Sheihyn language

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Omzinesý
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mongolian
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Joined: 27 Aug 2010 08:17
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Sheihyn language

Post by Omzinesý »

Sheihyn ['ʃei.ɦɨn] (will maybe be written Kjeihyn later) is my newest project. Its name comes from a name of a character in a fantasy novel that I misread. It is an a-priori lang. I have no conculture or conhistory behind it.

Goals
- Short (one or two syllables) words
- Much stem mutations and suprasegmental morphology
- Simplish syntax
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
User avatar
Omzinesý
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 4082
Joined: 27 Aug 2010 08:17
Location: nowhere [naʊhɪɚ]

Re: Sheihyn language

Post by Omzinesý »

Phonology

Nouns are usually CVCVN
Verbs are usually CVN
where N is one of /n, ŋ, l, ʟ/ or its prestopped counterpart.

CVNCV(N) and CV and CV(N)CV are possible, too.

Consonants
t, k <t, k>
b-ʙ*, d-ɾ* <b, d>
β, z****, ɹ, j, ɣ <v, z, r, j, g>
s, ʃ, h <s, sh, h>
m, (pm), n, (tn), ŋ** (kŋ) <m, (pm) n, (tn), ng (kn)>
l, (tl***) ʟ** (kʟ***) <l, (tl***), lg (kl***)>

*flapped intervocally.
**in coda only.
*** Prestopped consonants appear after vowels, only. I'm not sure of their status. They might be considered phonetic realizations of geminates/two consonants, too, which is their historical origin. I don't know if they should be voiced or voiceless, either.
**** Still considering sibilants. /z/ might be the most frequent sibilant, as in German, and /s/ and /ʃ/ quite recently distinguished from /t/ and /k/ respectively, like Swedish /k/ and /ɕ/.

Vowels

Monophthongs: i, ɨ-ɘ*, u, e̞, o̞, ä <i, y, u, e, o, a>
Diphthongs: ɘi, e̞i, o̞ji, äi, ɘu, e̞u, o̞u, äu <yi, ei, oi, ai, yu, eu, ou, au>

*/ ɨ-ɘ/ is inspired by Estonian “õ”. It is not an open vowel. It is not a front vowel. It is not a rounded vowel. But its strict pronunciation varies quite randomly. (Some rules may come later.)

Lengths
There are three kinds of disyllabic feet.
1) Short vowel + short vowel*
2) Mid-long vowel/diphthong + short vowel*
3) Over-long vowel + extra-short vowel

* There can be a diphthong after a non-over-long vowel/diphthong but the length distinction of the first syllable vowel is neutralized then. I think I write it as mid-long.

Diphthongs can be mid-long or over-long, not short.
The length differences are thus more about relative lengths of the two syllables, though 3) is a bit longer than 2) and 2) is a bit longer than 1) in absolute terms, too.

Monosyllabic - excluding unstressed grammatical particles - words have over-long vowels.

Over-long vowels always have a tonal distinction between (slightly) rising tone and (slightly) lowering tones.

Vowel length is written:
a (extra-)short vowel)
aa (mid-long vowel)
aá (over-long vowel with a rising tone)
áa (over-long tone with a lowering tone)

I don't know yet how codas affect the strengths.
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
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