Thaoa

Thaoa is a language spoken in southeastern Rilola and many islands. It was spoken around the year 4100 (present day is 8700), but its primary descendant language, Sakhi, is often still called "Thaoa".

Thaoa is a very warlike culture, unlike most humans on planet Teppala. "We have our teeth in the arm of the Poswob Empire" is their statement that they have unopposed settlements in Pusapom and are interested in taking over the entire gigantic Poswob empire, saying that they could beat a Poswob army 40 times their own size simply because the Poswobs are so weak and delicate, meeting the Sakhi army's spears and swords with only their soft hands and bodies.

However, for the most part, their conquests have been directed towards areas even further east then themselves, including back-migrations to Laba to conquer the territories from which humans were born. This is because it is much easier to conquer an island, or mainland territory enclosed by mountains, whose people have no escape, than to invade even the very soft and unsuspecting Poswob Empire which is separated from the Sakhis by the planet's tallest and most rugged mountain range.

Poswobs have even begun to settle in the northern areas of the Sakhi Empire, despite warnings from the inhabitants that Poswobs literally have no rights and can simply be killed at any time without the murderer needing to worry about punishment. They are there primarily to support peaceful trade between the two empires, but some Poswobs have visions of their empire not always being locked out of the east coast by the tiny but aggressive Thaoa settlements, and would like to overcome the barrier whether through peace (trade) or war. The Treay of Rumpamna establiushed this, and the settlers helped seal the treaty by exchanging their children with those of the other side, so that Thaoans raised Poswob children and vice versa. This is not the source of the claim that Thaoans have settlerments in Pusapom, however; those are a separate entrain ment.

Not all Thaoa nations are warlike; the nation of Nepsynsa has no military and does not retaliate against any attacks made on it. Private citizens are expected to defend themselves and their families. This is unlike the pacifism of Pusapom and Pupompom, where in some areas people are forbidden even from owning weapons that could be used to defend themselvbes from animals,m so a wild rabbit can kill humans indiscriminately.

Phonology

The phonoklog similar to that of the lkanguage of North Tapakunya in the year 18343 BC. Vowels are /a e i o u y/ (y is schwa) and consos are /b p pʰ d t tʰ k kʰ q qʰ s š č x h ž m n ŋ l/. There are many diphthongs, unusual for this continent and even this planet. There are no tones and all wqords are stressed on the first syllable. In many ways it is like Poswa with less labial consoannts, though actually this descrtiption would fit better on the Sakhi labngujage, a descendant of Thaoa, which has the same six vowels but no aspiration distinction and no uvulars, thus being much more like Poswa.

There were no uvulars in the parent language. Instead they were taken from Andanese, and from sequences that were not uvular but were still found only in loans from Andanese. E.g. /ʔh/ from a vowel accented with final /ʔ/ plus a sullable beginning in /h/. This could only happen in loans from Andanese, so all uvulars were from Andanese, whether directly or indirectly.

Hisory

The "chaos of Nama" (Umunises, Loop, etc) was here. Mt. Cherry may have also been here. That is, although the Saks strove to eliominate all minorities form the ir terrritory, and got a lot of them, they didnt settle depp inland so a lot of minorities still sruvive. The Bachon people, who today consider themlseves Poswobs, have some territory here and some in Pusaponm.