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Aṣtrāna (lit. people's language) or Këdari (after the Kedar region) is the official language of the United Clans of Honourbound. It is spoken by a majority of the populace within the nation's borders. It is a distant relative of the Standard Arembian language (English) and shares some similarities in vocabulary and grammar. The language has also been influenced by Lebatuckese, a precursor language of Standard Arembian. Aṣtrāna has a largely free word order, though the most commonly used word order in daily conversation is the subject-verb-object order.

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Ashtraana or Ashtraan'a is the colloquial term used for the language for foreign cultures. But if the name was to match the Kathartomari alphabet, it would be Aṣtrāna.

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The Letter "J"

The letter "J" in Aṣtrāna is the most irregular in the language. It makes different sounds depending on what letters succeed or precede it. Hence, many learners can make mistakes when reading or writing words with "J". Let's learn what sounds "J" makes depending on its position.

When "J" is preceded by "O" or "Ø", it does not make a /d͡ʒ/ or /j/ sound, and instead makes a /d/ sound.

When succeeded by "O" or "Ø", such as in "nujok", "J" makes a /ɲ/ sound. It can be transcribed as "ny" and is the same sound as the Spanish "ñ". This sound cannot be used at the end of a word.

When preceded or succeeded by "D", it makes a "y" sound.

When preceded or succeeded by "N", it makes the equivalent of a i' in Aṣtrāna (ee).

When preceded or succeeded by "S", it makes the /bʱ/ or "bh" sound. "S" becomes "Ś" in this scenario.

When preceded or succeeded by "Ä", it makes the /d/ sound.

When preceded by "H", it makes the /j/ (y) sound.

Only in these cases will "J" make a sound other than /d͡ʒ/.

Phonology

The two charts below are the consonant and vowel sound charts for Aṣtrāna. The words fortis and lenis signify "front" and "back" respectively, and their use is to showcase where in the mouth the sound is made.

Consonant Sound Chart	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m		n		ɲ	ŋ
‎‎‎‎‏‏‎Affricate‎	p (fortis), b (lenis)		t (fortis), d (lenis)	t͡ʃ (fortis), d͡ʒ (lenis)		k (fortis), g (lenis)
‎‎‎‎‏‏‎Fricative‎	f (fortis), v (lenis)	θ (fortis)	s (fortis), z (lenis)	ʃ (fortis), ʒ (lenis)		x (fortis)	h
‎‎‎‎‏‏‎Approximant‎			l	r	j

Vowel Sound Chart	Front	Central	Back
Close	i, iː		u, uː
Mid	e, eː , ø		o, oː , ɒ
Open	æ		ɑ, ɑː

Diphthongs (that can occur)

ei, ie, oɑ, ɑo, ɑi, ɑe, eɑ, iɑ, oe, ui

These two charts are the sound charts for Modern Standard Aṣtrāna, which is the language being taught in this factbook. However, if one wishes to pronounce words accurately in Aṣtrāna dialects - they must take certain things into consideration.

Phonotactics
Aṣtrāna has a mixture of a closed and an open syllable structure. However, a large chunk of these syllables are usually closed. Stress is placed on the third-to-last syllable unless the second-to-last or last syllable is open and/or long. For example:

Dajan - DA-jan
Tsäg - Ts-ÄG
Taṣtran - Tash-TRAN

An important part of the sounds in Aṣtrāna is that whenever a consonant is followed by itself (tabbi, kerr), the second consonant is always silent.

Also, whenever two different consonants are right next to each other, they are often pronounced as affricates/simultaneously. Vodr, Tsäg, and a few others are pronounced this way.

Another important part of the sounds in Aṣtrāna is that whenever two vowels occur side-by-side, they are always pronounced as a diphthong. Roṣtoa is not "rosh-to-a" but instead it is "rosh-toa".

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Plural

To form the plural in the language, one must the add the letter 'â' to the end of a noun. There is no difference between the pronunciation of 'a' and 'â'. The symbol is only used to distinguish it as the plural of the noun. If the noun ends with a vowel, the plural becomes 'tâ'. Hence, we can see:

Fenum turo gharkostâlon (We like the Gharkosts.)

