Hondish (hunnech) is a Celtic language spoken on the island of Hondey (Hondish: Hunne) in the North Sea. It is closely related to other living Celtic languages and forms its own distinct group in the Insular Celtic language group. Thorought history it has been significantly influenced by the Germanic languages, most notably Old Norse and its descendants, North Germanic languages as well as West Germanic languages, namely Dutch and to a lesser degree English. These influences manifest primarily in Hondish vocabulary and phonology, its morphology and syntax have been less affected.
Phonology
Consonants
|
Bilabial
|
Labiodental
|
Dental
|
Alveolar
|
Postalveolar
|
Palatal
|
Velar
|
Glottal
|
Nasal
|
[m] ⟨m⟩
|
|
[n] ⟨n⟩
|
|
[ɲ] ⟨ņ⟩ |
[ŋ] ⟨ng⟩
|
|
Plosive
|
voiced
|
[p] ⟨p⟩
|
[t] ⟨t⟩
|
|
[k] ⟨k⟩
|
voiceless
|
[b] ⟨b⟩
|
[d] ⟨d⟩
|
[g] ⟨g⟩
|
Fricative
|
voiced
|
|
[f] ⟨f⟩
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[θ] ⟨th⟩
|
[s] ⟨s⟩
|
[ʃ] ⟨sc⟩
|
|
[x] ⟨ch⟩
|
[h] ⟨h⟩
|
voiceless
|
[v] ⟨v⟩
|
[ð] ⟨dh⟩
|
[z] ⟨z⟩
|
[ʒ] ⟨zc⟩
|
([ɣ] ⟨g⟩)
|
|
Affricate
|
voiced
|
|
[ts] ⟨ts⟩
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[tʃ] ⟨tsc⟩
|
|
voiceless
|
([dz] ⟨ds⟩)
|
([dʒ] ⟨dsc⟩)
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Approximant
|
plain
|
[ɹ] ⟨r⟩
|
|
[j] ⟨j⟩
|
|
labialised
|
|
[ɥ] ⟨w̦⟩
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[w] ⟨w⟩
|
|
Lateral approximant
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[l] ⟨l⟩
|
|
[ʎ] ⟨ļ⟩
|
|
Vowels
Hondish vowels can be divided into those under primary stress, secondary stress and those that are unstressed. In Hondish linguistics, those are conventionally markes as P, S and u respectively. Hondish stress is almost universally on the first syllable of the word, secondary stress is distributed according to following rules:
- final syllables usually carry secondary stress
- every odd syllable (ie. 3rd, 5th, etc.) can carry secondary stress
- every stressed syllable (primary or secondary) must be separated by an unstressed syllable, except for disyllabic words
These rules give the following possible syllable patterns:
P
PS
PuS
PuuS
PuSuS
PuSuuS
etc.
Primarily stressed vowels
Monophthongs
|
Front
|
Central
|
Back
|
unrounded
|
rounded
|
rounded
|
unrounded
|
rounded
|
short
|
long
|
short
|
long
|
short
|
long
|
short
|
long
|
short
|
long
|
High
|
[ɪ] ⟨i⟩
|
[ei̯] ⟨ÿ⟩
|
[ʏ] ⟨y⟩
|
[øy̯] ⟨ye⟩
|
[ʉ] ⟨u⟩
|
[æʉ̯] ⟨au⟩
|
[ɯ] ⟨eu⟩
|
[ɯi̯] ⟨ei⟩
|
[ʊ] ⟨o⟩
|
([uː] ⟨ôe⟩)
|
[iː] ⟨ie⟩
|
[yː] ⟨ŷe⟩
|
[ʉː] ⟨ue⟩
|
[ɯː] ⟨êu⟩
|
[ou̯] ⟨ou⟩
|
Mid
|
[e] ⟨e⟩
|
[i̯e] ⟨ee⟩
|
[ø] ⟨ø⟩
|
[y̯ø] ⟨øe⟩
|
|
[o] ⟨o⟩
|
[u̯o] ⟨oe⟩
|
([eː] ⟨êe⟩)
|
([øː] ⟨ø̂e⟩)
|
([oː] ⟨ôe⟩)
|
Low
|
[æ] ⟨a, æ⟩
|
[æː] ⟨ae, æ⟩
|
|
[a] ⟨a⟩
|
[aː] ⟨ae⟩
|
Diphthongs
|
ə
|
i
|
u
|
a
|
|
[ai̯] ⟨ai⟩
|
[au̯] ⟨au⟩
|
e
|
[eə̯] ⟨ea⟩
|
|
[eu̯] ⟨eü⟩
|
o
|
[oə̯] ⟨oa⟩
|
|
Secondarily stressed vowels
|
Front
|
Central
|
Back
|
unrounded
|
rounded
|
rounded
|
unrounded
|
rounded
|
High
|
[i] ⟨i⟩
|
[y] ⟨y⟩
|
[ʉ] ⟨u⟩
|
[ɯ] ⟨eu⟩
|
[u] ⟨o⟩
|
Mid
|
[e] ⟨e⟩
|
[ø] ⟨ø⟩
|
|
([o] ⟨o⟩)
|
Low
|
[æ] ⟨a, æ⟩
|
|
[a] ⟨a⟩
|
Dipththongs
|
[ai̯] ⟨ai⟩
|
[au̯] ⟨au⟩
|
Unstressed vowels
|
Unrounded
|
Rounded
|
High
|
[ɪ] ⟨i⟩
|
[ʉ] ⟨u⟩
|
Mid
|
[ə] ⟨e⟩
|
[ɵ] ⟨o⟩
|
Low
|
[ɐ] ⟨a⟩
|
Like other Celtic languages, Hondish initial consonants also undergo mutations. These mutations were originally triggerred by largely predictable assimilations at the borders of words and affixes. However, subsequent phonological changes often obscured the triggers of these mutations, leaving their triggering to morphology and syntax.
Native initials
Radical
|
Lenition
|
Nasalisation
|
Aspiration
|
p |
b |
m |
f
|
b |
v |
m |
v
|
t |
d |
n |
θ
|
ts |
z |
ɲ |
θj
|
d |
ð |
n |
ð
|
z |
ðj |
ɲ |
ðj
|
k |
g |
ŋ |
x
|
tʃ |
ʒ |
ŋj |
xj
|
h
|
w |
ŋ |
w (ɣ)
|
∅ |
n
|
|
ʒ |
j |
ŋj |
j (ɣj)
|
ð |
j |
n |
dj
|
w
|
|
gw
|
ɥ
|
|
gɥ
|
l
|
|
hl
|
ʎ
|
|
hʎ
|
ɹ
|
|
hɹ
|
f |
v |
v
|
|
hj |
j |
ɲ
|
|
x |
w |
ŋ
|
|
ʃ |
j |
ŋj
|
|
θ |
ð
|
|
m |
|
n |
|
ɲ |
|
V
|
|
n-V |
h-V
|
Loan word initials
Radical
|
Lenition
|
Nasalisation
|
Aspiration
|
j
|
|
ɲ |
dj
|
s |
z
|
|
z |
|
v |
|
Morphology
Syntax
Constituent order
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Sentence phrase
Dependent clauses
Example texts
Other resources