Meckelnish language

This article or section is a work in progress. The information below may be incomplete, outdated, or subject to change.

Meckelnish
[other names]
[native name]
Pronunciation	[insert]
Native to	Meckelnburgh  • Alexandretta  • Siegrwangria  • The Clanlands Branniboria
Region	Northern Apollonia  • Tallandor Bay   • Crowsilver Sea   • Esthar
Ethnicity	Meckelners
Native speakers	approx. [unknown]
Language family	Pancontinental  • Prætaic–Arminic   • Crando-Batavian    • Apollo-Batavian     • Meckelnish
Early forms	Proto-Crando-Batavian  • Old Low Maas   • Old Meckelnish    • Early Modern Meckelnish
Standard form	Victoria University Standard
Dialects	Insular (Branniboria) Sanktago (The Clanlands)
Writing system	Audente script (Meckelnish alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh  •  Meckelnburgh  •  Branniboria
Regulated by	Royal Academy of Letters
Language codes
MOS-9 codes	mk

The Meckelnish language is an official language of the United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh and the constituent states of Meckelnburgh and Branniboria, where it is spoken second to Istvanistani by a majority of the population. Meckelnish is a Crando-Batavian language, with heavy influences of Alexandrian, another national language of Meckelnburgh.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
Nasal	m				n
Plosive	p	b			t	d				k	g
Fricative	f	v	θ	ð	s	z	ʃ	(ʒ)	ç	x		h	(ɦ)
Approximant					l				j	w
Rhotic					ɹ

Monophthongs

	Front			Central	Back
	unrounded		rounded
	oral	nasal			oral	nasal
Close	i		y		u
Near-close	ɪ		(ʏ)
Mid	e̞	(ɛ̃)		(ə)	o	(ɔ̃)
Open	a	(ã)			ɑ

Diphthongs

	Fronting	Backing
Close	ui̯
Close-mid	ei̯	ou̯
Open-mid	ɔi̯	ɛu̯
Open	ai̯	au̯

Consonants (extended)

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m				n				(ɲ)		(ŋ)
Plosive		p	b			t	d					k	g
Aff.	sibilant							(t͡ʃ)	(d͡ʒ)	[(t͡ɕ))	[(d͡ʑ)]
	nonsibilant									(c͡ç)	(ɟ͡ʝ)
Fricative		f	v	θ	ð	s	z	ʃ	(ʒ)	ç	[(ʝ)]	x	[ɣ]	(ʁ)	h	(ɦ)
Appx.	central					ɹ				j
	lateral			(ɫ)		l				(ʎ)
	labial									(ɥ)		(ʍ)	w

NB: Sounds marked by (…) are non-phonemic, allophonic or marginal. Sounds marked by […] are historical.

H-realization

Voiceless		Voiced
sound	/h/	sound	/h/
/i/, /j/	/ç/	/u/	(/ʁ/)
/ɪ/	/ç̠/	/o/	(/ɦ̹/)
/e/	/ç̞/
/ə/	/h̝̠/
/e̞/	/h̝/
/ɛ/, /a/	/h/	/ɑ/	(/ɦ/)

Syllables

Basic structure: (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C). Only one vowel or diphthong per nucleus.

Consonants

Yod insertion

Target vowel	Trigger	Constraints	Syllable	Example	Notes
/uː/, /yː/	Labials, velars, /h/ (non-approximants)	—	Onset	*/huːs/ → /hjuːs/	no palatalization, only used in and limited to Old Meckelnish, not Early Modern or Modern
/y/, /ʏ/	Non-lab. or pal. consonants	—	Onset	*/fyɹt/ → /fjyɹt/	—
/y/, /ʏ/, /u/, /o/	Consonant clusters	Non-labializing final C, stressed syllables	Onset (syllable-initial)	*/pɑlm.o/ → /pɑlm.jo/	with palatalization, if required
/y/, /ʏ/, /u/	—	—	Onset (word-initial)	*/yt.ãn/ → /jyt.ãn/	—
/u/	Pal. non-approximants	Stressed syllables	Onset	*/bat.u/ → /bat͡ʃ.ju/	with palatalization, if required
	/ç/	—	Onset	*/çum/ → /çjum/	—
any	—	Bare, stressed syllables	Onset	*/bʏn.ɑ/ → /bʏɲ.jɑ/	—

