Tullach language
| Tullach | |
|---|---|
| onna t:Túloh on:a t'tUloh | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈonːa təˈhulox] |
| Region | Ystel |
| Native speakers | 1,445,000 (total) (2023) |
| Language family | Ystelo-Atruozan
|
| Dialects | Cilnanny Hivasaû Rural |
| Writing system | Divorced Adzamic |
| Official status | |
| Official language in |  Hranloc Tullachia |
| CWS code | TLCH |
Tullach (on:a t'tUloh; onna t:Túloh, [ˈonːa təˈhulox]) is a Tullachian language within the Ystelic branch of the Ystelo-Atruozan language family. It is most closely related to Stratavite and Rocnaian.
Though spoken by small minorities in neighbouring nations, such as Lower Stratavar and Thraquy, Tullach is only officially recognised in Tullachia and Hranloc.
Tullach is written using a form of the Adzamic script, in which glyphs are no longer interconnected and do not have initial, medial, final or isolated forms. "Divorced" Adzamic also makes use of specific stylisations of certain glyphs as well as some Tullach-specific additions.
Name
In some linguistic discussions, the Tullach language may be referred to as Floxy (on:a vlok:a; onna vlocca, [ˈonːa ˈvloʰkːa]), due to its historical emergence from the marshlands towards the east of the country. This alternate name was deemed warranted due to confusion with the Tullachian language family. Previous attempts to clarify the name ended with Thraxian (on:a hrak:a; onna hracca, [ˈonːa ˈʰr̥aʰkːa]), which then however created confusion with the Rocnaian dialect Thraquy.
Dialects
Tullach is generally divided into three dialects, though these are usually mutually intelligible with each other and only in certain areas do they differ so vastly in phonology, syntax or orthography. It is of course to be understood that in areas where Tullach is for the most part a secondary language, in particular Stratavite and Rocnaian-speaking communities, imperfections in learning have caused other steady non=standard forms of Tullach to arise.
Hivasaû (Standard) Tullach
The dialect of Tullach spoken in and around the Hracciû Metropolitan Area forms the standard variation as is spoken in political and educational environments.
Rural Tullach
The various sub-dialects and accents found throughout Tullachia's sparse rural communities are generally grouped together due to their vast similarities in all but phonology. This dialect encompasses the largest land area of the three main dialects, ranging from as eastwards as Vlencûostiû, as far south as Cilloh to as far westwards as the Flox.
Cilnanny Tullach
This dialect emerged in Inil teCilna and subsequently spread to southern mainland Tullachia. Some linguists argue that Cilnnany diverged enough from Middle Tullach to be considered a separate language, mostly aided by the Cilna Local Council who list it as a proxy-official language. Nonetheless, it is rapidly growing unpopular amongst locals, nowadays only notably visible in the far south-east of Inil teCilna.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Labio-velar | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | voiceless | plain | n̥ | (ŋ̊) | |||||||||||||||||||
| labialised | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| voiced | plain | m | mː | n | nː | (ŋ) | |||||||||||||||||
| labialised | mʷ | mʷː | nʷ | nʷː | |||||||||||||||||||
| Plosive | voiceless | plain | p | pː | ʰpː | t | tː | ʰtː | k | kː | ʰkː | ||||||||||||
| labialised | pʷ | pʷː | ʰpʷː | tʷ | tʷː | ʰtʷː | kʷ | kʷː | ʰkʷː | ||||||||||||||
| voiced | plain | b | bː | d | dː | g | gː | ||||||||||||||||
| labialised | bʷ | bʷː | dʷ | dʷː | gʷ | gʷː | |||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | plain | (f) | s | sː | ʃ | x | h | |||||||||||||||
| labialised | sʷ | sʷː | ʃʷ | xʷ | |||||||||||||||||||
| voiced | plain | v | ð | ||||||||||||||||||||
| labialised | vʷ | ðʷ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Affricate | voiceless | plain | t͡s | ||||||||||||||||||||
| labialised | t͡sʷ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approximant | voiced | plain | l | lː | |||||||||||||||||||
| labialised | lʷ | lʷː | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral fricative | voiceless | plain | ɬ | ɬː | |||||||||||||||||||
| labialised | ɬʷ | ɬʷː | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Approximant | voiceless | ʍ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| voiced | j | w | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Trill | voiceless | ʰr̥ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| voiced | r | r: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Flap | voiceless | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| voiced | ɾ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
- Voiceless [n̥] and [ŋ̊] only ever appear as syllabic consonants:
- tusknzø tuscnzø [ˈtus.kn̥̩.ˌt͡sø] ('merchant ship')
- isknzraØh iscnzraǿh [ˌɪs.kn̩.t͡sɾa.ˈøx] ('necromancy')
- aznkAt azncát [ˌa.t͡sŋ̩̊.ˈkat] ('happiness')
- [ŋ] is an allophone of [n] before velar consonants.
