The Great Vowel Shift

Vikesa is inherently based on English spelling and the pronunciations there of. The first rule is that vowels are shifted one place "backwards." This means that:

• "a" becomes "u"
• "e" becomes "a"
• "i" becomes "e"
• "o" becomes "i"
• "u" becomes "o"

These are pronounced as they would be in Spanish or IPA. In addition, if two vowels occur in a row, a "k" is placed between them.

Consonant Clusters

The following types of consonant clusters are disallowed:

• Geminated consonants
• A voiceless consonant and a voiced consonant (excluding "y", "l", "r", and nasals)
• Two plosives
• Two fricatives

In these cases, an "i" is placed between the two consonants. In addition, consonant clusters consisting of two voiced consonants are disallowed at the end of words. In this cae., an "a" is added at the end of the word.

Pronunciation

Most consonants are pronounced as they are in the IPA, with the following exceptions:

• "c" is pronounced as /ʧ/
• "j" is pronounced as /ʤ/
• "q" is pronounced as /ʒ/
• "x" is pronounced as /ʃ/
• "y" is pronounced as /j/

There are also certain phonotactic rules. If there is a "y" or "h" at the end of a word, an "a" must follow it. If there is a "w" anywhere in the word, it must be replaced with a "v".

Pronouns

Viesa has a different pronoun system. The pronouns are listed in the table below:

Note that a capital "T" is pronounced differently from a lowercase "t". You will learn the pronounciation of capital "T" later.

Possessive pronouns are made with the genitive suffix, wich you'll also learn later. Reflexive pronouns are simply made by placing "salf" after the pronoun.

Verbs

All verbs become their infinitive form without "to". (I am a boy. = Ma ba u big. (literally: I be a boy.))

The "Weird Sounds"

Vikesa has a couple of "weird sounds" that are written with capital letters. Note that the first letter of a sentence or proper noun is not capitalised unless the sentence starts with a "weird sound". These "weird sounds" also have alternatives, if the speaker canot pronounce them. These sounds and their usage are listed below:

• P: bilabial click, past tense suffix (alternative is "pya")
• B or 🅱: voiceless bilabial trill, replaces "p" (alternative is "p")
• T: dental click, replaces "th" (alternative is "ty" or "tya" at end of word)
• S: alveolar click, plural suffix (alternative is "xa")
• C: palatal click, future tense suffix (alternative is "ca")
• K or 👏: bimanual click, genitive suffix (goes on the noun itself rather than the end of the noun phrase) (alternative is "kya")
• G or 🤦: faciomanual click, perfect tense suffix (alternative is "gya")
• D: bidigital click, negative suffix (alternative is "dya")

Examples:

• The boy's dogs played. = Ta bigK digS BlugP.
• The dog in the mud's bone = Ta digK en Ta mod bina (not "Ta dig en Ta modK bina")
• We will go. = va goC.
• I am not happy. = ma baD hupipya.
• It will have eaten. = na akutCG.