Appendix:Noalath pronunciation: Difference between revisions

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The Noalath language has 23 consonants, 11 vowels with two lengths and 1 glide.
{{LangBar|Noalath|The Shannara Chronicles}}
 
The Noalath language has 24 consonants, 7 full vowels and 4 reduced vowels.


== Standard Romanization ==
== Standard Romanization ==
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! Letter
! Letter
! IPA
! IPA
! English example
! Example
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''a'''
| '''a'''
| ɑ/ǝ
| ɑ/ǝ
| f'''a'''ther ''or'' sof'''a'''
| f'''a'''ther or sof'''a'''
| [ɑ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
| [ɑ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
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|-
|-
| '''e'''
| '''e'''
| ɛ
| ɛ/ǝ
| b'''e'''t
| b'''e'''t or sof'''a'''
|
| [ɛ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
| '''f'''
| '''f'''
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| '''i'''
| '''i'''
| i/ɪ
| i/ɪ
| b'''ee'''t ''or'' b'''i'''t
| b'''ee'''t or b'''i'''t
| [i] occurs in stressed syllables; [ɪ] elsewhere.
| [i] occurs in stressed syllables; [ɪ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
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|-
|-
| '''o'''
| '''o'''
| ɔ
| ɔ/ǝ
| c'''au'''ghtt
| c'''au'''ght or sof'''a'''
| Lower than regular [o].
| Lower than regular [o]. [ɔ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
| '''ö'''
| '''ö'''
| œ
| œ/ǝ
| —
| French '' p'''eu'''r '' or sof'''a'''
| Like '''e''' pronounced with rounded lips.
| Like '''e''' pronounced with rounded lips. [œ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
| '''p'''
| '''p'''
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|-
|-
| '''u'''
| '''u'''
| u
| u/ʊ
| r'''u'''de ''or'' g'''oo'''d
| r'''u'''de or g'''oo'''d
| [u] occurs in stressed syllables; [ʊ] elsewhere.
| [u] occurs in stressed syllables; [ʊ] elsewhere.
|-
|-
| '''ü'''
| '''ü'''
| y
| y/ʏ
| -
| No English equivalent, [y] is the French '' p'''u'''r ''
| [y] (like [i] with rounded lips) occurs in stressed syllables; [ʏ] (like [ɪ] with rounded lips) elsewhere.
| [y] (like [i] with rounded lips) occurs in stressed syllables; [ʏ] (like [ɪ] with rounded lips) elsewhere.
|-
|-
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== Phonetics ==
== Phonetics ==
Noalath has a number of vowels with tense-lax pairings that should be familiar to English speakers. It also features consonant mutations resulting in word-initial [ŋ]. It's also got a couple front rounded vowels.
Noalath has a number of vowels with tense-lax pairings that should be familiar to English speakers. It also features front rounded vowels.


=== Consonants ===
=== Consonants ===
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! colspan="2" |  
! colspan="2" |  
! Labial
! Labial
! Dental
! Coronal
! Alveolar
! Palatal
! Palatal
! Velar
! Velar
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|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Nasal
! colspan="2" | Nasal
| m [m] ||  || n [n] || ny [ɲ] || ng [ŋ] ||  
| m [m] || n [n] || ny [ɲ] || ng [ŋ] ||  
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Plosive
! rowspan="2" | Plosive
! <small>voiceless</small>
! <small>voiceless</small>
| p [p] || t [t] || || ch [tʃ]  || k [k] ||  |  
| p [p] || t [t] || || k [k] ||  |  
|-
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
! <small>voiced</small>
| b [b] || d [d]  || || j [dʒ]  || g [g] ||  |  
| b [b] || d [d]  ||  || g [g] ||  |
|-
! rowspan="2" | Affricate
! <small>voiceless</small>
| || ts [ts] || ch [tʃ] ||  ||  |
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| ||  || j [dʒ]  || ||  |  
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Fricative
! rowspan="2" | Fricative
! <small>voiceless</small>
! <small>voiceless</small>
| f [f] || th [θ] || s [s] || sh [ʃ]  ||  || h [h]
| f [f] || th [θ], s [s] || sh [ʃ]  ||  || h [h]
|-
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
! <small>voiced</small>
| v [v] || dh [ð] || || zh [ʒ]  ||  ||  
| v [v] || dh [ð]  || zh [ʒ]  ||  ||  
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Lateral
! colspan="2" | Lateral
|  ||  || l [l] ||  ||  ||  |  
|  || l [l] ||  ||  ||  |  
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Approximants
! colspan="2" | Approximants
|  ||  || r [ɾ] || y [j]  ||  ||  |  
|  || r [ɾ] || y [j]  ||  ||  |  
|}
|}


=== Vowels ===
=== Vowels ===
Noalath has 11 phonetically distinct vowels:
Noalath distinguishes 7 vowels in stressed syllables, but only 4 in unstressed ones, as [ɛ œ ɔ ɑ] all merge into [ǝ] when unstressed. The high vowels [i y u] also become the more centralized [ɪ ʏ ʊ] in unstressed syllables.


