Letaale

Letaale [leˈtaːle] is a constructed secret language used by tahu, members of the Tagahu, a secretive and technologically advanced male-only military force governing the known parts of the space habitat Oru. Little is known of the designer(s) of the language however its use follows a long tradition. It is taught to all kia tahu (boys who are raised to be tahu) from a young age, adhering to a strict prescriptive standard. All speakers are male and all are also fluent in Guaru, generally speaking both natively. In informal situations, many Tahu engage in extensive code switching.

Name

The name Letaale comes from trisyllabic lemma letaale literally meaning "the Letaale speaker speaks Letaale". This is not the name of the language as such but is used to refer to speaking the language, such as nemaane ("I speak Letaale"). The name of the language in Letaale, although used rarely, is xialetaale [ʔialeˈtaːle], which uses the identifier prefix xia- for abstract things.

In the Guaru language, Letaale is known as Uoriuo [ˈ(ʔ)uoɾiˌuo]. This is probably borrowed from the word volivo [ˈvolivo]~[ˈwoɾiwo] which is essentially the accusative form of "you" (literally "you are directly affected") as this may be a word that is heard in interactions with the Tagahu.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal	Romanisation
Nasal	m	n		ŋ		⟨ m n g ⟩
Plosive		t		k	ʔ	⟨ t k x ⟩
Fricative	v	s	ʒ		h	⟨ v s j h ⟩
Lateral		l				⟨ l ⟩

Most allophones listed below exist in more or less free variation.

• All of /n t l/ are usually dental but may also be alveolar.
• Both /t/ and /k/ are unaspirated.
• The consonants /t k s/ may be pronounced as voiced /d g z/, especially when non-initial.
• /v/ has a wide range of pronunciation, being essentially anywhere in the realm of [v β ʋ w] although it generally tightens towards [β] or [v] when either of the adjacent vowels is is /u/. It may be romanised as either ⟨v⟩ or ⟨w⟩. The former is used here.
• /ʒ/ likewise has a range of pronunciations, somewhere in the viscinity of [ʒ ʑ ʐ ʝ j]. When either of the adjacent vowels is /i/, /ʒ/ is usually pronounced tenser and less likely to appear as [ʝ] or [j].
• /l/ may be pronounced as a lateral [l], a tap/flap [ɾ] or a lateral flap [ɺ]. It may be romanised as either ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩, with the former preferred here.

Vowels

Letaale has a simple system of five-vowels qualities, with a long and a short version of each, as in Hawaiian.

Single vowels

	front	central	back
close	i iː		u uː
open mid	e eː		o oː
low		a aː

When stressed, these vowels have the tense cardinal pronunciations of [i e a o u]. When unstressed and short, they tend to weaken towards [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɔ ʊ].

Long vowels are indicated in the romanisation either by by doubling or using macrons ⟨ā ē ī ō ū⟩. The doubling method is used here.

In addition, there are the diphthongs /ai au eo ia io iu oe ua ue ui/.

Phonotactics

The allowable syllable structure of Letaale is CV(V). All syllables begin with a consonant and may contain one or two vowels (long vowels and diphthongs count as two). All combinations of consonant and vowel are allowed.

Prosody

Word stress falls on the last long vowel or diphthong in a word. If all the vowels are short, stress falls on the initial syllable. Prefixes and initial clitics, all of which contain a diphthong other than /ai/, are never stressed.

Morphophonology

The vowels of Letaale can be divided into two types:

1. Primary vowels: the monophthongs /a aː e eː i iː o oː u uː/ and the diphthong /ai/
2. Secondary vowels: the remaining diphthongs /au eo ia io iu ua ue ui/

Each of the eleven primary vowels is associated with a single consonant and vice versa. These pairs are relevant for inversions and conversions in trisyllabic word-clauses, such as the noun k_j_m_ ('the dog') which converts to the verb _uu_o_i ('be a dog').

Consonant (noun form)		Vowel (verb form)		Syllable (lemma)
n	↔	a	→	na
l	↔	e	→	le
m	↔	i	→	mi
j	↔	o	→	jo
g	↔	u	→	gu
t	↔	aa	→	taa
x	↔	ee	→	xee
h	↔	ii	→	hii
s	↔	oo	→	soo
k	↔	uu	→	kuu
v	↔	ai	→	vai

All trisyllabic lemmas are composed of three of the resulting syllables. For example jotaale is allowable as a lemma whereas jitaale is not because j and i are not a pair.

