Phrygian (Semitic)

Phrygian
ƞpɛ́ucɑı préxai
Flag of the Principality of Smyrna
Pronunciation	[ˈprɛksɛː]
Created by	Vrianne
Date	2024
Setting	Alt-History Europe
Native to	Phrygia
Ethnicity	Phrygian
Language family	Afroasiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Phrygian
Early forms	Afro-Asiatic Proto-Semitic Proto-Phrygian Old-Phrygian Classical Phrygian Smyrna Dialect
Standard form	Standard Phrygian (xoүꝏ́үɑı ƞpɛ́ucɑı, Chonúnai préxai)
Writing system	Phrygian Script
Official status
Official language in	Phrygia
Recognised minority language in	Eretna

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 ᴇɯɛppɑ́, sjífet Emerrá), one of the several regional dialects, which collectively descended from Classical Phrygian. The name Phrygian is a misnomer, as the antiquarian 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.

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 Vowels

		Front		Back
		Short	Long	Short	Long
Close		i	iː	u	uː
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 depending on speaker such that they do not contrast with /tˠː kː ɫː/.
3. /b d ɡ/ may be unconditionally geminated depending on speaker 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. the pronunciation of /ɡ/ is highly unstable. If geminated, it is always velar [ɡː], but when not, /ɡ/ can vary between [ɟ] and [ɡ] depending on dialect, with some (such as the Smyrna dialects) even having both as allophones of each other in certain environments.
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 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
ᴀ, ɑ	/a/	Greek α	a	ᴏ, o	/ɔ/, /f/[2]	Greek ο	o, f
ʙ, ɓ	/f/	Greek β	f	ᴘ, p	/r/	Greek ρ	r
ʙ̰, ɓ̰	/b/		b	ᴄ, c	/s/	Greek ϲ	s
г, ɼ	/ɣ/, /◌ː/[1]	Greek γ	gh	ᴛ, 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
s̰, s̃	/d/		d	x, x	/x/	Greek χ	ch
ᴇ, ɛ	/ɛ/	Greek ε	e	ꝏ, 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	ⱻ, ɜ	/ʃ/	Aramaic 𐡎	sj
ṵ, ũ	/k/		q	ᴠ, v	/ɣ/, /◌ː/[1]	Aramaic 𐡏	gh
ʌ, ʌ	/l/	Greek λ	l	ր, ր	/sˠ/	Aramaic 𐡑	ș
ᴡ, 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
ᴀı, ɑı[4]	/ɛː/	Greek αι	ai
ᴀo, ɑo	/ɔː/	Innovated during Classical Phrygian	au
ᴇı, 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:

• o̔ƞɛc, hópes ("it was spoken")
• ɛ̔ƞcɛcɛ, hépsese ("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 – marks the subject of a verb
  • Vocative – marks the addressee in a vocative expression
  • Oblique – marks all that is not already covered by the nominative and vocative cases
• Two genders: Masculine and Feminine
• Two numbers: Singular and Plural
• Two states:
  • Definite – marks definiteness and specificity with articles
  • Indefinite – unmarked

Masculine declension

Masculine nouns regularly form their plurals with -óı (-ú) in the nominative case and -í (-í) 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 (-á) 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, forming their plurals with -ɑ́ (-á) in the nominative case and -ɑ́ı (-ái) in the oblique and vocative cases.

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, case, and number 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:

• ᴄoıƞ pɛ́o̔‛ ıoı, Sup réhoh iu ("I will see it", pronoun dropped)
• ᴇүɑ́ 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		ɛ́үqɛï éntjeï
3rd person	Masculine	oɛ fe	oɯ 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 ghémeï ("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

Phrygian verbs maintain a more complex paradigm among the semitic languages, conjugating for:

• Subject agreement: Person, Gender, and Number
• Two synthetic tenses: Past and Present
• One analytic tense: Future
• Four moods:
  • Indicative – indicates that something is a statement of fact
  • Subjunctive – indicates various states of unreality such as wish, possibility, or opinion
  • Jussive – indicates the obligation, necessity, or encouragement of an action. Also used in prayer
  • Imperative – forms a command or request.
• Four voices:
  • Active – posits the subject as the doer of an action
  • Passive – posits the subject as the receiver of an action
  • Middle – valency-decreasing, posits the subject as both the doer and receiver of an action
  • Causative – valency-increasing, posits the subject as causing the main object to be the doer of an action