| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 04 Aug 2015 : 05:10:39
This may be a more appropriate question for Ed but I'll try here first as this question pertains to some things in my homebrew Realms(ish) campaign.
The term 'kung-fu' today is used to mean Chinese martial arts. However, the original terminology actually referred to anything that required patience and diligence to perfect. Thus, the perfection of one's calligraphy required 'kung-fu.' This term (and some similar terms) could be used from general to specific things.
Now, my question is this: Is there a similar term used in any language in the Realms? I could see both elves and dwarves having such a term given their longer lives and respective diligence to crafting and (at least in the case of elven culture) magic.
I would like to create a derivative term for it without using a word that resembles 'kung-fu' (I don't want the term to be so obviously ripped off from the RW). |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 09:05:49
How is this? From the Valyrian dictionary online: aeksio (master) + gurenagon (to learn) + numazma (the meaning of, essence of/truth of) = numagonae (to learn/master the essence of)? It seems like a strange word but it is a decent combination of the terms and has the benefit of sounding similar to magi (magae). I would prefer two syllables but three is okay I suppose.
Any advice on improving the term? |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 08:15:36
Here is what I came up with so far (and yes I ripped you guys off bwahahahaha  ).
The people are loyal to each other and do not tolerate bullying by outsiders (even as they accept the criminal element within their lands as a necessary evil in their midst). In many ways, they have a frontier attitude, pushing ever forward in their drive for perfection. This drive stems from the long-standing (cultural) belief that all should strive for perfection in every action, be it the improving of crop yields, the perfection of a new recipe, or (perhaps more importantly) the mastery of anything that requires diligence and patience (such as music, crafting and [especially] the Art).
The dwarves call this concept morndin, meaning "peak" or "height" but can be taken both literally (as in mountain peak) or figuratively (as in the height of one's ability [usually craftsmanship]). They also believe in krugtharl, meaning 'that which one is born for/to do.' The conjoined concept is tharndin (the height of what one is born to do).
The elves have similar nomenclature called fathael (timeless work) that is normally coupled with the 'work' in question. Thus, fathael'solasuu (work of the spirit, the term's most generic meaning), fathael'aeran (work of sculpting/shaping) or fathael'soraan (master swordsman).
Even the hinfolk use the term yoelst (meaning to have a 'knack' for something, most often used when referring to cooking/brewing or thieving but may refer to anything for which one has a talent that one seeks to perfect).
Humans in the region did not come by this concept naturally. Rather, their exposure to the other races and a (deliberate) exposure to the concept of...
I stopped there because I'm still unsure of the human term I want to use. Tul-Maat is too Egyptian and leads to the same problem as utilizing kung-fu (or gongfu). Looking up Quan lead to a very different meaning that what you inferred MT so I'm unsure of its meaning/use.
I may have to make up a word altogether. Right now I'm doing some linguistic research to see if I can find something useful. Given that languages are developed for books/TV/movies perhaps I'll have some luck. GoT has Valyrian, perhaps a gem or two will be found there (and also Stargate, Trek and the old Disney language used for Atlantean).
I'm not going to wait for Ed/THO but I can always change it if they give me some gold later.  |
| Markustay |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 04:03:46
I like that word from Jerry McGuire - Quan, but I'd Realms-it-up and say 'Qwonn'.
"His Qwonn is strong".
If you prefer two sylables , something along the lines of Tūl-Maat. Sounds like something that originated in the Old Empires.
"His Sword-making Tūl-Maat is without peer".
Once again, (mostly) homebrew. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 02:11:38
Deleted because of double posting weirdness. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 02:10:08
Thanks for the responses so far. I'll transfer the question to Ed/THO and see what answers we may receive.
MT: Do you have a term that is more general in nature? One that simply means 'to perfect [anything]'? In other words, a statement such as "MT possess 'kung-fu.' Which essentially means possessing great diligence and patience towards perfection (be it of self, the Art, craftsmanship or anything else) without being specific to a given task. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 04 Aug 2015 : 23:47:23
This is worth an inquiry to Ed, methinks.
But Dwarves Deep cites morndin as meaning "peak or height", both literally and figuratively. So a dwarf at his/her peak or height of craftsmanship might be referred to as a morndin of said craft. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 04 Aug 2015 : 21:10:55
I'd expect that elves, at least, would have different terms for differing crafts one could master.
Borrowing from Markus... A master sculptor might be fathael'aeran, while someone who perfected swordplay might be a fathael'sorann, and so on.
Obviously, this is just my opinion. And I borrowed (and perhaps used improperly) fathael from Markus, to indicate mastery, then made up words for other arts. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 04 Aug 2015 : 20:52:15
In D&D - and therefor by extension, The Realms - that sort of thing is usually just referred to as 'mastery'.
An elven term for it would sound beautiful and 'artsy' - Fathael'solasuu = "Work of the spirit"
A dwarven word would be more... dwarven. It shouldn't be 'artsy', it should be about honor & duty, and most of all, diligence.
Krugtharrl = "That which you were born for"
And unless it has to do with cooking, I don't see halflings put that much effort into something. A word like "Yoelst" would mean 'knack', for someone who is a master chef (and perhaps they would apply it to other things they are good at, like thievery... they would still be calling a master thief a 'great chef', and that would be part of the joke to them).
EDIT: Oh, my bad... that was all homebrew, BTW.  |
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