The CBB

Namasan has three basic vowels : /a e o/, but there is plenty of allophony.

One such example is that vowels are raised whenever directly following /r/. So -er would he pronounced [ir] while re- would be [ri]. Should I only make this before /r/ only, after /r/ only, or leave it the way it is.

Do you prefer agglutinative or fusional languages?

How do I pronounce ɥ and ɰ?

This is metaconlanging question, but I have two languages who's grammar is a fusion of two languages (Fuheko-a Japanese/Finnish mix and M'aillys, a Russian/Welsh mix with some Breton) and the vocabulary is pulled from the source languages, but I didn't diachronically derive them from one of the sou...

Could I have... IME, the answer to questions that begin this way is almost always yes. Personally I'd say yes to associative duals and paucals, particularly if they are expressed with the same markers used for the normal dual/paucal (note that if you look at the WALS chapter it turns out that the m...

So, some languages, such as Japanese, have an associative plural that refers to a close-knit group. For example, "watashi-tachi" refers to "me and company" while "Jiro-tachi" means "Jiro and his associates." Could I have an associative paucal, or would it be ...

So, some languages, such as Japanese, have an associative plural that refers to a close-knit group. For example, "watashi-tachi" refers to "me and company" while "Jiro-tachi" means "Jiro and his associates." Could I have an associative paucal, or would it be p...

My current project has three vowel phonemes: /a e o/, but I really want [ɨ] as a sound. Should I just had a fourth vowel, or make it an allophone of /i/? Make it an allophone of /a/. Why /a/? 1. Both are central vowels (or rather, both can be central vowels). 2. /a/ could historically have been [ə]...

DesEsseintes wrote:

LinguoFranco wrote:My current project has three vowel phonemes: /a e o/, but I really want [ɨ] as a sound. Should I just had a fourth vowel, or make it an allophone of /i/?

Make it an allophone of /a/.

Why /a/?

My current project has three vowel phonemes: /a e o/, but I really want [ɨ] as a sound. Should I just had a fourth vowel, or make it an allophone of /i/?

What word orders are common for an ergative language. I ask because my current project has a VSO word order and it is ergative. Are ergative VSO languages rare, if so are they somehow incompatible or some other reason that they are rare?

Can I use /q/ for [k] or [c]? I originally did, but someone pointed out that if I can use /k/ for those sounds, then I shouldn't use /q/.

I rarely use diacritics, mainly because I find that I don't really need them. The only diacritics I tend to use are stress accent and the tilde.

So, what would you think of a three vowel system like /a e o/? I know the Cheyenne language does this, so it's a little different from /a i u/. My conlang has 'niyeba', meaning "sky," so if I change the vowel system, it will be 'neyeba,' or 'nyeba' or 'nyeva." Yay or nay? Yay! Three-...

So, what would you think of a three vowel system like /a e o/? I know the Cheyenne language does this, so it's a little different from /a i u/.

My conlang has 'niyeba', meaning "sky," so if I change the vowel system, it will be 'neyeba,' or 'nyeba' or 'nyeva."

Yay or nay?

I'm trying to figure out what kind of writing system I should go for. The current project is agglutinative and has a (C)CV(C) syllable structure. Should I go with an alphabet, syllabary, abjad, or an abugida? Syllabaries wouldn't be good for a language that isn't mostly CV or CV(C). Abugidas and ab...

I'm trying to figure out what kind of writing system I should go for. The current project is agglutinative and has a (C)CV(C) syllable structure.

Should I go with an alphabet, syllabary, abjad, or an abugida?

I decided not to use breathy voice because my conlang already uses creaky voice, ejectives, and nasalization, so I don't to add every vowel altering quality to my language. If I don't use pitch accent for creaky voice, how can I mark it? I the tilde for nasalized vowels and the apostrophe for the ej...

What sound the letter -q does? I think in most languages it is just a -k, right? I think it is generall <q>, which is like <k>, but further back in the mouth where the uvular area. I think this sound is found in Inuktitut. In one of my conlangs, I chose /q/ to be <k> because I like it better visual...

What sound the letter -q does? I think in most languages it is just a -k, right? I think it is generall <q>, which is like <k>, but further back in the mouth where the uvular area. I think this sound is found in Inuktitut. In one of my conlangs, I chose /q/ to be <k> because I like it better visual...