10-09-2006, 08:29 PM
Quote:Interview With Douglas GoodallSinder Velvin's Note:
In July 2005, I interviewed Morrowind Designer Douglas Goodall AKA Affa Mu (who no longer works for Bethesda Softworks) in which he role-played as Jobasha.
Sinder Velvin:
Good evening, desertwalker. Forgive me for coming here at such a late hour, but I really wanted to get to meet you before I left Vvardenfell and returned to Cyrodiil. I've heard that you are a very knowledgeable person, so can I please ask you some questions about a few things that I find to be rather puzzling?
Jobasha:
As you see, Jobasha is very busy. Many chests to pack, many books to sell, many plans to make. Jobasha is very loyal to the new King, as are all Khajiit. But Jobasha thinks this shop is old and sales are poor, so Jobasha is moving soon. Ask your questions, but know that Jobasha may speak too fast.
Sinder Velvin:
Actually, first of all I'd like to give you this letter. It's from Adanorcil, a good friend of mine who has recently started researching Ta'Agra. He asked me to deliver it to you if I came to Vivec City. Both I and him would be grateful if you could please tell us if his assumptions are correct.
Greetings, Jobasha,
It is an honor for me to write you this letter. Please thank Sinder in my name when he delivers this letter at your door. I am currently lodged in Sadrith Mora, but the next time I pass through Vivec I will certainly pay a visit to your shop.
So much for the formalities. I recently gathered those few scraps of Ta'Agra I could find in the various libraries of Vvardenfell. Since I am an eager scholar of Tamrielic tongues, I tried to find a structure, a grammar or at least a relation between them. The following is a list of words in Ta'Agra of which some have a known translation. By using these few - what I assume are - root words and infinitives, along with some common sense and "language feeling", I tried to decipher some of the remaining words. When no apparent relations with other words were visible, I just took a wild guess, based on little more the sound of the word.
I am certain that you are very busy in your bookstore, but if you could spare five minutes to take a look at this list and if possible, tell me whether my assumptions are correct or not, it would make me a very happy Elf. So, without further ado:
- Iit:
"to walk", used in Khajiit (Desert Walker)
I have seen this word being used in a few other words apart from "Khajiit". Am I right in assuming that "-iit" can take the meaning of "someone with the qualities of" or "someone who does something a lot"?
- ja-Kha'jay
According to the Pocket Guide, this is the Ta'Agra word for the Lunar Lattice, the Moonstrings: the joint phases of the moons which produce the different forms of Khajiit.
It struck me as interesting how both the forms "Kha", a common sight in Ta'Agra, and "ja-" appear in this word. See "ja'khajiit"
- ja'khajiit
From the "Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi", I learned that this is a name for Mehrunes Dagon: "Kitten", for what is more destructive than a young cat? Since I have also learned that the prefix "ja-" denotes a youngster or a bachelor in Khajiiti names, I came to the conclusion that "young Khajiit" is the literal translation for "ja'khajiit". The question then rose what it was doing in ja-Khajay". My theory is that it is related to the young Khajiit since the Moonstrings will determine what sub-species (my apologies for this strange term but I did not know the common Khajiiti word) will become at birth.
- jekosiit
As far as I know, this is supposed to be some kind of insult. If my theory about the -iit part is right, I believe it could mean "someone that frequents some kind of profane place". I have no idea of the exact translation of this word and perhaps it is better to keep it that way.
- qa'khajakh
Although there is virtually nothing to base these ideas upon, this word sounds to me like an other insult, a kind of "nonsense word" or some form of teasing, along the lines of "you silly man".
- rabi
No idea, but this might be a noun ending in -i, such as "budi", the traditional shirt.
- rabiba
Perhaps a plural or diminutive form of "rabi".
- vaba
I believe this to be the infinitive of "to be". See below.
- vabazeri
This apparently is "to be" in first person singular future tense: "I will be". In a lot of languages, the future tense is formed with the root of the verb, an ending making clear whether it concerns first, second and third person and a few letters in between. I believe that "ze" is the part that denotes the future tense, with "ri" being the first person singular ending.
- "Var Var Var"
This expression which can be translated into common Cyrodiilic as "What will be will be." or "It is just so." was of particular interest to me, since it is apparently made up out of yet another conjugated form of "to be", as it's translation suggests. I have no clue whatsoever about what form this might be though.
That concludes my small list of my own assumptions. I would not be surprised if any of this - or simply everything - were wrong, but among us, Altmer, there is a little aphorism saying "Fortune favours the bold".
Yours sincerely,
Adanorcil
Jobasha:
Jobasha does not have the time to answer this letter in full.
"Iit" is more like what men and mer call a job. Khaj is desert or sand, yes, and Khajiit is, as men would say, "one who sands" or "one who deserts." But men do not know what one does in a desert: walk. So we Khajiit say it means "desert walker." A budi is a kind of shirt often worn by Ohmes, so a budiit is a kind of tailor. "Iit" also shows where one lives. "Senchal'iitay" means "Jobasha lived in Senchal." So Khajiit also means one who lives in the desert.
"Va" is to be, yes. Var is used in several ways, but Jobasha does not know the right words. It has the scent of the inevitable.
"Rabi" shows ownership. As you see, Jobasha writes with a yellow quill, made from a cheaply dyed cliff racer plume. Telling this, Jobasha could say "zwinthodurrarr rabi," which means "Jobasha has a yellow writing stick."
Khajiit say "vabazeri" to show one thing changing into another thing. We use it to say how you would say "becoming," though this is not quite true.
...snip...