Lausuttunian

Lausuttunian is a fictional language created for the Lausuttun setting, a constructed language used in the novels and companion materials of the series. It is described as the native tongue of the Lausuttun people, who inhabit a dispersed archipelago. In-world, Lausuttunian serves as a vehicle for cultural expression, oral history, and ritual speech, and it interacts with the series’ other languages through trade and contact.

Phonology and writing: Lausuttunian has a five-vowel system (a, e, i, o, u) with vowel harmony influenced by syllable structure. Consonants include p, t, k, f, s, h, l, m, n, r, w, y, and a voiced uvular stop q. The language permits gemination and a glottal stop in word-initial and word-final positions. The standard orthography is the Lausuttunian Script, a syllabary-like script with some Latin characters used in modern editions.

Grammar: Lausuttunian is described as primarily analytic with a flexible word order, often SVO in narrative prose but allowing topic-prominent constructions. Nouns inflect for number and case; adjectives typically follow nouns; verbs mark aspect, mood, and evidentiality through affixes and clitics. Pronouns encode inclusive/exclusive first-person plural and honorific forms.

Usage and status: In the fiction, Lausuttunian is taught in schools on several islands and widely used in poetry, songs, and ceremonies. It exists alongside regional varieties and has inspired revival efforts among scholars and enthusiasts who publish dictionaries, grammar outlines, and learner texts.