Kithran

Overview

Kithran is an extinct ancient language spoken by the people of the Alkithrian Empire, one of the largest empires of its era. The name Kithran derives from kithr, meaning "speech" in the language itself.

Kithran is primarily inspired by Latin and Ancient Arabic in both phonology and historical development.

Kithran is made by User:Rezover26

Historical Background

There are two main historical stages of the language:

• Old Kithran (OK) – the earliest and most basic form of the language, spoken when the Alkithria region was still small. Old Kithran was predominantly oral and is almost entirely lost to time.
• Classical Kithran (CK) – the standardized form that emerged after the expansion of the Alkithrian Empire. Most surviving inscriptions and reconstructions are based on Classical Kithran.

Writing System

Kithran originally used its own native script. In modern linguistic descriptions, it is transcribed into the Latin alphabet as described below.

Phonology

Vowels

Kithran distinguishes vowel length.

Short Vowels

• a
• i
• u
• e
• o

Long Vowels

• ā
• ī
• ū
• ē
• ō

The vowel e may sometimes be realized as [ɛ] or as a schwa [ə], depending on the word. This variation is not indicated in the writing system.

Consonants

Plosives

• b
• t
• d
• k
• g

Fricatives

• th /θ/
• s
• z (Classical Kithran only)
• sh /ʃ/
• zh /ʒ/
• kh /x/
• gh /ɣ/
• f
• h

Affricates

• j /dʒ/

Nasals

• m
• n

Liquids

• r /r/
• l

Approximants / Glides

• y /j/
• w (Classical Kithran only)

Phonotactics

Kithran allows for complex syllable structures, with a maximum syllable shape of CCCVCCC. Consonant clusters are common in both onset and coda positions, especially in Classical Kithran.

Examples

• ghfruld – CCCVCC
• shkrulft – CCCVCCC

Stress

Stress placement in Kithran follows phonological complexity rather than fixed position.

• Syllables containing at least three phonemic components are stressed.
• When multiple syllables qualify, stress usually falls on the first qualifying syllable.
• Affixes are not stressed.
• Long vowels may also attract stress.
• If no syllable meets these conditions, stress defaults to the first syllable of the word.

Stress patterns may have differed in Old Kithran, though this is uncertain due to its primarily oral transmission.

Stress Examples

• kithrā – stress on the long vowel
• khmari – stress on the first complex syllable

Syntax

The basic word order of Kithran is Subject–Object–Verb (SOV). However, this order is not absolute, and variations may occur due to emphasis, stylistic choice, or poetic usage.

Syntax Examples

• Far gahabrim yabnelan

 (man empire.ACC build.PST)  
 "The man built the empire."

Grammars

Verbs

Kithran verbs inflect primarily for tense using suffixes.

Tense

• Present: -me

 lata → latame  
 "see / is seeing"

 For general or timeless statements, the long vowel form -mē is used.

• Past: -lan

 lata → latalan  
 "saw"

• Future: -zan

 lata → latazan  
 "will see"

Voice

The passive voice is formed using the prefix de- placed before the verbal root.

• de-lata-me – "is seen"
• de-lata-lan – "was seen"

Copula

The verb me functions as a copula meaning "to be".

• me – "is / are"
• melan – "was / has been"
• mezan – "will be"

In these forms, me functions as an independent verb rather than a suffix.

Modality

Ability or possibility is expressed using the auxiliary astu.

• lata astu – "can see / is able to see"

Permission is expressed using the auxiliary yajum.

• lata yajum – "may see"

Nouns

Kithran nouns are inflected for case using suffixes.

Number

Kithran nouns distinguish singular and plural.

The plural is formed using the suffix -is.

• had → hadis

 "gifts"

When both number and case are present, the plural marker -is precedes the case suffix.

• had → hadis-im

 (had + -is + -im)  
 "gifts" (accusative)

Cases

Case	Suffix	Example	Meaning
Nominative	Ø	had	"gift"
Accusative	-im	hadim	"gift" (object)
Genitive	-um	hadum	"of the gift"
Dative	-nun	hadnun	"for the gift"
Instrumental	-nam	hadnam	"with the gift"
Locative	-assa	hadassa	"in the gift"

Direction and Spatial Relations

The locative case in Kithran (-assa) indicates general location. More specific spatial and directional meanings are expressed using prepositional compounds.

These compounds consist of a vector element and a relator element, followed by a noun in the locative case.

Vector Elements

Vector elements indicate direction or motion.

