View source for Teonaht

{{Short description|Constructed language created in 1962}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Notability|date=March 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2013}}
}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Teonaht
|creator=[[Sally Caves]]
|created=1962
|setting=[[Fantasy]] setting of the Teonim
|fam2=[[artistic language]]
|fam3=[[fictional language]]
|posteriori=draws on [[Indo-European languages]]: [[Romance languages|Romance]], [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] and [[Celtic languages|Celtic]]
|iso3=none
|glotto=none
|ietf = [https://www.kreativekorp.com/clcr/ art-x-teonaht]
}}

'''Teonaht''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|eɪ|.|oʊ|n|ɑː|θ}} is a [[constructed language]] that has been developed since 1962 by [[science fiction]] writer and [[University of Rochester]] English professor Sarah Higley, under the pseudonym of [[Sally Caves]].{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} It is spoken in the fantasy setting of the '''Teonim''', a race of [[polydactyly|polydactyl]] humans who have a cultural history of worshiping catlike deities.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

Teonaht uses the [[object–subject–verb]] (OSV) word order, which is rare in natural languages. An interesting feature of Teonaht is that the end of the sentence is the place of greatest emphasis, as what is mentioned last is uppermost in the mind.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} The language has a "Law of Detachment" whereby suffixes can be moved to the beginnings of words for emphasis and even attach onto other words such as pronouns.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

Teonaht is often cited as an example of the genre in articles on the world of Internet-hosted amateur [[Conlanger|conlanging]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rochester.edu/College/ENG/newsletter/conlang.html |title=Inventing private languages at the UR |website=www.rochester.edu |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626235245/http://www.rochester.edu/College/ENG/newsletter/conlang.html |archive-date=26 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/03-04/03-06-04/c01li475.htm Sprechen sie ELVISH?: 3/ 6/ 2004<!--Bot-generated title-->]{{Dead link|date=June 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=no}}</ref><ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-24-sci-conlang24-story.html Babel's modern architects - Los Angeles Times<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref><ref>Conley, Tim and Stephen Cain (2006). ''Encyclopedia of fictional and fantastic languages'', pg. xxv</ref>

In May 2019, the [[Washington Post]] shared audio of Caves singing in Teonaht.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/story-audio/sarah-higley-a-university-of-rochester-professor-sings-in-teonaht-the-language-she-invented/| title = Sarah Higley, a University of Rochester professor, sings in Teonaht, the language she invented. - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1126975 NPR interview with Sally Caves]

== External links ==
*[http://www.concavities.org Sally Caves's Teonaht page]

{{Constructed languages}}

[[Category:Artistic languages]]
[[Category:Constructed languages introduced in 1962]]
[[Category:Constructed languages]]