Neckthai
| Neckthai | |
|---|---|
| Nékthij | |
| Created by | IlL |
| Setting | Ħérestem |
| Native speakers | 50 million (2200 v.C.) |
Isolate
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Neckthai (native name Nékthij) is the official language of Nekthijmien or Neckthailand (the demonym in English is Necktie).
Phonology
Consonants
Initials
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ng /ŋ/ | ||||
| Plosive | plain | p /p/ | t /t/ | tj /tɕ/ | k /k/ | /ʔ/ | |
| aspirated | ph /pʰ/ | th /tʰ/ | thj /tɕʰ/ | kh /kʰ/ | |||
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | |||||
| Fricative | v /f/ | z /s/ | g, sch /x/ | h /h/ | |||
| Trill/App. | w /w/ | j /j/ | r /ʀ~ʁ/ | ||||
| Lat. app. | l /l/ | ||||||
Allowed initial clusters: pl, phl, vl, pr, phr, vr, tr, thr, kl, khl, gl, kr, khr, gr, kw, khw, gw
Many speakers in the capital merge the pairs /pʀ pʰʀ/, /tʀ tʰʀ/, and /kʀ kʰʀ/. Some dialects merge /ʀ-/ and /ŋ-/ into a nasalized uvular flap /ʀ̆ⁿ/ or approximant /ʁ̃/.
Finals
| Labial | Alveolar | Dorsal | Laryngeal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m [m] | n, l [n] | ng, r [ŋ] | ||
| Plosive | p [p̚] | t [t̚] | k [k̚] | ' [ʔ] | |
| Trill/App. | (uw [w]) | (i [j]) | |||
Vowels
Monophthongs
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i /i/ | ie /iː/ | u /ɯᵝ/ | uu /ɯᵝː/ | oe /uː/ | |
| Close-mid | e /e/ | ee /eː/ | eo /ɤ/ | eu /ɤː/ | o /o/ | oo /oː/ |
| Open-mid | æ /ɛ/ | ae /ɛː/ | ọ /ɔ/ | oa /ɔː/ | ||
| Open | a /ɐ/ | aa /aː/ | ||||
Diphthongs
| Long | Short | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Neckthai | IPA | Neckthai | IPA |
| aai | /aːj/ | ij | /aj/ |
| aauw | /aːw/ | ouw | /aw/ |
| ia | /iːa/ | ia' | /ia/ |
| – | – | ieuw | /iw/ |
| oea | /uːa/ | oea' | /ua/ |
| oei | /uːj/ | – | – |
| eeuw | /eːw/ | euw | /ew/ |
| aeuw | /ɛːw/ | – | – |
| ua | /ɯːa/ | ua' | /ɯa/ |
| eui | /ɤːj/ | ui | /ɤj/ |
| aoi | /ɔːj/ | – | – |
| ooi | /oːj/ | oi | /oj/ |
Triphthongs
| Neckthai | IPA |
|---|---|
| iauw | /iaw/ |
| oeai | /uaj/ |
| uai | /ɯaj/ |
Tones
Standard Neckthai uses 5 tones.
- Mid: raa /ʀāː/ [ʀaː˧] 'easy'
- Low: ràa /ʀàː/ [ʀaː˨˩] 'loud'
- Falling: râa /ʀâː/ [ʀaː˥˩˩] 'fruit'
- High: ráa /ʀáː/ [ʀaː˥] 'white'
- Rising: raaʔ /ʀǎː/ [ʀaː˨˩˦] 'vase'
Orthography
Neckthai is written in an abugida derived from the Netagin abjad.
A kherschàwierlie (Gerschwihrli; an analogue to the Thai thanthakhat) marks letters that are silenced in the Neckthai pronunciation of Wiobian loanwords.
Grammar
The syntax is very German-like, except that there is no case or number.