The diverse cultures of Cerilia speak dozens of different languages. The oldest languages on the continent are Sidhelien (elvish), Karamhul (dwarven), Giant, Goblin - the languages of the cultures that lived in Cerilia before human settlement - and Cellwair (halfling) who fled the Shadow World. Of these, Sidhelien was particularly influential in the evolution of the human tongues; in fact, the Andu borrowed freely from the elvish alphabet when devising their writing system.

[top]Anuirean


EnglishAnuirean
Letter Pronounciation
ashort a, as in ant
eeh, as in bed
iih, as in rill
oshort o, as in top
yshort i, as in pin
aeay, as in bay
ieee, as in peel
oeoh, as in ogre
uioo-ih, as in ruin
uooo-oh, as in coordinate
bb, as in ball
ck, as in cow
dd, as in dog
dhsoft th, as in thistle
ff, as in fat
g (gh)g, as in goat
hh, as in hat
jj, as in jar
ll, as in lap
mm, as in mat
nn, as in nap
pp, as in pat
rr, as in rat
ss, as in sat
shsh, as in ship
tt, as in tip
thhard th, as in that
vv, as in vat
ww, as in work

Modern Anuirean is descend from Andu, the language spoken by the Andu people - the first of the human tribes to settle in Cerilia. Andu had no writing system prior to the migration to Cerilia. A short time thereafter, Andu came to be written in a variation of elven script, which the Andu learnt from their first peaceful contacts with the elves. Modern Anuirean still uses many of the same letters.
The Anuirean alphabet has ten vowels and nineteen consonants, for a total of 29 letters. A few other vowel sounds exist that aren't true letters, but are noted with symbols to reflect their unique sounds.

[top]Silent letters

In a word ending in an e after a single consonant, the e is not pronounced as a separate syllable, and the previous vowels are treated as a diphthong. However, a cluster of two or more consonants forces the e to be pronounced as a separate syllable. For example:
An ie at the end of a word is always pronounced as two vowels, producing an ee-ay ending. For example:

[top]Accent marks

In some cases, an accent mark is used to indicate compound vowels that are pronounced separately. For example:

[top]Anuirean names

[top]Rjuven

The Rjurik peoples adopted the Anuirean alphabet, although they modified it for their own use. A person literate in Anuirean can pronounce Rjuven written words, although he cannot determine their meaning and syntax.

[top]Brecht

The language of the Brechts has a heavy, Germanic ring and follows many typically Germanic rules. The Brechts borrowed dwarven runes as the model for their written language, but Brecht has evolved to the point that a reader of Brecht can no longer read dwarven rune-letters.
There are two versions of the Brecht language in use - the older High Brecht and the more common Low Brecht.

[top]Basarji

The Basarji brought their own language to Cerilia and developed their alphabet independent of outside influence. The language is Arabic in appearance and sound, with a strong Mediterranean flavour. Little different exists between the language spoken by the Khinasi today and that spoken by their ancestors.

[top]Vos

The folk of Vosgaard do not have a written language. However a set of runic symbols is widely used for marking possessions and for counting.

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