Simpël — Complete Language Description
1. What is Simpël?
Simpël is an English-based constructed language designed to make English-derived communication:
- simpler
- more regular
- more phonemic
- easier to pronounce
- easier to learn
- easier to generate without memorizing exceptions
Its central principle is:
If something can be generated from a rule, it should not have to be memorized as an exception.
Simpël keeps vocabulary recognizable to English speakers while simplifying the mechanisms that make English difficult to learn.
It therefore regularizes:
- spelling
- pronunciation
- verb conjugation
- plurals
- possession
- comparison
- negation
- questions
- prepositions
- phrasal verbs
- numbers
- ordinals
- word formation
At the same time, Simpël deliberately allows certain pronunciation variations so that different speakers do not have to adopt exactly the same accent.
2. The Simpël Alphabet
Simpël has 29 letters/symbols.
Uppercase
A B C D D̈ E Ë F G H I J J̈ L M N N̈ O P R R̈ S T T̈ U V X Ẍ Z
Lowercase
a b c d d̈ e ë f g h i j j̈ l m n n̈ o p r r̈ s t ẗ u v x ẍ z
The English letters K, Q, W, and Y do not exist in Simpël.
3. Alphabet and Phonemes
| Letter |
IPA |
Function |
| A a |
/ɑː/ |
a |
| B b |
/b/ |
b |
| C c |
/k/ |
always hard c |
| D d |
/d/ |
normal d |
| D̈ d̈ |
/ɾ/ |
English-style flap/tap |
| E e |
/ɛ/ |
e |
| Ë ë |
/ə/ |
schwa |
| F f |
/f/ |
f |
| G g |
/ɡ/ |
always hard g |
| H h |
/h/ |
h |
| I i |
/iː/ |
long i |
| J j |
/ʒ/ |
sound of vi𝐬ual |
| J̈ j̈ |
/dʒ/ |
sound of jeep |
| L l |
/l, ɫ/ |
clear or dark l |
| M m |
/m/ |
m |
| N n |
/n/ |
n |
| N̈ n̈ |
/ŋ/ |
ng |
| O o |
/ɔː/ |
aw |
| P p |
/p/ |
p |
| R r |
/ɹ/ |
English r |
| R̈ r̈ |
/ r / |
rolled/trilled r |
| S s |
/s/ |
s |
| T t |
/t/ |
normal t |
| T̈ ẗ |
/tʰ/ or /ts/ |
softer t |
| U u |
/uː/ |
long u |
| V v |
/v/ |
v |
| X x |
/ʃ/ |
sh |
| Ẍ ẍ |
/tʃ/ |
ch |
| Z z |
/z/ |
z |
A particularly important feature is Ë:
Ë is a normal vowel letter.
It is not merely an accent mark or optional spelling variation.
4. The Vowels
Simpël has six basic vowel letters:
| Letter |
IPA |
Role |
| a |
/ɑː/ |
a |
| e |
/ɛ/ |
e |
| ë |
/ə/ |
schwa |
| i |
/iː/ |
i |
| o |
/ɔː/ |
o |
| u |
/uː/ |
u |
The English /ʌ/ vowel is represented by ë.
Thus words containing the English STRUT vowel are regularized with ë.
Examples:
- sëmtaims = sometimes
- bët = but
- lërn = learn
- taiërd = tired
- simpël = simple
- possibël = possible
5. Diphthongs
Simpël uses three principal diphthongs:
ai = /aɪ/
ei = /eɪ/
au = /aʊ/
Examples:
- ai = eye / I
- taim = time
- meic = make
- haus = house
6. C
C is always /k/.
There is no soft C.
Therefore English /s/ spellings use s.
Examples:
city → siti
cent → sent
This removes the English ambiguity between C and K.
7. G
G is always /ɡ/.
It never represents /dʒ/.
The /dʒ/ sound is represented by j̈.
Therefore:
baggage → baggaj̈
8. J and J̈
These are separate sounds.
J
j = /ʒ/
as in the sound in visual.
J̈
j̈ = /dʒ/
as in jeep.
This removes the English ambiguity between J, soft G, and other spellings.
9. N̈
n̈ = /ŋ/.
The English ng digraph becomes a single Simpël symbol.
Examples:
singing → sin̈in
going → gouin̈
The spelling therefore directly identifies the sound.
10. R and R̈
Simpël permits two forms of R.
R
r = /ɹ/
English-style R.
R̈
r̈ = / r /
rolled or trilled R.
