Celinese

Autumn has come to Lorech, and it is a season that Elithoans love and revere - a time of long walks and fruit picking in red and amber-tinted foresst, weekend retreats with friends to rural shacks, the annual festival of lights toward the end of the season and hearty soups from freshly harvested vegetables being sold on street corners in the city.

Good afternoon, folks! As many of you know, I share information about my conlangs (Celinese being my principal one) and the world in which they are spoken, Lorech, over a variety of different sites. I thought today that I’d try to collect a bunch of posts over the years about Lorech into one compendium, which is roughly reverse chronological and by no means exhaustive. I will add to this from time to time, and at a later date, I will also do a language-centred compendium!

A pictoral guide to the 993 elections in Elitho (containing general information about each of Elitho’s thirty six provinces, too.)

3rd Celinese dictionary

Excerpt of didactic book on comparatives and superlatives with some cultural information

Application form for Lyrionese people to live in Elitho

Pilot’s speeches in Elitho (T)

Beginnings of creating a map of Elitho (better said: beginning of finally exporting the detailed map of Elitho in my head onto paper :v )

Elithoans and colour - cultural idioms

The Eliut and their animal spirit system

A three day, cultural tourist itinerary of Elitho

A history of Norèsc Elitho (narrated in Iferðí Celinese)

A brief history of Tsi

For whom would you vote? Elithoan consulate poll 993

Map and discussion of Aír and Sairstír’s new railway

Chlasc at the Crossroads - The Raven State independence movement

Calendar of year 993 

Timekeeping and epochs in Lorech

Discussion and statistics of the Tygenoc-Aivanien Grand Prix

Sairstír’s new flag - nation-building in the province

30 minutes of news (text and audio) from Elitho and Lorech at whole

Propaganda and background to the Chlasc independence vote

Congressional Review's guide to the 993 Elithoan senate elections

Discussion of reform to Jinyera's orthography (One language - many orthographies)

Some examples of Elithoan-Circassír linguistic differences

Declaration of the Tygenoci Union

A selection of in-world posters: political, travel, film, adverts

Wyshovian elections, 992

Composition of the Sairstír Senate, 992

The Blackest Day - newspaper article about Beichlír atrocities

History lesson: Why did the Tybuchi invade Tygenoc?

Guide to the Tyrinori writing system

Advert for learners of Jinyera and Celinese

Interview with Remú Morán, first consul of Elitho, over War in Beichlë

Colloquial conversation in Perís Celinese

"Elitho is on Ochrís' path to imperialism" - unreliable propaganda piece by an extreme Jinyer nationalist

Ochrien in-universe language poster

Audio introuction to Ochrís and Ochrien

A list of Elithoan first consuls

Interview with mayor of Ochtenwylo over the Tygenoc-Aivanien musical grand prix (a good example of a distinctive Elithoan dialect)

Short text in Celinese and Circasso-Olldairs on Elitho-Olldair alliance

An alliance divided? - Discussion of tensions between allies in war against Beichlë

Circassír studies brochure from the University of Perís

Demographics discussion - 50 largest cities of Elitho

Exonyms for Elitho discussion

« Etholot go d-tainot » - Elithoan story in Celinese

Short Celinese film - the leaping dog (and in Circassír Celinese)

Celinese phrasebook - with some cultural information

Beichlë junta ovewhelmed by alliance - news article

Black Eagle putsch in Beichlë - news article

Migration to and from Elitho - an analysis

Interview with Morán upon taking office as First Consul

Summons to an Elithoan court

Sairstír vs Elithoan Celinese - a few divergences

Separation of power in Elitho (as illustrated by the case of Chlasc)

Poster of Elitho-Jinyer friendship day

Group of 12 Quality of Living survey overview

991 calendar - Elitho

National hymn of Circassio

A little bit of history of the national sport of Elitho, Sêlmím (and teams)

A few notes on Tygenoci sign language

Elithoan passport - example and discussion

A brief guide to Olineya, a regional language of Circassio

Discussion of new First Consul's plans

Composition of Elithoan senate (991)

You may well be Elithoan, if...

