The Dwarfs are very proud of their tongue which they rarely speak in the company of other races and never teach to other creatures. To humans it is the 'secret tongue of the Dwarfs', occasionally overheard, but never properly understood.

The Dwarf language includes very few words of obviously Human or Elvish origin. By contrast there are many loan words from Khazalid in the tongue of Men. This is most obviously so in the case of words to do with the traditional Dwarvish craftskills of masonry and smithying, skills which Men learned from the Dwarfs many centuries past. These loans from Khazalid mean that some Dwarf words sound very similar to equivalent Human words.

Of course, some Khazalid words are all too familiar to the Dwarfs' enemies – namely the fearsome battle cries, oaths, and curses of the Dwarfs at war. Of these, the most famous is the cry of 'Khazukan Kazakit-ha' or its common shortened form of, 'Khazuk! Khazuk! Khazuk!' which means 'Look out! The Dwarfs are on the warpath'. It is also usual for Dwarfs to call upon their Ancestor Gods during battle. It is said that the guttural sound of Dwarfs bellowing Grungni's name is enough to make an Elf's knees knock and a Goblin turn a sickly shade of yellow!

The sound of Khazalid is not much like Human speech and very unlike the melodious sound of Elvish. Comparisons have been drawn to the rumble of thunder. All Dwarfs have very deep, resonant voices and a tendency to speak more loudly than is strictly necessary. This can make Dwarfs sound rowdy and irascible – which for the most part is a fair reflection of Dwarvish temperament. Khazalid vowel sounds, in particular, are uncompromisingly precise and heavily accented. Consonants are often spat aggressively or gargled at the back of the throat as if attempting to dislodge a recalcitrant gobbet of phlegm. A drinking hall full of loud, drunken Dwarfs sounds like a frightening place even when fists aren't flying – which isn't often.

The vocabulary of Khazalid ably reflects the unique preoccupations of the Dwarf race. There are hundreds of words for different kinds of rock, for passages and tunnels, and most of all for precious metals. Indeed, there are hundreds of words for gold alone, reflecting on its qualities of colour, lustre, purity and hardness. When Dwarfs gather for an evening's drinking, which is most evenings, a popular entertainment is the Gold Song. During the Gold Song the Dwarfs sing about gold and each drinker sings a verse in turn. Each Dwarf must use a different word for gold when he sings his verse, and any Dwarf who repeats a word already sung or who is unable to think of another word for gold pays a forfeit. As the forfeit is inevitably to buy another round of drinks a Dwarf will often invent a new word for gold rather than admit defeat. If this new word goes unchallenged then he avoids the forfeit and another word for gold is added to their vocabulary.

In their dealings with others Dwarfs choose their words carefully. A Dwarf will not venture an opinion on anything that he has not considered deeply, and once his mind is made up you can be sure his view will be as immovable as a mountain. Dwarfs don't change their opinions except in the face of overwhelming necessity – and not always then. Many would rather die stubbornly than admit to a mistake that costs them their life! For this reason Dwarfs take oaths and promises very seriously indeed, and this extends to their business affairs even those with other races. In all the Dwarf language the word Unbaraki is the most condemning of all – it means 'oathbreaker'.

Given how seriously Dwarfs treat words their sense of humour tends to be especially unnerving. A common jest takes the form whereby two or more Dwarfs conspire to make another feel deeply uncomfortable by pretending to know something about his circumstances, state of health, or past life that in reality they do not. This can go on for hours, days, or many years and is generally reckoned to be very funny indeed. More commonly a Dwarf might make some provocative statement, wait for another to take offence, and then start a fight. Surprisingly these things tend to end in good humour, much back slapping and mutual congratulations with honour considered to have been satisfied all round.

THE RUNIC SCRIPT

Dwarf runes were invented for carving Khazalid onto stone, hence the letters are formed from straight lines which can be easily cut with a chisel. The script consists of a core alphabetic script which can be used to express any words, and additional individual runes each of which is a shorthand sign that represents a single word, idea, or name. This means that many words can be written in two forms – though this is only commonly seen with the names of people and places. Magical runes always take this second individual form and for this reason all non-alphabetic runes are regarded as having special significance or power.

Runes are usually carved left to right, but can also be carved in alternate rows starting from left to right, the second row right to left, the third left to right and so on. Runes can also be carved vertically from top to bottom, this being a common form for monuments and important carvings. Written forms generally go left to right horizontally.

The core alphabetic runes are called Klinkarhun meaning 'chisel runes' – and these are the most commonly used and easily recognised. Although the sound of Khazalid does not exactly match the sounds of Human speech, the chart shown on the next page gives the closest approximations. The sounds should be pronounced with force and the 'r' and 'kh' sound in particular are made as if enthusiastically clearing the throat, whilst 'z' is always given extra emphasis as in 'buzz'.

In addition to alphabetical runes the Klinkarhun also includes a numeric series, as shown on the following page. The Dwarf words for numbers are different depending on what it is they are counting – which can be very confusing – but it all makes sense to the Dwarfs and serves to baffle other races. Dwarfs also count many things in twelves or dozens multiplying up to a gross (twelve twelves or one hundred and forty four), and other things in twenties or scores, as well as counting things in tens in a more conventional manner. There are no words for twenty, thirty, or so forth, rather a Dwarf will say 'six tens and five' and 'three score and seven' – or 'Sizdonun Sak' and 'Dweskorun Set'.

Next: Khazlid – Basic Structure