Category: Literature

James E. Hopkins received a BA in French from Hofstra University in 1974 and an MS in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology in 1998. He is a published poet, Eden’s Day (2008), and has a novel which features five of his conlangs, Circle of the Lantern, with the publisher as of this writing. He has been involved in language construction since 1995 with the birth of his first conlang, Itlani (then known as Druni). Although Itlani is his first and foremost love, since that time he has been developing Semerian (Pomolito), Djiran (Ijira), Djanari (Nordsh) and Lastulani (Lastig Klendum), the other languages spoken on the planet Itlán. One further language project, Kreshem (Losi e Kreshem), is also under development. His primary interest in language construction is from an aesthetic and artistic perspective.

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What follows is the original Itlani text, in Realms-Somewhere-Real (RSR), of Seyrán ta Tainaa, translated into English and published as Circle of the Lantern in 2015 (AuthorHouse). This is a first draft of the RSR version available on planet Siarél (Earth).

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• fl-000087-00 (Original Version)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

James E. Hopkins received a BA in French from Hofstra University in 1974 and an MS in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology in 1998. He is a published poet, Eden’s Day (2008), and has a novel which features five of his conlangs, Circle of the Lantern, with the publisher as of this writing. He has been involved in language construction since 1995 with the birth of his first conlang, Itlani (then known as Druni). Although Itlani is his first and foremost love, since that time he has been developing Semerian (Pomolito), Djiran (Ijira), Djanari (Nordsh) and Lastulani (Lastig Klendum), the other languages spoken on the planet Itlán. One further language project, Kreshem (Losi e Kreshem), is also under development. His primary interest in language construction is from an aesthetic and artistic perspective.

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Abstract

Storytelling, poetry and song are important to the Itlani. Storytelling is the primary Itlani planetary art form and poetry is a very close second. The planet-wide lingua franca on the planet Itlán, the reformed Ravzhurian speech know as Itlani is the core around which all Itlani planetary identity is built. Stories, poetry and song embody this linguistic identity. In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the Itlani language, I have presented in this short collection a variety of Itlani language poems along with their English translations. Please note that not all the English translations have been polished up to be proper English poems but many of them have and could easily stand alone in their own right. Have a great Itlani Language Day, February 8, 1997-2017.

Version History

• fl-000041-00 (Original Version)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

James E. Hopkins received a BA in French from Hofstra University in 1974 and an MS in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology in 1998. He is a published poet, Eden’s Day (2008), and has a novel which features five of his conlangs, Circle of the Lantern, with the publisher as of this writing. He has been involved in language construction since 1995 with the birth of his first conlang, Itlani (then known as Druni). Although Itlani is his first and foremost love, since that time he has been developing Semerian (Pomolito), Djiran (Ijira), Djanari (Nordsh) and Lastulani (Lastig Klendum), the other languages spoken on the planet Itlán. One further language project, Kreshem (Losi e Kreshem), is also under development. His primary interest in language construction is from an aesthetic and artistic perspective.

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Abstract

Itlani wedding poems are composed according to traditional Itlani poetic forms. They consist of four stanzas and are personalized in the last stanza using the names and outstanding characteristics of the newly-wed couple. Like all Itlani poetry, wedding poems are loosely accentual in nature and rely more on alliteration and rhythm than on rhyme although rhyme may be present. Traditionally, a close family member will compose the poem and read it at the kenatún ta zarenifa or “great feast of the coupling”. Itlani wedding poems are considered among the class of burakhenú or “blessings” and are customarily called Burakhenunú or “Great Blessings” reserved for the central passages of life.

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• fl-000023-00 (Original Version)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.