Zlevic language

This article effectively deals with Russian as it relates to the PEEL Region in general. For more general information, see the Wikipedia article on this subject.

Zlevic (Common Zlevic: злевский язык, Eastern Zlevic: zlĕvskiĩ ŷzĭk, zlyevskiy yazihk) is the most widely spoken language in eastern Gehanna, as well as the most widespread of the Eastern Languages.

Zlevic is of the Frat-shworn family – that is to say, it is recognised as originating from that truly ancient language – a language that is credited with being the basis of almost all western, and in particular, alphabet based languages.

Zlevic text is first evident around 3000 BCE (STS). Within the Eastern Languages Family, it resides in the Urallian languages group, along with Ukranitsan and the now mostly defunct Argossan. It took its name from the area it is said to origininate from Zlavinia – it’s influence exploded as the people of the Zlavinia went on to form the far-reaching Urallian Empire, using Zlevic as their standard language.

Classification

Zlevic is unique as in technically it is two separate languages in one. Common Zlevic is historically more close to the original Zlevic spoken in the times of the Urallian Empire. However, there is also Eastern Zlevic, which is spoken inside the region of PEEL, which due to outside pressure and influence, historically dropped many of its ties with Urallian Zlevic. As, with the fall of the Urallian Empire, both languages split in different directions and both were forcibly adapted to conform and mutate along with their surroundings. This is most clear in the case of Eastern Zlevic, where it has forsaken its Urallian characters completely and adapted an alphabet that bore closer resemblance to the common alphabets of the PEEL region.

However, in 1794(STS), King Dzhosef III of Ukranitsa invited scholars from Zedoljev to address the glaring differences in Zlevic in Zedoljev and Ukranitsa or recognise them as two separate languages. In the end, both languages were realigned and reorganised to form Modern Zlevic, with the influences of Eastern Zlevic taking greater precedence – however, a unified alphabet could not be agreed upon, so both versions would still be different. However, this was mostly down to the different alphabets.

This seemed to be history repeating itself as in 966(STS) the almost exact occurrence happened – in that instance however, Eastern Zlevic and Common Zlevic were “abolished” with a complete leveling of Zlevic. However the Zedoljans and Margaritans soon found that using the Urallian alphabet put them at serious odds with the rest of the PEEL region, and by 980, Zedoljev had abandoned its plans to re-adopt the alphabet, and Margarita-land followed suit by 990, and the terms “Eastern” and “Common” Zlevic were effectively reintroduced.

However, historically speaking, the glaring differences in Eastern and Common Zlevic felt by 966 then again by 1794 were clear indications about how vastly different were the directions both versions of Zlevic were heading. Many believe that if not for these two attempts to level Zlevic – and a further leveling in 2046 – then Eastern Zlevic and Common Zlevic would be as good as two completely separate languages.

Eastern Zlevic

Geographic Distribution

Today, Eastern Zlevic is primarily spoken in Zedoljev, but with the rise of the Soviet Union, of which Zedoljev is the head, its influence has spread considerably across the PEEL region. It could also be said that Zedoljev becoming a Socialist state, over a century prior, also contributed to the spread of Zlevic influence – not only that Zlevic, along with the similar Nurdbotian language (said to be essentially a mix-match of various PEEL languages including Zlevic), became seen by popular culture to be the language of Communism, but also a large migration of anti-Communist Zedoljans to other nations also led to small communities of Zlevic speakers in many nations around the Morbo Strait as well as New Europe and New Asia.

Eastern Zlevic was also spoken in Margarita-land which collapsed and became part of Nixorbania – while the Nixorbanian government tried to encourage much of the Margaritan population to abandon Zlevic, large pockets of Zlevic speakers have endured.

It is fair to say that, thanks to the ancient Urallians, Zlevic spread considerably further, however, much of the region was keen to forget Zlevic after the Urallians left and it’s perhaps fair to say that if not for Zedoljev, then Zlevic would have barely any significance in the region.

Official Status

Eastern Zlevic is the official language of The Federal Soviet Tschazanovite Republic of Zedoljev and all Colonial Republics that fall under the Novyi Zedoljan Soviet. It was the official language of Margarita-land. It is an official language of all Republics that make up Greater Zedoljev, as well as Burning Flame, Weinersteinston and Bamonia. It is also an official language of the Democratic Regional Order of PEEL (DROOP). Education in Zlevic is extremely widespread inside the Soviet Union, and remains a popular choice for Zlevic speaking communities in other countries.