Adjectives and Adverbs

In Aṣtrāna, adjectives and adverbs are formed by utilizing their respective suffixes. For example, the word "huro" can become an adjective using the suffix "l" (il if a vowel is at the end of the noun) or it can become an adverb by using the suffix "z" (uz if a vowel is at the end of a noun).

To make your formed adjective into a comparative or a superlative, you use the "mo" and "ma" prefixes alongside the already-added suffix. As such, you may get "mokorinjal" (better) or "makorinjal" (best), - and so on and so forth.

To refer to the doer of an action (that is, the -er form of a verb) - we use the -ëd suffix and remove the verb endings. For example, "Ḳama jasëd gar hrothäm".

Negative and Interrogative Sentences

To form a negative sentence, simply add the suffix "ni" ("ini" if the conjugated verb ends with a vowel) to the conjugated verb. It will always come after any other suffixes that are needed to form a specific tense.

To form an interrogative sentence, simply add the prefix "in" ("ino" if the conjugated verb starts with a consonant) to the conjugated verb. It will always come before any other prefixes that are needed to form a specific tense.

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A noun case is something which adds meaning onto a noun. It can be a prefix or suffix that conveys something related to the noun and its role in a sentence. If you say, "Dä zokis" (you defend) in Aṣtrāna, "zok" is the infinitive stem and "is" is the second-person present tense conjugation of the verb "zokir".

Similarly, we can add small parts onto a noun which gives it more meaning. Standard Arembian does not utilize this feature a lot; perhaps the most common form of it is the possessive marker -'s, which is called a genitive case. Aṣtrāna, however, has a more in-depth system for noun cases.

Aṣtrāna has 5 cases. They are the Nominative, Accusative/Ergative, Genitive, Dative, and the Arosum cases respectively. Let us learn about each in detail.

Nominative Case

The nominative case is the "default case". Every noun present in the Aṣtrāna dictionary is in the nominative case. The nominative case essentially dictates the noun to be the subject of a sentence.

Oroden zokit katharon. (Oroden defends honour.)

Here, Oroden is the subject of the sentence. Oroden is the one who is defending honour, and therefore Oroden is the subject.

Something to keep in mind while using the nominative case is the predicate noun. A predicate noun is essentially a noun that is equal to another noun.

Oroden vor vodr. (Oroden is a child.)

Here, "vodr" does not take on the accusative/ergative form as we know that Oroden is a child. The sentence is talking about who Oroden is, and as Oroden is a child and the name of that child is Oroden, "vodr" does not take on an accusative/ergative form.

Accusative/Ergative Case

The accusative/ergative case makes things more interesting. It indicates whether the noun is the direct object of the sentence, that is whether the noun is receiving the action of a sentence. To form the accusative/ergative case, we add the suffix -on (-lon if the noun ends with a vowel). We saw the accusative/ergative case in the previous example, that is:

Oroden zokit katharon.

Here, "katharon" is the direct object of the sentence. This case allows us to form sentences in different orders then that of subject-verb-object, as it becomes known to the listener what the object of a sentence is. Paired with the fact that conjugated verbs do not need their subject pronouns in a sentence, we can convey information with as little as two or three words. For example:

Hurolon hatum. (We find a hall.)

Here, "hurolon" tells us that "huro" (hall) is the object of the sentence. "Hatum" is the conjugated form of the verb "hatir" (to find) and is conjugated with the subject pronoun "var". We could add the subject pronoun or change the order of the words and the sentence would still be correct. Say,

Var hatum hurolon. (We find a hall.)

This is also grammatically correct and has no differences in meaning compared to the prior example. It is up to the speaker as to how they construct the sentence, though most still follow the subject-verb-object order for its ease of understanding to most.

Genitive Case

The genitive case simply marks the possession of a noun, that is who or what has possession or owns something else. "My shop", "His shop", "Her shop", etcetera can be condensed down. The following are the possessive markers used in the language.

