An Introduction to the Romulan Language

...One thing they agreed on quickly was that they could not stop being Vulcan while they still spoke the language. A team of semanticists and poets, S'task among them, began building the Travelers' new language just after the ships' keels were flown. They did not, of course, try to divorce it completely from Vulcan, but they went back to the original Old High Vulcan roots and "aged" the words in another direction, as it were--producing a language as different from its ancient parent and the other "fullgrown" tongue as Basque is different from Spanish and their parent, Latin. The new tongue was a softer one, with fewer fricatives than Vulcan, and many aspirants; long broad vowels and liquid consonants combinations, both fairly rare in Vulcan, were made commonplace in the new language. To Terran ears it frequently sounds like a combination of Latin and Welsh. The language cam strangely to Vulcan ears at first, but its grammar and syntax were grossly familiar, and over the years of Flight, the Travelers spoke it with increasing pleasure and pride. From it they took what was to be their new name, which by attachment became the language's also. Seheik, "the declared", became rihanh in the new language. This, in the adjective form, became rihannsu. The building of the language is often overlooked in studies of Rihannsu culture. It deserves more attention than there is room to give here--the only "made" language ever to be successfully adopted by an entire planetary population.

Excerpt from The Romulan Way by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood. ©Pocket Books.

For more detail on the creation of the Romulan language, visit the homepage of Diane Duane

