Efenol: Difference between revisions

Line 157:

'''Standard Efenol''', based on the most common Western Efenol varieties, distinguishes 8 different vowels:

* A central low vowel, '''[ä]'''. For the sake of convenience (and due to the lack of a contrasting front low vowel), this phoneme is usually transcribed as '''/a/'''.

* Mid-high phonemes /e/ and /o/. ~~Notices~~ that unlike Spanish <e> and <o> which are actually true mid vowels [e̞] and [o̞], Standard Efenol /e/ and /o/ are true mid-high [e] and [o].

* Mid-high phonemes /e/ and /o/. Notice that unlike Spanish <e> and <o> which are actually true mid vowels [e̞] and [o̞], Standard Efenol /e/ and /o/ are true mid-high [e] and [o].

* High '''/i/''' and '''/u/''' as in Spanish.

* The rounded front-vowel '''/y/'''.

Line 475:

| ss

| /z/

| Represents a mutated <s> /s/.

| Represents a mutated <S> /s/.

|-

| sse

Line 489:

| Represents the phoneme /tʃ/ in North-Western Efenol.

In Western Efenol, <tc> is used sparingly and may be pronounced as /ʃ/ or /s/.

In Central Efenol the digraph is replaced with the letter <s> /s/.

In Central Efenol the digraph is replaced with the letter <S> /s/.

|-

| td

Line 533:

| /z/

| Many Central Efenol speakers merge /s/ and /z/ into /s/. Those speakers may rewrite

words with <z> in Standard Efenol with an <s>.

words with <z> in Standard Efenol with an <S>.

|}

Line 847:

| sh

| /h/, /x/

| Represents a lenited <s> /s/. Pronounced /h/ in Northern and Central Efenol and /x/ in

| Represents a lenited <S> /s/. Pronounced /h/ in Northern and Central Efenol and /x/ in

Eastern Efenol; North-Eastern varieties may have either pronunciation although the latter is

slightly more typical.

Line 917:

Northern-like orthographies have a more limited usage of interpuncts: they aren't used in Northern Efenol and they are only used in other dialects if the article triggers some kind of mutation on the initial syllable of a noun. Thus, in Eastern Efenol, the singular form of 'the hand', which features a lenition, is ''a·mhan'' but its plural form, 'the hands', which does not feature lenition, is ''a mein''.

In addition to being used to mark contractions, in Eastern Efenol apostrophes are also used to indicate epenthetic schwas as in ''~~kyr~~'n'' /~~ˈkyɾən~~/.

In addition to being used to mark contractions, in Eastern Efenol apostrophes are also used to indicate epenthetic schwas as in ''kör'n'' /ˈkøɾən/.

Optionally, an apostrophe may also be used to break instances where the letters <r> or <l> occur next to an <h> without forming the digraphs <rh> and <lh>. This would distinguish Central Efenol ''marh'' /maʀ/ ('lean, without fat') from ''mar'h'' /maɾx/ ('frame'). The sequence <rh> is unambiguously /ɾx/ in Northern Efenol (as it lacks the <rh> digraph) so it never requires a 'breaking' apostrophe. Similarly, word-final <rh> is unambiguously /ɾx/ in all dialects other than Central Efenol since they don not allow word-final /ʀ/. Similarly, breaking the <lh> digraph is only necessary in Northern Efenol as Central, North-Eastern and Eastern dialects lack the phoneme represented as <lh> sound.

Line 929:

There are three main types of vowel mutation. Two of them are the result of a now-lost front vowel (either Spanish /i/ or /e/): strong i-ablaut and weak i-ablaut. Synchronically i-ablaut is used for plural forming where strong i-ablaut affects stressed syllables while weak i-ablaut affects the rest; diachronically only only one form of i-ablaut is found, typically affecting a vowel that preceded a a /CjV/ sequence. A third type of vowel mutation from an elided rounded back vowel: u-ablaut.

The following table illustrates the results of these three kinds of synchronic vowel mutation for the most common vowel combinations in Western Efenol. ~~Notices~~ that in this dialect <ë> and <ij> are read as /ɛ/ and /yː/ respectively.

The following table illustrates the results of these three kinds of synchronic vowel mutation for the most common vowel combinations in Western Efenol. Notice that in this dialect <ë> and <ij> are read as /ɛ/ and /yː/ respectively.

{| class="wikitable"

Line 1,024:

Diachronic i-ablaut mostly coincides with modern strong i-ablaut, the main differences being that an i-ablaut /e/ and /u/ yielded short vowels /i/ and /y/ (respectively). It should also be noted that Spanish /we/ (which yields <ë> in Efenol) is i-ablauted to /y/. Meanwhile, diachronic u-ablaut differs on the result of u-ablauted /o/ and /u/ (as well as Spanish /we/) being a long /u/ <û> rather than leaving /o/ and /u/ unchanged as found in synchronic u-ablaut.

Diachronically, i-ablauted /o/ yields different results depending on the source of the mutation: it becomes <oi> if the ablaut comes from the depalatalization of a following consonant (<ch> or <ñ>) or <ë> if the ablaut comes from a moving /j/ (VCiV > ViCV):

Examples: moño > ''*moʲn'' > ''mën'', noche > ''*noʲts'' > ''nét'', historia > ''ithoir'', ocio > ''oith''.

Other Efenol dialects follow a similar vowel-mutation table with the following differences:

Line 1,158:

Line 1,162:

All forms of Efenol are based on (and supposedly descended from) the Spanish language as spoken today. The Spanish variety that serves as base for North-Central Efenol (''ie'' excluding the Southern Efenol language) is an unspecified form of European Spanish with the following features:

* Preserving the distinction between phonemes /s/ (spelled <s> in Spanish) and /θ/ (spelled as either <c> or <z>). This feature is known as 'distinción' and is found in most of Spain, contrasting with the merger of both sounds into /s/ ('seseo', found in most of the Spanish speaking territories) or the merger of both sounds into /θ/ ('ceceo', found in some regions of Andalusia).

* Preserving the distinction between phonemes /s/ (spelled <S> in Spanish) and /θ/ (spelled as either <c> or <z>). This feature is known as 'distinción' and is found in most of Spain, contrasting with the merger of both sounds into /s/ ('seseo', found in most of the Spanish speaking territories) or the merger of both sounds into /θ/ ('ceceo', found in some regions of Andalusia).

* Preserving the distinction between the phonemess /ʝ/ (spelled <y>) and /ʎ/ (spelled <ll>). This feature (sometimes referred to as 'lleísmo') is relatively uncommon but can be found in some regions of Spain and South America, contrasting with the far more common merger of both phonemes (a feature known as 'yeísmo'). On the other hand, the Southern Efenol language (not covered in this article) either descends from a variety with yeísmo or adopted a similar merger early on its evolution.

Line 1,197:

Line 1,201:

* Spanish <ue> becomes <ë> /ɛ/ in Western Efenol. The sequence <cue>, however, becomes /pe/ in the Northern and Western dialects. Examples: puesto > ''pëth'', cueva > ''pebh'' (but Eastern ''këb'').

* Spanish <ui> becomes an <y> /y/: buitre > ''výther''.

The first element of a hiatus in word-final position may be preserved with little change other than compensatory lengthening or, in the case of <eo>, a shift to <ë>. Examples: rocío > ''rothî'', paseo > ''pahë'' (also found as ''pathë'' due to an early confusion with ''*paceo'').

