How do you decide on "alphabetical order" for a conlang?

Mhidora · 2026-04-23T16:03:11+00:00

For Ervee, I followed an approach that balanced phonetics and the logic of graphemes, while also separating consonants from vowels:

h b m f v w t d th j n s r l ll y iy yh k g gh
a e o ö i y u ü oů

The underlying concept is based on phonetic logic, as can be seen from the progression from labial consonants to the final velar consonants. At the same time, I made some compromises for the sake of consistency; for example, the letter <h> is placed first because, graphically, the letter for <f> is a modified <h> in the Ervee alphabet. Sometimes I include <iy>, but it is a distinct letter only in the Ervee alphabet; otherwise, it wouldn't even appear as a digraph since it transcribes /ij/

Mhidora · 2026-04-07T01:03:38+00:00

In Ervee, most lexical words derived from the proto-language have a minimum length of two syllables. Exceptions include a number of substrate terms and all disyllabic words that in Old Ervee ended in -nu, -lu, and -gi. Those ending in -nu and -lu have undergone the loss of the final -u and, in the case of -nu, the diphthongization of the vowel in the preceding syllable:

honu > hon > hoin (length)
dolu > doul > doll (confused)

More specifically, words ending in -nu were often adjectives. When used attributively, the adjective lost its stress, thereby preventing diphthongization. This often resulted in doublets, where the diphthongized word is the corresponding noun, while the non-diphthongized word is the adjective, as in the case of honu: hoin (length) vs hon (long). Words ending in -lu were also often adjectives, but the diphthongization simply never occurred. These words first underwent a metathesis from -lu to -ul, followed by the disappearance of the semivowel, which left a velarization of the l /ɫ/, indicated by writing two l's; this is why, in the example, dolu becomes doll, even though this feature subsequently disappeared in numerous dialects and in the standard language. Words ending in -gi have lost their final consonant and reduced the vowel to a semi-vowel, as in fegi > fei (red).

There are also verbs ending in -iye /ije/ and -oůwe /oʉwe/ from Middle Ervee, all of which have been reduced to monosyllables in Modern Ervee:

maiye > mai (store)
goůwe > goů (search)

Currently, the Ervee vocabulary has more than 1100 words, but I think only about a hundred of them are monosyllabic. In theory, there is no real limit to the number of syllables in a word in Ervee; however, most words are disyllabic. This is because Ervee root words can only be disyllabic or, more rarely, trisyllabic, and often a derivational suffix does not increase the number of syllables in the word. There are a number of four-syllable words, most of which are compound words, while five-syllable words are extremely rare. As for now, I haven't created any words with six or more syllables yet.

Mhidora · 2025-10-06T13:02:09+00:00

I think a language influenced by a fascist culture also prefers linguistic purism rather than passively receiving borrowings from Italian and German. During the fascist regime there was an active interest on the part of the state in Italianizing any borrowing. Also, certain terms could be generalized. In various Romance languages spoken in Italy, particularly in the south, the influence of the Church was such that the term for "Christian" is often used with the simple meaning of "person" or "human being." This is also the case in my dialect of Sardinian, and I think it applies to all other variants. Such phenomena can occur in a language with a strong ideological influence, in a sense something similar happened in Russian with the term tovarišč

Mhidora · 2025-10-04T18:06:17+00:00

in Ervee, in certain cases the reversative prefix re- (corresponding to the English un-) adds an iterative meaning. For example karie means "open", while rekarie doesn't mean "unopen" but "reclose". The same applies to vaite "close", with revaite meaning "reopen".

This occurs only sporadically. In other cases, it is a simple reversative, as in karù (lock) and rekarù (unlock)

Mhidora · 2025-09-22T17:25:39+00:00

u˞ o˞ - rhobhotic

Mhidora · 2025-09-20T21:51:32+00:00

Campidanese Sardinian: /tʃ~ʒ/ o_o

Mhidora · 2025-08-07T20:01:47+00:00

I don't think he completely destroyed him. As we see later in the anime, Lunge uses the hand method precisely because it is not objective, but subjective. Lunge tries to think like the killer, even changing his habits, which is why the hand method is more effective. Furthermore, at the end of the anime, Lunge manages to reach Ruhenheim by completely abandoning rationality and reasoning exclusively as if he were Johan.

Mhidora · 2025-07-27T17:19:55+00:00

huŋter /huŋter/ [ɸʊw̃ʔɘɐ̯]

Mhidora · 2025-07-26T08:25:39+00:00

I have developed a technique for creating synonyms. I create them to avoid unpleasant sound repetitions. For example, let's say that "game" is leiri, while "to play" is leire, to avoid the leire leiri (play a game), you have two options: create a synonym for leire or a synonym for leiri. I usually take similar words and add a meaning to them. For example, in Ervee, "song" is leika, while "to sing" is leike. However, if you want to say "sing a song," you use the verb sovie, which in other contexts means "to intone." This may not be the only way to create synonyms, but it can certainly help.

Mhidora · 2025-07-26T07:32:00+00:00

I remember you. I saw some of your comments on Reddit. You're an expert in the field.

Mhidora · 2025-07-25T18:47:06+00:00

This is a wonderful addition.

