Etrandish dialects

The Etrandish language has a varierity of dialects. The vocabulary and grammar are overwhelmingly the same - other than slang - and the main difference is pronounciation.

Standard Etrandish vs Mesolects vs Dialects
Variants of "natural" Etrandish are divided into three groups:
 * Standard Etrandish, based off the Grandfolk dialect.
 * The various dialects that are elaborated below.
 * Mesolects serving as a compromise between Standard Etrandish and the local dialect

The characteristics of mesolects are:
 * Pronounciation of the coda-nasals as
 * Preservation of all distinctions that Standard Etrandish makes but are abolished in the dialects
 * Pronounciation of in the way the local dialect does.
 * Presence of cross-dialectal variation that normally does not exist in Standard Etrandish.

A few examples to diferencs between dialects and mesolects:
 * in Standard Etrandish
 * in the Northern Etrandish dialect
 * in the Northern Etrandish mesolect.
 * in Standard Etrnadish
 * in the Copperport dialect
 * in the Copperort mesolect
 * in Standard Etrandish,
 * in the Copperport dialect
 * in the Copperport mesolect
 * in Standard Etrandish,
 * in the Copperport dialect
 * in the Copperport mesolect

Western Etrandish
While Standard Etrandish is based off Western Etrandish - as the capital city Grandfolk is located in Western Etrand -, there are still quite a few differences between the two:
 * In Standard Etrandish, is pronounced as a trill  word-initially and when geminated, a flap  when in the syllable onset (except word-initially), an approximant  in the syllable coda.In Western Etrandish,  is always pronounced as a flap  when not geminated, even word-initially. Geminated {{IPA/broad|r}} is still pronounced as a trilled . Coda-position {{IPA/broad|r}} may have a a strong postvocalic release {{IPA/narrow|ɾᵊ}}.
 * In Standard Etrandish, the coda-position nasals {{IPA/broad|m n ŋ}} are fully preserved in their original forms {{IPA/narrow|m n ŋ}}.Meanwhile, in Western Etrandish, they are merged into an archiphoneme {{IPA/broad|ɴ}}, which is pronounced as {{IPA/narrow|m}} before labial consonants, {{IPA/narrow|n}} before alveolar consonants, {{IPA/narrow|ŋ}} before velar consonants, and a nasal glide {{IPA/narrow|ʏ̯̃~ʊ̯̃}} (forming nasal diphthongs) at the end of words. The final cluster {{IPA/broad|rn}} is exempt from this treatment, and is pronounced as {{IPA/narrow|ɾn}}.
 * Western Etrandish makes use of "helping vowels" - an ultra-short schwa {{IPA/narrow|ə̆}} inserted between two consonants in clusters, especially word-initial clusters. Nasal + obstrudent clusters are generally exempted from this treatment.
 * Standard Etrandish preserves both {{IPA/broad|θ}} and {{IPA/broad|ð}} as {{IPA/narrow|θ}} and {{IPA/narrow|ð}}.Western Etrandish preserves only {{IPA/broad|θ}}, merging {{IPA/broad|ð}} with {{IPA/broad|d}}.

Inner Etrandish

 * is merged with, is merged with
 * Word-final are pronounced as nasal-glides, forming diphthongs with the preceding vowel. The final cluster  is exempt from this treatment, and is pronounced as.
 * is pronounced as a uvular trill word-initially and when geminated, an alveolar flap  otherwise.
 * Intervocalic is also a flapped
 * is often unrounded and lowered to, except after labial consonants.
 * The labio-velar stops are softened to.
 * Word-final short vowels are all reduced to a schwa . For example, is pronounced.
 * Word-final voicing distinctions are lost between stops: all word-final stops are slack-voiced.

Northern Etrandish

 * are preserved as, just like in Standard Etrandish.
 * The modally-voiced stops and affricates are fully devoiced  word-initially. They are still distinct from the modally voiceless, which are aspirated.
 * All word-final stops and affricates are slack-voiced or voiceless-unaspirated.
 * The word-initial voiced fricatives are either devoiced to  or softened to, depending on speaker preference.
 * When Northern Etrandish speakers try to speak Standard Etrandish, they may hypercorrect and replace with  or
 * Unlike in other dialects - and just like in Standard Etrandish - the coda-position nasals are preserved as.
 * Guttural R:
 * Word-initial and geminated is pronounced as a uvular trill/fricative.
 * Intervocalic is pronounced as a uvular flap.
 * Coda-position is pronounced either as a uvular approximant/semivowel  or a uvular flap, depending on speaker preference.
 * The clusters are pronounced, especially word-initially.
 * are preserved and kept distinct - Standard Etrandish and all other dialects merge them into.
 * is often palatalized to before and after
 * are dissimilated. They are palatalized to before front vowels, retroflexed  everywhere else.
 * The lax are tensed to
 * They are still distinct from the long {{IPA/broad|iː yː uː/

