User:Chrysophylax/merrish

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Merrish
Mbhath her Maer
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|[[mwaθ χeɾ maːeɾ]]]]
Created byChrysophylax
SettingArdam
Isolate
  • Merrish
Language codes
ISO 639-3qmw

Background

Phonology

Segments

Consonants

Chrysophylax/merrish has 18 consonants. A significant portion are fricatives.

bilabial labiodental dental (post)alveolar velar uvular
nasal m n
stops t d ⟨c⟩ k g ⟨k⟩ q
fricatives f v ⟨th⟩ θ ⟨dh⟩ ð ⟨z⟩ s̺ˡ ⟨s⟩ ʃ ⟨ch⟩ x ⟨h⟩ χ
tap ⟨r⟩ ɾ
approximant ⟨bh⟩ w

The approximant /w/ is realised as [u] in positions where a consonant would be forbidden. Clusters are forbidden in the coda and thus in words such as 'mabhr' /mawɾ/ /w/ surfaces as [mauɾ]. Compare with mbhath /mwaθ/ where /w/ remains a consonant.

Vowels

Chrysophylax/merrish has, in the traditional analysis, a phonemically vertical three-vowel system. There is no length distinction. Phonetically, the low vowel a can be realised as a back, semi-rounded vowel [ɑʷ] before uvular consonants or as an (occasionally long) [æ] before a historical /j/ (written ⟨gh⟩ in the orthography).

Some have argued one should count another vowel phoneme æ on the basis of minimal pairs such as mbha [mwa] and mbhagh [mwæː]. Traditionally, however, consensus has been that in light of its restricted appearance (only appearing before historical /j/, does not appear in CVC syllables) and metrical patterning (CV syllables with *æ count as heavy syllables unlike those with an /a i u/), æ is at most a marginal, emerging phoneme and better viewed as an allophone of /a/.

Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
i


e



a
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open

Chrysophylax/merrish has three falling diphthongs ⟨egh⟩ /ei/, ⟨abh⟩ /au/, ⟨ae⟩ /ae/ which may be pronounced with the first element slightly lengthened, e.g. /maeɾ/ [maːeɾ].

Syllables

The Merrish syllable can assume the following forms: V, VC, CV, CVC. In addition to this, an approximant G can flank the nucleus on either or both sides. The syllable is maximally CGVGC e.g. fbhabhr /fwawr/ [fwaur] ('forest'). In the case of an underlying double glide syllable, the first approximant from the right is wholly vocalised. This process historically accounts for ⟨mbheghr⟩ becoming /mweir/.

Phonotactic restrictions

Onset

The phonemes /q/, /r/, /x/ do not occur in this position in the native lexicon.

Coda

/ʃ/ never appears in the coda.

Syllabic weight

A single vowel has the weight of one mora μ in an open syllable while a diphthong has two. All vowels in closed syllables count as two morae. Extraordinarily, syllables with the pseudophoneme æ always counts as two morae.

Phonological word

The phonological word must at its minimum consist of two morae.

Stress

Morphology

Word classes

Inflection

Derivation

Syntax

Phrases

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Clauses

Transitive clauses

Intransitive clauses

Copula clauses

Sentence