Azkali language

Azkali (/as.kali/, [æs̻.'kali pa.tu.'a]) is a language spoken throughout much of the continents of Ukilen and Brausia, as well as across much of the rest of the world. It was the official and majority language of the Azkali State during its existance. It also is an official language in Baphia, aswell as being a large minority language throughout much of Sunteria, Jkawi, Loremesia, and Alloti.

History

The origins of the Azkali language are disputed. The leading theory is that Azkali originated in southwest Baphia, and that speakers of Proto-Azkali migrated south into the Azkali peninsula. The date of this hypothesized migration is unclear - however, most estimates place it as being ca. 6000-7000 years ago.

The oldest example of the Azkali language being written is from around 3000 BCE, in an ancient form of what is believed to be the Azkali alphabet. If true, this would make the Azkali alphabet one of the oldest extant writing systems in the world.

Phonology

Vowels

The following two tables show the vowel phonemes of the four standard Azkali dialects. These two charts do not fully represent the amount of diversity in the Azkali language; they only show the most prominent dialects. Generally, Azkali vowels are not differentiated by length.

Domestic dialects

Vowel phonemes of domestic Azkali dialects

Chekearoa Dialect	Front	Back	Otzeipao Dialect	Front	Back
Close	i	u	Close	i	u
Close-Mid	e	ɤ	Close-Mid	e̞	o
Open-Mid	ɛ	ɔ	Open-Mid
Open	a		Open	æ	ɑː

Vowel phonemes of international Azkali dialects

Sunterian Azkali	Front	Back	Allotian Azkali	Front	Back
Close	i	ʊ	Close	i	u
Close-Mid	e	ɤ̞	Close-Mid	e
Open-Mid	ɛ		Open-Mid		ɔ
Open	æ		Open	a

In addition, all of these vowel phonemes can be lengthened, either for stress, emphasis, or distinctive reasons. The latter is extremely rare, however; this is usually written as a doubling of the letter of the vowel (i.e /e:/ is written as <ee>) or the addition of an acute on the vowel letter (i.e /e:/ is written as <é>).

In addition, domestic Azkali dialects contain the close front rounded vowel, /y/. This vowel phoneme is used rarely, only in several place names, nouns, and suffixes (one common suffix containing /y/ being hü-, meaning "bad" or "wrong).

The Standard Azkali dialect bases it's vowel phonemes on the Chekearoa dialect of Azkali.

Mutated vowels

As a result of mutation, vowels often shift their pronunciation. The chart below shows their mutated forms:

Ordinary	Mutated
i	ʊ
u	ɔ
e	ɐ
ɤ	ɑ
ɛ	ʏ
ɔ	ɛ
a

Consonants

Table of consonant phonemes in Standard Azkali

		Bilabial	Alveolar			Dental	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
			Lamino Dental	Apico Alveolar	Lateral
Nasal		m		n			ɲ	ŋ
Plosive		p	t				c	k
Affricates			t̪s̻	t̺s̺	tɬ		ɕ	ɡʟ̝
Fricative	Voiceless	f	s̻	s̺	ɬ	θ	tɕ		h
	Voiced	v	z̻	z̺	dɮ	ð	dʑ
Approximant		w	ɹ̠ʷ		l		j
Tap				ɾ

Generally, Azkali dialects are uniform in their consonant phonemes - though there are of course some minor differences in pronunciation between them.

Uniquely, Azkali has a distinction between laminal and apical articulation in it's affricates and fricatives. With [s̻], the laminal alveolar voiceless fricative, friction occurs on the blade of the tongue; this is how most Ukilen and Brausian languages pronounce /s/. With [s̺], the apical alveolar voiceless fricative, friction occurs on the crest of the tongue. They are written like <z> and <s> respectively. In addition, either of these two can be voiced, being written as <zz> and <ss> respectively. These four alveolar fricatives have been historically resistant to phonological evolution, with only a few dialects pronouncing them distinctly.

Unusually for Ukilen and Brausian languages, Azkali contains no trill phoneme. There is evidence showing that Medieval Azkali might have contained [r] as a phoneme. No significant dialect of Azkali has evolved to have [r] as a phoneme.

Allophony

Rhotics

Main article: Azkali rhotic-switching

In Azkali, the two rhotic phonemes, /ɾ/ and /ɹ̠ʷ/, representing the letters <r> and <rr> respectively, often switch pronunciation. This is most evident in the Turruist register, in which the pronunciations of <r> and <rr> are virtually impossible to pronounce via spelling alone. This also occurs in Colloquial Azkali dialects, albeit to a much lesser extent. This switching is triggered oftentimes via nearby words and grammatical particles.

Orthography

Azkali alphabet

The most common way of writing Azkali in the modern age is the Azkali alphabet. Before the plague, Ukilen logographs and the Azkali alphabet were used alongside each other. However, due to the effects of the plague, the Azkali alphabet was used nearly exclusively by the Warlord Generation, with Ukilen logographs largely falling out in standard use.

Grammar

Consonant and Vowel Mutation

Consonant and vowel mutation occurs in specific grammatical and phonological scenarios in Azkali. There are three main types of mutation, both occurring in different scenarios: White Mutation (Kenaikois), Gray Mutation (Kesunokois), and Purple Mutation. (Poihekois)

White Mutation

White Mutation (Kenaikois) can be described as a form of lenition. Plosives mutate into affricates or fricatives. White Mutation occurs in the following grammatical or phonological scenarios:

• Placeholder 1
• Placeholder 2
• Placeholder 3
• Placeholder 4
• Placeholder 5

The table below shows what each consonant then mutates into:

Nouns

Noun Case

In Azkali, nouns are marked for any of 6 noun cases. Generally, they follow these forms (using the word Eche - house as an example)

Name	Word	Case	Result	Meaning
Nominative	eche	Ø	eche	house
Accusative	eche	-n	echen	house
Posessive	eche	-k	echek	house's
Dative	eche	-t	echet	to the house
Privative	eche	-z	echez	not the house's
Ablative	eche	-koz	echekoz	from the house

Verbs

Copula

Is/Etz

There are two verb forms meaning to be, is and etz.

Syntax

Word Order

The word order of Azkali in a given sentence varies by context and dialect. However, most of the time, a given Azkali sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Object word order.

Registers

Main article: Azkali registers

G'torrugh

Main article: G'torrugh

G'torrugh is a register of Azkali that is rarely discussed, much less taught or understood. The origins of this register are not known; however, it is at the very youngest 500 years old. Nowadays, the register is only used by people living within or around the town of Harakoniaz, in Southeastern Azkali, and in very specific contexts. These contexts usually are also entangled with religious events and activities, but are also used when discussing art. Generally, G'torrugh is used when expressing precise and difficult-to-explain concepts, and more novelly, new or invented concepts.

The G'torrugh register is difficult to learn for most Azkali speakers; a large amount of the colloquial register's vocabulary is replaced with words that are considered old, traditional, or out-of-style. In addition, there are several phonemes in G'torrugh that are not present in both Turruist and Colloquial Azkali - such as the glottal stop /ʔ/ and /g/.

Relation to other languages

Azkali is a language isolate, having seemingly no relation to other languages. A sister language or dialect, Ezkaudi, was spoken from around 1000 AD up until 1950: the last speaker died in 2009. Efforts to revitalize the language are ongoing, and there appears to be 2 native speakers of it as of 2016.