Chapter II: Phonotactics
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I try to explain the rules governing how words are put together.
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 1 May 2018, 14:29.
[comments] amyphonotacticsword building
5. Function Words
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Aamyeriets is a CCVCCC language. Originally there was a long winded explanation of what phonotactics are for the masses, but in this community, I don't think that will be necessary.
This is about as work-in-progress-y as it gets. Eventually (if I have the hope and tenacity of a buddhist monk) I'll try to exhaustively investigate all the rules concerning the phonotactics of Aamyeriets, and perhaps write out every possible syllable, as one fellow did so for English. (I can't cite that. The article was removed from the website where I first came across it.)
A problem I had with constructing words was building ones easy enough to say by themselves, but when put together in sentences, they turn into a phonotactic goo that just felt plain unnatural out loud. Another conlanger friend of mine suggested deciding on a phrase or sentence, then write down a probable gibberish sentence, then work backwards, defining new words when necessary, and adding function words also.
Aamyeriets, similar to Esperanto, has a morphophonological structure, that is, some elements of the morphology are defined or affected with the sounds used, which is an important part of building words. I'll talk about this more in the next chapter (grammar basics), but the most basic currently defined rules are
If a word contains one softened vowel (the velar approximant thingy) it necessarily is a verb or noun (this is the only content word derivational feature as of yet).
If a word contains a diphthong, it is necessarily a function word, and the part of speech is defined by that diphthong.
With this in mind, there are guidelines in directing the construction of words, but at this point I'm using a more kitchen-sink approach: anything goes as long as it sounds cool. I would really appreciate help with fleshing out the phonotactics, knowing how useful it is to have them better defined.
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