Dwekoennish

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Dwekoennish (native: Dvekönneść) is a language spoken on the continent of Arvaśag. It is a member of the northwestern branch of the Hovalic languages, the majority of which are concentrated in the Arvaśi province of Dwekoennia. Dwekoennish is divided into many dialects, but the central dialect (based mostly on the late Emperor Hoval's own idiolect) is widely understood and has become the de facto written standard. This article deals with the features of the standard dialect.

Dwekoennish
Dvekönneść
Spoken in: Dwekoennia (Dvekönneas)
Conworld: Arvaśag (continent)
Total speakers: 342 million
Genealogical classification: Arvaśi
Hovalic
Northwestern Hovalic
Dwekoennish
Basic word order: VSO
Morphological type: inflecting
Morphosyntactic alignment: nominative-accusative
Writing system:
Created by:
Stelvojoj 2008 AD

Geographic Distribution

Due to the sensitive nature of politics on Arvaśag, a proper census of the continent has not been conducted in over 50 years, and even then, records show that those conducted have never been very precise. Therefore, no clear estimate can be made of the number of Dwekoennish speakers, but academics have used what data that does exist, along with careful methods of error analysis, to estimate that anywhere between 337 and 350 million people speak the language. This includes native Dwekoennish speakers and those who speak Dwekoennish as a second language and use it regularly.

The Empire and Linguistic Cleansing

Main article: Dwekoennish Imperial Language Policy

Dwekoennish is spoken throughout much of western Arvaśag, most of which was originally under the rule of the Dwekoennish Empire. It is still an official language in many of the independent provinces, but in a few provinces it has lost official status but remains in high usage. Its widespread influence is mostly a consequence of its imposition by Emperor Hoval. Many provinces are enacting movements to revive local languages in retaliation to what they consider the suppression of their cultures.

Phonology

Dwekoennish has a rich inventory of consonants and vowels. Of special note is the abundance of coronal fricatives and lateral consonants.

Consonants


Consonants
Bilabial Labiod. Dental Alveolar Post-alv. Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive p b t d k g
Tap, Flap ɾ
Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ x h
Affricate ts dz
Approximant w ɹ j
Lateral Fricative ɬ ɮ ʟ˔
Lateral Affricate kʟ˔
Lateral Approximant l ʟ

Vowels


Vowels
Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
High i u
Near-high
High-mid e ø ɤ
Mid
Low-mid ɛ ɜ ɞ ɔ
Near-low
Low a ɶ ɑ

Orthography