Ihlleng
Illheng [ˈiɬːeŋ] is another language spoken in my far-future Antarctic conworld. It is spoken on an island in the Ross Sea, and is distantly related to Kämpya (spoken on the west side of the Trans-Antarctic mountains), and shares a number of similarities. Due to the spread of the Laikyâr religion to the island, the language has been further influenced by Kämpya.
In terms of syntax, both distinguish between alienable and inalienable possession, and both are topic prominent, secundative, and syntactically ergative (though in some aspects Illheng is more like a fluid-S language), with some conflation between the ergative and the genitive case. Both mark restrictiveness on adjectives and relative clauses, but whereas Kämpya uses word order and tone, Illheng uses prefixes. The morphology is considerably more complex than Kämpya, especially on verbs, which mark polypersonal agreement as well as inflecting for tense. In contrast, the phonology is simpler than Kämpya (although quite similar, with aspirated stops and voiceless approximants though no voiceless nasals).
Phonology
Vowels
There are 7 phonemic vowel qualities /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ (the last two cannot occur word finally). There are 6 diphthongs: /ai/, /au/, /ei/, /ou/, /eu/ and /ou/.
Consonants
The following sounds are heard in Illheng:
| Labial | Alveolar | Lateral | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | (ɲ) | ŋ* | ||
| Stop | (pʰ) p b | (tʰ) t d | (c) (ɟ) | (kʰ) k g | ||
| Fricative | s z | (ɬ) | (ç) | x | h | |
| Approximant | (ʍ) w | l | j |
/ŋ/ cannot occur at the beginning of words.
Sounds in brackets are underlyingly clusters:
- [ɲ] is underlyingly /nj/.
- Aspirated consonants are underlyingly clusters of stop + /h/.
- [c] and [ɟ] are underlyingly /kj/ and /gj/ respectively.
- [ɬ], [ç] and [ʍ] are underlyingly /hl/, /hj/ and /hw/ respectively.
Phonotactics
Only syllables of the form (C) (C) V (C) are permitted.
Initial Consonant Clusters
There are several types of initial clusters permitted:
- Voiceless Stop + Voiceless Stop (rare) e.g. /ktaˈnaːi/ - dirty
- Voiceless Stop + Voiceless Fricative e.g. /ˈtfipːa/ - intestine
- Obstruent + Approximant e.g. /ˈzloːub/ - world
- Nasal + Semivowel (/j/ or /w/) e.g. /ˈmjuːzik/ - music
/ŋ/ and /x/ cannot be followed by /j/.
Coda Consonants
At the end of words, any nasal or obstruent can appear in a coda (other than /h/). However, elsewhere, the only possible coda consonant is a nasal, than must be homorganic with the following consonant e.g. the first person masculine singular present involitional is marked by the circumfix /om/ ... /do/. But when this is added to the verb stem /ˈhleːpjeŋ/ - to sleep, the result is /onˈhleːpjendo/ - I (masculine) sleep (involuntarily), with the /m/ and the /ŋ/ assimilating to /n/.
Restrictions on /h/
Only one instance of /h/ is allowed in a word. For example, the 3rd person masculine plural present involitional is marked by the circumfix /hja/ ... /do/. But when this is added to a verb root such as /ˈhleːpjeŋ/ - to sleep, then the initial /h/ is lost, yielding /jaˈhleːpjendo/ - they (masculine) sleep (involuntarily).
Suprasegmentals
One syllable in each word is stressed. Each stressed syllable either has a long vowel (e.g. /ˈhleːpjeŋ/ - to sleep), or geminates the consonant or consonant cluster after it (e.g. /ˈihlːeŋ/ - Illheng).
Morphology
Nouns
Plurals
Pluralisation is done by reduplicating the stressed syllable of the noun. The reduplication is placed after the noun root e.g.
/baˈnaː/ - banana -> /baˈnaːna/ - bananas
/ˈwindːo/ - wind -> /ˈwindːowin/ - winds
If the stressed syllable is open, but not the last syllable of the word, then the first consonant of the next syllable is reduplicated with it e.g.
/ˈpfutːa/ - fruit -> /ˈpfutːapfut/ - fruits
/ˈmadːle/ - mother -> /ˈmadːlemad/ - mothers
/ˈdɔktːa/ - doctor -> /ˈdɔktːaˈdɔk/ - doctors
However, if the reduplication would cause an illegal consonant cluster, the second member of the clusters is deleted e.g.
/ˈzloːub/ - world -> /ˈzloːubloub/ - worlds (not */ˈzloːubzloub/)
/ˈzwɛbːit/ - rabbit -> /ˈzwɛbːitwɛb/ - rabbits (not */ˈzwɛbːitzwɛb/)
/ˈmɛdːik/ - spell (magic) -> /ˈmɛdːikɛd/ - spells (not */ˈmɛdːikmɛd/)
/aˈlaːm/ - booby trap -> /aˈlaːmam/ - booby traps (not */aˈlaːmlam/)
/ˈzwekːod/ - record -> /ˈzwekːodwek/ - records (not */ˈzwekːodzwek/)
If the reduplication would create a word that ends in /j/ or /w/, then a diphthong is formed instead e.g.
