Proto-Almaic

Proto-Almean
Rapa'i
Pronunciation	[/ʀaˈpa.ʔi/]
Created by	Miguel Bartelsman
Date	2020
Setting	Conworld Angara
Extinct	ca. 3500 a.E.
Language family	Proto-Almean Proto-Almean
Language codes
ISO 639-3	none

Proto-Almean is the common ancestor of all the Almean languages, a family of languages widespread in the Yolder and Ausmiran continents.

Proto-Almean is estimated to have been spoken from around 5000 to 3500 a.E., and it's original homeland may have been the Almeran plains from which the language derives its name. Its descendant languages include Angaran and Yohari.

Orthography

Letter	A a	B b	C c	D d	E e	F f
Pronunciation	/a/, /ã/	/b/	/x/	/d/	/e/, /ẽ/	/f/

Letter	G g	H h	I i	K k	Kg kg	– kk
Pronunciation	/g/	/h/, /-/	/i/, /ĩ/	/k/	/k’/	/k’/

Letter	L l	M m	N n	Nj nj	O o	P p
Pronunciation	/l/	/m/	/n/, /◌̃/, /N/	/ɲ/	/o/, /õ/	/p/

Letter	Pb pb	– pp	Q q	R r	S s	T t
Pronunciation	/p’/	/p’/	/q/	/ʀ/	/s/	/t/

Letter	Td td	– tt	U u	V v	Z z	'
Pronunciation	/t’/	/t’/	/u/, /ũ/	/v/	/z/	/ʔ/

^1 In words that end with ⟨n⟩, the /n/ is dropped and instead the vowels are nasalized.

^2 /h/ is not pronounced in final position, but ⟨h⟩ is preserved as clitics and affixes reveal the sound.

^3 ⟨kg⟩, ⟨td⟩, and ⟨pb⟩ are only used at the start of a word.

^4 ⟨kk⟩, ⟨tt⟩, and ⟨pp⟩ are only used in the middle of a word, so they have no correct capitalized version.

^5 ⟨n⟩ in coda position can be realized a number of ways: as vowel nasalization in final position or before /ʔ/, or as one of [m], [ɱ], [n], [ŋ], [ɴ], assimilating in place of articulation to the following consonant.

^6 ⟨'⟩ has a single representation regardless of location or capitalization.

Stress is predictable from the orthography, so it is not marked. A written word will always be stressed on the second to last syllable if it ends on an open syllable, otherwise stress will fall on the last syllable.

Phonetics

Consonants

	Labial		Alveolar		Palat.	Velar		Uvular		Glot.
	unv.	vce.	unv.	vce.	vce.	unv.	vce.	unv.	vce.	unv.
Nasal		m		n	ɲ
Ejectives	p’		t’			k’
Stops	p	b	t	d		k	g	q		ʔ
Fricatives	f	v	s	z		x				h
Liquids				l					ʀ

Vowels

	Front	Center	Back
	rnd	unr.	unr.
Close	i ĩ		u ũ
Mid	e ẽ		o õ
Open		a ã

Syllable structure

((h)C) V (N)

• C: a consonant, which may be pre-aspirated word-medially.
• V: a vowel
• N: is a nasal consonant with unspecified place of articulation.

Prosody

Stress usually falls on the second to last syllable, unless the word ends in a nasal vowel or preaspirates suffixes, in which case it falls on the last syllable.

Syntax

WALS Ch.	Structure	Examples
WALS 81 - 84	SOXV	— [S: the dog] [O: the cat] [X: to the tree] [V: chases]
WALS 85	Prepositions	— [PP: to] [N: the tree]
WALS 86	Genitive Noun	— [G: the cat's] [N: toy]
WALS 87	Noun Adjective	— [N: dog] [Adj: big]
WALS 88	Noun Determiner	— [N: dog] [Det: that]
WALS 89	Numeral Noun	— [Num: three] [N: balls]
WALS 94	Internal subordinator word	— [S: the dog] [Adv: if] [V: sees]
WALS 100	Active alignment	— [Act: the dog] [Pas: the cat] [V: chases] — [Act: the dog] [V: walks] — [Pas: the cat] [V: falls]
WALS 122	Gap	[S:[R: a wool have-not] sheep] [O:horses] [V:sees]
WALS 123	Relativization on Obliques	— [Act: the dog] [Pas: the cat] [V: chases] — [Act: the dog] [V: walks] — [Pas: the cat] [V: falls]

Relative constructions

Proto-angaran builds relative constructions with the help of demonstratives. Generally speaking, a correlative construction with a demonstrative in the relative and main clauses is the most versatile, but Passive-relative constructions can drop the demonstrative from the main clause, and Active-relative constructions can drop all the demonstratives and fully rely in word order instead.

