Re: Refining Minza

In the last episode, (On Wednesday 11 July 2007 03:59:44), Herman Miller
wrote:
> Since the topic of revising languages has come up, I thought it might be
> a good time to review some of my recent work on Minza. I've been keeping
> a few different versions of the language, but eventually the plan is to
> pick one of them and incorporate any features from the other versions
> that I prefer. The set of distinctive phonemes is probably one feature
> of the language I can settle on without much trouble, so I'll start with
> that.
>
> Consonants
>
> A typical Minza variant has a set of consonants something like this:
>
> p b         t d  (tʃ dʒ)  k ɡ
>    m           n            ɲ/ŋ
>                r
>        f v   s z    ʃ  ʒ   x ɣ
>              ɬ l
>
> Additions: Minza B adds ç (C) and ʝ (j\). Minza D replaces the
> post-alveolar ʃ (S) and ʒ (Z) with retroflex ʂ (s`)and ʐ (z`), and adds
> retroflex ɳ, ɭ, and ɬ̢ (i.e. a retroflex voiceless lateral fricative).
> Minza E and Minza F add a palatal lateral ʎ (L). Minza G, in addition to
> the retroflex series (but without the laterals) adds a whole set of
> palatalized consonants. Typical Minza versions have either ɳ (J) or ŋ
> (N), but not both.
>
> Some versions of Minza have had other affricates, like /ts/ or /dz/.
> I've been leaning towards considering [tS] and [dZ] as sequences of
> phonemes /t/ + /S/, /d/ + /Z/. Other than that, the final Minza
> consonant chart will probably look very similar to this. [N] and [J] may
> turn out to be allophones. The velar fricatives are not very distinctive
> and may end up merging with some of the other sounds (most likely /f/
> with /x/ and /v/ or /N/ with /G/). The retroflex sounds keep wanting to
> come back, and I may end up either splitting the post-alveolar
> fricatives or replacing them with retroflex ones.
>
> Vowels: Here are some typical Minza vowels and diphthongs:
>
> i  ʉ  u    iə   ʉə   uə
> ɛ  ɵ  ɔ    ɛi   ɵʉ   ɔu
> a          ai        au
>
> Most Minza variants have a similar set of vowels, with the addition of æ
> and ɒ in Minza G. The diphthongs are more variable. Vowel length is
> distinctive in some but not all versions of Minza. I think, though, that
> diphthongs are more typically Minza-flavored than long vowels, so I may
> be replacing all long vowels with diphthongs.
Why not consolidate some of those changes into different dialects, instead?
You could also have them make small grammatical changes, or changes that
depend on sociolect, e.g. extending the use of perfect tenses to cover all
past tenses in speech, or by lower class (Minzans?), as in French.

HTH

Jeff
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