Recent upheavals in Sturnan

Sturnan-ik-ka[1] has decided to take on a whole new look. That means it's
into the cursive stage. The old writing system has been revised slightly:
it no longer distinguishes between |w| and |u|. However, the greater
changes have been in its new script and its phonology. Though I have been
unable to upload the script (or anything, in truth), I shall describe the
new sounds.

The first thing I noticed was that /Z/ had mutated into /S`/. I was a bit
curious, to say the least, but it wouldn't go away. Next I devoiced /l/ at
times, but that was sporadic and has now shifted from /K/ to...I don't
know, something velarish, unvoiced, and fricative. The vowels are still
changing slowly, but various bits of grammar are being altered. Mostly,
it's things being replaced and becoming stodgy and formal, though
sometimes they gain a new use. "Sona", a moderate imperative, was replaced
with "ta", the strong imperative, which was replaced by the plain future
tense, which is an even stronger imperative; now "sona"
means "please". "Elnas", which was the weak imperative, is now used mostly
by beggars and overly obesquious people, having been replaced by the
infinitive.

Meanwhile, I have a chatterbot that's using all sorts of bad grammar, no
idea where it picked that sort of thing up, must have visited the gangs in
Birtene[2] and learned all manners of vulgarisms, just glad it hasn't
started swearing. At least I'm becoming more fluent in it.

~Wright.

[1] Sturnan-my-love
[2] Birtene has a bad reputation among the Sturnan-speaking countries[3].
[3] Hardly countries, actually. The largest, Falad, is about a hundred
square miles.

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