Pronunciation

As much as possible, I tried to match the sounds to their corresponding English equivalent. Here are a few that are not as obvious:

Kh - Greek X, scottish ch. The sound comes from the back of the mouth, the throat rather than the front as in English ch.

oh - Greek omega. This is a long and round O.

eh - Greek eta.

ei - like "eye"

eu - a dipthong. Try saying eh-oo quickly. This is not pronounced like "you".

dj - Egyptian dj, as djet. similar to English tch as in watch.

Other (Pronouns, Articles, etc)

Here are a few other useful pieces:

Diminutives:
Feminine: -oeg, oula
Masculine: -in, -akehs
Neuter: -aki

Definite article: koh, keh, kor. Corresponds to masculine, feminine, neuter declensions, but is not declined. "The journey": koh Poros.

Pronouns, declined as masculine regardless of gender they refer to, except er'ar and er'ad, which are declined as fem. and neut. respectively.

I- emos
you - edos
formal you- edjeyos
he - erehos (er'os)
she - erehar (er'ar)
it - erehad (er'ad)

Capitalization: I have taken to capitalizing nouns, as in German. I find it easier to keep track of what I'm saying. I don't see this as a general rule of the language, but it IS very convenient.

Common to Draenei

A

and - kai

B

C

D

Desire - v. epithum'ein

Dwelling - n. trath

E

Exile- v. draenein

H

Home - n. trath

J

Journey - n. Poros

Joy - n. Khara, -as. Used as a term of endearment in vocative form: "What did you say, aKhara?"

K

keep safe, to - v. arkanein

L

Light - n. Shar

P

pleasing, that which is suited to the heart - n. thumarehsa

S

sufficient, to be - v. arkanein

T
to - p. a(n).

toward - p. a(n).


Note: These definitions and spellings are entirely my own creation and extrapolation except where they match the wowwiki article. You're welcome to use them, but they are not canon.

Noun declensions

As in many languages, Draenei words have three types: masculine, feminine and neuter. These should not be mistaken as necessarily referring to the gender of the object itself; a man's name may be inflected as a feminine word.

Masculine
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-os	-u
Genitive	-ou	-oun
Dative	-o	-uh
Accusative	-ol	-ul

Feminine
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-ar, -a	-ei
Genitive	-as, -at	-is
Dative	-a	-ih
Accusative	-al	-il

Neuter
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-al, -ad, -ath, -or	-i
Genitive	-as, -ou	-is
Dative	-a, -o	-ih
Accusative	-al,-ol	-il

The vocative of all forms is a- or an- (in front of vowels) at the beginning of the word.

A full explanation of "case" and "declension" is outside the scope of this page. Wikipedia has a good series of articles on Inflection and related terms.

Verb conjugation

Verbs are complicated. I purposefully did not create every possible tense, mood, aspect, etc., just those I thought I was most likely to use.

Considering the longevity of the draenei, I assume the most common present will actually be the progressive/continuous, because most things in their life will be ongoing, the same now, in the past and in the future. This forms the basis for my accent in Common, as I most frequently replace the regular verb with an ongoing version.

Present Indicative
	Sing	Plur
I	-oh	-emeh
you	-oseh	-eteh
he/she/it	-on	-esteh(n)

Present Progressive/Continuous
	Sing	Plur
I	-dja'oh	-dja'meh
you	-dja'oseh	-dja'teh
he/she/it	-dja'n	-dja'steh(n)

Present Subjunctive
	Sing	Plur
I	-koh	-kemeh
you	-koseh	-keteh
he/she/it	-kon	-kesteh(n)

In other words, the subjunctive is formed with the addition of -k-, the coninuous with -dja-, before the appropriate ending.

Simple Past
	Sing	Plur
I	-mai	-ataam
you	-tai	-tayid
he/she/it	-nai	-atar

Simple Future
	Sing	Plur
I	-mu	-emar
you	-oto	-etar
he/she/it	-nu	-estar

infinitive: -ein
gerund/participle: -djuhin

To Be
	Sing	Plur
I	-ohmi	-emeh
you	-ohseh	-eteh
he/she/it	-ohmon	-esteh(n)

Draenei to Common

A

a(n) - prep. to, toward. Also used to create the vocative.

arkanein - v. to be enough, to be strong enough, to be sufficient, to keep safe. ex. Arkanon Poros, lit. "Journey be enough."

B

C

D

draenein- v. Exile

E

epithum'ein- v. to desire, epithume'oh, epithume'oseh

K

kai - and

Khara - n. Joy. Used as a term of endearment in vocative form: "What did you say, aKhara?"

P
Poros- n. passage-way, a river ford. Also used to mean a journey.

S
Shar - n. Light, the Light

T

Thumarehsa - n. pleasing, suiting the heart

Trath - n., neu. Home or Dwelling

Note: These definitions and spellings are entirely my own creation and extrapolation except where they match the wowwiki article. You're welcome to use them, but they are not canon.

Draenei Greetings

One of the easiest ways to bring your character's culture into your roleplaying is how you greet others. Walk around and click on the Draenei npcs to get a feel for how the greetings sound.

You may also want to take a look at the Draenei language entry on wowwiki.com. Unfortunately, that entry doesn't include some of the greetings you will hear from the npcs. I've tried to transliterate some of them below, using vaguely ancient Greek spelling rules, since that's what I know and what matches the known Draenei spellings.

Arkanon Poros - /ARK-uh-non POH-ros/ this is the most common greeting you'll hear among Draenei. Literally, this means "Journey be enough." It is a general wish for things to go well and for the recipient to be safe.

Use: Usually combined with the vocative form of a person's name: Arkanon Poros anAurhia! Arkanon Poros aStonemug!

Khronakai Khristor - /HKRON-uh-kye hkree-STOR/ The Kh is like the Greek X or the Scottish CH. Roughly, this means "eternal glory".

Use: Again combined with the vocative form of a name: Khronakai Khristor anAurhia!

The NPCs also use a number of phrases in Common, among them:
* Good fortune!
* May the Light embrace you! (also used for farewell)
* Warm wishes to you
* Greetings, friend

Note: These definitions and spellings are entirely my own creation and extrapolation except where they match the wowwiki article. You're welcome to use them, but they are not canon.