Stilio: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox
{{Infobox
|name=Stilio
|name=Stilio
|native=slashuru
|native=zlacuru
|species=snakes and snake-like reptiles
|species=snakes and snake-like reptiles
|creator=Robert Marshall Murphy
|creator=Francis Nolan/[[User:Aquatiki|Robert Marshall Murphy]]
|date=2012 A.D.
|date=2002/2012 A.D.
}}
}}
'''Parseltongue''' (in this article) refers to '''{{PAGENAME}}''', a reconstructed form of [[Parseltongue]].  A script for this language is forth-coming.  This language a unique morphosyntactic alignment, and defaults to SOV word order.  It is, however, strongly non-configurational, except verbs usually end a phrase and always end an utterance.
'''Parseltongue''' (in this article) refers to '''{{PAGENAME}}''', a reconstructed form of [[Parseltongue]].  A script for this language is forth-coming.  This language a unique [[morphosyntactic alignment]] (which is largely [[Wikipedia:Ergative-absolutive language|Ergative-absolutive]], while incorporating elements of Fluid-S), and defaults to VSO word order.  It is, however, strongly [[Wikipedia:Non-configurational language|non-configurational]].


== Phonology ==
== Phonology ==
[[File:Stilio Phonotactics.png|right|501px|thumb|Whole-utterance phonotactics (enter anywhere).]]
Snakes have vastly simplified mouths compared to human-being.  We are capable of making every sound they make, though some are easier than others.  Snakes have no lips. Their palate is occupied with the vomeronasal organ (Jacobson's organ), which acts as a sense of smell.  Snakes have no uvula.  Their glottis can move aside when eating large prey.  They have no epiglottal region.
Snakes have vastly simplified mouths compared to human-being.  We are capable of making every sound they make, though some are easier than others.  Snakes have no lips, but their labial scales can contract and produce something like "lip-rounding". Labialization is ''very'' important is Parseltongue.  Their palate is occupied with the vomeronasal organ (Jacobson's organ), which acts as a sense of smell.  Snakes have no uvula.  Their glottis is where our pharynx is, but it can move aside when eating large prey.  They have no epiglottal region.


Sentient and non-sentient snakes hiss their entire volume of air without interruption, so a Parseltongue utterances cannot be longer than about ten seconds.  Stops are typically initial in a verb.  Whatever vocal-cords they are graced with by magic, snakes cannot speak very loudly or vary pitch beyond very low frequencies.
Sentient and non-sentient snakes hiss their entire volume of air without interruption, so a Parseltongue utterances cannot be longer than about fifteen seconds.  Stops are typically initial, and in a verb.  Whatever vocal-cords they are graced with by magic, snakes cannot speak very loudly or vary pitch beyond very low frequencies.


Given their anatomy, even with the aide of magic, Parseltongue
Given their anatomy, even with the aide of magic, Parseltongue
Line 18: Line 17:
* has no retroflex consonants
* has no retroflex consonants
* has no palatal or alveolar-palatal consonants
* has no palatal or alveolar-palatal consonants
* has no uvular, pharyngeal, or epiglottal consonants
* has no uvular or epiglottal consonants
* has no voiced consonants
* has no voiced consonants
* is all spoken in creaky-voice
* is all spoken in creaky-voice
Line 27: Line 26:
* must end an utterance with a sibilant/fricative or - less commonly - a vowel
* must end an utterance with a sibilant/fricative or - less commonly - a vowel
* has ejective forms of the stops and affricates
* has ejective forms of the stops and affricates
* contrasts lip rounding on most consonants
=== Consonants ===
=== Consonants ===
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0; float:right;"
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0; float:right;"
! colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants (sans Labializations and Affricates)
! colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants (IPA above, Romanization below)
|- style="vertical-align: top; font-size: small;"
|- style="vertical-align: top; font-size: small;"
|  
|  
Line 37: Line 35:
! rowspan="2" | Post-alveolar
! rowspan="2" | Post-alveolar
! colspan="2" | Velar
! colspan="2" | Velar
! rowspan="2" | Pharyngeal
! rowspan="2" | Glottal
! rowspan="2" | Glottal
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small;"
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small;"
| || Central || Lateral || Central || Lateral
| || Central || Lateral || Central || Lateral
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || n || || || g
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|n̥}} || || || {{IPA|ŋ̊}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''n''' || || || '''m'''
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Unaspirated Stop || || t || || || k ||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Unaspirated Stop || || t || || || k ||
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Ejective || || f || || || q ||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''t''' || || || '''k''' ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Ejective || || t' || || || k' ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''f''' || || || '''q''' ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Click/Tap || {{IPA|ǀ}} || {{IPA|ɾ}} || {{IPA|ǁ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"|  || '''/''' || '''®''' || '''\'''
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || {{IPA|θ}} || s || {{IPA|ɬ}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || x || {{IPA|ʟ̝̊}}
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Click/Tap || / || ? || \
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || '''d''' || '''s''' || '''z''' || '''c''' || '''x''' || l
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || d || s || z || c || x || l*
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || || {{IPA|ɹ}} || l || || {{IPA|ɰ}} || {{IPA|ʟ}} || {{IPA|ħ}} || h
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant ||  || r || l || || y || l* || h
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| ||  || '''r''' || '''l''' || || '''w''' || l || '''g''' || '''h'''
|}
|}