====Elision of word-final vowels====

Line 1,212:

Line 1,218:

The clusters <mbr>, <ndr> and <ngr> are treated differently. In Western Efenol (and in some forms of Central Efenol) they evolve into <nv_r>, <ndh_r> and <nrh_r>, with the elided vowel moving before the R: hombre > ''ónver'', tundra > ''túndhar'', sangre > ''sánrher''. Eastern, North-Western and most Central Efenol dialects preserve the /b/, /d/ and /g/ in those clusters unchanged as exemplified by Eastern ''ómber'', ''túndar'' and ''sánger''. Northern and North-Eastern Efenol also follow the 'Eastern' model (except for <mbr>, which yields <nv_r> in Northern Efenol) but they also lengthen the preceding vowel in these cases, resulting in Northern ''ônver'', ''tûndar'' and ''sânger'' (often shortened to ''sâng'').

==~~Morphology~~==

===Consonants===

====The lenition rule====

Spanish voiceless plosives (/k/, /p/ and /t/) in intervocalic position may evolve into two different phonemes in North-Central Efenol: they may be retained as voiceless stops (/k p t/) or become voiced (/g b d/; /ɰ β̝ ð̞/ in Eastern Efenol). This is determined from their context by the 'lenition rule'.

The result depends on the vowels preceding and following the affected plosive according to the following table, where rows indicate the preceding Spanish vowel (or Vi- / Vu- for dipthongs with a final i or u) and columns indicate the following Spanish vowe (or iV / uV for dipthongs with an initial i or u).

{| class="wikitable"

! style="text-align: center; font-style:italic; background-color:#efefef;" | Efenol lenition rule

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -a

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -e

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -i

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -o

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -u

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -iV

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -uV

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | a-

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | e-

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | i-

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | o-

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | u-

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Vi-

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Vu-

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |

|}

One notorious exception is that word-final <-ico> and <-ica> are always inherited as <-ig> rather than <-ic> as expected from this rule.

====Spanish B and V====

As it is the case in all modern Spanish varieties (aside from rare instances of spelling-pronunciation), Efenol treats Spanish and <V> identically.

In word-initial position, a simple (or <V>) onset is inherited as /b/. Notice that Efenol stands for an actual voiced plosive [b] rather than an approximant [β̞] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /b/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation to become <bh> /v/ or nasal mutation to become <mb> /mb/.

Examples: burro > ''bûr'', vida > ''bidh'', la vida > ''a·bhidh'', en vida > ''mbidh''.

In word-initial position the clusters and <bl> are also preserved in Western Efenol. The latter, <bl>, is reduced to <v> /v/ in Northern and North-Eastern Efenol, adding a coda <l> to the first syllable unless it already had a coda other than /s/ or /θ/ (this may result in a rhotic mutation of a neighboring plosive).

Examples: brusco > ''bruch'', bloquear > ''blogâr'' (Northern: ''vol'hâr''), blusa > ''blus'' (Nothern ''vuls''), blanco > ''blanch'' (Northern: ''vanh'').

In intervocalic position, and <v> are lenited to <v> /v/ (notice that Efenol V stands for a true labiodental fricative, unlike Spanish V which is also a bilabial consonant and usually and approximant). In Western and North-Western Efenol alone, any word-final <v> (after vowel elision) changes to <bh>, often realized allophonically as [β] although coexisting with [v].

Examples: vivir > ''bivir'', ábaco > ''ávag'', lobo > ''lobh'' (Northern: ''lov'').

The clusters <rb> and <rv> evolve to become Efenol <rv>. The aforementioned rule about final <v> shifting to <bh> in Western and North-Western dialects remains in effect in writing, although in the spoken language the [v] pronunciation far prevails over [β]. Notice that any final <rv> cluster will be broken in dialects other than Standard Western Efenol.

Examples: árbol > ''árvol'', barba > ''barbh'' (Northern: ''bárav''), arveja > ''arvech'', ciervo > ''thîrbh'' (Northern: ''zîrov'').

The clusters <lb> and <lv> are inherited as <lv> except in word-final position (after eliding a final Spanish vowel) where Efenol phonology mandates that the cluster must be broken as mentioned in the evolution of vowels section.

Examples: albañil > ''alveinil'', alba > ''álabh'', malvado > ''malvadh'', calvo > ''cálobh''.

Non-initial Spanish and <bl> clusters are broken by moving the second element to the coda of the same syllable. If the syllable already had a non-fricative coda, an echo vowel is added. This also results in the lenition of the original to <v> /v/. Notice that the sequences <mbr> and <mbl> are treated irregularly in some dialects.

Examples: abrazo > ''avarth'', abril > ''*avirl'' > ''aviril'', cobre > ''cóver'', hablar > ''avalar'', tabla > ''tával'', hombre > ''ónver'', emblema > ''envelem''.

In Western Efenol, the Spanish clusters <mb> and <nv> become /b/ in word-medial position and <mm> /m/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with <hb> /b/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: tambor > ''tabor'', invierno > ''ibîron'', bomba > ''bomm'', bombas > ''bëhb''.

====Spanish C====

The Spanish letter C can represent three different sounds: a fricative /θ/ (which is merged with /s/ in most Spanish varieties but not in the ancestor of Efenol), a stop /k/ and an affricate /tʃ/ when in the digraph <ch> (which will be covered in the following section).

Before a Spanish E or I, where C is pronounced as a fricative, the phoneme is inherited as a /θ/ sound, spelled <th> in western-like orthographies (including Standard Efenol) and <z> in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: cielo > ''thîl'' (Northern: ''zîl''), maceta > ''mathed'' (Northern: ''mazedd'').

The cluster <sc>, when pronounced /sθ/, is simplified to /θ/: escena > ''ethen''.

It should be noted that the Spanish suffix -ción (corresponding to English -tion) always corresponds to ''-thôn'' with an i-ablaut on the preceding vowel (although Northern Efenol consistently omits the i-ablaut for this suffix).

Elsewhere, Spanish C is pronounced as a /k/. This phoneme evolves in different ways depending on its context. The following notes will assume that the phoneme is not followed by a /w/ (a Spanish 'u' forming a rising dipthong) as /kw/ has a particular behaviour that will be discussed in a subsection of its own.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /k/ is retained as /k/, spelled <c> in Efenol varieties other than Eastern Efenol (which may optionally use <k> instead):

Examples: calma > ''cálam'' (Eastern: ''kálam''), cómo > ''com'' (Eastern: ''kom''), curva > ''curbh'' (Eastern: ''kúrav'').

Word-intial <cr> is also retained (optionally spelled as <kr> in Eastern Efenol). Example: cruz > ''cruth'' (Eastern ''kruz'').

Intervocalic C is normally inherited as either voiceless <c> /k/ or voiced <g> /g/ according to the lenition rule. As mentioned before, Spanish words ending in <-ico> or <-ica> are an exception to this rule as they yield the ending <-ig> rather than the expected <-ig>, although the former can still be found in some excaptions such as rico > ''ric'' and México > ''Méchic'' (although the latter coexists with ''Méchig''). Derivations of words with '-ico' typically preserve the /g/ or /k/ of the base word: música > ''músig'' => musical > ''musigal'', but México > ''Méchic'' => mexicano > ''mechican''.

Examples: opaco > ''obag'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and o), ecología > ecolochî (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between e and o), mítico > ''mítig'' (contrary to the lenition rule).

The above isn't true if the <c> is brought in contact with an <r> or <l> due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, <c> undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes <ch> /x/.

Examples: república > *repúbhilca > ''repúvilch''.

The same behaviour applies to instances of <c> preceded by <l>, <n> or <r> and followed by a vowel:

Examples: alcohol > ''alchôl'', calco > ''calch'', manco > ''manch'', arco > ''arch''.

Non word-initial <crV> (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) and all instances of <clV> are broken becoming <chVr> or <chVl> respectively. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final <l> or <r> may be deleted.

Examples: ocre > ''ócher'' (Central: ''óchar''), clave > ''chalbh'', clima > ''chílam''.

