Wistanian Language

Wistanian (IPA: /wɪsˈteɪni.ən/), natively known as anigaliylaun (IPA: /əˈnigaˌlilɑn/), is an artistic a priori constructed language (conlang) by worldbuilder Paul A. Daly, originally conceived in late 2016 and continually revised, rewritten, and expanded even to the present day. Wistanian was designed to be spoken natively and exclusively by a handful of characters in Daly's work-in-progress novel trilogy. It is designed to be novel-friendly, natural, and unique with an aesthetic that is gentle but strong.

History
In-world, Wistanina is an auxiliary language spoken on the island nation of Wistania. The language is considered a Talivian language that formed through a pidgin created between the Nati and Taliv languages during The Wistanian War. After the peace treaty was signed, the Katapu, who were allied with Nati and Taliv but inactive in the war, documented and refined the Nati-Taliv Pidgin for use in the newly established government. Wistanian features mostly Taliv grammar, Nati vocabulary, Katapu influences, many Bwolotil loan words, and scientific terms, mathematics, and the lunar calendar derived from the work of the Uzin. Wistanian's native name, anigalilaun, is a compound of ani (language) and galilaun (peace). It is translated as "Peace Language."

The five different people groups of Wistania remained isolated from each other for part of the post-war era. However, trade and intermarriage became more commonplace, requiring a competent lingua franca. This is followed by religious evangelism by the Katapu, engineering from the Uzin, and entertainment from the Nati, all of which Wistanian was the primary language for distribution and promotion. Eventually, the language became taught as a mandatory subject in school. After only 100 years, Wistanian advanced from a government-only auxiliary language into the national language of the island, natively and fluently spoken by almost all of its citizens.

As a result, Wistanian is mostly regular, with a moderately small phonological inventory and vast dialectal variation. It is the most spoken and embraced by the Taliv and Nati people groups, and the least spoken by the Bwolotil people group, who often protest the language's difficulty. The other five languages are still sometimes spoken, especially the Bwolotil language. Both the Uzin and Katapu have important texts written in their languages, while Taliv and Nati have shifted into archaism, although they are still taught in school.

Phonology and Phonotactics
Main Articles: Phonology and Phonotactics

Wistanian features sixteen consonants, two consonant allophones, five vowels, and four vowel allophones. The phonology mostly comes from Taliv, who originally had a larger inventory, which shrunk after the creation of the Taliv-Nati Pidgin. [w] was not present anywhere in the pidgin, but was later added for Bwolotil loanwords.

Consonants
The consonants are as follows (allophones are in [brackets]):

Vowels
The vowels are as follows (allophones in [brackets]):

Phonotactics
Syllables take on a (C)(A)V(N) structure where A represents an approximant and N represents any consonant that is not /j/, /w/, or /ɦ/. The last consonant in a syllable should not equal the first consonant in the next syllable, and neighboring vowels are always separated with /ɦ/, except for /i/ and /ə/, which are separated with /j/. Stress is lexical.

Orthography
Main Article: Orthography

Wistanian employs its own script, but it is romanized with a system that reflects the script and its spellings. The romanization rules are as follows:


 * /m/, /n/, /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, and /l/ are represented with their IPA symbol.
 * /p/, /t/, and /k/ are represented by ⟨bb⟩, ⟨dd⟩, and ⟨kk⟩, respectively.
 * /ʒ/, /ɦ/, /ɾ~r/, /w~βʷ/ and /j/ are represented by ⟨j⟩, ⟨h⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨w⟩, and ⟨y⟩, respectively.
 * /ɯ/ and [u] are represented by ⟨u⟩.
 * /a/ and [ə] are represented by ⟨a⟩.
 * /i/ and [ɪ] are represented by ⟨i⟩.
 * /ai̯/ is represented by ⟨i⟩, but is sometimes written as ⟨ii⟩.
 * /e/ is represented by ⟨aa⟩.
 * /ɑ/ and [ɒ] is represetned by ⟨au⟩.

Parts of Speech
Wistanian grammarians classify words under five categories: Nouns, Verbs, Modifiers, Particles, and Honorifics.

Word Order
Main Article: Word Order

Wistanian has Verb-Subject-Object word order (imperatives are VOS), modifiers that follow their head (except for possessive pronouns, numbers, and colors), post-positional suffixes, and particles that come before their head. Modifier phrases will usually come at the beginning or end of the sentence.

gaun azavyi ravu miramwi daz ilam aa din naulam ggarauni da zi maumu. gaun   azavi-i   ravu miram-wi  daz ilam  aa  din   naulam ggarauni da  zi       maumu. PFV.PST carry-TEL fast store-LAT man young ACC three melon large    BEN 3Sa.POSS mother. "The young man quickly carried three large melons to the store for his mother." *carried fast store to man young three melons large for his mother.

Nouns
Main article Nouns and Pronouns

Wistanian nouns come in three classes: proper, improper, and pronouns. Proper nouns refer to names of people or places ("Wistania", "Alija"), while improper nouns refer to generic terms (e.g., "country", "man"), and pronouns refer to substitute words for other nouns and noun phrases. Proper nouns are never inflected, however, improper nouns can be inflected for number and position, be compounded, or undergo derivational morphology to become a verb or modifier. Pronouns can take on more inflections than improper nouns.

Nouns also have three distinct grammatical categories: Subject Nouns, Object Nouns, and Locative Nouns.

Verbs
Main Article: Verbs

Wistanian verbs conjugate for four lexical aspects: Stative, Durative, Telic, and Atelic; and for two moods: Realis (unmarked) and Irrealis.

Particles
Main Article: Particles

There are three types of particles in Wistanian: verb particles, noun particles, and conjunctions.

Verb particles are used to indicate the aspect and mood of the verb, noun particles are used primarily on objective nouns (which are analyzed differently in Wistanian. See Object Nouns.), and conjunctions are used to connect two or more ideas together. These particles normally come before their heads. Several particles can take on different roles, such as the converbs.

Modifiers
Main Article: Modifiers

Modifiers come immediately after their head, except for possessive pronouns, numbers, and colors (which precede their heads). Technically, nouns with postpositions are considered modifiers and therefore follow these rules. There is no distinction between adjectives and adverbs since they rely on word order to convey meaning.

"The loud boy is eating." viga dari urabaa.

"The boy is eating loudly" viga urabaa dari.

Honorifics
Main Article: Honorifics

Wistanian has a very exciting honorific system with several unique features. Honorifics are used for almost everyone: familial relationships and close friendships, authorities and superiors, and people who are younger than you. They are often said after a proper noun, take inflectional morphology, and can replace the 2nd person pronouns.

Special Links for #Grammar
(Add a bunch of links here!) Ideas, which will eventually be put in a pretty table and alphabetized:

Questions Possession Imperative Sentences Negativity Comparitives and Superlatives Intensifiers Measurement Direction Verb Modality Fragments and Run-Ons Dependent Clauses Independent Clauses Compound Nouns Proper Nouns Numbers Colors Demonstratives