Totally Foiceless Conlang Phonolotshy
| From: | Wesley Parish <wes.parish@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Wednesday, March 7, 2007, 10:04 |
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Sounds interesting!
On Tuesday 06 March 2007 14:55, Donald Boozer wrote:
> External history: The following is a proposed
> phonology for a completely voiceless language for
> beings known as the Drushek, one of the three sentient
> races of my conworld Kryslan. The Drushek and Kryslan
> have been with me for over 20 years, but it's only
> been recently that I've considered a totally voiceless
> conlang for the Drushek. The phonology below is the
> first draft of that system. The readily-pronounceable
> versions (like "Drushek," "Shekstan," and "Kyugat")
> came first; the voiceless versions (trw:ck, ckstx:n,
> and kHwkt) came recently. Therefore, I'm still working
> out the system for moving from one to the other. I
> posted this elsewhere and got some helpful critiques.
> I've incorporated those ideas and would now like to
> let my fellow Conlangers give their thoughts.
>
> Internal history: The Drushek originally inhabited an
> island off the coast of the mainland until their home
> was invaded and overran by the Varalsans. Many of
> Drushek escaped the island and now wander the
> mainland, teaching Shekstan (their esoteric, mystical
> philosophy) to anyone who comes to them with an
> interest. The voiceless language evolved in the
> earliest times of Drushek prehistory due to their
> often becoming prey. The voiceless dialect is the
> "orthodox" pronunciation, although some younger
> Drushek do speak the voiced (and voiceless) languages
> of other races. These Drushek are looked down upon,
> and often shunned, by the older Drushek.
>
> Plosives:
> p = [p] as in English <cap>, unaspirated labial stop.
> This sound is realized with a "popping" sound (from
> the physical action of the lips, held loosely, coming
> together) followed by a release of excess air from the
> mouth (NOT aspiration, which would be spelled <ph>).
> To approximate this, one can hold his or her breath
> and try saying the word <pop> with loose lips. It
> should come out as an initial bilabial click (i.e., a
> "kiss") followed by the "popping" noise of the lips
> coming together then the air release.
> t = [t] as in English <cat>, unaspirated postalveolar
> stop. This sound is realized with a definite "tick"
> sound (the tongue is forcefully applied to the
> postalveolar ridge) and then a release of air from the
> mouth (similar to <p>).
> k = [k] as in English <pack> with no aspiration, i.e.,
> unaspirated velar stop. [q], a uvular stop, is an
> allophone of <k>, depending on the speaker.
>
> Trill:
> b = [B_0] voiceless bilabial trill
> r = [R_0] voiceless alveolar trill
>
> Fricatives:
> f = [f] voiceless bilabial fricative
> s = [s] voiceless alveolar fricative
> n = [n_;] (Z-SAMPA notation) a nareal fricative (as if
> trying to dislodge something from the nose).
> C = [C] voiceless palatal fricative, as in German ich
> c = [s'] voiceless retroflex fricative
> x = [x] voiceless velar fricative, in German Bach
> H = [X\] voiceless pharyngeal fricative, as in Arabic
> h = [h] voiceless glottal fricative. h is often used
> to denote aspiration. Note: p', t', and k' are NOT
> aspirated with air from the throat. ph, th, and kh are
> aspirated in the "normal" way.
>
> Clicks:
> p* = [O\] bilabial click, sounds like a kiss
> t* = [|\] dental click, realized approximately in
> English as the interjection "tsk" as in "tsk, tsk"
> C* = [!\] palatal click
> k* = [N=\] (NOT a standard X-SAMPA notation) velar
> nasal click.
>
> Rounding:
> Rounding associated with a particular sound is
> expressed in transliteration by an added w. Some
> examples would be <rw> "a voiceless alveolar trill
> executed with the lips rounded," <t> "a dental click
> executed with the lips rounded," etc. This rounding
> produces a kind of "pseudo-vowel" when used with r, H,
> and x. A distinction between an open (i.e., unrounded)
> and rounded version of these sounds is quite apparent.
>
>
> Length:
> A lengthened sound is expressed by the addition of :.
> This relative lengthening is idiosyncratic to the
> particular speaker, but is easily recognized as a
> prolonged sound. For example, the difference between
> <r> and <r:> is easily recognized within the context
> of a particular passage or conversation.
>
> Affricates and double articulations:
> The most common affricates are ks [k_s] and ps [p_s].
> To distinguish between [k_s] and [k.s], the latter is
> often written <khs> [k_h.s]
>
> A period is used to offset segments, signifying a
> breath can be taken at this point in the word.
>
> Examples:
> trw:.ck is transcribed into English as "Drushek." The
> lengthened trill with rounded lips is immediately by a
> retroflex fricative, ending with a velar or uvular
> unaspirated stop. The Drushek are the race of beings
> that speak this speech.
>
> ck.kstx:n is transcribed into English as "Shekstan."
> The <ck> is pronounced, in reality, as a retroflex
> fricative followed by a velar or uvular stop. This
> stop is then immediately followed by an affricate
> [k_s], then [t], then the fricative [x] is pronounced.
> The final n is a nareal fricative, the stopping of air
> with the tongue and a release of air through the nose.
> Shekstan is the Drushek's mystic philosophy.
>
> kHw.kt is transcribed into English as "Kyugat." The
> <kHw> is a uvular plosive followed by a uvular
> fricative, all pronounced with rounded lips. This is
> followed by <kt>, a velar plosive [k] with a [t]
> unaspirated stop. Kyugat is one of the masters of
> Shekstan.
>
> Possible as-yet-untranslated phrase: ps.t.kH: rw:p
> ck.kstx:n t*p*
>
>
>
>
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