Cleepoyish
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| Cleepoyish | |
|---|---|
| Klippöisk | |
 Flag of the Republic of Cleepoy | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈklɪpœɪ̯sk] |
| Created by | Vrianne |
| Date | 2024 |
| Setting | Europe with a sprinkle of Alt-History |
| Native to | Republic of Cleepoy |
| Ethnicity | Cleepoyers |
| Native speakers | 40,149 (2019) |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | Proto-Indo-European
|
Standard form | Standard Cleepoyish (Fåst Klippöisk)
|
| Official status | |
Official language in | Republic of Cleepoy |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | Academy of the Cleepoyish Language |
 Distribution of Cleepoyish speakers in 1850 (left) vs. in 2019 (right)
Majority of Cleepoyish speakers
Minority of Cleepoyish speakers | |
Cleepoyish (Standard Cleepoyish: Klippöisk /ˈklɪpœɪ̯sk/), also known as Cleepoyic, is a Lesionic (Insular Germanic) language spoken on the island of Cleepoy. It is the second most spoken Lesionic language, with about 40,000 speakers all concentrated atop Cleepoy. It is also one of the two co-official languages of the Republic of Cleepoy (alongside Danish).
The modern standard form of the Cleepoyish Language, which this article mainly covers, stems from the pre-Danish dialects spoken in and around Růpläch, and was established in order to promote cleepoyish identity and phase out at-the-time dominating foreign languages such as Danish and Swedish on the island. As such, it employs a heavily etymological, yet consistent, orthography and a partly traditional phonology compared to that of other surviving dialects of Cleepoyish.
Due to Danish, in areas that lost traditional dialects, getting replaced by Standard Cleepoyish, much of Cleepoyish dialectical variation is purely phonological, more akin to accents than dialects. Though there exist areas in which traditional Cleepoyish dialects were not superseded and continue to be spoken.
History
Phonology
Standard Cleepoyish has an outlined set of 30 consonants 16 vowels. The fossilized dialects Standard Cleepoyish was based on differed from from other living dialects in the three-way /w/ /β/ /ʍ/ distinction, /h/-dropping, and denasalization of the Old Cleepoyish long nasal vowels.
Phonemes
| Front | Back | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | ||||||
| Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | ||
| Close | yː | (uː) | |||||
| Close-Mid | ɪ | eː | ʏ | øː | ʊ | oː | |
| Open-Mid | ɛ | œ | ɔ | ɔː | |||
| Open | æ | æː | a | aː | |||
- /uː/ only occurs in loanwords.
- /a/ is central [ä], while /aː/ is back [ɑː]
| -ɪ̯ | -ʏ̯ | -ʊ̯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ɛ- | ɛɪ̯ | ɛʏ̯ | |
| œ- | œɪ̯ | œʏ̯ | |
| ɔ- | ɔɪ̯ | ɔʊ̯ |
- /œɪ̯ ɔʊ̯/ tend to merge with /œʏ̯ ɔː/ respectively in fast speech.
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | Voiceless | n̥ | |||||
| Voiced | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Polsive | Voiceless | p | t | c | k | ||
| Voiced | b | d | ɟ | (ɡ) | |||
| Fricative | Voiceless | ɸ | θ | s | ʃ | ʍ | h |
| Voiced | β | ð | z | ||||
| Affricate | (p͡ɸ) | (t͡s) | c͡ç | (ɟ͡ʝ) | |||
| Trill/Tap | Voiceless | r̥ | |||||
| Voiced | r | ||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | ||||
- /m n z l ʃ j w/ can become geminated. /r/ may also geminate but only in nonnative words like ⟨herr⟩ /ɛrː/.
- /n̥/, depending on speaker, may be naturally geminated [n̥ː].
- /ɡ/ is an allophone of /k/ intervocalically.
- a rising number of speakers de-affricate /c͡ç/ to [ç].
- /ɟ͡ʝ/ is now largely dated and is instead merged with /c͡ç/ for the vast majority of younger speakers.
- /p͡ɸ t͡s/ appear only in loans from German like ⟨pferd⟩ /p͡ɸɛrt/ & ⟨cart⟩ /t͡sart/.
- /r/ may either be:
- a tap [ɾ], which is the most common.
- a trill [r], less common but not rare.
- a guttural [ʁ~ʀ], by far the least common and tends come off as haughty or pretentious.
- ... though /r̥/ is always trilled [r̥(ˑ)].
Evolution from Old Cleepoyish
Phonotactics
Compared to other Germanic languages, Cleepoyish allows a modest maximum syllable structure of (C)(C)V(S)(C)(s), wherin S is a sonorant, and the onset cluster cannot be comprised of two consonants with the same manner of articulation, except for approximants. Voiceless /n̥ r̥/ are allowed only in the onset and cannot cluster, while /ŋ/ is only allowed in the coda, and a nasal cannot directly precede a fricative except for in compound words.
