Sonkotrow, Sun's Song

I, who have studied hundreds of languages over the centuries of my existence, have never learned Sonkotrow. I can't say why, other than a religious language is not as interesting to me as one spoken by empires centuries ago. Sonkotrow, as an experience, has more to do with quiet reverence and contemplation, than orders screamed on a battlefield or incantations used for an intricate spell. I find the latter more intriguing. Still, I envy Vantra for knowing it. She can converse with syimlin and intone powerful spells through those words. She could use arcane ritual runes in her Mental Touch--if she ever gets over her fear of failure and attempts to learn how.

--Lorgan, your experienced linguist

Sonkotrow

by your experienced scholar,
Lorgan the Linguist In this Research Document:

all images by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated

History

Sonkotrow's storied history isn't all that interesting. We have no previous language from which it developed, nor are the myriad of past and current languages spoken on Talis and in the Evenacht descended from it. The religious revere it for this and consider it a holy language unmarked by mortal tongues. Syimlin don't discuss its history, but Sun priests and priestesses claim that it's Ga Son's native language, which is why they call it Sun's Song. And, since no one is certain who Ga Son's native people were, that's as good an explanation as any, as to where it came from.

Ga Son, Syimlin of Sun, is a strange individual. All religions, past and present, on the planet of Sensour have had one sun deity, and it's him. On Talis, he's the one who created the syimlin mantles, who asked Death to grant the Gift of Life to the deities. He's the one that no syimlin dares defy. He has been around since before scholars put pen to paper and recorded oral traditions. So it may be that his native tongue is Sonkotrow, but if so, who are those he spoke it with?

background by Zukiman Mohamad

Ga Son, Syimlin of Sun

Ancient faelareign religions tested the faith of their leaders by having them give Sonkotrow sermons. Those who evoked emotion in their listeners, whether those beings understood the language or not, whether they followed the religion or not, were raised up, while those who failed found their support evaporating. Vantra says her mother is one of the former. When she speaks, joy flows from her and into the crowds who hear her. Sun Spiral Temple would welcome visitors whose only purpose was to listen to her mother sing. I've heard many a religious adherent speak Sonkotrow, and have never experienced the emotions others have. I would much like to meet Kasoris when she enters the Evenacht and discuss Sonkotrow with her. The linguist in me has many, many questions.

The Language

Adherents and the non-religious alike view Sonkotrow as a serene language. It flows from the tongue like gentle waves flow in a wide river. In religious services, beings say they feel joy when someone speaks it. This feeling is especially potent for Sun followers, who liken it to basking in the sun's rays during early morning. I find it fascinating, that hearing a language they don't know evokes emotions and memories in faelareign. It seems that, for the religious, the holy words hold a lot more than just sounds. This is why so many religious texts and so much religious magic on Talis uses the language. And that magic is powerful. A single intoned phrase can destroy a building in a firestorm (as Sun priest Vestas did to the Meigny emperor's palace, despite the fact it was under a dryan waterdome and coated in defensive shields). The religious claim that one must have unwavering faith in their syimlin to use the intonations to devastate enemies, but I think maaay-beee being the child of a syimlin has something to do with it (Vestas was rumored to be the son of Earth five times removed from our current one, Gapp Keobo). Many other religious tales and historical documents hint children of deities can use intonations from Sonkotrow to devastating or joyous effect.

Intonation

Intonations in Sonkotrow carry a potent force with them opposite how the words sound. A gentle utterance can force wind to tear up a field or bring unmitigated joy to a mob. Religious leaders have used them for both good and ill, and because of the potential for harm, governments often make intonations using the language illegal. They see it as a way to mitigate religious power. They don't normally raid temples to prevent its use, however--historically, that's a bad, bad look. Intonations are far more common in the Evenacht than in Talis, for the simple reason that ghosts who did not have magic abilities while alive have to use them while dead. Since a ghost is powered by magic, intonations are the simplest way for the previously unmagical to learn how to manipulate essences and understand Touch. They use common words to command power, and progress from there. Because of this, the restrictions on using Sonkotrow intonations are less severe, and it's more widely used, especially in religious circles.

Sonkotrow intonations are scripted phrases. Not every word one mutters holds power, nor should it (would make normal speaking of the language useless). These phrases combine words not commonly used together and tend to leave out conjunctions and articles. Speakers can research their own intonations, but they usually fail. The phrases are ancient in origin, so it may be, past scholars already mined the language for working ones, and what we have is it. This is odd, since intonations in other languages focus one's magic will and intent. The phrases in Sonkotrow hold power on their own (and combined with one's will and intent, it makes those intonations potent in the right hands).

Runes

Sonkotrow currently has an alphabet made up of 36 characters. The runes do not use these characters; in fact, the look and feel of the symbols are completely different. The current alphabet has more lines (a nymph influence, I'm sure), while the runes contain more curves. There are 147 runic ideographs, that, in combination, form the words. The history of runes associated with Sonkotrow is shrouded in mystery. Scholars are not sure where they came from; my guess is that they are descended from the original way native speakers wrote the language. Their first documented use on Talis is from a now-lost, undated nymph religious text that listed the combinations needed to manipulate rain for crops. Which runes achieved this miraculous feat are lost to the past, though many researchers have attempted to recreate them with no success. Ancient ghosts who study languages recall other books detailing runes and helpful combinations, but if they still exist, the Evenacht's religious authorities have them secreted away in a library's restricted access shelves. The oldest manuscript available to researchers dates to 25,876 years previous. An elfine Sun acolyte kept notes about their runic research on the edges of their requiem, scribbling out the amalgamations that did not work; oddly, a few of those misses are in current use. Does that mean runic combinations can stop working? Or was the acolyte not as sophisticated a magic user as they thought? Nowadays, knowledge and use of the runes are left to syimlin and religious practitioners, and few employ them. Why? On top of wielding great magic power, one must also understand advanced topics like planar combination theory and warped demarcation to activate them. Such requires years and years of focused study. I suppose that's for the best; intonations based on Sonkotrow are powerful but runes can be catastrophic--like sinking a peninsula into the ocean catastrophic. For all of us, it's a good thing runes are so hard to use.

Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2024

Answering: "Slang or a language associated with a religion or belief"

Visit Kwyn Marie's Competition Page Check all other answers to this prompt Competition Homepage

Comments

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Grandmaster Blue Fairy 74

Aug 17, 2024 06:53

Contrary to what I expected, your language article does not consist of the usual sounds, words, grammar, etc., but you describe wonderfully how the language feels when you hear it and how it must be spoken in order to have its powerful effect. Very well done article and I would love to hear it spoken sometime.

Summer Camp is back! Rippling waves lead you to my answers of this year's prompts.

Eternal Sage Kwyn Marie

Aug 17, 2024 19:04 by Kwyn Marie

I haven't done much with Sonkotrow yet because Vantra's trying to avoid learning more about magic, because, as Lorgan says above, she's afraid of failure. But I think it would be cool, to have a clip attached to this article about how it sounds. Thank you for all the comments. It's making me think about things and adding neat stuff to my articles <3