Suwáá/Wordlist
The Azzanic languages are a family of consonantal-root languages spoken on the Wiebian subcontinent, as well as on a set of islands off of the North Wiebian Sea, including Tergetian, ʔAškāsīnių (čegānų ʔAškāsīnių) and Rozzino. This family is speculated to have been part of a sprachbund connected to the Talsmic languages. They are descended from Proto-Azzanic (PAzz).
Origin
The Azzanic languages bear the name of the legendary hero Azàn, reconstructed as *ʔAzzānum, to whom Tergetians and ʔAškāsīnians trace their descent.
Phylogeny
ʔAškāsīnių in particular is extremely conservative, distinguishing between all 28 consonants of Proto-Azzanic.
Phonology
Consonants
Proto-Azzanic is reconstructed with 28 consonants.
| Labial | Denti-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | ||||||||
| Nasal | *m | *n | |||||||
| Plosive | plain | *p | *t | *ṭ | *k | *q | *ʔ | ||
| voiced | *b | *d | *ḍ | *g | *ɢ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | *þ *s | *ś | *h | |||||
| voiced | *ð *z | *ź | |||||||
| Affricate | plain | *c | *ć | ||||||
| voiced | *ʒ | *ʒ́ | |||||||
| Approximant | *w | *y | |||||||
| Liquid | *r | *l | |||||||
Consonant correspondences
| PAzz | *p | *b | *t | *d | *þ | *ð | *s | *z | *c | *ʒ | *ś | *ź | *ć | *ʒ́ | *ṭ | *ḍ | *k | *g | *q | *ɢ | *m | *n | *l | *r | *y | *w | *ʔ | *h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tergetian | p | b | t | d | t | d | s | z | s | z | ś | ź | ŧ | đ | ṭ | ḍ | c | g | q | ġ | m | n | l | r | ˀ, coloring | f, coloring | ˀ | ˀ |
| Rozzino | p | b | t | d | f | v | s | ż | z | ż | sci | sgi | ci | gi | ci | gi | c(h) | g(h) | qu | gu | m | n | l | r | gi, coloring | v, coloring | [ʔ] | h [ʔ] |
| ʔAškāsīnių | f | b | t | d | þ | ð | s | z | c | dz | š | ž | č | dž | ṭ | ḍ | k | g | q | ʕ | m | n | l | r | j | v | ʔ | h |
Vowels
Similar to Baltic:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | *i *ī | *u *ū |
| Mid | *ō | |
| Open | *e *ē | *a *ā |
| Diphthongs | *ey *ew | *ay *aw |
Suprasegmentals
Stress fell on the first heavy (CVː or CVC) syllable (the last syllable was disregarded); in the absence of a heavy syllable, the stress fell on the first syllable.
Phonotactics
Grammar
Proto-Azzanic had Philippine alignment as does Rozzino and ʔAškāsīnių. Verb-initial clauses were the norm as in Semitic and Austronesian languages.
Nouns
Nouns and adjectives declined for three cases: direct, indirect and genitive.
Verbs
Verbs had an extensive trigger system marked by various binyanim. Verbs also inflected for the tense and subject (the argument in the direct case).