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===Introduction===


Thulean is the sole surviving member of the Insular branch of the Hercynian language family. It has an estimated 33 million speakers. The language is agglutinative and polysynthetic with an active-stative morphosyntax of the fluid-S subtype. It is written using the Latin alphabet as is universal amongst Western European languages.


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===Phonology===


This is a short reminder of the language format policy.
A) PHONEME INVENTORY


I. Write a short piece stating your intents and purposes when creating the language (Design goal, inspiration, ideas, and so on).
1) CONSONANTS
II. Write a short introduction to your language. (Who speaks it? When was it created? By whom? or what? are some example questions that can be answered here)
III. Once done, try making sure everything is properly spelt so as to avoid unnecessary reader fatigue.


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NASAL:


==Introduction==
-fortis: /mb, nd, Ng/


Thulean (endonym: Migkatsi) is spoken by the Selhar people of Thule (endonym: Telku) an island in the North Atlantic, west of Scotland and north of Ireland. The Selhar are a nation of thurses (AKA European pygmies) noted for their neoteny, androgyny and distinctive striped epidermises. Thulean has approximately 30 million native speakers. The language is agglutinative and polysynthetic with a split intransitive fluid-S morphosyntax. It is a language isolate and has not been proven to be related to any other languages even those of other thurse groups on the European mainland.
-lenis: /m, n, N/


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LIQUID:


<!-- ***Phonology*** -->
-fortis: /rd, ld/
<!-- What sounds does your language use? -->
<!-- Here are some example sub-/other categories:


Vowel inventory
-lenis: /r, l/
Consonant inventory
Syllable structure
Stress
Intonation


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PLOSIVE:


==Phonology==
-fortis: /pp, tt, kk/
===Orthography===
Thulean is written with the Thulean alphabet. The Thulean government endorses a romanised orthography for the purpose of transliterating Thulean proper names in foreign media. This is also increasingly used in foreign scholarly works on the language. This orthography is as follows:


"a" = /A/
-lenis: /p, t, k/


"e" = /E/
FRICATIVE:


"g" = /N/
-fortis: /ss, xx/
 
-lenis: /s, x/
 
APPROXIMANT: /v, D, j/
 
2) VOWELS
 
a) MONOPHTHONGS: /i, u, a/
 
b) DIPHTHONGS: /@U, OI, aI, aU/
 
B) ALLOPHONES
 
1) /N/ is realised as [g] in word-initial position and in onset position following a coda consonant.
 
2) All fortis obstruents are realised as lenis plosives in intervocalic position.
 
3) All lenis plosives and /s/ are voiced in intervocalic position.
 
4) /x/ is realised as [Z] in intervocalic position.
 
5) /D/ is realised as [T] in word-final position.
 
6) /i, u/ are realised as [E, O] when preceding a liquid coda or fortis liquid.
 
7) /i, u/ are reslised as [E, O] when adjacent to /v, j/.
 
C) ORTHOGRAPHY
 
"a" = /a/


"h" = /M\/
"ai" = /aI/


"i" = /i/
"au" = /aU/


"j" = /j/
"g" = /N/


"k" = /k/
"gg" = /Ng/


"l" = /l/
"h" = /x/


"m" = /m/
"hh" = /xx/


"n" = /n/
"i" = /i/


"p" = /p/
"iu" = /@U/


"q" = /K/
"j" = /j/


"r" = /r/
"k" = /k/


"s" = /s/
"kk" = /kk/


"t" = /t/
"l" = /l/


"u" = /u/
"ll" = /ld/


"v" = /w/
"m" = /m/


"x" = /x/
"mm" = /mb/


===Consonants===
"n" = /n/
NASAL: /m, n, N/


PLOSIVE: /p, t, k/
"nn" = /nd/


FRICATIVE: /s, K, x/
"p" = /p/


LIQUID: /r, l/
"pp" = /pp/


APPROXIMANT: /j, M\, w/
"q" = /D/


===Vowels===
"r" = /r/
HIGH: /i, u/


LOW: /E, A/
"rr" = /rd/


===Allophones===
"s" = /s/
1) /N/ is realised as [g] in word-initial position and in onset position following a coda consonant.


