Letaale

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Uoriuo is a constructed secret language used by tahu, members of the Tagahu, a secretive and technologically advanced male-only military force governing the known parts of the space habitat Oru. Little is known of the designer(s) of the language however its use follows a long tradition. It is taught to all kia tahu (boys who are raised to be tahu) from a young age, adhering to a strict prescriptive standard. All speakers are male and all are also fluent in Guaru, generally speaking both natively. In informal situations, many Tahu engage in extensive code switching.

Name

Uoriuo [ˈ(ʔ)uoɾiˈuo] is the name given to this language in the Guaru language. It may be a corruption of the word volivo [ˈvolivo]~[ˈwoɾiwo] which is essentially the accusative form of "you" as this may be a word that is heard in interactions with the Tagahu. In Uoriuo itself, the language is most commonly referred to using the root taalejo although this is not the name of the language as such but a root that refers to speaking the language.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal Romanisation
Nasal m n ŋ < m n g >
Plosive t k ʔ < t k x >
Fricative v s ʒ h < v s j h >
Lateral l < l >

Most allophones exist in more or less free variation.

  • Both /t/ and /k/ are unaspirated. /t/ is usually dental.
  • The consonants /t k s/ may be pronounced as voiced /d g z/, especially when non-initial.
  • /v/ has a wide range of pronunciation, being essentially anywhere in the realm of [v β ʋ w] although it tightens towards [v] when either of the adjacent vowels is is /u/.
  • /ʒ/ likewise has a range of pronunciations, somewhere in the viscinity of [ʒ ʑ ʐ ʝ]. When either of the adjacent vowels is /i/, /ʒ/ is usually pronounced tenser and less likely to appear as [ʝ].
  • /l/ may be pronounced as a lateral [l], a tap/flap [ɾ] or a lateral flap [ɺ]


Vowels

Uoriuo has a simple system of five-vowels qualities, with a long and a short version of each, as in Hawaiian.

Single vowels
front central back
close i u
open mid e o
low a

When stressed, these vowels have the tense cardinal pronunciations of [i e a o u]. When unstressed and short, they tend to weaken towards [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɔ ʊ].

Long vowels are indicated in the romanisation by doubling.

In addition, there are the falling diphthongs /ai ia io iu ua ue ui/ and the (marginal) rising diphthongs /iaː ioː iuː uaː ueː uiː/.

Phonotactics

The allowable syllable structure of Uoriuo is CV(V). All syllables begin with a consonant and may contain one or two vowels (long vowels and diphthongs count as two). All combinations of consonant and vowel are allowed.

Prosody

Word stress falls on the last long vowel or diphthong in a word. If all the vowels are short, stress falls on the initial syllable.

Morphophonology

Each of the eleven consonants is associated with a consonant and vice versa. These pairs are relevant for alternations such as the noun k_j_m_ ('the dog') which alternates with the verb _uu_o_i ('be a dog').

Consonant Vowel Syllable
n a na
l e le
m i mi
j o jo
g u gu
t aa taa
x ee xee
h ii hii
s oo soo
k uu kuu
v ai vai

Nearly all lemmata are composed of three of the resulting syllables. For example jotaale is allowable as a lemma whereas jitaale is not because ji is not a lemma syllable since /ʒ/ associates with /o/.

The remaining vowels, the diphthongs beginning with /u/ and /i/, are only found in prefixes and clitics which may begin with any consonant.

Morphology

All lemmata (citation forms of words) are either

  1. trisyllabic, a grouping of three allowable syllables, or
  2. quadrisyllabic, a monosyllabic prefix which always contains a diphthong beginning with /i/ or /u/, followed by a trisyllabic lemma.

A lemma always constitutes a valid clause on its own, containing both a triconsonantal noun as the subject and a trivocalic verb as the predicate. Quadrisyllabic lemma retain their prefix in both forms. Lemma clauses are always true by definition, self-evident sentences of the structure "the X is an X", and therefore rather void of pragmatic purpose. Here are some examples.

Lemma Translation Noun Translation Verb Translation
namina I am me. n_m_n_ I _a_i_a be me
vailevai You are you. v_l_v_ you _ai_e_ai be you
hiimijo This one is this one. h_m_j_ this one (by me) _ii_i_o be this one (by me)
xeenajo That one is that one. x_n_j_ that one (by you) _ee_a_o be you
taamitaa What is what? t_m_t_ what, who, which _aa_i_aa be what, be who, which?
taaguhii The tahu is a tahu. t_g_h_ the tahu _aa_u_ii be a tahu
hiitaahii The kia tahu is a kia tahu. h_t_h_ the kia tahu _ii_aa_ii be a kia tahu
levaile The woman is a woman. l_v_l_ the woman _e_ai_e be a woman
soovaigu The civilian man is a civilian man. s_v_g_ the civilian man _o_ai_u be a civilian man
kuumixee The monkey is a monkey. k_m_x_ the monkey _uu_i_ee be a monkey
kuujomi The dog is a dog. k_j_m_ the dog _uu_o_i be a dog
minataa The cat is a cat. m_n_t_ the cat _i_a_aa be a cat
vaijokuu The bird is a bird. v_j_k_ the bird _ai_o_uu be a bird
milena The fish is a fish. m_l_n_ the fish _i_e_a be a fish
miguvai The banana is a banana. m_g_v_ the banana _i_u_ai be a banana
jomijo The affected one is affected. j_m_j_ the affected one _o_i_o be affected
lejole The perceiver perceives. l_j_l_ the perceiver _e_o_e perceive
lesoomi The sleeper sleeps. l_s_m_ the sleeper, the sleeping one _e_oo_i sleep
xeenami The eater eats. x_n_m_ the eater, the eating one _ee_a_i eat
kuunagu The hitter hits. k_n_g_ the hitter, the hitting one _uu_a_u hit
gunagu The killer kills. g_n_g_ the killer, the murderer _u_a_u kill
taanagu The big one is big. t_n_g_ the big one _aa_a_u be big
hiijole The beloved one is beloved. h_j_l_ the (be)loved one _e_oo_i be (be)loved
vaimina The visible one is visible. v_m_n_ the visible one _ai_i_a be visible

Syntax

Monoclausal sentences

Monoclausal sentences consist of a single word, which itself consists of a subject and a verb.

Lemma Translation Noun Translation Verb Translation
xaanijaa What is that? x_n_j_ that one (by you) _aa_i_aa be what/who?
himujai This is a banana. x_n_j_ that one (by you) _aa_i_aa be what/who?
nimunai I am a banana. n_m_n_ I _i_u_ai be a banana
magiva The banana is me. m_g_v_ the banana _a_i_a be me
viluvai You are a banana. v_l_v_ you _i_u_ai be a banana
maigevai The banana is you. m_g_v_ the banana _ai_e_ai be you
neemani I eat. n_m_n_ I _ee_a_i eat
veelavi You eat. v_l_v_ you _ee_a_i eat
keejami The dog eats. k_j_m_ the dog _ee_a_i eat
kejoomi The dog sleeps. k_j_m_ the dog _e_oo_i eat
kijumai The dog is a banana. k_j_m_ the dog _i_u_ai be a banana
xanima The eating one is me. x_n_m_ eater _a_i_a be me
xainemai The eating one is you. x_n_m_ eater _ai_e_ai be you
xuunomi The eating one is a dog. x_n_m_ eater _uu_o_i be a dog
nemone I perceive. n_m_n_ I _e_o_e perceive

Multiclausal sentences

Modification

Negation