Bright languages
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Bright languages are constructed languages intended to be aesthetically pleasing, predictable, and stable in utterance.
Introduction
Phonology
The bright version of Adamic has 3 vowels (4 with the diphthong) and 8 consonants, with the reason being that as a bright language strives to contain the most stable and distinct phonetic features, many possibilities are consciously deleted (mostly dorsal ones). For example, velar stops such as /k/ are problematic, as forms akin to /ku/ and /ki/ have the tendence to inevitably change to /kʷ/~/b/ or /kʲ/~/t͡ʃ/. Likewise, back vowels are totally erased, not only to contrast with dark tongues (which do not accept front vowels), but to avoid the sound change /du/ > /dʷ/~/b/.
| Coronal | Labial | |
|---|---|---|
| Sonorant | l r | n m |
| Non-Sonorant | ʃ d | f b |
The
| Front | Center | |
|---|---|---|
| i ɛ | a ae̯ |
Sound Laws
Common Elvish
- If two bordering syllables/syllable portions possess the same consonant, the consonant of the weakest syllable (portion) disappears.
EX: Adamic vāl "person" and vār "people" become alf (not*falf) and elvi .
- Assimilation:
- Harmony: [a > e > i] or [i > e > a]
- Mutation: consonants extend grade until there is only one.
m/n + p -mb [extension of p]
m/n + t -nd [extension of t]
r/l + f -lb [extension of l]
r/l + c -rd [extension of r]
r/l + m = -lm [extension of m]
r/l + n = -rn [extension of n]
- /s/ and /d/ can only happen before /a/, and if the opposite were to happen, the nucleus would be dropped.
alba "people" [alf, elbi] arda "things" [arc, irida] alma "high faculties" [a, elmi] arna "emotions, sensations" [an, erni] amba "time" [amf, embi] anda "space" [anc, inida] - endar "land", arni "lands" embal "celestial body", ambeli...
NA > ni [0], nae [1] alba enir ni, pe, ae MA NA PA TA LA RA - ALBA ARDA AMBA ANDA ALMA ARNA
iru > eri > ere anu > ni
Consonants
Vowels
Prosody
Stress
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Morphology
The Bright Tongue is mostly composed of stems, which modify roots.
ni irida eren...
From one root, many stems are forged
ncl > ner (*nendir), cilba, arnic, nalbi (*nadelbi)...
ALMA > ELEME eldar (alba-endar) erbal (arda-elbar) arbelë ilben, ilbini eleben, af lef, felin ilmen, ilmini elemen, am lem, melin
irdem, irdimi eredem, erc rec, cerin