5 people in the desert - discussion of a typical Elithoan joke

991 Elithoan election night coverage

Sports review of Sêlmím matches, Nefwair 990

Elithoan restaurant menu (in Celinese) (in English)

Doirlech: in-universe Celinese crossword

Sairstír declaration of independence

Lirnynos travel guide

Sovereignty of Lyrion returns to Elitho (brief history of Lyrion under Wyshovian occupation)

Lorech’s answer to Monopoly and a discussion of shipping trade

Travel guide to Anelithoan isles

Elithoan census of 990 overview

Elithoan citizenship civics test (before Morán's government simplified it)

Senate votes to dismiss First Consul Lomín

Opinion piece by (then) Minority Leader Morán: Directly electing the First Consul - a right long overdue

Syríe Lomín’s biggest gamble yet

Lorechian games - explanation of some Lorechian sports

Senate of Elitho (988)

A brief guide to Nelíc (a sociolect of Ioðinbêr)

Cultural notes on Elitho’s observance of the winter solstice

Discussion of a few Celinese idioms and their origin

History of Elitho-Beichlë borderlands (in want of updating!)

Quiz: Where would you feel most at home in Elitho?

An introduction and background to the Elitho-Jinyer dual civil war and history of Elythoics in Jinyero

Rail map of Perís City, and of Elitho

News reports - Bleimonth accord crisis in Beichlë (part 1 and part 2), Tsi-Circassio conflict arbitration and Lomín government woes, and End of Tsi-Circassio conflict

As some of you know, even though Celinese is for the most part an a priori language, it is one in which I have hidden some a posteriori loanwords - partially as a tribute to languages I love, partially for the fun of seeing if folks can find these borrowings. Most such loans come from Celtic languages, but a few come from other sources.

Mereð Séilë go Poðríc Synt lo g-cai'nh! Happy St. Patrick's day, everyone. To some, it is merely a day of public inebriation, but for me, it's a day of pride in my heritage. What better way to celebrate a land of bards, story and song than translating a well-written and truly heartfelt Irish song into Celinese? Here's "Scorn not his simplicity", or in Celinese, "So w-fynyloê né meiblús." It was written by Phil Coulter about his own son. If you’d like to see the original song and lyrics, check it out here.

"So w-fynyloê né meiblús"

Porír fowyð nyrús, cothir indoain némair tomochoê caiðín. Aé ethím, dai thero tysoím ðo geranúm elð tynðeg sé teimín? Sé nyrús anois célois ainham sochío, taroch go r-airír nyrand, Ochpyrthío gleig porír fynyl elth airírain mair, ðo né sío, ethím.

So w-fynyloê né meiblús, mair tysúot ðo codac gleig sé mairús. So w-fynyloê né meiblús, ô né, ô né.

Echramío, erin fysog ceðog ðé hiðor elmoío, né cênorío. Fysog elmast go maiðír cé chrífteimoð ðo né geraní polio. Célois soir baroín ðo trofec fysío, laimot go nothoê tyngoío. Anois, go genthoiot go so d-trofec sofío, ar sà gembefwynt tyngío.

So w-fynyloê né meiblús, mair tysúot ðo codac gleig sé mairús. So w-fynyloê né meiblús, ô né, ô né.   Elð merintair, logynelth cé marwyntoê, sorethío némair sà. Anor sanðais daich ceoroê né gechío mair gôs corothús ana.

I was challenged to make a three-day itinerary of my conworld - but I found this an impossible task. Instead, I've made a 20-day itinerary to one of my lands, Elitho, as well as a few little excursions into neighbouring Sairstír and Lyríon. I wrote it in Celinese, with the translation below. It's being offered by Vuotijon Leɣjäkyppetit/Tarlínot go r-Ifanco, aimed at Ifancoans who have never yet visited the "motherland." It took some deliberating to trim this list down, and it actually hurt my heart to not include some places on it, such as the delightful lakeside towns of Echíl or the old university city of Cynroth. Here's the itinerary:

ELITHO* - Cultural cities and natural wonders (* with a little bit of Sairstír and Lyríon!)

1st day - We arrive early to the port of Ioðinbêr. You will have three days in which you can enjoy the historical sights of the Elithoan capital. Amongst our picks are the Royal Palace of the (Laurienist) imperial era, the biggest botanical gardens in the world, the sizeable Museum of the Elithoan People, the Parliament, the iconic Tower of the Timúr... on days 2 and 3, we offer optional excursions, on the second, we go northbound to the renaissant city of Ochtenwylo, with its Foghuri cuisine and incredible cultural centre. On the third day, we sail to the independent island of four cultures, Lyríon; come along if you would like to bask in its wonderful beaches and unique architecture!

