Meckelnish language

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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

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/	—

Sound 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]	—

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/	no /lç/ or /lh/, voicing /z/
/l/ + nasals	/lm/, /ln/	/lm/ and /ln/ nasalize vowel (e.g. */alm/ → /ãlm/),
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
Old name

Consonants

Spelling	Notes
b	/b/
ƀ	/v/
ch	/x/
d	/d/
dsch	(/d͡ʒ/) (word-final)
dj	(/d͡ʒ/) (word-initial)
cg	(/d͡ʒ/)
f	/f/
g	/g/
gj	(/ɟ͡ʝ/) (word-initial)
gge	(/ɟ͡ʝ/) (word-final)
h	/h/, (/ɦ/)
hj	/ç/, /çj/
hl	(/ɫ/)
hw	/ʍ/
j	/j/
k	/k/
kj	(/c͡ç/) (word-initial)
kke	(/c͡ç/) (word-final)
l	/l/
lj	(/ʎ/)
m	/m/
n	/n/
ng	(/ŋ/)
nj	(/ɲ/)
p	/p/
r	/ɹ/
s	/s/
sc	/ʃ/ (phonemic, non-palatalized)
sch	/ʃ/ (word-final)
sj	/ʃ/
t	/t/
tsch	(/t͡ʃ/) (word-final)
tj	(/t͡ʃ/) (word-initial)
tsj	(/t͡ʃ/)
w	/w/
wj	(/ɥ/)
wr	[ɹʷ]
z	/z/
zj	(/ʒ/)
zsch	(/ʒ/) (word-final)
þ	/θ/
ð	/ð/

Vowels and diphthongs

Spelling	Notes
a	/a/, (/ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /a/)
â	(/ã/)
ai	/ai̯/
au	/au̯/
e	/e̞/, (/ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /e̞/)
ê	(/ɛ̃/)
ei	/ei̯/
eu	/ɛu̯/
i	/ɪ/
ij	/i/
o	/o/, (/ə/) (for /ə/ reduced from /o/)
ô	(/ɔ̃/)
oi	/ɔi̯/
ou	/ou̯/
u	/u/
ui	/ui̯/
ü	/y/, (/ʏ/)
å	/ɑ/

Diacritics and notation

Diacritic	Example	Notes
◌̂ (circumflex)	⟨ô⟩	marks nasalized vowel (/o/ → /ɔ̃/)
◌̊ (ring)	⟨å⟩	non-productive, used for /ɑ/ (/a/ → /ɑ/)
◌̈ (diaeresis)	⟨ü⟩	non-productive, used for /y/ (/u/ → /y/)
' (apostrophe)	⟨'üs⟩	contraction or laxing, if against phonotactics (weak vowel stressed, omission of /j/, nasal vowel to /ən/), especially pronouns

Archaic uses

Spelling	Notes	Timeline
ƀ	/β/ (for phoneme)	Old era
cj	(/ʝ/)	Early Modern era
ck	/ɣ/	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

Grammar

Particles

	Affirm.	Neg.
general	jå	nein
	/jɑ/	/nei̯n/
formal	jeƀahl	neint
	/jə'vaɫ/	/nei̯nt/
informal	jau	nei
	/jau̯/	/nei̯/
adverbal	ƀahl	neit
	/vaɫ/	/nei̯t/

Determiners

Determiners (limited)[]

		Articles				Negative[]	Demonstratives
		definite		indefinite
		full[]	enc.	full[]	enc.[]		proximal[]	distal[]
sing.	masc.	de (dên)	d'n	eine	'ne ('n)	geine (geinen)	deize (deizen)	dei (dein)
		/de/ (/dɛ̃n/)	/dən/	/'ei̯n.ə/	/'ən.ə/ (/ən/)	/'gei̯n.ə/ (/'gei̯n.ən/)	/'dei̯z.ə/ (/'dei̯z.ən/)	/dei̯/ (/dei̯n/)
	neut.	het	't	'e (ein)	'n	gei (gein)	deis	dij (dijn)
		/he̞t/	/ət/	/e̞/ (/ei̯n/)	/ən/	/'gei̯/ (/'gei̯n/)	/dei̯s/	/di/ (/din/)
	fem.	de (dên)	d'n	ein	'n	gein	dit	dåt
				/ei̯n/	/ən/		/dɪt/	/dɑt/
plur.				einech			deis	dij (dijn)
		/de̞/ (/dɛ̃n/)	/dən/	/'ei̯n.əx/		/'gei̯n/	/dei̯s/	/di/ (/din/)

If the following word begins with either /h/ or a vowel.

While many determiners are used, these are restricted to those that decline irregularly for number and/or gender.

