Scekoah Faraneit

This is the dialect of Faraneit spoken in the city of Scekoah and throughout the Northwestern area of Lescealh.

Phonology

	Bilabial	Labio-Dental	Alveolar	Post-Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular
Stop	p  b		t  d			k	q
Nasal	m		n
Fricative		f  v	s  z	[ʃ]  ʒ	ç	x	χ
Lateral Flap			ɬ l

• The phonemicity of [ʃ] is highly in doubt as it only contrasts with /ʒ/ prior to /a/, and only contrasts with /ç/ word finally.

• Monophthongs: /a ɛ e ɪ i ɔ o ʊ u/
• Diphthongs: [ə ia) ua) ai) ei) au) ou)]
  • The phonemicity of these is in doubt because they only appear directly prior to /χ/

• Allophony:
  • /si zi ti di/ > [ɕi ʑi tɕ)i ʑi]
  • /f s/ > [v z] medially
  • /b d v z ʒ/ > [p t f s ʃ] word finally
  • /ni/ > /ɲi/
  • /'a 'e 'o/ > [a: e: o:]
  • Other vowels slightly center when stressed
  • /xa/ > [χa]

Colloquial Register

In the colloquial register, however, /χ/ not only deletes but often signifies where to split a morpheme or word, dropping the half following the /χ/ as well as that phoneme itself. As such, the diphthongs may be analyzed as phonemic as they then contrast with other vowels.

However, this innovation is not present outside of Scekoah itself, and there is indisputably relagated to the colloquial register.

Lhezoat Dialect

In the city of Lhezoat, a single shift has radically altered the vowel system. The vowel clusters /ei eɪ/ became analyzed as [e:] and /ou oʊ/ as [o:], regardless of stress. As a result, these two new phonemes add a dimension of vowel length to the system. Interestingly, the distinction between them and their "short" equivalents is very precarious, as both /'e 'e:/ are realized as [e:].

Additionally, unstressed, word terminal /a ə/ delete, strengthening any argument of phonemicity of [ʃ], as it then contrasts with /ʒ/ from earlier /ʒa ʒə/ as well as /ç/.

Grammatically, the only true deviation from Scekoah Faraneit is the very archaic preferance for teareipeas to be used solely as a noun meaning other people or other thing(s), rather than a fully fledged fourth person. For instance,

Boaneicojoah tip dekein, teareipeas.
boaneic-o-j-oah tip dekein, teareipeas.
eat-RPAST-REAL-3P 3P.P.NOM 3P.S.INANI.ACC, other(s).
They ate it, the other people (did).

As opposed to a more SLF-like construction, where teareipeas would be treated like the actual subject.

Lhezoat Faraneit, in fact, is so prominently V1, that extremely important adverbs (such as zah) are often relegated to following it. Producing extremely unique sentence orders, such as,

Boaneicejeih zah hav dekein.
boaneic-e-j-eih zah hav dekein.
eat-PRES-REAL-1P NEG 1P.S.NOM 3P.S.INANI.ACC
I'm not eating it.

Such forms are uncommon through out the rest of the Scekoah Faraneit speaking region, but extremely common in Lhezoat.

Cohut Dialect

In this smaller still settlement, the interesting development is the alternatively development of /au) ai)/ which became /ɑ: æ:/ combined with the realization of /χ/ as [χ h] or dropped in free variation, making this semi-phonemic, in addition to all of the various other diphthongs (none of the others of which are transformed into long monophthongs as of yet).

Grammatically, the Cohut Dialect shares the Lhezoat trait of demoting teareipeas to simply a common noun, but also breaks from standard Scekoah Faraneit by permitting subject fronting, which all other forms do not permit almost dogmatically. Instead, object fronting is merely preferred to subject fronting while both are accepted. For instance,

Hav sineih mokein.
hav s-i-n-eih mokein.
1P.S.NOM hit-FUT-IRR-1P 2P.S.ACC
I may go hit you.

is just as acceptable as

Mokein sineih hav.
mokein s-i-n-eih hav.
2P.S.ACC hit-FUT-IRR-1P 1P.S.NOM
I may go hit you.

although the second is more commonly used, because

Sineih hav mokein.
hit-FUT-IRR-1P 1P.S.NOM 2P.S.ACC
I may go hit you.

the unmarked form, is just viewed as stressing the subject too.

