Lungorian, or e'pele Lungu [eʔpele luŋgu] (alternatively known as Lungorese) is a minority language spoken by the Lungores on Pluto. compared to many other Plutonian languages, like Ankuese, Lungorian has a very small consonant inventory and only three vowels: /i/, /e/, and /u/, lacking the nearly universal /a/. also unlike its neighbor languages, Lungorian is an isolating language.
there was another Lungoric language, Ūdo (reconstructed: o'polu Ūdo [oʔpolu uːdo]; Lungorian: e'pele Ūdu [eʔpele uːdu]), however it has no living speakers. despite this, it still exists as a liturgical language for the Lungorian religion. there are many texts written in Ūdo, which have been critical for the recontruction of Proto-Lungoric (like how Ūdo has a phonemic /o/ but Lungorian does not). there were likely more Lungoric languages, though they seem to have been lost to time.
/a/ appears only in learned borrowings, such as in Nakalēlu (Natlel). in standard speech, Nekelēlu is more common.
Lungorian has zero copula, i.e. no word equivalent to "to be" in English. "i am ____" is simply "____ wi" ("____ [is] i/me").
Mituru wi. Lungurugu wi. Kegu'e-gegu'e tu ipilu-ipilu wi. De gu?
Mituru 1sg. Lungore 1sg. work-HAB house book-PL 1sg. [PRONOUN] INT
I am Metro. I am a Lungore. I work in a library. Who are you? [What's your name?]
[mituɾu βi ˌluŋguˈɾugu βi keˈguʔe geˈguʔe tu iˈpilu ʔiˈpilu βi de gu] (standard), [mitʷɾu βi ˌlʊŋgʷˈɾʊgʷ βi kˈɣʊχəˌɣʊχə tʷ‿iˈpʲlʊˌpʲlʊ βi də ɣʊ] (spoken)
Lungorian, as an isolating language, has no affixes. it also has a relatively small vocabulary. complex ideas require many small words to be put together. the Lungorian word for "computer" is uku-uku dū pete lūlu wu susē u'ngūngu nge-nge gi'i ([ˈukuʔuku duː peˈte ˈluːlu βu suˈseː uʔˈŋuːŋgu ˈŋeʔŋe ˈgiʔi] (standard), [ukʲʔukʲ duː pəˈte luːlʷ βu suseː uʔŋuːŋgʷ ŋeʔŋe giʔi] ~ [ʊkʲ χʊkʲ dʊː‿pˈte lʊːlʷ βu ʂʷeː uχˈŋuːŋgʷ ŋeχŋ ɣiχʲ] (spoken)), which literally translates to "it holds the hard slick substance from which the light moves erratically," more legibly "electric tool."
Example sentance: Lupe kegu'e 'ununu wi gi!
go-work-need-1sg-EXC
I need to go to work!
[ˈlupe keˈguʔe ʔuˈnunu βi gi] (standard), [ˈlʊp(ə) k(əʔ)ˈgʊʔə ʔəˈnʊnʷ βi gi] ~ [ˈlʊp kˈɣʊχə χˈnʊnʷ βi ɣi] (different spoken varieties)
Lungorian only has two pronouns: wi, meaning me, and de, meaning not me. so, the sentence "lupe kegu'e 'ununu de gi!" can mean "He/she/they/it/you need[s] to go to work!" depending on the context.
Lungorian has a unique "screech" register (e'pele Kiriri), in which Lungores screech at ultrasonic frequences not even their Anku neighbors can hear.
Lungorian has a large amount of homophones, and that number is only increasing as younger Lungores have begun to devoice initial consonants (lupe kegu'e 'ununu de gi -> lupe kegu'e 'ununu te ki). those who speak with this sound change may assign a high pitch to words which already had voiceless initials, and a low tone for those who are now devoiced.
pi [pi] "small" -> [pí]
bi [bi] "air" -> [pì]
while this is currently nonstandard, Lungorian may become fully tonal within the next few generations. how exciting!
consonants:
/m/ /n/ /ŋ/
/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ (/ɣ ~ ɰ/) (/q/) (/x ~ χ ~ h/) /ʔ/
/s/ /z/
/l/ /ɾ/ /w/ /j/
/ŋ/ is also an allophone of /n/ when next to /g/
/ɣ ~ ɰ/ are allophones of /g/
/q/ occurs only in loanwords from Xalese or Ankuese. Proto-Lungoric *q -> Modern Lungorian ʔ
/x ~ χ ~ h/ are allophones of /ʔ/ only in extremely casual speech
/ʂ/ and /ʐ/ are common realizations of /s/ and /z/
/β/ is the most common realization of /w/
vowels:
/i/ (/y/) /u/
/e/
(/o/) (/a/)
/y/ comes from a slur of /iu/
/u/ may be closer to /ʊ/
/o/ is an occasional allophone of /u/ word-initially; realized closer to /ɵ/. used occasionally in learned borrowings from Ūdo
/a/ is only in learned borrowings
/i/, /e/, /u/ may be reduced to /Cʲ/, /ə/, /Cʷ/ word-finally. /ə/ may be dropped entirely. this happens to unstressed short vowels, most often in quick, highly informal speech. gilū Nekelēlu [gʲˈluː ˌnek(ə)ˈleːlʷ] "southern Natlel." this dramatic vowel reduction makes informal Lungorian sound extremely different to the standard/formal version.