How to design a non-European phonology

[Ollock]

Japanese also doesn't do anything outlandish with its phonology. You should try it again with Mandarin or something. (I think somebody may have already done so)

I got 62% with Mandarin. However, I should note that I really was having a hard time on the vowel questions. Mandarin vowels are quite bizarre and hard to analyze.

[Aurora Rossa]

That's because many of these features are not specifically "European" but are either majority features worldwide, or are very, very common.

Yeah, my thoughts as well. I would hesitate to include many of them as distinctly European or anything, myself.

[Nortaneous]

The features are individually very common, but enough of them in combination and you'll end up with something European.

[Risla]

It also seems that languages don't tend to get much below 50%, so being that low is a pretty good sign that your language is pretty damn non-European.

How about Ojibwe? (shrinking it down to save annoyance)

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction]
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10. More non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops]
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40]
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15. 5-7 POAs [half mark if at least 4 POAs]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees]
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes
46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]

Ojibwe is 64% SAE.

[Nortaneous]

It also seems that languages don't tend to get much below 50%, so being that low is a pretty good sign that your language is pretty damn non-European.

Yeah, there are very few conlangs below 50%, and the only one with any documentation online is Proto-Vdangku. I'd set the cutoff for SAEness at 75%; I have a few langs below that that are intended to look European, but they're inspired more by Basque than anything else and none of them have a voice distinction, so.

Are there any conlangs below 40%? The only ones I've seen so far are two of mine.

[äreo]

It also seems that languages don't tend to get much below 50%, so being that low is a pretty good sign that your language is pretty damn non-European.

Yeah, there are very few conlangs below 50%, and the only one with any documentation online is Proto-Vdangku. I'd set the cutoff for SAEness at 75%; I have a few langs below that that are intended to look European, but they're inspired more by Basque than anything else and none of them have a voice distinction, so.

Are there any conlangs below 40%? The only ones I've seen so far are two of mine.

Ksso's like 25%.

[finlay]

It also seems that languages don't tend to get much below 50%, so being that low is a pretty good sign that your language is pretty damn non-European.

Yeah, there are very few conlangs below 50%, and the only one with any documentation online is Proto-Vdangku. I'd set the cutoff for SAEness at 75%; I have a few langs below that that are intended to look European, but they're inspired more by Basque than anything else and none of them have a voice distinction, so.

Are there any conlangs below 40%? The only ones I've seen so far are two of mine.

One that surprised me was Panceor getting the lowest score out of any of my conlangs. I've always thought of it as sort-of-more European than the other ones, because of things like <qu> for /kʷ/, R/L distinction and five vowels, but then at the same time, there's no voicing distinction, initial /ŋ/ and only 2 fricatives. But then actually, this is the inventory:

Code: Select all

p t ts k kʷ
m n    ŋ
v    s
  l  r j w

and making /v/ into /ʋ/ would fill the approximant series and resolve the slight conflict of it being the only voiced obstruent phoneme currently.

[Nortaneous]

Alright, I guess it's time for me to get started on the next part of this post. I'm probably just going to cover phonotactics in general, so.

3. Initial consonant clusters of the type "stop+sonorant" allowed
4. No initial velar nasal
5. A wide variety of allowable clusters that, except for those that contain a sibilant and a stop, all adhere to the sonority hierarchy

SAE phonotactics, crosslinguistically speaking, are weird, especially in the behavior of coronals: coronal fricatives can violate the sonority hierarchy, which is otherwise rigidly adhered to; coronal-containing clusters are allowed whose noncoronal equivalents wouldn't be (Slavic /dn/ but */bm/, Ancient Greek /pt bd/ but */pk bg/); coronals allowed in more places than noncoronals (Greek permissible consonant finals: /n s/) Then there's the lack of stop-nasal clusters, lack of irregular gaps, and so on.

There are much weirder things that can be done.

Probably the weirdest example of natlang phonotactics is Tsou, which, as far as I can tell, can't be said to have a sonority hierarchy at all, and allows glottals to take the second place in consonant clusters. That is completely unheard of in SAE phonologies, but attested elsewhere.

