Laqi language

Laqi (Laҳi)
Pronunciation:	{{{pronunciation}}}
Spoken in:	Shireroth
Region:	Southern Brookshire
Total speakers:	4,275,100
Language family:	Khaz-Modani Languages
Writing system:	{{{alphabet}}}
Official status
Official language in:	Shireroth, Barony of K'Tzuni
Regulated by:	Laqi Linguistic Board

Noxi Laҳi... sьkarlә baarli Južŋaŋu
Our Laqi... the sweet speech of the South
Traditional Saying

Laqi is a Conlang spoken by the overwhelming majority of citizens of the county of Modan-lach and in smaller numbers in Lywind and Ž. It is a recognised official language of the Barony of K'Tzuni. Believed to have originated from dialects spoken by Khaz-Modanians in ancient times, Laqi is designed to have a Turkic appearance in its vocabulary, its alphabet designed greatly on those used by the Soviets in the 1920s for languages such as Tuvinian and Azeri. The first work on Laqi was started by Maksym Hadjimehmetov under the reign of Kaiser Mors V. A Laqi Phrasebook and basic grammar are currently being compiled.

Geographical Distribution

Map showing linguistic distribution of Laqi and its neighbouring languages in the Barony of K'Tzuni

As the map above shows, the geographical distribution of the Laqi Language is a wide one. The Lingua Franca of K'Tzuni, Laqi is a major Shirereithan Conlang and is used extensively by local government in K'Tzuni. Its influence leads to its common usage in the borderlands with other Baronies such as Dolor, and also in small emigré communities of Laqis in major Shirereithan cities such as Shirekeep.

Dialects

Numerous dialects of the Laqi language exist- though the accepted norm, standardised Laqi, is understood throughout the Laqi-speaking provinces and is generally the written form, an insular variation with many now outmoded and archaic aspects of vocabulary and syntax (such as colloquial use of the plural and retaining of imported words before the Laqi Language Purification by Laqi Linguistic Board) being spoken on the small island County of Ž. Lywind also has a distinct Laqi dialect- with numerous words of Lywind English. The purest Laqi dialect is known as High-Laqi, spoken in Upper Lach, in the County of Modan-lach. It is this Laqi upon which the modern standardisation is based, and that which is taught in Laqi language schools and used for the great majority of publishing in the K'Tzuni region. Laqi spoken in Modan-lach's coastal area is known as Low-Laqi, and has many more imported words due to earlier contact with foreign tradesmen in the Khaz Gulf. The influx of native Shirithan English speakers to K'Tzuni's capital, Brookshire Hamlet, during the time of the foundation of the Kehl (K'Tzuni's Baronial Legislative Body) also led to a noticable increase in colloquial Shirithan English words in Laqi circulating amongst Laqi speakers in the city.

Grammar

Laqi syntax and grammar has been heavily influenced by the calques of numerous Indo-European languages, sharing similarities in conjugation, case utilisation, and personal pronouns with both the Slavic and Germanic branches of that language family. However, unusually for a language of Indo-European influence, Laqi is Kazakh is generally verb-final, though various permutations on SOV word order can be used depending on dialect and context. The usage of personal pronouns and conjugation is also comparable to the Altaic family tree, however, with the Turkic system of suffix addition being employed widely across the Laqi language to conjugate verbs. Unusually, as well as a singular and plural form of nouns, Laqi also maintains a dual form- found also in Slovenian- which is widely used. Colloquially, the plural form is often not used, instead repeating the noun twice, hyphenated, as in Indonesian and Malay.

Cases

Laqi has five cases. Case endings are applied to the last ending of a noun or adjective. These cases are the Nominative (subject), Accusative (direct object), Genitive (possessive), Dative(indirect object), and Instrumental (comitative).

Declension of Laqi nouns

Case	Possible forms	Gema "ship"	Ҳavьa "air"	Uram "bucket"	Sәdiz "carrot"	Gobьv "head"	Zel "salt"
Nom	—	—	Gema	Ҳavьa	Uram	Sәdiz	Gobьv	Zel
Acc	-N,M,T	-nu, -nө, -nә, -mә, -mө, -ta, -tun	Gemanu	Ҳavьanө	Uram(ь)mә	Sәdizmө	Gobьvta	Zeltun
Gen	-Ŋ,T	-ŋaŋ, -ŋarŋar, -ŋaŋaŋ, -ŋaŋu, -tog, -tet	Gemanu	Ҳavьaŋarŋar	Uramŋaŋaŋ	Sәdizŋaŋu	Gobьvtog	Zeltet
Dat	-Š	-šu, -šet, -šeš, -šem, -šar, šor	Gemašu	Ҳavьašet	Uramšeš	Sәdizšem	Gobьvšar	Zelšor
Inst	-B,Ž	-bo, -bet, -ben, -vet, -žen, -žaz	Gemabo	Ҳavьabet	Uramben	Sәdizvet	Gobьvžen	Zelžaz

Writing System

The Laqi alphabet is generally phoenetic, though there are regional variations in Upper Lach (see Modan-lach) and stress changes according to gender endings of adjectives and nouns. Unlike some of the Turkic languages which it is based on, there is no vowel harmony. The alphabet consists of thirty letters, seven of which are vowels.

• A- ‘a’ as in apple
• B- hard ‘b’ as in bet
• C- ‘ts’ or ‘tz’ as in kibbutz
• D-‘d’ as in ‘dot’
• E- acute ‘e’ as in French soufflé
• G- hard ‘g’ as in great
• I- ‘ee’ as in need
• J- ‘y’ as in year
• K- ‘k’ as in kill
• L- ‘l’ as in lemon
• Ł- as in the Polish- soft English ‘w’ as in where
• M- ‘m’ as in meat
• N- ‘n’ as in nearly
• Ŋ- ‘ny’ as in Chechnya
• O- short ‘o’ as in lot
• Ө- ‘oe’ as in German ö
• P- ‘p’ as in party
• R- ‘r’ as in really
• S- ‘s’ as in simple
• Š- ‘sh’ as in sharp
• T- ‘t’ as in toast
• U- ‘oo’ as in good
• Ə- short ‘u’ as in tug
• V- German ‘v’ (i.e soft ‘v’)
• X- ‘ch’ as in cheese
• Ҳ- ‘kh’ as in loch
• Ь- clips preceeding vowel or consonant short
• Z- ‘z’ as in zebra
• Ž- soft ‘zh’ or the ‘su’ in leisure