Proto-Quame

Overview

The Gamedan languages are moderately inflecting languages that use mainly suffixing, ablaut, and infixing morphology.

Inspirations: Indo-European, Semitic, Wakashan, Salishan

Phylogeny

Proto-Gamedan (P P' B)

Proto-Quame Proto-Talsmic (P F B) Noble Themsarian Nurian Qelorian Tomatowhackatangomango Proto-Peripheral Talsmic (P-Talsmic) Humpback Whelsh Proto-Pfeunic (F P B) Ancient Wiebian Middle Wiebian Reber Wiebian Gaufian Zwehrer Brusing Old Cuatham Cuatham Schnüher Hederdau Old Whetmerish Whetmerish Proto-Naquic (P P' B) Naquian Atzòpic Tizian Proto-Shoeic Boot Polish Reboot Polish Kashoebian Open Sesame Phoshic Proto-Quichum? Adetsib (ʔAdəʔcʼib)

Phonology

Consonants

The following inventory of consonants is reconstructed for Proto-Gamedan. The Quichum branch preserves the most archaic consonant inventories, whereas the Talsmic and Pfiunic branches are the most innovative.

		Labial	Denti-alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labialized	plain	labialized
Nasal	plain	*m	*n
	glottalized	*mʼ	*nʼ
Plosive	plain	*p	*t			*k	*kʷ	*q	*qʷ	*ʔ
	voiced	*b	*d			*g	*gʷ	*ɢ	*ɢʷ
	ejective	*pʼ	*tʼ			*kʼ	*kʷʼ	*qʼ	*qʷʼ
Fricative			*s	*ł		*x	*xʷ	*x̌	*x̌ʷ	*h
Affricate	plain		*c	*ƛ
	voiced		*z	*λ
	ejective		*cʼ	*ƛʼ
Approximant	plain		*r	*l	*y		*w
	glottalized		*rʼ	*lʼ	*yʼ		*wʼ

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	*i *ī		*u *ū
Mid		*ə
Open		*a *ā

Suprasegmentals

No phonemic pitch, tone or stress existed in Proto-Gamedan.

Phonotactics

Consonant clusters were allowed and could become complex, as in the Salishan languages.

Grammar

Typology

The basic word order was V2, modifier-modified.

The morphological form of a typical Gamedan word can be described as root<infix>-suffix-ending.

Ablaut

Much like in PIE, Proto-Gamedan had an ablaut system where roots were inflected in different ablaut grades. The ablaut system became more complex in Quame languages as laryngeal infixes yielded new vowels.

Nominals

Proto-Raxo-Talsmic did not distinguish between nouns and adjectives. They both inflected for:

• 5 cases: nominative, (definite) accusative, genitive, dative, predicative
• A noun class system, indicated by different final classifier clitics. Or perhaps an animate-inanimate opposition.
• 3 numbers: Singular, dual, plural

Nouns minimally consisted of a root and an optional infix, case/number endings and a classifier suffix. The classifier suffixes play a role in gender assignment in daughter languages.

Declension

Declension A: plural -Vu

Declension B: plural -Vd

Declension C: plural -n

Declension D: singular -i, plural -e

Nominal morphosyntax

The PRT nominative and accusative cases differ from the canonical nominative-accusative system in that the accusative case marks only definite or specific direct objects.

Verbs

Verbs were conjugated for subject, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and voice.

• Subject agreement: For each pronoun, and 3rd person m/f/n, and perhaps collective
• Aspects: present, preterite, stative
• Evidentiality: direct, hearsay, unclear memory, quotative, inferential
• Moods: {Indicative, desiderative, jussive, optative}, {mirative, subjunctive}, imperative
• Voices: Active, mediopassive, causative

Ablaut grades

• present: a-grade
• preterite: e-grade
• stative: zero-grade?
• verbal noun: o-grade

TAM affixes

• ⟨n⟩: aorist infix. (Wiobian preterite ⟨n⟩)
• -ƛ-: dynamic affix (progressive -tł- in Naquian, future -t- in Themsarian)
• -eʔ: stative affix

Tense/Agreement suffixes

Imperfect suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-īn		-mēk̓
1.in	-	'	-nci
2	-z	'	-lci
3.animate	-m		-rih
3.inanimate	-ici

Aorist suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-īn		-mēk̓
1.in	-	'	-nci
2	-z	'	-lci
3.animate	-m		-rih
3.inanimate	-ici

Stative suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-nʔe		-moz
1.in	-	'	-toz
2	-zʔe	'	-li
3.animate	-h		-woz
3.inanimate	-z		-toz

Derivational morphology

• ⟨*l⟩ verbalizer
• ⟨*r⟩ nominalizer/adjectivalizer

Some etymologies

• 1: *x̌əm-; *kʷi-x̌əm- 'only one'
• 2: *tił-x̌ur-
• 3: *nazg-
• 4: *λawpʼ-
• 5: *salił
• 6: *sta-x̌əm- 'one more'; *qʷ’əl’
• 10: *q’əyʼ-x̌ur-
• step/level: *naycʼ ('20' in Talsmic)
• ƛʼerqʷa 'stone'
• qʷ’irə 'fur, hair, feather'
• wjənqa 'water'

Sample text

*q̓eino ʔih ƛōbat

The sheep and the horses

*ʔorλikin, q̓ewno wē hiz tihmici t̓ēqʷa, ƛōbante tnosem, kʷēmaz gubiz metqaz, kʷēmaz ʔāzoz qent̓iniz bōc̓qaz, kʷēmaz kʷazaz ɢʷōc̓qaz ʔih lesgʷaz. q̓ewno ƛōbanłi takinim: "ʔino ʔēq̓o ʔinłi nak̓etēm, kʷazaz ƛōbanti ɢʷōzēc̓qaz tosqałi." ƛ̓ōbat takiniwih: "weƛ̓iti, q̓eino! ʔāmiʔo ʔēq̓uh ʔāminłi nak̓etēwih mēz tosqanłi: kʷaza, gūrōda, q̓ewnoh t̓ēqʷaz helł deqrƛi lesƛeƛi reɢm. ʔih q̓ewnoł tihmici t̓ēqʷa. " nēz weƛ̓ēt̓a, q̓ewno gʷalarc̓ēm.

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.