Delpar

Delpar is a language spoken in the submerged caverns by deep kuuyik. It is primarily spoken underwater, with its phonemes prioritised for being distinct when speaking in such an environment.

Phonology

The phonology of Delpar consists of a number of nasals, approximants, ejectives, imposives, and clicks. There is one plosive, fricative, and trill, as well. Certain phonemes require interaction with the water around one's mouth to pronouce, and an Aqua- prefix has been added to such phonemes in the consonants table below. Implosives involve the inhalation of water, which makes them unpronounceable by air-breathing species without choking. Delpar consists of the following phomes, transcribed with the following characters. All phonemes in Delpar are voiced.
Consonants

Consonant	Symbol	Romanisation
Alveolar Plosive (/d/)		d
Aqua-Post-Alveolar Fricative (/ʒ/)		z
Bilabial nasal (/m/)		m
Alveolar nasal (/n/)		n
Lateral Approximant (/l/)		l
Palatal Approximant (/j/)		j
Labio-Velar Approximant (/w/)		w
Aqua-Bilabial Ejective		p
Aqua-Bilabial Implosive		b
Aqua-Velar Ejective		k
Aqua-Velar Implosive		g
Aqua-Pharyngeal Trill		r
Bilabial Click (/ʘ/)		'
Post-Alveolar Click (/ǃ/)		!

All symbols made by notahumanhand.

Vowels

Vowel	Symbol	Romanisation
Near-close Near-front (/ɪ/)		i
Open-mid Near-front (/ɛ/)		e
Close Back (/u/)		u
Open Back (/ɑ/)		a

All symbols made by notahumanhand.

Phonotactics

Syllable Structure

The maximal syllable structure in Delpar is CVC. Other valid syllable structures are CV and V. Vowel clusters of up to two are permitted.

Stress

Stress in Delpar words falls on the first syllable.

Writing System

Historically, Delpar has been carved into stone as its primary method of writing. As such, its letters consist of many straight lines, and no curves.

Syntax

Word Order

Delpar uses a relatively fluid word order. While the verb must go at the beginning of the sentence, the rest of the words can go in almost any order. The language uses an ergative-absolutive alignment, with all nouns ending with a -par or -kar suffix that becomes -bar or -gar respectively for objects.

Negation

In Delpar, negation is denoted via a suffix on the verb. This suffix can be either -me or -ne, depending on the level of negation. For a statement that the speaker doubts but does not have direct proof of being false, -me is used, while for a statement that the speaker knows to be false, -ne is used.

Culture

Dialects

There are a few major dialects of Delpar spoken across the submerged caverns. There is Deep Delpar, known in its language as Deldelpar, as well as Surface Delpar, which is known as Dalapar. Kazalpar is spoken in Cathariel. Some kuuyikar who live in the far reaches of the caverns in cramped caves speak a dialect known as Ra'ezdelpar, or Rural Delpar.
These dialects are moderately mutually intelligible, though there are some aspects that can cause a bit of confusion. Dalapar is by far the most distinct of the dialects in terms of phonemes, as it has been modified for speech in the air rather than underwater - meaning a majority of the phonemes were changed to be pronounceable without the presence of water. Ra'ezdelpar is the most distinct in terms of vocabulary, with most of its words having undergone major changes in meaning, in addition to the dialect having a large amount of slang. Speakers of Deldelpar believe their version of the language to be the closest to the "original", though whether or not this is true is debatable. There is also a large amount of tension between Kazalpar and Ra'ezdelpar speakers, as Kazalpar speakers believe in a "right" way to speak the language, with many more grammatical rules, while Ra'ezdelpar is a lot more loose and fluid with its grammar.

Vocabulary

Common Phrases

Delpar	Translation
Dal dakurgar	Good day
Dal puk'egar	Good morning
Dal zanubar	Good afternoon
Dal !udazbar	Good evening
Dal	Hello (informal)
Daker zalpar?	How are you?
Daker?	How are you? (informal)
Raluz zalpar zalbar?	What is your name?
Raluz zujkar Ruler'a-!Ulur-ke zujgar	My name is Sings-with-Breath
Dol'a zujkar	I swim
Dol'ane zujkar	I don't swim

Idioms

Delpar	Translation	Meaning
Ku'elda zed'elpar wudez	To give a rotten flower	To detest someone
Ku'elda zal zed'elpar kudwalgar	I hope your flowers bloom	A wish of good fortune
Dol'a maklewa kene	To swim without fins	A silly undertaking, doomed to fail
Lak!er dokezpar	The fish scatter	Danger approaches
Dokezlajpar rezmarik kidal	As smart as a glowfish	Extremely unintelligent
Zuj zed'elpar	My flower	My love
Wejuzad zed'elpar	To collect flowers	To be well-liked
Zegbij zed'elijakpar	To make a bouquet	To become wed