Kantav

Kantav is a constructed language developed for the fictional Kantav Chronicles, a science-fiction setting used in novels, games, and media. It is presented as the native tongue of the Kantavian people and as a lingua franca across several imagined regions. The language was designed to feel natural and learnable, while providing structural depth for worldbuilding, discourse, and character dialogue. It has since accumulated a community of learners and contributors.

Phonology and writing: Kantav has a phoneme inventory of about 22 consonants and five vowels, with a preference for CV syllables and occasional CVC forms. Stress is typically penultimate. The writing system, Kantav script, is an alphabet designed to reflect the language's phonology, with dedicated diacritics for vowel length and a minor use of digraphs for affricates.

Grammar: The language is primarily analytic with an agglutinative morphology and an SOV word order. It features an ergative past in the verb system, with noun case marking for oblique roles. Verbs encode aspect, mood, and evidentiality, while pronouns distinguish inclusive and exclusive we. Noun incorporation and serial verb constructions are common features in traditional narratives.

Lexicon and borrowing: Core vocabulary covers daily life, technology, and nature; many terms are formed through productive affixation. In-world contact languages contribute borrowings that reflect historical trade and cultural exchange among neighboring regions.

Usage and reception: Kantav appears in fiction, fan dictionaries, and language-learning resources within the Kantav Chronicles universe. It is used for worldbuilding, character development, and to convey social relationships, politeness, and cultural identity across the imagined societies.