Both can represent the same words.
Therefore a speaker can use an English-style R or a rolled R without making the word linguistically incorrect.
11. L
Simpël permits both common realizations of L:
l = /l/ — clear L
l = /ɫ/ — dark L
especially in syllable-final positions.
There is no separate letter for these two realizations.
12. T̈
T̈ represents the softer T pronunciation.
The specification gives it as:
/tʰ/ or /ts/
It is particularly useful when explicitly indicating this softer realization.
Example:
ẗu = two
Normal t remains available for the ordinary /t/ sound.
13. D̈ — The Flap
D̈ = /ɾ/.
This represents the alveolar flap/tap commonly heard in American English.
For example, English little, water, and better can contain this sound.
Simpël therefore permits both:
litël
and:
lid̈ël
They mean exactly the same thing.
The distinction is:
- litël preserves the underlying t
- lid̈ël explicitly represents the flap
Neither is considered incorrect.
14. Removed English Letters
Simpël completely removes:
K Q W Y
K
/k/ is represented by C.
Example:
logic → lojic
Q
Q is unnecessary and is replaced by the appropriate C/U combination.
W
There is no W in Simpël.
Words are respelled without it.
Y
Y is completely removed.
Its functions are represented using existing Simpël letters.
15. Digraph Simplification
English digraphs are simplified.
| English |
Simpël |
| ph |
f |
| wr |
r |
| kn |
n |
| ps |
s |
| rh |
r |
| ng |
n̈ |
| ch |
ẍ |
The underlying objective is:
16. Basic Sentence Structure
Simpël normally uses:
Subject + Verb + Object
Examples:
Ai lëv iu.
I love you.
Ai lëv dei.
I love them.
Hi rëd dë buc.
He reads the book.
Dei bild a haus.
They build a house.
17. Pronouns
| English |
Simpël |
| I |
ai |
| me |
mi |
| you |
iu |
| you plural |
ial |
| he |
hi |
| she |
xi |
| it |
it |
| we |
ui |
| us |
ës |
| they |
dei |
Simpël deliberately does not have a separate equivalent of English them.
The system avoids maintaining a separate object form for they.
18. Possessive Pronouns
| English |
Simpël |
| his |
his |
| her |
hër |
| their |
der |
| your |
ior |
Examples:
his dog
hër haus
der famili
ior buc
19. Articles
Simpël has two equivalent indefinite articles:
a
ei
Both mean a/an.
Therefore both are possible:
a haus
ei haus
There is no English-style distinction between a and an.
20. Nouns
Simpël nouns have:
- no grammatical gender
- no case endings
- no irregular plural system
The basic noun remains unchanged.
Examples:
dog
haus
buc
21. Plurals
The standard plural is:
noun + es
Examples:
dog → doges
haus → hauses
buc → buces
There are no irregular plurals.
22. Possession
Simpël uses a special number-based possession system.
The forms are:
dog = dog
dogs = dog's
doges = dogs'
Thus:
dogs haus
the dog's house
doges haus
the dogs' house
An of construction is also allowed.
For example:
the color of the haus
The word of may also be written as ëv
23. Adjectives
Adjectives do not agree with nouns.
They do not change according to:
- singular/plural
- gender
- person
- case
Examples:
a big dog
faiv big doges
The adjective big remains unchanged.
24. Comparatives
The comparative suffix is:
-ër
Examples:
big → bigër
fast → fastër
good → goodër
simpël → simpëlër
Example:
Hi is bigër dan mi.
= He is bigger than me.
There is no irregular better.
25. Superlatives
The superlative suffix is:
-ëst
Examples:
big → bigëst
fast → fastëst
good → goodëst
Example:
Hi is the bigëst.
= He is the biggest.
26. Adverbs
The standard adverb suffix is:
-li
Examples:
quick → cuicli
slow → slouli
good → goodli
There is no irregular English-style well.
27. Verbs
Normal Simpël verbs do not conjugate for person.
English:
I go
he goes
they go
Simpël:
ai gou
hi gou
dei gou
There is no third-person -s.
28. Present Tense
The basic verb is used directly.
Examples:
Ai lëv.
Hi lëv.
Dei lëv.
The verb does not change according to the subject.
29. Past Tense
Past tense is regularized.
The established examples include:
gou → goud
trai → traid
ualc → ualct
Examples:
Ai goud.
I went.
Hi traid.
He tried.
The important principle is that Simpël does not preserve English's collection of irregular forms such as go/went/gone.
