Letaale
Uoriuo is a constructed secret language used by tahu, members of the Tagahu, a secretive and technologically advanced male-only military force governing the known parts of the space habitat Oru. Little is known of the designer(s) of the language however its use follows a long tradition. It is taught to all kia tahu (boys who are raised to be tahu) from a young age, adhering to a strict prescriptive standard. All speakers are male and all are also fluent in Guaru, generally speaking both natively. In informal situations, many Tahu engage in extensive code switching.
Name
Uoriuo [ˈ(ʔ)uoɾiˈuo] is the name given to this language in the Guaru language. It may be a corruption of the word volivo [ˈvolivo]~[ˈwoɾiwo] which is essentially the accusative form of "you" as this may be a word that is heard in interactions with the Tagahu. In Uoriuo itself, the language is most commonly referred to using the root taalejo although this is not the name of the language as such but a root that refers to speaking the language.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | Romanisation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | < m n g > | ||
| Plosive | t | k | ʔ | < t k x > | ||
| Fricative | v | s | ʒ | h | < v s j h > | |
| Lateral | l | < l > |
Most allophones exist in more or less free variation.
- Both /t/ and /k/ are unaspirated. /t/ is usually dental.
- The consonants /t k s/ may be pronounced as voiced /d g z/, especially when non-initial.
- /v/ has a wide range of pronunciation, being essentially anywhere in the realm of [v β ʋ w] although it tightens towards [v] when either of the adjacent vowels is is /u/.
- /ʒ/ likewise has a range of pronunciations, somewhere in the viscinity of [ʒ ʑ ʐ ʝ]. When either of the adjacent vowels is /i/, /ʒ/ is usually pronounced tenser and less likely to appear as [ʝ].
- /l/ may be pronounced as a lateral [l], a tap/flap [ɾ] or a lateral flap [ɺ]
Vowels
Uoriuo has a simple system of five-vowels qualities, with a long and a short version of each, as in Hawaiian.
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | i iː | u uː | |
| open mid | e eː | o oː | |
| low | a aː |
When stressed, these vowels have the tense cardinal pronunciations of [i e a o u]. When unstressed and short, they tend to weaken towards [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɔ ʊ].
Long vowels are indicated in the romanisation by doubling.
In addition, there are the falling diphthongs /ai ia io iu ua ue ui/ and the (marginal) rising diphthongs /iaː ioː iuː uaː ueː uiː/.
Phonotactics
The allowable syllable structure of Uoriuo is CV(V). All syllables begin with a consonant and may contain one or two vowels (long vowels and diphthongs count as two). All combinations of consonant and vowel are allowed.
Prosody
Word stress falls on the last long vowel or diphthong in a word. If all the vowels are short, stress falls on the initial syllable.
Morphophonology
Each of the eleven consonants is associated with a consonant and vice versa. These pairs are relevant for alternations such as the noun k_j_m_ ('the dog') which alternates with the verb _uu_o_i ('be a dog').
| Consonant | Vowel | Syllable |
|---|---|---|
| n | a | na |
| l | e | le |
| m | i | mi |
| j | o | jo |
| g | u | gu |
| t | aa | taa |
| x | ee | xee |
| h | ii | hii |
| s | oo | soo |
| k | uu | kuu |
| v | ai | vai |
Nearly all lemmata are composed of three of the resulting syllables. For example jotaale is allowable as a lemma whereas jitaale is not because ji is not a lemma syllable since /ʒ/ associates with /o/.
The remaining vowels, the diphthongs beginning with /u/ and /i/, are only found in prefixes and clitics which may begin with any consonant.