):

• ā, ǣ - Open vowels that can shift meaning mid-word

• ę→ā shift indicates emotional warming

• ī→ū shift indicates deepening memory/grief

Grammar Structure

Verb System - Temporal Crystallization

Verglossan verbs operate on a unique “crystalline time” system:

Frozen Tense (štęl-): Actions preserved in time, unchanging

• štęl-vōł = “eternally remember” (lit. “ice-hold”)

• štęl-męl = “grief-preserved”

Flow Tense (flūr-): Actions in motion, changing

• flūr-vōł = “currently remembering” (flowing memory)

• flūr-męl = “grief-releasing”

Thaw Tense (þawł-): Actions of transformation/danger

• þawł-vōł = “dangerously remembering” (memory that might overflow)

• þawł-męl = “grief-thawing” (potentially devastating)

Noun Cases - States of Being

1. Crystalline Case (-vel): Preserved, protected state

   • meren-vel = “the preserved memory”

2. Flowing Case (-řę): Active, changing state

   • meren-řę = “the flowing memory”

3. Vapor Case (-thūl): Transitional, dangerous state

   • meren-thūl = “the evaporating memory” (loss)

Emotional Morphology

Verglossan can attach emotional temperature markers:

• -kyr (cold suffix) = emotional distance/protection

• -ghūr (warm suffix) = dangerous emotional heat

• -xěw (mist suffix) = liminal emotional states

Key Vocabulary Roots

Core Concepts:

• vr’īm = “life-water” (the essence that flows)

• štęl = “ice/preservation/protection”

• meren/mǫręn = “memory/remembrance”

• þawł = “thaw/danger/loss of control”

• vel/vǣł = “container/holder/vessel”

• sīł = “song/voice/expression”

• męl = “grief/sorrow/heart-pain”

• ghūr = “heat/warmth/dangerous emotion”

• flūr = “flow/movement/change”

• rīven = “broken/cracked” (like ice breaking)

Compound Possibilities:

• vr’īm-štęl = “frozen life” (their current state)

• męl-vel = “grief-container” (compartmentalized sorrow)

• þawł-ghūr = “thaw-heat” (the warmth that destroyed their home)

• meren-kyr = “cold-memory” (safely distant remembrance)

Syntactic Patterns

Word Order: SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) when crystalline/formal Fluid Order: Can shift to VSO when expressing flowing emotions

Example from the Song: Vr’īm-štęl sīł-khāl sęrām

• Vr’īm-štęl (life-ice) sīł-khāl (song-cold) sęrām (we-hold)

• “We hold the life-ice in cold song”

Morphological Processes

Ice-Fusion (Agglutination)

Multiple concepts can “freeze together” into single words:

• vel-ghūr-meren-kyr = “container-heat-memory-cold” (memories of warmth, safely frozen)

Water-Erosion (Vowel Gradation)

Emotional intensity can “erode” vowels:

• męl (grief) → māl (overwhelming grief) → mūl (grief-madness)

Crystallization Patterns

Repeated exposure to cold emotions creates “crystalline” word forms:

• meren → mer-men-ren (memory becoming fractal, preserved)

Writing System Concept

Helical Ice-Crystal Script: Characters form along branching ice-crystal patterns. Words can “freeze” in angular formations or “flow” in curved patterns depending on emotional content. The same word might be written differently based on the speaker’s emotional temperature.

There’s the foundation of Verglossan! I’ve built this around the core patterns I identified in your song - the vr’īm/štęl (life-ice) concept, the vel/vǣł containment imagery, and those beautiful consonant clusters that suggest both crystalline preservation and flowing change.

The key innovation is the “crystalline time” verb system, where actions can be frozen (preserved), flowing (changing), or thawing (dangerously transforming). This reflects your ice elves’ emotional journey - they’re trying to freeze their grief to prevent further loss, but they also need to eventually allow some thaw to truly live again.

