Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Human languages possess the properties of productivity and displacement, which enable the creation of an infinite number of sentences, and the ability to refer to objects, events, and ideas that are not immediately present in the discourse. The use of human language relies on social convention and is acquired through learning.
Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. Precise estimates depend on an arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both; however, any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writing, whistling, signing, or braille. In other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way to inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gestures.
Depending on philosophical perspectives regarding the definition of language and meaning, when used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings. Oral, manual and tactile languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances.
New Languages[]
Indo-European[]
Slavic[]
Amazonskã[]
A South American language with Ukrainian, Rusyn and Belarusian as its closest relatives.
Jixian[]
Germanic[]
Novanglian[]
Mongolic[]
Zamag[]
Qarag[]
Eskaleut[]
Inuit[]
Icelandic (Qikiqtaalisut)[]
Afrikammiutut[]
Atlantic (Atlassimiatitut)[]
Nakh-Dagestanian[]
Lezgic[]
Davguli[]
The only Caucasian language in Africa.
Iroquoian[]
Rotinonsionni'yoan[]
Ganonsyonihtsí:ioan[]
Dené-Yeniseian[]
Bessarabic[]
| Word | Ket | Navajo | Gagauzian (Latin) | Gagauzian (Cyrillic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stone | ты’сь | tsé | tash | ташъ |
| foot | киʼсь | (a)keeʼ | qish | қішъ |
| old | синь | sání | sonh | сонь |
| snake | тиг, тих | tłʼiish | tgaal | тӻал |
Constructed[]
Nipponuit (Japanese+Inuktitut)[]
TBD
Pikuallaktuvammiut[]
Not really a constructed language, more like Inuktitut-based creole, spoken in Pikuallaktuva.
Ellinotamilikos[]
Not really a constructed language, more like Greek-based creole, spoken in Tamil Nadu
Kil Pisin[]
Not really a constructed language, more like Mongolian-based creole, spoken in Zeseg Uls
Changes in Existing Languages[]
Japanese[]
Cyrillic[]
in this timeline, Japanese also has Cyrillic script
| Аа | Бб | Вв | Ўў | Гг | Ґґ |
| Дд | Ее | Єє | Ёё | Жж | Зз |
| Ии | Іі | Її | Кк | Мм | Нн |
| Ңң | Оо | Пп | Рр | Сс | Тт |
| Уу | Фф | Хх | Цц | Чч | Ђђ |
| Џџ | Шш | ъ | ү | Юю | Яя |
- the autoglottonym in that script is: Нігоңґо
Loanwords[]
from Mongolian[]
| English | OTL Japanese | ITTL Japanese | Mongolian |
|---|---|---|---|
| wombat | ウォンバット
(u~onbatto) |
ベーゼル
(bēzeru) |
бэлзэр |
| kangaroo | カンガルー
(kangarū) |
イームジュ
(īmuju) |
имж |
| koala | コアラ
(koara) |
ツルギー
(tsurugī) |
цүлгий |
from Ukrainian[]
| English | OTL Japanese | ITTL Japanese | Ukrainian |
|---|---|---|---|
| TV | テレビ
(terebi) |
テレビゾー
(terebizō) |
телевізор |
| knyaz | プリンス
(purinsu) |
クニャジョ
(kunyajo) |
князь |
| cheetah | チーター
(chītā) |
ゲパード
(gepādo) |
гепард |
Ukrainian[]
ITTL, Ukrainian alphabet contains 38 letters, instead of 33 in OTL:
- "Ъ" instead of "'", like "хомъяк"(hamster)
- "Ё" instead of "Йо" and "ьо", like "ёд"(Iodine)
- "Қ" is used in loanwords, like "нануқ"(nanuq)
- it also is used in native words, but more rarely: e.g. "співақ"(singer)
- "Ѕ" instead of "ДЗ", like "ѕиґа"(spinning top)
- "Џ" instead of "ДЖ", like "бџола"(bee)
Also, there masculine inanimate nouns of accusative case always end with ъ:
- Compare "Дім стоїть біля дороги" & "Хтось купив дімъ"
Inuktitut[]
in this timeline it has additional letters: B, E, D, G, O, W, Z. Also, there are no Canadian Syllabics
Mongolian[]
Russian[]
in this timeline, it is called Muscovite, and it is extinct
Khitan[]
In this timeline, it uses Cyrillic script as of now, same thing with Kuśiññe
Nahuatl[]
ITTL, Nahuatl has OTL's Classical orthography wuth addition of "J" /x/, which is used only in loan and, rarely, in native words:
- jopotli — robot
- japac — gunpowder
- japacatlatl — gun
- mojtli — horse
- Huajitlahtolli — Wakhi language
Nahuatl also has Cyrillic script
English[]
English IÐTL has "unique" letters: Ð, Þ, Æ, Œ and Ᵹ
Greek[]
Greek ITTL has a "unique" letter: Ϟ(qoppa) /q/
Georgian[]
Georgian ITTL has "unique" letters: ჹ, ჶ and ჴ
Maps[]
[]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
