Elven language

Battle map from the Fourth Blight, featuring a rare example of written Elvish

The Elven language, or "Elvish", was largely lost when Elvhenan fell to the Tevinter Imperium and its people were enslaved around two millennia before the Dragon Age. When the elves settled their second homeland, the Dales, they aimed to restore their lost language and lore, but the Dales fell after an Exalted March declared by the Chantry in the early Glory Age. Some clans, such as the ones encountered in The Stolen Throne, speak it fluently and exclusively. The Elvish of the Dragon Age is thus a fragmented remnant, a few words that are thrown into conversation rather than a working language used to conduct everyday life. The Dalish Elves, self-appointed custodians of the elven language and lore, use more Elvish than their City Elf brethren. Living among humans, the City Elves now retain only a few old Elvish words whose origin is almost forgotten, such as "shem" - derived from "shemlen", meaning "quickling", or "quick children" the old Elvish term for humans - and "hahren" - the leader of an Alienage, meaning "elder" in Elvish.

With the release of Dragon Age II, and Merrill's speech patterns, it has been determined that pronouns most likely carry an implied possessive. What this means for translation is that words like "ma" and "ar" can carry a "have" with them - "you have", "I have" - without actually needing to add in the "have" as a separate word.

According to David Gaider, a differentiating factor between Elvish and other languages in Thedas--particularly as regards aspects like names--is the avoidance of hard consonants.

It has been observed that "Elven is often a game of intents, not direct mapping of phonetic meaning. That means it's a mess" and that it tends "to meander".

Written Elvish

The clan Keepers are the only ones who know the secret of writing Elven Language. The spelling system for Elvish contains an apostrophe to mark register tone, not to mark stress or to decorate text as per the usual usage of the apostrophe. It also indicates contraction points between two full words that cannot be reduced by adjoining letters.

Many of the words in the following list are extrapolations and deconstructions of words found in the games, done by parsing the order of meanings versus given words and comparisons of fragments to the meanings given.

Elvish phrases

• Andaran atish’an: Enter this place in peace. A formal elven greeting. Literally: "I dwell in this place, a place of peace."

• Aneth ara: A sociable or friendly greeting, more commonly used among the Dalish themselves rather than with outsiders. Literally: "My safe place".

• Ara seranna-ma: "Excuse me," as in after a sneeze or belch; this phrase may be differently conjugated depending on the speaker

• Ar lasa mala revas: "You are (now) free."/"I give you your freedom."

• Arlathan: The major city of Elvhenan, original homeland of the elves, from the phrase "ar lath’an" meaning "I love the place". Alternatively, it could mean "place of meeting" from "arlath" meaning "meeting" as in "arlathvehn", and "an" meaning "place".

• Asha'belannar: "The Woman of Many Years." How the Dalish refer to Flemeth.

• Bellanaris Din'an Heem: "Make you dead." "Bellanaris Din'an" roughly translates to "eternal death," and "heem" is most likely a conjugation of the verb, "to become" (see "Him").

• Dareth shiral: Used as a "farewell" it means, "Safe journey".

• Dirth'ena enasalin: roughly translated as "knowledge that led to victory", the Elvish word for the Arcane Warrior or, more recently, Knight Enchanter disciplines

• Dirthara-ma: "May you learn." Used as a curse.

• emma lath: my love

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Masked Empire.

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• Fen'Harel enansal: The Dread Wolf's blessing. The password to activate eluvians.

• Garas quenathra: "Why are you here?/Why have you come?" Spoken by the voices of the Vir'abelasan

• Ghilan'him banal'vhen: "The path that leads astray": a derogatory term for Arcane Warriors among those elves who eschewed physical combat

• Halam'shivanas: The sweet sacrifice of duty

• Ir abelas: I am\I'm sorry.

• Ir abelas, ma vhenan: "I am filled with sorrow for your loss, my heart."

• Ir tel'him: "I'm me again." However, a more literal translation would be: "I'm not transforming anymore." See "Deconstructing Elvish" for more details.

• Lasa ghilan: Grant/give guidance. Spoken by a Dalish Inquisitor to Solas with low approval in conversation with Solas.

• Lathbora viran: Roughly translated as "the path to a place of lost love," a longing for a thing one can never really know.