Orthography
The Cleepoyish Alphabet consists of 41 distinct letters (including letters with diacritics), 18 of which are vowels. The Cleepoyish Alphabet went through very minimal reforms and, while it may be a good alphabet for Old Cleepoyish per se, it is very redundant and bloated.
| Letter | Name | IPA [Standard] | Dialectical Variants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, a | a | /a/ | [ä] [ɑ] [ɑː] |
| Ä, ä | a omlyyd | /ɛ/ | [æ] |
| Å, å | a hring | /ɔ/ | [ɒ] [ɑ] |
| Ą, ą | a stirt | /a/ | [ɑː] [ɑ̃] |
| B, b | bee | /b/, /p/ (syllable-final) | [β] [ʋ] [v] |
| C, c | cee | /t͡s/ | [ts] [sː] |
| D, d | dee | /d/, /t/ (syllable-final) | [ð] |
| Ð, ð | eð | /ð/, /θ/ (syllable-final) | [d] [z] |
| E, e | ee | /ɛ/ | [æ] [ə] |
| Ę, ę | ee stirt | /æ/ | [æː] [ɛ̃] [æ̃] |
| F, f | ev | /ɸ/ | [f] |
| G, g | gee | /j/ (front vowels), /w/ (back vowels) | [ɡ] [ɣ] |
| H, h | håch | /Ø/, /h/ (inter-vocalic) | [h] |
| I, i | ii | /ɪ/ | [i] |
| Į, į | ii stirt | /eː/ | [iː] [ɪ̃] |
| J, j | jåt | /j/ | |
| K, k | kee | /k/, /ɡ/ (inter-vocalic), /ʃ/ (front vowels) | [t͡ʃ] |
| L, l | el | /l/ | [ɫ] |
| M, m | em | /m/ | |
| N, n | en | /n/ | |
| O, o | oy | /ɔ/ | |
| Ö, ö | oy omlyyd | /œ/ | |
| Ǫ, ǫ | oy stirt | /aː/ | [oː] [ɔ̃] [ɑ̃] |
| Ǫ̈, ǫ̈ | oy omlyyd stirt | /æː/ | [øː] [œ̃] [æ̃] |
| P, p | pee | /p/, /b/ (inter-vocalically) | |
| Q, q | quee | only in ⟨qu⟩ | |
| R, r | er | /r/ | [r] [ʁ] [ʀ] |
| S, s | ez | /s/ | [z] |
| T, t | tee | /t/, /d/ (inter-vocalically) | |
| U, u | u | /ʊ/ | [u] [uː] [oː] |
| Ù, ù | lomùk u | /ɔ/ | [u] [ʊ] |
| Ü, ü | u omyyd | /œ/ | [y] [ʏ] |
| Ů, ů | u hring | /ɔː/ | [oʊ̯] [oː] [uː] |
| Ų, ų | u stirt | /oː/ | [uː] [ʊ̃] |
| Ų̈, ų̈ | u omlyyd stirt | /øː/ | [yː] [ʏ̃] |
| V, v | vee | /β/, /ɸ/ (syllable-final) | [v] [ʋ] |
| W, w | wee | /w/ | [v] [ʋ] |
| X, x | ex | /ks/ | [k] [s(ː)] |
| Y, y | ypsilon | /ʏ/ | [y] |
| Z, z | zet | /z/, /s/ (syllable-final) | [ʒ] |
| Þ, þ | þee | /θ/, /ð/ (inter-vocalically) | [t] [s] |
| Digraph | IPA [Standard] | Dialectical Variants |
|---|---|---|
| Ää, ää | /æ/ | [æː] [eː] [ɛː] |
| Äu, äu | /ɛʏ̯/ | [ɛʊ̯] [æʊ̯] |
| Åå, åå | /ɔː/ | [ɔʊ̯] [oʊ̯] [ɑː] [ɒː] |
| Bb, bb | /b/, /p/ (syllable-final) | |
| Ch, ch | /ʃ/ | |
| Dd, dd | /ɟ/, /c/ (syllable-final) | [ɟː] [d] [dj] |
| Dj, dj | [ɟː] [dj] | |
| Ee, ee | /æː/ | [eː] [ɛɪ̯] |
| Eu, eu | /jɔ/ | [jo] [jʊ] |
| Eü, eü | /jœ/ | [jø] [jʏ] [yː] |
| Gg, gg | /ɟ/, /c/ (syllable-final) | [ɟː] [ɡ] [ɡj] |
| Gw, gw | /ɟ͡ʝ/ or /c͡ç/ | [ʝ] [ɡw] [ɡʋ] |
| Hw, hw | /ʍ/ | [w] [hw] [ʋ] [v] |
| Hn, hn | /n̥/ | [n] [nː] [hn] |
| Hr, hr | /r̥/ | [ɾ̥] [r] [hɾ] |
| Ii, ii | /ɛɪ̯/ | [iː] |
| Jj, jj | /jː/ | [j] |
| Kk, kk | /c/, /ʃ/ (front vowels), /ʃː/ (front vowels, inter-vocalic) | [cː] [k] [t͡ʃ] |
| Ll, ll | /lː/ | [ɫː] [l] [ɫ] |
| Mm, mm | /mː/ | [m] |
| Nn, nn | /nː/ | [n] |
| Ng, ng | /ŋ/ | [ŋɡ] [ŋː] |
| Oo, oo | /aː/ | [oː] [ɔː] [oʊ̯] |
| Oy, oy | /ɔʊ̯/ | [oʊ̯] [œʏ̯] [æʊ̯] [æʏ̯] |
| Öö, öö | /æː/ | [øː] [œː] [øʏ̯] |
| Öi, öi | /œɪ̯/ | [œʏ̯] [ɛɪ̯] |
| Öu, öu | /œʏ̯/ | [ɛʏ̯] |
