Nohenààtza Language

Nohenààtza /nəwhəˈnɑːtsə/ is a Ngquhwə language spoken on the north of the Great Sea and is the official language of Hentzo. It is traditionally written with the [Block Script], but today the [Side Script] is preferred.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Uvular
		Apical	Laminal
Nasal	m	n			[ŋ]	[ɴ]
Plosive	p	t̺ [d]	t̻		k	q
Fricative	[ɸ]	s̺	s̻			h
Liquid		r		j	w

The Laminal obstruents /t̻/ and /s̻/ are in free variation with /t͡s/ and /z/, and many non-natives default to this pronunciation, thus giving it a lower prestige, even amongst dialects where these are historically used.

There are also 4 allophones: [ŋ], [ɴ], [d] and [ɸ] which are considered part of /N/, /r/ and /h/.

• [ŋ] and [ɴ] arise when /N/ is proceeded by /k j/ and /q h/ respectively
• [d] arises when /r/ is preceded by /N/
• [ɸ] arises when /h/ is proceeded by /u(ː)/

Vowels

	Front		Back
	Unrounded	Rounded
High	i(ː)	y(ː)	u(ː)
Mid	e(ː)	ø(ː)	o(ː)
Low	a(ː)		ɑ(ː)

History

Prehistory & Proto-Ngquhwəngaaħtlə

Nohenààtza has a few early attestations, though these are purely logographic and is reconstructed as Proto-Ngquhwəngaaħtlə, but they are thought to have migrated from north of the world border. Scholars debate how the Proto-Ngquhwəngaaħtlə peoples migrated across the impassable barrier, but archaeological findings show a clear trail followed to the world border. Proto-Ngquhwəngaaħtlə is mostly reconstructable, as the phonetic writing system preserves most of the old pronunciations and has a few inscriptions in [Block Script] which was, at the time, featural.