- ankah ancah [ˈaŋ.kax] ('tremor, earthquake')
- [f] appears only in loanwords, however is nonetheless written and thus often pronounced just as ⟨v⟩ [v].
Vowels
| Front | Near-front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | ||||||
| Near-close | ɪ | |||||||
| Close-mid | e | ø | o | |||||
| Mid | ə | |||||||
| Open | a | |||||||
Initial mutations
Tullach, similar to other languages in the Tullachian language family, is characterised by its lenitive consonant mutation. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word or a words primary morpheme under specific morphological and syntactic conditions.
This table shows the phonological effects of lenition across both the affected plain and labialised consonants in Tullach with both Adzamic and Romanised spellings.
| Unmutated | Lenition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Example | Pronunciation | Meaning | IPA | Example | Pronunciation | Meaning | |
| p | /p/ /pʷ/ |
pokta pocta |
/ˈpokta/ | camel | /v/ /vʷ/ |
t'pOkta t:pócta |
/təˈpokta/ | of the camel |
| b | /b/ /bʷ/ |
brih brih |
/bɾɪx/ | bog | /v/ /vʷ/ |
g'brIh g:bríh |
/gəˈvɾɪx/ | at the bog |
| t | /t/ /tʷ/ |
twogoh tûogoh |
/ˈtʷogox/ | mammoth | /h/ /ʍ/ |
r'twOgoh r:tûógoh |
/ɾəˈʍogox/ | to the mammoth |
| d | /d/ /dʷ/ |
dwar dûar |
/dʷar/ | headland | /ð/ /ðʷ/ |
g'dwAr g:dûár |
/gəˈðʷar/ | at the headland |
| k | /k/ /kʷ/ |
kom:a comma |
/ˈkomːa/ | feather | /x/ /xʷ/ |
t'kOm:a t:cómma |
/təˈxomːa/ | of the feather |
| g | /g/ /gʷ/ |
gey geî |
/gɛi̯/ | pasture | /x/ /xʷ/ |
ka'gEya ca:géîa |
/kaˈxeja/ | in the pastures |
| s | /s/ /sʷ/ |
swa sûa |
/sʷa/ | gust of wind | /ʃ/ /ʃʷ/ |
ł'swA ł:sûá |
/ɬəˈʃʷa/ | by a gust of wind |
| l | /l/ /lʷ/ |
løt løt |
/løt/ | crown | /ɬ/ /ɬʷ/ |
t'lØt t:lǿt |
/təˈɬøt/ | of the crown |
| h | /h/ | hutar hutar |
/ˈhutar/ | eye | /∅/ | s'hutra s:hutra |
/ˈsutɾa/ | two eyes |
| hr | /ʰr̥/ | hruk:iw hrucciû |
/ˈʰr̥uʰkːɪʍ/ | mattress | /r/ | g'hrUk:iw g:hrúcciû |
/gəˈruʰkːɪʍ/ | on mattresses |
Environments of lenition
Consonant mutation can occur in Tullach in the following circumstances:
- After a case proclitic (exemplified in the table above);
- In the absolutive singular or plural after non-compound numbers and quantifiers:
- taw dø taû dø [taw ðø] ('three fields')
- giw hrak:a giû hracca [gɪw ˈraʰkːa] ('great secrecy' [lit: 'a lot of secrecy'])
- After the imperative particle:
- a tis. a tis! [a his] ('Spread yourselves out!')
- u a gøn:ay us. u a gønnaî us! [wa ˈxønːai̯ us] ('Don't get angry at me!')
Changes to vowel-initial words
In some dialects, particularly Western Rural Tullach, vowel-initial words may undergo n-prosthesis after common approximant-final words.
- Nouns marked by non-compound numbers and quantifiers in the absolutive singular or plural for all noun classes, the dative dual or plural for human nouns, or the instrumental dual for inanimate nouns:
- taw n'ankaka taû n-ancaca [taw ˈnaŋ.ka.ka] ('three earthquakes')
- giw n'on:a giû n-onna [gɪw ˈnonːa] ('a lot of talking')
- ab:ay n'u'hrUn:avakad abbaî n-u:hrúnnavacad [ˈabːai̯ nəˈrunːaˌvacað] ('for the very few bakers')
- vuw n'u'lOzah vuû n-u:lózah [vou̯ nəˈɬo.t͡sax] ('not with either of the two knives')
- All vowel-beginning verbs in the imperative after the imperative particle:
- a n'ałEn. a n-ałén! [a naˈɬen] ('get on your knees!')
