Seketese language

Seketese
Secéteça
Ethnicity	Seketese people
Native speakers	6.3 million (2016) 6.9 million total speakers L2 speakers: 650,000+
Language family	Nelbec North Nelbec Secenic Seketese
Writing system	Latin (Seketese alphabet) Seketese Braille
Official status
Official language in	Seketan
Recognised minority language in	Alquiya New Svealand
Regulated by	Académie Secéteça (Seketese Academy)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	SEK
Regions where Seketese is predominant and official   Regions where Seketese is official   Regions where Seketese is a predominant and not official

Seketese is a North Nelbec language of the Secenic branch spoken by the Seketese people. It is the official language of Seketan and a recognized language in Alquiya, Lormotia, and New Svealand.

Old Seketese emerged as a prestige dialect of Proto-North Nelbec and became the official and literary language of the Secenic Confederation and later the Kingdom of Seketan during the early Middle Ages. Old Seketese literature was primarily produced by the clergy. The language became heavily influenced by the Germanic languages and French, resulting in a diverse vocabulary, simplified orthography similar to French, and the disappearance of an inflected case system.

Seketese is written in the Seketese alphabet using the Latin script. Modern Seketese was first codified in 1750 and was most recently reformed in 1924, however regional variant spellings are typically accepted as correct. Seketese is the native tongue of 6.3 million people and is widely spoken in Seketan, Falanda in New Svealand, Luderan in Lormotia, and Seketese diaspora communities.

Classification

Seketese is part of the North Nelbec branch of the Nelbec languages. In its understood classification, Seketese is a Secenic language, alongside Fjeskan, but is separared from the Winnic languages, a branch that includes Wilsk spoken in the Wilskland province of Seketan. By the criteria of mutual intelligibility, Seketese strongly resembles Alquiyan and other Nelbec languages, but is further separated from Wilsk, a language that is generally not understood by a majority of native Seketese speakers.

Geographic distribution

Speakers of the Seketese language are primarily concentrated in the Nelborne. As the national language of Seketan, Seketese is predominant in areas with strong connections to the country. Most of Seketan, excluding Fjeskan- and Wilsk-speaking areas, is Seketese-speaking. The language is also spoken in areas outside of Seketan where Seken minorities are present. The southern Lormotian province of Luderan has a large amount of Seketese speakers who speak the Luderanian dialect, a legacy of the Kingdom of Seketan's control over the area. The Svealandic territory of Fålanda, adjacent to the province of Fjeska, has a large amount of Seketese speakers. Seketese-speaking communities sporadically exist in northern regions of Alquiya. Seketese is spoken in many diaspora communities primarily in Canada and the United States.

Official status

Seketese is the official language of the Republic of Seketan. It is an official language of the Autonomous Province of Fjeska alongside Fjeskan and Svealandic, and de facto official in every province except Wilskland.

Seketan is a recognized minority language in Alquiya, Lormotia, and New Svealandic due to the presence of Seketese minorities in those countries. The language is an official language in Luderan and Fålanda in Lormotia and New Svealand respectively, and is widely spoken in those areas.

Dialects

The Seketese language is spoken through various dialects, all with varying levels of mutual ineligibility ranging from a change in accent to complete intelligibility. Standard Seketese is based primarily on the Gjenoreça dialect with modified features, and is the primarily dialect of Seketan.

See also

• Wilsk language