The Draconic language has a rich phonology, with more contrasting sounds than in English, though there are fewer vowels. The voiceless stops constrast aspirated and non-aspirated forms, and some consonants have contrasting labialized forms. Length is contrasting both in vowels and in some consonants.
The following table summarizes the consonant phonemes. Notes below the table cover some details of the phonetic realization of the phonemes.
| Labial | Alveolar (ish) | Palatal | Velar | Other | |
| Plosive | p pʰ b | t tʰ d | k kʰ kʷ g | q qʰ ʔ | |
| Fricative | f v | θ s sʷ z ɬ ʃ ʒ | ç ʝ | x ɣ kx | ʁ h |
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Other | ʍ w | l r | j | ʀ |
Draconic distinguishes five basic vowels, most of which can either be long or short. The following table summarizes the basic vowels. Notes below the table cover some details of the phonetic realization of the phonemes.
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ɘ | o |
| Near-open | æ | ||
| Open | a |
The Draconic alphabet, Iokharic, has 27 letters. Because of this, a simple mapping between Iokharic and the Roman alphabet is possible (using an apostrophe for the extra letter). Many digraphs are used to express the diverse sounds in just 27 letters, and there is not a precise one-to-one mapping between letter sequences and sounds.
When writing in Roman letters, hyphens are often used to separate morphemes in compound words. There is no such equivalent in the native Iokharic script; compound words are simply written with nothing between the morphemes. Distinct words are usually separated by extra space, as with other languages. Draconic is usually written left to right, with one sentence per line. Very short sentences may be written on one line, separated by a large amount of space. If a sentence is too long to fit on one line, it will be wrapped and indented.
The letter ⟨A a⟩ is nearly always pronounced /a/, with one exception - the digraph ⟨ae⟩ is pronounced /æ/. It may be doubled to lengthen the vowel (⟨aa⟩ - /aː/). The digraph ⟨ae⟩ does not have a long form, however.
The letter ⟨B b⟩ is pronounced /b/.
The letter ⟨C c⟩ is pronounced /kʷ/ on its own, but is also found in the digraph ⟨ch⟩ which is pronounced /x/. It is also pronounced /x/ when preceded by ⟨k⟩.
The letter ⟨D d⟩ is pronounced /d/.
The letter ⟨E e⟩ is usually pronounced /e/. However, when followed by ⟨a⟩, it is instead pronounced the same as ⟨i⟩. It may be doubled to lengthen the vowel (⟨ee⟩ - /eː/).
The letter ⟨F f⟩ is pronounced /f/. When doubled, it is pronounced /fː/.
The letter ⟨G g⟩ is usually pronounced /g/, even when followed by ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, or ⟨y⟩. It also occurs in the following digraphs: ⟨gh⟩, pronounced /ɣ/; ⟨gn⟩, pronounced /ɲ/; ⟨ng⟩, pronounced /ŋ/.
The letter ⟨H h⟩ is pronounced /h/.
The letter ⟨'⟩ (an apostrophe in the Roman transcription) is pronounced /ʔ/. It never occurs at the start of a word.
The letter ⟨I i⟩ is usually pronounced /i/, but when it occurs word-initially before a vowel, it decays to /j/. It may be doubled to lengthen the vowel (⟨ii⟩ - /iː/).
The letter ⟨J j⟩ is pronounced /ʒ/, except in the digraph ⟨jh⟩ which is pronounced /ʝ/.
The letter ⟨K k⟩ is pronounced /k/, except in the digraph ⟨kh⟩ which is pronounced /kʰ/.
The letter ⟨L l⟩ is pronounced /l/, except in the digraph ⟨lh⟩ which is pronounced /ɬ/.
The letter ⟨M m⟩ is pronounced /m/.
The letter ⟨N n⟩ is usually pronounced /n/, except in the digraphs ⟨gn⟩ and ⟨ng⟩, described above under G. In addition, when followed by ⟨k⟩, ⟨n⟩ is pronounced /ŋ/.
The letter ⟨O o⟩ is pronounced /o/, except in the digraph ⟨oe⟩ which is pronounced /ɘ/. It may be doubled to lengthen the vowel (⟨oo⟩ - /oː/). The digraph ⟨oe⟩ does not have a long form, however.
The letter ⟨P p⟩ is pronounced /p/, except in the digraph ⟨ph⟩ which is pronounced /pʰ/.
The letter ⟨Q q⟩ is pronounced /q/, except in the digraph ⟨qh⟩ which is pronounced /qʰ/.
The letter ⟨R r⟩ is pronounced /r/, except in the digraph ⟨rh⟩ which is pronounced /ʀ/. When doubled (⟨rr⟩), it is pronounced /ʁ/.
The letter ⟨S s⟩ is pronounced /s/, except in the following digraphs: ⟨sj⟩, pronounced /ç/; ⟨sv⟩, pronounced /sʷ/; ⟨sh⟩, pronounced /ʃ/. Doubling it, either alone or in any of these digraphs, lengthens the sound: ⟨ss⟩ = /sː/, ⟨ssj⟩ = /çː/, ⟨ssv⟩ = /sʷː/, ⟨ssh⟩ = /ʃː/.
