Anathic
| Anathic Á h-Ænæþ | |
|---|---|
| Pronounced: | /oɑ ˈhanaθ/ |
| Spoken: | Hoyer (Á h-Ór) |
| Total speakers: | 300,000 |
| Writing system: | Latin (Modified) - Anathic Alphabet |
| Genealogy: | Old Anathic > Anathic |
| Typology | |
| Morphological type: | Fusional |
| Morphosyntactic alignment: | Nominative-Accusative |
| Basic word order: | VSO |
| Credits | |
| Creator: | Rhian Davies |
| Created: | November 2011 |
Anathic (Á h-Ænæþ, pronounced [oɑ ˈhanaθ] in Anathic) is an artlang created by Rhian Davies in November 2011. Its grammar is a priori but it has an a posteriori vocabulary with influences from Old English and the Celtic and Nordic languages. Anathic is spoken in Hoyer (Á h-Ór in Anathic), a fictional island continent in the Denit world. It is the native language of approximately 300,000 people.
History
Etymology
The standard name Á h-Ænæþ is compromised of the Anathic <Á> (honorific or vocative prefix) and <ænæþ>, the definite form of <æþæn>, meaning language. One might translate the name as O Great Language or The Great Language.
Old Anathic
Old Anathic (Anathic: Á Séyn Ænæþ) is the name given to the variety of Anathic spoken until the 8th century. Little information of its grammar, phonology and vocabulary remain.
Name
Nothing is known of Old Anathic speakers' autonym for the language; the only information remaining is that -ol and -or were language-name suffixes. Some reconstructed names for Old Anathic have been Á h-Ómurol (from OA ōmur, alphabet), Á h-Werol (from OA ωerə, man) and Á Þeyfryŋol (from OA ā þeifryŋ, Theyfryng, a deer deity who, according to myth, gave the language to mankind as a means to communicate with nature; literally means language of tree roots, or language of the source of the trees).
Features
Old Anathic had a slightly different phonology, including the phonemes [i, jɪ, ʝ, ʍ] which are no longer present in the standard language. It also had six noun classes as opposed to the modern four, and four forms of adjective vowel mutation.
Vocabulary
| Old Anathic | Anathic | English |
| āræn | árur | hour |
| rūiæn | rénur | rain |
| crecur | crecə | rock |
| scȳþ | núyæn | sky |
| ƿyçer | gáþur | wind |
| jāfur | reahə | hair, fur |
Official Status
Standard Anathic (Á h-Ænæþ-na-Gýros or Á Çýrə Ænæþ, lit. City Anathic) is the official language of Hoyer and is based on the language spoken in the capital city, Cýrír.
Phonology & Orthography
Anathic is written using the following alphabet:
Aa Ææ Bb Cc Çç Dd Ðð Ee Vv Ff Gg Ȝȝ Ŋŋ Hh Ii Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss Tt Þþ Uu Wω Yy Ɛə
The most common diacritic is the acute accent, which is for long vowels and diphthongs; the grave accent shows irregular stress.
Consonants
Phonology
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | ||||
| Fricative | f v | θ ð | s | (ʃ) | x ɣ | h | |
| Nasal | m (mʰ) | n (nʰ) | ŋ (ŋʰ) | ||||
| Trill | r (rʰ) | ||||||
| Approximant | ɫ | j | w |
(Allophones in parentheses)
Orthography
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
| Plosive | p b | t d | c g | ||||
| Fricative | f v | þ ð | s | (sc) | ç ȝ | h | |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Approximant | l | i | ω |
Vowels
Monophthongs
Phonology
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | u: | ||
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Mid | ɛ | ə, ø: | ɔ |
| Open | a | ɑ |
Orthography
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | ú | ||
| Near-close | y | u | |
| Mid | e | ə, ə́ | o |
| Open | æ | a |
Diphthongs
Phonology
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | ui | iə | |
| Mid | ɛi, oe | əʉ | oɑ~oə, eo |
| Open | ai |
Orthography
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | úy | í | |
| Mid | é, oe | ó | á, eo |
| Open | ý |
Stress
Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable; irregular stress is shown with a grave accent:
- sylvə ['sɪɫ.və] (a forest)
- əsylv [ə'sɪɫv] (the forest)
- èrsylvə ['ɛrsɪɫvə] (the edge of a forest)
Grammar
Word order is mainly VSO, but OVS can also be used.
Morphology
Noun Class
There are three noun classes in Anathic: Núyæn (sky; aether), Gúyrur (flow) and Celəsə (solidity).
- Núyæn nouns are celestial or abstract concepts. These are marked with the suffix -æn (plural -ýn) or -na:
- niolæn (night sky); æþæn (language); æmbrna (yellowness)
- Gúyrur nouns are related to fluids, movement, time or change and are marked with the suffix -ur (plural -úyr):
- treorur (blood); cómur (step); glómur (twilight; dusk); émsur (season).
- Celəsə nouns are any animate or inanimate object that may be experienced directly with the senses. These are marked with the suffix -ə (plural -æ):
- gerþə (arm); borə (table); úylə (owl).
Adjectives
Anathic has a rather complex adjective system which includes vowel mutation according to speaker attitude. All adjectives have a neutral base vowel which mutates, depending on whether the speaker is using the description positively or negatively. The Colour class may refer to any shade or colour (glæm - dark; rúybæ - pink); Emotive refers to any subjective adjective or emotional state (þeglyn - beautiful, handsome, pretty; mestys - condemned, damned, cursed); State adjectives are those referring to texture, taste, size, form etc (húr - long; múð - soft; læscú - juicy).
| Class | Neutral | Positive | Negative |
| Colour | æ | ý | á |
| Emotive | y | í | u |
| State | ú | í | ə́ |
Example:
- Dryc - 'bad' (Neutral, used in an unbiased news report); Dríc (Positive, meaning 'so bad it's good'); Druc (Negative - extremely bad, wrong, evil.)
