Kara

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Flag of Kara United Republic of Kara
Fjörnåde Repúblikke Kåra (Karska)
Capital: Kara
Motto: Fjörnåde för Dämókrati (United for Democracy)
Anthem: Sjänge som än (Sing as One)

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Kara, officially known as the United Republic of Kara (Karska: Fjörnåde Repúblikke Kåra; Reuntha: Ánure Řepúblix̌ Kǿre; Vezhek: Vorencka Republika Kyorja; Kirek: ᛃᚠᛖᚱᚾᛟᛞ ᚱᛖᛈᛖᛈᛚᛁᚲᚨ ᚲᛟᚱᚨ) is a country in East Uletha. It shares a border with Älved, Boscunis, Glaster, and UL22c.

The United Republic of Kara was established in 1934 with the signing of the Union Treaty of Kara, which united the independent states of Karskat, Thilshull, Reuntha, and Vezhekja under a federal democratic republic. The Republic of Kirek joined the union in 1952.

Initially a 4-state (5 after Kirek joined) federal union with a very weak federal government, Kara's states remained relatively distinct culturally and linguistically. However, increased cultural mixing and growing demands for federal infrastructure and social programs led to the drafting of the United Kara Amendment of 1978, which passed with strong support from voters of all regions. The amendment, which took effect on 1 January 1979, created a new constitution that replaced the Union Treaty as the law of the land, replacing the initial 5-member national council that ruled with the current system of a national president and a 300-member legislature. It also abolished the 5-state system, replacing it with the current 17-state federal system.

Today, Kara is a modern, highly developed country with a regulated capitalist economy focused on modern agriculture, technology, and a small but rapidly-growing renewable energy sector. The government provides many benefits to citizens, especially to the socioeconomically disadvantaged. The national constitution guarantees significant freedoms to individuals and protection for ethnic minority groups.


Geography and Climate

Kara has a mixed temperate climate. The southern coast and Tebbjet River valley are particularly temperate, while the northern states are characterized by an alpine mountain climate.

Government and Politics

Administrative Divisions


Government Data - The Noun Project.svg
Administrative divisions of Kara
First-levelstate (län)
Second-levelmunicipality (kommun)


Kara is divided into of 17 federal divisions, known as länär (LE-ner) or states, which have considerable governing power. Each state is further divided into municipalities, known as kommunär (CO-moon-eyr); each municipality administers public works and utilities as well as some local community programs. The capital city, Kara, is incorporated as its own state with the same privileges as the other states but is not split up into municipalities due to the impracticality of subdividing a single conurbation, and so the state government also carries out municipality-level responsibilities.

State Municipalities
Name (Native Name) Capital Area (km2) Names # in State
Bjergdals Län Kärrstad 2,967.40
Älfeslätts Kommun
Gaffets Kommun
Jånåjks Kommun
Johansbergs Kommun
Kärrstads Kommun
Kyrillebjörgs Kommun
Nådensteds Kommun
7
Bördäjgrådes Län Fjäistlsted 1,587.68
Förkedals Län

(Fourkedale State)

Saint Joseph 1,979.04
Grenfeld Municipality
Jacobsborough Municipality
Lystreham Municipality
Millhouse Municipality
Saint Joseph Municipality
5
Gränös Län Gröndälf 2,901.37
Flyveryds Kommun
Fjäjtorps Kommun
Gröndälfs Kommun
Haraldsbjörgs Kommun
Jåtténe Kommun
Kväränlänge Kommun
Måna Kommun
Onderyds Kommun
Sankta Söfíje Kommun
9
Gvajllåds Län Söjlestad 1,312.59
Andräjshäms Kommun
Ädrúnaby Kommun
Bladstrams Kommun
Brynderyds Kommun
Frydekärke Kommun
Fvilhävns Kommun
Gåvetorps Kommun
Hjäffeblums Kommun
Jusingå Kommun
Liljeryds Kommun
Måsséts Kommun
Sådabuls Kommun
Söjlestads Kommun
Stänhöge Kommun
Stännicke Kommun
Storkvärns Kommun
Vilhelmstads Kommun
Viskestads Kommun
Zakrisfjälds Kommun
19
Hrajvuns Län