There are also some languages, such as Xavante, that only allow a very restricted set of initial consonant clusters.

bluh tired will write more later probably

[Bristel]

Squalipsh

First set of questions:

absence of phonemic opposition velar/uvular
phonemic voicing oppositions (/p/ vs. /b/ etc.) as the only distinctions between sounds with the same POA and MOA
initial consonant clusters of the type "stop+sonorant" allowed
no initial velar nasal
a wide variety of allowable clusters that, except for those that contain a sibilant and a stop, all adhere to the sonority hierarchy
only pulmonic consonants
no phonation or secondary articulation contrasts on vowels
at least three degrees of vowel height (minimum inventory i e a o u)
lack of lateral fricatives and affricates
two series of coronals
lack of a tone or register system
at least two of each of the following type of consonant: fricative, nasal, liquid, semivowel

58%

Second set of questions, editing the percentage asap:

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction] (is /xʷ χ χʷ/ a voicing distinction? there's none in the stop series)
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps) (does [k q s ʃ xʷ χ χʷ] mean this counts as true?)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10. More non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops] (13 stops and 13 non-stops [distinct glottalized liquids and semivowels count? Do affricates count?])
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40] (34 if glottalized consonants count?)
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one] (/l lˀ/ and no rhotics count?)
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15. 5-7 POAs [half mark if at least 4 POAs]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more] (/a e i o u ă/ are the only vowels)
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees] (4 degrees if /ə/ is separate from /a e i o u/ in height)
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes
46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]

50.5% SAE (this is really influenced by Salish, so I knew it would get a low score... but this might be off by a few points because some might be half points instead of full points or no points)

[Herr Dunkel]

Bump due to the sheer awesomeness of this with attempt to hit the lowest score!

/t t' q q' ʛ/
/ɬ ħ'/
/ɴ/
/q͡t q͡t'/
/q: q͡t:/

/i ɯ/
/i̥ ɯ̊/
/˩˥ ˥˩ ˩˥˩ ˥˩˥/
There is voicing harmony in vowels
Words can end only with /ɯ/ and /ɯ̊/

The structure is optimally SCV with S = stop + nasal and V = vowels or /ɴ/.

This is the analysis

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction]
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series) - pharyngeals work wonders
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10. More non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops]
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40] (13 )
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15. 5-7 POAs [half mark if at least 4 POAs]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees] (4 degrees if /ə/ is separate from /a e i o u/ in height)
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes
46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives - no series at all
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal - if uvular is velar, then there can be
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]

Unless I miss my count, this conlang hits 5% 6%on the SAE scene. Not bad

[Solarius]

I just want to say that I look a this thread whenever I create a new phonology.
Thanks!

[Šm Mepuyoš ab Duhen]

Yesterday designed a phonology and I want to test it here.

PLGY.png (11.39 KiB) Viewed 4360 times

Words can't end with alveolopalatals,ejectives and mid vowels.
Syllable structure can be VC(max4) C(max 2)V if first syllable and C(max 3) if not first syllable.
Nasals and retroflexes are syllabic.No vowel harmony.

Green-yes
Yellow-half mark
Red-no
If I have any error,korekt me!

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction]
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10.Moer non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops].
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40]
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15.5-7 POA [half mark if at least 4 POA]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees] (4 degrees if /ə/ is separate from /a e i o u/ in height)
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes

46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives - no series at all
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal - if uvular is velar, then there can be
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]

59 % SE.

[Nortaneous]

I recall there being another thread for this, but I can't be bothered to find it. I'm ratcheting the size down so scrolling isn't as much of a pain.

Hoanu:

absence of phonemic opposition velar/uvular
phonemic voicing oppositions (/p/ vs. /b/ etc.) as the only distinctions between sounds with the same POA and MOA
initial consonant clusters of the type "stop+sonorant" allowed
no initial velar nasal (initial rounded velar nasals are allowed, as are initial postvelar nasals, but there's no plain velar nasal, so if read in the most technical possible manner this would apply)
a wide variety of allowable clusters that, except for those that contain a sibilant and a stop, all adhere to the sonority hierarchy
only pulmonic consonants
no phonation or secondary articulation contrasts on vowels (allophonic)
at least three degrees of vowel height (minimum inventory i e a o u)
lack of lateral fricatives and affricates
two series of coronals
lack of a tone or register system
at least two of each of the following type of consonant: fricative, nasal, liquid, semivowel
3.5/12

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction] (arguably in sonorants, but that's odd enough that I wouldn't analyze it that way)
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10.Moer non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops].
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40] (41!)
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15. 5-7 POA [half mark if at least 4 POA] (11)
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony (although I'm thinking of adding it)
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees] (4 degrees if /ə/ is separate from /a e i o u/ in height)
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants) (another thing I'm thinking of changing)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes

