Tuesday, June 25, 2013

'Old Draconic', or Elvish Draconic

Proto-draconic excludes some sounds that are quite easy for the human (or elven) mouth to make, such as rounded vowels, and includes sounds and sound distinctions that a human (or elf) would not find so distinct -- for instance, the difference between 't' and 'tc' in draconic.

Part of the fancy for Anvoria is that the dragons built a great civilization largely for the benefit of the elves -- to give them the good life.  This 'draconic empire' was later overthrown by the elves, who accepted propaganda that claimed they were slaves, and the dragons were largely slain or enslaved, but the language of the Empire, draconic dumbed down for and spoken by elves, became sort of the Latin for Anvoria.

So, first the straight-up sound changes:

Labial:
P - remains the same.
B - Is subsumed by V unless it is initial.
F - same.
V - same.
W - Elves add roundness to the letter.
I - as in machine
Ú - becomes U, and is pronounced as in 'flu'.

Dental:
T - Remains the same.
D - Remains the same.
TH - Remains the same.
DH - Remains the same.
L - Unchanged.
É - Subsumed by E.
O - As in the English Boat.

Palatal:
TC - Becomes 'TC', but is pronounced like the English CH.
DC - Becomes DJ, but is pronounced like the English J.
S - Becomes C, and is pronounced like the English SH.
J - Remains the same.
R - Unchanged.
E - Unchanged,
U - Is subsumed by E.

Velar:
K - Like the English 'K'.
G -  Unchanged.
H - Becomes an English 'H'.
Q - Unchanged.
Y - Unchanged.
A - As in "Ha!"
Á - Is subsumed by A.

The grammar also changes.

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