(ßřǽvuη Skřö́ʒe)

Xúlebøg 3,246.80
Sořη Gjúxöřp
Sořη Koříneshøm
Sořη Rö́ňex̌
Sořη Rœ́ʒe
Sořη Þówox̌
Sořη Vjǽßtepjon
Sořη Vjö́teřböde
Sořη Xúlebøg
Sořη Ǯǽnejud
9
Kåra Stads Län Kåra 174.79 Kåra Stads Län[1] 1
Kireks Län

(ᚲᛁᚱᛖᚲᛊ ᛚᛖᚾ)

Otalid (ᛟᛏᚨᛚᛁᛞ) 2,262.32
ᚨᚾᛞᛇᚱᛚᛁᛞᛊ ᚲᛟᛗᚢᚾ (Andærlids Komun)
ᛊᚠᛇᚾᛚᛁᛞᛊ ᚲᛟᛗᚢᚾ (Sfænlids Komun)
ᚨᚲᛇᛚᛁᛞᛊ ᚲᛟᛗᚢᚾ (Akælids Komun)
ᛟᛏᚨᛚᛁᛞᛊ ᚲᛟᛗᚢᚾ (Otalids Komun)
4
Ljenbäkks Län Nykojpeng 1,111.98
Björnaryds Kommun
Märänétjårps Kommun
Nykojpengs Kommun
Tålle Kommun
4
Mittedålts Län Strammesdal 2,392.60
Ängeskögs Kommun
Dålby Kommun
Krökekjulle Kommun
Strammesdals Kommun
4
Murräs Län Väjtspläjt 2,246.27
Flödsdålts Kommun
Jystehjälms Kommun
Nilshage Kommun
Stärríngebjörgs Kommun
Väjtspläjts Kommun
5
Rövings Län Hjeplingåde 2,056.14
Bjurbo Kommun
Brövensby Kommun
Flugesåms Kommun
Hajdlmälms Kommun
Hjeplingåde Kommun
Johansjyns Kommun
Kållkärke Kommun
Kvajls Kommun
Låkulle Kommun
Lårreby Kommun
Mynnestads Kommun
Niklasbruks Kommun
Ollefjäjls Kommun
Pådelsteds Kommun
Rökkehytte Kommun
Sanktestads Kommun
Värnbäkks Kommun
18
Söjdrkösts Län Fyrans 1,180.22
Täbbjets Län Täbbjetsstad 1,254.55
Älfesjyns Kommun
Äseryds Kommun
Böngovs Kommun
Bröby Kommun
Färgangs Kommun
Förstekjulle Kommun
Grassemarks Kommun
Jönslunds Kommun
Lilhage Kommun
Störkärke Kommun
Täbbjetstads Kommun
11
Tilshulls Län

(Thilshull State)

Thilshull 1,430.66
Bleistergough Municipality
Eylfegaurd Municipality
Haakanmyre Municipality
Hedgeley Municipality
Houton Municipality
Skarv-Haunley Municipality
Thilshull Municipality
Trirce Municipality
8
Upplandas Län Kvröndesbljum 1,627.67
Fjurve Kommun
Kvröndesbljums Kommun
Lillebjörgs Kommun
3
Vejeks Län

(Vèžèks Stot)

Vèžèkstot 1,823.56
Čëllèdebjorkejts Kommun
Kitš-Jʹapfijks Kommun
Mjelmstrums Kommun
Vèžèkstodts Kommun
4
Government icon (black).svg
Government of Kara
Federal presidential constitutional republic
CapitalKara
Head of state
• Präsident (President)Kiri-Anna Päjtersson-Årdl
• Legisatur-Tålare (Speaker of the Legislature)Æstred Marija Gabrælzen (ᛇᛊᛏᚱᛖᛞ ᛗᚨᚱᛁᛃᚨ ᚷᚨᛒᚱᛇᛚᛉᛖᚾ)
Legislature
• Upper houseNationallegislatur (National Legislature)
Kara legislature diagram.svg
JudiciaryHövda-Demstoll (High Court)
Öfverdeme (Chief Judge)Stǽfon Ǯöð
Major political parties
  Socialist
  Green
  Kireki Advocates
  National Democrats
  Independent
  Centrist
  Conservative
  Christic
Assembly of Nations - member state • Association of South Ulethan Nations - observer state


