Dreamland

Dreamland was a nation founded in the northwestern corner of the continent of Rilola by immigrants from the islands of Laba.

Language

The language was closely related to that of its enemy Kava. The proper name for their shared proto-language is Meromo.

Phonology

Consonants of proto-Dreamlandic

Labials:       /p b m f β w/
Alveolars:     /t d n s l ř/
Postalveolars: /č ǯ ñ š j/
Velars:        /k ŋ/

Note that /ŋ/ was realized as nasalization of the preceding vowel except before a stop consonant, in which case it assimilated to that consonant. Thus, the sound [ŋ] is actually very rare.

Unlike the closely related Kava, the voiced stops /b d ǯ/ were preserved. However, there was no corresponding voiced velar stop /ġ/.

Vowels of proto-Dreamlandic

/a e i o u/

There is a four-way contrast of à/ă/ā/á for tones, although á is rare.

Early depalataization

The palatals /č ǯ ñ š/ changed to /k ŋ ŋ f/ before the back vowel [u], and to the coronals /t n s/ elsewhere. This new /ŋ/ was a true sound, unlike the old ŋ which merely nasalized the preceding vowel, even between two vowels. However, this new sound proved more stable, and the only ŋ also became a true velar nasal. Note that the /f/ above can be considered a variant of |h| but that this language simply did not have an /h/.

Then, /β/ > /v/ unconditionally. (A spelling change for convenience, not a true sound change.)

Politics and government

Dreamland was an explicitly political nation: rather than being founded on the basis of membership in a particular tribe or belief in a particular religion, people living in Dreamland were made to agree to certain political beliefs.