Lakovic languages
- Not to be confused with the Lahob languages.
Swadesh lists for the Lakovic languages
Lakovic | |
---|---|
Created by | – |
Geographic distribution | Originally Bjeheond, Talma and Txapoalli; today worldwide |
Linguistic classification | One of Tricin's primary language families |
Proto-language | Proto-Lakovic |
Subdivisions |
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The Lakovic languages (/ləˈkoʊvɪk/ lə-KOH-vik; Windermere: fi imbrits Lăcof) are a major Trician language family, originally native to Bjeheond. The family is inspired by Semitic, Mon-Khmer and Austronesian languages.
The family is named after *ləkof, the PLak reconstructed word for 'human'.
Some people put Arpalan, Lakovic, Pategic, and Clofabosin into a macrofamily.
Roots from Netagin (to be used in PLak)
- n-s-d: learn
- w-x-s: love
- b-n-s: hide
- l-z-f: poke
- z-ħ-m: praise, honor
- ŋ-þ-w: new
- x-3-f: reason
- h-ŋ-c: empty, null
- ħ-d-x: warm
- c-ŋ-t: garden, horticulture
- g-m-z: letter, element
- ŋ-b-ś: compassion, sympathy
- f-ś-r: agree, blend
- n-b-ś: courage
- þ-f-x: know
- y-r-f: roll
- f-c-m: read
- l-x-r: write
- z-r-b: true, firm
- ś-d-l: half, split
- f-s-t: step, stage
- ʔ-b-l: mind
- w-t-f: die
- þ-ŋ-b: measure
- z-m-z-m: hesitate
- s-w-ħ: king, rule
- ħ-c-g: value
- ʔ-t-r: punish
- g-b-n: say
- k-l-k-l: tile
- b-s-ŋ: clan, family
- b-c-3: force, coerce
- r-ʔ-b: criticize
- f-s-k: beast
- k-l-d: agree
- z-l-n: comfort, solace
- ʔ-ś-þ: light, color
- y-d-ś: compare, similar, metaphor
- s-f-l: dear
- w-d-r: equal, same
- ħ-g-r: different
- m-g-þ: assign
- k-b-ć: shield, fortress
- k-z-r: hand over
- c-b-s: show, exhibit
- ħ-r-x: open
- þ-k-s: good, great
- ħ-n-b: use
- s-n-l: help
- f-þ-ʔ: proud
- s-f-n: bold
- x-r-r: young
- x-l-n: eternity
- l-n: come
- l-r-y: wait
- n-m-y: fall
- k-z-n: stop, settle
- ś-n-ħ: near
- ħ-t-r: swim
- ś-r-g: develop, evolve
- r-x-m: dwell
- ć-h-k: cold
- d-ħ-s: strong
- t-k: to sit on
- s-b-d: form, become
- ŋ-z-ʔ: pure
- d-ŋ-n: lowly, debased, humiliate
- ŋ-þ-ħ: stretch, deform
- r-ŋ-b: precious
- b-ħ-d: round
- z-n: grasp
Todo
Lakovic should be huge
Urheimat: Talma
Language with dissimilated reduplicated plurals/verbs
Proto-Ashanic = vaguely Salish grammar
some confusion between derivational affixes and trigger/applicatives in Ashanic
an ergative Lakovic language
a Txapoallian Lakovic language with a possessed classifier system
Phylogeny
Proto-Lakovic
- Ashanic
- Tseeric
- Häskä
- Pfiunic
- Tumhanic
- Eta-Lakovic
- Txapoallian Lakovic
- Ejective-y, tonal language
- Tsrovesh
Proto-Lakovic phonology
Consonants
Labial | Dental | Domed | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Laryngeal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ŋ /ŋ/ | |||||
Plosive | voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /ɡ/ | ||||
voiceless | p /p/ | t /t/ | k /k/ | Q | ||||
Affricate | c /t͡s/ | ć /t͡ʂ/ | ||||||
Fricative | f /f/ | s /s/ | ś /ʂ/ | š /ʃ/ | X /x/ | H | ||
Resonant | w /w/ | l /l/ | r /r/ | y /j/ |
Vowels
i u e o ə a
There is some disagreement about the vowel ə - it may have been /æ/ or /ə/.