ENGLISH	RIHAN	source
A
activate	rhae
actually	rhaau	1 p11
advise	aueth	2
advisor	auethnen	2
advise me (answer a question)	auethn	2
after	rheh	2 p25
all	en, qiu	1 p0, 2
all (of them/you)	qiuu	2
all (of these)	qiuu’n	2
again	hlun	1 p12
and	u’	2 p25
announce (proclaim)	lihr	2
announce the arrival	oal’lhlih	2
another	hra	1 p11
answer	aedhai	2
anything	khru	1 p11, 2 p26
apology	veherr	2 p133
approach	mrei	1 p11
area	lai	1 p11
arrive	hilai	1 p11
arrival	oali	2
assert (affirm)	yie	1 p0
at	hrrau	2
attend (hear)	vaedn	2
attention	vaed'rae
avenger	ra’kholh	2
B
be welcome	aefvadh	2
bird(s)	hlai(in)	2
bird (domesticated)	hlai’hwy	2
bird (wild)	hlai’vna	2
bird (small and poisonous)	nei’rrh	2
Bird of Prey	t'liss	4
border (territory)	bhveinu	1 p11
bridge (command center)	hwaveyiir	2
bridge (battle bridge)	oira	2
brig	th’ann’rhe	2
C
Can you...?	...-d
cargo	hae	2
cargo hold	haerht	2
cargo space	haerh	2
charisma	nuhirrien	2
chief (principle, senior, foremost)	daise	2
chief (among several)	daisemi'in	2
Chief Medical Officer	Daisemi'Maenek
cloak (as in to cloak a ship)	aeh’lla	2
cloaking device (n)	aeh’lla-ifv	2
Come back	h'ta-fvau	2
comet	takar	4
completely	idh	1 p36
computer	awaenndraev	1
computer science	awaenndraevha’afwe	1 p11
correct	mnek'nra, menkha	2
correlate	oii	2 p57
course (heading)	te	1 p11
D
dagger	kaleh
debt (not monetary)	aimehn	1 p12
declared	rihan	2
decoding	arredhaud	1 p2
diarrhea	Ilhrei'sian	2
data transfer	hnhaudr	2
diversity	hweithnaef	1 p0
discipline (as in a science)	afwe	1
disruptor bank	iehyakk
do	sthe	2
Do you...?	...-d'fiv	2
dog (or child's riding beast)	fvai
E
either...or	neth...nah'lai
elder	deihu	2
else	hre	1 p11
engage	hna'h
engineering (room)	etreh’rhe	1
engineering (position)	etrehafwe	1
enough (sufficient)	llilla	2
escaped	vnau	2
everything	oaii('n), qiuu('n)
excellent	ra	1 p36
excrement (vulgar)	kllhwnia	2 p12
F
Farmer's Festival	Eitreih'hveinn	2
father	eneh	2 p12
federation	lloann'na
female	susse	1
festival	eitreihh	2
fight (argument)	fhuihuhhru	2 p11
find	tae	2 p26
finish	eliu	1 p2
Fire! (energize!, go!)	hna'h
fleet	galae	2
flower	lagga
food center	dinglh
fool	veruul
fruit (used in Rihannsu wine)	lehe'jhme
G
go	urr	2
good	mnek'nra, mekha
goodbye, hello, greetings, farewell	Jolan'Tru	3
go to	urru	2
H
hate	mnahe	1 p0
head of	hru'...
held (domesticated)	...'hwy	2
hell	Areinnye	2 p66
head of…..	hru	2
Head of Household (senior servant)	hru’hfe	2
Head of House (Lord)	hru’hfirh	2
Heaven (Eden)	Vorta’Vor	3
hear	hnafiv	2
here (as in place)	khir	1 p11
highest (superior)	vriha	2
hostage	th’anaih	2
house of (noble families)	hfiha, hfirnn	2
hunter	khellian	2
hyena-like animal	sseikea	2
I
I	reh	1 p10
in	hrrau
into	hrao, hrrafv	1 p11
indeed (is that so, oh yeah)	rha	2
indeed (truly)	rhe’ve	1 p11
information	aedn’voi	2 p53
J
joining	anna	2
journey	hwael	2 p25
K
keep	hwyei	2
Klingon (Formal=more of them, from somewhere else)	Khell’oann-mhehorael	2
Klingon (standard use)	kll’inghaan	2
know	au
L
land	fvil	2
lead by, under command of	hir’	1 p11
Let me...	...'rau
laugh (v)	aeir	1
laugh (n)	aeirlai	1
lieutenant (centurion)	arrain	2
look	ta’	2
loose (wild)	vnu	2
lord	hru'hfirh
love	Heis’he	1
M
machine	etrehh	1
Madam	Ihhei
martial art (laughing murder)	llaekh-ae’rl	2
message	llas-mene	1 p2
mate	hru'fir
me	i
minute (50.5 sec)	siuren	2
monster (ghost or nightmare)	aehallh
moon	aidoann
more	khei	2
multiple	ierra	2 p57
murder	llakh	1
my duty (assigned)	ven	1 p10
my word	tlhei	2
N
name	nahi	2 p75
nickname (fourth-name)	rehei	2 p172
night	temarr	4
nightmare	aehallh
non…..	ihlan	2 p133
now	lla	1 p11
O
obscenitiy	eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse
off	khoi	2
Oh yes	au 'e
on (start, begin)	rhae	2
only	dvaer	2 p59
P
pair (connected)	eh’t	2 p 57
passenger	hviu	2 p57
passion	sahe	1
past	siur	1
patrol	efwrohin	1 p11
phaser	hyaakh	2
phaser banks	iehyyak	2
plains	aihai
Praetor (Land Master)	fvillhu	2
Praetorate	fvillheih	2
predator	hnoiyika, thrai
prepare for transport, locking on	lhhwoi-sdei	2 p64
present (time)	suriuu	1 p0
previous	h’ta	2
principal	daise
printout	haudet'
prisoner (s)	th'ann(-a’)	2
proceed	lh’hd	2 p83
professor	vaed’rehai	2
put (to place)	lhi	1 p11
physics	yhfir’afwe	2
Q
quadrant	nfaiistur	1 p11
R
ready (to prepare)	nniehv	1 p36
really?	rhe
reason	afw'ein
refreshment	l’oenn-uoira	2 p25
release	vnai	2
Remus (planet of the Travellers)	ch'Havran	2
replicator	khlenai
request	sthea	2
results	thllen
revenge	ra’khoi	2
romulan (something is)	rihan	2
Romulans (as a people)	2
Romulan	Rihanha	2
Romulans	Rihannsu	2
romulan intelligence	Tal Shiar
Romulus (planet of the Declared)	ch'Rihan	2
room	...'rhe
rule	mnhei	1
ruler	mnhenian	1
Ruling Passion (concept which rules Rihannsu life in terms of honor)	mnhei'sahe	2
run (move)	yhfivrii	2
S
satisfactory	mnek'nra, menkha
scavenger	sseikea
scoundrel	varuul	3
screen	ta'	2
see	hnafirh	2
senator	seihu
servant	hfai, hfehan	2
ship, starship, space vessel	khina	1 p11
shuttlecraft	iy’tassiudh	1 p36
Sir	rekkhai	2
somewhere else	mhehora	2
soon	kha	1 p11
soup	gletten	3
stop (enough)	lhiu	1 p11
stop (halt)	khoi	2
sufficient	llilla'hu
sun	eihss	2
sun (of Remus and Romulus)	Eisn	2
switch off	khoi	2
switch on	rhae
T
thank you	khnai’ra	1
thank you very much	khai’ra rhissiuy
that	au	2 p25
the	na	1 p11, 2 p12
their	lloannen	2
them	lloannher	2
there	hrenn	2
they	lloann	2
this is...	aihr...	1
time	sien, siu	1 p12
to	i	2 p25
towards	ssiun	1 p11
transportation	yhfillain, yhfi’	2
transporter	hteij	2
transporter room	hteij’rhe	2
trustworthy	tafv	1
travel	havra	2
travelers	havran	2
travel tubes (subways?)	yhfi-ss’ue	2
turbolift	yhfi’etrehh	2
U
unit of measure for pressure	melakol
unit of measure for temperature (12 onkians is roughly equilivent to 35 F)	onkian	3
unit of measure for time (1 siuren = 50.5 seconds)	siuren	2
United Federation of Planets (Formal=them, from there)	Lloann'mhrahel	2
United Federation of Planets (Informal)	lloann’na	2
understand	ssuaj	1 p2
understandable	ssuej'n
understood	ssuaj-ha	2
V
value	aerreh	2
vengence	kholhr	2
voyage	havrae
W
walk	yhfiri	2
war	akh	2
weasel-like vicious predator	hnoiyikar	2
welcome (v)	aefhve	2
well	mnek'nra, mekha
what	vah	2
what else?	hre’va	1 p11
wherever	hfivann	2
who are you? (what rank)	vah-udt	2
without reason	ehl’ein	1 p0
wolf- or wolverine-like animal	thraiin	2
word	tlhei
worm	kllhe	2
worth in cash	Arrhae
writing	haud	2
wing (of a bird)	aen	1
winged (proper name)	Ael	2
X
Y
yes	au’e	2
yet	ssuy	1 p2
you (formal pronoun)	khia	2 p25
you...	hwi	1 p10
you are...	Hwiiy
your	nnearh, hwai	1 p36, 2 p12
your duty	eitroi	1 p2
Z