The Sith Language

Revised edition
First published 1343 IR+

This document has been authorized by DROMUND KAAS PUBLISHING
in adherence with the standards of the Imperial Reclamation Service

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Timeline
3. Phonetic Inventory
4. Phonetic Rules
5. Historical Changes
6. Grammar
7. Vocabulary
8. Names
9. Translations
10. References

Introduction

Despite its reputation as a pure and eternal language, Sith speech has undergone significant changes since the time of Adas and Ajunta Pall. Even its true name—Tsisoyatut—is rarely used in modern circles.

Most of our historical knowledge of Tsisoyatut postdates the arrival of the Dark Jedi Exiles (hereafter referred to as the Jen'jidai). Most discrepancies between the Sith vocabulary and phonetic inventory are attributed to their influence on the Sith people. The Jen'jidai were predominantly speakers of Basic and interpreted Sith phonetics through the lense of their own native tongue. Their Sith subjects followed their lead. That much is clear, but the exact mechanism and nature of the changes they inspired has rarely been subjected to serious study.

Regardless of external influences, all languages change, even in complete isolation. Tsisoyatut—or "Sith"—is no exception. The history of the Sith language is long, stretching back before even the Adastic era, and continued uninterrupted for over twenty-four thousand years. This vast span of time, combined with the distances created as the Sith spread their language throughout the Imperial worlds, created the perfect conditions to promote linguistic change. Ultimately, these changes culminated in the late form of Sith still spoken on Dromund Fels today.

The purpose of this document is to serve as a summary of current understanding of Tsisoyatut. It provides an overview of the Sith language as it was prior to the arrival of the Jen'jidai, indicates the etymologies for common words and phrases when such are known, and outlines the changes that have taken place between the ancient dialects and the modern Sith tongue.

Timeline

In keeping with contemporary linguistic conventiond, the development of the Sith language has been divided into key stages spread over the course of Imperial history. A brief overview has been included below.

Pre-Adastic era
before c. 22,820 IR-

Sith history prior to the reign of King Adas, from our species's prehistoric origins to the beginning of his reign. During this time, Korriban was divided into many small feudal territories which warred with one another continously.

Ancient Sith is a blanket term coined by archaeologists to describe the sparsely attested regional forms of the language that existed before the reign of King Adas. "Ancient Sith" was not a single language, but several languages which may or may not have been related to one another.

Texts written in Ancient Sith are scarce and often poorly preserved due to their great age. A thorough study of Ancient Sith is still ongoing, and an in-depth discussion must unfortunately be postponed until more evidence is made available.

Adastic era
c. 22,820 to c. 22,720 IR-

The reign of King Adas was marked by the unification of all territories into one kingdom spanning the entire planet.

Classical Sith refers to the language that rose to prominence under King Adas's rule as the official language for a united Korriban. It is believed to have originated as the dialect spoken in Adas's native territory, although early records are too scarce to confirm whether this is the case.

Pre-Ajuntic era
c. 22,720 to 1920 IR-

Despite the fracturing of Adas's kingdom upon his death, Classical Sith underwent surprisingly few changes in the millennia that followed. Although some regional variations did arise as the Sith population spread across multiple planets, the original form remained in use as the language of trade and learning.

Ajuntic era
1920 to 20 IR-

Even after the arrival of the Jen'jidai and the steady increase of Basic in everyday speech, Classical Sith remained the language of choice in Imperial high society and most literary contexts, having been adopted and embraced by the Jen'jidai for such purposes.

Imperial Reconstitution
1 IR+

Old practices were revised at this time and new standards established with the intent of increasing efficiency within the Empire. One such decree was the establishment of Basic as the official language of the Empire, which put to rest the two-century-long dispute between those who favored Basic and those who preferred to see the continued use of the Sith tongue in administrative and militial capacities. Many hailed the change as long overdue, considering the unfamiliarity of the contemporary populace with the Sith language.