46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates] (ahahahaha)
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives - no series at all
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found] (no plain approximants, although this would get a point if recent loans are included)
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA (most phonemes at the velar POA -- rounded velar, if that's considered a separate POA)

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]
44%

eh fuckit

Code: Select all

   Knw Hoa Tha Enz Ren | PrK InK CrK CoK Kie | PrH Arv Gad Hat Kan Ket Kas | Tne | 
1.          ½   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  ½       ½   1   1       1  |     |
2.                     |                  1  |          1   ½   ½       1  |  ½  |
3.          1   1   1  |  1                  |                      1      |     |
4.                     |                     |          1                  |  ½  |
5.  1       1       1  |                  1  |  1                       1  |     |
6.  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   ½  |  1   1       1   1       1  |     |
7.  ½   ½       ½   ½  |      ½           1  |          ½           ½   1  |  ½  |
8.                     |      ½   ½          |      ½       1           ½  |  ½  |
9.          ½       ½  |          ½       1  |  ½       ½               1  |     |
10      ½   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1       1           1  |     |
11              1   1  |  1   ½   ½   1   1  |  1   1   ½                  |  1  |
12  ½   ½   1          |  ½   1   1   ½      |      1   ½               1  |     |
13          1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |              1   1   1      |     |
14  1       1          |  ½   1   1   1      |      ½   1   1           1  |     |
15  ½   ½   ½   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  ½   ½   1   ½   ½   1      |  ½  |
16  1       1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |      1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
17  1       1          |  1   1   1       1  |  ½   1   1   1   1       1  |  ½  |
18  1       1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |          1   1   1   1   1  |     |
19          1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |          1   1   1   1   1  |     |
20  ½       ½   ½   1  |  ½           1   1  |  ½   1   ½   ½              |  ½  |
21          1   1      |                     |  1   1                      |     |
22      ½       1      |  1   1   1   1      |      ½   1   1           1  |  1  |
23                  1  |              1      |      1                      |     |
24                  1  |              1      |      1                      |     |
25  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1       1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
26  1   1   1   1      |  1   1   1   1      |          1       ½       1  |     |
27              ½   1  |  ½           ½   ½  |  ½   1   ½   ½              |  ½  |
28      1              |      1   1          |      1                      |     |
29  1   1   1   1   1  |  ½   1       ½      |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
30                     |      1              |                  1   1   1  |     |
31  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1      |  1   1                   1  |     |
32  1   1   1   1      |  1   1   1   1      |  1   1           1   1   1  |     |
34  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1       1      |  1   1           1       1  |     |
35  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1       1      |                  1       1  |     | 
36                     |                     |                             |     |
37  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1      |                          1  |     |
38  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1      |                          ½  |     | 
39  1   1   1          |  1   1       1      |                             |     |
40          1          |                  1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
41              1   1  |          1       1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
42                     |          1       1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1      |  1  |
43  1   1       1   1  |  1           1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1      |  1  |
44      ½              |  1           1   1  |  1   ½   1   1   ½   ½   ½  |  1  |
45  1   1       1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |      1           1          |     | 
46  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1       1  |  1  |
47          1   ½      |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   ½   ½   1   1       1  |  1  |
48              1   ½  |  1   1   1   ½      |                  1   1      |     | 
49                     |          1       1  |      1   1   1   1          |     | 
50  1       1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
51                  1  |                     |      1                      |     | 
52              1   1  |                     |          1       1   1      |  1  |
53  1       1   1      |  1   1       1      |                  1   1   1  |     |
54  1   1   1   1      |  1           1   1  |  1           1   1   1   1  |     |
55          1   1   1  |          1   1   1  |      1       1           1  |     | 
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ST 24  19  31  33  31½ | 33  31½ 29½ 33  28  | 22  30½ 25  26  28  20  32½ | 18
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
S1              1   1  |  1   1              |                  1   1      |     |
S2  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1       1      |  1   1   1   1   1   1   1  |  1  |
S3  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1       1      |                      1   1  |     |
S4                  1  |                  1  |  1   1       1              |     |
S5          1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1       1   1   1   1   1  |     |
S6  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   1   1   1   1  |          1   1   1   1   1  |     |
S7                     |                  1  |          1   1           1  |     |
S8      1       1      |  1   1   1   1   1  |  1   ½       1   ½       1  |  ½  |
S9      1       1   1  |      ½   1   ½   1  |  1           1   1   1   1  |  1  |
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ST 15  25  20  35  35  | 30  32½ 20  27½ 30  | 25  10½ 20  35  27½ 30  35  | 12½ |
%: 39  44  51  68  66½ | 63  64  49½ 60½ 58  | 47  41  45  61  55½ 50  67½ | 30½ |

new additions: Hoanu, Kien, Proto-Hathic

[Drydic]

I have a language. And I don't give a flying fuck if it looks european or non-european.

