<p>Yes, there are but they are language-specific. These are called phonotactics. They are well explained in the book of David Peterson &quot;<a href="https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-art-of-language-invention-from-horse-lords-to-dark-elves-the-words-behind-world-building-e158635527.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Art of Language Invention</a>&quot;(E-book download link). Actually, these rules include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>structure of a syllable. E.g. in Hawaiian language closed syllables are impossible. So words like &quot;heck&quot; are not allowed. ;)</p>
</li>
<li><p>stress. The Finnish language always stresses the first syllable.</p>
</li>
<li><p>What consonants/vowels can be combined. &quot;st&quot; is quite common in English but not in Hungarian. But &quot;ts&quot; is quite common in Russian but not in English. But on the other hand Russian allows &quot;st&quot; too.</p>
</li>
<li><p>there are many other things. I suggest reading <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonotactics" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this article on Wikipedia</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>P.S.</strong> I'm not good at linguistic terms in English, sorry for possible wrong use of words ;)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T07:22:53.710Z
Also: minimum word length; allowed initial/medial/final consonants; vowel harmony; sesquisyllabicity; and so on and so forth.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T12:47:36.737Z
@bradrn yeah. There are just too much stuff so I wrote the first things I came up with.
USERNAME GOES HERE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T13:21:23.113Z
Of course; you could probably write a book on this topic! (And I’m sure that many have been.) I just tried to suggest some other things that I see as reasonably common and/or relevant to the question.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T13:23:54.940Z
@bradrn ohk thx. You mean I should edit my answer out?
USERNAME GOES HERE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T13:35:00.943Z
I don’t think that’s necessary; I simply intended to add some additional information to supplement your answer. (Also, I’m finding it difficult to understand what you mean by ‘editing out’ your answer: if you mean that you should delete it, then no, of course you shouldn’t do that!)
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T13:39:38.873Z
@bradrn I meant I should add something like this: "also (thanks to bradrn) there are...".
USERNAME GOES HERE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-20T14:55:06.393Z
You can do that if you want to include my suggestions, I don’t mind at all. (I’d call that ‘editing in’, as it happens — ‘editing out’ would be _removing_ something from the post. English directional particles certainly have some strange connotations…)
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-08T12:09:18.313Z
2020-12-20T13:32:53.783Z
2020-12-20T13:32:53.783Z
USERNAME GOES HERE
<p>Yes, there are various rules to the structure of words, this is a mix of syllable structure and phonotactic rules. These, however, are not universal, but rather, are language-specific, as mentioned above.</p>
<p>For example, in Japanese, it is a Open Syllable language, but it can have -n or -m serve as a Coda. But no other consonant can act as such.</p>
<p>無限 (Mu-gen)</p>
<p>月讀 (Tsu-ku-yo-mi)</p>
<p>This is quite universal in structure in Japanese, CV or V, and CVC2 only when C2 is -n or -m.</p>
<p>You can simply set these rules, but it is more complicated if developed naturalistically, where it is based around specific phonological changes that lead to this consistent rule emerging.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-03T18:22:03.300Z
2021-05-03T18:22:03.300Z
Zoey
<p>(Side note: asking multiple questions at once is not recommended here. I see that @VictorVosMottor has already given a good answer to your question (2), so I will restrict myself to answering (1).)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The sound of &quot;q&quot;. I don't understand how to pronounce any words that have &quot;q&quot; in it. According to IPA pulmonic consonant chart (with audio), it sounds like /ka/. So how should I pronounce a word like &quot;qakt&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The sound /q/ is a <em>voiceless uvular plosive</em>. By contrast /k/ is a <em>voiceless velar plosive</em>. We can compare the two:</p>
<ul>
<li>They are both <em>voiceless</em>: produced without vibration of the vocal cords.</li>
<li>They are both <em>plosive</em>: produced by blocking the mouth and then releasing it.</li>
<li>They differ only in their <em>place of articulation</em>. /k/ is <em>velar</em>; that is, it is produced with the tongue touching the back of the soft palate. By contrast, /q/ is <em>uvular</em>; that is, it is produced with the tongue touching the uvula. (Another way to think about it: /q/ is produced towards the back of the mouth compared to /k/.)</li>
</ul>
<p>So, to summarise: /q/ and /k/ are very similar sounds, except /q/ is slightly backer than /k/. Due to this similarity, it is not surprising that they will sound the same to you if your native language does not distinguish the two.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T12:04:11.383Z