Dialects

Being a fairly small country originally, dialect was fairly standardised within Zedoljev. In Margarita-land, generally there were two distinct differences – effectively north and south. Ironically, the South Margaritan and Zedoljan dialects are probably closer to one another, while the North Margaritan stands out as odd – it differs from the other dialects, particularly in the way it pronounces the un-stressed /o/ - according to a 1842 study by Zedoljan dialectologist, Aman D Akhbrayev, this pronunciation was “wrong” in the way it went against the New Zlevic grammar –

Akhbrayev went on to speculate that for some reason or another, the people of this area had seemingly ignored the leveling of Zlevic in 1794. In some ways Akhbrayev was correct, and it is clear that various pockets of native Zlevic speakers across the world often carry their own set of rules. A 1925 study concluded that North Margaritan also existed in the southern Zedoljan islands, where many say it still exists today, perhaps thanks to an influx of Margaritan immigrants fleeing the collapse of their country.

In that 1925 study, conducted by Dmitri S Shyermatov, it was claimed that the people of Goransk also had derived their own dialect and virtually their own grammar and vocabulary. Further more, the sound was coarser, and spoken “without much enthusiasm”. This dialect became known as “Drazvich” and many attributed it to a form of sub-Zlevic in a slummy, under-educated area – which Goransk basically was by 1925. As education improved drastically over the next century, Drazvich has become almost only a hint of an accent.

Derived Languages

• Nurdbotian – Largely believed to have derived from Zlevic as well as several other languages – due to the presence of Urallian colonists in its early history.
• Novyian – An originally loosely organised, made-up language that was created for a popular Cyberian science fiction show of the 1970s. Set hundreds of years into the future, the Communist bloc would have adopted a single language – a merger of Zlevic and Nurdbotian languages. The show became so popular that Novyian had books written about it, fleshing it out to a stage that it was offered as a degree in some universities.
• Redish – Another made-up “language” by popular culture. It too was a merger of Nurdbotian and Zlevic and was used extensively in anti-communist propaganda from the 1920s to about the 1980s.
• Zedolish – Pidgin mix of Zlevic and what is now called PEEL Standardised Language.
• Zlevichka – Another Pidgin language existing inside Greater Zedoljev – most non-Zedoljans are encouraged to speak their native tongues – however when they attempt to speak Zlevic, the result is often light-heartedly called “Zlevichka”

Writing System

Alphabet

Eastern Zlevic’s difference to Common Zlevic is no more apparent than its alphabet. It uses as modified form of the Anglosian alphabet and until the 2046 its “alphabet” was mostly full of digraphs – two letters being used to represent one sound. However, after 2046, Eastern Zlevic was drastically changed once again, and while it retained a modified Anglosian alphabet it was made to match the structure of the Common Zlevic

The following table gives the upper case forms, along with IPA values for each letter's typical sound:

However, pickup of the new alphabet has been slow, though it is taught vigorously in school. Perhaps the other point of interest is that in many cases – especially the spelling of names, /x/ is still written with the old digraph – “kh”

Orthography

Under its old alphabet – almost all spelling was done phonetically, with the exception of various rules in the language, for example the un-stressed /o/ rule. This changed after the 2046 leveling to match spelling in Common Zlevic – however, even in Common Zlevic, spelling is still fairly phonetic. The biggest difference was that in the older Eastern Zlevic alphabet and spelling, a non-speaker could easily read out Zlevic and probably achieve a fair accuracy – even if he had little idea of what he was reading.

Common Zlevic

Geographic Distribution

Common Zlevic is spoken extensively throughout the eastern side of Gehanna – spread partially through the resurgence of the so-called Neo-Urallians. For a long time, Common Zlevic was a minority language in the Ukranitsan Empire – but due to the similarity between Common Zlevic and Ukranitsan, including the basic alphabet, Common Zlevic has not gone through the fundamental changes that faced Eastern Zlevic. This also meant that it was allowed to spread more easily, and reached far beyond the boundaries of the Ukranitsan Empire. Due to the turmoil of the region however, it is difficult to study or gauge just how many speakers there are or how literate they are – however, it is estimated that there are double the amount of Common Zlevic speakers than there are Eastern Zlevic.

