Your nation's name in Cat.

[1000 Cats]

So a while ago in my first and most successful RP to date on NS, I had to sort of "translate" a character's name to Cat. This was fun initially because I got to make up a new accent that was very different from any real-world accent. The ambiguity in the phonology was beautifully frustrating. But then it became even more fun when I realized that I could actually change things around just a little bit and this name suddenly actually meant something in my language. This is basically what happened:

Kidanlera -> Kiˑanyera -> Kiˑänyàrâˑ (lit. "she of yet one hundred stories").

So I guess I have an excuse to make a thread like this now. Throw your nation name up here. I can try and "translate" it like I did with Kidanlera's name, or, if you want even more conlangy excitement, I can snoop on your factbook or you can give one or two factoids about your nation that would seem odd or special to a very primitive species (of cats), and give you a more unique name. Either way, it'll help me add to my vocabulary list. Just recall that we don't really have much of a concept of things like "The Democratic Republic" or "The United Socialist States" or whatever, so don't ask me to translate your full name.

Oh, and if you want something else translated other than your nation name for whatever reason, that's really cool too.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Letter	Cat Phone	APS
K	cough	[kʰ]
S	hiss	[s] or [ɕ]
N	snarl	[ɴ] or [ŋ]
I	mew	[ɪ]
H	chuff	[h]
R	purr	[ʀ] or [r]
O	gurgle or growl	[ɔ] or [o]
Y	chirrup or trill	[y] or [ʏ]
A	murmur	[aː] or [ɒ] or [ɑ]
E	chirp	[e]
C	click or chatter	[tʃ] or [ç]
Z	scream	[ʒ]
U	caterwaul or moan	[u]
X	silent meow	[x]

• Diacritics indicate vowel tone. From highest to lowest: Â - Á - A - À - Ä
• Two more characters are used, which are : and ˑ. Respectively, these indicate that the previous phone was stressed, and that it was half-long and followed by a glottal stop.

Híyaz:!

[Crystalcliff Point]

Alright, let's take a look at this. The name is Crystalcliff Point.

[Izzyshipper]

This looks like fun.

As well as my name, could you translate;


*Queen Sophia I

[Xeng He]

My nation's informal name is "The Fleet", could you translate that?

You could translate its formal name if you want, but I don't know what it means, so...

[Imperial DaiHan]

I always figured cats would speak in some form of off/on meow binary.

[Old Vester]

I'd like my name in cat,please.

[Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk]

Nation name is Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk. Kind of hard eh?

[Squainghamshire]

Mines a bit of a mouthful, if you cant translate that, translate "Squa"

[Democratic Koyro]

"The Koy People's Democratic Republic"

oh, and

"Ohanka John"

please

[Cheveksim]

Ari Ben-Shahar is the name of our President.

Cheveksim is our nation.

[Zwangzug]

Zwangzug (info here).

[System-Lord Baal]

Hey, actually, I was making a primitive semi-feline alien species for my nation (more actually feline and less furry, I hate anthros on the same sentient level as humans ). I was trying to figure a name for them, other than "Sekhmet" which my other species' were calling them.

Idea on a native name they might invent for themselves?

[Dornakia]

What about Dornakia?

[1000 Cats]

Alright, let's take a look at this. The name is Crystalcliff Point.

Kicking it off with a challenge. Two words... let's see if I can do this.

Crys:àkyx Koˑíˑ

Wonder if I can transform this...

Crz:òkxk Kòˑìˑ ("Death became an old dream")

OK, that was silly. Stick with the top one.

Holy crap a lot of people. I'll try and get around to all of them. HOLD ON.

[1000 Cats]

This looks like fun.

As well as my name, could you translate;


*Queen Sophia I

Iz:is:yˑr

Weird "translation": Ìz:ìs:ÿr: (Be [one that is a] fearful being, or be glad!)

Translation based on your factbook: Nù:âˑcxî: (child for a queen)

"Queen Sophia" would be something like Soxi:anù. Though I don't imagine it pertains to her character, I could mutate that into Ksò:xi:ânù (noble she who is curious of the ill - so perhaps something like a doctor).

[Frenequesta]

This sounds fun, why don't you try mine? Thanks.

[1000 Cats]

My nation's informal name is "The Fleet", could you translate that?

You could translate its formal name if you want, but I don't know what it means, so...

We shall provide you with the meaning you so desire!

"The Fleet" - fuck determinants: Xyí:c

As odd as it sounds, it's easy enough to mess with to form Xî:c (for a child)

Xeng He -> Xen He -> Xé Nhe (it is my present time)

Maybe you'd prefer another meaning...

[1000 Cats]

I always figured cats would speak in some form of off/on meow binary.

Nope! We actually have all manner of sounds that we can use in our language. Here's a chart; the IPA is for if you're human and just can't pull off the beautiful noises we are capable of.

K cough [kʰʔ]
S hiss [s] or [ɕː]
N snarl [ɴː] or [ŋː]
I mew [iː]
H chuff [hː]
R purr [ʀː] or [rː]
O gurgle or growl [ɔː] or [oː]
Y chirrup or trill [ɪː] or [ʏː]
A murmur [aː] or [ɒː] or [ɑː]
E chirp [eː]
C click or chatter* [tʃʔ] or [çʔ]
Z shriek [ʒː]
U caterwaul or moan [uː]
X silent meow [xː]

Vowels are also tonal, which means you're basically singing while you speak, and this is written by those who for whatever reason would want to write in Cat using diacritics. There are five tonal levels. From lowest tone to highest: Ä, À, A, Á, Â

Now you know!

[Xeng He]

"The Fleet" - fuck determinants: Xyí:c

As odd as it sounds, it's easy enough to mess with to form Xî:c (for a child)

*nods*

Xeng He -> Xen He -> Xé Nhe (it is my present time)

Maybe you'd prefer another meaning...

No, I like that one, but... I wonder what the translation would be based on aspects of the fleet...

I'll have a link with the gist in a moment.

[1000 Cats]

I'd like my name in cat,please.

I'm gonna have fun with this, if you don't mind.

Zeˑhsˑr:kxk (kxk = "old") (lit. "the first sanctuary, old and glad")

Although of course I took some liberties, I think this is my favourite one so far.

[Xeng He]

Here you go.

[Old Vester]

I'd like my name in cat,please.

I'm gonna have fun with this, if you don't mind.

Zeˑhsˑr:kxk (kxk = "old") (lit. "the first sanctuary, old and glad")

Although of course I took some liberties, I think this is my favourite one so far.

Thanks ,1KCats.

[West Ponente]

The Kingdom of West Ponente

[Resources and development administration]

Resources and Development Administration LLC.

[1000 Cats]

Nation name is Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk. Kind of hard eh?

What are you going to give me if I can not only show you how a cat would attempt (and fail) to say it, but also warp it into having some sort of meaning?

Acche:x:khi:zˑkynno:ckrs:cuk

Àcchhxî: Z: Kíˑn:ho:ckrs:nok

Grammatically butchered to hell, but maybe something like... "Their childlike arousal is likely in initial base anger for a fearful mate." OK, that really was a stretch. You win. But there's a lot of drugs around here; I'm sure someone's said it before.