miwafu/grammar/syllables.markdown
2014-12-05 09:05:42 -06:00

2.2 KiB

title
Syllables

The basic units of Miwāfu are syllables. These are represented as a single glyph in the written language and spoken as a single unit. They are also the basis of the penultimate accent on the final word of a phrase.

Syllable Chart

| w   | r   | m   | p   | b   | h   | n   | d   | t    | z   | s    | g   | k   | f

--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---- | --- | ---- | --- | --- | --- a | wa | ra | ma | pa | ba | ha | na | da | ta | za | sa | ga | ka | fa e | we | re | me | pe | be | he | ne | de | te | ze | se | ge | ke | fe i | wi | ri | mi | pi | bi | hi | ni | | chi | ji | shi | gi | ki | fi o | wo | ro | mo | po | bo | ho | no | do | to | jo | so | go | ko | fo u | wu | ru | mu | pu | bu | hu | nu | | tsu | zu | su | gu | ku | fu ya | | rya | mya | pya | bya | hya | nya | | chya | jya | shya | gya | kya | yo | | ryo | myo | pyo | byo | hyo | nyo | | chyo | jyo | shyo | gyo | kyo | yu | | ryu | myu | pyu | byu | hyu | nyu | | chya | jyu | shyu | gyu | kyu | | | | | | | | n | | | | | | |

Penultimate Accents

For the penultimate (second to the last) syllable of the final word in a phrase, there is an accent which identifies the gender. This gender can be literal (as with most creatures) or representative of scope.

a e i o u Typical meanings
à è ì ò ù Masculine, wild, larger, power
ā ē ī ō ū Child, neutral, many
á é í ó ú Feminine, control, smaller, accurate

While "n" can be a syllable on its own, it is never used in the penultimate location.

When listed in dictionaries and word lists, accents are in the above order (masculine, neuter, female).

Design Notes

The primary reason that "n" cannot be accented is technical. It is very difficult to find a font that handles macron accents over vowels correctly, but almost impossible to find one that handles acute, grave, and macro accents on "n".