Tithri language
Muwag (muwag es-ne, pronunciation: [mu.ʋˤɑg ɛs.n̪e]) is an Ukilen language spoken in the country of Foi. It is [one of the?] the official language in Foi, and has approximately 16 million native speakers.
Being part of the Ukilen language family, it is related to the Baphian languages, Kzmr, and Jkawi. Muwag is arguably the most innovative language in the language family, having features that are not found elsewhere. Muwag has significantly changed both phonologically and grammatically.
Most vocabulary in Muwag is derived from Proto-Ukilen, but many words have been taken from a substrate language called Pre-Muwag. There are also words from Loremese.
Name of the language and etymology
The name Muwag can be traced back to Proto-Ukilen, from a noun *mubawa 'water'. The inflection that the name is derived from is the inanimate genitive singular declension of *mubawa, i.e. *mubawa-ga:ʒ. This translates to 'of the water'.
Many native speakers of the language say that the reason why the name of the language is Muwag is because the speakers of the language have always been near water. This is the leading consensus among linguists and historians.
History
Like other Ukilen languages, the Muwag language is a descendent of Proto-Ukilen. The language was brought to the territory of modern-day Foi by migration via boats. Due to this isolation from other Ukilen languages, the language developed without any Ukilen influences.
Based upon historic and lexical evidence, it is assumed that there was a language spoken before the Old Muwag speakers became predominant in the area of modern-day Foi. Historical linguists have given this unattested language the name of Pre-Muwag. The main evidence for the existence of this language is due to the presence of an initial /ʃ/ or /ʒ/ in many words.
Comparison with other Ukilen languages has made it easier to see if words are from Proto-Ukilen or Pre-Muwag.
| Proto-Ukilen | Muwag | Kzmr | Jkawi | Turku Baphian | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *tuðɹhe | [dulʲ] | [tɵ̞ðr̩] | [tu.ˈɾe] | [tiɭ.ˈje] | 'language' |
| *dogɑʃ | [za] | [dɵ̞ɢoȿ] | [do.ˈgas] | [dɑ.ˈgos] | 'bird' |
| *mubawa | [vɑʋˤ] | [mɵ̞bu] | [mu.ˈbau̯] | [mu.ˈbe.ve] | 'water' |
Geographical distribution
Muwag is the primary and official language of Foi, with it being the only place with a majority of Muwag speakers. It is estimated that Muwag has around 16 million native speakers.
The largest concentration of Muwag speakers is in the capital city of Foi, Žar.