Lore:Falmer Alphabet

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This article is about the Falmer language. For the race, see Snow Elf. For the creatures, see Falmer.

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Known Examples

The Falmer Alphabet is, or rather was, the alphabet used by the Snow Elves. It is a very stylized script, quite the opposite of the minimalist script of their Dwemer captors. There are only two known examples of the language, both appearing in Skyrim. The very low number of examples is probably due to the fact that the many Snow Elves who sought asylum with the Dwemer were forced to lose their sight, at which point they ceased to require a written language.

Gallus's Encoded Journal, written by a former Guild Master of the Thieves Guild, is written in the Falmer alphabet, but it directly transliterates into English. The Skyrim DLC Dawnguard adds an additional four books, Unknown Book, Vols. I, II, III, and IV, but they too directly transliterate into English.

A stone which translates both Dwemeris and the Falmer language.

The largest and only example of the Falmer language is inscribed on a stone in Calcelmo's Tower. The half that is in the Falmer language transliterates into:

ye sa sou meldi calne tarn va molagnensaliye trumbi nou bala

ilpen av sou meldi nagaiale as guntumnia spantelepelaelia arani morae

ye sou liebali racurane ye nu rautane sye ye nu hautalle nou buroi

gune sou gravuloi sa metane sye garlis frey as gondra doemera tarcel

lane sou agea silya nu hecta sou arcten rias nu nemalanta ge nu hecta sou epe

gandra rias ne nemelauta ge nu frey sepe sye arcta varlor denai

cullei noue staneiaye ry sou alasil auta ry loria shenta abagaiavoy

malautavoy fey nou darre ye alata rou malae asma maraga sou anyamis

av serven ye getheng sou wend riarilia vey emeratu sou oia besia

No translation to this is provided, but parts of it can be translated, as detailed below.

Falmer Language

Note: Due to the complete lack of translations, the below is just expert opinion.

The Falmer language appears to be heavily based on the Ayleid Language. A large number of words are shared by both languages and it appears that the Falmer language also uses the same grammatical structure. Details on the Ayleid grammatical structure can be found here. One difference is the complete lack of punctuation and capitalization, making separating sentences and clauses very difficult. Punctuation has been inferred from the Dwemer version of the text.

Using Ayleid words to translate Calcelmo's Stone, it partially translates into:

And your people driven CALNE pass into our Halls of Fire, and TRUMBI our power.

ILPEN of yours driven NAGAIALE by GUNTUMNIA SPANTELEPELAELIA kings of the wood,

and your LIE-stones RACURANE, and you RAUTANE SYE, and you shall become our slaves,

GUNE your people's GRAVULOI. METANE SYE GARLIS FREY, by GONDRA DOEMERA TARCEL

LANE your wisdom SILYA. You HECTA your ARCTEN, RIAS you NEMALANTA GE. You HECTA your EPE

Gifts, RIAS you NEMELAUTA GE. You FREY SEPE SYE acknowledge lower-cast DENAI

CULLEI our STANEIA. And as your ALASIL AUTA, as darkness comes forbidding.

High-AUTAVOY FEY our DARRE, and ALATA ROU high, by what MARAGA your life

of SERVEN, and GETHENG your WEND RIARILIA VEY guiding your eternal BESIA.

Judging by the words that can be translated, the passage is likely about how the Snow Elves sought out the Dwemer for protection, who provided it but force-fed them a crippling fungus and enslaved them.