NONE OF THIS IS FINAL. <l1me> reserves the right to amend this at any time.
last updated 2026-08-28

=== contents ===
  === contents
  === synopsis
  === phonology
    == vowels
    == consonants
  === grammar
    == numbers
  === example sentences
    == fnss thhk
    == ghmhh phhnhhkz
    == vsauce
  === writing systems
  === dictionary
    == common roots
    == other

=== synopsis ===
welcome to ccc (from interjection "shhh"). this language evolved from a need for secrecy and thus quietness, so it is spoken entirely voiceless.
this led to quirks such as:
* fricatives are treated as vowels
* adjectives about sound go before the modifiee
* [accusative adjectives and verbs] about sound are always mentioned first
* some nouns have two forms depending on whether the speaker needs to hide from them

=== phonology ===

== vowels ==
> f, v /θ/, s, z /ʃ/, c /ç~ɕ/, h /h~x/
(legacy: v←ŝ z←š)
vowels can be short (s), long (ss), or overlong (sss)
aspiration before vowels is not phonemic (/kʰf/ = /kf/)
vowels can't follow each other between words:
* default: m resolve (mhhmhh-zzz -> mhhmhhᵐzzz)
* numbers: l resolve (mhhmhh-flf -> mhhmhhˡflf)

any diphthong and triphthong (vowellength-sensitive) is valid except:
* starting/ending in short h (*hc, *ch)
  * except hVh (khzhk)
* containing vs, vc, sv, fv, zv, cv, hv, as they are easily confusable with ss, sc, ss, fs, zs, cs, hs
* containing cz as they are easily confusable with cc
pronunciation of diphthongs and starts/ends of triphthongs:
 |f  |v  |s  |z  |c  |h  |
-+---+---+---+---+---+---+
f|f: |θf |sf |ʃf |ɕf |hf*|
v|###|θ: |###|###|###|###|
s|fs |###|s: |ʃs |ɕs |xs*|
z|fʃ |θʃ |sʃ |ʃ: |###|xʃ*|
c|fç |###|sç |ʃç |ç: |xɕ*|
h|fh*|θx*|sx*|ʃx*|ɕx*|h: |
*triphthongs with long h only

== consonants ==
> pᵖ, t /t~c/, k, q, lˡ /l̥~ɾ̥/, mᵐ, n /n̊~ɲ̊/, g /ŋ̊/
(legacy: g←ŋ)
nasals at the end of a word are pronounced as stops: mng -> ptk
consonants can't follow unaspirated consonants inside words (psspʰthhp, *pspthp)
consonants are aspirated between consonants in word boundaries (pssp + thhp -> psspʰthhp)
q is always plosive, ptk can be stops

if a speaker wants to REALLY emphasise their speech, they can voice their speech which is notated by *surrounding with asterisks*.
more commonly, speech stays voiceless but is made louder, notated by uppercasing or appending !.

=== grammar ===
word order: sov
zero copula
if there are multiple subjects or there are no subjects, c comes after the subjects. in the latter case, c is usually implied.
if there are multiple verbs, ck comes before the verbs and only the last verb is conjugated.

many words are normally used as one part of speech, but can normally also be used as other parts of speech.
for example, "ff-kvt" is "what are you<3 doing?" with "ff" (what) used as a verb instead of an adjective/noun.

adjectives about sound and negation (n(ʰ)-) before nouns
other adjectives after nouns
adjectives are attached to the noun

infinitive verbs function as nouns/adjectives

some nouns have malicious (usually -(t)z) and benevolent (usually -(t)s) forms
 the speaker hides from malicious things
 the speaker does not hide from benevolent things