2) Plosives are aspirated in word-initial position.
"ss" = /ss/


3) /p, t, k, s/ are voiced in intervocalic position.
"t" = /t/


4) /K/ is realised as [T] in coda position and in onset position following a coda consonant.
"tt" = /tt/


5) /K/ is realised as [D] in intervocalic position.
"u" = /u/


6) /x/ is realised as [S] in coda position.
"ui" = /OI/


7) /x/ is realised as [Z] in intervocalic position.
"v" = /v/


8) The geminate clusters /mm, nn, NN, rr, ll/ are realised as [mb, nd, Ng, rd, ld].
Historical note: /D/ was originally written with "þ". However, when printing was introduced to Thule, no type was available for that letter so "q" was substituted instead.


9) The geminate clusters /pp, tt, kk, ss, KK, xx/ are realised as [p, t, k, s, K, x].
The spelling of Thulean is generally phonemic except that the effects of consonant gradation and sandhi are indicated.


10) The onset cluster /Nj/ is realised as [dZ] in word-initial position and in onset position following a coda consonant.
D) PROSODY


11) The onset clusters /tr, tl/ are realised as [ts`, tK].
Thulean has fixed initial primary stress. Secondary stress falls on every alternate syllable following the primary stress. Rhythm type is trochaic.


12) The onset clusters /kj, kM\, kw/ are realised as [tS, kx, kW].
E) PHONOTACTICS


===Prosody===
1) The syllable template is (C)V(C).
====Stress====
Thulean has stress accent. Primary stress falls within the root. Open syllables are light, closed syllables are heavy. Syllable onset clusters do not close the preceding syllable. If the first syllable of a root is heavy then the primary stress falls there otherwise it falls upon the second syllable of the root.


====Intonation====
2) Consonant clusters only occur at syllable boundaries.
Secondary stress falls upon every alternate syllable after the primary stress. This gives Thulean a broadly iambic rhythm. Thulean does not have phonemic tone.


===Phonotactics===
3) Permitted consonant clusters:
<!-- Explain the consonant clusters and vowel clusters that are permissible for use in the language. For example, "st" is an allowed consonant cluster in English while onset "ng" isn't. -->
1) The maximal syllable in Thulean is CCVC.


2) Permitted syllable codas:
a) /m/ + /p/


a) Word-medial only: /N, p/
b) /n/ + /t, s/


b) Word-medial and word-final: /m, n, t, k, s, K, x, r, l/
c) /N/ + /k, x/


3) Consonant clusters may have no more than two segments.
d) /r/ + /m, N, p, t, k, s, x, v, j/


4) Consonant clusters may not occur in morpheme-final position.
e) /l/ + /m, N, p, t, k, s, x, v, j/


5) Permitted syllable onset clusters: /Nj, NM\, Nw, tr, tl, kj, kM\, kw/. These consonant clusters are the only ones permitted to occur in prefix-initial or root-initial position.
f) /p, t, k/ + /s/


6) Permitted syllable boundary clusters:
g) /s/ + /p, t, k/


a) /m/ + /m, p/
4) Permitted word-final codas: /m, n, t, k, s, D/


b) /n/ + /n, t, s, K/
5) Vowels in hiatus do not occur.


c) /N/ + /N, k, x/
6) Diphthongs may not occur in a closed syllable, before a fortis consonant or before /P, j/.


d) /p/ + /p, s/
F) SANDHI


e) /t/ + /t, s/
1) Sandhi occurs at morpheme boundaries as a result of suffixation.


f) /k/ + /k, s/
2) The resulting sandhi transformations are as follows:


g) /s/ + /p, t, k, s/
a) /m, n, N/ + /m, n, N/ > [mb, nd, Ng]


h) /K/ + /p, t, k, K/
b) /m, n, N/ + /r/ > [rd, rd, rd]


i) /x/ + /p, t, k, x/
c) /m, n, N/ + /l/ > [ld, ld, ld]


j) /r/ + /m, n, N, p, t, k, s, K, x, r, j, M\, w/
d) /m, n, N/ + /v, D, j/ > [mb, nd, Ng]


k) /l/ + /m, n, N, p, t, k, s, K, x, l, j, M\, w/
e) /m, N/ + /t, s/ > [nt, ns]


