Kiitra

General information
Kiitra is one of the six major indigenous languages of the planet Alplai, and used through its solar system as a universal auxilliary language.

Historical background
The name Kiitra refers to a confederation of city-states, representing nine different ethnolinguistic groups. Over time, as trade and inter-community cooperation demanded a common language, a series of simplified combined lexicons ("pidgins" and "creoles" in Terran terminology) began to emerge. Eventually, the government of the Ferap Kiitra formed a commission to unify and standardize these new language form into an official Kiitra language. The result was a highly modal, phonetic and regular language which was easy to learn and understand - so much so that it displaced the other languages and dialects within two or three generations, and its written alphabet would be adopted by the Konarai, Saakh and Krishkarha (the Baija would continue to use their own complex script).

When the United Nations Interstellar Ark arrived in Alplai's solar system, and contact was made with the Terran settlers on board, the decision was made in short order to continue to use Kiitra as the mode of communication. Since the Alplaians are descended from birds, and have beaks instead of lips, this limits some of the phonemes they are able to pronounce, compared to Terrans with their flexible lips. While Terrans continue to use their own languages (especially English), Kiitra retains its place as the focal point of communication for Alplai and its interplanetary settlements that make up the Gentakraat Alplai (Alplai Concordance government).

Dialects and accents
When the modern Kiitra language was formulated, the main priority was grammatical word order and correct enunciation of phonemes. This left syllabic stress and tonal pitch open to interpretation by the user. As a result, a number of dialect and accent forms emerged within both the Ferap Kiitra and the other regions of the Concordance.

Kiitra dialects

 * Western dialect
 * Northeaster dialect
 * Southeastern dialect
 * South Islands dialect

Konarai variant forms
The Konarai language has numerous regional variations of tonal pitch, producing an almost musical quality of sound that changes from one region to the next. This variant use of pitch is carried over when native Konarai speakers use Kiitra. Some of these recognized variants include:
 * East Coastal
 * Northeast
 * Southern
 * Central
 * Akarapala (sp?)
 * Western
 * Baija Konarai
 * Southern Totrana
 * Central Totrana
 * Northern Totrana

Saakh accents
The Saakh typically place a hard stress on the first word of a sentence, and then a softer stress on the first syllable of a polysyllabic word. This is reflected in their use of Kiitra. There are also subtle variants within Saakhsiir:
 * Central variant - softer trilled rhotic (rh)
 * Western variant - "long" vowels (aa, ii, uu) drawn out
 * Northern variant - somewhat sharper voiceless velar fricative (kh)
 * Southern variant - ending a often sounds close to e

Krishkarha accent
Krishkarha speakers tend to place a hard stress on the second syllable of polysyllabic words, and to use sharper voiceless velar fricatives (kh).

Baija accents
The Baija have a rhythmic use of stressing the third syllable of a sentence. Additionally, when a word ends in a they tend to produce a sound closer to e (much like the southern Saakh accent). These tend to be most pronounced in speakers from the southernmost areas of the Baija states of Bashrasiir and Baaltisiir, while many inhabitants of the exclave city of Paalmeshdor have a more relaxed use of syllabic stress that can be easily confused with the south Saakh accent.

There is also a Konarai minority living in the northern border area between Bashrasiir and Baaltisiir; they use a particular variant of Konarai, which is also reflected in their use of Kiitra.

Great Sea and Oceanic dialects
The inhabitants of Alplai's floating cities primarily use Kiitra, and their dialect forms reflect influence from numerous ethnolinguistic groups. The three major dialectic groups are:
 * Great Sea and Inner Oceanic (surrounding Alplai's continent)
 * Middle Oceanic (outer areas of East and West Oceanic regions)
 * Outer Oceanic (North and South Oceanic regions, on opposite side from Alplai's continent)

Rekar and Totrana
The Konarai inhabitants of Totrana's northern sector show three distinct variant usages of tonal pitch. Other settlers on Totrana, and on the three settlements of Rekar's moons, have not yet developed a distinct Kiitra dialect, with many reflecting the usage of their region and/or language of origin.

Terran accent
With the radical differences in anatomy and phonology, the newly settled Terran population is already showing considerable variation in their use of Kiitra. Unfortunately, this can lead to prejudicial reaction on the part of some Alplaians, as they see these differences as "incorrect" usages rather than as predictable consequences of phonological habituation. Some of these differences include:
 * more liberal variation with vowels, often incorporating phonemes not used in any Alplaian language.
 * depending on language of origin, some Terrans may have difficulty with the kh and rh consonantal sounds (those of American origin in particular).

