Terrasihla
Alphabet and Pronunciation
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Attention: I'm still working on the alphabet and a few things are going to change (writing conventions, vowels), but due to excessive lack of time this is not going to take place in the near future, maybe in 2006 or 07, when I will probably try to include it in Volume 2 of a SF-trilogy I'm presently working on.
In Terrasihla each letter is as clearly defined as it is neccessary, so that any spoken word can be written down correctly without even knowing its meaning. Therefore a certain precision in pronunciation is necessary. Some sounds have been omitted, because they were too similar and the general scheme left no room for their transcriptions without making the language too difficult. The English TH for instance has fitted into the general scheme, but not so its two different yet similar pronunciations. So everyone is free to pronounce the TH in either way or both. Then there are consonants that might look superfluous like Q, X, C, Z and V or W. As I cannot simply eradicate them and I like them better than their alternatives KW, KS, TS and DSH I have tried to eventually make their pronunciation more clearly.
So here we are:
Vowels:
There are eight vowels in Terrasihla: A, E, I, O, U, Y, Å = A with circle on top, Ø = O with slash.
Each vowel has a basic sound, which is slightly varied, according to its surrounding.
There are two variations of the basic sound:
If it is followed by the letter H and another successive consonant it sounds softer and longer, otherwise the letter H is spoken.
If it is followed by a double consonant it sounds harder and shorter. (These variations do not apply to vowel/semivowel-combinations.)
So you have three possibilities of forming a word with the letter sequence TERA: tehra, tera, terra (the latter one is taken from the word for the earth often used in Science Fiction, which has borrowed it from Latin.
A (aga) is spoken as in but, after, half
E (eke) is spoken as in very, when
I (isi) is spoken as in big, sit, bring
O (odo) is spoken as in dog, hot,
U (uru) is spoken as in cool, blue, rude
Y (yly) is spoken as in French: sur, une or German: Müll. Transkription: (y); pronounced somewhat like a full, rich i with a pointed mouth.
Å (åxhå) is spoken as in back, lad, hat - unlike the North-European original (if there are problems it can also be written: !A)
Ø (ønø) is spoken as in her, sir, only softer, with the mouth more pointed; French: cœur, Swedish: Øre, German: Höhle, Hölle (if there are problems it can also be written: !O)
Each vowel is spoken as a singular unity; that means that two A's are spoken two times, but in such cases the first vowel is spoken softly and the second one hard. The combinations AU (aua) and OU (ouo) can be spoken as a unity to produce the sounds of "loud" and "snow".
These vowels can be accompanied by the semivowel J, which itself sounds like y in young; thus the combinations are quite clear:
AJ (aja) is spoken as in bye, buy, by, I, my, sigh
EJ (eja) is spoken as in bay, grey
IJ (ija) For this combination I know of no example.
OJ (oja) is spoken as in boy, void
UJ (uja) is spoken in the same way as the German exclamtion ui or as in the Italian words lui, buio
YJ (yja) For this combination I know of no example.
ÅJ (åja) For this combination I know of no example, though I believe that it exists in some English or American idioms as a substitute for our sound ej. The sound itself lies between ej and aj.
ØJ (øja) is spoken as in French œil
Consonants:
There are twenty consonants in Terrasihla and five combinations with H which result in 25 consonant sounds: B, C, D, DH, F, G, H, HH, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, SH, T, TH, V, W, X, XH, Z.
B (be) is spoken as in back
C (ci) is spoken as in Jack, chill
D (do) is spoken as in door
DH (dha) is spoken as the th in the, their, then
F (fu) is spoken as in fun
G (gej) is spoken as in grey
H (haj) is spoken as in house, hat, hollow; between a vowel and another consonant it makes the vowel sound softer and longer.
HH (hho) is spoken like the german CH, the names Chalil or Jaime, the Spanish X like in Mexico, but more pronounced, in fact it is spoken like the H, only with much more force and more from the back of the mouth. Its a sound that seems common in Russian and Hebrew.
J (je) is spoken as in young, you. J is a semiconsonant/semivowel. Preceding a vowel it acts as a consonant, after a vowel as a vowel. Inbetween two vowels it performs both functions.
K (køj) is spoken as in back, king
L (luj) is spoken as in left
M (my) is spoken as in middle
N (noj) is spoken as in north
P (pa) is spoken as in path
Q (qi) is spoken as in quit, question, but with more stress on the w in the transcription KW, the mouth more closed and hollow and round
R (rø) is spoken as in right, river, but a little bit less round and rolling
S (så) is spoken as in seven, snow
SH (shu) is spoken as in shut, shock
T (ty) is spoken as in time, tiger
TH (thaj) is spoken as in thing or thunder
V (vø) is spoken as in void
W (waj) is spoken as in when, why. It should be clearly pronounced with a round kissing mouth, to be better distinguished from the letter V.
X (xej) is spoken as in access, except, a smooth, fleeting sound that can be distinguished from KS, for this combination could appear at the joining of two syllables, where a seperate pronunciation should be stressed.
XH (xha) is spoken as in flexion, with the same considarations from the letter X
Z (zuj) is spoken as in Zorro, with the same considerations from the letter X
Thus the complete alphabet (43 letters) is spoken:
Aga, AJa, Åxhå, ÅJa, Be, Ci, Do, DHa, Eke, EJa, Fu, Gej, Haj, HHo, Isi, IJa, Je, Køj, Luj, My, Noj, Odo, OJa, Ønø, ØJa, Pa, Qi, Rø, Så, SHu, Ty, THaj, Uru, UJa, AUa, OUo, Vø, Waj, Xej, XHa, Yly, YJa, Zuj.
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