Because snakes use a wide range of glottis motion instead of changing vocal fold pitch, there are two versions of all fricatives and approximantsHumans can best approximate this change by tightly rounding their lipsSome humans find this exceedingly difficult to with /θ/This sound is best approximated by rolling (also called curling) the tongue and passing air through as thin an opening as possibleMost English speakers round their lips anyway when saying /r/ and /ʃ/ someone, so great care must be takenSnakes don't appear to mind if '''sᵂ''' produces some whistling.
Most English speakers round their lips anyway when saying word-initial /r/, and any /ʃ/, which snakes regard as quite irritatingFor those unfamiliar with the sound /ɰ/, pronounce a 'w' but leave off the lip-rounding.  The dental click ('''/''') is used in the English "tsk tsk tsk", while the lateral click ('''\''') is used to spur on a horseThe alveolar tap ('''®''') is found as the 'r' and 'l' of East Asian languages, or the 'd'-like sound in the middle of 'water'The lateral fricative ('''z''') is found in Welsh but may be very unfamiliar to English speakers elsewhereThe pharyngeal approximant ('''g''') is a very raspy, rattling 'h'.


A history of Latin alphabet orthography has given rise to the system as presented in the tables.  Some consonants are exactly the same as IPA notation: '''t k x s l h'''.  Others require some thought: '''n''' for /n̥/, '''g''' for /ŋ̊/, '''f''' for /t'/, '''q''' for /k'/, '''d''' for /θ/, '''c''' for /ʃ/, '''z''' for /ɬ/, '''r''' for /ɹ/, '''y''' for /ɰ/.  The dental and lateral clicks, and the alveolar flap receive non-letter symbols: '''\ / ?'''.
A history of Latin alphabet orthography has given rise to the system as presented in the tables.  Some consonants are exactly the same as IPA notation: '''t k x s l h'''.  Others require some thought: '''n''' for /n̥/, '''m''' for /ŋ̊/, '''f''' for /t'/, '''q''' for /k'/, '''d''' for /θ/, '''c''' for /ʃ/, '''z''' for /ɬ/, '''r''' for /ɹ/, '''w''' for /ɰ/, and '''g''' for /ħ/.  The dental and lateral clicks, and the alveolar flap receive non-letter symbols: '''\ / ®'''.


All affricate possibilities are realized in Parseltongue, though most are very rare.  Parseltongue does not distinguish between affricate and non-affricate pairs, so the tie-bar is not commonly written, even in IPA.  The possibilities are: '''td ts tc tz kx fd fs fc fz qx'''.
All affricate possibilities are realized in Parseltongue, though most are very rare.  Parseltongue does not distinguish between affricate and non-affricate pairs, so the tie-bar is not commonly written, even in IPA.  The possibilities are: '''td ts tc tz kx fd fs fc fz qx'''.


