Kakuri languages

Kakuri languages is the official name for the language used by the Kakuri people in the state of Mirei, Sokoku. The plural form is used since there are three applications of the Kakuri language based on setting and context, which can be seen as different languages. Since the language is seen as a pivotal part of the Kakuri culture, the Kakuri community is very restrictive about teaching the language to others. In Kakuri society, one is supposed to learn the language him- or herself without education. The languages are seen as intangible assets which the Kakuri have tried to protect through copyright registration and patents, but only with a limited effect.

History

There is little known about the Kakuri languages from before the Julian Event. The current theory is that the language has its roots much further north in Altaia or Davai, in the region currently falling under Kamura. It is possible that related languages became extinct after Kamura implemented its own language as the only national standard.

The language was brought to the region in the 6600's by Tsuki traders. By building the Tsuki Integrality as a merchant confederation, the language is thought to have become widespread in the region around the Julian Sea. It was however only used by the trading guilds and upper classes, probably even only by the Tsuki traders only themselves.

After the Julian Event, the language became almost was extinct, with only a few hundred native speakers surviving. Written sources rotted away in the humid tropical climate, deemed uninteresting by other ethnic groups and ruling classes emerging after the natural disaster. The Kakuri languages remained completely isolated between 7119 and 7570, even though some loanwords made it into the language thanks to Kakuri intelligence investigating other nearby cultures.

In 7570 a Kakuri emissary reached out to the Vittmarker federal representation with a written request. The language was studied only by a few Vittmarker linguistics after that, given the fact that other outsiders weren't welcome in Kakuri territory. Even today, the language is poorly registered due to obstruction from the Kakuri people. They have tried to protect the language as the central element in their unique culture. For example, they entered most of the basic grammar to a Vittmarker patent office in 7606. They also copyrighted all the written sources present at the kotan in Toshi-bu, first in Vittmark and later in Sokoku. The Kakuri regard their language intellectual property of the Kakuri people, where the leadership of the community decides who is allowed to use the language.

At the formation of Sokoku as a nation state, Kakuri received a special language status. In 76XX this was changed when the Fisks Kakuri Cooperation as predecessor of the state of Mirei gave the language an official status. Kakuri scholars in Toshi-bu form an informal language regulation board, instructing which loanwords can be used or which native words could be applied instead. Usually, if a loanword follows the Kakuri phonology it is allowed as a loanword, but phonetic constructions that can not be spelled are avoided. Since the l and r basically are the same letter in Kakuri, as well as slight differences between f and h, g and k as well as t and ts, assessing loanwords is a difficult task.

Geographic distribution

The so-called Second Language is the native language for about 40,000 people, mainly on Carls Island (Kakurijima) in Mirei, Sokoku and some isolated Kakuri communities in nearby cities like Kyusigai. It is the official language of the Kakuri community and as such of the state of Mirei. Outside the state, the language has no official status.

It is estimated that about only a couple of hundred non-Kakuri natives can use the language on an every day basis. However, 4000-5000 non-Kakuri people manage the Basic Language, which is the foundation for the Second and liturgical language. The use of Kakuri within Guso religion has been kept separate from the Second language as much as possible, but since this language is a modern construction, there are no native speakers. About 60,000 Guso clergy can speak liturgical Kakuri, but most often this is at the level of literally copying from existing scriptures. Guso Kakuri is spoken all across Sokoku.

Classification

Kakuri is a language isolate of unknown origin. It was most probably brought to the region by the traders of Tsuki in the 6600's. It is thought to have functioned as lingua franca in the region of the Julian Sea for about 500 years, given the presence of many loanwords in both Hueiwei and Izto languages, but there is no deeper linguistic connection between those languages. It is theorised that the language's origin is much further north in Altaia, but currently there are no related living languages there either.

