Níevzi
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| Nivian | |
|---|---|
| Níevzi | |
| Pronunciation | [/'ɲevzi/] |
| Created by | – |
| Native speakers | 301,486 (2012) |
Isolate
| |
Early form | Sirina
|
| Official status | |
Official language in | Persirus, Sævíus |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ni |
| ISO 639-2 | niv |
| ISO 639-3 | niv |
Nivian (Nivian: Níevzi, /'ɲevzi/) is an a priori language that was the second generation of Siryn languages. Its purpose is to express the complex thoughts of humans in a superior manner.
Background
The first evidence of Níevzi is from a carved stone discovered in the Íuçol Forest in present-day Pęrsirùs from thousands of years ago, before the Sirina people separated. Experts believe that it belonged to Sirê Zesú's (the creator of the first generation of Sirina languages) grand-successor. It wasn't until about 100 years after the language was created that the Latin alphabet made its way to Siryn. The first generation was very simple and is still used in some parts of Lezsía, /'lɛt͡sja/, (the region consisting of Pęrsirùs and Sævíùs).
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | f v | θ ð | s v t͡s | ʃ ʒ | χ ʁ | h | |||
| Approximant | ɹ | j | ||||||||
| Flap or tap | ⱱ | |||||||||
| Lateral fric. | ɬ | |||||||||
| Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
| Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |||
| Near-close | ɪ | ||||
| Close-mid | e | o | |||
| Mid | ə | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ œ | ||||
| Near-open | æ | ɐ | |||
| Open |
Phonotactics
There are three types of consonant clusters allowed in the Níevzi language. These occurances are the ONLY time two cononants can be consecutive in the same syllable.
- xi /ʃ/ - This cluster can only be used in the beginning of a syllable, but not a word.
- csh /ɬ/ - This cluster can only be used at the beginning of a word.
- zs /t͡s/ - This cluster can be used anywhere in a word or syllable.
Orthography
| Letters | Name | Pronunciation | Further informations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ææ | al | /æ/ | - |
| Aa | a | /a/ | - |
| Ää | av | /ɔ/ | - |
| Åå | å | /e/ | - |
| Bb | bå | /b/ | - |
| Çç | çå | /θ/ | - |
| Ċċ | ċå | /ð/ | - |
| Dd | då | /d/ | - |
| Ee/Ęę | e | /ɛ/ | ę is used only before an r. e is used for every other case |
| Ëë | íë | /œ/ | - |
| Ėė | ë | /œ/ | A very short "ë" sound. It is mainly used to separate two consecutive consonants |
| Ff | få | /f/ | - |
| Gg | ga | /g/ | - |
| Hh | ha | /h/ | Exception: It will be pronounced like /χ/ (vl uvular fricative), when it an "a" follows it. |
| Ii | i | /i/ | - |
| Íí | ía | /j/ | Used *only* before a vowel to add a short "y" sound to it. |
| Îî | î | /aɪ/ | - |
| Ʒʒ | ʒa | /ʒ/ | - |
| Kk | ek | /k/ | - |
| Mm | em | /m/ | - |
| Nn | en | /n/ | - |
| Oo | o | /o/ | - |
| Øø | ío | /ɔɪ/ | - |
| Pp | på | /p/ | - |
| Rr | rå | /r/ | Exception: When "r" is used at the beginning of a word or at the end of a syllable it is pronounced as /ʁ/ |
| Tt | ta | /t/ | - |
| Uu | u | /u/ | - |
| Ùù | íù | /ə/ | - |
| Vv | vå | /ⱱ/ | Exception: It is pronounced like /v/ when it ends a word. |
| Ww | wå | /w/ | - |
| Xx | ax | /k͡s/ | - |
| Yy | yv | /ɪ/ | - |
| Zz | za | /z/ | - |
Dialects
There are two main dialects: Vef and Lop. They were created after the Siryn Split, when the people who favored a strong, absolute dictatorship moved to present-day Sævíùs, /'sævjəs/, (literally means "powerful land") and the people who favored a limited monarchy moved to present-day Pęrsirùs, /pɛʁ'siʁəs/ (literally means "land of family"). Immediately after the separation, there were many wars between the new nations. However, after a horrible defeat, Sævíùs isolated themselves from all outside influence. As a result, a new dialect of Níevzi was born.
- Vef /'vɛf/ - Vef literally translates to "old", since this dialect was the original second-generation. A Níevzi class will be teaching this dialect as it is the one most accepted to be regular "Níevzi". Vef is spoken by a majority of the people in Pęrsirús.
- Lod /'lod/ - Lod literally translates to "new", since this dialect is newer than the original second-generation. This is spoken in Sæviús. The pronunciations of some letters are slightly different and there is an irregular group of verbs that have a different ending from the regular "ë".
- • æ → pronounced as /aɪ/
- • å → pronounced as /ɛ/
- • ë → pronounced as /ə/
- • r (if it ends a syllable/starts a word and is pronounced as /ʁ/) → pronounced as /l/
- • -o verb ending in place of "-ë" for the following verbs:
- æzsirë → æzsiro (to connect (people))
- zipæmë → zipæmo (to play)
- æmë → æmo (to stay/remain)
- elisnanë → elisnano (to buy)
- polæzesë → polæzeso (to lie)
- lîvnavë → lînavo (to eat)
- nofelë → nofelo (to balance)
- dåvíë → dåvío (to release)