Rethish language
| Rethish | |
|---|---|
| Reþiskur | |
| Native to | Cuthland-Waldrich |
| Region | Island of Reth |
| Ethnicity | Rethish |
Native speakers | 1,410,000 (2020) |
Early forms | |
| Latin (Rethish orthography) Cutho-Waldish runes (Historically) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Cuthland-Waldrich (Island of Reth) |
| Regulated by | Rethish Language Council |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | rt |
| ISO 639-2 | rth |
| ISO 639-3 | rth |
Rethish (Reþiskur) is a Continental Hesurianic language spoken on the Island of Reth in Cuthland-Waldrich. It is the native language of the Rethish people, and is officially recognized as a regional language by the Cutho-Waldish government.
Rethish developed from Old North Cuthish during the High Middle Ages. It was heavily influenced by the languages spoken by the Velskeni raiders who ruled the Island of Reth during much of the 11th and 12th centuries, incorporating many elements from Velskish and Old Hallanic. Following the annexation of the Island of Reth by the Cutho-Waldish Realm in 1590, Rethish began to decline due to language shift as Cuthish became the preferred language of the nobility. However, the language experienced a revival in the mid-20th century following the fall of Cornicae and the subsequent Peninsular Revolution, and today around three-fifths of ethnic Reths are able to speak it natively.
Rethish is the sole living member of the Insular Cuthic language family, being more heavily influenced by Hallanian tongues than the Continental Cuthic languages of the Cutho-Waldish Peninsula. It is also considerably more conservative from a morphological standpoint, retaining a grammatical case system descended from Old Cuthish that has been largely eliminated in Continental languages. Rethish is heavily regulated by the Cutho-Waldish government, with the Rethish Language Council enforcing a strict form of linguistic purism. It currently enjoys co-official status in the seven shires which constitute the Island of Reth, where it is a mandatory subject for all students and is used alongside Cuthish in local institutions.