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zamgrh or kiZombie is the language spoken by zombies with [[Death Rattle]] (known in kiZombie as ''grhzamz''). Unlike [[Zombie Speech Translators#First Code .28.22Zombish.22.29 | Zombish]], [[Zombie_Speech_Translators#Second_Code_.28.22Zombese.22.29 | Zombese]], and [[Zombie_Speech_Translators#Third_Code_.28.22Zomban.22.29 | Zomban]], kiZombie is not a code for representing English sounds-- instead, it is a unique language that can be used to express anything and everything that a zombie wishes to say. As kiZombie is primarily a spoken language, it uses a completely phonetic orthography. kiZombie bears strong resemblence to other human creoles.
'''[[Zamgrh]]''' is the language spoken by zombies with [[Death Rattle]]. Unlike [[Zombie Speech Translators#First Code .28.22Zombish.22.29 | Zombish]], [[Zombie_Speech_Translators#Second_Code_.28.22Zombese.22.29 | Zombese]], and [[Zombie_Speech_Translators#Third_Code_.28.22Zomban.22.29 | Zomban]], Zamgrh is not a code for representing English sounds-- instead, it is a unique language that can be used to express anything and everything that a zombie wishes to say. As Zamgrh is primarily a spoken language, it uses a completely phonetic orthography. Zamgrh bears strong resemblance to other human creoles. A dictionary can be found here:[[Guides:kiZombie-English Dictionary]]


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
Line 5: Line 5:
Much like English, Zamgrh consists of a phonetic alphabet in which a letter or combination of letters may take several tones.  Previously it was theorized that there were only 21 distinct phonemes available.  In written language these can be denoted by the following characters: '''z''', '''a''', '''m''', '''g''', '''r''', '''h''', '''n''', '''b''', and '''!''' serving as letters in the English sense, with  '''-''', '''.''', ''',''', '''?''', and '''!''' serving as punctuation.  By combining the basic sounds the modern zombie is able to communicate additional sounds.
Much like English, Zamgrh consists of a phonetic alphabet in which a letter or combination of letters may take several tones.  Previously it was theorized that there were only 21 distinct phonemes available.  In written language these can be denoted by the following characters: '''z''', '''a''', '''m''', '''g''', '''r''', '''h''', '''n''', '''b''', and '''!''' serving as letters in the English sense, with  '''-''', '''.''', ''',''', '''?''', and '''!''' serving as punctuation.  By combining the basic sounds the modern zombie is able to communicate additional sounds.


The use by zombies of the '''!''' as a glottal stop or "i" sound does require the careful attention of humans to make sure that they're interpreting kiZombie correctly.
The use by zombies of the '''!''' as a glottal stop or "i" sound does require the careful attention of humans to make sure that they're interpreting Zamgrh correctly.  Some zombies have been found to inhale when making the '''!''', making it sound more like an "I" in English would sound.


{| align=right style="border: 1px dotted;"
{| align=right style="border: 1px dotted;"
Line 123: Line 123:
===Phonological constraints===
===Phonological constraints===


1.  A vowel may never be pronounced in isolation.  Any isolated vowel will have the sound "hr" prefixed.
1.  A vowel may never be pronounced in isolation.  Any isolated vowel will have the sound "hr" prefixed.  Most zombies seem to add an "h" after vowels, if they're trying to be clear to ''harmanz'' -- er --- humans.


:e.g.:  a zambah --> hra zambah
:e.g.:  a zambah --> hra zambah
Line 140: Line 140:
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''t'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''t'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''d'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''d'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''tS'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''tʃ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''dZ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''dʒ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''k'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''k'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''g'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''g'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''f'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''f'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''v'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''v'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''T'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''θ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''D'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ð'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''s'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''s'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''S'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ʃ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''Z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ʒ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''h'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''h'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''m'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''m'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''n'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''n'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''N'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ŋ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''l'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''l'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''r'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''r'''
Line 199: Line 199:
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
| bgcolor=#CC99CC |  
Line 383: Line 383:
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''t'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''t'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''d'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''d'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''tS'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''tʃ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''dZ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''dʒ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''k'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''k'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''g'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''g'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''f'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''f'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''v'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''v'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''T'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''θ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''D'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ð'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''s'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''s'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''S'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ʃ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''Z'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ʒ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''h'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''h'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''m'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''m'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''n'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''n'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''N'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''ŋ'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''l'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''l'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''r'''
| bgcolor="cfcfff" | '''r'''
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|}
|}


