History of the Alarian Languages
The majority of languages that are spoken in the eastern lands of Chorus are descended from Alarian. Alarian was the language of the Alárhé, the first people to settle in the east (and in fact in the whole of Chorus) after their creation by the Hematarhé. Alarian (or technically Proto-Alarian) was the parent language of all the Eldich languages and many of them still retain a similar grammar (notably the high inflectional conjugational system) and lexicon.
From Alarian, two branches were clearly separated: West Alarian and East Alarian. These two branches were the pinicle turning point in the development of the Alarian family.
From Alarian, two branches were clearly separated: West Alarian and East Alarian. These two branches were the pinicle turning point in the development of the Alarian family.
From West Alarian came Low Alarian. This form was spoken by a more mutated form of the Alárhé who bore slightly separate features to that of the eastern race. Low Alarian eventually became Baranese, spoken obviously by the Barans. When the Baran race began to divide into two separate parts, the Kemens and the Desidos, two new languages emerged, Kemenese and Desidian.
Other Branches
Meanwhile, East Alarian (or at this point High Alarian) sprang two new languages: Elerian and Eldirian. The former was spoken by those who settled in Alarathon (the wide eastern kingdom that has dominated the East until this point) and denounced those who spoke Eldirian, who went westward to spread their religion (or variation of their religion) of Lanhar.
The tiny independent kingdom of Eleriadon appeared within Alarathon and this governed itself separately apart from the soon-to-be Eldich Empire up until the Apocalypse of Sepistania. Elerian itself produced two daughter languages: High Elerian (spoken in court, and which eventually became extinct) and Vulgar Elerian which evolved into Western and Eastern Esterish of which only the latter is spoken as a minority language in the post-civil war Eldich countries.
Meanwhile, East Alarian (or at this point High Alarian) sprang two new languages: Elerian and Eldirian. The former was spoken by those who settled in Alarathon (the wide eastern kingdom that has dominated the East until this point) and denounced those who spoke Eldirian, who went westward to spread their religion (or variation of their religion) of Lanhar.
The tiny independent kingdom of Eleriadon appeared within Alarathon and this governed itself separately apart from the soon-to-be Eldich Empire up until the Apocalypse of Sepistania. Elerian itself produced two daughter languages: High Elerian (spoken in court, and which eventually became extinct) and Vulgar Elerian which evolved into Western and Eastern Esterish of which only the latter is spoken as a minority language in the post-civil war Eldich countries.
Western Eldich Languages
From the Eldirian language, a great number of languages evolved as the Eldich Empire began to take shape. In the early years of the newly formed and united Empire (and by which time the Elds had evolved), Eldirian had become what is known throughout Chorus as Ancient Eldich. This language was the turning point in the largest part of the Eldich family tree.
After the Elds themselves had become extinct and their descendants (the Pixis, Elves, Nimves, Tree-Elvesand Water-Elves) had separated out, the Ancient Eldich language began to drift apart into separate dialects. Horrified by this, the Elves (who have always been the more fundamentalist of the Eldich Childern) declared the new Eldich Empire, and as a part of which committed the intellectuals among them to prevent the loss of the “pure” Eldich tongue.
A group of these intellectuals, who named themselves the “Aserhani” or “wordsmiths” (or as we would call them “linguists”), studied the language and wrote the first grammar of High Eldich, along with which was a script constructed called the “Nalid” or “dance of the pen”. Pleased with the new prescriptivist rules and pronunciation, the Elves implemented a strict education system within which only the High Eldich grammar was taught, and left very little room for linguistic variation.
However, after the fall of the Eldich Empire during the Eldich Civil War, this strict and oppressive regime was smashed to pieces and thus the end of the colloquial use of High Eldich. The breakdown of the language was slow, developing into Middle Eldich which included a large amount of grammatical simplification. After a while Middle Eldich, which until that point had been a kind of lingua franca throughout the old Eldich Empire, began to split into two languages: Vulgar Eldich and Eastern Eldich.
From the Eldirian language, a great number of languages evolved as the Eldich Empire began to take shape. In the early years of the newly formed and united Empire (and by which time the Elds had evolved), Eldirian had become what is known throughout Chorus as Ancient Eldich. This language was the turning point in the largest part of the Eldich family tree.
After the Elds themselves had become extinct and their descendants (the Pixis, Elves, Nimves, Tree-Elvesand Water-Elves) had separated out, the Ancient Eldich language began to drift apart into separate dialects. Horrified by this, the Elves (who have always been the more fundamentalist of the Eldich Childern) declared the new Eldich Empire, and as a part of which committed the intellectuals among them to prevent the loss of the “pure” Eldich tongue.
