Colonial Izhkut

Colonial Izhkut
Colonial Ishcot, Colonial dialects
jënn Uesi, yojjun Uesi, yojjun misogra
Pronunciation	[ˈd͡ʒeːn ʊ̯esi] [ˈjɔːd͡ʒun ʊ̯esi]
Created by	Jukethatbox
Date	2025
Setting	Radael
Native to	Izhkut Colonies
Ethnicity	Izhkut Colonials; Bay Island Creoles
Native speakers	50,400,000 (400 BH)
Language family	Taskaric Iskeric Ilyic Pokht-Izhkut Izhkut Colonial Izhkut
Standard form	General Colonial
Dialects	Bay Area dialects Usergonefa dialect Tibirot dialect → Bay Islands Creole Strait dialects General Chepsëh Shepsë dialect Ebënzinu dialect Mosëoch dialect Osanzag dialect
Official status
Regulated by	United Colonial Association (Bazuol Pramae Uesi) (unofficial)

Colonial Izhkut, also known as Colonial Ishcot or simply the Colonial dialects, is a dialect continuum of the Izhkut language native to and primarily spoken in the Izhkut Colonies by around 50,400,000 Colonials. Thus, around 40% of Izhkut speakers speak some Colonial variety; although this makes Colonials a minority in the Ishcophone community(albeit a large one), this percentage is projected to increase to 75% by 500 BH, which would make Colonial Izhkut by far the most spoken variety of the Izhkut language.

Despite being a dialect of Izhkut, Colonial Izhkut has a distinct phonology and to an extent its own distinct vocabulary and grammar which can make it difficult to understand for Standard or Mainland Izhkut speakers. However, written Colonial Izhkut is more or less understandable by Standard Izhkut speakers due to largely similar orthography. Any Colonial accent perceived as lacking noticeably local, ethnic, or cultural markers is known in linguistics as General Colonial.

Dialect groups

Bay Area

The Bay Area dialects(General Colonial: yojjun Enud Gibios) refer to the Colonial dialect groups spoken in the Gibios Bay Area, which encompasses the bay itself and the islands in it, as well as the city of Usergonefa. Developing primarily in what was initially a trading outpost which eventually grew into Usergonefa, the Bay Area dialects were later exported across the Bay Islands via marine trade, and today are the most spoken varieties of the Colonial dialects, encompassing around 60% of Colonial Izhkut speakers at ~30,240,000 speakers. The Bay Area dialects are also the main lexifier of Bay Islands Creole, a pidgin-turned-creole language spoken primarily on the Gibios Bay Islands by the Bay Island Creoles, descendants of poor farmers, settlers, slaves and traders who arrived in the Bay Islands around 250 BH.

Usergonefa dialect

The Usergonefa dialect(yojjun Usergonefa) is the dialect of Colonial Izhkut spoken in the city of Usergonefa, the largest city in the Gibios Bay Area.

Phonology

Consonants

		Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive		p b		t d		(ɟ)	k g
Nasal		m		n		ɲ	(ŋ)
Fricative		(ɸ) (β)	f v	s z	ʃ ʒ	(ç)		h
Affricate					d͡ʒ
Approximant	rhotic	(ɹʷ)		ɹ
	other	w		l		j	ɫ

Most allophones shown here are so-called "L-precedent" allophones, appearing only before /l/ or /ɫ/, i.e. offlu "rate" [ˈɔːɸɫu](Standard Izhkut: [ˈôflu]). These allophones are /ɸ/, /β/ and /ç/, allophones for /f/, /v/ and /h/ respectively.

Standard Izhkut /ɟ/ has been replaced by the voiced postalveolar affricate /d͡ʒ/ in most dialects in all positions. However, some dialects such as that of Ilasgez have preserved /ɟ/(although admittedly this feature is losing out to affricatisation), while the dialect of Roslia Bay Island has so far preserved /ɟ/ before /i/, /e/ and /ɛ/.

Vowels

		Front	Central	Back
Close		i	u
Mid	Close	e	(ə)
	Open	ɛ		ɔ
Open		a

General Colonial phonemic vowels do not differ greatly from Standard vowel phonemes. However, common differentiations are O-lowering, where Standard /o/ is lowered to an /ɔ/(a feature borrowed from Pokht), while there is also more variation in pronunciation of /a/ and /u/; whereas Standard /a/ and /u/ remain mostly within central and back vowel spaces respectively, Colonial /a/ can vary from as front as /æ̞/ to very occasionally as far back as /ɑ/, while /u/ in most dialects is closer to a /ʊ~ʊ̝/ and in some Bay Islands is often closer to a /ʉ/.

The schwa(/ə/) is a common unstressed allophone of /a/, /o/ and /u/ in some dialects, particularly those of the eastern Bay Area, while in others, typically those near Taskarië, have /ə/ as an allophone of /e/ in coda positions; e.g. lege "the (plural)", would be pronounced [ˈlegə] instead of Standard/General Colonial [ˈlege].

Diphthongs

Though the orthography of diphthongs has remained the same as in Mainland Izhkut, the General Colonial pronunciation of diphthongs has shifted considerably from the Standard pronunciation which this orthography was based on, though these dipthongs differ yet still between Colonial dialects. However, the following table only shows General Colonial pronunciations.

		Endpoint
		a	i	e	ë	u	o
Start point	a	-	aj			ɔw
	i	ia̯	-	ie̯		iw
	e		ej	-
	ë	ɛa̯				ɛw
	u	wa	we		wɛ	-	ɔw
	o	ɔw	ɔj			ɔw	-

Vowel length

Standard Izhkut pitch accent was replaced in Colonial Izhkut with a vowel length system; contour I replaced by a long vowel, contour II remaining unchanged. In the case of a diphthong, the second, unstressed vowel is unpronounced and only the initial vowel is lengthened, such as with ouggu "wail (n.)", pronounced [ôʊ̯gu] in Standard Izhkut but [ɔːgu] in General Colonial; however both pronunciations remain heterophonic with ougu "wheat"(Standard Izhkut: [oʊ̯ˈgu]; Colonial: [ɔʊ̯ˈgu]).

Additionally, vowel lengthened /ɛ/ merges with /eː/.