Xēlōian

Overview

Natively known as: Xēlō /xeːˈloː/

Also known as: The Magician's Code

...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...

tu dē naw chawyaw pawhe neko tu xawwido wi naw kūkô lūmu chaw

Pronunciation: /tʊ deː nɔ ˈʧɔjɔ pɔːˈhɛ ˈnɛko tʊ xɔːˈwido wi nɔ ˈkuːkə ˈluːmʊ ʧɔ/

Xēlōian word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned

No one is entirely sure of the origins of Xēlō ; which is commonly referred to as "The Magician's Code," or simply "The Code." Some say that it was invented by the ancients as their mastery over magic grew. Some believe the language arrived in Awldor during the Great Collapse. Others, specifically sages and the like who study fringe topics, claim that the language predates the Ancients.
Only a partial dictionary of the Code was ever discovered much less deciphered. It is difficult to tell if this language was used on a daily basis or if it was purely technical as it relates to the manipulation of magic. No one knows the precise reasons for why the Code can manipulate magical energy, and many have engaged in researching the topic. Only the Sages appear to have developed any deep insights into the connections between the Code and the magical ether. None of these sages have shared their insights as yet.

Phonology

Consonant inventory: /b cç d f g h j k l m n p s t w x ʧ/

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labio-velar	Glottal
Nasal	m		n
Stop	p b		t d			k g
Affricate				ʧ	cç
Fricative		f	s			x		h
Approximant					j		w
Lateral approximant			l

Vowel inventory: /a aː eː i iː o oː uː ɔ ɔː ə ɛ ɛː ʊ/

	Front	Central	Back
High	iː i		uː
Near-high			ʊ
High-mid	eː		oː o
Mid		ə
Low-mid	ɛː ɛ		ɔː ɔ
Low	aː a

Syllable structure: (C)V
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, x, ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b, cç, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, x, ʧ
Word final consonants: N/A

Phonological rules (in order of application):

m→n / _# j→Ø / E_
Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
c	chj
j	y
ɔ	aw
ə	ô
ɛ	e
ʊ	u
ʧ	ch
ː	macron over vowel

Morphology

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Prefix leː- Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix seː- Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix sə- Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix go- Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix fʊ- Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Prefix də- Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix heː- Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Prefix xʊ- Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix seː- Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = Prefix naː- One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix biː- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix bɔ- Diminutive = Prefix hɛː- Augmentative = Prefix biː-

Syntax

Main word order: Subject-Oblique-Object-Verb. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary with a key the door opened. Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun. Adposition: postpositions

Articles

Xēlōian has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.

Noun

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	No affix gixaw /ˈgixɔː/	Suffix -mɛː gixawmē /giˈxɔːmɛː/
Feminine	No affix gixaw /ˈgixɔː/	Prefix də- dôgixaw /dəgiˈxɔː/
Neuter	No affix gixaw /giˈxɔː/	Prefix hɔː- hawgixaw /hɔːˈgixɔː/

Nouns have two cases: Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog

Nominative	No affix gixaw /ˈgixɔː/
Accusative	Suffix -mʊ gixawmu /gixɔːˈmʊ/

Pronouns

	Nominative	Accusative
1st singular	ma /ma/ I	bo /bo/ me
2nd singular	pē /pɛː/ you	xaw /xɔː/ you
3rd singular masc	dē /deː/ he, it	taw /tɔː/ him, it
3rd singular fem	xu /xʊ/ she, it	paw /pɔː/ her, it
1st plural	haw /hɔː/ we	u /ʊ/ us
2nd plural	wē /wɛː/ you (all)	sē /seː/ you (all)
3rd plural masc	fē /feː/ they (masculine)	naw /nɔ/ them (masculine)
3rd plural fem	ge /gɛ/ they (feminine)	lō /loː/ them (feminine)

Possessive determiners

1st singular	lū /luː/ my
2nd singular	paw /pɔː/ your
3rd singular masc	naw /nɔ/ his, its
3rd singular fem	yô /jə/ her, its
1st plural	tē /tɛː/ our
2nd plural	yu /jʊ/ your
3rd plural masc	ge /gɛ/ their (masculine)
3rd plural fem	ō /oː/ their (feminine)

Verbs

Past tense may be indicated with the word:

Past particle

hu /hʊ/ past tense particle

Future tense is indicated with the word:

Future particle

mo /mo/ future tense particle

Verbs are conjugated depending on the gender of the doer of the verb.

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
1st singular	Suffix -bɔː xēbōbaw /xeːboːˈbɔː/	Prefix wi- wixēbō /wiˈxeːboː/	Suffix -haː xēbōhā /xeːˈboːhaː/
2nd singular	Suffix -seː xēbōsē /xeːboːˈseː/	Prefix ʧuː- chūxēbō /ʧuːˈxeːboː/	Prefix kaː- kāxēbō /kaːxeːˈboː/
3rd singular masc	Suffix -moː xēbōmō /xeːˈboːmoː/	Suffix -cçi xēbōchyçi /xeːboːcçˈi/	Suffix -leː xēbōlē /xeːˈboːleː/
3rd singular fem	Suffix -soː xēbōsō /xeːboːˈsoː/	Suffix -suː xēbōsū /xeːboːˈsuː/	Suffix -huː xēbōhū /xeːˈboːhuː/
1st plural	Suffix -lʊ xēbōlu /xeːˈboːlʊ/	Suffix -jʊ xēbōyu /xeːboːˈjʊ/	Suffix -gɛ xēbōge /xeːˈboːgɛ/
2nd plural	Suffix -cça xēbōchyça /xeːˈboːcça/	Suffix -siː xēbōsī /xeːˈboːsiː/	Prefix hɔː- hawxēbō /hɔːˈxeːboː/
3rd plural masc	Suffix -fʊ xēbōfu /xeːboːˈfʊ/	Suffix -ta xēbōta /xeːˈboːta/	Suffix -ʧoː xēbōchō /xeːˈboːʧoː/

3rd plural fem

Prefix leː- lēxēbō /leːˈxeːboː/

Suffix -mɛː xēbōmē /xeːboːˈmɛː/

Suffix -ka xēbōka /xeːˈboːka/

Imperfective aspect

The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am studying, and habitual actions, such as I study (every night).
It is indicated with the word:

Imperfect particle

xē /xɛː/ imperfect particle

Perfect aspect

Perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.
In Xēlōian, the perfect is constructed with an affix

Perfect

Prefix biː- bīxēbō /biːˈxeːboː/

Dictionary

230 Words.

Note(s) from the Archivists:

Are you sure this language works? I've been trying to light up the library's fireplace but the word does not appear to do the trick. - Archivist Theta
First, you need to either be gifted or trained to make use of this language. Second, why are you trying to cast magical fire in the library? Third, you do realize that some of these areas are designated magical deadzones and for good reason. - Archivist Taenya