Ushic language

Ushic
Uc Jeğōvpˤi Uš Ceğóvp’i Ucdem Ušdem
Pronunciation	[ʊʃ tsɨ̃ɣõwˈp͡ɸɪ / 'ʊʃdɨm]
Ethnicity	Ushic
Language family	Trans-Ebo-Puzimm Ushic
Early forms:	Middle Ushic Proto-Koan Ushic
Dialects	Nožen dialect
Writing system	Letso-Vaniuan alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Ushia
CWS code	–

Ushic (/'ʊʃɪk/) is a Trans-Ebo-Puzimm language spoken in the Kingdom of Ushia, where it is coöfficial with Balak. It is spoken primarily by the demographically dominant Ushic people in Ush State, with the Nožen variety being official in Nožen State.

Classification

Ushic belongs to the Puzimmic branch of Trans-Ebo-Puzimm languages.

Phonology

Phonemes

	Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal
Plosive
Fricative
Approximant

	Front	Central	Back
Close
Mid
Open

Vocabulary

...

Due to the history of Ushia, Balak loanwords are extremely common in the Ushic lexicon, accounting for relativelybigpercentage% of the dictionary. Unlike other loanwords however, these and other loanwords relating to Zarasaism in most cases retain their original spelling. However, they will be typically be pronounced as native words - for example, the word Barahzan /bɑ.rɑh.ˈðɑn/ will be pronounced pronounced [bɑ.rɛ.ˈðɑ̃n]. There are differences in the pronunciation of Balak loanwords depending on formality and levels of education. For example, the Balak letter ⟨j⟩ is the same letter used for Ushic ⟨ž⟩, meaning that a more educated speaker would pronounce it /dʒ/, whilst in informal situations it will most often be pronounced /ʒ/, as the letter is used for native words. This applies to other letters such as Balak ⟨z⟩, which would typically be pronounced /ð/, but may be [z] for certain speakers, especially those better versed in Balak. Similarly, ⟨q⟩ is usually realised is /q/, although some may choose to pronounce it as [ɣ~h]. Another important series are the Balak sequences ⟨sv⟩, ⟨zv⟩, and ⟨cv⟩. The realisation of these sounds largely depends on the speaker, but typically approach [s(ɨ)ɸ], [ð(ɨ)β], and [ʦ(ɨ)ɸ].