Active (sheep)

Regular clause

The sheep wool not has.

The sheep had no wool.

Gapping

The sheep [wool not has] horses saw.

The sheep (who) had no wool saw horses.

A horse sheep [wool not has] saw.

A horse saw the sheep (who) had no wool.

Demonstrative

The sheep [that wool not has] horses saw.

The sheep that had no wool saw horses.

A horse sheep [that wool not has] saw.

A horse saw the sheep that had no wool.

Correlative

[sheep that wool not has], sheep that horses saw.

The sheep has no wool, that sheep saw horses.

Passive (wagon)

Regular clause

The horse a wagon pulling.

The horse pulling a wagon.

Demonstrative

The sheep a wagon [the horse that pulling] rides.

The sheep rides a wagon, that the horse is pulling.

Correlative

[The horse wagon that pulling], the sheep wagon that rides.

The horse is pulling a wagon, the sheep rides that wagon.

Oblique (hill)

Regular clause

The sheep them from a hill saw

The sheep saw them from a hill

Correlative

[The sheep them from hill that saw], we hill that love

The sheep we saw from that hill, we love that hill

Grammar

Pronouns

• sa – I (1st p. singular)
• sana – we (1st p. plural inc.)
• sado – we (1st p. plural excl.)
• ika – you (2nd p. singular)
• ikana – you (2nd p. dual)
• ikado – you (2nd p. plural)
• go – he/she (3rd p. singular)
• gona – they (3rd p. dual)
• godo – they (3rd p. plural)
• a – it/that (3rd p. singular)
• ahdo – they/those (3rd p. dual)
• ahna – they/those (3rd p. plural)

Determiners

Only an indefinite article is used

Number

Marked by particles, three different forms: singular, dual, plural

Tenses

Present, unmarked; past and habitual, regularly marked by affixes; future

Samples

Misc. sentences

“Tenju ohdattali 'e sin”
/ˈte.ɲu oh.daˈt’a.li ʔe sĩ/

tenju	oh=dattali	'e	sin
mister	indf=animal	pat	see

“The mister sees an animal”

Schleicher's fable

“Ti ohrante, kginja 'e ka hila ohagahi to ohemon 'e sin mo, …”
/ti ohˈʀan.te ˈk’i.ɲa ʔe ka hiˈla o.haˈga.hi to o.heˈmõ ʔe sĩ mo/

ti	oh=rante,	kginja	'e	ka	hila	oh=agahi	to	oh=emon	'e	sin	mo
On	indf=hill,	wool	pat	neg	have	indf=sheep	pl	indf=horse	pat	see	pst,

“On a hill, a wool have-not sheep saw some horses, …”

“…ahdomi za ohppami godo 'e lanjicipu, …”
/ahˈdo.mi za ohˈp’a.mi ˈgo.do ʔe ˌla.ɲiˈxi.pu/

ahdo=mi	za	oh=pbami	godo	'e	lanji=cipu
3p=gen	one	indf=wagon	heavy	pat	pull=ipfv

“…one of them pulling a heavy wagon, …”

“…zakuna ohdakkenvita onjo 'e dakkencipu, …”
/zaˈku.na ohˌda.k’eɱˈvi.ta ˈo.ɲo ʔe ˌda.k’eŋˈxi.pu/

zakuna	oh=dakken-vita	onjo	'e	dakken=cipu
one:else	indf=carry-nz	big	pat	carry=ipfv

“…another carrying a big load, …”

“…o zakuna ohnagoh 'e dakkencipu qasi. …”
/o zaˈku.na ˌoh.naˈgo ʔe ˌda.k’eŋˈxi.pu ˈqa.si/

o	zakuna	oh=nagoh	'e	dakken=cipu	qasi
and	one:else	indf=man	pat	carry=ipfv	fast

“…and another carrying a man fast. …”

On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses." The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool." Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.