Hlou-Shum languages

Hlou-Shum languages /ˈɮɛtʃən/ (Hlou-Shum languages: baeyghnae Aetjeon /ˈpɛjɣnɛ ˈɛtʃʰən/) is a Naquic language inspired by Praimhín's Rencadian (abandoned by the author). It is a modern descendant of Naquian.

Numbers 1-12: baev, diho, natj-L, tqov, dzaweo, bael-L, oth, loseoth, bas-L, gaeyo, dav, dadheo-L (multiples of 3 lenite the following noun!)

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Lateral	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m /m/	n /n/				ng /ŋ/
Stop/Affricate	tenuis	b /p/	d /t/	dz /ts/	dx /tɬ/	dj /tʃ/	g /k/
	aspirated	p /pʰ/	t /tʰ/	ts /tsʰ/	tq /tɬʰ/	tj /tʃʰ/	c /kʰ/
Fricative	voiceless	f /f/	th /θ/	s /s/	q /ɬ/	sj /ʃ/	ch /x/	h /h/
	voiced	v /v/	dh /ð/	z /z/	x /ɮ/	zj /ʒ/	gh /ɣ/
Approximant					l /ɫ/	y /j/	w /w/

Notes

• In casual speech, the unaspirated stops and affricates /p t ts tɬ tʃ k/ are voiced intervocalically to [b d dz dɮ dʒ ɡ].
• Since Hlou-Shum languages has no /r/, foreign /r/ is borrowed as /ɫ/.

Vowels

Hlou-Shum languages vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i /ɪ/	eu /ɨ/	u /ʊ/
Mid	ae /ɛ/	eo /ə/	o /ɔ/
Open		a /a/

Lenition

Normal	p	t	ts	s	tq	q	tj	sj	c	b	d	dz	z	dx	x	dj	zj	g
Lenited	f	th	s	h	q	h	sj	h	ch	v	dh	z	0	x	0	zj	0	gh

Normal	m	n	ng	w	l	y
Lenited	w	n	ng	w	w	y

Prosody

Stress

In native words stress is on the first syllable, not counting prefixes. In loans, stress falls on the same syllable as in the source language.

Morphology

Nouns

Case

Xaetjeon nouns have only two cases, nominative and vocative. The vocative is formed by leniting the noun.

Number

Plural nouns are marked with a prefix dxa-L.

Definiteness

Definite nouns are marked with a suffix -nae.

Adjectives

Adjectives following feminine nouns (actually, nouns that ended in a vowel in Naquian) lenite.

Verbs

Synthetic verbs are not used, but a construction based on the copula + verbal noun construction.

Inflection of the copula

Present tense
	Singular	Plural
1.ex	lon	lowae
1.in	-	lod
2	lo	lob
3	loz	lox

Past tense
	Singular	Plural
1.ex	laen	laewo
1.in	-	laedo
2	lae	laebo
3	laez	laex

Future tense
	Singular	Plural
1.ex	chin	chiwae
1.in	-	chid
2	chi	chib
3	chiz	chix