Napkožæc

Napkožæc
Pronounced:	/nɑp.ˈko.tsɛtʃ/
Timeline and Universe:	Alternate Earth, modern era
Species:	Human (Napž)
Spoken:	Napž-tawra
Total speakers:	unknown
Writing system:	Napžic script
Genealogy:	Indo-European  Indo-Napžic   Napkožæc
Typology
Morphological type:	Fusional
Basic word order:	SVO
Credits
Creator:	DiZ
Created:	late 2006 - early 2007

Napkožæc (literally "language of the Cloud-walkers") is an ancient tongue spoken by the Napž people.

History

Napkožæc branched off from the Indo-Napžic language group, leaving the remainder of Indo-Napžic languages obsolete. Subsequently, Napkožæc went through many historical transitions before its current form. Nonetheless, the language has changed relatively little; many of its linguistic roots are still wholly obvious in modern words.

Vocabulary

Due to the prolonged isolation and unusual environmental influences on culture to the Napž, their language developed a distinct and sporadic lexicon, with many etymologies completely unknown to even the elders, though traces of an original Indo-European proto-language are still apparent in many of their words, such as twra (three).

A large number of Napkožæc words are influenced by the Napž's spiritual beliefs, such as the word Wi-las, their word for "moon". It literally means "Far One", referring to the Napž's deification of the moon and veneration of all things distant and unknown. The sun and moon were at the center of their mystic beliefs.

For a Napkožæc - English dictionary, see Napkožæc lexicon.

Alphabet

Napkožæc is usually written in the Napžic cuneiform script. However, the language can be transliterated into the Latin alphabet using digaphs and diacritics that correspond to character combinations in Napkožæc. For the purposes of convenience, the majority of words will be written using this transliterated Latinized form. The alphabet is as follows:

Aa Ââ Ææ Bb Cc Dd Ðð Ee Êê Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Ôô Pp Rr Ss Šš Tt Uu Vv Ww Zz Žž Þþ 

With three additional graphemes:

Dd, Ng, Wr

These graphemes, while they represent their own distinct sounds, are treated as separate letters in accordance with the original Napžic script.

Phonology

Napkožæc has many voiceless stops, t, k, p, as well as fricatives. As a general rule, voiced consonant stops rarely if ever occur in the middle of words or at the end of syllables. (I am not experienced with use of the IPA alphabet. If you see an error, do not hesitate to fix it, or leave a message on my talk page.)

Vowels

A - /ɑ/ father
 - /æ/ sat
Æ - /ɛ/ bed
E - /e/
Ê - /ɪ/ pit
I - /i/ meet
O - /o/
Ô - /ə/ - when stressed, /ʌ/ run
U - /u/ too

Consonants

B - /b/ bite
C - /tʃ/ cheat
D - /d/ den
Ð - /ð/ then
F - /f/ fire
G - /g/ gut
H - /h/ harm
J - /j/ your
K - /k/ cast
L - /l/ lie
M - /m/ mine
N - /n/ no
P - /p/ pit
R - /r/ rolled R
S - /s/ say
Š - /ʃ/ shine
T - /t/ ten
V - (see below)
W - /w/ week
Z - /z/ zoo
Ž - /ts/ mats
Þ - /θ/ thin
Dd - /d/ as in ladder, add
Ng - /ŋ/ long
Wr - /ɺ/ rock

The letter V

V is a tricky sound in the Napkožæc language. The sound evolved from /v/, though the modern sound is more similar to /ʍ/, with the teeth closer to the lips, making it sound remotely like an f. Another unique feature of V is that its sound changes depending on the letter that follows it.

vr - /f/
vwr - /h/
vl - /v/ (as in English vein)

(The second letter is still pronounced)

Lexicon

Main article: Napkožæc lexicon