Scekoah Faraneit

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

Phonology

	Bilabial	Labio-Dental	Alveolar	Post-Alveolar	Retroflex	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:].

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.

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.