Articulatory mutations

Palatalization and postalveolarization

		Postalveolar		Palatal
Nasal				n → (ɲ)
Affricative		t → (t͡ʃ)	d → (d͡ʒ)	k → (c͡ç)	g → (ɟ͡ʝ)
Fricative		s → ʃ	z → (ʒ)	x → ç		h → ç
Approx.	lateral			l → (ʎ) / lʲ
	labial			w → (ɥ) / wʲ

Aspiration

	Labial	Alveolar	Velar
Plosive	pʰ	tʰ	kʰ

Labialization

	Velar
Plosive	kʷ	gʷ
Fricative	xʷ
Approximant	lʷ / (ɫʷ)
Rhotic	ɹʷ

Articulatory mutations process

Target sound	Trigger	Mutation	Syllable	Example	Notes
any vowel	/ɹ/ or /l/ + consonant (lab.), or consonant (lab.) + (/ɹ/ or /l/), in clusters	Labialization	Thoughout	*[gɹuɫ] → [gʷɹʷuɫʷ]	labialization moves through liquids, general rule
	/s/ + plosive (voiceless), in clusters	Palatalization blocking	Onset	/skjup/ → /skjup/	controls over all other palatalization rules
	/ç/		Thoughout	/çjup/ → /çjup/	—
	Consonants (if not palatalized, voiceless plosives, /p/, /t/, /k/)	Aspiration	Onset (aside verb)	*[tau̯n] → [tʰau̯n]	—
/i/	/l/ (onset)	Palatalization	Onset	*/lik/ → /ʎik/	—
	Approximants (triggered in following syllable, /l/ and /w/)	Transitional palatalization	Coda (trans syllabic)	*[ke̞l.in] → [ke̞lʲ.in]	/lʲ/ and /wʲ/ used
/i/ (before)	Approximants and rhotics (/l/, (/ɫ/), /ɹ/)	Labialization	Coda	*[θilt] → [θilʷt]	—
/y/, /ʏ/	Fricatives (post-palatal, /ç/, /h/, (/ɦ/))	Deletion	Onset	*/hyt/ → /yt/	apply vowel sequence resolution
	Fricatives and plosives (postalveolar, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/), approximants (/l/ and /w/), nasals (/n/)	Palatalization	Coda (trans syllabic), onset	*/lyɹl/ → /ʎyɹl/	—
	Fricatives and plosives (velar, /k/, /g/, /x/), rhotics (/ɹ/)	Labialization	Onset	*[kyŋg] → [kʷyŋg]	—
/u/	Consonants (labializing, voiced, /g/, /l/, /ɹ/)	Labialization	Onset	*[gʷun] → [gʷun]	(/ɫ/) inapplicable in onsent
/u/ (before)	Approximants and rhotics (/l/, (/ɫ/), /ɹ/)		Coda (trans syllabic), onset	*[fjuɹ.la] → [fjuɹʷ.la]	—
/j/	Rhotics (/ɹ/)	Deletion	Onset	*/ɹjut/ → /jut/	apply vowel sequence resolution
	Consonants (palatalizing, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /k/, /g/, /x/, /l/, /w/, /h/)	Palatalization	Coda (trans syllabic), onset	*/ðɑd.jo/→ /ðɑd͡ʒ.jo/	—
/ɹ/	Fricatives (post-palatal, /ç/, /x/, /h/, (/ɦ/)), approximants (/l/, /w/), nasals (/n/)	Deletion	Onset	*/çɹip/ → /ɹip/	apply vowel sequence resolution
	Fricatives and plosives (alveolar, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/)	Post-alveolarization	Coda (trans syllabic), onset	*/zɹãn/ → /ʒɹãn/	—
/w/	Approximants and rhotics (/l/, /ɹ/)	Deletion	Onset	*/ɹwɪd/ → /wɪd/	before phonemic /w/
	Fricatives and plosives (velar, /k/, /g/, /x/)	Labialization	Onset	*[gwis] → [gʷwis]	—

NB: The chart only references, and excludes, sounds that can undergo a mutation, as shown in the above tables.

