Bijoux

'''Note: Bijoux, as of 19/10/21, does not technically exist on any maps yet. This is due to the island that we are situated on being completely artificial. The island is not expected to be completed for about 1-2 months.'''

A hereditary monarchy, The Kingship of Bijoux (Бiжoúx Λúbatä) is ruled by the royal Beaumont Family. Patrons of the arts, the Bijoux have cultivated a libertine society filled with great art, food, wine, and music. They are known for their chivalrous nature and honesty. The Kingship of Bijoux are loyal to the Church of Halcyon, and have been for generations.

Church of Halcyon is headquartered in the City of Halcyon, and the Magistrate is highly influential to the Monarch. They have historically been one of the most isolationist nations, with all of its following Monarchs agreeing to the Arcadian Clause of 466, which states that no Monarch that rules Bijoux may trade, communicate, or form alliances with Outsiders.

The Bijoux Holy Calendar
The Bijoux Holy Calendar is used in all essays and works of literature concerning Bijoux's history. Currently, it is the Holy Year 566, at the time of writing. The Calendar system was developed in conjugation by the Church of Halcyon and the Crown of Bijoux.

Before Holy Year (BHY), is used to designate all events that occured before the arrival of the first settlers to Bijoux. Holy Year (HY), is used to designate all events that occured after the arrival of the first settlers to Bijoux. For example, an event that happened 10 years before settlers arrived to Bijoux would be Before Holy Year 10.

The Bijoux Holy Calendar is equal in length to the year of a New Escharian Year (7 irl-days).

Classical Era
The history of the island of Bijoux is a long, bloody, and mostly unwritten one, but still one which is worth studying and learning from. The first era of Bijoux is named the Classical Era, and has 3 distinct periods. The Aeos period, from the Year 12 to the Year 140. At this point, humans and elves had already migrated here, some fleeing from the political disorder of the mainland, some seeking a better life. The island was known to the mainland, but none of the big Empires of the time bothered to explore it. These humans and elves formed the first settlements.

These Oshira eventually evolved over the years to become the first towns, with the biggest still surviving to this day, Rennes Village. The first kingdom, Asheau, was formed, and consisted of several villages and towns mainly around the central area of the island. Asheau was made up mostly of Cirven refugees, and copied the pre-existing structure of Cirven. The second Kingdom, Kyote, was formed shortly after, made up mostly of human settlers who felt threatened that Asheau might invade their towns.

The next period would be known as the Tiki period, lasting from 141 to 302. This period saw the rapid growth and expansion of kingdoms, and the first wars breaking out. These were mostly sparked over control of the fertile Oshowa grasslands, which were easy to farm and produced over a million kilograms of wheat a month. 4 kingdoms would eventually gain power and become known as the Great Four. Asheau, Euycalse, Paola, and Qwetsn.

The Great Four would eventually form an alliance, the Quatite Entente, and would marry into each others Royal Houses, forming the basis of the Holy Bloodline, which would spark the creation of the Kingship of Bijoux. The final period of the Classical Era is the Unification period, which lasted from 303 to 334. It spans just 30 years, but is the most impactful of the 3 periods, due to its role in uniting the island of Bijoux. During this time, the 4 Great powers united to form the Commonwealth of Bijoux. This would later be renamed to the Kingship of Bijoux, as the newly-formed nation began invading or merging with other nations on the island.

Eventually, after 20 long years of conquest, Bijoux was fully united and began establishing diplomatic communications with outside nations. Meanwhile, the Holy Monarch, Alexon Beaumont, would begin his holy ascension to the throne of the Gods, leaving his seat as Holy Monarch open to his heir, Thomas Beaumont.

Ascension Era
The next era of Bijoux began with the mortal ascension of Thomas Beaumont, after he died of cardiac arrest, which would be known as the Oxzni period, lasting from 335 to 412, which brought great prosperity to Bijoux. The Kingship in these times was much more united behind the Monarch, and was much more friendly towards other nations outside of Bijoux. The Kingship during this time also began a tradition of Skywhale hunting, which would be taken on by each member of the Beaumont noble family once they turned of age. Also, several of Bijoux's signature industries, like coubu farming and wheat production, massively expanded and become extremely profitable, selling the goods to the mainland.

Eventually, this period came to an end during a time of extremely tense foreign relations with a certain nation, which would be named the Samui period. The period would last from 413 to 455. This period saw the slow decline of industries, as the cold war with Cirven caused many nations to seek their goods from elsewhere. This period also saw the development of religion in Bijoux, as some turned the financial insecurity of the time to seek answers in the supernatural.

The next period, the warring period, lasted from 456 to 466 began when the Cirven attacked Rennes Harbour, invading from the sea. The Cirven-Bijoux war had begun. Cirven immediately blockaded Bijoux, and cut it off from its supply of iron, which it desprately needed for the war. With this, the Cirven managed to corner Bijoux, which gave them the upper hand. But then, a series of harsh winters and summers came and went, and the war had to be put on hold, for 3 years. After those 3 years, Cirven emerged with an even more powerful fighting force, and crushed Bijoux in the Battle of the Red Peak.

Bijoux was forced to surrender, and had to go into a period of isolationism for 100 years, and also pay war reparations to Cirven. It was right after this period ended that the Arcadian Clause of 466 was signed, so that their isolationism was put on pen and paper. So, for 100 years, Bijoux toiled and rebuilt, whilst the world around them changed, they couldn't do anything but watch. They watched as the Ellysian menace fell, as Regnum Drakaes was unceremoniously toppled from its throne, as the Triple Entente slowly gained power. And eventually, in the Holy Year 566, Bijoux awakened once more.