Possessive Marker	Example	Use
Ut (Zut if noun has an end vowel)	Turo gharkostut iriṣin	For third-person individuals, like "His ship", "Her car", or "The Gharkost's ship".
Dä (Edä if noun has an end consonant)	Tiṣedä	For the second person, like "Your warhorn"
Nr (Enr if noun has an end consonant	Eldrunr	For the first-person collective, like "Our fire" or "Our blood"
Äm (Täm if noun has an end vowel)	Misetäm	For the first-person, like "My bridge" or "My house"

Dative Case

The dative case might be slightly harder to understand. It is similar to the accusative/ergative case, but instead of referring to the direct object of a sentence, it refers to the indirect object of a sentence. The indirect object is somebody or something who is indirectly affected by the action of a sentence. To make the dative form of a noun, simply add the suffix -in (-lin if the noun ends with a vowel).

Ajóame tsägon vodrin. (They give a dog to the child.)

Here, "ajóame" is the conjugated form of "ajóamar" (to give) that is conjugated with the subject pronoun "fahr". "Tsägon" is the accusative/ergative form of the noun "tsäg" (dog), which means that the dog is the object of the sentence, as the dog is being given to the child.

"Vodrin" shows that the "vodr" (child) is the indirect object of the sentence. While the dog is the one being given, the child is affected by this action as the child will be getting a dog.

Arosum Case

The Arosum case does not exist in Standard Arembian, or in any of the world's known languages, for that matter. The Arosum case serves a niche role. The Arosum case was originally a subcase of the Locative/Prepositional case in the language which was common in the early stages of the language. By the time Hyrell arrived, the only remnant of it was the Arosum case.

The Arosum case is added to a noun to indicate whether the action is done for that noun. In recent days, the Arosum case is not particularly common and is even redundant due to the existence of the dative case. The Arosum case is now mainly relegated to chants of patriotism or other similar things. It is formed with the suffix -um.

Ja arma katharonum, gharkostonum, und karronum.

Katharum, Gharkostum, Karrum!

The above two examples are just two ways the Arosum noun case has been utilized. In daily life though, the dative case is used.

Hatum vuton høcëtâlin. (We find food for the horses.)

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All verbs in Aṣtrāna end with -ir, -er, -ar, and -ur. All verbs in Aṣtrāna belong to 5 groups, one for each verb ending and a group for irregular verbs. The conjugation of verbs is different in each group, besides the removal of the "r" in each. In order to figure out the conjugation for each group, let us see an example of each. These verbs have been conjugated in simple present tense.

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Meaning
Ja	zoki	I defend
Dä	zokis	You defend
Fahr/Id	zokim	They/it defend
Var	zokum	We defend

This is the conjugation of the verb "zokir", and all verbs in the first group (i.e those who end with -ir) are conjugated in this way.

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Meaning
Ja	äsdo	I persevere
Dä	äsdol	You persevere
Fahr/Id	äsdoe	They/it persevere
Var	äsdom	We persevere

This is the conjugation of the verb "äsdäer", and all verbs in the second group (i.e those who end with -er) are conjugated in this way.

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Meaning
Ja	krona	I hate
Dä	krones	You hate
Fahr/Id	kronin	They/it hate
Var	krone	We hate

This is the conjugation of the verb "kronar", and all verbs in the third group (i.e those who end with -ar) are conjugated in this way.

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Meaning
Ja	fena	I care
Dä	fena	You care
Fahr/Id	fenu	They/it care
Var	fenel	We care

This is the conjugation of the verb "fenur", and all verbs in the fourth group (i.e those who end with -ur) are conjugated in this way.

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Aṣtrāna has 16 tenses and 4 moods. Let us learn them in detail.

Tenses

The following tenses are tenses that are also indicative, that is - they are factual in nature.

• The most commonly used Aṣtrāna tense is the simple present tense. It is the foundation for all other tenses, and the verbs that were shown above were conjugated into the simple present tense. One must learn this tense properly in order to know how to use the other tenses.

