Novelatine phonology

Novelatine phonology includes all ortographical and phonetical rules which are part of the Novelatine language.

Ortography

Novelatine ortography is partially based on standard Italian ortography, while a large part of it was developped independently.

Letter	IPA pron.	X-Sampa pron.	Note and English or other approximation
A, a	[a]	[a]	as in Scottish or Irish stack
B, b	[b]	[b]	as in back
C, c	1.[k] 2.[ʧ]	1.[k] 2.[tS]	1. before any consonant, the vowels a, o, ô, u, as in kiss 2. before the vowels e, i and the semivowel y, as in chip
D, d	[d]	[d]	as in admit
E, e	1.[ɛ] (stressed) 2.[e] (unstressed) 3.[ə] (final)	1.[E] 2.[e] 3.[@]	1. always in stressed syllables, as in North American English bed 2. always in unstressed syllables (see note), as in British English dress 3. only in the Eastern dialect, in final syllables, as in about
Ê, ê	1.[ɛ̃] (stressed) 2.[ẽ] (unstressed)	1.[E˜] 2.[e˜]	similar to French brin (The two variants follow the same rules of distribution of the letter e)
F, f	[f]	[f]	as in fine
G, g	1.[g] 2.[ʤ]	1.[g] 2.[dZ]	1. before any consonant, the vowels a, o, ô, u, as in gun 2. before the vowels e, i and the semivowel y, as in jump
H, h	[-]	[-]	it has no sound, it is only used with other letters to express other sounds.
I, i	[i]	[i]	as in North American English free
J, j	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
K, k	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
L, l	1.[l] 2.[ʎ]	1.[l] 2.[L]	1. only the clear L, as in let, never dark L 2. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in Spanish millón or in Italian figlio
M, m	[m]	[m]	as in map
N, n	1.[n] 2.[ŋ] 3.[ɱ] 4.[ɲ]	1.[n] 2.[N] 3.[F] 4.[J]	1. as in nine 2. before k and g (see note), as in sing 3. before f and v (see note), as in symphony 4. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in Spanish niño or in Italian bagno or in French agneau
O, o	1.[ɔ] (stressed) 2.[o] (unstressed)	1.[O] 2.[o]	1. always in stressed syllables, as in North American English thought 2. always in unstressed syllables (see note), as in Australian English thought
Ô, ô	1.[ɔ̃] (stressed) 2.[õ] (unstressed)	1.[O˜] 2.[o˜]	similar to French bon (The two variants follow the same rules of distribution of the letter o)
P, p	[p]	[p]	as in speed
Q, q	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
R, r	[r]	[r]	rolled R, as in Italian terra or in Spanish perro it can also play the role of a vowel, appearing in the end of a word without a vowel.
S, s	1.[s] 2.[z] 3.[ʃ]	1.[s] 2.[z] 3.[S]	1. in initial position, before any voiceless consonant, and in final position, as in salt 2. in intervocalic position, and before every voiced consonant(see note), as in rose 3. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in show
T, t	[t]	[t]	as in tick
U, u	[u]	[u]	as in North American English goose
V, v	1. [v] 2. [ʊ̯] (final)	1.[v] 2.[U]	1. as in valve 2. only in the Eastern dialect, when is in final position, as in hook, but with a labiodental closure.
W, w	[w]	[w]	as in weep
X, x	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
Y, y	1.[j] 2.[-]	1.[j] 2.[-]	1. as in you 2. only in the Eastern dialect, when is after l, n, and s, it is soundless.
Z, z	1.[ʦ] 2.[ʣ]	1.[ts] 2.[dz]	1. as in German Zehn 2. as in Italian zero (see note for more info about their occurence)

Notes on orthography

• Initial stops b [k], c [k], d [d], g [g], p [p] and t [t] are never aspirated.

• Voiceless intervocalic stops c [k], p [p] and t [t] are never voiced.

