Izhkut: Difference between revisions

| date = 256 BH

| fam4 = Pokht-Izhkut

| ancestor4 = Old Izhkut

| nation = Izhkutrëa, Minūrun Pokht, Ilyod

| minority = Ingdikh

Modern Izhkut is divided into two main dialect groups: [[#Mainland|Mainland]] and [[Colonial Izhkut|Colonial]]. Mainland dialects are spoken in Izhkutrëa proper, and historically were the basis of '''Standard Izhkut''', though modern Mainland dialects have mostly diverged from the Standard to varying degrees(even the least divergent dialects, such as those of Ubëes, have incorporated many slang words that are not recognised in Standard Izhkut). Colonial dialects are a diverse dialect continuum primarily spoken in the Izhkut Colonies(Standard Izhkut: ''Misogra''; Colonial Izhkut: ''Uesi''), characterised by a phonology and grammar distinct from Standard or Mainland Izhkut, as well as a vocabulary heavily influenced by languages indigenous to the Colonies and also great internal diversity; Colonial dialects themselves are generally divided into Bay Area(in and around the Gibios Bay) and Strait(around the Chepsëh strait) dialect continua that have their own distinct vocabulary and slang, if similar phonology and grammar.

Izhkut has a historical tendency of absorbing and often eventually replacing geographically nearby languages, a process called Izhkutifisation(Izhkut: ''Izhkutyomin''), due to its importance Birnu-wide. Historically, the victims of this process have often been closely philologically related to Izhkut itself; notable victims that are now extinct include the [[Ilyod]] language, the [[Izhkrilin]] language(of which little is attested), and the Yingid languages. Notable languages that are currently in the process of being Izhkutifised, but are still (however barely) extant, include [[Pokht]], [[Iskvish]] and to an extent [[Bay Islands Creole]]. Other languages have been described as entering the Izhkutifisation process at some point, but have since left it; most notably [[Ingdikh]], a language wholly unrelated from Izhkut spoken in the republic of the same name, was at one point almost entirely relegated to vernacular use in Izhkut-dominated Ingdikh society before rebounding after the Hlisgit Revolution and its official endorsement as the sole official language of the revolutionary Republic of Ingdikh.

| ua̯ || uɪ̯ || - || uɔ̯̯ || uɨ̯ || uɛ̯

Though /eɛ̯/ and /ɛɨ̯/ don't occur in any dialect, some older, primarily Pokht-derived placenames still orthographically retain these diphthongs, e.g. the city of ''Kohfëef''.{{efn|Old Izhkut pronunciation: [[IPA for Izhkut|[ˈko̞xfɛe̯f]]]; Pokht: ''Kohfeif'' [[IPA for Izhkut|[ˈkɔʊ̯.feɪ̯f]]]}} However, these diphthongs are replaced with i-initial or i-final dipthongs, so ''Kohfëef'' is pronounced [[IPA for Izhkut|[ˈkoxfeɪ̯f]]] and ''Ubëes'' is pronounced [[IPA for Izhkut|[ˈubeɪ̯s]]]. /ɛ-/ diphthongs also do not occur and have merged with /e-/ diphthongs.

While ''m'u''(pronounced [mu]) is used when the proceeding vowel is a copula, as in:

: <small>General Colonial:</small> [[IPA for Izhkut|[ˈjalɔs udleg͜ iʊ̯ taplia̯ iʊ̯ ˈhegɹid͡ʒ ˈɔʊ̯s hˈɹʷugid iʊ̯ ˈplie̯du ‖ zɹe ˈgɔʃmis meːna ʊ̯ɛ diʊ̯sɹa iʊ̯ vɔːbis iʊ̯ blaɪ̯d ana naːɹɔ ˈmensi ɔʊ̯s ˈpɹɔɪ̯nid teˈja ‖]]]