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

Accurate Elvish

• 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.

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

iru > eri > ere

ni, mi ec, fe al, ar

iru > eri > ere iru > eri > ere > irida /r/ > /rd/ e > i r > rVdV

anu/nua > ni ani/nia > ne ana/nā > na

Elbi irida ni indili = Ara avâla ana ahalâ

Ni irida eren, ec cilma Tua hícal, rī askút

iku [Adamic] > ihu (canon law) > *ehi (enlightment of vowels) > *ei (enlightment of consonants) > ae (enlightment of vowels)

/h/ > /∅/

ihu

ehi

ae

e

ni irida andal

ere & irida > -c-

Canon Sound Laws:

/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

syncope: middle unstressed syllable is lost (except if it has coda) EX: datasyú > dasyl

Apocape: last unstressed syllable is lost (except if it has coda) EX:

Aphaeresis: initial unstressed syllable is lost (except if it has coda) EX: avâla > vāl

• first unprotected vowel is lost

, daítas > ecal

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