The letter ⟨T t⟩ is pronounced /t/, except in the digraph ⟨th⟩ which is pronounced /θ/. When doubled, it is pronounced /tʰ/.
The letter ⟨U u⟩ is pronounced /u/. It may be doubled to lengthen the vowel (⟨uu⟩ - /uː/).
The letter ⟨V v⟩ is pronounced /v/, except in the digraph ⟨vh⟩ which is pronounced /ʍ/.
The letter ⟨W w⟩ is pronounced /w/.
The letter ⟨X x⟩ is pronounced /ks/.
The letter ⟨Y y⟩ is pronounced /ai/ word-finally or when adjacent to a consonant. Otherwise, it is pronounced /j/.
The letter ⟨Z z⟩ is pronounced /z/.
The above shows the numerals from 0 to 9. Draconic writes numerals using a base-10 place system, but the most significant digit is on the right, rather than the left. So, for example, the number 1029 would be written like this:
Most of these symbols are derived from the first letter of the word for that number. The words are:
Draconic grammar and syntax is fairly simple. Draconic uses a zero copula, where simply juxtaposing some nouns and adjectives suffices to equate them to each other. It tends to follow a SVO order, with adjectives usually following the nouns they modify. However, sometimes an adjective is moved in front of its noun for increased emphasis; only one adjective per noun may claim this priveleged position. Adverbs can appear anywhere in the vicinity of their verb. Draconic has subordinate clauses, but there are no conjunctions connecting them to the main clause in the most basic case (where in English you would use "that" or "which"). Draconic also uses prepositions, whose phrases usually follow the verb or noun they apply to.
Draconic words of two syllables usually stress the first syllable, while longer words typically stress the second syllable. However, some longer words stress the first syllable or, in some rare cases, some other syllable. In addition, there's a special form of emphasis, referred to as "fireburst" emphasis, which is indicated by surrounding the word with *asterisks* (this works the same in the Iokharic script as well). A fireburst word retains its normal stress (if it's longer than two syllables), but stresses the first and final syllables equally and even more than the otherwise primary stress. Using this gives a meaning of intensification to the word. In verbs, it may mean something like "should", while in adjective it often functions like "much" or "many".
The basic verb implies present tense, unless a future adverb is applied. Verbs can take the -a suffix to revert them to past tense, but this is optional if a past adverb is included in the sentence.
The -ir suffix forms a "doing" noun, similar to English -ing, and can also be used as a verbal participle to introduce a participial phrase. The -le suffix is similar, but forms a noun with the meaning and cannot take a complement. Since it's a noun, it can also take the pluralizing suffix, unlike the participle.
The only inflection in nouns is the plural form, using either -i or -ic. There are no clear rules about which nouns use which plural suffix. Nouns can sometimes function sort of like an adjective in juxtaposition with other nouns, but to form a proper adjective from a noun, the suffix -up is required.
Draconic only has two pronouns - yth, meaning "we" or "us", and wux, meaning "you" (either singular or plural). There are no third person pronouns, but the words tersha ("object"), sthyr ("man"), or aesthyr ("woman") can function like pronouns when required. There is also no first-person pronoun; this function is indicated by omitting the subject of the sentence.
There is a complex system for forming possessive nouns, using four distinct prefixes: ari-, er-, ethe-, and vethi- (the final vowels vanish when the prefix is applied to a word beginning in a vowel). These prefixes can be applied to a single word or to a chain of two or even three words, with varying shades of meanings.
Examples of possessives:
The Dragon Magazine article that first posed the language included a number of language samples. Here I list some of those sentences (which in some cases have been corrected) along with a gloss. I may also add sample sentences of my own if I think of some.
Versvesh darastrix charir, yth tuor renthisj martivir.
Strong dragon red, we want speak peace.
—Strong red dragon, we'd like to talk peacefully.
Wux irlym pothoc. *Majak* vethicaex ver gethrisj.
You enemy stupid. Give:INT my|sword and go.
—You're a stupid enemy. Give me my sword back and get out.
Vaecaesin renthisj levex caex levex yth tuor persvek arikaegrowaere.
Elf speak enchanted sword enchanted we want in lich:GEN|tomb.
—The elf said that the magic sword we want is in the lich's tomb.
Thric renthisj, *pothoc* wux faessi. *Gethrisj* persvek.
No speak, stupid:INT you coward. Go:INT in.
—Shut up, you stupid coward! Get in there now!
Krusk loex. Loreata mrith *sveargith*.
Krusk dead. Die:PAST with bravery:INT.
Krusk is dead. He died with much bravery.
Aridarastrixrasvim irthosi persvek sjir.
Dragon:GEN|treasure secret:PL in scroll.
—The secrets of the dragon's treasure are in this scroll.
Martivir thric gixustratt tundar.
Peace no disembowel dwarf.
—Please don't disembowel the dwarf.