User:LordValatar

So. As you may or may not know, the Dwemer language is... let's just say that it's incomplete at best and lacking crucial vocabulary at worst. So I have taken it upon myself to learn as much as I possibly can about this language after which I intend to recreate it, inventing new words with the typical sentence structure and word structure in mind. And on my travels I have stumbled upon something rather peculiar which I mean to share. After I copied down the alphabets for the language I came upon a phrase that told me the following:

Dwemeris can be read, written and translated in three different ways (I have dubbed them System I, System II and System III). The simplest way assigns English letters to the Dwemer glyphs to write English with it, the second system assigns English letters and writes Dwemeris with it (as seen on Calcelmo's Stone). The third and final system applies sounds to each glyph and writes in a phonetic way (as seen on Stros M'Kai). Bearing this in mind, I have taken as many written examples as I could fathom and copied down the original runes as well as transcribing them into the different systems that I could work with. Past a certain point I reached the two infamous texts "Divine Metaphysics" and "The Egg of Time". And then, things started to become interesting. Because I did something nobody has done before (at least nobody recorded it). I applied System 3 to the two texts to see what happens. But before I get to my transcription, I need to tell of something else I found to make it more interesting. After I was finally done with all the information gathering on the language and after I read so much about everything, copied so many texts, translated countless ruin names and gathered vocabulary based on assumptions, I also established 16 rules which I assume are true to the Dwemer language.

1.: Morrowindian Dwemeris seems to be mostly written in system III, the Dwemer from Skyrim seemed to favor System II and System I was apparently prominent on Vvardenfell (based on where what scripts, inscriptions and books have been found)

2.: However, Dwemer ruins with names corresponding to all systems can be found all over Tamriel, no matter the province. That said, we can assume that every system and writing style/pronunciation is a different "dialect" of the same language.

3.: Based on ruin names that I transliterated I can assume that when applying System III to a Dwemeris text, a selection of vowels and consonants gets added or subtracted for easier pronunciation. As a general rule, vowels are usually added for better pronounceability while consonants (most notably h, l, f and t based on my findings) tend to get subtracted (probably for redundance).

4.: Names for people seem to be largely excluded from these rules, as most are impossible to properly being expressed by System III. Thus, we can assume that for names, System II is used.

5.: Male names in particular seem to oftentimes sport "-ac" or "-ak" at the end. I hypothesize that this is reserved for the most important Dwemer (like Dumac, Kagrenac or Nchunak). Additionally, some names seem to carry a meaning (for instance: Kagrenac as chief tonal architect is named after "Kagren" - tone).

6.: Dwemer apparently only pluralize possessive pronouns (e.g. "Du" - we; "Dua" - our), however other words get only pluralized from context and don't have a written form that denotes a thing as being more than one.

7.: There seems to be no proper inflection present in Dwemeri writing. Most words used are base words that are modified by the rest of the sentence so the actual meaning of a word is oftentimes based on context.

8.: Dwemeris appears to mostly lack prepositions everywhere. When translating, prepositions have to be artificially added to provide for a standard Tamrielic sentence structure.

9.: Numbers in Morrowindian Dwemeris are denoted by putting the number indicator in front of the glyph that is to be read as a number for the first ten glyphs (A-J). The 10 (J) could maybe be read as a 0, though the 0 is absent from all alphabets.

10.: In Skyrimian Dwemeris, numbers are spelled out and not represented by the number indicator.

11.: In Morrowindian Dwemeris, capitalizations are denoted by starting a sentence with the _ glyph. This glyph also denotes the start of a new sentence.

12.: In Skyrimian Dwemeris, glyphs are enlarged to capitalize a word. They also use standard commas and fullstops and the _ is absent.

13.: Oftentimes, words and phrases are built from multiple root words (arkng-thand, irkng-thand, arkng-thamz) and most words seem to have "root glyphs" that one uses to build them.

14.: Possessive pronouns are usually coupled with the noun in question. For instance: Thua Mer (Thua = your; Mer = people) becomes "Thuamer".

15.: Adjectives are also usually coupled with the noun in question, e.g. Nchuand-zel = radiant city/city of light (Nchuand = radiance/light; zel= city/domain of the Dwemer); or a more speculative one: Nchardak = City of a hundred Towers (Nchar = Tower; dak = hundred).

16.: Dwemeris tends to use a lot of compound words, so large strings of letters aren't too uncommon (add to that rule 14 and 15 and the words can become long indeed). That said, Dwemeris uses consonants more frequently than vowels when writing. Vowels usually get added later when pronouncing or transcribing while phonetically redundant consonants get subtracted from the formula (at least as far as System III and Morrowindian Dwemeris is concerned).