Southern Etrandish

 * Word-final are pronounced as nasal-glides, forming diphthongs with the preceding vowel. The final cluster  is exempt from this treatment, and is pronounced as.
 * is consistently pronounced an alveolar approximant.
 * Coda-position may be elided (non-rhotic). Speakers who elide coda-position  usually enlong the vowel before it, which introduces the long schwa  that is generally merged with the diphthong.
 * are merged with
 * Coda-position is vocalized to.
 * is unrounded and lowered to when not following a labial consonant - a feature shared with Inner Etrandish.
 * is generally pronounced as or merged with
 * Short is raised to . Long  is lowered to
 * Short is merged with . Long  remains distinct.
 * The aspiration is weak on modally voiceless stops. They may be even completely unaspirated, leaving only the voicing distinction.

Copperport dialect
The accent in Copperport shares many features with the Southern Etrandish dialect, but is still distinct. It also shares a lot of features with the Southern Etrancoasti dialect, and it is not clear whether the Copperport dialect influenced Southern Etrancoasti or the other way around.
 * is merged with, is pronounced a dental stop  that is never retroflexed by preceding , keeping it semi-distinct from.
 * Word-final are pronounced as nasal-glides, forming diphthongs with the preceding vowel. The final cluster  is exempt from this treatment, and is pronounced as.
 * is pronounced as a retroflex flap in the syllable onset, a retroflex approximant  in the syllable coda (except before, where it's still a flap). Geminated  is either degeminated to , or pronounced an alveolar/uvular trill . The retroflex articulation of  is a feature shared with the Southern Etrancoasti dialect.
 * The clusters are pronounced as  instead of, a feature shared with the Southern Etrancoasti dialect.
 * The shibilants are strongly palatalized to, or even  by some speakers. This helps to keep them distinct from , which are pronounced as . Another feature shared with the Southern Etrancoasti dialect
 * The clusters are pronounced as either  or, depending on speaker preference.
 * Lower-class speakers and stereotypical sailors pronounce word-final as  instead of . This is not to be confused with, which is still pronoucned as an alveolar/uvular trill.
 * Lower-class speakers generally pronounce as  instead of . This is not to be confused with, which is still pronoucned as an alveolar/uvular trill.
 * Some lower-class speakers may also pronounce coda-position - or even intervocalic - as, but this is very stigmatized.
 * Distinction between modally voiced and voiceless stops is neutralized word-finally, being slack-voiced.
 * is pronounced as, hence the city's name, Copperport is pronounced as , versus the Standard Etrandish . This led to the city being nicknamed as "Capperpudd" in other regions.
 * Short is raised to . Long  is lowered to
 * Short is merged with  (except before {{IPA/broad|r/). Long {{IPA/broad|ɔː}} remains distinct.

Eastern Mountains dialect
Spoken in the sparserly inhabited mountains along the Etrandish-Etrancoasti border, the local dialects share a lot of phonological features with Northern Etrancoasti, and have a lot of loanwords from Etrancoasti.
 * is always pronounced as a trill, either alveolar or uvular . The flap and approximant pronounciations are never used.
 * Word-final are pronounced as nasal-glides, forming diphthongs with the preceding vowel. The final cluster  is exempt from this treatment, and is pronounced as.
 * are retroflexed to . This helps to keep them distinct from before front vowels, which are pronounced  or.
 * are palatalized before front vowels other than
 * The palatalization on is usually stronger, to  or even  by some speakers.
 * is merged with, is pronounced a dental stop  that is never palatalized by proceeding front vowel, keeping it semi-distinct from.
 * The diphthongs are replaced by long vowels
 * The modally voiced stops and affricates are usually breathy-voiced  word-initially.  too is breathy-voiced/murmured  word-initially.
 * The modally voiceless stops lose their aspiration medially, retaining it only word-initially.

