Medyestani
Medyestani (Medyestani Alphabet: (Eʒvan) Meδȷecтani or Meðȷecтani, also called Meadean), meaning approximately Middle-land-ish, is an Indo-European constructed art language created by Ceige at some indefinite time between 2012 and 2014. In-universe, it is spoken primarily in the Medyestani Confederacy of the same name. The language's classification is somewhat problematic, as it in some cases displays strong Iranian features, while in other cases it appears to be better suited to being a separate branch of Indo-Iranian. Furthermore, it appears to have influences of the Germanic and Slavic branches. From an in-universe perspective though, with these language families not quite existing, it is considered less of an issue.
Background
Goals and Inspiration
The Medyestani language was influenced primarily by the languages of Eurasia, and while it appears primarily Iranian influenced, it is in fact also inspired by Celtic, Germanic, Slavic, Sanskrit, and Turkic. The associated conculture is also influenced by these cultures. The goal was to create a culture and language that mirrored that of the existing Persian cultures in real life, in order to better understand them from a historical perspective (as opposed to simply thinking "ah, they're just Middle-Eastern").
There is also some desire to use the language for a work of fiction, but that requires substantial effort, and the author does not feel that it is time to put that burden on what they feel to be a very young project.
Setting
The Medyestani Confederacy is a social, political and military alliance between various close cultures, towns, city states and lands that act as a rough equivalent to a nation state. The lingua franca of these lands is Medyestani, which in turn has an influence on the language, which draws features from several Sprachbunds.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Epiglottal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | ||||||||||||
| Plosive | ||||||||||||
| Fricative | ||||||||||||
| Affricate | ||||||||||||
| Approximant | ||||||||||||
| Trill | ||||||||||||
| Flap or tap | ||||||||||||
| Lateral fric. | ||||||||||||
| Lateral app. | ||||||||||||
| Lateral flap |
Vowels
| Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | |||||
| Near-close | |||||
| Close-mid | |||||
| Mid | |||||
| Open-mid | |||||
| Near-open | |||||
| Open |