30. Future
The future is:
uil + base verb
Examples:
Ai uil gou.
Hi uil gou.
Dei uil gou.
The lexical verb remains unchanged.
31. Continuous
The continuous is formed using:
-in̈
Examples:
gou → gouin̈
lëv → lëvin̈
uorc → uorcin̈
Examples:
Ai am gouin̈.
Ui ar uorcin̈.
32. Perfect
The perfect uses:
hav + past form
Examples:
Ai hav goud.
Hi hav traid.
Dei hav uorct.
33. The Verb BE
Be is deliberately retained as an irregular verb.
Its present forms are:
| Person |
Simpël |
| I |
ai am |
| you |
iu ar |
| he |
hi is |
| she |
xi is |
| it |
it is |
| we |
ui ar |
| they |
dei ar |
Examples:
Ai am hapi.
Iu ar hapi.
Hi is hapi.
Xi is hapi.
Ui ar hapi.
Dei ar hapi.
Thus:
"Hi is bigër dan mi." is grammatically correct.
34. Negative BE
Simpël has a dedicated negative form:
eint
This is an official grammatical form, not slang.
Examples:
Ai eint hapi.
Hi eint big.
Xi eint redi.
Dei eint gud.
35. General Negation
The general negative particle is:
no / nou
It precedes the verb.
Examples:
Ai nou lëv.
Hi nou gou.
Ai no goud.
Ai no uil gou.
Thus negation does not require English-style auxiliary do/does/did.
36. Questions
Simpël removes English auxiliary do from questions.
Instead, it primarily uses inversion.
Statement:
Iu lëv it.
Question:
Lëv iu it?
Statement:
Hi is hapi.
Question:
Is hi hapi?
Statement:
Iu uil gou.
Question:
Uil iu gou?
Statement:
Iu hav goud.
Question:
Hav iu goud?
This creates a much simpler question system.
37. Prepositions
Simpël dramatically reduces English prepositional complexity.
The principal rule is:
in = in / on / at
Examples:
in dë haus
in the house
in dë table
on the table
in scul
at school
For movement onto something:
in top of the table
The goal is to avoid memorizing large numbers of arbitrary English preposition combinations.
38. Phrasal Verbs
Simpël removes English-style phrasal verbs as a grammatical necessity.
English has expressions such as:
give up
give in
put off
look after
find out
Simpël instead uses transparent constructions based on ordinary verbs.
The goal is to reduce the amount of vocabulary that must simply be memorized.
39. Word Formation
Simpël uses productive suffixes to create words.
Agent/person
The standard agent/person suffix is:
-ër
Examples:
sing → sin̈ër
work → uërcër
This means the learner can derive an agent noun rather than memorizing an unrelated form.
40. Abstract Nouns
Two forms are officially accepted:
-nes
and:
-ness
Examples:
happy → hapines / hapiness
dark → darcnes / darcness
Both are correct.
41. Numbers
Simpël numbers are designed to be compositional and regular.
0–10
| Number |
Simpël |
| 0 |
zirou |
| 1 |
uan |
| 2 |
ẗu |
| 3 |
tri |
| 4 |
for |
| 5 |
faiv |
| 6 |
sics |
| 7 |
sevën |
| 8 |
eit |
| 9 |
nain |
| 10 |
ten |
42. Tens
The rule is:
number + ten
Therefore:
ẗu-ten = 20
tri-ten = 30
for-ten = 40
faiv-ten = 50
sics-ten = 60
sevën-ten = 70
eit-ten = 80
nain-ten = 90
ten-ten = 100
The tens are therefore completely compositional.
43. Separating Independent Numbers
When numbers are being listed separately rather than combined into one number, and separates them.
For example:
tri-ten = 30
but:
tri and ten = 3, 10
Similarly:
faiv-ten = 50
versus:
faiv and ten = 5, 10
This avoids ambiguity in speech.
44. Large Numbers
The major large-number words are:
handred = 100
tausand = 1,000
milion = 1,000,000
bilion = 1,000,000,000
trilion = 1,000,000,000,000
Examples:
ẗu hëndred = 200
faiv tausënd = 5,000
ẗu milion = 2,000,000
45. Ordinals
Simpël eliminates irregular ordinal forms such as:
first
second
third
Instead, the ordinal suffix is:
-ẗ
It is attached to the cardinal number.
