Dwendish

Pictish is a language isolate spoken by some 33 million speakers on Pictland, the second largest of the British Isles, by the Picts, an ethnic group belonging to the European Pygmy or Thurse Phenotype. The language is in a sprachbund with the Celtic languages and shares features such as VSOX word order and initial consonant mutation.

Introduction

The intent of Pictish is to have a non-Celtic language being in a sprachbund with the Celtic languages without being too obviously Celtic in aesthetics. The main inspiration was Jörg Rhiemeier's article in the League of Lost Languages on the British Isles Linguistic Area. The main part of the phonology was influenced by Valarin Quenya and Láadan. Irish and Breton influenced Pictish initial consonant mutation.

Pictish is not the historical Pictish which is currently thought to be a Brythonic language allied to Welsh, Cornish and Breton. This is an ahistorical, fictional Pictish, descended from a language spoken alongside historical Brythonic Pictish by the Thurse group known in Classical sources as the Picti, before they were driven from Caledonia by the invading Scots.

Thurse is the usual term in English for any of the various ethnic groups possessing the European Pygmy phenotype. This phenotype is believed to have originated in the Hercynian forest zone of Central Europe before spreading all over the continent. Their most striking features are short stature and pointed ears. Uniquely, the Picts have striped skins which were generally attributed by Classical authors to the practice of tattoing hence their Latin sobriquet, Picti, the Painted Ones. The Thurse speak a variety of languages from a variety of language families, some of which are shared with other Europeans, some of which, such as Pictish, are not. Pictish is a language isolate spoken by some 33 million Picts in Pictland, the second largest of the British Isles.

Phonology

Orthography

Pictish is written in a Latin script. The letters "b", "c", "e", "j", "o", "p", "s", "v", "w", "y" and "z" are not used.

Pictish Alphabet

"a" = /a/

"d" = /ð/

"dh" = /θ/

"f" = /w/

"fh" = /xʷ/

"g" = /j/

"gh" = /ç/

"h" = /h/

"i" = /i/

"k" = /k/

"l" = /l/

"l" = /ɬ/

"m" = /m/

"mq" = /ᵑɡʷ/

"n" = /n/

"ng" = /ɲ/

"nk" = /ᵑɡ/

"nr" = /ŋ/

"nt" = /ⁿd/

"nx" = /ᶮɟ/

"q" = /kʷ/

"r" = /ɣ/

"rh" = /x/

"t" = /t/

"u" = /u/

"x" = /c/

Note:

The glottal stop only occurs word-initially and its radical form is not written.

Consonants

NASAL: /n, ɲ, ŋ, m/

PLOSIVE:

-surd: /t, c, k, kʷ/

-prenasal: /ⁿd, ᶮɟ, ᵑɡ, ᵑɡʷ/

FRICATIVE: /θ, ɬ, ç, x, xʷ/

CONTINUANT:

-liquid: /l, ɣ/

-approximant: /ð, j, w/

GUTTURAL:

-stop: /ʔ/

-resonance: /h/

DENTAL: /θ, ð/

ALVEOLAR: /n, t, ⁿd, ɬ, l/

PALATAL: /ɲ, c, ᶮɟ, ç, j/

VELAR: /ŋ, k, ᵑɡ, x, ɣ/

LABIAL: /m, kʷ, ᵑɡʷ, xʷ, w/

GLOTTAL: /ʔ, h/

NOTE: /c/ is articulated with a velar attack

Vowels

HIGH: /i, u/

LOW: /a/

Allophony

1) /ɲ/ is realised as [dʒ] in word-final position

2) surds are aspirated in word-initial position

3) /c/ is realised as [tʃ] in word-final position

4) /kʷ/ is realised as [p] in word-final position

5) prenasals are realised as plain voiced plosives in word-initial position

6) /ⁿd, ᵑɡ/ are voiceless in word-final position

7) /ᶮɟ/ and /ᵑɡʷ/ are realised as [ᶮtʃ] and [ᵐp] in word-final position

8) /ɣ/ is realised as [ʃ] in word-final position

9) high vowels are lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] after a palatal or labial onset

10) high vowels are lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] before a word-final liquid

Prosody

Stress

Pictish polysyllables bear the primary stress on the second syllable.

Intonation

Pictish polysyllables bear secondary stress on every alternate syllable after the one bearing the primary stress. Rhythm type is iambic.

Phonotactics

1) Syllable template is CV(C)

2) Permitted codas are nasals, plosives and liquids

3) Consonant clusters are not permitted

4) /ʔ/ may only occur in word-initial position

5) Affixes must be well-defined syllables