Izhkut

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Izhkut
Ishcot
jën izhkut
Pronunciation[ˈɟɛn̪ iʒkʊt]
Created byJukethatbox
Date2022
Native toNorthern Birnu
Native speakers126,000,000 (256 BH)
234,000(L2)
Taskaric
  • Iskeric
    • Ilyic
      • Pokht-Izhkut
        • Izhkut
Official status
Official language in
Izhkutrëa, Ingdikh, Pokht
Recognised minority
language in
Minūrun
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Izhkut(jën izhkut, Izhkut: [ˈɟɛn̪ iʒkʊt]), also known as Ishcot is the most spoken Taskaric language in Radael, with a native speaker population of 126,000,000 people, and it is spoken by another 234,000 as an L2 language, primarily by students in the nation of Ingdikh, where learning the language is a compulsory part of the curriculum. The language as a whole also operates as a lingua franca in the scientific community in Birnu, as well as in diplomacy on the continent. It is also one of the 8 official languages in the West Birnu Economic Union(WBEU).

Despite the region of Pokht, a vassal of Izhkutrëa, having its own native sister language of Izhkut, Pokht(Izhkut: jën pokht), the language has in recent times become heavily endangered due to the strict cultural assimilation policies of the Izhkut central government.

Phonology

Orthography

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d ɟ k g
Nasal m (n̪) n ɲ (ŋ)
Fricative (θ) (ð) s z ʃ ʒ x (h)
Tap or Flap (ɾʷ) ɾ (ɾ̠) (ɾʲ)
Semivowel j w~ɰ
Laterals l

[n̪] is an allophone of /n/, usually pronounced at the end of a word, such as in jën [ɟɛn̪] "language, speech". [θ] and [ð] are lenited allophones of /t/ and /d/, though where this lenition actually occurs depends on dialect. The general rule is that /t/ and /d/ are lenited after an /e/ or diphthong ending in -/ɪ̯/, e.g. retam [ɾeθäm] "button" or yeid [jeɪ̯ð] "legend (person)".

Vowels

Izhkut has a lot of vowels and diphthongs, most of which preserved from Old Izhkut.

Front/
Near-front
Central Back/
Near-back
Close i (ɨ) u
Near-close (ɪ) (ʊ)
Close-mid e ø o
Open-mid ɛ (œ) (ɔ)
Open (a) ä

Although there are many vowels, only six can form valid diphthongs. Two identical vowels next to each other in a diphthong don't occur either, nor does /eɛ̯/ or /ɛɨ̯/.

a i u o e ɛ
a - aɪ̯ aʊ̯ aɔ̯ aɨ̯ aɛ̯
i ia̯ - iʊ̯ iɔ̯ iɨ̯ iɛ̯
u ua̯ uɪ̯ - uɔ̯ uɨ̯ uɛ̯
o oa̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ - oɨ̯ oɛ̯
e ea̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ eɔ̯ -
ɛ ɛa̯ ɛɪ̯ ɛʊ̯ ɛɔ̯

Prosody

Stress

Stress in Izhkut is generally prototonic. When a syllable contains an /ɛ/ ⟨ë⟩ it is automatically primarily stressed.

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Nouns

Adjectives

Verbs

Adverbs

Particles

Derivational morphology

Syntax

Constituent order

Izhkut, like most Taskaric languages, uses a VSO(verb-subject-object) constituent order.

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Other resources