Buerkaans

Buerkantch
Buerkáns
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|buɛ̯ɾ'kaːns]]
Created by	–
Native speakers	No Census Data (2014)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic Buerkantch
Language codes
ISO 639-1	bu
ISO 639-2	bue
ISO 639-3	bue
De Huylands' flág

Background

Buerkáns is spoken in the fictitious country of De Huylands, known as such in English, even though the translation is literally The Highlands. I like to imagine De Huylands exists in the same world as Alska, where it would be known in Alska as Højlandene.

Buerkáns takes influences from Dutch/Afrikaans, English, and the Scandinavian Languages. I wanted to make something in between all three, with the primary vocabulary a mix of Dutch-Danish/Swedish-derived roots and grammar closer to a simpler version of German.

Phonology

Buerkáns has a large phonology, similar to that of Dutch or Afrikaans, mixed slightly with Danish. There is a large vowel inventory of 13 distinct vowel quantities and a typical Germanic consonant inventory with the exception of [d͡ʒ].

Vowels

Phonemes
	Front	Central	Back
Closed	i y		u
Near-closed	ɪ
Mid-closed	e ø		o
Mid-open	ɛ	ə	ʌ ɔ
Near-open	æ
Open	a

Consonants

Phonemes	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	p b		t d			k g
Affricate				d͡ʒ
Nasal	m		n			ŋ
Fricative		f v	s z	ʃ		x	h
Approximant			ɾ		j
Lateral approximant			l			ɫ

Stress & Phonotactics

Stress generally falls on the root of a word, normally the first syllable, but this is subject to change if certain prefixes are added, which may transfer stress from the root to the prefix, or move primary stress, along with the root, to the second syllable.

The letter E is pronounced /ʌ/ when or following R og D. It is pronounced /ɛ/ in all other positions, and is reduced to /ə/ when unstressed.

• hede /'hɛ.dʌ/ - had
• 't spaare /'ət 'spæ:.rʌ/ - save

Buerkáns' most common syllable structure is CCVCC. A single, double, or a cluster of up to three consecutive consonants can proceed a vowel, there may be as many as three vowels between consonants. In some special cases there can be four-consonant clusters, but these are generally in archaic words and most have been simplified. Word structure can vary wildy, but every syllable must have at least one vowel as its nucleus. The only syllalbe construction that is not allowed is CVCV, which must be interpreted as two seperate syllables of CV. These sound clusters can be repeated to create longer words which are still phonotactically correct, but this implies a constructed word.

• hoebstedsmetrólyn /'hoɛb.stɛdz.mɛtɾo:.laɪ̯n/ - capital city's metro line (CVVC.CCVCC.CVCCV.CVC)
• straade /'ʃtɾæ:də/ - street (CCCVVCV)
• regtíg /'ɾʌx.ti:x/ - correct (CVCVC)
• de /dʌ/ - the (CV)
• ag /æx/ - interjection, similar to 'ew' (VC)
• áppel