Modern Lyran (NP: Slots +7 through +10:)
Posted: 18 Aug 2017 00:51
Modern Lyran
Introduction
Modern Lyran is a language spoken as a vast dialect continuum across the Northern Lyran Mountains, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility between them. However the dominant form spoken as a form of diglossia between these is the dialect spoken in the capital city, which is the dialect described in this grammar. It has become an international lingua franca due to various historical reasons, mostly due to the political, cultural, and militaristic dominance of the Lyran union. It has many sister languages, some derived from an earlier form known as Classical Lyran, and some few fringe languages derived from Proto-Lyran. These have not been developed, but I may post about them if I decide to develop them more fully. Lyran distinguishes itself from its sister languages due to the expansion of the already large consonant system, preserving many distinctions lost in other languages, the collapse of the vowel system, and the development of post velar harmony.
Typology and Influence
In its actual characteristics, Lyran is a highly polysynthetic ergative highly right branching language with an expansive verbal system. It is verb initial but highly non-configurational, and has a slight prefixing bias. Influences have come from various parts of Native North American languages, though the vast majority of influences have come from the Salishan and Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit family.
Phonology
The phonology of Lyran is heavily inspired by Athabaskan and Salish languages, and has a large inventory of glottalized consonants; the vowel system is more Salish though, excluding suprasegmentals.
Vowels
/a i u/ <a i u>
/ː ́ ̃/* <VV V́ V̨>
Vowel Pronunciation
The plain vowels are a simple 3 vowel system, with a large amount of variation around the vowel spectrum. Long vowels are typically more tense, while vowels are lowered when nasalized or adjacent to uvulars. In some non-standard dialects, the syllabic nasals may become nasal vowels, and the syllabic liquids devolve into sequences of a high vowel and a liquid depending on the following/preceding consonants. Tone can occur on all vowels, and long vowels can have rising and falling contours, albeit rarely.
Vowel Allophony
Vowel Qualities: All vowels vary wildly depending on adjacent consonants. The vowel /i(:)/ is realized as /ɪ~e, e:/ adjacent to uvulars, /e, e:/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɛ, ɛ:/ in closed syllables unstressed, /i, i:/ adjacent to palatals, /i~y, i:~y:/ adjacent to labialized palatals, sometimes partially rounded, and /e/ elsewhere.
The vowel /u(:)/ is realized as /ʊ~o, o:/ adjacent to uvulars, /o, o:/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɔ, ɔ:/ in closed syllables unstressed, and /o/ elsewhere. It also may front when adjacent to palatals.
The vowel /a/ is realized as /æ/ adjacent to palatals, /œ̞/ adjacent to lablialized palatals, /ä/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɒ/ adjacent to rounded velars and post-velars, /ɑ/ adjacent to plain velars, and /a/ elsewhere.
Consonants
This is where the real fun starts. There are around 60 consonants, depending on how you count. Frequent visitors to this forum may notice that this is the same phonology I posted a while back in the Questions thread.
/p (pʷ) t tθ (tʷ) ts tʃ tɬ c cʷ k kʷ q qʷ/ <p pʷ t tz tʷ ts č λ c cʷ k kʷ q qʷ>
/tʰ tθʰ (tʷʰ) tsʰ tʃʰ tɬʰ cʰ cʷʰ kʰ kʷʰ qʰ qʷʰ h/ <tʰ tzʰ tʷʰ tsʰ čʰ λʰ cʰ cʷʰ kʰ kʷʰ qʰ qʷʰ h>
/t' tθ' (tʷ') ts' tʃ' tɬ' c' cʷ' k' kʷ' q' qʷ' ʔ/ <t' tz’ tʷ’ ts’ č’ λ’ c’ cʷ’ k’ kʷ’ q’ qʷ’ ʔ>
/ɸ θ s ʃ ɬ ç çʷ x xʷ χ χʷ/ <f z s š ł ç çʷ x xʷ x̌ x̌ʷ>
/ɸ' θ' s' ʃ' ɬ' ç' çʷ' x' xʷ' χ' χʷ'/ <f’ z’ s’ š’ ł’ ç’ çʷ’ x’ xʷ’ x̌’ x̌ʷ’>
/m n r l j w ʁ~ʕ ʁʷ~ʕʷ/ <m n r l j w ʕ ʕʷ>
/m̥ n̥ r̥/ <mʰ nʰ rʰ>
/m' n' r' l' j' w' ʁ~ʕ' ʁʷ~ʕʷ'/ <m’ n’ r’ l’ j’ w’ ʕ’ ʕʷ’>
Consonant Pronunciation
Plain Stops: The plain stops are rather simple, and are mostly pronounced according to their IPA values. The palatal stops may be slightly fricated, this happens more in women's speech. The labialized labials and coronals are merging with the plain labials and labiovelars. They may be optionally voiced word medially
Aspirated Stops: Aspirated stops are very strongly aspirated and may affricate with a following /h/ or /x/, or completely fricativize, merging with the plain fricatives, as has happened in some dialects. (Af)frication typically happens the most to palatals, velars, and post-velars.
