Adcovtle
Adcovtle (Adcovtle: adcovtle) is a lograði language spoken primarily in Covtle. The only lograði language in eastern Tiðloten, it originates from the exiled followers of Baðatrepava who settled in Covtle 450. Adcovtle is the official language of the Wiþi Empire, and the official language of Covtle.
Classification
Adcovtle is considered to be a lograði language, despite its influence from Grèstilsan languages and the original languages of Covtle.
History
Adcovtle began to develop separately from Avamants Logetavys, the language of the Ancient Land which it descends from, almost as soon as Baðatrepava and his followers left the Ancient Land. Analysis of written documentation is difficult using Ancient Land Logograms, but the development of the alphabet in the 300s allows for more phonetic analysis. After the fall of Lajavlugli, Adcovtle began to change more rapidly. Some of the most notable changes during this period were the disappearance of the gender system, and the Covtle vowel shift.
Old Adcovtle marks the period from roughly 800 to 1200, including tedadera ad lapegar (English: Years of Peace). Spelling became standardised around this time, and remained so until the updates made by Lañome ad lini. During this period, Adcovtle also lost its final case marker.
The Teslator era, in roughly the 1600s, marked the loss of the infinitive t- prefix.
Distribution of speakers
Adcovtle is spoken as a first language by roughly 88 percent of the population of Covtle as a first language, and by roughly 12 percent of the population of Covtle as a second language. It is also spoken as a first language by 60 percent of the population of Onþod.
Adcovtle is also spoken as a second language throughout the Wiþi Empire, and in Wàmèrà and Quərfi.
Phonology
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | k | g | |||||||
| Fricative | f | v | θ | ð | s | z | x | ||||||
| Approximant | Central | j | ʍ | w | |||||||||
| Lateral | l | ||||||||||||
| Front | Mid | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Adcovtle phonotactics follow the sonority hierarchy, while allowing a large number of consonant clusters. Stress in Adcovtle is lexical, but defaults on most words to the first syllable. Adcovtle is a syllable-timed language.
Grammar
Syntax
Adcovtle syntax is marked by a strong SVO (subject-verb-object) word order. Since Adcovtle does not have any case markings, word order can change the meaning of a sentence. For example:
| La- | zeþlada | b- | eclet | la- | plusamben |
| COUNTABLE | person | PRES | step.on | COUNTABLE | lightning skink |
"The person steps on a lightning skink."