Jakvalat
Introduction
Goals
To create an aesthetically pleasing, yet easily pronounceable (for me, anyways), language for the setting of a habitable alternative Venus.
Setting
The setting is a Venus with a thinner crust which enables convection of heat within the planet's core and, despite Venus' slower rotation, the subsequent generation of a magnetic field sufficient to prevent the loss of the planet's oceans.
Lanakwa (Often called Common Venerian in English) is the predominant lingua franca spoken on Venus (Ln: Thukintra). It originated from the environs of the mercantile city of Suliriyal on the continent of Yehadramit.
Inspirations
The overt phonological inspirations are each English, Inuktitut and Quenya to varying degreees. Somehow there is quite a strong resemblence to the phonologies of the Iroquoian languages and Modern Greek although that wasn't intentional. So let's count those as covert influences then. The morphological inspirations are very likely to be Inuktitut, various Salsh languages and the Uralic languages.
Phonology
A. Orthography
| Native Script | Practical Orthography | IPA Value |
| ⟨o⟩ | ⟨p⟩ | /p/ |
| ⟨ɵ⟩ | ⟨ph⟩ | /f/ |
| ⟨c⟩ | ⟨b⟩ | /b/ |
| ⟨ɔ⟩ | ⟨m⟩ | /m/ |
| ⟨s⟩ | ⟨w⟩ | /w/ |
| ⟨v⟩ | ⟨t⟩ | /t/ |
| ⟨ɴ⟩ | ⟨th⟩ | /θ̠/ |
| ⟨ʌ⟩ | ⟨d⟩ | /d/ |
| ⟨x⟩ | ⟨s⟩ | /s/ |
| ⟨w⟩ | ⟨n⟩ | /n/ |
| ⟨ʍ⟩ | ⟨l⟩ | /l/ |
| ⟨z⟩ | ⟨r⟩ | /ɹ/ |
| ⟨n⟩ | ⟨k⟩ | /k/ |
| ⟨ʜ⟩ | ⟨kh⟩ | /x/ |
| ⟨u⟩ | ⟨g⟩ | /ɡ/ |
| ⟨m⟩ | ⟨q⟩ | /ŋ/ |
| ⟨ɯ⟩ | ⟨y⟩ | /j/ |
| ⟨h⟩ | ⟨i⟩ | /i/ |
| ⟨ɥ⟩ | ⟨e⟩ | /ɛ/ |
| ⟨b⟩ | ⟨u⟩ | /u/ |
| ⟨q⟩ | ⟨a⟩ | /ɑ/ |
NOTES:
1. The native alphabet was ultimately derived from an ancient featural abugida.
2. The practical orthography was devised by the first terrestrial linguists to reach Venus. The Haden Orthography has since become the default scheme of romanisation for Lanakwa.
3. The spelling of the practical and native orthographies are morphophonemic in that the spelling is phonemic but does change to reflect morphophonemic changes.
4. The following punctuation marks are in use in the native alphabet:
⟨.⟩ = short pause, equivalent to a comma or semi-colon. ⟨:⟩ = long pause, equivalent to a colon or full stop.
Punctuation marks occur immediately after the last word of a clause and never occur consecutively.
5. Any given word is separated from any following word by a space. There are no equivalents to parentheses, quotation marks, exclamation marks or questions marks.
B. Phoneme Inventory
1. Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
| Plosive | |||
| -voiceless | /p/ | /t/ | /k/ |
| -voiced | /b/ | /d/ | /ɡ/ |
| Fricative | |||
| -sibilant | /s/ | ||
| -spirant | /f/ | /θ̠/ | /x/ |
| Sonorant | |||
| -nasal | /m// | /n/ | /ŋ/ |
| -lateral | /l/ | ||
| Approximant | /w/ | /ɹ/ | /j/ |
Notes:
1. All coronals are alveolar.
2. Lanakwa has 17 consonants which, according to the World Atlas of Language Structures, is a moderately small inventory. The most notable feature, according to WALs, is the presence of a dental fricative.
