Katäfalsen
Introduction
Katafalsen (pronunciation: [ˈkɑtɑfɑlsɛn]) is an apriori language, which is partially inspired by Basque, Hebrew and Latin. The aim was to construct a language with simple phonology along with unorthodox grammar and syntax. Katafalsen is highly synthetic and features a free word order and ergative-absolutive alignment.
Phonology
Consonants
The consonant phonemes of Modern Katafalsen are as follows:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ |
n /n/ |
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| Stop | voiced | b /b/ |
d /d/ |
g /g/ | |
| voiceless | p /p/ |
t /t/ |
k /k/ | ||
| Fricative | f /f/ |
s /s/ |
h /x/ | ||
| Approximant | r /ɹ/ |
j /j/ |
w /w/ | ||
| Lateral approximant | l /l/ |
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Vowels
The vowel inventory of Katafalsen is quite symmetrical as there are each three front, back, rounded and unrounded vowels.
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | |
| Close | i /i/ |
y /y/ |
u /u/ | |
| Mid | e /e̞/ |
o /o̞/ | ||
| Open | a /ɑ/ |
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The only vowel that distinguishes length is /ɑ/ contrasting phonemically with /ɑː/. The long vowel is represented by ⟨ä⟩.
The sequences /ɑj/ and /ɑw/ are realised as diphthongs, while adjacent vowels are usually pronounced in hiatus.