Solina

Classification and Dialects
Solina is classified as an Ibero-Romance language with heavy borrowing from Hebrew, Turkic and West Chadic sources. By local custom, it is grouped with the Ybrán language family, to distinguish it from the Alshriki, Bantat, and Chadik families which coexist locally. Solina began its life as a dialect of Proto-Ybrán, a creole spoken among Northern nomads, and has since developed, with influence from Hausa locals and Ladino scribes, into a distinct language, which itself has an Ayask dialect marked by greater integration of Hausa influences.

Consonants
Certain phonological shifts occur in the Ayask dialect, namely [ʝ] -> [j], [β] -> [b], [v] -> [ɸ], [θ] -> [t] between vowels, [ɾ] -> [ɽ], and [k]/[g] are rounded when followed by [a] or [o].

Orthography
Above is the standard Latinate orthography for Solina, however, for religious purposes and among pious Terşero, an alternate set of vowels descended from Solitreo is used, in addition to a streamlined set of consonants. As the influence of the Terşero has grown, the use of Latinate orthography has steadily declined.

To the left is an outline of the Solinate orthography, including the heavily context-dependent vowel system. Isolate forms are derived from the respective vowels being placed over the word-final [a], which also acts as a "neutral" or "carrier" letter. * indicates a word-final form

†indicates an isolate form

Gender
Nouns in Solina are marked for gender in different ways depending on their historical root. Words originating from Ybrán generally conform to the rule that words ending in -o are masculine, -a are feminine, and others are assigned on an individual basis. Words introduced by Ladino scribes sometime before the separation tend also to be assigned gender according to Ybrán convention, such as the word Kule (tower), which comes from a Turkic root with no gender, and became male by convention.

Number
The dominance of certain Southern Iberian accents during the period of upheaval complicated the Ybrán plural system, and by extension that of Solina. Plurals are only marked intermittently, and there by a vowel shift: In the Ayask dialect, plurals are additionally marked with a high/rising tone on the final vowel, a change which is not apparent in any orthography of the language.

Articles
All nouns in Solina must appear with an article, which come in two classes: definite and indefinite. Be aware that the orthographic plural marking does not occur in words ending in -o, and that the apostrophe marking on -e and -a does not always occur, and cannot be relied on to indicate plurality. Likewise, pronunciation of plural vowel shifts in the noun occur frequently but vary by dialect and word construction. The only reliable indicator of plurality is the article.