• Ma banal las halamshir var vhen.: You do nothing to further our people. Spoken by a Dalish Inquisitor with low approval in conversation with Solas

• Ma ghilana mir din'an: Guide me into death.

• Ma melava halani: You helped me.

• Mala suledin nadas: Now you must endure.

• Ma nuvenin: As you wish.

• Ma vhenan: My heart (a term of endearment).

• Ma serannas: My thanks (Thank you).

• Mana. Ma halani.: Spoken by a Dalish Inquisitor in the quest Measuring the Veil. "Ma halani" is "Help me". In this context, "Mana" is an imperative verb, like "Stop" or "Wait".

• Melana en athim las enaste: Now let humility grant favor.

• Sulevin ghilana hanin:

• Tel'abelas: "I'm not [sorry]."

• Tel garas solasan: Come not to a prideful place.

• Telanadas: Nothing is inevitable.

• "Viran se lan'aan? Ir annala for ros... Nae! Ga rahn s'dael! Ga rahn! Ir emah'la shal! Ir emah'la shal!": Spoken by the ghostly elven mother in the crypt where you get the Juggernaut armour. See "Deconstructing Elvish", below, for details on both ghosts' possible meanings.

• Vir'abelasan: The place of the way of sorrows. Refers to the Well of Sorrows.

Elvish Vocabulary

A

Abelas: Sorrow. Also used as an apology.

Adahl: tree/bush.

Adahlen: forest.

Alas: earth, dirt.

-An: suffix indicating place or location.

Annar: year.

Ar: personal pronoun: I, me.

Aravas: journeys.

Aravel: A wagon used by the Dalish; literally a physical and spiritual path, a journey with purpose. Humans call them "landships."

Arla: home.

Arlathvhen: Meeting of the Dalish clans, every ten years. Means "for love of the people."

Asha: woman.

Assan: arrow.

Atisha: peace, peaceful.

Athim: humility

B

Banal: nothing, not, no

Banalhan: "The place of nothing," a name for the Blight or its place of origin.

Banal'ras: Shadow.

Bel: many.

Bellanaris: Eternity

Bora: to throw, project, lose.

Bor'assan: bow.

D

Da: small, diminutive prefix.

Dar: to be.

Da'len: little child, or "little one"

Dareth: be safe.

Din: "not", or "isn't"; also used to indicate someone who has died: someone who is not.

Din'an: death, end

Dirth: tell, speak. A term for knowledge, secrets.

Dirthara: learn, seek truth.

Dirthavaren: "The promise"—Elvish name for the Exalted Plains.

Dirthera: tell.

Dorf: grey.

Durgen: stone.

Durgen’len: Children of the stone. The original Elvish term for the dwarves.

E

El: our.

Elgar: spirit.

Elgara: sun.

Elgar'arla: a spirit-trap, a binding circle to hold a Spirit or Demon.

Eluvian: mirror. Literally, "seeing glass."

Elvarel: longer, more effort.

Elvhen: "Our People". Elven name for their own race.

Elvhenan: Place of our people. The name of the elven civilization before the arrival of humans in Thedas. Also could be translated as: "Our hearts".

Emma: I am.

-en: suffix indicating plural.

Ena: appear; emerge.

Enasal: joy in triumph over loss; a variation of joyful relief

Enasalin: victory.

Enansal: gift or blessing.

Enaste: favor, approval.

Enfanim: to fear.

Era: story, tale, dream.^{[confirmation needed]}

Era'harel: demon-mage; similar to an arcane horror.

Eth: safe.

F

Falon: friend.

Felas: slow.

Felandaris: demon weed.

Felassan: slow arrow.

Fen: wolf.

Fenedhis: common curse.

Fenedhis lasa: an expansion on Fenedhis, a common curse.

G

Garas: come.

Ghilani: to guide.

Ghilas: to go.

Glandival: wish, to believe.

H

Hahren'al: A gathering of hahrens during arlathvhen.

Hahren: Elder. Used as a term of respect by the Dalish, but more specifically for the leader of an alienage by the City Elves.

Halam: the end, finished.

Halamshiral: The end of the journey. Also the name of the capital of the second elven homeland in the Dales.

Halani: help.

Hamin: rest, relax.

Hanal'ghilan: "the pathfinder;" Elvish name for the mythical golden halla said by the Dalish to appear during times of great need

Hanin: glory.

