Kiffish

SPOKEN BY

Kiffish is spoken by the Kif, bare-skinned, long-snouted predators from the planet Akkht.

DOCUMENTED BY

C. J. Cherryh (1942– ) writes of the Kif in the Chanur series: The Pride of Chanur (1981), Chanur’s Venture (1981), The Kif Strike Back (1985), Chanur’s Homecoming (1986), and Chanur’s Legacy (1992).

BEHIND THE WORDS

The Kif are one of the species that are part of the Compact, a trade organization that facilitates interstellar economies. They are highly aggressive predators. Because of their constant forays into piracy and cannibalism, they are greatly disliked by other species in the books.

NUMBERING SYSTEM

rukt—one

ktum—two

ruskk—three

nikh—four

ktkhng—five

kteng—six

ruk—seven

paikht—eight

ghinkt—nine

THE BABEL TEXT

Ginkt-ku umankt-kkt Tera-kta kkisf-ok ruk-ku kkoiskk-otk ruk-ku trakk-ska, tha.

Sgat kktokht-ok sothog-otk naigh-lit gukkt ktokkkt aim-otk gekk-ku rekt sfig-lit Shinar-kta khtosf-ok khtan ktaip-ok.

Skku-ok nokikkt shkhskk kkak: “Kkko-i sgigh-kkt-otk khtan noki-kkt ktoth-i.” Rekkt, ktokkkt ufik-ok sgigh-kkt-otk roikt-ing khtan khtoir-otk skkoi-ku nkhn-ing.

Skku-ok sgonkt-thu nokikkt shkhskk kkak: “kkko-i nkhf-otk khtan gesg-otk makkt skthi gakt skth-os ktatr-otk; khtan sfik-chu-i makkt-uk nokkkt hukk-rok poi-lit sgakk Tera-ud.”

Kig-ok Treskk-ku Haikkt-otk makkt-uk ktk ta-sfo nkht-nktain-otk khtan gesg-nktain-otk makkt umankt-kkt ktaikkt-zik, mak.

Treskk-ku Haikkt tinkt-ok, “Kktkktkkt! Umankt-kkt-otk ktkhtr-o khtan ktokkkt ginkt-ku kkisf-o ruk-ku kkoiskk-otk; kktunkt-ska, hakkaip-otk pok-os nokikkt-lit ktokk skthikkt trek-nkte-lit gukkt.

Ktkkkt sgkhkt-os pigh khtan sgaskk-esg-os skthikkt kkoiskk-otk makkt-uk ktokkkt sgaskk-i hukk nokikkt-esg,” tha.

Rekkt, rok-ok Treskk-ku Haikkt nokikkt pigh-lit gukkt poi-lit sgakk Tera-ud, tha.

Rekkt-chu, taikkt skthi Papel-otk, ktokk sgaskk-esg-gu-otk; kkkotok Treskk-ku Haikkt pigh-tok sgaskk-esg-ok ginkt-ku umankt-kkt-otk: khtan rok-ok nokikkt pigh-lit gukkt poi-lit sgakk Tera-ud, na.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Review the works listed above, the resources listed in the bibliography, and the web page: “Babel Text for the Kiffish language” (http://strengthofthehills.tripod.com/hanilanguageandculturepage/id11.html).

SPEAKING OF LANGUAGES

The problems of language here are really serious. We wish to speak in some way about the structure of the atoms…. But we cannot speak about atoms in ordinary language.

—Werner Heisenberg