Rennic

Introduction

Rennic, or Rhiannic, is an Antelic language of the planet Asterion. It is spoken in the land of Renn, on the continent of Rhiannon, and is the third most spoken language of that world. There are also significant numbers of Rennic speakers in Pedwar, Finwar, Khandrahar, and the Greywick Isles. In Renn, it is the majority language of the Old City, Amradin, the largest city in the world, and the native language of the towns of Renn, Nimroc, Brand, Forth, Briad, and Iverhollin.

In prehistory, the lands of Renn and Pedwar were inhabited by warring tribes without laws or government.When the Theran Empire conquered Rhiannon in the First Age, they spread their language, Antelion, when they mingled with the native people. In the war against the Theran invaders, the native tribes rallied together and formed four distinct groups. The Renn, the most numerous, lived among the plains and the coasts, and were the first to be conquered. Consequently, their dialect is considered to be standard Rennic, and their speech was the most influenced by the invaders. The Farrow, who lived further inland among the forests and the mountains, proved more advanced at fighting, and held off the Therans for a hundred years. As the war grew bloody, and marred by famine and disease, the Farrow finally conceded defeat. The tribes of Pedwar had their own language, and flew far to the north. The Farlic were the only Rennic tribe never to be conquered by the Therans. They lived only on the high moors, and no Therans considered their land valuable or wanted to live there. In 837 ST the Theran empire collapsed, and the Rennic tribes became a nation proud, suspicious and kind. They are known for their skills in horse riding and fighting. They have a medieval knowledge of science and an amateur knowledge of magic, and mostly live in castle towns along the coast.

Orthography

Rennic has two scripts; the Hanging Letters or Tylori, an alphabet adapted from the Dweskovi of Pedwar, and a romanization adapted from the script of the Therans.

Consonants

d, g, h, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w and z are written as they appear in IPA. /f/ is written as th, except at the front of a word and before a /w/. /j/ is written as y. Both k and c are used to transliterate /k/, though k is preferred and c is mostly used in legal documents. /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /ʁ/ are written as x, j and r. /ð/, /ɣ/ and /x/ are written dh, gh and ch.

Vowels

/a/ and /æ/ are both written as the same letter, a. However, /æ/ will often cause the next letter to double, such as in the words kalloch [kælox], sheep, to distinguish it from galoh [galoh], a kind of shoe. /i/ and /o/ are written i and o. /ɪ/ is written as y. /y/ is written as u. /e/ is written as a diphthong ai, except at the end of a word, when it is written e.