Smuul

Smuul is a constructed language designed for use in speculative fiction and linguistic experimentation. It was created to explore how a moderately analytic language can express time, modality, and evidential stance with a compact morphology. In its in-fiction setting, Smuul is spoken by communities on a network of villages along river valleys and coastal isles, whose culture emphasizes storytelling and navigation.

Phonology and writing: Smuul has five vowel phonemes (a, e, i, o, u) and about eighteen consonants, including p, t, k, m, n, s, l, r, h, and a glottal stop. Syllables typically are CV or CVN; stress falls on the penultimate syllable. The language uses a Latin-based alphabet with diacritics to mark vowel length and tone; some sounds not common to the base Latin set are represented with digraphs.

Morphology and syntax: Smuul is primarily analytic but employs a system of suffixes to mark case, number, and mood. It uses subject–verb–object (SVO) order in simple sentences, with modifiers following the noun. Pronouns distinguish inclusive and exclusive first-person plural, and evidential markers appear on verbs to indicate source of information. Tense is expressed through aspectual particles rather than a strict tense system.

Usage and resources: In-fiction texts are written in the adapted Latin script; sample texts and grammar descriptions have circulated in conlang communities and fan wikis, with ongoing efforts to standardize orthography and provide example sentences. Smuul has become a point of reference in discussions of worldbuilding and linguistic design within those communities.