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Xobchyk: Difference between revisions
→Historical Development of Xobchyk
EnricoGalea (talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{Infobox language |image = Xobchyk.jpg |name = Xobchyk |nativename = Xobchyk |pronunciation = 'çɤ.bʱɨk |region = China |states = Xinjiang |setting = North Xinjiang |speakers = ~1.2 million |date = 2018 |fam1 = Altaic? |fam2 = Xobchykan? |fam3 = Proto-Xobchyk |fam4 = Old Xobchyk |script = Cyrillic }} '''Xobchyk''' (pronounced ['çɤ.bʱɨk]) is a linguistic isolate spoken by approximately 1.2 million people in the secluded val...") |
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Linguistic reconstruction, aided by early ritual inscriptions and comparative internal reconstruction, suggests several major phonological and grammatical shifts from Proto-Xobchyk to the modern language: | Linguistic reconstruction, aided by early ritual inscriptions and comparative internal reconstruction, suggests several major phonological and grammatical shifts from Proto-Xobchyk to the modern language: | ||
* The alignment system underwent a dramatic reorganization: Proto-Xobchyk likely exhibited a tripartite alignment, but this collapsed into the direct-inverse system observed today. This was driven in part by person hierarchy marking and animacy distinctions, which began to govern verb agreement and argument structure around the 8th century CE. | |||
* The original dual number was lost, merging with plural forms. Vestiges of the dual survive in a few fossilized pronouns and conjugations. | * The original dual number was lost, merging with plural forms. Vestiges of the dual survive in a few fossilized pronouns and conjugations. | ||
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*An innovative inverse-person-marking particle, ge- in Proto-Xobchyk, evolved into the modern direct-inverse prefix g- or k- depending on vowel harmony. | *An innovative inverse-person-marking particle, ge- in Proto-Xobchyk, evolved into the modern direct-inverse prefix g- or k- depending on vowel harmony. | ||
*Finally, sound changes such as */tɬ/ > /x/, */gʷ/ > /ɢ/, and a shift from pharyngeal fricatives to ejectives in emphatic forms shaped the phonological identity of contemporary Xobchyk. | *Finally, sound changes such as */tɬ/ > /x/, */gʷ/ > /ɢ/, and a shift from pharyngeal fricatives to ejectives in emphatic forms shaped the phonological identity of contemporary Xobchyk. | ||
== Phonology == | == Phonology == | ||