Harel: To trick or deceive. Dreaded, frightening, causing fear.

Harellan: trickster, traitor to one's kin.

Harillen: opposition

Hellathen: noble struggle

Him: become

I

In: with or inside; dwell.

Inan: eyes. Literally: "inside place" or "dwelling place" - i.e. windows to the soul.

Ir: very, more; I'm/I am

Iras: where.

Irassal: wherever.

Isala: in need of.

L

La: and.

Las: grant.

Lath: love.

Len: child.

Lethallin; Lethallan: Casual reference used for someone with whom one is familiar. Lethallin is used for males, while lethallan is used for females, but this is not always the case. Akin to "cousin" or "clansman" since "lin" is the word for blood. See talk page for more information.

Lin: blood.

M

Ma: my, mine, OR you, your

Mahvir: tomorrow.

Mala: your.

Mamae: Mother.

Mana: distant past; long amount of time.

Melana: time.

Melava: time, past tense.

Mi: blade.

Mi'durgen: diamond.

Mien'harel: rebellion (or else a violent call for justice, depending on the interpretation), normally a city elf term; a concept that when humans push the elven population too far they must remind them that even a "short blade" must be respected.

Mir: my.

N

Na: your; is

Nadas: Inevitable. Also used as an expression of obligation (i.e. "must").

Nan: revenge; vengeance.

Ne: you.

Nehn: joy.

Numin: cry, tears.

Nuvenin: want, need.

R

Renan: voice.

Revas: freedom.

Revasan: "The place where freedom dwells".

S

Sa: one.

Sahlin: now, in this moment.

Samahl: laugh, laughter.

Sa'vunin: a single day.

Serannas: grateful, appreciative.

Seth: thin, tenuous.

Setheneran: Land of waking dreams. A place where the Veil is thin. Literally: "Tenuous waking dream place".

Shem: quick, fast.

Shemlen: Literally "quick children". The original name of the elves for the human race. It continues to see use as a slang term amongst the City Elves ("Shems") even though its meaning has largely been lost.

Shiral: journey.

Solas: Pride, to stand tall.

Solasan: a prideful place.

Somniar: to dream.

Souveri: weary, tired.

Suv: happen.

Sulahn'nehn: joy/happiness.

Sulahn: sing.

Suledin: endure, strength to withstand loss. See enasal for doing so successfully

Sulevin: certain, purpose.

T

Tarasyl'an Te'las: the place where the sky was held back. Original elven name for Skyhold.

Tan: three.

Taren: mind.

Tel: not; often used to negate the noun/verb that proceeds it.

Then: awake, alert.

Theneras: dream.

Tu: to make, to cause.

U

U: alone.

Uth: long, forever, never ending, eternal.

Uthenera: Waking sleep; immortal. Uthenera was the name of the ancient practice of immortal elves who would "sleep" once they tired of life. Literally: "Eternal waking dream".

V

Vallas: writing, set.

Vallasdahlen: Life-trees. Trees planted in remembrance of those who dedicated their lives to the Dalish kingdom, that grew into a mighty wood.

Vallaslin: Blood writing. The art of tattooing adopted by some elves to more prominently (and some might say belligerently) display their worship of the traditional elven pantheon.

Var: our.

Ven: to go.

Vhen: "people of" or "belonging to the elves, the clans, elven society".

Vhenadahl: The tree of the people.

Vhen'alas: The land itself, as in "the ground". Literally: "our earth".

Vhenan: heart.

Vhenas: home.

Vir: way or path.

Vunin: day.

The Elvish Eulogy

hahren na melana sahlin
emma ir abelas
souver'inan isala hamin
vhenan him dor'felas
in uthenera na revas

vir sulahn'nehn
vir dirthera
vir samahl la numin
vir lath sa'vunin

Translation:

elder your time is come
now I am filled with sorrow
weary eyes need resting
heart has become grey and slow
in waking sleep is freedom

we sing, rejoice
we tell the tale
we laugh and cry
we love one more day

—From Codex entry: In Uthenera

Note: These are also the lyrics to the song Leliana sings for you in camp during Origins , and its beginning is played in the end of the Dalish Elf Origin. From in-game explanation, plus the fact that elves can no longer undergo the Uthenera, since they are no longer immortal, it seems this is a song used to mourn the dead now.

