Phrygian (Semitic)

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Phrygian
ƞpɛ́ucɑı
préxai
Flag of the Principality of Smyrna.png
Flag of the Principality of Smyrna
Pronunciation[ˈprɛksɛː]
Created byVrianne
Date2024
SettingAlt-History Europe
Native toPhrygia
EthnicityPhrygian
Early forms
Afro-Asiatic
  • Proto-Semitic
    • Proto-Phrygian
      • Old-Phrygian
        • Classical Phrygian
          • Smyrna Dialect
Standard form
Standard Phrygian (xoүꝏ́үɑı ƞpɛ́ucɑı, Chonúnai préxai)
Phrygian Script
Official status
Official language in
Phrygia
Recognised minority
language in
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Phrygian (endonym: ʌɛmɑ́ү ƞpɛ́ucɑı, Lechán préxai, [lɛˈxaŋ ˈprɛksɛː]), also known as Prexian, is a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. It is spoken mostly in the Principality of Smyrna, and in north- and southwestern Eretna, concentrated in the western half of Anatolia. The standardized form of Phrygian is mainly based on the metropolitan Smyrna Dialect (ɜíoɛr ɯɛppɑ́, sjíuet Emerrá), one of the several regional dialects, which collectively descended from Classical Phrygian. The name Phrygian is a misnomer, as the classical Phrygian language, which used to be spoken very near to where the Semitic Phrygian tribes initially settled, is an Indo-European language closely related to Greek.

The historical development of Phrygian traces back to Classical Phrygian, which itself emerged from Old Phrygian. Classical Phrygian still survives as the liturgical language of the Church of Smyrna, one of the Greek Orthodox Churches.

Classification

History

Phonology

Standard Phrygian has 26 consonant phonemes and 11 vowel phonemes. Some coronal phonemes contrast between plain and velarized consonants.

Standard Phrygian Consonants
Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Glottal
Plain Velarized
Nasal m n[1]
Polsive Voiceless p t tˠ(ː)[2] tˠː[4] c k(ː)[2]
Voiced b(ː)[3] d(ː)[3] ɟ ~ ɡ(ː)[3] [5]
Affricate Voiceless t͡ʃ
Voiced d͡ʒ
Fricative Voiceless f s ʃ sˠ ʃˠ x h
Voiced z ɣ
Trill/Tap r
Approximant l ɫ(ː)[2] j
Standard Phrygian Consonants
Front Back
Short Long Short Long
Close i u
Mid e[6] ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː[7]
  1. apart from when before velar consonants, /n/ has the allophone [ŋ] in coda positions following a back vowel or /a/.
  2. /tˠ k ɫ/ may be unconditionally geminated by depending on speaker such that they do not contrast with /tˠː kː ɫː/.
  3. /b d ɡ/ may be unconditionally geminated by older speakers such that they do not contrast with /bː dː ɡː/.
  4. the phonemic contrast between /tˠ(ː)/ (spelled ⟨b⟩) and /tˠː/ (spelled ⟨r̃⟩) has largely disappeared among younger speakers, merging both into either /tˠ/ or /tˠː/. Older speakers who still retain the distinction always pronounce /tˠ(ː)/ ⟨b⟩ as [tˠ] and /tˠː/ ⟨r̃⟩ as [tˠː].
  5. /ɡ/ is allophonically pronounced as [ɟ] near front vowels.
  6. /e/ is realized as [e̝~ɪ].
  7. /a aː/ are realized as [ɑ ɑː] near velarized consonants.

Orthography

Phrygian uses its own script, aptly named the Phrygian script (ɑ́ʌɛƞƞɛɜ ƞpɛ́ucɑıɜ, áleppesj préxaisj). The Phrygian script is an an alphabetic writing system developed specifically for the Phrygian language during the Classical Phrygian period mainly from the Greek script, which it supplanted. It also utilizes some letters of Aramaic origin to represent sounds not present in the base Greek alphabet, such as classical /ħ/ ⟨n⟩, /ʕ/ ⟨v⟩, /sˤ/ ⟨ր⟩, and /ʃˤ/ ⟨ɭ⟩. Though ever since its creation, multiple sounds have merged, leaving many redundant etymological letters such as /x/ ⟨x m n⟩, /ɣ/ ⟨ɼ v⟩, and /tˠ/ ⟨r̃ b⟩.