Intervocalic

Intervocalic phonotactics

Rule	Outcome	Notes
/ç/ resolution	*/ç/ → /j/	—
Fricative (glottal) deletion	*/h/ → ∅, *(/ɦ/) → ∅	apply vowel sequence resolution
Fricative (velar) fortition	*/x/ → /k/	—
Fricative and affricate voicing	e.g. */f/ → /v/, */θ/ → /ð/, (/t͡ʃ/) → (/d͡ʒ/)	no intervocalic /x/, /ç/, /h/, (/ɦ/), apply vowel sequence resolution, secondary to other intervocalic rules
Germinate simplification	e.g. */p.p/ → /p/, /s.s/ → /s/, /n.n/ → /n/	—
/w/ stabilization	e.g. /t.ʍ/, /s.ʍ/, */g.ʍ/ → /g.w/, */ð.ʍ/ → /ð.w/	—
/ɫ/ stabilization	e.g. /(ɫ).C/ → /l.C/, /(ɫ).V/ → /l.V/	—

Onset clusters

C₁- syllable onsets

Pattern	Allowed	Notes
Stops	/p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/	—
Fricatives (pre-palatal)	/f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, (/ʒ/), /x/	—
Fricatives (palatal-glottal)	e.g. */çu/ → /çju/, *[ho] → [ɦ̹o], see note	/çu/ subject to yod insertion, other syllable-onset /ç/, /h/, (/ɦ/) resolved as /h/ via H-allophone series
Nasals	/m/ and /n/	—
Approximants	/ɹ/, /l/, /w/, /j/	—
/w/ + /i/ or /ɪ/	*/w/ → (/ʍ/)	devoices, subservient to /w/ rules in other clusters

C₁C₂- and C₁C₂C₃- syllable onsets

Pattern	Allowed	Notes
Stop + approximant	/pl/, /pɹ/, /bl/, /bɹ/, /tɹ/, /dɹ/, /kl/, /kɹ/, /gl/, /gɹ/, /tw/, /dw/, /kw/, /gw/	no /tl/, /dl/, /pw/, /bw/
Fricative + liquid	/fl/, /vl/	labials only
/s/ or /ʃ/ + stops (voiceless)	/sp/, /st/, /sk/, /ʃt/	no /ʃp/ or /ʃk/
/s/ + nasals	/sn/, /sm/	—
/s/ + approximants	/sw/, /sl/	no /sj/ or /sɹ/, /sw/ not devoiced
/s/ + stops (voiceless) + liquids	/spl/, /spɹ/, /stɹ/, /skɹ/	no /stl/ or /skl/
/ʃ/ + rhotics	/ʃɹ/	—

Coda clusters

-C₁ syllable codas

Pattern	Allowed	Notes
Stops	/p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/	—
Fricatives	/f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /x/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, (/ʒ/)	no /ç/, /h/ or (/ɦ/) word-final, applies in all other rules
Nasals	/m/ and /n/	/m/ and /n/ nasalize vowel (e.g. */en/ → /ɛ̃n/)
Liquids	/ɹ/ and */l/ → (/ɫ/)	/l/ velarizes to (/ɫ/)
Approximants	*/w/ → /u/	/w/ voices to /u/, no /j/

