Amalj'aa Language Nonsense

Something that I've noticed while poring over maps of Eorzea (I mean, who doesn't do this in their free time) is that there is a distinctive pattern in place-names associated with Amalj'aa territory. I'm really no great linguist, but the 'a ending to both the name of the beast tribe and the places associated with them (Zanr'ak, Zahar'ak, Paglth'an, and the Yugr'am River) seemed worthy of note. What's the significance of that linguistic quirk, and what's the connection between the name of the Amalj'aa ending in a similar 'aa and the naming of locations? It's clearly not present in all proper nouns in their language, given that names and titles related to role have no ending sound of that type, but place-names and the name of the race aren't quite the same...

Also, is there any linguistic connection between the names of the Amalj'aa and the Mamool Ja? They're obviously two different species from wildly different locations, who have extremely distinct cultures and languages from one another, but the names of both reptilian races ending with the same "ja" seems noteworthy.

I don't think there is any lore about the Amal'jaa language, only a little naming convention post from Fern.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/168780

Personally I always imagined that Zanr'ak meant outpost of ak, Zahar'ak : base of ak, Paglth'an : city of an, Yugr'am : river of am.
But that's just speculations.

And the naming conventions post doesn't actually say anything about Amalj'aa language, which is frustrating. How am I supposed to speculate without more fertile ground to sink my claws into?

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Originally Posted by lololink

I don't think there is any lore about the Amal'jaa language, only a little naming convention post from Fern.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/168780

Personally I always imagined that Zanr'ak meant outpost of ak, Zahar'ak : base of ak, Paglth'an : city of an, Yugr'am : river of am.
But that's just speculations.

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I never thought it that way.....
Now come to think of it, Zanr'ak IS right outside Zahar'ak. Maybe Zan(er) means outer skirts and Zahar means city or encampment? But what does 'ak means? Maybe it represents the place instead of actual names?

Zanr'ak could mean like... Outskirts of the desert. Zahar'ak could mean encampment of the desert? Since they are close to the Sagolii desert.

I've actually ferreted out a little bit more tangible information! Unfortunately, it's from the old Lodestone site, and thus only now available through sources that mirrored the updates on that site during the previous iteration of the game. In 1.19, the following description was given for Zahar'ak:

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A stronghold erected by the Amalj’aa, its name meaning “like a rock” in their native tongue. Its location was said to be chosen by thaumaturges who, through ancient rituals, divined the position to be auspicious for waging war.

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Purely conjecture, but I'm guessing the Zahar bit is Amalj'aa for "rock", while the 'ak is the "like a." So ostensibly Zanr'ak would be "like a Zanr," whatever Zanr actually means in Amalj'aa. Meanwhile, 'aa, 'am, and 'an are different verbs and/or particles? Or maybe it's the other way around- 'ak meaning rock, and Zahar meaning "like a," while Zanr'ak is another term in relation to rock. I'm inclined to lean towards the former, but once again, I'm a complete amateur at linguistics, fictional or otherwise.

And now I'm stuck wondering if Thanalan is actually a name that was taken from the Amalj'aa language and adapted to spoken tongues. It wouldn't be a huge leap to take the apostrophe out of Thanal'an, right? Or I could be overthinking it. After what happened with airship tech and the Ixal, I wouldn't be surprised at any number of things we associate with the "enlightened" races being borrowed or stolen from the beast tribes.

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Originally Posted by Ansemaru

I've actually ferreted out a little bit more tangible information! Unfortunately, it's from the old Lodestone site, and thus only now available through sources that mirrored the updates on that site during the previous iteration of the game. In 1.19, the following description was given for Zahar'ak:



Purely conjecture, but I'm guessing the Zahar bit is Amalj'aa for "rock", while the 'ak is the "like a." So ostensibly Zanr'ak would be "like a Zanr," whatever Zanr actually means in Amalj'aa. Meanwhile, 'aa, 'am, and 'an are different verbs and/or particles? Or maybe it's the other way around- 'ak meaning rock, and Zahar meaning "like a," while Zanr'ak is another term in relation to rock. I'm inclined to lean towards the former, but once again, I'm a complete amateur at linguistics, fictional or otherwise.

And now I'm stuck wondering if Thanalan is actually a name that was taken from the Amalj'aa language and adapted to spoken tongues. It wouldn't be a huge leap to take the apostrophe out of Thanal'an, right? Or I could be overthinking it. After what happened with airship tech and the Ixal, I wouldn't be surprised at any number of things we associate with the "enlightened" races being borrowed or stolen from the beast tribes.

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I know this thread is 7 years old, but I feel like it's worthwhile to point out that there does seem to be some legitimacy to the idea that Thanalan might actually be Thanal'an: we got Paglth'an, their capital city. So with the fact we do have a canon instance of 'an being used, it stands to reason that Thanlan could be the same thing - and given the former allegiance between Ul'dah and the Amalj'aa during the Thorne dynasty (if I recall correctly), then subsequent slandering of the Amalj'aa, I wouldn't be surprised if the name was appropriated. And now that we're seeing attempts at reparations and a rebuilding of the old alliance between Ul'dah and the Amalj'aa, I'd really love to see if the devs elaborate on this. Even if not, it's still an interesting correlation.

If I may join into the necroposting, great point and a very interesting thread! Here's a few observations I made on Amalj'aa naming conventions.

Aside from the well-explored profession-related last names, for which official information exists, various wikis list the following Amalj'aa NPCs:

Afajj Koh
Atabb Chah
Fibubb Gah
Hepugg Roh
Maladd Chah
Narujj Boh
Nayokk Roh
Nazagg Gah
Nezedd Gah
Pegujj Chah
Rodegg Chah
Tanadd Gah
Yadovv Gah

...and everyone's favourite, Hamujj Gah. (Sorry, Loonh Gah, you don't count, 'cause you follow Miqo forename conventions).

Based on this sample size, which appears to be quite consistent. I believe it is fair to say that Amalj'aa names follow a syllable, syllable, double-consonant pattern. Whilst the first two syllables seem to be pretty arbitrary, the latter two consonants appear to always be double b's, d's, g's, j's, k's or v's, albeit counterexamples might exist either without the player's knowledge or amongst NPC's I've missed during my cursory exploration of Amalj'aa names.

Hope this contributes somewhat!