Yombu-Raina languages

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Yombu-Raina
Created by
Geographic
distribution
most of eastern Védren
Linguistic classificationOne of the world's primary language families
  • Yombu-Raina
Proto-languageProto-Yombu-Raina
Subdivisions
  • Yombu
  • Ɓalvöskian
  • Raina
  • Chaetip
  • Rhəmale
  • Alcárd
  • Ñé-Úi
  • Naeńgâlok
  • Halsjí

The Yombu-Raina languages (Chl.: yomburainyumi dhāḍai; Cer.: sérešu Iómbu-Raina) are a language family of Calémere. It is the largest family by number of recognized languages as well as by number of native speakers[1]. They are named after the two most widely spoken branches, the Yombu (or Yomboic) languages and the Raina (or Rainic) languages; they are currently spoken across all of eastern Védren and southwestern Márusúturon, with an attested mostly historical presence of Raina languages on the southern coast of Márusúturon as far east as present-day Karindelmā, currently only surviving there in scattered pockets but leaving their traces in all creoles of the area.

There is no general consensus on where exactly the Yombu-Raina urheimat was, but all proposed areas lie in the northeastern corner of Védren, where five of the nine main branches and two in-family isolates are found.

Historical spread

Speakers of Raina languages, a thousand years ago, were dominant along the coasts of northeastern Védren and southern Márusúturon; Raina speakers settles all across the area as far east as present-day Karindelmā diocese in the Inquisition (about 90° east of the main present Raina-speaking territories). However, they were later assimilated first by Dabuke languages (a subbranch of Yombu) in the westernmost part and then by the Chlouvānem; some Raina-speaking areas (with heavily Chlouvānemized but still Raina vernaculars), however, still survive to the present day in those areas, and the Hæligreiši-Mbusakitvi creoles were all born from the contact between speakers of those languages and the incoming Chlouvānem.

Classification

There are nine main branches of Yombu-Raina languages, starting from north to south:

  • Yombu
    • Dabuke
  • Ɓalvöskian
  • Raina
  • Chaetip
  • Rhəmale
  • Alcárd (or Alcárdic)
  • Ñé-Úi
  • Naeńgâlok
  • Halsjí

Notes

  1. ^ Native speaker count actually sees the Yombu-Raina and Lahob families as almost tied.