Given that most zombese is largely an adjustment on American English (AmE) or British English (BrE), field studies have yielded the following chart.  It is hoped that the casual user of the internet in Malton will find this rubric useful in dealing with zombies in Malton.
Given that most zamgrh is largely an adjustment on American English (AmE) or British English (BrE), field studies have yielded the following chart.  It is hoped that the casual user of the internet in Malton will find this rubric useful in dealing with zombies in Malton.
 
Mah zambah brazzarrz habganna zambahz ahn Marzan  mag zah gab hab zam gab ah harmanz, arzah. (''We want zombies in Malton to make this page help them talk to humans, also'').
Ahz rangraaz hab Zambahz ahn Marban gan aaz zaz hab zam garg ahz harmanz, arzah. (''We linguists hope zombies in Malton can use this to help them speak  with humans, also'').


This table has been formulated using [[Wikipedia:X-SAMPA|X-Sampa]].  A careful user will notice that the list occasionally has an "x" in two places, signifying the use of both sounds.  For example; '''dZ''' shows '''b''' and '''z''' as sounds to be used, thus the kiZombie usage would be '''bz'''.   
This table has been formulated using the [[Wikipedia:International Phonetic Alphabet|Internatonal Phonetic Alphabet]].  A careful user will notice that the list occasionally has an "x" in two places, signifying the use of both sounds.  For example; '''dʒ''' shows '''b''' and '''z''' as sounds to be used, thus the Zamgrh usage would be '''bz'''.   


Any questions should be addressed to the [[User Talk:Daniel_Hicken|Linguistics Department of Oxford]] which has spent specific effort on the Malton Zombie problem.
Any questions should be addressed to the [[User Talk:Nome_Chompsgi|Linguistics Department of Oxford]] which has spent specific effort on the Malton Zombie problem.


Recent field work has discovered that the "t" sound of English is sometimes associated to a "g" sound, and sometimes to a "z".  If unsure, use "g".
Recent field work has discovered that the "t" sound of English is sometimes associated to a "g" sound, and sometimes to a "z".  If unsure, use "g".
Line 418: Line 417:
==Syntax and Morphology==
==Syntax and Morphology==


kiZombie follows a loose ''Subject''-''Verb''-''Object'' syntax.  Questions can simply be suffixed with a '''?''' or have the verb and subject inverted.  Verbs can be conjugated, however a full lexicon of verbs is not available at this time (see [[Guides:The_Zombie_Lexicon|Zombie Lexicon]] for up-to-date vocabulary).
Zamgrh follows a loose ''Subject''-''Verb''-''Object'' syntax.  Questions can simply be suffixed with a '''?''' or have the verb and subject inverted.  Verbs can be conjugated, however a full lexicon of verbs is not available at this time (see [[Guides:The_Zombie_Lexicon|Zombie Lexicon]] for up-to-date vocabulary).


=== Basic Syntax ===
=== Basic Syntax ===


* Active
; Active
{| class="wikitable"
! SUBJECT !! VERB !! OBJECT !! OTHER
|-
| Harmanz || am  || haarh. ||
|-
| Humans || are  || here.  ||
|-
|}


  SUBJECT    VERB    OBJECT      OTHER
  harmanz    arh    har.
  Humans    are    here.
 
A more advanced example:
A more advanced example:


  ah        barg   brahnz      har.
{| class="wikitable"
  I          eat     brains       here.
| Mah zambah || barg || bra!nz || haarh.
 
|-
| I          || eat || brains || here.
|}
''Zombies are known to drop helping verbs at times when they can easily be inferred, yielding the following examples:''
''Zombies are known to drop helping verbs at times when they can easily be inferred, yielding the following examples:''


  SUBJECT   VERB   OBJECT       OTHER
{| class="wikitable"
   harmanz    *      har.
! SUBJECT !! VERB !! OBJECT !! OTHER
  Humans     *      here.
|-
| Harmanz || am   || haarh. ||
|-
| Humans || are  || here. ||
|}
    
    
A more advanced example:
A more advanced example:


  Mah Zambah bargz  brahnz      har.
{| class="wikitable"
  I          eat     brains       here.
| Mah zambah || barg || bra!nz || haarh.
 
|-
 
| I          || eat || brains || here.
* Alternative word order
|}
 
  har        arh    harmanz.
  Here      are    humans.


