Merineth (dialect)
Merineth is one of three modern dialects of Braereth, spoken primarily by the shape-shifters.
The Merineth dialect is the furthest removed of the dialects from Classical Braereth. It has no palatal sounds whatsoever, and contains a number of liquids that appear seemingly spontaneously around certain clusters. Consonant clusters are all but eliminated, and diphthongs are broken up by an insertive ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩. There is a merging of voiced and unvoiced consonants, as well as fortition of certain fricatives into stops. The vowels ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ do not exist in Merineth, and are usually raised to ⟨i⟩ and ⟨u⟩, respectively, but sometimes lowered to ⟨a⟩. The Merineth do not have a formal written language, and usually use the Classical spelling, though some have adopted the Eomentesa spelling reform, as it is a little closer than Classical Braereth to how Merineth is actually pronounced, though there are still vast differences.
Orthographic and Phonemic Mapping
| Orth. | Phn. | Example | IPA | Classical | Environment/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | [æ~a] | akua ‘water’ | [ˈaku.a] | aqua | From Braereth ⟨a⟩; sometimes from ⟨e⟩ or ⟨o⟩. |
| b | [b] | buril ‘want’ | [buˈɾil] | voulere | From Braereth ⟨v⟩. |
| dz | [ʣ] | pedzito ‘small’ | [pe̞ˈʣi.to̞] | pitzitu | From Braereth ⟨tz⟩, ⟨dj⟩, or palatalized ⟨g⟩. Cannot occur word-finally. |
| i | [i] | ilis ‘they’ | [ˈi.lis] | iljis | From Braereth ⟨i⟩ or ⟨e⟩. |
| í | [iː] | ilis ‘they’ | [ˈi.lis] | iljis | From Braereth ⟨ei⟩. |
| k | [k] | jalo ‘yellow’ | [ˈʒa.lo̞] | gjalu | |
| l | [l] | lap ‘stone’ | [lap] | lape | |
| m | [m] | morir ‘to die’ | [mo̞ˈrir] | mourire | |
| n | [n] | naxer ‘to be born’ | [naˈʃe̞r] | nascere | |
| nk | [ŋk~nk] | zinkuru ‘knee’ | [ˈʒiŋ.klo̞] | ginclu | The expected velarization of the nasal (“the NG sound” before K) is dampened. |
| p | [p] | pelio ‘hair’ | [ˈpe̞.li.o̞] | pelju | From Braereth ⟨p⟩, ⟨b⟩, or ⟨f⟩. |
| r | [ɾ] | rider ‘to laugh’ | [riˈðe̞r] | ridere | Normally realized as a tap or flap rather than a trill. |
| s | [s] | sintx ‘five’ | [sinʧ] | tzince | From Braereth ⟨s⟩ or word-initial ⟨cj⟩, ⟨tj⟩ or ⟨tz⟩. |
| t | [t] | tuto ‘all’ | [ˈtu.to̞] | tutu | |
| t’ | [θ] | pith ‘foot’ | [piθ] | pide | |
| ts | [ʦ] | contzer ‘to fight’ | [conˈʦer] | countzere | |
| u | [u] | untx ‘eleven’ | [unʧ] | unce | |
| ú | [uː] | útxo ‘eight’ | [ˈuːʧo̞] | uictjou | |
| x | [ˈ] | xentrao ‘central’ | [ʃe̞nˈtɾa.o̞] | centrau | Like Braereth, ⟨x⟩ indicates stress on the final syllable. |
| z | [z] | espoza ‘wife’ | [e̞ˈspu.za] | espousa |