Ba'a

Ba'a is the native language of the Ovinex peoples. It features an expanded catalogue of plosives and open vowels compared to other languages, but it is also hampered by the fact that Ovinex physiology makes forming rounded sounds difficult. Most modern Rostrans can speak and understand Ba'a, but most modern Ovinex can only understand Iuxat without being able to speak it due to these physiological limitations. Ba'a is the only modern language in the Manifold that makes frequent use of glottal stops (romanized as apostrophes). The Ovinex are not as intellectually developed as other species, and this manifests in vernacular Ba'a as a relatively small vocabulary and simple syntax. Shades of meaning are conveyed by context and volume. Ba'a text is written by scoring wood planks, tree trunks, clay tablets, or other firm materials with one's keratinized fingers, producing a form of writing closely resembling cuneiform; Civil Ovinex have adopted Iuxataba as an auxiliary writing system for ease of transcription with their Rostran counterparts.
Because the Ovinex are not as widespread as humanoids and are socially conservative by nature, Ba'a has not acquired many changes or regional dialects since its inception before the "Curved Time." "Ba'anation" refers to the process by which loan words are altered to fit the phonology of Ba'a, though most speakers are inclined to refer to foreign concepts idiomatically instead (i.e. an airship is literally referred to as a "sky-boat" in Ba'a). Despite the physical and mental limitations placed on Ba'a by its speakers, however, it is the language in which the oldest known accounts of Manifold history have been preserved. Ovinex storytellers (particularly those who follow "Religion" are capable of nuanced, evocative communication as a matter of proud religious practice.

Pan-Ovinex Banner by BCGR_Wurth

Successor Languages

• Guild Pidgin

Spoken by

• Civil Ovinex
• Native Ovinex