Phrygian Alphabet
Grapheme Sound (IPA) Source Romanization Grapheme Sound (IPA) Source Romanization
, ɑ /a/ Greek α a , o /ɔ/, /f/[2] Greek ο o, f
ʙ, ɓ /f/ Greek β f , p /r/ Greek ρ r
ʙ̰, ɓ̰ /b/ b , c /s/ Greek ϲ s
г, ɼ /ɣ/, /◌ː/[1] Greek γ gh , r /t/ Greek τ t
г̰, ɼ̃ /ɡ/ g ᴛ̰, r̃ /tˠ/ ț, țț
s, s /d͡ʒ/ Greek δ dj ƞ, ƞ /p/ Greek φ p
, s̃ /d/ d x, x /x/ Greek χ ch
, ɛ /ɛ/ Greek ε e , ꝏ /u/ Greek ω u
ч, ɥ /z/ Greek ζ z m, m /x/ Aramaic 𐡄 ch
q, q /t͡ʃ/ Greek θ tj n, n Aramaic 𐡇
ɪ, ı /i/, /j/[2] Greek ι i ь, b /tˠ/ Aramaic 𐡈 ț
u, u /c/ Greek κ k , ɜ /ʃ/ Aramaic 𐡎 sj
, ũ /k/ q , v /ɣ/, /◌ː/[1] Aramaic 𐡏 gh
ʌ, ʌ /l/ Greek λ l ր, ր /sˠ/ Aramaic 𐡑 ș
, ɯ /m/ Greek μ m ʟ, ɭ /ʃˠ/ Aramaic 𐡋 șj
ʏ, ү /n/ Greek ν n ◌̔[3] /h/ Greek ◌̔ h
Phrygian Alphabet digraphs
Grapheme Sound (IPA) Source Romanization
ı, ɑı[4] /ɛː/ Greek αι ai
o, ɑo /ɔː/ Innovated during Classical Phrygian au
ı, ɛı[4] /e/ Greek ει ei
oı, oı[4] /u/ Greek ου u
ʟɭ, ɭɭ /ɫ/ Innovated during Classical Phrygian l̦, l̦l̦
  1. When in coda position, ɼ, v, and ◌̔ are dropped with compensatory vowel lengthening, such as in ƞɛ́pɛɼ /ˈpɛrɛː/, ɥɛ́pɛv /ˈzɛrɛː/, and ɛ̔qɛ‛ /ˈhɛt͡ʃɛː/.
  2. ɪ and o consonantally are /j/ /f/, such as in ıɛ́pɛu /ˈjɛrɛk/ and ɜɛʌoɑ́p /ʃɛlˈfar/.
  3. When /h/ precedes a vowel, it is written as a diacritic above the vowel, otherwise it is written on its own. Both forms can be seen in pɛɛ̔‛ /ˈrɛhɛː/.
  4. In order to distinguish /aj/ /ɛj/ /oj/ from /ɛː/ /e/ /u/, diaereses are usedː ɑï, ɛï, oï.

Grammar

Phrygian grammar is very similar of that of other Semitic languages, with some main differences being the retention of case declension and complex verb conjugation, and the loss of the construct state.

Like other Semitic languages, Phrygian relies on nonconcatenative morphology, inserting roots of three or more consonants that carry basic meanings into discontinuous patterns for all sorts of grammatical purposes. For example, from the root ◌̔-ƞ-c (h-p-s, "relating to speaking and vocalizing") can be derived:

  • ɛ̔ƞcóı, hepsú ("it was spoken")
  • ɛ̔ƞocɛү, héposen ("I must speak")
  • ɑ̔ƞɛc, hápes ("speaker")
  • ɑ̔ƞcɛɜ, hápsesj ("loudspeaker")
  • ɛ̔ƞɑ́cɛɜ, hepásesj ("speech")
  • o̔ƞc, hops ("word")

Nominals

Nouns

Phrygian nouns preserve a declension system for three cases (nominative, oblique, and vocative), two genders (masculine and feminine), two numbers (singular and plural), and state (definite and indefinite).