4th day - After the excitement and business of the big city, we go south to the natural charm of the Southern marches. We spend our first night in Lemathlyrín, one of the most charming villages of the verdant Dividng Mountains. There, in addition to incredible views of the valley and the other mountains, you can also enjoy the array of traditional craft stores and a nightly performance of "green hills" music. The following day, we return to lower ground as we discover Wylombeir, the city of a hundred islands and capital of Sairstír, with its natural baths, Hethmair (its ancient pre-Tygenoci temple), the moving Museum of the Resistance of the Sairstír People, and much more. On the fourth day, [we head to] the charming seaside town of Reigaið, with the best beaches and seafood on the west coast, and then, we will spend the evening in Wygodín, a town of colourful boats and canals.

8th day: In the morning, we arrive in Chlasc, and begin a stay of three days there. With 12 million people from more than 140 different countries, it has long been Elitho's window on the world. You must check out the difference between the narrow streets of the Old Town, now one of the best-known Tsi'ite towns in the world, and Spacecentre, a collection of imaginative and futuristic buildings that is home to the National Centre for Astronomy, the Great Hall of Elithoan Invention, and the National Science Museum. You should enjoy opera or comedy at the famous Timothlyn Theatre. For those who want to escape the big city, we also offer you excursions. On the second day, we sail to Bywoth, the "pearl of the Western Sea", so that we can roam its countryside and visit Amrymor, the home of Chowyntyn, Elitho's national poet, and a town untouched by time, with its horse and carriages, temples, traditional shops and wooden houses. On the third day, we also offer a trip to Aír and Timoglysc, two green and beautiful cities that were very important in Elithoan history.

11th day: Now we begin to explore Northern Elitho, and where better to do so than in the North's unofficial capital, Perís? We will spend three days there, during which you can wander around one of the best conserved historical towns of Elitho. We know Perís as the "westernmost city of Circassio" because of its large population of nomadic Circassírain, who go to the beautiful and atmospheric Water Market to sell their exotic wares. You should see the impressive Bleimonth Square and Garden, the small independent count of Lirnynos with its Pairseg schools and peaceful Eastern Lake, the National Museum of Perís, the architectural follies, museums and immigrant cultural/community centres of Lúthathlë, and a number of sights in High Temple, the spiritual heart of the town that became a nightlife, restaurant and art hotspot.

Hi there, folks! I decided to record an entire episode of the news in Celinese - this is an episode of "Enoigím go r-Haith pyp" (Zero hour news), the morning news programme of Elitho's premier national radio station, Lainethol Tíreg go r-Elitho. There's a written transcription throughout. It talks about some major events happening in Beichlë, Aivanien, Elitho and Norèscie, as well  as a bit of entertainment, sports news, and the weather. The episode clocks in at just under 30 minute and features a range of Celinese accents and dialects, as well as bits of Noresc, Beichlë-accented Wyshovian, Mylvets and Ochrien.

Notes about some of the speakers:

