Serronan languages

The Lausán languages are a language family native to most of Lausá - a geographical and political region of Serrona. Today however, Lausán languages can be found across much of Serrona and other regions of Eldham including Valresh and Leifmyrr.

The most spoken languages in the family today include the many dialects of Lo'Oi and Mari, as well as other smaller languages like Kolsson or Eldurlac.

Origins and Proto-Lausán
It is believed that the origin of the the Lausán languages may come from Eastern Serrona as far back as 40,000 years ago. What the language(s) may have looked like at this time is near impossible to estimate as a consequence of no functional writing system existing prior to Rathnirian colonization in Eldham. What is known however, is that by around 3,500 years ago a language today known as 'Proto-Lausán' was being spoken all across Lausá, possibly in numerous dialects.

When the first modern human settlers came to Lausá they would have encountered people like the Lo'Oix and Eternyri, both of which would've spoken Proto-Lausán. While it is possible that they may have clung onto their native languages at first, eventually these first modern human settlers - retroactively called the Syrokonso - would have eventually integrated into much of these societies and spoken Proto-Lausán as well.

Creation of modern languages
Not along after this point, the languages began to quickly diverge on a largely ethnic and geographic basis. The Syrokonso began to develop into various ethnic groups. Today, all native Homo sapiens ethnic groups are derived from the original Syrokonso 3,500 years ago. These include the modern likes of the Kolsson, the various Mari people, the Eldurians, and more. Four main divisions began to be created in Proto-Lausán, with possibly dozens of dialects between them. Proto-Kolsson, Proto-Lo'Oi, Proto-Mari, and Proto-Eldurlac respectively all began to be forged from geographical separation and the creation of numerous ethnic groups from the original Syrokonso peoples. Some have attempted to reconstructed what the Proto-Lausán language may have looked like as many words between the four main languages of the family today tend to derive from a common origin.

Around 800 years before the present day, these proto-languages began to develop into what we today call Old Lo'Oi, Old Mari, Old Kolsson, and Old Eldurlac. Only around 150-300 years ago would these languages become what they are today as of 210 TE.

Expansion
While most of these languages were geographically retained to their individual nation states, we saw the first expansion of one of these languages - Lo'Oi - starting around 250 years ago. A nation known as the Sérotat Kingdom began to brutally enforce usage of the language on various peoples, though this nation would be overthrown and become the modern day United Socialist States of Eldham. Lo'Oi, at this time Old Lo'Oi was the most popular language in the nation still as a consequence of the Sérotoix leadership.

The early USSE found itself involved in numerous conflicts overseas whereby settlers and emigrants would settle in new regions. This ended up expanding the reach of Lo'Oi across much of Eastern Eldham. Today it is spoken, at least in part, in Serrona, Leifmyrr, and even Valresh with significant pockets. At this time, other languages like Old Mari began to condense across the various Mari peoples into a more standardized form that today we simply know as the Mari language. Similar processes happened with Eldurlac at this time as Notos was formed. Kolsson was already largely homogeneous as a language among the Kolsson people at this time and had developed into its contemporary form earlier than the other languages.

Lo'Oi remained an 'odd one out' in this circumstance, and only developed into its modern contemporary form around 150-100 years ago. Even Old Lo'Oi had numerous dialects and there was no singular standardized form of how to properly speak it, meaning its interpretations were wide and variable. In the USSE starting around 150 years ago, the language began to be standardized. However, because the language had already spread beyond, many dialects outside of Serrona today retain numerous traces from Old Lo'Oi and some even interpret the 'Northern dialects' of Lo'Oi to be an entirely separate language from the 'Southern dialects'.

Member languages
*† indicates an extinct or critically endangered dialect or language.

*? indicates uncertain placement of a dialect.

Southern dialects

 * Losa Lo'Oi/Southern Lo'Oi/Standard Lo'Oi
 * Manz Lo'Oi/Manzoi
 * Mizo'Oi
 * Axadi
 * Palomoix †
 * Polarisi †

Northern dialects

 * Vasa Lo'Oi/Northern Lo'Oi
 * Drikohigá
 * Ko"Oi

Mari language

 * Vansharii
 * Xekai/Standard Mari
 * Kaladinii
 * Adalori ?
 * Santosian/Santosi ? †

Kolsson language

 * Agseir/Standard Kolsson
 * Leirei †
 * Muspélli †

Eldurlac language

 * Eldejulá/Standard Eldurlac
 * Dejulá
 * Vespir ?

Xinerian language

 * Aurmi Lo'Oix/Standard Xinerian
 * Kurian

Syntax, grammar, and sentence structure
All Lausán languages today are SVO (subject-verb-object) languages, similar to how English is written in real life. Some languages have diverse and strong grammatical case systems like Mari, while others like Lo'Oi have little to none at all. It is believed Proto-Lausán may have had a small case system and some languages may have dropped it entirely while others have 'improved' upon it.

Example vocabulary
Because all the Lausán languages derive from a singular origin, they tend to share the same origin for the vast majority of their vocabulary. some examples of reconstructed Proto-Lausán words include the following:


 * Mar - ocean, sea
 * Gé - to be
 * Shalté - chicken
 * Fan - to want
 * Saud - to find
 * Thuk - block, brick
 * Shobi - tree
 * Gaiutai - tower, fort
 * Orth - origin, homeland
 * Shab - to go, to walk
 * Daiukedu - market, bazaar
 * Edo - to build, to construct
 * Voshata - wheat
 * Shudak - fish
 * Pujilai - rice
 * Mozar - city
 * Oto - land
 * Nét - night
 * Nor - day
 * Féjokiho - war
 * Vohba - red
 * Gagai - orange
 * Enga - yellow
 * Jebini - cyan
 * Nihé - blue
 * Sharai - purple
 * Laubai - pink
 * Kualu - brown
 * Kuhagi - gray
 * Lauavi - white
 * Soa - sky
 * Gotai - god
 * Ua - water
 * Woli - to look

There exists many (many) more root words and commonalities between the four Lausán languages.

Examples phrases
"The fish jumped from a river into a boat"


 * Mari: Se xedak ath ruidé regé sen usmar gan am airo
 * Lo'Oi: Dé'i kudak ráz láz gézáv dé'i adáro fenté dé'i usan
 * Eldurlac: Di caduk uru goć geco dá dáćo cu di márun
 * Kolsson: Dei seda rru-le gesse dei musleirro ssu dei marry