Vector	Meaning	Function
dir	to, toward, into	allative
man	from, out of	ablative
er	through, across, along, via	perlative

Relator Elements

Relator elements specify the spatial relation of the noun.

Relator	Meaning
hil	interior, inside
ma	top, surface
kal	vicinity, proximity
sat	underside, below
lam	rear, back
ham	front, face
bel	space between
haf	surrounding area, circumference

Formation Pattern

The general pattern is:

[Vector + Relator] + Noun-LOC

Examples

• yabassa

 "at the house"
 ("at" as in the general location)

• hil yabassa

 "in the house"  
 (hil + yaba + -assa)

• dirhil yabassa

 "into the house"  
 (dir + hil + yaba + -assa)

Derivation and Word Formation

Kithran makes extensive use of derivational affixes to form new lexical categories and meanings.

Derivational Suffixes

Function	Affix	Example	Meaning
Agent noun	-nalum	yabne → yabnalum	"builder"
Adverb	-ī	lenoa → lenoī	"slowly"
Full of	-lan	sarne → sarnelan	"hopeful"
Without	-lit	yaba → yabalit	"homeless"
State or quality	-ran	hamo → hamoran	"happiness"
Action or process	-arum	darne → darnarum	"decision"
Resembling	-kil	athar → atharkil	"reddish"

If resemblance is contextually clear, the independent word musha ("similar, like") may be used instead.

• musha har – "flame-like"

Verbalization

Nouns may be converted into verbs using the prefix mil-.

• uya → miluya

 "to eye"

Morphophonological Rules

Several phonological adjustments occur when suffixes are added:

• If a word ends in a vowel and the suffix begins with a vowel, the final vowel of the word is replaced.

 arsa + -um → arsum

• If a word ends in two vowels, the final vowel is replaced by the suffix.

 lenoa + -ī → lenoī

• If the final consonant of a word matches the initial consonant of the suffix, the consonant is not duplicated.

 yabne + -nalum → yabnalum

• In all other cases, suffixes are added directly to the stem.

Inchoative Construction

The postposition asbih is used to express an inchoative meaning ("to become").

• athar asbih – "to become red"

Negation

Negation in Kithran is primarily expressed through independent particles and negative words.

Basic Negation

• nan – "no"
• nem – "not"

Imperative Negation

• nar – negative imperative ("do not")

Emphatic and Coordinated Negation

• nemi ... niya – "not even"

 The emphasized word is placed between nemi and niya.

• nare – "and not", "or not", "nor"

Temporal Negation

• naram – "never"

Usage

Most negative elements in Kithran function syntactically as prepositions.

• nem is placed before the verb or the object it negates.
• nem lata – "not see"
• nem hadim – "not the gift"

Double Negation

Double negation is grammatically possible in Kithran but is generally avoided and considered stylistically awkward.

Interrogatives

Kithran distinguishes between yes–no questions and content questions.

Yes–No Questions

Yes–no questions are formed using the prefix an-. The verb appears at the beginning of the clause, followed by the rest of the sentence.

Content Questions

Content questions are formed using interrogative words placed at the beginning of the clause.

Interrogative	Meaning
da	what
iba	who
naja	why
reda	where
maga	when
āgo	how
wannu	which

The general structure of content questions is:

[Interrogative] + [normal clause]

• anlatalan far ezhim? – "did the man see them?"
• da far nem latalan? – "what did the man not see?"

Conjunctions

Kithran uses coordinating and subordinating conjunctions to link clauses.

Conjunction	Meaning
e	and
khamo	but
ja	or
hada	so
lāma	because

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses in Kithran are formed using interrogative words as relativizers.

Structure

The general structure of a relative clause is:

[Noun (case-marked)] + [relativizer] + [relative clause]

Example

• Alla farim iba allim almame latame

 (I-NOM man-ACC who I-ACC love-PRES see-PRES)  
 "I see the man who loves me."

Relativizer Case Marking

The role of the relativizer within the relative clause is indicated by case marking.

• When the relativizer fills the subject role, it remains unmarked.

 iba – "who" (subject)

• When the relativizer fills the object role, it takes the accusative case.

 iba → ibim  
 da → dim

This allows relative clauses to clearly distinguish grammatical roles without ambiguity.

Grammatical Moods

Kithran distinguishes several grammatical moods, expressed through verbal suffixes and particles.

Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is used for statements of fact and real situations. It is expressed through the regular tense system.

Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is used for commands.

