User blog:Fauxlosophe/Sphaera- A Geneology Part II

ii. Eastern Languages and their Origins

Here we will expand into an area outside of my own expertise, the geography and peoples of the east. However, working with my limited knowledge of their languages some basic outline might be sketched.

The Eramos Group

The Eralih often consider themselves more central to the other nations, yet their relations linguistically fall much closer to the Eastern Languages relationwise. An additional division could be made between the Eastern and Central languages, but then both categories would seem rather brief. Eralih is known largely for the complicated declension and tenses system which appears foreboding to learners. This same system is mirrored largely within the Dussarit language, along with several cognates, marking them as close siblings though too far separated to be considered dialects of a common language by any stretch of the imagination. There are also numberous border dialects, the most notable of which is Iestahru, which shows many traits of both languages but seems to fall closer to Dussarit in terms of phonology while vocabulary seems to draw on both eastern dialects of Eralih and Northern Dussarit without much favour one way or the other.
 * Eralih
 * Dussarit
 * Ietsahru

The Hainic Group

The frigid north is home to a wide variety of languages, most of which are related to the Saremitas tongue of the East, though only to varying degrees. In this Northern language group, there are a few striking similarities to the Central Languages. The lack of diaphongs and vowel length, in particular as well as a similarly complex system of declensions and tenses show there to be a great deal of similarity between the two languages. The question remains however, whether this is a recent development or a later one.

Tal

Though a much weakened language, there seems to be strong cause to believe that the Tal language is ultimately derived from a dialect of Saremitas or another Northern clan. It is also possible that it is related to Eralih or a third branch to a common family of languages. However, these are at best speculation, aided no more by the limit of available Tal material and speakers to the West.

Meiya

Meiyan language has numerous Southern dialects, the largest of which is Chilai in the extreme east. However, three centuries as a single Empire has done a great deal to uniformalize them towards the standardized dialect which is spoken in what is now known as Shenlin. Chilai seems to have more archiac forms and sounds that were mostly dropped in modern Meiya. Coastal dialects are the most varied while inland dialects either sound very similar to Chilai or else to Meiya, however outside of the Chilai themselves, most speakers identify themselves as Meiyan regardless of their actual dialect and the large gap between them. Thus, while Meiyan might qualify almost as a language family unto itself, a single source of eduation as well as a lack of identity in these smaller groups keep Meiya, which includes Chilai language, considered as a single tongue rather than several.

Viha

Viha is an isolate language as there are few others bearing any similarity to it. In particular, the heavy use of fricatives is something many listeners find off putting. Especially when trying to read it transcribbed into the characters of other languages which do not have the symbols to represent these fricative sounds comfortably. There is a strong relation with Meiya, including many loan words and a similar system of vowels, however there is little to no doubt that Viha is their own language. Considering the uniqueness of both, there is potentially some relation with Kerghen but this seems unlikely.

Zewani

Zewani derives largely from Zewan which was largely an oddity in its time. One possibility is a strane relation to Huon, implying they were a single language at on point whih then migrated in different directions or were at least clost enough to exchange loan words and sounds early in their development. However this is unsupported and separation has been long enough to errode most obvious connections; it is entirely possible that the Zewani are another isolate who were ruled over by the ancestors, or else distant relatives, of the Huon. It is also possible that they were merely trade partners or allies but some relationship seems likely. If there is no relation, then it is possible that the Zewani are a similar early people of Sphaera who like the Viha were driven into the forests upon the arrival of the later waves, such as the Eralih and Meiya. Within its region however, it is certainly an oddity, especially if we accept Kerghen and Viha as typical early languages of Sphaera.

Original Text by: Rúlán Mhedharuc

Translation by : Your Truly.