Masculine declension

Masculine nouns regularly form their plurals with -óı () in the nominative case and () in the oblique and vocative cases. Their definite article is o̔ʌ (hol) in the nominative case and roʌ (tol) in the oblique case. They also tend to feature stem alteration between numbers:

ıɑoɯ (iaum, "day")
Singular Plural
Nominative (o̔ʌ) ıɑoɯ
(hol) iaum
(o̔ʌ) ıoıɯóı
(hol) iumú
Oblique (roʌ) ıɑ́oɯɛ
(tol) iáume
(roʌ) ıoıɯí
(tol) iumí
Vocative oɛx ıɑ́oɯɛ
fech iáume
oɛ́xoɯ ıoıɯí
féchom iumí
ɛɓ̰ (eb, "father")
Singular Plural
Nominative (o̔ʌ) ɛɓ̰
(hol) eb
(o̔ʌ) ɛɓ̰ɑүóı
(hol) ebanú
Oblique (roʌ) ɛ́ɓ̰ɛ
(tol) ébe
(roʌ) ɛɓ̰ɑүí
(tol) ebaní
Vocative oɛx ɛ́ɓ̰ɛ
fech ébe
oɛ́xoɯ ɛɓ̰ɑүí
féchom ebaní
Feminine declension

Feminine nouns often end with -ɛɜ (-esj) in the nominative case and -ɑ́ () in the vocative and regularly form their plurals by replacing them with -ɑ́ɜ (-ásj) in the nominative case and -ɑ́ɜɛ (-ásje) in the oblique and vocative cases. Their definite article is i̔ʌ (hil) in the nominative case and rıʌ (til) in the oblique case. They tend to not feature stem alteration between numbers:

ɛ́mɛɜ (échesj, "sister")
Singular Plural
Nominative (i̔ʌ) ɛ́mɛɜ
(hil) échesj
(i̔ʌ) ɛmɑ́ɜ
(til) echásj
Oblique (rıʌ) ɛ́mɜɛ
(hil) échsje
(rıʌ) ɛmɑ́ɜɛ
(til) echásje
Vocative oɛx ɛmɑ́
fech echá
oɛxɑ́ɜ ɛmɑ́ɜɛ
fechásj echásje
ɜɛүm (sjench, "sun")
Singular Plural
Nominative (i̔ʌ) ɜɛүm
(hil) sjench
(i̔ʌ) ɜɛүmɑ́ɜ
(hil) sjenchásj
Oblique (rıʌ) ɜɛ́үmɛ
(til) sjénche
(rıʌ) ɜɛүmɑ́ɜɛ
(til) sjenchásje
Vocative oɛx ɜɛүmɑ́
fech sjenchá
oɛxɑ́ɜ ɜɛүmɑ́ɜɛ
fechásj sjenchásje
Fossilized declensions

Vestiges of the Semitic dual number survive in irregular plurals of some nouns referring the things that come in pairs:

ós̃ɛï (ódeï, "ear")
Singular Plural
Nominative (i̔ʌ) ós̃ɛï
(hil) ódeï
(i̔ʌ) os̃ɛıɑ́
(til) odeiá
Oblique (rıʌ) ósɛ
(hil) ódje
(rıʌ) osɑ́ı
(til) odjái
Vocative oɛx osɑ́
fech odjá
oɛxɑ́ɜ osɑ́ı
fechásj odjái
xɛƞƞ (chepp, "cup")
Singular Plural
Nominative (i̔ʌ) xɛƞƞ
(hil) chepp
(i̔ʌ) xɛƞƞɑ́
(hil) cheppá
Oblique (rıʌ) xɛ́ƞƞɛ
(til) chéppe
(rıʌ) xɛƞƞɑ́ı
(til) cheppái
Vocative oɛx xɛƞƞɑ́
fech cheppá
oɛxɑ́ɜ xɛƞƞɑ́ı
fechásj cheppái

