imported>Wojnicz at 11:31, 3 December 2025

2025-12-03T11:31:32Z

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==Mem Words==

When I met [[Erin]] in college, she introduced me to the game ''Civilization'' (the current sequel at the time was ''Civilization 3'')—a brilliant and terribly addicting game (''never'' have I seen a game where you sit down, play for a few minutes, and then look up and it's nine hours later). Throughout each iteration I would always love to play the Egyptians, because they usually got the Pyramids for free (or for cheap), and the Pyramids really help an early civilization get its footing.

It was while playing a game of ''Civ'' as the Egyptians that I learned that the city of Memphis was originally an Egyptian city (when you play as a given civilization and you found a city, it autogenerates a name from that civilization, if you don't override it with your own name). I'd always assumed that Memphis was just some made up name for the city in Tennessee that came from who knows where.

Learning the true origins of the name Memphis gave me a distinct sense of jamais vu. I, of course, had known the name Memphis for some time, but learning that it was a former capital of the Egyptian empire altered its associations in my head radically. Perhaps coincidentally, this was the same time that I was studying the Middle Egyptian language at Berkeley (taking an actual class on it! What incredible luck that I should be going to a college with such a class!). Naturally, I looked up the original meaning (certainly the "-is" part of "Memphis" came from Greek), and learned that it came from ''mn-nfr'': enduring and beautiful.

I was quite taken with the city name Memphis thereafter—and, in particular, with the root "mem". It felt...powerful. I made it a point thereafter to start using "mem" in all my languages in some place or other. It always felt good to have such a root around. Plus, the sounds are such that it works in most spoken languages (I think I've only done [[Yanga Kayang language|one]] without labials, and even that turned out to be unnecessary).

Collected below is a list of every "mem" word used in my various languages (note: these are just the base forms, not morphologically inflected forms):

* [[Afata language|Afata]]: [[#Afata|''mem'']]
* [[Chakobsa language|Chakobsa]]: [[#Chakobsa|''mem'']]
* [[Dothraki language|Dothraki]]: [[#Dothraki|''mem'']]
* [[Gandal language|Gandal]]: [[#Gandal|''mem'']]
* [[High Valyrian language|High Valyrian]]: [[#High Valyrian|''meme'']]
* [[Inha language|Inha]]: [[#Inha|''memó'']]
* [[Kinuk'aaz language|Kinuk'aaz]]: [[#Kinuk'aaz|''memet'']]
* [[Nelvayu language|Nelvayu]]: [[#Nelvayu|''mem'']]
* [[Væyne Zaanics language|Væyne Zaanics]]: [[#Væyne Zaanics|''mem'']], [[#Væyne Zaanics|''bimemeneh'']], [[#Væyne Zaanics|''memeneh'']], [[#Væyne Zaanics|''memonoh'']]
* [[Veda language|Veda]]: [[#Veda|''mem'']]

{{lexeme|Afata}}
{{phrasebook|afat|Basic}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|afat|veda|mem}}.

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=afat}}
: {{rhymes|afat|em}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{rfscript|afat}}

====Determiner====
{{head|afat|determiner}} {{att|afat|needs review}}

# all, every

=====Translations=====
''See [[all/translations]]''.

{{C|afat|Homages|Swadesh list}}

{{lexeme|Chakobsa}}
{{phrasebook|chak|Basic}}

===Etymology===
From {{chak-from-root|maim}}.

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mɛm/|lang=chak}}
: {{rhymes|chak|ɛm}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{dinl-orth-big}}

====Pronoun 1====
{{head|chak|pronoun}}

# we; {{n-g|first-person plural pronoun}}

=====Inflection=====
{{chak-pron-infl}}

=====Translations=====
{{tlist-we}}

{{c|chak|Swadesh list}}

{{lexeme|Dothraki}}

===Etymology===
{{rfe|doth}}

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=doth}}
: {{rhymes|doth|em}}

====Noun====
{{head|doth|noun}}

# sound

=====Inflection=====
{{rfinfl|doth|noun}}

{{C|gand|Homages|Swadesh list}}

{{lexeme|Gandal}}
{{phrasebook|gand|Basic}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|gand|veda|mem}}.

