Zenian language
Zenian (Latin: Zehnikéh ghlóhksa, Greek: Ζηνικῆ γλῶξα pronounced [zɛːniˈcɛː ˈɣlɔːksa]), is a conlang aiming to be spoken in the State of Zenia. It is related to Modern, Koine and Ancient Greek. Zenian is the co-official language of the State of Zenia.
Writing system
Zenian is written in both Latin and Greek alphabet, which are ultimately descended from the Phoenician alphabet.
| Latin | Greek | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| A a | Α α | /a/ |
| B b | ΜΠ μπ | /b/ |
| C c | ΤΣ τσ, τς | /t͡s/ |
| CS cs | ΤϺ τϻ | /t͡ʃ/ |
| D d | ΝΤ ντ | /d/ |
| DH dh | Δ δ | /ð/ |
| DS ds | ΤΖ τζ | /d͡z/ |
| DZH dzh | ΤϠ τϡ | /d͡ʒ/ |
| E e | Ε ε | /e/ |
| EH eh | Η η | /ɛː/ |
| F f | Φ φ | /f/ |
| G g | ΓΚ γκ | /g/, /ɟ/ |
| GH gh | Γ γ | /ɣ/ |
| GJ gj | ΓΚ(Ι) γκ(ι) | /ɟ/ |
| H h | (long vowel) | /ː/ |
| I i | Ι ι | /i/ |
| J j | Γ(Ι) γ(ι) | /ʝ/ |
| K k | Κ κ | /k/, /c/ |
| KS ks | Ξ ξ | /ks/ |
| L l | Λ λ | /l/ |
| LJ lj | ΛΙ λι | /ʎ/ |
| M m | Μ μ | /m/ |
| N n | Ν ν | /n/, /ŋ/ |
| NJ nj | ΝΙ νι | /ɲ/ |
| O o | Ο ο | /o/, /ɔ/ |
| OH oh | Ω ω | /ɔː/ |
| P p | Π π | /p/ |
| PS ps | Ψ ψ | /ps/ |
| Q q | Ϙ ϙ | /c/ |
| R r | Ρ ρ | /r/ |
| S s | Σ σ ς | /s/ |
| SH sh | Ϻ ϻ | /ʃ/ |
| T t | Τ τ | /t/ |
| TH th | Θ θ | /θ/ |
| U u | ΟΥ ου | /u/, /uː/ |
| V v | Β β | /v/ |
| W w | Ϝ ϝ | /w/ |
| X x | Χ χ | /x/ |
| XJ xj | Χ(Ι) χ(ι) | /ç/ |
| Y y | Υ υ | /y/ |
| Z z | Ζ ζ | /z/ |
| ZH zh | Ϡ ϡ | /ʒ/ |
Out of the 42 Latin character sets, 15 of them are digraphs and there is also the Dzh trigraph that symbolises the voiced postalveolar affricate [d͡ʒ].
The lower-case letter Σ (S) ("sigma") is written ς (s) at the end of a word, otherwise σ (s), e.g. στέλος (stélos, "wide").
Diacritics
Aiming to revive the Ancient and Medieval Greek polytonic orthography (from polys (πολύς) "much, many" and tonos (τόνος) "accent"), the diacritics present in Zenian orthography are; the acute accent (´, both alphabets), the circumflex (ˆ, Greek only, see letter H h), and the grave accent (`, both alphabets) indicate different kinds of pitch accent. Nevertheless, the breathing marks were not utilised, as Zenian doesn't require the distinction of breathing. There is also the diaeresis (¨) in the Greek writing system, which usually indicates a hiatus but occasionally indicates a diphthong. Additionally, the apostrophe (') is used when writing in Greek to denote the separate pronunciation of certain sounds, compare "ντ" /d/ and "ν'τ" /nt/.
- The acute accent ( ´ ; known as ὀξεῖα (oxeîa) in Greek) is used on short vowels on any of the last three syllables of a word. However, if the last vowel of the word is long (with certain exceptions), the acute cannot go further from the end than the penultimate syllable. For instance, πτολία (ptolía, "city").
- The grave accent ( ` ; known as βαρεῖα (bareîa, bare in Greek)) is used on long or short vowels and usually replaces an acute accent on the final syllable of a word when the word is used non-finally in a sentence. So the word βαρύς (varýs) "heavy" changes to βαρὺς (varỳs) in the phrase βαρὺς ανῆρ (varỳs anéhr) "heavy man". However, the acute remains when a punctuation mark follows. The grave accent represents absence of high pitch, i.e. normal pitch.
- The circumflex (Greek: περισπωμένη (perispōménē in Greek)), displayed as a tilde ( ˜ ) is used only on long vowels. It is typically found (a) where a long-vowel penultimate syllable which has the accent is followed by a short-vowel final syllable (e.g. γῆνε (ghehne) "woman"); (b) in the genitive and the dative case of all nouns and adjectives. In the Latin alphabet, it is rather indicated as the letter 'h' after a vowel (apart from 'u' and 'y').
Phonology
Zenian exhibits common phonological elements with Modern Greek, with the addition of sounds that are present in Greek dialects, as well as the standard form of other Balkan languages.
Consonants
The following chart depicts the consonant inventory of Zenian; many of the sounds, however, are allophones of other sounds.
In the table, the elements left of a divide are voiceless, while those to the right are voiced.
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Palatal | Velar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | /m/ [m/μ] | /n/ [n/ν] | /ɲ/ [nj/ν(ι)] | /ŋ/ [n/ν] | ||||||||||||
| Stop | /p/ [p/π] | /b/ [b/μπ] | /t/ [t/τ] | /d/ [d/ντ] | /c/ [q,k/ϙ,κ(ι)] | /ɟ/ [g(j)/γ(κ(ι))] | /k/ [k,κ] | /g/ [g,γκ] | ||||||||
| Affricate | /t͡s/ [c/τσ,τς] | /d͡z/ [ds/τζ] | /t͡ʃ/ [cs/τϻ] | /d͡ʒ/ [dzh/τϡ] | ||||||||||||
| Fricative | /f/ [f/φ] | /v/ [v/β] | /θ/ [th/θ] | /ð/ [dh/δ] | /s/ [s/σ,ς] | /z/ [z/ζ] | /ʃ/ [sh/ϻ] | /ʒ/ [zh/ϡ] | /ç/ [x(j)/χ(ι)] | /ʝ/ [j/γ(ι)] | /x/ [x/χ] | /ɣ/ [gh/γ] | ||||
| Approximant | /w/ [w/ϝ] | |||||||||||||||
| Trill | /r/ [r/ρ] | |||||||||||||||
| Lateral | /l/ [l/λ] | /ʎ/ [lj/λι] | ||||||||||||||
Vowels
Zenian has a system of 8 vowels /a, e, ɛ, i, o, ɔ, u, y/. There is phonemic length distinction.
| Front (Advanced tongue root) |
Back (Retracted tongue root) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | /i/ [i/ι] | /y/ [y/υ] | /u/ [u/ου] | |
| Close-mid | /e/ [e/ε] | /o/ [o/ο] | ||
| Open-mid | /ɛ/ [eh/η] | /ɔ/ [oh/ω] | ||
| Open | /a/ [a/α] | |||