Terminian language

Terminian
Spoken natively in	Terminian Dominion, Amerhan, Awarahl, Bosato and other locations in the Terminian-speaking world
Native speakers	159 million (2015) 300 million (L1 plus L2 speakers)
Language family	Ngerupic Proto-Termic Old Terminian Middle Terminian Terminian
Official status
Official language in	Amerhan Awarahl Bosato Cerman Ekuosian Union Far West Kaisen Macyeaq
Regulated by	International Society for the Standard Terminian Language
CWS code	TMN

Terminian is a Termic language mainly spoken in northwest Ekuosia and southeast Akulanen. It is the most widely spoken language in Cerman and Amerhan, and is an official language in several other countries, including Bosato and Arawahl. Terminian is the most widely spoken of the Ngerupic language family, with an estimated 160 million native speakers worldwide, as well as a large amount of L2 speakers due to the historical influence of the Terminian Empire and Three Kingdoms. It is one of the 22 official languages of the Ekuosian Union.

Due to the limited intelligibility between certain varieties of Terminian, as well as the lack of an undisputed, scientific difference between a "dialect" and a "language", some Terminian varieties (e.g. Proper Amerhani or Utoyyi) are alternatively referred to as "languages" and "dialects".

Classification

Terminian represents the largest member of the Termic branch of the Ngerupic family. Such is its prominence that historically it was widely assumed that the Termic family consisted entirely of Terminian; it was not until the later recognition of Baridus as an independent Termic language that challenged that view.

The recognition of the Termic branch as a member of the wider Ngerupic family was first hypothesised in the mid 19th century, although it was not until later that its place in the family was confirmed by studious comparison of Old Terminian with several Ngerupic varities. Previus attempts to connect Terminian to other language families had concentrated primarily on the languages of Baredina, particularly the Letsic, Adzamic and Argeyazic families.

Phonology

Varieties of Terminian often display considerable differences in phonetics and phonology. The standard language distinguishes a maximum of 27 consonants, 13 oral vowels, 1 nasal vowel and four diphthongs, though most varities display conisderably fewer phonemes.

The main varieties referred to are the standard varieties as spoken in Cerman and Amerhan.

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ
Plosive/ affricate	fortis	p	t	tʃ	c	k
	lenis	b	d		ɟ	ɡ
Fricative	fortis	f	s	ʃ	ç	χ	h
	fortis	v	z	ʒ
Approximant			ɹ		j	w
Lateral			l		ʎ
Tap			ɾ

Standard Terminian distinguishes up to 27 distinct consonants, though depending on the dialect in question may have considerably fewer. In particular, the post-alveolar and palatal phonemes show considerable variety across the Terminian-speaking world, and many are merged or significantly modified even in formal situations.