Minhast: Difference between revisions

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== Dialectology ==

Minhast is divided fourteen several dialects, twelve of which are the major traditional dialects centered in the Prefectures, and two new dialects that have arisen in modern times, a standardized dialect, and an urban colloquial dialect. The dialects of the Prefectures have been traditionally grouped under two branches, Upper Minhast, and Lower Minhast. Upper Minhast, which consists of several dialects in the northern highlands, encompasses the Northern Coast, Northeastern Mountain Coastal Range (''Gaššarat'', lit. "basalt"), the Kilmay Rī Mountain Range, the Central Plateau ''(Kammak min Nukya)'', and the the Great Plains (''Hamhāmarū'' , lit. "The Great Clearing of the Grasses"). Lower Minhast traditionally has been the branch containing the dialects south of the tribal territories (''karak'') of the Dog, Salmon and Horse Speakers. The ''uyyi min kirim'', lit. "The (way) of saying the (sequence) ''-uyyi''" is the primary test in determining which branch a given dialect should be grouped under, although other tests may be employed as well, such as the frequency of loanwords from the unrelated minority languages Peshpeg and Golahat; the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch have virtually no loanwords from these languages, whereas the dialects of Lower Minhas branch have such loans in varying degrees. The Palatization Test is also used to classify dialects: the dialects from the Lower Minhast branch palatize /t/ and /d/ to /t͡s/ and /d͡ʒ/ when followed by /j/, /ia͡/ or /ie͡/, a feature lacking in the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch.

Minhast is divided fourteen several dialects, twelve of which are the major traditional dialects centered in the Prefectures, and two new dialects that have arisen in modern times, a standardized "national" dialect, and an urban colloquial dialect. The dialects of the Prefectures have been traditionally grouped under two branches, Upper Minhast, and Lower Minhast. Upper Minhast, which consists of several dialects in the northern highlands, encompasses the Northern Coast, Northeastern Mountain Coastal Range (''Gaššarat'', lit. "basalt"), the Kilmay Rī Mountain Range, the Central Plateau ''(Kammak min Nukya)'', and the the Great Plains (''Hamhāmarū'' , lit. "The Great Clearing of the Grasses"). Lower Minhast traditionally has been the branch containing the dialects south of the tribal territories (''karak'') of the Dog, Salmon and Horse Speakers. The ''uyyi min kirim'', lit. "The (way) of saying the (sequence) ''-uyyi''" is the primary test in determining which branch a given dialect should be grouped under, although other tests may be employed as well, such as the frequency of loanwords from the unrelated minority languages Peshpeg and Golahat; the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch have virtually no loanwords from these languages, whereas the dialects of Lower Minhas branch have such loans in varying degrees. The Palatization Test is also used to classify dialects: the dialects from the Lower Minhast branch palatize /t/ and /d/ to /t͡s/ and /d͡ʒ/ when followed by /j/, /ia͡/ or /ie͡/, a feature lacking in the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch.

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Academics criticize grouping the dialects under two branches as problematic. The most obvious problem is that of the Stone Speaker dialect, which not only has a large number of loans from Golahat and Peshpeg that far exceed those in the rest of the Lower Minhast dialects, but appears to be in the early stages of developing from a canonical SOV language into a non-configurational one. Arguments for classifying the Stone Speaker dialect as a separate language have been gaining momentum, the most vocal and convincing proponents being Professor Han Xu of Nanjing University, and Dr. Napayshni of the University of the Lakota Nation at Three Pipes. A new branch has been proposed for the Elk and Seal Speaker dialects, which realize ''-ūy'' with the voiced labio-velar approximant /w/, as in ''-ūwe'' and ''-ūwi'' respectively, in contrast with the voiced palatal consonant /j/ found in the rest of the Upper Minhast dialects. The Gull Speaker dialect presents its own problems. When the ''uyyi min kirim'' test is applied, the results are inconclusive: the dialect can be classified as a member of either the Upper or Lower Minhast branches, as both ''-we'' and ''-ia'' are found. Moreover, the ''-we'' form and other features point towards a relationship with the Elk and Seal Speakers, which are grouped with the Upper Minhast dialects, yet the Gull Speakers do not share a contiguous border with them, so dialectal mixing has been ruled out at this point. The Palatization Test is also inconclusive due to dialectal mixing, primarily due to their Salmon Speaker and Dog Speaker neighbors.

