Sanemi Language

The Sanemi Language, often simply referred to with its endonym of seSanemi, is a language spoken in central-southwestern Kylorne, and primarily the Kingdom of Sanemi, where it is the most common and sole official language. It is the largest, most well-known, and most widely distributed of the Semantu languages.

Distribution
The language is primarily spoken among the main ethnic groups of Sanemi on the continent of Bazwebwe, minus the Habewa, who speak the related siBewa language. It is found mostly in the central and southern regions of Sanemi, except where the Kice-Muqolo languages are spoken, and in many Sanemi diaspora communities as well. One of the largest of these diaspora communities, primarily comprised of ethnic Enka, live among Bilgewater's Buccaneers, to the east of Sanemi on the continent of Lazzeatir.

History
The various Semantu peoples resided in the region of western Bazwebwe for millennia; some of the earliest written records on the continent are written in seNkond'ola Olanwezi- the earliest known Semantu language, and date back approximately 3100 years. Various early Semantu languages likely existed alongside seNkond'ola, but have since gone extinct.

The southern Semantu languages appeared to have gained click consonants through contact with the nomadic Kice-Muqolo peoples; the former do not distinguish between the consonants as much as the latter do, and use them much less frequently. However, the northern siBewa language, despite heavy overlap with seSanemi in the modern day, still does not use them.

The Sanemi language itself appears to have arisen initially as a pidgin between late seNkondo and siShani, forming during the Sifisine Wars and the earliest few years of the Sanemi state existing. The term "seSanemi" came into existence about 200 years BKS, midway between the kingdom's founding and its collapse at the beginning of the Kylorne Tribal Period.

Phonology
The trill /r/ is not native to all seSanemi dialects, and with the exception of expressive words and in loanwords, it is often simply pronounced /l/. Similarly, some may pronounce /ʨ/ and /ʧ/ the same.

The use of click consonants is one of the most distinctive features of seSanemi. This feature is shared with the Kice-Muqolo languages of western Bazwebwe, but it is very rare in other regions. There are three basic articulations of clicks in seSanemi:


 * Denti-alveolar /ǀ/, comparable to a sucking of teeth, as the sound one makes for 'tsk tsk'.
 * Postalveolar /!/, comparable to a bottle top 'pop'.
 * Lateral /ǁ/, comparable to a click that one may do for a walking horse.