CONTENTS
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Explore knowing there is much more to come…
INTRODUCTION
This page is both a guide and a playground to share how Alékian is spoken, written, and structured. Before we begin, I’d like to address some points:
- All teachings are through English. I’m so sorry to those for whom English is a second language, or for those still learning. Unfortunately, English is the only language in which I have fluency, so for now it is the vector I have to share Alékian. I recognize this may create challenges, so I’ll do my best to be precise.
- I am not a trained linguist. Everything you will find here is a work of world-building and imagination, not a product of formal linguistic study. Think of it less like a scientific reconstruction and more as an act of storytelling through sound, symbol, and structure.
- Do not attempt to read on mobile. Due to the number of charts and formatting peculiarities, this page is only intended to be read on desktop.
With that in mind, this guide is intended to be approachable, fun, and—hopefully—useful whether you’re a curious reader, a role-player, or simply someone who enjoys the art of language invention.
PHONOLOGY
Phonology is the study of the sounds of a language — how they are produced, how they are organized, and how they interact. In Alékian, these sounds fall into three categories: vowels, consonants, and a set of common diphthongs.
This section introduces the full range of Alékian sounds and shows how each one is represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a standardized system for describing human speech. To make learning easier, every Alékian sound is also paired with an example from English, so you can connect each unfamiliar phoneme with something already recognizable.
By the end of this section, you’ll have the foundation to pronounce Alékian words accurately — and to begin hearing the music of the language. For additional learning tools, check out these links external to my own site and creation:
Vowels
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound produced without any significant constriction of the vocal tract. Together with consonants, vowels form one of the two principal classes of speech sounds. They vary in quality, loudness, and length, and are closely tied to prosodic features such as tone, intonation, and stress.
Linguists describe vowels using three main features:
- Height: how close the tongue is to the roof of the mouth (ranging from closed to open).
- Backness: how far forward or back the tongue is positioned (ranging from front to back).
- Roundedness: whether or not the lips are rounded during articulation.
There are twelve total vowels in the Alékian language. They are listed below by their IPA symbol, their linguistic description, and an example of the sound in English.
i
close front unrounded
as in the “i” in ‘unique’ or the “ee” in ‘sheep’ or the “ea” in ‘beat’
ɪ
near-close near-front unrounded
as in the “i” in ‘ship’ or in ‘hit’
ə
mid central
as in the “a” in ‘about’ or the “u” in ‘support’
ɛ
open-mid front unrounded
as in the “e” in ‘bed’ or in ‘get’
æ
near-open front unrounded
as in the “a” in ‘add’ or in ‘back’ or in ‘family’
a
open front unrounded
as in the “a” in ‘hat’ or in ‘alright’
ɐ
near-open central
as in the “u” in ‘strut’ or the “o” in ‘comfort’
u
close back rounded
as in the “ue” in ‘blue‘ or the “oo” in ‘moon’
ʊ
near-close near-back rounded
as in the “u” in ‘put’ or the “oo” in ‘look’ or the “ou” in ‘would’
o
close-mid back rounded
as in the “o” in ‘go‘ or the “oa” in ‘boat’ or the “ow” in ‘show‘
ʌ
open-mid back unrounded
as in the “u” in ‘cup’ and the “oo” in ‘blood’
ɑ
open back unrounded
as in the “a” in ‘bar’ and in ‘large’
Consonants
A consonant is a speech sound produced with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Unlike vowels, consonants involve some degree of obstruction, whether at the lips, tongue, or glottis.
In English, letters and sounds do not always match directly, but in Alékian, every consonant corresponds to a single sound. Most Alékian consonants fall into the category of pulmonic consonants — sounds made by pushing air from the lungs and shaping it through the vocal tract.
They are described using three main features:
- Manner: how the airflow is constricted (stop, fricative, nasal, etc.).
- Place: where the airflow is constricted (bilabial, alveolar, velar, etc.).