The letter '''h''' does double duty.  It indicates the glottal fricative when word-initial, word-final, or following a vowel.  Otherwise, it indicates heavy aspiration.  '''w''' indicates rounding/labialization and is written as a superscript whenever possible.  Many English speakers are unaware that they always round /ʃ/ and word-initial /ɹ/, so great care must be taken.  Notice too that '''yᵂ''' means /ʍ/
===== Allophony =====
===== Allophony =====
* k/x/q/kx/qx + l > {{IPA|ɫ}}
* k/x/q/kx/qx + l > {{IPA|ɫ}}
Line 66: Line 76:
=== Vowels ===
=== Vowels ===
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0; float: right;"
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0; float: right;"
! colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels (in IPA)
! colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels (IPA above, Romanization below)
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: small; height: 2em"
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: small; height: 2em"
! || Front || Center || Back
! || Front || Center || Back
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} {{dot}} {{IPA|y}} || || {{IPA|u}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} ||  || {{IPA|ɯ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || '''i''' ||  || '''u'''
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || {{{IPA|ɪ}}} ||  ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"|  || '''y''' ||  ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || {{IPA|e}} || || {{IPA|ɤ}}
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || {{IPA|e}} {{dot}} {{IPA|ø}} || || {{IPA|o}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || '''e''' || || '''o'''
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || {{IPA|æ}} || {{IPA|ɐ}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || {{IPA|ɛ}} || || {{IPA|ʌ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"|  || '''œ''' || || '''v'''
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || '''æ''' || '''a'''
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"|  || {{IPA|æ}} || {{IPA|ɐ}}
|}
|}
The Parseltongue system of vowels is a simple set of eight unique sounds.   The "resting vowel" (like English schwa) is /ɐ/, but snakes more often "gap" with /s/.  The sometimes despised "ash" (/æ/) is not rare in Parseltongue.  There are no diphthongs.
The Parseltongue system of vowels consists of nine sounds. As with consonants, '''''there is no lip-rounding'''''.  Hence, '''u''' means /ɯ/ and '''o''' means /ɤ/.  English-speakers must remember to distinguish between '''i''' and '''y''': '''y''' always functions as it does in the English "myth" or "system", while '''i''' always a "long 'e'".


Parseltongue is written using only '''i e æ a o u''''''a''' stands for /ɐ/.  /y/ (ï) is written '''iᵂ''' and /ø/ (ë) is written '''eᵂ'''.
Korean-speakers will have an advantage distinguishing '''e''' from '''œ''' from '''v''': 에 vs. 애 vs. 어.
 
The presence of diphthongs is disputed (see Phonotactics below).


There are two non-phonemic sounds that snakes are readily capable of making, the trilled 'r' and the glottal stop.  However, /r/ is a highly erotic sound which no snake would make in polite company, and stopping the flow of air during an utterance is indicative of sickness or eating.
There are two non-phonemic sounds that snakes are readily capable of making, the trilled 'r' and the glottal stop.  However, /r/ is a highly erotic sound which no snake would make in polite company, and stopping the flow of air during an utterance is indicative of sickness or eating.


=== Phonotactics ===
=== Phonotactics ===
Parseltongue is extremely difficult to analyze phonotacticly.  Even with enunciating as one would to a fool or simpleton, snakes never cease the continuous airstream.  Syllable boundaries, therefore, are somewhat arbitrary.  Snakes we interviewed regard this as an unimportant, human problem, akin to transcribing choking or sneezing.  For our purposes, we should regard Parseltongue syllables as capable of having either a vowel or a fricative in the nucleus.  A fricative (in the onset or in the nucleus) may be long or short, labialized or not.  A syllabic fricative may be preceded by a stop, and hence, part of an affricate.  It may also be preceded by an approximant or another fricative.  Open syllables, in this case, are common.  A short fricative or a nasal can be analyzed as the coda of a fricative-nucleus syllable.
Parseltongue is extremely difficult to analyze phonotacticly.  Even with enunciating as one would to a fool or simpleton, snakes never cease the continuous airstream.  Syllable boundaries, therefore, are somewhat arbitrary.  Snakes we interviewed regard this as an unimportant, human problem, akin to transcribing choking or sneezing.  For our purposes, we should regard Parseltongue syllables as capable of having either a vowel or a fricative in the nucleus.  The overwhelming majority of syllables are '''V''', '''CV''', or '''CVC'''.  Like [[Estonian language|Estonian]], Parseltongue distinguishes [[geminate]] consonants and vowels with a high degree of specificity.  Under some analyses, there are ''three'' levels of gradation, but this is disputed and typically called a supersegmental feature.  In our notation, doubling of any letter indicated gemination.
 
