Wood Elven language

Wood Elven is an Elven language, the official language of both the Kingdom of Dragoc and the Principality of Artaburro, as well as the language of Wood Elven diaspora all around Artograch.

The language has two main variants, the Dragoc variant and the Artaburro variant, which - other than religious terminology and political jargon - are mutually intelligible with each other, and differ only in pronunciation, with some slight diferences in vocabulary (the Dragoc variant being more purist, the Artaburro variant having more loanwords, higher exposure to foreign influence).

Dragoc

 * [ç] is the allophone of /h/ before /i/ and /j/
 * [ɸ] is the allophone of /h/ before /u/ in native words, but appears as a separate phoneme in foreign words.
 * The pronunciation of /r/:
 * Apico-alveolar / retroflex flap [ɾ̺~ɽ] before /a ɛ e i/ and when palatalized. Some younger males may also use a post-alveolar approximant [ɹ̠], especially in slang.
 * Some male speakers consistently use the apico-alveolar flap [ɾ̺], regardless of the following vowel.
 * Dental lateral flap / approximant [ɺ̪~l̪] before /ɔ o u/. The approximant is rare, mostly restricted to younger female speakers, especially singers.
 * Some female speakers may consistently use the dental lateral flap [ɺ̪], regardless of the following vowel.
 * In aggressive speech and cursing, the alveolar trill [r] is used. Some - mainly older - male speakers may consistently use the trill, even in normal speech, sometimes in formal speech too.

Artaburro

 * [ç] is the allophone of /h/ before /i/ and /j/
 * /v/, /kʷ/ and /gʷ/ appear only in High Elven and Etrandish loanwords.
 * Unlike in Dragoc Wood Elven, in Artaburro Wood Elven, /r/ and /l/ are distinct and phonemic.
 * /l/ appears only in loanwords, mainly from High Elven and Etrandish.
 * /r/ is realized as an alveolar flap/trill [ɾ~r], regardless of the vowels that follow it.

Dragoc
/i/ and /iː/, /u/ and /uː/, as well as /a/ and /aː/ differ only in length, no difference in vowel quality.

Historical /u/ can be pronunced as [ɨᵝ~ɯᵝ], [ʉ~u] or [y], depending on the environment:
 * [ʉ~u] after labial consonants and nasals (including (/ɲ/)
 * [y] after /j/ and palatal(ized) consonants (except /ɲ/)
 * [ɨᵝ~ɯᵝ] everywhere else

[o~ʊ] is considered the allophone of /ɔ/ between another vowel and a syllable boundary - for example, /naɔ/ is pronounced [näo̯~näʊ̯]. In foreign words, the diphthong [au̯] also makes an appearence.

The cluster /aɛ/ can be pronounced in various ways - as [äʔɛ], [äjɛ], [äɛ̯] or even [äɪ̯], causing confusion with /ai/. Some speakers collapse the cluster to a long [æː].

Artaburro
/i/ and /iː/, /y/ and /yː/, /u/ and /uː/, as well as /a/ and /aː/ differ only in length, no difference in vowel quality.

Historical Wood Elven /u uː/ got completely fronted to /y yː/. /u uː/ appear only in loanwords, mainly from from High Elven and Etrandish.

[o~ʊ] is considered the allophone of /ɔ/ between another vowel and a syllable boundary - for example, /naɔ/ is pronounced [näo̯~näʊ̯]. In foreign words, the diphthong [au̯] also makes an appearence.

The cluster /aɛ/ can be pronounced in various ways - as [äʔɛ], [äjɛ], [äɛ̯] or even [äɪ̯], causing confusion with /ai/. Some speakers collapse the cluster to a long [æː].