Rukialkotta

Rukialkotta is the state language of Gruenberg, a small, devout nation in Malibu Islands. It is an artificial language, only around 110 years old at the time of writing, but has become widely spoken, with around 75% of Gruenberg's adult population fluent in it. It is relatively straightforward in terms of both grammatical construction and pronunciation, and is written using the traditional Latin character set.

HISTORY

Rukialkotta was first developed in the late 620s by a team of academics at the Gruenberg State Linguistic Institute, led by Dr. Andreg Parpel. The development of an entirely synthetic language was initially intended more as a game than anything else, with no practical applications intended. However, the new language became popular with students at the nearby University of Flurthwel, many of whom found existence in the diverse, multi-cultural capital a shock compared to their old lives rooted to tribal traditions. When a small business group approached Parpel, asking if they could run seminar courses in basic Rukialkotta, he began to appreciate that his project had potential far beyond the interests of linguistic scholars.

A period of intense activity followed, the team regrouping to work on refining the language, and completing three vast publications: a dictionary; a textbook of grammar and syntax; and a full translation of Wurz Minar Haschbarwein ('Where We Sleep'), one of the most famous epic poems in the history of Gruenberger literature, to aid with pronunciation. This lasted three years, and involved a substantial amount of private investment. The Court at this point remained suspicious, but allowed the project to continue.

Rukialkotta and bastardisations thereof with traditional tribal tongues became popular in the major cities of the Aszumba, although its progress west was slower, and its take-up in the Gelzien Nub practically non-existent. Few, if any, foreigners had chosen the language by Parpel's death in The 636th Year. But by The 639th Year, the Court had decided to acknowledge Rukialkotta as an official language. Excitingly for linguists, not only was this an entirely artificial system, but it was spreading, with parents increasingly encouraging bilingualism in their children, while so many older languages died.

In The 644th Year, Polrak I became the first Woltzten to learn Rukialkotta (although his grasp of it was always shaky, and his pronunciation abysmal), and within three years the first state document (a summary of the damage to the sardine population of the Bay of Abzhan-Rejak caused by a major chemical leak from a freight tanker) to be issued in Rukialkotta was published.