Duscadorian (language)

Duscadorian is the language spoken primarily by the Duscadorian peoples native to the southernmost reaches of the continent of Truyea. It is the major spoken language of the Presidium of Duscador and is spoken on a native level by more than 40 million people, mostly scattered across Truyea. A few loanwords from older languages like Old Tamar still exist in Duscadorian, such as "d̓aash" - the Old Tamar word for "devil."
== History ==
The origins of the Duscadorian language are mostly unknown, though it is derived primarily from popular and widely-spoken languages native to the southern reaches of the continent of Truyea some two millenia ago, such as Old Tamar and Tamerian, and takes great influence from both of them. The first records in Duscadorian stretch back more than 1500 years, and by the year 0 A.S, Duscadorian had outpaced Old Tamar as the primary language of the people south of the geographical region known as the Neck.
It continued to grow organically, and under the reign of the Roni Republic, Duscadorian was taught as the primary spoken language. When the Republic fell in the early seventh century and Duscador was born, the language remained and continued to grow. Duscadorian is similar in sound and design to languages from the continent of Masand, across the southern seas, and sounds uniquely distinct from other popular languages on the continent, such as Sevician and Erenneese. As of the eighth century, it is the third most spoken language on the continent in terms of native speakers (behind Erenneese and Sevician) and the second most spoken in terms of total speakers, after only Sevician.
== Lexicon ==
Duscadorian is a Subject-Object-Verb language, which makes it distinct from both Erenneese and Sevician, which are both Subject-Verb-Object (like English). Most of Duscadorian can be traced back to Old Tamar and Tamerian words, and phonetically it includes a large number of alveolar and uvular sounds that place it closer to the estranged languages of the southern regions of Masand than any other on Truyea. Examples of Duscadorian words and phrases:
* yshad ("UH-shad") - "wine"
* Dusqen ("DUS-ken") - "Duscadorian"
* evi ("E-vee") - "Little"
* haghat ("HAG-hat") - "Friend"
* naaqh ("NA-ack") - "Eternity"
* myqha (MUH-ka") - "Together"
* voli ("VOH-lee") - "To speak"
* roqo ("ROH-ko") - "To do"
* pihaa ("PEE-ha-a") - "To learn"
* bali ("BAH-lee") - "To have"
* demaa ("DEH-ma-a") - "To stop"
And an example conversation in Duscadorian, taken from an excerpt of the short story Firebrand:
* ‘Eqh yshad eddi t̓et.’
* ‘Ne qa eddi torata.’
* ‘Qy Dusqenvoo volisu?’
* 'Evi.'
* ‘Lewe qo pihaata?’
* ‘Dusqenaq haghat balita. Ne hunqotta di volidita.’
* ‘Qy eddijyhoo di volisu.’
== See also ==
Duscador
Duscadorians (people)
Duscadorian basic grammar book and lexicon
Category:Misc.