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
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!
!
! Front
! Front
! Central
! Back
! Back
|-
|-
! Close
! Close
| i [i~ɪ], ü [y~ʏ]
| i [i~ɪ], ü [y~ʏ]
|
| u [u~ʊ]
| u [u~ʊ]
|-
|-
! Mid
! Mid
| e [ɛ], ö [œ]
| e [ɛ~ǝ], ö [œ~ǝ]
| a [ǝ]
| o [ɔ~ǝ]
| o [ɔ]
|-
|-
! Open
! Open
|
|
|
| a [ɑ~ǝ]
| a [ɑ]
|}
|}


==== Diphthongs ====
==== Diphthongs ====
Noalath has four diphthongs: ai, oa, öa and ea.
Noalath has four diphthongs: ''ai'' ([ǝi]), ''oa'' ([ɔǝ]), ''öa'' ([œǝ]) and ''ea'' ([ɛǝ]).
 
== Mutations ==
There are three consonant mutations (''porad'') in Noalath. The unmutated form of a consonant is called the Still State (''Hiyarach Laid''), while the mutations are called the Change of Water (''Poradach Desha''), the Change of Stone (''Poradach Molt'') and the Change of Wind (''Poradach Pöri'').
 
All of Noalath's consonants except [m] mutate, usually after affixes or function words, though mutations also occur by themselves due to analogy.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Still State
! Change of Water
! Change of Stone
! Change of Wind
|-
! n
| ny
| colspan="2" | n
|-
! p
| p
| b
| f
|-
! t
| rowspan="3" | ch
| d
| th
|-
! ch
| j
| sh
|-
! k
| g
| h
|-
! b
| b
| m
| v
|-
! d
| rowspan="3" | j
| n
| dh
|-
! j
| ny
| zh
|-
! g
| ng
| h
|-
! f
| y
| p
| rowspan="2" | (deleted)
|-
! th
| rowspan="4" | sh
| t
|-
! s
| ts
| rowspan="2" | h
|-
! sh
| ch
|-
! h
| colspan="2" | (deleted)
|-
! v
| rowspan="2" | y
| b
| (deleted)
|-
! l
| n
| l
|-
! r
| zh
| d
| r
|-
! y
| colspan="2" | y
| zh
|}
Some consonants occur syllable-initially as a result of mutation only and therefore lack a Still State.
 
Mutations have unpredictable effects on words starting with a vowel.


[[Category:Pronunciation by language]]
[[Category:Pronunciation by language]]
[[Category:Noalath language]]

Latest revision as of 02:11, 27 May 2024

Noalath Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Dialogue

The Noalath language has 24 consonants, 7 full vowels and 4 reduced vowels.

Standard Romanization

Letter IPA Example Notes
a ɑ/ǝ father or sofa [ɑ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
b b bog
ch tʃ chop
d d dog
dh ð then
e ɛ/ǝ bet or sofa [ɛ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
f f food
g g good
h h ham
i i/ɪ beet or bit [i] occurs in stressed syllables; [ɪ] elsewhere.
j dʒ jet
k k skill
l l left
m m man
n n no
ng ŋ sing Can occur word-initially.
ny ɲ New York (certain pronunciations) Like Spanish ñ.
o ɔ/ǝ caught or sofa Lower than regular [o]. [ɔ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
ö œ/ǝ French peur or sofa Like e pronounced with rounded lips. [œ] occurs in stressed syllables; [ǝ] elsewhere.
p p span
r ɾ battle
s s see
sh ʃ sheep
t t stop
th θ think
u u/ʊ rude or good [u] occurs in stressed syllables; [ʊ] elsewhere.
ü y/ʏ No English equivalent, [y] is the French pur [y] (like [i] with rounded lips) occurs in stressed syllables; [ʏ] (like [ɪ] with rounded lips) elsewhere.
v v voice
y j yawn
zh ʒ casual

Phonetics

Noalath has a number of vowels with tense-lax pairings that should be familiar to English speakers. It also features front rounded vowels.

Consonants

Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m [m] n [n] ny [ɲ] ng [ŋ]
Plosive voiceless p [p] t [t] k [k]
voiced b [b] d [d] g [g]
Affricate voiceless ts [ts] ch [tʃ]
voiced j [dʒ]
Fricative voiceless f [f] th [θ], s [s] sh [ʃ] h [h]
voiced v [v] dh [ð] zh [ʒ]
Lateral l [l]
Approximants r [ɾ] y [j]

Vowels

Noalath distinguishes 7 vowels in stressed syllables, but only 4 in unstressed ones, as [ɛ œ ɔ ɑ] all merge into [ǝ] when unstressed. The high vowels [i y u] also become the more centralized [ɪ ʏ ʊ] in unstressed syllables.

Front Back
Close i [i~ɪ], ü [y~ʏ] u [u~ʊ]
Mid e [ɛ~ǝ], ö [œ~ǝ] o [ɔ~ǝ]
Open a [ɑ~ǝ]

Diphthongs

Noalath has four diphthongs: ai ([ǝi]), oa ([ɔǝ]), öa ([œǝ]) and ea ([ɛǝ]).

Mutations

There are three consonant mutations (porad) in Noalath. The unmutated form of a consonant is called the Still State (Hiyarach Laid), while the mutations are called the Change of Water (Poradach Desha), the Change of Stone (Poradach Molt) and the Change of Wind (Poradach Pöri).

All of Noalath's consonants except [m] mutate, usually after affixes or function words, though mutations also occur by themselves due to analogy.

Still State Change of Water Change of Stone Change of Wind
n ny n
p p b f
t ch d th
ch j sh
k g h
b b m v
d j n dh
j ny zh
g ng h
f y p (deleted)
th sh t
s ts h
sh ch
h (deleted)
v y b (deleted)
l n l
r zh d r
y y zh

Some consonants occur syllable-initially as a result of mutation only and therefore lack a Still State.

Mutations have unpredictable effects on words starting with a vowel.

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