Cross-dialectal variation
Some features happen to span across multiple dialects or are independent of dialects, and may be up to speaker preference:
 * Intervocalic T and D flapping: A lot of speakers - independently of dialect - may pronounce intervocalic and  as an apico-alveolar flap  - for speakers who pronounce  as, intervocalic  becomes a dental flap . For speakers who pronounce  as a flap/trill, this inevitably cause confusion between intervocalic , ,  and.
 * In Northern Etrand - where is a uvular  - and Southern Etrand - where  is consistently  - this confusion does not happen, and the flapped  is considered an allophone of  and  rather than a rhotic sound.
 * Intervocalic T and D flapping is frequent (but not universal) in dialectal and mesolectal speech, but rare (not nonexistent though) in Standard Etrandish, other than in fast and casual speech.
 * Intervocalic lenition: For speakers of dialects that merge with  or pronounce it as a stop  - Western Etrandish, Inner Etrandish, Southern Etrandish and the Copperport dialect -, intervocalic and coda-position  may be lenited to . Out of these,  has a tendency to shift to , while  may be removed altogether.
 * Sometimes, speakers switch between pronouncing intervocalic as  and  without any consistency.
 * Speakers of Standard Etrandish may also exhibit lenition of intervocalic, but only in fast or casual speech, never in careful or formal speech.
 * Intervocalic T-glottalization: Some speakers pronounce intervocalic as a glottal stop . Once prevalent in Northern Etrand, this phenomenon is stigmatized, associated with stereotypical peasants. As of the 9th century AEKE, it is a rather rare phenomenon - even in Northern Etrand -, mostly eclipsed by either intervocalic flapping of  to  or usage of the Standard Etrandish.
 * Speakers of Standard Etrandish pronounce coda-position as either a velarized alveolar  or retroflex, free variation. Historically, the velarized alveolar articulation was preferred, but nowdays, the retroflex one is getting more and more popular.

Etrancoasti

 * are realized as true mid, halfway between and
 * are realized as
 * The modally voiced stops and affricates are completely devoiced  word-initally and word-finally, but still kept distinct from their modally voiceless counterparts , which are aspirated.
 * Most speakers either soften to a continuants  or always pronounce them as a voiceless
 * Etrancoasti-accented Etrandish is usually subject to the same variation as pure Etrancoasti is, such as the palatalization of velars before front vowels and.

Artaburro Wood Elven

 * are raised to
 * The lax are tensed to
 * are usually replaced by
 * is usually mispronounced as either (Th-alveolarization) or  (Th-fronting)
 * is always a trill/flap . This is correct in the syllable onset, but in the syllable coda, the correct usage would the approximant - Artaburrans use the flapped  in coda position too.
 * The voiceless stops are pronounced as only slightly aspirated, as opposed to the stronger aspirated that is considered correct in Etrandish
 * Final is split to {{IPA/broad|ŋg/

Dragoc Wood Elven

 * are raised to
 * The lax are tensed to .  and  are merged into.
 * are usually replaced by
 * is usually mispronounced as (Th-alveolarization)
 * The voiceless stops are pronounced as only slightly aspirated, as opposed to the stronger aspirated that is considered correct in Etrandish
 * and are merged and pronounced as a flapped . Coda-position  is usually elided and the preceding vowel is lengthened.  is replaced by.
 * are palatalized to before . Some speakers may palatalize  into  before, but this is rarer.
 * Final is either merged with  or extended into
 * are replaced by {{IPA/broad|ɸʉ ɸʉː/

High Elven

 * is either lowered to or raised to
 * is raised to
 * The diphthongs are replaced by long vowels
 * Problems with front rounded vowels:
 * The short are usually merged with  or
 * The long usually become
 * The schwa is usually replaced by either, except word-finally
 * is affricated to word-initially and after nasals
 * is always a trill/flap . This is correct in the syllable onset, but in the syllable coda, the correct usage would the approximant - High Elves use the flapped  in coda position too.
 * A lot of speakers may pronounce as  and/or elide coda-position Rs (non-rhotic accent). Others pronounce  as either  or, and always pronounce Rs (rhotic accent). The usage of  is quite peculiar, as High Elven lacks the sound - it only has  and.
 * The voiceless stops are pronounced as only slightly aspirated, as opposed to the stronger aspirated that is considered correct in Etrandish
 * is usually fronted to (Th-fronting)
 * Final is split to {{IPA/broad|ŋg/

Dark Elven

 * are lowered to . remain unchanged.
 * The lax vowels are tensed
 * The front rounded are replaced by central rounded . Native speakers of Etrandish can rarely tell the difference.
 * The diphthongs are replaced by long monophthongs
 * is usually mispronounced as either (Th-alveolarization) or  (Th-fronting)
 * is pronounced as a uvular trill/flap/fricative
 * A lot of speakers may pronounce as  and/or elide coda-position Rs (non-rhotic accent). Others pronounce  as  and always pronounce Rs (rhotic accent).
 * is pronounced as a velar/uvular
 * is usually mispronounced as or
 * Voiceless stops are unaspirated. Some native Etrandish-speakers may mishear these unaspirated stops for voiced stops.
 * The schwa is often completely removed, creating new syllabic consonants or complex consonant clusters that do not exist in Etrandish.