Politics

The members of the legislature as well as the president are elected in partisan elections, although many candidates run (and win) without a party affiliation. Elections for the legislature are held every 2 years, with presidential elections occurring every 6 years. The legislature creates, debates, and passes federal laws with a simple (50% + 1) majority. Federal laws are subject to presidential veto, although this veto can be overridden with a 200-vote (or 2/3) majority in the legislature.

Several political parties have significant influence in the legislature, with the National Democratic, Centrist, and Conservative parties each holding significant power. Independent, non-party-affiliated representatives also hold a substantial number of seats in the legislature, but members do not vote as a group or in a bloc. The current president, Kiri-Anna Päjtersson-Årdl, is a member of the Centrist party.

Political Parties in Kara[2]
Name Current Leader Left/Right Ideology Core Ideologies Seats Held
National Democrats Æstred Marija Gabrælzen Center-left to left Social liberalism

Ulethanism

Liberal capitalism

92/300 (30.7%)
Conservative Jöns-Rudolf Björgman Center-right to right Classical liberalism

Conservatism

Ulethanism

54/300 (18.0%)
Centrist Áne Þö́resön Center-left to center Third-way centrism

Regulated capitalism

Ulethanism

50/300 (16.7%)
Green Äve Gröndblad-Ʒǽvöx̌ Left Environmentalism

Social democracy

Ulethanism

15/300 (5.0%)
Kireki Advocates Þorsten-Sfæn Ottozen Varies Kireki nationalism

Karaskepticism

Ulethaskepticism

4/300 (1.3%)
Socialist Björn Andersson Far left Socialism

Isolationism

Populism

4/300 (1.3%)
Christic Jön Adam Bånövre Right to far right Social paleoconservatism

Christic nationalism

Antiliberalism

3/300 (1.0%)
Independent none Varies Pragmatism

Collaborationism

Idiosyncracism

78/300 (26.0%)

National Anthem

The official Karska choral version of the national anthem, Sjänge som Än.
The official Karska choral version of the national anthem, Sing as One.

Kara's national anthem, Sing as One, was written for the ratification ceremony of the United Kara Amendment; the first act of the National Legislature made it the official national anthem.


Audio

Karska Ingerish Reunthan
Sjänge som Än Sing as One Mök an Ʒun
Komme og sjänge som än

