Substantial postings about constructed languages and constructed worlds in general. Good place to mention your own or evaluate someone else's. Put quick questions in C&C Quickies instead.
Also, you’re not understanding secondary articulations. They usually pattern as places of articulation, not as manners, that is, you’re far more likely to have /p t tˤ c k kʷ q qʷ p’ t’ tˤ’ c’ k’ kʷ’ q’ qʷ’ b d dˤ ɟ g gʷ/. There’s too many implausible elements (only one palatalized consonant; aspirates, ejectives and voiceless sonorants not having secondary articulations; labialization and pharyngealization distinguished by voicing, etc.) I’ll still try to make it unambiguous.
/p t c k q ʔ/ p t c k q ʔ
/pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ qʰ/ ph th ch kh qh
/pʷ tʷ cʷ kʷ qʷ/ po to co ko qo
/p' t' c' k' q'/ p’ t’ c’ k’ q’
/pʰ' tʰ' cʰ' kʰ' qʰ'/ ph’ th’ ch’ kh’ qh’
/b d ɟ g/ b d j g
/bˤ dˤ ɟˤ gˤ/ bo do jo go
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ m n ñ ṅ ṇ
/mˤ nˤ ɲˤ/ mo no ño
/m̥ n̥ ŋ̊/ mh nh ṅh
/l lʲ lˤ ɬ/ l ľ ł lh
/j jˤ/ y yo
/ʀ/ r
/w ʍ/ w wh
/f s θ ç x χ/ f s ś ç x ĥ
/sʷ θʷ xʷ χʷ/ so śo xo ĥo
/f' s' θ' x'/ f’ s’ ś’ x’
/sʷ' θʷ' xʷ'/ s’o ś’o x’o
/v z ð ʐ ʝ ɣ/ v z ź ž ĵ ĝ
/vˤ zˤ ðˤ ʐˤ ʝˤ ɣˤ/ vo zo źo žo ĵo ĝo
Sacemd wrote:I am not looking for them to distinguish between retroflex/postalveolars and alveolopalatals: it's more like finding an alternative way to spell <sh zh ch j>. <sy zy ty dy> has the drawback that people will tend to vocalize the <y>.
Like they can actually pronounce alveolopalatals though. your best bet is to put in a tolkien style appendix explaining that the sound is only similar to [sj] but actually isn't. if you're really keen on the friendly-to-english-speakers conceit, you'd probably better take the sounds out altogether. i really think the set you've got there (sy etc) is the best option.
I think the most you could probably hope for is for the reader to distinguish /S Sj/ e.g. <sh zh ch j(h)> vs. <shy zhy chy j(h)y>
Sacemd wrote:I am not looking for them to distinguish between retroflex/postalveolars and alveolopalatals: it's more like finding an alternative way to spell <sh zh ch j>. <sy zy ty dy> has the drawback that people will tend to vocalize the <y>.
Like they can actually pronounce alveolopalatals though. your best bet is to put in a tolkien style appendix explaining that the sound is only similar to [sj] but actually isn't. if you're really keen on the friendly-to-english-speakers conceit, you'd probably better take the sounds out altogether. i really think the set you've got there (sy etc) is the best option.
I think the most you could probably hope for is for the reader to distinguish /S Sj/ e.g. <sh zh ch j(h)> vs. <shy zhy chy j(h)y>
or <shr zhr tr dr> vs. <sh zh ch j>, unless it is targeted at brits with that bizarre labiodental r, in which case f u all the world is america now
/m n̪ ɳ/ m n nn
/p b t̪ d̪ ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ʔ/ p b t d tr dr c g k q
/s ʂ ç ħ h/ s sr ch x h
/β z ʐ ʕ/ v z zr gh
/tˤ ʈˤ/ tt ttr
/sˤ ʂˤ/ ss ssr
/r/ r
/l ɭ/ l lr
/i u/ i u
/e o/ e o
/a/ a
/i: u:/ ij uu
/a:/ aa
Could you include some more information about the phonology, or at least a sample sentence or words to transcribe?
Here's a phoneme inventory with an example sentence:
/m n ɲ ŋ/
/p b t d k g/
/ts tʂ dʐ tɕ dʑ/
/f s ʂ ɕ h/
/r/
/l ʎ/
/ɻ j/
/i y/ /u/
/e ø/ /o/
/ɛ/ /ɔ/
/a/
/ai au ei eu oi ou ɛi ɛu ɔi ɔu øi/
Phonotactics in brief:
Any single consonant can occur in onset or coda position, with the exception of /j/ which can only occur in onset position.
Onset and coda clusters of 2 consonants are allowed, provided they don't break the sonority hierarchy. However, /s ʂ ɕ/ can violate the sonority hierarchy. /mtsar/ would not be a valid word, for example, but /stsar/ would be. Also, /s/ can be tacked on to the end of a CC coda.