A fricative (in the onset or in the nucleus) may be long or short, labialized or not.  A syllabic fricative may be preceded by a stop, and hence, part of an affricate.  It may also be preceded by an approximant or another fricative.  Open syllables, in this case, are common.  A short fricative or a nasal can be analyzed as the coda of a fricative-nucleus syllable.


If a vowel is the syllable nucleus, it may be preceded by a tap, click, either nasal, a stop (which may be preceded by a fricative), a fricative, an affricate (which may be preceded by a fricative) or an approximant (which may be preceded by a stop or a fricative).  The coda of a vowel-nucleus syllable may be a nasal (which may be followed by a fricative), a fricative, l or h, or it may be left open.  Clicks and taps may only follow an open, vowel-nucleus syllable.
If a vowel is the syllable nucleus, it may be preceded by a tap, click, either nasal, a stop (which may be preceded by a fricative), a fricative, an affricate (which may be preceded by a fricative) or an approximant (which may be preceded by a stop or a fricative).  The coda of a vowel-nucleus syllable may be a nasal (which may be followed by a fricative), a fricative, l or h, or it may be left open.  Clicks and taps may only follow an open, vowel-nucleus syllable.
It is very important to note in the difference between long and short fricative - which might be regarded as geminate - depending on where they occur in an utterance.  Quite inhumanly, a fricative-chain may go on for an entire utterance, with some being short and others long.
== Grammar ==
== Grammar ==
Parseltongue uses a system of cases similar to Latin or Estonian.  Nouns and verbs are not marked for number or gender, but there are four noun-classes as well as four verb-classes.
=== Nouns ===
=== Nouns ===
Parseltongue is exceedingly pro-drop, like [[Japanese]] or [[Korean]].  Speakers often state the topic and then rely on context to make things clear.  There are four 'core' cases - called Nominative, Volitional, Illustrative and Stative - and five 'oblique' cases - Dative, Possessive, Partitive, Genitive, and Ablative.  The core cases form mostly by ablaut, the obliques mostly by suffixing.  The definite article is a prefixed /s/, while indefiniteness is marked in the verb.
There are four 'core' cases - Nominative, Accusative, Agentive and Patientive - and five 'oblique' cases - Dative, Possessive, Partitive, Genitive, and Ablative.  The definite article is a prefixed /s/, while indefiniteness is marked in the verb.
 
The oblique cases function generally like Indo-European cases, but with some notable exceptions.
; Dative : Some linguistics prefer to call this the "topico-dative" because it can function similarly to the Japanese は/wa, or the Korean 는/은.  These instances are typically best translated as "in regards to" or "as for".  Otherwise, the Dative is often equivalent to the English prepositions "to, for, by, with, from" and/or indicates the Indirect Object.
''The other four cases fall under the 'genitive' umbrella in many languages''
; Partitive : Like the Uralic languages, the partitive means "some of" or "part of" or "any".  It cannot, however, be used for the object of an atelic action.  'Half of my possessions’; ‘some of the branches’; ‘the poor among of the people’
; Possessor : Like the English ''''s'''.  This is the subjective genitive.  "Love of God" would have to mean (in this case) "God's love", not "my love of God"
; Genitive : This can be Epexegetical or Attributive/Descriptive.
; Ablative : Objective Genitive, "concerning, against, about, on, from", separation, adverbial