Government
(Note: Native names for titles will be provided in brackets)

The Kingship (Λúbatä) is an absolute, hereditary monarchy, at its head the Monarch (Λúta), who holds absolute power over the nation, and is considered to be the living, speaking herald of the God Solaris (Ωãlγçona). They must be a descendant of the Holy Lineage of Beaumont, and are usually male, though the latest Monarch, Claire Beaumont, is a woman. The Monarch's partner, the Crown Attendant (Cäséĩa), will usually be of a Major House, to ensure the continuation of the peace between the Crown and Houses. Under the Monarch is the Crown Regent (Σásü), who trains their whole life to prepare for their ascension to the throne.

Culture
The Kingship of Bijoux is protected by the Order of Arcadia, a Holy Crusader Force, commissioned by the Magister of Halcyon. The Order is considered to be a powerful force in the region, and is extremely well-trained and well-equipped. Each Holy Knight of the Order is taken from their family at birth, and forced to undergo brutal training which stretches them to their limits. The ones who make it out alive are kinghted at 16, and are fully ingrained into the order at 20.

The physical geography of the Kingship mostly consists of fertile grasslands between 2 massive rocky, snow-capped mountain ranges spanning the length of the island. The nation sits on the Yyuimsk tectonic plate, a volatile plate which smashed into the Westreach plate about 200,000 years ago, and created the 2 ranges that surround the grasslands. The only resource that the Arcadian Clause allowed states to trade is Skywhale Oil, which is found in fossils of Skywhales, which can be commonly found in the Eastern Range mountains, near to the icy south of the island. The Kingship is a relatively diverse nation, with several species of elves and humans co-existing on the island.

Fashion
Brexxoni fashion is highly informed by its cousin, Valore, and their style. However, it defers from Valoran fashion as most of its outfits are gendered. But, this does not stop Brexxoni fashion from being... fashionable. Typical everyday dresses and suits can be seen in the image to the right.

The noblewoman is wearing a simple lace dress, with a red wool overcoat draped around her arms, whilst the 2 noblemen wear simple shirts underneath everything, tucked into a pair of breeches and tied at the top with a cravat. On top of that, a layer of stockings and a waistcoat, leaving the top buttons undone to let the lace peek through. And, at the very top layer, a pastel-colour coat. In the bottom photo, we can see 2 middleclass men, obviously out on a stroll, wearing typically middle-class attire. The pants are more off-white, and are tucked into boots, instead of dance shoes. They are also carrying canes, which would usually signify that one was more worked and experienced. The top hat also symbolises upper-middle-classmanship. Their outfits are also much less pastel and much more solid coloured, with one wearing a striped yellow-lime coat, whilst the other wears a solid dark-blue coat which stretches down to his knees.

Agriculture & Aquaculture
Agriculture in the Kingship is highly developed and makes use of several technologies that are unavailable to outsiders. 95% of Bijoux's crop yield comes from the Oshowa Grasslands, which cover 60% of the total land area on the island. They mostly produce wheat, carrots, potatoes amongst other crops. Also, there are several wineries spread throughout these fields, which grow grapes and other items needed for alcohol brewing.

Animals like cows, sheep, and horses, are bred and raised in large pastures. Horses are usually used by the Order to easily traverse the island, and several competitions have been held in the past to have horse races. In lore, the main export of the Kingship is Skywhale Oil, which can power airship travel. Following that is animal products, and crops.

However, Bijoux is not just a farming nation. It also has a vibrant fishing industry. It harvests coubu from the ocean, which is a breed of salmon that is commonly found in the Westreach Sea. Coubu is widely known for its health properties and high nutrient levels, which makes it the ideal food for foot soldiers in war. Fish farms can be mostly found on the east coast of the island, and catch large hauls of coubu, salmon, and cod. However, further out to the northwest of the Island of Bijoux, past the iceberg fields, fishing vessels often catch more exotic fishes.

Architecture
Architecture often varies from town to town. Each town has its signature building style. Brexxon, situated on a cliff overlooking the Westreach Sea, is majorly made out of materials available in the area, such as brick and terracotta. Leblanc, situated around Kyote Bay, is made mostly out of wood from the forests that used to surround the area, and brick from clay deposits in the bay. Halcyon, situated on the peak of Mont-Orxello, is made out of quartz found in the mountains surrounding it, and gold, from the gold found inside the mountain.

Criminal Syndicates
The Brexxoni underbelly, whilst not much is known about it, or how to infiltrate it, researchers have gathered up sparse information released by the Bijoux National Guard and collected it into articles like these. Crime syndicates like Le Milieu (Literally "The Underbelly"), Halcyon's Servants, amongst others, have been around for hundreds of years, and influence the criminal underbelly through their control over certain banks, which allows them to move their money around without arousing suspicion.

Criminal Tattoos
Crime Syndicates in Bijoux, such as Halcyon's Servants, often make use of Criminal Tattoos to designate members. Brickets ink is the most common ink used across Bijoux. This ink is black and dyed from the common mushroom ‘Brickets Cap’ which is found near most water sources.

Rachnidian ink is less common and disappears completely in bright daylight; allowing the bearer to operate freely without drawing undue attention or suspicion. Though the ink is often very costly, some opt for this treatment so as to not directly implicate themselves.

Thumb - Failures

The local term, “To cut your thumb” originates from this tattoo; meaning to persevere through failure. In criminal terms, a cross tattoo to the thumb denotes a serious infraction of the criminal code. The position of this tattoo is also relevant to its meaning - Since the thumb is face up when one shakes hands, it is therefore easy to judge one’s trustworthiness through a single handshake.

Index Finger - Authority

Your index finger, or pointing finger, can be tattooed to indicate authority over others within the criminal faction. This jurisdictive power is deeply respected amongst criminals as it is notoriously difficult to gain rank within a faction. Though this symbology changes from faction to faction, simple horizontal lines are most often used. Forged authority is not tolerated and often punishable by death, and it is possible to be demoted permanently if you make persistent errors or failures within your role.

Example:

One Line = One rank.