-C₁C₂C₃ syllable codas

Pattern	Allowed	Notes
Nasal + stop + /s/ or /z/	e.g. /mps/, */nks/ → /(ŋ)ks/, */nds/ → /ndz/, */ngs/ → /(ŋ)gz/	with /m/ and /n/ + stop restrictions, /n/ substitutes, assimilation in */(ŋ)gz/, /s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas
Nasal + stop + /t/	/mpt/, */nkt/ → /ŋkt/	voiceless only, /n/ substitutes
Liquid + stop + /s/ or /z/	e.g. /lps/, */lbs/ → /lbz/, /ɹks/, */ɹds/ → /ɹdz/	with liquids + stop restrictions, /s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas
Liquid + stop + /t/	/lpt/, /ɹpt/, /lkt/, /ɹkt/	voiceless only
Stop + stop (alveolar) + /s/ or /z/	/pts/, /kts/, */bdz/ → /bz/, */gdz/ → /gz/	voiced assimilate, /s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas
Liquid + /f/ or /v/ + /s/ or /z/	/lvz/, /ɹvz/, */lfs/ → /lvz/, */ɹfs/ → /ɹvz/	fricative and /s/ voices, labial only, with liquid + fricative restrictions
Fricative + /f/ or /v/ + /s/ or /z/	/fts/, */vds/ → /vz/	voiced assimilate, /s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas
Liquid + nasal + /s/ or /z/	/lmz/, */lms/ → /lmz/	/s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas
Rhotic + /l/ + /s/ or /z/	/ɹlz/, */ɹls/ → /ɹlz/	/s/-/z/ voicing in -C₁C₂ codas

-C₁C₂ syllable codas

Pattern	Allowed	Notes
Consonants (voiced) + /s/ or /z/	e.g. */gs/ → /gz/, */ds/ → /dz/, */ls/ → /lz/, */ws/ → /wz/	/s/ voices before voiced consonants, /z/ devoices before voiceless, applies ahead of all other rules, no /js/ or /(ɦ)s/, all others
Consonants (voiceless) + /s/ or /z/	e.g. /ts/, /fs/, /xs/, /ks/, /θs/	no /hs/ or /çs/, all others
Fricative + stop (alveolar)	/ft/, /vd/	no /fd/, /vt/
Stop + stop (alveolar)	/pt/, /kt/, /bd/, /gd/	no /pd/, /kd/, /bt/, /gt/
/s/ + stops	/sp/, /st/, /sk/, */sb/ → /sp/, */sd/ → /st/, */sg/ → /sk/	devoices
Nasal + fricative (coronal)	*/ns/ → /nz/, */ms/ → /mz/, */nʃ/ → /n(t͡ʃ)/, */n(ʒ)/ → /n(d͡ʒ)/	voices or affricates, no /mʃ/ or /m(ʒ)/
Nasal + fricative (dental)	/nθ/ or /nð/	devoices, no /mθ/ or /m
/n/ + stops	/nt/, /nd/, */nx/ → /(ŋ)x/, */nk/ → /(ŋ)k/, */ng/ → /(ŋ)g/	/n/ substitutes before /k/, /x/, /g/, no labials
/m/ + stops	/mp/ and /mb/	labials only
/l/ + stops	/lb/, /lp/, /lt/, /ld/, /lk/	no /lg/
/l/ + fricatives	/lf/, /lv/, /lθ/, /lð/, */ls/ → /lz/, /lz/, /lʃ/, /l(ʒ)/, /lx/	/lm/ nasalizes vowel (e.g. */alm/ → /ãlm/), no /ln/, /lç/,
/l/ + nasals	/lm/	no /ln/
Rhotic + consonants	e.g. /ɹl/, /ɹv/, /ɹm/, /ɹð/, /ɹt/, */ɹs/ → /ɹz/	no /ɹw/, /ɹç/, /ɹj/, all others

Vowels

Vowel phonotactics

Rule	Outcome	Notes
Stressed syllables	Monophthongs (/i/, /ɪ/, /y/, /u/, /e̞/, /o/, /a/, /ɑ/) and diphthongs (/ui̯/, /ei̯/, /ɔi̯/, /ou̯/, /ai̯/, /au̯/)	—
Unstressed closed syllables laxing	*/i/ → /ɪ/, */y/ → (/ʏ/)	—
Unstressed reduction to /ə/	e.g. */a/ → (/ə/), */e̞/ → (/ə/), */o/ → (/ə/)	occurs within an era, separate from deletion
/ə/ end open syllable deletion	e.g. */VC.(ə)/ → /VC/	occurs within an era, separate from reduction
/ə/ medial open syllable deletion	e.g. */C(ə).CV/ → /CCV/	if remaining cluster is lawful, occurs within an era, separate from reduction
/ə/ dropping in diphthongs	e.g. */(ə)u/ → /u/, */(ə)i/ → /i/, */(ə)o/ → /o/	—
Nasalizing before nasal coda	e.g. */on/ → /(ɔ̃)n/, */e̞m/ → /(ɛ̃)m/, */ɑlm/ → /(ã)lm/	triggered by /n/, /m/, /lm/ codas
Vowel (not close front) + /j/ or /i/	/ai̯/, /ei̯/, /ɔi̯/, /ui̯/	diphthongize
Vowel (mid front or back and open back) + /u/ or /w/	/au̯/, /ɛu̯/, /ou̯/	diphthongize