Sound Changes from Standard Lescealh Faraneit

• l ɭ > ɬ ɬ˞ > l ɬ˞ > l ɬ
• aʀ ɛʀ eʀ ɪʀ iʀ > æɐ)ʀ əʀ eɛ)ʀ əʀ iɪʀ > ai)χ əχ ei)χ əχ ia)χ
• ɔʀ oʀ ʊʀ uʀ > ɑɐ)ʀ oɔ)ʀ ɘʀ uʊ)ʀ > au)χ ou)χ ɘχ ua)χ
• ʀ > χ
• θ ð > s z
• si zi ti di > ɕi ʑi tɕ)i ʑi
• VsV VfV > z v
• d# b# v# z# ʒ# > t p f s ʃ

Grammatical Differences

Grammatically, Scekoah Faraneit is a mishmash of the conservative and the innovative. Like a preservation of early Faraneit, pronouns are dropped only when they are more than understood but were used in the prior clause and the imperative mood is alive and well both in speech and writing.

But Scekoah Faraneit is far from the Lithuanian of the Faraneit dialects, as it incorporates a number of strange structures. For instance, instead of the Standard Faraneit:

Kejeihav her.
k-e-j-eih-(h)av her.
be-PRES-REAL-1P-1P.S happy.
I'm happy.

The speakers would say-

Bafhejoah lepir fheis hav.
bafh-e-j-oah lepir fheis hav.
rest-PRES-REAL-3P joy inside 1P-S-NOM
Joy sits inside me.

Alluding to the Quechua-esque association of behind with the future and before with the past, the verb in such a phrase wouldn't be conjugated in a seperate tense to show a past or future experience of happiness. Instead-

Bafhejoah searisc seih nor.
bafh-e-j-oah searisc seih nor.
rest-PRES-REAL-3P craziness behind 2P.S.NOM
You will be crazy.
(lit: Craziness rests behind you.)

Bafhejoah keusceh zeih hav.
bafh-e-j-oah keusceh zeih hav.
rest-PRES-REAL-3P sadness before 1P.S.NOM
I was sad.
(lit: Sadness rests in front of you).

These constructions are not found in any other dialect of Faraneit, or even elsewhere within the Rajo-Faraneit family. Elsewhere, seih or its equivalent can mark phrases as being in the future or objects as being in back of something, but not this situation. The exact same usage of zeih is also lacking.

Similarly unusually, the verb kej, to be, is not used in full in other contexts either. Instead, a situation similar to rej in Central Lescealh Faraneit exists. For example:

Qidiseiheakejeaheaz.
qidiseih-ea-k-e-j-ea-heaz.
soldier-GEN-be-PRES-REAL-GEN-1P.S.GEN
I am (a/the) soldier.

Interestingly (and identically to the treatment of rej in Central Lescealh Faraneit) the verb-noun can still be placed into a specific tense, aspect, or mood.

Raceumibeakojeameareas.
raceumi-b-ea-k-o-j-ea-meareas.
child-PLUR-GEN-be-RPAST-REAL-GEN-2P.PLUR.GEN
You were children.

Deicealeakeneadeis.
deiceal-ea-k-e-n-ea-deis.
alcohol-GEN-be-PRES-IRR-GEN-3P.S.GEN
It might be alcohol.

Fronting of any of the various complements is much less rare than in other dialects, which, while often misidentified as a conservative feature, is actually rather innovative. Instead of fronting a prepositional phrase to the beginning of the clause, it is often slotted after the verb, producing a word order often thought of as weird by other Faraneit speakers-

Boaneiciteih (fheis boaneic) feareih hacaz.
boaneic-i-t-eih (fheis boaneic) feareih hacaz.
eat.FUT.OPT-1P (inside restaurant) 1P.PLUR.INCL.NOM meat
We should go eat the meat (inside the restaurant).

In fact, this dialect is so strongly VS that OVS constructions are preferred over SVO constructions. For example, a Scekoah Faraneit speaker would rather say-

Hin hazejih nor.
hin haz-e-j-ih nor.
1P.S.ACC hurt-PRES-REAL-2P 2P.S.NOM
You are hurting me.

than with the subject fronted and the object behind the verb, how nearly every other dialect of Faraneit prefers it.