Mikyoan English: view article

Mikyoan English (MKE) refers to the English spoken in Mikyo, of which there are three main varieties: Standard Mikyoan English, Colloquial Mikyoan English (Myonglish), and Colloquial Allagusugu English.

Mikyo is a very diverse and multicultural country, with 41% of the population being born in another country and 49% of the population being of an ethnicity other than Mikyoan. Mikyoans, even those within the same race or ethnic group, often speak different first languages. For example, many Koreans in Mikyo speak English, Korean, and/or Mikyoan as their primary language at home, as the Korean-Mikyoan population is comprised of Koreans from the Korean Peninsula, Korean families who have lived in Mikyo for generations, and Koreans who have come from North American countries like Canada and the United States. Similar scenarios exist for other ethnic and racial groups in Mikyo. Because of this linguistic diversity, two main languages are used as lingua francas, Mikyoan and English. Nearly 100% of Mikyoans speak the Mikyoan language and around 65% of the population speaks English.

Due to the diversity of the speakers, Colloquial Mikyoan English can vary significantly at an individual level, causing some idiolects to sound completely different, which is why Standard Mikyoan English is used in government and formal settings to erase any difficulties. Standard Mikyoan English is based heavily on New Zealand and Australian Varieties of English (as most early Mikyoan speakers of English learned the language in Australia and New Zealand due to their close proximity to Mikyo) as well as, more recently, Standard American English due to increasing influence from the United States.

Phonology

Consonants

• Dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ are often realized as alveolar affricates [t͡s] and [d͡z], which causes "thing" to be pronounced as [t͡siŋ] and "that" to be pronounced [d͡zɛʔ]
• The rhotic consonant varies between a tapped [ɾ] and approximant [ɹ] in free variation
• Alveolar [ʃ], [ʒ], [t͡ʃ], and [d͡ʒ] are pronounced as alveo-palatal [ɕ], [ʑ], [t͡ɕ], and [d͡ʑ]
• In clusters involving -le following a consonant, the vowel [ɯ̽] is inserted before the consonant /l/, ex. "waffle" [ˈwäɸɯ̽l]
• Words ending with -age and -ate are pronounced as [e̞i̯d͡ʑ] and [e̞i̯ʔ], which causes "usage" to be pronounced as [jɯse̞i̯d͡ʑ] and "senate" to be pronounced as [se̞ne̞i̯ʔ]
• /f/ and /v/ are realized as [ɸ] and [β], which causes "fever" to be pronounced [ˈɸiβɐ]
• In heavily Mikyoanized accents, /h/ might also be pronounced as [ɸ] before /w/, /u/, and /ʊ/, ex. "hooves" [ɸɯβz]
• Intervocalic /d/, /t/, /θ/, and /ð/ are realized as [ɾ], ex. "coddle" [ˈkʰäɾɯ̽l], "settle" [ˈsɛɾɯ̽l], "ether" [ˈiɾɐ], "feather" [ˈɸɛɾɐ]
• Voiced /b/ and unvoiced /p/ are unreleased at the end of a syllable [p̚]
• Coda /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/ are realized as [ʔ], which causes "Kate" and "cake" to both be pronounced as [ˈkʰe̞i̯ʔ]
• Coda /t/ and /d/ are realized as [ɾ] if a vowel follows it, ex. "Cat and dog" [kʰɛɾ‿ɛŋ dʌʔ]
• Word final clusters have /ɯ/ placed after them, ex. "rubbed" [ɾʌp̚dɯ]
• Some speakers, notably speakers in Gohama and native speakers of Chinese languages, merge initial /l/ and /n/ as [l], which causes "light" and "night" to be pronounced as [läi̯ʔ], however, this change is seen as uneducated and is discouraged
• Coda /n/ and /ŋk/ are merged as /ŋ/, which causes "lawn" and "long" to both be pronounced [lʌŋ]
• Coda /nd/ is realized simply as [n], ex. "band" [bɛn]

Vowels

• Most speakers merge /æ/ with /ɛ/ as [ɛ], which causes "bet" and "bat" to be merged as [bɛʔ]
• Most instances of /ə/ are realized as [ɯ̽], ex. "capable" [ˈkʰe̞i̯pɯ̽bɯ̽l]
• /u/ is usually unrounded [ɯ] and /ʊ/ is usually [ɯ̽]
• The vowel [ɯ̽] is usually used to break up clusters which might be difficult for a native speaker of Mikyoan to pronounce, ex. "strengths" [sɯ̽tɯ̽ɾe̞i̯ŋs]
• Rhotic /ɚ/ is realized as [ɐ], ex. "finger" [ˈɸiŋŋɐ]
• /ɒ/ and /a/ are merged as [ä]
• /ə/, /ʌ/, and /ɔ/ are merged as [ʌ], which (when combined with the causes "luck" and "lock" to be merged as [lʌʔ]
• /ɪ/ and /i/ are merged as [i]
• The diphthong /oʊ/ is pronounced as [o(:)], ex. "coat" [kʰo(:)ʔ]