The cluster <sc>, when pronounced /sk/, becomes <ch> /x/:

Examples: mosca > ''moch'', escape > ''echab''.

In Eastern Efenol, any resulting /k/ followed by a front vowel (e, i, ö or y) are palatalized to <ç> /tʃ/. This does not affect instances of /k/ which were followed by a /w/ in Spanish (see next subsection).

Examples: coche > ''*cötc'' > ''çötç'' /tʃøtʃ/ (cf. Western Efenol ''cët'', /kɛt/); cuerno > ''*cwörn'' > ''kör'n''.

This does not affect i-ablauted plural nouns unless they also feature the /tʃ/ sound in it singular form. Some Eastern Efenol speakers, however, may palatalize all instances of /k/ before /y/, including those originated from an i-ablauted /ku/.

Examples: cama > ''kam'', plural ''keim'' (not ''*çeim''); cuna > ''kun'', plural ''kŷn'' (for most Eastern Efenol speakers), ''çŷn'' (for a minority of Eastern Efenol speakers).

Spanish C as a non-word-final coda (particularly in the cluster <ct>) is elided and lengthens the preceding vowel. Any following consonant is unaffected by lenition. Word-final /k/ (found only in loanwords) is retained as a <c> /k/ except when preceded by an <l>, <n> or <r> which mutates the /k/ to /x/ as usual.

Examples: acto > ''ât'', acceso > ''âthes'', bistec > ''bithec'', bloc > ''volch''.

=====Evolution of /kw/=====

As in the evolution of many other languages, Spanish /kw/ (represented in Spanish orthography by <cu> followed by another vowel) evolves into a labial stop /p/ in Efenol. In most Efenol varieties the resulting /p/ (spelled <pw> in Standard Efenol) behaves different than a regular /p/ under consonant mutation.

Examples: cuatro /ˈkwa.tɾo/ > ''pwáthor'' /ˈpa.θoɾ/.

One key west/east isogloss across Efenol dialects concerns the evolution of the sequences /kwe/ and /kwi/. Northern, North-Western and Western Efenol (the standard language) apply the /kw/ -> /p/ rule first and have these sequences yield /pe/ and /pi/. However, in Central, Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol the diphthongs /we/ and /wi/ are simplified to /ø/ and /y/ before the rule applies, removing the necessary /w/ to trigger the change.

{| class="wikitable"

!

! Reflex of "cuerno" /ˈkweɾ.no/

! Reflex of "cuidado" /kwi.ˈda.do/

|-

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Western (Standard)

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pwern /peɾn/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pwidhadh /pi.ˈðað/

|-

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | North-Western

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pérën /ˈpe.ɾən/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pidhadh /pi.ˈðað/

or

pidhao /pi.ˈðao/

|-

| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Northern

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | péron /ˈpe.ɾon/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pidad /pi.ˈðað/

|-

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | North-Eastern

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cöron /ˈkø.ɾɔn/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cydad /kʏ.ˈðäð/

|-

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | Eastern

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | kör'n /ˈkø.ɾən/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | kydad /kʏ.ˈðäð/

or

çydad /tʃʏ.ˈðäð/

|-

| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | Central

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cëran /ˈkɛ.ɾən/

| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cydhau /ky.ðau/

|}

It should be noted that the resulting /kø/ and /ky/ sequences in Eastern Efenol originally did not undergo palatalization as usual for a /k/ preceding a front vowel. However, an icreasing number of Eastern Efenol speakers have indeed shifted even these occurrences of /ky/ to /tʃy/.

Outside word-initial position, these /p/ phonemes evolved in a similar way to other voiceless consonants. When in intervocalic position, the phoneme is lenited to /v/ if affected by the lenition rule (although still considering that the following vowel is a uV dipthong).

Examples: acuarela > *apwarela > ''avarel'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and uV), adecuar > *adepwar > ''adhepar'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is not voiced between e and uV).

Any instances of these /p/ preceded by an <l>, <n> or <r> (including diplaced l's and r's from broken clusters) evolved to <chw> /xw/ which was then simplified to <ch> /x/ but affecting the preceding vowel with u-ablaut. The same change can also be found in words wher the original /kw/ is preceded by an /s/.

Examples: circuito > *cirpwito > ''thyrchit'', encuentro > *enpwéntor > ''ënchénthor'', frecuencia > *ferpwencia > ''fërchînth'', escuadra > ''ëchádhar''.

These words with a medial /kwe/ or /kwi/ in Spanish may often be found in forms like their Western and Northern equivalents (west of the isogloss) in dialects east of the isogloss. This is mostly explained through inter-dialectal influence. Thus, an Eastern Efenol speaker may use the inherited ''zir'hyt'', ''enhönz'r'' and ''fer'höinz' (which resolve /kwe/ and /kwi/ as /kø/and /ky/), the western-like ''zyr'hit'', ''önhénz'r'' and ''för'hînz'' or even clear inter-dialectal borrowings like ''fer'hînz'' from Western Efenol ''fërchînth''.

====Spanish Ch====

As in English 'church'', the Spanish digraph <ch> represents a an affricate /tʃ/. This phoneme is mostly lost in Efenol, although it later reemerged in many Efenol varieties (most notably in Eastern Efenol as a palalized Spanish /k/).

In Western and North-Western Efenol, a word-initial Spanish <ch> is inherited as <tc>, a combination that may be pronounced as /tʃ/ or /ʃ/. The same word-initial onset is inherited as /tj/ in Northern Efenol and as /sj/ in other varieties.

Examples: choza > ''tcoth'' (Northern ''tioz'', Eastern ''sioz''), China > Tcîn (Northern ''Tîn'', Eastern ''Sîn'').

Elsewhere (even when preceded by an <l> or <r>), Spanish <ch> triggers i-ablaut on the preceding vowel and becomes one of the following sounds:

* In Western, North-Western and Central Efenol: <t> /t/.

* In Eastern Efenol: /tʃ/ (spelled <tç> word finally or <c>~<ç> otherwise)

* In Northern and North-Eastern Efenol: <ts> /ts/.

Examples: noche > ''nët'' (Northern: ''nöts'', Eastern: ''nötç''), ochenta > ''ëtenth'' (Northern: ''ötsenz'', Eastern: ''öçenz''), marcha > ''meirt'' (Northern: ''meirts'', Eastern: ''meirç''), colcha > ''cëlt'' (Northern: ''cölts'', Eastern: ''çöltç'').

Some Western and Central Efenol speakers may replace the resulting <lt> and <rt> with <lth> and <rth>.

====Spanish D====

In word-initial position, a simple <D> onset is inherited as <D> /d/. Notice that Efenol <d> stands for an actual voiced plosive [d] rather than an approximant [ð̞] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /d/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation to become <dh> /ð/ or nasal mutation to become <nd> /nd/.

Examples: dama > ''dam'', la dama > ''a·dham'', dólares > ''dëler'', en dólares > ''ndëler''.

In word-initial position the cluster <dr> is also preserved in Western Efenol.

Examples: dragón > ''draun'', drama > ''dram''.

In intervocalic position, <d> is lenited to <dh> /ð/.

Examples: dado > ''dadh'', duda > ''dudh''.

The clusters <rd> evolves to become Efenol <rdh>. Notice that any final <rdh> cluster will be broken in dialects other than Standard Western Efenol.

Examples: ardilla > ''ardhîl'' or ''erdhîl'', gordo > ''gordh'' (Northern ''górod'').

The cluster <ld> is inherited as <ldh> except in word-final position (after eliding a final Spanish vowel) where Efenol phonology mandates that the cluster must be broken as mentioned in the evolution of vowels section.

Examples: maldad > ''maldhadh'', saldo > ''sálodh''.

Any occurrence of <dl> is replaced by <rl> /ɾl/.