Hastate leaf = leader or captain.

Middle Finger - Service

Your middle finger is often tattooed with iconography that represents your core role within the faction. Many roles fall well within common law, so it is possible to be a ‘law abiding’ member of a faction and commit no crimes to the realm.

Three-armed spiral = Magic user

Inverted sword = Assassin

Three dots = Mediator

Ring Finger - Family

Once you are officially a member or ‘associate’ to a criminal faction, you are often oathed in service to that faction indefinitely. A common way to swear your allegiance to your faction is to have their insignia tattooed - affirming your ongoing loyalty. These initiation tattoos are also referred to as ‘black pledges’.

Arrow = Cassian Will

Cup = The Listeners

Little Finger - Origin

Many criminals honour their past through tattoos; giving others an insight into their hardships, training or background. It is common faction etiquette that these tattoos should never be remarked on or asked about.

Elk or deer = Graven or outcast

Wheel = Migrant

Nib = Scholar or academic

Feats - Forearm or hand

‘Medal’ tattoos and boasting rites are kept to hands and forearms only, and generally discouraged as they may implicate you in a crime. That said, these tattoos are greatly revered amongst criminal factions; It is a common phrase to ask a fellow criminal to ‘roll sleeves’ prior to combat, so that both parties can display their crimes in a bid to intimidate the other.

Royal Houses
The Royal Houses are dynastic seats of power within Bijoux, sometimes limited to small plots of land, or sometimes spanning several towns. Numerous houses exist within the Kingship's hierachy, and collectively, they formed the Casian dil Sulej, a body that represented the Houses. It is ruled by the High Council, and is overseen by the Monarch. Houses can be differentiated into Major and Minor Houses.

Balance of Power
Each House usually maintains a base of operations in a specific town or city - typically their ancestral homeland. Banished Houses are exiled to the Great White Mountains. Banishment is usually decreed by the Monarch, or by a ruling of the Casian dil Sulej. This would usually occur because the House in question did not follow the Great Convention by committing a terrible crime, such as high treason.

Not surprisingly, some Houses possessed more power and influence than others. Some even possessed power enough to rule entire biomes. These were known as Great Houses, Major Houses, or Great Families. It was from one of these Houses that control of the Kingship, the official realm of Bijoux, was maintained. For more than 300 Holy Years, the Kingship has been ruled by House Beaumont.

As a consequence of this governmental structure, there was near constant state of plotting conducted between the various noble Houses, though on occasion two or more Houses would form an alliance with one another to thwart or destroy a rival House. This House system represented the nobility of the Kingship, and formed part of the Uldristi class system.

Major Houses
Typically, a Major House is a familial dynasty that rules a town or a city. In the modern age, this usually takes the form of a fiefdom handed down by the Emperor himself.

A Major (or Great) House that ruled a planet was ruler of that town or city, and charged by the Emperor to uphold the laws of the Kingship, and the societal order of the Uldristi. A Great House would usually have its own standing army, flag, symbol, coat-of-arms, and representative colours. It is said that only the combined military power of all the Great Houses in the Kingship would have been enough to defeat the Arcadian Knights employed by the Beaumonts.

Thus, a delicate balance was struck between the Great Houses and the Imperial House, since all the Great Houses were never expected to ally themselves together against the Emperor, or anyone else. Indeed, during the entire lifespan of Bijoux, the majority of Great Houses seemed to be preoccupied in petty squabbles. Each Great House maintained trade and business interests, and some Minor Houses could over time be granted Great House status through amassed wealth from enterpreneurial endeavours.

House Escaz
House Escaz is the second most major Royal House in Bijoux, only behind the Beaumonts in terms of influence and and money. House Escaz is quite well-known for being the one of the only Halyconic Houses, as well as being the most religious house of all of the houses. Duke Cirrine Escaz is the current leader of the House, with Duke Regent Quinn Escaz being the heir apparent. The other Great Houses look to House Escaz for advice and guidance, and they also lead the Casian dil Sulej's High Council as its Speaker.

House Escaz is based in the City of Halcyon, and also rules over the surrounding mountains. They are known for their industrialness, and since their move to the City in 452 have heavily developed and industrialised the City into a mix of old and new architecture.

House Terrasej
House Terrasej is the only House in Bijoux which is completely foreign to it. House Terrasej was originally a powerful House in Cirven, but rebelled during the Cirven-Bijoux War of 456 to join Bijoux. House Terrasej is known for being the most militarily powerful house, with Gendarmerie force to rival even the Arcadian Order. House Terrasej is based in the village of Baysildjor, and also rules over the spruce forest near it.

Races
Bijoux, like its neighbours to the north and northeast, is a cultural melting pot of ancient traditions brought over from all over Eldham and Rathnir, mixing the beautiful, symmetrical bricked buildings of Cirven, to the temples of Yaszuma. The Kingship values history and preserving culture.

Brexxoni
The Brexxoni race is an ethnicity of Homo sapiens, or common humans. Brexxoni are lighter-skinned, and live in the temperate, colder countryside of Bijoux. They are cool-headed, make up a majority of Bijoux, and are usually artisans, historians, and all sorts of jobs which are considered "high-society". Racism towards races, especially the minority race of Adventii, is unfortunately common in Bijoux.

The Brexxoni race originated in Yaszuma, a companion race to the more populous Kaszatti, but most Brexxoni have immigrated to Bijoux, and become the dominant race. They control nearly all aspects of government and high-ranking positions in Bijoux society.

Halyconic
The Halcyonic race is native to the mountain peaks of Bijoux, and live mostly in the religious, icy city of Halcyon. The Halcyonic race is actually a variant of Snow Elf, which in itself is a variation of the Elf species. Halcyonians are usually darker-skinned, and wear fur-jackets made from Mountain Lions, which are won in combat. Halcyonians are extremely tilted towards nature, and build their cities around it.

