Nother/Go-Lengi
Thalassarctian is the English name given to the language of the icebears of Frontier.
Phonology
Consonants
| Consonants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Labiod. | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alv. | Palatal | Velar | X | Q | ! | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nasal | m | m̰ | n | n̰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nasal w/rumble | mˤ | m̰ˤ | nˤ | n̰ˤ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | b̰ | t | d | d̰ | k | ɡ | ɡ̃ | ʢ | ʕ | ʕ̰ | ʔ | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive w/rumble | pˤ | bˤ | b̰ˤ | tˤ | dˤ | d̰ˤ | kˤ | ɡˤ | ɡ̃ˤ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | f | s | z | z̰ | x | χ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affricate | pχ | tχ | kχ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Approximants | j | j̃ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | l̰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- /z/ and /z̰/ are realized as /ɹ/ and /ɹ̰/ in some speakers.
Vowels
| Vowels | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | ||||||||
| High | i | ḭ | u | ṵ | ||||||
| High-mid | e | ḛ | o | o̰ | ||||||
| Mid | χ̍ | ə | ə̰ | ɔ | ɔ̰ | |||||
| Low | a | a̰ | ||||||||
Rumble
The symbols /ʢ ʕ ˤ ̰ ʔ χ/ in the charts above are not here used with their IPA values but refer to sounds characteristic to icebear physiology. The technical terms vary, but the common name for these sounds collectively are 'rumbles' among colonists, and the icebear name translates to 'warmer sounds'.
Icebears have dual vocal apparatuses; the upper corresponds to that known in humans, from mouth to larynx, and the lower comprises a separate set of vocal folds and points of articulation deeper in the icebear throat. There are conventionally three points of articulation involved in the lower sounds of Thalassarctian, represented by the symbols !, X, and Q.
- ! is the point of articulation for /ʔ/, a voiceless stop. It is also the / ̰/, which is an indication of lower voice, but is technically an approximant co-articulated with any sound that is normally voiced.
| +[upper voice] | -[upper voice] | |
|---|---|---|
| +[! rumble] | ɡ̃ | — |
| -[! rumble] | ɡ | k |
- X is the point of articulation for the voiceless fricative /χ/, which may also be syllabic. It may be co-articulated with an upper voiceless stop.
- Q is the point of articulation for the stop /ʢ ʕ ˤ/, which may be voiceless, voiced, or rumbled when appearing on its own, and assimilates for voices when co-articulated with an upper stop.
| voiceless | single voice | double voice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| +[Q rumble] | kˤ | ɡˤ | ɡ̃ˤ |
| -[Q rumble] | k | ɡ | ɡ̃ |
Orthography
Thalassarctian is transcribed in the Latin alphabet.
| Thalassarctian spelling | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | aa | à | àà | b | b‘ | bb | bb‘ | d | |||||
| /a/ | /a̰/ | /ə/ | /ə̰/ | /b/ | /bˤ/ | /b̰/ | /b̰ˤ/ | /d/ | |||||
| d‘ | dd | dd‘ | e | ee | f | g | g‘ | gg | |||||
| /dˤ/ | /d̰/ | /d̰ˤ/ | /e/ | /ḛ/ | /f/ | /ɡ/ | /ɡˤ/ | /ɡ̃/ | |||||
| gg‘ | h | i | ii | k | k‘ | kk | l | ll | |||||
| /ɡ̃ˤ/ | /χ/ | /i/ | /ḭ/ | /k/ | /kˤ/ | /kχ/ | /l/ | /l̰/ | |||||
| m | m‘ | mm | mm‘ | n | n‘ | nn | nn‘ | o | |||||
| /m/ | /mˤ/ | /m̰/ | /m̰ˤ/ | /n/ | /nˤ/ | /n̰/ | /n̰ˤ/ | /o/ | |||||
| oo | ò | òò | p | p‘ | pp | q | s | t | |||||
| /o̰/ | /ɔ/ | /ɔ̰/ | /p/ | /pˤ/ | /pχ/ | /ʢ/ | /s/ | /t/ | |||||
| t‘ | tt | u | uu | x | y | yy | z | zz | |||||
| /tˤ/ | /tχ/ | /u/ | /ṵ/ | /x/ | /j/ | /j̃/ | /z/ | /z̰/ | |||||
| ‘ | q‘ | ! | |||||||||||
| /ʕ/ | /ʕ̰/ | /ʔ/ | |||||||||||