Non-initial Spanish <dr> clusters are broken by moving the second element to the coda of the same syllable. If the syllable already had a non-fricative coda, an echo vowel is added. This also results in the lenition of the original <d> to <dh> /ð/. Notice that the sequence <ndr> and <mbl> are treated irregularly in some dialects.

Examples: edredón > ''edherdhon'', madre > ''mádher'', ladrón > ''ladhoron'', almendral > ''alvendharal''.

Exceptionally, the name of the city of Madrid is rendered as ''Madirth'' rather than the expected ''*Madhiridh'' or ''*Madhiridh''.

In Western Efenol, the Spanish cluster <nd> becomes <d> /d/ in word-medial position and <nn> /n/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with <hd> /d/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: comandante > ''comadanth'', mundo > ''munn'', mundos > ''mijhd''.

=====Spanish participles -ado/-ido=====

In most Efenol varieties (including standard Western Efenol), Spanish participles (which typically end in -ado or -ido) evolve as expected: to -adh or -idh respectively.

Examples: cantado > ''canthadh'', corrido > ''corhidh'', partido > ''parthidh''.

This is not the case in Central, North-Western and in a few non-standard varieties of Western Efenol, however. In Central Efenol, -ado and -ido in participles evolve into ''-au'' and ''-ŷ'' instead. The same applies to non-standard Western Efenol (with the endings ''-au'' and ''-ij'').

Examples: cantado > ''canthau'', corrido > ''corrŷ'' (non-standard Western ''corhij''), partido > ''parthŷ'' (non-standard Western ''parthij'').

In the North-Western dialect both -ado and -ido participles are regularized to ''-ao''.

Examples: cantado > ''canthao'', corrido > ''curhao'', partido > ''parthao''.

There is some variation in these dialects regarding whether nouns ending in -ado/-ada and -ido/-ida should be affected by this development or not. In general, Central Efenol tends to apply the change to nouns ending in -ado (''-au'', cuidado > ''cydhau'') and -ada (''-â'', parada > ''parâ'', but nada > ''nadh'') while the written North-Western norm tends to only use the -ao ending for participles themselves.

====Spanish F====

When not followed by another consonant, Spanish <f> /f/ remains unchanged.

Examples: febrero > ''feverer'', afeitar > ''afîdar'', ánfora > ''ánfor''.

Word-initial <fr> is avoided whenever possible: the cluster is broken (moving the <r> to the coda) as long as this does not result in an illegal coda.

Examples: fruta > ''furth'', frescura > ''ferchur'', francés > ''franthê'' (breaking the cluster would have resulted in ''*farnthe'', with an illegal <rnth> cluster).

The cluster <fl> and non word-initial <fr> are always broken. If moving the <l> or <r> after the vowel would result in an illegal coda this consonants are deleted, often trigger a compensatory lengthening on the vowel.

Examples: África > ''Áfirch'', zafral > ''*thafarl'' > ''thafâl'', flotar > ''folthar'', flor > ''*for'r'' > ''fôr'', afluente > ''*afëlnth'' > ''afënth''.

====Spanish G====

The Spanish letter G can represent two different phonemes: a fricative /x/ and a voiced stop (or approximant) /g/~/ɰ/. Additionally, /g/ next to a non-syllabic /u/ is often indistinguishable from [w] and is treated as such in Efenol.

Readers who aren't used to Spanish orthography should bear in mind that the sequences <gue> and <gui> represent /ge/ and /gi/; a diaeresis must be placed over the 'u' to prevent it from being silent: <güe> /gwe/~/we/ and <güi> /gwi/~/wi/.

=====Spanish G as /x/=====

Before a Spanish E or I, where G is pronounced as a fricative, the phoneme is inherited as a /x/ sound, spelled <ch> in western-like orthographies (including Standard Efenol) and <h> in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: generoso > ''chenerô'' (Northern ''heneros''), ágil > ''áchil'' (Northern ''áhil'').

=====Spanish G as /gw/=====

The sequences <gua>, <güe>, <güi> and <guo> are typically inerited as /wa/, /we/, /wi/ and /wo/.

Examples: guante > ''wanth'', cigüeña > ''thiwîn'', güisqui (also 'whiskey' or 'whiski') > ''wîch'' or ''wisci'',

A word final /w/ (after vowel elision) is elided after lengthening and triggering u-ablaut on the preceding vowel.

Examples: antiguo > ''*anthiw'' > ''anthij'', desagüe > ''*dehaw'' > ''dehòu'', yegua > ''*sîw'' > ''sij''.

The word "agua" is an exception to the above rule. It is inherited as ''au'' except in Northern Efenol where it is inherited as ''auz''.

When following as Spanish <n>, the resulting <ngu> /ngw/ is inherited as <ng> and inherits u-ablaut on the preceding vowel. The Spanish word 'pingüino' (penguin) is an exception, as the expected result ''pyngin'' is mostly replaced by irregularly-derived ''pingijn''. When the resulting <ng> is word-final (after vowel elision) in a Western Efenol noun, its plural form ends with <hg> /g/ instead.

Examples: lingüística > ''lyngíthig'', lengua > ''lëng'', lenguas > ''lëihg''.

=====Spanish G as /g/=====

In word-initial position, a simple <g> onset is inherited as <g> /g/. Notice that Efenol <g> stands for an actual voiced plosive [g] rather than an approximant [ɰ] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /g/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation, the result of which is subject to much variation across Efenol dialects, yielding either a glottal stop or a null phoneme in Western Efenol (written <gh> in either case). Under nasal mutation, <g> becomes <ng>.

Examples: gato > ''gad'', el gato > ''e·ghad'', guerra > ''gêr'', en guerra > ''ngêr'' (or ''en gêr'').

Intervocalic /g/ is lost, often resulting in a variety of diphthongs. The sequences /Vge/ and /Vgo/ also result in a change in vowel quality to /Vi/ and /Vu/.

Examples: mago > ''mau'', a gusto > ''auth'', aguerrido > ''airhidh'', agarrar > ''*aarhar'' > ''ârhar''.

The sequences <gr> and <rg> are turned into velar trills /ʀ/. In Northern Efenol (as well as some Central Efenol varieties) this phoneme is later merged with the alveolar trill /r/.

Examples: grueso > ''rhës'' (Northern: ''rös''), gracias > ''rheith'' (Northern: ''reiz''), mugroso > ''murhô'' (Northern: ''murros''), órgano > órhan (Northern: ''órran'').

Word-final /ʀ/ (after vowel elision) is only allowed in Central Efenol (except in varieties which merge the phoneme with /r/, as it's also the case in Northern Efenol). In other dialects (including the western standard) the trill is reduced to an alveolar flap <r> /ɾ/ and the preceding vowel is mutated: lengthened if a back vowel or u-ablauted otherwise.

Examples: magro > ''*marh'' > ''mòr'' (Central ''marh'', Northern ''marr''), logro > ''*lorh'' > ''lôr'' (Central ''lorh'', Northern ''lorr''), jerga > ''chër'' (Central ''cherh'', Northern ''herr'').

Similarly, the sequences <gl> and <lg> become <lw> /ɫ/ (as noted in the phonology section, the realization of this phoneme may vary). Most Central Efenol speakers and virtually all Eatern and North-Eastern Efenol speakers merge this phoneme with <l> /l/.

Examples: gloria > ''lwoir'' (Eastern: ''loir''), alga > ''alw'' (Eastern ''al'').

In Western Efenol, the Spanish cluster <ng> becomes <g> /g/ in word-medial position and <ng> /ŋ/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with <hg> /g/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: ángulo > ''águl'', manga > ''mang'', mangas > ''meihg''.

The sequences <ngr> and <ngl> develop irregularly:

Examples: sangre > ''sánrher'', inglés > ''inlê''.

