Atlaans is a constructed language I made a while ago that mixes various Germanic languages together. I love constructed languages because they allow you to play with language and to see what a language would look like if history was different. What would English look like if it weren’t for the Norman invasion? What would English look like if the Normans hadn’t lost to the French and French influence had continued?
These are the kinds of things you can mess around with by making constructed languages. Atlaans is mainly a mix of Dutch and German. I always liked the sound of Dutch and I was wondering what simplified German with Dutch pronunciation would sound like. Atlaans it the result.
To give a fun example of the language, I translated “Skyfall” by Adele into Atlaans
This is the end
Dies ar de eend
Hold your breath and count to nine
Halt deen atma en saal su neen
Feel the earth move and then
Ful de aard beveech en dan
Hear my heart burst again
Hoor meen haart ful sho jadan
For this is the end
For dies ar de eend
I’ve drowned and dreamt this moment
Ig ertrinkd en troumd dies moment
So overdue I owe them
Sho soumich ig shuld essech
Swept away, I’m stolen
Swepd vech, ig ar steeled
Let the sky fall
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles
As es krumel
We will stand tall
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
Begeen es al shuzamen
Let the sky fall
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles
As es krumel
We will stand tall
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
Begeen es al shuzamen
At skyfall
Bee himfal
That skyfall
Das himfal
Skyfall is where we start
Himfal ar wo we anfang
The distance to you is very long
De distans su dich ar gans lang
Where worlds collide and days are unclear
Wo velden slaak en dagen ar unklart
You may have my number, you can take my name
Du miech hab meen noma, du kan neem meen naam
But you’ll never have my heart
Men du wou niemal hab meen haart
Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
As es krumel
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
Begeen es al shuzamen
Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
As es krumel
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
En begeen es al shuzamen
At skyfall
Bee himfal
[x2:]
(Let the sky fall
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles
As es krumel
We will stand tall)
We wou hoch staan
Where you go I go
Wo du gaan ig gaan
What you see I see
Was du sien ig sien
I know I’d never be me
Ig vees ig wou niemal mich zeen
Without the security
Oone de zicherheet
Of your loving embrace
Fon deen liebend’ klaad
Keeping me from harm
Das halt mich fon shaad
Put your hand in my hand
Zet deen hand in meen hand
And we’ll stand
En we wou staan
Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
As es krumel
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
Begeen es al shuzamen
Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
Las de him’ fal
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
As es krumel
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
We wou hoch staan
Face it all together
Begeen es al shuzamen
At skyfall
Bee himfal
Let the sky fall
Las de him’ fal
We will stand tall
We wou staan hoch