Pronouns

Personal and definite pronouns

			Subject		Object		Dependent genitive						Indep. genitive	Reflexive		Relative
							masculine		fem./plur.		neuter
			full	enc.	full	enc.	full[]	enc.[]	full	enc.	full[]	enc.		full	enc.	subj.	gen.
sing.	1st		ijch	'ch	mijch	m'ch	mijne (mijnen)	m'ne (m'n)	mijn	m'n	mij (mijn)	m'n	[de] mijn	mijch	m'ch	—
			/ix/	/əx/	/mix/	/məx/	/'min.ə/ (/'min.ən/)	/'mən.ə/ (/mən/)	/min/	/mən/	/mi/ (/min/)	/mən/	/min/	/mix/	/məx/
	2nd	fam.	dijch	de	dijch	d'ch	dijne (dijnen)	d'ne (d'n)	dijn	d'n	dij (dijn)	d'n	[de] dijn	dijch	d'ch
			/dix/	/də/	/dix/	/dəx/	/'din.ə/ (/'din.ən/)	/'dən.ə/ (/dən/)	/din/	/dən/	/di/ (/din/)	/dən/	/din/	/dix/	/dəx/
		polite	geir	g'r	üch		üre (üren)		ür				[dên] ür	üch
			/gei̯ɹ/	/gəɹ/	/jych/		/'jʏɹ.ə/ (/'jʏɹ.ən/)		/jyɹ/				/jyɹ/	/jyx/
	3rd	masc.	heir	'r	hoim	'm	zijne (zijnen)	z'ne (z'n)	zijn	z'n	zijn	z'n	[de] zijn	zijch	z'ch	dei	vei
			/hei̯ɹ/	/əɹ/	/ɦɔi̯m/	/əm/										/dei̯/
		neut.[]	het	't	het	't										dåt
			/he̞t/	/ət/	/he̞t/	/ət/	/'zin.ə/ (/'zin.ən/)	/'zən.ə/ (/zən/)	/zin/	/zən/	/zin/	/zən/	/zin/			/dɑt/
		fem.	zij	ze	hoir	'r	hoir (hoiren)	're ('rn)	hoir	'r	hoir	'r	[dên] hoir			dij
			/zi/	/zə/	/ɦɔi̯ɹ/	/həɹ/	/'ɦɔi̯ɹ.ə/ (/'ɦɔi̯ɹ.ən/)	/'həɹ.ə/ (/həɹn/)	/ɦɔi̯ɹ/	/həɹ/	/ɦɔi̯ɹ/	/həɹ/	/ɦɔi̯ɹ/	/zix/	/zəx/	/di/
		indef.	me				eige[] (eigen)						[dên] eige	zalef		dei
			/me̞/				/'ei̯g.ə/ (/'ei̯g.ən/)						/'ei̯g.ə/	/'zal.əf/		/dei̯/	/vei̯/
plural	1st		ƀeir	ƀ'r	'üs		üze (üzen)		üs				[dên] üs	'üs		—
			/vei̯ɹ/	/vəɹ/	/ʏs/		/'jyz.ə/ (/'jyz.ən/)		/jys/				/jys/	/ʏs/
	2nd		geir	g'r	üch		üre (üren)		ür				[dên] ür	üch
			/gei̯ɹ/	/gəɹ/	/jyx/		/'jyɹ.ə/ (/'jʏɹ.ən/)		/jyɹ/				/jyɹ/	/jyx/
	3rd		zij	ze	'ün	ze	üne (ünen)		'ün				[dên] 'ünt	zijch		dij	vei
			/zi/	/zə/	/ʏn/	/zə/
	epicene[]		dij
			/di/				/'jʏn.ə/ (/'jʏn.ən/)		/ʏn/				/ʏnt/	/zix/		/di/	/vei̯/
dummy[]			der	d'r	—
			/de̞ɹ/	/dəɹ/

If the following word begins with either /h/ or a vowel.

The indefinite pronoun "one," with its possessive "eige" meaning variously "one's" or "one's own." Also used as an intensifier of ownership (e.g. "zijn eige" or "his own").

The generic gender-neutral pronoun for either unknown or explicitly ungendered purposes, is grammatically plural.

Also serves as a "dummy" pronoun serving as a subject or object without an explicit reference, also known as "weather it" (i.e. "it is raining").

Unstressed and unspecific dummy form of "there," used abstractly and not in the locative sense (i.e. "there are glaciers in the world" versus "I see glaciers [over] there"). Is grammatically singular.