====Spanish H====

Spanish H, being silent, leaves no trace in Efenol.

The letter <h> is often found before word-initial dipthongs with /j/ as a first element which in Western and North-Western Efenol are treated the same as having a word-initial <y>, getting a prosthetic /ʃ/ or /s/ as a result.

Certain foreign words often spelled with <h> in Spanish may be inherited in Efenol with an /x/: hockey > ''chóci''.

Even though the word 'hora' (hour) in inherited in all dialects as ''or'', the letter <h> remains a common abbreviation or symbol for 'hour'.

====Spanish J====

The Spanish letter <j>, representing the /x/ sound, are inherited as /x/, spelled <ch> in western-like orthographies and <h> in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: juego > ''chëu'', ajo > ''ach'', mejor > ''mechor'', aljibe > ''alchibh'', forja > ''forch''.

Any instances of a foreign <j> originally representing a /dʒ/ or /ʒ/ sound are treated as beginning with <y>. See the corresponding section for more information.

Examples: jacuzzi > ''seacijs'', jeans > ''sîz''.

====Spanish K====

Instances of Spanish K are treated the same as the corresponding regular spellings for /k/: <qu> (before 'e' or 'i') and <c> (elsewhere). See the corresponding sections.

Examples: kilómetro > ''cilómethor'', Kaliningrado > ''Calininrhadh'' (or ''Calininrhardh'').

Although the letter 'K' is not used in most Efenol orthographies (Eastern Efenol being the exception), the letter is still used in symbols for metric units (particularlly ''km'' for kilometers and ''kg'' for kilograms which may also be informally abbreviated ''k'', although this latter use is often seen as incorrect).

====Spanish L====

Other than in the digraph <ll> (covered in the next section) and when next to <g>, Spanish L is inherited as an /l/ in Efenol.

Examples: león > ''leôn'', lobo > ''lobh'', balada > ''baladh''.

When next to the letter <g>, be it in the clusters <gl> or <lg>, Spanish L becomes <lw> /ɫ/ as mentioned in the section about Spanish G.

When next to another consonant, L typically triggers rhotic-mutation (hence why it might also be referred to as liquid mutation). Clusters involving <l> as a second element are often broken by moving the <l> to the coda of the syllable; this is further explained in the relevant sections for other consonants (for instance, the section for P for the cluster <pl>).

The cluster <sl> is simplfied to <l> unless word-final (after vowel elision), in which case the cluster is broken:

Examples: eslavo > ''elabh'', isla > ''ísal'', muslo > ''músol''.

In Western Efenol alone, instances of a word-final <l> /l/ preceded by an /i/ are pronounced as palatal lateral /ʎ/. This is not reflected in writing (where /ʎ/ is elsewhere found as <lh>). Thus ''mil'' (one thousand, from Spanish mil) is phonetically /miʎ/.

=====Special developments=====

The Spanish letter <L> developed irregularly in a limited number of grammatical words.

Most prominently, the Spanish definite articles 'el', 'la', 'los' and 'las' lose the L in all dialects other than Northern Efenol becoming ''e'' (which triggers rhotic mutation, as a side effect of the lost /l/), ''a'' (which triggers lenition) and plural 'o' and 'a' (which do not trigger any kind of consonant mutation). On the other hand, only the original /l/ is preserved in singular definte articles preceding a vowel initial noun: <l'>.

Examples: el caso > ''e·chas'', la casa > ''a·gas'', los casos > ''o·ceis'', las casas > ''a·ceis''.

This does not affect the third-person singular pronoun <él>, which is inherited as ''el'' in all Efenol varieties.

Meanwhile, the accusative third-person plural pronoun 'los' becomes ''lho'' by influence of the <ll> in the nominative form 'ellos'.

====Spanish Ll====

The Spanish digraph <ll>, pronounced /ʎ/ (and regarded as different from Spanish <y>, see the note about the base Spanish variety above) is mostly retained as /ʎ/ although written <lh> instead. In Northern, Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol /ʎ/ (written 'li') is in free variation with /lj/.

Examples: llorar > ''lhorar'', hallazgo > ''alháthog''.

In word-final position (after vowel elision), /ʎ/ becomes /l/ and triggers i-ablaut on the preceding vowel. This is not the case in Central Efenol (and in some non-standard Western Efenol varieties) where word-final /ʎ/ remains unchanged. Additionally, some speakers of these varieties use transitional forms where the final /ʎ/ is kept a palatal but the preceding vowel is affected by i-ablaut.

Examples: malla > ''meil'' (Central ''malh'' or ''meilh''), cepillo > ''thebîl'' (Central ''thebilh'' or ''thebîlh'').

It should be noted that, due to a later shift, word-final <l> /l/ preceded by an /i/ are pronounced as palatal lateral /ʎ/ in Western Efenol (regardless of whether they originated as such or not). This change, not reflected in writing, makes it so that ''meil'' and ''thebîl'' indeed retain a /ʎ/ sound. This is not true for other dialects, such as Northern ''meil'' and ''zebîl'' realized with alveolar /l/.

====Spanish M====

Spanish M /m/ is usually inherited as such.

Examples: mamá > ''mamâ'', marco > ''march'', América > ''Amérig'', arma > ''arm'' (but ''áram'' in other Efenol varieties).

Exceptions include:

* When next to a , as /p/ is nasal-mutated to /f/ when next to /m/ and the resulting [ɱf] is spelled as <nf>: tiempo > ''tînf''.

* In the sequence <mb> which, as explained under the section about Spanish B, may yield /b/: tambor > ''tabor''.

* In the cluster <mn>, where the /m/ is lost: ''himno'' > ''in''.

* Next to an <l> (which might have moved from a cluster at the beginning of the previous syllable); only in this case /m/ is mutated to <v> /v/: finalmente > ''finalventh'', clemencia > *chelmencia > ''chelvînth''. This mutation doesn't take place if there is an epenthetic vowel between the L and the M: clima > *chilma > > ''chílam''.

It should be noted that ''-menth'', from the Spanish adverbial suffix '-mente' (similar to English -ly when used to form adverbs), is often added to the Efenol form of the adjective rather than inheriting the adverb directly from Spanish. Thus 'slowly' is not ''*lenthamenth'' as expected from Spanish 'lentamente' but rather ''lenthmenth'', combining ''lenth'' (the expected outcome from Spanish 'lento'~'lenta') and ''-menth''. For adjectives ending in <l> as ''final'', the form ''-venth'' is used instead. This is even the case for adverbs that didn't have a final L in Spanish: 'bellamente' (beautifuly) becomes ''bîlventh'', from 'bella' > ''bîl'' and the suffix ''-venth''.

The sequences <mn> and <nm> yield their second component: /n/ and /m/ respectively: amnesia > ''anîs'', himno > ''in'', inmenso > ''imez'', inminente > ''iminenth''.

====Spanish N====

As with M, Spanish N /n/ is mostly inherited as such.

Examples: nieto > ''nît'', Ana > ''An'', caimán > ''caiman''.

Many consonants change due to nasal mutation when next to /n/. In some cases (such as <nd> and <ng>) the nasal might be elided. The place of articulation may also assimilate (for instance, /n/ becomes [ŋ] when next to other velars). See the respective sections (such as ''Spanish D'' for <nd>) for more information.

Examples: andén > ''aden'', enjambre > ''enchánver'', antología > ''antholochî''.

The sequence <nn> is simplified to a single <n> /n/: innato > ''inad''.

====Spanish Ñ====

Spanish Ñ, representing the palatal nasal /ɲ/, is only preserved as such in Central Efenol. In all other varieties it becomes /nj/ word-initially (usually spelled <ne> in Western Efenol) and /n/ with an i-ablaut on the preceding vowel instead. Some Central Efenol speakers may conflate word-final Ñ (after vowel elision) with N and apply i-ablaut on the preceding vowel as other Efenol varieties do. A transitional form which uses i-ablaut but retains word final <ñ> /ɲ/ also exists.

