In the Nesarian Empire timeline, the Nesarian language is an Elvic language spoken by the Nesarians. It is also used as a lingua franca for the non-Nesarian population of the Empire, as well as many ex-Empire states such as Armenia, Kazakhstan and Iran.
Nesarian's grammatical similarity to English means that it is fairly easy for English speakers to learn Nesarian, and vice versa. This has enabled almost 90% of the population of Nesaria to learn at least basic English.
Alphabet[]
The Nesarian language initially used a complex set of runes that was replaced by the Latin alphabet in the early 16th century as the printing press arrived in the Nesarian Empire.
The Nesarian alphabet has 25 letters with distinct sounds as well as 7 letter combinations that create different sounds.
| Letter or Combination | IPA Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| A/a | /a/ |
| AE/ae | /aɪ/ or /eɪ/* |
| AR/ar | /ɑːr/ |
| B/b | /b/ |
| C/c | /k/ |
| D/d | /d/ |
| E/e | /ɛ/ |
| É/é | /eɪ/ |
| EO/eo | /eɪoʊ/ |
| F/f | /f/ |
| G/g | /g/ |
| H/h | /h/ |
| I/i | /i/ |
| IR/ir | /iːər/ |
| J/j | /dʒ/ |
| L/l | /l/ |
| M/m | /m/ |
| N/n | /n/ |
| O/o | /ɒ/ |
| P/p | /p/ |
| Q/q | /k/ or /x/** |
| R/r | /r/ |
| S/s | /s/ |
| SH/sh | /ʃ/ |
| SZ/sz | /ʒ/ |
| T/t | /t/ |
| TH/th | /θ/ |
| U/u | /u/ |
| V/v | /v/ |
| Y/y | /j/ |
| X/x | /ks/ |
| Z/z | /z/ |
*Ae is normally pronounced /aɪ/ but if a Nesarian is pronouncing an Elvish word then they say /eɪ/, as this is the sound "ae" makes in High Elvish and Avamorian. Minor dialects of Nesarian also normally pronounce "ae" as /eɪ/.
**Q can be /k/ or /x/ depending on the dialect. Standard Nesarian is /k/ but southern Nesarian dialects (as well as High Elvish and Avamorian) use /x/.