Nasals, fricatives and liquids can be geminated word-medially and word-finally.
Nasals, laterals and /r/ can be syllabic.
Stress:
Stress is unpredictable, so it would be ideal if it can be marked in the orthography. All words ending in -a have penultimate stress, but consonant final words have either penultimate or final stress. A syllabic consonant is never stressed.
Example sentence:
/en deu pɔtst a ke'nail yʎ ɔ'ɻor 'plur 'so.fr 'a.gan kys 'ɛ.tɕa dmɔnt spɛll dʑorns en boʂ/
/ai au ei eu oi ou ɛi ɛu ɔi ɔu øi/ <ai au ei eu oi ou èi èu òi òu øi>
Stress is indicated with an acute accent. In diphthongs, only the first letter gets an accent. If the stressed vowel already has a grave accent, it is replace with a circumflex. Stress is not indicated in monosyllabic words.
Syllabic consonants are indicated with a preceding apostrophe.
Example sentence:
/en deu pɔtst a ke'nail yʎ ɔ'ɻor 'plur 'so.fr 'a.gan kys 'ɛ.tɕa dmɔnt spɛll dʑorns en boʂ/
En deu pòtst a kenáil yľ òřór plur sóf'r ágan kys êtśa dmònt spèll dźorns en boš.
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n nj ng>
/p b t d k g/ <p b t d k g>
/ts tʂ dʐ tɕ dʑ/ <z~tz tsch dsch tj dj>
/f s ʂ ɕ h/ <f s sch sj h>
/r/ <r>
/l ʎ/ <l lj>
/ɻ j/ <rz j>
/i y u/ <i ü u>
/e ø o/ <e ö o>
/ɛ ɔ/ <ä å>
/a/ <a>
/ai au ei eu oi ou ɛi ɛu ɔi ɔu øi/ <ai au ei eu oi ou äi äu åi åu öi>
Phonotactics in brief:
Any single consonant can occur in onset or coda position, with the exception of /j/ which can only occur in onset position.
Onset and coda clusters of 2 consonants are allowed, provided they don't break the sonority hierarchy. However, /s ʂ ɕ/ can violate the sonority hierarchy. /mtsar/ would not be a valid word, for example, but /stsar/ would be. Also, /s/ can be tacked on to the end of a CC coda.
Nasals, fricatives and liquids can be geminated word-medially <CC> and word-finally <C'>.
Nasals, laterals and /r/ can be syllabic.
Stress:
Stress is unpredictable, so it would be ideal if it can be marked in the orthography. All words ending in -a have penultimate stress, but consonant final words have either penultimate <C> or final <CC> stress.
Example sentence:
/en deu pɔtst a ke'nail yʎ ɔ'ɻor 'plur 'so.fr 'a.gan kys 'ɛ.tɕa dmɔnt spɛll dʑorns en boʂ/ En deu påtzt a kenaill ülj årzorr plur sofr agan küs ätja dmånt späl' djorns en bosch.
Inspired by babm and text speak I've decided to make an arbitrary syllabary for Pirahã out of the Roman alphabet.
/a i o p t k~hi ʔ b g s h /
/a i o | pa pi po | ta ti to | (hi) ʔa ʔi ʔo | ba bi bo | ga gi go | sa si so | ha hi ho/
<a i o | q w e | r t y | (v) u p s | d f g | h j k | n z x | c v b >
high-tone = <'> after vowel
vowel-reduplication = <->
or capitalize for high tone and let long vowels just be sequences.<--This
Or use m as a high tone letter like Hmong.
bahSai v Qui vaoQwniAahC
hoagaxóai hi páxai kaopápi-sai-xáagahá
Hoaga'oai s/he [sp. fish] catch-ing- (I saw it)
"Hoaga'oai caught a pa'ai fish (I know because I saw it)"
Also apparently the Brazilian government has succeeded in teaching them numbers so...maybe they'll use cellphones soon?
/a i o | pa pi po | ta ti to | (hi) ʔa ʔi ʔo | ba bi bo | ga gi go | sa si so | ha hi ho/
<a i o | b p m | d t n | (k) q x c | v f w | g j y | z s r | h e l >
Here's a phoneme inventory with an example sentence:
/m n ɲ ŋ/ m n ń nq
/p b t d k g/ p b t d k g
/ts tʂ dʐ tɕ dʑ/ c ç z ć ź
/f s ʂ ɕ h/ f s ş ś h
/r/ r
/l ʎ/ l ĺ
/ɻ j/ ŗ j
/i y/ /u/ i y u
/e ø/ /o/ e eu o
/ɛ/ /ɔ/ è ò
/a/ a
/ai au ei eu oi ou ɛi ɛu ɔi ɔu øi/ ai au ei eu oi ou èi èu òi òu ui
Nasals, laterals and /r/ can be syllabic.