Examples: ñandú > ''neadû'' (Central: ''ñadû''), gnomo ~ ñomo > ''neom'' (Central: ñom), mañana > ''meinan'' (Central: ''mañan''), año > ''ein'' (Central: ''añ', ''eiñ'' or ''ein''), niño > ''nîn'' (Central: ''niñ'', ''nîñ'' or ''nîn'').

====Spanish P====

Spanish P /p/ evolves in different ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /p/ is retained as 'p' /p/.

Examples: pez > ''peth'', pelota > ''pelod''.

Word-intial <pr> is also retained. Example: primo > ''prim''.

Intervocalic P is normally inherited as either voiceless 'p' /p/ or voiced 'b' /b/ according to the lenition rule.

Examples: opaco > ''obag'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between o and a), equipo > egip (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between i and o).

The above isn't true if the 'p' is brought in contact with an <r> or <l> due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, 'p' undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes /f/.

Examples: increpar > *incherpar > ''incherfar''

The same behaviour applies to instances of 'p' preceded by <l>, <m> or <r> and followed by a vowel:

Examples: pulpo > ''pulf'', alpino > ''alfin'', lámpara > ''lánfar'', carpa > ''carf''.

Non word-initial <prV> (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) and all instances of <plV> are broken becoming <fVr> or <fVl> respectively. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final <l> or <r> may be deleted.

Examples: apreciar > ''afirthar'', plomo > ''fólom'', plata > ''falth'', plan > ''*faln'' > ''fân''.

The cluster <sp> also becomes /f/:

Examples: avispa > ''avif'', especial > ''efithal''.

Spanish P as a non-word-final coda (particularly in the cluster <pt>, when not already simplified to <t> in Spanish as in 'septiembre'~'setiembre') is elided and lengthens the preceding vowel. Any following consonant is unaffected by lenition. This results in a complete merger with the cluster <ct>; exceptionally the word 'apto' becomes ''òt'' rather than the expected ''*ât'' to avoid confusion with ''ât'', derived from Spanish 'acto'. Word-final /p/ (found only in loanwords) is retained as a /p/ except when preceded by an <l>, <m>~<n> or <r> which mutates the /p/ to /f/ as usual. The cluster <ps> simplifies to /s/ word-initially.

Examples: rapto > ''rât'', sinapsis > ''sinâsis'', psicología > ''sicolochî'', séptimo > ''sêtim'', septiembre > setiembre > ''sedînver'' (rather than septiembre > ''sêtînver''), rap > ''rap''.

====Spanish Q====

Aside from loanwords, Spanish Q only appears in the trigraphs <que> and <qui>, pronounced /ke/ and /ki/ respectively (the 'u' being silent). In words from foreign origin, Q may appear in other positions but is also pronounced as /k/. This /k/ phonemes evolve as detailed in the section about Spanish <c> (which represents /k/ before other vowels). The result is typically either /k/, /g/ or /x/.

Examples: queso > ''ces'', pequeño > pegîn, moquette ~ moquet > ''mocet'', ataque > ''adag'', toque > ''toc'', tanque > ''tanch'', alquitrán > ''alchithân'', arquero > ''archer'', esquina > ''echin'', Qatar ~ Catar > ''Cadar''.

Since native occurences of Spanish Q involve a /k/ followed by a front vowel, its reflex is often <ç> /tʃ/ instead of <c> /k/ in Eastern Efenol:

Examples: quedo > ''çes'', moquette ~ moquet > ''moçet''.

As an exception, the words 'qué' and 'que' ('what' and 'that') evolve to ''kê'' and ''ke'' (or <k'>) in Eastern Efenol rather than the expected ''çê'' and ''çe''. This is explained as an effort to dissimilate these words from the reflex of 'quien' ('who'): ''çîn''.

====Spanish R====

The Spanish letter R has two pronunciations: an alveolar trill /r/ and an alveolar flap /ɾ/. The former (the trill /r/) is represented by a single <r> word-initially and after the consonants <l> and <n> and as a double R (<rr>) between vowels. The flap, /ɾ/, doesn't occur in word-initial position (nor after <l> or <n>) and is represented as a single <r> elsewhere.

It should be noted that there are some compounds which retain a trilled /r/ in positions where a flap /ɾ/ would be expected. Spanish orthography fails to account for this; compare the cluster in 'cubra' /ˈku.bɾa/ (with a flap, as expected) vs 'subrayado' /sub.ra.ˈʝa.do/ (with a trill, as in the prefixless word 'rayado' /ra.ˈʝa.do/).

=====Spanish R as a trill (r or rr)=====

During its evolution, Efenol, in addition to preserving the alveolar trill /r/, developed a velar trill /ʀ/ (typically from /g/ being in contact with a rhotic, usually the flap /ɾ/). However, many varieties later merged the resulting alveolar and velar trills at least in some positions.

Word initially, Spanish R is inherited as an alveolar trill <r> /r/. Outside the official standard language, most Western Efenol speakers (as well as nearly all North-Western speakers) merge this sound with the velar rhotic /ʀ/ but this is not reflected in writing. In other dialects (as well as in standard Western Efenol) the trill remains alveolar /r/.

Example: rosa > ''ros'' (pronounced /ʀos/ by North-Western and many Western speakers and /ros/ by speakers of other Efenol varieties).

Elsewhere, the trill is fully merged with velar <rh> /ʀ/ in Western and North-Western Efenol.

Examples: arrendar > ''arhedar'' (compare 'agrandar' > ''arhadar'', showing the merger), Enrique > ''Enrhig'', alrededor > ''alrhedhedhor'' (also found as ''alrhôr'').

In other dialects, these instances of /r/ remain an alveolar trill /r/, written <rr>.

Examples (in Eastern Efenol): arrendar > ''arredar'' (compare with 'agrandar' > ''arhadar'', showing the lack of merger), Enrique > ''Enrrig'', alrededor > ''*alrrededor'' > ''alrrôr''.

In word-final position (after vowel elision) trills are only allowed in Northern and Central Efenol. Elsewhere, /r/ becomes a flap /ɾ/ and the preceding vowel gains compensatory length.

Examples (in Standard/Western Efenol): guerra > ''*gerr'' > ''gêr'' (but Central: ''gerr''), burro > ''*burr'' > ''bûr'' (but Central: ''burr'').

Uncommon clusters such as the /br/ found in 'subrayado' are reduced to /r/ before evolving as usual: subrayado > *surrayado > ''surheisadh'' (but Eastern ''surraijad'').

=====Spanish R as a flap (r)=====

Spanish /ɾ/ remains an alveolar flap (written <r>) in most contexts.

Examples: aro > ''ar'', amar > ''amar'', orfebrería > ''orfeverî''.

Clusters involving /ɾ/ and another consonant evolve as explained in the section for the other consonant (for instance, see Spanish D for the evolution of <dr> or <rd>).

====Spanish S====

Spanish S /s/ evolves in a number of ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, 'S' is preserved as such. Under Efenol grammar, this /s/ may undergo lenition o become <sh> /h/ or rhotic/nasal mutation to become <ss> /z/.

Examples: burro > ''bûr'', vida > ''bidh'', la vida > ''a·bhidh'', en vida > ''mbidh''.

Examples: sábana > ''sávan'', la sábana > ''a·shaban'', sol > ''sol'', el sol > ''e·ssol'', al sol > *en sol > ''en sol'' or ''ssol''.

