Borfusan language
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| Borfusan | |
|---|---|
| fuz'iwat | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈfuzʔiwat] |
| Native to | Farokand |
| Region | Borfusa, Olerteva, Borfusanzistan |
| Ethnicity | Borfusans |
Native speakers | 1.1 million (2022) |
Borfusic
| |
| Dialects | |
| Romassan script (present) Aldibarian script (historically) Malthasvarian script (historically) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Farokand
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | br |
| ISO 639-2 | bor |
| ISO 639-3 | bor |
 Borfusan is classified as Vulnerable by the COWG Compendium of Endangered Languages | |
Borfusan (/ˈbɔːfusən/; fuz'iwat [ˈfuzʔiwat]) is a Borfusic language indigenous to the Farokandi Archipelago spoken natively by around 1.1 million people. Spoken by the Borfusans, it is official in the federal republic of Borfusa in Farokand, as well as in the smaller autonomous communities of Olerteva and Borfusanzistan. Borfusan is one of the Paleo-Culanian languages, a group of languages that predate the arrival of the Visto-Culanians to the Culanian continent. The Paleo-Culanian languages have not been proven to be genealogically related, but they do form a sprachbund, known as the Paleo-Culanic sprachbund, which is a major source of Borfusan vocabulary.
Borfusan evolved out of Old Borfusan, one of the Old Southern dialects of Proto-Borfusic. It received numerous outside influences, mainly from other Borfusic languages, which in turn helped it remain the least-divergent Borfusic language, especially in terms of phonology. Following the Malthasvarian migration and the discovery of the island of Borfusa by the Malthasvarian kingdoms, Borfusan received significant Malthasvarian influences, especially from languages such as Kandu and Kilari. Borfusan also absorbed several other Migratory languages following their displacement to Borfusa, leading to the development of the Borfusan dialects. In 1504, Jen Larnakz, a Köbulami monk, became the first recorded Farokandi to learn Borfusan. He translated dozens of Borfusan texts into Kandu and transcribed the Old Borfusan alphabet into the Malthasvarian script, creating the Larnakz alphabet. Upon the annexation of Borfusa into the Kingdom of Farokand, this alphabet became the official alphabet of Borfusan. This would not last long, however, as Farokand would adopt the Romassan script in 1613.
In Farokand, the Borfusans and their language were heavily persecuted. Although they resisted, the Borfusan culture began to die out. At one point in the 1750s, Borfusan was only known fluently by elderly people and isolated rural farmers. Tylgi Martgan, the first well-known Borfusologist, campaigned the government to end its repressive language policies. Tylgi wrote a dictionary and several books, articles, and papers on the language in an attempt to both revive it locally and revive its interest nationally. His campaign was a complete success, with King Holatster conceding and instating a small program to revitalise the use of Borfusan. Over the next decades, Borfusan gained nearly 200,000 native speakers, sparking the Borfusan renaissance and the beginning of Borfusan nationalism. Following the April Revolution and the establishment of the First Republic of Farokand, the Borfusans were ceded an autonomous zone, which had Borfusan as an official language. However, this zone was disestablished by Žalnyak Yurotdzé and not reinstated until 1896, when Borfusa became a constituent country of Farokand. Now, the language has over 1 million speakers, primarily concentrated on the island of Borfusa. Resources for learning the language are abundant, and the number of speakers continues to increase.