| Wrnukaek | |
|---|---|
| Wrnukaék | |
| Region | Vanuku |
| Native speakers | 91 million (4385 census) |
| Language family |
Jelbo-Tukaric
|
| Official status | |
| Official language in | Vanuku |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wrn |
Wrnukaék is a Jelbic language and the official language of Vanuku as the local variety of Old High Jelbic, differing from the classical standard and the other national varieties (Brmek, Jelbek, Pntek) in its source of loan words - most Wrnukaek loans originate from Vanukeaans, Dundorfian, Kalopian, and Augustan, often filtered through Banmek. Wrnukaek is the only national variety of Old High Jelbic officially written in the Jelbic Selucian script, the international standard of Old High Jelbic.
Wrnukaek was developed relatively late, during the 36th and 37th centuries as part of the Jelbic Renaissance, long after the other national varieties of Old High Jelbic had been established during the Jelbic Enlightenment. Before that Vanukeaans served as the only official language of Vanuku, while the native Jelbic language (Banmek) was standardized as a literary language in isolation from the linguistic reforms of the Jelbic Enlightenment. During the Jelbic Renaissance Vanuku officially became part of the Jelbosphere and adopted Old High Jelbic as the language of government, media, and education, gradually displacing Banmek as the literary Jelbic language, although the latter remains the most widely spoken language in Vanuku.