- The host, Ionmartí Teigen - speaks a relatively neutral form of Celinese close to the Perís-Ioðinbêr standard, but this is clearly "adopted" to a certain extent. Occasionally traits of his native dialect, that of the central-Western state of Echíl, come out, including the fricativisation of g, final <r> as [ɹ~ɾ] instead of [ʐ] and ai-ei merging. - Wyšovian is generally considered a pleasing language to listen to by the Elithoans - but not the way Beichlírain speak it. The upper echelons of the Beichlír army were once taught Wyšovian because Wyšo was the only major country on the continent of Tygenoc to not be opposed to their junta. After the democratic transition in Wyšo brought about the end of their nationalist government, Wyšo turned away from Beichlë, and they stopped teaching their soldiers Wyšovian - but many still speak it. - Sen. Dawyth has hints of an Inðrowyr accent, but being from West Inðrowyr, his accent is quite slight compared to what you would hear from people from eastern Inðrowyr, particularly Ochtenwylo - it's generally absent of the stød that characterises that accent. - Morán, the First Consul of Elitho, has a very strong Iscí accent that he has refused to tone down over the years - though he is making an effort here to avoid using vocabulary particular to the NW alone. Iscian or Calomese is one of Elitho's more divergent dialects, and with its vowel reduction, nasalisation and "soft" pronunciations of c and g, has more in common with standard Circassír Celinese than with most other Elithoan Celinese dialects. - The Aivani premiers: Oɋolın Mıbbex (or Oḥolin Miveḥis in Ochrien) is speaking Mylvets, one of the languages of the extreme north-east of the "continent' of Aivanien which is part of a family that also includes High and Low Meropots, Tetrovian and Bothmoric. The Ochrien chancellor, Alije Ṣolę, was not born in Ochrís and is not very successful at concealing the traits typical of Ochriophones born in neighbouring Telairo - most notably the merging of u/y and the near-absence of the vowel reduction that characterises Ochrís Ochrien. - People on the streets of Ioðinbêr: They're pretty diverse in their accents, much as one would expect from a capital city that has attracted people from all over Elitho and the world. The first person has what sounds to the untrained ear like the old-fashioned upper-crust accent of the capital region, but many non-standard traits such as /x/ <ch> as /ç/, final <g> as /g/ and, most notably, hefty amounts of glottalisation point to this person actually being from West Inðrowyr or East Ethlín. The second one has a very strong Iferðí-Danðí accent but avoids dialectical words (unlike the speaker in a previous recording, Gimabin nédwyl go r-Elitho Norèsc). The third person has a similar, albeit more authentic accent to #1. #4 speaks with traces of a NW accent and prosody, but without many of its stereotypical features and is likely from the near-north (Echíl, Bywoth or perhaps Iforn). Mycha Gathlinbeir: It was for fun that I decided to make the most southern of the Elithoan speakers on the recording (not counting the Sairstír people) the correspondant for Elitho's northern neighbours. Gathlinbeir's speech has many of the traits of an accent from Dambríe, a state smack bang in the middle of southern Elitho's borderlands, such as diphthongisation of e and o, a partial k~χ merger, ɔ lowered to ɒ and an approximant realisation of ɾ - but it is missing other features such as aspiration of syllable final s, "broken" long vowels and the distinctive southern borderlands prosody. The Norescians: Blömgård/Blimgard speaks in the prestige variant of Norèsc, which is based on the speech of Northern Norèscie - Blimgard's Celinese is very similar to that of a speaker from Iferðí-Danðí, namely because the latter region's speech was heavily influenced by its time as part of Norèscie. Kyndarov/Cwyndaroff on the other hand speaks Eastern Norèsc, a language which is often compared in its sound to the Celinese of Inðrowyr, a part of Elitho that was once colonised by Eastern Norèsc people. The Sairstírírain: Both people from Sairstír (everyone except Syríe Hainswerth in the segment about the music festival) are not speaking Sairstíreg, but instead are speaking Celinese which is Sairstír-accented to various degrees. This is because Sairstír Celinese is both more conservative than Elithoan Celinese, and experienced innovations that effected no major Elithoan Celinese variety - rendering it mutually intelligible in writing, but difficult to understand for Elithoans when spoken. Both Sairstírírain are pronouncing Celinese as close as they can to the Perís-Ioðinbêr standard, avoiding the vowel reduction, palatalisation, voicing of all final consonants and unmerged affricates that characterise "Sairstíreg." The representative of Sairstír at the contest doesn't have a Sairstír accent at all - Hainswerth was born in Western Jinyero, and has an accent characteristic of Beiðwyn, a city in the south-west of that territory. So this recording tells you something about the diglossia of Celinophone Tygenoc, and of Ochrien-predominant Aivanien. When it comes to talking to the international news, almost everyone is not speaking their own dialect or are doing so, but are making concessions to the standard language so as to be understood. The only Celinophone not trying to moderate their accent is the Elithoan leader, Morán. This gives me an idea for a future recording, which would be a composite of stories taken from provincial radio, where the local dialects and languages dominate

TOŠOXY. In the Wyšovian parliament today, alongside the home nation's reformist chancellor, Ayorin Xyloč, Remú Morán, the First Consul of Elitho, gave a speech setting out ambitious plans to create the Tygenoci Community, an international union to rival the Ochrien-led Aivānien Union and the CCCS proposed by Tsi. This community would create a greater level of coöperation between the countries and provinces of North and South Tygenoc, and could usher in such monumental changes as a shared Tygenoci defence system, completely unhindered movement across Tygenoc for citizens of member states, a shared parliament, a shared regional development fund and more.

