Zarndaki

Zarndaki is a term encountered in world-building, speculative fiction, and some linguistic exercises to designate a fictional ethnolinguistic group, including the people, their language, and related cultural practices. Because it is not a real-world community, the details of zarndaki vary by author, project, or game. In many renderings, the zarndaki trace their origins to a highland plateau near a river valley called Zarnda, and their name is derived from the river and a suffix meaning "people" in the local fictional language.

The zarndaki language is typically described as agglutinative with a subject–object–verb order, a rich system of evidentials, and noun class markings. Its writing system is often shown as a featural script or a syllabary invented for the setting, sometimes using ornamented artifacts in their craft context.

Zarndaki society is commonly portrayed as clan-based and horticultural, with strong oral storytelling, ritual music, and annual harvest festivals. Craftsmanship—textiles, pottery, metalwork—is central to identity and economy; traditional dress features geometric patterns with symbolic color schemes.

Historically, authors place zarndaki in a transitional era between pastoral and settled agriculture, creating conflict and exchange with neighboring groups. In scholarly and role-playing contexts, zarndaki is used as a neutral, richly described placeholder to illustrate linguistic or anthropological concepts.