Vowel sequence resolution

V₁	V₂										Notes
	/i/	/ɪ/	/y/	/ʏ/	/u/	/e̞/	/o/	/a/	/ɑ/	/ə/
/i/	/i/		/j/ + V	/i/	/j/ + V					/i/	implicates palatalization
/ɪ/	/i/	/ɪ/	/y/	/ɪ/	/u/	/e̞/	/o/	/a/	/ɑ/	/ɪ/	stable vowel priority
/y/		/y/			/w/ + V					/y/	implicates labialization
/ʏ/	/i/	/ɪ/	/y/	/ʏ/	/u/	/e̞/	/o/	/a/	/ɑ/	/ʏ/	stable vowel priority
/u/	/ui̯/	/u/	/ui̯/	/u/		/w/ + V				/u/	implicates labialization
/e̞/	/ei̯/	/e̞/	/ɛu̯/			/e̞/	/o/	/a/	/ɑ/	/e̞/	/ɑ/ priority, more sonorant
/o/	/ɔi̯/	/o/	/ou̯/			/o/		/w/ + V		/o/	implicates labialization
/a/	/ai̯/	/a/	/au̯/			/a/	/au̯/	/a/	/ɑ/	/a/	/ɑ/ priority, more sonorant
/ɑ/	/ai̯/	/ɑ/				/ɑ/		/ɑ/		/ɑ/	/ɑ/ priority, more sonorant
/ə/	V									/ə/	/ə/ too weak, deletion

Orthography

Upper case	A	B	Ƀ	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	R	S	T	U	Ü	W	IJ	Z	Å	Þ	Ð	Æ*
Lower case	a	b	ƀ	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	m	n	o	p	r	s	t	u	ü	w	ij	z	å	þ	ð	æ
Name
IPA
Old name	aas	berk	aƀa	che	dåg	en	fai	geef	hagel	ijs	jod	ka	låg	man	nood	oos	peerð	reed	sigil	tir	ur	üe	wüün	ijg	gaisa	åå	þorn	eð	æsce

NB: Archaic letter for spelling of proper nouns retaining /ɛ/.

Consonants

Spelling	Notes
b	/b/
ƀ	/v/
ch	/x/
d	/d/
dg(h)	(/d͡ʒ/) (⟨h⟩ word-final)
f	/f/
g	/g/
h	/h/, (/ɦ/), (/ç/)
hw	/ʍ/
j	/j/
k	/k/
l	/l/
lh	(/ɫ/)
m	/m/
n	/n/, (/ŋ/)
p	/p/
r	/ɹ/
s	/s/
sc(h)	/ʃ/ (⟨h⟩ word-final)
sg(h)	(/ʒ/) (⟨h⟩ word-final)
t	/t/
tsc(h)	(/t͡ʃ/) (⟨h⟩ word-final)
w	/w/
z	/z/
þ	/θ/
ð	/ð/

Vowels and diphthongs

Spelling	Notes
a	/a/, (/ã/, /ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /a/)
ǎ	/ja/
ai	/ai̯/
au	/au̯/
e	/e̞/, (/ɛ̃/, /ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /e̞/)
ě	/je/
ei	/ei̯/
eu	/ɛu̯/
i	/ɪ/
ǐ	/jɪ/
ij	/i/
ıǰ	/ji/
o	/o/, (/ɔ̃/, /ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /o/)
ǒ	/jo/
oi	/ɔi̯/
ou	/ou̯/
u	/u/
ǔ	/ju/
ui	/ui̯/
ü	/y/, (/ʏ/)
ü̬	/jy/, (/jʏ/)
å	/ɑ/, (/ã/)
å̬	/jɑ/

