|Native speakers||1000 million (2015)|
|Official language in|
|Recognised minority language in||
|Regulated by||Regulatory Committee of the National Language and Dialects|
Namorese (Неирайин, 内域言 tr. Neirayin, "language of the land") is a East Velkian Monic language spoken mainly by Namorese people. With nearly 1 billion speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken languages in Esquarium and enjoys official or semi-official status in several countries.
Namorese is divided into three main dialects — Central Namorese (Jungyin), based in the upper Nozama River Valley, Southern Namorese (Nanyin) based in the eastern Namorese coast, and Northern Namorese (Peiyin), based in the districts of Arra and Shanpei. These dialects can be further divided into many sub-dialects, such as Southwestern and Sanbencho Namorese, both variants of Southern Namorese. Starting the 1920s, Southern Namorese — specifically Sanbencho Namorese, the variant of Namorese spoken in the Nozama River Delta — was recognized as the official dialect in Namor. The promotion of Southern Namorese in traditionally Central and Northern Namorese-speaking areas has resulted in a fusion of the dialects, forming the modern Namorese language.
Ventzi (also known as Katzi, or "ancient script"), a logographic writing system, was used for thousands of years until the 19th century, when the Hao dynasty introduced the Latin alphabet, or Redentzi, as part of its language reforms. In 1933, the People's Republic of Namor replaced Redentzi with Shintzi ("new script"), a script based on the Cyrillic script. These changes have led to the use of different writing systems in the Namorese-speaking world — Shintzi in mainland Namor, Redentzi in Peitoa and Nantai, and Redentzi in some overseas Namorese communities, primarily those in Ainin.
Namorese is generally divided into three main dialects and various subdialects.
- Central Namorese (Джунйин, 中言, Jungyin) is the variant of Namorese spoken in the upper Nozama River Valley. It is believed to contain more elements of Old Namorese than other Namorese dialects; for that reason, it is regarded as the oldest version of Namorese.
- Southern Namorese (Нанйин, 南言, Nanyin) is a dialect continuum spoken in the eastern coast of Namor. Southern Namorese in Southern Namor, Xhipei and Minjian is more mutually intelligible with Minjianese, while Southern Namorese in East Namor is more mutually intelligible with Tuhaoese. Sanbencho Namorese, the dialect spoken in Namo and the rest of the Nozama River Delta, is considered to be the standard dialect of Namorese.
- Northern Namorese (Пеийин, 北言, Peiyin) is the regions of Arra and Shanpei in northern Namor.
Shintzi (Шинци, 新字) is the official script of Namorese in mainland Namor and Katranjiev. Based on the Cyrillic alphabet, Shintzi was introduced in 1933 by the Liberationist government as part of a movement to increase the national literacy rate, which remained low despite language reforms carried out by the Hao dynasty and Republic of Namor. The switch to Shintzi was also politically motivated, as the Liberationists viewed Redentzi as an "imperialist alphabet."
Redentzi (Реденци, 拉丁字), based on the Latin alphabet, remains widely used in Peitoa and Nantai. Invented in the 18th century by Christian missionaries in Namor, Redentzi was officially adopted in 1882 by the Kochan Emperor, who saw the Latin alphabet as a way to improve literacy and modernize the empire. However, the reforms were never fully implemented due to resistance from older officials, many of whom continued to use Ventzi in official communications. After the Namorese Civil War, the Republic of Namor on Peitoa continued to use Redentzi and banned Shintzi on the grounds that it was a product of Liberationist cultural genocide. Redentzi enjoyed an unchallenged official status in Peitoa until reunification with mainland Namor in 2006. In 2012, the Namorese government announced a plan to phase out the use of Redentzi in Peitoa by 2037.
Ventzi (Венци, 文字) or Katzi (Каци, 古字) is the oldest and only logographic system in written Namorese. Consisting of thousands of characters, Ventzi evolved from the logographic script of the Nozama Valley Civilization. Despite its long history, Ventzi was almost exclusively used by highly educated people such as officials and scribes. After it was replaced by Redentzi in 1882, it slowly fell out of use, although it still appeared in ancient literature, legal documents and the headings of various newspapers, such as the Mojing Sibo. The Republic of Namor prohibited the teaching of Ventzi in primary and secondary schools, but introduced it into the national curriculum in 1941 in response to the Green Fever. In 1978, mainland Namor allowed schools to teach Ventzi to facilitate the study of primary historical texts. Polls show that less than 10% of Namorese know at least 3,000 Ventzi characters.
It is esimated that around 30% of Namorese words cannot be expressed in Ventzi due to the development of the language since 1882.
|Канси кангуннон синзукйо пин но джанса ка надженду но тенкан. Зукйин, каннон но тенкан ка джан веи ка, наду, ная.||Kansi kangunnon sinzukyo pin no jansa ka najendu no tenkan. Zukyin, kannon no tenkan ka jan vei ka, nadu, naya.||全世全況侬生續有平𠹌尊值加否正奪𠹌天權。續言，全侬𠹌天權加尊為固，否奪，否犯。||All people are born as and ought to remain equals in dignity and worth, and are endowed with certain natural rights, regardless of their condition, of which they cannot justly be deprived or denied. Furthermore, the rights and dignity of all people are inherent, irrevocable, and inviolable.|
|A a||А а||啊||/a/|
|B b||Б б||卜||/b/|
|Ch ch (Č č)||Ч ч||叱||/t͡ʃ/|
|D d||Д д||嘚||/d/|
|E e||Е е||呃||/e/|
|F f||Ф ф||仏||/f/|
|G g||Г г||咯||/g/|
|H h||X x||嚇||/h/|
|I i||И и||咿||/i/|
|Y y||Й й||也||/j/|
|J j (Dzh, dzh)||Дж дж||厇||/d͡ʒ/|
|K k||К к||咳||/k/|
|L l||Л л||嘞||/l/|
|M m||М м||麽||/m/|
|N n||Н н||呢||/n/|
|O o||О о||哦||/o/|
|P p||П п||哱||/p/|
|R r||Р р||喏||/r/|
|S s||С с||嗖||/s/|
|Sh sh (Š š)||Ш ш||嘘||/ʃ/|
|T t||Т т||特||/t/|
|Ts ts (C c)||Ц ц||次||/t͡s/|
|U u||У у||呜||/u/|
|V v||В в||付||/v/|
|W w||W w||喔||/w/|
|X x||Щ щ||嘻||/ɕ/, /ʂ/|
|Z z||З з||兹||/z/|
|Zh zh (Ž ž)||Ж ж||吱||/ʒ/|
|Ya ya||Я я||呀||/ja/|
|Yu yu||Ю ю||于||/ju/|