Weserian

The Weserian language (Weserisk in Weserian) is the main language spoken in the Confederacy of Weserkyn. It is also spoken less extensively in nearby countries in its region The Paper Bag.

Origins

Weserian is a language of the Anglic branch of the West Germanic languages. It is an offshoot of Old English, the same language from which English descends. Because English and Weserian share a recent common ancestor, they are very similar to each other. Weserian, however, is much more conservative in its sound changes and vocabulary, and therefore is still remarkably similar to Old English.

Orthography

The following is the Weserian alphabet:

Aa Ää Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Öö Pp Rr Ss Tt Þþ Uu Vv Ww Yy

• A and Ä are both considered the same letter. The same is true of O and Ö.
• The letter Þ is adapted from the runic alphabet, and is not used in Modern English.
• Q, X, and Z are not used in Weserian.

Pronunciation

Vowels in open syllables

In open syllables, the vowels have roughly these values:

• A [a] ah as in 'father', but with the mouth more open
• Ä [æ] a as in 'cat' or 'after'
• E [e] ay as in 'lay' or 'say'
• I [i] ee as in 'see' or 'be'
• O [o] oh as in 'ore' or 'board'
• Ö [ø] öh as in German 'Öl' or French 'deux'
• U [u] oo as in 'boot' or 'shoe'
• Y [y] üh as in German 'Glühwein'

These vowels are "pure". No parts in the mouth move while the vowel is being said; in other words, there is no diphthongal glide. This is characteristic of almost all major languages. English is one exception. Speakers of English diphthongize, for example, the ay sound in 'say'.

All vowels except for I, U, and Y can be orthographically doubled. When doubled and in an open syllable, these vowels ("short" vowels) are held twice as long ("long" vowels).

In archaic Weserian, as well as in a few minor, conservative local dialects, the vowels I, U, and Y have long counterparts. Sound changes in what is now standard Weserian changed these particular long vowels into diphthongs, which are represented as IJ, UV, and YV. They have these values:

• IJ aye as in 'bite' or 'drive'
• UV ow as in 'brown' or 'house'
• The diphthong YV is not found in any major languages, and therefore no equivalent sound can be given. It starts out with an ah sound, just like IJ and UV, but it ends in an üh sound.

As they are diphthongs, these sounds blend together, and the starting value glides smoothly into the ending value. They are not two distinct sounds and should not be pronounced as such.

Vowels in closed syllables

In closed syllables, doubled vowels are referred to as "long" vowels, but are not "long" in the strict sense. They are typically normal length, just like short vowels in open syllables. They still retain their value, however.

The same cannot be said of "short" vowels in closed syllables. Their values are changed, and for that reason are not truly "short". These are the changed values:

• A [ɑ] uh as in 'but' or 'udder'
• Ä [ɐ] same as A above
• E [ɛ] eh as in 'bed' or 'get'
• I [ɪ] ih as in 'bit' or 'sick'
• O [ɔ] same as AA, but more relaxed
• Ö [œ] ö as in German 'blöd' or French 'neuf'
• U [ʊ] u as in 'put' or 'look'
• Y [ʏ] ü as in German 'grün' or French 'sur'

As previously stated, the difference between "short" and "long" vowels in closed syllables is not length, but value. This is true also of most English vowels; for example, the short E is the E in 'bed', whereas the long E is the EE in 'see'.

Consonants

Most consonants in Weserian have the same values as in English. These are B, D, H, K, L, M, N, P, T, and W.

A few consonants in Weserian sometimes have the same values as in English, but are different in some cases. These are F, G, and S.

• F is just like in English when it begins or ends a word, or is next to a non-voiced consonant in the middle of a word. When it's in between voiced sounds, it becomes voiced as well, making it like V in English. This can be thought of as a way to facilitate pronunciation.
• S is either non-voiced as in 'sand' or voiced as Z in 'zodiac'. The same rules apply to S as to F.

There are a few consonants in Weserian that either do not have the same value as in English, have a value that doesn't exist in English, or are not letters in English. These are C, J, R, Þ, and V.

• J is always like Y in 'yellow' when not part of the diphthong IJ.
• R is [ʀ] like the French R.
• Þ says the th sound. It's either non-voiced as in 'thin', or voiced as in 'there', according to the same rules that apply to F and S.
• V is always part of the diphthongs OV, UV, and YV.