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
Verb Paradigm
Four cases. Example root: vaen (home).
Root example: thoran (to venture).
| Case | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | vaen | /ˈvaen/ |
| Objective | vaena | /ˈvaena/ |
| Genitive | vaenak | /ˈvaenak/ |
| Locative | vaenra | /ˈvaenra/ |
| Tense | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Present | thoran | /ˈθoran/ |
| Past | thorin | /ˈθorin/ |
| Future | thorak | /ˈθorak/ |
| Imperative | thora! | /ˈθora/ |
Pronouns
Numbers
| 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/ |
| 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
Slang
| English | Gearscript | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| City | Volak | /ˈvolak/ |
| Underground | Thôndak | /ˈθoːndak/ |
| Radioactive | Zorthan | /ˈzorθan/ |
| Wasteland | Vorhaden | /ˈvorhaden/ |
| Self-sufficient | Lumthal | /ˈlumθal/ |
| Scrap | Kazûr | /ˈkazuːr/ |
| Technology | Gromâk | /ˈɡromɑːk/ |
| Advanced | Tharvên | /ˈθarveːn/ |
| Outsider | Shorthin | /ˈʃorθin/ |
| Home | Vaen | /ˈvaen/ |
| Machine | Zollkim | /ˈzolːkim/ |
| Secret | Thîshar | /ˈθiːʃar/ |
| Safe | Krath | /ˈkraθ/ |
| Community | Thoral | /ˈθoral/ |
| Knowledge | Zinor | /ˈzinor/ |
| Venture | Thoran | /ˈθoran/ |
| Pipe | Porak | /ˈporak/ |
| Tunnel | Yoren | /ˈjoren/ |
| Valve | Chazor | /ˈtʃazor/ |
| 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/ |
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.