User:Pole, the/proto-A
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Proto-A was a language created for the 2012/2013 relay.
Neither it nor any of its daughters has been completed, however two sketches by the Devilcat have been published: Snowlang and Cakelang.
Phonology
| Consonants | dental | retroflex | palatal | labiopal. | velar | labiovel. | glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nasal | n | ŋ | ŋʷ | ||||
| plain stop | t | ʈ | c | cʷ | k | kʷ | ʔ |
| ejective | tʼ | ʈʼ | cʼ | cʷʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | |
| fricative | s | ʂ | ç | çʷ | h | ||
| sonoric | l | ɭ | w |
- /ʈ ʈʼ ʂ ɭ/ are allophonically labialized.
| Vowels | front | central | back |
|---|---|---|---|
| high | i | u | |
| mid | ə | ||
| low | a |
- The syllable structure is CV(ʔ).
- Length is distinctive.
- If the the penult is short, and either the antepenult or the last syllable is long, stress the last syllable. Otherwise, stress the penult.
Orthography
Several orthographies have been created, but none has become the main one.
| Phoneme | t | ʈ | c | cʷ | k | kʷ | ʔ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Devilcat's | t | tt | c | cw | k | kw | q |
| Alezuvuv & Linguifex's | d | t | c | cu | k | ku | q |
| Esmelthien's | t | d | c | cu~cw | k | ku~kw | q |
| Phoneme | tʼ | ʈʼ | cʼ | cʷʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Devilcat's | d | dd | j | jw | g | gw |
| Alezuvuv & Linguifex's | dh | th | ch | chu | kh | khu |
| Esmelthien's | t' | d' | c' | cw' | k' | kw' |
| Phoneme | n | ŋ | ŋʷ | s | ʂ | ç | çʷ | h | l | ɭ | w | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Devilcat's | n | ng | ngw | s | ss | x | xw | h | l | ll/r | w | ||
| Alezuvuv & Linguifex's | n | g | gu | z | s | x | xu | h | l | r | w | ||
| Esmelthien's | n | g | gu~gw | z | s | x | xu~xw | h | l | ll | w |
| Phoneme | i | iː | u | uː | ə | əː | a | aː |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Devilcat's | i | í | u | ú | e | é | a | á |
| Alezuvuv & Linguifex's | i | ī | o | ō | e | ē | a | ā |
| Esmelthien's | i | í | u | ú | e | é | a | á |
Morphology
Nouns
Nouns are marked for possessor. They use an infix added before the final vowel:
| sg | 1. | -aŋ- |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | -at- | |
| 3. | -aʈʼ- | |
| pl | 1.e | -uːŋ- |
| 1.i | -utuŋ- | |
| 2. | -uːt- | |
| 3. | -uːʈʼ- |
Numerals
| 1. | naʔi |
|---|---|
| 2. | ʈaʂi |
| 3. | ʔiːla |
| 4. | ɭə |
| 5. | cʷəsi |
| 6. | çʷəː |
| 7. | kʷuːʔu |
| 8. | tuː |
| 9. | ʂəʔu |
| 10. | ʈucʼi |
| 11. | na-ʈʼə-naʔi |
| 12. | na |
| 144. | wuŋa |
| 1728. | çiki |
Higher numerals are created with a conjunction ca:
- tuː-ca-ɭə-na 8 + 4 × 12 = 56
Ordinal numerals are created with a particle kʷʼuː.
Derivation
Several affixes have been posited:
- (after monosyllabic roots, the -VC- infixes are reversed to -CV and used as suffixes)
- -in- nominalizer
- /ʔiːwuʔiːwu/ to be infatuated → /ʔiːwuʔiːwinu/ lover
- /ŋʷuːʔ/ to disobey → /ŋʷuːʔni/ lawbreaker
- -uŋ- instrument
- /ɭuku/ to cut → /ɭukuŋu/ knife
- /kəːʔçʷi/ to kill → /kəːʔçʷuŋi/ spear
- -akʼ- resultative
- /kʷutu/ to break → /kʷutakʼu/ to be defective
- /ŋʷatu/ to burn → /ŋʷatakʼu/ to be burned up
- -ah- collective
- /kʷiçu/ name → /kʷiçahu/ language
- /kʷuː/ tree → /kʷuːha/ forest
- -ːʔ- ~ -ːhV- ~ -ʔV- causative (added after the first vowel)
- /cʼinuʔ/ to eat → /cʼi:ʔnuʔ/ to feed
- /kʷuʔtu/ to be born → /kʷuːhuʔtu/ to give birth
- /çaːkʷə/ to know (sb) → /ça:ʔakʷə/ to introduce
- -aːʂ- “to use X”
- /laʔka/ breast → /laʔkaːʂa/ to breastfeed
- /kuʔŋi/ hook → /kuʔŋaːʂi/ to fish
- -uːkʷ- kin of grandparents' generation
- /ŋʷaːŋʷa/ mother → /ŋʷaːŋʷuːkʷa/ grandmother
- /çaça/ father-in-law → /çaçuːkʷa/ grandfather-in-law
- CV(ʔ)- kin of grandchildren's generation; diminutive (reduplicated)
- /kʷuʈa/ son → /kʷukʷuʈa/ grandson
- /kʼanu/ penis → /kʼakʼanu/ clitoris