Now that we've established these rules, let us look at what I did to see if it works. So here it is:

I took the texts of Divine Metaphysics and The Egg of Time and copied down the runes first. I noticed then, that some number indicators seem to be a little off but that didn't deter me. Then, I transcribed the texts with System II, meaning I took each glyph and transcribed it into the English/Tamrielic equivalent (I.e. T = C, L = L etc.). That version can also be found on the website on the Aldmeri Alphabets page I believe. But then, I did something nobody see to have done before. I applied System III to the texts. By that I mean I gave each glyph a corresponding sound (string of letters, I.e. A = Ahh, B = Bth, C = Lch and so on) and transcribed the texts that way. Upon doing this, I started to notice patterns and sentence structure that made a little more sense started to form. For completion's sake however, I'll include the System I/II transcripts so you can get a better grasp on things. Here's what the simple transcripts look like:

Divine Metaphysics, Page 1, System II Transcript
VTDL ITS ATDBNB CEK PAG _ CQNDF ADIF GLNQ KOR A B SG RBCEXAOP EDTF TCKIHM N#QXY U UGBL BUH B V RZFH B VM CVMCW CGUKC UM XF SODI KY VTDL ITS Q_ AXBYE_ G# E FS WAV HL WCGPY A XOAPD YK Z ERUZF GZ H B EW XNC ATDBNB CEK HFGD IV_LQOGSE G IMOQRN BCREM PZL AD YFTKI# F#GAWH GBZIPWEHK C

Divine Metaphysics Page 2, System II Transcript
ZX NGFTS C#YDU B A_L HWI AN_ R BI PQ_ VWR KR_ #UPN VEL WMR XZO RV TWZYX NU RC # STB OS _ ROAQ OWPF K EGY LP ML _ ROI WHC DYOF FBR XWV EK UMHO _R XFV Y T #OG HFX MH U NGC A RW SHV VR B R D_ KEN YL TAQN SE QLI VHFNYZ_UDC KN H _#_ OHEY O GFF_ P YO D ZWCWTM SIQPN W# MD ON IQGAH FUC KWYB

The Egg of Time Page 1 System II Transcript
Q_AXBYE_G# E FS WAV IV_LQOGSE G IMOQRN F#GAWH GBZIPWEHK C EDTF TCKIHM N#QXY U UG BL BUH B V RZFH B VM CVMCW CGUKC UM HL WCGPYA XOAPD YK XFSODI KY VTDL FTS XNC ATDBNB CEK HFGD KORAB SG RBCEXAOP PAG_ CQNDF ADIF GLNQ VTDL ITS ATDBNB CEK Z ERUZF GZ H B EW BCREM PZLAD YFTKI #

The Egg of Time Page 2 System II Transcript
YFTKI # XNC GZ H B EW CEK GLNQ ATDBNB V CVMVW RBCEXAOP VM KORAB SG ADIF HFGD PZLAD ITS ATDBNB BUH XOAPD CEK Z ERUZF VTDL VTDL PAG_ CQNDF ITS C BCREM WCGPYA XFSODI KY HL YK XY UM CGUKC RZFH UGBL EDTF H U TCKIHM N#Q F#GAW B G IMOQRN E GBZIPWEHK OV_ LQOGSE Q_ AXBYE_G# FS WAV

These are the transcripts we all know and frankly, they look like complete and utter gibberish any way you put it. However, then I applied what I fondly call system III to the texts and then they kinda started to make sense to an extent. Even if the capitalization and the number indicators are off at times. As I said, system III assigns sounds to each glyph that makes for a phonetic spelling (read all about it on the "Aldmeri Alphabets" page, courtesy of Lady Nerevar). If I apply this system, the four pages start to look different to such an extent as to make sense. Kind of. This is also why I assume the Morrowindian Dwemer used this system frequently. Anyway, this is what the four pages look like with system III in mind:

Divine Metaphysics Page 1 System III Transcript
Vthrtndlft ihrtsh ahrtnd bthnchbth lchehrk pthahhngth. Lchkwhnchndft ahhndihft ngthlftnchkwh rkowrd ahhbth shngth rkbthlchehaweahh owpth ehngthbthlch bthhwhah bth vth rkstftah bth vthmz lchvthmzlch hwh lchngthuhrk lch uhmz aweft showndih rkoy vthrtndlch ihrtsh kwh. Ahhawebthoyeh. Ngth # 5(eh) ftsh hwhahhvth ahlft hwhlchngthpthpybth aweow bthpthnd oyrk st ehrduhstft ngthst ah bth ehhwh awenchlch ahhrtnd bthnchbth lchehrk ahftngthnd ihvth. Lftkwhowngthsheh ngth ihmzowkwhrknch bthlchrkehmz pthstlft ahhnd oyft rt rk ih # 6(ft) # 7(ngth) ahhhwhah ngthbthstihpth hwhehahrk lch.

