Coastal Zein

The Drēīn were the descendants of the Salanjans, and were inhabiting the entire Rhêghîl basin at the time of the Drydic invasion, and are still present there in large numbers, although these are speakers of Valley Zēīn. The Coastal dialect is the most widely spoken, and is the basis for the Salanjan-Zēīn dictionaries of the aristocracy. The name, although written as Zein to provide consistancy with the other dialects, is actually pronounced as [ze:ĩ].

Sounds

Bilabial dental pal-alv palatal velar Glottal

Stop p b t d dz č tj dj k g ʔ

Nasal m n nj ŋ

Fricative f v θ ð š ž sj zj x h

Lateral l lj

Approximant w rj

The approximant /w/ is written as <u> pre/postvocalically, and changes to a full vowel [u] adjacent to consonants.

Vowels:

i/ĩ u/ũ

e/ẽ o/õ

ê ô

a/ã å

The nasalised /å/ fell in with /ã/, as /å/ is slowly doing with /a/.

Further Phonetic information:

The voiceless palatal stop and the voiceless palatal fricative have long consonatal varients that are phonemic:

[c] vs. [cc]:

otj 'rain'

ottj 'heavy rain'

[ç] vs. [çç]:

oisj 'cloud'

oissj 'storm cloud'

An Agent/Patient distinction has developed, giving the language the oppourtunity to continue the varied word orders of Salanjan. (Note:all words are transliterated from the Salanjan Alpahbet forms, with an accompanying phonetic transcription)

Coastal:

Agentive: -ba

Patientive: -ra

Sound changes from Salanjan to Drēīn:

Intervocalic t > /ʔ/ if not after a nasal. These glottal stops are quite often effaced in speech.

The clusters /gl/, /kl/, /lg/, /lk/ >*/L/ >/w/. */L/ could have been either a velarised lateral

or a velar lateral [l].

The clusters /gr/, /kr/, /rg/, /rk/, /qr/, /rq/ > /r/.

The clusters /tr/, /dr/, /rt/, /rd/ > /z/.

All other Cr, rC clusters resolve to a doubling of the consonant.

-SN- clusters (S:s:z:ś, N:m:n:ŋ) changed to Proto-Drēīn *-zən, to Coastal Zēīn -zũ.

CC clusters resolve differently, depending on the consonant; there is a hierarchy, t assimilationg all other consonants, k and p assimilating others as well, but yielding to t.

Vn clusters reduce to nasal vowels. /ŋ/, /nj/ and /m/ were not affected by this.

Salaњan ai and au are monophthongised to /ε, �/ <ê, ô>; Salaњan ain, aun become eĩ, oũ, nasalisation being the feature that Zein speakers substitute for length.

Unstressed (=final) syllables tend towards raising, unless the vowel is /a/.

A more rounded-out phonology was also created by the addition of the palatals ssj [çç],

dj [ï], sj [ç], ttj [cc], tj [c], rj [½], lj [´], čj [tþ], džj [dü], šj [þ], and žj [ü], to the palatal nj [ø].

The opposition: þ:s, ð:z have been lost in all dialects except Western, with the reflex [θ] on the islands, and [s] on the mainland. It is written here as s.

Coastal:

This is the 'standard' dialect, as it is the lingua franca of the Salanjan Kingdom for those who do not know Classical Salanjan. It is one of the few dialects that show p~f, b~v, t~s, d~z, k~x, and g~0 contrasts. The phonemes /k/ and /q/ contrast here, in opposition to almost all of the other dialects. It is spoken on Somkē and Benibal Islands, and the coastline opposite Somkē Island. K is pronounced as a labialised velar [k^w] or even a labio-velar [kp], which is why the m before k in Somkee does not assimilate.

Morphology

The Zein languages have, by and large, lost the massive inflective capacity of Salaњan. They have retained some features, though. The main contrast in the language is between agent and patient, marked by –ba and –ra, respectively:

korba sir uotal vera.

I spoke to you.

The pronoun kor 'I' has the agentive marker –ba appended to it, this indicates that it is the subject of a transitive verb, here, uotal. Sir follows, modifying the verb uotal to a past time. The object is next, namely ve, translated as you(pl). It has the patient marker –ra, indicating it is being acted upon. This is the extent of nominal inflection in the language. Older texts have a plural formation that consisted of nasalising the final vowel, or, with final consonants, adding a nasal /ũ/. This disappeared about 2750 k^h-ōd.

Verbal morphology is equally scanty. Verbs are, as a general rule, invariable, tense and person being indicated by particles, sir for past time, and rê for future. There is one Salaњan inflection left in the language: the particle êl indicates perfective aspect, and is descended from the Salaњan -ail-. It is perhaps best, however, to view it as a separate particle in line with sir and rê, given its preposed position. The Salaњan derivational ending –ŋka has survived, as –ŋŋa, and is used with the same meaning that Salaњan used it with, examples include dzeĩ go and dzêŋŋa come from Salaњan džain- go and džaiŋka- come. A knowledge of the Salaњan endings is useful, however, given the aristocracy’s propensity to derive verbs using the Salaњan –stu, -sun, and the various moods. The causative is also frequently imported into the language, coming into contact with verbs which historically had the causative, but that fact being obscured by the cluster simplifications in Zein’s history; examples include ora fly (Sal. horat-), orat throw (Sal. horat-č-).