- Voicing: whether the vocal cords vibrate during the sound.
There are thirty-one total consonants in the Alékian language. Below, they are listed by their IPA symbol, their linguistic description, and an example of the sound in English.
m
voiced bilabial nasal
as in the “m” in ‘man’ or the “mm” in ‘hammer’
n
voiced alveolar nasal
as in the “n” in ‘near’ or the “n” in ‘golden‘
ɲ
voiced palatal nasal
as in the “ny” in ‘canyon’
ŋ
voiced velar nasal
as in the “ng” in ‘ring‘ or the “n” in ‘think’
p
voiceless bilabial plosive
as in the “p” in ‘pat’ or the “pp” in ‘happy’
b
voiced bilabial plosive
as in the “b” and the “bb” in ‘bubble‘
t
voiceless alveolar plosive
as in the “t” in ‘time’ or the “tt” in ‘attic’
d
voiced alveolar plosive
as in the “d” in ‘dance’ or the “dd” in ‘ladder’
k
voiceless velar plosive
as in the “c” or the “k” in ‘cook‘
g
voiced velar plosive
as in the “g” in ‘go’ or the “gg” in ‘bigger’
ʧ
voiceless postalveolar affricate
as in the “ch” in ‘chip’ or the “tch” in ‘watch‘
ʤ
voiced postalveolar affricate
as in the “j” in ‘judge’ or the “g” in ‘magic’ or the “dg” in ‘bridge’
f
voiceless labiodental fricative
as in the “f” in ‘face’ or the “ff” in ‘effect’
v
voiced labiodental fricative
as in the “v” in ‘voice’ or in ‘over’
θ
voiceless dental fricative
as in the “th” in ‘think’ or in ‘eighth‘
s
voiceless alveolar fricative
as in the “s” in ‘sea’ or the “ss” in ‘hissing’
z
voiced alveolar fricative
as in the “z” in ‘zoo’ or the “s” in ‘music’
ʃ
voiceless postalveolar fricative
as in the “sh” in ‘sheet’ or in ‘usher‘
ʒ
voiced postalveolar fricative
as in the “s” in ‘measure’ “si” in ‘vision’ or the “g” in ‘genre’
h
voiceless glottal fricative
as in the “h” in ‘happy’ or in ‘home’
j
voiced palatal approximant
as in the “r” in ‘red’ or the “rr” in ‘worry’
ɹ
voiced alveolar approximant
as in the “r” in ‘red’ or the “rr” in ‘worry’
ɾ
voiced alveolar tap or flap
as in the “ter” in ‘water‘ or the “tter” in ‘butter‘
r
voiced alveolar trill
* not an English sound
l
voiced alveolar lateral approximant
as in the “l” in ‘love’ or the “ll” in ‘bell‘
ʀ̥
voiceless uvular trill
* not an English sound
ʀ
voiced uvular trill
* not an English sound
ʜ
voiceless pharyngeal trill
* not an English sound
ʢ
voiced pharyngeal trill
* not an English sound
ʡ̂
voiced pharyngeal tap or flap
* not an English sound
ʔ
voiceless glottal plosive
as in the “-” in ‘uh–oh’ or in ‘nuh–uh’
Dipthongs
A diphthong is a complex vowel sound that begins with one vowel quality and glides smoothly into another within the same syllable. Rather than being a single, steady sound, a diphthong shifts in tongue position or lip shape as it is spoken, creating the impression of movement.