{| class="wikitable"
|+ A-Class Noun
! Case
! Paradigm
|-
! Nominative
| {{IPA|kac}}
|-
! Volitional
| qac
|-
! Illustrative
| keᵂcᵂ
|-
! Stative
| qeᵂcᵂ
|-
| Dative
| kacgæ
|-
| Possessive
| kaca
|-
| Partative
| kacæ
|-
| Genitive
| kaccᵂeᵂ
|-
| Ablative
| keᵂcᵂa
|}
There are four noun declensions (a->eᵂ->æ ; e->cᵂ->o ; i->iᵂ->u ; s->sᵂ->dᵂ)
=== Pronouns ===
=== Pronouns ===
There are 'dummy' pronouns which are nearly contentless in meaning.  However, 'measure words' can also be used as pronouns, with or without numbers attached.
'Measure words' can also be used as pronouns, with or without numbers attached.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+ dss / Neg. 1st Person
|+ 2nd person
! Case
! Case
! Form
! Form
Line 135: Line 137:
|-
|-
! N
! N
| dss
| gasy
| ''Nothing'' exploded.
| / You fell
|-
|-
! V
! A
| tdss
| gasv
| ''No one'' attacks him.
|  
|-
|-
! I
! A
| dsᵂsᵂ
| gassi
| ''Nothing'' here is alive.
| sayhagassi hœd / You (will) Leave him (alone)!
|-
|-
! S
! P
| tdsᵂsᵂ
| gassa
| ''No one'' has been bitten.
| haceagassa cig / You (will) go away!
|-
|-
! D
! D
| dssagdᵂ
| gassas
| Nowhere is that allowed.
| to you
|-
|-
! Po
! P
| dssh
| gasswa
| No one's face is hot.
|  
|-
|-
! Pa
! P
| dssdᵂ
| gashh
| There is no one here.
| / (my) Eating of you is killing me
|-
|-
! G
! G
| dsshsᵂ
| gascc
| I am a snake of nowhere.
| /She is longer than you
|-
|-
! A
! A
| dsᵂhs
| gasus
| Put a living upon nothing.
|  
|}
|}


=== Verbs ===
=== Verbs ===
All verbs have a lexically contained expectation for which case the subject will be in.  Hence, all verbs are active or passive and volitional or non-volitional by default, which will also indicate paradigm it follows. Active verb endings are suffixed, passive prefixed.  Volitional verb endings are sibilant heavy, non-volitional vowel heavy.
All verbs have a lexically contained expectation for which case the subject will be in.  Hence, all verbs are active or passive and volitional or non-volitional by default, which will also indicate which paradigm it follows. When given an unexpected case, intentionality or casuality will be signified:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|
! Active Non-Volitional
! Passive Non-Volitional
! Active Volitional
! Passive Volitional
|-
! Nominative
| Involuntary Agent
| Involuntary Cause
| Unintentional Agent
| Unintentional Cause
|-
! Accusative
| Direct Object
| Descriptive
| Unintentional Patient
| Pseudo-Passive Object
|-
! Agentive
| Agent!
| Cause!
| Ergative Subject
| Intentional Cause
|-
! Patientive
| Intentional D.O.
| Pseudo-Passive Agent
| Absolutive Obj
| Stative
|}


Verbs inflect for an astronomical ''eight'' persons:
Verbs inflect for an astronomical ''eight'' persons:
Line 190: Line 224:
! ½
! ½
| dim. part of ego
| dim. part of ego
| "Me (my tail) is coming."
| "Me (my mid-section) is coming."
|-
|-
! 1
! 1
Line 197: Line 231:
|-
|-
! 1½
! 1½
| a.k.a. 2 inc.
| a.k.a. 1 inclusive
| "We (you and I) are friends."
| "We (you and I) are friends."
|-
|-
Line 212: Line 246:
| "He bit her."
| "He bit her."
|}
|}
As with nouns, Parseltongue does not typically mark number.  Tense is assumed or conveyed via adverbs.
As with nouns, Parseltongue does not mark number.  Tense is assumed or conveyed via adverbs.


Aspect is either imperfective or perfective.  There are three mood: Indicative - for independent clauses; Subjunctive - for dependent clauses; and Illocutionary - for magical or imperative clauses.  The subjunctive is very plain, conjugating for only aspect, but not person or evidentiality.
Aspect is either imperfective or perfective.  There are three mood: Indicative - for independent clauses; Subjunctive - for dependent clauses; and Illocutionary - for magical or imperative clauses.  The subjunctive is very plain, conjugating only for aspect, but not person or evidentiality.


