Minhast: Difference between revisions
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=== Phonemic Inventory === | === Phonemic Inventory === | ||
The following chart contains the consonants in the Minhast phonology. | The following chart contains the consonants in the Minhast phonology. Dialectal variants are marked with an asterisk (*): | ||
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The phonemes /q/ and /χ/ are found only in the Seal and Wolf Speaker dialects. These phonemes occur in only a handful of words; their origin is unknown, although an Eskimoan-Aleutian language, most likely from Central Siberian Yup'ik source, has been proposed. The Wolf Speakers acquired these phonemes from contact with the Seal Speakers, and they are found almost exclusively in words of Seal Speaker origin, although some of these phonemes have seeped into words originally of Salmonic origin, e.g. /qaraq/ instead of expected Salmonic /karak/, particularly in the Wolf Speaker northwestern and western regions adjoining Seal Speaker Country. | The phonemes /q/ and /χ/ are found only in the Seal and Wolf Speaker dialects. These phonemes occur in only a handful of words; their origin is unknown, although an Eskimoan-Aleutian language, most likely from Central Siberian Yup'ik source, has been proposed. The Wolf Speakers acquired these phonemes from contact with the Seal Speakers, and they are found almost exclusively in words of Seal Speaker origin, although some of these phonemes have seeped into words originally of Salmonic origin, e.g. /qaraq/ instead of expected Salmonic /karak/, particularly in the Wolf Speaker northwestern and western regions adjoining Seal Speaker Country. | ||
The Seal Speaker, Wolf Speaker, Horse Speaker and Gull Speaker dialects have either acquired or developed /ɣ/ or [ɣ]. The origin of this phone in the Seal Speaker dialect is unknown, and occurs in only a handful of words, nevertheless it is phonetically distinct. Again, a possible | The Seal Speaker, Wolf Speaker, Horse Speaker and Gull Speaker dialects have either acquired or developed /ɣ/ or [ɣ]. The origin of this phone in the Seal Speaker dialect is unknown, and occurs in only a handful of words, nevertheless it is phonetically distinct. Again, a possible Central Siberian Yup'ik source has been hypothesized. In the Horse Speaker dialect,the phone [ɣ] occurs as a result of assimilation of /rx/ clusters; however the phone has not acquired phonemic status. In the Gull Speaker dialect, /ɣ/ evolved as a merger of /rg/ and /gy/ and has become a distinct phoneme. A notable example is ''Anyāğ'' for the Stone Speaker city Āhan Yarg, but it is also noticeable in words originally beginning with V-rg- sequences, e.g. ''irgum'' → ''ğum'' "nail" (c.f. Salmon Speaker ''argunni'' "nail"). | ||
The phoneme /f/ is a minor phoneme in non-Stone Speaker dialects and never occurs word-initially. Its occurrence is most noticeable in the nominalizer ''=naft'', although in some dialects, particularly the Lower Minhast dialects, [ħ] has started replacing /f/. In the Gull Speaker dialect, it is /x/ that has replaced /f/ in its entire lexicon, including in the nominalizer ''=naft'', now realized as ''=naxt''. The Stone Speaker dialect, however, has preserved /f/, allowing it even in word-inital position; moreover, it occurs in high frequency, perhaps as a result of influence from a substratum language. | The phoneme /f/ is a minor phoneme in non-Stone Speaker dialects and never occurs word-initially. Its occurrence is most noticeable in the nominalizer ''=naft'', although in some dialects, particularly the Lower Minhast dialects, [ħ] has started replacing /f/. In the Gull Speaker dialect, it is /x/ that has replaced /f/ in its entire lexicon, including in the nominalizer ''=naft'', now realized as ''=naxt''. The Stone Speaker dialect, however, has preserved /f/, allowing it even in word-inital position; moreover, it occurs in high frequency, perhaps as a result of influence from a substratum language. | ||