• There are two variants of what could be referred to as the simple past tense in Aṣtrāna. To form the most common variant, all one needs to do is add the prefix -ru(l) to the conjugated verb.

  To form the other variant, one must add remove the last letter of the conjugated verb and add the prefix -ru(l). This is used for written Aṣtrāna.

• The tense that refers to an action that took place in the near past is formed with the same steps as forming the simple past tense, but with the suffix -(a)f.

• There are also two variants of what could be referred to as the simple future tense in Aṣtrāna. The prefix -va(l) is added to the conjugated verb. This is the spoken simple future tense.

  The written simple future tense is formed by adding the prefix -va(l) and removing the last letter of the conjugated verb.

• The tense that refers to an action that will take place in the near future is formed with the same steps as forming the simple future tense, but with the suffix -(a)f.

• The present continuous tense is formed when one takes the present participle and adds the suffix -(r)en.

• The past continuous tense is formed when one takes the past participle and adds the suffix -(r)en.

• The future continuous tense is formed when one takes the future participle and adds the suffix -(r)en.

• The present perfect is formed by a present participle with the suffix -(r)un.

• The past perfect is formed by a past participle with the suffix -(r)un.

• The future perfect is formed by a future participle with the suffix -(r)un.

• The present perfect continuous is formed by the present participle with the suffix -(r)an.

• The past perfect continuous is formed by the past participle with the suffix -(r)an.

• The future perfect continuous is formed by the future participle with the suffix -(r)an.

  Note: The only tenses that can be said or written without the subject pronoun do not utilize a participle in their construction. If a participle is needed to form a certain tense, it will always be said with the subject pronoun.

Subjunctive Mood

A subjunctive mood is used to express doubt or to show feelings and emotions. It is primarily used in the subordinate clause of a sentence. It is introduced by the relative pronoun "turak".

• The present subjunctive is formed by adding the suffix -ud (-rud if ends with a vowel) to the present participle.

• The past subjunctive is formed with the same steps but with the addition of the prefix -ru(l) to the verb.

• The future subjunctive is formed with the same steps but with the addition of the prefix -va(l) to the verb.

• The present perfect subjunctive is formed with the present subjunctive and suffix -un.

• The past perfect subjunctive is formed with the past subjunctive and suffix -un.

• The future perfect subjunctive is formed with the future subjunctive and suffix -un.
  

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood is where someone would have done something or something someone would do.

• The present conditional is formed by taking the conjugated verb and adding the suffix -ad (-rad in certain instances where the word ends with a vowel).

• The past conditional is formed by taking the infinitive of a verb and adding the suffix -ad and the prefix -ru(l).

• The progressive conditional is formed by taking the infinitive of a verb, adding the suffix -ad as well as the suffix -en.

Imperative Mood

Imperative verbs can only be conjugated with the subject pronouns "dä", "fahr", "var".

• To make an imperative sentence, one must dispose of the subject pronoun and add a "ti(m)" suffix to the verb.

Impersonal Mood

• An infinitive is a verb that has not been conjugated and retains its verb endings.

• The present participle is formed by removing the verb endings of the infinitive. Kronar becomes kron, zokir becomes zok, etcetera.

• The past participle is formed by removing the verb endings of the infinitive and adding the prefix -ru(l). Kronar becomes rokron, zokir becomes rozok, etcetera.

• The future participle is formed by removing the verb endings of the infinitive and adding the prefix -va(l). Kronar becomes vakron, zokir becomes vazok, etcetera.
  

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The Kathartomari calendar year is roughly the same as that of a normal Gregorian calendar. There are 365 days, with every four years having a leap day. However, instead of all months except the equivalent of February following the pattern of 30-31 days each; all months except the last month have 30 days with all extra days going to this last month.

