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A community for the dragon language of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Another look at Voslaarum and Naaslaarum

Forums > Dragon Language Discussion > Another look at Voslaarum and Naaslaarum
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paarthurnax
Administrator
January 9, 2016

Translations for the dragon names Voslaarum and Naaslaarum have haunted us for a long while. I have no definitive answer, but I do believe to have unlocked at least one piece of the puzzle.

Consider the following words:

  • Lumnaar 'valley'
  • Su'um 'breath, inner spirit'
  • Thu'um 'Voice'
  • Tum 'down'
  • Vum 'beard'

The root of all of these is um, which I strongly believe to mean 'below', 'beneath', or 'within (beneath the surface of)'.

  • Lumnaar comes from naar 'summit', and I believe that lum means something close to 'low', making lumnaar 'low-summit', the land that lies beneath the summit.
  • Su'um derives from su 'air' but may also derive from um, forming 'the air beneath / within'.
  • Similarly, Thu'um refers to the inner power of the Voice.
  • Tum derives from um as a preposition meaning 'down', moving below or beneath.
  • Vum derives from um in the sense that a beard is something that grows down or below.

Applied to Voslaarum and Naaslaarum, um meaning 'below' or 'beneath' makes sense given that both dwell beneath the frozen lake.
by paarthurnax
January 9, 2016

Translations for the dragon names Voslaarum and Naaslaarum have haunted us for a long while. I have no definitive answer, but I do believe to have unlocked at least one piece of the puzzle.

Consider the following words:

  • Lumnaar 'valley'
  • Su'um 'breath, inner spirit'
  • Thu'um 'Voice'
  • Tum 'down'
  • Vum 'beard'

The root of all of these is um, which I strongly believe to mean 'below', 'beneath', or 'within (beneath the surface of)'.

  • Lumnaar comes from naar 'summit', and I believe that lum means something close to 'low', making lumnaar 'low-summit', the land that lies beneath the summit.
  • Su'um derives from su 'air' but may also derive from um, forming 'the air beneath / within'.
  • Similarly, Thu'um refers to the inner power of the Voice.
  • Tum derives from um as a preposition meaning 'down', moving below or beneath.
  • Vum derives from um in the sense that a beard is something that grows down or below.

Applied to Voslaarum and Naaslaarum, um meaning 'below' or 'beneath' makes sense given that both dwell beneath the frozen lake.


Frinmulaar
January 9, 2016

Vos ☐ / Naas ☐ / Laar ☐ / Um ☑

One down, three to go.
by Frinmulaar
January 9, 2016

Vos ☐ / Naas ☐ / Laar ☐ / Um ☑

One down, three to go.


paarthurnax
Administrator
January 9, 2016

Unfortunately the other words have very little basis to work from. We can do our best, but it'll still be taking shots in the dark.
by paarthurnax
January 9, 2016

Unfortunately the other words have very little basis to work from. We can do our best, but it'll still be taking shots in the dark.


Dezonikso
March 7, 2016 		Perhaps "Lir" was used as a basis for "Laar". "Lir", meaning "worm, vermin, weakling", as a root could possibly hint that Voslaarum and Naaslaarum were outcasts among the dov, and were thus sent by Alduin to guard a far-off outpost where they wouldn't be in the way of Alduin's affairs anymore, and nobody really inhabited the area that posed a threat until the Dovahkiin came along in search of Arch-Curate Vyrthur. And possibly the twin Dovahhe would be posted there together not only because they were incompetent in Alduin's eyes, but also neither could manage the post by theirselves and so had to be paired to the same post. The possible vowel change could've been a stylistic or phonetic choice by the developers because Voslirum and Naaslirum don't really roll off the tongue or hit the ear the right way, and such an occurrence isn't unheard of in Dovahzul.
by Dezonikso
March 7, 2016
Perhaps "Lir" was used as a basis for "Laar". "Lir", meaning "worm, vermin, weakling", as a root could possibly hint that Voslaarum and Naaslaarum were outcasts among the dov, and were thus sent by Alduin to guard a far-off outpost where they wouldn't be in the way of Alduin's affairs anymore, and nobody really inhabited the area that posed a threat until the Dovahkiin came along in search of Arch-Curate Vyrthur. And possibly the twin Dovahhe would be posted there together not only because they were incompetent in Alduin's eyes, but also neither could manage the post by theirselves and so had to be paired to the same post. The possible vowel change could've been a stylistic or phonetic choice by the developers because Voslirum and Naaslirum don't really roll off the tongue or hit the ear the right way, and such an occurrence isn't unheard of in Dovahzul.

Dezonikso
March 7, 2016 		I wish one of the language developers would give us some information... that'd be amazing... then we wouldn't have to keep guessing. Or maybe even if a language developer joined the site and worked with us to expand the language, that'd be amazing, too! Then this mystery could be solved in a matter of hours.
by Dezonikso
March 7, 2016
I wish one of the language developers would give us some information... that'd be amazing... then we wouldn't have to keep guessing. Or maybe even if a language developer joined the site and worked with us to expand the language, that'd be amazing, too! Then this mystery could be solved in a matter of hours.

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