• Present imperative: -merē
• Future imperative: -zarē

Negative imperatives are formed using the particle nar.

 latamerē! – "look now!"
 latazarē! – "you shall look!"
 nar latamerē! – "don't look!"

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood in Kithran is expressed using postpositions rather than verbal suffixes.

Subjunctive postpositions are placed after the clause they modify.

• sam – wishes, desires, purposes, commands, requests
• assam – doubt, uncertainty, fear, prevention

 Alla alle yaba yabnarumzan sam – "I wish to build my house in the future"

Conditional Mood

Conditional constructions are formed using the particle sha.

The general structure is:

(sha + [subjunctive clause + sam/assam]), [main clause in the indicative]

In formal usage, the main clause may be marked with the suffix -khan.

 sha sholma nem me sam, anma nem mezan goma khan – "if the sun were not to exist, light would not exist as well."

Lexicon

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Person	Pronoun	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Instrumental
1st singular	alla	allim	allum	allnun	allnam
2nd singular	sho	shim	shum	shnun	shnam
2nd plural	ersho	ershim	ershum	ershnun	ershnam
1st plural (inclusive)	fanna	fannim	fannum	fannun	fannam
1st plural (exclusive)	finna	finnim	finnum	finnun	finnam
3rd plural	ezho	ezhim	ezhum	ezhnun	ezhnam
3rd singular masculine	ra	rim	rum	ranun	ranam
3rd singular feminine	na	nim	num	nanun	nanam
3rd singular neuter	ta	tim	tum	tanun	tanam

Possessive Pronouns

Person	Possessive Pronoun
1st singular	alle
2nd singular	she
2nd plural	ershe
1st plural (inclusive)	fanne
1st plural (exclusive)	finne
3rd plural	ezhe
3rd singular masculine	re
3rd singular feminine	ne
3rd singular neuter	te

Possession in Kithran is commonly expressed using possessive pronouns. Genitive forms of personal pronouns may also be used to express possession, especially in formal, poetic, or emphatic contexts, corresponding to an "of X" construction.

• alle yaba – my house
• yaba allum – the house of me (formal / poetic)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Meaning	Pronoun
this (singular)	din
that (singular)	dawm
these (plural)	disha
those (plural)	dashum

Negative Pronouns

Meaning	Pronoun
none	nen
nothing	nedo
nobody / no one	nezho
neither	niba

Negative pronouns like niba can be used in combination with verbs or conjunctions to express negation across multiple subjects or objects.

Negative pronouns inherently express negation and do not normally require additional negative particles. Double negation is possible but generally avoided in standard usage.

Numerals

Cardinal Numbers

Number	Kithran
1	ani
2	nayn
3	tha
4	kadra
5	kubra
6	sati
7	seba
8	thama
9	tisha
10	shol
100	shen
1,000	mishen
1,000,000	mighnan

Number Formation

Multiplication is expressed by placing the multiplier before the higher magnitude.

• nayn shol – 20 (2 × 10)
• tha shen – 300 (3 × 100)
• kadra mishen – 4,000 (4 × 1,000)

Addition is expressed by placing the smaller number after the larger one, connected by the conjunction e ("and").

• shol e nayn – 12 (10 + 2)
• shen e kadra shol e kubra – 145 (100 + 40 + 5)
• nayn mishen e shol e thama – 2,018 (2,000 + 10 + 8)

In casual speech, the conjunction e may be omitted.

Syntax of Numbers

When used as modifiers, cardinal numbers precede the noun.

• nayn hadis – two gifts

Zero

Early Kithran lacked a distinct numeral for zero. Absence or null quantity was instead expressed using the word nen ("none").

In Late Classical Kithran, as mathematics became more prominent, the term nil was borrowed from another language and adopted as a numeral meaning "zero".

Ordinal Numbers

Kithran ordinal numbers are primarily formed using distinct ordinal forms. The system remains base-10.

Ordinal	Kithran
1st	ano
2nd	nayno
3rd	tho
4th	kadro
5th	kubro
6th	sato
7th	sebo
8th	thamo
9th	tisho
10th	shio
11th	shano
12th	shnayno

The 11th and 12th ordinals have distinct forms. These originally developed within an earlier timekeeping system and were later generalized in Classical Kithran, similar to the English forms "eleven" and "twelve".

Formation of Higher Ordinals

For compound numbers, only the final numeral is converted into its ordinal form.

• shol sebo – 17th
• nayn shol tho – 23rd

As with cardinal numbers, the conjunction e may be omitted in casual speech.