Fole Enkan (language)

This article is about the official and majority spoken language in Fole Enkan. For information on the country, see Fole Enkan (country).

Fole Enkan is the official and majority spoken language of Fole Enkan. A member of the Enkan language family, it was historically considered the most prestigious language in the Empire of Enkan, and Classical Fole Enkan remains the most prestigious language in the Universal Temple to this day.

Classification

Fole Enkan is considered to be a member of the Enkan languages.

History

The Enkan languages are believed to have originated in what is now Fole Enkan, with multiple varieties having prominence in different regions. Fole Enkan originated from the Dyaša variety of Enkan, while Šelva Enkan originated from the Zanhhuiltya variety. The Dyaša variety of Enkan spread to all of Fole Enkan from roughly 40 to roughly 500, establishing the language of Fole Enkan as it is known today.

Distribution of speakers

95 percent of Fole Enkan residents speak Fole Enkan as a first language. Fole Enkan is spoken to a much smaller extent in the various countries of Šelva Enkan. There are a few more speakers around the world.

Modern Fole Enkan

Phonology

Consonant phonemes

		Bilabial		Labiodental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar
Plosive	Plain	p	b			t	d					k	g
	Palatalised					tj	dj
Fricative				f	v	s	z	ʃ	ʒ			x
Nasal			m				n
Approximant	Central										j		w
	Lateral						l

Vowel phonemes

	Front	Mid	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

Fole Enkan allows one consonant in the onset (before the vowel), and one in the coda (after the vowel). Both consonants are optional, but the vowel is not.

Stress is penultimate. Fole Enkan is syllable-timed.

See also

Livusle dictionary - a dictionary for languages of Livusle, including Fole Enkan.