It seems like 2 questions, but it is actually one. I realised that there have to be rules for constructing words when I was building the word "qakt". it is quite difficult to pronounce that word, but I had to be sure. Therefore, I posted them as 2 different questions, maybe someone can actually pronounce that word.
Momobear
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T12:46:47.307Z
@Gurkirat The fact that you had to list your questions separately to cover them fully is evidence that they are two questions, at least from the perspective of how Stack Overflow works. No-one can deny that they are _related_ questions — they both relate to phonology — but they are still two questions.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T12:52:56.007Z
@Gurkirat It may also interest you to know that phonotactic rules often have little, if anything, to do with ease of pronunciation. For one thing, people vary in how they pronounce words — e.g. I find /qakt/ very easy to pronounce, while you find it hard. Also, languages readily forbid easier words while allowing more difficult ones; a good example is Halkomelem, which allows words like /txʷstχʷás ʔal̰/ while disallowing words like /áʔa/.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T14:14:15.233Z
That a lot for sharing that piece of information. For the future, I will remember the rules.
Momobear
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T14:18:13.763Z
Do you any more points for how I can make it more naturalistic. Since the people of Spar continent are all humans, and when we go through there history, they are connected with the Earth.
Momobear
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T22:24:55.463Z
@Gurkirat In what areas do you want to make it more naturalistic? There are lots of different ways in which a conlang can be made more naturalistic in its phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicon… I couldn’t possibly list all of them in a comment!
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-14T14:42:20.490Z
It would be hard to say since I am really new in conlanging, but with my present knowledge, I have only thought about phonology, semantics and lexicon. What will you suggest me to increase my knowledge?
Momobear
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-14T22:48:38.517Z
@Gurkirat I did it by learning more about linguistics. If you haven’t read them already, a good place to start is Mark Rosenfelder a.k.a. [zompist](https://www.zompist.com/)’s books. Past that, I’d suggest reading lots of reference grammars as well as finding books on linguistics. r/conlangs has [a nice list of resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/wiki/resources) as well.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-15T12:27:17.540Z
Thanks a lot bradrn. I will definitely read and watch them. And for some reason, I can mention you in the comment. Thanks once again
Momobear
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-15T12:32:22.390Z
You’re welcome @Gurkirat! Hope you find those resources helpful.
bradrn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-12T07:31:33.187Z
2020-12-12T07:31:33.187Z
bradrn
<p>I am developing 4 conlangs (sparish, old sparish, elvian and barrish (need a new name)) for a story which is used by humans of Spar, Northern Sparian, Elves/Aspian, Barrians of south respectively. I have no knowledge about developing language whatsoever, I have learnt some few things from youtube and google(youtube was much helpful). I have the constants and vowels that I want to use in my language, but I am facing trouble with the letters.</p>
<ol>
<li>The sound of &quot;q&quot;. I don't understand how to pronounce any words that have &quot;q&quot; in it. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_pulmonic_consonant_chart_with_audio" rel="noreferrer">According to IPA pulmonic consonant chart (with audio)</a>, it sounds like /ka/. So how should I pronounce a word like &quot;qakt&quot;</li>
<li>Are there any kind of rules for word building? Like a word should never end with certain letters, or shouldn't start with certain letters.</li>
</ol>
<p>I want these languages to sound and feel as natural as possible. I am asking because some of my created words exist in one language or the other, and I want them to be as distinct as possible.</p>
<p>Moreover, I want sparish to have a word like &quot;re(letter)&quot;. This letter helps them to in poetry, its intonation depends upon the letter that is placed inside the bracket, but it does not feel write when you pronounce it. Can anyone help me with it too?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Language#References" rel="noreferrer">How to Create a Language</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Made-Up-Word" rel="noreferrer">How to Create a Made Up Word</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brl1POVFTC0&amp;list=PL6xPxnYMQpquwsIRfg0BqJuKUCZEBzQtc" rel="noreferrer">Conlang Case Study</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9eCJJlFv4Y&amp;list=PL6xPxnYMQpqsooCDYtQQSiD2O3YO0b2nN&amp;index=2" rel="noreferrer">How to Make a Language</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Artifexian/videos?pbjreload=102" rel="noreferrer">Artifexian (channel)</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDD7bQTbVsk" rel="noreferrer">How to Create a Language</a></p>