/ˈnawːa/ - rope -> /ˈnawːanau/ - ropes
/ˈbajːa/ - bay -> /ˈbajːabai/ - bays
If the reduplication would create a word that ends in /l/, then the final /l/ is deleted e.g.
/osiˈbolːi/ - hand towel -> /osiˈbolːibo/ (not */osiˈbolːibol/)
If the reduplication involves duplicating a /h/ phoneme, then the /h/ phoneme in the root is deleted. This is due to the restriction that only one /h/ phoneme is allowed in a word. e.g.
/ˈhonːe/ - bone -> /ˈonːehon/ - bones (not */ˈhonːehon/)
/ˈthestːo/ - test -> /ˈtestːothes/ - tests (not */ˈthestːothes/)
/ˈhjoːka/ - mark / grade / score -> /ˈjoːkahjok/ - marks / grades / scores (not */ˈhjoːkahjok/)
If the reduplication involves duplicating a /h/ phoneme and placing it at the end of the word, both copies of the /h/ phoneme are lost e.g.
/ˈmahlːa/ - thug -> /ˈmalːama/ - thugs (not */ˈmahlːama/)
If the noun root ends with a nasal, then it assimilates to the place of articulation of any following consonant in the reduplication e.g.
/ˈbɔtːan/ - button -> /ˈbɔtːambɔt/ - buttons
If the noun root ends with a diphthong (/ai/, /au/, /ei/, /ou/, /eu/ or /ou/), and the stressed syllable is an initial syllable without an onset consonant, then the second part of the diphthong becomes a semivowel e.g.
/ˈekːau/ - echo -> /ˈekːawek/ - echoes (/u/ changes to /w/)
If the stressed syllable is an initial syllable without an onset consonant, then there is a possibility of the reduplication forming diphthongs e.g.
/ˈunːja/ - fingernail -> /ˈunːjaun/ - fingernails
/ˈumːo/ - fume -> /ˈumːoum/ - fumes
/ˈimːa/ - moment -> /ˈimːaim/ - moments
/ˈimːo/ - sweet potato -> /ˈimːoim/ - sweet potatoes
/ˈumːe/ - plum -> /ˈumːeum/ - plums
If a diphthong cannot be formed (i.e. the two vowels combine to give something other than /ai/, /au/, /ei/, /ou/, /eu/ or /ou/), then some kind of contraction occurs. If the two vowels are identical, then they contract to one vowel e.g.
/ˈotːxo/ - other -> /ˈotːxot/ - others
/ˈasːa/ - morning -> /ˈasːas/ - mornings
If the two vowels are /a/ plus either /e/ or /o/ (in any order), then they contract to give /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ respectively e.g.
/ˈembːa/ - ember -> /ˈembːɛm/ - embers (not */ˈembːaem/)
/ˈantːjo/ - wilderness -> /ˈantːjɔn/ - wildernesses (not */ˈantːjoan/)
If the two vowels are /ɛ/ plus either /a/ or /e/, then they contract to /ɛ/ e.g.
/ˈɛŋkːa/ - anchor -> /ˈɛŋkːɛŋ/ - anchors
Likewise, if the two vowels are /ɔ/ plus either /a/ or /o/, then they contract to /ɔ/ e.g.
/ˈɔnːa/ - achievement -> /ˈɔxːɔx/ - achievements
If one of the above assimilation rules doesn't apply, then the first vowel of the two vowel sequence becomes a semivowel e.g.
/ˈasːi/ - leg -> /ˈasːjas/ - legs
/ˈiŋkːu/ - ink -> /ˈiŋkːwiŋ/ - inks
/ˈɛːnto/ - ant -> /ˈɛːntwɛn/ - ants
However, if the above rule would put two semivowels together, the first vocalises to become a vowel e.g.
/ˈonːlwe/ - man -> /ˈonːlujon/ - men
/ˈenlːjo/ - a gift that is refused because of politeness -> /ˈenlːiwen/ - gifts that are refused because of politeness (not */ˈenlːjwen/)
If the stressed syllable begins with a single voiceless obstruent (perhaps with a semivowel after it), then this is usually lenited in the reduplication e.g.
/ˈsjelːo/ - sky -> /ˈsjelːozje/ - skies
/x/ and /h/ both lenit to /b/ e.g.
/siŋˈxilːo/ - club (weapon) -> /siŋˈxilːobi/ - clubs (weapon)
However, voiceless obstruents do not undergo lenition if there is another voiced obstruent nearby (separated by nothing more than sonorants) e.g.
/ˈsoudːja/ - soldier -> /ˈsoudːjasoud/ - soldiers (not */ˈsoudːjazoud/)