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=gand}}
: {{rhymes|gand|em}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{rfscript|gand}}

====Determiner====
{{head|gand|determiner}} {{att|gand|needs review}}

# all, every

=====Translations=====
''See [[all/translations]]''.

{{lexeme|Irathient}}

===Etymology===
{{invis}}

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mɛm/|lang=irat}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{irat-orth|mem}}

====Root====
{{head|irat|root}}

# having to do with death

=====Derived Terms=====
{{der3|irat|thememu|shememu|shememagba}}

{{C|irat|Homages}}

{{lexeme|Nelvayu}}
{{phrasebook|nelv|Basic}}

===Etymology===
{{Invis}}

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=nelv}}
: {{rhymes|nelv|em}}

====Determiner====
{{head|nelv|determiner}}

# this, these

=====Translations=====
{{tlist-this}}

{{c|nelv|Swadesh list}}

====Creation and Usage Notes====
{{djpnotes|quote=I had ''extremely'' limited real estate with this language, since it only had...what, two lines? If I was going to get my special words in there, I needed to take ''any'' opportunity to jam them in. Since this language was so highly inflected, I thought it might be fun to have simple, uninflected determiners. They wouldn't even change for number. Reminded me of [[Dothraki language|Dothraki]]. So I did that, and I threw [[mem]] in there for the proximal. Seemed to fit, what with the emminess of Dormamu.

-''[[User:Djp|David J. Peterson]]'' 02:24, 16 March 2020 (PDT)}}

{{C|nelv|Homages}}

{{lexeme|Væyne Zaanics}}
{{phrasebook|vzaa|Basic}}

===Etymology===
{{vzaa-etym}}

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=vzaa}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{vzaa-orth-huge|form=mem}}

====Root====
{{head|vzaa|root}}

# (''root'') having to do with knowledge

=====Derived Terms=====
{{der3|vzaa|memeneh|memonoh|bimemeneh}}

====Creation and Usage Notes====
{{djpnotes|quote=Something Lyr and Severn admired so highly—knowledge—simply had to have the best root available in the language.

-''[[User:Djp|David J. Peterson]]'' 11:46, 4 October 2023 (PDT)}}

{{C|vzaa|Epistemology|Homages}}

{{lexeme|Veda}}
{{phrasebook|veda|Basic}}

===Etymology===
From {{inh|veda|pved|*mʔjm}}.

====Pronunciation====
{{IPA|/mem/|lang=veda}}
: {{rhymes|veda|em}}

====Orthographic Form====
{{veda-orth|form=mem}}

====Conjunction====
{{head|veda|conjunction}}

# and (''used postpositively to coordinate two or more nouns; more common with three or more nouns'')

=====Derived Terms=====
{{der3|veda|lin mem}}

=====Translations=====
''See [[and/translations]].''

{{C|{{nametocode}}|Swadesh list}}

====Pronoun 2====
{{head|veda|pronoun}}

# everything, all

=====Derived Terms=====
{{der3|veda|ghor mem|ung ... ghor mem}}

=====Descendants=====
{{Columns|1|
* [[Afata language|Afata]]: {{l|afat|mem}}
* [[Gandal language|Gandal]]: {{l|gand|homa}}, {{l|gand|sama}}
* [[G'Vunna language|G'Vunna]]: {{l|gvun|limmǝ}}
}}

====Determiner====
{{head|veda|determiner}}

# all, every

=====Translations=====
''See [[all/translations]]''.

====Creation and Usage Notes====
{{djpnotes|quote="Everything" felt like a good meaning to associate with [[mem]]. This may not be the only time I've used this. I'll have to see if I run into another.

-''[[User:Djp|David J. Peterson]]'' 02:24, 11 February 2020 (PST)}}

{{C|veda|Swadesh list|Homages}}
[[Category:Mem words]]

Mem - Revision history

imported>Wojnicz at 11:31, 3 December 2025