Tiliga

Tiliga is a fictional language and writing system created for demonstration in linguistic reference articles. In this article, Tiliga refers to the Tiligan language, spoken by the coastal Tiliga people in a fictional archipelago of the same name. The Tiligan language is described as an agglutinative, largely subject–object–verb language with a rich system of nominal classifiers and evidential markers. The lexicon emphasizes maritime terms reflecting the community’s seafaring heritage.

The tiliga script is a writing system associated with Tiliga. It is an abugida in which base consonant symbols carry inherent vowels or vowel diacritics modify them. Vowels and tones may be indicated by diacritics, ligatures, or optional diacritic marks. Traditionally, the script was written on palm-bark sheets and carved into wood; in modern usage it appears in calligraphic art and limited educational materials.

Historical development notes that the script emerged in a medieval period within the fictional Tiliga kingdom and saw later revival during contemporary times. In linguistic studies, Tiliga is described as having phonemic contrasts that include a set of plosives, fricatives, and a small number of suprasegmental features. Morphology is primarily suffixing, with sentence structure commonly noted as being head-final and using particles to mark evidential and mood distinctions.

Today Tiliga is presented as endangered within the fictional setting, with transmission concentrated in family settings and a growing but limited body of descriptive documentation. Efforts attributed to language communities and researchers aim to support teaching materials, intergenerational transmission, and archival projects.