Braereth

Braereth is a collection of three fairly mutually intelligible dialects. Classical Braereth was a Western Romance language spoken in pockets of mountainous areas from the Alps to the Carpathians until the mid-sixteenth century.

The modern language is still often written in the classical orthography, though the two dialects that have emerged from it sometimes diverge sharply. The dialect known as Tenibvreth is much more conservative to the original phonology. The Eomentesa dialect, however, has a sound that is much more similar to modern Iberian languages, and a recent spelling reform has served to further distinguish the two.

For the purposes of this text, We will use the classical spelling of the language; where appropriate and necessary, dialectal forms will be shown in double-brackets, e.g. undix [unˈdi] ‘where’, but Tenibvrith ⟪ubvi⟫ [ˈuvi] or Eomentesa ⟪quondex⟫ [kwonˈde]. Specific differences in the phonologies of the two modern dialects are described under Phonology.

Phonology

Classical Braereth

Consonants	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Vowels	Front	Back
Plosive	p · b	t̪ · d̪		c · ɟ	k · ɡ		High	i	u
Affricate	· b͡β		t͡s · d͡z	t͡ʃ · d͡ʒ			Mid	e	o
Fricative	ɸ · β	θ · [ð]	s · [z]	ʃ · (ʒ)	(x) ·		Low	a
Nasal	m	n̪		ɲ	[ŋ]		Diphthongs	To Front	To Back
Lateral		l̪		ʎ			High	ui̯	ou̯
Trill			r [ɾ]	r̝			Mid	ei̯	eu̯
Approximant	w			j			Low	ae̯	au̯

* Characters in square brackets are allophones; they are not phonemic.
* Characters in parentheses only occur in borrowings.

Tenibvreth Dialect

The Tenibvreth dialect is marked by a weakening and near-complete deletion of final vowels, a strengthened palatal series, and diverse realizations of the lateral series. A large amount of the vocabulary is borrowed from Gothic and some other Germanic influences as well as Slavic.

Consonants	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Dorsal		Vowels	Front	Back
Plosive	p · b		t · d		k · ɡ		High	i, ɪ	u, ʊ
Affricate			t͡s · d͡z	t͡ɕ · d͡ʑ			Mid	e	o
Fricative	f · v	θ · [ð]	s · z	ɕ · ʑ	χ ·		Low	a, ə
Nasal	m		n	ɲ	[ŋ]		Diphthongs	To Front	To Back
Lateral		l̪	[ɬ] · ɮ	[ʎ]	[ɫ]		High	ui̯	iu̯
Trill			r [ɾ]	r̝	[ʀ]		Mid		eu̯
Approximant	ʋ			j			Low	ai̯	au̯

Eomentesa Dialect

Consonants	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Dorsal		Vowels	Front	Back
Plosive	p · b	t̪ · d̪			k · ɡ		High	i	u, uː
Affricate			t͡s · d͡z				Mid	e̞, e̞ː	o̞
Fricative	f · v	θ ·	s · z	(ç) ·			Low	a
Nasal	m	n̪			[ŋ]		Diphthongs	To Front	To Back
Lateral		l̪					High
Trill			r [ɾ]				Mid
							Low		au̯

Orthographic and Phonemic Mapping

While all dialects of Braereth may be written in the classical orthography, there is also a reform spelling of Eomentesa, presented here in double-brackets (⟪ ⟫) in the Eom. column where the spelling differs from the traditional. Tenibvreth is written in the classical orthography, though final vowels are often elided, and certain folk spellings have become common where pronunciation has changed, e.g. ⟪flura⟫ or ⟪floura⟫ for flora, or substituting ⟨qv⟩ for ⟨qu⟩ (ecquilju → ⟪ecqvilj⟫) or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨ei⟩ (treicje → ⟪tricj⟫). When final vowels are dropped, final ⟨e⟩ will often become ⟨’⟩ to indicate palatalization (grande → ⟪grand’⟫), and sometimes final ⟨tu⟩ will be changed to ⟨th⟩ (tutu → ⟪tuth⟫).

