19 SpecificNames

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Table of Contents

• Gaulish
• Greek
• Latin
• Meroitic
• Old Persian
• Sanskrit

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For other texts, see EnglishStyleGuide. For pronunciation of specific name strings, see Audio_Voice_List.

This guide provides some ground rules to write specific names for 0 A.D.

Specific names are in the native language, not in English. Every language has its own orthography (conventions to write down a language). To avoid unnecessary confusion, be consistent and stick to the rules listed below. When in doubt, consult a dictionary (sound advice for any language).

Carthaginians, Iberians?

Bibliography:

• R. S. P. Beekes Comparative Indo-European Linguistics / An Introduction / Second edition [and corrected by Michiel de Vaan]revised (Amsterdam / Philadelphia 2011)
• P. T. Daniels, W. Bright (eds.) The World's Writing Systems (Oxford 1996)

Gaulish

Gaulish is the language used for the Britons and Gauls.

• It has one unique character, the so-called tau gallicum, which is typically transliterated as an eth Ð ð, and was probably pronounced /t͡s/.

Bibliography:

Greek

Ancient Greek is the language used for the Athenians, Macedonians, Ptolemies, Seleucids, and Spartans.

There exist numerous systems to transcribe Greek; one is not intrinsically better than any other. However, consistency matters, so please stick to the system listed below:

• consonants:
  • β, π, φ, ψ → b, p, ph, ps
  • γ → n (before γ, κ, χ, ξ), g (elsewhere)
  • κ, χ, ξ → k, ch, x
  • δ, τ, θ → d, t, th
  • σ/ϲ/ς, ζ → s, z
  • λ, μ, ν → l, m, n
  • ρ → r, but initial ῥ → rh
• vowels:
  • α, ε, η, ι, ο, ω → a, e, ē, i, o, ō
  • ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ → ai, ēi, ōi
  • υ → u (after vowels and before ι), y (elsewhere)
• accents and vowel length are ignored Other things to take care of:
• names are in the nominative; genitive is the case for combining nouns; also check the number (singular, dual, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter); adjectives should match the nouns they belong to.

(See https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/25202-transliteration-of-ancient-greek-into-english/ for the choice made.)

Bibliography:

• H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. Stuart Jones, R. McKenzie A Greek–English Lexicon / Ninth edition / With a Revised Supplement (Oxford 1940; 1996)
• https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html

Latin

Classical Latin is the language used for the Romans.

Writing Latin is easy, because, well, it uses the Latin alphabet. However, check to ensure:

• dictionaries indicate vowel length, so do we; thus: hastātus, not hastatus
• write ae and oe, not æ and œ, nor e; thus Caesar, not Cæsar or Cesar
• differentiate between u and v
• do not differentiate between i and j, both are written i
• names are in the nominative; genitive is the case for combining nouns; also check the number (singular, plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter); adjectives should match the nouns they belong to
• sometimes words are plural only, e.g. insidiae ‘ambush’; check the whole string has the proper number

Bibliography:

• P. G. W. Glare (ed.) Oxford Latin Dictionary / Second edition (Oxford 2012)

Meroitic

Meroitic is the language used for the Kushites.

Bibliography:

• https://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/outils/polices/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meroitic_script
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteration_of_Ancient_Egyptian

Old Persian

Old Persian is the language used for the Persians.

When writing Persian, ensure:

• check your strings are in the nominative
• indicate vowel length (ā as opposed to a)
• use x, not kh
• use š, not sh
• use ç, not ch
• use θ, not th

cuneiform	transliteration	specific name	generic name
𐏃𐎧𐎠𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁	h-x-a-m-n-i-š	Haxāmaniš	Achaemenes
𐎨𐎡𐏁𐎱𐎡𐏁	c-i-š-p-i-š	Čišpiš	Teispes
𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹𐎠𐎼𐎶𐎴	a-r-i-y-a-r-m-n	Ariyāramna	Ariaramnes
𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶	a-r-š-a-m	Aršāma	Arsames
𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱	v^i^-š-t-a-s-p	Vištāspa	Hystaspes
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁	k^u^-u-r^u^-u-š	Kuruš	Cyrus
𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹	k-b-u-j^i^-i-y	Kabūjiya	Cambyses
𐎲𐎼𐎮𐎡𐎹	b-r-d^i^-i-y	Bardiya	Smerdis
𐎥𐎢𐎶𐎠𐎫	g-u-m-a-t	Gaumāta
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁	d-a-r-y-v-u-š	Dārayava(h)uš	Darius
𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠	x-š-y-a-r-š-a	Xšayāršā	Xerxes
𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠	a-r-t-x-š-ç-a	Artaxšaçā	Artaxerxes

Bibliography:

• P. Lecoq Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide (1997)
• R. Schmitt Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaimeniden / Editio minor mit deutscher Übersetzung (Wiesbaden 2009)
• P. O. Skjærvø An Introduction to Old Persian (Cambridge, MA 2016) pdf
• https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/

Sanskrit

(Vedic or Classical?) Sanskrit is the language used for the Mauryas; specific names ought to use the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST).

Bibliography: