Sfinii

Sfinii is a constructed language developed by an international community of linguists and hobbyists for linguistic experimentation and speculative fiction. Initiated in the early 2010s, sfinii was designed to explore agglutinative morphology, phonotactics, and flexible syntax. The name sfinii derives from the preferred phoneme sequence sf and the common conlang suffix -inii, marking the language as a distinct system.

Phonology and writing: The language has a five-vowel system /a e i o u/ with limited length contrasts. Its consonant inventory includes p, t, k, b, d, g, f, s, z, ʃ, m, n, l, r, w, j and the initial cluster sf is allowed. Stress typically lands on the penultimate syllable. Sfinii is written in a Latin-based orthography, with diacritics used to indicate vowel quality and stress; the orthography aims to be phonemic and relatively conservative in loan adaptations.

Grammar: Sfinii is primarily agglutinative. Nouns mark number and case with suffixes, including nominative and accusative forms and an oblique case for indirect objects. Verbs encode aspect and mood through affixes; tense can be indicated by auxiliary elements or verb suffixes. Adjectives follow nouns and agree in number. The basic word order is SVO, though it allows flexible configurations for focus and discourse.

Lexicon and usage: The core lexicon covers everyday concepts and domain terms, with ongoing expansion by community contributors. Educational resources include grammars, dictionaries, and learner courses. Sfinii is used online in conlang communities, in role-playing contexts, and in works of fiction; it has no official country affiliation and remains primarily a collaborative hobby project.