Jakvalat

Introduction

Goals

To create an aesthetically pleasing, yet easily pronounceable (for me), language for the setting of a habitable alternative Venus.

Setting

The setting is a Venus with a thinner crust which enables convection of heat within the planet's core and, despite Venus' slower rotation, the subsequent generation of a magnetic field sufficient to prevent the loss of the planet's oceans.

Common Venerian (ComVen: Lanakwa) is the predominant lingua franca spoken on Venus (ComVen: Lhinla). It originated from the environs of the mercantile city of Suliriyal on the continent of Yehadramit.

Phonology

A. Orthography

Native Alphabet	Practical Orthography	IPA
⟨o⟩	⟨p⟩	/p/
⟨ɵ⟩	⟨ph⟩	/f/
⟨c⟩	⟨b⟩	/b/
⟨ɔ⟩	⟨m⟩	/m/
⟨s⟩	⟨w⟩	/w/
⟨v⟩	⟨t⟩	/t/
⟨ʌ⟩	⟨th⟩	/θ/
⟨w⟩	⟨d⟩	/d/
⟨ʍ⟩	⟨n⟩	/n/
⟨x⟩	⟨s⟩	/s/
⟨ɴ⟩	⟨r⟩	/ɹ/
⟨ɛ⟩	⟨x⟩	/ɬ/
⟨ɜ⟩	⟨l⟩	/l/
⟨n⟩	⟨k⟩	/k/
⟨u⟩	⟨kh⟩	/x/
⟨m⟩	⟨ɡ⟩	/ɡ/
⟨ɯ⟩	⟨q⟩	/ŋ/
⟨ʜ⟩	⟨y⟩	/j/
⟨z⟩	⟨h⟩	/h/

NOTES:

1. The native script was ultimately derived from an ancient featural abugida.

2. The practical orthography was devised by the first terrestrial linguists to reach Venus. It has since become the default scheme of romanisation for Common Venerian.

3. The spelling of both the native alphabet and the practical orthography is morphophonemic in that the spelling is phonemic but does change to reflect morphophonemic changes.

4. The following punctuation marks are in use:

⟨.⟩ = short pause, equivalent to a comma or semi-colon. ⟨:⟩ = long pause, equivalent to a colon or full stop.

Punctuation marks occur immediately after the last word of a clause and never occur consecutively.

5. Any given word is separated from any following word by a space. There are no equivalents to parentheses, quotation marks, exclamation marks or questions marks.

1. Consonants

	Labial	Central Coronal	Lateral Coronal	Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive
-voiceless	/p/	/t/		/k/
-voiced	/b/	/d/		/ɡ/
Fricative
-sibilant		/s/	/ɬ/
-spirant	/f/	/θ/		/x/
-aspirate					/h/
Sonorant
-nasal	/m/	/n/		/ŋ/
-lateral			/l/
Approximant
-rhotic		/ɹ/
-semivowel	/w/			/j/

n Common Venerian has 19 consonants which, according to the World Atlas of Language Structures, is an average inventory. The most notable features, according to WALs, are the presence of a lateral obstruent, the initial velar nasal and a dental fricative.

2. Vowels

	Front	Back
High	/i/	/u/
Low	/ɛ/	/ɑ/

Common Venerian has 4 vowel qualities which, according to WALS, is a small inventory. The consonant-vowel ratio is 4.75 which is a moderately high ratio.

C. Allophony

1. /p, t, k/ are realised as [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] when the only consonant in the onset of a stressed syllable.

2. In intervocalic position and when the onset of an unstressed syllable, /b, d, ɡ/ are realised as [v, ð̠, ʒ].

3. Onset /s, ɬ/ is realised as [z, ɮ] after a coda of /b, d/.

4. Coda /s, ɬ/ is realised as [z, ʒ] before an onset of /b, d, ɡ/.

5. The consonant clusters /ɬp, ɬt, ɬk/ are realised as [ʃp, ʃt, ʃk].

6. The consonant clusters /ɬm, ɬn, ɬŋ, ɬl/ are realised as [ʃm, ʃn, ʃŋ, ʃl].

7. The consonant clusters /ɬɹ, ɬw, ɬj/ are realised as [ʃɹ, ʃw, ʃj].

8. The consonant clusters /mm, nn, ŋŋ, ll/ are realised as [bm, dn, ɡŋ, dl].

9. /i, u/ are realised as [ɪ, ʊ] in closed syllables.

D. Phonotactics

1. Syllable template: C(C)V(C).

2. Permitted syllable codas: /t, k, b, d, s, ɬ, θ, x, m, n, ŋ, l/.

3. /s, ɬ, l/ do not occur as world-final codas.

4. /ʇ, x/ only occur as codas in word-final position.

5. Permitted Syllable Onset Clusters: