Name That Language!

[Zju]

It may interest you to know that there are more than six vowel letters.

....no, don't tell me that <l> represents a vowel as well.

So would that be a seven vowel system? Don't know what to make out of <ukewyglhce>.

Many vowels, longish words, simple-ish syllable structure, no tones... some Bantu language?

ninja'd: Arawak? Mayan? I give up!

[bradrn]

It may interest you to know that there are more than six vowel letters.

I knew it. The more I look at it, the more certain I become that ⟨l⟩ is a vowel here.

That's one of them.

‘Stakeholders were not aligned‘ must be the understatement of the year, then.

So, it’s not Asian or Pacific, it’s definitely not Australian and unlikely to be European… from the Americas?

Yes.

South America, perchance?

[Nortaneous]

It may interest you to know that there are more than six vowel letters.

....no, don't tell me that <l> represents a vowel as well.

So would that be a seven vowel system? Don't know what to make out of <ukewyglhce>.

The orthography is poorly described in the literature I have access to and doesn't correspond one-to-one with the modern linguistic transcription. I could be wrong, but I think there are nine and a half.

‘Stakeholders were not aligned‘ must be the understatement of the year, then.

There were some policy issues.

South America, perchance?

No.

[bradrn]

South America, perchance?

No.

It’s probably Central American, then. (By which I include countries from Mexico to Panama.)

[Nortaneous]

South America, perchance?

No.

It’s probably Central American, then. (By which I include countries from Mexico to Panama.)

North.

[bradrn]

No.

It’s probably Central American, then. (By which I include countries from Mexico to Panama.)

North.

Huh.

Well, like I said, it’s getting late here. I’ll continue on guessing tomorrow (if no-one else has got it by then).

[Zju]

Languages in the north part of NA tend to have few vowels, so could it be from California, perhaps? And languages of the east coast tend to be poorly documented.

[Nortaneous]

Languages in the north part of NA tend to have few vowels, so could it be from California, perhaps? And languages of the east coast tend to be poorly documented.

It's not from California.

[Zju]

Is it a Siouan language? Alternatively, is it a language isolate, such as Tunica, Calusa or Takelma?

It doesn't look like it has long vowels or nasal vowels.

[Nortaneous]

Is it a Siouan language?

Yes.

To make things faster, I'll say that <d> is also a vowel.

[bradrn]

To make things faster, I'll say that <d> is also a vowel.

This gets worse and worse.

‘Mass literacy’ suggests that this is a reasonably widely-spoken language. Crow?

[fusijui]

I know the answer (I think) but am not going to say, because the thread is too entertaining to cut short.

Nort is not only draining our precious cranial juices, but metabolizing them into dry humor.

[Travis B.]

Is it a Siouan language?

Yes.

To make things faster, I'll say that <d> is also a vowel.

Oh dear gawd...

[bradrn]

I know the answer (I think) but am not going to say, because the thread is too entertaining to cut short.

Please just say it and end our misery. After all, the whole point is to name the language if you think you know it…

[Darren]

Is that an /f/ I see? Is this Ofo perchance?

Unless, of course, <f> is just another vowel, taunting us with false hope

[Glass Half Baked]

Ofo has a pretty normal orthography, IIRC.

[Karch]

This is absolutely a Meeker orthography. As to which language it represents, after consulting a chart of Meeker orthographies I am pretty sure it's Chiwere.

[Darren]

This is absolutely a Meeker orthography. As to which language it represents, after consulting a chart of Meeker orthographies I am pretty sure it's Chiwere.

Please tell me what the <f> means

My first guess is /θ/, second /pʰ/, third idk /ĩ/

[Karch]

Please tell me what the <f> means

My first guess is /θ/, second /pʰ/, third idk /ĩ/

Your first guess is correct. Here's the first two sentences of the example transcribed according to the chart: (note that when the chart provided two alternatives, I chose the first one, so <u> is /u/, not schwa, with the sole exception being <Wdkuntl> "God", since later materials have the form <Wakanda>.)

wanoči ɛkitɛ wahsike mɛiɛ sware waminunie, hɛhe kirowe tɛnčiwa wanoči krɛkitɛ mɛgenie. itɛ wakəntɛ wawayi etawe nɛhireskoniwiri wikiɛsko: wayisčeθke rɛkitawenɛ worɛke pihči onɛonte kitawenɛ ekek, wahsike ukiwaygɛhči nɛhɛtɛreniek.