Elnian

Elnian refers to a fictional language and associated culture in several works of speculative fiction and role-playing settings. It is commonly depicted as the speech of the Elnian people, a seafaring civilization inhabiting the archipelago of Eldara. In most narratives the language functions as a central element of Elnian identity and diplomacy and is described in varying detail across sources.

Linguistic description: Elnian is often described as an agglutinative language with a subject–object–verb order, though several authors present it as flexible in word order. The phonology typically includes a set of five vowels and a range of consonants including stops, fricatives, and nasals, with occasional uvulars and a glottal stop. A distinctive feature in some treatments is vowel harmony or vowel alternations triggered by affixes. The writing system is depicted in-universe as a syllabary called the Elnari script; external translations typically use the Latin alphabet for transliteration.

Dialects and history: Notable dialects include Coastal Elnian and Inland Elnian, with differences in lexicon and phonology. The language is often traced through a three-stage history in fan works: Old Elnian, Middle Elnian, and Modern Elnian. Some sources link Elnian to an older language family of Eldara or portray it as an isolate.

Usage and influence: In fiction, Elnian is used in ceremonies, sea-faring terminology, and diplomacy. Language-learning resources, glossaries, and fan codas appear across wikis and game materials. Elnian also appears as a surname in some settings.