| Selucian | |
|---|---|
| Lingua Seluciana | |
| Region | Selucia |
| Ethnicity | Selucian people |
| Native speakers | 90 million (3652) |
| Language family |
Superseleyan
|
| Official status | |
| Official language in | Selucia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
The Selucian language (Lingua Seluciana) is part of the Superseleyan Family and placed in the Selucic tree. Over centuries the language became what it is now. During the unifying wars in the early history of Selucia nationalist leaders saw the need of one common language and it was a logical step to use the classical Selucian language which was used on all islands for business contracts or diplomatic treaties with each other. The literary language, called Modern Standard Selucian or Literary Selucian, is the only official form of Selucian. It is used in most written documents as well as in formal spoken occasions, such as lectures and news broadcasts. The standardized written Selucian is distinct from and more conservative than all of the spoken varieties, and the two exist in a state known as diglossia, used side-by-side for different societal functions. Colloquial Selucian dialects (Vulgar Selucian) continue to be spoken by Selucians in informal contexts, while in areas outside Selucia these dialects developed into the Selucic languages, such as Augustan, Canrillaise, Ushalandan, or Arbanian.
History
Ancient Selucian was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. Each of the main islands of the archipelago had its own dialect, many of them with several subdivisions. Some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. Of these the Aurorian dialect emerged as the most prestigious, due to the large and influencial body of literature written in the language; when the Selucian League was established in 334 BCE, Aurorian Selucian became the most widely used Selucian dialect. Classical Selucian, the official language of the League, was based on the Aurorian dialect, and the language was also spoken in the Selucian colonies.
Classical Selucian continued to be used in the islands after Qedarite conquest, but began a slow and long decline, especially after the collapse of the Empire in 22 CE. Having lost its official status, Classical Selucian survived only as the liturgic language of the Hosian Church, while spoken varieties of the language began to diverge significantly from the Classical standard, evendually giving birth to modern Selucic languages in the former colonies.