Proto-Macro-K!asic language
To Be Continued... Rorschach is still working on this article. The contents are incomplete and likely to undergo changes. |
Scratch space for the Proto-Macro-K!asic language.
Proto-Macro-K!asic | |
Period | c. -3000 YP |
Spoken in | Extreme southern Zeluzhia and northern Antarctica |
Total speakers | |
Writing system | |
Classification | Macro-K!asic |
Typology | |
Basic word order | TVC |
Morphology | Isolating |
Alignment | Direct-inverse |
Credits | |
Created by | Linguifex |
Phonology
Consonants
labial | linguolabial | coronal | retroflex | palatal | velar | glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nasal | m | n̼ | n | ɳ | ɲ | ŋ | ||
stop | voiceless | p | t̼ | t | ʈ | c | k | ʔ |
voiced | b | d̼ | d | ɖ | ɟ | g | ||
prenasalized | mb | n̼d̼ | nd | ɳɖ | ɲɟ | ŋg | ||
affricate | voiceless | t̼θ̼ | ts | ʈʂ | ||||
voiced | d̼ð̼ | dz | ɖʐ | |||||
prenasalized | n̼d̼ð̼ | ndz | ɳɖʐ | |||||
fricative | s | ʃ | x | |||||
liquid | l | j | ||||||
click | tenuis | kʘ | kǀ̼ | kǃ · kǁ | k!! | |||
voiced | gʘ | gǀ̼ | gǃ · gǁ | g!! | ||||
nasal | ŋʘ | ŋǀ̼ | ŋǃ · ŋǁ | ŋ!! |
- *n̼ *t̼ *d̼ *n̼d̼ *t̼θ̼ *d̼ð̼ *n̼d̼ð̼ *kǀ̼ *gǀ̼ *ŋǀ̼ are written ṋ ṱ ḓ ṋḓ ṱð ḓð ṋḓð k| g| n|.
- *ɳ *ʈ *ɖ *ɳɖ *ʈʂ *ɖʐ *ɳɖʐ are written ṇ ṭ ḍ ṇḍ ṭṣ ḍẓ ṇḍẓ.
- *ɲ *c *ɟ *ɲɟ *ʃ *j are written ń c j ńj ś y.
- *ŋ *ŋg are written ñ ñg.
- Nasal clicks are written with n preceding the click grapheme; a sequence *n + click will not be ambiguous because the non-nasal clicks are written with k or g preceding, as appropriate.
Allophony and phonological processes
- *c *ɟ apparently became *j before back rounded vowels; *ɲɟ in this position became *ɲ. These allophones are written y ń, respectively.
- *g *ŋg appear to have become *h *h̃ before *a. This is reflected in the orthography as h hn, respectively.
- Nasals became their corresponding voiced stop if a velar nasal appeared previously in the word (the velaric mechanism of nasal clicks did not appear to trigger this process) and are so written in the appropriate circumstances.
Vowels
front | central | back | |
---|---|---|---|
high | i | u | |
mid | e | o | |
low | a |
Additionally, diphthongs *ja *aj *ej (written ya ay ey) and a triphthong *waj (written way) are reconstructed.
Allophony and phonological processes
- *e lowered to *a before a velar nasal and is so written when appropriate; clicks and prenasalized stops did not seem to trigger this.
- A tautosyllabic *ij sequence becomes *aj and is written ay. Similarly, back vowels plus *j became the triphthong *waj (way).
Syllable Structure
The reconstructed syllable structure is (C)(N)V(m/n/ŋ/k/ʔ/l/j), where the only allowable initial clusters were of the form velar + nasal.
Personal Pronouns
1SG | *nǁa |
---|---|
1PL | *ṋḓðag!a |
2 | *kmaha |
3.PERS | *kǁwayʔ |
3.OBJ | *e |
Number system
Proto-Macro-K!asic is reconstructed as having counted in base twelve.
- 1 *sa
- 2 *kni
- 3 *niʔañ
- 4 *pa
- 5 *xok
- 6 *gʘiñ
- 7 *g!!an
- 8 *nǁihna
- 9 *ek
- 10 *xal
- 11 *ḍi
- 12 *ńo
Morphology/Typology
Proto-Macro-K!asic is reconstructed as having mostly been isolating in nature.
Causatives
One of the few actual affixes in the language was the causative prefix *u-. The *u- prefix lent itself to a number of constructions with varying degrees of idiomatic meaning.
- *u- CAUS + *dobway 'avoid' > *udobway 'threaten, scare, put fear into, warn away'
- *u- CAUS + *g!!ya 'cook, prepare (food)' > *ug!!ya 'acquire food, as by harvesting, picking, or slaughtering'
- *u- CAUS + *nʘik 'hit, strike beat' > *unʘik 'instigate, rile up'
- *u- CAUS + *tsikǁom 'shake, tremble' > *utsikǁom 'shake, rock, buffet'
- *u- CAUS + *ṭṣolnǁi 'germinate, grow, take root' > *uṭṣolnǁi 'plant, put seeds in the ground'
Reduplication
Proto-Macro-K!asic appears to have had productive full and partial reduplication.
Perfective Verbs
Full reduplication was used to mark the past tense on a verb.
- *lohnal 'steal' > *lohnal~lohnal 'stole'
- *ndudzak 'obey' > *ndudzak~ndudzak 'obeyed'
Nominal Plurals
Partial reduplication (of the onset and syllable nucleus, but not the coda) was employed to denote plural nouns. Where the onset was null, the vowel fortited to a voiced stop at the same place of articulation (or, in the case of *a, to *h).
- *aylsiʔ 'well, watering hole' > *a~aylsiʔ > *haylsiʔ 'wells'
- *iḓðik 'pinecone' > *i~iḓðik > *jiḓðik 'pinecones'
- *k!aʔok 'leaf' > *k!ak!aʔok 'leaves'
- *tsyakle 'knife' > *tsyatsyakle 'knives'
Locative Nouns
Full reduplication was used with nouns to indicate a place where the given noun could be found in abundance.
- *iḓðik 'pinecone' > *iḓðik~iḓðik 'coniferous forest'
- *kniktañ 'tall grass, grain' > *kniktañ~kniktañ 'cultivated field'
- *k!ektuñ 'spring, watering source' > *k!ektuñ~k!ektuñ 'river delta'
- *piʔkik 'roof, covering' > *piʔkik~piʔkik 'town, settlement'
- *yagiʔ 'yurt, hut' > *yagiʔ~yagiʔ 'nomadic group'
Prebases
Proto-Macro-K!asic appears to have featured a number of lexical "prebases" that attached to the beginning of a word, altering the meaning. The altered meaning could have various nuances and connotations but occurred with central themes.
Grammar
Copula
The word *kǁiʔ (which also had the meaning 'to live') was employed as a copula:
- K!añ
- k!añ
- man
- ńje
- ńje
- DEF
- oway
- oway
- with
- ʔiṱðek
- ʔiṱðek
- tent.peg
- kǁiʔ
- kǁiʔ
- live
Possession
Proto-Macro-K!asic appears to have used a with-possessive construction:
- K!añ
- k!añ
- man
- ńje
- ńje
- DEF
- oway
- oway
- with
- ʔiṱðek
- ʔiṱðek
- tent.peg
- kǁiʔ
- kǁiʔ
- live