=== Adjectives ===
=== Adjectives ===


Adjectives precede the nouns that they modify. In this example we use the first-person possessive adjective "mah":
Adjectives precede the nouns that they modify.
 
  mah zambah az har.
  I am here (or literally "My Zombie is here").
 
Nouns can also be used to modify other nouns while being modifiedby the first-person possessive.  This is a more complex example:


  mah zambah rabah grabz mah manbagz.
{| class="wikitable"
  My zombie lover grabs my testicles.
| Mah zambah || am || haarh.
|-
| I          || am  || here.
|}


=== Proper Nouns ===
Nouns can also be used to modify other nouns while being modified by the first-person possessive.  This is a more complex example:


Zombies ''may'' choose to address each other or survivors by name.  Names are capitalized and a suffix is added to determine the status of the addressee.  '''zam''' refers to a zombie, '''man''' refers to a survivor, and '''bar''' refers to a building.
{| class="wikitable"
| Mah rabah || grabz || mah manbagz.
|-
| My lover || grabs || my testicles.
  |}


  Bahbzam, arh habbah?
===Proper Nouns===
  Bob, are you happy?
Zombies may choose to address each other or survivors by name. Often a zombie will state a translation of his name in the "Real Name" field of his profile, but otherwise, the speaker must be creative, remember to capitalize, and try to match the letter of the English name with whatever is most similar.


=== Questions ===
  Bab, am  gaa habbah abah  zah namrh ah Bh!rh!b?
  Bob, are you happy  about the death of Philip?


===Questions===
A present tense verb can be conjugated into a question by adding the '''?''' to the end of a sentence or by inverting the verb and subject.
A present tense verb can be conjugated into a question by adding the '''?''' to the end of a sentence or by inverting the verb and subject.


  "Zah bang bang man gan bam mah?"
      Zah bang bang man ganna harm    mah zambah?
  "Ganna bam mah bang bang man?"
   Will the Zombie Hunter       attack me?
   "Will the Zombie Hunter attack me?"
 
=== Negative ===


Verbs can hold opposite meaning by compounding the subject and verb with the click '''!''' as seen in the logical statements that survivors use.  Or the word '''nah''' may be used between the subject and verb to conjugate negatively.
===Negative===
Verbs can hold opposite meaning when the word '''nah''' is used between the subject and verb.


   mah zambah nah barg gramma brahnz.
   Mah zambah nah     harm brazzarz.
   mah zambah!barg gramma brahnz.
   I         do not hurt friends.
  "I do not eat grandma's brains."


Negative questions can be made to infer additional meaning:
Negative questions can be made to infer additional meaning:


   harman nah ganna bam mah zambah?
   Harman        nah ganna harm      mah zambah     ?
  Are you not going to attack me human?
        Are you not going to attack me,        human?
 
=== Future ===


===Future===
Any verb can be conjugated into the future tense by adding the word '''ganna''' infront of the verb.
Any verb can be conjugated into the future tense by adding the word '''ganna''' infront of the verb.


   ah ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar.
   Mah zambah ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar.
   I will utterly destroy humans tomorrow.
   I         will rape    humans tomorrow.


As a question:
As a question:


  ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar?
      Gaa am ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar?
   will you utterly destroy humans tomorrow?
   Will you         rape    humans tomorrow?


=== Nonfuture ===
===Nonfuture===
Zombies have a hard time distinguishing between the past and the present, and the grammar of their language reflects this. Any verb not conjugated in the future tense refers to an action that began some time in the past and which may or may not still be going on at the present time.


Zombies have a hard time distinguishing between the past and the present, and the grammar of their language reflects this.  Any verb not conjugated in the future tense refers to an action that began some time in the past and which may or may not still be going on at the present time.
   Mah zambah barg     harman bra!nz.
 
   I         am eating human brains
   mah zambah barg harmanz brahnz.
  I         ate       human brains.
   I am eating human brains / I ate human brains.