Indefinite pronouns

	Human	Object	Place
indefinite	ijmes	eits	oiregs
	/'im.əs/	/ei̯ts/	/'ɔi̯ɹ.əgz/
negative	nijmes	nijks	noiregs
	/'nim.əs/	/niks/	/'nɔi̯ɹ.əgz/
universal	ederein	åles	üƀerauhl
	/e̞d.əɹ'ei̯n/	/'ɑl.əs/	/jʏv.əɹ'au̯ɫ/

Interrogative pronouns

	who	what	which	where	when	why	how
nom./acc.	ƀei	ƀåt	ƀåtfjür	ƀu	ƀijnij	ƀurüm[]	ƀij
	/vei̯/	/vɑt/	/'vɑt.fjuɹ/	/vu/	/vi'ni/	/vu'ɹym/	/vi/
genitive	ƀei			—
	/vei̯/

By extension of a base form "ƀu" ("ƀurüm," as literally "what for") used to create other interrogatories (e.g. "ƀumet," as "what with").

Verbs

Irregular verbs

	inf.	present						past						participle		supine	imperative
		singular			plural			singular			plural
		1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	past	pres.		sing.	plur.
"be"	zein	bôn	bos	ijs	zein	zeit	zein	waur	waurs	waur	wåre	waurt	wåre	gewås	zeind	—	bos	bônt
	/zei̯n/	/bɔ̃n/	/bos/	/is/	/zei̯n/	/zei̯t/	/zei̯n/	/wau̯ɹ/	/wau̯ɹz/	/wau̯ɹ/	/'wɑɹ.ə/	/wau̯ɹt/	/'wɑɹ.ə/	/gə'wɑs/	/zei̯nd/		/bos/	/bɔ̃nt/
"have"	hobe	hob	hobs	hait	hobe	hob	hobe	håd	håds	håd	håde	håd	håde	genhåd	hobend	—	hob
	/'ɦob.ə/	/ɦob/	/ɦobz/	/hai̯t/	/'ɦob.ə/	/ɦob/	/'ɦob.ə/	/ɦɑd/	/ɦɑdz/	/ɦɑd/	/'ɦɑd.ə/	/ɦɑd/	/'ɦɑd.ə/	/gən'ɦɑd/	/'ɦob.ənd/		/ɦob/
"do"	djun	daun	dais	dait	dôn	daut	dôn	doig	doigs	doig	doge	doig	doge	gedoin	—		dog	daut
	/d͡ʒun/	/dau̯n/	/dai̯s/	/dai̯t/	/dɔ̃n/	/dau̯n/	/dɔ̃n/	/dɔi̯g/	/dɔi̯gz/	/dɔi̯g/	/'dog.ə/	/dɔi̯g/	/'dog.ə/	/gə'dɔi̯n/			/dog/	/dau̯n/

Regular weak verbs

		inf.	present						past						participle		supine	imp.
			singular			plural			singular			plural
			1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	past	pres.		sing.	plur.
I	?	-e	-∅	-s	-∅	-e	-∅	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-	-end	-enter	-∅
II	?	-e	-∅	-∅	-∅	-e	-∅	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-	-end	-enter	-∅
III	?	-e	-∅	-s	-t	-e	-t	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-, -d	-end	-enter	-∅	-t
IV	-ch	-te	-∅	-s	-∅	-te	-∅	-te	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-	-tend	-tenter	-∅
V	-m	-e	-∅	-s	-p	-e	-p	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-, -p	-end	-enter	-∅	-p
VI	?	-e	-∅	-s	-k	-e	-k	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-, -k	-end	-enter	-∅	-k
VII	?	-e	-∅	-∅	-∅	-e	-∅	-e	-de	-des	-de	-de	-det	-de	ge-, -e	-end	-enter	-∅

No additional ge- prefixed if verb root starts with ge.

Regular strong verbs

		inf.	present					past				participle		supine	imp.
			singular			plural		singular		plural
			1st	3rd	2nd	1st/3rd	2nd	1st/3rd	2nd	1st/3rd	2nd	past	pres.		sing.	plur.
I

Adverbs

Locative adverbs

	Proximal	Distal
static	hei	dau
	/hei̯/	/dau̯/
relative	ƀu
	/vu/
direct.	hair	håt
	/hei̯ɹ/	/ɦɑt/

