Stress in Sajem Tan

[uchuflowerzone]

Ţycamgynâ xanönfê! Hello, readers! Today, I have a theory about how Sajem Tan stress should work.

First of all, we could divide Sajem Tan vowels into "strong" and "lax", as follows:

• Strong: /i/, /y/, /u/, /e/, /ø/, /æ/, /o/


• Lax: /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ɛ/, /œ/, /ɑ/

Then the rules will be as follows (italics mean that syllable is stressed):

For disyllabic words:

• If the second-to-last syllable is lax and the last syllable is strong, the stress is on the last syllable: gülim, dûxmik, jügic, jûcen


• All other disyllabic words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: milën, düküt, nyran, daţnyc

For words with more than two syllables:

• If the second-to-last syllable is strong, the second-to-last syllable is stressed: röznylün, tûkykyt, kixiköm, ţüvmyţat, gyvnamţnëk


• If the second-to-last syllable is lax and the third-to-last syllable is strong, the third-to-last syllable is stressed: sežüfen, jiküfin


• If the second-to-last and third-to-last syllables are both lax and the final syllable is strong, the final syllable is stressed: mûmûtak, zicûmdüţam


• If the three last syllables are all lax, the third-to-last syllable is stressed: ţêâžê, zûzûmët

I recognize that this is complex, so it is just a proposal for a starting point for discussion. We can amend it. I will say I'm not super happy with /œ/ being lax; it feels strong.