Phonetic Inventory

Classical Sith

Consonants include d, h, j (dʒ), k, l/r, m, n, q, s, t, w, y (j), z, ch (tʃ), dz, sh (ʃ) and ts. ^[1]

Vowels include i as in "hit" (ɪ) and "heat" (i), â as in "bash" (æ), u as in "suit" (u), û as in "club" (ʌ), o as in "toad" (o), a as in "ah" (ɑ), and two diphthongs: oi as in "toy" (ɔɪ) and ai as in "buy" (ɑɪ). ^[1]

Late Sith

Differences from Common Sith lie primarily in the addition of new consonants and vowels: b, f, g, kh (x), p, th (θ), v, e as in "bet" (ɛ), and ei as in "pay" (eɪ). Late Sith also lacks ts, dz, and oi (ɔɪ).

Vowels include i as in "hit" and "heat", u as in "suit" and "club", o as in "toad", e as in "bet", a as in "bash" and "ah", and two diphthongs: ai as in "buy" and ei as in "pay". Diacritics are not typically used to differentiate vowels in Late Sith.

Phonetic rules

Classical Sith allows a wider range of consonant clusters than does Basic, and closed syllables (syllables that end in consonants) are frequent. Stress is also regular, and words are accented on the first syllable. ^[1]

Certain consonants cannot occur together. [t] is dropped immediately before [q], eg. nwit + -qû + -wai → nwiqûwai. ^[1] [k] is also dropped before [q], as in maq + -kut → maqut.

Vowels also cannot occur in hiatus. Instead [y] is inserted betwen them, eg. siqsa + -anjat → siqsayanjat. ^[2]

Some phonetic rules are determined by syllable structure. [i] does not occur in closed syllables, but [ɪ] does. ^[1] In addition, when [y] occurs between consonants without an additional vowel it becomes [ɪ].

[l] and [r] are also treated as the same consonant; [l] becomes [r] between two consonants, eg. Palpatine → Marmûtin. ^[1] Likewise, [r] doesn't occur as the first or last consonant in a word, instead being replaced by [l].

[ɛ] becomes [ɪ] in borrowed words, eg. Jedi → Jidai. ^[8]

[p] also becomes [m] in borrowings, eg. Palpatine → Marmûtin. ^[1]

Historical Changes

The sound changes that have occurred between Classical Sith and Late Sith are summarized below.

Stage 1 occurred prior to the arrival of the Dark Jedi Exiles and was prompted by natural linguistic drift as the Sith people spread throughout the Stygian Caldera. The variety that predominated during this time, and became the standard afterward, was that spoken on Ziost.

• [kr] and [kn] often became [gr] and [gn], though not usually when word-initial.
   Example: Grotthu (GROT-thoo) from Krattsu (KROT-tsoo)
• [k] sometimes became [g] at other times, although not with complete consistency.
   Example: Zuguruk (ZUG-uh-ruck) from Zûkûrûk (ZUCK-uh-ruck)

Stage 2 began at the onset of the Ajuntic era. The majority of changes resulted from reinterpretations of Sith phonology by its non-native rulers.

• [æ] and [ɪ] sometimes became [ɛ] when influenced by another nearby vowel differing in position.
    Example: jen from jin
Late Sith shares the vowel [ɛ] with Basic (English), whereas Classical Sith lacks it. I chose to interpret this as a derivative of [ɪ] based on the word jen ('dark, shadow(ed)') which appears in late Sith words like Jen'jidai; it appears to have an equivalent in Classical Sith odojinya (loosely translated, 'dark side web'). If the similarity isn't a coincidence, then this is a canonical sound change. The inclusion of [æ] is due to the necessity of explaining why [ɛ] seems to replace other vowels so irregularly.
• [m] became [b], or [p] when it preceded [k].
   Example: Korriban (CORE-ih-ban) from Korrimân (CORE-ih-man)
• [ts] became [θ]
   Example: Sith from Tsis
• [w] became [f] or [v] when [æ] appeared before or after it, or less often, when it was immediately followed by [a] or [o].
   Example: Typhojem (tie-FOE-jem) from Taiwojâm (TIE-woe-jam)
The consonants [f] and [v] occur in Basic and some Sith words, but do not exist in the canon Sith phonology.

Stage 3 occurred later than stage 1, and in most cases later than stage 2, but still at least a millennium prior to the Great Hyperspace War. These changes seem to have developed prior to the lifetime of Tulak Hord, but exact dates have been difficult to pin down.

