The Trinian language is the primary language used in the country of Trinia, and is its official language. It is not spoken outside Trinia to any significant degree. Trinian is a mixture of the Liliani language, brought to Trinia by settlers (the Quorians) many centuries ago, and the T'Rani language, spoken by the country's original inhabitants. Overall, it is considered to be a Liliance language, but is one of the most divergent.
Dialects[]
Trinian, being built on the basis of two distinct languages, has strong internal distinctions. The dialects are mutually intelligible, but they carry strong accents, a certain amount of unique vocabulary, and a number of differnces in grammar.
The classification of dialects is problematic. Almost all agree that there is distinction between the Trinian spoken by the Quorians and the T'Rani, but beyond that, there is little consensus. The Quorian version of Trinian is often divided into West Quorian (also known as Vulnian) and East Quorian (also known as Armenese), with the latter having been influenced by languages such as Aigadorenc and Moranguese (Solelhadan languages also spoken in parts of Trinia). Sometimes, the T'Rani dialect is also divided, although exactly how is a controversial issue.
Script[]
The letters of the Trinian alphabet.
Examples of words written in the Trinian alphabet. In order, the words are "Trinia", "Kurin" (the capital), "Armenar" (a province), and "Isendur" (the current Emperor).
The Trinian alphabet is the primary script used to write Trinian, although in Ezana province, the Liliani script and the Ulanovan script can also be found in use.
The alphabet is derived from the old T'Rani writing system, although it has undergone a number of significant changes since that point. Some of these changes were through natural evolution, such as the loss of letters that were no longer needed in modern Trinian. Others were as a result of deliberate language reform by the Emperor. In some areas, a number of variations on the script can be found, mostly based on old versions which have officially become obsolete.
The Trinian alphabet consists of twenty-three letters. Some of these letters are formed by modifying other letters — in particular, the voiced version of a sound is often represented by a slightly altered form of the unvoiced sound's letter (t and d, for example). The letters are quite distinctive, with all consonants incorporating a curl that is distinctive of traditional T'Rani art. For outsiders, the fact that many letters are similar to one another makes it difficult to distinguish them , but most Trinians, being familiar with the alphabet, do not have any significant problems.
Often, but not always, people will join certain letters together. Typically, all vowels will be joined to the consonant that precedes them, although depending on personal preference, some exceptions may be made, and some consonants may be joined to other consonants.
Standard Trinian is written from left to right, top to bottom. In the province of Melatiki, however, there are isolated areas where the script is written vertically, essentially by rotating it 90 degrees — this represents the original method of writing. It is expected that the traditional method will soon be extinct, except for use on monuments, although a campaign exists to preserve it.
Grammar[]
Trinian word order can be either Subject-Object-Verb or Verb-Subject-Object, with the Quorian dialect(s) preferring the former and the T'Rani dialect preferring the latter (but with neither rejecting the less favoured option completely). Adjectives and adverbs both follow the word they modify. Grammatical gender exists.
Nouns have cases — nominative, accusative, and a third case which gains its meaning from auxilliary words placed in front of the noun. There are three declensions — two originating from Liliani, and one originating from T'Rani.
| Case | 1st Liliani Declension | 2nd Liliani Declension | T'Rani Declension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -a, -ia | -u, -i | -en, -ren |
| Accusative | -an, as | -un, -os | -el, -rel |
| Open | -ai, -aren | -e, -es | -ar, -aro |
Verbs have two conjugations — one for Liliani words, and one for T'Rani words. Verbs have different forms for first, second, and third person, but are only marked as singular or plural of they are T'Rani — pluralisation on Liliani verbs has been lost. There are different forms for singular and plural.
| Person | Liliani Conjugation | T'Rani Conjugation |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | -o | -iu, -riu |
| 2nd Person | -is | -im, -rim |
| 3rd Person | -it | -ad, -rad |