theoldwolf: (Default)
2010-09-23 11:53 am
Entry tags:

Doc Rat: Close again

No cigar, but I was on the right track.

Turns out "Bh'angh-hruront pwúl-plobba!" means "Incautiously-romancing fox-trollop." I figured it would have something to do with illicit sex and carnivores...

theoldwolf: (Default)
2010-09-22 01:07 pm
Entry tags:

Doc Rat: Well, I was close.

In my last post, I wondered what the ultimate lapine insult really sounded like. Using some basic linguistic principles of euphony, I came up with "Simbioth Gruata". As it turns out, the actual phrase is

"Bh'angh-hruront pwúl-plobba!"

As Dani described it, the "gh" is a pharyngeal fricative, probably voiced, and the ú indicates a rising tone.

And for lapine, a language full of light, smooth front vowels and sibilant consonants, a phrase like this which is chock-full of back vowels, aspirated consonants, harsh fricatives and long stops is just downright uncharacteristic and harsh.

Probably means "Your mother is a meat-eater and mates with badgers!" or some such...

theoldwolf: (Default)
2010-09-21 12:05 pm
Entry tags:

Doc Rat: The Ultimate Insult

What would be the ultimate Lapine insult?



We all know Dani has a fierce temper when she's riled - six bogans found that out the hard way. However, even though Dani was romantically involved with a rabbit and learned more about their culture than the council of elders would ever have approved of, she's not a rabbit - she's a rat. This particular turn of phrase is probably so offensive that a rabbit would never have said it to a loved one, no matter how egregious the screw-up.

So never, never say "Simbioth Gruata!" in public.