<conlang-creation><phonology><naturalism><vocabulary>
Is there any general rule for constructing a word? Example: "q" or "w" should not end a word, something like this
# Is there any general rule for constructing a word? Example: "q" or "w" should not end a word, something like this

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-08)

I am developing 4 conlangs (sparish, old sparish, elvian and barrish (need a new name)) for a story which is used by humans of Spar, Northern Sparian, Elves/Aspian, Barrians of south respectively. I have no knowledge about developing language whatsoever, I have learnt some few things from youtube and google(youtube was much helpful). I have the constants and vowels that I want to use in my language, but I am facing trouble with the letters.

1. The sound of "q". I don't understand how to pronounce any words that have "q" in it. [According to IPA pulmonic consonant chart (with audio)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_pulmonic_consonant_chart_with_audio), it sounds like /ka/. So how should I pronounce a word like "qakt"
2. Are there any kind of rules for word building? Like a word should never end with certain letters, or shouldn't start with certain letters.

I want these languages to sound and feel as natural as possible. I am asking because some of my created words exist in one language or the other, and I want them to be as distinct as possible.

Moreover, I want sparish to have a word like "re(letter)". This letter helps them to in poetry, its intonation depends upon the letter that is placed inside the bracket, but it does not feel write when you pronounce it. Can anyone help me with it too?

[How to Create a Language](https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Language#References)

[How to Create a Made Up Word](https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Made-Up-Word)

[Conlang Case Study](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brl1POVFTC0&list=PL6xPxnYMQpquwsIRfg0BqJuKUCZEBzQtc)

[How to Make a Language](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9eCJJlFv4Y&list=PL6xPxnYMQpqsooCDYtQQSiD2O3YO0b2nN&index=2)

[Artifexian (channel)](https://www.youtube.com/c/Artifexian/videos?pbjreload=102)

[How to Create a Language](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDD7bQTbVsk)

**Tags:** conlang-creation, phonology, naturalism, vocabulary

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-08. Score: 10

Yes, there are but they are language-specific. These are called phonotactics. They are well explained in the book of David Peterson "[The Art of Language Invention](https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-art-of-language-invention-from-horse-lords-to-dark-elves-the-words-behind-world-building-e158635527.html)"(E-book download link). Actually, these rules include:

* structure of a syllable. E.g. in Hawaiian language closed syllables are impossible. So words like "heck" are not allowed. ;)
* stress. The Finnish language always stresses the first syllable.
* What consonants/vowels can be combined. "st" is quite common in English but not in Hungarian. But "ts" is quite common in Russian but not in English. But on the other hand Russian allows "st" too.
* there are many other things. I suggest reading [this article on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonotactics).

**P.S.** I'm not good at linguistic terms in English, sorry for possible wrong use of words ;)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Also: minimum word length; allowed initial/medial/final consonants; vowel harmony; sesquisyllabicity; and so on and so forth.  
> **username_1**: @bradrn yeah. There are just too much stuff so I wrote the first things I came up with.  
> **username_2**: Of course; you could probably write a book on this topic! (And I’m sure that many have been.) I just tried to suggest some other things that I see as reasonably common and/or relevant to the question.  
> **username_1**: @bradrn ohk thx. You mean I should edit my answer out?  
> **username_2**: I don’t think that’s necessary; I simply intended to add some additional information to supplement your answer. (Also, I’m finding it difficult to understand what you mean by ‘editing out’ your answer: if you mean that you should delete it, then no, of course you shouldn’t do that!)  
> **username_1**: @bradrn I meant I should add something like this: "also (thanks to bradrn) there are...".  
> **username_2**: You can do that if you want to include my suggestions, I don’t mind at all. (I’d call that ‘editing in’, as it happens — ‘editing out’ would be _removing_ something from the post. English directional particles certainly have some strange connotations…)  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-05-03. Score: 3

Yes, there are various rules to the structure of words, this is a mix of syllable structure and phonotactic rules. These, however, are not universal, but rather, are language-specific, as mentioned above.