Ejective Stops: The ejective stops are strongly glottalized and may assimilate consonants they cluster with to glottalized allophonically. Note the lack of aspirated and ejective labials, these having lenited into the labial fricatives.
Fricatives: The fricatives come in plain and glottalized, no aspirated fricatives exist. The ones after the velars are unvoiced uvular fricatives if they don't display properly.
Sonorants: The sonorants come in plain, devoiced, and glottalized. The devoiced may be fricated slightly. There are no devoiced sonorants past /r/, these having became fricatives. The uvular sonorants are in free variation between uvular and pharyngeal.
Consonant Allophony
Due to the large consonant inventory, there is little allophony. Unvoiced stops may voice optionally word medially, and clusters may assimilate in glottalization and voicelessness.
Syllable Structure
The syllable structure is a strict CV(C), with glottal stops inserted to otherwise vowel initial words. Only obstruents can occur finally, and no two vowels can occur next to one another, these forming long vowels.
Stress
Stress is rather consistent on the last syllable of any word, with secondary stress stretching out from every other syllable from the last. Stress is rather strong and is one of the criteria used to detect word boundaries.
Morphophonology
Ignoring basic assimilation rules, there are 4 main morphophonemic processes in Lyran. These are, Vowel Merging, Glottalization/Aspiration Metathesis, Word Final Reduction, and Post Velar Harmony.
Vowel Merging
This is the simplest rule of the three. Any two vowels become one long vowel, where the quality of the vowel is determined by the hierarchy u > a > i. That is:
ua > aa
ai > ii
iu > ii
Glottalization/Aspiration Metathesis
Now this is where it gets complicated, consonants can have two main processes applied to them, glottalization and aspiration.
Glottalization is the simplest, any plain consonant, ignoring aspiration, becomes a glottalized consonant. The fricative /h/ becomes a glottal stop. Aspiration is more complicated. With any plain stop it becomes aspirated, sonorants become voiceless sonorants or voiceless fricatives, and fricatives become aspirated stops.
These rules are applied depending on the aspiration or glottalization of consonants in closed syllables. If the first one is, then it shifts to the coda consonant. If the coda is, it shifts to the next syllable. If both are, then the initial consonant remains only.
When both aspiration and glottalization are at play, glottalization dominates.
Examples in case that was too confusing.
f'atni > pat'ni
fat'ni > fatn'i
f'at'ni> f'atni
Word Final Reduction
Word final reduction is much simpler than the previous rules, and is simply a restriction on word final consonants. Any word final consonant reduces to a simple unaspirated unglottalized stop or affricate. Fricatives change into the corresponding stop/affricate, and aspirates/glottals become plain.
Examples
ta-x' > tak foot-PLU
qaa-jał > qaajaλ tree-AUG
hiit' > hiit lake-DU
Post Velar Harmony
Post velar harmony is a simple system of consonant harmony between velar and post velar consonants. In any given word if there is any post velar, all velars are backed to post velars
qaa-x' > qaaq tree-ERG
Next post will probably be about word and root structure and noun and verb templates.
