Re: Gzarondan: Phonological Review
| From: | Adrian Morgan (aka Flesh-eating Dragon) <dragon@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, October 16, 2004, 7:20 |
|---|
Whoops! Somehow my previous message was truncated! I have no idea how
that happened! I am now very angry with my computer, evil malicious
thing that it is!
Forget everything I've written. Except for the request for comments,
of course. Is there anything un-naturalistic about this?
I've gone and made some MAJOR changes.
I hate the way that one never knows when one is finished; it can be
infuriating!
The current version is described below, and is also online at:
http://web.netyp.com/member/dragon/create/language/gzarondaa.txt
which is where future updates will be posted.
My conlang index page:
http://web.netyp.com/member/dragon/create/language/conlanging.htm
Adrian.
**********************************************************************
********************* Vowels and Diphthongs **********************
**********************************************************************
+------------+------------+------------+
| Front | Central | Back |
+------------+------------+------------+----------------+
| /I/ /E/ | /@/ /a/ | /U/ /O/ | Short Vowels |
| /i:/ /e:/ | /8:/ /a:/ | /o:/ /O:/ | Long Vowels |
| /aI/ | | /aU/ | Closing Series |
| /I8/ /E8/ | | | Rhotic Series |
+------------+------------+------------+----------------+
Comments:
* /E/ is pronounced [&] after a velar or palatal consonant, except
in an unstressed syllable that is preceded by a syllable which
also contains /E/.
* /a/ is not distinguished from /@/ at the end of a word, nor is /I/
distingued from /i:/.
**********************************************************************
*************************** Consonants ***************************
**********************************************************************
+------------------------------+------------------+----------------+
| FRICATIVES | STOPS | OTHER |
+------------------------------+------------------+----------------+
| Unmarked Labialised Voiced | Unvoiced Voiced | Nasals Trills |
| | | |
| /T/ /f/ /D/ | /p/ /b/ | /m/ |
| /s/ /S/ /z/ | /t/ /d/ | /n/ /r/ |
| /x/ /x_w/ | /k/ /g/ | |
+------------------------------+------------------+----------------+
+------------------------------------------+
| MISCELLANEOUS CONSONANTS |
+------------------------------------------+
| Voiced palatal approximant: /j/ |
| Voiced alveolar lateral approximant: /l/ |
| Unvoiced alveolar lateral fricative: /K/ |
+------------------------------------------+
Comments:
* Although the category of labialised fricatives cannot be taken
literally in the modern phonology, it does have a historical
basis.
* /r/ is ordinarily [r] (aveolar trill) but after /n/ it is [r\`]
(retroflex approximant). Note that this can only occur at a word
boundary.
* Before a rounded vowel or /@/, the only distinction between /x/
and /x_w/ is often the presence of a gliding [w] after the
latter. The syllables /x_w@l/ and /x_wUl/ have no auditory
distinction.
* /l/ is velarised (i.e. articulated as [5]) at the end of a
syllable and when preceded but not followed by a vowel or
diphthong.
* /@l/ is usually articulated as [5=] except after /l/ or at the
beginning of a word.
* When preceded by /l/ and followed by either /l/ or an unstressed
syllable containing /l/, alveolar stops undergo the following
changes: /d/ is not articulated at all (except to say that the
preceding /l/ is not velarised if it otherwise would be) while /t/
is articulated as [K].
* /t/ is articulated as [?] before /K/ or /l@/.
**********************************************************************
*********************** Syllable Structure ***********************
**********************************************************************
Syllables are essentially CVC, bearing in mind that the consonant
sections may be empty, and that other possible values for the sections
are detailed below.