Official Status

Common Zlevic is the de facto official language of the territory in control of the Neo-Urallians – however, it perhaps cannot be classed as an official language as almost all world governments refuse to recognise the Urallians as a legitimate state. Common Zlevic is however an official language of the Reformed Church of the Goddess and other Farnhovan Churches and is thusly the official language among the Followers of Saint Milos and Hudsen. Common Zlevic is even used in Farnhovan churches in the region of PEEL instead of Eastern Zlevic.

Dialects

Before the emergence of the Neo-Urallians, Ukranitsan studies pointed out that dialect amongst Zlevic communities in Gehanna differed drastically. The most “pure” of Zlevic dialects was always considered to be that spoken around the Zlavinia region – the further out Zlevic spread, the more it varied and the more small influences of other languages crept in. While now nearly impossible to study, it is still believed that the findings in the Ukranitsan studies are fairly accurate. It was said that as many as fifty significant localised dialects existed. As education and communications seem to be largely plummeting under Urallian rule, it is thought that at this rate, within a hundred years many more local variations may exist.

=Derived Languages

• Eastern Zlevic – Arguably.
• Neo-Urallian – A form of pidgin language that is mostly Zlevic but bares elements of other regional languages and dialects. Usually considered a sub-form of Zlevic that slightly uneducated members of the Neo-Urallian movement speak.
• Ukrazlev – Pidgin language spoken between Zlevic and Ukranitsan people – no longer in any sizable use.

Writing System

Alphabet

Unlike Eastern Zlevic, Common Zlevic retains its roots in the Urallian alphabet – using a slightly modified version, with 33 letters.

The following table gives the upper case forms, along with IPA values for each letter's typical sound:

Orthography

Common Zlevic, although leveled in 2046 is widely considered to follow the rules set down in 1794, since by 2046, much of the Urallian Homelands was in no position to be able to learn the new rules due to the breakdown in communications and education in the area.

Punctuation is therefore not quite the same as Eastern Zlevic – but officially Common and Eastern are supposed to share the same punctuation. Usually this carries the original punctuation of Eastern Zlevic, which is while still baring resemblance to the Urallian punctuation, carries a lot of influences from other languages in PEEL.

Sounds

Supposedly after 2046, the phonological system of both Eastern and Common Zlevic is identical. The current phonological system of Zlevic is inherited from its Urallian origins, but of course has gone through serious modification over time – it has however been largely settled since the leveling in 1796.

The language possesses five vowels, which are written with different letters depending on whether or not the preceding consonant is palatalised. The consonants typically come in plain vs. palatalized pairs, which are traditionally called hard and soft. (The 'hard' consonants are often velarised, some dialects only velarise /l/ in such positions). The standard language, based largely upon the Zlavinia and Zedoljan dialects, possesses heavy stress and moderate variation in pitch. Stressed vowels are somewhat lengthened, while unstressed vowels (except /u/) tend to be reduced to an unclear schwa.

The Zlevic syllable structure can be quite complex with both initial and final consonant clusters of up to 4 consecutive sounds. Using a formula with V standing for the nucleus (vowel) and C for each consonant the structure can be described as follows:

(C)(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C)

Consonants

Zlevic is notable for its distinction based on palatisation of most of the consonants. While /k/, /g/, /x/ do have palatalized allophones [kʲ, gʲ, xʲ], only /kʲ/ might be considered a phoneme, though it is marginal and generally not considered distinctive. Palatalisation means that the center of the tongue is raised during and after the articulation of the consonant. In the case of /tʲ/ and /dʲ/, the tongue is raised enough to produce slight frication (affricate sounds). /t, d, ʦ, s, z, n and r/) are dental, that is pronounced with the tongue against the teeth rather than against the alveolar ridge.

Grammar

Zlevic grammar encompasses

• a highly synthetic morphology
• a syntax that, for the literary language, is the conscious fusion of three elements:
  • a polished vernacular foundation;
  • a Urallian inheritance;
  • a New European style.

The spoken language has been influenced by the literary, but continues to preserve characteristic forms. The dialects show various non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms since discarded by the literary language.

See also

Related languages

• Ukranitsan language
• Urallian language
• Eastern Languages

External Links

graphic version of Modernized Zlevic alphabet

graphic version of Common Zlevic alphabet

Wikipedia Links

Russian Language description

• Russian alphabet
• Russian grammar
• Russian orthography
• Russian phonetics
• History of Russian language

Related languages

• East Slavic languages
• Church Slavonic language
• Great Russian language
• Old Church Slavonic language
• Old Russian language