#actually i'm just too lazy to post the sound changes in an easily readable format

[tanadrin]

Ijanaris aw fa Hajusei

Below the cut, a short text (the preamble to the UDHR) in a refined version of my Future English conlang.

This variety of English is American in its most distant origin, and notably participates in certain sound-shifts unique to Southern American English (the “drawl”). But since those early days, it has gone through perhaps one or two thousand years of change, and is now as distant or more from our language as ours is from that of the Angles and Saxons, when they still dwelt on the European continent.

Phonologically, it has (after much chaos) settled on a five-vowel system, like Latin or Spanish. All voicing distinctions have been lost, and it obstinately eschews consonant clusters. The phoneme inventory is now fairly simple, although not shockingly so. One spelling note: j here represents the sound normally spelled in English with a y.

In terms of vocabulary, in its most ancient and formal registers, it may still use elaborate polysyllabic words it owes to much-altered and now-opaque Latinate borrowings, like osipijafar, “hospital”; but in its vernacular forms, many of these long and unwieldy words (as well as many English roots abraded down to almost nothing) have been replaced by new coinages (pares harei fa sijak, “place for the sick”)

Grammatically, the language is fully isolating now. Adverbs of time provide tense and aspect marking to verbs; plurality is indicated by adjectives like mejani, “many,” or by reduplication (ejos ejos, “houses”). The same root can serve as a noun, verb, or adjective, depending on context. Adjectives follow nouns, many dependent clauses have no introductory particle or pronoun (as in modern English, “The house you built is falling down”), and pronouns do not inflect for number or gender.

A slavishly literal translation, using cognate words from Modern English, follows the text below. A full reconstruction of the intermediate sound changes is left as an exercise for the reader.

Wiqas fa si aw nesei niawar in raiw ajat aw ikaar no ewar rimuw rait rait aw mejapei or aw fa hajamari ajuman wi fa grejon aw fa harifam, ajat fa sasitas ajat fa qoram aw fa eirat,

Wiqas fa hajas iawei ajat fa hiat fejon aw rait rait ajuman wiwor qos ajakasan mejani fajat ajanagei mas main main aw ajuman or, ajat af eiaiw aw eirat ajuman nasoi ijan harifan aw sipik ajat wiriw ijan wiwor nem fa aiasit iap aw fa hiwar qoman,

Wiqas ijat wi isejasar sia ajuman not horasit wi risorat fa hait hait agejasit forafi ajat hias fejon rait rait ajuman wi wai nit gorat wai gawein aw roro,

Wiqas ijat wi isejasar harei paramiat fa gria aw riresan harejan raik witain fa sitet mejani,

Wiqas fa hiwar mejani aw Nesan Mejani Fagejafei wiwor hiat horaeit wiriw aw fejam ijan rait wesik ajuman, ijan fa nesei niawar ajat wajaju aw fa peisan ajuman ajat ijan fa rait rait ikaar aw mer mer ajat aw himer himer ajat wiwor fijasait paramiat fa gia horaeit aw sasaiafi ajat rijawin mor giat ijan harifam mor wijag

Wiqas fa sitet wiron wiwor parejas fasejas ijan qoparis ijaf fa Nesan Mejani Fagejafei paramiat aw risipejat or karos harei ajat seiw aw rait rait ajuman ajat harifam grejon raik.

Wiqas nia qoman aw fis rait ajat harifam wi aw fa ijaporat mias wijag harei fa riarais qaparit aw fis paromas

Nejo fejarahor,

Fa Asejapari Sejaneiar,

Hiat horaeit fis Fikarejar Or Karos aw Rait Rait Ajuman, ajas mejasei qoman aw qoparis horei hiwar or ajat sitet or sia peisan ejawei ajat ejaraman ejawei aw sasaiafi, air qip fis Fikarejar orais ijan main, eik nejo wai rein ajat wai taren harei awajan risipejat harei fis rait ajat harifam ajat wai tijat sitejap raik, ijan fa sitet ajat ejot fa sitet mek seh fa seiw aw fejam ajat fa nia aw fejam, man fa hiwar aw fa sitet wiron ajat man fa hiwar aw fa risan risan atei fa gawein aw fejam.

Because the seeing of (a) living-in [i.e., inherent], noble nature, and of the equal, and unremovable [lit., “not able to remove,” i.e., inseparable] rights of all members of the human family is [lit. “be”] the ground [foundation, basis] of freedom and justice and peace [calm],

Because the passing-over and th putting-down of human rights (have) before caused many actions that greatly anger the mind(s) of all human(s), and the arrival of (a) world humans enjoy freedom of speech and belief in before (as been) name(d) (a) supreme [’highest’; fossilized form of ai, “high”] hope,

Because it is essential so (that) humans are not compelled to resort to fighting against tyranny [lit. “authority,” but having acquired pernicious overtones], and pushing-down, (that) human rights are by need guarded by (the) governing of law(s),

Because it is essential for promoting the growing of friendly [lit. ‘friend-like’] relations between the many states,

Because the people of the Many Nations Together (have) before put forward the belief of theirs in basic human rights, in the noble nature of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women [lit. ‘males and females’] and (have) before decide(d to) promote the going-forward of society and a more good living [i.e., status or condition of life, as in ‘earn a living’] (with)in a greater [’more big’] freedom,

Because the states belonging (to the UN) [i.e., the member states] before pledged themselves in/to accomplishing with the Many Nations Together the promoting (of) universal [lit. ‘all across’] respect for and observation of fundamental [’ground-like’] human rights and freedoms,

Because common knowledge [’knowing’] of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest [’most big’] importance for the complete realizing of this promise,

Now therefore,

The General Assembly

Puts forward this Universal Declaring of Human Rights, as a common measure of accomplishment for all peoples and all nations, so (that) every person and every element of society, while keeping this declaration always in thought, (will) now work by teaching [’learn(ing)’] and education [’train(ing)’] for advancing respect for these rights and freedoms, and by progressive [’step-like’] deeds, nationally [’in the state’] and internationally [’out(side) the state’], make safe the observing of them and the knowing of them, among the people of the states belonging (to the UN) and among the people of the regions under the government of them.