Marani languages

The Marani languages are a family of related languages and dialects spoken by the indigenous peoples in the southwest of the Southern Continent.

Before the arrival of Baranxtiman, Asuanituan, Nidajan and French settlers, this language family comprised numerous languages and dialects in several distinct branches; today, only a small percentage of them have surived, a number of which are in danger of becoming extinct. However, over the last few decades, a strong language revival movement has taken shape, with young Marani again learning the languages of their ancestors.

Classification

Today, six major branches of the Marani family are recognized:

• The Abasic languages, once spread across the whole northern coast of modern-day Baranxtu. Of its many dialects and languages, only four remain today. It is in critical danger of becoming extinct over the next few decades.
  • Køtek is spoken on the western half of the Baśani peninsula in Abasina by an estimated 120 natively, with another 500 people with some skill in Køtek.
  • Pātti is spoken on the northern tip of the Baśani peninsula and some nearby islands. It has about 2,600 native speakers, most of whom are over 50.
  • Tomont was spoken along the eastern shore of the Baśani peninsula. There are only three native speakers left, all of whom are over 70.
  • Tn̅ttui is the only non-Abasinan remnant of the once widely spoken Abasic languages. It survived in the south of Tarīma, where it still is spoken by about 5000 people.

• The Aniraic languages, once spoken all over central Baranxtu. There are two closely related languages left of this branch.
  • Ñirun survives in Ñiria and some Abasinan, Doristan and Ziahan districts. Due to the long independence of Ñiria as the Anier kingdom, Ñiria remains one of the strongest Marani languages with over 16 million native speakers.
  • Paãmōh is spoken in central Ñiria. It is spoken by about 1 million people today.

• The Daunitsic languages, spoken in Abasina and the two Doristas, became extinct in the late 19th century.

• The Qiruic languages, once numbering 10-16 distinct languages and spoken widely across southwestern Baranxtu. Only one language survives today.
  • Qi is the is the Marani language with most native speakers. It is the majority language in Kiru and Otea, which each use slightly different standard versions. The Kiruan variety has about 31.5 million native speakers, the Otean variety 15.2 million. Kiruan Qi is also used by the Qi minorities of Āŋ-Dorista and the Siraŋava-Nedaimēva.

• The Kumic languages, widely spoken in the northern Nehikuman kingdom, are all but extinct today. Only a few pockets of native speakers close to the Baranxtuan eastern border survive.
  • Leineŋ is spoken by an estimated 4,500 people in Āŋ-Neila.
  • Khutanbhi is spoken by an estimated 6000 people in Āþ-Neila.

• The Halamic-Leumic languages, formerly the majority languages of southeast Baranxtu and Cikoutimi. They are the third strongest Marani branch, and the one with most surviving linguistic diversity. They are further subdivided into
  • The Halamic languages. The languages spoken in Naïē are extinct today; a number of other languages remain.
    • Alimi is still spoken in the Leuva and Cikoutimi by about 2 million total speakers.
    • Halami survives as the majority language of Halaora with more than 6 million native speakers.
    • Izānli is spoken by about 352,000 people in Izana.
    • Ǐttaŋriñ is a minority dialect of Halaora with about 121,000 speakers.
    • Pykkitri is spoken in Halaora by about 67,000 speakers.
  • The Leumic languages.
    • Leumi is the strongest remaining language; it is spoken by approximately 1.2 million people in Leumena.
    • Kiltun is spoken in Ziaha and Gileğa and has a total of about 861,000 speakers.

Languages of Baranxtu
Official Languages:
Asvānēica | Baranxeï | Baranxtuan Sign Language | English | French | Nidajii
Indigenous languages:
Marani languages
Qi
Machenasic languages
Phipul
Other
Baranxtuan French | Cikoutim