7) Geminate plosive clusters may not occur before a closed syllable.
f) /m, n/ + /k, x/ > [Nk, Nx]


8) All roots are disyllabic.
g) /n, N/ + /p/ > [mp]


9) All suffixes must begin with either a single consonant, a syllable onset cluster or a syllable boundary cluster.
h) /r, l/ + /n/ > [nd]


10) Vowel clusters or diphthongs do not occur.
i) /r, l/ + /r, l/ > [rd, ld]


11) High vowels may not occur before a liquid onset.
j) /r, l/ + /D/ > [rd, ld]


===Morphophonology===
k) /p, t, k/ + /p, t, k/ > [pp, tt, kk]
===Consonant Gradation===


1) If a syllable should be closed by suffixation and should it begin with a geminate plosive or a single plosive following a nasal, a liquid or a vowel then those plosives undergo lenition. This is usually referred to as consonant gradation.
l) /p, t, k, s/ + /v/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]


2) The sequences of consonant gradation are as follows:
m) /p, t, k, s/ + /D/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]


a) pp > p > w
n) /p, t, k, s/ + /j/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]


b) tt > t > r
G) CONSONANT GRADATION


c) kk > k > M\
1) This process affects fortis consonants and lenis plosives following a nasal, liquid or vowel.


d) mp > mm
2) It is triggered if the consonants in question form the onset of a closed syllable due to suffixation.


e) nt > nn
3) The gradation sequences are as follows:


f) Nk > NN
a) /mp/ > /mb/ > /m/


g) rp > rw
b) /nt/ > /nd/ > /n/


h) rt > rr
c) /Nk/ > /Ng/ > /N/


i) rk > rM\
d) /rp/ > /rP/


j) lp > lw
e) /rt/ > /rd/ > /r/


k) lt > ll
f) /rk/ > /rj/


l) lk > lM\
g) /lp/ > /lP/


===Sandhi===
h) /lt/ > /ld/ > /ll/


==Morphology==
i) /lk/ > /lj/
<!-- How do the words in your language look? How do you derive words from others? Do you have cases? Are verbs inflected? Do nouns differ from adjectives? Do adjectives differ from verbs? Etc. -->


<!-- Here are some example subcategories:
j) /pp/ > /p/ > /P/


Nouns
k) /tt/ > /t/ > /D/
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
Particles
Derivational morphology


-->
l) /kk/ > /k/ > /j/


==Syntax==
m) /ss/ > /s/
===Constituent order===
===Noun phrase===
===Verb phrase===
===Sentence phrase===
===Dependent clauses===
<!-- etc. etc. -->


==Example texts==
n) /xx/ > /x/
==Other resources==
<!-- Example: Word order, qualifiers, determinatives, branching, etc. -->


<!-- Template area -->




[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Sketchlangs]]
[[Category:Languages]]

Latest revision as of 14:07, 6 June 2017

Introduction

Thulean is the sole surviving member of the Insular branch of the Hercynian language family. It has an estimated 33 million speakers. The language is agglutinative and polysynthetic with an active-stative morphosyntax of the fluid-S subtype. It is written using the Latin alphabet as is universal amongst Western European languages.

Phonology

A) PHONEME INVENTORY

1) CONSONANTS

NASAL:

-fortis: /mb, nd, Ng/

-lenis: /m, n, N/

LIQUID:

-fortis: /rd, ld/

-lenis: /r, l/

PLOSIVE:

-fortis: /pp, tt, kk/

-lenis: /p, t, k/

FRICATIVE:

-fortis: /ss, xx/

-lenis: /s, x/

APPROXIMANT: /v, D, j/

2) VOWELS

a) MONOPHTHONGS: /i, u, a/

b) DIPHTHONGS: /@U, OI, aI, aU/

B) ALLOPHONES

1) /N/ is realised as [g] in word-initial position and in onset position following a coda consonant.