• The letter c represents two different sounds. When it is followed by a consonant, or the vowel a, o, ô or u, it represents the consonant [k]:

can [ˈkan]

cô [kõ]

cru [ˈkru]

it represent [k] also when in final position:

loc [ˈlɔk]

it represents the sound [ʧ] when followed by e, ê, i and y:

ciwta [ˈʧiwta]

vyice [ˈvjiʧe]

êwcyô [ẽˈwʧjõ]

if we want c to represent the sound [k] before one of the previous sounds, a mute h is inserted.

alchies [alˈkies]

brachyô [ˈbrakjõ]

• The letter e can represent two different sounds, [e] and [ɛ]. It is pronounced as [ɛ] only when e is stressed. As the stress can move on different syllables, for example in verbal conjugation, the pronunciation of e can change:

leger [leˈʤer]: lege [ˈlɛʤe] - legim [leˈʤim]

Not every stressed e must be pronounced as [ɛ]. These instances are largely unpredictable, but a large number of stressed e has to be pronounced as [ɛ]. A classic instance is the infinitival stressed verbal ending -er, which has always to be pronounced [er].

moner [moˈner]

The same rules applies to ê, which can represent [ẽ] and [ɛ̃].

In the Eastern dialect, a final e (IPA: [e]), tends to be pronounced as [ə], (it is said to be reduced), and when it is an e mobile, in -er endings, if unstressed:

lupe W: [ˈlupe] / E: [ˈlupə]

rose W: [ˈrɔze] / E: [ˈrɔzə]

veter W: [ˈvɛter] / E: [ˈvɛtər]

• The letter g represents two different sounds. When it is followed by a consonant, or the vowel a, o, ô or u, it represents the consonant [g]:

gawdyô [ˈgawdjõ]

agorafobia [agoˌrafoˈbia]

grôd [ˈgrɔ̃d]

it represent [g] also when in final position:

ewig [eˈwig]

it represents the sound [ʤ] when followed by e, ê, i and y:

agiw [ˈaʤiw]

geno [ˈʤɛno]

môgyar [mõˈʤjar]

if we want g to represent the sound [g] before one of the previous sounds, a mute h is inserted.

• In the Eastern dialect, when a l (IPA: [l]) is followed by a y, it tends to be pronounced as [ʎ], (it is said to be palatalized), while the y is not pronounced anymore:

côsilyô W: [kõˈsiljõ] / E: [kõˈsiʎõ]

milyô W: [miˈljõ] / E: [miˈʎõ]

• The letter n can represent three different sounds, [n], [ŋ] and [ɱ].

It is pronounced as [ŋ] only when it is followed by the consonants c (with the value of [k]) and g (with the value of [g]). It has the normal pronounce when is followed by [ʧ] and [ʤ]. As usually n disappeared and nasalized the previous vowel before a consonant during the historical language development, it is a rare sound, found only in loanwords.

It should be noted that [ŋ] is not an independent sound, as in English, and that the group ng has to be pronounced [ŋg] or [nʤ].

It is pronounced as [ɱ] only when it is followed by the consonants f ([f]) v ([v]). As usually n disappeared and nasalized the previous vowel before a consonant during the historical language development, it is a rare sound, found only in loanwords.

In the Eastern dialect, when a n (IPA: [n]) is followed by a y, it tends to be pronounced as [ɲ], (it is said to be palatalized), while the y is not pronounced anymore:

punya W: [ˈpunya] / E: [ˈpuɲa]

aragnyowa W: [aˈragnjowa] / E: [aˈragɲowa]

• The letter o can represent two different sounds, [o] and [ɔ]. It is pronounced as [ɔ] only when o is stressed. As the stress can move on different syllables, for example in verbal conjugation, the pronunciation of o can change:

orar [oˈrar]: ore [ˈɔre] - orem [oˈrɛm]

Not every stressed o must be pronounced as [ɔ]. These instances are largely unpredictable, but a large number of stressed o has to be pronounced as [ɔ]. Some verbal roots can preserve the [o] pronunciation during conjugation:

vowar [voˈwar]: vowe [ˈvowe] - vowem [voˈwɛm]

The same rules applies to ô, which can represent [õ] and [ɔ̃].

