Gearscript
Spoken In: Gnomestead 2.0, post-Sundering.
Evolved From: Glimmertongue; sibling to Cogtongue, diverged after Bailbor fell.
Script: Angular glyphs from Glimmertongue with deep-vowel accents; alphabet, left-to-right.
Type: Fusional (4 cases), SVO.
Common Use: Daily speech, tech, and governance in Gnomestead 2.0. No words for sky, surface, or weather.
Gearscript is the working language of Gnomestead 2.0. It descended from Glimmertongue after Bailbor fell in the Sundering War, a sibling to Cogtongue shaped by a different pressure. Where Cogtongue went up, Gearscript went down. Narrow corridors, recycled air, and the constant awareness that the surface above is radioactive wasteland. The language bent to fit.
Its vocabulary is thick with survival: technology, community, secrecy, scrap. There are no words for sky, surface, or weather. Gnomestead 2.0 does not need them.
"Zinor na krath. Knowledge is safety. You learn it before your own name down here. Not because we're scared. Because we remember."
— Korrin Vel, Gnomestead 2.0 archivist
Grammar
Noun Case
Four cases. Example root: vaen (home).
| Case | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | vaen | /ˈvaen/ |
| Objective | vaena | /ˈvaena/ |
| Genitive | vaenak | /ˈvaenak/ |
| Locative | vaenra | /ˈvaenra/ |
Verb Paradigm
Root example: thoran (to venture).
| Tense | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Present | thoran | /ˈθoran/ |
| Past | thorin | /ˈθorin/ |
| Future | thorak | /ˈθorak/ |
| Imperative | thora! | /ˈθora/ |
Pronouns
| Pronoun | Gearscript | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| I | zin | /zin/ |
| You (sg) | wael | /wael/ |
| He | korr | /korː/ |
| She | kir | /kir/ |
| It | tek | /tek/ |
| We | zinar | /ˈzinar/ |
| They | dron | /dron/ |
Numbers
| Number | Gearscript | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | vak | /vak/ |
| 1 | aun | /aun/ |
| 2 | bel | /bel/ |
| 3 | trim | /trim/ |
| 4 | kor | /kor/ |
| 5 | hael | /hael/ |
| 6 | zost | /zost/ |
| 7 | klav | /klav/ |
| 8 | arn | /arn/ |
| 9 | dral | /dral/ |
| 10 | volm | /volm/ |
Vocabulary
| English | Gearscript | Symbol | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| City | Volak | 𖠛𖠃𖠊𖠀𖠐 | /ˈvolak/ |
| Underground | Thôndak | 𖠏𖠗𖠈𖠌𖠒𖠀𖠐 | /ˈθoːndak/ |
| Radioactive | Zorthan | 𖠚𖠃𖠋𖠏𖠗𖠀𖠌 | /ˈzorθan/ |
| Wasteland | Vorhaden | 𖠛𖠃𖠋𖠗𖠀𖠒𖠁𖠌 | /ˈvorhaden/ |
| Self-sufficient | Lumthal | 𖠊𖠄𖠍𖠏𖠗𖠀𖠊 | /ˈlumθal/ |
| Scrap | Kazûr | 𖠐𖠀𖠚𖠉𖠋 | /ˈkazuːr/ |
| Technology | Gromâk | 𖠑𖠋𖠃𖠍𖠅𖠐 | /ˈɡromɑːk/ |
| Advanced | Tharvên | 𖠏𖠗𖠀𖠋𖠛𖠆𖠌 | /ˈθarveːn/ |
| Outsider | Shorthin | 𖠕𖠃𖠋𖠏𖠗𖠂𖠌 | /ˈʃorθin/ |
| Home | Vaen | 𖠛𖠀𖠁𖠌 | /ˈvaen/ |
| Machine | Zollkim | 𖠚𖠃𖠊𖠊𖠐𖠂𖠍 | /ˈzolːkim/ |
| Secret | Thîshar | 𖠏𖠗𖠇𖠕𖠀𖠋 | /ˈθiːʃar/ |
| Safe | Krath | 𖠐𖠋𖠀𖠏𖠗 | /ˈkraθ/ |
| Community | Thoral | 𖠏𖠗𖠃𖠋𖠀𖠊 | /ˈθoral/ |
| Knowledge | Zinor | 𖠚𖠂𖠌𖠃𖠋 | /ˈzinor/ |
| Venture | Thoran | 𖠏𖠗𖠃𖠋𖠀𖠌 | /ˈθoran/ |
| Pipe | Porak | 𖠓𖠃𖠋𖠀𖠐 | /ˈporak/ |