Orth.	Brae.	Ten.	Eom.	Example	Classical	Tenibvreth	Eomentesa	Environment/Notes
a	a	a	a	ath ‘to’	[aθ]	[aθ]	⟪ath⟫ [ats]
ae	ae̯	ai̯	e̞ː	laectje ‘milk’	[ˈl̪ae̯.cʧe̞]	[lai̯ʨ]	⟪laets⟫ [l̪eːʦ]
aou	au̯	au̯	a.o̞	saou ‘salt’	[sau̯]	[sau̯]	⟪sao⟫ [ˈsa.o̞]	Only occurs word-finally.
au	au̯	au̯	au̯	aubvru ‘tree’	[au̯.b͡βru]	[au̯vʀ(ʊ)]	⟪aubro⟫ [ˈau̯.bro̞]
au	au̯	au̯	a.o̞	normau ‘normal’	[n̪orˈmau̯]	[norˈmau̯]	⟪normao⟫ [n̪o̞rˈma.o̞]	/_#
b	b	b	b	baclu ‘stick’	[ˈba.kl̪u]	[bakɬ]	⟪baclo⟫ [ˈba.klo̞]
bl	bl̪	bɮ	bl̪	blancu ‘white’	[ˈbl̪aŋ.ku]	[bɮaŋk]	⟪blanco⟫ [ˈbl̪aŋ.ko̞]
bv	b͡β	v	b	ribveu ‘level’	[ri.ˈb͡βeu̯]	[riˈveu̯]	⟪riveo⟫ [riˈbe̞.o̞]	Only occurs word-internally.
c	k	k	k	cou ‘with’	[kou̯]	[ku]	⟪co⟫ [ko̞]
c	c	ʨ	ʦ	glacja ‘ice’	[ˈɡl̪a.ca]	[ˈɡɮa.ʨ(a)]	⟪glatsa⟫ [ˈɡl̪a.ʦa]	/_{i,e}
c	c	ʨ	s	centrau ‘central’	[ce̞n̪ˈt̪ɾau̯]	[ʨenˈtɾau̯]	⟪sentrao⟫ [sen̪ˈt̪ɾa.o̞]	/#_{i,e}
cj	c	ʨ	ʦ	radjicja ‘root’	[raˈʤi.ca]	[raˈʥiʨ(a)]	⟪radzitsa⟫ [raˈʣi.ʦa]
cj	c	ʨ	s	cjambiare ‘to change’	[camˈbja.re]	[ʨamˈbjar̝(ɪ)]	⟪sambiar⟫ [sam.biˈar]	/#_
cl	kl̪	kɬ	kl̪	clubvra ‘snake’	[ˈkl̪u.b͡βra]	[ˈkɬu.vra]	⟪klubra⟫ [ˈkl̪u.bra]
ctj	cʃ	ʨ	ʦ	fruictju ‘fruit’	[ˈɸrui̯.cʧu]	[ˈfruj.ʨ(ʊ)]	⟪frutso⟫ [ˈfruː.ʦo̞]
d	d̪	d	d̪	dente ‘tooth’	[ˈd̪en̪.t̪e]	[denʨ(ɪ)]	⟪dent⟫ [d̪e̞n̪t̪]
d	ð	ð	d̪	cjaudu ‘hot’	[ˈcau̯.ðu]	[ˈʨau̯ð(ʊ)]	⟪saudo⟫ [ˈsau̯.d̪o̞]	/S_S
dj	ʤ	ʥ	ʣ	codjax ‘head of a poppy’	[koˈʤa]	[koˈʥa]	⟪codzà⟫ [koˈdza]
dj	ʤ	ʥ	z	djurnu ‘day’	[ˈʤurn̪u]	[ʥu(r)ɲ(ʊ)]	⟪zurno⟫ [ˈzur.n̪o̞]	/#_
e	e̞	∅	∅	cjanje ‘dog’	[ˈcaɲe]	[ʨaɲ(ɪ)]	⟪sang⟫ [saŋ]	/_#
e	e̞	e	e̞	dente ‘tooth’	[ˈd̪en̪.t̪e]	[denʨ(ɪ)]	⟪dent⟫ [d̪e̞n̪t̪]
ei	ei̯	i	e̞	deicje ‘ten’	[d̪ei̯.ce]	[diʨ(ɪ)]	⟪dets⟫ [de̞ʦ]
eu	eu̯	eu̯	e̞.o	seuva ‘forest’	[ˈseu̯.va]	[seu̯.va]	⟪seova⟫ [ˈse̞.o.va]
