NurLese

NurLese is a constructed language developed for the Nur Universe, a speculative fiction setting and world-building project. It was created to function as the native tongue of the Nur people within that setting, with an emphasis on regular grammar, phonemic orthography, and ease of learning for readers and players. The language is maintained by a community of contributors and has a growing online presence in fiction, games, and language-learning resources.

Phonology and writing: NurLese uses a Latin-based alphabet with twenty-six letters. It has five vowel phonemes: a, e, i, o, u, each of which may be short or long; length is represented in formal materials by a macron, though casual writing often omits diacritics. The consonant inventory includes common plosives, nasals, and fricatives such as p, t, k, b, d, g, f, s, m, n, l, r. The language allows CV syllables, avoids complex consonant clusters, and places stress on the penultimate syllable.

Grammar: NurLese is analytic and primarily SVO in neutral clauses. Nouns lack grammatical gender and case markings. Plurality is indicated by a suffix -in or by context with a determiner. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify. Verbs are not marked for person or number; tense and aspect are expressed with separate auxiliary particles positioned before the verb. Word order and particles create a relatively transparent syntax for learners.

Lexicon and usage: The vocabulary draws from familiar European and global roots as well as native neologisms designed for the Nur Universe. The language has dedicated learners, fan-text resources, and occasional short stories written in NurLese. It is primarily used in fiction and fan contexts rather than in any public or official domain.