In Alekian, diphthongs are relatively few in number, but they play an important role in shaping the rhythm and texture of the language. Each diphthong is defined within the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and illustrated with English examples to help learners recognize the transition from one vowel quality to another.
aɪ
open front unrounded & near-close near-front unrounded
as in the “y” in ‘my‘ or the word ‘eye‘
eɪ
close-mid font unrounded & near-close near-front unrounded
as in the “ay” in ‘day‘ or in ‘say‘
ɔɪ
open-mid back rounded & near-close near-front unrounded
as in the “oy” in ‘boy‘ or in ‘toy‘
aʊ
open front unrounded & near-close near-back unrounded
as in the “ow” in ‘cow‘ or in ‘now‘
oʊ
close-mid back rounded & near-close near-back unrounded
as in the “o” in ‘go‘ or the “ow” in ‘low‘
Within the International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standardized system used by linguists to represent the sounds of spoken language. Each symbol corresponds to a single sound (phoneme), making it possible to describe pronunciation precisely across different languages.
These simplified IPA charts show how Alekian sounds fit within the IPA system. This allows learners to compare Alekian phonemes with familiar examples, ensuring accurate pronunciation and recognition.
| Front | Nearfront | Central | Nearback | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i y | ɨ ʉ | ɯ u | ||
| Near close | ɪ Y | ⊠ ʊ | |||
| Close mid | e ø | ɘ ɵ | ɤ o | ||
| Mid | ə | ||||
| Open mid | ɛ œ | ɜ ɞ | ʌ ɔ | ||
| Near open | æ ⊠ | ɐ | |||
| Open | a ɶ | ɑ ɒ |
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Paletal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyn-geal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m̊ m | ɱ̊ ɱ | n̊ n | ɳ̊ ɳ | ɲ̊ ɲ | ŋ̊ ŋ | ɴ̥ ɴ | ||||
| Plosive | p b | p̪ b̪ | t̪ d̪ | t d | ʈ ɖ | c ɟ | k g | q ɢ | ʡ ⊠ | ʔ ⊠ | |
| Affricate | ʦ ʣ | ts dz | ʧ ʤ | tʂ dʐ | tɕ tʑ | ||||||
| Fricative | ɸ β | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ ʒ | ʂ ʐ | ç ʝ | x ɣ | χ ʁ | ħ ʁ | h ɦ |
| Approx-imant | ⊠ β̝ | ⊠ ʋ | ⊠ ð̞ | ⊠ ɹ | ⊠ ɹ̠ | ⊠ ɻ | ⊠ j | ⊠ ɰ | ⊠ ʁ̝ | ⊠ ʔ̞ | |
| Tap or Flap | ⊠ ⱱ̟ | ⊠ ⱱ | ɾ̥ ɾ | ɽ̊ ɽ | ⊠ ɢ̂ | ⊠ ʡ̂ | |||||
| Trill | ʙ̊ ʙ | r̥ r | ⊠ r̠ | ɽ̊r̥ ɽr | ʀ̥ ʀ | ʜ ʢ | |||||
| Lateral Approx-imant | ⊠ l̯ | ⊠ l | ⊠ l̠ | ⊠ ɭ | ⊠ ʎ | ⊠ ʟ | ⊠ ʟ̠ |
ORTHOGRAPHY
Orthography is the study of how a language is written: the systems of letters, symbols, and rules that record its sounds on the page. In Alekian, orthography provides a one-to-one correspondence between sounds (phonemes) and letters, making the writing system highly consistent and precise.
Alekians write from top to bottom and right to left, using a set of forty-eight symbols. These symbols fall into three categories:
- Forms: 31 consonant letters
- Hovers: 12 vowel letters
- Duo-hovers: 5 diphthong letters
Consonants are built from a system of strokes radiating from a central line, then modified with wings, tails, and marks that distinguish one from another. Consonants are referred to as forms in Alékian orthography. Vowels and diphthongs are placed above or below these forms, “hovering” in relation to them; thus, they are called hovers. Together, these elements combine to create complete words.
Orienting in Alékian Orthography
Check back for more… including ‘describing the writing plane’ and ‘defining strokes, wings, and tails’
Forms
Check back for more… including ‘how to write a form form strokes’ and a complete visual list of Alékian forms
Hovers
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Words
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Punctuation
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NUMERALS
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GRAMMAR
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SYNTAX
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