Hardic is a fictional language in the Earthsea series of short stories and novels by Ursula K. Le Guin. One of three languages spoken in Earthsea, along with Karg / Kargish and Osskili (the Old Speech is spoken by dragons, but among humans it is generally only used for making magic), it is remotely descended from the Old Speech (the language of magic). It is the mother tongue of nearly all characters in the books, including Ged. According to A Description of Earthsea, there are as many dialects of Hardic as there are islands. The language is written using a runic system about which little is known. The Raft people speak an especially heavily accented dialect of Hardic, which a person from Havnor would find difficult to understand.
Phonology[]
From the limited words of Hardic given in the Earthsea books, it is known to have the following phonemes:
| bilabial | dental | alveolar | velar | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plosive | pb | t d | k g | ||
| nasal | m | n | |||
| rhotic | r | ||||
| fricative | θ | s z | h | ||
| lateral approximant | l |
References[]
- Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea, Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0-15-100561-3