• [a] and [æ] remained the same when stressed, but often became [ʌ] when unstressed on the first or second syllable, in accordance with Basic phonetic patterns.
   Example: Massassi (muh-SASS-ee) from Mâssâssi (MASS-ass-ee)
There are a significant number of words and names in which the letter 'a' represents the vowel [ʌ]. The spelling consistently mirrors where the stress is placed in a word, so it made sense to interpret it as a valid sound change, rather than a foreign spelling convention.
• Word-final [-aɪ] became [-ʌ]
   Example: Naga (NAW-guh) from Nadzai (NODZ-eye)
This is a means of explaining how a single root like -tai could lead to city names like Adasta and Dreshdae.
• [dz] became [g]
   Example: Naga (NAW-guh) from Nadzai (NODZ-eye)
[dz] doesn't occur in Late Sith, but is common in Classical Sith, while [g] occurs in Late Sith but not in Classical Sith. One explanation could be that [dz] became [g].
• [l] and [r] usually remained the same but were sometimes substituted for each other. In most cases this was the result of confusion, as Sith writing represents both with the same letter. After the Ajuntic era, Sith phonology gradually lost much of its predictability and its value was no longer inferrable solely from its position in a word.
   Example: Tulak (TOO-lack) from Turâk (TOOR-ack)
• [q] became [x] ("kh") when unstressed; in modern times it is often pronounced [k], but the intermediate spelling remains.
   Example: Khar Delba (car DEL-buh) from Qal Dirma (qal DIR-maw)
The consonant [q] occurs in very few 'modern' Sith words, which is logical since Basic (English) doesn't have it. But the ligature 'kh' is relatively common in Late Sith, while it doesn't appear (as a ligature or consonant) in classic Sith. Most often, 'kh' represents [x] (like in Scottish 'loch'), which does not occur in either Sith OR Basic, but is somewhat easier for Basic- (and English-) speakers to pronounce than [q]. I assume the mutual exclusivity of [q] and [x] is due to the fact that [q] was replaced by [x] (and possibly [k]).

It was only shortly before the reign of Marka Ragnos that it became common to affix Sith names with modifiers such as -os and -is, which have their origins in either Basic or some other alien language.

Stage 4 occurred after the Imperial Reformation and may be considered ongoing. This stage is marked by the "kh" → "k" spelling reformation.

• The diphthong [ɔɪ] became [ɪ].
   Example: Wei'val (WAY-vall) from Woiwal (WOY-wall)

Grammar

Sentence structure

Basic sentence structure is normally verb-subject-object. ^[4] For example:

   Wonoksh Qyâsik nun. ^[4]
   (v.free-future) (n.Force) (pron.me)
   "The Force shall free me."

   Dzworokka yun ^[1]
   (v.exist-imperative) (num.two)
   "Two there should be"

   Dzwol shâsotkun. ^[4]
   (v.exist) (n.passion-only)
   "There is only passion."

Subjects, objects and prepositions may be topicalized, in which case they are moved to the beginning of the sentence. ^[4]

   Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk. ^[4]
   (n.passion-instrumental) (v.gain-alethic) (pron.I) (n.strength)
   "Through passion I gain strength."

Likewise, conditional statements precede their conclusion.

   Att châts nu tyûk, châts nu midwan.
   (cnj.if) (v.gain) (prn.I) (n.strength), (v.gain) (prn.I) (n.power)
   "If I gain strength, I gain power."

Nouns

Nouns are marked for case and number, although singular nouns are not marked for nominative or accusative case. ^[1]

Modifiers applied to nouns include adjectives, numerals, demonstratives and case, in that order. ^{[G] [G]}

   Koshûkinwotsajontû
   (n.shadow-adj.black-num.one-dem.this-instrumental)
   "Through this one black shadow"

Proper nouns precede common nouns. ^[G]

   Sith'ari ^[2]
   (n.Sith-n.Lord)
   "Sith Lord"

   Tsisajak ^[4]
   (N.Sith-n.doctrine)
   "Sith doctrine"

   Âdâstai taitsis
   (N.Adasta) (n.city-adj.supreme)
   "[The] supreme city [of] Adasta"

Pronouns

Sith has first, second, and third person pronouns in the singular and plural. Pronouns are marked for case, but lack gender distinction.

