Azkali language

Azkali (Azkali, Azkali Patua /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. A majority of the speakers of the Azkali language reside outside of Azkali, primarily due to immigration following the 1980 plague outbreak. Most of these "international Azkali speakers" reside in Alloti.

Azkali is a language isolate, with no relationship to any other language (aside from the dialect or sister-language of Ezkaudi) having been concretely proven. It is one of, if not the only surviving language isolate in Ukilen. The current most substantiated theory on the origin of the Azkali peoples is that the progenitors of the Azkali peoples resided in northeastern Baphia. Other theories claim a multitude of homelands, from northern Sunteria to the northernmost islands of Loremesia.

Azkali is the native language of approximately 64.76% of Azkali.

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.

Syllable structure

Generally, Azkali syllables are (C)(C)V(C). Very few consonants can cluster with each other, even when crossing syllable boundaries. The table below shows what consonants can cluster with each other.

Consonant clusters in Azkali

	s̻	s̺	z̻	z̺	t̪s̻	t̺s̺	n
s̻							ns̻
s̺							ns̺
t	s̻t	s̺t	z̻t	z̺t
k	s̻k	s̺k	z̻k	z̺k	t̪s̻k	t̺s̺k

Oftentimes, schwa (/ə/) is inserted between consonant clusters in certain dialects. However, most domestic Azkali dialects (aswell as Standard Azkali) do not do this.

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, all occurring in different scenarios: White Mutation (Kenaikois), Gray Mutation (Kesunokois), and Purple Mutation. (Poihekois) Mutation is not usually reflected in the spelling of the word of which is mutated.

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:

• After possessive pronouns
• After the numerals three, four, and eight (iriu, madhet, and ashti respectively)
• Conditional verbs
• The conjunction "if" (moik)

The table below shows what each consonant then mutates into:

White mutations

Plain	Mutated
p	pɸ
t	ts
c	cç
k	kx
t̪s̻	s̻
t̺s̺	s̺
f	h
s̻
s̺
ɬ
θ
tɕ
h	Ø

Only the first sound of the mutated word is pronounced differently as a result of mutation. Sounds that are not on this chart do not face mutation.

Pronouns

T-V Distinction

While Standard Azkali does not feature a true T-V distinction, there is a growing trend of using new invented pronouns to distinguish familiarity or respect. This trend started in the 1970s, following the establishment of the Azkali State. These pronouns usually change between region, city, or neighborhood - however, generally, they follow the forms listed in the following chart. Respective pronouns use the standard pronouns.

Familiar pronouns

	2nd	3rd
Nominative	juli	luikui
Accusative	julen	luikien
Dative	juliet	luitu
Ablative	jukiz	luiz
Possessive	jeuk	luikiz
Privative	jukez	luimez

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns differentiate between all 6 cases and the singular and plural numbers. Notably, paucal numbers are expressed the same as plural numbers for pronouns: the origin of this rule is unknown. The personal pronouns feature some irregularity in case and number compared to other nouns.

	Singular					Plural
	1st	2nd	3rd			1st	2nd	3rd
			Male	Female	Epicene
Nominative	go	tu	mai	kut	hakel	gok	tuk	keilek
Accusative	goen	tuen	mein	kun	haken	gon	tunen	kein
Dative	goet	tuet	mait	kuit	haket	gonet	tuneut	keiket
Ablative	gokoz	tukoz	maikoz	kuhoz	hakez	goinoz	tuenoz	kaikoz
Possessive	goek	tuek	maik	kuek	hakeik	gonek	tunek	keike
Privative	goz	tukoz	maiz	kuiz	hakaiz	gonoz	tuneuz	kakaiz

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

Number

There are three grammatical numbers in Azkali. They are the singular, paucal, and plural. Uniquely, pronouns only decline for the singular and plural numbers; paucal groups take the plural marker. The singular number is not marked. The paucal number is marked with -(a)tz. The plural number, meanwhile, is usually marked with -(e)k. All markers are placed at the end of the noun, with all other markings in the noun being placed before the number marking.

The paucal and plural numbers take slightly different forms based on what, if any case precedes them. The table below lists their forms:

	Paucal	Plural
Nominative	-etz	-ek
Accusative		-ak
Possessive	-otz
Dative	-utz
Privative	-eutz	-ek
Ablative	-autz	-auk

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. A given Azkali sentence usually follows a Subject-Verb-Object word order. However, the word order is much freer than in other Ukilen languages. The role of the noun is mostly determined by its position within the sentence - e.g. the most salient topic within the sentence is shifted to the front, and visa versa.

Dialects

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.