Hallo!
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 07:56:54 -0400,
scott <sjcaldwell@...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm a conlang newbie--there seems to be quite a few joining the list
> lately. I've been lurking on the list for a few months now and have
> been conlanging for only a little more than that. I have a few ideas
> for one conlang and I'm working on another. These conlangs are for a
> fantasy novel (hopefully a series of novels) that I am in the early
> stages of writing.
>
> The conlang I am currently working on is for a race with a predominant
> underbite. So their lower jaw sticks out more than ours. Males have 2
> large canine teeth on the lower jaw.
Let me guess... orcs?
> How would these characteristics affect the sounds they use?
> Right now their language has no interdentals
No problem; *most* languages have no interdentals.
> and the only labiodental
> is a voiceless fricative: f*. They make no distinction between a voiced
> and voiceless bilabial stop; so they have p, but no b.
I remember a discussion of the effects of racial underbite on the
phonology of the language (I think it was concerning Andreas's
Yargish). I'd say that bilabial stops are difficult, if not
impossible, and thus are missing from the language. Instead of
labiodentals (sounds articulated with the lower lip against the
upper teeth) your race may have dentilabials (sounds articulated
with the lower teeth against the upper lip, i.e. labiodentals
upside-down) - which sound quite similar to labiodentals.
> * This seems to come out as a lateral when I try to simulate what the
> race may sound like.
Huh? I don't see how a mis-pronounced labiodental ends up being
a lateral.
> Well that's it for now. Hopefully I've got my terminology right. I'll
> post a more complete version of what I have at some other time.
I'm looking forward to that.
Greetings,
Jörg.