Taragat (language)

Taragat is the dominant language of the nation of Agata in central Ijeida. With the nation, the language can trace its origins to the stony harbors that line the eastern shores of the Sunken Sea.

Etymology
Taragat means "harbor voice" in Taragat, from Tar-, voice; agat, harbor. Folk of the north of Ijeida also commonly refer to the language with the adjectival form Agatter, also used a demonym for people from Agata.

Reduplication
The language makes use of reduplication in a number of ways, primarily to produce plurals.

Plurals
Pluralization is irregular in Taragat, but is most often achieved by reduplication of some portion of the base word. In general, higher degrees of plurality (i.e. dual, multiple, and the distinctive concept of countlessness) are expressed by reduplicating larger portions of the base. Reduplication of a single letter or syllable creates a dual, several letters a larger number, and complete repetition of a word - or sometimes more - indicates "countless". While there are many widely used conventional forms, there are many exceptions, and Taragat reduplication is highly productive. Taragat puns frequently take advantage of subtleties in reduplicated forms.

Examples: Blank cells in this chart indicate forms that are not widely used - common among Taragat words - but usage of such forms in novel coinage is widely accepted.

1The dual form mene, is not used to refer to any two seas but specifically to the Sunken and the Inward Seas. The form menem is used in a way similar to the common Terran idiom "Seven Seas" meaning, essentially, "all the major bodies of water" and is thus generalized first by Agatters and later by those whom they contacts by sea to mean the whole planet. The countless form menemen is a common poetic name for the Griana region of southern Ijeida.

2The dual form refers to any two harbors being discussed (compare to the specific meaning of the dual mene), while Agata is the mostly specific proper noun for the region, while the Taragat word agatagat, "countless harbors" refers specifically to the Griana region, which is dominated by many small seas and lakes, with - in the Agatter view - countless small fishing villages and trading ports scattered amongst them.

Other parts of speech are reduplicated less often than nouns, and such forms most frequent are used to provide evidence, though many idiomatic expressions exploiting reduplication exist.