f	ɸ	f	f	folja ‘leaf’	[ˈɸo̞.ʎa]	[foɮ(a)]	⟪folia⟫ [fo̞.li.a]
fl	ɸl	fɬ	fl	flora ‘flower’	[ɸl̪o.ra]	[fɬu.ra]	⟪flora⟫ [flo̞.ra]
g	ɡ	ɡ	ɡ	grande ‘big’	[ˈɡran̪.d̪e̞]	[ɡranʥ(ɪ)]	⟪grandz⟫ [ɡranʣ]
g	ɟ	ʥ	dz	gindrau ‘general’	[ɟin̪ˈd̪ɾau̯]	[ʥinˈdɾau̯]	⟪zindrao⟫ [zenˈdɾa.o̞]	/_{i,e
gj	ɟ	ʥ	dz	gjalu ‘yellow’	[ˈɟa.l̪u]	[ʥaɮ(ʊ)]	⟪zialo⟫ [zi.a.lo̞]
gl	ɡl	ɡɮ	ɡl	glacja ‘ice’	[ˈɡl̪a.ca]	[ˈɡɮa.ʨ(a)]	⟪glatsa⟫ [ˈɡla.ʦa]
gnj	ŋɲ	ŋɲ	nj	ignju ‘fire	[iŋ.ɲu]	[iŋ.ɲ(ʊ)]	⟪inio⟫ [i.ni.o̞]
i	i	i	i	ilj ‘the’	[iʎ]	[iɮ]	⟪il⟫ [il]
i	j	j	i.	iecru ‘liver’	[ˈje̞.kru]	[jekʀ(ʊ)]	⟪iecro⟫ [iˈe.kro̞]	/_V (!/u/)
iu	ju	iu̯	i.u	iustu ‘right’	[ˈju.st̪u]	[iu̯st(ʊ)]	⟪iusto⟫ [iˈu.sto̞]
l	l̪	l̪	l̪	lape ‘stone’	[ˈl̪a.pe̞]	[lap(ɪ)]	⟪xxxxx⟫ [lap]
lj	ʎ	ɮ	l(i)	aljis ‘others’	[ˈa.ʎis]	[ˈa.ɮis]	⟪alis⟫ [ˈa.lis]
lj	ʎ	ɮ	l	ilj ‘the’	[iʎ]	[iɮ]	⟪il⟫ [il]	/_#
m	m	m	m	mourire ‘to die’	[mou̯ˈri.re]	[muˈrir̝(ɪ)]	⟪morir⟫ [mo̞ˈrir]
n	n	n	n	nascere ‘to be born’	[ˈn̪asce̞.re]	[ˈnas.ʨer̝(ɪ)]	⟪natser⟫ [ˈna.ʦe̞r]
nc	ŋk	ŋk	ŋk	ginclu ‘knee’	[ˈɟiŋ.kl̪u]	[ʥiŋkɬ(ʊ)]	⟪zinclo⟫ [ˈziŋ.klo̞]
ncj	ɲc	ŋkʨ	nts	louncjanu ‘far’	[l̪ou̯ɲˈca.n̪u]	[luŋˈkʨan(ʊ)]	⟪lontsano⟫ [lo̞nˈʦa.no̞]
nctj	ɲcʃ	ŋkʨ	nts	vinctje ‘twenty’	[ˈβiŋk.ʧe̞]	[viŋkʨ(ɪ)]	⟪vintse⟫ [ˈvin.ʦe̞]
ng	ŋɡ	ŋɡ	ŋɡ	loungu ‘long’	[ˈl̪ou̯ŋ.ɡu]	[luŋɡ(ʊ)]	⟪longo⟫ [lo̞ŋ.ɡo̞]
ng	ɲɟ	ŋʥ	ndzj	pungere ‘to stab’	[puɲˈɟe.re]	[puŋˈʥer̝(ɪ)]	⟪pundzer⟫ [punˈʣe̞r]	/_{i,e
ngj	ɲɟ	ŋʥ	ndzj	mengjare ‘to eat’	[meɲˈɟa.re]	[meŋˈʥar̝(ɪ)]	⟪mandzar⟫ [manˈʣar]
nj	ɲ	ɲ	nj	anju ‘year’	[ˈa.ɲu]	[ˈa.ɲ(ʊ)]	⟪anio⟫ [ˈa.njo̞]
nje	ɲe̞	ɲ	ŋ	cjanje ‘dog’	[ˈca.ɲe̞]	[ʨaɲ(ɪ)]	⟪sang⟫ [saŋ]	/_#
o	o̞	o	o̞	ouvu ‘egg’	[ˈou̯.vu]	[uv(ʊ)]	⟪ovo⟫ [ˈo̞.vo̞]
ou	ou̯	u	o̞	oudire ‘to hear’	[ou̯ˈði.re]	[uˈðir̝(ɪ)]	⟪odir⟫ [o̞ˈdir]
p	p	p	p	pelju ‘hair’	[ˈpe̞.ʎu]	[peɮ(ʊ)]	⟪pelio⟫ [pe̞.li.o̞]
