Gwrengax

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Gwnax (/gʷnax/, English: gwə-NA(H)KH) is a Bjeheondian language isolate inspired by Welsh, Old Chinese, Armenian and Khasi. It is grammatically very similar to Modern Naeng and Vernacular Netagin but a bit less strictly head-initial, like Hmong.

Gibberish: Ngwran tanxwlej be toh ma'ang siknagw, sy tu xyzell ham. Byrrong tyx kwosra nsoj xyh netsull, namte 'asmad se ykw'arij.

Maxwell = a name

  • takrir = hello
  • erku = town, city; forms city names (can this be justified with Armenian-like sound changes from a proto-language?)
  • Erkwed, Erkwisngwal = name of cities
  • xwahan = forest
  • dlowng = wheel
  • llymboj = horse
  • wok = good
  • 'lats = livestock
  • lats = to sustain, to provide
  • kwa = stone
  • kykwa = boulder
  • wansem = plough
  • pruk = end
  • gemra = to live
  • aknull = paint, color
  • mnep = vase
  • be = past particle

1: pos 2: wyng 3: yhew 4: taxwi 5: azep 6: rynoj 7: kwlyng 8: tsil 9: masah 10: ngwet

History

Gwnax is believed to be the only surviving descendant of the pre-Lakovic, pre-Idavic indigenous languages of Bjeheond. It's generally accepted that the language of the Dáiḃeŋal civilization of Bjeheond is an old form of Gwnax and its script is the source for Idavic and Windermere scripts today. Even the name Dáiḃeŋal is a Tigolized form of an Old Gwnax ancestor of the name Erkwisngwal (*dwa:bu icangwa:l), which displays the characteristic sound change dw- -> erk- which shows up among Trician languages only in Gwnax.

(should the name of the Ancient Gwnax civ be something that results in "Dá Shionnach"?)

Proto-Gwnax = pseudo-Tamil/PPul? voicing but no fricatives (vanakkam > gwnax)

Phonology

Vowels

a e i o u y /a e i o u ɨ/

Consonants

m n ng ngw p t ts k kw ' b d z g gw s x xw h l r ll rr w /m n ŋ ŋʷ p t ts k kʷ ʔ b d dz g gʷ s x xʷ h l r ɬ r̥ w/

/s ts dz/ palatalize to [ɕ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ] before /i/

Phonotactics

Allowed initial clusters are:

  • RR: mn ml mr nl nr ngl ngr ngwl ngwr 'l 'r
  • PR: pl pr tl tr kn kl kr kwn kwl kwr
  • BR: bl br dl dr gn gl gr gwn gwl gwr
  • FR: sm sn sng sngw sl sr xn xl xr xwn xwl xwr

Allowed finals are: -' -p -t -k -kw -b -d -g -gw -m -n -ng -l -r -j -w -s -ts

Coda clusters are prohibited.

Syntax

Should be like Hmong

Pronouns

pronouns: (sg du pl) 1: hoj, 'ra, kob

2: yp, ryws, llyj

3: piw, wek, xom'

Possessive pronouns precde nouns: hoj ngro 'my house'.