The Halyconic race sees its origins in the Cirveni, a racial group of elves who, whilst originally dominating elf populations in Eldham, have drastically reduced in the past 100 years due to the fall of the Kingdom of Cirven.

Adventii
The most oppressed, and minor race of Bijoux, Adventii, are often hard-workers who take on hands-on jobs like mining, fishing, or woodcutting. In the past, some in debt would even push themselves into slavery to pay off their debts. Most of the enslaved Adventii, however, never escaped from slavery, and would stay in slavery until they were no longer profitable, in which their bodies would be used as burning material. However, Adventii oppression still continues to this day, and although multiple movements have attempted to raise awareness about this, nothing much is being done.

Adventii are descended from Torumain dwarves, which explains their immense physical strength. However, after existing on Bijoux for centuries, the Adventii are smaller and more adapted to the warmer climate of Bijoux.

Crown Law
1.1  On exclusions to the Crown

1.1.1  Only the first son or daughter of the sitting Monarch can take the throne after their parent dies.

1.1.2  Only the line of Beaumont can take the throne.

1.1.3  Only followers of the Church of Halcyon, verified by the Magister, can be Monarch.

1.2  On inclusions to the Crown

1.2.1  A monarch can be of any gender.

1.2.2  If a monarch wills it, they can transfer the Regentship of the Throne to another individual other than their hier.

1.2.3  If an ascending monarch is under 16, they must have a council of Royal Advisors.

1.3  On Death

1.3.1  If a monarch dies and has no regent, the regentship will look for the closest relative of the same generation of that regent.

1.3.2  If a monarch dies before they appoint a regent, but an individual who qualifies for regentship exists, they will ascend.

1.3.3  If a monarch dies before they appoint a regent, and an individual who qualifies for regentship does not exist, the regentship

will follow the protocol of Crown Law 1.3.1.

1.4  On the powers of the Crown

1.4.1  The Crown is allowed to make most decisions without consulting their Advisors.

1.4.2  The Crown must consult their Advisors before enacting the following actions:

・ Selecting a regent

・ Declaring war

・ Merging with another nation

・ Making a Crown Announcement

Judicial & Criminal Law
2.1  On Courts

2.1.1  2 courts are to be established, Judicial Court, and Royal Court

2.1.2  Judicial Court will uphold the general law of Bijoux, and handle all cases concerning commoners, diplomats, and travelers.

2.1.2.1  Judicial Courts must have 3 judges each.

2.1.2.2  Judicial Court cases must be passed by a simple majority by the Judges.

2.1.2.3  Judicial Court judges must be appointed by the Monarch.

2.1.2.4  Judicial Court judges can be removed at any time for any reason.

2.1.3  Royal Court will uphold the Crown Law of Bijoux, and handle all cases concerning the Crown and the Royal Family.

2.1.3.1  There must only be 1 royal court.

2.1.3.2  Royal Courts must have 5 judges each.

2.1.3.3  Royal Court cases must be passed by a simple majority by the Judges.

2.1.3.4  Royal Court judges must be appointed by the Monarch.

2.1.3.5  Royal Court judges can be removed at any time for any reason.

2.2  On Criminal Law

2.2.1  A crime refers to any act that is in violation of any crime stated below which is committed inside the territory of the Kingship

of Bijoux.

2.2.1.1  If a crime is committed outside of the territorial claims of the Kingship of Bijoux, it is void.

2.2.2  The following acts of crime are punishable by a fine of $5000 or more to the Kingship and other parties involved.

・ Espionage

・ High Treason

・ Malpolitics

・ Terrorism

・ Bribery

2.2.3  The following acts of crime are punishable by a fine of $2000 to the Kingship and other parties involved.

・ Murder

・ Assault

・ Arson

・ Banditry

・ Identity Theft

2.2.4  The following acts of crime are punishable by a fine of $1000 to the Kingship and other parties involved.

・ Conspiracy

・ Destruction of Property

・ Embezzlement

・ Forgery

・ Fraud

・ Theft

General Law
3.1  On Economics

3.1.1  If a citizen or foreigner wishes to set up a business in Bijoux, they must apply for a Economic Permit.

3.1.1.1  Economic Permits can be applied for in #placeholder.

3.1.1.2  Economic Permits can be revoked at any time.

3.1.1.3  Economic Permit applications will be reviewed by the Head Financier.

3.1.2  If a citizen or foreigner wishes to initiate trade within the nation, they are free to do so.

3.1.2.1  However, if this trade involves the following, it will be shut down:

・ Animals

・ Land

3.1.3  A trading market will be established to allow for ease of trade.

3.1.3.1  This market must be under the supervision of the Crown.

3.2  On Construction

3.2.1  If a citizen or foreigner wishes to construct something in Bijoux, they must apply for a Construction Permit.

3.1.1.1  Construction Permits can be applied for in #placeholder.

3.1.1.2  Construction Permits can be revoked at any time.

3.1.1.3  Construction Permit applications will be reviewed by the Head Builder.

Brexxo
Classification and Dialects

Brexxo is a well-known language isolate, although research is ongoing regarding possible affiliations with other languages. Despite its relatives which have been confirmed, Brexxo does have some dialectal variation of its own, in the dialect of Advenara. A member of the Bijouxi language family, it is related to Bouic and Halcyonian. Mostly spoken in the Bijoux capital of Brexxon, its namesake; this standard is the form reflected in this article unless otherwise noted.