All indicative/independent verbs in Parseltongue must be marked for evidentiality.  Snakes senses are (in decreasing order of assuredness):
All indicative/independent verbs in Parseltongue must be marked for evidentiality.  Snakes senses are (in decreasing order of assuredness):
Line 229: Line 263:
; ''I'' <u>am</u> the venom. : Not all snakes are poisonous, but all snakes spur themselves on to overcome fear and strike out (often metaphorically) by willing themselves to be their own venom.  "I can ''do'' this!"
; ''I'' <u>am</u> the venom. : Not all snakes are poisonous, but all snakes spur themselves on to overcome fear and strike out (often metaphorically) by willing themselves to be their own venom.  "I can ''do'' this!"


<!--
aicagassi - excuse-you
sœzz - lord-v
sa - there is
sjehh - what
nagini
lœha - in-front
nœssja  - door-of
madas - me-to
magalas - muggle
//-->
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:A priori conlangs]]
[[Category:A priori conlangs]]
[[Category:Artlangs]]
[[Category:Artlangs]]

Revision as of 22:45, 31 October 2012






Stilio
zlacuru
Species: snakes and snake-like reptiles
Credits
Creator: Francis Nolan/Robert Marshall Murphy
Created: 2002/2012 A.D.

Parseltongue (in this article) refers to Stilio, a reconstructed form of Parseltongue. A script for this language is forth-coming. This language a unique morphosyntactic alignment (which is largely Ergative-absolutive, while incorporating elements of Fluid-S), and defaults to VSO word order. It is, however, strongly non-configurational.

Phonology

Snakes have vastly simplified mouths compared to human-being. We are capable of making every sound they make, though some are easier than others. Snakes have no lips. Their palate is occupied with the vomeronasal organ (Jacobson's organ), which acts as a sense of smell. Snakes have no uvula. Their glottis can move aside when eating large prey. They have no epiglottal region.

Sentient and non-sentient snakes hiss their entire volume of air without interruption, so a Parseltongue utterances cannot be longer than about fifteen seconds. Stops are typically initial, and in a verb. Whatever vocal-cords they are graced with by magic, snakes cannot speak very loudly or vary pitch beyond very low frequencies.

Given their anatomy, even with the aide of magic, Parseltongue

  • has no labial consonants
  • has no retroflex consonants
  • has no palatal or alveolar-palatal consonants
  • has no uvular or epiglottal consonants
  • has no voiced consonants
  • is all spoken in creaky-voice
  • has no corarticulated consonants
  • of the clicks, has only the dental and the lateral
  • may begin an utterance with a stop, but they are rare elsewhere in speech.
  • affricates are common
  • must end an utterance with a sibilant/fricative or - less commonly - a vowel
  • has ejective forms of the stops and affricates

Consonants

Consonants (IPA above, Romanization below)
Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Velar Pharyngeal Glottal
Central Lateral Central Lateral
Nasal ŋ̊
n m
Unaspirated Stop t k
t k
Ejective t' k'
f q
Click/Tap ǀ ɾ ǁ
/ ® \
Fricative θ s ɬ ʃ x ʟ̝̊
d s z c x l
Approximant ɹ l ɰ ʟ ħ h
r l w l g h

Most English speakers round their lips anyway when saying word-initial /r/, and any /ʃ/, which snakes regard as quite irritating. For those unfamiliar with the sound /ɰ/, pronounce a 'w' but leave off the lip-rounding. The dental click (/) is used in the English "tsk tsk tsk", while the lateral click (\) is used to spur on a horse. The alveolar tap (®) is found as the 'r' and 'l' of East Asian languages, or the 'd'-like sound in the middle of 'water'. The lateral fricative (z) is found in Welsh but may be very unfamiliar to English speakers elsewhere. The pharyngeal approximant (g) is a very raspy, rattling 'h'.

