The people of Láokoth1 speak a language called Sohok, of unknown origin. Although, according to myth it was given to them by the Ădol2, the creators of the living world.
Emerging in advanced complexity in the late sixth century, Sohok quickly became the common tongue of the disparate Láokoth princedoms, all of whom had previously spoken Ethadux along with the rest of the then-declining Brenigev Empire. When the princedoms of Láokoth united under the first king of Láokoth, he declared Sohok the official language of the entire peninsula.
Sohok is a deceptively simple language that nevertheless is deliberately difficult to learn. The language is made up of syllables each having a unique meaning. These syllables are then placed together and the meaning of the combination changes depending on pronunciation. Thus the word “min la” will mean “little shadow” while the word “minla” means “sorrow”.
If two syllables appear combined — as in “minla” — the emphasis is always on the first syllable: MIN-la. If the two syllables are separate — as in “min la” — the emphasis is always on the second syllable: min-LA.
In addition, Sohok also makes use of “round vowels” as they are called. These are indicated with a breve diacritic, as: ĕ. Their pronunciation is rounded, almost giving the impression of a second syllable. For instance, “Jă” would be pronounced “jee-yah”. Note the pronunciation of “Ădol”.
Sohok also contains three primary long vowels, í, á, and é. The “o” is always long.
To minimize confusion, each new name will be accompanied by a pronunciation guide in the footnotes.
A Note on Names
All of Láokoth uses the House system, which is the foundation of Láokoth society. Houses are not all related by blood, but are more like tribes. Some are larger than others, but everyone is born into a House. The Housename is the surname of the Láokoth people. The greatest dishonor to a Láokothian is to lose their Housename, which only occurs as a punishment for a great crime. Housemasters can expel members and the Prince of a princedom or the king of Láokoth can strip a person of his Housename as well. The Houseless are the most despised of all people.
Marriages almost always occur within Houses. However, in the rare instance when the House members are too closely related, a marriage between Houses will be arranged. In these cases the husband and wife retain their birth Housenames. The children of such a union can be placed in the register of either House, but not both. This is usually arranged at the time of the marriage.
Because all members of a House share a Housename, there is a common naming convention by which all the children of a single family are given a matrilineal prefix which is added to their Housename. This prefix is taken from the given name of the child’s mother. The mothers of Láokoth are highly revered, given the high infant mortality rate. It is believed that the strength and virtue of a woman must be exceptional for her child to survive the first four weeks of its life — the space of time during which many infants perish.
For example: So Ga’s full name is So Ga Nă-Sona, because his mother’s given name was Nă Mor. This full name is not always given when one is introducing oneself, as this is considered very formal.
LAY-oh-koth
EE-yah-dol