Iolanthe

Iolanthe Иолантхе
Flag
Motto: Нашето верно срце (Iolanic) Our faithful heart (Osynstric) Fideli nostro corde (Umbrial)
Capital and largest city	Luclin
Official languages	Iolanic, Osynstric, and Umbrial
Demonym(s)	Iolanthi
Government	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Grand Duke	Vittorio
• Prime Minister	Bernard Uzunovski
Legislature	Curegis
Formation
• Suavidci colony	21 CE-300 CE
• Osynstric rule	300 CE-1801
• Independence	1801
Area
• Total	9,632 km2 (3,719 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 estimate	2,936,116
HDI (2019)	0.916 very high
Currency	Iolanthi pound sterling (£)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy yyyy-mm-dd (AD)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+45
Internet TLD	.io

The Grand Duchy of Iolanthe, or simply Iolanthe is a sovereign state in Western Aurora. It is bordered by Osynstry to the west. It is culturally and economically intertwined with its neighboring countries and is officially trilingual: Iolanthic, Osynstric, and Umbrial. It was a former Suavidci colony founded in 963 CE before it was conquered by nearby Osynstry in 1214. Oppression and attempted forceful assimilations fueled a cycle of revolts for centuries. Not until the 1801 East Athersbury Crisis did Iolanthe finally became independent.

Iolanthe is a parliamentary democracy, based on the Goyanean system, led by a constitutional monarch. The grand duke is Grand Doge Vittorio of Predice. The head of government is a prime minister elected by the unicameral Curegis, currently Bernard Uzunovski of the Covenanter Party. Iolanthe is one of the smallest states in the world, with only 9632 km² of territory. It is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy. Nearly half of its population are foreign citizens.

The Suavidci colony was a settlement built in 21 CE. It was populated by Szlavic slaves until slave migrations ended with the fall of the Epiphanes in 300 CE. As an Osynstric territory, it was renamed to East Athersbury and became a county in 1059. It was elevated to a duchy in 1777. Attempts to ban the Iolanic language and literature resulted into armed rebellion. Notably, the Confiscation of Swords in 1607 and the Confiscations of Muskets in 1789, both led to the Assize of East Athersbury and the Statute of Luclin, landmark laws that form the basis of Iolanthi sovereignty and liberty.

Etymology

Iolanthe is a portmanteau of the Umbrial word "viola" and "Lanthi. Viola means the color violet. Lanthi is a Suavidci goddess of women. She is the wife of Iphis, another Suavidci goddess. Violalanthi is the natonal flower of Iolanthe. The ancient Suavidci fortifications in Iolanthe was called "Iolanthburhuc" or "Violanthi castle."

Demographics

Languages

Iolanic, Osynstric, and Umbrial are co-official languages of Iolanthe. However, despite their equal status, Umbrial is no longer offered as a basic subject in the national curriculum. Since 1950, under the Official Languages Act, Umbrial is only acknowledged as an "optional language of our Suavidci heritage." It is only taught in specific schools, mostly private institutions. Iolanic is the primary language of Iolanthi everyday life and Osynstric is the secondary language. Official government business mainly use Iolanic and Umbrial as spoken languages. Iolanic and Osynstric are the preferred written languages. But public announcements and road signage are in Iolanic, Osynstric, and Umbrial. Advertisers also use all three.

The Iolanic language has its own writing script, the Luceline script, based on the Umbrial and Szlavic scripts:

Letter IPA Name	А а /a/ /a/	Б б /b/ /bə/	В в /v/ /və/	Г г /ɡ/ /ɡə/	Д д /d/ /də/	Ѓ ѓ /ɟ/ /ɟə/	Е е /ɛ/ /ɛ/	Ж ж /ʒ/ /ʒə/	З з /z/ /zə/	Ѕ ѕ /d͡z/ /d͡zə/	И и /i/ /i/
Letter IPA Name	Ј ј /j/ /jə/	К к /k/ /kə/	Л л /l/ ([ɫ], [l̠]) /lə/	Љ љ /l/ /lə/	М м /m/ /mə/	Н н /n/ /nə/	Њ њ /ɲ/}} /ɲə/	О о /ɔ/ /ɔ/	П п /p/ /pə/	Р р /r/ /rə/	С с /s/ /sə/
Letter IPA Name	Т т /t/ /tə/	Ќ ќ /c/ /cə/	У у /u/ /u/	Ф ф /f/ /fə/	Х х /x/ /xə/	Ц ц /t͡s/ /t͡sə/	Ч ч /t͡ʃ/ /t͡ʃə/	Џ џ /d͡ʒ/}} /d͡ʒə/	Ш ш /ʃ/ /ʃə/

It also used by Iolanthi people in Osynstric and Umbrial languages:

Umbrial-Luceline alphabet (For both Osynstric and Umbrial)

Letters	Aa	Бб	Чч	Дд	Ee	Фф	Гг	Хх	Ии	Џџ	Кк	Лл	Мм	Нн	Оо	Пп	Рр	Сс	Шш	Тт	Уу	Вв	Ўў	Ққ	Јј	Зз
Translit.	Aa	Bb	Cc	Dd	Ee	Ff	Gg	Hh	Ii	Jj	Kk	Ll	Mm	Nn	Oo	Pp	Rr	Shi	Ss	Tt	Uu	Vv	Ww	Xx	Yy	Zz

Additional

Letters	Ээ	Ңң	Цц	Жж	Ћћ	Ꚋꚋ
Translit.	ä	ng	ts	zh	th	dh

Expatriates easily learn and usually rely on Osynstric to interact with everyday Iolanthis. Even Umbrial-speaking expats from Imperium Suavidci prefer to have Osynstric as a secondary language.

Iolanthe is multilingual. According to a 2018 survey, 51% (1,497,419) can speak Umbrial, 30% (880,834) can speak Mercanti, and 19% (557,862) can speak any Scalvian language (Vaigan, Selonian, and/or Taurogan).