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 Rezover26. For vocabulary, see Kithran Lexicon.

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."

Time System

Kithran expresses time using a day–night division based on sunrise and sunset. The basic unit of time is the hour (gen).

Day and Night

• dan – the period from sunrise to sunset
• bun – the period from sunset to sunrise

The first hour of both dan and bun begins at sunrise and sunset respectively.

Clock Time

Clock time is expressed using the structure:

gen + ordinal number + dan/bun

• gen eno dan – 6 AM (first hour of the day)
• gen tho bun – 8 PM (third hour of the night)

Subdivisions

As Kithran lacks the concept of minutes and seconds, shorter periods are expressed using subdivisions of the hour.

• satigen – half-hour
• kadrigen – quarter-hour
• simish – a short moment

Duration

Durations are expressed using a cardinal number followed by gen. In writing, the elements are merged.

• kadragen – four hours