However, if an action has been completed the auxiliary ''haz'' may be preposed before the verb.
However, if an action has been completed the auxiliary ''haz'' may be preposed before the verb.


   mah zambah haz barg harmanz brahnz.
   Mah zambah haz barg harman bra!nz.
   I have eaten human brains.  
   I         have eaten human brains.  
 
=== Conditional ===
 
Conditional statements are made by using the '''?''' character as a suffix to the end of the phrase and comma.
 
  harmanz bam mah zambah,? ah ganna zmazh harman manbagz.
  If humans attack me, then I will smash human testicles.
 
=== Imperative ===


===Imperative===
The imperative form of verbs is conjugated by adding '''arz''' as a suffix.  Note that the sentence structure stays the same.  This is different from English where the subject gets transplanted to the end of the sentence.
The imperative form of verbs is conjugated by adding '''arz''' as a suffix.  Note that the sentence structure stays the same.  This is different from English where the subject gets transplanted to the end of the sentence.


   mah zambah brazzaz barmarz zah barragahz!
   Hammarh zah barragazh,  mah zambah brazzarz!
   Attack the barricades my zombie brothers!
   Attack the barricades, my zombie brothers!


=== Advanced Sentence Structure ===
===Advanced Sentence Structure===
Contrary to popular survivor theory, zombies '''are''' capable of complex thought and communication in their own language.  Here is an example:


Contrary to popular survivor theory zombies ARE capable of complex thought and communication in their own language. Here is an example:
  Mah mama hammarh mah zambah ahn Gagarh Marrh, an mah zambah gab ah mama, -Mama am an bangbangman  .-
 
   My mom attacked me         in Caiger Mall, and I         told   mom, "Mom is a Zombie Hunter."
  mah mamma bam mah ahn Gagarh Marrh, an ah grh mamma, "mamma az hra bang bang man".
 
  Mah zambah!az habbah, an ah grh, "gragh." (also seen as 'mah zambah az nah habbah')
  Mah zambah am nah habbah, an mah zambah gab, -Graaaagh!-
   My mom attacked me in Caiger Mall, and I told mom, "Mom is a Zombie Hunter."   
   I         am not happy, and I         say "Graaaagh!"
   I am not happy, and I say "Gragh".


This is an emotional zombie saddened by the internal rift of family by the survivor mentality of "kill zombies" where even mothers would attack their own children.
This is an emotional zombie saddened by the internal rift of family by the survivor mentality of "kill zombies" where even mothers would attack their own children.
==Orthography==
kiZombie has no standard capitalization or punctuation.  Capital letters indicate a rising tone which often signals a change in meaning, and the 'punctuation' marks actually indicate various grunts, which also carry specific meanings.
All utterances are preceded by a short silence, which is orthographically represented by a space.  So 'I am a zombie' is spoken not *"ah z zam" but rather " ah z zam"


===Lexicon===
===Lexicon===
 
Zamgrh has a [[Guides:kiZombie-English Dictionary|dictionary]] and a [[Guides:The_Zombie_Lexicon|lexicon]].  Both are incomplete at present, but viewed as reliable resources.
KiZombie has a [[Guides:kiZombie-English Dictionary|dictionary]] and a [[Guides:The_Zombie_Lexicon|lexicon]].  Both are incomplete at present, but viewed as reliable resources.


===Numbers===
===Numbers===
To help zombies in speech, some linguists have proposed a punctuation based number system.
To help zombies in speech, some linguists have proposed a punctuation based number system.


kiZombie would thus have a base 5 numbering system:
Zamgrh would thus have a base 5 numbering system:


{|border="1px" cellpadding="2" style="font-family:monospace;"
{| class="wikitable" style="font-family:monospace;"
|- align="right"
|- align="right"
|.||!||?|| -||,||!.||!!||!?||!-||!,||?.||?!||??||?-||?,|| -.|| -!|| -?|| --|| -,||,.||,!||,?||,-||,,
|.||!||?|| -||,||!.||!!||!?||!-||!,||?.||?!||??||?-||?,|| -.|| -!|| -?|| --|| -,||,.||,!||,?||,-||,,
Line 583: Line 571:
Note that due to the base 5 system, 5 is the first number that has two digits, and 25 (5<sup>2</sup>) the first to have three digits. 125 (5<sup>3</sup>) would be the first number to have four digits.
Note that due to the base 5 system, 5 is the first number that has two digits, and 25 (5<sup>2</sup>) the first to have three digits. 125 (5<sup>3</sup>) would be the first number to have four digits.