Diacritics

Diacritic	Examples	Notes
◌̊ (ring)	⟨å⟩	non-productive, used for /ɑ/ (/a/ → /ɑ/)
◌̈ (diaeresis)	⟨ü⟩	non-productive, used for /y/ (/u/ → /y/)
◌̌ or ◌̬ (caron)	⟨ě⟩, ⟨ıǰ⟩, ⟨å̬⟩	indication of palatizing consonant before, i.e. /j/, omitted if word-initial letter

Archaic uses

Spelling	Notes	Timeline
gh	/ɣ/, (/ʝ/)	Old to Early Modern era
s	/s/ (for phoneme)	Old era
aa	/aː/	Old era
e	/e/ (for phoneme)	Old to Early Modern era
æ	/ɛ/	Early Modern era
ee	/eː/	Old era
i	/i/	Old era
ij	/iː/ (for phoneme)	Old era
oi	/oi̯/ (for phoneme)	Early Modern era
oo	/oː/	Old era
uu	/uː/	Old era
üü	/yː/	Old era
åå	/ɑː/	Old era

NB: The letter is newer than Old Meckelnish and the name arose in the Early Modern era.

Development

Phonetic movement

Palatalized allophones

Old	E Mod	Mod	Notes
d	(d͡ʑ)	(d͡ʒ)	Affrication chain
g	(g͡ʝ)	(ɟ͡ʝ)	Affrication chain
h	ç	ç	Contextual
k	(k͡ç)	(c͡ç)	Affrication chain
l	(ʎ)	(ʎ)	Contextual
n	(ɲ)	(ɲ)	Contextual
t	(t͡ɕ)	(t͡ʃ)	Affrication chain
s	(ʃ)	ʃ	Contextual
(z)	(ʒ)	(ʒ)	Contextual
w	(ɥ)	(ɥ)	Contextual
x	ç	ç	Contextual
(ɣ)	(ʝ)	(ʝ)	Contextual

Proto	Condition →	Old	Condition →	Early Mod.	Condition →	Modern	Notes
/b/	Stable	/b/	Stable	/b/	Stable	/b/
/d/	Stable	/d/	Not intervocalic	/d/	Stable	/d/
			Intervocalic	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Intervocalic lenition
/f/	Stable	/f/	Not voiced contexts	/f/	Stable	/f/
			Voiced contexts	(/v/)	Stable	/v/	Voicing → phonemicizing
/g/	Not intervocalic and not after long V and not after /ɹ/	/g/	Not palalatizing	/g/	Stable	/g/	Merger
			Palalatizing	(/g͡ʝ/)	Stabilization	(/ɟ͡ʝ/)	Palatalization, affrication → fortition
	Intervocalic or after long V or after /ɹ/	(/ɣ/)	Not palalatizing	/ɣ/	Destabliziation	/g/	Intervocalic, postvocalic lenition → phonemicizing → merger
			Palalatizing	(/ʝ/)	Destabliziation	(/ɟ͡ʝ/)	Palatalization → affrication, merger
/h/	Stable	/h/	Unspecific sound and not palatalizing	/h/	Stable	/h/	H-allophonic realization system complex
			H-realization before /i/, /ɪ/, /j/ or palatalizing	/ç/	Stable	/ç/
			H-realization before /ɑ/, /o/	(/ɦ/)	Stable	(/ɦ/)
			H-realiziation before /u/	(/ʁ/)	Stable	(/ʁ/)
/j/	Stable	/j/	Stable	/j/	Stable	/j/
/k/	Not intervocalic and not after long V	/k/	Stable	/k/	Stable	/k/
	Intervocalic or after long V	/x/	Stable	/x/	Intervocalic	/k/	Intervocalic, postvocalic lenition → fortition
/x/	Stable				Not intervocalic	/x/
/l/	Stable	/l/	Not word-final	/l/	Stable	/l/
			Word-final	(/ɫ/)	Stable	(/ɫ/)	?
/m/	Stable	/m/	Stable	/m/	Stable	/m/
/n/	Unspecific C	/n/	Stable	/n/	Stable	/n/
	Before /k/, /g/, /x/	(/ŋ/)	Stable	(/ŋ/)	Stable	(/ŋ/)
/p/	Stable	/p/	Stable	/p/	Stable	/p/
/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/
/s/	Not voiced contexts	/s/	Not palalatizing	/s/	Stable	/s/
			Palalatizing	(/ʃ/)	Stable	/ʃ/	Palatalization → phonemicizing
	Voiced contexts	(/z/)	Not palalatizing	/z/	Stable	/z/	Voicing → phonemicizing
			Palalatizing	(/ʒ/)	Stable	(/ʒ/)	Palatalization
/t/	Stable	/t/	Stable	/t/	Stable	/t/
/w/	Stable	/w/	Stable	/w/	Stable	/w/
/ð/	Not devoicing contexts	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Stable	/ð/
	Devoicing contexts	(/θ/) → /θ/	Stable	/θ/	Stable	/θ/	Devoicing → phonemicizing

