The Secret Dictionary of Modern Verdurian

Because Verduria lies on another planet and is behind us technologically, the Verdurian language lacks many words relating to modern terrestrial life. I've decided to supply such words here, as an unofficial adjunct to the dictionary-- partly as an exercise in pedantry, but mostly for the convenience of the rožî who want to communicate about our world in soa Sfahe.

Thanks to Mattias Persson for his assistance with the Swedish; some discrepancies remain, because the Verdurians miss certain distinctions in Swedish (e.g. between u and y), and simplify some of the consonant clusters.

Note: This page is partly superseded by this one, which gives the terms used on Almea in the centuries past 3480. I’ve left this page both for historial interest, and because it includes a lot of terms related to present-day Earth. For technological terms, please use the newly revised “real terms,” not those given below.

Objects Transportation Computers Internet Measures Lifestyle Health Food Thought systems Days of the Week Months of the Year
Place names

Objects [To Index]

For most modern objects, there are two ways to derive a Verdurian word.

• Anticipate the word that the Verdurians will use for the item, once they have it in a few centuries. (I haven't attempted to predict the next centuries' sound changes, however.)

• Borrow a word from Swedish or another terrestrial language, as (say) Verdurians attached to the Verdurian Embassy in Sweden will.

I've preferred the first method when it applies, but often I've given both possibilities.

If a word isn't here, you can invent one yourself, or ask me to do so. However, it's often worth it to check the English-Verdurian Dictionary; Verdurian society is sometimes more advanced than one may suspect.

Transportation [To Index]

Computers [To Index]

Internet [To Index]

Technology [To Index]

Measures [To Index]

Lifestyle [To Index]

Health [To Index]

Food [To Index]

Thought systems [To Index]

Days of the Week [To Index]

Months of the Year [To Index]

Place names [To Index]

Never content to make things easy, I've taken place names from three main sources.

• The Ivro Iesui-- that is the New Testament, in Greek. The same principles have been followed (e.g. use of Hellenic pronunciation) as in deriving Eleďe names from Greek.

• Swedish. As a matter of unexpected historical accident, the primary modern contact between Verduria and the Earth is Sweden, with which Verduria exchanged embassies in Z.E. 3480. The names for the major cities and countries of Europe that did not exist in Biblical times are thus generally taken from Swedish. Minor locations should be taken from the local name. All names should be taken from spoken pronunciation.

• Chinese. The Verdurians seem to have had some tenuous contact with Qing (not modern) China; names for East Asia thus come from Chinese. Note that Chinese r- sounds to Verdurians like ž, and that the scholarly ng is used for -ng, and j for j- and zh-.