Allas

Allas
Allas
Pronunciation	[ˈal(ː)as]
Created by	Ceige
Native to	Impor ð Tillas
Native speakers	10,000,000,000+ (500 JI)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Ingvaeonic Anglo-Frisian Anglic Commonwealth Anglic Allas
Dialect	Standard Allas (Tillørien Allas)
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Regulated by	Tillørien Byrø ð Lengyz Ys (TBLY)

Allas /ˈal(ː)as/ is one of the official and most widely spoken languages of the Tellurian (Terran, Earthen, Earthican) Empire. It is descended from Post-Modern English, having undergone a vowel shift quite reminiscent of the ones between Proto-Germanic and Modern English. Majority of these shifts first occurred in British Commonwealth, although some influence can be attributed to language change in the United States (before the growth of Yropion in that region), with notable examples including Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. In addition to the vowel shifts, some somewhat more sporadic or irregular consonant shifts and cluster simplifications occurred over time, combined with an evolution of the grammar system.

Background

Goals and Inspiration

Allas was an idea I wanted to explore for a long time, but never got around to, due to many distractions. It has the dual benefit of being easy to convert English phrases into, and feeling natural to me at the same time. In addition, I can flesh out a sort of dormant Sci-fi plot in my head with it. Ceige (talk) 13:23, 20 October 2013 (CEST)

The main sources of inspiration for Allas are the hints of a currently occuring vowel shift in English especially visible in the British Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand, combined with historical precedent in English language history.

In-Universe History

Allas was codified approximately in the year 400 JI (Jar ð Imprør). By this time, the English language had already undergone a series of local sound changes, and the codification helped bring order and stability to these to create a mutually recognisable and intelligible standard for the majority of Post-Modern English speakers. However, inspite of admirable efforts, the language had already fractured by this point in time, and in the year 500 JI, approximately 100 sublanguages exist on a spectrum between Modern English, Allas, and Yropion.

Allas is technically considered to be in a Sprachbund with Yropion, Syðian (Kestian), which represent the three main European derived languages of the Tellurian Empire - derived from English, General European and Castilian respectively. It is in physical contact with Syðian in Eastern Australia, Oceania and most of North America, and the same with Yropion in Africa, Europe and once again North America.

Outside of Earth though, its domination is much weaker, despite it still being widespread. Space colonisation has led to diverse cultures appearing, and as such, entire planets may be dominated by what is considered a minority (or dead) language on Earth.

Phonology

Letters	Pronunciation	Details
a	[a]	From Post Modern English [ɪ], [ʌ]. NZE, SAE [ɘ], [ɐ~ä]
æ	[ɛ~e~ɪ]	From PME [au], [ei]. NZE [æe̯], [æɔ̯]
b	[b]	-
ch, c	[c~t͡ʃ~ɕ~t͡s]	Normally from loans or from PME [k + æ, e, u: (i)]'
d	[d]	Undergoes various forms of lenition intervocalically in some dialects. Sometimes from PME [t].
e	[e~ɛ]	From PME [æ]. NZE [ɛ].
ei	[ɛi~ai]	From PME [i:]. NZE [ɘi̯], AUE [ɪi̯].
f	[f]	-
g	[g~ɣ]	Sometimes pronounced [ɣ] intervocalically.
h	[x~h~Ø]	Often dropped, although it varies from speaker to speaker.
i	[i~ɪ]	From PME [e]. NZE [e~ɪ]
j	[j]	Occasionally used where PME would use [lj].
l	[l]	-
m	[m]	-
n	[n]	-
o	[ɔ~o]	From PME [ai], [a:], [ɒ]. NZE [ɐe̯], [ɐː], [ɔ], SAE [ɐe̯] etc.
ø	[ɜ~ø]	From PME [oʊ], [ə~ɜ(r)]. AUE [əʉ̯~ɐʉ̯], [ɵː(ɹ)] NZE [ɑʉ̯], [ɵː(ɹ)].
øy	[øy]	From PME [oi].
p	[p]	-
r	[ɹ]	Rhotics normally not pronounced after vowels, but they do affect vowel quality with a slight [ə~a].
s	[s]	Sometimes from palatal fricatives and affricates in PME.
sh	[ʃ~ɕ~s]	-
t	[t]	-
u	[u~ʊ~ʉ]	From PME [ɔː], [ʊ]. ANZE [oː], [ʊ].
v	[v]	Often from PME [w]
w	[v~w]	Doesn't normally occur in contemporary Allas.
x	[ks~s]	Doesn't normally occur in contemporary Allas
y	[y~i~ʉ]	From PME [uː]. ANZE [ʉː].
z	[z~s]	From PME [z~s]. Sometimes devoiced finally.
z	[(d)ʒ~ʑ]	Normally only from loanwords or some exceptional cases.