Rietic languages

Rietic
Geographic distribution:	Eastern Soltenna and Shavakhotia
Linguistic classification:	One of Sahar's primary language families
Proto-language:	Proto-Rietic
Subdivisions:	Elder Acre West Acre East Acre Merythic Melo-Ferekhan Damire Lohetan
CWS code	–

The Rietic languages are a language family of around 30 languages spoken primarily in Eastern Soltenna, including Kadya, Loheta, Lugida, Naea, Riyana, Tolzadirw, and Xynderland, as well as smaller amounts in Shavakhotia. Named after the Rietic Mountains, Rietic languages originate from an ancestral language, Proto-Rietic, which was spoken around 3300 BCE in the Acre regions of the Central Basin, and spread into at least seven branches: Elder Acre, West Acre, East Acre, Merythic, Melo-Ferekhan, Damire, and Lohetan.

Over 240 million people are native speakers of a Rietic language. Merythic Lithian is the largest with 180 million total speakers, including 100 million native speakers, and is an official language in Lugida and Fordas. Other major Rietic languages include the West Acre Naean with 88 million native speakers, West Acre Riyan with 51 million, East Acre Kadic with 32 million, Damire Xynder with 15 million, and Melo-Ferekhan Melune with 8 million. There are older Rietic languages which have been attested in historical literature but have since gone extinct, such as the Elder Acre Iris language, spoken by the Ancient Iris civilization, and the Merythic Rudanian language, ancestor of Lithian first traced to the Avite Empire and last used by the Forian Kingdom. Iris is especially known for its surviving loanwords in other Rietic languages.

Modern Rietic languages in general share some common phonological and grammatical features, such as low amount of vowels, nominative-accusative alignment, fusional morphology, and lack of grammatical gender. Most Rietic languages are left-branching, with the exception of languages of the Merythic branch including Lithian, which are right-branching. In contrast, old languages such as Iris exhibit features lost in later Rietic languages, such as isolating morphology and split ergativity.

History

Earliest known Rietics, the Proto-Rietics, are believed to originate from ancient Acre populations dated to as early as 3300 BCE, placing the Rietic Urheimat at the Acre basin. Proto-Rietics are strongly linked to the Rihan and Sinkaya culture, a hypothetical ancestor civilization of Ancient Iris. Rihan culture and Sinkaya culture, individually, are both related, both indigenous to the upper Acre basin, but with Sinkaya presence spread across a larger area, based on archaeological discoveries of Rihan and Sinkaya pottery in the Acre basin area. These archaeological distributions hint at the spread of early Proto-Rietics. Sinkaya artifacts feature inscriptions that either are, or are related to early Basin logograms, which would later develop into Qonklese and Iris logograms. Such inscriptions are also found in Wa dynasty artifacts.

A largely agricultural and sedentary population, most early Proto-Rietics only settled around the Acre basin area. However, in the late 3rd millennium BCE, Rietic populations begin to disperse out of the Acre basin in a large-scale migration and expansion, most likely as a consequence of climate change associated with the 4.2-kiloyear event. All seven major branches of Rietic languages trace back to migratory Rietics, and original Proto-Rietics from the Urheimat area are thought to have been displaced by or assimilated into migratory Rietic populations.

Migratory Rietics are divided into at least three groups. One group, associated with the Catmíel culture in Riyan Mereland, migrated into the Amiyant Sea coastline and seafared south, descending into speakers of Damire languages. Another group settled into the Cuáma River basin and the rest of the Central Basin, later migrating east and northeast as far as Loheta, descending into speakers of West Acre, East Acre, and Lohetan languages. The third, possibly the group that founded the Meryth Dynasty, settled further through the Rietic Mountains and into the Romit River and Meryth River basins, later migrating east along the Gulf of Sharkunen coastline, descending into speakers of Merythic languages. Origins of ancestral Elder Acre and Melo-Ferekhan speakers are still unknown, and the link between them and migratory Rietics are under debate by linguists. The most popular hypothesis traces both into one group, using evidence from Melo-Ferekhan artifacts found in Mithnya allegedly linked to Ancient Iris. Smaller amounts of Rietic populations are thought to have also migrated west into Phaswa Mountains, but have since been displaced by Kwangs.

The oldest attested Rietic language is Iris. Iris is thought to have been spoken as early as 1700 BCE, based on the known timeline of Ancient Iris and from ancient Qonklese literature. The earliest hard evidence of the Iris language are early Iris logographic inscriptions found in Semliám, Riyana, dated to 1300 BCE. Iris remained a dominant trade language throughout Eastern Soltenna until the decline of Ancient Iris in 500 CE, by which time Kwang replaced Iris's role as the dominant trade language in the region. Nevertheless, large parts of Iris vocabulary are loaned by many other Rietic languages, including contemporary Rudanian.