Argentian Common

Argentian Common is spoken primarily in Argenthold, especially in the Upper City and Ironward District, but has spread across Nyxis is as a trade and administrative language.

Argentian Common favors crisp, precise sounds that reflect its utilitarian origins within the industrial and magickal framework of Argenthold.

• Consonants: /k/, /t/, /d/, /r/, /s/, /z/, /f/, /v/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /g/, /ʃ/ (sh), /ʒ/ (zh).
• Vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, with occasional diphthongs like /ai/ and /ou/.
• Special Sounds: A guttural "gh" /ɣ/, used in formal or ancient words, signifies heritage.

Argentian Common is moderately synthetic, employing suffixes and prefixes to modify meaning.

• Prefixes: Indicate time or intensity (e.g., ka- for past, su- for future).
• Suffixes: Add plurality (-in), gender (-is for feminine, -on for masculine), and formality (-ek for honorifics).
• Compound words are frequent in industrial and magical contexts (e.g., volithaether for an Aether-powered airship).

Word Order: Subject-Object-Verb (e.g., “The inventor the machine fixed”).

Modifiers: Adjectives precede nouns, while adverbs follow verbs.

Questions: Formed by adding the prefix qa- to the verb.

Argentian Common incorporates both native and loanwords from Aetherian and lower-class dialects, reflecting the cultural blending of Argenthold.

• Heavy use of mechanical and magickal lexicons:
• Volith (airship)
• Zerath (artifact)
• Kalth (machine)

Key Sounds:

• /ʃ/ (sh): Common in polite speech.
• /ɣ/ (gh): Reserved for formal or ceremonial words.
• /z/ (soft "s"): Signals refinement or technical precision.

Past: Prefix ka- (e.g., ka-dorath = “studied”).

Present: No prefix (e.g., dorath = “study”).

Future: Prefix su- (e.g., su-dorath = “will study”).

Declarative: Subject-Object-Verb.

• Example: The scholar the artifact repaired.

Questions: Prefix qa- + Verb.

• Example: Qa-dorath zerath? (“Studied the artifact?”).

Adjectives follow a specific hierarchy:

• Quantity (e.g., three)
• Quality (e.g., glowing)
• Color (e.g., green)
• Purpose (e.g., magickal)

Example: Three glowing green magickal crystals → Thar elana virid aethera zerathin.

Plurality: Suffix -in (e.g., volith = airship, volithin = airships).

Formality: Suffix -ek added to names or titles for respect.