(Note: In accordance with Vassian culture and tradition, Vassian words in this article are not to be embedded in English sentences.)
Vassian( /ˈvəsijən, ˈvas-, ˈvæs- / also Vessian, Bessian, The Good Language, The Trustee Language (religious/traditional), and The Crypt Language (dated); Vassian: Κλύyε βε βέασyισκyατε γλύσα, βειτύσκυατε γλύσα, ζεαλμόνyατε γλύσα; romanized: Kluye ve Vashiskhate glusa, Bituskhate glusa, Zalmonyate glusa) is an Indo-European language spoken by Plutonians and others in The Rhodope Confederation, Bulgaria, Greece, the Vassian Diaspora in Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, and as a liturgical language by worshipers of Lord Pluto worldwide.
Name
Vassian-speakers refer to their language as “Vassian,” from the same Proto-Indo-European root as Ancient Greek ἐΰς, meaning “good” or “happy.” In poetic or religious contexts, may also be used “The Trustee Language,” “The Trustworthy Language,” “The Faithful Language” and similar translations of a Vassian word related to Greek πειθός. Turn-of-the-century materials may also refer to “The Crypt Language,” “The Shroud/Shrouded Language,” “The Hidden Language” and similar translations of a Vassian word related to Greek κρυπτός.
The exonym “Thracian” (from the Ancient Greek Θρᾷξ , meaning “to stir up trouble, to irritate”) is considered derogatory when used to refer to the modern Vassian people or their language.
Although “Plutonian” is sometimes used to refer to the language of the worshipers of Lord Pluto the Wealthgiver, this usage is not preferred. The Vassian word for Lord Pluto (from the same root as Ancient Greek δῶρον or perhaps θάρσος) should not be embedded in an English sentence. Τα νεα βε κύλyαμε “Δεαρσειλyάνοy” πρα πύτροταις. Ta na ve kluyame “Darsilyanoy” pra putrotais.)
Classification
The first modern scholars of Vassian placed it within the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European family. Others have attempted to ally Vassian more closely with Greek, Phrygian, or Albanian. Some have proposed an “Thraco-Slavic” family, including Balto-Slavic languages, Albanian, and Vassian as well as the extinct Illyrian and Phrygian. Modern consensus does find the “Thraco-Illyrian” family valid, allying Vassian with the Albanian language. Similarity to Balto-Slavic is more unclear, and may be to coincidentally similar sound shifts. The “Balkanic” sub-family theory, if true, would unite Albanian, Vassian, and Greek among modern languages. If not, Vassian’s similarities Greek would be due to areal influence.
Vassian, Albanian, and Greek, along with Bulgarian and Romanian, belong to the balkan sprachbund, and share many features of grammar, vocabulary, and phonology.
History
The Thracians were an Iron-Age people that lived on the Balkan Peninsula and north-western Anatolia between ~1,000BCE and ~500CE. At its greatest extent, their territory extended from the Carpathian Mountains to the Adriatic Sea, and the Dinaric Alps to the Sangarius River (modern Sakarya). The Thracians were divided into hundred of tribes grouped in several nations such as the Dacians and Bessians, Mysians, and Bithenians. Whether these people spoke related languages or mutually intelligible dialects of the same language is unknown.
Records of the Ancient Thracian language exist in the form of sparse inscriptions and a few glosses in Greek and Latin documents. Before the Vassian Opening, this language was believed to have gone extinct in the 6th century. In reality, at this time the Maiden Most Trustworthy and her priest Elder Brother Shroud converted most of the Bessi tribe to Plutonism. These people retreated to caves in the western Rhodope Mountains and hid there from the outer world (“The Closing”).
This “Old Vassian” period continued until the sibyl Kori Epigi and her God-Consort Andrei Trifonovich Epigi initiated the Opening in the autumn of 1878. After the Rhodope War, the modern Vassian language became recognized as one of the official languages of the Rhodope Confederation, and it was permitted to be heard by non-Plutonians. In 1941, a dispensation of the sibyl Moma Zavarishta and brother-priest Oghuz Zavaren permitted Vassian to be spoken by non-Plutonians as well.
Orthography
Vassian was originally written in the Greek alphabet, to which some modifications were made to accommodate sounds present in Vassian, but not in Greek. This native spelling system was standardized in the 19th century, based on the presumed pronunciation of the 6th century. As such, it is only somewhat phonetic.
