Soleani language
the best language
spoken in Solea
Phonology
Allophony
Lax vowels
Devoicing of word-initial fricatives
With the exception of those in the velar and uvular places of articulation, the fricatives in Soleani /v z ʝ/ are not voiced word-initially [f s ç].
Assimilation
Lenition of verb endings
Verbs in Soleani typically end in a consonant. With some exception, verbs ending in a stop /p t̪ d̪ k g ʔ/ lenite to [v θ ð x ɣ χ] when conjugated. For example, the verb palek [palɛk] ('to think'), conjugates to paleka [palɛxa] in the simple present tense for human subjects, such as in the sentence "paleka gel" ('they think'). This verb-ending sound change applies somewhat irregularly to /l/ and /z/, which become the voiceless and voiced lateral fricatives [ɬ] and [ɮ], respectively. Aspirated stops /pʰ t̪ʰ kʰ ʔʰ/ deaspirate. Note that none of these sound changes are reflected in the spelling of the conjugated verb.
Orthography
letters of the (latinized) soleani alphabet in their proper ordering in kapunaki
| kapunaki | latin letter | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| p | p | |
| t | t̪ | |
| k | k | |
| th | ʔ | |
| d | d̪ | |
| g | g | |
| q | ǀ | |
| l | l | |
| n | n̪ | |
| ŋ | ŋ | |
| r | ɾ, ɾʷ, rʷ | |
| ɰ | ɰ | |
| v | v, f | |
| z | z, s | |
| j | ʝ, ç | |
| h | x | |
| gh | ɣ | |
| kh | χ | |
| š | ɬ | |
| a | a, æ | |
| á | aː | |
| e | ɛ | |
| é | ɛː | |
| i | i, ɪ | |
| í | iː | |
| o | ɤ, ɒ | |
| ó | ɤː | |
| u | u, ʌ | |
| ú | uː | |
| ai | ai | |
| ei | ɛi | |
| oi | ɤi | |
| ǎ | aʶ | |
| ǐ | iʶ | |
| ǔ | uʶ |
other weird orthography things
' - aspiration (appears only word-finally)
'' - syntax used for double/long digraphs (thth -> th'')
ą - ogonek marked on the vowel to indicate non-standard stress of the syllable