Eorzean

Eorzean is a language spoken in Vector's take on Eorzea from Final Fantasy XIV. It is a mix of creole and auxlang, standardized by the Eorzean Alliance from 1468 6A onwards.

Eorzean
Eorzean Creole
Roge Iorsiani
Pronunciation	['ɾoge joɾ'zjani]
Created by	VectorGraphics
Date	2024
Setting	Eorzea
Native speakers	~70 million (almost all bilingual) (3 7A)
Writing system	Latin alphabet Allagan script
Official status
Official language in	Gridania (alongside Padjali) Limsa Lominsa (alongside Lominsan) Ul'dah (alongside Ul'dahn) Ishgard (alongside Ishgardian) Ala Mhigo (alongside Highlander Hyuran) Many smaller factions

Phonology

- Syllables are divided up according to sonority troughs. For example, <mi isti indun> /mistindun/ is /mis.tin.dun/ as opposed to /mi.sti.ndun/ or /mist.ind.un/. - Vowels "link together" across words. Sequences involving /i/ or /u/ are usually realized as diphthongs, and two of the same vowel merge together. - Syllables are not stressed.

Consonants

Eorzean consonant phonemes

	Labial	Coronal	Dorsal
Nasal	m	n
Voiceless plosive	p	t	k
Voiced plosive	b	d	g
Voiceless continuant	f	s	(f)
Voiced continuant / sonorant	v	ɾ

• The voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, and /k/ are usually lightly aspirated.
• /d/ and /g/ are often fricated to [ð] and [ɣ] respectively in rapid speech, depending on the region.
• /ɾ/ is usually [ɽ], but [ɻ] is common in clusters. In Garlemald (since 3 7A) and Ala Mhigo, it is often a trill [r]. Other allophones include [l].
• /s/ is voiced in many contexts, such as clusters with voiced consonants and intervocalically.
• /v/ is usually [ʋ].
• /f/ has an allophone /ʍ/ before labialized consonants and rounded vowels.
• /n/ assimilates to following coronal and dorsal consonants, but /m/ is distinct in this context. (/n/ becomes [ŋ] before labials).
• Nasals, plosives, and /s/ can be geminated.

Vowels

Eorzean vowel phonemes

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Mid	e	o
Open	a

• There is no distinction between vowels in hiatus, diphthongs, and (where available) semivowel+vowel sequences. As such, the semivowels [j] and [w] are not listed as consonant phonemes.
• However, there is no vowel length distinction, as can be seen when vowels link together across words: <mi isti indun> /mistindun/.

Phonotactics

The syllable structure of Eorzean is (C)(r)V(L), where

• C is any consonant (m, n, p, t, k, b, d, g, f, s, v, r)
• V is any vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
• L is any continuant other than /f/ or /m/ (s, v, r, n).
• (r) represents the optional rhotic /r/ that can appear after the first consonant.

Geminated consonants cannot cluster, and cannot appear at the beginning or end of words.

Adjacent vowels are allowed.

An example of the Eorzean syllable structure is in the word trenta (meaning "time"). The first syllable, tren, has all four allowed segments in an Eorzean syllable.

Orthography

In-universe, Eorzean is written with the Allagan alphabet.

The correspondences between the Allagan letters and Eorzean sounds.

Often times, many letters stand for the same sound, since the spelling of Eorzean words often reflects the spelling of the word in the source language (usually Ul'dahn or Midlander Hyuran). Notably, distinctions between /r/ and */l/ that were present in source languages are preserved in writing (as demonstrated in <Aldenard>: /aɾdenaɾd/.

On this page, the Latin alphabet will be used to write Eorzean; <r> will be used for /ɾ/, and otherwise, the IPA letters will be used, with standard English capitalization and punctuation rules.

Grammar

The word order of Eorzean is subject-verb-object, and Eorzean utilizes a variety of particles to clarify grammatical function. Modifiers usually follow nouns or verbs, except when they combine with the noun or verb to form a compound word, in which case they go before.

Eorzean verbs are not marked for tense; this is done using auxiliaries or prepositional phrases when necessary.

The infinitive on an Eorzean verb is marked by the particle su. For example:

• narnu "see"
• su narnu "to see"

Mood is expressed through a mix of auxiliaries and particles:

• kata su narnu "can see" (lit. "am able to see")
• ore narnu "would see" (subjunctive, used for conditionals and hypotheticals)
• ore kata su narnu "would be able to see"

Particles are used for derivations as well:

• gibi "feel"
• ri gibi "feeling"
• ori gibi "(that is) feeling"

To mark a yes-or-no question, the particle ra is added to the end of the sentence.

• no kata su narnu. "I can see"
• no kata su narnu ra? "Can I see?"

Nouns are pluralized by adding -tV where V is the last vowel in the noun.

• nerov "person"
• nerovto "people"
• indun "dream"
• induntu "dreams"
• rende "feeling"
• rendete "feelings".