Secondary vowels are not associated with any particular consonant and only appear in clitics and identifier prefixes. These prefixes are always unstressed.

Morphology

Trisyllabics

The majority of words in Letaale consist of three syllables and are thus called trisyllabics. Each trisyllabic consists of two triphonemic roots, a noun root (or subject root), which consists of three consonants (triconsonantal), and a verb root, which consists of three vowels (trivocalic), counting the long vowels and the diphthong /ai/ as one vowel each. Containing both subject and verb, each trisyllabic constitutes an entire clause in its own right.

Lemmas (citation forms) of trisyllabics consist of a noun root together with its equivalent verb root. These are related by the one-to-one correspondence of consonants to primary vowels, meaning that lemmas consist only of the syllables na, taa, le, xee, mi, hii, jo, soo, gu, kuu, and vai. Like all trisyllabics, lemmas make up a valid clause on their own, however, the relationship between noun forms and verb forms is consistent to the the point that trisyllabic lemmas are always, by definition, self-evidently true sentences of the structure "the X is an X" (or "that which X-es X-es"), and therefore mostly rather void of pragmatic purpose. Here are some examples of trisyllabic roots in their lemma forms.

Trisyllabic roots

Lemma- clause	Translation	Noun	Translation	Verb	Translation
namina	I am me.	n_m_n_	I	_a_i_a	be me
vailevai	You are you.	v_l_v_	you	_ai_e_ai	be you
taaguhii	The taaguhii* is a taaguhii.	t_g_h_	taaguhii, he	_aa_u_ii	be a taaguhii
hiitaahii	The hiitaahii** is a hiitaahii.	h_t_h_	the hiitaahii, he	_ii_aa_ii	be a hiitaahii
levaile	The woman is a woman.	l_v_l_	the woman, she	_e_ai_e	be a woman
soovaigu	The civilian man is a civilian man.	s_v_g_	the civilian man, he	_o_ai_u	be a civilian man
kuumixee	The monkey is a monkey.	k_m_x_	the monkey	_uu_i_ee	be a monkey
kuujomi	The dog is a dog.	k_j_m_	the dog	_uu_o_i	be a dog
minataa	The cat is a cat.	m_n_t_	the cat	_i_a_aa	be a cat
vaijokuu	The bird is a bird.	v_j_k_	the bird	_ai_o_uu	be a bird
milena	The fish is a fish.	m_l_n_	the fish	_i_e_a	be a fish
miguvai	The banana is a banana.	m_g_v_	the banana	_i_u_ai	be a banana
jomijo	The affected one is affected.	j_m_j_	the affected one	_o_i_o	be affected
lejole	The perceiver perceives.	l_j_l_	the perceiver	_e_o_e	perceive
lesoomi	The sleeper sleeps.	l_s_m_	the sleeper, the sleeping one	_e_oo_i	sleep
xeenami	The eater eats.	x_n_m_	the eater, the eating one	_ee_a_i	eat
kuunagu	The hitter hits.	k_n_g_	the hitter, the hitting one	_uu_a_u	hit
gunagu	The killer kills.	g_n_g_	the killer, the murderer	_u_a_u	kill
taanagu	The big one is big.	t_n_g_	the big one	_aa_a_u	be big
hiijole	The beloved one is beloved.	h_j_l_	the (be)loved one	_ii_o_e	be (be)loved
vaimina	The visible one is visible.	v_m_n_	the visible one	_ai_i_a	be visible
hiimijo	This one is here.	h_m_j_	the one near me	_ii_i_o	be near me
xeenajo	That one is there.	x_n_j_	the one near you	_ee_a_o	be near you
taamitaa	What is what?	t_m_t_	what, who, which	_aa_i_aa	be what, be who, which?

* A taaguhii is a tahu in active duty, roughly equivalent to a soldier or police officer.
** A hiitaahii is a future tahu, a boy raised to be a tahu.

Identifiers

Identifiers are generally equivalent to proper nouns. They consist of one (or, occasionally, more than one) classifying prefix, which indicates various classes of people and things, followed by a trisyllabic.

