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This page collects all "Mad" theories about Geisterspeak.
Analysis[]
It would be interesting to explore the phonology.
Translations[]
This section attempts to provide a Geisterspeak/English "dictionary". All suggested translations are included below, even mutually incompatible ones, until a clear consensus emerges.
| Geisterspeak | Lingua Europa | References |
|---|---|---|
| (none) | actor | IV/78 ✣ , V/72 ✣ , Act 2/4/11 ✣ They may not have a word for "actor" if they have to use the lingua europa for it. |
| Ag-atta | Agatha | Act 2/4/11 ✣ |
| akaplee | find | Act 2/4/20 ✣ After the death of her giant spider, Bwoosee, Eotain tells her new mount, Pojee, to "Akaplee Shrdlu!" |
| bweesquip | spider mound name | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| bin | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| blegit | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| bo | yes, good | IV/78 ✣ , Act 2/4/11 ✣ Shurdlu confirms a statement made by Eotain using this word. |
| boh | Act 2/4/20 ✣ Possibly the same as "bo." After the death of her giant spider, Bwoosee, Eotain cries out "Ni boh! Ni boh yuffo sweg!" | |
| boomchakalakka | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| botcha | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| bozaklee | apprentice / acolyte | Act 2/4/47 ✣ Othar's response to the question "O-Tar feeza smet "apprentice"", "oh - vola shee shakka nezimo bozaklee" |
| Bwoosee | Name of spider mount | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| cheeb | 1: clown; circus
2: think; believe 3: Child |
IV/78 ✣ , V/71 ✣ , V/72 ✣ The word comes up when the Geisterdamen think Agatha is the child and then again when they realize that they were wrong and that she's an actress |
| chek voy | 1: hang on
2: we will avenge you |
Act 2/4/22 ✣ After Shurdlu is hit by a poison dart, the other Geisterdamen shout "Chek voy, Shurdlu!" as they shake their weapons in the air. |
| chogga- | ? | Act 2/4/19 ✣ |
| eve | and | IV/78 ✣ The Geisterdamen appear to describe Agatha and Lars as "Za niktik eve za gwoon" when they meet them in the forest, possibly meaning "the girl and the boy." |
| feeza | ? | Act 2/4/47 ✣ Spoken as a question from Geister (Eotain?) to Othar regarding Tarvek, "Feeza smet "apprentice"?" From context, something like "what means "apprentice"", or maybe "is he your "apprentice"". But there are already way too many words with a possible meaning of 'what'... |
| fig | think, figure, suppose? | IV/77 ✣ , V/72 ✣ - it sounds similar, but fits nicely. "su fig" would be simply "You think?". "na fig" might be "he thinks." |
| fleepin | (expletive) | IV/78 ✣ Said, apparently in disgust, about the "actors" as the Geisterdamen were leaving Agatha and Lars. |
| flooda | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| folp | ? | Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Othar Tryggvassen, when introducing Gilgamesh Wulfenbach to the Geisters "Ah! Malazoon! Molla! Met Folp-Gilgamesh Wulfenbach" |
| gwoon | boy | IV/78 ✣ The Geisterdamen appear to describe Agatha and Lars as "Za niktik eve za gwoon" when they meet them in the forest, possibly meaning "the girl and the boy." |
| ha! | Just seems to be laughing | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| hegga | ? | Act 2/4/47 ✣ Spoken as a question from Geister (Eotain?) to Othar regarding Tarvek, "Hegga ja?" |
| hey | ? | IV/78 ✣ , Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| hic | why | IV/78 ✣ One of the Geisterdamen asks "Hic moc?" and apparently means "Why not?" |
| hif ni | 1a: let's go; onwards; go on 1b: let´s move on; get out of the way.
2: That's not true. 3: hey! (general call for attention) |
1: IV/78 ✣ , V/72 ✣ Expletive/challenge, battle-cry. When the Geisterdamen on spiders turn away from Agatha and Lars, one of Eotain and Shurdlu to the other; same on another occasion. VI/17 ✣ A Geister to Ognian in combat. In the contexts provided, may mean "let´s move on" and "get out of the way", respectively.
