Leijui

Leijui is a constructed language created as part of a speculative-fiction and conlang project. It functions as the linguistic centerpiece of the imagined Leijui archipelago, a cluster of seafaring communities in a fictional coastal setting. The language, its grammar, phonology, and writing system are described in published grammars, dictionaries, and narratives produced by enthusiasts and authors involved in the project.

Leijui is described as an agglutinative, subject–object–verb language with suffix-based morphology. It uses a phonemic inventory of five vowels and about twenty consonants, including a glottal stop. Syllables are typically CV or CVC, and stress tends to fall on the word’s final heavy syllable. The basic word order is generally SOV, with postpositions rather than prepositions, though discourse-pragmatic factors can shift surface order for emphasis or topic-comment structure. Pronoun systems mark inclusive/exclusive plurals and levels of formality. Noun phrases include demonstratives, numerals, and case particles that encode roles such as definiteness, possession, and direct object.

Leijui uses a distinct script developed for the language, combining an alphabetic layer with diacritics to indicate vowel quality and phonation. In addition to the script, Latin transliterations are commonly used in secondary resources to aid learners. The writing system supports punctuation customary to narrative and poetic genres within the Leijui corpus.

In the fictional setting, Leijui preserves a rich oral tradition—epics, navigational chants, and ritual songs tied to sea expeditions and seasonal ceremonies. The language is portrayed as encoding social hierarchy, kinship, and ritual knowledge through verb forms, pronoun usage, and honorific particles.

Despite its fictional status, Leijui has inspired real-world language-building communities, online courses, and creative works, contributing to discussions on worldbuilding and the design of engineered languages.