Ca Ga Hung [CGHNG]
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Typology
Functional
27 words
Ca Ga Hung
Ga Sogachi (river-speak) [gɑ sogɑt͡ʃi :i:ɛ::spɛɑ:]*
Ca Ga HungGa Sogachi (river-speak) [gɑ sogɑt͡ʃi :i:ɛ::spɛɑ:]*
Registered by
[Deactivated User] on 27 October 2023
Language type
A priori
Species
Human/humanoid
About Ca Ga Hung
‘Ca Ga Hung’ (translation: ‘clay (or red) river country’) is the official name for the native language of the fictional Ca Ga Hung people. They are a hunter-gatherer nation, dwelling close to river banks. Among the people and surrounding nations, the language is more commonly known as ‘Ga Sogachi’ (‘river speak’). Some communities have settled around freshwater lakes and wetlands, cultivating artificial floating gardens (like Mesoamerican chinampas) and fish farms. These lake regions have a scattered variety of dialects, referred to as ‘He Sogachi’ (‘stillwater speak’).
This language was written over two weeks in August '23, as an entry for the 16th Speedlang Challenge hosted by Lysimachiakis on r/conlangs & the Conlang Discord Network (CDN). Behold the results!
This language was written over two weeks in August '23, as an entry for the 16th Speedlang Challenge hosted by Lysimachiakis on r/conlangs & the Conlang Discord Network (CDN). Behold the results!
Sample of Ca Ga HungCan't find any yet.
Phonology
| Consonants | Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Post- Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveolo- palatal | Palatal | Labio- velar | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||||||||||
| Nasal | m m: | n n: | [ɳ]1 | [ɲ̊ʲ]2 | ŋ | [ɴ]3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | t̪ t̪: | t4 | d d: | [ʈ]5 | [ɖ]6 | k7 kʰ8 | g gʰ | [q]9 | [ɢ]10 | ʔ | ||||||||||||
| Fricative | s | z | [ʃ]11 | [ʂ]12 | [ɕʲ]13 | [ʑ]14 | [ħ]15 | h | [ɦ]16 | |||||||||||||||
| Affricate | t͡ʃ | ʈ͡ʂ | [t͡ɕ]17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approximant | l | [ɭ] | [ʎ] | [ʟ]18 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Approximant | [j]19 | ʰʍ | [w]20 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Implosive | [ˀɠ]21 | [ˀʛᵸ]22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blends | k͡ǀ23 |
- allophone of /n/
- Palatialised 'n' as it appears before 'j', allophone of /n/
- allophone of /ŋ/
- The alveolar stop is distinct from the voiceless dental stop, and is usually transliterated as ‘td’.
- allophone of /t/
- allophone of /d/
- Hard pronunciation for /c/.
- Aspirated /c/ is transliterated ‘kh’.
- allophone of /kʰ/
- allophone of /g/
- Soft /c/, occurs before e & i, between two consonants, as well as word-final. Often translit. 'sh', allophone of /k/
- Soft /c/ (He Sogachi dialect variant of [ʃ]), allophone of /k/
- Soft /c/, palatalised before [j]. Transliterated as ‘sh’, allophone of /k/
- Sound of /z/ in word-final position, allophone of /z/
- allophone of /h/
- allophone of /h/
- 'tch', when before <j>, allophone of /ʈ͡ʂ/
- allophone of /l/
- Usually translit. ‘j’ after a fricative or affricative (‘sjo’) and ‘y’ between vowels (‘oya’).
- 'l' heard as 'w' in word-medial positions before a voiceless consonant or after a voiced consonant, allophone of /l/
- Sound of /g/ after a glottal stop, allophone of /g/
- Sound of /g/ between two glottal stops, allophone of /g/
- 'Tsk-tsk'; indicates affirmation.
| Vowels | Front | Near- front | Near- back | Back | ||||
| Close | i | [y]1 | u | |||||
| Near-close | [ɪ]2 | [ʊ]3 | ||||||
| Close-mid | [e]4 | [ɤ]5 | o | |||||
| Open-mid | ɛ | [ɔ]6 | ||||||
| Open | ɑ | |||||||
- allophone of /u/
- allophone of /i/
- allophone of /u/
- allophone of /ɛ/
- allophone of /ɛ/
- allophone of /o/
Syllable StructureCa Ga Hung has a syllabic structure of C(C)V(V)(C)(C). Words (morphemes) are not usually allowed to start with a vowel, but they frequently end with a vowel. Two exceptions to this rule are the exclamations ‘aleho’ (‘stop!’) and ‘atla’ (‘it is so!’).
