Yay or Nay?

A forum for all topics related to constructed languages
Ælfwine
roman
roman
Posts: 940
Joined: 21 Sep 2015 01:28
Location: New Jersey

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Ælfwine »

Zekoslav wrote: 12 Jun 2019 16:06
Ælfwine wrote: 12 Jun 2019 15:58
Zekoslav wrote: 12 Jun 2019 11:12 When did the Crimean Tatars arrive in Crimea?

Probably along with the Golden Horde, so 13th century.
The likelihood of *iu > /y/ and *eu > /ø/ would then depend on whether these diphtongs were preserved until the Tatars came. If they were monophthongized much earlier, then the likelihood of such a result decreases. However, as I've already said sometimes relying too much on historical realism can be limiting, especially when certain things are still debated in historical linguistics!
Even in Wulfilas time, the monophthongs /ai/ and /au/ were already monophthongizing to /ɛː/ and /ɔː/ respectively. This may have also happened to /iu/, it may have been something like /ɯː/. Notably, /eu/ is not present in Biblical Gothic, as it previously merged with /iu/, so that's something I am considering. That being said, this language is not a descendant of Biblical Gothic so I don't need to follow it.

Alternatively, it might follow Greek in first monophthongizing to /yː/ and then unrounding to /iː/, but I need specific dates for that.
My Blog

A-posteriori, alternative history nerd
User avatar
Zekoslav
sinic
sinic
Posts: 340
Joined: 07 Oct 2017 16:54

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Zekoslav »

In Greek, /y/ > /i/ happened in the 11th century, and that's pretty securely dated.
Languages:
:hrv: [:D], :bih: :srb: [;)], :eng: [:D], :fra: [:|], :lat: [:(], :deu: [:'(]

A linguistics enthusiast who occasionally frequents the CBB.

- Guide to Slavic accentuation
Ælfwine
roman
roman
Posts: 940
Joined: 21 Sep 2015 01:28
Location: New Jersey

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Ælfwine »

Zekoslav wrote: 13 Jun 2019 10:14 In Greek, /y/ > /i/ happened in the 11th century, and that's pretty securely dated.
Good to know. So the development until the 6th century or so is the same as Biblical Gothic, when <iu> monophthongizes to /y/. And then in the 11th century, during the same time as Greek it derounds to /i/.

Also, I decided not to include front rounded vowels. It's unlikely. Furthermore, along with spelling /T/ as <th>, I can use the 26 letter basic latin alphabet for my romanization, which I find quite convenient.
My Blog

A-posteriori, alternative history nerd
User avatar
Zekoslav
sinic
sinic
Posts: 340
Joined: 07 Oct 2017 16:54

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Zekoslav »

In that context, if the Goths switch to Cyrillic anytime, you might use the letter izhitsa, ѵ, to represent former /y/ as it was the letters function in Greek loanwords to Slavic (the existence of izhitsa is one of the clues that Greek still had /y/ in the 800's when the glagolitic and the cyrillic alphabets were invented, but there's other clues as well).
Languages:
:hrv: [:D], :bih: :srb: [;)], :eng: [:D], :fra: [:|], :lat: [:(], :deu: [:'(]

A linguistics enthusiast who occasionally frequents the CBB.

- Guide to Slavic accentuation
Ælfwine
roman
roman
Posts: 940
Joined: 21 Sep 2015 01:28
Location: New Jersey

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Ælfwine »

Zekoslav wrote: 14 Jun 2019 19:41 In that context, if the Goths switch to Cyrillic anytime, you might use the letter izhitsa, ѵ, to represent former /y/ as it was the letters function in Greek loanwords to Slavic (the existence of izhitsa is one of the clues that Greek still had /y/ in the 800's when the glagolitic and the cyrillic alphabets were invented, but there's other clues as well).
The Goths would have switched to the Cyrillic script in the early 20th century, presumably around the same time Crimean Tatar was given its own script. This makes sense, given their location and orthodox faith. So I'm not too sure about introducing <ѵ>, except perhaps on etymological grounds only. Its something I'll think about though.
My Blog

A-posteriori, alternative history nerd
User avatar
Omzinesý
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 4079
Joined: 27 Aug 2010 08:17
Location: nowhere [naʊhɪɚ]

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Omzinesý »

Ælfwine wrote: 14 Jun 2019 22:59
Zekoslav wrote: 14 Jun 2019 19:41 In that context, if the Goths switch to Cyrillic anytime, you might use the letter izhitsa, ѵ, to represent former /y/ as it was the letters function in Greek loanwords to Slavic (the existence of izhitsa is one of the clues that Greek still had /y/ in the 800's when the glagolitic and the cyrillic alphabets were invented, but there's other clues as well).
The Goths would have switched to the Cyrillic script in the early 20th century, presumably around the same time Crimean Tatar was given its own script. This makes sense, given their location and orthodox faith. So I'm not too sure about introducing <ѵ>, except perhaps on etymological grounds only. Its something I'll think about though.
Chechen uses <аь, оь, уь> for front vowels.
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
User avatar
Zekoslav
sinic
sinic
Posts: 340
Joined: 07 Oct 2017 16:54

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Zekoslav »

Ah, if they switched to Cyrillic only in the 20th century, then there's not reason at all to use izhitsa.
Languages:
:hrv: [:D], :bih: :srb: [;)], :eng: [:D], :fra: [:|], :lat: [:(], :deu: [:'(]

A linguistics enthusiast who occasionally frequents the CBB.

