Miyu
Introduction
Miyu is an attempt to have a minimalist artlang in the spirit of Toki Pona that affords speakers more nuance, even with a reduced number of morphemes. Strict word order and and word compounding allow Miyu to be expansive and specific when necessary. Strict use of syntactic and lexical particles help to reduce sematic ambiguities.
Some key features:
- Subject-Verb-Object word order
- Highly analytical grammar
- Invariable lexemes
- Only 14 (base) sounds, 9 consonants, and 5 vowels
- Simple phonotactics, or syllable structure (C)V(N)
- Only ~1000 core morphemes
- Easy-to-follow word compounding
- Source languages are widely spoken/used
Phonology
Miyu has nine consonants (/p, t, k, s, m, n, l, j, w/) and five vowels (/a, e, i, o, u/). Stress is word final.
consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j (y) |
vowels
Vowels in stressed syllables tend to be tense, and likewise unstressed ones tend to be more lax. Thus, for example, /i/ is realized as [i] or [ɪ] in stressed and unstressed syllables, respectively. Likewise, /e/ is realized as [e] or [ɛ], and so on.
| Vowels | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i~ɪ | u~ʊ |
| Mid | e~ɛ | o~ɔ |
| Open | a~ə | |
diphthongs
There are two diphthongs [ai̯] ai, and [au̯] au. These typically occur word-finally.
syllable structure
All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN.
syllables
| -a | -ai | -au | -an | -e | -en | -i | -in | -o | -on | -u | -un | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅- | a | ai | au | an | e | en | i | in | o | on | u | un |
| p- | pa | pai | pau | pan | pe | pen | pi | pin | po | pon | pu | pun |
| t- | ta | tai | tau | tan | te | ten | ti | tin | to | ton | tu | tun |
| k- | ka | kai | kau | kan | ke | ken | ki | kin | ko | kon | ku | kun |
| m- | ma | mai | mau | man | me | men | mi | min | mo | mon | mu | mun |
| n- | na | nai | nau | nan | ne | nen | ni | nin | no | non | nu | nun |
| s- | sa | sai | sau | san | se | sen | si | sin | so | son | su | sun |
| l- | la | lai | lau | lan | le | len | li | lin | lo | lon | lu | lun |
| w- | wa | wai | – | wan | we | wen | wi | win | – | – | – | – |
| y- | ya | – | yau | yan | ye | yen | – | – | yo | yon | yu | yun |
phonotactics
A few syllables sequences are disallowed; /ji, wu, wo/. Also, a syllable-final nasal may not occur before /m/ or /n/ in the same root.