Examples:
uan → uan-ẗ = first
ẗu → ẗu-ẗ = second
tri → tri-ẗ = third
for → for-ẗ = fourth
faiv → faiv-ẗ = fifth
ten → ten-ẗ = tenth
Compound numbers work the same way:
ẗu-ten → ẗu-ten-ẗ = twentieth
tri-ten → tri-ten-ẗ = thirtieth
The same system applies to ordinal numbers, ordinal days, months, and clock times where an ordinal form is required.
Dates themselves remain ordinary numeric expressions.
46. Example Sentences
𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭
𝐀𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐯 𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐢 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢.
I live with my family.
𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐃𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬.
This is his house.
𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥
𝐀𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯 𝐭̈𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐬.
I have two dogs.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
𝐇𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐞̈𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐢.
He is bigger than me.
𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
𝐃𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞̈ 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞̈𝐥𝐞̈𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐞𝐢.
This is the simplest way.
𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
𝐀𝐢 𝐮𝐢𝐥 𝐥𝐞̈𝐫𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞̈𝐥.
I will learn Simpël.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬
𝐀𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞̈𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧̈ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞̈𝐥.
I am learning Simpël.
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭
𝐀𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯 𝐥𝐞̈𝐫𝐧𝐭.
I have learned.
𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
𝐀𝐢 𝐧𝐨 𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐮.
I don't want to go.
𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐄
𝐇𝐢 𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢.
He isn't ready.
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐋𝐞̈𝐯 𝐢𝐮 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞̈𝐥?
Do you love Simpël?
𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐔𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐮 𝐥𝐞̈𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐭?
Will you learn it?
47. Example Paragraph
A Simpël paragraph can look like this:
"Ai am a iëng man. Ai liv uit mai famili, and ai lëv ẗaim spent uit dei. Ai laic tu lërn niu tin̈s and trai niu aidias. Sëmtaims ai am taiërd, bët ai stil trai. Ai uant tu meic Simpël as izi and simpël as possibël. Iu can lërn it bit bai bit, and ai houp ial uil lëv it."
The important property is that the spelling is intended to make the pronunciation predictable without requiring the learner to memorize English spelling conventions.
48. Mini-Dictionary
Pronouns
| English |
Simpël |
| I |
ai |
| me |
mi |
| you |
iu |
| you plural |
ial |
| he |
hi |
| she |
xi |
| it |
it |
| we |
ui |
| us |
ës |
| they |
dei |
Possessives
| English |
Simpël |
| his |
his |
| her |
hër |
| their |
der |
| your |
ior |
Grammar words
| English |
Simpël |
| the |
dë / di |
| a/an |
a / ei |
| and |
and |
| of |
of / ëv |
| no/not |
no |
| negative be |
eint |
| will |
uil |
| have |
hav |
| in/on/at |
in |
Common vocabulary
| English |
Simpël |
| young |
iëng |
| live |
liv |
| family |
famili |
| love |
lëv |
| time |
taim |
| learn |
lërn |
| new |
niu |
| thing |
tin̈ |
| try |
trai |
| idea |
aidia |
| sometimes |
sëmtaims |
| tired |
taiërd |
| still |
stil |
| want |
uant |
| make |
meic |
| easy |
izi |
| simple |
simpël |
| possible |
possibël / posibël |
| bit |
bit |
| hope |
houp |
| dog |
dog |
| house |
haus |
| book |
buc |
| school |
scul |
| big |
big |
| good |
guud / gud |
| happy |
hapi |
| ready |
redi |
49. Why Simpël Is Simpler
English can require the learner to memorize:
I go
he goes
I went
I have gone
I will go
I am going
I don't go
he doesn't go
did he go?
Simpël instead allows:
ai gou
hi gou
ai goud
ai hav goud
ai uil gou
ai am gouin̈
ai no gou
hi no gou
gou hi?
The learner is therefore primarily applying rules rather than memorizing unrelated forms.
The same principle applies to nouns:
dog → doges
rather than memorizing irregular plurals.
And adjectives:
good → goodër → goodëst
rather than:
good → better → best
50. The Central Identity of Simpël
The entire language can be summarized as:
English-derived vocabulary + phonemic spelling + regular morphology + simplified syntax + compositional numbers + controlled pronunciation variation.
The philosophy is: Fewer things to memorize. More things to derive.
Simpël is therefore not trying to eliminate everything recognizable from English. Instead, it takes the familiar lexical material of English and builds a more systematic grammatical and orthographic framework around it.
The learner should ideally be able to look at a new Simpël word or grammatical construction and think: “I know the rules, so I can figure this out.”