For example, the personal name Tuakuumoxu consists of the prefix Tua-, indicating a Tahu in active duty, followed by the trisyllabic kuumoxu, meaning "the monkey plays" (k_m_x_ "the monkey" + uu_o_u "play"). Prefixes may change over time. When Tuakuumoxu retires from active duty and enters administration, his name will become Xuakuumoxu, with the prefix Xua-indicating a Tahu in an administrative role. The vocative prefix generally replaces any other prefix although it can sometimes be stacked on to the beginning. For example, the vocative form of Tuakuumoxu may be Xoekuumoxu or Xoetuakuumoxu.

Identifiers are also used for more specific descriptions of things than are available with trisyllabics, such as names of specific types of plants and animals, towns, rivers, hills and other topographical features, rock types, metals, foods etc.

Syntax

Trisyllabic clauses

Trisyllabic clauses consist of a single trisyllabic, which itself consists of two triphonemic roots a noun root (or subject root), consisting of three consonants, and a verb root (or predicate root), consisting of three vowels. The following table shows examples and is sortable by column.

Word- clause	Translation	Noun	Translation	Verb	Translation
xaanijaa	What is that?	x_n_j_	the one near you	_aa_i_aa	is what/who?
himujai	This is a banana.	h_m_j_	the one near me	_i_u_ai	is a banana
huumijee	This is a monkey.	h_m_j_	the one near me	_uu_i_ee	is a monkey
huumiiji	This is a house.	h_m_j_	the one near me	_uu_ii_i	is a house
haamijaa	What is this?	h_m_j_	the one near me	_aa_i_aa	is what/who?
xinujai	That is a banana.	x_n_j_	the one near you	_i_u_ai	is a banana
xuunijee	That is a monkey.	x_n_j_	the one near you	_uu_i_ee	is a monkey
xuuniiji	That is a house.	x_n_j_	the one near you	_uu_ii_i	is a house
nimunai	I am a banana.	n_m_n_	I	_i_u_ai	am a banana
magiva	The banana is me.	m_g_v_	the banana	_a_i_a	is me
viluvai	You are a banana.	v_l_v_	you	_i_u_ai	are a banana
maigevai	The banana is you.	m_g_v_	the banana	_ai_e_ai	is you
neemani	I eat.	n_m_n_	I	_ee_a_i	eat
xanima	The eating one is me.	x_n_m_	the eater	_a_i_a	is me
veelavi	You eat.	v_l_v_	you	_ee_a_i	eat
xainemai	The eating one is you.	x_n_m_	the eater	_ai_e_ai	is you
keejami	The dog eats.	k_j_m_	the dog	_ee_a_i	eats
xuunomi	The eating one is a dog.	x_n_m_	the eater	_uu_o_i	is a dog
kejoomi	The dog sleeps.	k_j_m_	the dog	_e_oo_i	sleeps
kijumai	The dog is a banana.	k_j_m_	the dog	_i_u_ai	is a banana
nemone	I perceive.	n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
nameeno	I exist.	n_m_n_	I	_a_ee_o	exist
meegovi	The banana exists.	m_g_v_	the banana	_ee_o_i	exists
xijumai	There is a banana.	x_j_m_	something that exists	_i_u_ai	is a banana

Inversion

Inversion is the process of swapping the converting the noun root into a verb root and vice versa within a trisyllabic word. Many of the examples given above are inversions of another given example.

For example, to invert the word veelavi "you eat", the noun root v_l_v_ "you" is converted to its corresponding verb root _ai_e_ai "be you" and the verb _ee_a_i "to eat" becomes the noun x_n_m_ "eater". This produces xainemai "the one that eats is you". Inversion usually results in radically differently looking words with an often fairly subtle shift in pragmatic meaning. Veelavi "you eat" and xainemai "the eater is you" don't share a single phoneme in common, and yet the meanings differ only in terms of topic and focus.

Multiclausal sentences

Multiclausal sentences are formed by simply placing word-clauses next to one another. Modifiers generally follow their heads but word-clause order is quite flexible, with different orders being used to shift emphasis.

Namaina kimaixaa.
[naˈmai̯na kimai̯ˈʔaː]
n_m_n_	I	_a_ai_a	cause
k_m_x_	the monkey	_i_ai_aa	dances
I make the monkey dance.

Kimaixaa namaina.
[kimai̯ˈʔaː naˈmai̯na]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_i_ai_aa	dances
n_m_n_	I	_a_ai_a	am the cause
The monkey dances (because) I make it.

Kimaixaa navina.
[kimai̯ˈʔaː ˈnawina]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_i_ai_aa	dances
n_v_n_	the cause	_a_i_a	is me
The monkey dances because of me.