Phonology

Consonants

Brexxo has a fairly average-sized consonant inventory, with 19 total consonant phonemes. Its inventory is fairly standard in its contents as well, with the notable features being its series of palatalized coronals, and the phonemes which are realized in most dialects (including the standard) as affricates, of which /p͡ɸ/ and /k͡x/ are unusual. The most salient of consonantal allophony in Brexxo is the typical intervocalic voicing of non-aspirated obstruents, including affricates; this voicing also applies in clusters with voiced consonants (i.e. sonorants). The sibilants /s/ and /ʃ/ may also voice to [z] and [ʒ], respectively, when in a coda preceding a nasal stop in the following onset. Furthermore, the liquid /rʲ/ may be realized as [j] in consonant clusters in the standard dialect, while in some non-standard dialects it may be realized as such in all positions, leaving [rʲ] and [j] to be in free variation in such dialects.

In the actual dialect of Advenara, the bilabial and velar affricates are reduced to fricatives, however this is a shift unreflected in the standard form of the language.

Vowels

Even more average than Edebro's consonants are its vowels, which form the common five vowel system. Despite the fairly small inventory, Brexxo vowels do not exhibit significant allophony. The mid vowels do lower, however, to [ɛ] and [ɔ] before phonetically voiced consonants (so this includes voiceless stops which have been intervocalically voiced). Additionally, non-low vowels in word-initial position receive epenthetic glides when the preceding word also ends in a vowel.

While the dialect of Advenara, and the standard form, lack diphthongs, some dialects retain diphthongs from older forms of the language. Such diphthongs include /ai/, /au/, /ei/, /ou/, /ia/ and /ua/; these have been monophthongized to /e/, /o/, /i/, /u/, /a/, and /a/, respectively, in the varieties that lack them.

Phonotactics

Brexxo's syllables may consist of a maximum of CCVC. Syllable onsets may consist of any lone consonant or a cluster of a plosive or nasal with a liquid. A nucleus, of course, may be any vowel. Syllable codas in Brexxo may only be a sibilant fricative or sonorant.

Stress

Stress in Brexxo is contrastive, and plays a key role in distinguishing nouns from verbs. Nouns are typically marked with word-final stress, while verbs are usually marked with penultimate stress.

Writing System Stress may optionally be indicated with an acute on the stressed vowel; this is typically done in dictionaries, but otherwise omitted from writing. Digraphs, besides those involving , ought to have both elements capitalized when capitalized, but this is often neglected.

Grammar

Nouns

Brexxo nouns are morphologically quite simple. They do not inflect for case or definiteness, although they do decline according to number. While singular nouns remain unmarked, plural nouns are marked through reduplication, of the first CV pair in consonant-initial nouns, and of the first vowel with an epenthetic glide in vowel-initial nouns. An example of both is demonstrated in the following table: In front vowels, the epenthetic glide is [j]; in back vowels, it is [w]; and in the low vowel /a/, it is [ɦ] as seen above. Nouns also do not have gender, although they do have an inherent animacy level. This animacy level is not marked explicitly on the noun itself, but will be relevant later for verbal conjugation.

Pronouns

Brexxo has few personal pronouns, having only true pronouns for the first and second persons. However, demonstratives can also be used in a standalone fashion that act as third person pronouns. The pronouns are presented in the table below. When used as a standalone pronoun, demonstratives have an optional plural form formed via reduplication. These are typically only used when the context would otherwise leave ambiguity. Personal pronouns do not vary in form for case, and do not have distinct possessive forms. Possession by pronoun is instead constructed the same way as possession by a regular noun.

Verbs

In Brexxo, all clauses (with one exception, which will be covered later) require two parts to express the function of a verb: a lexical verb and an auxiliary verb.

While the lexical verb, which carries the semantic content of the action or state being described, does not inflect for any grammatical information itself, the auxiliary verb inflects for categories of transitivity, inversivity, voice, tense, and mood. The forms of auxiliary verb appear in the chart below. Lexical verbs may be either active or stative. While stative verbs will typically take the copular auxiliary, active verbs may take the intransitive, direct or inverse, and some active verbs, such as verbs of movement, may also take the copular auxiliary.

As Brexxo is a direct-inverse language, the auxiliary verb makes a distinction in inversivity in transitive clauses. The direct form of the auxiliary verb is used in clauses in which the more animate noun is taking the role of the agent, while the inverse form is used when the less animate noun is the agent. Therefore, a sentence like sjúrjo anjásj tjo mas translates to "a man saw a dog," while the same sentence but replacing mas with mare results in a translation as "a dog saw a man."

Syntax

Brexxo is a head-final language with a mandatory auxiliary verb. As such, its underlying default word order is SOVA (subject, object, verb, auxiliary). However, as Brexxo is topic-prominent, this is often not the order that actually surfaces. Both topic and focus are mandatory in all transitive matrix clauses, except when both arguments are pronouns, as pronouns cannot be focused. Topics are fronted to the beginning of the clause, and focuses immediately precede the auxiliary verb. The auxiliary verb always appears at the end of a clause, apart from any complementizer that may be present.

Because there is no morphological case marking on nouns, and word order is complicated by the topic-comment structure, Brexxo has no morphosyntactic case. Instead, to indicate the roles of arguments in transitive clauses, nouns are inherently ranked on an animacy hierarchy; nouns higher on the hierarchy are the agent by default. In cases where the lower animacy argument is the agent, the auxiliary verb is marked with an inverse marker, -re, which indicates that the arguments' roles are reversed. This system is known as direct-inverse alignment.

Additionally, as there is no agreement marking on verbs, Brexxo is not pro-drop; pronouns must always be explicit. Furthermore, there are no articles such as 'a' or 'the', but Brexxo does have a set of demonstratives, ru 'this (inan.)', dsa 'that (inan.)', ki 'this (anim.)', and dsjas 'that (anim.)'; which also function as the third person pronouns. These words reduplicate for plurality when functioning as pronouns, but not when determiners.

Brexxo employs serial verb constructions, often for expressions that would be conveyed in English using adverbs. In these constructions, the clause has two or more lexical verbs, but only one agent and one auxiliary verb; there may be more than one patient, however. In cases with multiple patients, patients may intercede the lexical verbs, but only one may be focused. Other uses for serial verb constructions in Brexxo are to express causally or temporally linked actions, or actions/events with more than two arguments.

