User:IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic/Diachronics

Sketch of systematic sound changes for Knench, alongside important grammatical events

PCanaanite to Ancient Knench

1. i u → e o
2. ā form
3. ā → ō → ū
4. ay aw → ē ō
5. Final ʔ and h deleted, yielding overlong vowels
6. z → Basque z; s š → Basque s

Ancient Knench to Middle Knench

1. Emphatics merge with voiced stops, yielding unaspirated stops; these stops are subject to allophonic voicing mutation
2. Consonant shifts
   1. Basque s → š
   2. ħ ś > sje-sound (ś)
   3. ʕ > Eevo L
   4. Initial š → h
3. Spirantization of aspirated stops; fricatives become subject to voicing mutation
4. Unstressed long vowels shorten, preserving vowel quality
5. Knench stress shift: Stress shifts to the propretonic if there is a propretonic
6. Maghrebi syncope
   1. pretonic /a/ and /e/ deleted
   2. unstressed long vowels shorten; unstressed overlongs shorten to unreduced
7. Pre-consonantal v ð ɣ lenite, causing loss of consonantal roots
   1. What else to help along?

Finite verbs are still common, hence tons of principal parts; also most Old Canaanite grammar is retained. This motivates replacement of finite verbs by infinitives and verbnouns in Modern Knench.

Middle Knench to Modern Knench

1. OSL
2. final ə drops
3. -əð → əɹ
4. Non-rhoticity, triggering crazy vowel shifts to formerly non-rhotic vowels; this is the "Knench GVS"