Trans-Sarnathian languages

Proto-Trans-Sarnathian (a descendant of Proto-Akya-Woms?) was spoken 3000 years BP. The family is inspired by Sino-Tibetan, Welsh, and Athabaskan.

Fortunately for Angaian historical linguists, extremely conservative relatives of Thean within the Trans-Sarnathian branch are spoken in highly mountainous areas. They allow much of Proto-Trans-Sarnathian to be reconstructed.

(Proto-languages are reconstructed in-universe, but this article takes the Word of God point of view unless specified otherwise. In particular, only in-universe reconstructions are indicated with an asterisk.)

Tree

• Proto-Trans-Sarnathian
  • Dylathic
    • Dylathian
  • Old Thean (Proto-Theic)
    • Shei²¹A¹¹Mi³⁵
    • Middle Thean
      • Modern Thean (Loosely mono-Gwich'in)

Proto-Trans-Sarnathian phonology

Vowels

i ɨ u ə e o a

əi əɨ əu ai aɨ au

Consonants

• /m n l r/
• /p t c k kʷ/
• /bʰ dʰ ɟʰ gʰ gʷʰ/
• /pʼ tʼ cʼ kʼ kʷʼ/
• /ç s̠ x xʷ ʔ/
• /j w/

Stress

Word-final

Release

Certain (non-resonant) final consonants and clusters have audible release, whereas others are unreleased.

Released

All obst-obst clusters

All ejectives (but safe to assume single ejectives can become unreleased)

Unreleased

All single non-ejective final stops

Grammar

Nouns

Most nouns had an unmarked form and a marked form (called the singulative for sake of convenience) that was only used for indefinite singular nouns.

For the definite article, the appropriate classifier was used, except for inalienably possessed nouns; the number was marked on the classifier.

Verbs

Proto-Trans-Sarnathian switched to using Colloquial Welsh-like constructions using inherited verbal nouns. Old finite verb forms were lost by the Proto-Trans-Sarnathian stage aside from a handful.

Lexicon

• xjeʔ ‘1SG’
• s-lō-s 'drink'
• obʰroc 'tooth'
• copʼrepʼ 'walk'
• s-roj 'to be located'
• bʰer 'in'
• lakt 'flat'
  • ti-lakt 'Dylath' (lit. the flat place)
• ti- (place), to- (the one who) (two different nominalizers)
  • lan '?' -> tilan -> Dylan
• ʔlars 'life'
  • Dyl.qalarch 'oneself'
• cʼajbʰ 'water'
  • Dyl. tzɂâf