Word-finally ('''after''' vowel elision; corresponding to a word final -sV in Spanish), /s/ is also retained as 's'. Spanish adjectives ending in the suffix '-oso', however, end in ''-ô'' except in Northern Efenol (and transitional forms of Northern-Efenol) which have ''-os'' as expected. Word-final /s/ is also kept in a limited number of monosyllables like 'mes' and 'gas'.

Examples: queso > ''ces'', grueso > ''rhës'', mes > ''mes'', gas > ''gas'', hermoso > ''ermô'' (but Northern ''ermos'').

Intervocalic /s/ (other than in word-final position after vowel elision) evolves into /s/, /h/ or Ø depending on stress position:

* If the syllable before the /s/ is stressed, then the /s/ remains an /s/: música > ''músig''.

* If the syllable after (including) the /s/ is stressed, the /s/ is lenited to an <h> /h/. In Northern and in most forms of North-Eastern Efenol /x/ is used instead, also written <h>. Example: limusina > ''limuhin''.

* If the primary stress of the word does not fall on either the syllable before nor the syllable after the S, the /s/ is lost: visitar /bi.si.ˈtaɾ/ > ''*biitar'' > ''bîtar''.

There are several exceptions to these developments. For instance, clear derivations with a different stress placement often develop the /s/ as in the original word: musical > ''musigal'' (rather than expected ''*muigal'' or ''*muical''). This is also true for verb conjugations: visita (present tense form of 'visitar') > ''bît'' (as in the infinitive ''bîtar'' rather than the expected ''bihit''). The word ''bihit'' does exist however as a noun (also 'visita' in Spanish). Spanish verbs ending in '-sar' and '-ser', however, do have alternating paradigms: pasar (to pass) > ''pahar'' but pasa (3s passes) > ''pas'', toser (to cough) > ''toher'' but tose (3s coughs) > ''tos''.

The Spanish 'superlative' suffix '-ísimo' (used as an intensifier rather than an actual superlative) is also affected by an irregular development, yielding ''-îm''. This new suffix can be regularly applied to words with irregular 'superlatives' in Spanish: fuerte > ''fërth'' > ''fërthîm'' (rather than fortísimo > ''*forthîm''), pobre > ''póver'' > ''póverîm'' (rather than traditional 'pauperrimo' which is instead inherited as a less-common adjective on its own: ''pòpérhim'' ~ 'lacking quality').

The cluster <ls> develops as <lz> /lz/. In dialects other than Western Efenol, word-final <ls> (after vowel elision) is either broken or replaced with the similar-sounding (and more common) /lθ/. The latter is occasionally also found in Western Efenol as well.

Examples: salsa > ''salz'' (Central: ''sálaz''), Alsacia > Alzeith, bolsa > ''bolz'' (Central: ''bólaz'' or ''bolth'', Eastern ''bolz'' /βolθ/), balsa > balth (shifted to /balθ/ in all dialects).

The cluster <sl> is simplfied to <l> unless word-final (after vowel elision), in which case the cluster is broken. In the latter case, the first element may be found as either /s/ or /z/; 's' is preferred in Standard Efenol.

Examples: eslavo > ''elabh'', isla > ''ísal'' (or ''ízal''), muslo > ''músol'' (or ''múzol'').

The cluster <sm> may evolve in three different ways:

* If the syllable before <sm> is not stressed, the /s/ is dropped: esmeralda > ''emeráladh''.

* The suffix '-ismo' (corresponding to English -ism) is typically left as '-îm': atletismo > ''athledîm'', comunismo > ''comunîm'', electromagnetismo > ''elêthormanedîm''.

* Otherwise, <sm> is usually broken after voicing the /z/: smV > zVm: asma > ''ázam'', istmo ~ ismo > ''ízom''.

The cluster <ns> develops to <z> /z/ in Western Efenol, North-Western Efenol and some Central Efenol varieties. Elsewhere, <ns> develops to [nz]. Some words may alteranate a medial /nz/ with /z/ in Western Efenol.

Examples: manso > ''maz'' (Central ''maz'' or ''manz'', Northern ''mans'' /manz/, Eastern ''mans'' /mans/), insecto > ''izêt'' or ''inzêt'' (Central ''izêt'' or ''inzêt'', Northern ''insêt'' /in.ˈzeːt/, Eastern ''insêt'' /in.ˈseːt).

The cluseter <sn> is typically conflated witih Spanish <zn> and thus evolves to /θVn/:

Examples: asno > *azno > ''áthon'', fresno > *frezno > ''férthon''.

The cluster <rs> develops into <rz> /ɾz/.

Examples: persa > ''perz'', arsenal > ''arzenal''.

The cluster <sr> simplifies to /s/. The name of 'Sri Lanka', the only word with an initial <sr> in common Spanish usage, becomes ''Sirilanch''.

Example: Israel > ''Irhêl'', disruptivo > ''dirhûtibh''.

The clusters /sk/, /sp/ and /st/ turn to fricatives /x/, /f/ and /θ/.

Examples: escuplir > ''echulfir'', esclavo > ''echálob'', especial > ''efithal'', resplandor > ''refaldor''~''refaldhor'', estorno > ''ethóron'', maestro > ''mêthor''.

Other clusters such as the <sb> in 'esbozo' are commonly reduced by eliminating the /s/; this usually prevents the following consonant from undergoing lenition: esbozo > ''eboth'', lesbianismo > ''lîbanîm'', rasgar > ''ragar''.

In Western and Central Efenol (and also for some North-Western Efenol speakers), a Spanish /s/ followed by a non-syllabic /u/~/w/ who would otherwise evolve to /s/ evolves to /z/ instead: suave > ''zabh''.

=====Special developments=====

Some Spanish affixes involving the letter <S> are subject to irregular developments.

Most prominently, the Spanish plural suffix for nouns ('-s' for most nouns ending in a vowel and '-es' otherwise) is replaced by i-ablaut. This is justified by the following chain of changes:

# The singular form of a Spanish word loses the final vowel (if any): mano > ''*man''.

# The '-es' ending is applied to the new consonant-ending noun (even though the '-s' suffix might have been used originally): mano ~ manos > ''*man ~ *manes''.

# The '-es' ending is reduced: mano ~ manos > ''*man *manɪ''.

# The reduced /i/-like ending triggers apophony (the i-ablaut) before being elided: mano ~ manos > ''*man ~ *manɪ'' > ''*man ~ *maʲn'' > ''man ~ mein''.

# The new pluralization strategy is generalized.

The Spanish antonym-forming prefix 'des-' (correspond to the English prefixes dis- and un-) is inherited as ''de-'' in all contexts unless analyzed as part of the verbal stem. Thus 'desteñir' (to fade, antonym of 'teñir', to dye) becomes ''detînir'' (''de-'' + ''tînir'', the later being the reflex from 'teñir') rather than the expected ''*dethînir''.

Verbs not affected by this rule include 'descargar' > ''decharhar'' (which was analyzed as a single lexeme rather than des + cargar, which would have yielded ''*decarhar'') or 'despertar' > ''deferthar'' (whose stem is also monomorphemic in Spanish rather than des + *pertar).

Suffixes (including /s/) with irregular development include:

* Adjectival '-oso' becoming ''-ô'' in dialects other than Northern Efenol: perezoso > ''perethô'' (Northern : perezos).

* Superlative mark -ísimo and nominal -ismo which become ''-îm'': grandísimo > ''rhanîm'', liberalismo > ''liveralîm''.

* The suffix -sión /sjon/ is replaced with the more common -ción /θjon/ by analogy: misión > *mición > ''mîthôn'', pasión > *pación > ''peithôn''.

====Spanish T====

Spanish T /t/ evolves in different ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /t/ is retained as 't' /t/.

Examples: todo > ''todh'', tabla > ''tával''.

Word-intial <tr> is also retained. Example: tren > ''tren''.