Navina kimaixaa.
[ˈnawina kimai̯ˈʔaː]
n_v_n_	the cause	_a_i_a	is me
k_m_x_	the monkey	_i_ai_aa	dances
Because of me, the monkey dances.

Transitivity

There is no explicit transitivity in Letaale. The direct object of a verb is frequently indicated with a clause containing jomijo, which indicates that something is directly affected by another action.

Keemaxi mogivo.
[ˈkeːmaʔi ˈmoŋiwo]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
The monkey eats the banana.

Jomijo is, however, not simply an equivalent of an accusative case. In many instances, another root is used to indicate the roll of the object.

Tuxanu keemuxee.
[ˈtuʔanu keːmuˈʔeː]
t_x_n_	the hunter	_u_a_u	kills
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_u_ee	dies
The hunter kills the monkey.

Vijaaka lavitee.
[wiˈʒaːka lawiˈteː]
v_j_k_	the bird	_i_aa_a	constructs
l_v_t_	the nest	_a_i_ee	comes into being
The bird builds the nest.

Verbs that don't result in something being directly affected (such as "love", "see") are often present in Letaale as passives and the experiencer is indicated as a perceiver.

Nemone viilove.
[ˈnemone ˈwiːlowe]
n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
v_l_v_	you	_ii_o_e	are (be)loved
I love you.

Nemone vailiva.
[ˈnemone ˈwai̯liwa]
n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
v_l_v_	you	_ai_i_a	are visible
I see you.

Definiteness

There are no articles, but the subject of a clause is generally definite and the verb deals with something indefinite. Inversion (swapping the subject and the verb within a clause) is used to achieve this effect. The resulting transformations produce entirely different looking words, such as the change from mogivo (≈ "the banana") to jimujai (≈ "a banana") in the following sentences.

Keemaxi mogivo.
[ˈkeːmaʔi ˈmoŋiwo]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
The monkey eats the banana.

Keemaxi jimujai.
[ˈkeːmaʔi ʒimuˈʒai̯]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
j_m_j_	what is directly affected	_i_u_ai	is a banana
The monkey eats a banana.

Name-clauses

Because name-clauses do not have slots available for a noun's consonants or a verb's vowels to fit in, they must accompany a classifying noun or verb which indicates their role in the sentence. The name-clause most commonly follows their classifying verb or noun. For people's names, the most common classifying word used is hiilemi "the named one is named".

Niimeni xuatonugo.
[ˈniːmeni ʔua̯ˈtonuŋo]
n_m_n_	I	_ii_e_i	am named
Xua-	NAME OF TAHU IN ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE:
t_n_g_	the big one	_o_u_o	is strange
My name is Xuatonugo.

Halima xuatonugo.
[ˈhalima ʔua̯ˈtonuŋo]
h_l_m_	the named one	_a_i_a	is me
Xua-	NAME OF TAHU IN ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE:
t_n_g_	the big one	_o_u_o	is strange
Xuatonugo is me.

Helumai Tuakuumoxu kimaixaa. Koomixuu togiho.
[heluˈmai̯ tua̯ˈkuːmoʔu kimai̯ˈʔaː | koːmiˈʔuː ˈtoŋiho]
h_l_m_	the named one	_e_u_ai	forces
Tua-	NAME OF TAHU IN ACTIVE SERVICE:
k_m_x_	the monkey	_e_ee_ii	plays
k_m_x_	the monkey	_i_ai_aa	dances
_	_	_	_
k_m_x_	the monkey	_oo_i_uu	bites
t_g_h_	the tahu in active service	_o_i_o	is directly affected
Tuakuumoxu forces the monkey dance. It bites him.

Tuamaagavu halaima kuheemii.
[tua̯ˈmaːŋavu hiˈla̯ima kuheːˈmiː]
Tua-	NAME OF TAHU IN ACTIVE SERVICE:
m_g_v_	the banana	_e_ee_ii	is big
h_l_m_	the named one	_a_ai_a	causes
k_h_m_	the house	_a_i_ee	is on fire
Tuamaagavu sets the house on fire.

There are a range of other name classifiers, such as nia-, which is used for animals.

Xaijomuu niamalaixuu malima.
[ʔai̯ʒoˈmuː nia̯malai̯ˈʔuː ˈmalima]
x_j_m_	an extisting one	_ai_o_uu	is a bird
nia-	NAME OF ANIMAL:
m_l_x_	the blue one	_a_ai_uu	flies high
m_l_m_	the owner	_a_i_a	is me
I have a hyacinth macaw.