The two new dialects have both arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR). Modern Standard Minhast, a conglomeration of the Upper Minhast dialects and Classical Minhast serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media. The dialect is classified as part of the Upper Minhast branch. The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several dialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and younger, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. The City Speaker dialect allows CCC consonant clusters in medial and final syllabic positions, while only medial and final CC clusters are found. Initial CC clusters are also possible for a limited set of combinations, e.g. /kw/, /kr/, /kl/, /sm/, /sn/, /šm/,/šn/, /sl/, /šl/ . This new dialect is also replete with slang, loanwords (especially from Western sources) and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures.

The two new dialects have both arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR). Modern Standard Minhast, a conglomeration of the Upper Minhast dialects and Classical Minhast serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media. The dialect is classified as part of the Upper Minhast branch. The National Academy of the Minhast Language serves as the official body in creating and maintaining the standardized form of the language and biannually publishes the ''Minhastim Kirim min Suharak'' (Dictionary of the Minhast Language). Although it is officially recognized as the national language, its adoption by the Prefectures has been limited due to resistance from the local speech communities. The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several dialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and younger, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. The City Speaker dialect allows CCC consonant clusters in medial and final syllabic positions, while only medial and final CC clusters are found. Initial CC clusters are also possible for a limited set of combinations, e.g. /kw/, /kr/, /kl/, /sm/, /sn/, /šm/,/šn/, /sl/, /šl/ . This new dialect is also replete with slang, loanwords (especially from Western sources) and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures. The City Speaker dialect remains outside the Upper and Lower branch classification system, providing yet another argument against the traditional two-branch dialectal division.

This grammatical sketch is a description primarily of Modern Standard Minhast. Examples from other Minhast dialects, or from Old or Classical Minhast will be noted as appropriate.