Intervocalic T is normally inherited as either voiceless 't' /t/ or voiced 'd' /d/ according to the lenition rule.

Examples: atorar > ''adorar'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and o), hospital > ofital (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between i and a).

The above isn't true if the 't' is brought in contact with an <r> or <l> due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, 't' undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes <th> /θ/.

Examples: plata > *phalta > ''falth'', concreto > *concherto > ''concherth''.

The same behaviour applies to instances of 't' preceded by <l>, <n> or <r> and followed by a vowel:

Examples: alto > ''alth'', alterar > ''altherar'', antena > ''anthen'', carta > ''carth''.

Non word-initial <trV> (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) is broken becoming <thVr>. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final <r> may be deleted.

Examples: estrusco > ''ethurch'', otro > ''óthor'', astral > ''*atharl'' > ''athâl''.

The cluster <st> also becomes /θ/:

Examples: hasta > ''ath'', estadio > ''etheidh''.

The sequence <tl> (which in European Spanish always occurs across a syllable boundary, /t.l/) becomes <thl> /θl/.

Examples: atlántico > ''athlánthig'', atleta > ''athled''.

The clusters <ct> and <pt> simplify to /t/ with compensatory lengthening on the preceding vowel. Exceptionally, 'apto' yields ''òt'' to avoid confusion with acto > ''ât''.

Examples: rapto > ''rât'', actor > ''âtor''.

====Spanish V====

See the section on Spanish B.

====Spanish W====

The letter <W> isn't used natively in Spanish but appears in several borrowings where it is pronounced either as a <v> /b/ (where it evolves the same as any other /b/, see the section on Spanish B) or as /w/ where it evolves the same as the sequence <gu> /gw/~/w/ (see the section 'Spanish G as /gw/').

Examples: web > ''webh'', Wálter > ''Walther''.

====Spanish X====

Natively, the Spanish letter <x> has three different pronunciations in standard Spanish: /x/, /s/ and /ks/.

The pronunciation /x/ (identical to a Spanish <J>) is only found in a few words, most notably México and Oaxaca. These words evolve as expected for their phonemic respellings 'Méjico' and 'Guajaca': ''Méchic'' and ''Wachag''.

Word-initially, <x> is realized as /s/ (except in the surname 'Ximénez', which may also be pronounced with an initial /x/ as mentioned before). As usual for word-initial /s/, the phoneme is preserved in Efenol:

Examples: xilófono > ''silófon'', xenofobia > ''senofoibh'', xerografía > ''serorhafî''.

Between vowels and word-finally <x> is pronounces as /ks/. In these cases, the /k/ is elided, the preceding vowel is lengthened and the /s/ sound is preserved. In Western and Central Efenol (and also for some North-Western Efenol speakers), a this /ks/ when followed by a non-syllabic /u/~/w/ to <z> /z/ instead.

Examples: axioma > ''eisom'', anexo > ''anês'', (tiranosaurio) rex > ''rês''.

In clusters, the <x> is treated the same as an /s/, much like in usual European Spanish pronunciation.

Examples: texto > *testo > ''teth'', extraño > *estraño > ''ethéiron'', explicación > *esplicación > ''efilcheithôn''.

====Spanish Y====

The Spanish letter Y appears both as a vowel (where it's equivalent to /i/~/j/) and as a consonant.

As a vowel (word-final Y), it evolves the same as 'i'.

Examples: y > *i > ''i'', rey > *rei > ''rî'', Paraguay > *Paraguái > ''Parawai''.

Elsewhere, Spanish Y is treated as a consonant (typically transcribed as /ʝ/), with wide variations on its exact pronunciation. This is also reflected in Efenol, as different dialects handle this phoneme differently.

In Western and North-Western Efenol, consonantal Y is treated as a palatal sibilant /sʲ/ although this palatal quality is resolved by affecting the neighbouring vowels. Word initially, /ʝ/ becomes /sj/~/ʃ/, written <se>.

Examples: yate > ''sead'', yunque > ''seunch'', yin y yang > */sʲin i sʲang/ > ''sîn i seang'', yeso > ''sîs''.

Elsewhere, /ʝ/ evolves into /s/ and the preceding vowel is i-ablauted.

Examples: mayor > ''meisor'', ayuntamiento > ''eisunthamînth'', rayo > ''reis''.

W.~~I.P~~.

This also extends to the cluster <ny> /nʝ/, although the resulting /ns/ is often pronounced /nz/. However, it's common for the resulting words to lack the usual i-ablaut.

~~~~

Examples: enyesar > ''ensîsar'' (influenced by yeso > ''sîs''), inyección > ''insîthôn''.

<!-- ~~Here are some example subcategories~~:

The following table illustrates the development in other Efenol varieties:

{| class="wikitable"

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Efenol dialect

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Word initial /ʝ/

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Medial /ʝ/

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Final /ʝV/

! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Cluster /nʝ/

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western

| style="text-align: center;" | /sj/ ~ /ʃ/

yunque > seunch

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/

mayor > meisor

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/

rayo > reis

| style="text-align: center;" | /ns/~/nz/

inyectar > insêtar

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western

| style="text-align: center;" | /sj/ ~ /ʃ/

yunque > seunch

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/

mayor > meisor

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/

rayo > reis

| style="text-align: center;" | /nz/

inyectar > enzêtar

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central

| style="text-align: center;" | /i/~/j/

yunque > iunch

| style="text-align: center;" | /s/

mayor > masor

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/

rayo > reis

| style="text-align: center;" | /ns/

inyectar > insêtar

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + length

yunque > ŷnh

| style="text-align: center;" | /ʝ/

mayor > maghor

| style="text-align: center;" | /jʒ/

rayo > raij

| style="text-align: center;" | /nʝ/

inyectar > inghêtar

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North Eastern

| style="text-align: center;" | /ç/

yunque > ghunh

| style="text-align: center;" | /ç/

mayor > maghor

| style="text-align: center;" | /jç/

rayo > raigh

| style="text-align: center;" | /nç/

inyectar > inghêtar

|-

| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern

| style="text-align: center;" | /j/

yunque > iunh

| style="text-align: center;" | /j/

mayor > maior

| style="text-align: center;" | /j/

rayo > rai

| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /n/

inyectar > înêtar

|}

~~Nouns~~

Other sequences such as <by> are simplified to <y>: abyecto > *ayecto > Western ''eisêt'', Eastern ''aghêt'', Northern ''aiêt'', etc.

~~Adjectives~~

~~Verbs~~

~~Adverbs~~

~~Particles~~

~~Derivational morphology~~

~~-->~~

====Spanish Z====

~~==Syntax==~~

The Spanish letter <z> (in the European Spanish variety that serves as a base for Efenol) is pronounced /θ/ and is preserved as such in Efenol, written <th> in western-like orthographies (including the one used in Standard Efenol) and as <z> in northern-like orthographies.

~~===Constituent order===~~

~~===Noun phrase===~~

~~===Verb phrase===~~

~~===Sentence phrase===~~

~~===Dependent clauses===~~

~~==Example texts==~~

Examples: zeda (the name for the letter, preferred to 'zeta') > ''thedh'' (Northern: ''zed''), zorro > ''thôr'' (Northern: ''zorr''), azafrán > ''athafân'' (Northern: ''azafân'').

~~==Other resources==~~

~~~~

<~~!-- Template area -~~->

Certain consonant clusters involving Spanish <z> are broken, including word-final <zn> (after vowel elision) and all instances of <zg>:

Examples; graznar > ''rhathnar'', tizne > ''títhen'', hartazgo > ''artháthog'', juzgar > ''chuthagar'' (also simplified to ''chuthâr'').

[[Category:Efenol]]

[[Category:Languages]]

Efenol: Difference between revisions

Navigation menu

Search