Àbhradoch Phonology and Orthography
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Cẁchbhaes uas mnaòdhbhaes u n'Àbhradoch
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 5 Oct 2019, 15:31.
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3. Àbhradoch Syntax
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 Àbhradoch GrammarPhonlogy/Orthography ● Morphology ● Syntax |
Àbhradoch phonology is straight out of a Goidelic nightmare land, except the vowels qualities are even worse.
Àbhradoch systematically contrasts two classes of consonants. If you're familiar with Goidelic (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx), or even Russian, then you probably already have a general idea of how the system works. One consonant series is palatalized (which I will call slender, borrowing terminology from Irish), and another is plain (broad, also from Irish, though there they're typically velarized). These are inherent qualities of the consonants and generally (barring complex allophony) can't be changed without distinct morphology.
Labial Coronal Dorsal Glottal plain pal. plain pal. plain pal. Nasal m mʲ n ᵈn nʲ ŋ Plosive asp.aspirated/fortis pʰ pʰʲ tʰ tʰʲ kʰ kʰʲ unasp.unaspirated/lenis b̥ b̥ʲ d̥ d̥ʲ g̊ g̊ʲ Fricative vcls.voiceless f fʲ s ʃ x ç h vcd.voiced v vʲ ɣ j~ʝ Approximant β
wβʲ ɫ ᵈl lʲ Trill r rʲ
Instead of the consonants showing their qualities in isolation, vowels are used to mark the difference, with front vowels being used to mark slender consonants and back vowels used to mark broad consonants. The full chart of all grapheme possibilities is shown below under the section on vowels.
The aspirated stops /pʰ pʰʲ tʰ tʰʲ kʰ kʰʲ/ are aspirated voiceless fortis within the onset or coda of a stressed syllable, but unaspirated voiceless lenis in unstressed environments (phonetically merging with the phonemic unaspirated stops). The unaspirated stops /b̥ b̥ʲ d̥ d̥ʲ g̊ g̊ʲ/ are voiceless lenis in all environments. /tʰ d̥ n/ are apical alveolar [t̺ʰ d̺˳ n̺], though sometimes dental [t̪ʰ d̪˳ n̪], while /tʰʲ d̥ʲ nʲ/ are retracted palatoalveolar [ṯʰʲ d̥ˍʲ ṉʲ]. /s/ is similarly an apical alveolar or dental [s̺ ~ s̪]. /ʃ/ is a post- or palatoalveolar sibilant [ʃ ~ ɕ], and is not labialized like the Germanic /ʃ/.
The exact articulation of /kʰ g̊/ varies, but typically they are realized as post-velar [k̠ʰ, ɡ̊˗] before back vowels, and pre-velar [k̟ʰ, ɡ̊˖] before front vowels. /kʰʲ g̊ʲ/ vary freely between palatovelar [kʰʲ g̊ʲ] and true palatal [c ɟ̊].
/h/ is weakly pronounced, and is often voiced [ɦ] between vowels.
The aspirated stops become preaspirated after a vowel, i.e. the aspiration appears before the stop. Preaspiration of /k/, and broad /t/ after back vowels, is realized as slight velar or palatal frication, notated as [ˣk ˣkʲ ˣt]. After long vowels, the preaspiration is less pronounced, sometimes dropping entirely. Unaspirated stops are optionally voiced between vowels or liquids, but the distinction is entirely non-phonemic.
There is a marginal secondary distinction within sonorants, deriving from a historical contrast of fortis <rr ll nn m> */r͈ l͈ n͈ m͈/ and lenis <r l n ṁ> */r͉ l͉ n͉ m͉/. The precise realization of the contrast is questionable, but the coronal fortis consonants were likely at least geminated [r: l: n: nʲ:], while the labials contrasted between [m] and [ṽ] (giving modern m and mh). Intervocalically, the distinction was ultimately lost, leaving both sets of <rr ll nn> and <r l n> as /r l n/. Word-finally, however, the fortis coronals /l͈ n͈/ became pre-occluded /ᵈl ᵈn/. These have a short stop before the [l] or [n] sound, similar to (American) English "middle" and "hidden." <rr> /ᵈr/ existed for a time, but the distinction was not acoustically obvious and fell out of use quickly, though it's still marginally used in Eastern dialects (where pre-occlusion is realized as voiceless [tl tn tr]).