/m̩ n̩ ɲ̩ ŋ̩ l̩ ʎ̩ r̩/ m n ń nq l ĺ r between consonants or word boundaries ım ın ıń ınq ıl ıĺ ır adjacent to vowels
Stress:
Marked with acute accent, except on è ò, which become ê ô. The first vowel of digraphs always recieves the accent. Words ending in -a and monosyllabic words are not marked for stress
Example sentence:
/en deu pɔtst a ke'nail yʎ ɔ'ɻor 'plur 'so.fr 'a.gan kys 'ɛ.tɕa dmɔnt spɛll dʑorns en boʂ/ en deu pòtst a kenáil yĺ òŗór plur sófr ágan kys èća dmònt spèll źorns en boş
/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ń ng>
/p b t d k g/ <p b t d k g>
/ts tʂ dʐ tɕ dʑ/ <c tsch dsch ć đ>
/f s ʂ ɕ h/ <f s sch ś h>
/r/ <r>
/l ʎ/ <ł l>
/ɻ j/ <rr j>
/i y u/ <i ü u>
/e ø o/ <e ö o>
/ɛ ɔ/ <ä å>
/a/ <a>
/ai au ei eu oi ou ɛi ɛu ɔi ɔu øi/ <ai au ei eu oi ou äi äu åi åu öi>
Phonotactics in brief:
Any single consonant can occur in onset or coda position, with the exception of /j/ which can only occur in onset position.
Onset and coda clusters of 2 consonants are allowed, provided they don't break the sonority hierarchy. However, /s ʂ ɕ/ can violate the sonority hierarchy. /mtsar/ would not be a valid word, for example, but /stsar/ would be. Also, /s/ can be tacked on to the end of a CC coda.
Nasals, fricatives and liquids can be geminated word-medially <CC> and word-finally <CC>.
Nasals, laterals and /r/ can be syllabic.
Stress:
Stress is unpredictable, so it would be ideal if it can be marked in the orthography. All words ending in -a have penultimate stress, but consonant final words have either penultimate or final <Vh> stress.
Example sentence:
/en deu pɔtst a ke'nail yʎ ɔ'ɻor 'plur 'so.fr 'a.gan kys 'ɛ.tɕa dmɔnt spɛll dʑorns en boʂ/ En deu påct a kenaihł ül årrohr plur sofr agan küs äća dmånt späłł đorns en bosch.
or En deu påct a kenaihł ül åřohr plur sofr agan küs äća dmånt späłł đorns en boš.
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/
/s χ h/
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/
/l r j w/
/a e o i ə u/ + nasalization + length?
/n̩/
tʃ is an allophone of /t/ in a syllable preceding one with an uvular.
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan.
Last edited by Nortaneous on Sat Oct 19, 2013 2:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ <p t c (ṭ) k q h>
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ <ph th ch kh qh>
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ <b d z g ġ>
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ <bh dh zh gh>
/s χ/ <s x>
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ <m n ñ ng ṅ>
/l r j w/ <l r y w>
/a e o i ə u/ <a e o i ə u>
/n̩/ <n>
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan. Nən gipən coġdadn zhəminzi. Nu nigimzi wa ñaġan. Tok khaizi zaġən cidan. Na ci dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. Ci edn gimi hampe hurəni. Pinda təmda egaūda, təmda egi. Poxlagāġi gəmən. Tənda cya coṅən olang otang. Ci wi ənda olãṅtn. Goraq ci dang ṭaġan.
or
Nən gipən cojdadn zhəminzi. Nu nigimzi wa ñajan. Tok khaizi zajən cidan. Na ci dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. Ci edn gimi hampe hurəni. Pinda təmda egaūda, təmda egi. Poxlagāji gəmən. Tənda cya conjən olang otang. Ci wi ənda olãnjtn. Goraq ci dang tjagjan.
or
Nän gipən coxdadn zhäminzi. Nu nigimzi wa ñaxan. Tok khaizi zaxän cidan. Na ci dãbadi gimi, nända eduwa. Ci edn gimi hampe huräni. Pinda tämda egaūda, tämda egi. Pohlagāxi gämän. Tända cya conxən olang otang. Ci wi ända olãnxtn. Goraq ci dang txaxan.
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ p t c (t) k q '
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ ph th ch kh qh
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ b d z g 'g
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ bh dh zh gh
/s χ/ s x
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ m n ny ng nq
/l r j w/ l r j w
/a e o i ə u/ a è o i e u
/ã ẽ õ ĩ ə̃ ũ/ ą ę̀ ǫ į ę ų
/n̩/ ǹ
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan. Nen gipen co'gdadǹ zheminzi. Nu nigimzi wa nya'gan. Tok khaizi za'gen cidan. Na ci dąbadi gimi, nenda èduwa. Ci edǹ gimi hampè hureni. Pinda temda ègauuda, temda ègi. Poxlagaa'gi gemen. Tenda cja conqen olang otang. Ci wi enda oląnqtǹ. Goraq ci dang ta'gan.
