aakkosiin

Aakkosiin is a constructed language created for speculative fiction and worldbuilding, spoken by the fictional Aakkos people in a growing body of interconnected narratives. The name is inspired by the Finnish term for alphabet, a nod to the language’s prominent place in writing and cultural identity within the setting.

Phonology and grammar: Aakkosiin features a five-vowel system and a compact set of consonants, with phonotactics favoring simple onsets and codas. It uses vowel harmony that extends across affixes, so suffix vowels typically harmonize with the root vowel. The language is agglutinative, attaching suffixal morphemes to mark case, number, tense, mood, and evidentiality. The basic word order is subject–object–verb, though rich case marking permits some freedom; adjectives typically precede nouns.

Writing system: The principal script is a syllabary of CV units, with each symbol representing a consonant–vowel pair. A Latin transliteration is provided for learners. In the fictional world, writing plays a ceremonial role and is linked to education and administration.

History and reception: In the fiction, Aakkosiin arose from contact among coastal traders and highland communities and was standardized during a historical empire, producing a relatively stable orthography. Outside the stories, conlang enthusiasts study and document the language, publishing dictionaries, grammars, and pronunciation guides.