Komme, föräna vårt land

Vi kommer åt stå tillsamms

Vi kommer åt vår bara

Låt os stå för saningen

Låt os sjänge för rättvis


Vi är starka; vi är fräj

Vi älskar dämókrati

Vi ska hjälpe varandra

Vi ska sjänge för frädhät

Vi räspékterar andra

Vi räspékterar vårt häm


Utmaningar ställs inför

Utmaningar ställs öferfun

Örättvis attakkärar

Örättvis vi bäkämpa

Komme, vi vinner kampän

Komme og sjänge som än

Let us come and sing as one

Let us go unite our land

For we are united as one

We unite for all that's fair

Let us stand for what is true

Let us stand for what is just


We are strong and we are free

And we love democracy

We will lend each other aid

We will sue for lasting peace

We respect each human heart

We respect this land that's ours


Challenges will come our way

Challenges, they shall not stay

And injustice may molest

But we fight it to the end

Come, the battle must be won

Let us come and sing as one

Kúmeη, wi ßo mök an ʒun

Kúmeη, wi ánuren ðe land

Wi yr an mö́ke x̌u laž

Wi yr an x̌ánze dö bjar

ßǿnde wi dö ðe vjögú

ßǿnde wi dö řáx̌ide


Wi yr ηáse; wi yr fru

Wi luva x̌ánzegjuke

Wi ßo hö́de ðe óǯře

Wi ßo mjóřx̌ø dö frúdo

Jænór wi gof fo óǯře

Jænór wi gof fo ðe uřþ


Xálen vi gof mux tóro

Xálen ßo gö mux duz

Eřáx̌ide kwo øηǽ

Eřáx̌ide wi ßo gówo

Kúmeη, wi wíne ðe vur

Kúmeη, wi ßo mök an ʒun

Demographics

Noun project 288.svg
Demographics of Kara
DemonymKarska
Official languagesKarska, Reunthan (Řjúnþeř), Vezhek (Vèžèk), Kirek (ᚲᛁᚱᛖᚲᚨ), Ingerish
Ethnicities
Karska
  
41.7%
Reunthan
  
19.2%
Thilshullian
  
6.0%
Vezhek
  
5.7%
Kirek
  
4.2%
2 or more of the above
  
19.4%
Alvedic
  
0.3%
Boscunian
  
0.1%
Other
  
3.4%


Religion

Kara has not had an established state religion since the United Kara Amendment of 1979. Previous to that amendment, the government designated 5 state Christic churches (one for each ethnic/linguistic region). The 5 state churches have since united to form the People's Church of Kara.

Religious Identification in Kara, 2021

  People's Church of Kara (Christic) (51%)
  Holy Grace Church (Christic) (15%)
  Darcodian (Christic) (3%)
  Ortholic (Christic) (2%)
  Other Christic (2%)
  Judic (2%)
  Animist/Spiritualist (2%)
  General Spirituality (8%)
  Secular (14%)
  Other (1%)

Historically a Christic area, a significant majority of Karskas identify as Christic, although some other minority faiths have also gained traction, particularly through immigration. Religiously unaffiliated individuals also make up a substantial minority of the population.

People's Church of Kara

Initially founded in Kara city from a group of Christic groups in the area in the 15th century, the Church of Kara was under the leadership of the Karska monarch until the mid-18th century. It uses a traditional liturgical service, with a particular emphasis placed on music and collective prayer in services. The church continues to play a significant role in Karska society.

For its first several centuries of existence, the church's leadership exerted tight control on ideas and information within the faith, maintaining a strongly conservative belief and policy system, which continued to be very influential in society, although this influence did decrease in the 17th and 18th centuries with growing secularism and independent thought. However, the church's direction changed as a result of the 1784 secession of the Holy Grace Church in Nådensted in Bjergdals Län, which attracted many believers with its strong yet liberal belief system. In response to this crisis, the People's Church loosened control in many areas, allowing more liberal ideas to gain traction within the church.

In 1928, the church's general council elected Hans Jösef Zakrisson as Head Priest of the church. Zakrisson, the de facto leader of the church's liberal wing and a staunch proponent of liberalism and democracy in society, led several reforms in the church that ultimately were very influential in the formation of modern Kara under the Union Treaty of 1934. Within a decade, the People's Church became strongly liberal-leaning (ironically, some conservative detractors defected to the Holy Grace Church, steering it to become more conservative than the People's Church). Since the 1930s, the church has held to a strongly liberal, universalist theology and a cultural emphasis on inclusion. However, the church has also remained open to a variety of theological and political ideas, and so there are some significant conservative factions within the faith, although many conservative detractors have left for the Holy Grace denomination in recent years.

Nonetheless, the liberal majority has steered the church's policy in a strongly progressive direction, such as was seen in its 1963 resolution urging the Karska government to open the country to refugees and its calls for preservation of minority languages in the 1980s. More recently, the church moved in 2001 to allow same-sex couples to be married by the church in places where such marriage was legal, and this move is widely agreed to have been a key catalyst of the 2003 legislative decision and 2007 constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to same-sex marriage in Kara.

In 2011, Jöne Mäjbjerg became the first openly transgender and non-binary priest in the People's Church, and a 2016 council canonized them and renamed their local church (Sankte Jöne Mäjbjergs Folkes- og Domkärke Äjbsö) in their honor.