A history of Latin alphabet orthography has given rise to the system as presented in the tables. Some consonants are exactly the same as IPA notation: t k x s l h. Others require some thought: n for /n̥/, m for /ŋ̊/, f for /t'/, q for /k'/, d for /θ/, c for /ʃ/, z for /ɬ/, r for /ɹ/, w for /ɰ/, and g for /ħ/. The dental and lateral clicks, and the alveolar flap receive non-letter symbols: \ / ®.

All affricate possibilities are realized in Parseltongue, though most are very rare. Parseltongue does not distinguish between affricate and non-affricate pairs, so the tie-bar is not commonly written, even in IPA. The possibilities are: td ts tc tz kx fd fs fc fz qx.

Allophony
  • k/x/q/kx/qx + l > ɫ
  • k/x/q/kx/qx + z > ʟ̝̊

Vowels

Vowels (IPA above, Romanization below)
Front Center Back
High i ɯ
i u
Near-high ɪ
y
High-mid e ɤ
e o
Low-mid ɛ ʌ
œ v
Near-low æ a
æ ɐ

The Parseltongue system of vowels consists of nine sounds. As with consonants, there is no lip-rounding. Hence, u means /ɯ/ and o means /ɤ/. English-speakers must remember to distinguish between i and y: y always functions as it does in the English "myth" or "system", while i always a "long 'e'".

Korean-speakers will have an advantage distinguishing e from œ from v: 에 vs. 애 vs. 어.

The presence of diphthongs is disputed (see Phonotactics below).

There are two non-phonemic sounds that snakes are readily capable of making, the trilled 'r' and the glottal stop. However, /r/ is a highly erotic sound which no snake would make in polite company, and stopping the flow of air during an utterance is indicative of sickness or eating.

Phonotactics

Parseltongue is extremely difficult to analyze phonotacticly. Even with enunciating as one would to a fool or simpleton, snakes never cease the continuous airstream. Syllable boundaries, therefore, are somewhat arbitrary. Snakes we interviewed regard this as an unimportant, human problem, akin to transcribing choking or sneezing. For our purposes, we should regard Parseltongue syllables as capable of having either a vowel or a fricative in the nucleus. The overwhelming majority of syllables are V, CV, or CVC. Like Estonian, Parseltongue distinguishes geminate consonants and vowels with a high degree of specificity. Under some analyses, there are three levels of gradation, but this is disputed and typically called a supersegmental feature. In our notation, doubling of any letter indicated gemination.

A fricative (in the onset or in the nucleus) may be long or short, labialized or not. A syllabic fricative may be preceded by a stop, and hence, part of an affricate. It may also be preceded by an approximant or another fricative. Open syllables, in this case, are common. A short fricative or a nasal can be analyzed as the coda of a fricative-nucleus syllable.

If a vowel is the syllable nucleus, it may be preceded by a tap, click, either nasal, a stop (which may be preceded by a fricative), a fricative, an affricate (which may be preceded by a fricative) or an approximant (which may be preceded by a stop or a fricative). The coda of a vowel-nucleus syllable may be a nasal (which may be followed by a fricative), a fricative, l or h, or it may be left open. Clicks and taps may only follow an open, vowel-nucleus syllable.

Grammar

Parseltongue uses a system of cases similar to Latin or Estonian. Nouns and verbs are not marked for number or gender, but there are four noun-classes as well as four verb-classes.

Nouns

There are four 'core' cases - Nominative, Accusative, Agentive and Patientive - and five 'oblique' cases - Dative, Possessive, Partitive, Genitive, and Ablative. The definite article is a prefixed /s/, while indefiniteness is marked in the verb.

The oblique cases function generally like Indo-European cases, but with some notable exceptions.

Dative
Some linguistics prefer to call this the "topico-dative" because it can function similarly to the Japanese は/wa, or the Korean 는/은. These instances are typically best translated as "in regards to" or "as for". Otherwise, the Dative is often equivalent to the English prepositions "to, for, by, with, from" and/or indicates the Indirect Object.

