pahlavn

Pahlavn is a fictional language and cultural system created for worldbuilding and speculative fiction. It is described as the language of the Pahlavn people in the archipelago of Lira and the adjacent mainland of Vareth. Because it is a constructed concept, it does not have attested use outside these narratives.

Linguistic features commonly described in the canon include an agglutinative, SVO structure, with affixes encoding tense, mood, aspect, number, and case. Nouns mark grammatical number and case; pronouns have clitic forms. The phonology centers on a five-vowel system and a moderate consonant inventory, favoring open syllables and limited consonant clusters.

The principal writing system is the Pahlavn script, a syllabary of rune-like glyphs used for inscriptions, literature, and ceremonial texts. It is typically written left to right, though temple inscriptions may be arranged in circular layouts. In some novels and games, diacritics indicate tone or emphasis.

Geographically, Pahlavn-speaking communities in the fiction occupy coastal city-states and island settlements, with dialects such as Northern Pahlavn and Coastal Pahlavn reflecting trade routes and contact with neighboring languages. The language is closely tied to ritual speech, poetry, and storytelling.

In narrative contexts, Pahlavn serves to convey identity and heritage, with proverbs and honorific forms that emphasize community bonds. It appears in dialogue, songs, and inscriptions, and is commonly used in worldbuilding exercises and lore for games and novels.