Languages

As a multinational state, several languages are used across Kara, and five languages (Karska, Reunthan, Vezhek, Kirek, and Ingerish) are federally recognized as official languages. Among them, Karska is the most commonly used.

The map below shows the distribution of dominant language across Kara: Karska (green), Ingerish (red), Reunthan (yellow), Vezhek (purple-blue), and Kirek (light pink-purple).

Loading map...

Karska

Karska (Kårska) is a Gaermanic language that is the lingua franca of Kara. It is the most widely spoken language in the nation. It uses a 26-letter Latinic alphabet.

Karska Pronunciation
Letter IPA Rough Federal States Ingerish Equivalence
Aa ⟨a⟩ got
⟨ə⟩ or ⟨ɜ⟩ when at the end of some words problem
Ää ⟨ɛ⟩ ever
Åå ⟨ɔ⟩ dawn
Bb ⟨b⟩ bake
Cc ⟨s⟩ center
⟨k⟩ cave
Dd ⟨d⟩ dote
Ee ⟨ə⟩ (schwa) problem
⟨ɛ⟩ (when the first letter of a word or with diacritic) ever
Ff ⟨f⟩ fee
Gg ⟨ɡ⟩ good
Hh ⟨h⟩ home
Ii ⟨i⟩ me
Jj ⟨j⟩ you
Kk ⟨k⟩ cave
Ll ⟨l⟩ low
Mm ⟨m⟩ mat
Nn ⟨n⟩ never
Oo ⟨ʊ⟩ look
⟨o⟩ (when with a diacritic, uncommon otherwise) over
Öö ⟨o⟩ over
Pp ⟨p⟩ pine
Rr ⟨r⟩ for "r" no Ingerish equivalent, similar to Castellanese rolled "r" as in perro
⟨ɾ⟩ for "rr" no Ingerish equivalent, nearly a very quick ⟨d⟩ as in dote
Ss ⟨s⟩ so
Tt ⟨t⟩ too
Uu ⟨u⟩ clue
Vv ⟨v⟩ vow
Yy ⟨y⟩ no Ingerish equivalent, essentially an ⟨i⟩ in me with rounded lips
Zz ⟨z⟩ zoo
Accent Marks

In Karska, the first syllable of a word is always emphasized, except when otherwise marked with an accent on the vowel of the syllable to be emphasized. Áá, Íí, and Úú are prononced the same as their "core" letters (Aa, Ii, and Uu, respectively), while Éé and Óó are pronounced as Ää and Öö, respectively.

Example pronunciations of words/terms/names
Term/name IPA Rough Federal States Ingerish Equivalent
Ädrúnaby ɛdɾunaby Ed-run-ah-beu
Bördäjgrådes Län boɾdɛjgrɔdəs lɛn Bor-deyg-rawd-uhs Len
Fjörnåde Repúblikka Kåra fjornɔdə ɾəpublika kɔra Fyoor-nah-duh Ruh-poob-lee-kah Kaw-ra
Hjeplingåde hjəplingɔdə Hyuhp-leeng-ah-duh
Län lɛn Len
Märänétjårp mɛɾɛnɛttjɔrp Meh-reh-neht-tjaurp

Kirek

Kirek is one of the official languages of Kara. It is spoken in Kireks Len in the north of the country. Mutually intelligible with Karska and Vezhek, most linguists consider it to be a dialect of Karska. The most substantial differentiator of Kirek is its writing system; traditional Kirek writing uses a different character set than Karska, although a Latinic transcription is becoming increasing common among native speakers as well.

Vezhek

Vezhek is one of Kara's official languages, and it is spoken in Vezheks Stot in the northwest portion of the country. It is mutually intelligible with both Karska and Kirek, and most linguists consider it a dialect of Karska for this reason. While it does use the same character set as Karska, Vezhek attaches different sounds to some letters and diacritic marks.