Although the standard minimum syllable is CV, the language does have three common syllabic consonant nuclei: /m/, /p'/ and /sj/. Two of these consonants can also stand alone as morphemes in their own right ('m' = ‘like’, and 'sj', a question marker).
Most words are one to two syllables long; three-syllable words are less frequent, while words with four syllables or greater only occur as loanwords.
The language is lenient regarding permitted consonant clusters, which appear generally in the first syllable of a word; word-final consonant clusters are rare. However, there are some restraints:
• <s> and <z> and affricates are usually only combined with one another or with the nasal and approximant series.
• Plosive stops (p, b, t, etc) and lateral approximants (l) never follow fricatives or affricates, and they rarely, if at all, come before them (e.g., 'sk', 'st', 'ds', 'gz' would not be permitted).
• Velar stops may be aspirated, such as 'khol' and 'ghalo', but this is not the same as a combined plosive-fricative cluster such as /gh/. Similarly, fricatives and affricates may be palatalised but still considered a single consonant, such as 'shj'.
Exceptions to this rule are the cluster ‘tch’ and the ideophone 'stum' / 'schtum'.
Although the standard minimum syllable is CV, the language does have three common syllabic consonant nuclei: /m/, /p'/ and /sj/. Two of these consonants can also stand alone as morphemes in their own right ('m' = ‘like’, and 'sj', a question marker).
Most words are one to two syllables long; three-syllable words are less frequent, while words with four syllables or greater only occur as loanwords.
The language is lenient regarding permitted consonant clusters, which appear generally in the first syllable of a word; word-final consonant clusters are rare. However, there are some restraints:
• <s> and <z> and affricates are usually only combined with one another or with the nasal and approximant series.
• Plosive stops (p, b, t, etc) and lateral approximants (l) never follow fricatives or affricates, and they rarely, if at all, come before them (e.g., 'sk', 'st', 'ds', 'gz' would not be permitted).
• Velar stops may be aspirated, such as 'khol' and 'ghalo', but this is not the same as a combined plosive-fricative cluster such as /gh/. Similarly, fricatives and affricates may be palatalised but still considered a single consonant, such as 'shj'.
Exceptions to this rule are the cluster ‘tch’ and the ideophone 'stum' / 'schtum'.
Stress informationStress is marked with pitch-accent on vowels. Where the pitch falls or rises can differentiate two words spelled the same. Some words are accentless, such as pronouns, proper nouns, and prepositions, while others use high (H), neutral/mid (N), and low pitch (L).
The default pitch is neutral (N, no marking). Only one prominent syllable per word may receive pitch, if any. It is used to distinguish verbs from common nouns, and adjectives from adverbs. High vs Low can be indicated with a grave or acute accent over the applicable vowel, such as é (H) or è (L).
For multi-syllable words, high pitch on the penultimate syllable indicates a verb, while on the final syllable it indicates a noun. Low pitch on the penultimate syllable indicates an adverb, while on the final syllable it indicates an adjective.
For single-syllable words, if they aren’t a pronoun, proper noun, or preposition, neutral pitch indicates a common noun or adverb, while high pitch indicates a verb, and low pitch an adjective.
Pitch-accent is also subject to forward-spreading: a penultimate change in pitch will carry onto the final syllable and plateau onto the following syllables. However, it will always return neutral if there is a word with neutral pitch, or just before the next pitch change. For example, 'sute kojómi Sasja' (‘my husband Sasja’) is NN NHH NN. A word-final pitch-accent doesn’t spread forward, either; the following syllable will always return to neutral or to pitch.
The default pitch is neutral (N, no marking). Only one prominent syllable per word may receive pitch, if any. It is used to distinguish verbs from common nouns, and adjectives from adverbs. High vs Low can be indicated with a grave or acute accent over the applicable vowel, such as é (H) or è (L).
