Zangsayoi

Zangsayoi is the language spoken by the Elves present in Abravost. It is actually a combination of a few closely related languages which were spoken in the elven homeland, rather than being a single language. It is technically spoken by most Elves in Abravost, but small pockets in Skarhu speak a related but distinct form, due to the different source languages that caused it to come to be.

It or its related forms are not spoken by all Elves, due to Vostan being the major language of communication. It is the legal language in Waal Zaimyatl.

Dialects and Creoles

The elven languages are rather diverse, in both sound and word choice. The dialect spoken in the Waal Zaimyatl capital of Waal Paisheim is used as the academic and legal form of the language, from which all others diverge. The further you travel from Paisheim, the more differences come about. Much of this spectrum of difference comes from contact with Vostan, and its affect on the language.

In southern Waal Zaimyatl, Elven takes the least influence from Vostan, due to historic tensions in that region. In northern Waal Zaimyatl, it takes the most influence, to the point where some regions could be considered as speaking a creole of Elven and Vostan. This is common amongst pockets of Elven speakers who live outside the country, due to their higher level of interaction with Vostan speakers.

While not the same language, the Skarhan form of Elven is often considered a creole, due to the smaller Elven population and their larger integration into Vostan speaking society. Skarhan creoles are partially intelligible by Abravosti creoles, though the more elven parts of their language may be difficult for each to understand. 'Skarhan Elven', in its rarer non-creole form, is barely intelligible to Abravosti Elven, and vice versa.

Sonorant

Sounds such as nasals and approximants, which are produced with continuous airflow

Obstruents

Sounds such as plosives and fricatives.

Creole

A language which has combined two (or more) natural languages, taking much of its vocabulary and often simplifying the grammar

Spoken by

• Kailkoseltii
• Lialpumpámtii
• Suungkee
• Zaimyalkee

Phonology

Phonotactics

All syllables must start with a consonant. The only sounds which are not allowed to start a syllable are ŋ and t͡ɬ. A syllable is not required to have a consonant after the vowel, but when it does, it can only be from a small set of sounds - l, m, ŋ and t͡ɬ.

There are a few exceptions, often involving the sound t͡ɬ, or tl. When tl occurs in the middle of a word, it will undergo one of two changes. If the consonant that follows it is a 'sonorant', then the tl will become a 't'. If the following consonant is an 'obstruent', the tl will become an l. If the following consonant is an /l/, then the change still happens, but the resulting tl is pronounced as t͡ɬ, rather than as t-l.

Sonorant Example
Yatl + li = Yatli (jat.li)

Obstruent Example
Kailkosetl + tii = Kailkoseltii (kaɪ̯l.ko.sel.ti:)

L Example
Meitl + lang = Meitlang (meɪ̯t͡ɬ.aŋ)