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Qtwyqp Qly

Lesson 1
Orthography, Phonology, and Such

The Three Scripts

The Logographic Script

I will not present the logographic script here, although, I will briefly describe it. Qtwyqp Qly [kuh-twee-cuhp klee] can be written purely in it's logographic script, which is quite regular. Each logograph, word-picture, has three componets: the symbol for the initial root, the symbol for the final root, and the grammar markings. This and all three scripts are written left to right.

The Phonetic Script

Just as the language can be written entirely in the logographic script, it can also be written entirely in the phonetic script. Vowels and nasal consonants ("nasals" for short) have only one symbol, but other consonants each have two symbols: one which procedes the vowels in the word and one which follows vowels in the word. Since the script is written without spaces, the point at which the symbols change from the second set to the first set separates the words. This is all I will explain of the phonetic script for now.

The Romanization

Romanization corresponds to the phonetic script. Each letter or letter combined with h represents one letter in the phonetic script, but since the romanization is written with spaces, there is no need for an alternate set of letters for each non-nasal consonant ("consonant" for short). Punctuation in the romanized script is similar to English.

The alphabet is as follows: h, q, g, qh, gh, s, z, sh, zh, t, d, th, dh, p, b, ph, bh, m, n, , l, y, r, w, a, e, o.



How to Pronounce Each Letter

First, the follow letters and letter combinations are pronounced as in English: s, sh, z, t, d, p, ph, b, m, n, h, l.

Next, some letters have multiple pronunciations in English, but only one pronunciation in Qtwyqp Qly: g is always hard as in "dog"; th is always soft as in "bath"; a is always as in "father"; e is always as in "bet"; o is always as in "vote".

Finally, some transliterations are just scary: q is as "k"; qh is as "ch" in the Scottish "loch"; gh is as in the Persian "ghouda"; zh is as "s" in "vision"; dh is as "th" in "that"; bh is as "v"; is as "ng"; y is as in "you" when initial (first in the syllable) and as in "tiny" elsewhere; r is as in "row"; w is as in "was" when initial and as "oo" in "book" elsewhere.

Qhrmgd ṅlay bbaybd.
[khurm-guhd nguh-lahee buh-bahee-buhd]
"I love the stars."


Don't worry about where the accent falls in the word. It's not important in Qtwyqp Qly.

If a word starts with two consonants, split between the consonants. If the word ends in two consonants, split between the first consonant and the proceeding letter.


Split between a nasal and l.

Qhrmgd ṅlay bbaybd.

If a nasal follows a consonant and does not proceed an l, split between the consonant and the nasal. If there are three vowels and no l and the word starts with a consonant or a nasal, split between the first and second vowels.

Loym ṅley spnreyg.
[loym nguh-lay suh-puh-nur-aygh]
"Go and see it!"

The Unwritten Vowel

As you've probably noticed from the examples by now, there's a vowel that is spoken but not written. It sounds like the "u" in "but". If a consonant is the only letter in a syllable, this sound follows the letter's sound. If two consonants are alone in a syllable, this sound comes between the two consonant sounds.


If a consonant and a following nasal are alone in a syllable, this sound comes between the consonant sound and the nasal sound.

Ṅwym gṅlygz nloy zzoy.
[ngweem ghuhng-lee-ghuhz nuh-loy zuh-zoy]
"He is god-like."

Introduction to Morphology

Categorization of Letters

It is useful to understand the categorization of the letters in order to understand the process of word building, inflection, and sorting.

The "consonants" are as follows: h, q, g, qh, gh, s, z, sh, zh, t, d, th, dh, p, b, ph, bh.

The "nasals" are as follows: m, n, .

The "vowels" are as follows: l, y, r, w, a, e, o.

The Basics of Word Building

Each word follows a basic pattern: CCNVVVNCC
where C is a consonant, N is a nasal, and V is a vowel, and all except one V may be absent.

The first CC carries the major significance of the word; it identifies what group the word falls into, usually. The final CC carries the minor significance; it signifies how the word varies from others in it's category, usually. There are some exceptions.

Qty, qpy
"Knowledge, Tongue"



The VVV carries the majority of the grammatical function by indicating grammatical function of the word, that is, whether it's a verb, noun, adjective, or something else. It is also the part of the word that is often inflected to match person, number, tense, etc.

The two Ns carry information that may be grammatic or semantic, such as intensity, gender, case, negation, etc.

Tty, ttly, ttwa, ttle, ttlen
"Collection, collective, collectively, plus, minus"

Listing Words


Qtwyqp Qly has a non-standard method of sorting words. Words are categorized by the first CC, then by the second CC, then by the VVV, then by the first N, and finally by the last N. Within these categories, words are sorted alphabetically, and if a word lacks a letter position (the first CC for instance), that word is put above the others.

For example, the following words have been "alphabetized".

lo, lon, loy, mloy, nloy, ṅlor, y, gy, ga, gṅlygz, gygz, gmygz, gnygz, gygh, gyp, ggy, gzy, spa
"yes, no, it, she, he, they, something, light, two, god-like, diety, goddess, god, reflection, tint, rock, body, five"

Dictionary Forms

Since there are so many inflections and derivates for each word, you may not find all the possibilities in a dictionary, instead, you may find one special form from which the others may be derived.

For nouns, you will most likely find only the nominative singular form of the noun. This is the form of the noun that represents one thing as a subject.

For verbs, you will most likely find only the affirmative third person singular present active infinitive. This is the form of the verb that would be used in conjunction with another verb to show that an action was actually happening and the subject is the doer who is one person who is not you or me.

For adjectives and adverbs: You will almost always find the adjective, but often you may not find the corresponding adverb. For example you may find the word for "beautiful", but not for "beautifully". Furthermore, the adjective may be given in either the neuter or inclusive gender, and thus may have to be inflected. The adjective will almost always appear in the weak form, and intensity may be added by the introduction of a nasal.

Lastly, the numbers found in a dictionary will likely be the cardinals from which other forms may be derived.

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Last Updated: 2009-05-02