Garlamthar

Garlamthar language (the transliteration of the ideograms is Gār Lăm THâŗ, meaning "High Language of the Thars") is de facto the official language of the Confederated Tribes of Vvorash, or at least considered a major language in the country, while it is locally considered a minor language in the bordering region of Kajame (Hmiir). It is also spoken in the few orcish settlements and communities around the world (thâŗjārkō͂sh).

Classification and Dialects
Garlamthar is considered a thar language belonging to the Sanivarthin group. It belongs to the Orcish languages family, and has strong connections with other languages of the same family, such as Gemvema, Dorgushalt and Norsuns (sometimes even considered "variations" of the same language). In spite of these similarities, which make the four languages mutually understandable, there are sometimes big differences concerning, for example, writing systems or grammar.

Even though the different dialects in Garlamthar language have same grammatical rules and same phonology, they differentiate for the way the ideograms are read: for example, the ideogram meaning "house" is read źā͂r in the south-central area of Vvorash, while it is read ćā͂ŗ on the east mountains and tsē in the north.

Lămgòj
Garlamthar language is mostly an oral language. Not many people can actually write in Garlamthar: only those who belong to the highest classes in the society are taught how to write the ideograms. In fact, Garlamthar language does not have an alphabet, but a very ancient logographic system called Lămgòj (language-hand).

Transliteration
There have been many attempts to transliterate the Lămgòj ideograms into other alphabets, especially Kahaym alphabet (latin). The most used transliterating system is called Gŭrkhā͂im and provides letters from latin alphabet with the use of some diacritics, especially for tones (see below).


 * Consonants


 * Vowels


 * Double-vowels*


 * *These are not diphthongs, but single vowel sounds which are transliterated into a group of vowels divided by an apostrophe. They are therefore considered as one vowel.

Phonotactics
The syllable in Garlamthar (which consists actually of one word/ideogram) can be described as CCVVCC, even though no syllable can have two consonants in the "onset" and "coda" at the same time: it can only be CCVVC (as in kráil, "painting") or CVVCC (as in thôŗj, "to hear" - "th" is considered as one consonant since it is pronounced as one sound /tθ/).

There are also other limitations:
 * The "nucleus" can have one or two vowels if alone (V: ă, "right" as in an exclamation - VV: aó, "well" or "to greet");
 * If there are one or two consonants only in the "onset" or in the "coda", the vowel in the "nucleus" can be only one (CV: kā, "to think" - VCC: àŗj, "to swear")

Therefore, the possible syllable structures are: V; VV; CV; CCV; VC; VCC; CVC; CVVC; CVCC; CVVCC; CCVC; CCVVC.

Tones
In Garlamthar language there are seven tones (six proper tones and one neutral tone).