Nurian
Nurian | |
---|---|
nūrimēn | |
Created by | IlL |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | qnr |
Nurian (gathvēn nūrimēn) is a Talmic language descending from Thensarian, aesthetically inspired by Italian, Arabic, Pali and Lithuanian.
Introduction
Nurian is spoken in the western region of the continent called Cuadhlabh by Tigals. It is easily the most conservative Talmic language, though with signficant influence from Dwischric, in particular Dūsswaren.
Historical phonology
- Cl > Cj > Cʲ (Italian style): pl bl ml fl cl gl ngl chl ghl > pi bi mi fi ci gi ngi chi ghi
- Exceptions: ħl ȝl; nl, rl > ll
- C1C2 > C2C2 (similarly to Italian)
- mlīd - conclusion, end > mīd /mʲiːdˠ/
- ar- > aC- (ar- before vowels); as- > s-
- st, sn > (t)th, (n)nh
Numbers
Phonology
The Nurian consonant inventory contains around 42 consonants and 10 vowels. A notable feature of the phonology of most Nurian accents is phonemic velarization vs. palatalization in hard-soft pairs. All consonants except /ħ ʕ h j/ are members of a hard-soft-pair. /ħ ʕ h j/ color the /a/ vowel as if they were soft, and /ħ ʕ/ tend to lower adjacent vowels. Nurian is otherwise extremely phonologically conservative among Talmic languages, preserving vowel length and gemination.
Diaphonemes
Consonants
Hard | ṃ | ṗ | ḅ | f̣ | ṿ | ṇ | ṭ | ḍ | θ̣ | ð̣ | ṣ | ẓ | ṛ | ḷ | ŋ | q | ġ | x | ğ | ħ | ʕ | h | y |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soft | m | p | b | f | v | n | t | d | θ | ð | s | z | r | l | ñ | č | j | š | ž |
Vowels
a ā i ī u ū ia ua ai au
Dagȳne accent
Consonants
Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Radical | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hard | soft | hard | soft | hard | soft | ||||||
Nasal | voiceless | m̥ | m̥ʲ | n̥ˠ | n̥ʲ | ||||||
voiced | mˠ | mʲ | n̪ˠ | nʲ | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Stop | tenuis | pˠ | pʲ | t̪ˠ | tʲ | tʃ | k | ||||
voiced | bˠ | bʲ | d̪ˠ | dʲ | dʒ | ɡ | |||||
aspirated | pˠʰ | pʲʰ | t̪ˠʰ | tʲʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | fˠ | fʲ | θˠ | θʲ | sˠ | sʲ | ʃ | x | ħ | h |
voiced | vˠ | vʲ | ðˠ | ðʲ | zˠ | zʲ | ʒ | ɣ | |||
Trill | voiceless | r̥ˠ | r̥ʲ | ||||||||
voiced | rˠ | rʲ | |||||||||
Approximant | j | ʕ | |||||||||
Lat. app. | voiceless | ɬˠ | ɬʲ | ||||||||
voiced | lˠ | lʲ |
Grapheme | m | p | b | f | v | n | t | d | θ | δ | s | z | r | l | ng | c | g | χ | γ | ħ | ȝ | h | j |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hard | /mˠ/ | /pˠ/ | /bˠ/ | /fˠ/ | /vˠ/ | /nˠ/ | /tˠ/ | /dˠ/ | /θˠ/ | /ðˠ/ | /sˠ/ | /zˠ/ | /rˠ/ | /ɫ/ | /ŋ/ | /k/ | /ɡ/ | /x/ | /ɣ/ | /ħ/ | /ʕ/ | /h/ | /j/ |
Soft | /mʲ/ | /pʲ/ | /bʲ/ | /fʲ/ | /vʲ/ | /nʲ/ | /tʲ/ | /dʲ/ | /θ/ | /ð/ | /sʲ/ | /zʲ/ | /rʲ/ | /lʲ/ | /ɲ/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /ʃ/ | /ʒ/ |
- Notes
- Voiceless stops and affricates are unaspirated.
- All hard consonants are velarized (especially /rˠ, lˠ, θˠ, ðˠ/, which are uvularized).
- All consonants are labialized before the back vowels /u, uː, uɔ/.
- /tˠ, dˠ, nˠ/ are laminal denti-alveolar [t̪ˠ, d̪ˠ, n̪ˠ].