Non-occluded liquids (i.e. laterals <l> /ɫ lʲ/ and rhotics <r rr> /r rʲ/) are allophonically devoiced word-finally: bèal [b̥ʲe:ɫ̥], feòil [fʲɤ:l̥ʲ], cabhar [kʰəu̯r̥], mhòir [vɔ:r̥ʲ]. This is also done after an aspirated stop, where the aspiration spreads to devoice the following consonant: prù [pʰr̥u:], prìod [pʰʲr̥ʲi:d̥].
The particular vowel phonemes and their realization vary wildly from dialect to dialect, but in general most dialects (at least in the northern dialects) have the paired short/long monophthongs /a ɑ: ɛ e: ʌ ɤ: ɔ ɔ: œ ɵ: ɪ i: ɨ ɯ: ʉ u:/ and the unpaired /o: ø:/, as well as the allophonic schwa ([ə]), found only in unstressed syllables. The phonemic diphthongs are all falling: /əi̯ əu̯ iə̯ uə̯ ɯə̯ ɔi̯/.
The six high vowel phonemes are the long /i: u: ɯ:/ and the short /ɪ ʉ ɨ/. The exact realization of all of these depends on the secondary quality of surrounding consonants.
- /i:/ is commonly realized as a fully front [i:] between two slender consonants, or a slender consonant and the end of the word (cìm [kʰʲi:mʲ], phìr [fʲi:r̥ʲ], nì [ṉʲi:]). Near broad consonants, /i:/ is retracted or centralized [ï:], typically with a short schwa off-glide [ə̯̆]: duìsg [d̥ï:ʃg̊ʲ], crìag [kʰʲrʲï:ə̯̆g̊], cnaìar [kʰɾ̃ï:ə̯̆r̥].
- /u:/ and /ɯ:/ are back vowels [u: ɯ:] between broad consonants (tùl [tʰu:ɫ̥], cùas [kʰɯ:s]), and are fronted [ü: ɯ̈:] when adjacent to a slender consonant, again with an off-glide, [ɪ̯̆]: siùl [ʃü:ɫ], fùill [fü:ɪ̯̆ᵈl], sùis [sü:ɪ̯̆ʃ]; biùar [b̥ʲɯ̈:r̥] tùais [tʰɯ̈:ɪ̯̆ʃ], gùesg [g̊ɯ̈:ɪ̯̆ʃg̊ʲ].
- /ɪ/ is realized as a front [i̞] between slender consonants (mic [mʲi̞ˣkʲ], sibh [ʃi̞βʲ]), and a near-front [ɪ] after broad consonants (muis [mɪʃ], cuis [kʰɪʃ]). It doesn't occur before broad consonants.
- /ʉ ɨ/ vary freely between high central [ʉ ɨ] and near-high near-back [ʊ ɯ̽] in all stressed and monosyllabic environments (cus [kʰʉs~kʰʊs], tiull [ṯʰʲʉᵈl~ṯʰʲʊᵈl]; luas [ɫɨs~ɫɯ̽s], ciuar [kʰʲɨr̥~kʰʲɯ̽r̥]), though both are reduced to [ə] in unstressed syllables. The more common realization is centralized, so the phonemes are written as /ʉ ɨ/.
There are nine phonemic mid vowel phonemes, including front rounded and back unrounded vowels: long /e: ɤ: ɵ: ɔ:/ and short /ɛ ʌ œ ɔ/, as well as the unstressed /ə/.
- /e:/ is pronounced as a front [e:] near slender consonants, and tends to be more open centralized [ë̞:] with a schwa off-glide near broad consonants: nèit [nʲe:ʰṯʲ] èam [ë̞:ə̯̆m]
- /ɤ:/ is typically a mid unrounded centralized vowel [ɤ̞̈:] in most contexts, except when surrounded by two broad consonants, in which case it is a fully back [ɤ:]: claòis [kʰɫ̥ɤ̞̈:ʃ], baònn [b̥ɤ:ᵈn].
- /ɵ:/ is consistently a mid near-front rounded [ɵ̟:]: rẁs [rɵ̟:s], tiẁmh [ṯʰʲɵ̟:u̯˔].
- /ɔ:/ is a low-mid back rounded [ɔ̞:], which centralizes and raises to [o̱˕:] with a near-front off-glide before slender consonants: chòll [xɔ̞:ᵈl], mòig [mo̱˕:ɪ̯̆g̊ʲ].
- /ɛ/ is a simple front [ɛ]: bes [b̥ʲɛʃ], ein [ɛṉʲ]. /ɛ/ cannot occur before broad consonants, and is reduced to /ə/ when unstressed.
