Amn-Piskaon, and welcome to Havel! In this simple guide, you will learn the basics of the Havellan dialect of Korremamʰ, whether you’ve never touched the language before or whether you’re trying to pick up a new dialect (in which case you’ll benefit most from the section on spelling and pronunciation)! No matter your background, by the end of this primer, you should be able to:

And more, including helpful vocabulary and tips for new learners and those familiar with closely related dialects. This guide will be structured in an example-oriented manner; which is to say, each section will focus on a set of examples of particular situations, which will then be deconstructed until the entire situation can be understood. By the time you finish that section, you will already be able to read a relevant sentence, and by the end of this guide, you may even be able to read it in Korremamʰ script! Every example will be given three ways: One with the structure of Korremamʰ but using the Latin alphabet, one translated fully to English, and one with the Korremamʰ alphabet, to accustom you to the arrangement of a sentence in the latter.

Above all, Korremamʰ prioritizes directness. This is one of the first things that trips up new learners, especially those whose native languages have a more moderate amount of ‘avoidance’, or avoid directness altogether, such as Bujara or southern Sergatani. This tendency is tied in closely with another one of its defining features, a very granular kinship system; one that carries similarities to the hierarchical systems of languages such as Laiki or Sumi. Already, connections may be forming in the mind of someone familiar with the above languages, connections that will make their learning journey even smoother. Even if your language isn’t one of the examples cited so far, there is no need to feel daunted; learning a language is no small task, but with practice and careful study, no language is impenetrable; certainly not this one! With that in mind, let us begin with the first things you’ll need:

Introductions & Greetings

As promised, we’re starting with an example. Here’s a typical interaction between two people in Havel meeting for the first time:

Now, translated to English structure:

Right away, we can see that there’s a lot going on here! Let’s break it down piece by piece.

Saying Hello

First of all, we have the essential part of any interaction- the greeting. You’ll notice that in the direct (word-for-word) translation, it specifies ‘unfamiliar’. This is because, just as many other languages use systems of formality, Korremamʰ uses a system of familiarity. Both conjugation of verbs and day-to-day greetings will vary depending on whether you’re speaking to a stranger, or someone you’ve met before. There are further nuances to the latter, including varying levels of familiarity, but we’ll explore that further in the section on Dyadics. For now, we’ll keep it simple. There are three possible ways to say ‘Hello’:

Paon! - Unfamiliar, used with anyone you would consider a stranger. Mao! - Familiar, used with someone you’ve met before and wouldn’t consider a stranger. Korre ay-kaon - Formal, used for someone in a position of authority relative to you, regardless of familiarity.

If the difference is hard to grasp, consider the following: When meeting a stranger, would you be more likely to greet them with yo or hello? What about when speaking to your boss, or an important government figure? Even English has an array of different greetings, the individual uses just as varied. Consider the tonal differences between: Hello, Hi, Hey, Yo, Greetings, Ho there, Salutations, etc. Whether you’d consider someone a stranger is fairly subjective. You might get an odd look, however, for using Paon to greet a longtime coworker, or Mao to greet a receptionist. These intricacies can be flipped, however; perhaps by using Paon on an abusive family member, or Mao to defuse a tense situation with a stranger. When just starting your learning journey, stick to the basics; as you immerse yourself further into the language, you will develop a sense of when to use what, and grow more comfortable with flipping those rules on their heads. Not that we’d recommend using Mao on your boss! When interacting with an authority figure, formality always takes precedence over familiarity, unless you’ve been given specific permission to do otherwise. How do you say ‘goodbye’, then, you may ask? How many different variations are there, you wonder with trepidation? Well, thankfully, there’s only one phrase for that: Iye-Korre! It can even be shortened to simply Iye, akin to ‘bye’ versus the full ‘goodbye’ in English.