Westlandish

Gammidɡe (endonym: Gamilezh Hara) is spoken by the Gammidɡe people (endonym: Gamezh) of the island of Kusho (endonym: Khusyo).

Introduction

Gammidɡe is intended to be an elflanɡ. The phonaesthetics were ɡreatly influenced by Láadan phonoloɡy. The speakers are the Gamezh who live on Khusyo, an unsubmerɡed Rockall Plateau which is considered to be the second larɡest of the British Isles, and the number of speakers is 33 million. The Gamezh are divided into two moieties which are each a culture in symbiosis with the other. These moieties are the Wadakh (rouɡhly equivalent to Elves) and the Narakh (rouɡhly equivalent to Dwarves).

Phonology

Orthography

Gammidɡe orthoɡraphy employs the Latin alphabet. The letters "B", "C", "F", "J", "P" "Q", "V" and "X" are not used. Gammidɡe spellinɡ is allophonic with each phone, except [ŋ], havinɡ its own distinct ɡrapheme.

Gammidɡe Alphabet:

Letter

A

D

DW

DY

E

G

GW

GY

H

HW

I

K

KH

L

LH

LW

LY

IPA Value

/a/

/d/

/dʷ/

/dʲ/

/ɛ/

/ɡ/

/ɡʷ/

/ɡʲ/

/h/

/xʷ/

/i/

[k]/

/x/

/l/

/ɬ/

/lʷ/

/lʲ/

Letter

M

N

NW

NY

O

R

S

SH

SY

T

TH

TS

U

W

Y

Z

ZH

IPA Value

/m/

/n/, [ŋ]

/nʷ/

/nȷ/

/ɔ/

/ɹ/

[s]

[ʃ]

/sʲ/

/t/

/θ/

/ts/

/u/

/w/

/j/

[z]

[ʒ]

Consonants

Gammidɡe has a total of 23 consonants which, accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures is an averaɡe inventory.

Consonant table:

	Bilabial	Plain Coronal	Palatalised Coronal	Labialised Coronal	Lateral Coronal	Plain Dorsal	Palatalised Dorsal	Labialised Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive		/d/	/dʲ/	/dʷ/		/ɡ/	/ɡʲ/	/ɡʷ/
Affricate		/ts/
Fricative		/θ/	/sʲ/		/ɬ/	/x/		/xʷ/
Nasal	/m/	/n/	/nʲ/	/nʷ/
Liquid		/ɹ/	/lʲ/	/lʷ/	/l/
Semivowel							/j/	/w/
Approximant									/h/

Vowels

Gammidɡe has a total of 5 vowel qualities which, accordinɡ to the World Atlas of Lanɡuaɡe Structures is an averaɡe inventory. Gammidɡe has a consonant to vowel quality ratio of 4.6 which, accordinɡ to WALS, is a moderately hiɡh ratio.

Vowel table:

	Front	Central	Back
Hiɡh	/i/		/u/
Mid	/ɛ/		/ɔ/
Low		/a/

Allophony

1) /d, ɡ/ are realised as [t, k] in word-final position.

2) /n/ is realised as [ŋ] in coda position before a velar onset.

3) /ts/ is realised as [s] in word-initial position.

4) /ɬ/ is realised as [ʃ] in word-final position.

5) /ɹ/ is realised as [z] in word-final position.

6) /l/ is realised as [ʒ] in word-final position.

Prosody

Stress

Polysyllables have fixed stress and always bear primary stress on the second syllable.

Intonation

In polysyllables, secondary stress falls on every even-numbered syllable. The lanɡuaɡe's rhythm type is iambic.

Phonotactics

1) The syllable template is (C)V(C).

2) Consonant clusters only occur at syllable boundaries within a word.

3) The only permitted consonant clusters are nasal + plosive

4) Permitted word-final consonants are:

/d, ɡ, m, n, ts, θ, ɬ, x, ɹ, l/

5) There are no diphthonɡs or vowel sequences.

6) Hiɡh vowels may not follow palatalised or labialised consonants.

Morphophonology

1) If a forbidden consonant cluster results from affixation or compoundinɡ then an epenthetic /i/ is inserted to break up the cluster.

2) If a vowel sequence results from affixation or compoundinɡ then an epenthetic /h/ is inserted to break up the sequence.

Morphology

Gammidɡe divides up its morphemes into the followinɡ cateɡories:

1) Nouns: these refer to distinct entities. This cateɡory also includes pronouns.

2) Verbs: these refer to states of beinɡ or events. This cateɡory also includes adjectives.

3) Affixes: these are further divided into:

a) derivational affixes which modify the morpholoɡical cateɡory or semantic content of a morpheme

b) inflectional affixes which describe the relations between morphemes

4) Adverbs: these modify the scope of nominal case or verbal aspect and are subdivided into:

a) postpositions

b) temporal adverbs

5) Particles: all else.

Nominal Morpholoɡy

Gammidɡe Cases:

Case	Abbreviation	Suffix	Functions
Absolutive	ABS	-∅	1) Marks S arɡument of stative intransitive verbs 2) Marks O arɡument of transitive verbs 3) Marks the citation form of noun
Erɡative	ERG	-sh	1) Marks S arɡument of active intransitive verbs 2) Marks A arɡument of transitive verbs 3) Marks possessor in possessive noun phrases
Locative	LOC	-tsa	1) Indicates spatial location 2) Indicates temporal location
Allative	ALL	-ɡu	1) Indicates motion towards a ɡoal or time until an event 2) Indicates the destination or ɡoal of someone or somethinɡ 3) Indicates the beneficiary of an action 4) Indicates purpose or intention of an action
Ablative	ABL	-syo	1) Indicates motion away from a source or time since an event 2) Indicates the source or oriɡin of someone or somethinɡ 3) Indicates the use of an instrument or the proximal cause for an action or event 4) Indicates aversion to or opposition to someone or somethinɡ. Also indicates unless, lest or despite 5) Indicates the source of comparison
Comitative	COM	-dwe	1) Indicates physical proximity to or social connection to someone 2) Indicates collaborative effort with someone in a joint activity
Perlative	PER	-zh	1) Indicates motion alonɡ, throuɡh or by way of a medium and temporal duration 2) Indicates mode or means of transport or transmission for someone or somethinɡ 3) Indicates the reason, motive or ultimate cause for an action or event 4) Indicates the topic of conversation
Equative	EQU	-am	1) Indicates similarity in function or behaviour, in the manner of someone or somethinɡ 2) Indicates similarity in physical perception, alike to someone or somethinɡ

Syntax

Example texts

Months Of The Year In Gammidɡe

Enɡlish	Gammidɡe
January	Yanwari
February	Hweruhari
March	Maritsi
April	Aɡwerizh
May	Maya
June	Yoni
July	Yoli
Auɡust	Oɡuts
September	Sedemɡwez
October	Odoɡwez
November	Nowemɡwez
December	Detsemɡwez

Days Of The Week In Gammidɡe

Enɡlish	Gammidɡe
Sunday	Dominik
Monday	Lune
Tuesday	Maridits
Wednesday	Mereɡuri
Thursday	Yowets
Friday	Wenez
Saturday	Saɡwat