Old Tongue
Old Tongue, originally known as Sidereal, is the language spoken by the Leru that ruled Koru until the Kataroth. It was the only language spoken in the Overworld throughout the many millennia of the First Age (except in areas of Katşaska domination where Draconic was used). During that time it underwent almost no linguistic drift due to the very low birthrate. Starting in the Second Age, the dramatic rise in both birth and death rates meant that the language quickly fragmented into thousands of varieties that soon became mutually unintelligible.
While Old Tongue is still used today by some priests of the Korsamu as a liturgical language, few other mortals can speak it.
The daughter languages of Old Tongue are known as the New Tongues (and occasionally as the Sidereal Languages by those who believe in Old Tongue's legendary extraterrestrial origins).
Significant Members of New Tongue:
Niru:- Akaian - the language of Akai which gave rise to Golmaran.
- Gombora - the language of the Gombora of Njouelo.
- Gudjúmbî - the language of the Gudjúmbî of Ngâmbi
- Itah - the language of the Rokari ork tribes; actually a language continuum with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility; now spoken in much of the Eleyhan heartland
- Modairoan - the language of Modairo. A sister language to Akai
- Naka - a group of languages spoken by the humans of the Djenagwi basin. It is fading away in favor of Dewor, but it can still be heard in rural areas.
- Neruaan - the language of the Empire of Eleyha. Once spoken throughout much of Niru and Thovan, it is now only spoken in a few regions; however it is studied by many scribes and loremasters for the purposes of reading, copying, or translating old books and documents from the Age of Law.
- Obwe - the language of the Obwe orks, most now speak Dewor, but some still use their traditional language
- Supago - the language of the Supago of Wakámbé
- Wáláme - The language of the Wáládji of Wálában.
- Dzvari - the language spoken by the nomadic horsefolk of the great Thovani steppe.
- Giantish - the various giant civilizations all shared a common language
- Golmaran - a daughter of Akaian
- Kadamis - the language of the Kadamis orks (actually a wide variety of dialects, but they have been largely standardized under Kodesos.
Writing System
Old Tongue is written using a logographic script comprising thousands of pleremic, cenemic, and determinative characters. In the case of pleremic characters, the shape is abstract and represents the spiritual resonance of the thing denoted.
Phonology
Vowels:
Consonants:
Syllable Structure:
CVC
| i | u | |
| e | å | o |
| a |
| p | t | k | |||||
| b | d | g | |||||
| f | th | s | ş | h | |||
| v | dh | z | j | ||||
| m | n | ng | |||||
| r | |||||||
| l | |||||||
| w | y | (w) |
Morphology
Inflectional Morphology:
Verbs are created by inflecting a noun to agree with its subject or by adding the suffix -ku. Verbs can be inflected to agree with the direct object as well, but this is only done when the direct object is unnamed. E.g. Ikthåzanen is "I hate you" (1.sg=hate=2.sg) but Ikthåzan utinthasa is "I hate swamps" (1.sg=hate swamp=plural).
Pluralization: pluralization is done by adding the suffix -sa to a noun. The s is elided when suffixed onto a word ending in a coronal fricative (e.g. Aşa or "gods" comes from aş + sa).
Syntax
Order of Arguments: free with an direct/inverse system based on Animacy
Order of Adjectives: Adjectives follow the noun they describe.
Vocabulary
Derivational Affixes:
- -samu: those who have
- -ormu: one who has
- -ta: place
- -ath: -less/without (e.g. zuriath - without breath, breathless from zuri "breath")
- -vo: adjectival suffix
- dh-/dho-: adjectival prefix
- Sar-/sa-: nominal prefix (for adjectives)
- N-/No-: nominal prefix (affixed to a noun, changes the meaning of the noun)
- -ek: of/from [the noun it's suffixed to]
- -sin: habitual
- -ha: completed
- -ku: imperative mood
- ik: 1st person singular
- en: 2nd person singular
- van: 3rd person singular
- ya: 1st person plural inclusive
- ar: 1st person plural exclusive
- bo: 2nd person plural
- mo: 3rd person plural
Tenses
Old Tongue has no tenses but can mark things as completed. Incomplete things are unmarked. The habitual aspect is usually treated as incomplete but can be paired with the completed suffix as well.
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