Sehali language
Sehali (Sehali: Sä̗hāli) [sjaˈħaˌlγi] is a language spoken by reptilian people of the same name. Nomadic, the Sehali are known variously as raiders, traders, and slavers, although make their home mostly in the Miuxleb Plains, controlling major tradeways between the Copper Mountains and the Great East Plateau. Their articulators differ to some extent from humans, but not so greatly that their languages are unintelligible or unlearnable to one another.
Contents
Phonology
Consonants
| Grapheme | Palatalized | Velarized | Pharyngealized |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | /bj/ | /bγ/ | /bʕ/ |
| D | /dj/ | /dγ/ | /dʕ/ |
| DZ | /dzj/ | /dzγ/ | /dzʕ/ |
| DŽ | /dʑ/ | ||
| F | /ɸj/ | /ɸγ/ | /ɸʕ/ |
| G | /gj/ | /g/ | |
| Ġ | /ɣj/ | /ɣ/ | |
| G̱ | /ʡ/ | ||
| H | /h/ | ||
| Ḥ | /ħ/ | ||
| J | /ʕ/ | ||
| K | /kj/ | /k/ | |
| L | /lj | /lγ | /ɫ/ |
| M | /mj/ | /mγ/ | /mʕ/ |
| N | /ɲ/ | /n/ | /ŋ/ |
| P | /pj/ | /pγ/ | /pʕ/ |
| Q | /qj/ | /q/ | /qʕ/ |
| R | /rj/ | /rγ/ | /rʕ/ |
| S | /sj/ | /sγ/ | /sʕ/ |
| Š | /ɕ/ | ||
| T | /tj/ | /tγ/ | /tʕ/ |
| TS | /tsj/ | /tsγ/ | /tsʕ/ |
| TŠ | /tɕ/ | ||
| W | /βj/ | /βγ/ | /βʕ/ |
| X | /xj/ | /x/ | |
| X̣ | /χj/ | /χ/ | /χʕ/ |
| Y | /j/ | ||
| Z | /zj/ | /zγ/ | /zʕ/ |
| Ž | /ʑ/ | ||
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Epiglottal | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Voiceless | Palatalized | pj | tj | kj | qj | ʔ | ||
| Velarized | pγ | tγ | k | q | |||||
| Pharyngealized | pʕ | tʕ | qʕ | ||||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | bj | dj | gj | ʡ | ||||
| Velarized | bγ | dγ | g | ||||||
| Pharyngealized | bʕ | dʕ | |||||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | Palatalized | ɸj | sj | ɕ› | xj | χj | ħ | h |
| Velarized | ɸγ | sγ | x | χ | |||||
| Pharyngealized | ɸʕ | sʕ | χʕ | ||||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | βj | zj | ʑ | ɣj | ʕ | |||
| Velarized | βγ | zγ | ɣ | ||||||
| Pharyngealized | βʕ | zʕ | |||||||
| Affricate | Voiceless | Palatalized | tsj | tɕ | |||||
| Velarized | tsγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | tsʕ | ||||||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | dzj | dʑ | ||||||
| Velarized | dzγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | dzʕ | ||||||||
| Nasal | Palatalized | mj | ɲ | ||||||
| Velarized | mγ | n | |||||||
| Pharyngealized | mʕ | ŋ | |||||||
| Trill | Palatalized | rj | |||||||
| Velarized | rγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | rʕ | ||||||||
| Approximant | Palatalized | lj | j | ||||||
| Velarized | lγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | ɫ |
Vowels
Monophthongs
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
Sehali marks secondary articulation of consonants upon vowels when Latinized. A diacritic above the vowel indicates that all consonants following that vowel are pronounced with the indicated secondary articulation. A diacritic below the vowel indicates that all consonants following and including the vowel preceding that vowel are pronounced with the indicated secondary articulation.
- Palatalization: ́a , ̗a
- Velarization: ̄a , ̠a
- Pharyngealization: ̈a , ̤a
Phonotactics
(C)V(C)
Syntax
Primarily VSO.