| Pf, pf | /p͡ɸ/ | [p͡f] [pf] [f] [fː] |
| Ph, ph | /ɸ/ | [f] |
| Pp, pp | /p/ | |
| Qu, qu | /c͡ç/ | [ç] [cː] [kw] [kʋ] |
| Rh, rh | /r̥/ | [ɾ̥] [r] [ɾh] |
| Sk, sk | /sk/ (back vowels), /ʃ/ (front vowels), /ʃː/ (front vowels, inter-vocalic) | [t͡ʃ] |
| Tt, tt | /c/ | [cː] [t] [tj] |
| Uu, uu | /uː/ | |
| Üü, üü | /yː/ | [œʏ̯] |
| Yy, yy | /œʏ̯/ | [yː] [ɛʏ̯] |
| Zz,zz | /zː/, /s(ː)/ (syllable-final) | [z] [ʒ] |
Grammar
Cleepoyish Grammar is the simplest among Lesionic languages, owing to modest simplifications over time.
Nominals
Nominals decline for a non-oblique case (nominative and accusative mashed together) and a dative case.
Nouns
Nouns decline across two general paradigms: z-stem nouns and n-stem nouns, with each paradigm splitting into sub-stems: o-stem, i-stem, oo-stem, and weak-stem nouns pertaining to z-stem nouns, and o-stem and oo-stem nouns pertaining to the n-stem.
z-stem nouns
Z-stem nouns form their non-oblique plurals with either -oz, -iz, or -ooz depending on substem:
O-substem nouns are the most common, and are what modern loanwords are classified into. They form a non-oblique plural with -oz and feature umlauting in the dative case (except in loanwords):
| boþel, "house; dwelling" | hnåpp, "cup" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | boþel | boþloz | hnåpp | hnåpoz |
| Dative | böþli | böþlom | hnäpi | hnäpom |
I-substem nouns are similar to o-substem nouns, except they form a non-oblique plural with -iz. In Old Cleepoyish, they featured umlauting in both the dative singular and the non-oblique plural, and in the Růpläch dialects that umlaut spread to the non-oblique singular as well:
| męð, "month" | döör, "day" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | męð | męðiz | döör | dööriz |
| Dative | męði | męðom | dööri | döörom |
Oo-substem nouns form a non-oblique plural with -ooz, and do not feature umlauting:
| skuro, "storm; tempest" | äiþùng, "marriage" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | skuro | skurooz | äiþùng | äiþùngooz |
| Dative | skurom | äiþùngom | ||
Weak-substem nouns, as their name suggests, merge all non non-oblique singular declensions:
| äulii, "likeness; resemblance" | riik, "realm; domain" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | äulii | äuliiz | riik | riikiz |
| Dative | äuliiz | riikiz | ||
n-stem nouns
N-stem nouns form their non-oblique plurals with only -on and differ in umlauting the dative declensions:
O-substem nouns do not feature umlauting:
| ųdeu, "dawn; daybreak" | gev, "gift (dated)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | ųdeu | ųdwon | gev | gevon |
| Dative | ųdwon | ųdwom | gevon | gevom |
Oo-substem nouns, on the other hand, do feature umlauting:
| sùnnoo, "sun" | mönoo, "moon" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Accusative | sùnnoo | sùnnon | mönoo | mönon |
| Dative | sünnin | sünnom | mönin | mönom |
Pronouns
Cleepoyish Pronouns are largely conservative, not only declining for four cases separately, but also retaining a gender distinction in the plural.