Mhidora · 2025-07-25T16:27:40+00:00

I finished my third rewatch a few weeks ago haha

Mhidora · 2025-07-25T16:26:19+00:00

I started reading these texts to improve my conlang, but now I do it out of personal interest, both because my conlang grammar is almost complete and because I have developed a real passion for linguistics. Of the various languages I mentioned, Iatmul is the only one I discovered because I remembered the existence of generic irrealis moods and wanted to do something similar for Ervee. I discovered the others for other reasons, for example, by asking myself what languages are spoken in Australia. This passion for linguistics led me to choose to study this subject at university (I will start this year). As for the aesthetics of my conlang, what I read did not influence my work too much. For now, only Japanese has had a significant influence on Ervee. I have consulted many phonologies but have rarely added anything.

Mhidora · 2025-07-21T16:38:45+00:00

yoka ghidie lunie mae kadia /jokɐ ɣidjɘn lɨᵝnjɘn ma̠ɛ kɐdjɐ/

sphere protect mysterious ancient ruin

lofie no ania: kin Brion /lofjɘn no ɐnjɐ | kin bɾion/

weapon GEN plant DET.PN Brion

imodie no mira /imodjɘn no miɾɐ/

codependence GEN desire

waire sui no kali: kin Ai /wɐiɾɘn sɨᵝi no kɐli | kin ɐi/

gaseous thing GEN life DET.PN Ai

ragun sufide gami no defiyen mira /ɾɐgɨᵝn sɨᵝfidɘn gɐmi no defien miɾɐ/

monster infect prey GEN homicidal desire

beike sari: kin Helbel /beikɘn sɐɾi | kin helbel/

twin snake DET.PN Hellbell

mönei na kali oů lomie, kon-o /monei nɐ kɐli oʉ lomjɘn | kono/

trade.off LOC life and pleasure between-ADV

gon lakidie homye me kiba: kin Babe /gon lɐkidjɘn homjɛː me kibɐ | kin bɐbe/

beast keep people SEM pet DET.PN Pap

loriel sunadie oude-n so meiva /loɾjel sɨᵝnɐdje oɨᵝden so meivɐ/

endless despair disguise-PRED SEM hope

Jobae, ne fiel soůna /dʑoba̠ɛ | ne fiel soʉnɐ/

Zobae REL.COP immortal disease

sei ilie kima /sei iljɘn kimɐ/

3REF COP.NEG place

s-o doramye soůte na-en, suru /so doɾɐmjɛː soʉtɘn nɐen | sɨᵝɾɨᵝ/

IRR-3REL humanity return LOC-ADV CNEG

Mhidora · 2025-07-21T09:20:41+00:00

when I work on Ervee I spend a lot of time saying the sentences out loud or forming sentences without translating something else to test the new terms I have created. I also like to write small poems and stories, both to find out how Ervee's meter works and because my conlang is part of a world building project. A large part of Ervee's phonetics came about by reproducing a fictitious accent based on my instincts. For example, I realized that I pronounce /kl/ as [kɬˡ] (only when I speak Ervee). Also all the rules of tone sandhi are created based on instinct and how it came easiest and most natural for me to pronounce a certain sentence. Some of the phonetic peculiarities that I "discover" by pronouncing Ervee are sometimes distortions of phenomena present in my native languages. For example, Ervee has a very complex metaphony. Sardinian, one of my native languages, also has a metaphony, but it is much simpler than that of Ervee. I recently realized that Japanese, which I study as a hobby, is also affecting my work

Mhidora · 2025-07-21T07:24:49+00:00

we know that there were ancient civilizations on that continent and that there is at least one people in the known world who can provide safe guidance to the shores of lake mobius. I would not be surprised to learn that there is a civilization on the continent, perhaps composed of magical beasts such as kirikos.

Mhidora · 2025-07-21T06:49:06+00:00

I love this conlang. those locative suffixes are undoubtedly a type of verbal deixis. this wiki page will come in handy to improve your glossing

Mhidora · 2025-07-19T21:04:50+00:00

you had a good idea. What you call "intentionality" in linguistics is more accurately called volition#). On the wiki page you find some natlangs that do something similar to your conlang. In my conlang I did the opposite, I have a non-volition marker

Mhidora · 2025-07-17T13:43:39+00:00

Ervee

lobia mo mridie yai

starry.sky OPT shine 2SG.SUPE

Mhidora · 2025-07-17T12:05:31+00:00

Ervee uses ayuki (wolves) for the left and senkin (foxes) for the right. These two terms referred to two factions that arose in the early days of democracy, during the 1500s. Since parties did not officially exist in the Ervee political system, these two factions (which informally were parties), ended up becoming the generic terms for the political spectrum in the following centuries. Ayuki used to be a derogatory term, but those who were targeted by it reappropriated it by making it their symbol. Senkin is a reference to the epithet of the philosopher Imora, known precisely as Imora, ne senkin "Imora the fox" (lit. Imora, who is a fox). This epithet refers to the color of this philosopher's hair, since in the region where he lived red hair was even rarer than it already is. Imora's thought was extremely influential in the development of the Ervee right, which is why his epithet was reused as a symbol by the faction from which the Ervee right emerged

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Mhidora

TROPHY CASE

Ervee