Prosody
Tullach typically follows an antepenultimate stress system in words with three syllables or more; in words with two syllables, stress tends to fall on the penult. Any other syllable with primary stress is marked with a diacritic. The stressed syllable of a stem word is maintained in compounds and with case proclitics:
- hrak:a hracca [ˈʰr̥aʰkːa] ('dark, black; secret, obscure')
- hrak:a hracca [ˈʰr̥aʰkːa] ('darkness; secrecy, obscurity')
- hrak:ara hraccara [ˈʰr̥aʰkːaˌɾa] ('to be dark, be black; to be secretive, lie in the shadows')
- ahrAk:a ahrácca [aˈraʰkːa] ('to darken, make black, make dirty; to obscure; to afflict')
- ahrAk:ah ahráccah [aˈraʰkːax] ('act of darkening')
- ahrak:aka ahraccaca [aˈraʰkːaˌka] ('stain')
- ahrak:aya ahraccaîa [aˈraʰkːaˌja] ('to become dark, turn black; to get dirty')
- g'hrAk:a g:hrácca [gəˈraʰkːa] ('in secrecy')
- k'ahrak:aka c:ahraccaca [kaˈraʰkaka] ('with a stain')
- a n'ahrAk. a n-ahrác! [a naˈrak] ('make it darker!')
Verbs
Compounding
Much like in Gfiewish, though to a greater extent, Tullach verbs may be prefixed in a way to denote various aspectual distinctions or outright alter the meaning of the verb entirely. Etymologically, these verbal prefixes either stemmed from prepositions or common adjectives that adopted new meanings.
| kwara cûara "to go, move" |
on:a onna "to speak, talk" |
rosta rosta "to take, capture" | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning of prefix | ||||
| a- a- |
"towards, at" | ak:wa accûa "to go out, set off, begin a journey; to progress" |
aOn:a aónna "to make literate, teach language (to)" |
arOsta arósta "to take, seize (a person), kidnap; to violate" |
| ad- ad- |
"down, under, up to; wrong, astray" | adakwa adacûa "to go under or down, die; to sneak up (on)" |
adOn:a adónna "to mumble, slur; to misspeak" |
adrOsta adrósta "to trap, beguile, deceive; to collapse, crumble" |
| en- en- |
"cause within, inside" | enkwa encûa "to set in motion; to cause; to inspire" |
enrOsta enrósta "to absorb, engross" | |
| ta- ta- |
"about, around" | tak:wa taccûa "to wander around; to err, make a mistake" |
taOn:a taónna "to circumlocute; to talk around a subject" |
|
| da- da- |
"up, above, on top" | dak:wa daccûa "to ascend, mount; to pass away; to grow up" |
daOn:a daónna "to articulate, put into words" |
darOsta darósta "to undergo, endure; to bear or beget children" |
| ga- ga- |
"on, at the surface" | gak:wa gaccûa "to walk or step on; to climb onto" |
gaOn:a gaónna "to interrupt, talk over, speak out of turn" |
garOsta garósta "to receive, accept; to hear; to obtain" |
| sa- sa- |
"from; outwards, away" | sak:wa saccûa "to leave, exit; to escape (from)" |
saOn:a saónna "to pronounce; to enunciate, speak clearly" |
sarOsta sarósta "to steal, take away; to take as hostage" |
| ra- ra- |
"back; opposite" | rak:wa raccûa "to return, come back; to turn away from" |
raOn:a raónna "to speak a foreign language" |
rarOsta rarósta "to confiscate, (authorities) seize" |
| ła- ła- |
"altogether, as one; at the same time" | łak:wa łaccûa "to group, swarm; to be an ally of; to have sex" |
łaOn:a łaónna "to converse; to chant, speak all at once" |
łarOsta łarósta "to share with or amongst a group" |
| Rarer attested verbal prefixes | ||||
| ub- u(b)- |
"either one of two; both at the same time" | ubOn:a ubónna "to contradict; to confute" |
||
| tir- tir- |
"after" | tir:Osta tirrósta "to avenge, exact revenge" | ||
| me- me- |
"close, nearby" | mek:wa meccûa "to get close or near, approach" |
||
| nu- nu- |
"before, previously" | nurOsta nurósta "to anticipate, expect; to take charge" | ||
| sø- sø- |
"big, great, vast" | søOn:a søónna "to give a speech, orate" |
||
| hon- hon- |
"long-lasting, for a long time; repeatedly, often" | honkwa honcûa "to travel often; to live a nomadic lifestyle" |
honrOsta honrósta "to beseige" | |