Re: Conlang for giant caterpillars

Pablo Flores wrote:

>Vowels: i a u (unrounded, and all of them unvoiced!)
Just a suggestion, what about considering fricative vowels instead?
This makes more sense to me for a whispered insectisoid language
with the very basic triangular vowel system. In other words, <i>
would be a syllabic palatal fricative, while <u> would be a syllabic
bilabial fricative - all voiceless. Proto-Bantu is said to have had
such vowels, and some Chinese dialects also have fricative vowels
(though voiced, so yours would have to be voiceless of course). Your
<a> could just be a syllabic /h/. So your vowel inventory would look
something like /S h P/.

-----<snip>-----
>The interdental fricative <|h> is produced by "showing
>the teeth" and letting some air pass between them. The
In most literatures I have read, this sound is called a bidental
fricative. Rare in human languages, but it has been documented.


>lateral <|l> is similar, but the tongue is pressed
>against the lower teeth and raised in its middle part.
I don't get this one. When I do what you have described, I get a
palatal fricative. But maybe that's because I do not have three
tongues like you caterpillars. 8)

-----<snip>-----


>So, what do yon think? Remember it's not a human language!
An interesting play of sounds. I like the idea of an all whispered
speech. Of course, if you implement fricative vowels instead, you'd
have a hissing language instead. But I that's also an idea I like as
much as a whispered language (hint hint). 8)

-kristian- 8)