I’m particularly excited about the emotional morphology where words can have “temperature markers” - imagine being able to linguistically indicate whether you’re speaking from a place of protective coldness (-kyr) or dangerous emotional heat (-ghūr)!

Ready to create that translation of your four-verse song using this grammatical foundation?

Verglossan Language Construction

The Verglas People

The Verglas (pronounced VER-glas) are refugee ice elves whose homeland unexpectedly thawed, forcing them to flee to Moonhollow Woods. Their name derives from the meteorological term for thin, dangerous ice that forms over surfaces - beautiful yet treacherous, much like their emotional state. They exist between preservation and transformation, ice and water, grief and hope.

Phonology & Sound System

Consonants

Ice-Cluster Consonants (Crystalline):

• vr’, štęl, kvęl - Sharp, preserved sounds

• þ (thorn), š, ř - Fricatives suggesting wind over ice

• gh, kh, x - Harsh gutturals (frozen breath)

Water-Flow Consonants (Fluid):

• m, n, ł, r - Liquid sounds that can link words

• v, w, j - Glides that suggest movement

• s, z - Sibilants like water over stones

Vowels

Frozen Vowels (Precise, Compartmentalized):

• ī, ū, ē - Long, held vowels (crystalline clarity)

• ę, ǫ - Nasal vowels (breath freezing in air)

Flowing Vowels (Emotional States):

• ā, ǣ - Open vowels that can shift meaning mid-word

• ę→ā shift indicates emotional warming

• ī→ū shift indicates deepening memory/grief

Grammar Structure

Verb System - Temporal Crystallization

Verglossan verbs operate on a unique “crystalline time” system:

Frozen Tense (štęl-): Actions preserved in time, unchanging

• štęl-vōł = “eternally remember” (lit. “ice-hold”)

• štęl-męl = “grief-preserved”

Flow Tense (flūr-): Actions in motion, changing

• flūr-vōł = “currently remembering” (flowing memory)

• flūr-męl = “grief-releasing”

Thaw Tense (þawł-): Actions of transformation/danger

• þawł-vōł = “dangerously remembering” (memory that might overflow)

• þawł-męl = “grief-thawing” (potentially devastating)

Noun Cases - States of Being

1. Crystalline Case (-vel): Preserved, protected state

   • meren-vel = “the preserved memory”

2. Flowing Case (-řę): Active, changing state

   • meren-řę = “the flowing memory”

3. Vapor Case (-thūl): Transitional, dangerous state

   • meren-thūl = “the evaporating memory” (loss)

Emotional Morphology

Verglossan can attach emotional temperature markers:

• -kyr (cold suffix) = emotional distance/protection

• -ghūr (warm suffix) = dangerous emotional heat

• -xěw (mist suffix) = liminal emotional states

Key Vocabulary Roots

Core Concepts:

• vr’īm = “life-water” (the essence that flows)

• štęl = “ice/preservation/protection”

• meren/mǫręn = “memory/remembrance”

• þawł = “thaw/danger/loss of control”

• vel/vǣł = “container/holder/vessel”

• sīł = “song/voice/expression”

• męl = “grief/sorrow/heart-pain”

• ghūr = “heat/warmth/dangerous emotion”

• flūr = “flow/movement/change”

• rīven = “broken/cracked” (like ice breaking)

Compound Possibilities:

• vr’īm-štęl = “frozen life” (their current state)

• męl-vel = “grief-container” (compartmentalized sorrow)

• þawł-ghūr = “thaw-heat” (the warmth that destroyed their home)

• meren-kyr = “cold-memory” (safely distant remembrance)

Syntactic Patterns

Word Order: SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) when crystalline/formal Fluid Order: Can shift to VSO when expressing flowing emotions

Example from the Song: Vr’īm-štęl sīł-khāl sęrām

• Vr’īm-štęl (life-ice) sīł-khāl (song-cold) sęrām (we-hold)

• “We hold the life-ice in cold song”

Morphological Processes

Ice-Fusion (Agglutination)