For a truly linguistic zombie an alternative number system could be borrowed from German/spanish:
1 - A!nzh (eins)
2 - Zga! (zwei)
3 - Gra!h (drei)
4 - Ghabbrah (quatro)
5 - Z!nga (cinco)
6 - Zhhhz (sechs)
7 - Z!mnbn (sieben)
8 - Ahhgh (acht)
9 - Na!hn (noin/nine)
10- Zahn (zehn)
Efforts to spread this knowledge to Zombies has resulting in maulings and mostly death of any linguist crazy enough to give the zombies a lecture.


===Number Prefixes===
===Number Prefixes===


In kiZombie, numbers are never spoken in isolation but always with a prefix.   
In Zamgrh, numbers are never spoken in isolation but always with a prefix.   


====Default Prefix====
====Default Prefix====
Line 626: Line 627:


'Attack the barricades one block south and five blocks west.'
'Attack the barricades one block south and five blocks west.'
===Kennings===
As a context-sensitive tongue, Zamgrh has a habit of making use of [[Wikipedia:Kenning|kennings]], or highly-figurative descriptions meant to convey a point in an almost circumlocutory manner - see, for instance, agzbarn (''lit.'' axe-house) for fire station, mrh-banana (''roughly'' life insertion) for syringe, or nabra!nzbarg (''lit.'' no brains eating) for vegetarianism (with the implication of life-culting perhaps rendering this a double-kenning). The use of these kennings lends further weight to the reliance of Zamgrh on context and lateral thinking, making it somewhat of a distinct creole language with a growing lexicon of concepts.


=Corpus=
=Corpus=
Line 631: Line 635:
A corpus of zombie texts can be found at [[Texts]].
A corpus of zombie texts can be found at [[Texts]].


=Participants in the kiZombie/Zamgrh Project=
=Participants in the Zamgrh Project=


If you're a participant in the kiZombie Project, please use the following template:
If you're a participant in the Zamgrh Project, please use the following template:


<nowiki>{{zombielinguist}}</nowiki>
{{tl|zombielinguist}}
{{zombielinguist}}
{{zombielinguist}}


Latest revision as of 06:11, 6 September 2024

Zamgrh is the language spoken by zombies with Death Rattle. Unlike Zombish, Zombese, and Zomban, Zamgrh is not a code for representing English sounds-- instead, it is a unique language that can be used to express anything and everything that a zombie wishes to say. As Zamgrh is primarily a spoken language, it uses a completely phonetic orthography. Zamgrh bears strong resemblance to other human creoles. A dictionary can be found here:Guides:kiZombie-English Dictionary

Phonology

Phonemes

Much like English, Zamgrh consists of a phonetic alphabet in which a letter or combination of letters may take several tones. Previously it was theorized that there were only 21 distinct phonemes available. In written language these can be denoted by the following characters: z, a, m, g, r, h, n, b, and ! serving as letters in the English sense, with -, ., ,, ?, and ! serving as punctuation. By combining the basic sounds the modern zombie is able to communicate additional sounds.

The use by zombies of the ! as a glottal stop or "i" sound does require the careful attention of humans to make sure that they're interpreting Zamgrh correctly. Some zombies have been found to inhale when making the !, making it sound more like an "I" in English would sound.

z h g b r m n ! a
z! h! g! b! r! m! n! !! ! !
za ha ga ba ra ma na !a a a
zn hn gn bn rn mn n !n an n
zm hm gm bm rm m nm !m am m
zr hr gr br r mr nr !r ar r
zb hb gb b rb mb nb !b ab b
zg hg g bg rg mg ng !g ag g
zh h gh bh rh mh nh !h ah h
z hz gz bz rz mz nz !z az z

The following is a basic chart of possible sound combinations that a zombie might use when forming words. The yellow and blue colored squares offer additional meaning as "replacement letters" that zombies use to replace survivor sounds that they cannot pronounce. This chart is by no means complete. It does not take into account the other sound combinations that can be made such as "hra" or "ahz".

