Great Creeperian Language Shift

This article is about the linguistic shift from Pre-Old Creeperian to Old Creeperian. For the proposed language spoken during the shift, see Mid-Creeperian language.

Great Creeperian Language Shift

A 3rd century manuscript in Pre-Old Creeperian (left) and an 8th century restored Creeperian Bible in Old Creeperian (right).
Native name	Գրան Ծամբիո դել Իդիոմա Ծրեեպերիանո Gran Cambio del Idioma Creeperiano
Date	c. 300AD–600AD (~300 years)
Location	Creeperian Confederation Kingdom of Creeperia
Also known as	The Great Shift Ել Գրան Ծամբիո El Gran Cambio
Type	Language shift
Cause	Disputed/unknown
Outcome	Shift from Pre-Old Creeperian to Old Creeperian in the Creeperian language

The Great Creeperian Language Shift (Creeperian Spanish – Creeperian: Գրան Ծամբիո դել Իդիոմա Ծրեեպերիանո; Creeperian Spanish – Iberic: Gran Cambio del Idioma Creeperiano), also referred to in Creeperopolis as simply The Great Shift (Creeperian Spanish – Creeperian: Ել Գրան Ծամբիո; Creeperian Spanish – Iberic: El Gran Cambio), was a large scale phenomenon which lead to significant changes in the Pre-Old Creeperian language over a span of around 300 years from circa 300AD to 600AD which resulted in the Old Creeperian language. The language shift took place in the Creeperian Confederation and then the later Kingdom of Creeperia.

The significant change in the language is unprecedented as the Pre-Old Creeperian and Old-Creeperian language share practically nothing in common and are completely different from each other. The languages are so different that they even belong to two different language families entirely: Pre-Old Creeperian belongs to the Honduro-Cuepieo language family while Old Creeperian belongs to the Creepero-Senvarian language family. Historians, linguists, anthropologists, and archeologists are baffled by the dramatic and relatively sudden change in the language and are unable to definitively explain what happened to change the language so significantly. The language shift is one of most important events in Creeperian history.

The language shift has lead to the rise of several pseudoarcheological, pseudoanthropological, and pseudohistoric theories as to the archeology, culture, and history of ancient Sur. Such theories have been denounced and discredited by professional archeologists, anthropologists, and historians.

History

In 220BC, following the fall of the Proto-Creeperian civilization in 250BC after the eruption of the Chicxulub volcano, the Creeperian Confederation was formed as a military alliance between seven Creeperian tribes: the Amacha, Chihueta, Iloqutzi, Imnoqueti, Llohechue, Tzachu, and Xuhuetí. Although each tribe had its own dialect, together, the tribes spoke the Pre-Old Creeperian language, which was a descendant of the Proto-Old Creeperian language of the Proto-Creeperian civilization.

Both the Pre-Old Creeperian and Old Creeperian languages date to the Creeperian Confederation (mapped).

In around 300AD during the reign of Huemoze II, the Great Creeperian Language Shift began, where the Pre-Old Creeperian language underwent some sort of transformation or replacement. Either due to internal or external factors and forces, the Pre-Old Creeperian language began to fall out of favor in favor of a new language, which would eventually evolve itself to become the Old Creeperian language. In 537AD, following the conclusion of the War of Creeperian Unification, the process of the language shift drastically increased, and by 600AD, Old Creeperian had completely replaced Pre-Old Creeperian as the most widely spoken language of the now formed Kingdom of Creeperia.

By the reign of Armando II, Old Creeperian was being used in official documents, rather than Pre-Old Creeperian. The last royal document written in Pre-Old Creeperian dates to 741AD during the reign of Fidel II, but by then, the Great Creeperian Language Shift had long since been completed, and the document was likely written in Pre-Old Creeperian out of a sense of proto-nationalism. The final royal document written in Pre-Old Creeperian which dates to the Great Creeperian Language Shift dates to 568AD during the reign of Felipe I, who himself was one of the leaders of the War of Creeperian Unification and was fluent in Pre-Old Creeperian. The first royal document written in Old Creeperian, however, dates to 521AD during the reign of Ozchaxar I who was a native speaker of Pre-Old Creeperian.

Overall changes

The change between the Pre-Old Creeperian and Old Creeperian languages is exceptionally large. Both languages are practically completely different, sharing little to no similarities between the two.

Alphabet and phonology

Despite the vast amount of differences between Pre-Old Creeperian and Old Creeperian, the most consistent and similar aspect about both languages is the alphabet, the script, and the phonology and pronunciation. Both languages used the Creeperian Script, a script which evolved during the Proto-Creeperian civilization and was used during both the Creeperian Confederation and the Kingdom of Creeperia. In March 2021, the script even made an official return in Creeperopolis, being instated as a the co-national script, along with the Iberic Script, and Creeperian Spanish began to be used in both the Iberic and Creeperian scripts, although with some differences.

The following letters did not change during the language shift:

Ա ա A a

Բ բ B b

Ց ց C c

Դ դ D d

Ե ե E e

Է է Ē ē

Ֆ ֆ F f

Գ գ G g

Հ հ H h

Ի ի I i

Ձ ձ J j

Կ կ K k

Ք ք KH kh

Լ լ L l

Մ մ M m

Ն ն N n

Ո ո O o

Պ պ P p

Ր ր R r

Ս ս S s

Տ տ T t

Վ վ V v

Խ խ X x

Յ յ Y y

Զ զ Z z

The following letter was dropped from the alphabet during the shift:

Օ օ Ó ó

The following letters were added to the alphabet during the shift:

Չ չ Ć ć

Ծ ծ Ç ç

Ճ ճ Č č

Ը ը Ë ë

Ղ ղ Ġ ġ

Ջ ջ J̌ ǰ

Ռ ռ Ṙ ṙ

Շ շ Š š

The characters for the following letters were changed during the shift:

n → Թ ŋ → թ Ñ ñ

Փ → և փ → ու PH ph

ŋ → n թ → ŋ TH th

և → Փ ու → փ U u

The following letter remained in the language, but the sound it made changed. The sound "ll" was dropped in favor of "ž" during the shift:

Ժ ժ LL → Ž ll → ž

Vocabulary

Practically the entire vocabulary changed during the shift from Pre-Old Creeperian to Old Creeperian.

Pre-Old Creeperian	Old Creeperian	Translation	Note
Ցուէպիեոպոխուետա Cuēpieopoxūeta	Կրեյպերացիների երկիր Kreyperats'ineri Yerkir	Land of the Creeperans
Կուաիտլ Տլատոաnի Kuaitl Tlatoani	Տագավոր T'agavor	King
Փալիհուեպ Ahuiliztli	Ֆիլպ Filp	Philip
Իյաոյոուհ Iyaoyouh	Պատերազմ Paterazm	War
	Ճակատամարտ Chakatamart	Battle
Սենտլի Sentli	Յեգիպտացորեն Yegiptats'voren	Maize
Ոկիցտլի Okichtli	Մարդ Mard	Man
Սիուատլ Siuatl	Կին Kin	Woman
Տլահտոժի Tlahtolli	Լեզու Lezu	Language
Նիլտսե Niltse	Բարեւ Barev	Hello

Proposed Mid-Creeperian language labelling

Further information: Mid-Creeperian language

Due to the around 300 year span of the shift, some linguists have proposed naming the language used between 300AD and 600AD the "Mid-Creeperian language." The proposal is met with mixed responses from linguists, but it is more generally accepted by historians.

José Ortega López, a professor of Ancient Creeperian History at the House of Martínez–Pelayo University in Tuxtla Martínez, states: "[F]or practical and historical purposes, historians should refer to the language during the [Great Creeperian Language S]hift as [the] '[M]id-Creeperian [language]' as it would not be practical or technically correct to refer to it as either the Pre-Old Creeperian language of the Old Creeperian language." Orlando Pareja Palau, a professor of Creeperian History at the Antonio José Sáenz Heredia University in San Romero, added: "[I]t is no question that for every historical purpose that the language spoken by the Creeperans from 300AD to 600AD must be labeled as the Mid-Creeperian language [...] [i]t is just dishonest and incorrect in a historical sense to call the language Old Creeperian or Pre-Old Creeperian, and saying it is both is too complicated, so from a historical perspective, we should be calling it the Mid-Creeperian language." He later acknowledged that "[l]inguistically, it probably is not so correct to call it its own language, and I'm confident that they can properly define it in their field, but in this field, it is [the] Mid-Creeperian [language]."

Vidal Anaya Flores, a linguist at the Antonio José Sáenz Heredia University, stated:

From a linguistic perspective, it is totally and completely incorrect and inaccurate to consider the language spoken by the [Creeperian] Confederation and the Old Kingdom [of Creeperopolis] between 300AD and 600AD as its own distinct language that was derived from either Old Creeperian and Pre-Old Creeperian, or any language for the matter. From the available evidence, it is impossible to say for certain that the languages naturally blended together to form a "transitionary," so to speak, language between 300AD and 600AD. Linguistically, it is most correct to refer to the status of the language at the time as simultaneously both Pre-Old Creeperian and Old Creeperian, and neither, at the same time.

