lerni

Lerni is a constructed language designed to be easy to learn and to exhibit regular grammar. It was created in the 2010s by linguist K. Arias as part of an experimental project to study second-language acquisition and language-learning pedagogy. The language is mainly used by hobbyist communities and in educational contexts, rather than having widespread native speakers.

Phonology and writing are designed for simplicity. Lerni uses a Latin-based orthography with 24 letters and five vowel phonemes: a, e, i, o, u. Consonants include a streamlined set such as p, t, k, m, n, s, l, r, f, j, and h. Syllable structure is simple (CV or CVN), there are no phonemic tones, and stress typically falls on the penultimate syllable. The writing system avoids diacritics as a default, though diacritics may be used in learning materials for clarity.

Grammar and syntax are analytic and relatively rigid to minimize irregularity. The basic word order is subject–verb–object. Nouns do not have grammatical gender, and there is no required inflection for number or case. Tense and aspect are expressed with separate particles placed before the verb, rather than through verb conjugation. Negation is handled by a dedicated word preceding the verb. Adjectives generally follow the nouns they modify, and lexical compounds are a common method for creating new terms.

Vocabulary and morphology emphasize derivation and compounding over irregular morphology. The core lexicon covers essential domains, with new terms formed through simple affixation and compounding rules. Lerni aims to balance expressiveness with learnability, making it a frequent subject of classroom experiments and conlang-community discussions.

See also: constructed languages, conlang, Esperanto-style language projects.