Romanization Challenge Thread v2.0

[bradrn]

This is my the conlang I’m currently working on (working name: /ˈweːɰiˌzaŋkəŋ/). It shouldn’t be terribly difficult to romanise, but I’m interested to see what everyone comes up with.

Consonants

The underlying (=morphophonemic) consonant inventory is as follows:

|m n ŋ|
|p t s k|
|β ɹ z ɰ|
|r j w|

Phonemically there are several other consonants, but they can be analysed as arising from the application of phonological rules:

• The retroflex consonants /ʈ ɳʈ ʂ/ can be straightforwardly analysed as clusters /tr ntr sr/.
• The palatals /ɲ c ɲc ɕ/ are in complementary distribution with the alveolars and velars after /i j/. It appears that all palatals can be analysed as either an alveolar or velar consonant which has been palatalised by a preceding /i/ or /j/. (But it may have disappeared on the surface: e.g. |kəeintəna| /ˈkeːɲcəna/, though this is uncommon.)
• You could analyse nasal+stop consonants as prenasalised on the basis that /ɳ/ occurs only in the cluster /ɳʈ/. I don’t see this as a particularly compelling analysis, but I’ll use it nonetheless.

Thus the phonemic consonant inventory is:

/m n ɲ ŋ/
/p t ʈ c k/
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/
/s ʂ ɕ/
/β z ɹ ɰ/
/r j w/

Vowels

There are seven short vowels and five long vowels:

/a e i o u ə ɨ/
/aː eː iː oː uː/

Phonotactics and stress

Maximal underlying syllable structure is ((C₁)C₂(r))V(C₃). All consonants but /ŋ/ are allowed in the onset; the coda can be either a nasal or a stop. In onset clusters, C₂ can be a stop or /s ɰ/; if it is a stop, C₁ may be a homorganic nasal.

Primary and secondary stress are predictable from morphophonemic representation but become unpredictable if given only the surface form. In stressed syllables (of either type), the nucleus may only be a long vowel or one of /a i/. You need not represent stress in a romanisation.

Sample

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

[Rounin Ryuuji]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ < m n gn ng >
/p t ʈ c k/ < p t d ch k >
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ < mp nt nd nch ngk >
/s ʂ ɕ/ < s sz sch >
/β z ɹ ɰ/ < b z wr v >
/r j w/ < r y w >

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ < a e i o u ŏ ĭ >
/aː eː iː oː uː/ < â ê î ô û >

/ˈweːɰiˌzaŋkəŋ/
Wêvizangkŏng

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/
Nandâmŏnûrŏnâit wabewêyem. Sitnî arŏêwerûwramkang arŏêrarurâm. Nîm yêrasawrêwat, worû, pangksiyâ, sĭmpiriyam, zawrê rŏwêwêbâvabâvĭ, wrêvepkĭ. Waberêranignêm. Sitni 44 yêjatnu szâvignatkângwram. Nâkabâvŏng wîreângkrŏm. Wawrangkeng tayŏsabinêwananîchŏwrâm. Wîmatki îwingkrawra vîzŏm wêreritîsho.

(Why is 44 not given a phonetic value?)

[Karch]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n ny ng>
/p t ʈ c k/ <p t tr tj k>
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ <mb nd ndr nj nk>
/s ʂ ɕ/ <s sr sh>
/β z ɹ ɰ/ <v z l q>
/r j w/ <r y w>

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ <a é i o u e ï>
/aː eː iː oː uː/ <aa ee ii oo uu>

Non-initial primary stress on short vowels is written with an acute accent.

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

Nandraamenuulenaait wavéweeyém. Sitnii are'eewéruulamkang are'eerarulam. Niim yeerasaleewat, woluu, panksiyaa, sïmbíliyam, zalee reweewévaaqawaaqï, leeqépkï. Wavéreeraninyeem. Sitni 44 yeeyatnusraaqiinyatkaanglam. Naa kavaaqeng wiiréaankrem. Qalángkeng tayesavineewananiitjeraam. Wiimatki iiwinkralaqiizem weeréritiisho.

