Caeli (language)

Caeli or Caelian or Kaeli tunh IPA:/ka.e.li.tuŋ/ is a Tuisgen language spoken in Rathnir, mainly on the continent of Ummarnu and in the south of Syltör. It is an official language in the Maritime Kingdom of Caeli. Caeli is written in the Caeli script.

Origins
The Caeli language was for many years known as Viridian, for it was spoken mainly in the nation of Viridian. After the fall of Viridian and the emergence of the Caeli nation, there was also a birth of a new identity, seperate from the Viridian people. This hath resulted in a blooming of Caeli literature as well as an identity very closely linked to the language. Despit all of this, for many years Caeli had no standard orthography and writings varied depending on the regions. After many debates it had been agreed that multiple standards would be set so to avoid discrimination within the nation as well as separatism.

Three Standards - One Tongue
"Three Standards - One Tongue" or "Thri Sontenwathuke - Ana Tunh" is the motto of the Caeli Language Academy. Caeli has 3 official standards. The one that is used administrativaly throughout the whole nation of Caeli and outside Caeli for international relations or whenever announcing important informations within Caeli, the Central Standard Dialect (CSD) is used. It is often viewed as the state language and the language that unites the whole nation. As a result of its importance though it is often seen as the real Caeli language and would be prioritized over the other standards. Although the Caeli Language Academy has thouroughly spoken against this myth and exclaimed how all standards are treaty equally on the same level.

The second standard is mainly spoken in the south of the nation and thus is known as the Southern Standard Dialect (SSD). It is percieved as the literary from of Caeli, for most of the Caeli novels and other literary arts were written in this standard.

Thirdly, the Northern Standard Dialect (NSD) is mainly spoken in the north of the nation. It is also known as the Himinjarl dialect or Himinjarl standard. It is viewed as the Capital city language and thus as the nobel and aristocractic language and the language of the founders of the Caeli nation. Some would argue that there is no such thing as the Himinjarl dialect, and instead it is a "completly seperate" language known as Neo-Viridian.

One Nation - One Standard
Eventually though the government had decided to favoritise one standard, which was the Central Standard Dialect and thus it officialy became "Standard Caeli". This facilitated paperwork and made things way less confusing. Many were unhappy about this sudden change because they felt neglected but the government still protects the other standards, now just called dialects.

The Great Reform
A few years later it was decided to fuse the dialects together rather than favouring one dialect over the others. Thus the orthographical and grammatical reforms took place so to unite the nation furthermore and to abandon completely the 3 standards. The 3 standards were seen as archaic and unpractical. The reform allowed the creation of a new language that is richer and would be seen as the language of science and education. The most important reformists were Areon Ispara, Natelei Kinikt and Roven-Hestaer Nul.

They would create the very first official Caelian Dictionary and set the grammar rules in a comprehensive manner. The orthography is what changed the most and it had changed so much to a certain extent that some call the Dictionary "Neo-Caelian Dictionary", because there were plenty of words who's orthography was very different from common speech. Roven-Hestaer Nul was the one who insisted to "polish" the language and make it's orthography more aesthetically pleasing, and that "writing should be on top of speech". Areon Ispara was the one who encouraged the use of native words over foreign words, for Caelian was heavily influenced by the Traveller's Tongue to a certain extent. Natelei Kinikt would write and specify the real meaning of words, for depending on the regions, many words were used "wrongly", or their usage did not make any sense in the context.

Phonology
This is the Standard Phonology of Caelian, but the phonology also can vary depending on the region. In the North, the /h/ is often not pronounced and the sound /ŋ/ is often pronounced as /n/ instead. The /ɹ/ sound is often pronounced as /w/ instead. The /θ̠/ sound is often replaced with /s/ or /t/. In the South, the /ɹ/ sound is often dropped and if followed by a vowel, the vowel becomes long.

Word Order
S-V-O

Pronouns
Pronouns can change "forms" depending on which verb it is being conjugated with and the preposition that came before or after. For example:

Thim ar. - You are.

Muk pi iane. - I hit.

Wi pavren. - We work.

"Thu" changes to "Thim" because "Pimeien" (to be) is a Positional verb.

"Ei" changes to "Muk" because "Piianen" (to hit) is a Directional verb.

"Wi" stays "Wi" because "Pavren" (to work) is a Root verb.

Possessives
Contrary to Pronouns, Possessive Pronouns do not change forms and remain the same no matter what.

Mai, Minh - My, Mine

Io - Your

Hei/Hei/Hi - His/Its/Her

Ur - Our

Ie - Your

It - Their

Adjectives
Adjectives follow the same orders as English and do not change depending on the gender of the nouns.

Heth murn - Good morning

Heth nikt - Good night

Articles
There are 2 types of articles in Caelian; Definite and Indefinite.

Definite articles: Definite articles function like "The" in the Traveller's Tongue.

Indefinite articles: Indefinite articles function like "a" or "an" in the Traveller's Tongue.

When a noun is isolated (meaning not followed by any articles or prepositions) it never changes forms. But whenever a noun is followed by any articles or prepositions, they change forms. A suffix is added at the end of the noun depending on the gender and number of the noun (e.g. Feminine, Plural) and depending on the preposition's form (e.g. Directional).

Definite suffixes:

Indefinite suffixes: Note that if the word ends in a noun, then:

-a + -a = -a

-a + -i = -e

-e + -a = -a

-e + -i = -e

-i + -a = -e

-i + -i = -i

-u + -a = -o

-u + -i = -i

-o + -a = -a

-o + -i = -u

-a + -e = - -e

-e + -e = - -e

-i + -e = - -e

-u + -e = - -u

-o + -e = - -e

Plurals
When a noun is isolated, the ending "-iz" is added. e.g.

Cat ==> Cats - Sha ==> Shez

Drink ==> Drinks - Trenh ==> Trenhiz

Note that if the word ends in a noun, then:

-a + -iz = -ez

-e + -iz = -ez

-i + -iz = -iz

-u + -iz = -iz

o + -iz = -uz

Conjugation
All verbs end in "-en", and this ending drops every time a verb is conjugated.

Present Tense: - Used whenever an action is taking place at the moment of speaking.

Ei: -e

Thu: -i

E/Et/I: -a

Wi: -en

Ie: -i

It: -en

Past Tense: - Used to indicate an action that had happened in the past and that had been completed.

Ei: hive -et

Thu: hov -et

E/Et/I: heiv -et

Wi: heiva -et

Ie: hoiv -et

It: heiv -et

Future Tense: - Used whenever an action will take place further in time or to express a wish.

Ei: wul -ep

Thu: wil -ep

E/Et/I: wil -ep

Wi: wulen -ep

Ie: wilth -ep

It: wulen -ep

Past Tense II: - Used when talking about something that had happened in the very distant past or that happened before another past action.

Ei: hive he- -eth

Thu: hov he- -eth

E/Et/I: heiv he- -eth

Wi: heiva he- -eth

Ie: hoiv he- -eth

It: heiv he- -eth

Basic Phrases
Hello! ==> Oia!

Good morning. ==> Heth murn.

Good evening. ==> Heth evtonun.

Good night. ==> Heth nikt.

My name is _. ==> Mai nam as _.

How are you? ==> Wo ar thim?

What is your name? ==> Wet as io nam?

I'm feeling good. ==> Muk vele heth.

I'm feeling bad. ==> Muk vele wikt.

Goodbye! ==> Heth kar!