Peshpeg

Introduction

The Peshpeg language, or Kirmon Peshpega, is a seriously endangered language in the valleys of the Kilmay Rī Mountains and the prefectures of south-central Minhay. The language is considered moribund: according to the last census, only about ninety fluent speakers remain, all older than sixty years. Younger generations speak only Minhast, from either the Wolf Speaker, Stone Speaker, or City Speaker dialects. Efforts to revitalize the language have been largely unsuccessful; with the exception of the City Speakers, most Minhast are either apathetic or even actively hostile to revitalization efforts. Social and economic discrimination towards the Peshpegs has only accelerated the decline of the language.

Peshpeg is classified as a language isolate. Any similarities to the Minhast language are due to language contact, with most of the influences being unidirectional; only a handful of Peshpeg words, most of them related to the fauna and flora of their original homeland, have been adopted by the Wolf Speaker and Stone Speaker dialects. However, Minhast has had an enormous impact on the Peshpeg language; close to 70% of the Peshpeg lexicon come from Minhast, the original base-10 numerical system has been supplanted by the vegisimal system of the dominant language, and the loss of certain phonemes and adoption of new ones are due to Minhast pressure on the Peshpeg language. Even the root kirm- (language) in Kirmon Peshpega is of Minhast origin. Some linguists have explored the possibility of a relationship with Golahat, another endangered, non-Minhast language, but plausible evidence for such a relationship has not been demonstrated.

Morphology

Nouns

Peshpeg nouns fall into one of four declensions, based on the shape and/or behaviour of the nominal root. Six cases are recognized, although some declensions may lack one or more cases due to phonological mergers and other factors. Irregularities are common.

Noun Classes

Case	Declension
	First Declension	Second Declension	Third Declension	Fourth Declension
Direct	peshpeg	nafon	paefne	kirim
Construct	peshpegan	nafnen	pefen	kirmon
Benefactive	peshpegna	(n/a)	pefla	kirmot
Ablative	peshpegka	nafnik	pifnik	kirmok
Comitative	peshpegat	nafen	pefen	(n/a)
Locative	(n/a)	nafnae	pefni	(n/a)
Meaning	man, human being	bone	tree	speech

The first declension is reserved for highly animate nouns, namely humans and vertebrates. For this reason, this declension typically lacks a locative, which are reserved for inanimate nouns.

Ablaut is a feature of third declension nouns. Generally the root vowel of the noun changes to an /e/ or /ɪ,i/ if the root vowel is /a, /æ/; nevertheless, in the majority of cases the ablaut patterns must be memorized.

The fourth declension is associated with abstract nouns. The comitative form is used only with verbal nouns in purposive clauses.