2: Act 2/9/50 ✣ Shortly after translated (?) by it's speaker as "That ... not true!" 3: A possible single meaning that includes the two above ideas could be an expletive call for attention, akin to "hey!" |
| hipple | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| hlag! | Alas! | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| ho! | Yay!? Woohoo? | |
| hoh | Oh | Act 2/4/18 ✣ |
| hokka | what | Used both as an interjection of some sort of surprise and again immediately afterwards as the leading word of a phrase in reaction to something. Tarvek (Act 2/9/50 ✣ ) says Hokka pok? to ask "what?" to Eotain. |
| hooga | ? | Act 2/4/12 ✣ |
| hup! | Up/jump? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| ja | ? | Act 2/4/47 ✣ Spoken as a question from Geister (Eotain?) to Othar regarding Tarvek, "Hegga ja?" |
| joy | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| lim, vakk | Two names? | V/82 - it looks as if Vrin is merely calling two names instead of giving a command. Two sentences, one word each. |
| kima (kimaaaaa) | cute | Exclamation from Eotain or Shurdlu on examining Dingbot Prime ✣ ; her sister is less impressed. Analagous to the Japanese kawaii. |
| klazma | lady, high priestess | V/71 ✣ , VI/59 ✣ The other Geisterdamen address Lady Vrin as "Klazma Vrin." |
| klibber | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| kliz | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| malazoon | Bad (mala-)
Guy/person (-zoon) may mean "enemy" |
Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Othar Tryggvassen, when introducing Gilgamesh Wulfenbach to the Geisters "Ah! Malazoon! Molla! Met Folp-Gilgamesh Wulfenbach" |
| medok | enough; knock it off | V/72 ✣ Vrin stops some nattering by Eotain and Shurdlu. |
| meenak | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| Mek | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| moc | not | IV/78 ✣ "Hic moc?!" may mean "Why not?!" |
| Mok Tekkak | The lady of sharp crystal and bringer of vengeance | Act 2/4/50 ✣ Translated by Tarvek - Possibly a reference to the goddess Eshkigax from Skifander? |
| met | "met folp" - "let me introduce" or "I present" | Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Othar Tryggvassen, when introducing Gilgamesh Wulfenbach to the Geisters "Ah! Malazoon! Molla! Met Folp-Gilgamesh Wulfenbach" |
| MOLLA | EVIL | Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Othar Tryggvassen, when introducing Gilgamesh Wulfenbach to the Geisters "Ah! Malazoon! Molla! Met Folp-Gilgamesh Wulfenbach" |
| mota | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| moy | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| nef | ? | Act 2/4/12 ✣ |
| nezimo | ? | Act 2/4/48 ✣ Othar's response to the question "O-Tar feeza smet "apprentice"", "oh - vola shee shakka nezimo bozaklee" |
| na | he | V/72 ✣ - IF it's an article, the third bubble from Vrin might be translated as "He (Aaronev) thinks she (Agatha) is the child/the mistress/whatever". |
| naga | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| neeee! | ahhh/eep!? Help? | Act 2/4/19 ✣ |
| ni | 1: onwards; forwards
2: do it (imperative) (alternative) 1: no 2: don't |
IV/78 ✣ Derived from hif ni and tokka-ni. |
| nibo | 1: an expletive
2: all right; okay 3: not alright; not okay |
V/72 ✣ A Geisterdame says this when another smacks her on the back of the head. |
| nikka | ? | Act 2/4/15 ✣ |
| niktik | girl | IV/78 ✣ , V/72 ✣ The Geisterdamen appear to describe Agatha and Lars as "Za niktik eve za gwoon" when they meet them in the forest, possibly meaning "the girl and the boy." They use the word "niktik" again when they recognize Agatha in the dungeon. |
| nobla tif | greetings; good evening | V/72 ✣ Lady Vrin uses the phrase to greet the other Geisterdamen. |
| nodok | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| Nya/nyaaaa | No/nooo | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| obongs | wagons (?) | IV/78 ✣ Part of the evidence listed by one of the Geisterdamen to explain why she thinks Agatha and Lars are actors. |