Phonological constraints

1. A vowel may never be pronounced in isolation. Any isolated vowel will have the sound "hr" prefixed. Most zombies seem to add an "h" after vowels, if they're trying to be clear to harmanz -- er --- humans.

e.g.: a zambah --> hra zambah

2. Words ending in "r" will have "h" suffixed.

e.g.: Gahgar Marr --> Gahgarh Marrh

3. "Clicks" or the English punctuation characters may never be uttered in isolation, and are always preceded by a consonant, vowel, or other click.

Trans-phonation Chart

p b t d tʃ dʒ k g f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h m n ŋ l r w j
n x x n
m x m
r x x r
b x x x x x b
g (x) x x x x x g
h x x x h
z (x) x x x x x x z
a x x a
p b t d tʃ dʒ k g f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h m n ŋ l r w j

Given that most zamgrh is largely an adjustment on American English (AmE) or British English (BrE), field studies have yielded the following chart. It is hoped that the casual user of the internet in Malton will find this rubric useful in dealing with zombies in Malton. Mah zambah brazzarrz habganna zambahz ahn Marzan mag zah gab hab zam gab ah harmanz, arzah. (We want zombies in Malton to make this page help them talk to humans, also).

This table has been formulated using the Internatonal Phonetic Alphabet. A careful user will notice that the list occasionally has an "x" in two places, signifying the use of both sounds. For example; dʒ shows b and z as sounds to be used, thus the Zamgrh usage would be bz.

Any questions should be addressed to the Linguistics Department of Oxford which has spent specific effort on the Malton Zombie problem.

Recent field work has discovered that the "t" sound of English is sometimes associated to a "g" sound, and sometimes to a "z". If unsure, use "g".

Syntax and Morphology

Zamgrh follows a loose Subject-Verb-Object syntax. Questions can simply be suffixed with a ? or have the verb and subject inverted. Verbs can be conjugated, however a full lexicon of verbs is not available at this time (see Zombie Lexicon for up-to-date vocabulary).

Basic Syntax

Active
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT OTHER
Harmanz am haarh.
Humans are here.

A more advanced example:

Mah zambah barg bra!nz haarh.
I eat brains here.

Zombies are known to drop helping verbs at times when they can easily be inferred, yielding the following examples:

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT OTHER
Harmanz am haarh.
Humans are here.

A more advanced example:

Mah zambah barg bra!nz haarh.
I eat brains here.

Adjectives

Adjectives precede the nouns that they modify.

Mah zambah am haarh.
I am here.

Nouns can also be used to modify other nouns while being modified by the first-person possessive. This is a more complex example:

Mah rabah grabz mah manbagz.
My lover grabs my testicles.

Proper Nouns

Zombies may choose to address each other or survivors by name. Often a zombie will state a translation of his name in the "Real Name" field of his profile, but otherwise, the speaker must be creative, remember to capitalize, and try to match the letter of the English name with whatever is most similar. 

 Bab, am  gaa habbah abah  zah namrh ah Bh!rh!b?
 Bob, are you happy  about the death of Philip?

Questions

A present tense verb can be conjugated into a question by adding the ? to the end of a sentence or by inverting the verb and subject. 

      Zah bang bang man ganna harm    mah zambah?
 Will the Zombie Hunter       attack  me?

Negative

Verbs can hold opposite meaning when the word nah is used between the subject and verb. 

 Mah zambah nah     harm brazzarz.
 I          do  not hurt friends.

Negative questions can be made to infer additional meaning: 

 Harman         nah ganna harm      mah zambah      ?
        Are you not going to attack me,        human?

Future

Any verb can be conjugated into the future tense by adding the word ganna infront of the verb. 

 Mah zambah ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar.
 I          will  rape     humans  tomorrow.

As a question: 

      Gaa am ganna gangbang harmanz zammarrar?
 Will you          rape     humans  tomorrow?

Nonfuture

Zombies have a hard time distinguishing between the past and the present, and the grammar of their language reflects this. Any verb not conjugated in the future tense refers to an action that began some time in the past and which may or may not still be going on at the present time. 

 Mah zambah barg      harman bra!nz.
 I          am eating human  brains
 I          ate       human  brains.

However, if an action has been completed the auxiliary haz may be preposed before the verb. 

 Mah zambah haz  barg  harman bra!nz.
 I          have eaten human  brains.

