Welcome to the 'Zeaxysch Sbeche Sded' (Saxonish Speech Site) Wiki[]
Zeaxysch, or New West Saxon, is a language based on the West Saxon dialect of Old English as it might have developed freed from Latin, French or Greek influence. It is closely related to Anglish/New English (http://anglish.wikia.com), but with the addition of dialect words from the South and West of England, and a specialised orthography.
Zeaxysch Pronunciation and Orthography[]
Main article: Zeaxysch Orthography
The most noticeable feature of Zeaxysch (Saxonish) is the voicing of consonants, particularly initial consonants, e.g., abbel = apple, abrygock = apricot; bhole = pool, bhyt = pit, bhryttyi = pretty; cgurch = church, cgyld = child, cgyl = chill; dhenchy = to think, dreo = three, droui = through, drowy = to throw; ghan = can, ghabh = cap, ghummy = to come, ghow = cow, ghubh = cup, ghlock = clock, ghrebhy = to creep, ghrebhyi = creepy; love = loaf/bread; obhen = open; ubh = up; vader = father, van = fan, vet = fat, vote = foot, vor = for, vur = far, vurst = first, vure = fire, vynd =find; wyd = with; zot = sat, zai = say, zeo = see, zowth = south, zulf = self, zuvfon = seven, zwon = swan, zyder = cider, zynder = cinder; zghebhe = sheep, zghybh = ship.
Zeaxysch spelling differs from Common English and New English in that it:
- Avoids the doubling of vowels to show length. In this it follows West Saxon. Thus, "zeo" for "see", "sbeche" for "speech", and "sgole" for "school".
• Retains the character Thorn (Þ or þ), which is pronounced like the "th" in "this", i.e., voiced, whether it should also be used for the voiceless "th" as in "thin" is for debate. Voiced "th" may be represented by "dh", where thorn is not available, thus "dhys" [this], "dhat" [that] and "dhus" [thus].
• Prefers "y" over "i" for the vowel, for example, in "hyt" [it].
• Can use "p" to represent the sound of "w", representing the runic letter wyn, though this radical proposal does not meet with universal approval. The "p" in Zeaxysch is usually sounded as "bh ", so in words of Germanic origin the letter "p" could be regarded as redundant in Zeaxysch, leaving it free to be used for the sound of "w", thereby reviving the symbol's use as wyn. (Where "p" is needed in loan words a digraph could be used, e.g., "bp" has been suggested). The justification for using "p" to represent "w" is that the "uu" digraph that evolved into the modern letter "w" was less used in the West Saxon dialect of Old English than the "wyn" rune. However, "uu" is not unknown in West Saxon documents, so there is some justification for retaining "w" in the name of readability. "W" may be used for the "short" vowel represented in Common English by "oo", thus "wwd" is "wood", "wwl" is "wool", "wwlf" is "wolf", etc.. (The "long" version of this vowel is represented by "ou" as in "droui" for Common English "through".)
• Uses "i" for the "yogh" letter, thereby reversing the usual practice in Common English and New English (See David Cowley's book, 'How We'd Talk If The English
Had Won in 1066') of using "i" for the vowel and "y" for the consonant.
• Usually substitutes "v" for "f" and "z" for "s", to represent their pronunciation in South Western dialects of England.
• Uses "zgh" (pronounced like the French "j" or the "g" in "beige") for voiced "sh", by analogy with "z" for voiced "s".
- "U" may be used for original (usually "short") "eo", e.g., "uw" for "eow" [you], "buth" for "beoth" [are]
Note: aspiration of B, G, L, R, and W is a feature of Zeaxysch, Thus, bhwt = put, ghan = can, lhove = bread/loaf, rhode = road, rhyng = ring, whyte = white (usually pronounced as "wite" in Common English)
Zeaxysch Grammar:
The distribution of Zeaxysch verb forms between weak and strong cases differs from that in Common English and New English,
e.g., ghlumb = climbed, teched = taught. zeoed = saw
Zeaxysch Alphabet:
A B Bh C Cg Ch D Dh E F G Gh Gi H I Jh K L Lh M N Ng O Q R Rh S Sch T Th U V W P Ph X Y Z Zgh
digraphs and trigraphs (bh, cg, ch, dh, gh, gi, jh, lh, ng, th, ph, rh, wh, sch, zgh) count as single letters in the order shown.
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Zeaxysch grammar
The distribution of Zeaxysch verb forms between weak and strong cases differs from that in English
e.g., clumb = climbed; teched = taught; zeoed = saw