Sinatolean languages
Not to be confused with Sinatolean.
| Sinatolean languages | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jukethatbox |
| Ethnicity | Sinatolean, Nelahganese |
| Geographic distribution | Sinatolean Archipelago |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Sinatolean |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Notes | † indicates a dead sub-group. |
The Sinatolean languages are a group of languages spoken primarily and natively in the Sinatolean Archipelago as well as the Nelahgan Islands east of the Sinatoleans. There are about 8,500,000 speakers of the Sinatolean languages. About 80% are Sinatolean speakers, with 58.8% of those being native speakers from the region of Sinat’, the homeland of Sinatolean speakers.
The reconstructed proto-language of the language family is Proto-Sinatolean, which was spoken around 300 CE-400 CE before diverging into first the Southern languages and the Naéllang languages around 400 CE, then between the Southern languages and the Sinat’ languages around 600 CE and finally into the Central languages around 800 CE.
Although Sinatolean is by far the most spoken Sinatolean language, and also where the family gets its name, there are other major Sinatolean languages: Mowinda-Moyeng, with 765,000 speakers as of 2024, Mitu Õa, with 391,000 speakers and Nillíno with 204,000 speakers.
Classification
There are three alive branches of the language family, with one extinct(Sinat’).
Central
By number of speakers, the Central branch is by far the largest, as Sinatolean is a member of this branch. However, by number of languages in the branch, it is the smallest; even the extinct Sinat’ branch had more at its peak. The Central languages contain two languages: Sinatolean and Ya’anguí, the latter a moribund language with only a dozen native speakers remaining, that is often considered a dialect of Sinatolean.
Southern
By number of languages, the Southern group is by far the largest. The branch alone has hundreds of languages, but some of the more common ones include Mowinda-Moyeng, Mitu Õa and Yangaela(양앨아, one of the only languages aside from Korean that uses the Hangul system).
Naéllang
Naéllang(Nillíno: [nahɛːjaŋ͡m]) are a small Sinatolean language family that developed primarily on the former Spanish colony of Santa Valeria(Nillíno: Ngoé-kk’), so most of the languages in this family, such as the most spoken language on the island, Nillíno, have mostly Spanish-derived orthographies. However, the language of Narabõa, spoken on the island of Narabõa/São Cezário, was influenced by Portuguese instead, because of Portuguese colonial influence on the island.
Sinat’
Sinat’(Assiha’: [zinˈɑːtˀ]) is a completely extinct branch of the Sinatolean language family, and also gave its name to the region where many Sinatoleans live today. It was spoken between around 600 CE-900 CE, when the dramatic rise of the Sinatolean language and empire led to the decline and gradual extinction of the Sinat’ languages around 1000 CE.