Verse:Irta/English
| English | |
|---|---|
| Inglish | |
| Pronunciation | [/ˈɪŋglɪʃ/] |
| Created by | – |
| Setting | Verse:Lõis |
Indo-European
| |
English in the Lõis timeline is Indo-European and pretty much has exactly the same vocabulary and grammar as our English, but with a very different history and orthography. In particular, it is an Azalic language, not a Germanic one. Also missing are some loans from German and Modern Scandinavian such as schadenfreude and smörgåsbord. Words (even words directly inherited from PIE) may not have the same etymologies as in our English.
It is part of a sprachbund with Togarmite, Padmanābha and Naušahri Persian.
In addition to the Near East, Lõisian English is spoken by diaspora communities, the largest of which are Poland, Siészalkuk, and more recently, Mexico. Note: Nahuatl loans in English predate the Azalic diaspora in Mexico by centuries, and are passed through an intermediate Corded Ware language so they would be the same as in our timeline.
Diachronics
- dialectal PIE (according to one in-universe theory): meyno- proḱnom ḱom meyno- h₂yuHṇḱ- ṇǵʰh₁olyo-isk- swer-ro- priHṇt-su: kʷo-Hn-i eǵh₂ swere h₁en protṃmo-ṇǵʰh₁olyo-isk-ei, to-Hn-i toi h₂enti-swere h₁en new-iHno- ṇǵʰh₁olyo-isk-ei.
- Proto-Azalic (500 BC): moen phroċn chom moen yunċ Ənghoilisċ swerər phrinṫsu: qhoin iċ swer in Phrothəm Ənghoilisċə, ṫoin ṫoe honṫswer in Newin Ənghoilisċə /moen pʰroxn kʰom moen juŋx əngʰoilisx swerər pʰrinθsu: kʷʰoin ix swer in pʰrotʰəm əngʰoilisxə, θoin θoe honθswer in newin əngʰoilisxə/
- Lõisian "Old English" (0 AD): mae complānċt wiṫ mae yunċ Azalisċ spəɨcenṫ phrinṫs: qhen iċ spəɨc in Antēc Azalisċ, ṫen ṫā answer in Modern Əinglisċ
- Lõisian "Middle English" (500 AD): mae problem wiδ mae yung Azalic spəɨcen phrinṫs: qhen ī spəɨc in Proto Azalic, δen δā anser in Modern Ingliš
- 900 AD - present: my problem with my young Azalic speaking friends: when I speak in Proto-Azalic, they answer in English
Early New English
consonant inventory of 15th century Azalic English: p t̪ tʃ k b d̪ dʒ g m n̪ ɸ β ʋ w θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h l~lˠ ɹ̝ˠ j and allophonic ʔ (stops may or may not be aspirated, it's free variation)
TRAP: /a/ BATH: /a:/ PALM: /ɑ/ FACE: /e:/ DRESS: /ɛ/ FLEECE: /i:/ KIT: /i/ PRICE: /ae/ LOT: /ɔ/ THOUGHT: /ɔ:/ GOAT: /o:/ GOOSE: /u:/ FOOT: /u/ STRUT: /ɨ/
no Canadian raising, rhotic vowels are basically the vowels plus /ɹ/ [ɹ̝ˠ]
most of the changes that happen between the 10th and 17th centuries are to the consonants: /pʰ tʰ/ turn into breathy spirants /ɸʰ θʰ/, which was thought of as substandard speech until around the 13th century; the breathiness disappears around the 15th century when ph th officially become /ɸ θ/
15th century English also had a split between w from PAzal *v, pronounced /ʋ/, and w from PAzal *qh and *ᵹh, pronounced /w/
chain shift in 18th century accents: /ø/ -> /ə/, but /o:/ becomes a new front rounded vowel /ɔɵ/ and then /ɔʉ/ (a bit like in Australian English); then in the 20th century it would shift to /əʏ/
Orthography
English in Lõis has three writing systems: the Avestan alphabet, the Hebrew abjad (always with vowel pointing) and the Latin alphabet. The Avestan and Hebrew orthographies are phonemic and the Latin one is a bit more etymological, spelling Latinate words in a way that is closer to their source languages.
Avestan
Hebrew
Mainly used among Jews.
