Yan-La
Yan-La is the language spoken by the Khangka tribes of the Kyonyita Desert. It is not related to any known languages aside from Yan-Unán, which is a highly local dialect, spoken nearby in Ununanun. It is categorized as a head-final, synthetic-fusional language, with a high degree of morphological complexity and relatively free word order (although the "typical" word order is SVO).
For a full description of Yan-La, see the following PDF
Writing System
Yan-La uses a syllabaric writing system which has been designed for secrecy. Due to the Khangka tribes' desire to remain undetected in the grand scope of world politics, the writing system is practically invisible to those who have not been trained to see it. It works by carving straight and diagonal lines in rock faces, in such a way that they would seem like natural geological striations to the untrained eye. See the writing sample below for an example of this style.
Phonology
The phonology of Yan-La is neither overly complex nor boringly simple. Its phonemic inventory is of an average size, containing 10 consonants and 4 vowels, with no diphthongs. A long list of allophonic rules allows for a much more complex phonetic inventory, which, combined with its (F)(C)V(N) syllable structure, gives the language a substantial variety of sounds and syllables from which to choose.
Morphology
Yan-La has incredibly complex morphology, consisting mainly of series of affixes. It has four grammatical numbers, a three-tiered system for animacy/inanimacy, nine grammatical cases, and various miscellaneous features which deepen its morphological complexity.
Syntax
In contrast to its morphology, the syntax of Yan-La is very simple. It expects a basic word order of SVO, but this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Free word order is allowed in most scenarios, especially in song and poetry. One peculiar feature of Yan-La's syntax is its four-tiered system for evidentiality.
Phonetics
The phonemic inventory of Yan-La is as follows:
Yan-La contains a variety of allophonic rules, which gives rise to a phonetic inventory that is much larger than its phonemic inventory:
Tenses
Yan-La has only two tenses: past and present. Future actions are expressed with adverbial or prepositional phrases, typically postpositional to the entire verbal phrase which they modify (although this is not a strict rule due to the near free word order of Yan-La).
Adjective Order
Yan-La is a head-final language, so adjectives typically precede the nouns which they modify. Where multiple adjectives occur, they are typically arranged in order of alienability. For example, inalienable qualities such as height and hair color occur closest to the noun, while alienable qualities such as wealth or social status would precede them.
Common Male Names
Paszu, Khuba,
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