Foyiitùn ([fɔɪ:itun])

Foyiitùn is the Language of the of the Foyii / Woodsmen of the The Forest of Doon. Its name is derived from Foy meaning "leaf" and tùn meaning "language". So Foyiitùn simply means "the language of the leaf-people".
For more on these people see: Foyii/Woodsmen:

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Function Over Form

The most important thing you need to know about Foyiitùn is that it is a descriptive language. People, places, features and even situations are described either by appearance or by nature.
e.g.

• Lenerjé translates as "laugh" but literally means "happy sound"
  from herjé meaning "Happy" and a prefix (but can be suffix) of len.
  
  
• Pekìnàblàn translates as "frost" but literally means "small snow"
  from pekìné meaning "small" and blàn meaning "snow" or "white" in this context.

This means, so long as you understand some words, you are likely to be able to communicate in Foyiitùn. What matters is that you communicate meaning, rather than being strict on structure - a function over form language. That said, there are rules, guidelines and pronunciation nuances that will enrich your understanding and the sound of the language as you speak it.
It was never a strict language, as the priority of the Woodsmen was protecting their wood and their way of life in the most-relaxed way possible while respecting each other and the world around them. They rarely had a need to write their language down, which has led to modifications over time, usually by people not from The Forest of Doon.

Synonyms and Alternatives

Due to function over form, Common Tongue words may have more than one Foyiitùn translation.
E.g. "to remember" is both sivràsz and unpélorsz (which means to "unforget" or to "unlose").

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Word Components and Compiled Words

Word Components and Compiled Words are two terms created to describe an important foundation for the Foyiitùn language.

What is a Word Component?

By “Word Component” I mean

a whole word, or a part of one, joined to another, or multiple others, in order to create a new word.

For example Bevérohii has three Word Components:

1. Be, meaning ‘Place’
2. Ver, meaning ‘Green’
3. Hohii, meaning ‘hills’

What is a Compiled Word?

A compiled word is the definition of Word Component reversed:

...a word, created from the joining of two or more Word Components.

Pronunciation

Foyiitùn's sounds are based on various languages, including English, French, Polish, German and Spanish. While I gradually add the pronunciation field and finish adding my existing words, you can reference the pronunciations I have written by cross-referencing this url: . Some key sounds however are:

• r - these are "trilled" using the tongue (as in Spanish), not "growled" in the throat (as in French).
• sz - sh
• er - air
• i and ii - ee
• ll - this is usually pronounced "y" (or is silent) rather than with a "l" sound. Aillanté is pronounced ai-yarn-tay or ai-arn-tay
• h - is often a silent letter. e.g. Hohii is pronouned "oh-ee"
• a and à: aah
• e: this should be short, as in tell not long, as in to be
• q: almost always pronounce as k. Qal-ath is pronounced Kal-Ath not Kwal-Ath
• th: is this a hard "th" such as thought not soft, as in fathom.

Archaic Foyiitùn

The Archaic form of Foyiitùn dates back centuries before the First Destruction. While the modern form is smooth and easy to both speak and listen to, the archaic form featured consecutive consonants that would now be deemed "incompatible". For example:
fw, kw, vw, tj, cd
While there are remnants in modern Foyiitùn, the main situation you are likely to find the archaic form are in people's names, where tradition over naming conventions have changed little within the same family. e.g. Ki-E-Vwa whose name would be Ki-E-Vya (Kee-eh-veyah).

To Find Out More

I will gradually migrate my grammar rules and conjugation/tense information over time. For now, you can find the grammar guide right here

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Dictionary Link I intend to bring this into WorldAnvil, and have started to load words in. In the meantime, I have my dictionary in table format.
See It Here → sen

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Syntax

Plural Nouns

Most nouns were denoted in the plural by ths suffix ii. There were exceptions to this rule - erdàn (lands) being one of them.

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Phonetics

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Intonation and Accentuation

While some words already possess accents denoting a change in the letter's pronunciation, the written form also had to take Foyiitùn's "lilt" into account.
This intonation meant that roughly every other syllable in a word was lengthened. Let's take a simple place name as an example: Usàs Nakàsz. This is made up of two components:

• Usàs: we are
• Nakasz: to not hide

Note, in the original verb nakasz has no accent over the second a. Thus, it is pronounced with a short (or hard) 'a'. However, once incorporated into a longer phrase Usàs Nakàsz, the kasz (pronounced in a Common Tongue accent as 'kash') becomes kàsz (pronounced as 'karsh').

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Dictionary

244 Words.

Foyiitùn words starting with A through K have been added to the above dictionary.

Spoken by

• Aevyorwii
• Fàlisénii
• Foyblànii
• Foyii / Woodsmen