Development

Phonetic movement

Consonants

Old LM	Condition →	Old MK	Condition →	Early Mod.	Condition →	Modern	Notes
/b/	Stable	/b/	Stable	/b/	Stable	/b/
/β/	Stable	/β/	Word-initial or intervocalic	/v/	Stable	/v/	Initial and intervocalic strengthening
			Word-final and not after a nasal consonant	/f/	Stable	/f/	Final devoicing
			After a nasal consonant	/b/	Stable	/b/	Post-nasal hardening
/d/	Stable	/d/	Not intervocalic and not palatalizing	/d/	Stable	/d/
			Not intervocalic and palatalizing	(/d͡ʑ/)	Stabilization	(/d͡ʒ/)	Palatalization, affrication → fortition
			Intervocalic	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Intervocalic lenition
/f/	Not voiced contexts	/f/	Stable	/f/	Stable	/f/
	Voiced contexts	/β/	Destabliziation	/v/	Stable	/v/	Lenition → labiodentalization
/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/ or /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/	Not palatalizing	/k/	Stable	/k/
			Palatalizing	(/k͡ç/)	Stabilization	(/c͡ç/)	Palatalization, affrication → fortition
	Intervocalic or after long V	/x/	Not palatalizing	/x/	Intervocalic	/k/	Intervocalic, postvocalic lenition → fortition
/x/	Stable				Not intervocalic	/x/
			Palatalizing	/ç/	Stable	/ç/	Palatalization
/l/	Stable	/l/	Not palatalizing and not word-final	/l/	Stable	/l/
			Palatalizing and not word-final	/lʲ/	Full palatalizating	(/ʎ/)	Palatalization, articulation → sound change
					Transitional palatalizing	/lʲ/	Palatalization
			Word-final	(/ɫ/)	Stable	(/ɫ/)	Velarization
/m/	Stable	/m/	Stable	/m/	Stable	/m/
/n/	Unspecific C	/n/	Not palalatizing	/n/	Stable	/n/
			Palalatizing	(/ɲ/)	Stable	(/ɲ/)	Palatalization
	Before /k/, /g/, /x/, (/ɣ/)	(/ŋ/)	Stable	(/ŋ/)	Stable	(/ŋ/)	Velarization
/p/	Stable	/p/	Stable	/p/	Stable	/p/
/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/	Stable	/ɹ/
/s/	Stable	/s/	Not palalatizing	/s/	Stable	/s/
			Palalatizing	(/ʃ/)	Stable	/ʃ/	Palatalization → phonemicizing
/z/	Stable	/z/	Not palalatizing	/z/	Stable	/z/
			Palalatizing	(/ʒ/)	Stable	(/ʒ/)	Palatalization
/t/	Not intervocalic or not after stressed rounded vowel	/t/	Not palalatizing	/t/	Stable	/t/
			Palalatizing	(/t͡ɕ/)	Stabilization	(/t͡ʃ/)	Palatalization, affrication → fortition
	Intervocalic and after stressed rounded vowel	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Intervocalic voicing and lenition
/w/	Stable	/w/	Unspecific sound and not palatalizing	/w/	Stable	/w/
			Before /i/ or (/ɪ/) and not palatalizing	(/ʍ/)	Stable	(/ʍ/)	Devoicing
			Palalatizing	/wʲ/	Full palatalizating	(/ɥ/)	Palatalization, articulation → sound change
					Transitional palatalizing	/wʲ/	Palatalization
/ð/	Not devoicing contexts	/ð/	Stable	/ð/	Stable	/ð/
	Devoicing contexts	(/θ/) → /θ/	Stable	/θ/	Stable	/θ/	Devoicing → phonemicizing

Monophthongs and diphthongs

Old MK	Condition →	Early Mod.	Condition →	Modern	Notes
/a/	Stressed and unspecific C	/a/	Stable	/a/
	Unstressed and unspecific C	(/ə/)	Closed syllable and deletion results in unlawful coda	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable or closed syllable and deletion results in lawful coda	∅	Reduction → deletion (does not apply where morphologic, e.g. plurals)
	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 and deletion results in unlawful coda	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable or closed syllable and deletion results in lawful coda	∅	Reduction → deletion (does not apply where morphologic, e.g. plurals)
	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 and deletion results in unlawful coda	(/ə/)	Reduction
			Open syllable or closed syllable and deletion results in lawful coda	∅	Reduction → deletion (does not apply where morphologic, e.g. plurals)
	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	β	(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

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

Vocabulary

Language comparisons

Singular nominative nouns

Istvanistani gloss	Old Low Maas	Old Meckelnish	Meckelnish	Batavian	Madison Isle Batavian	Crandish
"child"				kind	bern	kint
"church"	keerek	keerek	keirk	kerk	tsjerke	kiirke
"day"				dag	dei	tai
"father"	fåter	fåðer	fåðer	vader	heit	fater
"fortified city"	borech	borech	borch	burg	boarg	buurg
"harbor"	haaƀe	haaƀe	haiƀ	haven	haven	haven
"house"				huis	hûs	huz
"king"	kyyning	kjüüning	kjüning	koning	kening	küning
"man"				man	man	mann
"water"				water	wetter	vater
"woman"				vrouw	frou	famne

Remember old /e/ sound