Nuenan

Nuenan refers to an ethnolinguistic group and their language in a fictional setting. The Nuenan people are said to inhabit the highland valleys and coastal terraces of the central archipelago within the world of Taros. Contemporary estimates place the number of speakers around 60,000, with communities spread across urban centers and rural villages. The term Nuenan thus denotes both the people and their language.

Nuenan is described as an agglutinative, subject–object–verb language. It uses postpositions rather than prepositions and features vowel harmony in many of its morphemes. The speech system includes evidential and aspect markers, allowing speakers to indicate source of information and temporal nuances. Phonologically, Nuenan reportedly maintains a modest inventory of consonants and vowels, with distinguishable long and short vowels in certain dialects.

The writing system comprises an indigenous script known as the Arat script, which appears in local inscriptions and decorative arts. In scholarly and educational contexts, a Latin-based transliteration is commonly used, facilitating wider study and literacy. Bilingual signage and publications are increasingly common in regions with Nuenan-speaking communities.

Culturally, the Nuenan are associated with terraced agriculture, copper craftsmanship, and a rich oral tradition. Social organization centers on clan lineages and local councils that historically governed customary law and land use. Annual festivals celebrate harvests, ancestral tales, and communal cohesion, with a strong emphasis on storytelling, song, and ritual performance.

In contemporary times, language vitality varies by locality. Revitalization efforts include community-led language classes, documentary linguistics projects, and dictionaries. Researchers and cultural organizations continue to document Nuenan to support education and intergenerational transmission.