Brexxo has no true adjectives, but rather stative verbs that must occur alongside the copular auxiliary o. When modifying a noun, these stative verbs occur within a relative clause. Relative clauses are constructed using a gapped construction with a relativizer particle, which appears as the clitic =m(i). Relative clauses, in accordance with head-final tendencies, precede their heads.

Brexxo indicates possession via a locative construction, and makes a distinction between alienable and inalienable possession. Alienable possession is expressed with the postposition e 'at', while inalienable possession is indicated with the postposition no 'on'. In possessive clauses, the possessor is expressed as an argument, and the possessee as an adpositional phrase, linked by the copular auxiliary o.

Simple polar questions are formed by the addition of the question particle, sje, to the end of the clause, following the auxiliary verb. Content questions are formed using interrogative pronouns, which are always placed in the focused position, preceding the auxiliary verb.

Imperatives are formed by omitting the auxiliary verb (or in other analyses, by use of a zero auxiliary), and in those cases directed towards a second person singular, the subject. In the latter cases, the lexical verb may appear alone, or followed by objects or adpositional phrases. In second person plural or first person plural imperatives, the pronoun always occurs before the verb (effectively in the topic position).

Lexicon (WIP)

Bouic
Bouic is the language of the Brexxoni and Halcyonic people, who live on the island of Bijoux, which is on northwestern continent Katsura of the realm Eldham. It is the national and official language of Bijoux, where it is spoken as a first language by the people. It is also spoken by diaspora communities across the planet.

Classification and Dialects

Bouic is the most spoken member of the Bijouxi family. It is one of three extant languages of the Northern branch, the only extant branch of the family. The other two languages, Halcyonan and Brexxo, are closely related though not mutually intelligible with each other or Bouic.

There are two main dialects of Bouic, which are mutually intelligible. The western dialect, known in Traveler's Tongue as Baxxon after the mountain range of Baxxonia, is the more innovative dialect, while the southern dialect, called Marunaean in Traveler's Tongue after the eastern mountain range Marúné, is more conservative. Marunaean is the prestige dialect, although Baxxon is increasing in popularity. Amongst these two main dialects are several subdialects, found primarily in major urban centers, such as Brexxon or Leblanc.

Phonology

Consonants

Bouic has the largest consonant inventory of any Bijouxi language, totaling in at 32 native standard phonemes in Baxxon and 37 in Marunaean.


 * Speakers of Baxxon have lost contrast of /ɱ/, /p͆/, /b̪/, /ɴ/ and /ɢ/, merging them with /m/, /p/, /b/, /ŋ/ and /g/ respectively; this can cause some intelligibility issues with Marunaean speakers
 * /s/ is voiced to [z] when in the syllable coda and the next syllable begins with a voiced consonant
 * /r/ is realized as [rˠ] following consonants and as [ɾˠ] elsewhere in Marunaean, but is generally realized simply as [rˠ] in Baxxon dialects, though this is not universal; the same may apply to /r̊/
 * The distinction between /r/ and /r̊/ is neutralized in consonant clusters; voicing assimilates to the adjacent consonant
 * Velar and uvular consonants become labialised before rounded vowels
 * /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are found only in loanwords in Baxxon; Marunaean replaces these with /s/ and /z/ respectively
 * Some rural subdialects of both major dialects may insert a glottal stop between adjacent vowels, though speakers of the standard dialects regard this as a sign of uneducated speech

Vowels

Bouic has an equally large vowel inventory, ranging in size from 25 phonemes in Baxxon to 29 in Marúné.


 * Baxxon merges /ɯ/, /ɯ̃/, /ɤ/ and /ɤ̃/ with /u/, /ũ/, /o/ and /õ/ respectively, and also fronts /ä/, /ä̃/, /ɐ/ and /ɐ̃/ to /a/, /ã/, /æ/ and /æ̃/ respectively
 * In Baxxon, /a/ and /ã/ in open syllables (those without a coda) tend to be backed to /ɑ/ and /ɑ̃/ respectively
 * Permitted diphthongs: /ṷV/, /i̭V/, /aṷ/, /ɛṷ/, /øṷ/*, /ai̭/, /ɔi̭/, /ɤi̭/* (where V stands for any vowel or other diphthong; asterisked diphthongs occur only in Marunaean)
 * Diphthongs may also be nasalized
 * /ə/ may become voiceless or even be elided after voiceless consonants in rapid speech

Phonotactics

Syllables must be in the form (C1)(C)(C2)V(C3)(s), where V is any vowel (including permitted diphthongs and triphthongs), C is any consonant, C1 is /s/ or /z/, C2 is /s/, /z/ or /r/, and C3 is any sonorant. C and C1 must agree in voicing. Thus, an example of the simplest syllable possible is /ɛ/ (Eng. "a") and an example of the most complex is /scrṷɔi̭ls/ (a disease native to the continent of Katsura), though such highly complex syllables are incredibly rare.

The vowel /ə/ may only appear at the end of a word in an open syllable (i.e., one without a coda).

Stress

Stress is not distinctive in Bouic, much like in French. This means that two words may not be differentiated based on stress alone, as can be the case in Traveler's Tongue such as in the pair "dessert" and "desert." In fact, the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables is much less marked than in Traveler's Tongue, making such a distinction impossible anyway.

Pitch Accent

Some dialects of Bouic employ a simple tonal system realized as a pitch accent on a minority of words. Pitch accented vowels are always pronounced long, although vowel length is otherwise not contrastive in Bouic. The pitch accent's tone may vary by dialect, though in standard Marunaean it is realized as a cresting tone. This pitch accent is more common in Marunaean dialects, whereas Baxxon dialects typically either eliminate the accent entirely, or replace it with an interrupting glottal stop. For example, the word íí "beauty" is pronounced [îː] in Marúné, but in Baxxon it is simply [iː], and in the western city of Leblanc it is pronounced [iʔi].