Divine Metaphysics Page 2 System III Transcript
Stawe nchngthft rtsh lch # oynduh bth ahh. Lft ahhwhih ahhnch. Rdbthih pthkwh. Vthhwhrd rkrd. # uhpthnch vth ehlft hwhmzrd awestow rdvth rthwhstoyawe nchuh rdrt # shrtbth owsh. Rdow ahhkwh owhwhpth ft rk ehngthoy lftpth mzlft. Rdowih hwhahlch ndoyowft ftbthrd awehwhvth ehrk uhmzahow. Rd aweftvth oy rt # owngth ahftawe mzah uh nchngthlch ahh rdhwh shahvth vthrd bth rd nd. Rk ehnch oylft rtahhkwhnch sheh kwhlft Ih vthahftnchoyst. Uhftlft rknch ah. #. Owah ehoy ow ngthftlft. Pth oyow nd sthwhlch hwhrtnch shihkwhpthnch hwh# nchnd ow nch ihkwhngth ahhah ftvthlch rkhwhoybth.

The Egg of Time Page 1 System III Transcript
Kwh. Ahhawebthoyeh. Ngth# 5(eh) ftsh hwhahhvth ihvth. Lftkwhowngthsheh ngth ohmzowkwhrdnch ft # 7(ngth) ahhwhah ngthbthstihpthhwhehahrk lch ehndift rtlchrkihahmz nch # kwhaweoy uh uhngthbthlft bthuhah bth vth rdstftah bth vthmz lchvthmzlchkwh lchngthuhrklch uhmz ahlft hwhlchngthpthoyahh aweowahhpthnd oyrk hwhftshowndih rkoy vthrtndlft ihrtsh hwhnchlch ahhrtndbthnchbth lchehrk ahftngthnd rkowrdahhbth shngth rdbthlchehaweahhowpth pthahhngth. Lchkwhnchndft ahhndihft ngthlftnchkwh vthrtndlft ihrtsh ahhrtndbthnchbth lchehrk st ehrduhstft ngthst ah bth ehhwh bth lchrdehmz pthstlftahhnd oyfrtrkih #.

The Egg of Time Page 2 System III Transcript
Oyftrtrkih # awenchlch ngthst ah bth ehhwh. Lchehrk ngthlftnchkwh ahhrtndbthnchbth vth lchvthmzlchkwh rdbthlchehaweahhowpth vthmz rkowrd ahhbth shngth ahhndihft ahftngthnd pthstlftahhnd ihrtsh ahhrtndbthnchbth bthuhah aweowahpthnd lchehrk st ehrduhstft vthrtndlft vthrtndlft pthahhngth. Lchkwhnchndft ihrtsh lch bthlchrdehmz hwhlchngthpthoyahh aweftshowndih rkoy ahlft oyrk aweoy uhmz lchngthuhrklch rkstftah uhngthbthlft ehndrtft ah uh rtlchrkihahmz nch # kwh ft # 7(ngth) ahhwh bth ngth ihmzowrdkwhrdnch eh ngthbthstih pthhwhehahrk ihvth. Lftkwhowngthsheh kwh. Ahhawebthoyeh. Ngth # 6(ft) sh hwhahhvth.

If you haven't spotted the patterns that start to form in the transcripts above, you'll definitely spot them here. This leads me to believe that whoever designed these at least put SOME thought into it. Since the writing looks more Dwemer than before and much less like gibberish, I'm going to assume that this is the system the Dwemer used to write in. Now we're getting into the meat of things. If we bear in mind the 16 rules I established earlier in this post, we can assume that most ruin names can be written in Dwemeris System III. Some have a 100% fit, others are written with adding or subtracting certain letters in mind. But it's possible (and is also mentioned in the Aldmeri Alphabets page). If we apply this to the texts we just transcribed by adding or subtracting a couple of letters here and there, the text suddenly become legible. Before reading this, please bear in mind that these modified transcripts are only my own assumption and my first try at this. But it's amazing for what it theoretically COULD be. Now, here's what it looks like if you modify the transcribed texts accordingly:

