Old Kvalian

From Linguifex
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Old Kvalian /ˈkveɪ̯liən/ (natively: Kvæltilo /ˈkvaltilo/, "common tongue") is descended from Proto-Kertha and was spoken by the descendants of the Northern Men, the Central Men and the Dwarves in Kertha.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m /m/ n /n/
Plosive p /p/ b /b/ t /t/ d /d/ k /k/
Fricative f /f/ v /v/ þ /θ/ ð /ð/ s /s/ sj /ʃ/ gh /ç/ h /h/
Affricate pf /p͡f/
Approximant j /j/ w /w/
Trill r /r/
Lateral l /l/

Vowels

Front Back
Close i /i/ í /iː/ y /y/ ý /yː/ u /u/ ú /uː/
Mid e /e/ é /eː/ ø /ø/ ǿ /øː/ o /o/ ó /oː/
Open æ /a/ ǽ /aː/ a /ɑ/ á /ɑː/

Unlike Proto-Kertha, Old Kvalian possessed diphthongs. In these diphthongs u represents /ʊ̯/ and i /ɪ̯/.

Vowel harmony

Old Kvalian possessed regressive vowel harmony, that is that the vowel of the desinence (if there are two vowels then vowel harmony acts regressively from the first) can change the vowels in the rest of the word. These changes happen regardless of the length of the vowel and so only short vowels are shown in the table below.

Desinences Affected vowels Result
æ a + æ a æ a
+ e ø o æ æ a
+ i y u e ø o
e ø o + æ a e o
+ e ø o e ø o
+ i y u e ø o
i y u + æ a e o
+ e ø o i y u
+ i y u i y u

This can be seen in the declension of the Old Kvalian words karða ("earth") and, to a lesser extent, suþu ("ash"):

Singular Dual Plural
Nominative karða korðøn karðæns
Accusative karðæn korðøn karðanøn
Genitive korðe korðene karðane
Dative karðæt karðæs karðǽs
Instrumental korðoim korðǿm karðǽm
Locative korðéa korðói korðámi
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative suþu suþyn suþyns
Accusative suþoun suþyn suþinøn
Genitive suþi suþine suþuni
Dative soþout suþys suþýs
Instrumental soþoim soþǿm soþoum
Locative suþíu soþói suþúmi

History

The table below outlines the regular sound changes that occurred between Proto-Kertha and Old Kvalian.

Proto-Kertha to Old Kvalian
Proto-Kertha Environment Result Example Translation
Vowels
a in an open syllable a *tyafa > tafa gift
in a closed syllable æ *faphar > favær dry
ā in an open syllable á *tāror > dáror old
in a closed syllable ǽ *tāk > dǽk year
e in an open syllable e *mekwa > mekva head
in a closed syllable ø *phen > føn father
ē in an open syllable é *thēlu > þélu tail
in a closed syllable ǿ *nēr > nǿr black
i in an open syllable i *sĭpina > spina feather
in a closed syllable y *ferit > feryt louse
before y disappears *tiyen > djøn to speak
ī in an open syllable í *īrol > írol ear
in a closed syllable ý *tṟkhīr > tarkýr dragon
before y disappears + VL *kīya > gjá when
o in an open syllable o *kolor > golor new
in a closed syllable oi *sătom > stoim husband
before r o *kolor > golor new
ō in an open syllable ó *śōror > sjóror yellow
in a closed syllable oi *twōn > tvoin wing
before r ó *kyōr > kór green
u in an open syllable ou *suthu > suþu ash
in a closed syllable ou *kyup > koub leaf
before r u *ur > ur x
ū in an open syllable ú ūsōa > úsóa all
in a closed syllable ou lūl > loul river
before r ú *ūr > úr x
ă in an open syllable disappears *tărōn > troin road, path
in a closed syllable a *kwăr > kvar skin
ə in an open syllable i *thəsa > þisa hand
in a closed syllable e *pəl > bel belly
word initial e *ərar > erær right(-hand)
ĭ in an open syllable disappears *pĭrina > brina flower
in a closed syllable i *enĭt > enit animal
ŭ in an open syllable disappears *pŭlut > blout meat
in a closed syllable u *khŭn > kun glass
Syllabic consonants
el *mḻta > melda mother
ar *kṟtha > garða earth
Consonants
m, n, f, s, r, l, w no change
p b *pouko > bougo dog
ph inter-vocalic v *phipha > fiva thirty
elsewhere f
py p *pyiska > pyska blood
pw pf *pwos > pfois stick
t final t *pŭlut > blout meat
elsewhere d *tiso > diso man
th post-consonantal ð *festha > føsða life
elsewhere þ *suthu > suþu ash
ty t *tyako > tago king
tw tv *twela > tvela money
ś sj *śōror > sjóror yellow
y j *ayeri > ajeri wind
k final k *warăk > warak self
elsewhere g *lōko > lógo away
kh k *khepa > keba mountain
ky k *kyina > kina one
kw kv *kwāna > kvána there
h initial, final gh *hōpo > ghóbo rope
elsewhere no change
Special cases
declensions see declensions
infinitives and conjugations see conjugations

