Languages of Baranxtu

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A map of Baranxtu showing the plurality languages in each district [1].

Official Languages

Asuaneï

Main Article: Asuaneï

Asuaneï is a close relative of Baranxeï, and was one of the official languages of the country since the Three Colonies were merged in 1720. This was of course mostly only possible because the Baranxtiman and Asuanituan culture had much more in common than only the language; nevertheless, following the disestablishment of Naïē, Asuaneï lost much of its status and was never able to gain the same importance as Baranxeï.

Subsequently, it remained mainly the language of the Asuanituans, whereas Baranxeï is nowadays also spoken by ethnic Marani.

Today, approximately 14% of all Baranxtuan citizens speak Asuaneï as their mother language, almost all are at least partially of Asuanituan descent.

Although every province of Baranxtu has a seizable Asuaneï speaking population, center Asuaneï center lies in the north, especially in the Neilas and Naïē.

Baranxeï

Main Article: Baranxeï

Baranxeï is the most common language spoken in Baranxtu, and is considered the lingua franca of the country. Due to its prominent status and importance outside of monolingual communities, almost all Baranxtuans who graduated from school are fluent in it.

The goverment has somewhat successfully made efforts to reduce the regional importance of Baranxeï in favor of local languages, but it nevertheless remains the most important, most influental language on a national basis. It is highly regarded and seen as being quintessential for success.

Baranxeï is spoken as the mother language by about 60% of citizens of Baranxtu. Most of them are Baranxtiman, but Baranxeï has replaced many indigenous languages and has become the mother language of many Marani people.

It is spoken virtually everywhere in Baranxtu, and is the language of the majority in thirteen of the 19 Baranxtuan provinces (the only exceptions being Halaora, Ñiria, Naïē, Qiru, Siraŋe and - disputably - Abasina).

Baranxtuan Sign Language

Main Article: Baranxtuan Sign Language

The Baranxtuan Sign Language (or Raptriẽ Baranxtalu) is the official sign language of Baranxtu, Cikoutimi and Otea. It did not gain full official recognition until 2006, but has been taught nationwide to students of all ethnic origins for more than a century.

As it is the official language of instruction for all deaf students of Baranxtu, it also serves as a unifying language of the deaf culture; indigenous sign languages are, however, also partially supported by the government and therefore, many deaf people are fluent in two or more sign languages.

Currently there are no official statistics available on people fluent in BSL, but they are estimated to account for about 2-4% of the population. It must be noted that this percentage also includes hearing people that are able to sign in BSL.

English

Main Article: English and Baranxtuan pronunciation of English

Although English is not an indigenous language of Baranxtu, it is nevertheless recognized as an official language. This followed the accession of Baranxtu to the IDU and the resulting influx of immigrants, most of whom are fluent in English. People also started to use it as a neutral lingua franca, however, it is still by far not as popular as Baranxeï.

English has a special status among official languages; it may only be used with the government by people who are not citizens of Baranxtu.

About 24% of all Baranxtuans speak English to some extent, with the popularity of English as a second language growing. It is the mother language of only about 1.2% of people living in Baranxtu.

French

Main Articles: French and Baranxtuan French

French is a minority language in Baranxtu, but was made the sixth official language of the country in 2006, nevertheless. It is the mother tongue of the native French minority in Baranxtu, descendants of Jontadain settlers. It is also one of the most common foreign languages taught in Baranxtuan schools.

French is spoken by about 6.2% of the Baranxtuan population as a mother language, making it the third most common language of Baranxtu.

Traditionally, French has been spoken in the southern and eastern provinces of Baranxtu, especially Siraŋe and Izana. Today, ascertainable francophone groups can be found in all major cities. In the South and East, they are still largely of Jontadain descent, whereas in the North and West, many are also recent francophone immigrants to Baranxtu.

Nidajii

Main Article: Nidajii

Nidajii is the language of the Nidajan minority in Baranxtu. It was originally spoken in the Nidajan colony and later independent kingdom of Sraŋana. When it became a part of Baranxtu in 1837, Nidajii was at first made an official language only in Siraŋe, but due to the subsequent inner migration of Nidajans to other parts of Baranxtu it became a national language in 1897.

Today, about 5.2% of Baranxtuan citizens speak Nidajii as their mother language. Although the total number of speakers is relatively stable, their percentage has been declining since the 1960s.

Nidajii is almost exlusively spoken by ethnic Nidajans mainly in Siraŋe, Āþ-Neila, Ziaha and Eisha.

Other Languages

Chicoutim

Main Article: Chicoutim

Chicoutim is a French-Alimi (or French-Halani) creole. Mainly spoken in Cikoutimi and to a lesser extent in Jonquiere-Tadoussac, pockets of native Chicoutimophones also exist in the southeastern part of Baranxtu. Most of them are raised bilingual with French

It is estimated that about 1.3% of the Baranxtuan population speaks Chicoutim as their mother language.

Most of them live in Leuva and Izana. It is recognized as an official language in both provinces.

German

Baranxtu is also home to a small Mikitivitians minority, speaking German.

There are currently an estimated 50,000 people living in these historical communities, in addition to at least another 100,000 recent German speaking immigrants.

About half of them live in the Bari Nazeran town of Goldbach und Sankt Bonifaz.

Marani Languages

Main Article: Akes Mersanint

The Marani are the largest group of native people of Baranxtu, but as basically each tribe has its own language, few of them have gained any recognition. Except for Qi and Masenar, none has a substantially large number of native speakers, but recently the government has begun to make efforts to preserve these dying languages.

Currently, seven provinces recognize one of the Marani languages on a regional level. Qi is an official language in Siraŋe, Qiru and Āŋ-Dorista, Ñirim is recognized in Ñiria, Halami in Halaora and Leumi in Leumena and Leuva.

About 10 percent of Baranxtuans have one of the Marani languages as their mother tongue. They live in all Baranxtuan provinces, however, they are especially strong in Qiru and Ñiria.

Ñirim

Ñirim (or Ñiri) is the sole official language of the Autonomous Province of Ñiria, where it remains the language of the majority. This is a result of the long independence of Ñiria, which was not incorporated into Baranxtu until 1906, at a time when language policy was much more liberal than when most other territories of Marani peoples were annexed.

Today, about one third of all Marani belong to the Ñiri tribe and speak Ñirim. They make up about 3.3 percent of all Baranxtuans.

Apart from Ñiria, pockets of Ñirim speakers can also be found in Abasina and the Doristas.

Qi

Main Article: Qi

Qi is the strongest and most stable of all Marani languages. It is the language of the Qiri tribe, and the official language of Otea. More than forty percent of all Marani belong to the Qiri tribe and subsequently are fluent in Qi.

About 4.2 percent of all Baranxtuans speak Qi as their mother language.

Qi is an official language in Siraŋe, Qiru and Āŋ-Dorista, and is also spoken in the Deioprañiva and Āþ-Dorista.

Masenar

Main Article: Masenar

Masenar is a native language spoken by the Masenas people. It is considered a language isolate. Although not recognized nationwide, it is however an official language in the Deioprañiva.

Approximately 1.1 percent of the Baranxtuan population speaks Masenar as their mother language. Most of them live in the Deioprañiva and the Doristas.

Phipul

Main Article: Phipul

Phipul is a minority language spoken practically exlusively in the westernmost part of Abasina. It is the language of the Phip, a small native tribe. Currently, the relation of Phipul to other indigenous languages of Baranxtu is heavily disputed.

Only about 0.6 percent of Baranxtuans speak Phipul as their native language. This number is relatively stable, however, and the language is becoming popular as an exotic language to learn.