Reptigan

Reptigan is the name of the language spoken throughout the Reptigan Union, which see.

It is descended from the late form of Middle Adpihi spoken from Planetary Unification and the Return to Space until First Contact.

From First Contact through the growth of the Reptigan Union, Reptigan gradually developed to be one of the major ties holding the Union together.

It is now spoken by many different species native to many different planets and living on even more planets, and is also spoken by many Artificial Intelligences.

From a certain point of view one might consider Middle Adpihi to be Old Reptigan; but since Reptigan is spoken by non-Humans as well as Humans, and Middle Adpihi was primarily a Human language (at least originally), it is usually considered a different language.

The Consonants of Reptigan
All told, Reptigan has 32 consonants. Reptigan lost all the semivowels (j and w) and all the rhotics (rr and r`) of Old Adpihi. Reptigan has no semivowels and no rhotics. (The sound in the name "Reptigan" here transliterated as "R" is actually l`) Reptigan also lost all the dentals(T, t_d, n_d, d_d</tt>), the labiodentals (f</tt>, v</tt>), and the palato-alveolars (S</tt>) of Adpihi. Reptigan has no dentals, no labiodentals, no palato-alveolars, and no rhotics. But Reptigan has fifteen other consonants that Old Adpihi lacks; B, b`, C, d`, G, h\</tt>, J\, j\, L, l`, n`, p`, s`, t`</tt>, and 5</tt>.

By place of articulation, Reptigan has:
 * 6 alveolars; s, t, z, n, d, l</tt>;
 * 6 velars; x, k, G, N, g, 5</tt>;
 * 6 palatals; C, c, j\, J</tt>, J\, L</tt>;
 * 6 retroflexives; s`, t`, z`, n`, d`, l`</tt>;
 * 5 bilabials; p\, p, B, m, b</tt>; and
 * 3 glottals; h, ?, h\</tt>.

By manner of articulation, Reptigan has:
 * 6 mute fricatives; s, x, C, s`, p\, h</tt>;
 * 6 mute stops; t, k, c, t`, p, ?</tt>;
 * 6 voiced fricatives; <tt>z, G, j\, z`, B, h\</tt>;
 * 5 voiced stops; <tt>d, g, </tt>J<tt>\, d`, b</tt>;
 * 5 nasals; <tt>n, N, J, n`, m</tt>; and
 * 4 laterals; <tt>l, 5, L, l`</tt>.

In tabular form, the consonants of Reptigan are;

What Became of the "Lost" Consonants

 * 1) The semivowels were usually re-analyzed, usually either as the closest vowels, or as the closest fricatives.
 * 2) The rhotics were usually re-analyzed, usually either as the or as the closest fricatives, or as the closest stops.
 * 3) The dentals were usually re-analyzed, usually as the closest alveolars.
 * 4) The labiodentals were usually re-analyzed as the closest bilabials.  Sometimes apparently a two-step reanalysis occurred; the labiodental was first reanalyzed as the closest dental, then that dental was reanalyzed as the closest alveolar.
 * 5) The palato-alveolars were usually re-analyzed, usually as either the closest palatals or as the closest alveolars.

Where did the "New" Consonants Come From
I do not yet know.

Laterals
Reptigan is unusual in having four laterals rather than only one.

Voiced Glottal Fricative
The sound [<tt>h\</tt>] is a difficult one for many foreign speakers to make; the difference between this sound and the other two glottalics is sometimes difficult for foreigners to distinguish.

The Vowels of Reptigan
If languages are ranked by the sizes of their vowel inventories into "small", "medium", and "large", then Reptigan has a large-sized inventory of vowels.

Reptigan has thirty-six (36) vowels, whereas Old Adpihi had only five vowels. Reptigan has 12 close or high vowels, 12 mid vowels, and 12 open or low vowels. Reptigan has 12 front vowels, 12 central vowels, and 12 back vowels. Reptigan has 9 vowels that are unrounded and with relaxed tongue-root; 9 vowels that are rounded and with relaxed tongue-root; 9 vowels that are unrounded and with advanced tongue-root; and 9 vowels that are rounded and with advanced tonge-root.

Both the Rounded/Unrounded and the Widened/Unwidened Distinctions
Many foreigners have trouble telling the difference between a "widened" version and a "rounded" version of what is otherwise the same vowel. Also, many foreigners, even if they can tell the difference between "widened" and "rounded", have trouble telling whether a vowel is both "widened" and "rounded" or just "widened"; or both "widened" and "rounded or just "rounded".

The Phonotactics of Reptigan
Reptigan does not allow gemination at all.

Reptigan does not allow two consecutive consonants at the same place of articulation, without an intervening vowel.

Reptigan also has a high-priority violable constraint against two consecutive consonants with the same manner of articulation; but notice that a difference in voicing counts as a different manner of articulation. So, for instance, a mute fricative and a voiced fricative count as different manners of articulation; and a mute stop and a voiced stop also count as different manners of articulation.

Reptigan's Syllable Structure
All Reptigan syllables fit the pattern: (C)(C)V(V)(C)(C)

Sonority
There is a sonority scale among Reptigan's consonants; 1. Stops and Plosives 2. Fricatives 3. Nasals 4. Laterals

If two consonants both occur in a syllable, then the one closer to the vowel(s) must be more sonorant than the one further away from the vowel(s). So onsets must have rising sonority, and codas must have falling sonority. It is possible for two consonants in a syllable to be equally close to, or equally far away from, the vowel(s); provided, that they are on opposite sides of the vowel(s), that is, that one is in the onset and the other is in the coda. If this happens, the one in the onset must be more sonorant than the one in the coda.

Most Common Syllable Types
Far and away the most common type of syllable in Reptigan is: Also quite common are:
 * CV.
 * V
 * VC
 * CVC
 * CCV.

Syllables with diphthongal nuclei tended to diminish from Adpihi by the time of Reptigan; so, also, did syllable codas containing clusters of consonants.

Many of the older diphthongs were re-interpreted as one of the newer monophthongs. Many of the diphthongs had an epenthetic glottal inserted between the vowels. In some cases one of the vowels metathesized with a neighboring consonant. In some cases one of the vowels was simply dropped. And, of course, in some cases no sound change was made.

Many of the older consonant clusters were re-interpreted as one of the newer stand-alone consonants. Many of the consonant clusters, especially the clusters in the codas, had an epenthetic vowel inserted between the consonants. In some cases one of the consonants metathesized with a neighboring vowel; sometimes this resulted in the cluster being in the onset instead of in the coda. In some cases one of the consonants was simply dropped from the cluster. And in some cases no sound change was made.