here are the pronouns (gloss: [1/2/3][sg/pl][/mal/ben]) (maliciousness is translated as <3 (ben) and </3 (mal))
     | sg  | pl
-----+-----+-----
1    | mv  | mz
2    | pv  | pz
2mal | pvq | pzq
2ben | pvt | pzt
3    | kv  | kz
3mal | qvq | qzq
3ben | kvt | kzt
pronouns can suffix.
this can fuse to overwrite a previous consonant, or attach (m resolve)
 pronouns MUST suffix verbs as their agent
 pronouns can suffix nouns as possessives

imperatives are formed by psp after the verb
vocative clauses are terminated by psp

to form a question, replace the missing info with an interrogative pronoun (gloss: ?[mal/ben][sap/nsap]):
           |  -   | mal  | ben
-----------+------+------+-----
-          | ff   | ffpz | ffps
sapient    | ffkh | ffkz | ffks
nonsapient | ffth | fftz | ffts
or ffp to form a yes-no question.
interrogative pronouns can also suffix, and always attach (p resolve)

in latin writing, names are <surrounded by angle brackets>

== numbers ==
numbers follow a binary system, grouped into 3 bits, where f represents 1, h represents 0
digits are separated by l if necessary, and are separated by n between tribits
numbers attach like adjectives. phonotactics are resolved by prefixing/suffixing l
here is 0~64 in ccc:

dec | ccc (0,1,n) | notes
----+-------------+--------
  0 |           p | h is too common
  1 |           f
  2 |         fl. | . is implied 0
  3 |         flf | avoid collision with ff
  4 |       f h h
  5 |       f h f
  6 |       f fl.
  7 |       f f f
  8 +     fn. . h | fn is too common
  9 |     fn. . f
 10 |     fn. fl.
 11 |     fn. f f
 12 |     fnf h h
 13 |     fnf h f
 14 |     f f fl. | 14 as 8+5 instead of 7*2 just isn't useful
 15 |     fnf f f
 16 +   flhn. . .
 17 |   flhn. . f
 18 |   flhn. fl.
 19 |   flhn. flf
 20 |   flhnf h h
 21 |   flhnf h f
 22 |   flhnf fl.
 23 |   flhnf f f
 24 +   f fn. . .
 25 |   f fn. . f
 26 |   f fn. fl.
 27 |   f fn. f f
 28 |   f fnf h h
 29 |   f fnf h f
 30 |   f fnf fl.
 31 |   f fnf f f
 32 + f h hn. . .
 33 | f h hn. . f
 34 | f h hn. fl.
 35 | f h hn. f f
 36 | f h hnf h h
 37 | f h hnf h f
 38 | f h hnf fl.
 39 | f h hnf f f
 40 + f h fn. . .
 41 | f h fn. . f
 42 | f h fn. fl.
 43 | f h fn. f f
 44 | f h fnf h h
 45 | f h fnf h f
 46 | f h fnf fl.
 47 | f h fnf f f
 48 + f flhn. . .
 49 | f flhn. . f
 50 | f flhn. fl.
 51 | f flhn. f f
 52 | f flhnf h h
 53 | f flhnf h f
 54 | f flhnf fl.
 55 | f flhnf f f
 56 + f f fn. . .
 57 | f f fn. . f
 58 | f f fn. fl.
 59 | f f fn. f f
 60 | f f fnf h h
 61 | f f fnf h f
 62 | f f fnf fl.
 63 | f f fnf f f
 64 fn. . hn. . .

=== example sentences ===

== fnss thhk ==

> /fns:phphmʃnh:p ɕ:th:k tɕqh:kθ/
> fnss-phphᵐznhhp cc-thhk tc-qhh-kv
[ fox-fast-brown quiet-dog jump.3SG
{ (the) quick brown fox jumps (over the) quiet dog