[Nortaneous]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ <m n n ñ>
/p t ʈ c k/ <p t tr t k>
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ <mp nt ntr nt nk>
/s ʂ ɕ/ <s sr s>
/β z ɹ ɰ/ <f d dr g>
/r j w/ <r j b>

Vowels

There are seven short vowels and five long vowels:

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ <a e i c u v z>
/aː eː iː oː uː/ <q y l o w>

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/
Nantrqmvnwdrvnqit bafebyjem. Sitnl arvyberwdramkañ arvyrarudrqm. Nlm jyrasadrybat, bodrw, panksijq, szmpidrijam, dadry rv bybefqgafqgz, drygepkz. Baferyraninym. Sitni 44 jyjatnusrqglnatkqñddram. Nq kafqgvñ blreqnkrvm. Gadrankvñ tajvsafinybananltvdrqm. Blmatki lbinkradragldvm byreritlso.

[Travis B.]

/m n ɲ ŋ/ ⟨m n ń ñ⟩
/p t ʈ c k/ ⟨p t tr c k⟩
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ ⟨b d dr j g⟩
/s ʂ ɕ/ ⟨s sr ś⟩
/β z ɹ ɰ/ ⟨v z x l⟩
/r j w/ ⟨r y w⟩

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ ⟨a e i o u ë ï>, /a i/ ⟨à ì⟩ when stressed
/aː eː iː oː uː/ ⟨â ê î ô û>, ⟨á é í ó ú⟩ when stressed

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

Nadrámënûxënâit wàvewêyem. Sitní àrëêwerûřamkañ àrëêraruxâm. Ním yérasaxêwat wořú pàgsiyâ sïbìxiyâ zaxé rëwéwevâlavâlï xélepkï. Wàverêranińêm. Sìtni 44 yéyatnusrâlîńatkâñxam. Ná kaválëñ wíreâgrëm. Laxàgëñ tàyësavinêwananîcaxãm. Wímatki íwigraxalîzëm wéreritîśo.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ <a e i c u v z>
/aː eː iː oː uː/ <q y l o w>

Why...?

[bradrn]

(Why is 44 not given a phonetic value?)

Um… because it means I don’t need to make up words for numbers? (Yes, I’m very lazy.)

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ <a e i c u v z>
/aː eː iː oː uː/ <q y l o w>

Why...?

Because that’s just what Nortaneous does. I’m not sure there is any ‘why’ beyond that.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ <a e i c u v z>
/aː eː iː oː uː/ <q y l o w>

Why...?

Because that’s just what Nortaneous does. I’m not sure there is any ‘why’ beyond that.

I meant it more as an expression of surprise and perplexity. This feels like a new level of confusing (except "w" for /uː/, I guess), even for him, but I haven't been around here that long, I guess.

[Travis B.]

I think that Nort's style originated in some of the Latin-script orthographies for (South) East Asian languages, and then got more and more bizarre over time, being done not for legitimate reasons like tone letters or ⟨v⟩ alone for schwa or like but rather just for its own sake

[Nortaneous]

I don't like switching keyboard layouts

I think that Nort's style originated in some of the Latin-script orthographies for (South) East Asian languages, and then got more and more bizarre over time, being done not for legitimate reasons like tone letters or ⟨v⟩ alone for schwa or like but rather just for its own sake

<c q v> follow naturally from swamp conventions, at which point you only need a few more vowel letters and may as well

(the swamp inventory of vowel characters follows Natqgu, but the assignments are different; <q> is /ɔ/ rather than /ʉ/ because someone here made an X-SAMPA joke once)

[Travis B.]

I don't like switching keyboard layouts

But even if diacritics are not an option, most people do things like double letters for long vowels or consonants and use digraphs (and occasionally trigraphs).