- /ʌ/ is a central(ized) mid-low vowel with partial rounding [ʌ̹̈˕~ɐ̹]: saos [sʌ̹̈˕s], fhaol [ʔʌ̹̈˕ɫ̥]. Like /ɛ/, it can be reduced to /ə/.
- /œ/ is near-open near-front rounded [ɶ̠˔]. Some realize it with the same quality as /ɵ:/ ([œ̝̈]).
- /ɔ/
- /ə/
Bbroad consonant_Bbroad consonant Sslender consonant_Bbroad consonant Bbroad consonant_Sslender consonant Sslender consonant_Sslender consonant /ɪ i:/ (ua)
aìo, uìa, aìa(iua)
ìa, ìoui
uì, aìi
ì/ɨ ɯ:/ ua
ùaiua
iùaue, uai
ùe, ùaiiue, iuai
iùe, iùai/ʉ u:/ u
ùiu
iù(ui)
ùi(i)
iùi/ɛ e:/ (ao)
(aò)(ea, eo)
èaae
aèe, ei
è, èi/œ ɵ:/ w
ẁiw
iẁwi
ẁiiwi
iẁi/ʌ ɤ:/ ao
aòeo
eòaoi
aòieoi
eòi/ɔ ɔ:/ o
òio
iòoi
òiioi*can only occur in plural formations and verb forms, (iwi)
iòi/a ɑ:/ a
àea
eàai
àieai
eài
Primary stress is typically on the first syllable (initial), with everything after unstressed. Clitics, like the prepositions of directive verbs or the question particle ne- (both of which are always orthographically marked with a hyphen), don't take primary stress, but instead take secondary stress and move the primary stress to after the clitic.
ghada /ˈɣad̥ə/The vowels /a ɛ ʌ ʉ ɨ/ are reduced to [ə] if they aren't stressed.
fùill-ghada /ˌfu:lʲˈɣad̥ə/
ne-ghada /ˌnʲɛˈɣad̥ə/
The Àbhradoch alphabet is called the geceà/g̊ʲɛˈkʰʲɑ:/, after the first two letters, ge and ceà.
Letter Phoneme(s) Name g Gg /g̊, g̊ʲ/ ge ge /g̊ʲɛ/ c Cc /kʰ, kʰʲ/ ceà ceà /kʰʲɑ:/ a Aa /a/ a a /a/ d Dd /d̥, d̥ʲ/ dù dù /d̥u:/ o Oo /ɔ/ o o /ɔ/ (ao) (Ao ao) /ʌ/ (a s'o a s'o /ˈa.sɔ/ "a and o") b Bb /b̥, b̥ʲ/ baè baè /b̥e:/ f Ff /f, fʲ/ faiḋ faidh /fəi̯/ l Ll /ɫ, lʲ/ laè laè /ɫe:/ u Uu /ʉ/ u u /u/ (ua) (Ua ua) /ɨ/ (u s'a u s'a /ˈʉ.sə/ "u and a") w Ww /œ/ w w /œ/ t Tt /tʰ, tʰʲ/ tà tà /tʰɑ:/ s Ss /s, ʃ/ sann sann /saᵈn/ e Ee /ɛ/ e e /ɛ/ i Ii /ɪ/ i i /i/ p Pp /pʰ, pʰʲ/ peò peò /pʰʲɤ:/ n Nn /n, nʲ/ ne ne /nʲɛ/ m Mm /m, mʲ/ mà mà /mɑ:/ r Rr /r, rʲ/ rò rò /rɔ:/
In addition to the main alphabet, there are two diacritics: the damhaesisgioch/ˈd̥əu̯ʃɪʃg̊ʲɔx/ <˙> (sometimes romanized as an overdot), and the mailiòis/maˈlʲɔ:ʃ/ <`> (romanized as a grave accent).
The damhaesisgioch ("softening") lenites most consonants. The letters with a damhaesisgioch are called dhamhaes/ɣəu̯ʃ/ "soft," e.g. ġ gh is ge dhamhaes.
Letter Phoneme(s) ġ Gh gh /ɣ, ʝ, j/ ċ Ch ch /x, ç/ ḋ Dh dh /ɣ, ʝ, j/ ḃ Bh bh /β, w, βʲ/ ḟ Fh fh /Ø/ (silent) ṫ Th th /h/ ṡ Sh sh /h/ ṗ Ph ph /f, fʲ/ ṁ Mh mh /v, vʲ/
The mailiòis ("[what has been] marked") lengthens vowels. Vowels with a mailiòis are mhailiòis "marked," so à à is a mhailiòis.