The distinction between dzeĩ (go) and fõtal (go, go into) is mostly a regional distinction, with the continental Coastal speakers using dzeĩ most of the time, and the islanders using fõtal exclusively:

Zanigul:

Kora e Somkeba dzeĩ, nut korba pai.

I’m going to Somkē, where I’ll be.

Versus Somkee

Kor e Somkeb fõtau, nut kobb pai.

(ibid.)

The distinction between dzêŋŋa (come) and fõtaŋŋa (come) is a class-related one, with the peasantry, merchants, and lower nobility using dzêŋŋa, and the upper classes using fõtaŋŋa.

Examples: (Coastal dialect)

kor-ba sir uotal vera.

I spoke to you.

[TEÒ hoÒŒbŒ TiùÒ h�ÒŒ/EÒ TEmEl TEÒ w�/ŒÒùŒ]

Ser hora'a ba sir hora'er semel ser wottalra

<the falcon in the past fly out of the mouth>

The falcon flew out of the mouth.

[dZŒlŒkpa)t TiùÒ fo)taNNa]

¤alakantun sir Fontalaillasal

<horde(pl.) in the past come

[TEmEl rŒkkŒÒùŒ TiùÒ]

semel raskalRa ser

out of East in the past

[w�/�ŒÒ�EÒ Tamu TEr uzŒT]

wottawarauer samun ser Udraþ.

name/call Themselves the Udraþ.>

The hordes who came out of the East called themselves Udraþ.

korba sô ne pai

I-agen prox emph be(loc)

Numbers:

1 daz 6 xon 11 datozi

2 fer 7 sôpel 12 ferozi

3 vak 8 naŋe 13 vattozi

4 čaš 9 lari 14 čozi

5 kit 10 tozi 15 kitozi

20 tozzer 30 tovak 40 točaš

50 tokit 60 toxon 70 tozôpel

80 tõaŋe 90 tolari 100 sapa

Lexicon

102 words.

ačava-army

ačo-holy dagger (every temple has one, blessed by the high priest of Naγal)

adĩ-cloud

araxi-The glory days; used to refer to a time when every thing was especially good, or, at least, a hell of a lot better than things are now.

arovi-thunder

asad-night sky (Sal. haθa-dī, constellation)

ãsar-move

ava-traveller

axupi to travel far and wide, to travel the world (only retention of a derivative of Sal. axel great)

azũã- heaven

azũsačo-lightning; Čakul’s weapon (Sal. Aśmanaščo)

čo-giant (found mostly in the Čantai mountains)

čoppu-horse

čua-western

čula-Sarasui, the red sun (a red giant *98 light years from Šaol’s system, visible in early dusk)

Čulakur-Štolaqor, lord of Asalunei

dalečj-the Darale≠ and their religion

desu-blade

doroũ-sunlight

doru-sun (from Salaњan dosy, influenced by doraunu/doroũ)

dzalakãt-horde

dzeĩ-go (see text)

dzêŋŋa-come (see text)

e-preposition 'to', translates the Salaњan –ma case.

fenj-son

fetti-starlike (adj) (Sal. festir)

fõtal-go, go into (see text)

fõtaŋŋa-come (see text)

foru-hello

gô-distal

gudli-royal heaven, where the upper nobility and heroes go in death

gul-royal

gulem-satrap, provincial govenor (their old Salaњan title was emw, and this was added to gul mostly because the satraps were of royal blood)

ora?a- falcon

ora-fly

igaru-wage war; e ____ igaru, wage war upon ___. (some dialects take the incorporated form iga, especially on Benibal)

ĩku-sky

issj-ruler

jodj-sister

kã-fast

kêã-found

kêãd-founding date

keĩs-visit

kiraqa-a boar-like creature which has a speckled body

kor, (pl.)-a, -Pron., I, we

korp-dog

kota-night

kul- genitive marker

kupi-daughter

leli-destroy

mada-star

maz-air-nymph; increasingly as a basic ‘fairy’, subsuming the traditional nez ‘gnome/dwarf’, kez ‘elf’, and guz ‘evil fairy’ under one name.

mi-moon

midus-moonlight

mok-sister

mori-brother

muk-mother

muri-father

ne-emphatic particle

neraŋ-leg

nori-dawn

nut-where

odusj-rainbow

oisj 'cloud'

oissj 'storm cloud'

otãs-listen

otj 'rain'

ottj 'heavy rain'

paga-love

pai- ‘be at’

po-river

poka-lightning

pu-hunt

rakal-the raskal

rãr-become (closest verb to Drydic docan)

rê-above (adv.), also future particle

redu-dusk

regil-the Rhêghîl river, once home to the core of the Salaњan civilisation, now occupied (in the Zein eyes) by the Dryds and Udraþ (referred to by the Zein both as uzas ‘outlander’. It does have a significant Zein population, who speak Valley Źijn.

roũ-light

samu-reflexive 3^rd pers pron.

sapa-100

sapuka-hit

saraki-scatter

semel-prep. ‘from, out of’

silu-think

simi-midday

sir- preterit marker

guslodu-princess (gul + Sal. sodum)

sô-proximal

šalimi-Šalimar (reanalysed as šali and mi, moon)

šĩ-and

tel, (pl.) ve-Pron., thou, you (also reflexive)

tôru-travel

upi-wander

uzas-outlander (attitude mostly same as that of Germans towards auslander)

verj-king

ual-speak

uôrô-name

ualu-mouth

-xa-

xu-watch

xučj-noble

zeĩ-their name for themselves