Suledin (Endure) - an Elven Song

The elven song Suledin is played during the dungeon escape portion of the Leliana's Song DLC. (This is yet to be confirmed, for the only thing close enough to Suledin in Leliana's Song is Inon Zur's "Captivity". It does include the lines "lath aravel ena" and "ir sa lethalin", but otherwise the lyrics are different - the ni-la/neela part, for example) The song is about enduring and emerging from sorrow, tied to the elves' loss of their ancient lands. It is adapted to personal struggles, as well.

Melava inan enansal ir su araval tu elvaral u na emma abelas in elgar sa vir mana in tu setheneran din emma na lath sulevin lath araval ena arla ven tu vir mahvir melana ‘nehn enasal ir sa lethalin

Time was once a blessing but long journeys are made longer when alone within. Take spirit from the long ago but do not dwell in lands no longer yours. Be certain in need, and the path will emerge to a home tomorrow and time will again be the joy it once was

Note: This is an extremely loose translation. For instance, "lath" means "love", and yet "lath aravel ena" is translated as "and the path will emerge".

I Am the One

Played at the end credits of Dragon Age: Origins and included in the soundtrack, 'I Am the One' features elven lyrics written by Inon Zur. A translation for the song can be found in Codex entry: "I Am The One".

Heruamin lotirien Alai uethri maeria Halurocon yalei nam bahna Dolin nereba maome Ame amin Halai lothi amin Aloamin Heruamin Heruamin oh lonai Imwe naine beriole Ame amin Halai lothi amin Aloamin Heruamin Ame amin Halai lothi amin Noamin Ame amin Halai lothi amin Noamin Heruamin

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Mir Da'len Somniar - a Dalish Lullaby

Found in Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 2 and The Seer's Yarn.

Elgara vallas, da'len Melava somniar Mala tara aravas Ara ma'desen melar Iras ma ghilas, da'len Ara ma'nedan ashir Dirthara lothlenan'as Bal emma mala dir Tel'enfenim, da'len Irassal ma ghilas Ma garas mir renan Ara ma'athlan vhenas Ara ma'athlan vhenas

Sun sets, little one, Time to dream Your mind journeys, But I will hold you here. Where will you go, little one Lost to me in sleep? Seek truth in a forgotten land Deep with in your heart. Never fear, little one, Wherever you shall go. Follow my voice-- I will call you home. I will call you home.

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Where Willows Wail

An elven version of a lullaby local to Denerim and nearby villages to the south.

Tel’enara bellana bana’vhenadahl, Sethen’a ir san’shiral, mala tel’halani Ir sa’vir te’suledin var bana’vallaslin, Vora’nadas san banal’him emma abel revas. Ir tela’ena glandival, vir amin tel’hanin. Ir tela las ir Fen halam, vir am’tela’elvahen.

We/it lost eternity or the ruined tree of the People Time won’t help when the land of dreams is no longer our journey We try to lead despite the eventual failing of our markings. To the inevitable and troubling freedom we are committed. When we could no longer believe, we lost glory to war. When the Wolf failed/won, we lost the People to war.

Note: The above translation is described as not being a literal translation, as "some form of lyrical shorthand is employed throughout" and it is completely different from modern formal Dalish. Thus it is impossible to use it to try to deconstruct the language.

Constructing Elvish: Examples of Phrases

Note: The following are possible phrases based on known definitions of elven words; they do not appear in any canon references.

Endearments

da'assan: little arrow

da'mi: little blade

da'vhenan: little heart

emm'asha: my girl

ma sa'lath: my one love

ma'arlath: my love

ma emma lath: you are my love

vhenan'ara: heart's desire

Insults

elvhen'alas: dirt elves

len'alas lath'din: dirty child no one loves

seth'lin: thin blood

Threats

Ar'din nuvenin na'din: I don't want to kill you.

Ar tu na'din: I will kill you.

Ar tu na'lin emma mi: I will see your blood on my blade.

Emma shem'nan: My revenge is swift.

Halam sahlin: This ends now.

Ma emma harel: You should fear me.

Ma halam: You are finished.

