A Beginner's Guide to the Hinterlandic Language

*Olaver Krauss & Eirik Tyrso*

*The King's Writers - Department of Astral Languages and Linguistic Studies*

*Albion*

*Lowharveste, 7th dusk, 4781*

### Note from the author

Hinterlandic (or *Fhára Sólmh* , meaning literally 'new tongue') is a language spoken primarily in the Hinterlands, but also to a far lesser extent by certain communities around Aquila populated by the Hinterlander diaspora. Due to the extremely small number of native Hinterlandic speakers -- we can accurately estimate less than 40,000 -- the language is indeed currently classified as *severely endangered*. Though the language is not spoken by any great measure or fluency beyond the confines of the Hinterlands or its disparate ex-patriot communities, it is known that in recent decades a number of academic circles as far afield as Aragon, Dreiton, and Caer Lyon have taken it upon themselves to utilise the language in a formal linguistic setting, and in this way assure its preservation. I can only be so eager to add my voice to those wishing to shed light on this deeply fascinating language, so vital to the Hinterlander culture and way of life.

Hinterlandic is an Astral language, representing the merger between Old Thelian and an unnamed Olexian dialect, members of the Proto-Kilranian and East Surladan families, respectively. Like other members of the Astral linguistic family, and indeed like most other native languages spoken in and around the Zoshean-Thule northern oceanic corridor, Hinterlandic is an inflected language -- a concept now alien to speakers of Aquilan Standard. Intonation will largely remain familiar, the phonology is fairly straightforward, and stress -- which typically plays a part in how a word conjugates or declines -- is usually indicated by accents. Word order is usually conducted using a subject-verb-object pattern, but this can vary drastically. Orthographically, Hinterlandic today uses the same Common Alphabet as used by speakers of Aquilan Standard, though up until a century ago the language was written only in a unique runic scripture. For the introduction of the Common Alphabet we have to thank the venerable monk and Hinterlandic scholar Aed the Wise (4595-4690).

This guide is intended for beginners. It is designed to introduce the speaker to the basic elements of the Hinterlandic language by stressing grammar, mechanics, syntax, vocabulary, phonology, and colloquial phraseology. Though the student should comfortably achieve a conversational level through using this book alone, it is true that in regards to Hinterlandic, as with all languages, mastering the book is only half the battle; we wholeheartedly encourage the avid learner of Hinterlandic to surround themselves with like-minded people and practice the language in its spoken form. In doing so, the learner will be contributing to the oral preservation of this vital language.

*~ Olaver Krauss*

## Orthography & Phonology

Hinterlandic is mostly phonemic, with almost every vowel serving as the basis of a spoken syllabic unit (unless part of a diphthong) and only a small number of consonants left unvoiced or altered. Every polysyllabic word is stressed, though which syllable is stressed is random and can often change due to inflection. Most commonly, stress can easily be identified by an accented vowel or a diphthong. Every word only has one stressed syllable, but emphasis on the stress is not as prominent as in other languages. Hinterlandic is also notorious for its substantial number of fricative consonant clusters and digraphs, which can often prove difficult for non-native speakers.

The Hinterlandic alphabet is based off of the Aquilan Common Alphabet, having replaced a traditional runic writing system in use until the previous century. It has 7 vowels and 17 consonants for a total of 24 letters.

### Vowels

The first four vowels are short and unstressed, whilst the last three are long and stressed.

#### Diphthongs

Diphthongs, despite lacking accent marks, are always long and stressed.

 ae
 oe
 ei

### Consonants

All consonants are used regularly except for *p* and *z*, which are only used in loanwords (mostly foreign place-names).

#### Digraphs

A digraph usually, but not always, precedes a stressed vowel. Note the phonetic difference between the fricatives *dh* and *th*.

## Nouns

Nouns in Hinterlandic decline into one of three cases, in accordance with their role in the sentence. For nouns acting as the sentence's subject, predicate nominative, or vocative, the *nominative* case is used. For nouns acting as the sentence’s direct object, the *directive* case is used. All other sentence roles, including possessive, prepositional/instrumental, or indirect object, take the *oblique* case.

Hinterlandic nouns are gendered. There are three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Nouns decline into different cases based on their respective gender. Determining a noun’s gender can usually be achieved through the following patterns:

* Masculine nouns usually end in a *consonant* in the nominative
* Feminine nouns usually end in *a* or a *diphthong* in the nominative
* Neuter nouns usually end in *o* or *e* in the nominative

Nouns generally decline as follows:

*Note the stress changes in the feminine and neuter directive cases, and all plural oblique cases.*

## Pronouns

A pronoun's case and function in a sentence is the same as a noun's.

### Demonstrative pronouns

 This
 That
 These
 Those