[Bristel]

I have a language. And I don't give a flying fuck if it looks european or non-european.

You're angst-y lately. Don't got a language to compare, get out!

[Alces]

For Wendoth:


1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction]
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10.Moer non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops].
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40]
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruants
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15.5-7 POA [half mark if at least 4 POA]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees] (4 degrees if /?/ is separate from /a e i o u/ in height)
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
34. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
35. CVCC syllables allowed
36. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
37. CLV syllables allowed
38. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
39. CCCV syllables allowed
40. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
41. CCNV syllables not allowed
42. SNV syllables not allowed
43. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
44. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
45. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes
46. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
47. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
48. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
49. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
50. No more than two series of fricatives - no series at all
51. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
52. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
53. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
55. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):
S1. No initial velar nasal - if uvular is velar, then there can be
S2. No tone system with more than two tones
S3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
S4. At least 10 vowels in total (including length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
S5. No non-pulmonic consonants
S6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
S7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
S8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
S9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]


That's 65% SAE.

[finlay]

I have a language. And I don't give a flying fuck if it looks european or non-european.

You're angst-y lately. Don't got a language to compare, get out!

now now children.

[Chagen]

I will never understand conlanger's rabid hatred of SAE inventories.

Me? Personally, all of my conlangs are SAE. Eurolangs are my favorite langs in the world (Latin is still the best language I have ever seen. So eloquent, so concise, just a pure joy to see/hear/write). In the conlanging community, this is equivalent to walking into a room and yelling "IM A NAZI, HITLER WAS AWESOME YO", but eh.

[Ollock]

I will never understand conlanger's rabid hatred of SAE inventories.

Me? Personally, all of my conlangs are SAE. Eurolangs are my favorite langs in the world (Latin is still the best language I have ever seen. So eloquent, so concise, just a pure joy to see/hear/write). In the conlanging community, this is equivalent to walking into a room and yelling "IM A NAZI, HITLER WAS AWESOME YO", but eh.

Not quite like that. More like "HEY, WHITE PEOPLE ARE FREAKIN' COOL!" Most people will think you are insane, while others get a little offended (even some white people). That's if they believe you are being serious, but the statement comes off as so ridiculous that people will automatically assume it's sarcastic.

If you like eurolangs, that's fine. If you like Latin is concise, I will bet you a dollar Chinese is even more concise. As far as "eloquence" is concerned, that's quite subjective, and really Latin may be perceived as "eloquent" for cultural reasons (since it was put on a pedestal in Europe for centuries).

[Chagen]

Just ran the test on Föro.


It got 90%. Just the way I wanted it.

[Sevly]

I will never understand conlanger's rabid hatred of SAE inventories.

Me? Personally, all of my conlangs are SAE. Eurolangs are my favorite langs in the world (Latin is still the best language I have ever seen. So eloquent, so concise, just a pure joy to see/hear/write). In the conlanging community, this is equivalent to walking into a room and yelling "IM A NAZI, HITLER WAS AWESOME YO", but eh.

Not quite like that. More like "HEY, WHITE PEOPLE ARE FREAKIN' COOL!

Oh, please. The problem with SAE inventories, and with eurocentric conlanging in general, is that it often comes off as "HERE BE NOOBLANG", because as most of us know from our own early attempts, when a conlanger is beginning out at doesn't have a lot of experience with linguistics, they often end up calquing elements from their natling just because they don't know any better. I remember thinking, as a then-English-monoglot, that /ʃ/ was written ⟨sh⟩ because it was the natural consequence of pronouncing /sh/ in rapid speech. Seriously. I kid you not.

