Néekh

Néekh
nêekhr
Pronunciation	[nɛjexr̩]
Created by	Jukethatbox
Date	2023
Native to	Etzeán Island
Ethnicity	Néekhs
Native speakers	4,235,000 (400 BH)
Language family	Taskaric Iskvic Néekh
Early forms	Proto-Taskaric Proto-Iskvic
Dialects	Denarkhûz Portspeak Sunyr dialects Oêrle Irno-Embinge
Etzeán Island. Most Néekh speakers live on the eastern side of the island, primarily in the Tûznam Basin.

Néekh (nêekhr; Néekh pronunciation: [nɛjexr̩]) is a Taskaric language spoken by the Néekhs on Etzeán Island. With 4,235,000 native speakers, it is the most spoken language on the island by a narrow margin; most speakers live in the highly urbanised and economically developed Tûznam Basin(Néekh: Tîkhgnul), where the capital Arkhûz(Néekh pronunciation: [ær.xʊz̥]) is located. It is an official language of the West Birnu Economic Union, and is the second most spoken Taskaric language after Izhkut.

Néekh is of the Iskvic branch of the Taskaric languages, making it a sister language of Iskvish; it is the only member of the Iskvic branch that is not endangered.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Palatal
Stop	voiceless	p	d̥		k
	voiced	b			g
Fricative	voiceless	f	z̥	ʂ	x
	voiced	v		ʐ	ɣ	ʝ
Nasal		m	n		ŋ	ɲ
Approximant	lateral		l	(ɭ)	ɫ
	semivowel	(w)			(ɰ)	j
Trill			r	(ɽ͡r)

Alveolar obstruents are not affected by voiceness; though often transcribed as devoiced /d̥ z̥/, they may be variably pronounced as /t~d/ and /s~z/ respectively and are ultimately dependent on speaker.

/ɰ/ is an intervocalic allophone of /ɣ/, and has also been described as a vocalised allophoe /ɨ/; however, the general consensus is that it is an approximant.

Vowels

	Front		Back
	tense	lax	tense	lax
Close	i	ɪ	u	ʊ
Mid	ɛ	e	o
Near-open	æ	ɐ

Néekh vowels are contrastive by tenseness, with 5 tense and 4 lax vowels. Lax vowels are usually written with a circumflex, as in ⟨â î ê ô û⟩ for /ɐ ɪ e ʊ/; however, they also appear non-syllabically at the end of diphthongs, as in ghroul [ɣroʊ̯l].