Nankôre: Difference between revisions
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==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
===Orthography=== | ===Orthography=== | ||
<!--Explain your conlang's alphabet. Use the International Phonetic Alphabet to describe the sounds of your language. If you are unsure on how to use IPA then visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet and read up. --> | |||
The Nankôre orthography is based on the Allen-Mills system, derived from the Latin alphabet. However, a second system, the American Media system, has started displacing the Allen-Mills system. Although based on the Allen-Mills system, the American Media system uses the grapheme <y>, and the digraphs <ch> and <sh>, to make transcription of the language more accessible to American readers. | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | |||
! style="width: 90px; " |Allen-Mills | |||
! style="width: 90px; " |American Media | |||
! style="width: 90px; " |IPA | |||
|- | |||
| ' | |||
| (n/a) | |||
| ʔ | |||
|- | |||
| a,ā, â, á | |||
| a,ā,â, á | |||
| ɑ, ɑ: | |||
|- | |||
| e | |||
| e, eh | |||
| e | |||
|- | |||
| i | |||
| i, ih | |||
| ɪ, i | |||
|- | |||
| o, ô | |||
| o, ô | |||
| o, o: | |||
|- | |||
| u | |||
| u | |||
| u | |||
|- | |||
| c | |||
| c, ch | |||
| tʃ | |||
|- | |||
| s | |||
| sh | |||
| s, s̺, ʃ | |||
|- | |||
| š | |||
| sh | |||
| ʃ | |||
|- | |||
| h | |||
| h | |||
| h | |||
|- | |||
| k | |||
| k | |||
| k | |||
|- | |||
| r | |||
| r | |||
| r | |||
|- | |||
| m | |||
| m | |||
| m | |||
|- | |||
| n | |||
| n | |||
| n | |||
|- | |||
| p | |||
| p | |||
|p | |||
|- | |||
| t | |||
| t | |||
| t | |||
|- | |||
| y | |||
| y | |||
| j | |||
|} | |||
Note that the grapeme <s> is pronounced /ʃ/ or /s̺/ when followed by [i] (e.g. ''shinkokah'' "orca"), or in coda position (''Nanhoshka'' "the True People"). A few decades after the Allen-Mills transcription system was developed, a sound shift in the northwestern Hoyampe dialect, whereby /s/ shifted to the voiceless apico-alveolar fricative /s̺/ when followed by /i/ or in coda position. A similar sound shift occurred at around the same time in the northeastern Konishmak dialect (possibly the result of the Hoyampe sound shift), but it was the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ/ that appeared. It was this sound shift that spread out through most of the country, although there are some remote regions of the country that have not been affected by either sound shift. As a result in foreign transcriptions <sh> is often used in words where the /s/ >> /ʃ/ has already occurred, e.g. ''akôsh'' vs. the original ''akôs'' transcription | |||
The grapheme <ô> is used to indicate vowel length for /o/, and <ā> for /ɑ/. | |||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
Nankôre has a small inventory of consonants, only fourteen in number. Noteworthy is the paucity of voiced consonants which contributes to the limited number of consonants in the Nankôre language. The following table contains the entire consonantal inventory: | Nankôre has a small inventory of consonants, only fourteen in number. Noteworthy is the paucity of voiced consonants which contributes to the limited number of consonants in the Nankôre language. The following table contains the entire consonantal inventory: | ||