Classical Chinese'

Sample vocabulary

• arawagiʃʃinat
• kogeeronoʃkioowon
• elewargaranaanawe
• paaokokokʃorda
• nonigirguriʃkaoo
• ʃeleleeronaneerenek
• kaginniroʃoweaalaka
• tenekwaruguʃaadun
• peʃeʃaanerogoronowee

• Vocals [i e eː a aː o oː u]
• Word-initial consonants: [p t k ʃ n]
• Word-medial consonants: [k d g ʃ n r l w]
• Word-final consonants: [t n k]

Clusters seem to include [ʃʃ ʃk kʃ kw rg nn].

Analysis

The distinction between [l] and [r] seems very minor, with [l] mostly occurring between front vowels. Likewise the distinction between [k] and [g] applies mostly intervocally.

We might be able to analyze medial [k g] as /kk k/. Similarly, while there's no medial [t], medial [d] might be /t/. I now see my original idea to have [r] as the medial allophone of /t/ seems unlikely,: if [rg] is to be /tk/, medial voicing/lenition needs to apply thru two stops, but [ʃk kʃ] demonstrate it not applying thru a stop and a fricativ. OTOH not even single medial [ʃ] is voiced, so /ʃ/ is clearly more resilient to voicing (perhaps its distinguishing feature is not continuancy, but stridency). There is also the option of an underlying /r/ fortified to [t] before a pause.

These models

The labial situation seems more straightforward: the two possibilities initially suggesting itself are [w] = /u/ and [w] = /p/, but there is no overlap between these two scenarios, therefore we can simply go with a single labial phoneme [p w u] = /P/. (At least as long as no roots beginning with [pu-] turn up.)

The cryptolect

A highly unusual feature in Classical Chinese is the creation of ritual jargon based on repeating chants with distinct phonetical variations.