I decided to completely overhaul the Falithifel language, because I did not like the direction it was going. Although I try not to focus too much on the aesthetics, I did not think that conlang I was already devising would resemble that of a \”dragon-tongue.\”
Behind New Language Development
Using the previous language, I am going to call this new language Hayothial, which also means \”fire mountain.\”
Just like Falithifel, it also makes use of the verb-noun structure found in the Celtic languages like Welsh.
Just as I mentioned previously, I still disagree with Mark Rosenfelder that starting a protolanguage is not necessary. I still prefer working backwards from language to protolanguage.
Although the inspirations would be same, the structure will be different. There will still be inspirations from Italo-Celtic and Semitic roots. As such, I was debating whether the adjective should precede the noun it modifies or vide versa. While I decided to retain the Welsh apposition of the definite article within a noun phrase, the only exception would be the ethnonym itself, with hayo meaning \”fire\” and thial meaning \”mountain.\”
Proto-Language Dispersion
Just like Falithifel, the Hayothial language would best be characterized as developing its own diachrony compared to other proto-Hayothial languages. As such, it would be isolated from the other languages due to being located in a mountainous region. However, I decided that it would have to retain the elements of proto-Hayothial and agglutinizing, since agglutinative languages tend to be spoken by the people groups that tend to be closely cloistered together.
| Proto-Hayothial | steił xoyǝth | dragon (lit. wyrm-bat) |
| Hayothial | sdeł+(x)ayoth=Sdełayoth | dragon |
Dragon-Taming
Just like Falithifel, the dragons were incredibly instrumental in the Hayothial\’s rise to power.
Consonantal Mutations
As far as grammar, while most of the consontantal mutations are reserved for the nouns, the vowel mutations occur within the verbs, specifically in expressing tense. This was borrowed from the triconsonantal root system of the ancestor-languages of Hayothial. There are also traces of their agglutinative nature, since the object pronouns help modify the verb. However, while they had no need of the subject pronouns, they eventually became separate morphemes as soon as they built settlements. It is a VSO language, so the verb is usually the first part of every sentence.
As for the adjectives, they usually come before the nouns they modify. Sometimes, they use the genitive case, while other times they simply use the unmodified word as a kenning and it precedes the noun–specifically for derivative purposes. What I should definitely tell my younger self is that every language is not perfect. While it is meant to have consistency and order, there are also bound to be irregularities and exceptions. In Falithifel\’s case, the issue lies with the use of the adjectival case and the order of adjectives. So long as it has the adjectival case, it could be easily understood as modifying the noun.
Sources
- Curzan, Anne and Michael Adams. \”How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction.\” 3rd Edition. Pearson. 2012.
- De Boinod, Adam Jacot. “The Meaning of Tingo and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World.” Penguin Press. 2006.
- Deutscher, Guy. \”The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind’s Greatest Invention.\” 1st Edition. Metropolitan Books. 2006.
- Harrison, K. David. \”The Last Speakers: The Quest To Save The World\’s Most Endangered Languages.\” National Geographic. 2010.
- Hemon, Roparz. \”Breton Grammar.\” 3rd edition. Translated by Michael Everson. Evertype. 2011.
- Rosenfelder, Mark. “The Language Reconstruction Kit.” Yonagu Books. 2010.
- Wikipedia
- Cornish Grammar
- Nounverb.
- Voiceless dental and alveolar lateral fricatives.