by Sherice Jacob
"Why do you learn this language...if you don't use it?"
"It is a tradition we hand down.. It must have meant somethin once."
If you're going to travel to the future, it would be a good idea to learn the language! Below you'll find a basic primer on how to speak Eloi:
Lexicon
Basic Root Words
En - You/your
Em - I/mine
Lath - Me
Dal - Are/is
Del - Was/were
Nem - Our
Den - Would/will
Basic Compound Words
En`em - We/us
Tar`wen - She
Sa`tahn - Many
Nove`tan - After
Nove tan`quin - Soon
Tor`lon - Sick/Hurt/Injured
Quin`tan - Up
Example: Em dal tor`lon. - I am hurt.
Eloi Chants
If you own the 2002 Soundtrack by the incredibly talented Klaus Badelt, below you'll find the lyrics and translations to the Eloi Chants.
Eloi
Mar len'il el
Quin len em tal tor'jen
Quin len bal el
Mar nos den tan toren
Mar len'il el
Quin len em tal tor'jen
Quin len bal el
Bal el...
(No concrete translation. It has to do with bringing about a new/safer day)
The Stone Language
Em mar'jen'wel el tor'kan.
Tan dern'em tan'som tor'cal.
Em orn'bren fur tas'mor.
Mar nos den bren'tas col.
Em mar'jen'wel em'tas tan'col,
Tan dern'em tor'mar em quin'tan.
En orn'bren tan'el lon el,
Mar nos den nove'tan'quin.
Translation:
I dream of days without an end
And long for sleep without the fear.
I hope to walk through the night
And know this will come true.
I dream of life lived long and full,
And long to see my children grow.
I hope for better days to come,
And know they will come soon.
GodSpeed
These are not official - but are as close as I could come to the actual lyrics. A working translation appears below.
Em mar'jen'wel el tor'kan
Tan dern'em tan'som
Orn'bren fur tas'mor...
Tas marjenwel torkan
Furtor dernem tansom cal
Tal lon den col
El nos den tan toren
Tas em daljen el col
Del tal dernem tormarquin
Dar vol en cal
En el nove'tan'quin.
Translation:
I dreamt without end
And longed for sleep
I hoped throughout the night...
From dreams without end
I can now sleep without fear
I knew the truth would come
And it will not be forgotten
For I am living the true day
To see our children grow up
Do not be afraid
A new day has come.
Translations from the Movie
These phrases and their translations are from the complete shooting script for The Time Machine
The Scenes
Alexander is regaining consciousness after being rescued by Kalen and brought to their home on the cliffs. He sees a vision of a young woman and mistakes her for his beloved Emma. Instead it is Mara, who speaks softly to him:
Far'en der tan'breen lath?...Der'nen aurl'em?
(Can you hear me?...Can you understand me?)
Alexander fades in and out of consciousness while Kalen and Mara keep vigil over him and tend to his health. Kalen asks:
Ston en'em den lath...Len en'em jen'en'em en quin'tor'tan
(Do you think he's feeling better? I want to hear about his journey).
When Alexander is following Kalen out of their home, he is stopped by Toren who regards him suspiciously:
Fur'tor en'dal quin'tor, Tor fur'quin.
(Stay where you are. Don't come any closer).
Toren is trying to persuade the other Eloi to throw Alexander in the river because they do not know where he comes from or who he is..and it is apparent that he is not one of them.
Wen'dal, tal'pax! Wen'tor Eloi'tan tor dal quin. En'em dern jal'wen fur'on tan'mas!
(He's very dangerious! He's not Eloi and he doesn't belong here. We should throw him in the river now!)
Mara abruptly interrupts Toren and defends Alexander.
Tor'jen! En'em aurl tor'tan wen. Wen tor'tal pax.
(Stop it! We know nothing about him. He's not dangerous).
After Alexander reveals where...or when...he came from, Mara offers a more plausible explanation to her fellow Eloi:
Wen'tor deer, wen'quin tor'tan. Ston'wen, mar wen tan'fur'on. Em'mar wen tor'lon wen serem. En'der breen'tan wen tor'lon. Wen'ston quin'tor'tan tor'serem.
(He doesn't remember where he came from. But he thinks he's from far down the river. I think he's hurt his head. You can see he's hurt. He is sort of a wandering idiot).
When Kalen and Alexander both have the simultaneous nightmare of the Morlock Sphinx, Kalen cries out in the night and is comforted by Mara. She tells him:
Del mar'jen'wel. Tor'col orn. Em'quin, en'bal. Quin'tor Morlocks. Em'quin, Alexander wen'quin. Breen'tan? Tor Morlocks. En'em bal.
(It was just a dream. Don't worry, I'm here, you're safe. There are no Morlocks. I'm here, Alexander's here. You see? No Morlocks. We are safe)
Many special thanks to screenwriter John Logan for creating the beautiful Eloi language and for providing me with the information above!
© 2004 Sherice Jacob. All rights reserved.
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