Deconstructing Elvish

Many words of Elvish are made up of contractions of smaller words. For instance, "Arlathan" means, "this place that I love". Deconstructing it, we arrive at Ar: I or me; Lath: love; and An: place. We know that this is correct, because: "lath" is used later in the eulogy poem to mean "love"; "an" is seen as a suffix in the word "Elvhenan", meaning "the place of our people", which is a direct extension of "Elvhen", meaning "our people". By elimination, "Ar" becomes the personal pronoun. In the same way, many other words can be deconstructed into their individual components.

While "ar" exists as a personal pronoun, often times in a sentence, that pronoun is dropped. For example, "Ir abelas," can translate to "I am filled with sorrow for your loss," or, more colloquially, "I'm very sorry," with "ir" meaning "I" and "abelas" meaning "sorrow." So the predicate itself is enough to imply that "I" am the one who is expressing the sorrow.

Examples

• "Mamae? Mamae na mara san...": The panicked phrases of a lost child. It is known that "mamae" means "mother", and "na" is "your", but "Mara" and "san" are a different matter. "Ma" (you) and "ar" (i, me) don't offer any clues. "San" looks like a contraction of "sa" and "an", so, one place. Since the boy seems to be in a panic, and it is clear that he's looking for her, it's reasonable to assume that this is the gist of his statement, as well. So, "Mother your [mara] one place...", so "mara" can be parsed as "i can't find" or "where is". A reasonable translation would be, "Mama, I can't find you..." or "Mama, where is the place..."

• "Viran se lan'aan? Ir annala for ros... Nae! Ga rahn s'dael! Ga rahn! Ir emah'la shal! Ir emah'la shal!": These sentences are spoken by the ghostly elven mother in the crypt where you get the Juggernaut armour. A possible translation: "How did you people find the path to this place? This place has been lost for centuries. No! Get away from our tree! Get away! You are desecrating my grave! You are desecrating my grave!"

• "Viran se lan'aan?": "Vir" and "an" mean "the path" and "this place", respectively, so "the path to this place". If "se" is assumed to be a pronoun (since "lan'aan" is a bit long for that), then, going off of "sa" as "one" and "-en" as a plural, one could extrapolate "se" as possibly a plural "you". In that case, since it is a question, it can be assumed that she is asking "How did you people find the path to this place?", since that is a reasonable thing to be asking. Then, "lan'aan" would mean "how to find".

• "Nae! Ga rahn s'dael! Ga rahn!": This is a very difficult part, because there's so little to go on. "Nae" might be "no", but "na" means "your". There is no precedent for "ga rahn", but "s'dael" could be broken down as: "sa" - one; "adahl" - tree; and "el" - our. Taking that on faith, the sentence might read something like, "No! Get away from our tree! Get away!"

• "Ir annala for ros...": "Ir" means "very", and "annar" means "years", so it is reasonable to assume that "annala" has to do with a measurement of time in years. Perhaps it means "centuries". So, it begins with "A very many years or centuries", and then "for ros" has no precedent. Taking it together with the last line, it is highly probable that it means "This place has been lost for very many centuries."

• "Ir emah'la shal!": "ir" (very). Deconstructing "emah'la": "emma" (my); "alas" (dirt, earth); "halam" (ending); "shiral" (journey) - all of these words contain elements similar to this compound word. It could possibly mean "the ground of my end", or, more loosely, "my grave". So, "My grave is very..." something. Perhaps "shal" means sacred, or desecrated. So, loosely, "You are desecrating my grave!"

• "Ir tel'him": "Him" means "become" or "transform," and "tel" seems to be often used to negate the verb/noun that follows - for example, tel'abelas translates into "I'm not sorry." So, here, "tel'him" could mean, "not changing/transforming." "Ir" usually means "very" or "more," but, in this case, it can be indirectly translated as "any more." So, put together, "ir tel'him" could translate into, "I'm not changing/transforming anymore," which would be another way of saying, "I'm me again."

• "Dar'Misu; Dar'Misaan": "Dar" means "to be", and they both have "mi" in common, so it is possible that "mi" is "blade", and "su" means "happen", and "u" means "alone". So, "dar'misu" could translate, roughly, to "this blade acts alone" or "this blade happens". "Sa" is "one" and "an" is "place". A possible translation: Dar'Misu: "to be a blade that acts alone" - daggers being the weapon of choice for rogues; Dar'Misaan: "to be a blade of one place" - long swords being the weapon of choice for a sword-and-shield defender.

Notes

• The elven language as used in the games is actually a cipher.