Proto-Atlanto-Mediterranean
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Proto-Atlanto-Mediterranean is a hypothetical reconstructed language thought to be the ancestor of the Atlanto-Mediterranean linguistic macrofamily. This large group includes several language families and isolated languages spoken primarily in Europe. Its origin is controversial and would be linked to the Ahmarian culture of the Middle East or the Aurignacian culture of Europe, both associated with the settlement of Europe by Homo sapiens during the Paleolithic. However, due to the extreme remoteness of this ancient language, its precise reconstruction faces enormous challenges. In the absence of direct evidence, one can only rely on speculation and the limited long range comparative historical evidence available.
Introduction
Phonology
Orthography
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | Laryngeal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laminal | Apical | Sublaminal | ||||||||||
| Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Postpalatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ɳ | *ɲ | *ŋ | *ɴ | ||||||
| Plosive | Voiceless | Ejective | *pʼ | *tʼ | *tsʼ | *tɬʼ | *tʃʼ | *tɕʼ | *kʼ | *qʼ | *ʡ | *ʔ |
| Aspirated | *pʰ | *tʰ | *tsʰ | *tɬʰ | *tʃʰ | *tɕʰ | *kʰ | *qʰ | ||||
| Voiced | Plain | *b | *d | *dz | *dɮ | *dʒ | *dʑ | *g | *ɢ | |||
| Murmured | *bʱ | *dʱ | *dzʱ | *dɮʱ | *dʒʱ | *dʑʱ | *gʱ | *ɢʱ | ||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | *f | *θ | *s | *ɬ | *ʃ | *ɕ | *x | *χ | *ħ | *h | |
| Voiced | *v | *ð | *z | *ɮ | *ʒ | *ʑ | *ɣ | *ʁ | *ʕ | *ɦ | ||
| Liquid | Rhotic | *ʙ | *ɹ | *ɻ | *r | *ʀ | *ʢ | |||||
| Lateral | *l | *ɭ | *ʎ | *ʟ | ||||||||
| Click | *(ʘ) | *ǀ | *ǃ | *ǁ | *ǂ | *(qǂ) | ||||||
Approximants
| Labial | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | *ʋ | *ɥ | *w |
| Palatal | *ɥ | *j | *ɧ |
| Velar | *w | *ɧ | *ɰ |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | |
| High | *i | *iː | *ɨ | *ɨː | *u | *uː |
| Mid | *e | *eː | *ə | *əː | *o | *oː |
| Low | *a | *aː | *ɐ | *ɐː | *ɑ | *ɑː |