Qualdomelic

Kalurilut
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|sakaluʁiˈlut]]
Created by	Lili21
Date	Jun 2016
Setting	Calémere
Ethnicity	suKalurilut
Native speakers	40,000,000 (4E Ɛ1 / 2312)
Language family	Isolate Kalurilut

The Kalurilut language (natively saKalurilut [sakaluʁiˈlut]) is a language isolate of the planet of Calémere, spoken natively by virtually all people in iKalurilut, a country in central Márusúturon, where it is the only nationwide official language, and also by some minority in the northwestern Chlouvānem Inquisition (the country iKalurilut shares half of its land border with), far western Brono and Ylvostydh (the other two neighboring countries on land), as well as in Leny-tḥewe, Ebed-dowa, Oempras (all three divided from iKalurilut by the Ittungaq Gulf (or Sea — in Kal. ivulit iIttungaq), as well as some diaspora communities in other parts of the former Kaiṣamā (notably in Nerekton), in Greater Skyrdagor, and also in the west There are about 40 million native Kalurilut speakers, the vast majority in iKalurilut.
As the language of a people - the suKalurilut - situated in a vital bottleneck of commerce between the Eastern and Western parts of central-northern Márusúturon, many words from it have entered languages of neighboring peoples, and an older form of iKalurilut was a lingua franca in a vast area of the continent. In the next centuries, its importance on the continent began to sharply fall, mostly due to the rise of the empire of Greater Skyrdagor to the northeast and the conquest of most lands to the south of iKalurilut — where saKalurilut was the lingua franca — by the Chlouvānem from the southeast. Kalurilut still influenced both languages, with often loanwords from Chlouvānem to Skyrdagor and vice versa showing signs of being borrowed through the means of Kalurilut first. Still, Kalurilut itself absorbed lots of loanwords, especially religious terminology and modern-day concepts from Chlouvānem, starting from the suKalurilut's conversion to the Yunyalīlti religion.

After a long period where its international importance was overshadowed by the far greater reach of Chlouvānem and Skyrdagor, the Kalurilut language is now getting a revival in abroad learning, aided by the less strict visa policies and better human rights record for foreigners in iKalurilut when compared to the Chlouvānem Inquisition, so that the country has become an obligatory destination for most Westerners interested in Eastern Calemerian culture, lifestyle, and sciences, as well as life in the environmental-friendliest country on Calémere.

Phonology

Consonants

Kalurilut has a rather small consonant inventory, with only twelve native consonants; every Kalurilut dialect, however, adds at least /ʃ/ in loans due to its high occurrence in loans from Skyrdagor and Chlouvānem; many dialects, including the standard one, also add /h/ mainly from the same sources.

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n			ŋ
Plosive	p		t			k	q
Fricative			s	(ʃ)			ʁ	(h)
Approximant		ʋ			j
Lateral app.			l

This inventory is strictly based on the standard dialect of Kalurilut, spoken in iRunguunap (and thus sometimes called saRunguunap), the region of central-northern iKalurilut along the iPiarunggit river. Many dialects, especially in the south, as well as those spoken in areas where Kalurilut speakers are a minority, keep the voicing contrast in loanwords.

Vowels

Kalurilut has a standard three-vowel system with length distinction. /e o/ are loaned vowels, appearing in loanwords, mostly from Skyrdagor and Chlouvānem, which entered the language in the last fifty years.

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Mid	(e)		(o)
Low		a aː

Morphology

Noun classes

Nouns in Kalurilut belong to up to 6 (or 12, counting plural ones as distinct) noun classes, mostly allocated semantically. Each class is distinguished by a prefix used for nouns, adjectives, and some prepositions, another one used for subjects of verbs, and a further one used for verbal direct objects.

Class	Semantic field	Nominal prefix	Subj. prefix	Obj. prefix	Example
1	People, humans (SG)	ka-	ka-	a-	kangaq (person)
2	People, humans (PL)	su-	su-	ia-	sungaq (people)
3	Animals (SG)	tu-	ti-	ta-	tutavik (wolf)
4	Animals (PL)	naq-	na-	ina-	naqqavik (wolves)
5	Plants, various animates (SG)	u-	u-	ta-	usangat (tree)
6	Plants, various animates (PL)	qaa-	qaa-	nga-	qaasangat (trees)
7	Artifacts, languages (SG)	sa-	si-	∅-	sapatut (hammer)
8	Artifacts, languages (PL)	tuu-	tui-	ai-	tuupatut (hammers)
9	Natural features, lands (SG)	i-	i-	∅-	ikavik (river)
10	Natural features, lands (PL)	ittu-			ittukavik (rivers)
11	Misc., abstract + most borrowings (SG)	ru-	ri-	a-	rutarraa (knowledge (< Chl. tarlā))
12	Misc., abstract + most borrowings (PL)	iqa-	qi-	ia-	iqatarraa (studies)
13	Verbal infinitives	tii- -qa/-aq	qui-	ngi-	tiitaasaq (to build (root -taas-))

Different words may be derived just by putting a single root in different classes. So for example we have kaKalurilut (a Kalurilut person), saKalurilut (the Kalurilut language), iKalurilut (the Kalurilut land), or ruKalurilut (Kalurilut-ness, or their ethnic identity).

Syntax