Aran (pronounced /'eɪr-ɪn/ or /'æˌræn/) is a language created by me, for me, and with the help of me. It may sound a bit like Irish, and although that's what I based the pronunciation on, the grammar was created without inspiration from another language.
Pronunciation[]
Word Stress[]
The primary stress of a word is on the first syllable. If the stress is put on another syllable, the first letter of that syllable is capitalized. For example, the name maRach.
Vowels[]
Aran has long and short vowels, with long ones being indicated by a grave accent over the letter. Some of them are pronounced differently when touching a high or low consonant. If a letter is touching both, the high overpowers the low.
High Consonant[]
Long vowels:[]
- à - eɪ as in say
- è - e as in ten
- ì - i as in free
- ò - oʊ as in vote
- ù - u as in actual
Short vowels:[]
- a - æ as in cat
- e - (ə) as in battle or ə as in banana
- i - ɪ as in sit
- o - ɔ as in bot
- u - ʊ as in put
Low Consonant[]
Long vowels:[]
- à - eɪ as in say (same)
- è - i as in tiny
- ì - aɪ as in fry
- ò - oʊ as in vote (same)
- ù - u as in actual (same)
Short vowels:[]
- a - ɑ as in caught
- e - (ə) as in battle or ə as in banana (same)
- i - ɪ as in sit (same)
- o - ɔ as in bot (same)
- u - ə as in cut (same)
Consonants[]
Aran consonants can change the way vowels are pronounced. They are split into two groups, High consonants and Low consonants.
High Consonants[]
B C D G K P T W Y
Low Consonants[]
F H J L M N R S V
Inflections[]
Plural Words[]
If the last letter is a consonant, the vowel before it is removed. If this is not pronouncable, the vowel is replaced by an è, or an 'i' if the letter is already an è.
Examples[]
tòlèm - tòlm
nìsìn - nìsèn
Gender[]
There are many rules about gender.
- To show gender, the consonant closest to the middle is changed, or has a letter added before or after it.
- If there are two consonants touching, this affects both.
- If the two closest ones are not touching, whichever one is stressed is changed. (If none are stressed, change the first one.)
- Two consonants that make one sound are treated as one.
- If the letter added is the same as the one before or after it, remove the letter.
- If two letters are added before another, whichever one goes directly before is second.
- All changes are made at the same time. For example, if an M was replaced with R, and a T was added before the M, you would get TR.
- Multiple changes can be made, such as race and sex.
For example, tòrm, the word for historian.
Sex[]
- tòm (R added directly before letter) - male
- tòtfrm (TF added directly before letter) - female
Race[]
- tò (letter replaced with M) - human
- tòlm (letter replaced with L) - elf
- tòdm (letter replaced with D) - dwarf
- tògm (letter replaced with G) - halfling
- tòcm (letter replaced with C) - orc, goblin, or similar monster
Others[]
- tòlèm (È added directly after letter) - half human (in this case, half human and elf)
Examples[]
Human male historian - tòrmm - tòr /rtoʊ/
Dwarven female historian - tòtfdm /'toʊθˌd(ə)m/
Orcish male historian - tòrcm /'toʊˌc(ə)m/
Case[]
There is only one change in case in Aran, which I've shown below.
For example, nìsìn, the word for kitten.
- nìsìtf (last two letters and any vowels directly before them replaced with ìtf) - subject or nominative - the world (is, does, ...)
- nìsìn (same) - object or accusative - (something affects) the world
- nìsìn (same) - vocative - O world!
- nìsìn (same) - possessive or genitive - the world’s
- nìsìn (same) - indirect object or dative - (given, sold, etc.) to the world
- nìsìtf (last two letters and any vowels directly before them replaced with ìtf) - ablative - (something is done) by the world
Word Roots[]
In Aran, all words come from roots. The roots are listed below, organised into categories. The roots are one syllable, with very few exceptions.
People[]
tar - male
tùr - female
fèr - human
tìs - elf
dùr - dwarf
hal - halfling
gaì - gnome
drùc - dragon
Colors[]
ac - black
rù - white
ar - grey