Syllable-Initial Section:
* All consonants are permitted at the syllable-initial section, as
are the following structures:
+------------+------------+----------+------------+
| L-Series | R-Series | S-Series | Affricates |
+------------+------------+----------+------------+
| /pl/ /bl/ | /pr/ /br/ | /sp/ | |
| | /tr/ /dr/ | /st/ | /ts/ |
| /kl/ /gl/ | /kr/ /gr/ | /sk/ | /gz/ |
| /fl/ /Tl/ | /fr/ /Tr/ | /sf/ | |
| /sl/ /Sl/ | | | |
+------------+------------+----------+------------+
Syllable-Internal Section:
* The inside of a syllable may contain any vowel or diphthong, or
else one of the following (known as the Lateral Series):
/Il/ /El/ /8:l/ /al/ /Ol/.
Syllable-Final Section:
* The following consonants cannot occur at the syllable-final
section: voiced fricatives, trills, non-lateral approximants, /K/
and /x_w/. All other consonants are permitted.
* The following structures can occur: /mp/, /nt/, /nd/.
**********************************************************************
******************** Phonological Constraints ********************
**********************************************************************
Constraints that apply within syllables only:
* /r/ cannot be followed by a member of the rhotic series unless the
syllable is stressed.
* A member of the L-series or R-series cannot be followed by a
member of the lateral series unless the syllable-final section is
empty.
* /l/ cannot appear after /o:/ or /O:/.
Constraints that apply anywhere within a word:
* Consecutive vowels and diphthongs are illegal.
* Three consonants in a row are illegal unless both of the following
apply: (a) the first is a nasal or velar stop, and (b) the
following vowel is not /@/. Note that an /l/ occuring as part of
the lateral series does not count as a consonant.
* Consecutive stops are illegal unless the first is velar.
* Consecutive fricatives are illegal unless place of articulation
contrasts or the following syllable is stressed. Note that
fricatives listed as labialised in the phonological inventory are
deemed not to contrast with their non-labialised equivalents.
* A nasal cannot be followed by /r/.
* There are no geminated consonants. For a similar reason, /l/
cannot appear after a member of the lateral series.
**********************************************************************
**************************** Stress ******************************
**********************************************************************
Stress is not regular, but some generalisations can be made:
When syllables are LIKELY to be stressed:
* The first syllable that can be stressed usually is stressed.
* Stress gravitates toward syllables beginning with an approximant,
velar fricative, lateral or trill.
When syllables CANNOT be stressed:
* /@/ cannot be stressed except when the other restrictions below
rule out all alternatives.
* A word cannot be stressed on its final syllable if that syllable
contains a short vowel.
* Stress cannot appear on consecutive syllables in the same word.
Other stress rules:
* Prefixes and suffixes do not modify the stress on the root, but an
infix will often do so.
**********************************************************************
**************************** Spelling ****************************
**********************************************************************
+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| Spelling | Phoneme | Spelling | Phoneme |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| i | /I/ | ii | /i:/ |
| e | /E/ | ei | /e:/ |
| u | /@/ | uj | /8:/ |
| a | /a/ | aa | /a:/ |
| w | /U/ | ow | /o:/ |
| o | /O/ | oo | /O:/ |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+
* Use 'i' in place of 'ii' at the end of a word.
* Use 'a' in place of 'u' at the end of a word.
+----------+---------+
| Spelling | Phoneme |
+----------+---------+
| ai | /aI/ |
| aw | /aU/ |
| ij | /I8/ |
| ej | /E8/ |
+----------+---------+
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| Spelling | Phoneme | Spelling | Phoneme | Spelling | Phoneme |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| m | /m/ | b | /b/ | p | /p/ |
| n | /n/ | d | /d/ | t | /t/ |
| | | g | /g/ | k | /k/ |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| Spelling | Phoneme | Spelling | Phoneme | Spelling | Phoneme |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
| v | /D/ | h | /T/ | f | /f/ |
| z | /z/ | s | /s/ | x | /S/ |
| | | c | /x/ | q | /x_w/ |
+----------+---------+----------+---------+----------+---------+
+----------+---------+
| Spelling | Phoneme |
+----------+---------+
| r | /r/ |
| y | /j/ |
| l | /l/ |
| yl | /K/ |
+----------+---------+