For example, in Japanese, it is a Open Syllable language, but it can have -n or -m serve as a Coda. But no other consonant can act as such.

無限 (Mu-gen)

月讀 (Tsu-ku-yo-mi)

This is quite universal in structure in Japanese, CV or V, and CVC2 only when C2 is -n or -m.

You can simply set these rules, but it is more complicated if developed naturalistically, where it is based around specific phonological changes that lead to this consistent rule emerging.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-12-12. Score: 2

(Side note: asking multiple questions at once is not recommended here. I see that @VictorVosMottor has already given a good answer to your question (2), so I will restrict myself to answering (1).)

> The sound of "q". I don't understand how to pronounce any words that have "q" in it. According to IPA pulmonic consonant chart (with audio), it sounds like /ka/. So how should I pronounce a word like "qakt"

The sound /q/ is a *voiceless uvular plosive*. By contrast /k/ is a *voiceless velar plosive*. We can compare the two:

* They are both *voiceless*: produced without vibration of the vocal cords.
* They are both *plosive*: produced by blocking the mouth and then releasing it.
* They differ only in their *place of articulation*. /k/ is *velar*; that is, it is produced with the tongue touching the back of the soft palate. By contrast, /q/ is *uvular*; that is, it is produced with the tongue touching the uvula. (Another way to think about it: /q/ is produced towards the back of the mouth compared to /k/.)

So, to summarise: /q/ and /k/ are very similar sounds, except /q/ is slightly backer than /k/. Due to this similarity, it is not surprising that they will sound the same to you if your native language does not distinguish the two.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It seems like 2 questions, but it is actually one. I realised that there have to be rules for constructing words when I was building the word "qakt". it is quite difficult to pronounce that word, but I had to be sure. Therefore, I posted them as 2 different questions, maybe someone can actually pronounce that word.  
> **username_2**: @Gurkirat The fact that you had to list your questions separately to cover them fully is evidence that they are two questions, at least from the perspective of how Stack Overflow works. No-one can deny that they are _related_ questions — they both relate to phonology — but they are still two questions.  
> **username_2**: @Gurkirat It may also interest you to know that phonotactic rules often have little, if anything, to do with ease of pronunciation. For one thing, people vary in how they pronounce words — e.g. I find /qakt/ very easy to pronounce, while you find it hard. Also, languages readily forbid easier words while allowing more difficult ones; a good example is Halkomelem, which allows words like /txʷstχʷás ʔal̰/ while disallowing words like /áʔa/.  
> **username_0**: That a lot for sharing that piece of information. For the future, I will remember the rules.  
> **username_0**: Do you any more points for how I can make it more naturalistic. Since the people of Spar continent are all humans, and when we go through there history, they are connected with the Earth.  
> **username_2**: @Gurkirat In what areas do you want to make it more naturalistic? There are lots of different ways in which a conlang can be made more naturalistic in its phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicon… I couldn’t possibly list all of them in a comment!  
> **username_0**: It would be hard to say since I am really new in conlanging, but with my present knowledge, I have only thought about phonology, semantics and lexicon. What will you suggest me to increase my knowledge?  
> **username_2**: @Gurkirat I did it by learning more about linguistics. If you haven’t read them already, a good place to start is Mark Rosenfelder a.k.a. [zompist](https://www.zompist.com/)’s books. Past that, I’d suggest reading lots of reference grammars as well as finding books on linguistics. r/conlangs has [a nice list of resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/wiki/resources) as well.  
> **username_0**: Thanks a lot bradrn. I will definitely read and watch them. And for some reason, I can mention you in the comment. Thanks once again  
> **username_2**: You’re welcome @Gurkirat! Hope you find those resources helpful.  

---

