Izhkut

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Izhkut
Ishcot
jën izhkut
Pronunciation[ˈɟɛn̪ iʒkʊt]
Created byJukethatbox
Date2022
Native toNorthern Birnu
Native speakers126,000,000 (256 BH)
234,000(L2)
Taskaric
  • Iskeric
    • Ilyic
      • Pokht-Izhkut
        • Izhkut
Early forms
Proto-Taskaric
  • Proto-Iskeric
    • Proto-Ilyic
      • Pokht-Izhkut
        • Old Izhkut
Official status
Official language in
Izhkutrëa, Ingdikh, Pokht
Recognised minority
language in
Minūrun
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Izhkut(jën izhkut, Izhkut: [ˈɟɛn̪ iʒkʊt]), also known as Ishcot is the most spoken Taskaric language in Radael, with a native speaker population of 126,000,000 people, and it is spoken by another 234,000 as an L2 language, primarily by students in the nation of Ingdikh, where learning the language is a compulsory part of the curriculum. The language as a whole also operates as a lingua franca in the scientific community in Birnu, as well as in diplomacy on the continent. It is also one of the 8 official languages in the West Birnu Economic Union(WBEU).

Izhkut is also spoken widely in the various Izhkut colonies, though their collective dialects(a group called Colonial Izhkut due to their shared features) have deviated quite a bit from the dialect continuum spoken in the Izhkut mainland, primarily due to geographical distance as well as influences from indigenous languages in each respective colony. Some of these loanwords have also found themselves enter the speech of Mainlanders, in a way similarly to how some Brazilian Portuguese words of indigenous origin have entered the European Portuguese variety.

Despite the region of Pokht, a vassal of Izhkutrëa, having its own native sister language of Izhkut, Pokht(Izhkut: jën pokht), the language has in recent times become heavily endangered due to the strict cultural assimilation policies of the Izhkut central government.

Phonology

Orthography

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d ɟ k g
Nasal m (n̪) n ɲ (ŋ)
Fricative (θ) (ð) s z ʃ ʒ x (h)
Tap or Flap (ɾʷ) ɾ (ɾ̠) (ɾʲ)
Semivowel j w~ɰ
Laterals l

[n̪] is an allophone of /n/, usually pronounced at the end of a word, such as in jën [ɟɛn̪] "language, speech". [θ] and [ð] are lenited allophones of /t/ and /d/, though where this lenition actually occurs depends on dialect. The general rule is that /t/ and /d/ are lenited after an /e/ or diphthong ending in -/ɪ̯/, e.g. retam [ɾeθäm] "button" or yeid [jeɪ̯ð] "legend (person)".

Vowels

Izhkut has a lot of vowels and diphthongs, most of which preserved from Old Izhkut.

Front/
Near-front
Central Back/
Near-back
Close i (ɨ) u
Near-close (ɪ) (ʊ)
Close-mid e ø o
Open-mid ɛ (œ) (ɔ)
Open (a) ä

Although there are many vowels, only six can form valid diphthongs. Two identical vowels next to each other in a diphthong don't occur either, nor does /eɛ̯/ or /ɛɨ̯/.

a i u o e ɛ
a - aɪ̯ aʊ̯ aɔ̯ aɨ̯ aɛ̯
i ia̯ - iʊ̯ iɔ̯ iɨ̯ iɛ̯
u ua̯ uɪ̯ - uɔ̯ uɨ̯ uɛ̯
o oa̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ - oɨ̯ oɛ̯
e ea̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ eɔ̯ -
ɛ ɛa̯ ɛɪ̯ ɛʊ̯ ɛɔ̯

Prosody

Stress

Stress in Izhkut is generally prototonic. When a syllable contains an /ɛ/ ⟨ë⟩ it is automatically primarily stressed.

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Nouns

Adjectives

Verbs

Adverbs

Particles

Derivational morphology

Syntax

Constituent order

Izhkut, like most Taskaric languages, uses a VSO(verb-subject-object) constituent order.

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Dialects

Colonial Izhkut

Example texts

Other resources