— Vidal Anaya Flores, linguist at the Antonio José Sáenz Heredia University, 1985

Causes

Pseudo-hypotheses

Total eastern race replacement hypothesis

Pseudohistorian Evelio Casanova Vejar published in his 1989 book The Great Replacement of the Creeperans from the East that he believes that the ethnic Creeperans are completely different from the ethnic Creeperans of the Kingdom of Creeperia. He states that "[e]thnic Native San Carlos Islanders completely and totally replaced the Creeperans during the [Great Creeperian] [L]anguage [S]hift of 300AD to 600AD." He also stated that, "[t]he language of the Native San Carlos Islanders perfectly explains the sudden shift in the Pre-Old Creeperian language."

Casanova Vejar's theory has been rejected by historians and archeologists. The archeological record shows little to no evidence of any migration event from the San Carlos Islands to Creeperopolis which would have been large enough to completely replace the ethnic group, or any migration at all for that matter. Casanova Vejar provided no evidence to support his claim and the theory has since been suppressed by the Creeperian government, especially due to the San Carlos Islands Crisis.

Total southern race replacement hypothesis

Like Casanova Vejar of the total eastern race replacement hypothesis, pseudohistorian Marsiculo Rosales Verón also published in his 1998 book The Truth of the Creeperian Race that he believes that the ethnic Creeperans of the Creeperian Confederation are completely different from the ethnic Creeperans of the Kingdom of Creeperia. He states that, "[f]rom 300AD to 600AD, there was a mass migration event from south of the [Creeperian] Confederation which caused mass breeding with the population there, and the event was so large, that the ethnic Creeperans eventually died out or were replaced by the new group who became the modern Creeperans." He further states that, "the sudden migration explains why the Old Creeperian language is related to languages such as Senvarian since people from the south brought their language with them and supplanted the Pre-Old Creeperian language."

Rosales Verón's theory has been rejected by historians and archeologists. The archeological record shows little to no evidence of any sort of "mass migration event" occur from southern to northern Creeperopolis in the timeframe of 300AD to 600AD. There are also no written records of such an event ever occurring. The genealogy of the Creeperian royal family also discredits the theory as there is no evidence of any major intermarriages with other races during the specified time frame and naming customs and traditions of the time were not affected. Rosales Verón provided no evidence to support his claim and the theory has since been suppressed by the Creeperian government.

See also

Creeperopolis portal Terraconserva portal

• Languages of Terraconserva
• Languages of Creeperopolis
  • Creeperian Spanish

References

Bibliography

• Anaya Flores, Vidal Alexander (1985). El Gran Cambio del Idioma Creeperiano [The Great Creeperian Language Shift]. La'Historia del Gran Cambio del Idioma Creeperiano de 300AD a 600AD (in Creeperian Spanish). VII (5th ed.). San Romero, San Romero, Creeperopolis: Antonio José Sáenz Heredia University Press & Publishing (published 2019). ISBN 3-11-017368-9.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Casanova Vejar, Evelio Edgardo (1989). El Gran Reemplazo de los'Creeperianos porel Oeste [The Great Replacement of the Creeperans from the East] (in Creeperian Spanish). I (1st ed.). San Salvador, San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 978-0495906414.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Ortega López, José Gustavo (2012). La'Confederación Creeperiano Tardía; 337AD – 537AD [The Late Creeperian Confederation; 337AD – 537AD]. Historia de la'Confederación Creeperiano (in Creeperian Spanish). III (2nd ed.). Tuxtla Martínez, Zapatista, Creeperopolis: House of Martínez–Pelayo University Press & Publishing. ISBN 0842026118.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (2017). Felipe I [Philip I]. Historia de los'Reyes y Emperadores de Creeperópolis, Atlántida, El Salvador, Castilliano, y las'Islas San Carlos (in Creeperian Spanish). II (3rd ed.). San Romero, San Romero, Creeperopolis: Antonio José Sáenz Heredia University Press & Publishing. ISBN 0822971860.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Rosales Verón, Marsiculo Sanjurjo (1998). La'Verdad de la'Raza Creeperiano [The Truth of the Creeperian Race] (in Creeperian Spanish). I (1st ed.). San Salvador, San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 0814328156.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)