The official Latin transcription of Vassian has undergone several reforms since its initial proposal in the 19th century. The most recent reform made it more intuitive for English-speakers.
An example follows. Πλαμεας γεαν Βεασσισκσα γαλς. The preceding sentence means “We call it the Vassian language,” and uses the digraph <εα> to spell the sound /ə/, written as <a> in Latin. The <σκ> was once pronounced /sk/, but has shifted to /ʃ/, transcribed in Latin as <sh>.
The “aspiration mark” is also used to disambiguate Greek letters that were traditionally used to symbolize two sounds, e.g. Β῾=/b/ but Β=/v/, Σ῾=/θ/ but Σ= /s/. The letter <θ> may also be used to denote the sound /θ/, but only in words where the sound was classically pronounced /tʰ/, from PIE *t. The /θ/-sound spelt with <Σ῾>, on the other hand, derives from PIE *k`. These sounds have merged in modern Vassian.
Proto-Indo-European features
- Ασ῾α εαστι ζ῾ι (atha asti dhi) PIE *h₂eḱ-éh₂. English, “coltsfoot plant” (c.f. Dacian asa; Ancient Greek akḗ).
- Β῾ολινθ εαστι ζ῾ι (bolinth asti dhi) PIE *bʰel- . English, “buffalo” (c.f. Albanian buall,;Ancient Greek boúbalos).
- Βρια εαστι ζ῾ι (vria asti dhi) PIE *wri-eh2. English, “city centre” (c.f. Ancient Greek rhíon).
- Β῾ρυνχ εαστι ζ῾ι (brink asti dhi ) PIE *bʰŕ̥m-gos. English “guitar, high priest of Pluto” (c.f. Romanian broanca; Ancient Greek phórminx).
- Εβεαρ εαστι ζ῾ι (evar asti dhi) PIE *h₁ep-r-. English “goat” (c.f. Lithuanian viēšpats).
- Γ῾εαντον εαστι ζ῾ι (janton asti dhi) PIE *gʷʰen-ton. English “meat” (c.f. Dacian name Genucla; Illyrian place name Genusus; Ancient Greek génto, Lithuanian ginkla).
- Κολεαβεαρ εαστι ζ῾ι (kolavar asti dhi) PIE *kʷelp-, English “villager, bumpkin” (c.f. Albanian koljubë; Ancient Greek kalúbē).
- Πελτη εαστι ζ῾ι (pelti asti dhi) PIE *pel-. English “shield, hard mask” (c.f. Phrygian anpeleitēs, Ancient Greek pḗlēx, Armenian plah).
- Πολτον εαστι ζ῾ι (polton asti dhi) PIE *pl̥-t-o-. English “wooden fence” (c.f. Ancient Greek paltos).
- Ρ῾ησ῾εας εαστι ζ῾ι (rhethas asti dhi) PIE *h₃rḗǵs. English “king” (c.f. Dacian name Tomyris; Illyrian place name Ragusium; Lithuanian redzēt).
- Ρ῾οδ εαστι ζ῾ι (rhod asti dhi) PIE *h₁rewdʰ-. English “red” (c.f. Ancient Greek ereúthō).
- Οπα εαστι ζ῾ι (opa asti dhi) PIE *h₂ep-. English “river” (c.f. Dacian apa; Illyrian tribe name Messapioi; Albanian amë; Ancient Greek place names Inopos, Asopos, Apia; Lithuanian ùpė).
- Ζ῾εαλμ εαστι ζ῾ι (dhalm asti dhi) PIE *ḱelmos. English “shroud, cloth mask” (c.f. Dacian god Zalmoxis; Albanian thelë; Ancient Greek kalúbē, kalúptō ).
- Ζ῾ετρεαια εαστι ζ῾ι (dhetraya asti dhi) PIE *ǵʰéw-tḗr -eh₂. English “teapot” (c.f. Phrygian zeumán; Ancient Greek kheûma).
Vowels
/i/ is a sound in πιτυη, pitvi, “treasure” (from PIE *piH-tu- )
/i/ < y < u is a sound in ζ῾υνοπολα, dhinupula, “melon” (from PIE *ḱun +*h₂ébōl)
/i/ < e < is a sound in δηβα, diva, “city” (from PIE *dʰeh₁-u-eh₂ )
u < o
e
ə
a