The 12 däkat'a of the Kathartomari calendar year are as follows:

• Hakon (30 days)

• Rätha (30 days)

• Tsaräl (30 days)

• Gentäl (30 days)

• Vanṣätl (30 days)

• Tänja (30 days)

• Yuntr (30 days)

• Azalon (30 days)

• Dzalan (30 days)

• Martan (30 days)

• Lans (30 days)

• Mitr (30 days)

• Këdr (35/36 days)

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The script for the Kathartomari numerical system is the same as that of Standard Arembian. The word number itself is known as "hoku". Only the words for the first ten numbers, hundred, thousand, and one hundred thousand are unique in the Kathartomari numerical system. They are as follows:

• Tus (0)

• Solus (1)

• Trak (2)

• Zesa (3)

• Kuro (4)

• Kunte (5)

• Sanij (6)

• Vëra (7)

• Loran (8)

• Graye (9)

• Raṣik (10)

• Olab (100)

• Teräl (1000)

• Kilal (100000)

As saying large numbers can become a mouthful, the last 2 letters of each number that make up the larger number are disposed of. Hence, the number "17" can be constituted as "Raṣweo", "39" can be "Zeraṣgra", "69" can be "Xanraṣgra", "420" can be "Quoltrraṣ", and so forth.

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There are 6 main colours in the Kathartomari language. They are as follows:

• kem

• gis

• von

• ärl

• kuth (white)

• koth (black)

Shades of these colours are attributed to real life things. For example, the shade "crimson" can be written in Aṣtrāna as "harākem".

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This part of Aṣtrāna is perhaps the most gendered part of the language, though one would still consider the language as a whole as genderless. A typical name is usually along these lines:

The structure is that of a first name, followed by "ker" (which literally means "boy of"), the names of the two parents and the clan affiliation.

"Ker" can be changed to "ter" which means "girl of" (the stem of this word is "k/tai er") if the person is female. The order of which parent's name occurs first depends on the ranking of the parent within the overall clan structure. The parent with the highest rank is first. "Ecla" means "of clan" (the stem of this word is "er claan").

The casual name would be the first name and the clan name.

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Aṣtrāna is the chief language of the Kedar language family, which is mainly located in the countries of Honourbound and Kathol Rift. Aṣtrāna is the most spoken language in the Kedar language family, followed by the Kathol language Khaltanari. While Khaltanari is slowly dying out, Aṣtrāna continues to grow at a steady pace.

The dialect of Aṣtrāna being taught in this factbook is Modern Standard Aṣtrāna (Nukoraṣtrāna), also known as koraṣtra. It descends from the Stratao dialect, the most spoken dialect of Aṣtrāna, though it retains influence from other dialects. Modern Standard Aṣtrāna was formed in order to unify all Aṣtrāna-speaking groups under the banner of one language, and indeed most Aṣtrāna-speakers are fluent in it. The cost of Modern Standard Aṣtrāna's popularity is that certain dialects will slowly die out over the next few decades. Dialects with very minor differences from Modern Standard Aṣtrāna (like the Stratao dialect), have already died out - and it is likely that dialects in the central region will also soon die out by the end of the decade.

Sociolects of Aṣtrāna, on the other hand, mainly come from groups affected by Lebatuckese influence (ex-conscripts and some of the poor) as well as the rich. Aṣtrāna sociolects usually feature Lebatuckese slang and loan-words, or the artificial modification of sounds to sound of higher status than the poor.

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As the principal language used by a civilization that has spanned thousands of years, there have been many pieces of literature made in Aṣtrāna. The Kathartomari civilization has long been one of recording events and writing things down, meaning that there is a trove of information available that dates back centuries.

The most famous, and the most read, piece of literature originally written in Aṣtrāna is the Xeros, the 'holy book' of the Kathartomari. Second to the Xeros is the Kerrozutaṛin (also known as the Ṛin-e-Kerro, Gratanaṛin, etcetera), or the Epic of Kerro, which is an epic centered around the story of the first Kathartomari known as Kerro and his victory over the forces of evil and sin. In this factbook, there have been attached a few pieces of literature or song in Aṣtrāna in their original forms as well as their translations. They can be found below.

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