== ghmhh phhnhhkz ==

ccc:
<phlhns> <lhmc> phnhtvtʰkv. <lhmc> mhh-tvvtʰthhpʰkv.
ck phnhtvt, phnhtvt, phnhtvtʰkv... <lhmc> ck tvvtʰthhp-zzz-tvvt khkf-khkfᵐzzz-kv.
<phlhns> "pvt pssp pssp..~" cc-thth-kv. <lhmc> ccᵐcc-mhh.
khhh khkv-kv, hl <lhmc> szpʰphhnhh-kv zzz-kv. <phlhns> khkf-khkfᵐzzz-qhkhh-kv.
kzˡflh zzz-kz. kzˡflh zzz-thhpʰkz psp :3

gloss:
<phlhns> <lhmc> headpat.3SG  <lhmc> meow-feel-good.3SG
VRB headpat headpat headpat.3SG  <lhmc> VRB feel-good-sleep-large start-start-sleep.3SG
<phlhns> "2SGBEN cute cute" quiet-talk.3SG  <lhmc> quiet-quiet-meow.
time travel.3SG CTX <lhmc> at-arm.3SG sleep.3SG  <phlhns> start-start-sleep-also.3SG
3PL-0b10 sleep.3PL  3PL-0b10 sleep-good.3PL IMP

english, literal:
polonez pets lime. lime meows of pleasure.
he pets, and pets, and pets... lime feels very pleasantly and sleepily and begins to fall asleep.
polonez says quietly "you<3're so cute..~". lime meows very quietly.
time passes, so lime falls asleep in his arms. polonez also begins to fall asleep.
them two sleep. them two should sleep well :3

english, natural:
polonez pets lime's soft head. lime lets out a meow of pleasure.
he pets, and pets, and pets... a wave of affection washes over lime. he feels sleepy and begins to fall asleep.
polonez says in a soft whisper "you<3're so cute..~". lime, half asleep, lets out a soft, faint whimper.
eventually, lime is asleep in polonez's embrace. polonez begins to fall asleep too.
the couple rest at last. sleep well, you two :3

== vsauce ==

> <flsls> pspsp, <mckhl> hhhmv. phhphpz ksfᵐff?
[ <flsls> VOC2 <mckhl> present  finger.2PL at-?
{ hey Vsauce, Michael here. where are your fingers?

more sentences will be provided to showcase features of the language.

=== writing systems ===

the speakers of ccc originally wrote in stone due to the abundance of it in their mountainous habitat. their fur is grey so they can blend into this stone.
glyphs with sharp angles are easier to carve in stone. this means ccc's stone writing system has many sharp angles.
for an overview of the stone system, be patient!! gosh
(aspirated consonants are written as if they preceded h)

when they are settled into a habitat they do not need to hide in, they will begin to explore other mediums of writing, including ink and clay.
some writers of ccc would prefer to write curves instead of sharp, hard, angles. a curved style would thus be developed, which would have the bonus of being able to be written on leaves.

=== dictionary ===

much of the lexicon is based on onomatopoeia and sound representation.
there are also many compound words which shorten to save time and differentiate.
example: khkh "leave" + zzz "sleep" -> khkzzz -> khkzz "awaken"
-c means before development of curved-style
+c means after development of curved-style

this dictionary is not complete. it's up to you to find words out from my usage of it :3 (and you can find them scattered about in this text)
i talk about this language mainly on owot. see you there!

some of this lexicon is to do with sex (😱😱😱). this part can be found at ccc_nsfw.txt

== common roots ==

n(ʰ)-: negates, not
l(ʰ)-: towards, compared to (multiple objects: liken to each other)
hl(ʰ)-: from
 hl: marks following information as context
 khl: then
 lhk: before
 khlhk: while, at the same time
k(ʰ)-: by means of, v. move, n. method, n. pathway
szp(ʰ)-: in
ksf(ᵐ)-: on, at

th: v. communicate
fnf: v. know, n. information
gh: n. person, n. sapience
tvt: v. n. feel
nhh: v. n. love, affection

== other ==

ccc: call for silence
pspsp: call for attention
fnf: int. acknowledgement, v. know
fnfnf: int. deeper acknowledgement, v. understand
pf: yes
nf: no