Grammar

Mikyoan English Grammar is generally identical to other varieties of English in its standard form, however, in casual forms of the dialect, some grammatical differences arise, usually under the influence of the Mikyoan language. Some grammatical differences in spoken and casual forms of Mikyoan English include:

• Using the phrases "as for _" or "when it comes to _" to mark the topic of a sentence, ex. "I ate this apple" becomes "As for this apple, I ate it" [ɛz ɸʌ d͡zis ˈɛpɯ̽l äi̯ e̞i̯ɾ‿iʔ]
• Using the phrase "on sight" to specify one was a witness to some event or action, ex. "He did it (and I saw)" becomes "He did it, on sight" [çi diɾ‿iɾ‿ʌŋ säi̯ʔ]
• Using the word "not" alone, instead of in combination with a copula verb to negate it, ex. "I am not sad" becomes "I not sad" [äi̯ nʌʔ sɛʔ]
• Using the word "yeah?" at the end of a sentence to indicate it is a yes or no question, ex. "Did you take out the trash?" becomes "You take out trash, yeah?" [jɯ tʰe̞i̯ʔ ao̞̯ʔ t͡ɕɯ̽ɾɛɕ jɛ]
• Omitting the suffix "-'s" which usually shows posession, ex. "This boy's cat is missing" becomes "This boy cat missing" [d͡zis bo̞i̯ kʰɛʔ ˈmisiŋ]
• Not conjugating verbs for the third person, ex. "She runs home every day" becomes "Every day she run home" [ˈeβɯ̽ɾiɾe̞i̯ ɕi ɾʌn ho(:)m]
• Omitting the articles "the" and "an", ex. "The girl gave a treat to the dog" becomes "Girl give dog treat" [ˈgɯ̽l giβ dʌʔ t͡ɕɯ̽ɾiʔ]
• Optionally using the suffix "-s" to mark plurality, ex. "I read books" becomes "I read book" [äi̯ ɾiʔ bɯ̽ʔ]
• Using the phrase "what for?" instead of "why", ex. "Why are you mad?" becomes "What you mad for?" [wʌʔ jɯ mɛʔ ɸʌ]

Mikyoan English is generally topic prominent, like Mikyoan and Japanese, so sentences in Mikyoan English generally begin with the topic of a sentence, followed by the comment. This occurs in both formal and informal forms of the language, ex:

• "You don't need to bring a camera tomorrow"
• Tomorrow there is no need to bring a camera (formal)
• Tomorrow no need bring camera (casual)

• "It rains a lot in this city"
• This city's weather is generally rainy
• This city weather rains a lot

• "I like this movie because it makes me laugh"
• This movie is enjoyable to me because it makes me laugh
• This movie I like because it make me laugh

Mikyoan English also tends to use the passive voice to less bluntly or rudely mark a suggestion, order, or request. Some examples include:

• "Can you wash the dishes before I get home?"
• As for the dishes, will they be washed by you before I get home?
• Dishes will be cleaned by you by time I get home, yeah?

• "Look over here for me"
• As for here, will it be looked at by you?
• Now, here be looked at by you, yeah?

• "Can I have two loaves of bread?"
• Might two loaves of bread be given to me by you?
• Two bread loaf given to me by you, yeah?

The copular verb is also frequently omitted before adjectives, likely due to the fact that adjectives are treated as verbs in the Mikyoan language.

• She damn nice girl "she is a very nice girl"
• Today I happy "I'm happy today"
• What you always damn sad for? Why are you so always sad?
• This place food delicious The food here is delicious
• Dishes clean, yeah? Are the dishes clean?

Spelling

Traditionally, British spellings have been accepted in Mikyo, likely due to Mikyo's close proximity to other countries which use the British spellings, such as Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, however, today, an increasing number of young people use the American Spellings, primarily speakers in Ishigagi City and Gullu. American spellings are generally not accepted in academic institutions, however, so many speakers who use American spellings might hypercorrect and apply British spelling rules where they wouldn't be used even in the United Kingdom. Some examples of hypercorrection include:

• Spelling "sandal" as "sandle"
• Spelling words such as "donor", "orator", "senator" (and others) as "donour", "oratour", and "senatour", as a hypercorrection of spelling words like "honor", "flavor", and "savor" as "honour", "flavour", and "savour"
• Spelling most or all instances of "-er" as "-re", ex. spelling "maker", "singer", and "later" as "makre", "singre", and "latre" (this is also done sarcastically or jokingly as well)

Common Vocabulary and Expressions

Some words and phrases widely used and understood in Mikyo are rare or unheard of elsewhere. These often derive from other nearby Asian languages or from languages spoken by recent migrants to Mikyo such as Spanish and Arabic.
• auma: condom, from Vietnamese áo mưa, meaning "raincoat"
• pampanga: guy; dude; fam; bruh; sis; my guy; daddy, from Kampanamgapay pampanga, of the same meaning
• yungmo: someone who puts off marriage, childbirth, and/or relationships because they lack enough money to do so; from Yongnagumei 熊貓/흉모/xhiungmo, meaning panda. Online the word can also be used similar to the English term incel. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article

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