- Guide to Slavic accentuation
User avatar
Micamo
MVP
MVP
Posts: 5671
Joined: 05 Sep 2010 19:48
Contact:

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Micamo »

should I make a conworld thread for my litRPG novel attempt
My pronouns are <xe> [ziː] / <xym> [zɪm] / <xys> [zɪz]

My shitty twitter
Keenir
mayan
mayan
Posts: 2399
Joined: 22 May 2012 03:05

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Keenir »

Micamo wrote: 16 Jun 2019 22:12 should I make a conworld thread for my litRPG novel attempt
Yes.
At work on Apaan: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4799
User avatar
DesEsseintes
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 4331
Joined: 31 Mar 2013 13:16

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by DesEsseintes »

Micamo wrote: 16 Jun 2019 22:12 should I make a conworld thread for my litRPG novel attempt
Absolutely.
User avatar
eldin raigmore
korean
korean
Posts: 6352
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 19:38
Location: SouthEast Michigan

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by eldin raigmore »

Micamo wrote: 16 Jun 2019 22:12 should I make a conworld thread for my litRPG novel attempt
Yay!

BTW is Neal Stephenson’s “Ream.De” a litRPG novel?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reamde
https://books.google.com/books/about/Re ... ead_button
User avatar
Micamo
MVP
MVP
Posts: 5671
Joined: 05 Sep 2010 19:48
Contact:

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Micamo »

I haven't read it but judging by the summary I would say no. An MMO is an element of the story but all the actual story beats happen in the real world. LitRPG doesn't preclude that dramatic things are happening in the real world as well, but the focus is on what players in the game are doing.
My pronouns are <xe> [ziː] / <xym> [zɪm] / <xys> [zɪz]

My shitty twitter
User avatar
elemtilas
runic
runic
Posts: 3021
Joined: 22 Nov 2014 04:48

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by elemtilas »

DesEsseintes wrote: 17 Jun 2019 08:09
Micamo wrote: 16 Jun 2019 22:12 should I make a conworld thread for my litRPG novel attempt
Absolutely.
[+1]
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by clawgrip »

clawgrip wrote: 09 Jun 2019 14:14 I have two language families that occupy the same geographical area in a conworld. Although they are not related, for some reason or another they both form the passive voice through reduplication of the initial syllable of the stem. This was not actually planned, as I think I unconsciously reused the same idea in both languages before I even decided they were going to be in the same location. Examples from two languages from the two different families:

Nandut: pām "he writes" ; bapām "it is written"
Uyendur: ganur "he writes" ; gegnur "it is written"

It was an accident, but I kind of like how they share this unusual feature. Anyway, for various reasons, I have decided it is necessary for there to be a third language or language family that is not related to either of them, in the same location. This language family will not be as prominent and will be an isolate or very small family, one or two languages.

The question is, should I give this language the reduplicated passive as well, as some sort of weird areal thing, or should it just be something unrelated?
It's done:
Dugassa: rāmal "he writes" ; rarāmal "it is written"
TwistedOne151
hieroglyphic
hieroglyphic
Posts: 39
Joined: 11 Nov 2012 19:52

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by TwistedOne151 »

So, I have a particular conlang, and wanted to use a variant of the Greek alphabet as its script (mainly thinking of drawing upon late Koine or early Medieval Greek). While the vowels were fairly easy, the large consonant inventory gave me a little trouble. But then, searching about, I came across the variant of the Greek alphabet used by the Arvanites to write Albanian (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_ ... characters), and was inspired. This is the result:

Vowels:
/i y u/ Ιι Υυ Ου,ου
/e̞ ə o̞/ Εε Ε̱ε̱ Οο
/a/ Αα

Consonants:
/m n/ Μμ Νν
/pʰ tʰ kʰ/ Π̇π̇ Τ̇τ̇ Κ̇κ̇
/p t k/ Ππ Ττ Κκ
/b d g/ Β̇β̇ Δδ Γγ
/tʃʰ/ Ϛ̇ͅϛ̇ͅ
/ts tʃ/ Ϛϛ Ϛͅϛͅ
/dʒ/ Ζ̇ͅζ̇ͅ
/f s ʃ x h/ Φφ Σσ Σͅσͅ Χ̇χ̇ Χχ
/v z ʒ/ Ββ Ζζ Ζͅζͅ
/ɾ~r ʀ/ Ρρ Ρ̇ρ̇
/l j/ Λλ Ϊϊ

Note: the overdot generally marks a "fortis" consonant: an aspirated vs. a tenuis plosive or affricate, a voiced stop or affricate vs. a voiced fricative, /x/ vs. /h/, /ʀ/ vs. /r/; while the iota subscript/ypogegrammeni is applied to alveolar consonants to create their postalveolar counterparts.

Yay or nay?