Writing Systems

Bouic has two native scripts, a true alphabet and a featural abugida. The alphabetic script, known as Se Hízôl, is used for everyday purposes, and has two cases, with capitalization rules similar to those of the Latin alphabet. The abugida, known as Se Φώteentar, is used for special purposes such as ceremonial events, religious scripture, or decorative design. It has only one case, though it uses a diacritical mark to mark what would otherwise be a capital letter. It can however be written in two styles, one rounded and the other square, the former being more common. All native speakers are taught to read and write in both.

The standard orthography used throughout the country is based on the Marunaean dialects, as these dialects use more phonemes than do the Baxxon dialects. Words that may be distinguished in Marunaean dialects can be homophones in Baxxon.

In this article, Bouic will be transcribed in a Latin script appended with some Greek and Cyrillic characters to maintain a 1:1 phoneme to grapheme ratio. This script is called the Stón transliteration, and is as follows. /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are transcribed in this system as ⟨Śś⟩ and ⟨Źź⟩ respectively, however they are not included in the standard alphabet.

There are two other systems of transliteration, however the Stón system is the most common.

Se Hízôl

Se Hízôl was invented in antiquity by Λúbatä scholars. Since this time, the script has changed very little, only developing new styles and a few changes in punctuation.

Se Hízôl is a featural abugida. Consonants in this script are square characters whose shapes represent details about their manner of articulation and whose direction represent details about their place of articulation. Details about a consonant's voicing are represented by the presence of a diacritic above the consonant character. Therefore, consonants that are pronounced similarly look similar. Vowels are written as diacritics below the consonant character. Vowels are also featural, though to a lesser extent.

Although there are fifteen oral vowel qualities in Bouic, there are only eight basic vowel diacritic shapes. The other seven qualities are noted by adding a dot diacritic to the right of the vowel diacritic. Nasal vowels are represented by adding a dot diacritic to the left of the vowel diacritic. For vowels not following a consonant, there is a vowel place holder which takes the form of a line placed at the baseline. Non-syllabic vowels also use a placeholder, however this placeholder is modified by a vertical dash extending from the baseline to the midline, and the vowel is placed above the placeholder so that a following syllabic vowel may be placed below it.

There are additional marks for punctuation. A short horizontal dash placed midline is the equivalent of a full-stop, and a dot placed midline is the equivalent of a comma. A dot diacritic above a consonant is used to denote proper names (this diacritic goes above or to the left of the voiced diacritic if present, depending on the writing style). Quotations are set off using marks resembling Latin brackets.

In the charts above is the square style of writing, which is more angular and is more common in monuments and print. There is also a round style, which uses fewer strokes and is more common in handwriting.

Romanizations

The Stón System

The Stón system, the most common non-native transcription of Bouic, is a Latin-based script appended with Greek and Cyrillic characters in order to maintain a one-to-one phoneme-to-glyph ratio. This is the system used on all Bouic articles on this wiki. The system transcribes sounds as follows: The sounds /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are transcribed in this system as ⟨Śś⟩ and ⟨Źź⟩ respectively, however they are not included in the standard alphabet since they are not native phonemes. When included in the alphabet, they are both sorted between ⟨Zz⟩ and ⟨Çç⟩.

The Kajdra System

This system was developed in response to the complaint that the non-Latin characters used in the Stón system are often difficult to type. For this reason, the Kajdra system was developed using only Latin characters. * /β/ should be transcribed with a B with acute, but this character is not encoded in Unicode and is therefore replaced with B with dot above here.

** /ɴ/ is sometimes also seen written as ⟨Ǹǹ⟩ or ⟨N̂n̂⟩.

The foreign sounds /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are transcribed in this system as ⟨Śś⟩ and ⟨Źź⟩ respectively, however they are not included in the standard alphabet since they are not native phonemes. When included in the alphabet, they are both sorted between ⟨Zz⟩ and ⟨Çç⟩.

The Perdis System

The Perdis system was also developed in response to complaints about the earlier system. The Kajdra system resolved the issue of non-Latin characters, however the large number of characters with uncommon diacritics still hindered its use. The Perdis system resolves this problem by scrapping non-Latin and diacritical characters in exchange for digraphs, allowing it to remain within the ASCII character set. This system however suffers from the loss of a one-to-one phoneme-to-glyph ratio, and is therefore rarely used except for when the writer is limited to ASCII characters.

This system may require apostrophes to divide vowel clusters that could be mistaken as digraphs. Unlike the other transliteration system, when this system is used for dictionaries and other similar resources, words are sorted using the standard Latin alphabet order, digraphs do not count as distinct letters. This means that, while "tel" comes before "hajla" in the Stón and Kajdra systems, in the Perdis system, "hayla" comes before "tel." The above chart is in that order only for comparison reasons with the other two systems.

Grammar

In Bouic, most words have roots that take the form of nouns. All basic roots of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are expressed as the absolutive case of the noun. For example, haïla is the noun "music" in the absolutive case. To form the infinitive of the verb "to perform music," one simply adds the suffix -sä to form haïlasä, which can then be conjugated. Likewise, the adjective "musical" can be formed as haïlatä and the adverb "musically" can be formed as haïlaþä.

Nouns

Nouns in Bouic do not decline directly. However, all nouns must carry a determiner with them. These determiners are marked for definiteness, number, and case. Bouic nouns possess no grammatical gender.