The other four cases fall under the 'genitive' umbrella in many languages

Partitive
Like the Uralic languages, the partitive means "some of" or "part of" or "any". It cannot, however, be used for the object of an atelic action. 'Half of my possessions’; ‘some of the branches’; ‘the poor among of the people’
Possessor
Like the English 's. This is the subjective genitive. "Love of God" would have to mean (in this case) "God's love", not "my love of God"
Genitive
This can be Epexegetical or Attributive/Descriptive.
Ablative
Objective Genitive, "concerning, against, about, on, from", separation, adverbial

Pronouns

'Measure words' can also be used as pronouns, with or without numbers attached.

2nd person
Case Form Ex.
N gasy / You fell
A gasv
A gassi sayhagassi hœd / You (will) Leave him (alone)!
P gassa haceagassa cig / You (will) go away!
D gassas to you
P gasswa
P gashh / (my) Eating of you is killing me
G gascc /She is longer than you
A gasus

Verbs

All verbs have a lexically contained expectation for which case the subject will be in. Hence, all verbs are active or passive and volitional or non-volitional by default, which will also indicate which paradigm it follows. When given an unexpected case, intentionality or casuality will be signified:

Active Non-Volitional Passive Non-Volitional Active Volitional Passive Volitional
Nominative Involuntary Agent Involuntary Cause Unintentional Agent Unintentional Cause
Accusative Direct Object Descriptive Unintentional Patient Pseudo-Passive Object
Agentive Agent! Cause! Ergative Subject Intentional Cause
Patientive Intentional D.O. Pseudo-Passive Agent Absolutive Obj Stative

Verbs inflect for an astronomical eight persons:

Person Meaning Example
-1 Universal negation "No one eats himself."
0 Indefinite "Someone ate the prey."
½ dim. part of ego "Me (my mid-section) is coming."
1 Ego "I ate the mouse."
a.k.a. 1 inclusive "We (you and I) are friends."
2 Interlocutor "You are handsome."
3 Near other party "She is our daughter."
4 Obviative "He bit her."

As with nouns, Parseltongue does not mark number. Tense is assumed or conveyed via adverbs.

Aspect is either imperfective or perfective. There are three mood: Indicative - for independent clauses; Subjunctive - for dependent clauses; and Illocutionary - for magical or imperative clauses. The subjunctive is very plain, conjugating only for aspect, but not person or evidentiality.

All indicative/independent verbs in Parseltongue must be marked for evidentiality. Snakes senses are (in decreasing order of assuredness):

Taste/Smell
Snakes extend their tongues into the air/water and pull "smells" into their mouths, where their "noses" (Jacobsen's organs) are. This gives them a very refined and directional sense. Knowledge obtained this way is the most certain and so is most analogous to human's "I see" or "I know".
Heat/IR
Snakes have special sensors where other animals' "noses" would be which detect heat or Infra-red radiation. Snakes report not "seeing" a field - as humans do with sight - but "feeling" the nearness and/or warmth of things. This is most akin to a human saying "I feel like you are ..." or "I sense not everyone in the room agrees with ...".
Hear/Vibration
A snake's entire body functions like an "ear", sensing vibrations. This knowledge is very accurate, but because it comes from their whole body (not just their head) it is more like "gut knowledge". Magic causes snakes internal ear to hear external speech.
Sight
Most snakes have poor vision, with a majority not being binocular. This mood is used metaphorically as a person would say, "I suppose" or "I guess".

Idioms

(like a) Human's face in the nose
"It's self-evident." Snakes' faces are unreadable, but they generally know how to read human body language, mainly through smell and temperature sensing. Smells are "in one's nose" because smell samples are brought into the mouth by the tongue and placed upon the Jacobsen's organ.
This must pass over the nose
Food is passed over the Jacobsen's organ as it is eaten. If something is noxious, to eat it would be unbearably intense. Snakes say this meaning "It's too awful" or "I don't want to!"
Passing over roughness aids molting
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger in the end."
Some have eggs inside, some have eggs outside
"Different strokes for different folks." Some snakes have pouches for their eggs to hatch inside their bodies, giving the appearance of live births. Many snakes do not.
I am the venom.
Not all snakes are poisonous, but all snakes spur themselves on to overcome fear and strike out (often metaphorically) by willing themselves to be their own venom. "I can do this!"