• The letter s represents two different sounds. When it is in initial position followed by a voiceless consonant or by a vowel, inside the word followed or preceded by a consonat, or in final position, it represents the consonant [s]:

saw [ˈsaw]

spwêdye [ˈspwɛ̃dje]

serpês [ˈsɛrpẽs]

if it is inside the word between two vowels, or followed by a voiced consonant, also in initial position, it represents the consonant [z]:

rosa [ˈrɔza]

êsuwa [ˈɛ̃zuwa]

during some morphological processes, a [s] could be added after a velar stop ([t] or [d]): when this occurs, [s] merges with these two consonant forming the affricate consonants [ʦ] and [ʣ] respectively, both represented by z:

root sawut- + ending -s → sawuz [ˈsawuʦ]

root lyibertad- + ending -s → lyibertaz [ljiberˈtaʣ]

In the Eastern dialect, when a s (IPA: [s]) is followed by a y, it tends to be pronounced as [ʃ], (it is said to be palatalized), while the y is not pronounced anymore:

syor W: [sjor] / E: [ʃor]

caysyô W: [kajˈsjõ] / E: [kajˈʃõ]

• In the Eastern dialect, when a v (IPA: [v]) is in final position, it tends to be pronounced as [ʊ̯]:

brev W: [ˈbrɛv] / E: [ˈbrɛʊ̯]

biv W: [ˈbiv] / E: [ˈbiʊ̯]

W: Cwo fac? Biv [ˈkwɔ ˈfak ˈbiv] / E: Cwo fa? Biv [ˈkwɔ ˈfa ˈbiʊ̯] What is he/she doing? He/she is drinking

Since it becomes more like a semivowel, it does not count as a separate syllable. When the final v is followed by another word (without a pause), with an initial vowel, it is pronounced [v], since it is felt as united with the next word:

E: brev [ˈbrɛʊ̯] / brev côcyô [ˌbrɛʊ̯ kõˈʧjõ] / brev oracyô [ˌbrɛv oraˈʧjõ]

Stress

Stress is not fixed in Novelatine, but it usually may fall on the last (leger, [leˈʤer]) or the penultimate (rosa, [ˈrɔza] syllable of a word, more rarely on the third (ceweber, [ˈʧɛweber]/[ˈʧɛwebər] syllable from the last one.

As stress is not indicated in written texts, this feature is maybe the most difficult to learn.

The position of stress within a word is not exactly predictable, but it usually follows these general rules:

• The penultimate syllable is stressed when the word ends with a vowel or with -s
• The ultimate vowel is stressed when the word ends with a consonant, except for -s

There are, however, many exceptions to these rules:

1. Some nouns and adjectives, ending in a vowel, are stressed on the last syllable (yuvêtu [juvẽˈtu] - these nouns have often lost a final consonant, which is usually restored in other cases: yuvêtudê [juvẽˈtudẽ]).
2. Some nouns and adjectives, ending with the -er group, with mobile e, are stressed on the penultimate (or third from the last) syllable (veter, [ˈvɛter]/[ˈvɛtər]).
3. The infinitival forms of some III conjugation verbs is not stressed on the last syllable, as its rule would require (perder [ˈpɛrder]).
4. All 3rd plural person verbal forms are stressed on the penultimate (or third from the last) syllable, even if all of them end in -t (the stressed syllable is usually the same of the 3rd singular person). (amêt, [ˈamẽt], cewebrêt, [ˈʧɛwebrẽt]).

Sound inventory

Consonants

This is the consonant system in the IPA consonant table:

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labio- dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal		Velar
Plosive	p	b					t	d					k	g
Nasal		m		[ɱ]1			n					(ɲ)		[ŋ]2
Vibrant								r
Fricative			f	v			s	z	(ʃ)
Affricate							ʦ	ʥ	tʃ	dʒ
Approximants		(ʊ̯)										j		w
Lateral approximants								l				(ʎ)

The phonemes inside round brackets belong only to Eastern dialect phonology.

• 1: Allophone of [m] before labiodental consonants
• 2: Allophone of [n] before velar consonant

Vowels

This is the vowel system in the IPA vowel table:

Vowels
			Front		Central				Back
High			i							u
High-Mid			e/ẽ							o/õ
Mid					(ə)
Low-Mid			ɛ/ɛ̃							ɔ/ɔ̃
Low					a

The phonemes inside round brackets belong only to Eastern dialect phonology.