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The '''Olgish languages''' (olg. ''Olgenam'') are one of the three major branches of the [[Ortûlékian Languages|Ortûlékian language family]], spoken by the various groups self-identifying as [[Olgish Peoples|Olgs]] in [[Belkondíl]], [[Geran]], the [[Northwestern Colonies]], and the [[Reknaya]], and the [[Northern Feldin]] of [[Nelkon]]. The Cëlacian or Eastern varieties of this branch gave rise to the dialects of most Olgish clans, directly ancestral to the [[Old Olgish Koine]] of [[Kingdom of Belkondíl|Enethin’s Belkondíl]], [[Saint Fádin|Fádin]]’s [[Liturgical Middle Olgish]], and the [[ | The '''Olgish languages''' (olg. ''Olgenam'') are one of the three major branches of the [[Ortûlékian Languages|Ortûlékian language family]], spoken by the various groups self-identifying as [[Olgish Peoples|Olgs]] in [[Belkondíl]], [[Geran]], the [[Northwestern Colonies]], and the [[Reknaya]], and the [[Northern Feldin]] of [[Nelkon]]. The Cëlacian or Eastern varieties of this branch gave rise to the dialects of most Olgish clans, directly ancestral to the [[Old Olgish Koine]] of [[Kingdom of Belkondíl|Enethin’s Belkondíl]], [[Saint Fádin|Fádin]]’s [[Liturgical Middle Olgish]], and the [[New Olgish]] of the [[Lécaronian Empire|Imperial Era]]. | ||
==Etymology and names== | ==Etymology and names== | ||
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This [[Liturgial Middle Olgish]], or ‘Fádin’s Tongue’, quickly spreads across the Olgish-speaking world, largely thanks to the success of Fádin’s new Lonsorigi. Both the Western and [[Olgish Church of the East|Eastern Olgish Church]] adopt it as their holy language, and upon his accession as Emperor of all Olgs, [[Beldárin Fadhérún]] declares it the official language of [[Lécaron|his empire]. It is this clerical role that keeps Fádin’s Middle Olgish preserved as the ubiquitous formal language in most of Elondor; in particular, its use among the [[Imperial Office of Magic and Augury]] cements its position as the language most commonly used in [[Prayer spell|Olgish prayer spells]]. | This [[Liturgial Middle Olgish]], or ‘Fádin’s Tongue’, quickly spreads across the Olgish-speaking world, largely thanks to the success of Fádin’s new Lonsorigi. Both the Western and [[Olgish Church of the East|Eastern Olgish Church]] adopt it as their holy language, and upon his accession as Emperor of all Olgs, [[Beldárin Fadhérún]] declares it the official language of [[Lécaron|his empire]. It is this clerical role that keeps Fádin’s Middle Olgish preserved as the ubiquitous formal language in most of Elondor; in particular, its use among the [[Imperial Office of Magic and Augury]] cements its position as the language most commonly used in [[Prayer spell|Olgish prayer spells]]. | ||
The Middle Olgish dialects, meanwhile, proceed with their rapid evolution, | The Middle Olgish dialects, meanwhile, proceed with their rapid evolution, eventually taking on the form of a [[New Olgish|Modern Olgish]]. But even in its earliest days, they are already a minority language group in Fadhérún’s diverse empire, most of whose provinces have long relied on various forms of [[Lécaronian Soskish]] as a lingua franca. Even though the most widely used clerical language, by the early 6th century, only four of the old Olgish languages remain spoken in Lécaron, New Olgish in [[Orininon]] and areas of Geran, [[Wertian language|Wertian]] on the [[Geranian Heath]], [[Brethanian language|Brethanian]] on the [[Mairn]], and [[Corbian language|Corbian]] in [[Corbin]]. Additionally, the [[Northern Feldin|Feldin]] of [[Timburgh (Lécaronian Province)|Timburgh]] have spawned their own offshoot of Middle Olgish, the [[Northern Feldic language]] (which is entirely unrelated to [[Southern Feldic language|Southern Feldic]], an [[Avalian languages|Avalian]] language). In L.R. 540, finally, Emperor [[Ésôrin the Wise]] declares Soskish the official spoken language of the Empire, obliging all imperial offices to make themselves accessible to Soskish speakers and reducing Olgish to a purely written function. | ||
New Olgish almost fully disappears over the following two centuries and is replaced by nearly all speakers with [[Lécaronian Soskish]]; it remains a popular language among the Olgish clergy and nobility, and, more rarely, [[Eskosi]] Olgish nationalists in Seligon. Brethanian, Corbian, and Northern Feldic remain in constant use within their fringe domains, while Wertian experiences a boom in popularity in the late 7th century, spurred by the [[Geranian Wars|Geranian independence movement]]. | |||
===Systematics=== | ===Systematics=== | ||
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A morphological number coding system seems to have been absent in Proto-Ortûlékian, or, if present, at least highly irregular and incoherent. Like [[Aribelian-Celdic languages|Aribelian-Celdic]], the Olgish languages evolve their own forms plural expression based on a large set of affixes, simple but varied ablaut pairs, and other, irregular form changes. While the coding strategies observed are starkly similar to those in Old Aribelian, they are applied independently, and few Olgish-Aribelian cognates share plural forms, further supporting the notion that Aribelian and Olgish are somewhat more closely related to each other than they are to [[Aulish language|Aulish]], possibly innovating the morphological principles underlying plural coding together but not implementing it until the dialects had fully separated. | A morphological number coding system seems to have been absent in Proto-Ortûlékian, or, if present, at least highly irregular and incoherent. Like [[Aribelian-Celdic languages|Aribelian-Celdic]], the Olgish languages evolve their own forms plural expression based on a large set of affixes, simple but varied ablaut pairs, and other, irregular form changes. While the coding strategies observed are starkly similar to those in Old Aribelian, they are applied independently, and few Olgish-Aribelian cognates share plural forms, further supporting the notion that Aribelian and Olgish are somewhat more closely related to each other than they are to [[Aulish language|Aulish]], possibly innovating the morphological principles underlying plural coding together but not implementing it until the dialects had fully separated. | ||
These highly idiosyncratic plurals are stubbornly preserved in both great formal varieties of Olgish, the [[Old Olgish Koiné]] and [[Liturgical Middle Olgish]], but undergo a significant degree of regularization in most spoken varieties of Olgish, in particular [[Wertian language|Wertian]] and [[ | These highly idiosyncratic plurals are stubbornly preserved in both great formal varieties of Olgish, the [[Old Olgish Koiné]] and [[Liturgical Middle Olgish]], but undergo a significant degree of regularization in most spoken varieties of Olgish, in particular [[Wertian language|Wertian]] and [[New Olgish]]. | ||
==Writing system== | ==Writing system== | ||