Adjectives

Phrygian adjectives follow their nouns and express gender agreement with the nouns they modify. They decline in much the same way nouns do:

rɑɓ (taf, "fine; tender")
Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative rɑɓ
taf
rɑɓóı
tafú
rɑ́ɓɛɜ
táfesj
rɑɓɑ́ɜ
tafásj
Oblique
Vocative
rɑ́ɓɛ
táfe
rɑɓí
tafí
rɑ́ɓɜɛ
táfsje
rɑɓɑ́ɜɛ
tafásje
ƞóũop (póqor, "unimportant")
Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative ƞóũop
póqor
ƞoũpóı
poqrú
ƞóũpɛɜ
póqresj
ƞoũpɑ́ɜ
poqrásj
Oblique
Vocative
ƞóũpɛ
póqre
ƞoũpí
poqrí
ƞóũopɜɛ
póqorsje
ƞoũpɑ́ɜɛ
poqrásje

Pronouns

Phrygian pronouns decline just like the nominals, with the inclusion of person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd). Phrygian independently evolved standalone oblique pronouns from the enclitic forms to be used as verbal objects and vocative pronouns.

Phrygian frequently drops nominative pronouns with non-past verbal constructions, but not with past verbal constructions:

  • oıƞ pɛ́o̔‛ ıoı, Sup réhoh iu ("I will see it", pronoun dropped)
  • үɑ́ pɛ́ɛ̔ ıoı, Ená réhe iu ("I saw it", pronoun kept)
Nominative Pronouns
Singular Plural
1st person ɛүɑ́
ená
ɛүɛ́n
enéch
2nd person Masculine ɛүq
entj
ɛ́үqoɯ
éntjom
Feminine ɛ́үqɛı
éntjei
3rd person Masculine
fe

om
Feminine ıɛ
ie
ɛıı
eii
Oblique/Vocative Pronouns
Singular Plural
1st person ɛ́ïıɛ
éïie
2nd person Masculine ɑıx
aich
ɑ́ıxoɯ
áichom
Feminine ɑ́ıxɛï
áicheï
3rd person Masculine ıoı
iu
ıoɯ
iom
Feminine ıɛ
ie
ıɛï
ieï

Phrygian employs its enclitic pronouns as possessive particles and objects of prepositions:

  • ƞípɛïx ıxóıү vɛ́ɯɛï, Píreïch ichún ghém ("Your book is with me)
Enclitic Pronouns
Singular Plural
1st person -(ɛ)ï
-(e)ï
2nd person Masculine -(ɛ)x
-(e)ch
-(ɛ)xoɯ
-(e)chom
Feminine -(ɛ)xɛï
-(e)cheï
3rd person Masculine -(‛)o
-(h)o
-(‛)oɯ
-(h)om
Feminine -(‛)ɛ
-(h)e
-(‛)ɛï
-(h)eï

Verbs

Past Present Future
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st person ƞɛ́qɛn
pétjech
ƞɛ́qnɛu
pétjchek
ıɛ́ƞqɛn
iéptjech
coıƞ ƞɛ́qnɛu
sup pétjchek
coıƞ ıɛ́ƞqɛn
sup iéptjech
2nd person Masculine uɛ́ƞqɛn
képtjech
uɛƞqɛnóı
keptjechú
coıƞ uɛ́ƞqɛn
sup képtjech
coıƞ uɛƞqɛnóı
'sup 'keptjechú
Feminine uɛƞqɛní
keptjechí
uɛƞqɛnɑ́
keptjechá
coıƞ uɛƞqɛní
sup keptjechí
coıƞ uɛƞqɛnɑ́
sup keptjechá
3rd person Masculine íƞqɛn
íptjech
ıƞqɛnóı
iptjechú
coıƞ íƞqɛn
sup íptjech
coıƞ ıƞqɛnóı
sup iptjechú
Feminine rɛ́ƞqɛn
téptjech
ıƞqɛnɑ́
iptjechá
coıƞ rɛ́ƞqɛn
sup téptjech
coıƞ ıƞqɛnɑ́
sup iptjechá

Adverbs

Vocabulary

Example text