2. Vowels
| Front | Back | |
| High | /i/ | /u/ |
| Low | /ɛ/ | /ɑ/ |
Notes:
1. /ɑ/ is the result of a merger between earlier /*o, *a/.
2. Lanakwa has 4 vowel qualities which, according to WALS, is a small inventory. The consonant-vowel ratio is 4.25 which is an average ratio.
C. Allophony
1. In intervocalic position and in word-final position, /b, d, ɡ/ are realised as [v, ð̠, ɣ].
2. /s/ is realised as [z] when adjacent to /b, d, ɡ/ and in intervocalic position.
3. /ss/ is realised as [ɬ].
4. The geminate consonant clusters /mm, nn, ŋŋ, ll/ are realised as [bm, dn, ɡŋ, dl].
5. /i, u/ are realised as [ɪ, ʊ] in closed syllables.
D. Phonotactics
1. Syllable template: C(C)V(C).
2. Permitted syllable codas:
/p, t, k, b, d, ɡ, s, m, n, ŋ, l/.
3. /s, l/ do not occur word-finally.
4. /p, t, k/ do not occur word-finally.
5. /b, d, ɡ/ do not occur word-initially.
6. Permitted Consonant Clusters:
| P | T | K | B | D | G | S | M | N | Q | L | W | R | Y | ||||
| P | - | - | - | - | - | - | ps | - | - | - | - | pw* | pr* | py* | |||
| T | - | - | - | - | - | - | ts | - | - | - | - | tw* | tr* | ty* | |||
| K | - | - | - | - | - | - | ks | - | - | - | - | kw* | kr* | ky* | |||
| B | - | - | - | - | - | - | bs | - | - | - | bw* | br* | by* | ||||
| D | - | - | - | - | - | - | ds | - | - | - | - | dw* | dr* | dy* | |||
| G | - | - | - | - | - | - | gs | - | - | - | - | gw* | gr* | gy* | |||
| S | sp | st | sk | sb | sd | sg | - | - | - | - | - | sw* | sr* | sy* | |||
| M | mp | - | - | mb | - | - | - | mm | - | - | mw | - | - | ||||
| N | - | nt | - | - | nd | - | ns | nn | - | - | - | nn | - | nl | - | nr | - |
| L | lp | lt | lk | lb | ld | lg | ls | lph | lth | lkh | lm | ln | lq | ll | lw | lr | ly |
b. Table Two: Single Consonant + Onset Cluster
| PW | PR | PY | TW | TR | TY | KW | KR | KY | BW | BR | BY | DW | DR | DY | GW | GR | GY | SW | SR | SY | THW | THR | THY | KHW | KHR | KHY | |
| P | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | psw | psr | psy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | tsw | tsr | tsy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ksw | ksr | ksy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | bsw | bsr | bsy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | dsw | dsr | dsy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| G | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | gsw | gsr | gsy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| S | spw | spr | spy | stw | str | sty | skw | skr | sky | sbw | sbr | sby | sdw | sdr | sdy | sgw | sgr | sgy- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M | mpw | mpr | mpy | - | - | - | - | - | - | mbw | mbr | mby | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N | ntw | ntr | nty | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ndw | ndr | ndy | - | - | - | nsw | nsr | nsy | nthw | nthr | nthy | - | - | - |
| Q | - | - | - | - | - | - | qkw | qkr | qky | - | - | - | - | - | - | qgw | qgr | qgy | - | - | - | - | - | - | qkhw | qkhr | qkhy |
| L | lpw | lpr | lpy | ltw | ltr | lty | lkw | lkr | lky | lbw | lbr | lby | ldw | ldr | ldy | lgw | lgr | lgy | lsw | lsr | lsy | lthw | lthr | lthy | lkhw | lkhr | lkhy |
Notes:
a. The practical orthography is used here for clarity.
b. First segment of cluster runs along left of table.
c. Second segment of cluster runs along top of table.
d. An asterisk indicates a syllable onset cluster. All other clusters occur across syllable boundaries.