Reunthan

Reunthan is a Gaermanic language that is one of the official languages of Kara and is widely used in the northwestern regions of the country. Most linguists agree that the language is most closely related to Karska; however, over time Reunthan has incorporated elements of other languages, particularly Thilshullian and Ingerish. While not entirely mutually intelligible, Reunthan and Karska share many cognates and grammar rules, making it much easier for native speakers of Karska to learn Reunthan (and vice versa). The alphabets of the two languages, though they do share many elements, are quite different, especially due to the extra characters and diacritics used in Reunthan. However, the strict rules of Reunthan writing make reading fairly easy to acquire with basic education in the language.

Alphabet

Reunthan uses the Latinic alphabet with a few additions. A phonetic language, each letter in Reunthan makes only one sound, and each sound is represented by exactly one letter. Letters with carons (Ňň, Řř, X̌x̌, Žž, and Ǯǯ) are considered distinct from their caron-less counterparts (Nn, Rr, Xx, Zz, and Ʒʒ, respectively) and make distinct sounds. The same is true for Öö and Øø, which are considered distinct from Oo. Accents on vowels (Áá, Ǽǽ, Éé, Íí, Óó, Ö́ö́, Ǿǿ, Œ́œ́, Úú, Ýý) are used to indicate emphasis placement in multi-syllable words and do not change the sound made by each letter.

letter ipa example
Aa ⟨æ⟩ "a" in bad
Ææ ⟨aɪ⟩ "y" in by
Dd ⟨d⟩ "d" in done
Ee ⟨ə⟩ schwa
Ff ⟨f⟩ "f" in far
Gg ⟨ɡ⟩ "g" in good
Hh ⟨h⟩ "h" in happy
Ii ⟨i⟩ "ee" in meet
Jj ⟨j⟩ "y" in you
Kk ⟨k⟩ "c" in can
Ll ⟨l⟩ "l" in like
Mm ⟨m⟩ "m" in morning
Nn ⟨n⟩ "n" in no
Ňň ⟨ɲ⟩ "ñ"
Πη ⟨ŋ⟩ "ng" in sing
Oo ⟨ɑ⟩ "o" in dot, "au" in aught
Öö ⟨o⟩ "ó" in camión
Øø ⟨aʊ⟩ "ow" in now, "ou" in loud
Œœ ⟨oʊ⟩ "ow" in low
Rr ⟨r⟩ rolled "r"
Řř ⟨ɹ⟩ "r" in run
Ss ⟨s⟩ "s" in so
ßß ⟨ʃ⟩ "sh" in shut
Tt ⟨t⟩ "t" in english
Ðð ⟨ð⟩ "th" in they
Þþ ⟨θ⟩ "th" in think
Uu ⟨u⟩ "oo" in goop
Vv ⟨v⟩ "v" in victory
Ww ⟨w⟩ "w" in water
Xx ⟨t͡ʃ⟩ "ch" in choose
X̌x̌ ⟨χ⟩ Kalmish "ch" in words like "Bach", etc.
Yy ⟨eɪ⟩ "ay" in day
Zz ⟨z⟩ "z" in zebra
Žž ⟨d͡z⟩ "ds" in ends
Ʒʒ ⟨ʒ⟩ "zh", Frankish "j"
Ǯǯ ⟨d͡ʒ⟩ "j" in jaw
Word Examples
Reunthan Ingerish Karska
Ánure United Fjörnåde
Böde Boda/Böde
Bøg Burgh, fortress
Bróßxe Pasture/Meadow
Fjerx̌ Forest (a big one)
Kǿre Kara Kåra
Pjoη Town Kojpeng
Řjúnþe Reuntha Rjunte
Řjúnþeř Reunthan Rjunter
Řepúblix̌ Republic Repúblikke
Skøg Forest/wood Skog
Skřö́ʒe State Län
Sořη Municipality Kommun
Stǽfon Stephen Stäfan
Vjǽßte West Vest/Västre
Vjö́teř River Älf
Xöřp Farm Torp
Xul Hill Kjulle


  1. The state government fills the role of municipal government and is considered a municipality for statistical purposes.
  2. Thanks to Timboh's article on Navenna for the inspiration for this table!