Genitive pronouns appear after the noun to which they are applied, like adjectives, and similarly they adopt the noun's case and number.

   Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak ^[4]
   (n.victory-instrumental) (v.break-ergative) (n.chain) (pron.my-plural)
   "Through victory my chains are broken."

Determiners

Determiners exist as separate words and are often used as nouns. When applied to a noun, the noun precedes the determiner and the determiner takes on the noun's markings, just as an adjective would.

Verbs

Verbs are marked for tense, mood and aspect, in that order.

Tenses historically included far past, recent past, present and future, present being unmarked. By the time of the arrival of the Jen'jidai, the distinction between present and future tenses was already beginning to blur, and sometimes the future tense went unmarked as well. Future tense remains in use in Classical Sith in formal contexts, but is generally absent from Late Sith.

Moods include indicative, alethic, imperative, nominal and ergative. The indicative mood is unmarked.

Aspects include simple, perfective, imperfective, perfect progressive, conditional and repeated. Simple aspect is unmarked.

Sith also utilizes a category of verb known as "verbs of handling", such as kots ("to break"). These verbs utilize an additional modifier, appended between the mood and aspect, to indicate the nature of the object being handled, including its animacy, and the extent to which the verb is completed. ^[4]

Adjectives

Adjectives follow the nouns they modify, rather than preceding them as in Basic.

   Dzunyâsh ^[3]
   (n.leaf-adj.large)
   "Big leaf"

Adjectives are marked for intensity, number (on forms other than the positive), and case. The noun to which the adjective is applied is not marked for number or case when this property is applied to the adjective. ^[G]

An adjective's meaning can be inverted using the negative suffix -wai. Where both occur in the same word, comparative particles precede negative particles.

   Nyâshqûwai, nwiqûwai. ^[1]
   (adj.big-comparative-negative) (adj.small-comparative-negative)
   "No more, no less."

Adverbs

The adverb follows the verb or adjective it modifies. ^[G]

Prepositions

The Sith language uses prepositional phrases. ^{[4] [G]}

There is no preposition with the affiliative meaning "of", but the word order for phrases with the structure "X [of] Y" is otherwise the same as in Basic.

   Chwayatyun ^[1]
   (n.rule-num.two)
   "Rule [of] Two"

   Ninûshwodzakut ^[2]
   (v.knot-agentive-n.entrail-plural)
   "Knotters [of] Entrails"

   Qotsisajak ^[4]
   (n.path-Sith-doctrine)
   "Path [of] Sith Doctrine"

Conjunctions

There is no equivalent for the Basic conjunction "and".

Alternative clauses are preceded by the conjunction nit (roughly translated, "either... or"). Any number of clauses may be marked in this fashion.

   Nit nwûl, nit shâsot
   (cnj.or) (n.peace), (cnj.or) (n.passion)
   "Either peace or passion"

Articles

There are no articles such as "a" or "the".

Numbers

Ordinal numbers are formed using the suffix -tok.

Ordinal numbers may be used without explicitly stating the noun to which they belong.

   wotok tsawakmidwanottoi ^[1]
   (num.first) (n.embodiment-n.power-dative)
   "The first to embody power"

   yuntok hyarutmidwanottoi ^[1]
   (num.second) (n.craving-n.power-dative)
   "The second to crave power"

Copulas

The verb "is" (dzwol) does not act as a copula; there is no equivalent in that context.

   Nwûl tash. ^[4]
   (n.peace) (n.lie)
   "Peace is a lie."

Interrogatives

Unlike Basic, questions posed in Sith do not differ noticeably in intonation from positive or negative statements.

Sith uses a series of interrogative pronouns, similar to those in Basic (who, what, where, etc.) and interrogative sentences are formed by moving the element being questioned to the beginning of the sentence. ^[G]

A question is answered using the positive or negative form of the noun or verb being questioned; simply stating "yes" or "no" is not a valid answer even to a yes-or-no question. The other argument is often omitted. For example:

Vocabulary

Names

Sith names fall into three categories: personal names, surnames, and ceremonial names. It is not uncommon for personal names to also be used as surnames to indicate lineage, much as in Basic names such as "Benson". In the centuries during and leading up to the reign of Marka Ragnos, personal and surnames were usually hyphenated, although this practice gradually fell out of favor.

