Ashwir

The language of the Gods, Ashwir (ahsh-wear) is one of several strange languages thats origin cannot be dated back to any civilization. Every god is born with the knowledge of how to speak the language, but lacks the ability to explain the nuances. For years, Ashwir was the only way for gods to communicate amongst each other as many considered it taboo to learn any language aside from the native tongue of their home land. In modern times, it is still the language most commonly used in private conversations but due to the technology of translators many gods will speak their country's home language in public.

Since gods cannot explain the language, and there is no homeland for which it comes from, learning the language is extremely difficult. Scholars have spent decades listening to gods communicate with each other and then asking what the conversation was about. The task was made more difficult due to the varying attitudes of humans and gods, as well as the lack of a written form of the language. Many humans view learning the language as a taboo, for it was only meant to be spoken by the gods. While many of these opinions are not as strong as they used to be, there are some small towns which consider it outlawed. In addition, many gods view speaking the language in front of humans as potentially being rude. Others think having to explain their conversations or being watched is insulting. Today, it is possible for mortals to speak the language, though they may have a difficult time finding a partner to speak it with.

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Ashwir is a...

Geographical Distribution

Due to its apparent descent from the Arras, Ashwir has no traditional area to call home. Instead, it is known to all gods and, as such, is spoken almost exclusively within the Golden City.

Phonology

Ashwir consists of twenty-two consonant sounds and ten vowel sounds. Of the consonants, most are voiceless pronounced. There is a strong concentration in coronal - particularly alveolar and post-alveolar - placement, and approximants and trills. Vowels focus on central sounds, typically in the middle section, and most often unrounded.

Consonants

With a total of twenty-two consonants, only nine are voiced; IPA¹ is as follows:

/n̥/, /n/, /n̥/, /n/², /t̪/, /d̪/, /t/. /d/, /ts/, /t̠ʃ/, /ɸ/, /v/, /s/, /ʃ/, /β̞/, /ʋ̥/, /ʋ/, /ɹ̠/, /r/, /r̥/, /r/, /ʀ̥/, /ɬ/, /l̠̊/

These consonants are anglicized as follows:

n, ń, n, ń, t, d, t, d, c, ç, f, v, s, sh, b, w, ẃ, r, ŕ, r, ŕ, r, ł, l

Several vowels that repeat in several coronal places (n, t, d, ŕ) do not have multiple letters to write them but instead are pronounced based upon the vowel placement before hand (rounded vs unrounded). Notably, the accent marks on these are backwards than expected - with the voiceless receiving the unaccented letter.

Additionally, there are three different sounds that all use the letter r - the post-alveolar approximate, the alveolar trill, and the dorsal trill. Like the above n, t, d, and ŕ, the difference between these are determined by the word being spoken. The difference is that the dorsal trill follows consonants instead of a vowel.

Vowels

There are seven unrounded vowels and three rounded vowels within Ashwir, IPA³ as follows:

/y/, /ɨ/, /ɯ/, /ɪ/, /ɘ/, /ɛ/, /ɜ/, /ʌ/, /ɔ/, /ɶ/

These vowels are anglicized as follows:

ù, ú, o, i, í, e, u, a, ò, à

Every vowel but e has multiple forms. The forms with the left facing accent (ù) indicate a rounded vowel, while right facing accents (ú) indicate a short vowel.

Vocabulary

Insults

rsoeń nùcàbiwal - half-born; insult to a god who is partially plant or animal

ùwal ti - wailing one; a childish individual

ùnashii ti dúveadí - they who kiss the strong one; a coward, kissup

rù ti fàro - one without worshipers; unwanted

tuob ẃo roníẃo - you rot your town; you make everyone miserable

nrù ẃo scavbà víń - you don't deserve stone; reference to both one not deserving to be a god, or dying peacefully

ù víń daashbi - stone in the foot; a clumsy person

ù víń scabo - stone in the ass; an asshole

nùshùi nùeàd - airhead; a god with broken memories (lit. winged thoughts)

nùwołuo wołui - broken pebble; an idiot

ùndart tyó wish - they've rooted to the ground; one stuck in the past

^{1: IPA consonants are written with the bilabial, labial, dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, and dorsal order for place; it then descends by nasal, stop, affricate, fricative, approximate, trill, and laterals.
2: n̥ and n are present in both a dental form and an alveolar form, but use the same IPA symbol. To indicate such, they are listed twice.}
_{3: IPA vowels are written with the front, central, and then back vowels. It starts with the closed of each, then the close-mid, open-mid, and open.}