Monophthongs and diphthongs

Old	Condition →	Early Mod.	Condition →	Modern	Notes
/a/	Stressed and unspecific C	/a/	Stable	/a/
	Unstressed and unspecific C	(/ə/)	Closed syllable	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable	∅	Reduction → deletion
	Before /n/, /m/, /lm/	(/ã/)	Stable	(/ã/)	Nasalization
	Before /j/	/ai̯/	Stable	/ai̯/	Glide reanalysis
	Before /w/	/au̯/	Stable	/au̯/	Glide reanalysis
/aː/	Not before /w/	/ai̯/	Stable	/ai̯/	Diphthongization
	Before /w/	/au̯/	Stable	/au̯/	Glide reanalysis
/e/	Stressed and open syllable and unspecific C	/e/	Unspecific C	/e̞/	Merger
			Before /n/, /m/, /lm/	(/ɛ̃/)	Nasalization
	Stressed and closed syllable and unspecific C	/ɛ/	Unspecific C	/e̞/	Merger
			Before /n/, /m/, /lm/	(/ɛ̃/)	Nasalization
	Unstressed and unspecific C	(/ə/)	Closed syllable	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable	∅	Reduction → deletion
	Before /j/	/ei̯/	Stable	/ei̯/	Glide reanalysis
	Before /w/	(/ɛu̯/)	Stable	/ɛu̯/	Glide reanalysis → phonemicizing
/eː/	Not before /w/	/ei̯/	Stable	/ei̯/	Diphthongization
	Before /w/	(/ɛu̯/)	Stable	/ɛu̯/	Glide reanalysis → phonemicizing
/i/	Stressed or open syllable	/i/	Stable	/i/
	Unstressed and closed syllable	(/ɪ/)	Stable	/ɪ/	Laxing → phonemicizing
/iː/	Stable	/i/	Stable	/i/	Shortening
/o/	Stressed and unspecific C	/o/	Stable	/o/
	Unstressed and unspecific C	(/ə/)	Closed syllable	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable	∅	Reduction → deletion
	Before /n/, /m/, /lm/	(/ɔ̃/)	Stable	(/ɔ̃/)	Nasalization
	Before /j/	/oi̯/ → /ɔi̯/	Stable	/ɔi̯/	Glide reanalysis → vowel lowering
	Before /w/	/ou̯/	Stable	/ou̯/	Glide reanalysis
/oː/	Not before /w/	/oi̯/ → /ɔi̯/	Stable	/ɔi̯/	Diphthongization → vowel lowering
	Before /w/	/ou̯/	Stable	/ou̯/	Glide reanalysis
/u/	Not before /j/	/u/	Stable	/u/
	Before /j/	/ui̯/	Stable	/ui̯/	Glide reanalysis
/uː/	Not after /j/	/ui̯/	Stable	/ui̯/	Diphthongization
	After /j/	/u/	Stable	/u/	Blocked pressure
/y/	Stressed or open syllable	/y/	Stable	/y/
	Unstressed and closed syllable	(/ʏ/)	Stable	(/ʏ/)	Laxing
/yː/	Stable	/y/	Stable	/y/	Shortening
/ɑ/	Unspecific C	/ɑ/	Stable	/ɑ/
	Before /n/, /m/, /lm/	(/ã/)	Stable	(/ã/)	Nasalization
	Before /j/	/ai̯/	Stable	/ai̯/	Glide reanalysis
	Before /w/	/au̯/	Stable	/au̯/	Glide reanalysis
/ɑː/	Not before /w/	/ai̯/	Stable	/ai̯/	Diphthongization
	Before /w/	/au̯/	Stable	/au̯/	Glide reanalysis

