Ucrean
Phonology
Consonants
| Dentolabial[note 1] | Linguolabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Guttural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lateral | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | (ɲ) | ŋ | ||||
| Stop | lenis | b | ȸ | d | ɡ | (ʔ) | ||
| voiceless | p | ȹ | t | k | q | |||
| ejective | pʰʼ | ȹʼ | tʼ | kʼ | qʼ | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | t͡s | t͡ɬ | t͡ɕ | ||||
| ejective | t͡sʼ | t͡ɬʼ | t͡ɕʼ | |||||
| Fricative | voiced | v͆ | ð̼ | z | ɮ | ʑ | ʁ | |
| voiceless | f͆ | θ̼ | s | ɬ | ɕ | x | χ~ʜ | |
| Approximant | ʋ͆~w | r | ɫ | j | h | |||
| Click | ʘ | ǃ | ǁ | |||||
- ^ Due to the mandibular prognathism of orcs, labiodental consonants typical of human speech are needlessly difficult to produce on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the dentolabials do not phonemically contrast with labiodentals and may be substituted in human speech as necessary.
Vowels
There are two main schools of thought about Ucrean's underlying vowel inventory:
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | |||
| Close | i | (ø~y) | (ə) | u |
| Open | ɛ~ɨ | a | (o) | |
The first (detailed above) supposes Ucrean has a fairly standard system of 4-6 oral vowels and 4-6 syllabic consonants (in some analyses sequences of Cə or əC), being /r̩, n̩, r̩ʲ, ɲ̩/, and sometimes /ɫ̩~o & ʎ̩~ɥ̩~ø/, with the diphthongs /ɛa/ [ɨæ] and /øa/ [yæ]. This system is often regarded as the most useful when analyzing the phonology of modern Ucrean, specifically the vocalic realizations in practice.
| Short | Long | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | ɛ̆~ʲə | ɨ~ɛ |
| Open | ă~ə | a |
The second (also above), on the other hand, supposes Ucrean has a vertical vowel system with length distinctions more typical of Caucasian or (by some analyses) Chinese languages, with the syllabic consonants being either underlying sequences of Cə, əC, Cʲə, and ɛ̆C or (less popularly) simply zero-grade, recognizing /i, u, & o/ as vocalic /j, ʋ͆, & ɫ/ respectively. This system is more supported historically & etymologically, given that the palatal alveolars rarely if ever occur outside of preceding an /ɛ/ and as a vowel unto themselves, and do mutate between their plain & palatalized equivalents when stimulated by inflection of their roots.
Orthography
Ucrean is typically written in an abjad, one derived from the variety of Draconic script used to write Classical Netherese several centuries past. This writing system is not used excessively for recording, finding most application in runes, sigils, and tamgas, but nevertheless forms an important part of the cultural identity of the Ucrean orcs.
| Abjad | Romanization | IPA Sound | Letter Name | IPA Letter Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B b | /b/ | |||
| K k | /k/ | |||
| K' k' | /kʼ/ | |||
| C c | /t͡s/ | |||
| C' c' | /t͡sʼ/ | |||
| D d | /d/ | |||
| F f | /f/ | |||
| G g | /ɡ/ | |||
| H h | /h/ | |||
| H' h' | /χ~ʜ/ | |||
| Č č | /t͡ɕ/ | |||
| Č' č' | /t͡ɕʼ/ | |||
| L l | /ɫ/ | |||
| O o | /o/ | |||
| ǁ (#) | /ǁ/ | |||
| ƛ (7) | /t͡ɬ/ | |||
| ' ƛ' (7') | /t͡ɬʼ/ | |||
| Ł ł | /ɬ/ | |||
| M m | /m/ | |||
| N n | /n/ | |||
| Ŋ ŋ | /ŋ/ | |||
| Ɋ ɋ (0) | /ʘ/ | |||
| P p | /p/ | |||
| P' p' | /pʼ/ | |||
| (ʔ) | /ʔ/ | |||
| Q q | /q/ | |||
| Q' q' | /qʼ/ | |||
| R r | /r/ | |||
| S s | /s/ | |||
| Š š | /ɕ/ | |||
| T t | /t/ | |||
| T' t' | /tʼ/ | |||
| Þ þ | /θ̼/ | |||
| V v | /v/ | |||
| W w | /ʋ~w/ | |||
| U u | /u/ | |||
| X x | /x/ | |||
| Ƣ ƣ (Ğ ğ) | /ʁ/ | |||
| Y y | /j/ | |||
| I i | /i/ | |||
| Ɏ ɏ (Ð ð) | /ð̼/ | |||
| Z z | /z/ | |||
| Ž ž | /ʑ/ | |||
| Ľ ľ (5) | /ɮ/ | |||
| ȸ (8) | /ȸ/ | |||
| ȹ (@) | /ȹ/ | |||
| ȹ' (@') | /ȹʼ/ | |||
| ǃ (!) | /ǃ/ | |||
| — | A a | /a/ | — | — |
| E e | /ɛ~ɨ/ | |||
| Ø ø | /ø~y/ |