Thean

Zzean /ˈθiːən/ is an analytic monosyllabic tonal language in the Akya-Woms family, spoken in Aem-Zmaə. It is head-final and SVO.

Proto-Zzeic

Proto-Zzeic was spoken 3000 years BP.

Fortunately for Angaian historical linguists, extremely conservative relatives of Zzean within the Zzeic family are spoken in highly mountainous areas. They allow much of Proto-Zzeic to be reconstructed.

Todo

h₂aw-bʰorḱ 'enclosure' → Proto-Zzeic obʰroc → Late Old Zzean əvʰɣɑc → Middle Zzean vəjt → EModZz fi(breathy, final stop tone) → ModZz fi͇ (tone class is D2) 'house'

ḱobreb → PZz k.brɛb → kbəb → p'ʌb → pà (E3) ‘cost’

PZz ə → w PZz i → Modern Zzean ⟨ey⟩ PZz e → i PZz a → Modern Zzean ⟨wa⟩ PZz o → Modern Zzean ⟨a⟩ PZz u → ɨ → Modern Zzean /i/ ⟨i⟩ PZz ew → ea PZz aw → ea PZz ow → wa PZz ej → ay PZz aj → e PZz oj → w

Phonology

Vowels

i ɨ u ə e o a ē ō ā ī ɨ­̄ ū əi əɨ əu aj aɨ au

→ Early Old Zzean e ə o ʌ ɛ ɔ a iə uə ɨə i ɨ u əi əɨ əu ai aɨ au → Late Old Zzean e ʌ o ɐ ə ɑ æ iə uə ɨə ɪ ə ʊ i ɨ u ai aɨ au (Praveenize /ɛ/ → /ə/ → /ʌ/ → /ɑ/ → /æ/ → /iə/ and /u/ → /i/)

Grammar

Proto-Zzeic switched to using Colloquial Welsh-like constructions using inherited verbal nouns. Old finite verb forms were lost by the Proto-Zzeic stage.

Lexicon

• xjeʔ ‘1SG’ (From PAW disjunctive 1SG *h₂yeh₁); Zzean zhi̬
• PAW *sleh₃s → PZz *s-lō-s → Old Zzean *sluəs → lu(C2) → lŵ 'to sit’
• h₂aw-bʰorḱ 'enclosure' → Proto-Zzeic obʰroc → Late Old Zzean əvʰɣɑc → Middle Zzean vəjt → EModZz fi(breathy, final stop tone) → ModZz fi͇ (tone class is D2) 'house'
• ḱobreb → PZz k.brɛb → kbəw → p'ʌw → pà (E3) ‘to buy'
• roy ‘in’ → PZz s-roj → rrw̖y ‘interior’
• bʰetr → PZz bʰēr → PZz bʰiən → piən (A2) → piw (A2) → pe̖a ‘(higher register) in (postposition)’; → dialectal pjuː → thw̖ ‘at (postposition)’