A group of these intellectuals, who named themselves the “Aserhani” or “wordsmiths” (or as we would call them “linguists”), studied the language and wrote the first grammar of High Eldich, along with which was a script constructed called the “Nalid” or “dance of the pen”. Pleased with the new prescriptivist rules and pronunciation, the Elves implemented a strict education system within which only the High Eldich grammar was taught, and left very little room for linguistic variation.
However, after the fall of the Eldich Empire during the Eldich Civil War, this strict and oppressive regime was smashed to pieces and thus the end of the colloquial use of High Eldich. The breakdown of the language was slow, developing into Middle Eldich which included a large amount of grammatical simplification. After a while Middle Eldich, which until that point had been a kind of lingua franca throughout the old Eldich Empire, began to split into two languages: Vulgar Eldich and Eastern Eldich.
From Vulgar Eldich, two dialects descended: Common Eldich and Valian. The former began was a generally understood language throughout all the Eldich countries and thus became the lingua franca, although it also was the official language of the News Pixis or “Lothani” country of Lothiton. Its grammar and phonology hardly differs from that of Vulgar of even Middle Eldich. Valian however, although grammatical very similar, differs largely phonologically, (for example: ʒ > z) and was spoken by the New Water-Elves or “Vali” in the northern parts of Eldich lands.
Eastern Eldich Languages
Eastern Eldich broke in many different languages. It is better to consider Easter Eldich as a sub-family rather than a language itself as there wasn’t really common language in the Eastern half of the language as the dialects were already really in place.
The three main and central languages within the Eastern countries were Vengelian, Vasorian and Balatian spoken by those who had descended from the Elves. These three had many grammatical features in common, such as the definite articles and a mass simplification of grammatical cases. Verbs however did not change as much, yet still a lot more simpler than that of High Eldich.
The two south-western languages, Talán and Merian, were the official languages in two kingdoms which had extended from the occupation of the Nimves during the Civil War. Unlike their central cousins, they retain the majority of the grammatical cases, but with a much simpler verbal conjugation, which only conjugate for number and tense. However, as with the central languages, articles developed as well.
Thidish was the language descended from the Tree-Elves dialect of High Eldich (the majority of whom were destroyed by the Dragons from Vasoria). Although most of the Thidish people went west to find a new home and evolved into the Treemen (whose language became West Thidish), those who remained in the Kingdom found their language changing into East Thidish. Both are very distinct dialects: West Thidish possessing a phonology influenced from the Elhian languages (whose phonology was similar to that of slavic), whereas East Thidish retained much of the usual sounds of the other Eastern Eldich languages.
A key minority language was Twari. This was the tongue which evolved from the Nimves who had remained in their home country during the civil war. Occupying a tiny strip of land, Twari was a language that developed a very unique grammar away from all the other forms, including the use of a tripersonal conjugational system and the complete loss of grammatical case.
Eastern Eldich broke in many different languages. It is better to consider Easter Eldich as a sub-family rather than a language itself as there wasn’t really common language in the Eastern half of the language as the dialects were already really in place.
The three main and central languages within the Eastern countries were Vengelian, Vasorian and Balatian spoken by those who had descended from the Elves. These three had many grammatical features in common, such as the definite articles and a mass simplification of grammatical cases. Verbs however did not change as much, yet still a lot more simpler than that of High Eldich.
The two south-western languages, Talán and Merian, were the official languages in two kingdoms which had extended from the occupation of the Nimves during the Civil War. Unlike their central cousins, they retain the majority of the grammatical cases, but with a much simpler verbal conjugation, which only conjugate for number and tense. However, as with the central languages, articles developed as well.
Thidish was the language descended from the Tree-Elves dialect of High Eldich (the majority of whom were destroyed by the Dragons from Vasoria). Although most of the Thidish people went west to find a new home and evolved into the Treemen (whose language became West Thidish), those who remained in the Kingdom found their language changing into East Thidish. Both are very distinct dialects: West Thidish possessing a phonology influenced from the Elhian languages (whose phonology was similar to that of slavic), whereas East Thidish retained much of the usual sounds of the other Eastern Eldich languages.
A key minority language was Twari. This was the tongue which evolved from the Nimves who had remained in their home country during the civil war. Occupying a tiny strip of land, Twari was a language that developed a very unique grammar away from all the other forms, including the use of a tripersonal conjugational system and the complete loss of grammatical case.