Eigə-Isthmus languages
The Eigə-Isthmus languages are a family of related languages spoken in eastern Peilaš. Their last common ancestor, Proto-Eigə-Isthmus, was probably spoken in the region that later became Huyfárah between about -5000 and -4500 YP. Comparative and reconstructive work on the family is ongoing.
Known members of the family include:
- Proto-Eigə-Isthmus (Huyfárah, c. -5000 to -4500 YP)
- Eigə Valley languages
- Ngauro (Kasca, c. -3500 YP)
- Meshi (Mexi and middle Eigə, c. -1000 YP)
- Miwan languages
- Forest Miwan (western Ici Forest, c. 500 YP)
- Old Eastern Miwan (eastern Ici Forest, c. 0 YP)
- Eastern Miwan (eastern Ici Forest, c. 1000 YP)
- Southern Miwan (southern Ici Forest, c. 1500 YP)
- Isthmus languages: Proto-Isthmus (Huyfárah, c. -3000 YP)
- Western Isthmus languages
- Eastern Isthmus languages
- Doroh (Doroh, c. 500 YP)
- Kennan (northern Siixtaguna, c. 500 YP)
- Kietek (western Siixtaguna, c. 500 YP)
- Ka'alikora (western Siixtaguna, c. 500 YP)
- Eigə Valley languages
Ngauro was the first written language in this part of the world (at least); it's attested from the late fourth millennium to the mid second millennium BP, with inscriptions found mainly in Kasca and nearby regions.
The closely related Miwan languages are spoken in the southern Aiwa valley; the best known are those spoken on the southern fringes of Kasca (Eastern Miwan) and in the Etewg Peidæm or Ici Forest (Forest Miwan) during the first millennium YP.
Meshi is another related language, originally spoken in the middle and upper Aiwa regions; at the beginning of the first millennium BP, Meshi-speaking nomads conquered most of the valley, leaving inscriptions scattered throughout their large (but short-lived) empire. Formerly, some scholars placed Meshi within the Miwan group, but recent studies have shown it to be a separate branch of the Eigə Valley family.
The Isthmus languages are a diverse group, spoken mainly north and east of Huyfárah. The best known of these is the Western Isthmus language Faraghin, spoken in the late 2nd millennium BP in northern Huyfárah, which had a major influence on the development of Fáralo; also important is the Eastern Isthmus language Doroh, spoken in the first millennium YP in the region east of Huyfárah.