Consonants:
- /m n ŋ/ = מ נ נג
- /p t ts tʃ k Ø/ = פ ט צ צש ק א
- /b d dʒ g/ = ב ד דש ג
- /f θ s ʃ h/ = ף ת ס ש ה
- /v ð z ʒ/ = ב' ד' ז זש
- /w r l j/ = ו ר ל י
Vowels: Since English has more vowels than Tiberian Hebrew, some extra diacritics are used to distinguish vowels that are similar.
- null vowel = none
- commA = shva
- TRAP (טְרַפ) = BATH = PALM = patach
- DRESS (דרֶס) = segol
- FACE (ףֵיס) = tsere + yud
- KIT (קִט) = hiriq
- FLEECE (ףלִיס) = happY = hiriq + yud
- FOOT = STRUT = qubutz
- GOOSE (גוּס) = shuruq + vav
- GOAT (גוֹט) = cholam
- LOT (לָט) = qamatz
- THOUGHT (תָהט) = qamatz + he
- PRICE (פרַיס) = patach + yud
- MOUTH (מַות) = patah + vav
- CHOICE (צשָיס) = qamatz + yud
- NURSE (נְרס) = letteR = shva + resh
- NEAR (נִיר) = hiriq + yud + resh
- SQUARE (סקויר) = tsere + resh
- START = patach + resh
- NORTH = qamatz + resh
- FORCE = cholam + resh
- POOR = qubutz + resh
- CURE = yud + qubutz + resh
Latin
uon, tô, thrê, phuor, phaiv, six, sevn, aiht, nyn, ten
O Captin! My Captin! ûr phiêrphul trip is dôn;
Ðe ship has weđrd evrih rac, đe prise uê suht is wun;
Ðe port is niêr, đe bels ih hiêr, đe pơpul al exsulting,
Huîl pholo eihs đe stedih kêl, đe vessl grim and dâring;
But O hart! hart! hart!
O đe blêding drops of red,
Huer on đe dec my captin lihs,
Phalen cold and diêd.
pelth₂óm > PPTA pheldă > phêld "field"
Accents
The "Sephardi-Estuary-Ashkenazi" continuum
The Lõisian standard English accent belongs in a continuum of accents, with a quasi-Sephardi Hebrew accent on one end and a quasi-Ashkenazi Hebrew accent on the other end. However, it's been influenced significantly by the nearby Philadelphian accent (spoken in the ancient city of Philadelphia).
Overview
| Vowels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | Western ("Sephardi") | L-Philadelphian | L-Standard | Eastern ("Ashkenazi") |
| KIT | ɪ | ɪ~ɪ̈ | ɪ~ɪ̈ | i |
| DRESS | ɛ | ɛ | ɛ | e |
| TRAP | a~ɑ | æ | a | a; o ("Poylish") |
| BATH (the BATH lexical set is same as RP) | a~ɑ | eə | aː~æ: | a; o ("Poylish") |
| LOT | ɔ | ɑ~ä | ɔ~ɒ | o |
| STRUT | ʊ | ʌ~ɤ | ɜ̟~ɐ | ɜ |
| FOOT | ʊ | ʊ | ʊ̈~ɘ | u |
| FLEECE | iː | iʝ + reinforcement before C; ɪj otherwise | ɪj~iː | iː; ej ("Poylish") |
| FACE | eː~eɪ | ɪj + reinforcement before C; ɛɪ otherwise | ɛɪ | eɪ; aɪ ("Poylish") |
| PRICE | aɪ | əɪ~ʌɪ + reinforcement before C; ɑɪ~ɒɪ otherwise | ɑɪ | aɪ; oɪ ("Poylish") |
| CHOICE | oɪ | oɪ~ʊɪ + reinforcement before C; oɪ otherwise | oɪ | ɔɪ~oɪ; ui ("Poylish") |
| MOUTH | aʊ | æʊ~ɛɔ | æʊ | aʊ |
| GOAT | oː~oʊ | əʊ~ə̟ʊ~eʊ, oʊ before [ɫ] | ə̟ʊ~əʊ~əʏ~ʌʏ, ɔʊ~ɒʊ before [ɫ] | ɔɪ~oɪ; a: ("Poylish") |
| GOOSE | uː | üw~yː, uː before [ɫ] | üː, uː before [ɫ] | uː; iː ("Poylish") |
| PALM | ɑː | ɑ~ä | ɑː | aː |
| THOUGHT | ɑː | oə(ɹ)~ʊə(ɹ) | oː | ɔː; uː ("Poylish") |
