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{{Infobox language | {{Infobox language | ||
|name=Láadan | |name=Láadan | ||
|creator= | |creator=Suzette Haden Elgin | ||
|created=1982 | |created=1982 | ||
|setting=experiment in | |setting=experiment in feminist [[linguistics]], and featured in Elgin's novel ''Native Tongue'' | ||
|familycolor=conlang | |familycolor=conlang | ||
|fam1=[[artistic language|artistic]] and [[philosophical language|philosophical]] language | |fam1=[[artistic language|artistic]] and [[philosophical language|philosophical]] language | ||
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=== Tones === | === Tones === | ||
Láadan is a [[ | Láadan is a [[tonal language]]. It utilises two distinct tones: | ||
* ''lo'' | * ''lo'' – {{IPA|/lō/}} or {{IPA|/lò/}}, a short, medium or low tone, represented by a single unmarked vowel | ||
* ''ló'' | * ''ló'' – {{IPA|/ló/}}, a short, high tone, represented by a single marked vowel | ||
The word "Láadan" has three syllables: "lá-" with the short vowel /a/ plus high tone; "-a" with the short vowel /a/ and no tone; and "-dan". | The word "Láadan" has three syllables: "lá-" with the short vowel /a/ plus high tone; "-a" with the short vowel /a/ and no tone; and "-dan". | ||
Láadan does not allow any double [i.e. long] phonemes. Whenever two identical short vowels would occur side by side in a single morpheme, one of them has to be marked for high tone. When adding an affix would result in two identical vowels side by side, an epenthetic /h/ is inserted to prevent the forbidden sequence. The language will allow either "máa" or "maá," but not "maa". These combinations can be described as: | Láadan does not allow any double [i.e. long] phonemes. Whenever two identical short vowels would occur side by side in a single morpheme, one of them has to be marked for high tone. When adding an affix would result in two identical vowels side by side, an epenthetic /h/ is inserted to prevent the forbidden sequence. The language will allow either "máa" or "maá," but not "maa". These combinations can be described as: | ||
* ''loó'' | * ''loó'' – {{IPA|/lǒː/}}, a long, low-rising tone, represented by a double vowel, the second of which is marked | ||
* ''lóo'' | * ''lóo'' – {{IPA|/lôː/}}, a long, high-falling tone, represented by a double vowel, the first of which is marked | ||
(Some people analyze these tone sequences as tonemic as well, for a total of four tones.) | (Some people analyze these tone sequences as tonemic as well, for a total of four tones.) | ||
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=== Vowels === | === Vowels === | ||
Láadan has five | Láadan has five vowels: | ||
* ''a'' | * ''a'' – {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, an [[w:open back unrounded vowel|open back unrounded vowel]] (as English ''calm''), | ||
* ''e'' | * ''e'' – {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, an [[w:open-mid front unrounded vowel|open-mid front unrounded vowel]] (as English ''bell''), | ||
* ''i'' | * ''i'' – {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, a [[w:near-close near-front unrounded vowel|near-close near-front unrounded vowel]] (as English ''bit''), | ||
* ''o'' | * ''o'' – {{IPA|/o/}}, a [[w:close-mid back rounded vowel|close-mid back rounded vowel]] (as English ''home''), | ||
* ''u'' | * ''u'' – {{IPA|/u/}}, a [[w:close back rounded vowel|close back rounded vowel]] (as English ''boon''). | ||
=== Consonants === | === Consonants === | ||
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|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| | ! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| | ||
! rowspan="2"| [[Labial consonant|Labial]] | ! rowspan="2"| [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]] | ||
! colspan="2"| [[Dental consonant|Dental]] /<br> [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] | ! colspan="2"| [[w:Dental consonant|Dental]] /<br> [[w:Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] | ||
! rowspan="2"| [[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]<br>/ [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]] | ! rowspan="2"| [[w:Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]<br>/ [[w:Palatal consonant|Palatal]] | ||
! rowspan="2"| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]] | ! rowspan="2"| [[w:Glottal consonant|Glottal]] | ||
|- style="font-size: x-small" | |- style="font-size: x-small" | ||
! [[Central consonant|Central]] | ! [[w:Central consonant|Central]] | ||
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] | ! [[w:Lateral consonant|Lateral]] | ||
|-align=center | |-align=center | ||
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]] | ! colspan="2" | [[w:Nasal consonant|Nasal]] | ||
| m {{IPA|/m/}} | | m {{IPA|/m/}} | ||
| n {{IPA|/n/}} | | n {{IPA|/n/}} | ||
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| | | | ||
|-align=center | |-align=center | ||
! colspan=2|[[Plosive consonant|Plosive]] | ! colspan=2|[[w:Plosive consonant|Plosive]] | ||
| b {{IPA|/b/}} | | b {{IPA|/b/}} | ||
| d {{IPA|/d/}} | | d {{IPA|/d/}} | ||
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| | | | ||
|-align=center | |-align=center | ||
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]] | ! rowspan="2" | [[w:Fricative consonant|Fricative]] | ||
