Jamastulu: Difference between revisions
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y - no equivalent in English, as ü in German '''ü'''ber. (If you don't know how that sounds, round your lips while pronouncing Jamastulu i.) | y - no equivalent in English, as ü in German '''ü'''ber. (If you don't know how that sounds, round your lips while pronouncing Jamastulu i.) | ||
ö - no equivalent in English, as ö in German | ö - no equivalent in English, as ö in German sch'''ö'''n. (If you don't know how that sounds, round your lips while | ||
pronouncing Jamastulu e.) | pronouncing Jamastulu e.) | ||
Revision as of 14:30, 22 November 2004
--Kurasmanja 14:29, 22 Nov 2004 (PST)
Question: What do you get when you take phonetic features from Georgian and Czech and mix them with a phonology based on Finnish?
Answer: Jamastulu.
Jamastulu is the brainchild of Rob Hoelz, and is being created for an RPG to give one its cultures a more realistic feel. (And also to confuse the gamer!) It has an as-of-yet unnamed sister language, and both languages are descended from a conlang known as Proto-Jama until a better name is created. Rob is currently fleshing out the grammar of Proto-Jama and has already planned a great deal of sound changes to transform it into Jamastulu, and one of the other collaborators on the project is working to create the sister language.
Facts about Jamastulu:
- Jamastulu is literally translated as "Tongue of the Desert."
- It is spoken by the Jamaskura (Shadows of the Desert).
- It has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and around eight cases (currently being worked on), but suprisingly barely distinguishes number.
- In spite of its somewhat complicated noun system, its verbs are relatively simple, not inflecting for person or number.
Phonology
The phonemes of Jamastulu are given with their transliteration and the X-SAMPA equivalent in brackets on the right.
Consonants
Labial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosives | p[p], pp[p_>] | - | t[t], tt[t_>] | - | - | tj[c], ttj[c_>] | k[k], kk[k_>] |
Nasals | m[m] | - | n[n] | - | - | nj[J] | - |
Taps | - | - | - | r[4] | - | - | - |
Trills | - | - | - | rr[r] | - | - | - |
Fricatives | - | v[v] | - | ss[s], zz[z] | s[S], z[Z] | sj[C], zj[j\] | - |
Approximants | - | - | - | l[l] | - | j[j] | - |
The following sounds are pronounced approximately as in English: p, t, k, m, n, v, l
Other sounds: tj, nj, sj, zj: Palatal versions of their dental/alveolar counter parts.
pp, tt, ttj, kk: Glottalized versions of their voiceless aspirated equivalents.
r, rr: Pronounced as Spanish r and rr respectively. (Tapped and trilled r)
ss, zz: Pronounced as English s an z respectively.
s: Pronounced as English sh.
z: Pronounced as s in the English word measure.
j: Pronounced as English y in yes.
Vowels
The vowels are very similar if not identical to those of Finnish:
a - as a in father
e - as ay in day (only a pure vowel, not a diphthong)
i - as ee in feet
o - as oa in moat (also a pure vowel)
u - as oo in food
y - no equivalent in English, as ü in German über. (If you don't know how that sounds, round your lips while pronouncing Jamastulu i.)
ö - no equivalent in English, as ö in German schön. (If you don't know how that sounds, round your lips while pronouncing Jamastulu e.)
ä - similar to e in bed.
I hope to add syllable, consonant cluster, and diphthong structure sometime soon. If you have comments or questions, edit this article and post them after this line.