Keep in mind, that in my fictional world, the proto-Elves migrated from an unknown, now sink island to the continent, colonizing it and committing what could be called a genocide on its natives (the Lizardmen, the Halflings, the Dwarves).
1000 years after the initial colonization, the proto-Elves - who have settled 3 countries, Froturn, Etrand and Dragoc - evolved.
Those who settled in Froturn evolved into the High Elves, those who settled in Dragoc evolved into the Wood Elves, and those who settled Etrand became the Humans, somehow losing the long lifespan other elves have (possibly due to some ancient curse).
Early Proto-Elven
Vowels: <a> [ɒ], <á> [ä:], <e> [æ~ɛ], <é> [e̞:], <i> [ɪ~i], <ii> [i:], <o> [o], <oo> [o:], <u> , <uu> [u:]
Nasals: <m> [m], <n> [n], <ny> [nʲ~ɲ], <nyw> [nʲʷ~ɲʷ], <ng> [nˠ~ŋ], <ngw> [nˠʷ~ŋʷ~mˠ]
Stops: <p> [p], <p’> [pʰ], <py> [pʲ], <b> [ᵐb], <bh> [pɦ~bʱ], <by> [ᵐbʲ], <t> [t], <th> [tʰ], <ty> [tʲ~c], <d> [ⁿd], <dh> [tɦ~dʱ] <dy> [ⁿdʲ~ⁿɟ], <k> [k], <kh> [kʰ] , <khy> [kʲʰ], <ky> [kʲ], <kw> [kʷ], <khw> [kʷʰ], <g> [ⁿg], <gh> [ⁿkɦ~ⁿgʱ] <gy> [ⁿgʲ], <ghy> [kʲɦ~gʲʱ], <gw> [ⁿgʷ], <ghw> [kʷɦ~gʷʱ]
Sibilants: <s>, <sy> [sʲ~ɕ], <intervocalic allophone of s> [z], <intervocalic allophone of sy> [zʲ~ʑ]
Approximants: <y> [j], <w> [w], <yw> [jʷ~ɥ]
Laterals: <l> [l], <ll> [ɫ:] <ly> [lʲ~ʎ], <lh> [ɬˠʰ~ʟ̝̊ʰ], <lw> [ʟʷ~wˡ]
Rhotic consonants: <r> [ɾ~ ɺ], <rr> [r:~rˡ:], <ry> [ɾʲ~ ɹʲ], <rw> [ɾʷ~ ɹʷ~ɻʷ], <rh> [r̥~r̥ˡ]
Vowel length and gemination were phonemic. Geminated [l:] velarizes to [ɫ:].
Palatalization, velarization and labialization are phonemic too, therefore independent from the vowels proceeding the palatalized, labialized or velarized consonant.
Voiced stops are prenasalized – breathly voiced stops are exceptions.
Late Proto-Elven
Changes from Early Proto-Elven:
- All bilabial stops lose their palatalization and insert an after themselves.
- Fricatization of unaspirated voiceless stops. Aspirated voiceless stops retain aspiration word-initially, and lose it intervocalically.
- Fricatizatation of breathly voiced stops. Prenasalized voiced stops lose their prenasalization.
- [nˠ~ŋ] -> [g], [nˠʷ~ŋʷ~ mˠ] -> [gʷ], [nʲʷ~ɲʷ] -> [jʷ~ɥ], [nŋ] -> [ŋg]
- The newly emerged dental fricatives lose their palatalization, inserting an after themselves.
- The newly emerged velar fricatives give rise to palatal fricatives too.
- Approximation of the newly emerged voiced fricatives (the ones that are not palatalized or labialized), as well as the previously existing voiced sibilants (with the exception of palatalized sibilants)
- [ɾʷ~ ɹʷ~ɻʷ] and [r̥~r̥ˡ] merge into [ʁ~ʁ̞]. Alveolr lateral flap [ɺ] and alveolar lateral trill [rˡ] lose their centrality, becoming [ɾ] and [r].
- [ɬˠʰ~ʟ̝̊ʰ] -> [ɣ~ɰ], [ʟʷ~wˡ] -> [w]
- Emergence of [y] and [ø] by mergers of and into [y], [o] and [æ~ɛ] or [e̞] into [ø]. All palatalized consonants before [y] and [ø] lose their palatalization.
Vowels: <a> [ɒ], <á> [ä:], <e> [æ~ɛ], <é> [e̞:], <i> [ɪ~i], <ii> [i:], <o> [o], <oo> [o:], <u> , <uu> [u:], <ö> [ø], <öö> [ø:], <ü> [y], <üü> [y:]
Nasals: <m> [m], <n> [n], <ny> [nʲ~ɲ], <ng> [ŋg]
Stops: <p> [p], <b> , <t> [t], <ty> [tʲ~c], <d> [d], <dy> [dʲ~ɟ], <k> [k], <ky> [kʲ], <kw> [kʷ], <g> [g], <gy> [gʲ], <gw> [gʷ]
Fricatives: <f> [ɸ], <v> [β~β̞], <th> [θ], <dh> [ð~ð̞], <h> [x], <hw> [xʷ], <hy> [xʲ~ç], <gh>[ɣ~ɰ], <ghy>[ɣʲ~ʝ]
Sibilants: <s>, <sy> [sʲ~ɕ], <z> [z~ɹ], <zy> [zʲ~ʑ]
Approximants: <y> [j], <w> [w], <yw> [jʷ~ɥ]
Laterals: <l> [l], <ll> [ɫ:] <ly> [lʲ~ʎ]
Rhotic consonants: <r> [ɾ], <rr> [r:], <ry> [ɾʲ], <rh> [ʁ~ʁ̞]
Vowel length and gemination were phonemic. Geminated [l:] velarizes to [ɫ:].
Palatalization, velarization and labialization are phonemic too, therefore independent from the vowels proceeding the palatalized, labialized or velarized consonant.
This is all I have for now. Tell me what you think, and tell if you think it sounds nightmare-ish enough or not
![[:D]](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin2.png ":D"){kind=icon}
I tried to do my best by filling them with the most exotic possible sounds.
Such as the Labio-Velar Lateral Approximant [ʟʷ~wˡ] (for those who aren't experts in phonology: the Labio-velar approximant is the English W sound, the Alveolar lateral approximant is the English L sound, and the Alveolar approximant is the English R sound), the Aspirated Voiceless Velar (or Velarized Alveolar) Lateral Fricative [ɬˠʰ~ʟ̝̊ʰ], the Labio-palatal and labio-velar nasals [nʲʷ~ɲʷ] and [nˠʷ~ŋʷ~mˠ].