Saxhleel / Argonian Jel names

Araneae6537 · January 4

I appreciate the work that has been done to assemble lists and meanings of all Jel words known — but alas that they are so few!

I cannot find words in Jel close enough to the concept I have for a character I’d like to create — what to do? I could approximate a proper Saxhleel name based on the names in game and what vocabulary we do know. Alternatively, if Jel is inspired by a real language, I could adopt a word, make the name that sounds right and actually means something, although perhaps not in Jel. But is there such a language?

Any suggestions or Jel conlangers?

jlmurra2 · January 5

What is your character concept?

WhiteCoatSyndrome · January 5

I’d just go with the translation myself. So Hides-His-Eyes instead of Haj-Ei.

Araneae6537 · January 5

jlmurra2 wrote: »

What is your character concept?

My Saxhleel seeks to understand the knowledge and ways of the ancient civilization that built the Xanmeer. She will probably be from the Haj Uxith tribe, and so in that way, is trying to reclaim what her Hist sacrificed so much to try to preserve.

I was hoping for a name with a meaning along the lines of Seeks-Forgotten-Paths, Follows-Lost-Ways, Seeks-Hidden-Knowledge, something along those lines.

Araneae6537 · January 5

WhiteCoatSyndrome wrote: »

I’d just go with the translation myself. So Hides-His-Eyes instead of Haj-Ei.

I might consider that, but since my Saxhleel is especially interested in preserving / rediscovering the ancient culture, I feel like it would be more fitting for her to use a Jel name.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · January 21

Jel is supposedly the strangest and most difficult language to learn in Tamriel and is somehow both very metaphorical yet literal. It's very rare for non-argonians to even understand it partly.

They likely had some real life languages as inspiration, most obvious being mesoamerican ones. But it's not like imperials who just use actual Roman names.

I've two argonians with "Jel" names, one is purely made up using already existing names and words as inspiration with no attempt fitting existing words. I still haven't even decided if it means something.
The other is an actual attempt at using existing known words. I'm faaar from an expert in languages, but I don't think there's any clear pattern in how their language works (Which is kinda fitting when it's supposedly difficult to understand), like sometimes it's just two words smashed together or connected with a hyphen, other times it's a short sentence turned into a compound word but not every word is there, so either they bend words an unknown way for that or it just works that way.
No matter how it works, we simply have very little knowledge about it, and we are unlikely to ever get elaborate knowledge of how it works, so you can kinda do whatever looks and sound right.

The name I did was Thuximasu, which is a simple smash together of two words. Thuxis (Snake; also refers to one who is deceptive) and Masu (Big-mouthed reptile). I skipped over the s at the end of the first because I thought it flowed better that way and in another existing compound word with it it's also removed. In my mind because of the metaphorical theme with many meanings Jel can have, this name could literally mean big mouthed snake, but could probably also mean something like someone who tells many big lies, or just being big in the mouth, or someone who tells tall tales etc.

That character also got a pet dragon frog named Krona-gah. Which is me combining words for "big/colossal basket". Which it's named for despite its small size being able to eat a lot.

Araneae6537 wrote: »

I was hoping for a name with a meaning along the lines of Seeks-Forgotten-Paths, Follows-Lost-Ways, Seeks-Hidden-Knowledge, something along those lines.

So we might not have anything that means exactly that, but you could probably combine something that is similar. Which is probably suiting, because this theme is sounding a bit forbidden, and forbidden things are not talked about in Jel. We do have the word for forbidden, though, which is Norg. We also got for hidden, which is Haj (Hidden, or hides).

So some fitting words we got that fits well:
Haj - Hidden
Norg - Forbidden
Toh - Secret
Vahat - Unclean, or taboo
Xal - Sacred (It's sacred to your character)

But instead of paths or ways, then maybe these will fit. Paths are places. Paths and ways can also be seen as a transition or change. Or to seek/follow them is to bring them about.
Tzel -Place
Vastei - Change or transition
*** - To bring about or allow
Sei - rite or ritual

Someone who seeks or follows can be considered hunting, and we do got:
Mota - hunter or hunt

So Motatoh/Mota-hajtoh could be something like Hunts-Secrets/Seeks-Hidden-Secrets or seeks hidden paths/knowledge because of the whole metaphors thing.
Or Kutohtzel Brings about sercret places/paths?
Even something like Gah-vahat could probably work. basket+taboo. Basket of taboo (knowledge)! or Xaltohsei would literally be sacred secret rites, but kinda suits.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · January 23

I just noticed one Jel word is censored on the forum

Araneae6537 · January 23

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

I just noticed one Jel word is censored on the forum

Yeah, that is so weird! I was able to figure out what the word is, but less so why it would be censored (I look because I am curious but everything seems rather esoteric).

But thank you so much for your long and detailed post! I have been thinking about it and different options and have decided on two of the syllables. I might use as a final syllable one of those that I see fairly often in Jel names but do not have a distinct meaning that we know of.

For instance, I really like the way the name Tsatva-lan sounds. While Xulku-lan doesn’t ring the same, it also has meaning to it that I feel fits my Argonian Shadowscale.

WhiteCoatSyndrome · January 23

Araneae6537 wrote: »

I might consider that, but since my Saxhleel is especially interested in preserving / rediscovering the ancient culture, I feel like it would be more fitting for her to use a Jel name.

Fair enough! You might already be aware of this, but just in case: Jel translations.

Araneae6537 · January 25

I’ve been creating different test characters and am honing in on the look and voice I want, but still the name…

The other night I liked the sound of Toh-vasha, containing the “toh” for secret, although the vasha is for sound rather than meaning anything that I know of, although a quick Internet search suggests that tovashal is the word for “white oak” in one of the Native American languages.

Today I was looking at the names of NPCs at Haj-uxith. The treeminder is Xohaneel and I was wondering about Tohaneel or Toh’haneel as a partial reference, Idk…

Or maybe I should stick to translated Jel… 🤔

Help me decide!

Eporem · January 26

is there a Jel word for Seeker - maybe Secret-Seeker?

Araneae6537 · January 26

Eporem wrote: »

is there a Jel word for Seeker - maybe Secret-Seeker?

Surprisingly none that we know of (surprising to me since we have words for rather esoteric and specific things), although as @NotaDaedraWorshipper pointed out, “mota” for hunter could be a reasonable substitution. But “haj-mota” is already the name of an ironically conspicuous beast and “toh-mota” sounds very staccato — like it would be a good chant or command or something but doesn’t seem quite right to me as a name. 🤔