Phonotactics
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Phonotactics (word shape)
Beginner already used word edges: a content word ends in -l / -m / -n / -r. Here is the full shape of that word, in order, written as one lowercase token (zazozon).
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Role letter | first letter | role in the clause (subject, verb, …) |
Optional l after /ɡ/ | adjective before the noun | gl- looks ahead to the next noun |
Optional l after /b/ | hosted extra noun | bl- completes the word right before it |
| Root(s) V(CV)+ | content | start with a vowel; each later consonant starts a new syllable |
Mid-word x | productive compound seam | joins two roots inside one word |
Mid-word th | stance seam | joins a sake to its stance vowel (sakes) |
Dictionary stem (no x) | lexical compound | one long simple-looking root (oyaheha bedroom) |
-l / -m / -n / -r | word ending | audible end of the content word |
Optional -x | plural after the ending | word-final -lx / -mx / -nx / -rx / -lnx (letter x) |
Stand-in -rl / -rm | dependent clauses | word-final rl / rm |
A syllable ends with a consonant only at the end of the word. Inside a root, l and r always have a vowel after them, so they start a syllable rather than sounding like a suffix (zobulol: prefix z, root obulo, ending -l). Each spelling has only one pronunciation.
Some short grammar words put two vowels side by side, a vowel stack (a join such as ua). A stack always puts its vowels in alphabetical order (u, a, o, e): u comes first and e comes last. That gives six stacks: ua, uo, ue, ao, ae, and oe. The two vowels stay two separate syllables.
Each vowel keeps its pitch in a stack, so every stack is a small melody. The alphabet's vowel order drops from u to the lowest vowel and then climbs back, so the stacks mix falls and rises:
| Stack | Pitch | Contour |
|---|---|---|
ua | high → low | big fall |
uo | high → mid-low | medium fall |
ue | high → mid-high | small fall, high |
ao | low → mid-low | small rise, low |
ae | low → mid-high | medium rise |
oe | mid-low → mid-high | small rise, mid |
A fall means u. Every stack that starts with u falls, and every other stack rises. In grammar words a u stack is usually the undo or set aside member of its family, so you can hear which side a stack is on from its direction alone, before the second vowel is clear. The direction backs up the vowels; when the two disagree, trust the vowels.
Related form: word-initial x is the continue prefix (discourse), not a compound seam.
Number-word exception
When English says how many or which place, Ageben uses a number word. A number word puts r right after the role letter. Ordinary words never have that cluster, because their roots start with a vowel, so a role letter followed directly by r tells you a number is coming. The marker is ra, ru, re, or ro. To count from the end, write #- before the digits; it is spelled and spoken rue. Two vowels in a row stay two separate syllables.
zogozelx gragel.z-cat-x | g-three
"There are three cats."
gragel is g + ra + digit ge + -l.
A code (marker re) may hold letters as well as digits, and is spelled aloud one letter name at a time (letter names come below). Its body may break the ordinary word shape in two ways: a vowel letter comes after a short break, written ' (zre'ebal), and two vowels may then sit side by side, even the same vowel twice (zrebu'ul). The role letter plus r already tells you a number is coming, so a code never sounds like a root. The ' appears only inside a code.
Syllabic l
A hosted extra noun writes l after its b. When that word is a number (r next), say the l as a beat of its own, like the end of English bottle . The r then starts the next beat as usual.
| Ageben | IPA |
|---|---|
bral | /bɹäl/ |
blral | /bl̩.ɹäl/ |
This is the only beat with no vowel letter. Like a vowel, you can hold it. Before a vowel, bl is one ordinary start of a beat (blazozon /blʉ.zo̞.ze̞n/).
Audio of bottle is from Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0 by Dvortygirl.
Letter names
When you spell a word aloud or name a letter, say the Ageben name for it. Pause between names so two names do not run into one syllable. A code inside a number word spells its letters with these names too, and makes the pause required before a vowel (zro'ebal).
Each digit letter keeps its consonant and takes the opposite vowel of the digit (a↔u, o↔e), so naming a letter never sounds like counting. Reciting those ten names walks u e o a (bu de go ha …) as a consequence, not as a series. The rest of the alphabet continues that walk.
The table is in alphabetical order. The ten letters that begin a digit syllable come first, in digit order (1 to 9, then 0), so b is the first letter and m the tenth. The other consonants follow, and the vowels come last.
| Ageben | Name | Cue |
|---|---|---|
b | bu | boo |
d | de | den |
g | go | go (no glide) |
h | ha | ha |
z | zu | zoo |
v | ve | vet |
r | ro | row (no glide) |
l | la | la |
n | nu | noon (the noo) |
m | me | met |
th | tho | though (no glide) |
w | wa | wander |
y | yu | you |
x | xe | shed |
u | u | you (without the y) |
a | a | spa |
o | o | Cambodia (no glide) |
e | e | bet |
`ogoze` → `o` `go` `o` `zu` `e`In a clause, a letter you talk about (such as z) is read aloud by its letter name (zu).
The ten digit letters are the consonants of the digit syllables you count with. Each letter's name keeps the consonant and swaps in the opposite vowel (a↔u, o↔e), so naming a letter never sounds like counting. The table repeats the digit syllables only for comparison: counting climbs the vowel pitches, so reciting these ten names walks back down them. The other four names carry on the same walk, so the whole alphabet recited by name keeps stepping down the vowel pitches: … nu me tho wa yu xe.
| Ageben | Digit syllable | Name | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
b | ba (1) | bu | a ↔ u |
d | do (2) | de | o ↔ e |
g | ge (3) | go | e ↔ o |
h | hu (4) | ha | u ↔ a |
z | za (5) | zu | a ↔ u |
v | vo (6) | ve | o ↔ e |
r | re (7) | ro | e ↔ o |
l | lu (8) | la | u ↔ a |
n | na (9) | nu | a ↔ u |
m | mo (0) | me | o ↔ e |
Choose Stacks to hear each stack against your home note and say it back. Digits counts the ten digits in digit order (ba do ge hu …), climbing the vowel pitches, and Alphabet says every letter name in alphabet order (bu de go ha …), walking back down.
uafallsuofallsuefallsaorisesaerisesoerises