Determiners

Every noun is required to carry a determiner, which may be either an article or demonstrative. Articles and demonstratives carry the noun's definiteness or proximity, and number. Case

Nouns in Bouic decline for a large number of cases. In most dialects this number is 26, though some dialects still use the now-archaic vocative case. Nouns decline for cases with simple suffixes that attach to the noun's determiner, and the unmarked form is in the absolutive case, which is used as the subject of intransitive verbs and copulae. Examples of each case are given in the table below, with the phrase se жom "the house, home." * The genitive suffix -â combines irregularly with determiners. In determiners ending in -e, the -e drops and is replaced with -â. In determiners ending in -é, the -é drops and is replaced by -ã. Some cases may be combined. For example, the ergative and accusative may be combined to express a reflexive action. "Ánnadu sevílase" means "I washed myself."

Pronouns decline for case directly, by adding the above suffixes directly to the end of the pronoun, without need for a determiner.

As a result of the extensive case system, Bouic has no adpositional system. It lacks prepositions or postpositions.

Verbs

Infinitive verbs in Bouic are formed from noun roots by adding the suffix -sä to the absolutive. These infinitives may then conjugate for tense and mood, but not for voice or agreement with any arguments (i.e., the subject or object), and aspect is denoted using adverbs. Infinitives always end in -sä. The infinitive ending is then replaced with other endings to denote tense and mood. The consonant of the ending reflects the mood, and the vowel the tense. The following table demonstrates the conjugation of the verb víêsä "to see." Most verbs are regular and follow these conjugations. There are a few verbs, however, that drop the -sa ending in the present indicative. These verbs are vasä "to be," vósä "to be," masä "to have," sasä "to exist," and pésä "to do." Some colloquial speech may also do this with tasä "to go, come," though this is informal and almost never found in writing.

Moods may also be compounded, much like noun cases. To do this, one simply suffixes both endings, so that "Could you see him?" becomes "Aóna qâdu víêñexe?" Note that the vowels (and thus the tense) of both suffixes are the same. The indicative cannot compound with the other moods.

Copula

Bouic has two copulae, vasä and vósä. Much like in Spanish, the difference between these two is a difference of status versus essence. Vasä, used similarly to Spanish estar, is used to describe a noun's state of being, a temporary condition. Meanwhile, like Spanish ser, vósä is used to describe a noun's essential nature, permanent characteristics inherent to the person, place, thing or concept being described. The exact uses of these two verbs is often difficult for second-language learners to master, as the division between status and essence is often somewhat arbitrary.

In Bouic, copulae require different syntax than other verbs. While a typical verb usually appears after both of its arguments, a copula appears in between the subject and the complement. Note that while most verbs have flexibility in their placement within a clause, the word order for copular phrases is fixed. Additionally, any noun appearing in a copular phrase will be in the absolutive case, so that even phrases with two nouns, which would require one to be in the ergative and the other in the accusative in normal verbal phrases, will have both nouns in the absolutive case.

Gerunds and Participles

Gerunds and participles are formed by suffixing noun and adjective endings to the indicative forms of the verbs, respectively. If a gerund is the subject of an intransitive verb, it takes the ergative ending.

Pronouns

Bouic uses eighteen personal pronouns that distinguish between five persons and two numbers, and clusivity in the first person and animacy in the third and fourth persons. Pronouns do not distinguish gender or formality. Singular pronouns of the second, third, and fourth persons have two forms that are equal in meaning; they are used to distinguish between multiple possible antecedents, resolving abiguities that exist in languages such as Traveler's Tongue (e.g., "He gave him the apple."). The forms correspond to the order in which the possible antecedents were mentioned. The following is a list of pronouns:

The third person denotes a proximity close to the speaker, whereas the fourth person denotes a proximity farther from the speaker. (The third is normally used when the antecedent is within sight, and the fourth when the antecedent is not within view.) Both are translated as the third person in Traveler's Tongue. The fifth person denotes a general, nonspecific antecedent; it is often used in general truths.

Adjuncts

Adjuncts come in three forms: adjectives, adverbs, and intensifiers. As in most languages, adjectives modify nouns and adverbs modify verbs. Intensifiers can modify both adjectives and adverbs. Unlike in Traveler's Tongue, adverbs do not modify adjectives or other adverbs; this is solely the job of intensifiers.

Adjectives and adverbs can be formed from nouns using the suffixes -tä and -þä respectively. Intensifiers however are a closed word class, meaning that they have their own roots and new ones cannot be derived. Most intensifiers do not take a suffix like the -tä or -þä of adjectives and adverbs.

Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs are formed using an intensifier. For the comparative, this intensifier is the word ka, while in the superlative it is kí. In comparative constructions, the comparative form of the adjective is followed by the word pá "than" and then the noun being compared in the absolutive case.

Syntax

The basic, default syntax structure in Bouic is SOV. However, due to the extensive use of cases, word order is virtually free. In many subordinate clauses, the default order is SVO instead, though this is not universal. Additionally, Bouic does not require a subject to be present, though it is not a pro-drop language in the sense that the Romance languages are. An absence of a subject indicates the passive voice. Modifiers always follow the word being modified. The standard modifier order is manner-place-time, which is uncommon cross-linguistically, the common orders being place-manner-time and time-manner-place.

Lexicon

(Work In Progress)

Example Text


 * Án lússa seke Bouic.
 * [ɐn lussə sɛkɛ ɪ.ɐθɪ]
 * "I speak Bouic."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1


 * Zédu téúné þelstä kemïesa φaïlaþä le méλúþä sece жóvês le zéce çedalí. Δándu bâxisa sesi crê le sesi hínól só δán ótrâga psa se ô dastä esi tímí sece kúpevo.
 * [zedʊ teune θɛlstə kɛmjɛsa φai̯laθə lɛ meʎuθə sɛcɛ ʝovɛ̃s lɛ zecɛ çɛdali ðɐndʊ bãxɪsa sɛsɪ cr̊ˠɛ̃ lɛ sɛsɪ hinol so ðɐn otr̊ˠãga psa sɛ ɔ̃ dastə ɛsɪ timi sɛcɛ kʷupɛvɔ]
 * "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."