Nouns

Old Kvalian nouns inflect according to case and number. There were three numbers: singular, dual and plural. The dual and plural forms are indicated in various ways depending on the ending of the original noun. There were six cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental and locative. Old Kvalian had three genders but this does not affect nominal morphology. However, as mentioned above, vowel harmony does affect nominal inflexions. Definiteness is specified by the suffix -døgh. The tables below show the different declension patterns.

-a
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -a -øn -æns
Accusative -æn -øn -øn
Genitive -e -ene -ane
Dative -æt -æs -ǽs
Instrumental -oim -ǿm -ǽm
Locative -éa -ói -ámi
-b, -k, -t
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -b, -k, -t -bøn, -gøn, -døn -bs, -gs, -ds
Accusative -n -ne -nøn
Genitive -ne -ne -nu
Dative -ǿk -ois -ois
Instrumental -oim -ǿm -oim
Locative -bói, -gói, dói -ómi
-e
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -e -ǿn -ǿns
Accusative -øn -ǿn -enøn
Genitive -i -éni -eni
Dative -øt -ǿs -ýs
Instrumental -oim -ǿm -ǿm
Locative -íe -ói -émi
-gh
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -Vgh -oin -oins
Accusative -Vn -oin -onøn
Genitive -Vn -one -onu
Dative -Vt -ois -ois
Instrumental -Vm -ǿm -oim
Locative -ói -ómi
-i
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -i -oun -ouns
Accusative -yn -oun -unøn
Genitive -o -une -inu
Dative -yt -ous -ous
Instrumental -oim -ǿm -ým
Locative -úi -ói -ími
-l, -r
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -l, -r -ls, -rs -lm, -rm
Accusative -ln, -rn -lnøs, -rnøs -lme, -rme
Genitive -ne -nøn -nǿn
Dative -nør -nøs -nǿs
Instrumental -noim -nøm -nǿm
Locative -ǿl, -ǿr -nói -némi
-m, -n
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -m, -n -ne -nøn
Accusative -ne -nøn -nǿn
Genitive -nør -neni -néni
Dative -t -nøs -nǿs
Instrumental -noim -nøm -nǿm
Locative -nói -noim
-o
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -o -oin -oins
Accusative -oin -oin -onøn
Genitive -u -ónu -onu
Dative -oit -ois -ous
Instrumental -oim -eim -oim
Locative -úo -ói -ómi
-u
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative -u -yn -yns
Accusative -oun -yn -inøn
Genitive -i -ine -uni
Dative -out -ys -ýs
Instrumental -oim -ǿm -oum
Locative -íu -ói -úmi

Adjectives

Adjectives inflect for number, case and gender. Old Kvalian adjectives only have one basic group and decline in the same manner as nouns. The ending -(y)r is masculine, -(n)a feminine and -(n)e neuter. The example given below is nimør (meaning "nasal").

nimør
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural
Nominative nimør nimørs nimørm nemana nemenøn nemanæns nemene nemenǿn nemenǿns
Accusative nimørn nemørnøs nemørme næmanæn nemenøn nemanøn
Genitive nemene nemenøn nemenǿn nemone nemenene næmanane
Dative nemenør nemenøs nemenǿs næmanæt næmænæs næmanǽs
Instrumental nemenoim nemenøm nemenǿm nemonoim nemenǿm næmanǽm
Locative neméør nemenói nemenémi nemonéa nemenói næmanámi