Classical Htaevic
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Early Htaevic
Early Htaevic was spoken around ~6,400 Y, and was the language spoken when Hotsan Gget developed the Hlunliw writing system in the imperial court. Hotsan Gget developed a complex writing system. Since Early Htaevic had many diverse syllable onsets - some of them quite long as in the case of "lmtsa" and "tnsan" (both sesquisyllables treated as single syllables) - Hlunliw writing made very heavy use of the rebus principle, with many logograms being reused as radicals for their sounds. The initial consonant or consonants are used as the phonetic element. E.g. "l", "ht" or "sk", etc.
Early Htaevic was written top-bottom left-right, like a mirror of traditional Chinese and Japanese writing styles. Individual glyphs were highly stylized.
Phonology
| Consonants | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Stops | p b | t d | c | k g | |
| Fricatives | f v | s z | ç ʝ | x ɣ | h |
| Affricates | ts | ||||
| Approximates | r† | l | j | w |
†Represented by <r>, this phoneme has a large allophonic range such as <r> - [ʋ~ʋ͡ɺˠ~ɺ~ɹ~ɾ]. Ethnic Hsuqliht typically used the [ɺ~ɹ~ɾ] pronunciations, with [ɾ] by far being the most common realisation.
/q/ and /θ/ also may occur in borrowings from Ancient Succlythian
| Vowels | Front | Mid | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
Diphthongs: aw, iw, uw, ew
m, n, and ŋ may all be used syllabically. e.g. lmtsa /lm̩.tsa/
Consonant Clusters
There are many consonant clusters in Classical Htaevic. They are of the form CC(j) where the first consonant may be any of /m, ŋ, p, t, c, k, s, ç, h, ts, ʋ, l, j, w/ and the second consonant any of /p, b, t, d, c, k, g, v, z, ʝ, ɣ, ɦ, ts, ʋ, l, j, w/, optionally followed by /j/.
The maximum syllable structure is CC(y)VC where C is a consonant and V can be any of a, e, ë, i, o, u, aw, ew, ëw, iw, uw, m, n, ng. 'y' does not occur before m, n, or ng as it turns to i. (e.g. byma -> bima)
There are also sesquisyllables of the form CNC(j)X where C is any consonant, N is a syllabic nasal /m, n, ŋ/, and X is the syllable coda e.g. /lm.tsa/ and /tn.san/. These are sometimes also consider consonant clusters, as the script treats them as one consonant cluster.
Grammar
Verbs
recent past perfect - Verb + byakë
recent past imperfect - Verb + kuwm
Pronouns
| Pronoun | Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| First Person Singular | san | suwn |
| First Person Dual | sanzan | bakë |
| First Person Plural | unyë | tsa |
| Second Person Singular | tsaw | tsaw |
| Second Person Dual | tsawghaw | tsawghaw |
| Second Person Plural | rang | bim |
| Third Person Singular | hyawm | hyuwm |
| Third Person Dual | hyawmawm | hyuwmchom |
| Third Person Plural | hla | ti |
| Polite Singular | tsyaghë | kyuwkh |
| Polite Dual | chirë | chicherë |
| Polite Plural | hlamë | timë |
Evolution of Hlunliw
- Originated around 6,400 Y during the Alotsë dynasty
- Expanded into a full writing system around 6,700 Y under the guidance of the priest class. Continues undergoing various simplifications.
- Solidified around 7,100 Y during the Hsuqliht invasions into Classical Hlunliw. The Hsuqlihtans readily adopted the script and wrote many works in it in both Htaevic and Hsuqliht.
- Gradually split off into several closely related scripts until the rise of the Second Htaevic Empire around 8,600 Y, where <Squid Htaevic?> became the dominant form throughout much of the Htaevic Rouge. This form of the script underwent slow changes until the collapse of the Second Htaevic Empire around 9,000 Y. Since then, it has remained almost the same and become widespread throughout the world as a sort of 'written lingua franca'.