<< Languages of Meitsung: Mayu lháni & Meitsung soré
Introduction
Of the conlangs I created for the the story that eventually became The Book of Immortality, the dragon language was always the most fleshed out. It had to be, as it was used as a magic language and there were going to be passages written in it. I didn’t have to expand the grammar much.
Also, this conlang didn’t have a real name until earlier this year. Célis zisun means “mountain language”, and it’s one of the two dragon languages spoken in Greater Meitsung – primarily in East and West Rhécare. The other dragon language, mízha zisun “island language”, is spoken on the island of Mízharos.
Phonology
The original dragon language contained /ɲ/, /ɸ/, /β/, /x/, /ɣ, and /ʍ/ in addition to every consonant listed in the table below. The number of fricatives was truly ridiculous, and it made no sense to have /ɸ β/ and /f v/ as well as /h/ and /x/. Those consonants weren’t even allophones or anything – they were independent phonemes.
|
Labial |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
Nasal |
n (ɱ) |
|
n |
|
|
|
Stop |
p |
t d |
|
|
k g |
|
Fricative |
f v |
θ ð |
s z ʃ ʒ |
|
|
h |
Approximant |
|
|
l |
j |
w |
|
Rhotic |
|
|
ɾ r |
|
|
|
In contrast, I added one vowel – /e/. The original dragon language only had /ɛ/ as a front mid vowel.
|
Front |
Central |
Back |
Close |
ɪ i |
|
u |
Mid |
ɛ e |
|
o |
Open |
|
a |
|
Diphthongs are /iu/, /io/, /iɛ/, and /ia/. Syllable structure is CVF, where C is any consonant, V is any vowel, and F is /n/, /l/ or /s/. There are no words that start with vowels. Primary stress falls on the first syllable of a word, and secondary stress falls on following odd syllables.
Orthography
Since this conlang was first developed when I was still obsessed with Irish orthograph, there are some influences – namely, using <c> to represent /k/. That also immediately distinguishes it from the other languages of Meitsung.
Letter |
a |
c |
d |
dh |
e |
é |
f |
Sound |
/a/ |
/k/ |
/d/ |
/ð/ |
/ɛ/ |
/e/ |
/f/ |
Letter |
g |
h |
i |
í |
l |
m |
n |
Sound |
/g/ |
/h/ |
/ɪ/ |
/i/ |
/l/ |
/m/ |
/n/ |
Letter |
o |
p |
r |
rh |
s |
sh |
t |
Sound |
/o/ |
/p/ |
/ɾ/ |
/r/ |
/s/ |
/ʃ/ |
/t/ |
Letter |
th |
u |
v |
w |
y |
z |
zh |
Sound |
/θ/ |
/u/ |
/v/ |
/w/ |
/j/ |
/z/ |
/ʒ/ |
Nouns
Nouns (and adjectives) are marked for case, number, and definiteness; those markers are suffixed in the form case-number-definiteness with the exception of the vocative case, which is a prefix.
There are six cases: nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, instrumental, and vocative. For some strange reason, there were originally separate possessive and genitive cases. I’m genuinely not sure why.
Case |
Marker |
Nominative |
– |
Genitive |
-in |
Accusative |
-ul |
Dative |
-eta |
Instrumental |
-we |
Vocative |
a- |
Célis zisun has two numbers: singular and plural. The singular is unmarked, and the plural suffix is –le. Nouns are assumed to be indefinite by default. The definite ending is –(a)ne.
Why is there even a definite marker in this conlang. I’m not sure. Perhaps I was thinking of the Scandinavian languages at the time.
Pronouns
Pronouns are marked for case and number in the same way nouns are – not definiteness, because…that wouldn’t make any sense.
|
Singular |
Plural |
1st |
len |
riv |
2nd Informal |
rhal |
rhale |
2nd Formal |
van |
vanle |
3rd |
dhas |
dhasle |
Verbs
Verbs are marked for tense, mood, and person/number. There are three tenses: past, present, future, and three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. The 2nd person formal and informal are not distinguished in verbs.
|
|
Singular |
Plural |
||||
|
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Past |
Indicative |
-esan |
-esva |
-esica |
-esrí |
-essi |
-esne |
Subjunctive |
-eson |
-esonva |
-esonica |
-esonrí |
-esonsi |
-esonne |
|
Present |
Indicative |
-an |
-va |
-(i)ca |
-rí |
-si |
-ne |
Subjunctive |
-onan |
-onva |
-onica |
-onrí |
-onsi |
onne |
|
Imperative |
-lion |
-liova |
-lioca |
-liorí |
-liosi |
-lione |
|
Future |
Indicative |
-inan |
-inva |
-inica |
-inrí |
-insi |
-inne |
Subjunctive |
-inonan |
-inonva |
-inonica |
-inonrí |
-inonsi |
-inonne |
Numerals
Célis zisun‘s number system is base ten. To form numbers in the teens, the word lemu “ten” is followed by a numeral. For example, lemu fari is 15. To form multiples of ten, a numeral (2, 3, 4, etc.) is followed by the plural form of ten. Heda lemule is 40 and pel lemule wora is 68.
Other Things
There is a copula, hen, that’s much more irregular than other verbs. Adjectives follow nouns, and adverbs follow verbs. Word order is Subject-Object-Verb, and has been through all forms of this conlang.
Despite this conlang being more fleshed out than the previous two, it’s still largely a naming language. Perhaps sometime in the future I’ll come back and work on it more, but for now this is all there is.
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