Hlou-Shum languages

Hlou-Ku languages/Lexicon

The Hlou-Ku languages (Eevo: bo brits Lloo-Cw; Hlou: Schë Ntzog Schlaub-Kug; Ku: lees yoo ndoigh Hloobh-Kuamh) are a small family of languages native to Verse:Tricin/Bjeheond; most Hlou-Ku languages are tonal. The proto-language, Proto-Hlou-Ku, is 2500 years old. The family is based on the idea of IE languages recast as Hmong-like languages. Hlou-Ku languages had much more importance in the past, but today Tsjoen, Wiobian and Rhythoed are more dominant in Bjeheond.

Family tree

• Proto-Hlou-Ku
  • Hlou (Ntzog Schlaub)
  • Ku (lees ndoigh Kuamh)
  • Clooa (Mois de la Crouet)
  • Liai (hmỹ Liài)
  • Shumian (lhau śùm)
  • Tlu (χμωωβ Τλωδ)
  • Boaqaihoo (lone polysynthetic nontonal Hlou-Ku language)

Phonology

Phonotactics

The typical Proto-Hlou-Ku word had the structure

(unstressed prefix) + (C)C[r/l]V(C)(C)^tone.

Unstressed prefixes were derivational and were completely lost in some descendants, such as Ku.

Some unstressed prefixes: nə-, rə-

Initials

~30 consonants:

p t ṭ ḱ k ʔ b d ḍ ǵ g f v z s x h tz ts tx dz ds dx m n ṇ ń y r l w (z, s as in Basque)

s-series > ɬ-series in some descendants

Ku and Clooa gain uvulars through velars + r/l.

Nuclei

a e i o u ə ai au əi əu iə uə - a few more vowels for Liai

Hlou will merge ai/au with əi/əu > lots of ei/au! <3

Nasal vowels?

Coda

Allowed finals: just -ŋ, -k, -h, -ʔ

Cheshirized grammatical particles -> lenition, eclipsis in Ku

Tones

3 tones: high, mid, low

Grammar

Proto-Hlou-Ku was head-initial like Vietnamese.

• -l- infix