| NEAR | iːɹ | iə(ɹ) | iɚ | iʀ |
| SQUARE | eːɹ | eə(ɹ) | ɛɚ | eʀ |
| NURSE | əːɹ | əː(ɹ) | ɚː | əʀ |
| START | ɑːɹ | ɒː(ɹ) | ɑɚ | aʀ |
| NORTH | ɑːɹ | oə(ɹ) | oɚ | oʀ |
| FORCE | oːɹ | oə(ɹ) | oɚ (oʊɚ~əʊɚ for Jewish speakers) | ɔɪʀ~oɪʀ |
| POOR | uːɹ | oə(ɹ) | uɚ | uʀ |
| CURE | juːɹ | joə(ɹ)~jə(ɹ) | juɚ~jɚː | juʀ |
| commA | ə | ə(ɹ) | ə | ə |
| lettER | əɹ | ə(ɹ) | ɚ | əʀ |
| happY | i | iː~ɪj | iː~ɪj | i |
| Other phenomena | ||||
| Feature | Western | L-Philadelphian | L-Standard | Eastern |
| Rhoticity | Historical /r/ is always [ɹ] | Non-rhotic with intrusive R | Historical /r/ is always [ɹ] | Historical /r/ is always [ʀ] |
| Dark L | Always | Always, often vocalizing | Only when non-prevocalic | Never |
| /θ ð/ | Always [t̪ d̪] | Often [t̪ d̪] | [θ ð] | [s̠ d] |
| /w/ | [w] | [w] | [w] | [v] |
| Aspiration of voiceless stops and t/d-tapping | As in AmE | As in AmE | As in AmE | Never |
Western accent
This is the "Western English" accent. When Hebrew is read in this accent, it sounds like Israeli Hebrew with an American accent. It still has some non-Sephardi features, e.g. tsere = FACE = [eɪ] is distinct from segol = DRESS = [ɛ].
The intonation is stereotypical American/Valley Girl.
L-Philadelphian
This accent is spoken in both the city of Alaşehir in Turkey (or as locals call it, "Flulfia"), and in Philadelphia, PA (called "New Philadelphia" in Lõis). It's basically a non-rhotic version of our Philly accent; r-intrusion is used, as in the New York accent.
A characteristic feature is reinforcement for certain vowels or diphthongs before consonants, which changes the pronunciation of the vowel:
- The nucleus is shortened.
- When the consonant is voiced, the offglide is lengthened: fame [fɪiːm]
- When the consonant is voiceless, the consonant is lengthened: face [fɪjsː]
/θ ð/ are commonly [t̪ d̪].
L-Standard English
Often called the "Newton accent". Also a standard for English Hebrew.
A kind of "Transatlantic accent", inspired by Californian + Philly + Modern RP/Estuary.
Vowels
- orange = [ɒɹɪndʒ~ɔɹɪndʒ]
- Mary [mɛəɹi] ≈ merry [mɛɹi] ≠ marry [maɹi]
- Mirror-nearer distinction
- Hurry-furry distinction
- No mergers before /l/
Consonants
- L is light [l] before vowels and dark [ɫ] otherwise, as in RP.
- wholly-holy split.
- No glottal reinforcement before stops.
- /p t k/ are unaspirated after stressed syllables as in AmE.
- /d t/ has a tapped [ɾ] allophone in similar environments as in American English.
- wine-whine merger optional.
- /r/ may be [ʋ] between vowels.
Eastern accent
When L-English Jews read Hebrew in this accent, it sounds almost exactly like the Ashkenazi accent. Source of "oy vey" (from oh woe /øɪ vøɪ/)
This is not a specifically Jewish accent, and not all L-English Jews (or even all Ultra-Orthodox Jews) speak it.
