Jakvalat

Introduction

Goals

To create an aesthetically pleasing, yet easily pronounceable, language for the setting of a habitable alternative Venus.

Setting

The setting is a Venus with a thinner crust which enables convection of heat within the planet's core and, despite Venus' slower rotation, the subsequent generation of a magnetic field sufficient to prevent the loss of the planet's oceans.

Common Venerian (ComVen: Nakhwa Lhulidiyalnu, informally just Nakhwa) is the predominant lingua franca spoken on Venus (ComVen: Lhinla). It originated from the environs of the mercantile city of Lhulidiyal on the continent of Yekhaldanwith.

Inspirations

The phonology takes inspiration from that of Suzette Haden Elgin's conlang, Láadan, in that the primary opposition in obstruents is voiced plosives vs voiceless fricatives.

Phonology

Orthography

Native Script	Practical Orthography	IPA
⟨o⟩	⟨p⟩	/p/
⟨ɵ⟩	⟨ph⟩	/f/
⟨c⟩	⟨b⟩	/b/
⟨ɔ⟩	⟨m⟩	/m/
⟨s⟩	⟨w⟩	/w/
⟨v⟩	⟨t⟩	/t/
⟨ʌ⟩	⟨th⟩	/θ/
⟨w⟩	⟨d⟩	/d/
⟨ʍ⟩	⟨n⟩	/n/
⟨x⟩	⟨s⟩	/s/
⟨ɴ⟩	⟨r⟩	/ɹ/
⟨ɛ⟩	⟨x⟩	/ɬ/
⟨ɜ⟩	⟨l⟩	/l/
⟨n⟩	⟨k⟩	/k/
⟨u⟩	⟨kh⟩	/x/
⟨m⟩	⟨ɡ⟩	/ɡ/
⟨ɯ⟩	⟨q⟩	/ŋ/
⟨ʜ⟩	⟨y⟩	/j/
⟨z⟩	⟨h⟩	/h/

	Labial	Central Coronal	Lateral Coronal	Dorsal
Plosive
-voiceless	/p/	/t/		/k/
-voiced	/b/	/d/		/ɡ/
Fricative
-sibilant		/s/	/ɬ/
-spirant	/f/	/θ/		/x/
-aspirate					/h/
Sonorant
-nasal	/m/	/n/		/ŋ/
-lateral			/l/
Approximant
-rhotic		/ɹ/
-semivowel	/w/			/j/