Imperative

The imperative form of verbs is conjugated by adding arz as a suffix. Note that the sentence structure stays the same. This is different from English where the subject gets transplanted to the end of the sentence. 

 Hammarh zah barragazh,  mah zambah brazzarz!
 Attack  the barricades, my zombie  brothers!

Advanced Sentence Structure

Contrary to popular survivor theory, zombies are capable of complex thought and communication in their own language. Here is an example: 

 Mah mama hammarh  mah zambah ahn Gagarh Marrh, an  mah zambah gab ah mama, -Mama am an bangbangman  .-
 My  mom  attacked me         in  Caiger Mall,  and I          told   mom,  "Mom  is a  Zombie Hunter."
 
 Mah zambah am nah habbah, an  mah zambah gab, -Graaaagh!-
 I          am not happy,  and I          say  "Graaaagh!"

This is an emotional zombie saddened by the internal rift of family by the survivor mentality of "kill zombies" where even mothers would attack their own children.

Lexicon

Zamgrh has a dictionary and a lexicon. Both are incomplete at present, but viewed as reliable resources.

Numbers

To help zombies in speech, some linguists have proposed a punctuation based number system.

Zamgrh would thus have a base 5 numbering system:

. ! ? - , !. !! !? !- !, ?. ?! ?? ?- ?, -. -! -? -- -, ,. ,! ,? ,- ,,
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
!.. !.! !.? !.- !., !!. !!! !!? !!- !!, !?. !?! !?? !?- !?, !-. !-! !-? !-- !-, !,. !,! !,? !,- !,,
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
?.. ?.! ?.? ?.- ?., ?!. ?!! ?!? ?!- ?!, ??. ??! ??? ??- ??, ?-. ?-! ?-? ?-- ?-, ?,. ?,! ?,? ?,- ?,,
50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74
-.. -.! -.? -.- -., -!. -!! -!? -!- -!, -?. -?! -?? -?- -?, --. --! --? --- --, -,. -,! -,? -,- -,,
75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 89 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
,..
100


Note that due to the base 5 system, 5 is the first number that has two digits, and 25 (52) the first to have three digits. 125 (53) would be the first number to have four digits.

For a truly linguistic zombie an alternative number system could be borrowed from German/spanish: 1 - A!nzh (eins) 2 - Zga! (zwei) 3 - Gra!h (drei) 4 - Ghabbrah (quatro) 5 - Z!nga (cinco) 6 - Zhhhz (sechs) 7 - Z!mnbn (sieben) 8 - Ahhgh (acht) 9 - Na!hn (noin/nine) 10- Zahn (zehn)

Efforts to spread this knowledge to Zombies has resulting in maulings and mostly death of any linguist crazy enough to give the zombies a lecture.

Number Prefixes

In Zamgrh, numbers are never spoken in isolation but always with a prefix.

Default Prefix

The default prefix is [b]

For example:

manz b?!? z hrh

human.PL NUM.57 be here

'57 humans are here'


ah habh b!!.

1.SG have NUM.30

'I am 30 years old'

Cardinal Directions

There are four prefixes for each of the cardinal directions: N (north), A (south), M (east), Z (west)


hambargarz N!!

human.eat.IMP NORTH.6

'Eat the humans six blocks to the north'


barbamarz A!Z!.

barricade.attack.IMP SOUTH.1.WEST.5

'Attack the barricades one block south and five blocks west.'

Kennings

As a context-sensitive tongue, Zamgrh has a habit of making use of kennings, or highly-figurative descriptions meant to convey a point in an almost circumlocutory manner - see, for instance, agzbarn (lit. axe-house) for fire station, mrh-banana (roughly life insertion) for syringe, or nabra!nzbarg (lit. no brains eating) for vegetarianism (with the implication of life-culting perhaps rendering this a double-kenning). The use of these kennings lends further weight to the reliance of Zamgrh on context and lateral thinking, making it somewhat of a distinct creole language with a growing lexicon of concepts.

Corpus

A corpus of zombie texts can be found at Texts.

Participants in the Zamgrh Project

If you're a participant in the Zamgrh Project, please use the following template:

{{zombielinguist}}

Cgisf-tgg.png This user is a zombese linguist.


We're looking for linguists, field reporters, and other membership to help us understand our undead brothers.

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