! style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left" | voiceless | ! style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left" | voiceless | ||
| | | | ||
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| | | | ||
|-align=center | |-align=center | ||
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | ! colspan="2" | [[w:Approximant consonant|Approximant]] | ||
| w {{IPA|/w/}} | | w {{IPA|/w/}} | ||
|| r {{IPA|/ɹ/}} | || r {{IPA|/ɹ/}} | ||
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| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
Láadan lacks the | Láadan lacks the consonants {{IPA|/p, t, k, ɡ, s, z, f, v/}}. However, it uses ''b'', ''d'', ''sh'' ({{IPA|/ʃ/}}), ''m'', ''n'', ''l'', ''r'', ''w'', ''y'' ({{IPA|/j/}}), ''h'' with the same phonetic value as English. In addition to these, three digraphs require further explanation: | ||
* ''th'' | * ''th'' − {{IPA|/θ/}}, a [[w:voiceless dental fricative|voiceless dental fricative]] (always as in English ''think'', never as ''then''), | ||
* ''zh'' | * ''zh'' − {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, a [[w:voiced postalveolar fricative|voiced postalveolar fricative]] (as English ''plea'''s'''ure''), | ||
* ''lh'' | * ''lh'' − {{IPA|/ɬ/}}, a [[w:voiceless alveolar lateral fricative|voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] (as Welsh ''llan''). | ||
== Grammar == | == Grammar == | ||
Most Láadan sentences contain three | Most Láadan sentences contain three particles: | ||
* The ''speech-act'' particle | * The ''speech-act'' particle − this occurs at the beginning of the sentence and marks it as either a statement (''bíi''), a question (''báa''), ''et cetera''; in connected speech or writing, this particle is often omitted. They are: | ||
*; Bíi : Indicates a declarative sentence (usually optional) | *; Bíi : Indicates a declarative sentence (usually optional) | ||
*; Báa : Indicates a question | *; Báa : Indicates a question | ||
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*; Bé : Indicates a promise | *; Bé : Indicates a promise | ||
*; Bée : Indicates a warning | *; Bée : Indicates a warning | ||
* The [[grammatical tense]] particle | * The [[grammatical tense]] particle − this occurs second in the sentence and marks it as either [[present tense]] (''ril''), [[past tense]] (''eril''), [[future tense]] (''aril'') or hypothetical (''wil''); without the tense particle, the sentence is assumed to have the same tense as the previous sentence. | ||
* The [[evidentiality|evidence]] particle | * The [[evidentiality|evidence]] particle − this occurs at the end of statements and indicates the trustworthiness of the statement. They are: | ||
*; wa : Known to speaker because perceived by speaker, externally or internally | *; wa : Known to speaker because perceived by speaker, externally or internally | ||
*; wi : Known to speaker because self-evident | *; wi : Known to speaker because self-evident | ||
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=== Pronouns === | === Pronouns === | ||
Pronouns in Láadan are built up from a number of constituent parts. The consonant ''l'' marks the first person]], ''n'' the second person and ''b'' the third person. Usually, these are followed by the vowel ''e''. However, the vowel ''a'' is used to designate someone who is loved (''lhe-'' is prefixed to describe someone who is despised). The suffix ''-zh'' is used to mark a plural pronoun for numbers up to four, and ''-n'' for numbers beyond that. Therefore, ''lazh'' means "we, several beloved", and ''lheben'' means "they, many despised". | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
*[[ | *[[:Category:Engineered languages|Other Engineered languages]] | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
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== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
*Elgin, Suzette Haden, & Diane Martin. ''A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan''. Madison: | *Elgin, Suzette Haden, & Diane Martin. ''A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan''. Madison: Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1988. | ||
*Jones, Mari C. and Ishtla Singh, ''Exploring Language Change'': Routledge, 2005; pp. 169–182. | *Jones, Mari C. and Ishtla Singh, ''Exploring Language Change'': Routledge, 2005; pp. 169–182. | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
* [http://www.sfwa.org/members/elgin/Laadan.html Elgin's Láadan introduction] | * [http://www.sfwa.org/members/elgin/Laadan.html Elgin's Láadan introduction] | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150601013606/http://home.comcast.net/~amjbarnhart/ Láadan lessons] (moderately paced lessons in Láadan) | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150601013606/http://home.comcast.net/~amjbarnhart/ Láadan lessons] (moderately paced lessons in Láadan) | ||
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* [http://www.languagesandnumbers.com/how-to-count-in-laadan/en/ldn/ How to count in Láadan] | * [http://www.languagesandnumbers.com/how-to-count-in-laadan/en/ldn/ How to count in Láadan] | ||
{{ | {{pri}} | ||
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]] | [[Category:Agglutinative languages]] | ||
[[Category:Engineered languages]] | [[Category:Engineered languages]] | ||
[[Category:Fictional languages]] | [[Category:Fictional languages]] | ||
[[Category:Tonal languages]] | [[Category:Tonal languages]] |