Toa is an Earthlike planet where the gods try to guide local people to better things. Hence, Toa has an advanced civilisation, democratic world government and an international language. Sadly though, the people sometimes go their own way. This recently brought them close to environmental disaster.
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Letoa phonology
Letoa phonemes are drawn from natural languages across the planet Toa. A number of sounds are not used in Letoa which might be used in an auxiliary language here on Earth, but cultural factors play a role in designing auxiliary languages on both Toa and Earth.
Letoa has seventeen phonemes. Five are vowels and twelve are consonants. They are arranged in simple syllables. Their canonical sounds are given below along with some common variations licensed by the Letoa Academy. Variations are not normally reflected in writing.
Letoa is transcribed here in the Roman alphabet.
Vowels
Letoa uses the five classic vowel positions familiar on Earth. There is an oral vowel at each position.
Front Central Back Close i u Middle e o Open a Letoa vowels Vowels are normally pronounced in full. So words like kai or kua have two syllables, not one. However, /i, u/ reduce to /j, w / between two other vowels. This even happens across word boundaries unless a pause intervenes.
Where two identical vowels meet in compounding, one is deleted.
Three variations in vowel quality are licensed, though dispreferred:
In rapid speech words like kai and kua become monosyllables with diphthongs.
In many areas, middle vowels are mid-close or mid-open for some or all of the time. So /e̞ , o̞/ become /e, o/ or /ɛ, ɔ/.
A few areas raise unstressed a to /ɐ/.
Consonants
Letoa stops may be voiced or voiceless. There are also voiced sonorants, plus voiceless fricatives and affricates. The canonical sounds of Letoa consonants are as follows:
Lab. Alv. Vel. Glot. Nas. m n Stop b, p d, t g, k Fric. s h Trill r Lat. l Most of these phonemes have their IPA values at all times. The following points should be noted:
Voiced stops are fully voiced as in French. The onset of voicing is slightly delayed in English.
The Letoa Academy licenses the following variations:
An unwritten glottal stop /ʔ/ may be sounded between words where two identical vowels meet. Younger speakers though, often delete the first vowel, much to the annoyance of their seniors.
Speakers of languages that lack one of the stop series may replace it with ejectives, aspirates or doubled plain stops.
Any other lateral may replace l and any other rhotic may replace r.
H may be replaced by /x/, /ʔ/ or /ɸ/.
Suprasegmental Features
The language is syllable-timed.
Syllables must be (C)V(N) in shape(where V=any vowel, C=any consonant and N=any nasal). The stress in Letoa always falls on the penultimate vowel.
Overall, Letoa phonemes present few difficulties to speakers of most Rotoa languages. This helps ensure that Letoa is well-suited to its role as the global auxiliary language.