Alphabet
The Kiitra alphabet is highly phonetic, with each character representing one and only one sound. There are eight vowels, nineteen consonants, and one glottal-stop marker: There are also two additional vowel sounds, represented by combining two vowel characters:

Phonotactics
With the exception of ai and ei, there are no other cases of combined or "blended" vowels; in many words the glottal-stop marker is used to separate vowels from one another. This restriction is also present in other Aplaian languages, and even more so with Konarai having only one vowel sound (a). Combined with the restrictions of Alplaian vocal physiology (ie, rigid beaks making it difficult to reproduce more nuanced labial sounds) and the absence of certain consonants and digraphs (such as w and ch), this makes it more difficult for Alplaians to pronounce Terran words than for Terrans to pronounce Kiitra and other Alplaian languages.

Punctuation and Written Format
tba

Nouns
Kiitra nouns have a highly regular pattern, with plural and possessive forms created by the addition of suffixes. Verbs, adjectives and nouns can likewise be made into certain concrete noun forms by adding specific suffixes
 * Plural : add -jiit
 * Possessive : add -luu
 * Person : add -ai (example: "medical science" to "physician" = rekaavaag to rekaavaagai
 * Group or organization : add -aat (example: "traditional" to "Traditionalist Party" = diirdezna to diirdeznaat
 * Vehicle or craft : add -juush (example: "sea" to "boat"/"ship" = mura to murajuush
 * Structure or complex : add -dara (example: "sky" to "airport" = eksa to eksadara
 * Sub-unit of complex structure : replace -dara with -badra (example: eksabadra for "airport terminal")

Pronouns
There are fourteen pronouns, organized according to person (first, second, third), number, (singular, plural), gender (male, female, neuter, inanimate) and formality. The formal forms were used in the past for speaking to or about a person of higher social station; as Kiitra and Alplaian society became more democratic, their use fell out of favor, and they are now restricted to either deities or highly esteemed decedents.

Familial relationships
Kiitra nouns for relatives are grouped into two general categories: Thus the basic words: Gender is indicated by prefixing either ada- for "male" or ava- for "female".
 * "Horizontal" relationships share the -aita root
 * "Vertical" relationships share the -idra root
 * jaita for "sibling"
 * laita for "cousin"
 * vidra for "parent"
 * pidra for "child/offspring"
 * kidra for "parent's sibling" (aunt or uncle)
 * zidra for "sibling's child/offspring" (niece or nephew)

Vertical relationships also have a system of conjugation for indicating generational "levels" based on comparative and superlative indicators:
 * second level ("grand-"): change root to -idriil
 * third level ("great-grand-"): change root to -idriikh
 * fourth level ("great-great-grand-"): prefix ekaa- to third level
 * fifth level ("great-great-great-grand-:): prefix ekiil- to third level
 * sixth level ("great-great-great-great-grand-"): prefix ekiikh- to third level
 * seventh level and above: continue adding prefix as in fourth through sixth level

Marital status and relationships
Marriage is indicate by the root word takra ("promise"). One's spouse is therefore takrai ("promised one"); as with familial relationships, gender is indicated by prefixing ada- or ava- to the root.

In-laws are indicated by the following formula: [familial relationship] + vara takrai + [possessive pronoun]. Thus "my brother-in-law" = adajaita vara takrai mraluu.

Additionally:
 * pekhtakrai = divorced person
 * mlenotakrai = widowed person
 * nitakrai = single or never-married person

Verbs
tba

Adjectives
tba

Adverbs and Auxilliary Verbs
tba

Necessitative Modality
The word jalrii ("necessary" or "imperative") is used in much the same way as "must" or "should" in English; it is placed in front of the verb's subject in a sentence
 * jalrii avra tolug = "she must/should know/understand"
 * inra dozol jalrii shra bersh adra kijem = "we believe you must/should apologize to him"

Naming Conventions
Alplaians do not have surnames like many Terrans do. Instead, the proper name is followed by a phrase known as a vartoga; this roughly corresponds to a patronymic, but is not strictly patrilineal, and since there are different forms for various cultures (as well as for descendants of Saakh nobility and devotees of Murai) it is also indicates ethnic and/or other elements of one's background.

Kiitra
tba

Konarai
tba

Saakh and Krishkarha
tba

Descendants of Saakh nobility
tba

Baija
tba

Murai devotees
tba

Gender disctinctions in names
tba

Vocabulary
tba