| O-tar | Othar | Act 2/9/47 ✣ |
| obuk voppel? | V/71 ✣ Question asked when Klazma Vrin shows up in the dungeon with Agatha. | |
| plaget | ? | Act 2/4/12 ✣ |
| plostok | IV/78 ✣ | |
| Razza-frazza | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| Rezzok tig-zaffa or Rezzoktig-zaffa | "Mutual brain death" | X/074 ✣ Zola uses this phrase when Lucrezia talks about a brain transfer. |
| seg | ? some sort of article? pronoun? | IV/78 ✣ , V/72 ✣ |
| Sekka | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| set ve? | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| shakka | ? | Act 2/4/48 ✣ Othar's response to the question "O-Tar feeza smet "apprentice"", "oh - vola shee shakka nezimo bozaklee" |
| shee | ? | Act 2/4/48 ✣ Othar's response to the question "O-Tar feeza smet "apprentice"", "oh - vola shee shakka nezimo bozaklee" |
| shk-mah | slaver wasps | V/81 ✣ , confirmed by Lady Vrin. |
| shok- | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| skee | ? | Act 2/4/15 ✣ |
| Skifander | Skifander | Act 2/4/18 ✣ (it may also mean "Skifandrian" given the context) |
| slimerrekka | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| smagga du bokk | an expletive | Exclaimed by Velix after hearing some unwelcome news ✣ . The first word might be a variant of smanga, perhaps the imperative. |
| smanga | mangle; smash; destroy | |
| smeela | ? | Act 2/4/11 ✣ |
| smek | ||
| smet | ? | Act 2/4/47 ✣ Spoken as a question from Geister (Eotain?) to Othar regarding Tarvek, "Feeza smet "apprentice"?" From context, something like "what means "apprentice"", or maybe "is he your "apprentice"". But there are already way too many words with a possible meaning of 'what'... |
| sneb | ? | Act 2/4/12 ✣ |
| sona | sister | V/72 ✣ Vrin addresses Eotain and Shurdlu (separately) with this prefix when reunited with them in the dungeons. |
| su | you | IV/77 ✣ |
| t'cha | Act 2/4/21 ✣ | |
| teg niv | negative (or "I can't see," "I can't tell") | VI/35 ✣ Said in response to a question. |
| tik | machine; clock; mechanism | Derived from tik tik. Probably first was used, by onomatopoeia, to refer to a clock, then by extension to any complicated mechanism. |
| tik tik | 1: clank; automaton 2: clock; mechanism | Vrin referring to Tinka. Can be applied to an automaton such as Tinka, but can be suspected not to be an accurate or specific term for automata or clanks. |
| tikka | 1: Construct 2: borg | A Geister referring to Anevka Sturmvoraus. |
| tokka | attack | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| tokkah | strike; attack | Derived from tokkah-ni; compare Skiff "tok" |
| tokkah-ni | (battle-cry) | |
| twerlik | mistress (a name or title of the "holy child" sought by the geisterdamen) | IV/77 ✣ , IV/78 ✣ , Act 2/4/11 ✣ - possible dialogue on first page: "Mistress?" "You think?", which second page would continue with Geisterdame 1 explaining that it's not the Mistress and the people are only actors. |
| unat plin | "holy child"(?) | V/72 ✣ A Geisterdame points towards Agatha repeating "unat plin?" as if to clarify that she(Agatha) is supposed to be ??? |
| vedik | ? | IV/78 ✣ One of the crucial words when the Geisterdamen come across Lars and Agatha in the meadow. Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Geister in response to introduction of Gilgamesh Wulfenbach "ZO VEDIK GILGAMESH WULFEN-BOK" (and apparently in response to this) "ZO!".... Boyfriend? |
| veegipeka | ||
| veska | ? | Act 2/4/20 ✣ |
| vez torfanik sov | "we were ashamed" | Act 2/9/50 ✣ Tarvek instantly follows this by saying "and they were ashamed". |
| vo | (definite article) | Voco, voca, volla appear to modify cheeb in tense or plural. |
| voca | 1: that (past tense)
2: I do |
V/72 ✣ One of the Geisterdamen exclaims "Ya! Voca cheeb!" |
| voco | 1: that (present tense)
2: do you |
IV/78 ✣ One of the Geisterdamen asks another "Zo - voco cheeb?" |
| vok | the (?) | Used in the context of "Hokka? Hokka vok smek!", "hokka" being "what" and "smek" being a curse or a reference to the Jaeger version of the word "smack". |
