Yunano (language)

*This article is about the language. For the species, see Yunano. For other uses, see Yunano (Disambiguation).*

> Yunano is the language of the people. It is not the language of the family. It is monetary and brotherly, but it is not homely. It is not as complex and unique as our native languages. But it does not need to be. It is what it needs to be, and it will stay what it needs to be.
>
> - Dexis Ranker

Yunano is the language of the Yunano (wow). it was created by Dexis Ranker after the evacuation. As English had been dethroned due to the events leading up to the evacuation, there was no one agreed upon language to learn for standard communication. Coupled with the mixing up of populations in the evacuation, Dexis decided a new language was needed. He did not intend for it to be a native language for anyone, rather a language for usage in day to day life communicating with others. This basis lead to the language having a small vocabulary and simple grammar. Although he admitted that unconscious biases went into the language, he put in as much effort making it neutral as possible.

## Phonology

Consonants

 Nasal
 Liquid

Vowels:

 Middle
 Open

Vowels are reduced in closed syllables (syllables ending with a consonant)

 [e˕]
 [i]
 [o˕]
 [u]

### Phonotactics

(C₁(L))V(C₂) syllable AKA (C²)V(C)

no VV

repair strategy for compounds: insert an unwritten 'h' at the hyphen

eg. siklo-estudi /si.klo.xes.tu.di/(not a real word)

L may be any liquid other than /j/

C₁ can only be a plosive or fricative when L is present

C₂ can only be /N/ (see below), /s/, /f/, /r/, or /l/

Words cannot end in /f/

nasals are not distinguished in the coda, shown as an archephonic /N/

[ɱ] ⟨m⟩ before /f/

[m] ⟨m⟩ before a bilabial consonant

[ŋ] ⟨n⟩ before a velar consonant

[n] ⟨n⟩ otherwise

C₂C₁ sequences must be one of the following:

- nasal/fricative or plosive

- fricative/anything but a liquid\*

- liquid/non-liquid

\*disallowed as it is instead part of the same syllable in this case

fricatives cannot go alongside voiced plosives

no sound may appear twice in a row

/x/, and /j/ cannot go next to a consonant

/ʃ/ cannot go after a consonant

repair strategy for compounds: insert an unwritten 'a' at the hyphen

## Dialects

The dialects of Yunano have diverged over time. What is described above is **Standard Yunano**. Words are always spelled as they are pronounced in Standard Yunano, regardless of how this has changed in a dialect. Accent marks are commonly used to teach the local pronunciation of words. Despite all this, they are still considered one language.

## Criticism

Yunano has been criticized for a multitude of reasons. Although it tries to be unbiased by picking words from many source languages and averaging some together, many have noticed a bias in the grammar, towards European languages. Many saw the language as "too simple", and mentioned how tense is optional, and how few sounds there are. While these criticisms, any many others, are brought up nowadays, they are seen as lees important. A common defense is that Standard Yunano was solidified enough time after the language was invented that all the important issues were ironed out by usage of the language.