Thexar-IV: The-Sha-Ruun — Sha-El 01: Sha-Thar The-El — Phonetics
"Sound is the soul of language. In every sound of Xha'Ruun — the breath of orange Khar'Vex, the rustle of Vexar foliage, the sound of the Gharra ocean." — From "Phonetics of Xha'Ruun," Khar-Vexar Academy
Mor-ven: Phonetics describes speech sounds and their articulation. The inventory here contains 24 consonants and 8 vowels: language distinctions, not a count of vocal organs. Pitch, loudness and timbre also help convey intention and phrase structure.
1.1 Phoneme Inventory
1.1.1 Consonants (24)
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | ʔ | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Fricative | f v | θ | s z | ʃ | x | h | |
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ |
Contains voiceless/voiced pairs, without complete symmetry; characteristic sounds: dental θ (in "xha"), glottal stop ʔ (syllable separator), velar nasal ŋ.
1.1.2 Vowels (8)
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | a |
Three series and three heights; length phonemic (i/iː, u/uː). Neutral ə = epenthetic — a filler for forbidden clusters.
1.2 Articulatory Features
Features related to physiology:
- Teaching notation distinguishes up to five pitch contours; they cannot be derived from an assumed count of vocal folds.
- Overtones — capable of two tones simultaneously (used in music and religion)
- Velar x — a "guttural" fricative, characteristic of the language
- Glottal stop ʔ — a morpheme separator preventing vowel contraction
1.3 Syllable Structure
Predominantly open (CV). Common structures:
- CV — basic
- CVC — with a final sonorant (m, n, ŋ, r, l)
- CCV — with an initial cluster (p, b, k, g + sonorant)
Forbidden clusters resolved by epenthesis of ə. Stress is dynamic, usually on the root’s first syllable; vowel length is a separate distinction.
1.4 Sound and Writing
Phonetic inventory directly linked to the writing system (→ rhu [Thexar-IV, Sha-El 07, "Sharuu Writing System"]): the syllabary reflects the syllable structure, and tones are conveyed by diacritics.
Ruun Ven
- Inventory: 24 consonants, 8 vowels.
- Teaching notation distinguishes up to five pitch contours; they cannot be derived from an assumed count of vocal folds.
- The syllable is CV-oriented; epenthesis of ə resolves clusters.
- Vowel length is phonemic.
- The sound system is linked to the syllabary.