For multi-syllable words, high pitch on the penultimate syllable indicates a verb, while on the final syllable it indicates a noun. Low pitch on the penultimate syllable indicates an adverb, while on the final syllable it indicates an adjective.
For single-syllable words, if they aren’t a pronoun, proper noun, or preposition, neutral pitch indicates a common noun or adverb, while high pitch indicates a verb, and low pitch an adjective.
Pitch-accent is also subject to forward-spreading: a penultimate change in pitch will carry onto the final syllable and plateau onto the following syllables. However, it will always return neutral if there is a word with neutral pitch, or just before the next pitch change. For example, 'sute kojómi Sasja' (‘my husband Sasja’) is NN NHH NN. A word-final pitch-accent doesn’t spread forward, either; the following syllable will always return to neutral or to pitch.
OtherThe placement of the pitch-accent is very regular, so it is not indicated in general orthography unless making pitch changes explicit for beginners.
Sometimes a word may have combined pitch-changes due to its grammatical double-function, such as verbal nouns. 'Tochónè' (‘a happening’) is one example of a verbal noun.
The language distinguishes between the voiceless alveolar plosive [t] and voiceless dental plosive [t̪], considering them separate phonemes; the alveolar stop is usually transliterated as ‘td’. Ca Ga Hung also has a small number of geminated consonants: dd [dː], tt [tː], mm [mː], and nn [nː].
There are no labiodental fricatives (f or v) or dental fricatives (th). However, the ideophone, 'f!', 'ff-fff!', can be used to indicate movement, a running action, or speed; the more ‘f’ sounds are used, the more speed is implied. This is the only time that [f] occurs in the language.
Sometimes a word may have combined pitch-changes due to its grammatical double-function, such as verbal nouns. 'Tochónè' (‘a happening’) is one example of a verbal noun.
The language distinguishes between the voiceless alveolar plosive [t] and voiceless dental plosive [t̪], considering them separate phonemes; the alveolar stop is usually transliterated as ‘td’. Ca Ga Hung also has a small number of geminated consonants: dd [dː], tt [tː], mm [mː], and nn [nː].
There are no labiodental fricatives (f or v) or dental fricatives (th). However, the ideophone, 'f!', 'ff-fff!', can be used to indicate movement, a running action, or speed; the more ‘f’ sounds are used, the more speed is implied. This is the only time that [f] occurs in the language.
Orthography
Below is the orthography for Ca Ga Hung. This includes all graphemes as defined in the language's phonology settings - excluding the non-distinct graphemes/polygraphs.
 Ca Ga HungOrthography [edit] | ||||||||
| Aa a /ɑ/ | Bb be /b/ | Cc ku /k/1, [ʃ]2, [ɕʲ]3 | Ch ch chu /t͡ʃ/ | Dd da /d/ | Ee e /ɛ/ | Gg ga /g/ | Gh gh gha /gʰ/ | Hh hu /h/ |
| Ii i /i/ | Kh kh khe /kʰ/4 | Ll la /l/, [j]5, [w]6, [ʎ] | Mm me /m/ | Nn na /n/ | Ng ng nga /ŋ/ | Oo o /o/ | Pp pe /p/ | Ss su /s/ |
| Td td ta /t/7 | Tt te /t̪/ | Uu u /u/ | Wh wh hwa /ʰʍ/ | Zz za /z/ | ' ' /ʔ/ | '/ tsk-tsk /k͡ǀ/8 | ||
| ✔ Shown in correct order [change] | ||||||||
- Hard pronunciation for /c/.
- Soft /c/, occurs before e & i, between two consonants, as well as word-final. Often translit. 'sh'.
- Soft /c/, palatalised before [j]. Transliterated as ‘sh’.
- Aspirated /c/ is transliterated ‘kh’.
- Usually translit. ‘j’ after a fricative or affricative (‘sjo’) and ‘y’ between vowels (‘oya’).
- 'l' heard as 'w' in word-medial positions before a voiceless consonant or after a voiced consonant.
- The alveolar stop is distinct from the voiceless dental stop, and is usually transliterated as ‘td’.
- 'Tsk-tsk'; indicates affirmation.
