Zelandish

Zelandish is a language derived from Old English by Andrew Smith and used as a journal language. At the time of writing I have been using it for several years. These pages will be an attempt to describe and remember the language as I have used it.

The name is derived from New Zealand, the locality in which I write my journal.

Orthography

Zelandish is primarily a written language. There are no hard and fast rules on how it is pronounced. It has an evolving orthography.

Vowels

A, a /a/

E, e /ɛ/

EE, ee /e/ -- Not part of my natural phonology and can be pronounced as a diphthong, also EI, ei

I, i /ɪ/

IE, ie /i/

O, o /ɔ/ -- also written as Á, á, no longer current language

OE, oe /œ/

OU, ou /y/ or /ʉ/ -- also written as Ú, ú no longer current language

U, u /ʊ/

If the second E is marked with a dieresis, ë, it is pronounced as a diphthong with schwa.

A vowel written with a circumflex is pronounced long. It generally indicates a consonant has been elided after it, usually h.

Consonants

The following consonants are pronounced the same as in English, particularly a southern hemispheric Commonwealth dialect:

B, C, CH, D, F, H, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z

G, g is pronounced hard, /g/. In GJ, gj and after a vowel it is silent

J, j /j/

SCH, sch /ʃ/

There is no hard and fast rule on post-vocallic R, r. It can be pronounced as an approximant or elided.

Zelandish Lexicon