Introduction
Modern Lyran is a language spoken as a vast dialect continuum across the Northern Lyran Mountains, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility between them. However the dominant form spoken as a form of diglossia between these is the dialect spoken in the capital city, which is the dialect described in this grammar. It has become an international lingua franca due to various historical reasons, mostly due to the political, cultural, and militaristic dominance of the Lyran union. It has many sister languages, some derived from an earlier form known as Classical Lyran, and some few fringe languages derived from Proto-Lyran. These have not been developed, but I may post about them if I decide to develop them more fully. Lyran distinguishes itself from its sister languages due to the expansion of the already large consonant system, preserving many distinctions lost in other languages, the collapse of the vowel system, and the development of post velar harmony.
Typology and Influence
In its actual characteristics, Lyran is a highly polysynthetic ergative highly right branching language with an expansive verbal system. It is verb initial but highly non-configurational, and has a slight prefixing bias. Influences have come from various parts of Native North American languages, though the vast majority of influences have come from the Salishan and Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit family.
Phonology
The phonology of Lyran is heavily inspired by Athabaskan and Salish languages, and has a large inventory of glottalized consonants; the vowel system is more Salish though, excluding suprasegmentals.
Vowels
/a i u/ <a i u>
/ː ́ ̃/* <VV V́ V̨>
Vowel Pronunciation
The plain vowels are a simple 3 vowel system, with a large amount of variation around the vowel spectrum. Long vowels are typically more tense, while vowels are lowered when nasalized or adjacent to uvulars. In some non-standard dialects, the syllabic nasals may become nasal vowels, and the syllabic liquids devolve into sequences of a high vowel and a liquid depending on the following/preceding consonants. Tone can occur on all vowels, and long vowels can have rising and falling contours, albeit rarely.
Vowel Allophony
Vowel Qualities: All vowels vary wildly depending on adjacent consonants. The vowel /i(:)/ is realized as /ɪ~e, e:/ adjacent to uvulars, /e, e:/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɛ, ɛ:/ in closed syllables unstressed, /i, i:/ adjacent to palatals, /i~y, i:~y:/ adjacent to labialized palatals, sometimes partially rounded, and /e/ elsewhere.
The vowel /u(:)/ is realized as /ʊ~o, o:/ adjacent to uvulars, /o, o:/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɔ, ɔ:/ in closed syllables unstressed, and /o/ elsewhere. It also may front when adjacent to palatals.
The vowel /a/ is realized as /æ/ adjacent to palatals, /œ̞/ adjacent to lablialized palatals, /ä/ adjacent to sonorants, /ɒ/ adjacent to rounded velars and post-velars, /ɑ/ adjacent to plain velars, and /a/ elsewhere.
Consonants
This is where the real fun starts. There are around 60 consonants, depending on how you count. Frequent visitors to this forum may notice that this is the same phonology I posted a while back in the Questions thread.
/p (pʷ) t tθ (tʷ) ts tʃ tɬ c cʷ k kʷ q qʷ/ <p pʷ t tz tʷ ts č λ c cʷ k kʷ q qʷ>
/tʰ tθʰ (tʷʰ) tsʰ tʃʰ tɬʰ cʰ cʷʰ kʰ kʷʰ qʰ qʷʰ h/ <tʰ tzʰ tʷʰ tsʰ čʰ λʰ cʰ cʷʰ kʰ kʷʰ qʰ qʷʰ h>
/t' tθ' (tʷ') ts' tʃ' tɬ' c' cʷ' k' kʷ' q' qʷ' ʔ/ <t' tz’ tʷ’ ts’ č’ λ’ c’ cʷ’ k’ kʷ’ q’ qʷ’ ʔ>
/ɸ θ s ʃ ɬ ç çʷ x xʷ χ χʷ/ <f z s š ł ç çʷ x xʷ x̌ x̌ʷ>
/ɸ' θ' s' ʃ' ɬ' ç' çʷ' x' xʷ' χ' χʷ'/ <f’ z’ s’ š’ ł’ ç’ çʷ’ x’ xʷ’ x̌’ x̌ʷ’>
/m n r l j w ʁ~ʕ ʁʷ~ʕʷ/ <m n r l j w ʕ ʕʷ>
/m̥ n̥ r̥/ <mʰ nʰ rʰ>
/m' n' r' l' j' w' ʁ~ʕ' ʁʷ~ʕʷ'/ <m’ n’ r’ l’ j’ w’ ʕ’ ʕʷ’>
Consonant Pronunciation
Plain Stops: The plain stops are rather simple, and are mostly pronounced according to their IPA values. The palatal stops may be slightly fricated, this happens more in women's speech. The labialized labials and coronals are merging with the plain labials and labiovelars. They may be optionally voiced word medially
Aspirated Stops: Aspirated stops are very strongly aspirated and may affricate with a following /h/ or /x/, or completely fricativize, merging with the plain fricatives, as has happened in some dialects. (Af)frication typically happens the most to palatals, velars, and post-velars.
