Re: Vocalic patterns & BrSc

From: "Raymond Brown" <ray.brown@...>

> I have in mind for somewhen after I've got BrSc out of my system, so to
> speak, devising an artlang with a 3x3 system thus:
>         /i/ ---- /1/ ---- /u/
>          |        |        |
>         /e/ ---- /@/ ---- /o/
>          |        |        |
>         /E/ ---- /a/ ---- /O/
I *was* going to make a conlang with Altaic-like vowel harmony with a 4x3
structure:
unrounded | rounded; front - back
i - 1 | y - u
e - @ | 2 - o
{ - a | & - Q

The low front rounded vowel -- IPA small-caps OE ligature/X-SAMPA [&] -- is
very rare; I think it's found in Norwegian and maybe some Turkic languages,
but that's all I know.

Tech's vowel inventory, by the way, is based on six short vowels in a 2x3
array plus long vowels and diphthongs based on following consonant letters:

+ 0 (or tah marbutah)
I - @ - U
E - a - O
+ alif (or alif maqsura)
I@ - @: - U@
E: - a: - O:
+ waw
M: - @U - u:
7: - Q: - o:
+ yah
i: - @I - y:
e: - {: - 2:

Short umlauted vowels are a feature of certain dialects; these occur from
vowel harmony.

The other "laryngeals": hah, hhah and ayn, have a similar lengthening effect
on vowels to alif.

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