Phonology

Kakuri has five vowels (a - e- i - o - ɯ) and vowel length is phonemic, with each having both a short and a long version. The language also includes a pitch accent, which is not represented in syllabic writing; for example [haꜜ.ɕi] ("chopsticks") and [ha.ɕiꜜ] ("bridge") are both spelled はし (hashi), and are only differentiated by the tone contour.

Some consonants have several allophones, which may give the impression of a larger inventory of sounds. However, some of these allophones are phonemic. The "r" is of particular interest, ranging between an apical central tap and a lateral approximant. The "g" is also notable; unless it starts a sentence, it may be pronounced [ŋ].

Grammar

Word order is classified as subject–object–verb. The only strict rule of word order is that the verb must be placed at the end of a sentence. This is because sentence elements are marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions. The basic sentence structure is topic–comment. For example, the particle wa indicates the sentence's subject. Thus Kakuri is often called a topic-prominent language, which means it has a strong tendency to indicate the topic separately from the subject, and that the two do not always coincide.

Grammar tends toward brevity; the subject or object of a sentence need not be stated and pronouns may be omitted if they can be inferred from context. Nouns have no grammatical number, gender or article aspect. Verbs are conjugated to show tenses, of which there are two: past and non-past, which is used for the present and the future. For verbs that represent an ongoing process, the -te form indicates a continuous (or progressive) aspect, similar to the suffix ing in Hallish. Questions (both with an interrogative pronoun and yes/no questions) have the same structure as affirmative sentences, but with intonation rising at the end. In the formal register, the question particle -ka is added. Negatives are formed by inflecting the verb.

This grammar is applied to all three of the Kakuri languages. The main difference is the indirect use of the vocabulary in set phrases, simile and figure of speech. These indirect meanings are different between the Second language and the Guso liturgical language, since both use different cultural roots Generally speaking, the liturgical language overlaps the Second language up to 85%, but the other way around it's only 15-20%.

Writing system

The Kakuri use their own writing system with moras indicating a syllable constructed as consonant-vowel or vowel only, except for the "-n" consonant ending. The script is referred to as Kakurigana and is in use as script for Bahaso Sokoku since 76XX as well (with a few adaptions).

Language variations

Kakuri comes in three distinctive forms, by outsiders referred to as basic, second and liturgical or Guso Kakuri.

Basic language

The basic language form is the one used by children and descriptive very directly. By speaking this language form, one indicates to be under age and uninitiated. The language is only used for the most basic concepts of communications, like describing objects or giving orders.

Second language

The second language is the main language of the Kakuri people. It has the same grammar and vocabulary as the basic language, but it is used in a much more indirect way. One needs to be emerged in Kakuri culture completely to be able to understand and speak the second language, since it uses set phrases, figures of speech and expressions related to historical events, cultural rituals or oral and written prose.

All the available scriptures and written sources have been copyrighted as intellectual property of the Kakuri people and the creative work of the Kakuri community. This means that the leadership of the Kakuri community is the only institution who can permit people to use the second language. This is considered a birth right for Kakuri people, if they can show proficient knowledge of the language somewhere between age 12 and 16. For outsiders it is a privilege handed out seldom. The copyright even gives the Kakuri community the right to press charges against anyone using the second language unsanctioned. Many successful court cases have protected the language and the community is trying to convince ICoN to extend the copyrights worldwide and without a time limit.

Liturgical language

The Guso version of Kakuri was constructed recently. Since the religion is rooted deeply into older Kakuri belief systems like Yakosei no Konchuu, it shares a part of the cultural baggage of Kakuri society. The Kakuri community decided to separate this part of the language, making it available for Guso followers (mainly clergy) without having to immerse them fully into Kakuri culture. As such, the Guso language is more descriptive like the first language and a small part of the second language.

It is considered extremely rude to use Guso Kakuri outside the religious context, for example in every day life or formal meetings. The Kakuri people want the liturgical language to function independently from the second language in order to keep Kakuri culture as pure as possible in a more globalising world.