Kusunda
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ <p t ṭ k q ḥ>
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ <ph th ṭh kh qh
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ <b d ḍ g ġ>
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ <bh dh ḍh gh>
/s χ/ <s ḫ>
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ <m n ñ ṅ ṇ>
/l r j w/ <l r y v>
/a e o i ə u/ <ā e o i a u> + nasalization <ṃ> + length <macron>
/n̩/ <n>
tʃ is an allophone of /t/ in a syllable preceding one with an uvular. <c>
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan. Nan gipan ṭoġdādn ḍhaminḍi. Nu nigimḍi vā ñāġān. Tok khāiḍi ḍāġan ṭidān. Nā ṭi dāṃbādi gimi, nandā eduvā. Ṭi edn gimi hāmpe hurani. Pindā tamdā egāūdā, tamdā egi. Poḫlāgaaġi gaman. Tandā ṭyā ṭoṇan olāṅ otāṅ. Ṭi vi andā olāṃṇtn. Gorāq ṭi dāṅ cāġān.
Where's the /h/ come from? This would translate really well into devenagari. Edit: here's the first half: नन गिपन टोड़दाद्न ढनिन्डि. नु निगिम्डि वा ञाड़आन. तोक खाइडि डाड़अन टिदान. ना दाँबादि गिमि, नन्दा एदुवा.
If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ <p t ts t k q '>
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ <ph th tsh kh qh>
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ <b d z g c>
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ <bh dh zh gh>
/s χ h/ <s x h>
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ <m n ny ng nc>
/l r j w/ <l r y w>
/a e o i ə u/ <a e o i ae u> + <nh>
/n̩/ <n>
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan. Naen gipaen tsocdadn zhaeminzi. Nu nigimzi wa nyacan. Tok khaizi zacaen tsidan. Na tsi danhbadi gimi, naenda eduwa. Tsi edn gimi hampe huraeni. Pinda taemda egauuda, taemda egi. Poxlagaaci gaemaen. Taenda tsya tsoncaen olang otang. Tsi wi aenda olanhnctn. Goraq tsi dang tacan.
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ p t c k ḳ ʾ
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ ph th ch kh ḳh
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ b d z g ġ
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ bh dh zh gh
/s χ h/ s x h
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ m n ń ŋ ŋ̇
/l r j w/ l r j w
/a e o i ə u/ + nasalization + length? a e o i ə u ṽ vv
/n̩/ n
tʃ is an allophone of /t/ in a syllable preceding one with an uvular.
/nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan./
Nən gipən tsoġdadn zhəminzi. Nu nigimzi wa ńaġan. Tok khaizi zaġən cidan. Na ci dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. Ci edn gimi hampe hurəni. Pinda təmda egauuda, təmda egi. Poxlagaaġi gəmən. Tənda cja coŋ̇ən olaŋ otaŋ. Ci wi ənda olãŋ̇tn. Goraḳ ci daŋ taġan.
/p t ts (tʃ) k q ʔ/ <p t ts k q '>
/pʰ tʰ tsʰ kʰ qʰ/ <ph th tsh kh qh>
/b d dz g ˤɢ~ʕ/ <b d dz g ǧ>
/bʱ dʱ dzʱ gʱ/ <bh dh dzh gh>
/s χ h/ <s x h>
/m n ɲ ŋ ɴ/ <m n ñ ŋ ň>
/l r j w/ <l r j w>
/a e o i ə u/ + nasalization + length? <a e o i y u> + nâsâlîsâtîôn + lleennggtthh?
/n̩/ <ń>
tʃ is an allophone of /t/ in a syllable preceding one with an uvular.
nən gipən tsoɢdadn̩ dzʰəmindzi. nu nigimdzi wa ɲaɢan. tok kʰaidzi dzaɢən tsidan. na tsi dãbadi gimi, nənda eduwa. tsi edn̩ gimi hampe hurəni. pinda təmda egauːda, təmda egi. poχlagaːɢi gəmən. tənda tsja tsoɴən olaŋ otaŋ. tsi wi ənda olãɴtn̩. goraq tsi daŋ tʃaɢan.
Nyn gipyn tsoǧdadn dzhymindzi. Nu nigimdzi wa ñaǧan. Tok khaidzi dzaǧyn tsidan. Na tsi dâbadi gimi, nynda eduwa. Tsi edń gimi hampe huryni. Pinda tymda egauuda, tymda egi. Poxlagaaǧi gymyn. Tynda tsja tsoňyn olaŋ otaŋ. Tsi wi ynda olâňtn. Goraq tsi daŋ taǧan.