Bright languages

Bright languages are constructed languages intended to be aesthetically pleasing, predictable, and stable in utterance.

Phonology

The bright version of Adamic has 3 vowels (4 with the diphthong) and 8 consonants, with the reason being that as a bright language strives to contain the most stable and distinct phonetic features, many possibilities are consciously deleted (mostly dorsal ones). For example, velar stops such as /k/ are problematic, as forms akin to /ku/ and /ki/ have the tendence to inevitably change to /kʷ/~/b/ or /kʲ/~/t͡ʃ/. Likewise, back vowels are totally erased, not only to contrast with dark tongues (which do not accept front vowels), but to avoid the sound change /du/ > /dʷ/~/b/.

	Coronal	Labial
Sonorant	l r	n m
Non-Sonorant	ʃ d	f b

The

	Front	Center
	i ɛ	a ae̯

Sound Laws

• Voicing [C̥VC̬VC̥]: due the influence of vocalic weight, consonants between vowels are voiced while initial and final consonants are voiceless
• Lenition/Dissimilation: due the displeasure of mimesis, if two bordering syllables/syllable portions possess the same consonant, the consonant of the weakest syllable (portion) disappears.
  

EX: Adamic vāl "person" and vār "people" become al and elvi respectively in the Bright Tongue [alf instead of *falf].

• Assimilation:
• Harmony: [a > e > i] or [i > e > a]
  
• Mutation: consonants extend grade until there is only one.
  

m/n + p -mb [extension of p]
m/n + t -nd [extension of t]
r/l + f -lb [extension of l]
r/l + c -rd [extension of r]
r/l + m = -lm [extension of m]
r/l + n = -rn [extension of n]

• /s/ and /d/ can only happen before /a/, and if the opposite were to happen, the nucleus would be dropped.

EX: The hypothetical iridin becomes eren

• Due the tendence of final consonants to be easily lost, only consonant clusters and sonorants are allowed as final codas. Also, final /m/ and /n/ disappear as the precedent vowel is nasalized.

/s/ > /h/ > /∅/ /d/ > /dʲ/ > /ʒ/ ni ere, ni irija

alba "people" [alf, elbi] arda "things" [arc, irida] alma "high faculties" [a, elmi] arna "emotions, sensations" [an, erni] amba "time" [amf, embi] anda "space" [anc, inida] - endar "land", arni "lands" embal "celestial body", ambeli...

o

NA > ni [0], nae [1] alba enir ni, pe, ae MA NA PA TA LA RA - ALBA ARDA AMBA ANDA ALMA ARNA

aia aio

nao aocar i

nua valár

ni erec alber

fla alf

• analytic
• one article
• no declension
• context and syntax play important role

ni arc alber ni erec alber =/= ni erec er alf ni irida alber

mi irida elbi

er alf, alber

er enc, endar

er ec, edar

mer endar

ird iru er

ni, mi ec, fe al, ar

mi irida ilmini ec

iridin

elbi

ci

alber

Adamic verb rā > ar arú > erec ārú > irida

ar ereC iriCV

nua sit, askút ni eren - ísit ārú ni irida ederen

sikt > ren hil > ...

L

ciren

nicae ec icae

anu/nua > ni ani/nia > nae ana/nā > na

Elbi irida ni indili = Ara avâla ana ahalâ

Ni irida ereden, ec cilma Tua hícal, rī askút

hil > ciren? -h-c-l- > indili hácal > andal

ni irida andal

erec & irida > -c-

ni, idae fe, ec ae, cae

fe erec > ec ae erec > icae

indili (v), andal (p)

ciren (n), ederen (v) cilba (n), indili (v)

-s-k-t- > ciren, cirendë h/q > n s/z > c k/g > r - t/d > nd h/q> z > g > l d > mb

Canon Sound Changes:

/g/ > /z/ when next to /i/ Ex: gīg > zīl "giant"

/g/ > /Q/ when next to /u/ Ex:

/k/ > /s/ when next to /i/ Ex: saíkat > sesal

/k/ > /h/ when next to /u/ Ex: kun > hul "dog"

/t/ > /ts/ when next to /i/ Ex: daítas > ecal

/t/ > /l/ when next to /u/ Ex: tu > lu

/d/ > /ʔ/ when next to /i/ Ex: dîts > īl

/d/ > /r/ when nex to /u/ Ex: dûts > rūl

/p/ > /f/ when next to /u/ Ex:

/p/ > /n/ when next to /i/ Ex:

/b/ > /v/ when next to /u/ Ex: bûl > vūl

/b/ > /m/ when next to /i/ Ex: bîbl > mīl

datasyú > datasyl, daítas > ecal

avâla > vāl

sēqur

Morphology

The Bright Tongue is mostly composed of stems, which modify roots.

ni irida eren...

From one root, many stems are forged

ncl > ner (*nendir), cilba, arnic, nalbi (*nadelbi)...

ALMA > ELEME eldar (alba-endar) erbal (arda-elbar) arbelë ilben, ilbini eleben, af lef, felin ilmen, ilmini elemen, am lem, melin

irdem, irdimi eredem, erc rec, cerin