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Rihannsu is one of the native languages of the Romulan people. It developed from Old High Vulcan on the journey of the exiles from Vulcan to Romulus. (Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages)
Rihannsu was one of many languages spoken by Starfleet Captain Timothy Sinclair. (Star Trek: Pendragon: "Twilight's Call", et. al)
Dictionary and Lexicon[]
Phrases[]
- a'hyan hnaai ll'anha - "(persons name), get an away team ready to go."
- lagga ch'jhu - "a flower for an angel"
- hwiiyo her'u- "I am lonely"
- hnalo-stev thllen-a - "I want results now"
- hnalo thlo hru'fir - "I need my bondmate," or "I need to bond"
- hwiiy amton'wi-kha - "you are promiscuous"
- hwiiy kneu'ginye - "you are a lush"
- tal 'le kll'inghann - "you look like a Klingon"
- hwiiy l'lorel'ei - "you are attractive"
- ssuej-ay thlom? - "do you know me?"
- jol-ao au - "I love you"
- kll'inghann-a fvaiin aefvadh-ayar'dhat chon - "Klingon dogs are not welcome here" (aefvadh is the verb, meaning "are welcome," with -ayar being the suffix to denote a singular third person subject-verb combo)
- ssuej-ay t'lhim lloann'na? - "do you know that Fed?"
- hriah-ay th'ann(-a) hrrau br'terrh - "take the prisoner(s) to the brig"
- urruyo oira - "I'm on (going to) the bridge"
- ya-ie'yakk - "armed and ready to open fire"
- hwiiy kllhe - "you (are a) worm"
- v'yy'al, fvai - "(you will) die, dog"
- v'rhaen-ao'au - "I'll kill you"
- Ie-a'rhea - "Yes, dear heart?"
- au 'e! - "Oh yes!"
- hnafirh 'rau - "let me see"
- hteij 'rahe - "activate transporter"
- Ie'yyak-hnah! - "Fire disruptors!"
- Ssuej-d'ifv? - "Do you understand?" (superior to inferior)
- Vaed'rae! - "Attend me!"
- h'ta-fvau - "Come back here!" (lit, "To last place, immediate-return!")
Common words[]
- aefvadh - formal greeting, literally "be welcome"
- aehallh - "nightmare" or "monster"
- Ael - "winged," also a fairly common proper name
- afw'ein - "reason," as in one's faculties not motives for behavior
- Areinnye - "Hell"
- au - "you"
- bedah - "goodbye"
- ch'Havran - (planet) "of the Travelers"; (Remus)
- ch'Rihan - (planet) "of the Declared"; (Romulus)
- daise - prefix indicating "chief," "principle," "senior," "foremost," etc.
- deihu - "elder"; a member of the Romulan Senate, equivalent to Terran "Senator."
- dhat - "no"
- Etre - "Mister" (male or female, as in the military sense)
- fvai, fvaiin - child's riding-beast and house-pet, similar in size to the Terran Great Dane.
- Fvillha - "Praetor": originally a judicial-level official with some executive powers, now greatly expanded.
- galae - "fleet", more specifically "space-fleet". Derives from aeronautic rather than naval tradition.
- hann'yyo - "thank you"
- Havranha, Havranssu - native(s) of ch'Havran
- hfai, hfehan - "bond-servant"; one earning a wage without liberty to change employers at will.
- hfihar, hfihrnn - "House(s)"; noble families, not dwellings.
- hlai, hlaiin - large flightless birds farmed for meat, similar to the Terran ostritch.
- hna - "now"
- hrrau - "at"/"in"/"on"; general locative particle or infix.
- hnafirh - "see"
- hru'fir - "mate"
- hru'hfirh - "Head-of-House" or "the Lord"; Most senior member of a noble family.
- hteij - "transporter"
- ie - "yes"
- Ihhei - "Madam" or "Ma'am"
- jolan'tru - "hello" (informal)
- kaleh - "honor blade"
- khlenai - "replicator"
- kuhaos'ellaer - "lastmeal" (dinner)
- kunhri - "redshirt" (literally, conscript)
- llhrei'sian - "food poisoning"
- mnekha - "good" (superior - inferior mode)
- mnek'nra - "good" (inferior - superior mode)
- na - "the"
- oira - "bridge"
- qiuu - "all"
- Rekkhai - "Sir"
- rha - "indeed"
- Rihanha, Rihannsu - native(s) of ch'Rihan, literally "the Declared"
- ryak'na - "garbage"
- siuren - "minute"
- ssuaj - "understand"
- th'ann - "prisoner"
- tie-hh'ellaer - "firstmeal" (breakfast)
- vah - "what"
- veruul - "fool"
Military ranks[]
- arrain - centurion; lieutenant of ground forces or of fleet forces.
- enarrain - senior centurion; colonel of infantry, commander of Fleet forces. Minimum rank at which the office may command more than his own vessel in the 23rd century; in the post-Shinzon era, equivalent to a Starfleet lieutenant commander).
- erei'riov - subcommander; captain of infantry, lieutenant commander of Fleet. The usual rank of a first officer.
- erein - antecenturion/subcenturion (translation sources vary); officer-cadet of infantry, ensign of Fleet forces.
- khre'riov - "Commander-general"; colonel of infantry or a commodore of the Fleet forces.
- riov - Commander; the usual rank of a naval commanding officer
- uhlan - Private of ground forces, crewman of Fleet forces
- prod - commander/captain, according to a deleted scene from Star Trek XI. Though the original meaning was "praetor" according to the writers.
[]
- Bah'jorann - Bajoran
- Card'hassin - Cardassian
- Feh'rengi - Ferengi
- hevamsu - human
- Kll'inghann - Klingon
- klivamsu - Klingon
- lloannen'galae - Starfleet
- lloann'mhrahel - Federation (lit, "Them, from There")
- Lloann'na - a member of the Federation
- stelai ler'khelloann - Klingon Neutral Zone
- stelai ler'lloann - Federation Neutral Zone
Curses[]
- Areinnye´n - hnah - "go to hell" (loosely)
- fvadt
- Hwiiy veruul - "you are a fool"/"you are an idiot"
Background[]
The Rihannsu language and culture were created by Diane Duane in her novel My Enemy, My Ally. It was used in her subsequent Rihannsu books, as well as those of several other authors, including Diane Carey's Final Frontier. In the late 1980's, restrictions imposed by Paramount limited the development of the Rihannsu concept, until recently. Modern Trek novels such as Star Trek: Titan - Taking Wing and The Red King, as well as the Star Trek: Enterprise novels, also written by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels have made many references to Rihannsu language and culture. The final volume in the original Rihannsu series, The Empty Chair, was published in 2006.
Despite the former "dry spell" of licensed works relating to the Rihannsu, the concept has remained popular in fandom ever since its introduction, and many online RPGs have centered around it.
A dictionary of Rihannsu words was published in The Romulan Way. Over the years, the language has grown through the efforts of fans and contributions by Duane herself. The few Romulan words from the later canon productions have also been incorporated into the language.
External links[]
- Romulan language article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Romulan language article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.