On the Aldmeri Language

By Verylien Direnni

Many men have surely heard names like Moriseli or Malabal Tor and wondered what they meant. Once it would have been clear to everyone what they meant, but sadly the once great and universally recognised Aldmeri languages have declined in usage; even among the Elves of Summerset and my home of Ada-Mantia. When the first of Elvenkind came to Tamriel (they themselves called it TAM-RIELLE - "The Beauty of Dawn") they brought with them the language of EHLNOFEX, which had been spoken by the ALD-EHLNOFEY (Old Ehlnofey) before them. The Ehlnofey had supposedly created the language together with the other ADA (which can loosely be translated as "Gods" in Cyrodiilic) to have a way of communication during the creation of the Mundus. The original Ehlnofic language has fallen out of use in Tamriel, but the languages of the Daedra are said to greatly resemble it. The Ehlnofic language had few grammatical rules and could be spelled however one wished. This quickly bacame problematic for the early Aldmer, trying to build a civilization. The Aldmer gave the language rules and gave one spelling for each word (with a few exceptions). They also developed the first mortal alphabet known, which variations of are still used by some elven cultures (notably the Altmer of Alinor and some Bosmeri tribes in Greenshade and Malabal Tor). When elves then began to colonize the rest of Tamriel they spread their language to the men and beasts they encountered (or more specifically, enslaved). When the Elves then took to calling themselves Aldmer (The Old-Folk) the language became known as Aldmeric.

During the earliest years of the Merethic Era the Aldmer began giving locations specific names. The names were often descriptions of the locations themselves. For example; Malabal Tor means "The Hill of Tall Rocks" and Morahame means "Woodland Home". Many of the names the Aldmer (and later Ayleids, to an even larger extent) have with time been replaced by Nedic or Cyrodiilic names, and have therefore been lost. When the Aldmeri culture split and new Elven "races" were created, so did the language. The Ayleids, who conquered large parts of mainland Tamriel, simplified their language to make it easier for the men and beasts under them to learn. The Bosmer also created another language when they left Summerset, but it has been largely forgotten. However, after Al-Esh's conquest of White-Gold the old Bosmeri language partially resurfaced in the little known tongue known as "Valenwood-Ayleidoon". This language was a combination of the old Bosmeri language and the Ayleid language brought there by fleeing Cyrodiilic Ayleid clans. The Velothi Chimer and the godless Dwemer also created languages that better suited their culture. The evolution of Dwemeric (or Dwemeris) largely remains a mystery, as it is extremely unlike any other Elven tongues. The Chimer took inspiration both from their neighbouring Dwemer and the Daedra they worshipped. This resulted in a language grammatically and in pronounciation very near Aldmeric, but very far from it in terms of spelling. What was Morilatta (Dark- or Evil Light) in Aldmeric became Moaril Llata in Chimeris. This way of spelling has in these days become almost ridiculously exaggerated in some Ashlander dialects. The modern Dunmeri language is however much closer to both Aldmeric and Cyrodiilic than it once was. The Altmer of Summerset and Ada-Mantia largely retained the old Aldmeri language, with only a few changes.

It is unknown when the Aldmeri languages began to decline in Tamriel, but most scholars see a direct link between it and Emperor Reman's conquest of Tamriel. The Cyrodiilic language was laready widespread at that point, but Reman made it the official language in his Empire and it had to be spoken by all citizens (a completely unrealistic law, but it largely worked). This is also beleived to be the reason that Dunmeris has survived better than other Elven langages, as Reman was never "integrated" it into his Empire.

I hope that this volume sheds light on one of the both most well-known and and commonly misunderstood subjects in Tamiellic history.