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 == Dialectology ==
-Minhast is divided fourteen several dialects, twelve of which are the major traditional dialects centered in the Prefectures, and two new dialects that have arisen in modern times, a standardized dialect, and an urban colloquial dialect. The dialects of the Prefectures have been traditionally grouped under two branches, Upper Minhast, and Lower Minhast.  Upper Minhast, which consists of several dialects in the northern highlands, encompasses the Northern Coast, Northeastern Mountain Coastal Range (''Gaššarat'', lit. "basalt"), the Kilmay Rī Mountain Range, the Central Plateau ''(Kammak min Nukya)'', and the the Great Plains (''Hamhāmarū'' , lit. "The Great Clearing of the Grasses").  Lower Minhast traditionally has been the branch containing the dialects south of the tribal territories (''karak'') of the Dog, Salmon and Horse Speakers.  The ''uyyi min kirim'', lit. "The (way) of saying the (sequence) ''-uyyi''" is the primary test in determining which branch a given dialect should be grouped under, although other tests may be employed as well, such as the frequency of loanwords from the unrelated minority languages Peshpeg and Golahat; the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch have virtually no loanwords from these languages, whereas the dialects of Lower Minhas branch have such loans in varying degrees.  The Palatization Test is also used to classify dialects: the dialects from the Lower Minhast branch palatize /t/ and /d/ to /t͡s/ and /d͡ʒ/ when followed by /j/, /ia͡/ or /ie͡/, a feature lacking in the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch.
+Minhast is divided fourteen several dialects, twelve of which are the major traditional dialects centered in the Prefectures, and two new dialects that have arisen in modern times, a standardized "national" dialect, and an urban colloquial dialect. The dialects of the Prefectures have been traditionally grouped under two branches, Upper Minhast, and Lower Minhast.  Upper Minhast, which consists of several dialects in the northern highlands, encompasses the Northern Coast, Northeastern Mountain Coastal Range (''Gaššarat'', lit. "basalt"), the Kilmay Rī Mountain Range, the Central Plateau ''(Kammak min Nukya)'', and the the Great Plains (''Hamhāmarū'' , lit. "The Great Clearing of the Grasses").  Lower Minhast traditionally has been the branch containing the dialects south of the tribal territories (''karak'') of the Dog, Salmon and Horse Speakers.  The ''uyyi min kirim'', lit. "The (way) of saying the (sequence) ''-uyyi''" is the primary test in determining which branch a given dialect should be grouped under, although other tests may be employed as well, such as the frequency of loanwords from the unrelated minority languages Peshpeg and Golahat; the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch have virtually no loanwords from these languages, whereas the dialects of Lower Minhas branch have such loans in varying degrees.  The Palatization Test is also used to classify dialects: the dialects from the Lower Minhast branch palatize /t/ and /d/ to /t͡s/ and /d͡ʒ/ when followed by /j/, /ia͡/ or /ie͡/, a feature lacking in the dialects of the Upper Minhast branch.
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 Academics criticize grouping the dialects under two branches as problematic. The most obvious problem is that of the Stone Speaker dialect, which not only has a large number of loans from Golahat and Peshpeg that far exceed those in the rest of the Lower Minhast dialects, but appears to be in the early stages of developing from a canonical SOV language into a non-configurational one. Arguments for classifying the Stone Speaker dialect as a separate language have been gaining momentum, the most vocal and convincing proponents being Professor Han Xu of Nanjing University, and Dr. Napayshni of the University of the Lakota Nation at Three Pipes. A new branch has been proposed for the Elk and Seal Speaker dialects, which realize ''-ūy'' with the voiced labio-velar approximant /w/, as in ''-ūwe'' and ''-ūwi'' respectively, in contrast with the voiced palatal consonant /j/ found in the rest of the Upper Minhast dialects.  The Gull Speaker dialect presents its own problems. When the ''uyyi min kirim'' test is applied, the results are inconclusive: the dialect can be classified as a member of either the Upper or Lower Minhast branches, as both  ''-we'' and ''-ia'' are found.  Moreover, the ''-we'' form and other features point towards a relationship with the Elk and Seal Speakers, which are grouped with the Upper Minhast dialects, yet the Gull Speakers do not share a contiguous border with them, so dialectal mixing has been ruled out at this point.  The Palatization Test is also inconclusive due to dialectal mixing, primarily due to their Salmon Speaker and Dog Speaker neighbors.
-The two new dialects have both arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR).  Modern Standard Minhast, a conglomeration of the Upper Minhast dialects and Classical Minhast serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media.  The dialect is classified as part of the Upper Minhast branch. The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several dialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and younger, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. The City Speaker dialect allows CCC consonant clusters in medial and final syllabic positions, while only medial and final CC clusters are found.  Initial CC clusters are also possible for a limited set of combinations, e.g. /kw/, /kr/, /kl/, /sm/, /sn/, /šm/,/šn/, /sl/, /šl/ .  This new dialect is also replete with slang, loanwords (especially from Western sources) and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures.
+The two new dialects have both arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR).  Modern Standard Minhast, a conglomeration of the Upper Minhast dialects and Classical Minhast serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media.  The dialect is classified as part of the Upper Minhast branch.  The National Academy of the Minhast Language serves as the official body in creating and maintaining the standardized form of the language and biannually publishes the ''Minhastim Kirim min Suharak'' (Dictionary of the Minhast Language).  Although it is officially recognized as the national language, its adoption by the Prefectures has been limited due to resistance from the local speech communities.  The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several dialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and younger, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. The City Speaker dialect allows CCC consonant clusters in medial and final syllabic positions, while only medial and final CC clusters are found.  Initial CC clusters are also possible for a limited set of combinations, e.g. /kw/, /kr/, /kl/, /sm/, /sn/, /šm/,/šn/, /sl/, /šl/ .  This new dialect is also replete with slang, loanwords (especially from Western sources) and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures.  The City Speaker dialect remains outside the Upper and Lower branch classification system, providing yet another argument against the traditional two-branch dialectal division.
 This grammatical sketch is a description primarily of Modern Standard Minhast. Examples from other Minhast dialects, or from Old or Classical Minhast will be noted as appropriate.