Making your own constructed language seems to be a bit of a trend around these parts, so I decided to make my own. I thought that it would be neat. I'm going for a simple, yet highly structured (and maybe a bit futuristic) language, making it very compact. Its true writing system in the form of intricate symbols (each one representing a whole sentence), though I'm using this alphabetical system to ease readability. I have a bit of the grammar down and a tidbit of vocabulary at the moment, but I'd like suggestions on how to expand and build it and whatnot.

Here's the grammar:

• The first letter of every word indicates its part of speech and its meaning, to some extent.
• Some words (like mother/father, girl/boy, etc.) have either an i or an É› as the SECOND VOWEL (anywhere else is meaningless), i being feminine and É› being masculine.
• An apostrophe after a word denotes a specification (which is to say, when you are reffering to a specific person, place, or thing).
• Adjectives come after what they describe ("house green" for "green house" and "walking fast" for "fast walking").
• The word pæ is used before a name to indicate that you are saying a name.
• The word pÊŒθÉ› is used before a list to indicate that you are saying a list.

Here's a google doc that I got going for it:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/t8FRf6zAOZqOymO6anTO3fQ/htmlview?pli=1

You can't edit it (not yet?), but you can comment to your heart's content.

My next post is an overview of the non-traditional alphabet (I haven't even begun to create the traditional writing system).

Awesome! Can't wait to find out more. I like how you're working in IPA to start - usually people have an alphabet/transliteration and then figure out the IPA.

Question, how do you define a "middle vowel?" This is a problem Aloktaas and I came across when working on our version of TES Nordic. For example, which vowel would be considered the middle vowel in multi-syllable words like "computer" or "academy"?

NON-TRADITIONAL ALPHABET

WITH PRONUNCIATION EXPLAINATION (in American English, at least.)

a - day

æ - cat

b - bat

x - dovahzul "dovahhe" in some pronunciations

d - day

e - see

É› - bet

θ - theatre

g - good

h - hat

i - eye

Ê’ - vision

k - clap

l - lap

m - map

n - nap

Ê” - glottal stop, in "uh-oh"

p - pay

r - ray, or Spanish "pero"

rr - rolled, Spanish "perro"

ʃ - shoe

s - see

t - try

ʌ - fun

v - very

w - win

y - yellow

The apostrophe ( ' ) is not part of the alphabet, but is pronouned prr. "Prr" is also what the apostrophe is called, even though this breaks the grammar a bit.

@paarthurnax: hmm. Good question. Honestly, I didn't think much about it. Well, how about this: the second vowel will become the masculine/feminine vowel (edit made). Since every syllable has to comprise of one consonant and one vowel preceding it.

Also, using IPA was really a no-brainer for me. It just made things much simpler.

I also like the idea of using IPA symbols as the alphabet! Seems like it's not true to IPA though, for instance the vowel in "day" is not /a/ it's /eɪ/. Is this distortion intentional?

Foduiiz

I also like the idea of using IPA symbols as the alphabet! Seems like it's not true to IPA though, for instance the vowel in "day" is not /a/ it's /eɪ/. Is this distortion intentional?

Good catch. This was actually intentional, I felt like it was easier and, well, I wanted to have the word "love" sound the same as the Furbish "may-may" :) It doesn't, though. But I kept the a as it was. I might change something about it.

(OLD) TRADITIONAL ALPHABET PLANNING

I've began to construct the traditional writing system. It has problems but here it is:

It uses a system of shapes & placement of little circles to indicate the consonant and a system of dots to indicate vowels with their paired consonant (it must go C-V-C-V).

Here's the problems that I have with it:

• The symbol takes up a lot of unused space. This might be remedied by using a spiral in the stead of a circle, and this would allow much easier long sentences. This could also be helpful in showing where a sentence ends.
• I completely forgot a consonant! o_o I meant to include the "glottal stop" (Ê”) as a consonant and somehow never did, and I'm not sure how to include it now.

TRADITIONAL WRITING REVISED

Here's the revised system, this one using circular patterns and relying on the placement of the vowels to define the consonants. This enforces the "Consonant-Vowel" rule, so names would have to have "ʌ" appended to them, insomuch that they end in a consonant. This system writes in spirals.

The previous system is not used.

I'd like some advice on the traditional writing system above. I don't consider it complete just yet.

I feel like I could do without the spiral line going through the entire sentence. I would like to do away with it, but still keep it read in a circular patern, and to be able to discern between different sentences/ideas (how do I show a full stop?).

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

I've did some doodling and came up with some concepts of what the number symbols may be. Here they are, with some possible alternative 9 and 6, though other numbers may be re-done, also.

Let's just pretend that they are all perfect circles.