tenns

Tenns is a family of constructed languages designed to serve as an easy-to-learn international auxiliary language for online communication and for use in speculative fiction settings. The term Tenns refers to the family as well as to individual languages within the group.

Design goals include regular morphology with minimal irregularities, a largely analytic syntax, and a fixed word order—SVO in most varieties. The grammar emphasizes clarity and predictability, with tense and aspect conveyed through separate particles rather than verb conjugation. Pronouns and basic function words are simplified to a small set across the family to facilitate learning.

Phonology is designed to be naturalistic but simple: a moderate consonant inventory (for example p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, s, l, r, f, v) and a five-vowel system (a, e, i, o, u) with stress often on the penultimate syllable. The standard writing system uses a Latin-based alphabet, with optional diacritics for phonemic precision.

Major members include Tennish, Tennar, and Tennari. The languages share core vocabulary and grammar but differ in phonology and certain lexical items. Each variety has its own community of learners and online resources.

Usage and communities: Tenns materials are published by hobbyist groups and hosted on open platforms; they are used in language-learning resources, forums, and some fiction-writing contexts. While not widely adopted as a lingua franca, Tenns maintains a steady online presence.

History: Tenns emerged from an international collaboration in the early 2010s, designed to balance learnability with expressive capacity. The terminology, resources, and documentation continue to develop through community-driven projects.