Multiple concepts can “freeze together” into single words:

• vel-ghūr-meren-kyr = “container-heat-memory-cold” (memories of warmth, safely frozen)

Water-Erosion (Vowel Gradation)

Emotional intensity can “erode” vowels:

• męl (grief) → māl (overwhelming grief) → mūl (grief-madness)

Crystallization Patterns

Repeated exposure to cold emotions creates “crystalline” word forms:

• meren → mer-men-ren (memory becoming fractal, preserved)

Translation of the Four-Verse Verglas Song

Original Verglossan:

Verse 1: Vr’īm-štęl sīł-khāl sęrām, Kyš-līm věliþ mīrāþ rām. Þūr-vel rūþ-nūm kvęlāš, Sǫlm-kyr þęs-vel þēlāš.

Verse 2: Mǫręn-thūl vǣł flūręþ, Rīvęn-vel sūþęm něþ. Męl-vael vōł mīręš, Vǣr-meren gāł līręš.

Verse 3: Ky’r-yssel þawł ghūrmų! Þūr-ghōr sǫlm nūrmų! Štęl-vel rręnd vōłmų, Vǣł-nūm gāł sōłmų!

Verse 4: Þawł-meren sīł třęþ, Vr’īm-vǣł męl slęþ. Rīvęn-vel sūþęm něw, Vǣr-thūl flūręm xěw.

English Translation:

Verse 1: The Preservation We hold life-ice in cold song, Crystal-tears falling silent-long. Frost-vessels hold breath-counting still, Deep-cold guards our heart’s chill.

Verse 2: The Memory Memory-mist fills our vessels, Broken-holders whisper soft. Grief-containers hold remembrance, Ancient-memories sing aloft.

Verse 3: The Danger (emotional crescendo) Cold-children thaw with heat-fire! Frost-warmth melts deep desire! Ice-vessels crack and flow-break, Water-children sing for our sake!

Verse 4: The Resolution Thaw-memories sing gentle, Life-water grief slowly flowing. Broken-vessels whisper new, Ancient-mist flows toward knowing.

Song Context:

This appears to be a ritual mourning song that moves through the emotional journey of the Verglas people:

1. Preservation - How they initially froze their grief to survive

2. Memory - Honoring what they’ve lost while keeping it contained

3. Danger - The terrifying moment when emotions threaten to thaw (losing more children)

4. Resolution - Learning that controlled, gentle thaw can lead to wisdom rather than destruction

The exclamation marks in verse 3 represent the crisis moment - when their protective ice threatens to break catastrophically, just as it did when their homeland flooded.

Writing System Concept

Helical Ice-Crystal Script: Characters form along branching ice-crystal patterns. Words can “freeze” in angular formations or “flow” in curved patterns depending on emotional content. The same word might be written differently based on the speaker’s emotional temperature.

Vr’īm-štęl sīł-khāl sęrām,

Kyš-līm věliþ mīrāþ rām.

Þūr-vel rūþ-nūm kvęlāš,

Sǫlm-kyr þęs-vel þēlāš.

Mǫręn-thūl vǣł flūręþ,

Rīvęn-vel sūþęm něþ.

Męl-vael vōł mīręš,

Vǣr-meren gāł līręš.

Ky’r-yssel þawł ghūrmų!

Þūr-ghōr sǫlm nūrmų!

Štęl-vel rręnd vōłmų,

Vǣł-nūm gāł sōłmų!

Þawł-meren sīł třęþ,

Vr’īm-vǣł męl slęþ.

Rīvęn-vel sūþęm něw,

Vǣr-thūl flūręm xěw.

This is an update to my Archaic Thrâvënar con-language. A lip-synced video of a sung selection prior to the addition of Old/Middle English ȝ (yogh) is linked below. It’s so complex to pronounce, featuring elements of up to 17 languages, including those that are living, dead, proto and fictional. I would love to be able to pronounce Thrâvënar but it may be beyond me to do so.