| Tunnel | Yoren | 𖠘𖠃𖠋𖠁𖠌 | /ˈjoren/ |
| Valve | Chazor | 𖠖𖠀𖠚𖠃𖠋 | /ˈtʃazor/ |
Slang
| English | Gearscript | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Scrapper | Kazûrak | /ˈkazuːrak/ |
| Magic | Zim | /zim/ |
| Gadget | Grik | /ɡrik/ |
| Outsider | Shor | /ʃor/ |
| F*ck | Feth | /feθ/ |
| Techie | Rami | /ˈrami/ |
| Glitch | Zank'in | /ˈzankʔin/ |
| Tinker | Zank | /zank/ |
| Hack | Shok | /ʃok/ |
| Junk | Vrak | /vrak/ |
| Robot | Zolk | /zolk/ |
| Spark | Zik | /zik/ |
| Nanite | Niz | /niz/ |
| Gearhead | Krem | /krem/ |
| Sh*t | Frok | /frok/ |
| Rusted | Kaz'in | /ˈkazʔin/ |
Common Phrases
| English | Gearscript | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Community is home | Thoral na vaen | /ˈθoral na ˈvaen/ |
| Knowledge is safety | Zinor na krath | /ˈzinor na ˈkraθ/ |
| The scrapper ventures | Kazûrak na thoran | /ˈkazuːrak na ˈθoran/ |
| Welcome home | Vaen na wael | /ˈvaen na ˈwael/ |
| Underground is home | Thôndak na vaen | /ˈθoːndak na ˈvaen/ |
| Safe and self-sufficient | Krath na lumthal | /ˈkraθ na ˈlumθal/ |
| Secret is safety | Thîshar na krath | /ˈθiːʃar na ˈkraθ/ |
| Technology is knowledge | Gromâk na zinor | /ˈɡromɑːk na ˈzinor/ |
| Scrap is knowledge | Kazûr na zinor | /ˈkazuːr na ˈzinor/ |
| Community ventures | Thoral thoran | /ˈθoral ˈθoran/ |
| Machine is advanced | Zollkim na tharvên | /ˈzolːkim na ˈθarveːn/ |
| Venture to the wasteland | Thora vorhaden! | /ˈθora ˈvorhaden/ |
| Radiation at the city | Zorthan volakra | /ˈzorθan ˈvolakra/ |
| Outsider! | Shorthin! | /ˈʃorθin/ |
| Home, safe | Vaen, krath | /ˈvaen ˈkraθ/ |
| Self-sufficient is home | Lumthal na vaen | /ˈlumθal na ˈvaen/ |
Writing System
| Symbol | Sound (IPA) |
|---|---|
| 𖠀 | /a/ |
| 𖠅 | /ɑː/ |
| 𖠔 | /b/ |
| 𖠖 | /tʃ/ |
| 𖠒 | /d/ |
| 𖠁 | /e/ |
| 𖠆 | /eː/ |
| 𖠜 | /f/ |
| 𖠑 | /ɡ/ |
| 𖠗 | /h/ |
| 𖠂 | /i/ |
| 𖠇 | /iː/ |
| 𖠐 | /k/ |
| 𖠊 | /l/ |
| 𖠍 | /m/ |
| 𖠌 | /n/ |
| 𖠃 | /o/ |
| 𖠈 | /oː/ |
| 𖠓 | /p/ |
| 𖠋 | /r/ |
| 𖠎 | /s/ |
| 𖠕 | /ʃ/ |
| 𖠏 | /t/ |
| 𖠄 | /u/ |
| 𖠉 | /uː/ |
| 𖠛 | /v/ |
| 𖠙 | /w/ |
| 𖠘 | /j/ (consonant); /ɪ/ (as vowel) |
| 𖠚 | /z/ |
| 𖠏𖠗 | /θ/ (Th digraph) |
Phonology & Prosody (Underground gnomish)
Consonants: /b tʃ d f ɡ h k l m n p r s ʃ t θ v w j z/ (the dental /θ/, th, runs through the vocabulary).
Vowels: short /a e i o u/ and the deep, long set â /ɑː/, ê /eː/, î /iː/, ô /oː/, û /uː/.
Deep vowels are the underground register: the core, weight-bearing words are spoken long and low, Thôndak (underground), Gromâk (technology), Tharvên (advanced), Thîshar (secret), Kazûr (scrap), the echo of a people who live in the dark.
Fixed initial stress (the gnomish family trait, shared with Cogtongue) gives a clipped, mechanical beat, and doubled consonants geminate (korr /korː/, Zollkim /ˈzolːkim/), the clatter of the machine-shop.
Descended from Glimmertongue like Cogtongue, but where Cogtongue went bright and up, Gearscript went deep and down.