Alska

Background

Alska is a Germanic language originating from the nation of Alsland, a rather large island in the northern sea.

Phonology

Almost every vowel has a short and a long version, which changes according to whether there is a double consonant cluster immediately following it or not. Any two of the same consonants following a vowel with make it short, with the exceptions of 'a' and 'u'. For example, 'ok' (and) = 'o:k. 'okk', while not a word, would b pronounced 'o̞k'. This does not occur when two different consonants follow a vowel. All consonants are pronounced as they are in English.

Letters	Pronunciation	Further information
a	[ɑ:]	has no short version
b	[b]	-
d	[d]	-
e	[ɛ] / [e:]	-
f	[f]	-
g	[g]	-
h	[h]	-
i	[ɪ]/[i]	short 'ɪ', long 'i'
j	[j]	corresponds to y in English you
k	[k]	-
l	[l]	-
m	[m]	-
n	[n]	-
o	[o̞]/[o]	-
p	[p]	-
r	[r]	can be rolled, tapped, trilled, or pronounced non-rhotically, as in most British English dialects. (Depends on Alskan Dialect)
s	[s]	-
t	[t]	-
u	[ʉ]	has no short version
v	[f]	-
w	[v]	rarely used, usually replaced with 'v'
y	[y:]	pronounced almost like German 'ü'
z	[ts]	rarely used
å	[ɔ]	pronounced somewhat like English 'aw' Can be pronounced 'ooh', or 'ow' depending on dialect
ø	[ø]	-
ä	[ɛ]\[e:]	short/long. depends on whether 'ä' is by itself, or near a consonant cluster
æ	[aj]	pronounced as in Latin and Icelandic
ð	[ð]	always unvoiced; replaced with 'd' in some dialects. Corresponds with 'th' in English 'this'
þ	[θ]	always voiced. corresponds with 'th' in English 'with'

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Epiglottal	Glottal
Nasal
Plosive
Fricative
Affricate
Approximant
Trill
Flap or tap
Lateral fric.
Lateral app.
Lateral flap

Vowels

	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open