2) All fortis obstruents are realised as lenis plosives in intervocalic position.

3) All lenis plosives and /s/ are voiced in intervocalic position.

4) /x/ is realised as [Z] in intervocalic position.

5) /D/ is realised as [T] in word-final position.

6) /i, u/ are realised as [E, O] when preceding a liquid coda or fortis liquid.

7) /i, u/ are reslised as [E, O] when adjacent to /v, j/.

C) ORTHOGRAPHY

"a" = /a/

"ai" = /aI/

"au" = /aU/

"g" = /N/

"gg" = /Ng/

"h" = /x/

"hh" = /xx/

"i" = /i/

"iu" = /@U/

"j" = /j/

"k" = /k/

"kk" = /kk/

"l" = /l/

"ll" = /ld/

"m" = /m/

"mm" = /mb/

"n" = /n/

"nn" = /nd/

"p" = /p/

"pp" = /pp/

"q" = /D/

"r" = /r/

"rr" = /rd/

"s" = /s/

"ss" = /ss/

"t" = /t/

"tt" = /tt/

"u" = /u/

"ui" = /OI/

"v" = /v/

Historical note: /D/ was originally written with "þ". However, when printing was introduced to Thule, no type was available for that letter so "q" was substituted instead.

The spelling of Thulean is generally phonemic except that the effects of consonant gradation and sandhi are indicated.

D) PROSODY

Thulean has fixed initial primary stress. Secondary stress falls on every alternate syllable following the primary stress. Rhythm type is trochaic.

E) PHONOTACTICS

1) The syllable template is (C)V(C).

2) Consonant clusters only occur at syllable boundaries.

3) Permitted consonant clusters:

a) /m/ + /p/

b) /n/ + /t, s/

c) /N/ + /k, x/

d) /r/ + /m, N, p, t, k, s, x, v, j/

e) /l/ + /m, N, p, t, k, s, x, v, j/

f) /p, t, k/ + /s/

g) /s/ + /p, t, k/

4) Permitted word-final codas: /m, n, t, k, s, D/

5) Vowels in hiatus do not occur.

6) Diphthongs may not occur in a closed syllable, before a fortis consonant or before /P, j/.

F) SANDHI

1) Sandhi occurs at morpheme boundaries as a result of suffixation.

2) The resulting sandhi transformations are as follows:

a) /m, n, N/ + /m, n, N/ > [mb, nd, Ng]

b) /m, n, N/ + /r/ > [rd, rd, rd]

c) /m, n, N/ + /l/ > [ld, ld, ld]

d) /m, n, N/ + /v, D, j/ > [mb, nd, Ng]

e) /m, N/ + /t, s/ > [nt, ns]

f) /m, n/ + /k, x/ > [Nk, Nx]

g) /n, N/ + /p/ > [mp]

h) /r, l/ + /n/ > [nd]

i) /r, l/ + /r, l/ > [rd, ld]

j) /r, l/ + /D/ > [rd, ld]

k) /p, t, k/ + /p, t, k/ > [pp, tt, kk]

l) /p, t, k, s/ + /v/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]

m) /p, t, k, s/ + /D/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]

n) /p, t, k, s/ + /j/ > [ps, ts, ks, ss]

G) CONSONANT GRADATION

1) This process affects fortis consonants and lenis plosives following a nasal, liquid or vowel.

2) It is triggered if the consonants in question form the onset of a closed syllable due to suffixation.

3) The gradation sequences are as follows:

a) /mp/ > /mb/ > /m/

b) /nt/ > /nd/ > /n/

c) /Nk/ > /Ng/ > /N/

d) /rp/ > /rP/

e) /rt/ > /rd/ > /r/

f) /rk/ > /rj/

g) /lp/ > /lP/

h) /lt/ > /ld/ > /ll/

i) /lk/ > /lj/

j) /pp/ > /p/ > /P/

k) /tt/ > /t/ > /D/

l) /kk/ > /k/ > /j/

m) /ss/ > /s/

n) /xx/ > /x/

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