[Nortaneous]

I don't like switching keyboard layouts

But even if diacritics are not an option, most people do things like double letters for long vowels or consonants and use digraphs (as occasionally trigraphs).

that's more typing. I don't like typing either

[Rounin Ryuuji]

The genesis of the oddness is interesting to know.

[bradrn]

I don't like switching keyboard layouts

Neither do I. This is why I made a single keyboard layout which has every symbol I could possibly need, and is also suitable for normal typing. (I’m using it right now.)

The genesis of the oddness is interesting to know.

It is indeed.

[bradrn]

An alternative romanization for /ˈweːɰiˌzaŋkəŋ/ ⟨Weegizankvŋ⟩:

/m n ɲ ŋ/ ⟨m n in ŋ⟩
/p t ʈ c k/ ⟨p t tr it~ik k⟩
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ ⟨mp nt ntr int~ink nk⟩
/s ʂ ɕ/ ⟨s sr is⟩
/β z ɹ ɰ/ ⟨b z d g⟩
/r j w/ ⟨r j w⟩

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ ⟨a e i o u v y⟩
/aː eː iː oː uː/ ⟨aa ee ii oo uu⟩

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

Nantraamvnuudvnaait wabeweejem. Sitnii arveeweruudamkaŋ arveerarudaam. Niim jeerasadeewat: woduu, Panksijaa, Sympidijam, zadee rvweewebaagabaagy, deegepky. Wabereeranineem. Sitni 44 jeejatnusraagiinatkaaŋdam. Naa kabaagvŋ wiireaankrvm. Gadankvŋ tajvsabineewananiikvdaam. Wiimatki iiwinkradagiizvm weereritiiso.

Compare to current romanisation:

/m n ɲ ŋ/ ⟨m n ɲ ŋ⟩
/p t ʈ c k/ ⟨p t tr c k⟩
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ ⟨mp nt ntr ɲc ŋk⟩
/s ʂ ɕ/ ⟨s sr sh⟩
/β z ɹ ɰ/ ⟨ꞵ z th ch⟩
/r j w/ ⟨r y w⟩

(The voiced approximant series makes more sense when you realise they mostly arise from lenition of stops.)

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ ⟨a e i o u ə ɨ⟩
/aː eː iː oː uː/ ⟨ā ē ī ō ū⟩

Nantrāmənūthənāit waꞵewēyem. Sitnī arəēwerūthamkaŋ arəēraruthām. Nīm yērasathēwat: wothū, Paŋksiyā, Sɨmpithiyam, zathē rəwēweꞵāchaꞵāchɨ, thēchepkɨ. Waꞵerēraniɲēm. Sitni 44 yēyatnusrāchīɲatkāŋtham. Nā kaꞵāchəŋ wīreāŋkrem. Chathaŋkəŋ tayəsaꞵinēwananīcəthām. Wīmatki īwiŋkrathachīzəm wēreritīsho.

A compromise orthography:

/m n ɲ ŋ/ ⟨m n ɲ ŋ⟩
/p t ʈ c k/ ⟨p t tr c k⟩
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/ ⟨mp nt ntr ɲc ŋk⟩
/s ʂ ɕ/ ⟨s sr sh⟩
/β z ɹ ɰ/ ⟨b z ð g⟩
/r j w/ ⟨r j w⟩

/a e i o u ə ɨ/ ⟨a e i o u ë y⟩
/aː eː iː oː uː/ ⟨aa ee ii oo uu⟩

Nantraamënuuðënaait wabeweejem. Sitnii arëeeweruuðamkaŋ arëeeraruðaam. Niim jeerasaðeewat: woðuu, Paŋksijaa, Sympiðijam, zaðee rëweewebaagabaagy, ðeegepky. Wabereeraniɲeem. Sitni 44 jeejatnusraagiiɲatkaaŋðam. Naa kabaagëŋ wiireaaŋkrëm. Gaðaŋkëŋ tajësabineewananiicëðaam. Wiimatki iiwiŋkraðagiizëm weereritiisho.

