Elissian [ELS]
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Registered by
[Deactivated User] on 6 September 2016
Language type
Artistic Language (Artlang)
Species
Human/humanoid
About Elissian
Elissian is a fantasy language in an earth-like pre-industrial world. The Imasu Clans are an isolated group by choice; they live in a protected cove where they have developed the first pearl farming technology. They guard this technology and their location closely. As pearls are the main currency in much of the northern country, this provides them a source of income through trade, by which they also acquire most of their food and other goods. There are two clans, supposedly descended from twin brothers. One clan lives on an island city in the middle of the cove, and the second lives in the cave complex throughout the cliffs.
The culture is highly religious and symbolic. Frequent symbols are water, the ocean and its judgment deity Mala-Skaa, naga (snake people) that are thought to be demi-gods, pearls, the colors white and blue, and the ceremonial spear. Their scriptures include the story of the clans discovering the cove, the naga teaching them how to dive for pearls, and the eventual feud between two different factions over who would control the island city. They await the prophesied daughter of Mala-Skaa, who will use the ceremonial spear to deliver judgment and choose the worthy tribe.
Eventually, I plan for three different dialects:
High Elissian, a ceremonial language, has changed little over time, due to the preserving influence of Scripture. It is characterized by complex grammar and register, voiceless fricatives with length distinction, and a liquid, singsong prosody full of breathy vowels. The other two dialects are more practical, and are derived from ceremonial Elissian. They are used in the cliff tribe and the island tribe respectively. In these dialects, some vocabulary is borrowed through trading, mostly for foreign goods, but only the trading class actually has contact with other languages, so this process is slow.
The culture is highly religious and symbolic. Frequent symbols are water, the ocean and its judgment deity Mala-Skaa, naga (snake people) that are thought to be demi-gods, pearls, the colors white and blue, and the ceremonial spear. Their scriptures include the story of the clans discovering the cove, the naga teaching them how to dive for pearls, and the eventual feud between two different factions over who would control the island city. They await the prophesied daughter of Mala-Skaa, who will use the ceremonial spear to deliver judgment and choose the worthy tribe.
Eventually, I plan for three different dialects:
High Elissian, a ceremonial language, has changed little over time, due to the preserving influence of Scripture. It is characterized by complex grammar and register, voiceless fricatives with length distinction, and a liquid, singsong prosody full of breathy vowels. The other two dialects are more practical, and are derived from ceremonial Elissian. They are used in the cliff tribe and the island tribe respectively. In these dialects, some vocabulary is borrowed through trading, mostly for foreign goods, but only the trading class actually has contact with other languages, so this process is slow.
Sample of ElissianCan't find any yet.
Phonology
| Consonants | Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveolo- palatal | Palatal | Labio- velar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | Other | ||||||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | t | d | k | g | |||||||||||||||
| Fricative | s | ʂ | ɕ | ç | x | χ | h | |||||||||||||
| Affricate | t͡ɬ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Approximant | ʍ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Flap | ɾ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vowels | Front | Central | Back | |||
| Close | i | y | u | |||
| Close-mid | e | |||||
| Mid | ə | |||||
| Open-mid | ɛ | |||||
| Near-open | ɐ | |||||
