Idavic languages

Ashe and Hirst's Shalaian grammar provides the following diachronics:

Phonology

• Consonants: b d j g ɓ t’ č’ k’ kʷ’ q’ p t č k kʷ q s h ʔ m n l r w y ʕ
• Vowels: a i u ā ī ū ō ə
• Pitch accent: modal (á), creaky (aˀ)

Diachronics

• b > v; ɓ > b; g > għ-, -j; j > ʒ
• Grimm's law: p t č kʷ q > f θ ʃ x H
• q G q' > H ayin q
• further shifts: kʷ' > kʷ > xʷ
• Vowel shifts: ā > /ɛɪ/ (except before pharyngeals); ō > /əʊ/, u > /ɒ/, iw > /ju:/
• final -ā -ī shorten to -a -i
• Loss of initial glottal stop, then loss of non-prevocalic /r/
• Historical long vowels (also /ɑː/ from historical /ar/) shorten before /ʕ/

Phonotactics

1- or 2- syllabic roots most common: CVC, CVCC, CVCCa, CVCVC, CVCCVC

Morphology

Tone changes were part of the morphology of Proto-Shalaian, as in Modern Shalaian.

The three genders, the strong and weak declensions and the two sets of possessive markers are all Proto-Shalaian features. Verbs were not inflected for tense or person, and were syntactically verbal nouns; it is thought that verbs developed personal marking later from possessed (even doubly-possessed) verbal noun forms.

Verbs

The auxiliary

Explain and/or fix:

Inflection of the preverb

	present			past			future/subjunctive
	pos.	neg.	foc.	pos.	neg.	foc.	pos.	neg.	foc.
direct (verbal)	vor	mar	thom'	lōkh	larra	lōm'	zhar't, ∅	bai'	zharm'
mirative	thwal	lizhmer	thwal'om'	thwakh	thwakhra	thwakh lōm'	thwal zhar't	thwal bai'	thwal zharm'
hearsay	shaf	shaf mar	shafom'	shafakh	shafra	shaf lōm'	shaf zhar't	shaf bai'	shaf zharm'
inferential	tib	tib mar	tib thom'	tílakh	tib ra	tib lōm'	tib zhar't	tib bai'	tib zharm'
question	am	maand	am thom'	okh	morra	okh thom'	ner't	ner'bai'	nerm'
relativizer (direct)	vi	dov	vi thom'	vikh	dover	vikh thom'	ver't	do'ft	verm'
relativizer (indirect)	cha'	do'ch	cha' thom'	chakh	do'char	chakh thom'	char't	do'cht	charm'
complementizer	ith	dor	ith thom'	ian	dorn	ian thom'	naaf	dor't	naaf thom'
if (real)	sher	rikh	sher thom'	shern	reen	shern thom'	wher't	reer't	wher't thom'
if (irreal or less vivid)	roogħ	rikh	roogħ thom'	roogħan	reen	roogħan thom'	roor't	reer't	roogħ zhar't thom'

Syntax

Proto-Shalaian syntax was AuxVOS:

• Stative verbs (eventually all intransitives): Aux_i prep VN-w_i S_i (abs/erg in Shal.)
• Dynamic verbs (eventually transitives): Aux_i prep s_j-VN-w_i O_j S_i (abs/erg in Shal.)
• Infinitive clauses: prep VN.INF-w_i S_i O ... (nom/acc in Shal.)