Version 16 (modified by Nescio, 3 years ago) ( diff )

Old Persian cuneiform names

Table of Contents

  1. Gaulish
  2. Greek
  3. Latin
  4. Meroitic
  5. Old Persian
  6. Sanskrit
  7. Bibliography

For other texts, see wiki:EnglishStyleGuide. For pronunciation of specific name strings, see wiki:Audio_Voice_List.

This guide provides some ground rules to write specific names for 0 A.D.

Specific names are in the native language, not in English. Every language has its own orthography (conventions to write down a language). To avoid unnecessary confusion, be consistent and stick to the rules listed below. When in doubt, consult a dictionary (sound advice for any language).

Carthaginians, Iberians?

Gaulish

Gaulish is the language used for the Britons and Gauls.

  • It has one unique character, the so-called tau gallicum, which is typically transliterated as an eth Ð ð, and was probably pronounced /t͡s/.

Greek

Ancient Greek is the language used for the Athenians, Macedonians, Ptolemies, Seleucids, and Spartans.

There exist numerous systems to transcribe Greek; one is not intrinsically better than any other. However, consistency matters, so please stick to the system listed below:

  • consonants:
    • β, π, φ, ψ → b, p, ph, ps
    • γ → n (before γ, κ, χ, ξ), g (elsewhere)
    • κ, χ, ξ → k, ch, x
    • δ, τ, θ → d, t, th
    • σ/ϲ/ς, ζ → s, z
    • λ, μ, ν → l, m, n
    • ρ → r, but initial ῥ → rh
  • vowels:
    • α, ε, η, ι, ο, ω → a, e, ē, i, o, ō
    • ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ → ai, ēi, ōi
    • υ → u (after vowels and before ι), y (elsewhere)
  • accents and vowel length are ignored

Other things to take care of:

  • names are in the nominative; genitive is the case for combining nouns; also check the number (singular, dual, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter); adjectives should match the nouns they belong to

(See ​https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/25202-transliteration-of-ancient-greek-into-english/ for the choice made.)

Latin

Classical Latin is the language used for the Romans.

Writing Latin is easy, because, well, it uses the Latin alphabet. However, check to ensure:

  • dictionaries indicate vowel length, so do we; thus: hastātus, not hastatus
  • write ae and oe, not æ and œ, nor e; thus Caesar, not Cæsar or Cesar
  • differentiate between u and v
  • do not differentiate between i and j, both are written i
  • names are in the nominative; genitive is the case for combining nouns; also check the number (singular, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter); adjectives should match the nouns they belong to
  • sometimes words are plural only, e.g. insidiae “ambush”; check the whole string has the proper number

Meroitic

Meroitic is the language used for the Kushites.

Old Persian

Old Persian is the language used for the Persians.

When writing Persian, ensure:

  • check your strings are in the nominative
  • indicate vowel length (ā as opposed to a)
  • use x, not kh
  • use š, not sh
  • use ç, not ch
  • use θ, not th
cuneiformtransliterationspecific namegeneric name
𐏃𐎧𐎠𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁 h-x-a-m-n-i-š Haxāmaniš Achaemenes
𐎨𐎡𐏁𐎱𐎡𐏁 c-i-š-p-i-š Čišpiš Teispes
𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹𐎠𐎼𐎶𐎴 a-r-i-y-a-r-m-n Ariyāramna Ariaramnes
𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶 a-r-š-a-m Aršāma Arsames
𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱 vi-š-t-a-s-p Vištāspa Hystaspes
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ku-u-ru-u-š Kuruš Cyrus
𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 k-b-u-jii-y Kabūjiya Cambyses
𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹 b-r-di-i-y Bardiya Smerdis
𐎥𐎢𐎶𐎠𐎫 g-u-m-a-t Gaumāta
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 d-a-r-y-v-u-š Dārayava(h)uš Darius
𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 x-š-y-a-r-š-a Xšayāršā Xerxes
𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 a-r-t-x-š-ç-a Artaxšaçā Artaxerxes

Sanskrit

(Vedic or Classical?) Sanskrit is the language used for the Mauryas; specific names ought to use the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST).

Bibliography

Note: See TracWiki for help on using the wiki.