The First Consul, long known for his internationalist ambitions, laid out these plans with a sense of urgency in his delivery. He declared that "my dream is a union of Tygenoci nations that would work together more unitedly; so that our citizens have more opportunity, so that we prosperously develop together; so that our shared ideals are protected. The nations of this continent have a long and glorious shared history of mutual coöperation and influence; now is the time to cement these links in a formal alliance, so that the coming century will be our most prosperous yet." The Wyšovian chancellor echoed Morán's words, stating "together, united for peace, freedom and progress, we can put the dark events of the past century behind us and truly prosper. We are strong apart, but together we are a more formidable force and a stronger voice for change across Lorech."

A total of 22 countries and regions appear on an initial list of those invited to join the Tygenoci Community as full members, including a few nations to the North or North-West of Tygenoc with political (Tyrinor) or cultural (Gwyðach and Eithonie-Tobhir) links to Tygenoci states. Other nations with cultural links to Tygenoc that are more geographically separated from the continent, such as Ifanco and Circassio, have been invited as "partnership members."

The Tygenoci Community is one of three international organisations proposed by Morán in the wake of the Beichlír atrocities - his coalition government also propose a Union of Elythoic States between Elitho, the Iscian Wasc Islands, Sairstír and Lyrion. In a week's time in Nivąras, Ochrís, he is also set to argue for a more robust, and Lorech-wide, replacement for the Co-Operative Community of the Northern Hemisphere, widely considered to be past its time and ineffective.

It is not only ideals that motivate the creation of such an international identity, but also pragmatism. One of the reasons the experienced Progressive senator and current Foreign Minister, Annë Leorth, appealed to the Moderate Morán because of her long-standing insistence that Tygenoc has to work more closely together or see itself eclipsed by the vast Aivānien Union and emerging economies in Eastern Lorech and Olmiê. A united Tygenoc would be a far more imposing entity in the eventual negotiations with Tsi, Circassio and Ochrís on the future of Beichlë after the war instead of dozens of smaller states. As the Moderates' most prominent economist, Stefán Fliotír argued, shared development fund would also help increase investment in promising areas of Tygenoc such as Lyrion, Sairstír, and formerly Beichlír-occupied territories such as Lombeir/Elombe and Seorowy/Jyoroweya, making the Tygenoci economy more robust and integrated.

It is unusual to see pro-peace propaganda to come out of Tsi, but this is just that. Many Tsi'ites, particularly those in the prosperous and increasingly rebellious Ũ-tṛăy region, are worried about the increasing possibility that their country may get involved in the Beichlë conflict after dozens of Tsi nationals were killed in militia-backed bombing attacks.

Hello, folks! Here is the third edition of the Celinese-English bidirectional dictionary - it has just over 20,000 entries. You can check it out here!

Byrnoair (October - "the time of pears") is around the corner, so I thought I'd create a vocab poster about seasonal fruits and vegetables of the month!

Tonight is the eve of the Claret Revolution, whose tenth anniversary will be celebrated tomorrow in the South-Eastern nation of Foghur. This revolution saw an infamous, bloody dictatorship toppled by the masses and the eventual installation of a confederal, socialist republic. There are three days of celebration and there are expected to be crowds of over a million Foghuru enjoying a cultural festival in the winding streets of Jendori (Celinese: Rhêndorín), one of the oldest cities in all of Lorech. Foghur was one of the great historical nations of Eastern Lorech, but faces daunting challenges because of its antiquated and war-weakened infrastructure and the common phenomenon of its citizens immigrating to Tsi, Circassio and even Elitho for a more lucrative career. The poster, created to celebrate the anniversary, features at the top the first lines of the Foghuri anthem: «Foghuru, ho dîna yâ! Xemi yildi akaw dê! Yuri Lezî y-ôdraya Heji kendi lepi sê.» This translates as: "Foghuru, do not turn! Before you, the stars are dancing. Even the future of the former slave [is] in [their] own free hands." At the bottom is the legend: "By striving to improve ourselves, we defend the unity of the country and the future of the revolution."