- /tʲ, dʲ, nʲ/ are laminal alveolar [t̻ʲ, d̻ʲ, n̻ʲ].
- /θˠ, θ, ðˠ, ð/ are dental spirants [θʶ, θ, ðʶ, ð].
- /sˠ, sʲ, zˠ, zʲ/ are laminal denti-alveolar [s̪ˠ, s̪ʲ, z̪ˠ, z̪ʲ].
- /rˠ/ is uvularized apical alveolar [r̺ʶ] or postalveolar [r̠ʶ]. When not geminated, it can either be a trill [rʶ] or a flap [ɾʶ].
- /rʲ/ is palatalized alveolar flap [ɾ̪ʲ] and less commonly a trill [r̺ʲ]. It is always a trill [r̺ːʲ] when geminated.
- /lˠ/ is a uvularized apical alveolar [l̺ʶ] or uvularized laminal denti-alveolar [l̪ʶ].
- /lʲ/ is laminal alveolar [l̻ʲ].
- /ɲ/ is postpalatal [ɲ̄].
- /tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/ are laminal palatalized alveolar [tʃʲ, dʒʲ, ʃʲ, ʒʲ].
- Before /k, ɡ/, /n/ is realized as velar [ŋ].
- /ħ/ has been variously described as pharyngeal [ħ] and epiglottal [ʜ].
- /ʕ/ is an epiglottal approximant [ʕ̞].
- /h/ is voiced [ɦ] after vowels and voiced consonants.
Vowels
Nurian has three short and three long vowels. There is a considerable degree of allophony in low vowels.
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | /ɪ~ɪ̞/ | /iː/ | /ʊ/ | /uː/ | ||
Open | [ɛ~æ] | [æː] | /a/ | /aː/ | [ɑ] | [ɑː] |
Diphthongs: /aɪ aʊ iɛ uɔ/
- Notes
- Short /ɪ/ is lowered to [ɪ̞] after hard consonants.
- /a aː/ each have three allophones:
- [ɐ~ɑ ɑː] after non-radical hard consonants
- [ɛ~æ æː] after soft consonants, radicals and /h/
- Allophony of /a aː/ is, however, reduced in the speech of many younger speakers, who pronounce both as [ɐ aː]
Fiuχχēra accent
The Fiuχχēra [fuʃˈʃæːrˁɑ] accent turns hard consonants into uvularized consonants, and soft consonants into plain.
- θˠ ðˠ > fˁ vˁ
- Non-rhotic
Consonants
Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Radical | Glottal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hard | soft | hard | soft | hard | soft | ||||||
Nasal | mʶ | m | nʶ | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
Stop | tenuis | pʶ | p | tʶ | t | tʃ | k | ||||
voiced | bʶ | b | dʶ | d | dʒ | ɡ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | fʶ | f | θ | sʶ | s | ʃ | x~χ | ħ | h | |
voiced | vʶ | ð | zʶ | z | ʒ | ɣ~ʁ | ʕ | ||||
Trill | rʶ | r | |||||||||
Approximant | central | wʶ | w | j | |||||||
lateral | l |
- Notes
- Hard consonants are uvularized, like Arabic emphatic consonants.
Orthography
Consonants
Grapheme | m | p | b | f | v | n | t | d | θ | δ | s | z | r | l | ng | c | g | χ | γ | ħ | ȝ | h | j |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hard | /mˠ/ | /pˠ/ | /bˠ/ | /fˠ/ | /vˠ/ | /nˠ/ | /tˠ/ | /dˠ/ | /θˠ/ | /ðˠ/ | /sˠ/ | /zˠ/ | /rˠ/ | /ɫ/ | /ŋ/ | /k/ | /ɡ/ | /x/ | /ɣ/ | /ħ/ | /ʕ/ | /h/ | /j/ |
Soft | /mʲ/ | /pʲ/ | /bʲ/ | /fʲ/ | /vʲ/ | /nʲ/ | /tʲ/ | /dʲ/ | /θ/ | /ð/ | /sʲ/ | /zʲ/ | /rʲ/ | /lʲ/ | /ɲ/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /ʃ/ | /ʒ/ |
Velars (ng c g χ γ) remain hard before other consonants. The remaining consonants assimilate in palatalization before other consonants.
Vowels
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Grammar
Somewhat unusually, Nurian is verb-final with prepositions and modified-modifier order.
Nouns
Sgv-clv-plv system.