Divine Metaphysics Page 1 Modified Transcript
Vartndalft irtas(h) artnd bthunchabth alcherk pthangth. Alchkwanchndalft andift ingthalftunchkwa arkord abtha singth arkbthulchewa opth engthbthulch bthawah abth va arkstafta abth vamz alchvamzulch wa alchingthur alch umz aweft sondi urkoy vartndulch irtas kwa. Ahwebthoe. Ingth #5 aftis awava alft walchingthpybtha awo bthapnd yark ust erdusteft ngathis ah btha ewa wenchulch ahrtnd bthahnchbth alcherk aftingthand ivath. Leftkongthse ingth imzokahrkanch bthalchkemz pastleft ahnd yeft art ark ih # 6 # 7 awah ingthbthustip weahrk alch.

Divine Metaphysics Page 2 Modified Transcript
Stawe nchingthft artsh alch # yandu btha ahh. Left awih anch. Raldbthi pthakwa. Vahwerd arkrd. # upthunch va eleft wamzurd awesto ardvath rathyawe nchn ardrt # sartbtha owas. Raldo akwa owepth eft ark engthy leftpth mzulft. Raldoi wahlch ndyoft eftbthard wehvath ehrk umzow. Rald weftavth ya art # ongth afta mzah ur nchingthulch ah ardwa savth card btha ardnd. Ark ehnch yaleft artakwanch se kwalft ir vaftuchyst. Uleft arkanch ahr. #. Owa ey or ingthftaft. Pthyo nd stawalch sikwapthunch wah # anchend or nchu ikwingth ahha eftvalch arkwybtha.

The Egg of Time Page 1 Modified Transcript
Kwa. Awebthoye. Angth # 5 eftas wavath ivath. Leftkwongthuse ingth imzokwardunch EFT # 7 away angthbthustipweahrk alch endruft artulchikiamz anch # kway ur ungthbthalft bthua th va ardsteftah th rathumz alchvathumzulchkwa alchingthurkulch umz ahlft walchingthpthya woapthand yark weftsondi arky vartndalft irts wnchulch artndbthunchbth alcherk ahftingthand arkordabth singth ardbthalchewawap pthangth. Alchkwunchndeft andift ingthleftunchkwa vartndalft irts artndbthunchbth alcherk ust erdusteft ingths a th ewa btha alchardumz pthastleftand yaftartrki #.

The Egg of Time Page 2 Modified Transcript
Yeftartrki # wenchulch ingthst ah th ewa. Alcherk ngathleftunchkwa artndbthanchbth vath alchvathumzolchkwa rdbthulchewaopth vamz arkord abth singth andift aftingthand pthistalftand irts artndbthunchbth bthua aweowapthand alcherk ust erdusteft vartndleft vartndalft pthangth. Alchlwanchndalft irts alch bthulchardemz wulchingthapoya weftsondi rky alft yrk woy umz alchingthurkulch rkustefta ungthbthalft endrateft ah ur artilchrkiamz anch # kwa eft # 7 awa th ingth imzprdkwardnch eh ingthbthasti paweahrk ivath. Leftkwongthse kwa. Awebthye. Ingth # 6 sh wavath.

Now this looks more like it. It still has a few hiccups here and there and is by no means perfect. This is just my take on what it could in theory look like if we assume the 16 ruled are true and apply them to the texts. And nobody said the way in which I did it was correct. I just gave it a try. What's amazing though is how we start to recognize words or word snippets we already saw elsewhere in Dwemeris. Now for a few closing remarks. If I interpreted the language correctly and if we can assume that the ruled I established are true, then the deciphering of the texts at hand is still a really difficult thing to accomplish. Because that would require knowledge we simply don't have. Doing everything right, that is. However, based on all that I've learned, this is as close I can come to making a legible text from Divine Metaphysics and The Egg of Time that's more than capitalized lettered gibberish.

If this doesn't get us any closer in translating these texts, it'll certainly help me. My main mission is to gather all that I can and develop a new kind of Dwemeris that can function as a real language from the broken pieces that is the Dwemer language we know. Anyway, since everything I just did here is mostly based on assumptions and hypotheses based on context by looking at how Dwemer text is structured and taking translations, different alphabets and the provinces of Tamriel into account, you may want to take everything here with a grain of salt. I'm for the most part proud of my work though. I probably also interpreted much more into Dwemeris than the devs themselves but this kind of thing tends to happen when you're so deep into the matter that you start to develop your own language based on what's available