Khazdul-Targan
The Ancient Tongue of the Dwarves
“In stone we speak; in stone we endure.”
Khazdul-Targan is not merely a language — it is the living memory of the dwarves, carved into their bones as much as into their stones. It is the speech of mountain halls and echoing caverns, a tongue that seems to hum with the weight of centuries each time it is spoken aloud. Though supplanted in daily use by more modern trade dialects and Imperial low speech, Khazdul-Targan remains the sacred language of contracts, ceremonies, funerals, and war oaths — where every syllable carries the weight of granite and the promise of permanence.
Across the Ashfang Range, you will still hear it echo through the great halls of Tharindel and Mount Targaleth: spoken by priests at dawn, sung by miners as they descend into the dark, and grumbled by old craftsmen who refuse to let it die. Even among Imperials, a handful of its idioms survive — echoes of a people too stubborn to be erased.
Writing System
Known as Targak, the dwarves’ script is blocky and angular, designed to be carved into stone or stamped into metal.
Runes are organized in vertical columns, read top-to-bottom, left-to-right.
Ceremonial documents and monuments are often painted with gold dust or filled with resin to catch the light.
Geographical Distribution
Predominantly in the Ashfang Range, Mount Targaleth, and among the Free Concord’s courts and guilds.
Pockets of dwarves in Nova Roma and Imperial cities maintain the language for guild rites and funerary inscriptions.
Idioms like “carved in stone”, “the stone remembers”, and “khaz-hearted” have entered Imperial low speech.
Phonology
Khazdul-Targan is a deep, resonant language — often described as sounding “like a mountain speaking.”
Its consonants are heavy and voiced; vowels are long and open, giving the language a stately cadence.
Harsh aspirates like kh, guttural fricatives ʁ, and trilled Rs dominate the soundscape, with very little softness in its lexicon.
Morphology
Agglutinative and complex: one root word can carry a host of affixes to express tense, number, respect, and purpose.
Example: Barak-targan-dhul-mâr — “Stone of the first sacred oath.”
Syntax
Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) in standard use, though poems and oaths often bend this for rhythm or emphasis.
Subordinate clauses tend to come after the main statement, reinforcing the sense of inevitability.
Vocabulary
Much of the lexicon revolves around stone, metal, weather, and craft — with dozens of words for “stone,” each denoting different qualities:
- Khaz — bedrock
- Barak — carved stone
- Dhul — oath-stone
- Grum — brittle stone, easily broken
Insults and blessings alike are delivered through these metaphors: “Grum-hearted” is an insult; “Khaz-hearted” a compliment.
Phonetics
- Key sounds: kʰ (aspirated k), ʁ (uvular r), d͡ʒ (voiced affricate in ritual words)
- Vowels: broad and deep — ɑ, oː, uː
- Words tend to begin and end on strong consonants, with few open syllables.
Tenses
Three primary tenses:
- Past (Perfected): for completed, immutable events — “carved in stone”
- Present (Unfolding): for ongoing processes — “shaping the stone”
- Future (Hoped-for): inherently uncertain — “dream of stone yet to be cut”
A rare and highly formal Oath Tense exists, which renders the statement legally binding under dwarven law.
Sentence Structure
Rigid in legal and ceremonial contexts: honorific → subject → object → verb.
In casual speech, clauses and subordinate phrases may drift for dramatic effect.
Negation is emphatic, usually by doubling the verb: “Not break break!”
Adjective Order
Adjectives follow the noun in descending priority:
Core quality → size → material → color
Example: “Barak khaz-dûm-targul” = “Stone strong great granite gray.”
Structural Markers
Sacred statements, especially oaths and blessings, are framed with special markers called ghur, resembling decorative brackets, chiseled into the stone beside the words.
Kharna, Thaldra, Brizna, Durmeya
Baruk, Thargan, Dûrin, Graldan
Kazrak, Brûn, Thal
Stonevein, Ironfist, Deepdelve, Hammerhold
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