Location

Locations are indicated with nataami.

Neemani mogivo kahaami.
[ˈneːmani ˈmoŋiwo kaˈhaːmi]
n_m_n_	I	_ee_a_i	eat
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
k_h_m_	the house	_a_aa_i	is a location
I eat the banana in the house.

Neemani mogivo nuutiimi.
[ˈneːmani ˈmoŋiwo nuːˈtiːmi]
n_m_n_	I	_ee_a_i	eat
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
n_t_m_	the location	_a_aa_i	is a house
I eat the banana in a house.

Subordination

Subordination is frequently not overtly indicated syntactically, just as in English.

Nemano velove niimone.
[ˈnemano ˈwelowe ˈniːmone]
n_m_n_	I	_e_a_o	know
v_l_v_	you	_e_o_e	perceive
n_m_n_	I	_ii_o_e	am (be)loved
I know (that) you love me.

Subordination can, however, be indicated using the root gumina ("what I'm about to say is what I'm about to say"). In this following example, it is only necessary if one wishes to indicate that one's perception was visual

Nemone (gaimina) keemaxi mogiva.
[ˈnemone (ˈŋai̯mina) ˈkeːmaʔi ˈmoŋiwa]
n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
g_m_n_	what I'm about to say	_ai_i_a	is visible
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
I see the monkey eat the banana.

Coordination

Repetition of either a noun or a verb is used as an equivalent to "and".

Keemaxi neemani mogivo.
[ˈkeːmaʔi ˈneːmani ˈmoŋiwo]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
n_m_n_	I	_ee_a_i	eat
m_g_v_	the banana	_o_i_o	is directly affected
The monkey and I eat the banana.

Tuugahu nomino komixo kojimo.
[ˈtuːŋahu ˈnomino ˈkomiʔo ˈkoʒimo]
t_g_h_	the tahu	_uu_a_u	hits
n_m_n_	I	_o_i_o	am directly affected
k_m_x_	the monkey	_o_i_o	is directly affected
k_j_m_	the dog	_o_i_o	is directly affected
The tahu hits me, the monkey, and the dog. He hits me, the monkey, and the dog.

Menooti menote jaleeto.
[meˈnoːti ˈmenote ʒaˈleːto]
m_n_t_	the cat	_e_oo_i	sleeps
m_n_t_	the cat	_e_o_e	perceives
j_l_t_	the dream	_a_ee_o	exists
The cat sleeps and (the cat) dreams.

A common equivalent of the word 'but' is gomaane (what I'm about to say is surprising) or occasionally its conversion jutila (what's surprising is something I'm about to say).

Tuugahu lovilo gomaane levole tiigohe.
[ˈtuːŋahu ˈlowilo ŋoˈmaːne ˈlewole ˈtiːŋohe]
t_g_h_	the tahu	_uu_a_u	hits
l_v_l_	the woman	_o_i_o	is directly affected
g_m_n_	what I'm about to say	_o_aa_e	is surprising
l_v_l_	the woman	_e_o_e	perceives
t_g_h_	the tahu	_ii_o_e	is (be)loved
He hits her but she loves him.

Modification

Modification is chiefly accomplished by repeating what is to be modified in another clause. Often, this will not look like repetition from the surface forms because what is repeated may be in verb form in one clause and noun form in the modifying clause.

Keemaxi jimujai maagavu.
[ˈkeːmaʔi ʒimuˈʒai̯ ˈmaːŋavu]
k_m_x_	the monkey	_ee_a_i	eats
j_m_j_	what is directly affected	_i_u_ai	is a banana
m_g_v_	the banana	_aa_a_u	is large
The monkey eats a big banana.

Nemone viilove haajiilaa.
[ˈnemone ˈwiːlowe haːʒiːˈlaː]
n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
v_l_v_	you	_ii_o_e	are (be)loved
h_j_l_	the beloved one	_aa_ii_aa	is extreme
I love you very much.

Nemone laajiilaa viilove .
[ˈnemone ˈwiːlowe kaˈhaːmi]
n_m_n_	I	_e_o_e	perceive
l_j_l_	the perceiver	_aa_ii_aa	is extreme
v_l_v_	you	_ii_o_e	are (be)loved
It is clear to me that I love you.

Notes

This conlang has been inspired by Abakwi and Iljena. Check them out! - Imralu