Proto-Quame

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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




Shoe Polish
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
voiced *b *d *g *gʷ *ɢʷ
ejective *pʼ *tʼ *kʼ *kʷʼ *qʼ *qʷʼ
Fricative *s *x *xʷ *x̌ *x̌ʷ *h
Affricate plain *c
voiced *z
ejective *cʼ *ƛʼ
Approximant plain *y *w
glottalized *yʼ *wʼ
Liquid plain *r *l
glottalized *rʼ *lʼ

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close *i *ī *u *ū
Mid
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.

Pronouns

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 Raxic, future -t- in Themsarian)
  • -eʔ: stative affix (Themsarian preterite tone change.)

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.