Before the arrival of the Jen'jidai, personal names continued the pattern observed elsewhere in Sith grammar by maintaining no separation between masculine and feminine; most were completely genderless. The frequency of the -us (and sometimes -os and -is) endings in ceremonial and some personal names in later centuries is the result of influences from Basic following the arrival of the Jen'jidai.

Historically there was also little distinction between personal and ceremonial names. Children were given names appropriate to their future status as determined by the caste they were born into. With the admixture of human genetic material the inheritance of Force sensitivity became much less predictable and some of those who rose to prominence as Darths did not have names suitable for their title. Consequently, a custom developed of adopting new, ceremonial names upon reaching recognizable rank. By Marka Ragnos's era, it had become commonplace for a ceremonial name to be granted regardless of whether the Sith's original name was suitable or not.

As Basic became more widely spoken and understanding of Sith became limited largely to formal and ritualistic circles, there also came a shift toward ceremonial and personal names with roots in Basic rather than in Sith, such as Praven and Tormen.

Translations

Chwayatyun: Dzworokka yun; nyâshqûwai, nwiqûwai. Wotok tsawakmidwanottoi, yuntok hyarutmidwanottoi.
—"The Rule of Two: two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it." ^[1]

  Chwayatyun
   (n.rule-num.two)

  Dzworokka yun
   (v.exist-imperative) (num.two)

  nyâshqûwai, nwiqûwai
   (adj.many-comparative-negative), (adj.few-comparative-negative)

  Wotok tsawakmidwanottoi
   (num.one) (n.embodiment-n.power-dative)

  yuntok hyarutmidwanottoi
   (num.two) (n.craving-n.power-dative)

Nwûl tash. Dzwol shâsotkun. Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk. Tyûkjontû châtsatul nu midwan. Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha. Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak. Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.
—"Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." ^[4]

  Nwûl tash
   (n.peace) (n.lie)

  Dzwol shâsotkun
   (v.exist) (n.passion-only)

  Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk
   (n.passion-instrumental) (v.gain-alethic) (prn.I) (n.strength)

  Tyûkjontû châtsatul nu midwan
   (n.strength-instrumental) (v.gain-alethic) (prn.I) (n.power)

  Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha
   (n.power-instrumental) (v.gain-alethic) (prn.I) (n.victory)

  Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak
   (n.victory-instrumental) (v.break-ergative-large inanimate object) (n.chain) (prn.my-plural object)

  Wonoksh Qyâsik nun
   (v.free-future) (n.the Force) (prn.me)

Note that the garbled speech that appears in some early historical documents, such as Nkrttw flgkllm shprrlt mdnnq, ^[7] are the result of incompatibilities between Sith translation talismans and similar dark side artifacts with Republic translators and recording devices. Sadly, the actual dialogue in such cases is lost to history.

References

Final Notes

Last updated 03/05/2021

The original, canon Sith conlang was created by Ben Grossblatt. This project was created out of a desire to see a more complete version of that language, since I fear that we are probably not likely to see a more extensive official look at Sith vocabulary and grammar any time soon.

The purpose of this project was twofold: first, to expand on what we were given in a way that I felt remained as true to the original source material as possible. And second, to find some way to explain the inconsistencies seen in different canon portrayals of Sith speech, so that all canon information regarding the Sith language could be considered true with any discrepancies given a logical explanation.

Yes, expanding a conlang does imply that it is being changed. I have done my best to try to not contradict any aspects of the Sith language that have already been established. Because a fair portion of what we know about the Sith language exists only in digital form, I don't feel comfortable assuming that all resources available now will still be online five or ten years from now. To avoid any possible confusion, content that originated with Ben Grossblatt or another official source will be highlighted on mouseover and marked with a reference to the original source.

The Sith language and the rest of the Star Wars universe is ©. LucasFilm Ltd. and Disney. I am in no way associated with the copyright holders. No money is being made from this project and no copyright infringement is intended. All non-canon content was developed by this author unless otherwise specified. Feel free to use without permission.