Formal inventories

Old Meckelnish

Consonants

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
Nasal	m				n			(ŋ)
Plosive	p	b			t	d		k	g
Fricative	f		θ	ð	s	(z)		x	(ɣ)	h
Approximant					l		j	w
Rhotic					ɹ

Vowels

	Front				Central	Back
	unrounded		rounded
	short	long	short	long		short	long
Close	i	iː	y	yː		u	uː
Mid	e	eː			ə	o	oː
Open	a	aː				ɑ	ɑː

Early Modern Meckelnish

Consonants (simplified)

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
Nasal	m				n
Plosive	p	b			t	d				k	g
Fricative	f	(v)	θ	ð	s	(z)	(ʃ)	(ʒ)	ç	x	ɣ	h	(ɦ)
Approximant					l				j	w
Rhotic					ɹ

Palatalization and postalveolarization

		Post-alveolar		Palatal
Nasal				n → (ɲ)
Affricative		t → (t͡ɕ)	d → (d͡ʑ)	k → (k͡ç)	g → (g͡ʝ)
Fricative		s → (ʃ)	(z) → (ʒ)	x → ç	ɣ → (ʝ)	h → ç
Approx.	plain			l → (ʎ) / lʲ
	labial			w → (ɥ) / wʲ

Monophthongs

	Front			Central	Back
	unrounded		rounded
	oral	nasal			oral	nasal
Close	i		y		u
Near-close	(ɪ)		(ʏ)
Close-mid	e			(ə)	o
Open-mid	ɛ	(ɛ̃)				(ɔ̃)
Open	a	(ã)			ɑ

Diphthongs

	Fronting	Backing
Close	ui̯
Close-mid	ei̯	ou̯
Open-mid	oi̯ / ɔi̯	(ɛu̯)
Open	ai̯	au̯

Examples

Singular nominative nouns

Old	Early Modern	Modern	Spelling	Meaning
				"ground"
/boːɹx/	/boi̯ɹx/	/boi̯ɹx/	⟨boirch⟩	"fortified city"
/'kest.i.el/	/'ket͡ʃ.jeɫ/	/'ket͡ʃ.jeɫ/	⟨ketscělh⟩	"castle"
				"letter"
/landj/	/lanʒ/	/lanʒ/	⟨landgh⟩	"land"
/'faj.eɹ/	/'fai̯.əɹ/	/'fai̯ɹ/	⟨fair⟩	"father"
/'ho.es/	/hos/	/hos/	⟨hos⟩	"house"
/'ke.un.ing/	/'kɛu̯n.ɪŋg/	/'kɛu̯n.ɪŋg/	⟨keuning⟩	"king"
/oːst/	/oi̯st/	/ɔi̯st/	⟨oist⟩	"east"
/'fle.isj/	/flei̯ʃ/	/flei̯ʃ/	⟨fleisch⟩	"meat"
/'sjtɹa.ot/	/ʃtɹau̯t/	/ʃtɹau̯t/	⟨sctraut⟩	"street"
/'a.of.endj/	/'au̯v.ənʒ/	/'au̯v.ənʒ/	⟨auƀendgh⟩	"evening"
				"sky"
				"who"
				"what"
				"where"
				"when"
				"why"
				"how"
—	/ɹei̯s'pjui̯.ble.kə/	/ɹei̯s'pjui̯.blək/	⟨reispǔiblek⟩	"republic"