Notes on a canine language.
The canine muzzle informs quite a bit about the sounds involved in the language. For instance, due to a lack of fine motor control over the tongue-tip, dental, alveolar, and postalveolar consonants are impossible (or, at least, very difficult). Approximate values are provided in IPA where possible, as precise characters do not exist for such a muzzle.
Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental / Alveolar / Postalveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngial | Glottal | Epiglotal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p b | - - | - - | - - | c ɟ | - - | q ɢ | - - | ʔ - | ʡ - |
Nasal | - m | - - | - - | - - | - ɲ | - - | - ɴ | - - | - - | - - |
Trill | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - |
Tap/flap | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - |
Fricative | ɸ β | - - | - - | - - | ç ʝ | - - | χ ʁ | - - | - - | ʜ ʢ |
Lateral fricative | - βˡ | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - |
Approximate | - - | - - | - ɹ | - - | - - | ʍ w | - - | - - | - - | - - |
Lateral approximate | - - | - - | - - | - - | - ʎ | - - | - - | - - | - - | - - |
Palato-alveolar click (“clop”): ǂ
Only central and back vowels are possible, as without the prominent arch in the palate, front vowels risk becoming palatal fricatives. Rounding is also very difficult except on the closed-back vowel, leading to [u] being the only rounded vowel (though it often shows up in diphthongs)
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | ɨ | ɯ u | |
Close-mid | ɤ | ||
Mid | ə | ||
Open-mid | ʌ | ||
Open | ɑ |
Canish is a heavily tonal language. Much of the nuance for the otherwise limited emotional vocabulary lies in the tones.
Thus: