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DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: Dwarven Linguistics: Community Project
« on: December 26, 2013, 08:03:51 pm »
This thread is like llama wool on an evil glacier; just won't stay dead...
Something struck me about Dwarvish: it has the largest assortment of marked vowel sounds out of all the languages, with twenty-five total vowel sounds (compared to nineteen consonants, I think). This suggested to me that Dwarves are very attuned to vowel sounds, making small and certain distinctions and relationships between them. Following this thinking, I created a chart:
(No, it isn't a pentacle)
It shows the relationships between all the vowels and their subtypes. I is considered the "highest" vowel (i.e. in the mouth, cf. IPA); Å is the lowest; the rest are in between, with E and A being "in front" and O and U being "in back."
Circumflex marks a "long" vowel, considered an extension of the "standard" vowel.
Diareses mark "half-vowels," considered weaker or in-between versions standard vowels. They have distinct sounds:
Ï = yɪ
Ë = ø
Ä = æ (the a in "bat")
Ö = wɔ
(Note that this introduces y and w sounds into Dwarvish, which were previously absent)
Acutes and Graves mark "lifts" and "drops," respectively (or rises and falls, I haven't quite decided on terminology). They represent middle stages of a vowel, considered to be "lifting" or "dropping" towards a half-vowel. As before, for English speakers they'd sound exactly like the standard vowel.
Å still sounds like long O; it's not technically a half-vowel (it's called the "deep vowel" or the "deep A") but it's treated pretty much the same.
Continuing in the "Dwarves notice vowel sounds a lot better than we do" reasoning, I though that maybe using ablauts for alterations in meaning would be a good idea. For example, the plural of English "man" is "men"; the vowel shift expresses plurality. Same for goose-->geese (and maybe mouse-->mice?).
I've come up with a sample system for verbs using this approach. The shifts follow the relationships between the vowels, as outlined in the Vîr.
Something struck me about Dwarvish: it has the largest assortment of marked vowel sounds out of all the languages, with twenty-five total vowel sounds (compared to nineteen consonants, I think). This suggested to me that Dwarves are very attuned to vowel sounds, making small and certain distinctions and relationships between them. Following this thinking, I created a chart:
Spoiler: The Vîr Amvôd (Vowel Star) (click to show/hide)
It shows the relationships between all the vowels and their subtypes. I is considered the "highest" vowel (i.e. in the mouth, cf. IPA); Å is the lowest; the rest are in between, with E and A being "in front" and O and U being "in back."
Circumflex marks a "long" vowel, considered an extension of the "standard" vowel.
Diareses mark "half-vowels," considered weaker or in-between versions standard vowels. They have distinct sounds:
Ï = yɪ
Ë = ø
Ä = æ (the a in "bat")
Ö = wɔ
(Note that this introduces y and w sounds into Dwarvish, which were previously absent)
Acutes and Graves mark "lifts" and "drops," respectively (or rises and falls, I haven't quite decided on terminology). They represent middle stages of a vowel, considered to be "lifting" or "dropping" towards a half-vowel. As before, for English speakers they'd sound exactly like the standard vowel.
Å still sounds like long O; it's not technically a half-vowel (it's called the "deep vowel" or the "deep A") but it's treated pretty much the same.
Continuing in the "Dwarves notice vowel sounds a lot better than we do" reasoning, I though that maybe using ablauts for alterations in meaning would be a good idea. For example, the plural of English "man" is "men"; the vowel shift expresses plurality. Same for goose-->geese (and maybe mouse-->mice?).
I've come up with a sample system for verbs using this approach. The shifts follow the relationships between the vowels, as outlined in the Vîr.
Spoiler: Verbs! (click to show/hide)
