A conlang inspired by serpent physiology and behavior, featuring a complex noun class system, distinctive verb types, and a unique consonant-rich phonology. Ophidian represents the language of a serpent-like species with their own culture and worldview.
Ophidian is a constructed language (conlang) designed to reflect the worldview and physiology of a serpent-like species. The language features hissing and sibilant sounds, a complex noun class system that categorizes objects based on their relationship to serpent life, and a dual verb type system that distinguishes between active and stative verbs.
The language's phonology emphasizes sounds that can be produced without lips, relying heavily on consonants articulated in the throat, palate, and with the tongue. This creates a distinctive sound profile that reflects the physical constraints and capabilities of a serpentine speaker.
Ophidian employs 10 noun classes that categorize objects based on their relationship to serpent life, such as long objects, predators, food, and shelter.
Verbs are divided into two types: active (-ss-) and stative (-xx-), with different conjugation patterns and geminated stems in certain forms.
The language features a wide array of consonants with an emphasis on sibilants, fricatives, and glottals, reflecting the speech capabilities of a lipless species.
Ophidian uses Subject-Verb-Object word order with post-nominal adjectives and allows for pro-drop (omission of pronouns when context is clear).
The language has its own native script that comes in 2 forms: casual and decorative with a few traditional calligraphic scripts. It also features 2 types of latin transliteration: with and without special symbols; and 2 cyrillic transliterations: for eastern and southern slavic keyboards.
Ophidian's sound system is adapted to serpentine speech capabilities, emphasizing sounds that can be produced without lips.
Ophidian can be written using either Latin or Cyrillic scripts, with two variants available for each:
| Native Script | Phoneme | Latin (Standard) | Latin (Alternative) | Cyrillic (Standard) | Cyrillic (Alternative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
θ | t | th | т | ф |
 |
s | s | s | с | с |
 |
sʲ | c | c | сь | сј |
 |
ʃ | ș | sh | ш | ш |
 |
ʂ | š | rz | ж | ж |
 |
ɕ | ś | ch | щ | шј |
 |
ç | j | j | хь | ј |
 |
x | x | x | х | х |
 |
χ | g | g | г | г |
 |
ħ | q | q | к | к |
 |
h | h | h | ь | ? |
 |
ɬ | l | l | л | л |
 |
𝼆 | ļ | lh | ль | љ |
 |
i | i | i | и | и |
 |
e | e | e | э | е |
 |
a | a | a | а | а |
Ophidian organizes all nouns into 10 distinct classes, each with its own prefix and semantic domain:
Serpents and long objects
Example: secişi (serpent)
Plural for class 1
Example: ce'ecişi (serpents)
Small animals, food
Example: tešece (bird)
Plural for class 3
Example: teješece (birds)
Predators, big animals, big objects
Example: gašece (bird of prey)
Plural for class 5
Example: qa'ašece (birds of prey)
Inanimate objects, abstract concepts
Example: tašša (door)
Plural for classes 7, 9, 10
Example: hatašša (doors)
Shelter, body parts, plants, small objects
Example: ļicejeśe (bird's nest)
Warm objects, fire, light
Example: šasiše (warm rock)
Ophidian distinguishes between two types of verbs:
Active verbs that retain their basic stem in all forms
Example: şagassa (to open)
Perfective: şagassal
Jussive: heeşagassa
Stative verbs with geminated stems in some forms
Example: şagaxxa (to be open)
Perfective: şşagaal
Jussive: heeşşagaa
Verbs are marked for aspect (imperfective/perfective), mood (indicative/imperative/jussive), and voice (active/middle-reflective/causative), but do not mark tense.
The Ophidian language reflects the culture and lifestyle of its serpentine speakers. Their worldview emphasizes:
The language provides insight into what these creatures value and how they perceive their world, with specialized vocabulary for behaviors like shedding skin, finding shelter, and basking on warm rocks.
Ophidian is currently at version 0.4, with ongoing development. The language features:
Future development will focus on expanding the lexicon, refining grammar rules, and developing a more detailed cultural context for the language's speakers.
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Check out the latest updates, full language specification, and source files for Ophidian on GitHub. Contributions and feedback are welcome!