Ejective Stops: The ejective stops are strongly glottalized and may assimilate consonants they cluster with to glottalized allophonically. Note the lack of aspirated and ejective labials, these having lenited into the labial fricatives.
Fricatives: The fricatives come in plain and glottalized, no aspirated fricatives exist. The ones after the velars are unvoiced uvular fricatives if they don't display properly.
Sonorants: The sonorants come in plain, devoiced, and glottalized. The devoiced may be fricated slightly. There are no devoiced sonorants past /r/, these having became fricatives. The uvular sonorants are in free variation between uvular and pharyngeal.
Consonant Allophony
Due to the large consonant inventory, there is little allophony. Unvoiced stops may voice optionally word medially, and clusters may assimilate in glottalization and voicelessness.
Syllable Structure
The syllable structure is a strict CV(C), with glottal stops inserted to otherwise vowel initial words. Only obstruents can occur finally, and no two vowels can occur next to one another, these forming long vowels.
Stress
Stress is rather consistent on the last syllable of any word, with secondary stress stretching out from every other syllable from the last. Stress is rather strong and is one of the criteria used to detect word boundaries.
Morphophonology
Ignoring basic assimilation rules, there are 4 main morphophonemic processes in Lyran. These are, Vowel Merging, Glottalization/Aspiration Metathesis, Word Final Reduction, and Post Velar Harmony.
Vowel Merging
This is the simplest rule of the three. Any two vowels become one long vowel, where the quality of the vowel is determined by the hierarchy u > a > i. That is:
ua > aa
ai > ii
iu > ii
Glottalization/Aspiration Metathesis
Now this is where it gets complicated, consonants can have two main processes applied to them, glottalization and aspiration.
Glottalization is the simplest, any plain consonant, ignoring aspiration, becomes a glottalized consonant. The fricative /h/ becomes a glottal stop. Aspiration is more complicated. With any plain stop it becomes aspirated, sonorants become voiceless sonorants or voiceless fricatives, and fricatives become aspirated stops.
These rules are applied depending on the aspiration or glottalization of consonants in closed syllables. If the first one is, then it shifts to the coda consonant. If the coda is, it shifts to the next syllable. If both are, then the initial consonant remains only.
When both aspiration and glottalization are at play, glottalization dominates.
Examples in case that was too confusing.
f'atni > pat'ni
fat'ni > fatn'i
f'at'ni> f'atni
Word Final Reduction
Word final reduction is much simpler than the previous rules, and is simply a restriction on word final consonants. Any word final consonant reduces to a simple unaspirated unglottalized stop or affricate. Fricatives change into the corresponding stop/affricate, and aspirates/glottals become plain.
Examples
ta-x' > tak foot-PLU
qaa-jał > qaajaλ tree-AUG
hiit' > hiit lake-DU
Post Velar Harmony
Post velar harmony is a simple system of consonant harmony between velar and post velar consonants. In any given word if there is any post velar, all velars are backed to post velars
qaa-x' > qaaq tree-ERG
Next post will probably be about word and root structure and noun and verb templates.