[Starbeam]

Wēgizañkn
or Weegizangkn

I've removed the retroflex and palatal series from the listing, and i'll treat them like allophones of the consonant beside /r/ or /i~j/, respectively.

/m n ŋ/ m n ñ/g
/p t k/ p t k
/mp nt ŋk/ mp nt ñk
/s z/ s z
/β ɹ ɰ/ v l g
/r j w/ r j w
/a e i o u ə ɨ/ a e i o u _/' y
/aː eː iː oː uː/ ā/aa ē/ee ī/ii ō/oo ū/uu

I couldn't figure out the stress pattern. Shwa is not written except around another vowel or in initial syllables between consonants that would form acceptable clusters.

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

Nantrāmnūlnāit wavewējem. Sitnī ar'ēwerūlamkañ ar'ērarulām. Nīm jērasalēwat, wolū, pañksiyā, sympilijam, zarē rwēwevāgavāgy, lēgepky. Waverēraninēm. Sitni 44 jējatnusrāgīnatkāñlam. Nā kavāgeñ wīreāñkrm. Galañkñ taj'savinēwananīklām. Wīmatki īwiñkralagīzm wēreritīso.

[Neonnaut]

Is it just me, or is Bradrn's conlang a future English pidgin thing? and the transcription is about living in Waverley Sydney (sitni) for 44 years? It feels slightly like casual English speech, but only slightly.

Wehxizagken

/m n ɲ ŋ/<m n n g>
/p t ʈ c k/<p t tr c k>
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/<mp nt ntr nc gk>
/s ʂ ɕ/<s sr sy>
/β z ɹ ɰ/<b z r x>
/r j w/<r y w>

/a e i o u ə ɨ/<a é i o u e ë>
/aː eː iː oː uː/<ah éh ih oh uh>

a b c e é ë g h i k m n o p r s t u w x y z

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

<nantrahmenuhrenahit wabehyém sitnih areéhwéreramkag areéhrarurahm nihm yéhrasaréhwat woruh pagksiyah sëmpiriyam zaréh rewéhwébaxabaxë réhxepkë wabereraninehm sitni 44 yéhyatnusrahxihnatkahgram nah kabahxeg wihréahgkrem xaragkeg tayesabi>

Nope. But I'll keep what I got, let's try for the vowels:
/a e i o u ə ɨ/<a é i o u e ë>
/aː eː iː oː uː/<ā ē ī ō ū>

<nantrāmenūrenāit wabēyém sitnī areēwéreramkag areērarurām nīm yērasarēwat worū pagksiyā sëmpiriyam zarē rewēwébaxabaxë rēxepkë wabereraninēm sitni 44 yēyatnusrāxīnatkāgram nā kabāxeg wīréāgkrem xaragkeg tayesabi>

[bradrn]

Wēgizañkn
or Weegizangkn

I've removed the retroflex and palatal series from the listing, and i'll treat them like allophones of the consonant beside /r/ or /i~j/, respectively. … I couldn't figure out the stress pattern. Shwa is not written except around another vowel or in initial syllables between consonants that would form acceptable clusters.

I admire your creativity, but I’m not sure how well this would work. For one thing, not all palatals are next to /i/ (e.g. /ˈkeːɲcəna/), and not all consonants next to /i/ are palatals (e.g. /ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/, though admittedly all the other examples in the text are typos for /ic/). Also, schwa isn’t epenthetic — it’s very much a full vowel, though only in unstressed syllables (a property it shares with /ɨ/). And I’m not surprised you couldn’t figure out the stress pattern: it’s what you get when you run underlying iambic stress through five subsequent phonetic rules, one of which does syncope and another of which does epenthesis.

Is it just me, or is Bradrn's conlang a future English pidgin thing? and the transcription is about living in Waverley Sydney (sitni) for 44 years? It feels slightly like casual English speech, but only slightly.

…how do you get that? The sample text is just some of my recent posts to the Conlang Fluency Thread. The language isn’t a pidgin at all — I suspect any English-like feel comes from the stress pattern, the long vowels and /ɹ/. You’re right about Sydney though.