- /w/ = [v]
- /l/ is always light
- /r/ = [ʀ~ʁ]
- /s/ = Basque z
- /θ/ = Basque s
- /ð/ = [d]
- Stops are unaspirated
[o:l hju:mən bijənz əʀ boʀən fʀi: ən i:kwəl ɪn digniti ən ʀaɪts. dei əʀ ɪndaʊd wid ʀi:zən ən konʃəns ən ʃʏd akt toʀds won ənʏdəʀ ɪn ə spiʀit əv bʀʏdəχʏd]
Poylish
Traditionally spoken by the Azalic population of Poland. In a dialect continuum with Polish, a close sister language (which is not the same as our timeline's Polish since it's Azalic)
A pre-Grimm accent
Inspiration: Korean accent, British accents, New York accent
- /f θ h hw/ = [pʰ tʰ h~x xw]
- /p t k/ = unaspirated stops, often ejectives especially word-finally except after fricatives
- /tʃ dʒ/ = [t͡ɕ d͡ʑ]
- /v/ = [b~β]
- /l/ = [l] (always clear L)
- /r/ = [ɾ~ɹ]
- /ð/ = [d~ð]
- /ʃ/ = [sx~sʰ]
- FLEECE = i:
- FACE = e:
- GOOSE = ü:
- GOAT = o:~o̝:
- PALM = BATH = a:
- THOUGHT = NORTH = FORCE = ʌ:
- CHOICE = oi
- PRICE = aɪ
- MOUTH = aʊ
- KIT = i
- DRESS = e
- TRAP = ɛ
- LOT = ʌ
- FOOT/STRUT = u
- NURSE = ɚ:
- START = a:(ɹ)
- SQUARE = e:ə(ɹ)
- NEAR = i:ə(ɹ)
- POOR = u:ə(ɹ)
- CURE = ju:ə(ɹ)
- lettER = commA = ə(ɹ)~ʌ̈(ɹ)
Yod-coalescence, with /tj dj θj sj/ = [t͡ɕ d͡ʑ t͡ɕʰ ɕ]
In broad accents: wu/wu:/wuə > u/u:/uə and ji/ji:/jiə > i/i:/iə; hence year/ear, yeast/east, swoon/soon are homophones
BATH [a:] occurs for L-Standard English /a/ usually where Korean commonly transcribes the English word as /a/. (The instances do not correspond to instances of BATH in RP.)
- chance [t͡ɕa:ns]; but dance [dɛns], answer [ɛnsʌ̈]
- plant [pla:ntʼ], Grant [gra:ntʼ]; but grant [grɛntʼ]
- glass [gla:s], gas [ga:s]; but pass [pɛs], class [klɛs]
- plastic [pla:stikʼ], last [la:st], master [ma:stʌ̈]
- mask [ma:sk], flask [fla:sk]; but ask [ɛsk], task [tɛsk]
- after [a:ftʌ̈], craft [kra:ft]
- half [ha:pʰ]; but graph [grɛpʰ]
- bath [ba:tʰ]; but math [mɛtʰ]
Medh Chêl accent
- KIT = [i], FLEECE = [iː]
- DRESS = [e̞], SQUARE = [e̞ː]
- TRAP = [æ], [æː] in some words (with a split similar to bad-lad split)
- LOT = [ɑ], PALM = START = [ɑː]
- STRUT = [ɤ], THOUGHT = NORTH = FORCE = [oː]
- NURSE = [ø̞ː]
- FOOT = [u]
- GOOSE = [yː]
- GOAT = [ø̞y] / [ɶy]
- FACE = [ɛi]
- PRICE = [ɑɪ], MOUTH = [æo] (cultivated), [æø] (broad)
- NEAR = [ie], POOR = [uo]
"Stage Old English"
Australianized vowels, Pre-Grimm/Ancient Greek stops
An "Old English" accent
- CHOICE = œɪ
- PRICE = ɑ:
- MOUTH = æ:ɑ
- PALM = æ:
- FACE = æɪ
- GOAT = e:o
- THOUGHT = ɔ:
- FLEECE = i:
- GOOSE = u:
- /ju:/ = y:
- FERN = FIR = ør~yr (also MERRY and MIRROR)
- FUR = ʊr (also HURRY)
- FORCE = e:or~ø:r
- NORTH = ɔ:r
- NEAR = CURE = iur~y:r
- POOR = u:r
- SQUARE = e:r
- TRAP = ɑ, æɑ before /l r/ (also START and MARRY)
- DRESS = ɛ, eo~œ before /l/
- KIT = ɪ, ɪʊ~ʏ before /l/
- LOT = ɔ
- FOOT = STRUT = ʊ