7. No consonant cluster may have more than three segments.
8. Consonant clusters do not occur within the syllable coda.
9. Vowel sequences do not occur.
10. /i/ may not occur after onset /j/.
11. /u/ may not occur after onset /w/.
12. Most native roots are disyllabic with monosyllabic roots being restricted to pronouns. Most particles are monosyllabic.
E. Prosody
1. Primary stress falls on the first syllable of the root.
2. Secondary stress is borne on every odd-numbered syllable after the primary stress.
3. Rhythm type is trochaic.
F. Morphophonology
1. When consonant clusters result from affixation, they are treated as per the table below:
| P | T | K | B | D | G | S | PH | TH | KH | M | N | Q | L | W | R | Y | PW | PR | PY | TW | TR | TY | KW | KR | KY | BW | BR | BY | DW | DR | DY | GW | GR | GY | SW | SR | SY | PHW | PHR | PHY | THW | THR | THY | KHW | KHR | KHY | |
| P | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ps | ph | th | kh | mp | mp | mp | lp | pw | pr | py | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | psw | psr | psy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| T | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ts | ph | th | kh | nth | nth | nth | lt | tw | tr | ty | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | tsw | tsr | tsy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| K | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ks | ph | th | kh | qk | qk | qk | lk | kw | kr | ky | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | ksw | ksr | ksy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| B | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | bs | ph | th | kh | mb | mb | mb | lb | bw | br | by | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | bsw | bsr | bsy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| D | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ds | ph | th | kh | nd | nd | nd | ld | dw | dr | dy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | dsw | dsr | dsy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| G | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | gs | ph | th | kh | qg | qg | qg | lg | gw | gr | gy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | gsw | gsr | gsy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| PH | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ps | ph | th | kh | mph | mph | mph | lph | phw | phr | phy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | psw | psr | psy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| TH | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ts | ph | th | kh | nth | nth | nth | lth | thw | thr | thy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | tsw | tsr | tsy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| KH | ph | th | kh | p | t | k | ks | ph | th | kh | qkh | qkh | qkh | lkh | khw | khr | khy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy | pw | pr | py | tw | tr | ty | kw | kr | ky | ksw | ksr | ksy | phw | phr | phy | thw | thr | thy | khw | khr | khy |
| M | mp | nt | mk | mb | nd | qg | ns | mph | nth | qkh | mm | nn | nl | mw | nr | qy | mpw | mpr | mpy | ntw | ntr | nty | qkw | qkr | qky | mbw | mbr | mby | ndw | ndr | ndy | qgw | qgr | qgy | nsw | nsr | nsy | mphw | mphr | mphy | nthw | nthr | nthy | mkhw | mkhr | mkhy | |
| N | mp | nt | qk | mb | nd | qg | ns | mph | nth | qkh | mm | nn | nl | mw | nr | qy | mpw | mpr | mpy | ntw | ntr | nty | qkw | qkr | qky | mbw | mbr | mby | ndw | ndr | ndy | qgw | qgr | qgy | nsw | nsr | nsy | mphw | mphr | mphy | nthw | nthr | nthy | qkhw | qkhr | qkhy | |
| Q | mp | nt | qk | mb | nd | qg | ns | mph | nth | qkh | mm | nn | nl | mw | nr | qy | mpw | mpr | mpy | ntw | ntr | nty | qkw | qkr | qky | mbw | mbr | mby | ndw | ndr | ndy | qgw | qgr | qgy | nsw | nsr | nsy | mphw | mphr | mphy | nthw | nthr | nthy | qkhw | qkhr | qkhy |
Notes:
a. The practical orthography is used here for clarity.
b. First segment of cluster runs along left of table.
c. Remaining segments of cluster run along top of table.
Morphology
Lanakwa morphemes fall into the following classes:
1. Particles.
These do not bear any inflection, have little semantic content and comprise such things as temporal or locative adverbs, conjunctions, interjections and anything else that isn't a root.
2. Roots.
These do bear inflection and contain much of the semantic content of an utterance. Roots are divided into nouns and verbs. Verbs are further divided into transitive and intransitive categories.