Letter Phoneme(s) à Àà /ɑ:/ ò Òò /ɔ:/ (aò) (Aò aò) /ɤ:/ ù Ùù /u:/ (ùa) (Ùa ùa) /ɯ:/ ẁ Ẁẁ /ɵ:/ è Èè /e:/ ì Ìì /i:/
polygraph phoneme examples (e)abh(a(i/e)) /əu̯/ tabhar /tʰəu̯r/ (e)amh(a(i/e)) dhamhaes /ɣəu̯ʃ/ {e,a}obh(a(i/e)) {e,a}omh(a(i/e)) gaomh /g̊əu̯/ (e)adh(a(i/e)) /ɤ:/ tradhan /tʰrɤ:n/ (e)agh(a(i/e)) aghalluas /ˈɤ:ɫəs/ {e,a}odh(a(i/e)) {e,a}gh(a(i/e)) (e)aibh(i/e(a(i))) /əi̯/ daibhesiuas /ˈd̥əi̯ʃəs/ (e)aidh(i/e(a(i))) faidh /fəi̯/ (e)aigh(i/e(a(i))) paigheann /pʰəi̯ᵈn/ (i)oibh(i/e(a(i))) /ɔi̯/ doibheach /d̥ɔi̯x/ (i)oimh(i/e(a(i))) goimhenne /ˈg̊ɔi̯nʲə/ (i)oidh(i/e(a(i))) (i)oigh(i/e(a(i))) àbhradoigh /ˈɑ:u̯rəd̥ɔi̯/ (i)obh(a(i)) /o:/ liobhar /lʲo:r/ (i)omh(a(i)) (i)odh(a(i)) odhann /o:ᵈn/ (i)ogh(a(i)) loghadann /ˈɫo:d̥əᵈn/ (i)ubh(a(i)) /uə̯/ diubhais /d̥ʲuə̯ʃ/ (i)umh(a(i)) cosumhar /ˈkʰɔsuə̯r/ (i)udh(a(i)) budh /b̥uə̯/ (i)ugh(a(i)) bughann /b̥uə̯ᵈn/ (i)uabh(a(i)) /ɯə̯/ dainnghiuabhlann /ˈd̥anʲᵊʝɯə̯ɫəᵈn/ (i)uamh(a(i)) g'fhiuamh /g̊ʲɯə̯/ (i)uadh(a(i)) (i)uagh(a(i)) (i)wbh(a(i)) /ø:/ cwbhann /kʰø:ᵈn/ (i)wmh(a(i)) (i)wdh(a(i)) (i)wgh(a(i)) iabh(a(i)) /iə̯/ miabhar /mʲiə̯r/ iamh(a(i)) piamh /pʰʲiə̯/ iadh(a(i)) giadhas /g̊ʲiə̯s/ iagh(a(i))
There are two initial mutations in Àbhradoch: damhaesisgiuas "softening" (lenition) and biuannaidiuas "darkening" (nasalization).
All words that lenite or nasalize are marked in Àbhradoch articles (with a superscript ⁺ᴸ and ⁺ᴺ, for lenition and nasalization, respectively) and in the dictionary. Additionally, many verb forms make use of initial mutation for additional morphology. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
unmutated lenited nasalized broad slender broad slender broad slender m m /m/ /mʲ/ ṁ mh /v/ /vʲ/ — b b /b̥/ /b̥ʲ/ ḃ bh /β, w/ /βʲ/ mb mb /m/ /mʲ/ p p /pʰ/ /pʰʲ/ ṗ ph /f/ /fʲ/ bp bp /b̥/ /b̥ʲ/ f f /f/ /fʲ/ ḟ fh /Ø/ ḃf bhf /v/ /vʲ/ d d /d̥/ /d̥ʲ/ ḋ dh /ɣ/ /ʝ~j/ nd nd /n/ /nʲ/ t t /tʰ/ /tʰʲ/ ṫ th /h/ dt dt /d̥/ /d̥ʲ/ s s /s/ /ʃ/ ṡ sh ds ds g g /g̊/ /g̊ʲ/ ġ gh /ɣ/ /ʝ~j/ ng ng /ŋ/ /nʲ/ c c /kʰ/ /kʰʲ/ ċ ch /x/ /ç/ gc gc /g̊/ /g̊ʲ/ Vany vowel /V/ — n'V /nV/ /nʲV/
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