| vola | ? | Act 2/4/48 ✣ Othar's response to the question "O-Tar feeza smet "apprentice"", "oh - vola shee shakka nezimo bozaklee" |
| volla | 1: those (past tense)
2: would you |
V/71 ✣ Used with cheeb by the Geisterdamen in the dungeon. |
| voppel | ? | |
| wok | ? | Act 2/4/11 ✣ |
| Wulfen-bok | Wulfenbach | Act 2/9/46 ✣ - given that Othar said "Wulfenbach" in Geisterspeak the previous pannel, this could be some sort of (insulting?) pun on his name. |
| yan | ? | IV/78 ✣ |
| za | the (?)/that (?) |
IV/78 ✣ , V/71 ✣ Sentences like "Za niktik eve za gwoon" make it sound like the translation of "za" must be "the." But "za!" is also used as a standalone exclamation, which wouldn't make sense with that definition. "That" would make more sense as it could mean "that (thing/person)" with the subject of the exclamation being implied by the context. As "zo" seems to mean "her" something like "ze" could mean "him". |
| zadabang | ? | Act 2/4/11 ✣ |
| zeet? | ? | Act 2/4/17 ✣ |
| zekka | ? | Act 2/4/11 ✣ |
| zenga! | ? | V/71 ✣ The word is used as an exclamation when Agatha goes into the dungeon. |
| zo | 1: she/her/hers
2: the 3: he/him/his |
IV/78 ✣ , V/72 ✣ , V/81 ✣ When Shurdlu (?) jerks her thumb in Agatha's direction and says "Zo?" she seems to be clearly asking "Her?" about Agatha. If the language has male & female nouns, za and zo may be the male and female forms of the definite article ("the"). IV/78 ✣ One of the crucial words when the Geisterdamen come across Lars and Agatha in the meadow. Act 2/4/46 ✣ Spoken by Geister in response to introduction of Gilgamesh Wulfenbach "ZO VEDIK GILGAMESH WULFEN-BOK" (and apparently in response to this) "ZO!".... This last usage might be a possessive pronoun, "HERS!", followed by Geisters hissing in disapproval. More likely, if you look at this last interaction by itself, "zo" also means he/him, so it's a neutral personal pronoun, whereas "za" is a determiner like "the" or "that". |
| zodeh | ? | Act 2/4/21 ✣ Spoken by Shurdlu right after she strikes down Zeetha. |
| Zoon | Guy | Act 2/9/46 ✣ Spoken by Geister (Eotain?) with reference to Gilgamesh Wulfenback "ZA ZOON?" From context, "This Guy?", Act 2/9/47 ✣ Spoken by Eotain, with reference to Tarvek Sturmvorus "ZA ZOON?" From context, "This Guy?", followed by laughter. This fits with the notion that za and zo are male and female forms of the definite article, with zoon being a related word. |
| zoy! | oy!; hey!; look! | V/72 ✣ Eotain and Shurdlu interject this on occasion, particularly when they notice Agatha. |
Possibly Relevant Outside Information[]
The names Eotain and Shurdlu are derived from etaoin shrdlu, the letters on the first two columns of a Linotype machine keyboard.
The word "vocca" appears here, in a page from the comic "What's New with Phil and Dixie" apparently with the meaning "attacks".
A suggested translation[]
The scene: Agatha and Lars were acting out a scene from the Heterodyne Boys when the Spider Riders show up:
Lars: Say, you're pretty good!
Agatha: Really? I never... I mean... so that's acting?
Agatha: Lars?
Lars: (whisper) shhhhh!
Lars: (whisper) geisterdamen.
Rider 1: Twerlik?
- Mistress?
Rider 2: Su Fig?
- You figure?
Rider 1: Klibber meenak seg ni plostok vedik kliz moc twerlic?
- .... very much sounds like mistress?
Rider 2: Zo-- zo flooda vedik.
- Yeah yeah greatly like.
Rider 1: Botcha hey za vedik moc, nodok.
- Betcha what they very sound like, no doubt.
(we don't see which riders are saying what in the next scene)
Rider 1?: Za niktik eve za gwoon.
- They're nothing even close they're goons.
Rider 2?: Hic moc?
- What you say?
Rider 2: Zo-- voco cheeb? Kloopa. Obongs. Set ve? Za "Actors."
- So-- your child? Clowns. Buffoons. See them. They're actors.
Rider 1: "Actors?!"
Rider 1: Woge-ze fleepin bo "actors," bin?
- What the hey. Fleepin' both actors are they?
Rider 2: Yan doh ip za cheeb.
- Far from being the child.
Rider 1: Hif ni!
- Let's be going.
| People who support this theory: | Rej¿¤¤? |
See also[]
It has been suggested Geisterspeak and Skiff may be the same language or closely related languages.