Dwendish
Pictish is a language isolate spoken in the British Isles by members of the Thurse phenotype. It is in a sprachbund with the Celtic languages and shares features such as VSOX word order and initial consonant mutation.
Introduction
Phonology
Orthography
Pictish is written in a Latin script. The letters "b", "c", "e", "j", "o", "p", "s", "v", "w", "y" and "z" are not used.
Pictish Alphabet
"a" = /a/
"d" = /ð/
"dh" = /θ/
"f" = /w/
"fh" = /xʷ/
"g" = /j/
"gh" = /ç/
"h" = /h/
"i" = /i/
"k" = /k/
"l" = /l/
"l" = /ɬ/
"m" = /m/
"mq" = /ŋɡʷ/
"n" = /n/
"ng" = /ɲ/
"nk" = /ŋɡ/
"nr" = /ŋ/
"nt" = /nd/
"nx" = /ɲɟ/
"q" = /kʷ/
"r" = /ɣ/
"rh" = /x/
"t" = /t/
"u" = /u/
"x" = /c/
Note:
The glottal stop only occurs word-initially and its radical form is not written.
Consonants
NASAL: /n, ɲ, ŋ, m/
PLOSIVE:
-surd: /t, c, k, kʷ/
-prenasal: /nd, ɲɟ, ŋɡ, ŋɡʷ/
FRICATIVE: /θ, ɬ, ç, x, xʷ/
CONTINUANT:
-liquid: /l, ɣ/
-approximant: /ð, j, w/
GLOTTAL:
-stop: /ʔ/
-resonance: /h/
Vowels
HIGH: /i, u/
LOW: /a/
Allophony
1) /ɲ/ is realised as [dʒ] in word-final position
2) surds are aspirated in word-initial position
3) /c/ is realised as [tʃ] in word-final position
4) /kʷ/ is realised as [p] in word-final position
5) prenasals are realised as plain voiced plosives in word-initial position
6) /nd, ŋɡ/ are voiceless in word-final position
7) /ɲɟ/ and /ŋɡʷ/ are realised as [ɲtʃ] and [mp] in word-final position
8) /ɣ/ is realised as [ʃ] in word-final position
9) high vowels are lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] after a palatal or labial onset
10) high vowels are lowered to [ɛ, ɔ] before a word-final liquid