[Starbeam]

Wēgizañkn
or Weegizangkn

I've removed the retroflex and palatal series from the listing, and i'll treat them like allophones of the consonant beside /r/ or /i~j/, respectively. … I couldn't figure out the stress pattern. Shwa is not written except around another vowel or in initial syllables between consonants that would form acceptable clusters.

I admire your creativity, but I’m not sure how well this would work. For one thing, not all palatals are next to /i/ (e.g. /ˈkeːɲcəna/), and not all consonants next to /i/ are palatals (e.g. /ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/, though admittedly all the other examples in the text are typos for /ic/). Also, schwa isn’t epenthetic — it’s very much a full vowel, though only in unstressed syllables (a property it shares with /ɨ/). And I’m not surprised you couldn’t figure out the stress pattern: it’s what you get when you run underlying iambic stress through five subsequent phonetic rules, one of which does syncope and another of which does epenthesis.

Admittedly, a bit more about a language's phonology should be explained in these things besides the inventory and some phonotactics; but I am willing to admit i screwed up. I knew shwa wasn't epithentic, but I treated it as such because it occurred all the time and typing out ë everywhere would get tedious. I also found it kind of weird /u/ didn't occur in stressed syllables like /a i/? Is there a thing about that? And overall, the language reminded me of Hindi with lenition of voiced plosives.

[Neonnaut]

It’s what you get when you run underlying iambic stress through five subsequent phonetic rules, one of which does syncope and another of which does epenthesis.

So would there be any minimal pairs?

…how do you get that? The sample text is just some of my recent posts to the Conlang Fluency Thread. The language isn’t a pidgin at all — I suspect any English-like feel comes from the stress pattern, the long vowels and /ɹ/. You’re right about Sydney though.

I think you answered your own question. That, and some of the w words look like clitisized we, we're, were; and /sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam/ looks suspicious. Just my mind playing tricks on me.

/m n ɲ ŋ/<m n nj g>
/p t ʈ c k/<p t tr ky k>
/mp nt ɳʈ ɲc ŋk/<mp nt ntr nky gk>
/s ʂ ɕ/<s sr sh>
/β z ɹ ɰ/<b z r x>
/r j w/<r y w>

/a e i o u ə ɨ/<a e i o u h y>
/aː eː iː oː uː/<aa ee ii oo uu>

a b e g h i j k m n o p r s t u w x y z

/naˈɳʈaːməˌnuːɹəˌnaː.it ˈwaβeˌweːjem ‖ sitˈniː ˈarəˌeːweˌruːɹamˌkaŋ ˈarəˌeːraruˌɹaːm ‖ niːm ˈjeːrasaˌɹeːwat | woˈɹuː | ˈpaŋk.siˌjaː | sɨˈmpiɹiˌjam | zaˈɹeː rəˈweːweˌβaːɰaˌβaːɰɨ | ˈɹeːɰep.kɨ ‖ ˈwaβeˌreːraniˌɲeːm ‖ ˈsitni 44 ˈjeːjatnuˌʂaːɰiːɲatˌkaːŋɹam ‖ naː kaˈβaːɰəŋ ˈwiːreˌaːŋkrəm ‖ ɰaˈɹaŋkəŋ ˈtajəˌsaβiˌneːwanaˌniːcəɹaːm ‖ ˈwiːmatˌki ˈiːwiˌŋkraɹaˌɰiːzəm ˈweːreriˌtiːɕo/

<Nantraamhnuurhnaait wabeejem sitnii arheewerhramkag arheeraruraam. Niim jeerasareewat, woruu, pagksijaa, sympirijam, zaree rhweewebaxabaxy, reexhpky. Wabhrhraninjeem. Sitni 44 jeejatnusraaxiinjatkaagram. Naa kabaaxhg wiireaagkrhm xaragkhg tajhsabi neewananiikjhraam. wiimatki iiwigkraraxiizhm weereritisho>