Anyways, the tendency for beginners to borrow from their native language, combined with the fact that most of our native languages are European, means that European features are inevitably associated with the conlangs of beginners, in phonology, yes, but particulary in morphosyntax. The more you read about languages and linguistics, the more you learn about the immense diversity in human language and just how different they can be from the languages your more familiar with, and so more developed conlangs are expected to explore a wider variety of features that extend beyond your typical nominative-accusative SAE look-alike.

The point is, SAE inventories are fine if you're making a conscious decision to design your phonology as such. Deevie, for example, is meant to be a personal conlang and so I've designed the phonology so that I can easily pronounce it; and like Chagen I find it's sound to be esthetically pleasing. But really, the "rabid hatred" that was displayed the earliest version of the language when I presented it here (it was translatable for English nearly word-for-word) is what lead to the quirks in the morphology and syntax that exist in the language today, and I'm grateful for that.

---

For Middle Deevie:

True (full marks)
(half marks)
False (no marks)

1. Absence of any phonemic POA for stops further back than velar [half mark for only one stop-POA behind velar, or for prominent allophonic stops behind velar]
2. Phonemic voicing [half mark if voicing is only part of the distinction]
3. Two and only two parallel series of phonemes at each POA at which at least one stop is present (glottal, if present, excluded from the series) (a series still counts if it is missing only one phoneme from the expected series)
4. At least two series distinguished by voicing alone (i.e. at each POA where one of the series occurs, the other occurs and the only difference is voicing) (up to one POA where this is not true allowed) [half mark if voicing is one feature distinguishing the series].
5. At least two series with identical POA arrays (i.e. at least two series not showing any gaps)
6. Nasals at multiple POAs
7. No single MOA (stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids) found at all POAs [half mark if only one MOA at all POAs]
8. Voicing distinction on all fricatives (one gap permitted) [half mark for some other distinction between fricatives at same POA, or for more than one gap, or voicing can be distinctive in some circumstances but isn't the only distinction - but no more than one of these exceptions]
9. Fricatives distinguish more POAs than (non-nasal) stops [half mark if they distinguish the same number]
10. More non-stops than stops (not counting nasals as either stops or non-stops) [half mark if this is true counting nasals as non-stops]
11. Between 20 and 30 consonant phonemes [half mark if between 15 and 40]
12. One phonemic lateral, distinguished from rhotics [half mark if more than one]
13. No lateral obstruents
14. One phonemic rhotic [half mark if more than one, or if there is a phonemic lateral not distinguished from a rhotic at the same POA]
15. 5-7 POAs [half mark if at least 4 POAs]
16. No systematic double-articulation (i.e. double-articulation limited to a few 'random' phonemes, not a cohesive pattern)
17. No systematic secondary articulation at more than one POA [half mark if there is systematic palatal secondary articulation]
18. Absence of any phonemic phonation distinction other than voicing
19. No clicks, ejectives, or ingressive consonants of any kind [half mark if one of these categories occurs not as a series]
20. 7 or more vowel qualities [half mark for 5 or more]
21. Three or more diphthongs
22. No non-low back unrounded vowels [half mark if no high back unrounded vowels]
23. One front rounded vowel.
24. Two or more front rounded vowels
25. No vowel harmony
26. Vowels distinguished solely by height, frontness, roundedness and length. (i.e. no voice distinctions, rhotic vowels, ATR, nasal vowels, etc) [half mark for nasal vowels not occuring at all vowel qualities]
27. More than three degrees of vowel height [half mark for three degrees]
28. Phonemic stress [half mark for fixed initial stress]
29. No phonemic tone [half mark for pitch-accent or two-tone languages]
30. Syllables without onset consonants allowed
31. CVL syllables allowed (L = lateral or rhotic)
32. CVN syllables allowed (N = nasal)
33. CVS syllables allowed (S = stop)
34. CVCC syllables allowed
35. CVCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCF [half mark if CVCCCC syllables not allowed other than CVCCCF]
36. CLV syllables allowed
37. FCV syllables allowed (F = fricative), where C is not a glide or a liquid. [but only half mark if C cannot be a member of a particular series (eg nasal, voiced, ejective, fricative etc) or POA.
38. CCCV syllables allowed
39. SSV or CSSV or SSCV syllables not allowed (not including geminates)
40. CCNV syllables not allowed
41. SNV syllables not allowed
42. Syllabic consonants only in word-final (not including compounds!) position (includes no syllabic consonants)
43. All words must include at least one vowel [half mark if all content-words include at least one vowel]
44. (At least some) affricates treated as phonemes
45. If an MOA exists or an MOA/phonation combination, it exists at a coronal POA (not including approximants)
46. No more than four POAs for stops (affricates not counted) [half mark for five, or counting affricates]
47. No initial nasal other than /m/ or /n/ (half mark if other initial nasals but not initial velar or uvular nasal)
48. No phonemic distinction of consonant length, or gemination, except across morpheme boundaries
49. No more than two series of fricatives
50. 9 or more vowel qualities AND no vowel harmony
51. No velar (or uvular, etc) nasals at all
52. Words can end in any consonant [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
53. Words can end in any vowel [half mark if 1-2 exceptions found]
54. More phonemes at a single coronal POA than at any other single POA

