Didenki

=Most of the grammar is being worked out in separate documents that are easier to edit than this page. I will likely only update when I have reached a major conclusion in regards to the grammar.= Cillendor (talk) 20:33, December 12, 2014 (UTC)

General information
The is the language spoken by the Didenki people of Erbed for the Gcallus Octavious book by Jensine L. W. The story is an ongoing work of hers, but the language was only marginally developed. She tasked me with coming up with a more robust language to accompany it.

The Didenki (as I am calling them for now) had sustained contact with humans—centralized in England—until the 1400s. Thus, their language should have some Middle English influence. However, this is not a requirement. If I can incorporate any of this, I will, but I am more concerned about internal cohesion at first. The only example the author provided was a few names. If I can work these into the language, that's fine. But she is willing to change some of them if they are inconsistent with the language.

As it is, I am beginning by pouring over her existing words and trying to pull out some consistent meanings to apply. These will be my "Speculative notes". Once I have finished that, I will begin adding more bulk to the language.

Writing System
Eh is pronounced as /ɛ/ in most cases. The pronunciation /ə/ is most often dialectal.

Ih is pronounced as /ɪ/ or /i/ except in the final syllable, if it is VC. Thus denki (the words) is pronounced ['dɛn.ki], but denkit/denkyt (these words) is pronounced [dɪ.'dɛn.kyt]. /y/ is not considered a separate letter from ih, but the stem is flipped to point downward instead of upward.

Gcas was originally pronounced as a glottal stop, but over time it became pronounced as either /k/ or /g/ depending on the region. When anglicized, it is written as 'gc'.

Vfor is the same situation as with gcas, but the original pronunciation is lost. Word-initial, vfor may be pronounced as /v/ or /f/ per regional variance. Before voiceless stops, it is pronounced /f/ (e.g., "often"). Before voiced stops and nasals, it is pronounced /v/ (e.g., "giv'd", "cov'n"). '[Note: all examples given are in English at this early stage of development. They should be switched out for Didenki words eventually.]'

Bmil is pronounced as a voiced bilabial implosive when word-initial. Anywhere else, it takes either a /m/ or /b/ sound. If VbmCV, it takes the /m/ sound exclusively. If VCbmV or VbmV, it takes the /b/ sound exclusively. However, confusing these sounds does not render them unintelligible to the listener.

Ix normally maintains the pronunciation of /ks/, except when word-inintial. In this place alone it is pronounced as /t͡s/.

Shei is pronounced as /ʃ/ when word-initial or VsV. Word-final, VsCV, and VCsV, it is pronounced as /s/.

Wil can take the sound of /ʊ/ (like in Welsh) when word-final if following another consonant. In all other situations, it remains as /w/.

Phonotactics
For consonants, common clusters include labializations and nasalizations. Both are funcitons of grammar, so they never appear independently in a root word. However, na may appear as the first letter in a root word.

Other clusters which may appear are as follows: Because gcas has lost its original pronunciation of /ʔ/, this cluster is most often pronounced as /ʃk/.

For vowels, the clusters resemble those found in English (Vi and Vu).

All root words are in the form (s)CVC or VC.

Nouns
Nouns are divided into three senses: abstract, concrete, and action. These are identified by the aspect prefix. There are 21 aspects in Didenki, which are based around their alpha-numeric system. The first set (1-7) indicates the abstract sense of the noun. The second set (8-14) represents the concrete sense. The third set (15-21) represents the action sense. This third set is explained in more detail under the Verbs heading.

Aspect
The following examples use the root dek (word). Also, not all roots can receive all aspects. Dek is used here because it (potentially) uses all 14 noun aspects. These meanings/translations are suggestions at this point. More work will be done to refine this point when I begin working on the vocabulary.

Plurals
Tentatively, there are two cases to show number. Singular remains uninflected. For plural, the final syllable mutates. If the final syllable is (C)VC, it nasalizes to (C)VnC (or (C)VmC—uncertain of words can end with bilabials yet). E.g., deki > denki. If word ends in a definite article i, the -n attaches to the i. E.g., omi > omyn.

This culture uses a base-7 number system with 1, 2, 3, 7, and 21 being significant. I might add a "perfect plural" for a count of seven.

Genitive case
speculative note: Nouns in the genitive case are modified by the suffix -lan.

Verbs
Didenki is heavily noun-based. Nouns can be converted into verbs using the third temporal category. E.g., dek (word)

Aspect
Aspect/tense is shown through the third set of letters, 15-21. At this point in development, there are only these seven aspects. I might revise this at a later point. Examples will be written more fully after the conjugations have been completed and a larger vocabulary is written.

Conjugations indicating person and number also exist but have not been established yet. They will likely be suffixed.

Mood
There will likely be variations in mood. I have yet to explore this feature.