pl	pl	pɬ	pl	pluvia ‘rain’	[ˈpl̪u.vja]	[ˈpɬu.vja]	⟪pluvia⟫ [ˈplu.vi.a]
qh	x	χ	ç	aqhma ‘life force’	-	[ˈaχ.ma]	⟪achma⟫ [ˈaç.ma]	Only in borrowings.
qh	x~h	χ	∅	qheru ‘a kind of deer’	-	[χer(ʊ)]	⟪ero⟫ [eˈro̞]	/_{i,e. Only in borrowings.
qu	kw	kʋ	kw	quei ‘what’	[kwei̯]	[kʋi]	⟪que⟫ [kwe̞]
qu	kw	k	kw	equou ‘horse’	[ˈe̞.kwu]	[ˈe.ku]	⟪equo⟫ [ˈe̞.kwo̞]	/_{o,u
r	r	r	r	ridere ‘to laugh’	[riˈðe.re]	[riˈðer̝(ɪ)]	⟪rider⟫ [riˈder]
r	ɾ	ɾ	ɾ	trei(di)cje ‘thirteen’	[ˈt̪ɾei̯ðice̞]	[tɾiʨ(ɪ)]	⟪trets⟫ [tɾe̞ʦ]	/[+dnt]_
rj	r̝	r̝	ri	terja ‘earth’	[ˈt̪e̞.r̝a]	[ˈte.r̝(a)]	⟪teria⟫ [ˈte̞.ri.a]
s	s	s	s	secjare ‘to cut’	[se̞ˈca.re]	[se.ʨar̝(ɪ)]	⟪setsar⟫ [se̞.ʦar]
s	s	s	s	espousa ‘wife’	[eˈspou̯.za]	[eˈspu.za]	⟪espoza⟫ [e̞ˈspo̞.za]	/S_S
sc	sc	sʨ	sj	escire ‘to know’	[esˈci.re]	[esˈʨir̝(ɪ)]	⟪esir⟫ [eˈsir]	/_{i,e
scj	sc	sʨ	sj	escjavare ‘to dig’	[es.caˈβa.re]	[es.ʨaˈvar̝(ɪ)]	⟪esiavar⟫ [es.ja.var]
sj	ʃ	ɕ	s(j)	sji ‘yes’	[ʃi]	[ɕi]	⟪si⟫ [si]
t	t	t	t	tutu ‘all’	[ˈt̪u.t̪u]	[tut(ʊ)]	⟪tuto⟫ [ˈtu.to̞]
th	θ	θ	t	eth ‘and’	[e̞θ]	[eθ]	⟪eth⟫ [e̞t]
tj	ʧ	ʨ	ts	setje ‘seven’	[se̞.ʧe̞]	[seʨ(ɪ)]	⟪sets⟫ [se̞ʦ]
tz	ts	ts	ts	tzincje ‘five’	[ˈt̪siŋ.ce̞]	[tsiŋkʨ(ɪ)]	⟪sintse⟫ [ˈsin.ʦe]	/#_
tz	dz	dz	ts	pitzitu ‘small’	[piˈd̪zi.t̪u]	[piˈdzit(ʊ)]	⟪pedzito⟫ [peˈʣi.to̞]	/S_S
u	u	u	u	uricla ‘ear’	[uˈri.kl̪a]	[uˈri.kɬa]	⟪oricla⟫ [o̞ˈri.kla]
ui	ui̯	ui̯	u	luictjare ‘to fight’	[l̪ui̯kˈcʃa.re]	[lui̯ˈʨar̝(ɪ)]	⟪lutsar⟫ [luˈʦar]
v	β	v	v	voulere ‘to want’	[vou̯ˈl̪e.re]	[vuˈler̝(ɪ)]	⟪voler⟫ [vo̞ˈle̞r]
x	(Indicates stress.)			iljax ‘there’	[iˈʎa]	[iˈɮa]	⟪alià⟫ [a.ˈlja]	Indicates stress.
z	z	z	z				⟪xxxxx⟫	In borrowings.
zj	ʒ	ʑ	zj	frezjire ‘to lead astray’	[freˈʒi.re]	[freˈʑir̝(ɪ)]	⟪frezir⟫ [fre̞ˈzir]	In borrowings.