The following special questions are each worth 5 marks (in addition to any they may have gained in the above):

1. No initial velar nasal
2. No tone system with more than two tones
3. Syllables of both CCV and CVC form appear (not necessarily for all C), where all Cs can be non-glides [2.5 marks if this is true but some Cs must be glides]
4. At least 10 vowels in total (including phonemic diphthongs, length, quality, and syllable-specific tone, not including anything suprasegmental)
5. No non-pulmonic consonants
6. No phonation disticntions other than voiced/voiceless
7. Phonemic voice distinction [2.5 marks if it is only one aspect of a distinction]
8. Fricatives and affricates, added together, outnumber plain non-nasal stops [2.5 marks if fricatives, affricates, liquids and glides together outnumber (nasals + stops), OR if the fricatives+affricates EQUALS non-nasal stops]
9. Ignoring stops and nasals: more fricatives than non-fricative consonants [2.5 marks if equal]

It would appear that Middle Deevie is 77% SAE, phonology wise. Hmm. That's actually a bit lower than I was expecting after reading the OP (yes, five months later). Anywhom, quite a fun exercise.

[Chagen]

Anyways, the tendency for beginners to borrow from their native language, combined with the fact that most of our native languages are European, means that European features are inevitably associated with the conlangs of beginners, in phonology, yes, but particulary in morphosyntax. The more you read about languages and linguistics, the more you learn about the immense diversity in human language and just how different they can be from the languages your more familiar with, and so more developed conlangs are expected to explore a wider variety of features that extend beyond your typical nominative-accusative SAE look-alike.

What's preventing a lang from having an SAE inventory, but non-SAE grammar?

See the Föro lang I'm working on above? Phonologically, it's 90% SAE.

It also features optional obiect prefixing, a "quadpartite" system (Nominative, Accusative, Absolutive, and Dative), 4+ aspects, 10+ moods, 15+ cases, relative clauses that go BEFORE the man NP, and other things.

Point is, SAE in phonology != SAE in EVERYTHING.

[Sevly]

What's preventing a lang from having an SAE inventory, but non-SAE grammar?

Nothing is preventing it. I thought I just said that this was the case for one of my own conlangs, and their are plenty of other examples in this thread of interesting, a priori conlangs which score high on Sal's SAE phonology test, including your own. What I was addressing is your supposed dumfoundedness over why anyone, anyone on earth, would dislike SAE phonologies. Compare the following two scenarios.

1. You see a phonology with dental fricatives and several phonemic affricates. The language has a syllable structure (C)(C)(C)V(V)(C)(C)(C) and distinguishes one trill/flap/approximant from one lateral.
2. You see a language whith velar-uvular contrast, phonemic tone, and a strict CV syllable structure. The language has vowel and tone harmony and allows both velar and uvular nasals to occur word-initially.

Which, pray tell, do you think is more likely to be full of calques from the conlanger's native language. Hmm? So let's not act like the preference that many conlangers have for non-european phonologies is driven by some nonsensical association like [SAE phonology ≡ Neo-nazi + White Supremicist].

[Nortaneous]

There's nothing inherently wrong with European-looking phonologies. Hell, European-based inventories don't even have to be SAE; it's possible to have a lang with African-style vowel harmony and pharyngeals that's still European. (Ever heard of Galician?) Or one with seven POAs and initial velar nasals and nasal+stop clusters (Albanian), or one with a tone/register system (Latvian), etc.

The thing is, a lot of people make basically the same phonology over and over because they don't know any better, and that phonology is SAE as all hell.

If you know what you're doing, do whatever, but if you don't, learn.

[Tropylium]

So I tested a few natlangs and Haida comes at about 30% SAE, which seems like a record.