Classical Marpanni/Part One

Introduction
As opposed to my more mainstream way of describing my languages by fleshing a grammar page out as I go through the process of making them, I'll be doing something more unconventional with Classical Marpanni: I'll document the process of me making the language in a linear, chronological manner, in hopes of giving others an insight into how I work.

Initial Design
Compared to modern contemporary Mestian, Classical Marpanni (from which contemporary Marpanni, a neighbour of Mestian, is descended) is a language no longer spoken, but is still used by a fairly large amount of educated people as a literate lingua franca, a position it is losing to the influence of Mestian. It owed its influence to the literate merchant classes that spoke it and used it as a language of literature. As such, a vast body of native literature in it is preserved.