U Adonupu
| U Adonupu [u aˈdo.nu.pu] | |
| Period | c. -500 YP |
| Spoken in | Donu (Lukpanic coast) |
| Total speakers | c. 50,000 |
| Writing system | Lukpanic script |
| Classification | Lukpanic Doanu dialect |
| Typology | |
| Basic word order | VSO |
| Morphology | agglutinating |
| Alignment | NOM-ACC |
| Credits | |
| Created by | Dunomapuka; this dialect: CatDoom |
This is a short description of the Lukpanic dialect, called by its speakers U Adonupu, spoken in Doanu (local name Donu) in the eighth to seventh centuries BP. Although often overshadowed by the larger, wealthier cities of Isi and Siŋmeasita in the east, Doanu prospered during the classical era of Lukpanab as the primary source of valuable cowrie shells (D.L. ipiupu), the de-facto currency of the region in the first half of the first millennium BP. These they acquired, along with a variety of other exotic goods, from a diverse collection of peoples living along the coast northwest of Lukpanab, whom they referred to collectively as aipiubimiw. The long history of trade between Doanu and the peoples of northwestern Peilaš left a lasting mark on many of the languages spoken in that region.
From the late second millennium BP onwards, the Coastal Western peoples of the northeast started to migrate into the Lukpanic lands. By the 7th century BP, the Coastal Westerners, who had already come to dominate the eastern Lukpanic cities, began arriving en masse in western Lukpanab. Wars were fought intermittently between the Western and Lukpanic nations, and in -589 YP, the Western chieftain Ùgabadá conquered Isi, the largest and most powerful of the Lukpanic city-states. Although Doanu, being far from the Western homeland, never experienced the kind of massive attack that brought mighty Isi low, centuries of western immigration and the influence of Coastal Western-speaking rulers and traders from the eastern cities resulted in the replacement of U Adonupu with the mixed language U Bol.
Phonology
Consonant Phonemes.
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Labio-Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p /p/ b /b/ | t /t/ d /d/ | k /k/ g /ɡ/ | kp /k͡p/ gb /ɡ͡b/ |
| Fricative | s /s/ | |||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ŋ /ŋ/ | ŋm /ŋ͡m/ |
| Approximant | l /l/ | w /w/ |
Vowel Phonemes.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i /i/ | u /u/ |
| Mid | e /e/ | o /o/ |
| Low | a /a/ |
Phonetic detail and phonotactics
[z] occured as an allophone of /s/ between vowels. /p t k/ were probably lightly aspirated.
[ɑ] occured as an allophone of /a/ before nasals and approximants.
In some sociolects, particularly those spoken among merchants and sailors, /t d s/ were palatalized to [ʧ ʤ ʃ] before /i/, and sometimes before /e/ as well. This feature was borrowed from Isi Lukpanic, and was generally looked down upon by the nobility of Doanu.
Syllable structure was generally (C)V, as in Proto-Lukpanic, with /p m l w/ permitted word-finally. /w/ was usually indistinguishable from /u/ word-finally, except in cultivated or careful speech.
Vowels in hiatus were common, but sequences of two identical vowels were broken up with an epenthetic stop, with /p/ being inserted between rounded vowels and /k/ between unrounded vowels. Sequences of vowels were often pronounced as diphthongs or triphthongs in casual or rapid speech.
Sound changes from Proto-Lukpanic
Phonologically, the Doanu dialect was similar to the dialects spoken in Iəvaku and Isi to the east, though it was generally more conservative than either.
- [ea oa] (phonemically /ia ua/) > /e o/
- /aə/ > /ai/
- /iə uə/ > /e o/
- /h/ > 0 (unconditionally)
- /aa/ /ii/ /uu/ > /aka/ /iki/ /upu/
- /β/ > /w/
- /b/ > /w/ /_#
- /uw/ > /upu/ /_#
- /a/ > [ɑ] /_{m, n, ŋ, ŋ͡m, l, w}
- /s/ > [z] /V_V