Sumili

Origin

As the mighty Leonin took to the sands of the continent, with them came the mighty roars, and soon the growls of a developing language for the humanoid beasts to communicate among each other. These guttural noises came relatively natural to the Leonin, which at first was used as basic signals between small tribes. Eventually it would develop as more prides began to reign the scorching desert, and with their intriguing intelligence despite being animalistic, unique words which could be spoken by their tongue became intermixed with their simplistic noises. It is believed they may have picked up these word-like pronunciations from run-ins with humans in the Desert, though that is unclear.

Ultimately these lion men would shape their language to be able to be translated into symbols which was at first only used sacredly during rituals or at times of worship. Over time it became more ubiquitous among the Leonin, although it is rarely used as conversation, especially since other races still have such a disconnected understanding of it.

Description

The tones of Leonin are very difficult to grasp by those who have not been born speaking the Sumili language. In fact, their general features of a lion, such as a larger neck and mouth, effects how they pronounce words. It is what allows them to speak their terminology clearly than any other race. It generally is made up of very rasping tones naturally spoken in the back of the throat to create these growl-like noises. Raising voices does not change into a higher pitched frequency unlike most languages, but almost seem to lower in a roaring emphasis. Thus it can be rather harsh on those with more sensitive ears. Sumili is not spoken with a strict alphabetical vocabulary either, as the fluctuating intensity of voice is most essential instead to direct this style of speech.

The written language of Sumili is not understood by many people, and only a few Leonin themselves. It is mainly made up of symbols comparable to pictographs, which take on the form of shapes to represent different objects and their descriptions.

Basic Phrases

• Ahlan! (Hello!)
• Il afwan ei. (You're welcome.)
• Shukran. (Thank you.)
• Izayyuku? (How are you?)
• Assif. (Sorry.)

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