Txekwe Language

[LinguoFranco]

Txekwe [t͡ʃɛ.kʷɛ] (working name) is my newest conlang, and I plan to see this one through to completion this time. I don't have any morphology, and everything, even the phonemes, are still subject to change, so nothing is yet set in stone. I don't really have a world for this language to be spoken in, though I'm considering creating a conworld for it. It's mainly supposed to be a personal language, and what my ideal language would be like. I'm not yet sure where to go with this language. I guess it's also a proto-language.

Below, you'll find the IPA phonemes on the left, and their romanizations on the right. While I'm mostly content with my phonemic inventory, I'm not satisfied with the romanizations.

/m n/ <m n>
/p t k/ <p t k>
/pʰ tʰ kʰ/ <ph th kh>
/kʷ kʷʰ t͡ʃʷ / <kw khw txw>
/s ʃ ɬ h/ <s x ll h>
/j w~ʋ ʍ~ɸ/ <y w hw>
/l r/ <l r>
/t͡ʃ t͡ʃʰ/ <tx txh>
/i iː u uː/ <i ī u ū>
/ɛ eː ɔ oː/ <e ē o ō >
/ə/ <ä>
/a aː/ <a ā>

*/w~ʋ/ has free variance, though I have also read that the tilde indicates allophones. I added /ɸ/ as a variant of /ʍ/ for consistency's sake.

As for phonotactics, I'm leaning towards (C)V(ː), but possibly allowing (C)V(C), although rare compared to CV syllables. Aspiration and labialization are also present, but otherwise syllables are (C)V. I also have no prosody yet, though I'm considering mora-timed isochrony. I'm considering some sound changes, such as lenition, but I don't know if aspirated stops can be lenited.

Regarding morphology, I'm interested in creating a language with a non-configurational syntax, and I think this conlang will have noun incorporation.

Any thoughts, suggestions or feedback?

[Dormouse559]

It looks like you're off to a good start. Here are some thoughts I had.

While I'm mostly content with my phonemic inventory, I'm not satisfied with the romanizations.

What's not satisfying you?

*/w~ʋ/ has free variance, though I have also read that the tilde indicates allophones.

Two sides of the same coin. Sounds in free variation are by definition allophones. Replacing one sound with the other doesn't change the meaning. What sets free variation apart from other kinds of allophony is that the allophones aren't as strongly conditioned by phonological environment.

I added /ɸ/ as a variant of /ʍ/ for consistency's sake.

I think [ʋ̥] would be a readier choice for consistency. It is to [ʋ] as [ʍ] is to [w].

I'm considering some sound changes, such as lenition, but I don't know if aspirated stops can be lenited.

Certainly. One route is to drop the aspiration. Another is to turn them into fricatives, à la Greek.

EDIT: affricates > fricatives

[LinguoFranco]

It looks like you're off to a good start. Here are some thoughts I had.

While I'm mostly content with my phonemic inventory, I'm not satisfied with the romanizations.

What's not satisfying you?

*/w~ʋ/ has free variance, though I have also read that the tilde indicates allophones.

Two sides of the same coin. Sounds in free variation are by definition allophones. Replacing one sound with the other doesn't change the meaning. What sets free variation apart from other kinds of allophony is that the allophones aren't as strongly conditioned by phonological environment.

I added /ɸ/ as a variant of /ʍ/ for consistency's sake.

I think [ʋ̥] would be a readier choice for consistency. It is to [ʋ] as [ʍ] is to [w].

I'm considering some sound changes, such as lenition, but I don't know if aspirated stops can be lenited.

Certainly. One route is to drop the aspiration. Another is to turn them into affricates, à la Greek.

The romanization looks a bit clunky to me.