Possible alternatives: use theta for /tʰ/? Use the single "fortis dot" instead of the diaeresis, giving Ι̇ι̇ for /j/, so as to have one less diacritic? Use xi or psi somewhere instead? I also have Ου as my only digraph; perhaps some alternative there? Use omega (merged with omicron in pronunciation in the classical era) instead of omicron for /o/, and have ου > ο for /u/?
Ælfwine
roman
roman
Posts: 940
Joined: 21 Sep 2015 01:28
Location: New Jersey

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Ælfwine »

Zekoslav wrote: 15 Jun 2019 10:59 Ah, if they switched to Cyrillic only in the 20th century, then there's not reason at all to use izhitsa.
They would have used the Gothic alphabet for the longest time. Supposedly, we have reports of its continued use among the Goths until the 17th century, and lo and behold a few years back we found some graffiti written in the alphabet, dated to the 9th century, giving credence to those reports.

Related to my previous point: do we know the exact date Greek lost gemination? I am trying to decide whether Gothish should also lose gemination. There is no evidence for or against it in the CG corpus, so it's a tough choice.

Edit: to answer the above as not to appear rude, I have the idea of marking aspiration on the vowel, much like Ancient Greek, although I am not sure if that style was still present in Medieval Greek. Also, I don't think having one digraph is too weird if you can justify it as Greek influence.
My Blog

A-posteriori, alternative history nerd
TwistedOne151
hieroglyphic
hieroglyphic
Posts: 39
Joined: 11 Nov 2012 19:52

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by TwistedOne151 »

Ælfwine wrote: 24 Jun 2019 01:52 Edit: to answer the above as not to appear rude, I have the idea of marking aspiration on the vowel, much like Ancient Greek, although I am not sure if that style was still present in Medieval Greek. Also, I don't think having one digraph is too weird if you can justify it as Greek influence.
The /h/ sound appears to have been lost in Koine (earlier for some dialects), but the dasía diacritic remained in use long enough to be borrowed by the Early Cyrillic Alphabet (late 9th century), so it's plausible to borrow it for aspiration and for /h/. This might be a little confusing for clusters of an aspirate consonant + a following consonant, like /pʰr/, /kʰl/, /tʰj/, /tʃʰv/, but since the second consonant of such clusters is never something with an aspirate counterpart, it could probably still work: πρἁλ for /pʰral/ versus πραλ for /pral/, τϊἑκ for /tʰjek/ versus τϊεκ for /tjek/, ϛͅβὁρ̇ου for /tʃʰvoʀu/ versus ϛͅβορ̇ου for /tʃvoʀu/, and so on.

This would reduce the overdot to just Β̇β̇, Ζ̇ͅζ̇ͅ, Ρ̇ρ̇ for /b dʒ ʀ/ versus Ββ, Ζͅζͅ, Ρρ for /v ʒ r/. That's much nicer, and looks more "authentically" Greek-derived. Thank you very much.
User avatar
Omzinesý
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 4079
Joined: 27 Aug 2010 08:17
Location: nowhere [naʊhɪɚ]

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Omzinesý »

Should I revise this project viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6988 that already has rounded front vowels etc. and position it somewhere in Scandinavia and make it an isolate in alternative Europe, and fill it with influence of Scandinavic languages, especially in vocabulary and pronunciation?
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
User avatar
elemtilas
runic
runic
Posts: 3021
Joined: 22 Nov 2014 04:48

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by elemtilas »

So, there is a question of conlinguistical ~ romanisation aesthetics that's been bugging me for a short while now. (Well, something like 30 years or so, but recent developments have brought the Question, again, to the forefront and I am come to a bit of a sticky point as regards a permanent solution.)

So I've known forever that the root dVn-, in various permutations, is the basic nom de race for a certain group of winged people in The World. I began, long ago, romanising the word Dainh. I thought -h were ever so cool. Thank God I grew out of that. The aitch was actually the nominative case marker for the local Germanic language spoken in the region (presumably -az > -as > -eh > -h) so the matter stood for quite a while.

All that time I knew that an individual of that race was called Tana. And more than one were called Denê. Once I got over my -h fascination, I determined that Daine would suffice for a romanisation, but obviously this still didn't square with the pronunciation. And it was all well and good when no one apart from me knew anything about the world. (And yes, I'm aware of the Athabaskan connexion.)

But now the Question of proper romanisation looms again, at least in my own head, only now there are a few more people aware of the world in question.

So, yea or nay: aesthetics in mind foremost, leave the the name as is (Daine), assuming that most readers will say /den/, or adopt the more linguistically correct name (Denê), assuming that many readers will say /dene/ or at worst /din/?
User avatar
Dormouse559
moderator
moderator
Posts: 2945
Joined: 10 Nov 2012 20:52
Location: California

Re: Yay or Nay?

Post by Dormouse559 »

elemtilas wrote: 07 Jul 2019 18:14So, yea or nay: aesthetics in mind foremost, leave the the name as is (Daine), assuming that most readers will say /den/, or adopt the more linguistically correct name (Denê), assuming that many readers will say /dene/ or at worst /din/?
What is the proper pronunciation?
Post Reply