iorum

iorum is a fictional constructed language (conlang) developed for worldbuilding and speculative fiction. It is designed as a regular, expressive language intended for use in collaborative storytelling. The name Iorum is a neologism created for the project, chosen to reflect the language's central theme of connection and lineage within its fictional culture.

Origins and speakers: In the fiction, Iorum is spoken by the Ioran people of a coastal archipelago. The community tends to keep dialectal variation to a minimum in official texts, though two widely recognized varieties—Northern Iorum and Southern Iorum—exist in different regions.

Phonology and writing: Iorum has a compact phoneme inventory: five vowels (a e i o u) and a set of consonants including p, t, k, s, m, n, l, r. Syllables are typically CV or CVC; stress falls on the penultimate syllable. The writing system uses a Latin-based alphabet with optional diacritics to mark vowel length and distinct phonemes.

Grammar and morphology: The language is analytic with a subject–verb–object (SVO) base word order. Nouns inflect for number and definiteness, while a genitive plural suffix -orum marks possession. Verbs encode tense and aspect through particles and, in some varieties, light affixes. Pronouns distinguish person, number, and gender in formal usage.

Lexicon and usage: Core vocabulary emphasizes kinship, trade, and navigation, reflecting its maritime setting. The conlang is maintained by an online community and is documented in a public lexicon and grammar guides used by writers and language hobbyists. References and further material are found in conlang repositories and worldbuilding forums.