The primary language of the island of Koste, and therefore of the great city of Atlantis, was Evaskari.
Evaskari derived from a language of the First Age inhabitants of Koste. Pre-Evaskari dialects spread rapidly across the island after the development of agriculture and the foundation of the city of Atlantis. At the zenith of the Atlantean Empire, two Evaskari dialects were spoken throughout imperial lands. High Evaskari was the dialect of the Atlantean court, while Low Evaskari was the dialect of the common folk, particularly of sailors and merchant venturers. Both dialects were spread to the Great Lands by Atlantean colonists.
Today, High Evaskari survives only as a language of lore and religious liturgy. Low Evaskari, however, continues to be spoken throughout formerly Atlantean lands. Variant forms of Low Evaskari constitute the primary dialects of Tartessos and its hinterlands, north to the White Ice.
Evaskari and its daughter languages are of ergative structure, treating the agent of a transitive verb differently from the object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb. They also use auxiliary verbs in conjunction with most main verbs, which must agree with all noun objects within the sentence. These features of Evaskari grammar distinguish it from almost all other languages of the Great Lands, but are common wherever Atlantean colonists have had significant cultural impact on the native languages.
Edited by Geryon of Tartessos