Phonotactics
Dominated by CV or CVC syllables. Some prefixes and infixes resulted in CC-'s.
Proto-Lakovic morphology
Root structure
Roots consisted of a sequence of consonants plus an inherent vowel. Schwebeablaut was used, so the vowel could change places. The roots could be of the form
- biconsonantal roots alternating between CVC and CCV. Example: sep ~ spe 'to walk'
- triconsonantal roots alternating between CCVC, CVCC, and CVCVC. Example: ptsun ~ putsn ~ putsun 'to live'
Statistically, biconsonantal roots in Lakovic are more common than in Semitic; triconsonantal roots are derived from biconsonantals via root extensions.
Various prefixes, infixes and suffixes were added to derive words. Infixes can have 2 allomorphs, either as an infix or as a prefix: C<əC>CVC or C-CVC/C-CVCC.
Three-consonant roots had 3 ablaut grades, traditionally called:
- Verbal grade: CCVC
- Nominal grade: CVCC
- Long grade: CVCVC
The CVCC grade had some reflexes with either the first C assimilating into V or the second C (explain some words like muad, yar or -b, -d finals)
Weak roots
Weak roots such as *yriš 'to hear' and *sap' 'to pull' have irregularities in their allomorphs, like weak roots in Semitic. The weak consonants are y, w, H, and ?.
Either the verbal stem (e.g. yriš > riš) or the nominal stem (sap' > sap 'to pull, to drag') or both are shortened, and either drops or assimilates the weak consonant.
Nouns
Nouns were pluralized by total reduplication:
- lakof 'person' > lakof-lakof 'people'
- ptek 'flesh' > ptek-ptek 'a large quantity of flesh'
There was a feminine suffix -is/-s.
Nouns had no morphological case; genitive noun phrases were formed by concatenation.
Ashanic developed a new associative plural suffix -am, from npäm 'group; fellow' (the -am in Modern Windermere plural pronouns łănam, ănam).
Case markers
Case markers came before the noun:
- xu = direct case
- t = indirect case
Pronouns
Most branches of Lakovic show evidence for the following PLak pronouns:
- *riH = I
- *bəŋ = we (dual inclusive)
- *śen = thou (m)
- *śens = thou (f)
- *ʔin = he
- *ʔins = she
PLak had no plural pronouns; it made do with associative plurals or demonstratives instead.
Possessive prefixes
Verbs and adjectives
Proto-Lakovic was a verb-heavy language: verbs contained enough information that a sentence could consist of just a verb, and context made sense of the meaning.
Verbs inflected for triggers, TAM, pluractionality, evidentiality, and gender agreement. Present-day Lakovic languages preserve these inflections to varying levels.
Gender
- wa- = feminine
TAM
- unmarked: imperfective (current state for stative)
- -H: perfective (dynamic for stative)
- various reduplifixes for other TAMs:
- C1V- = iterative, habitual action
Triggers
Triggers (giving the noun in the direct case specific semantic roles) were marked by adding infixes to the verbal grade of the root. The original trigger system usually became a set of derivational affixes in daughter languages, much like binyanim (originally marking voice) in Semitic languages.
Proto-Lakovic had seven triggers:
- agent trigger: unmarked?
- patient trigger: ⟨əp⟩
- destination trigger: ⟨əŋ⟩
- locative trigger: ⟨it⟩
- ablative/cause trigger: ⟨əm/nəm⟩
- instrument trigger: ⟨əw⟩, ⟨əg⟩
- benefactive trigger: ⟨əkəm⟩
In most branches (Ashanic, Tseeric, Tumhanic, Pfiunic, Häskä, Tsrovesh), the original trigger system became a set of derivational affixes. Txapoallian Lakovic reinterpreted the trigger system into a more head-marking, polysynthetic system. Only some modern Eta-Lakovic languages retain a trigger system today.
Nominalization
The most common ways to form deverbal nouns were:
- Using the nominal grade CVCC of the root
- The ⟨ay⟩ infix
- using instrument, place and agent affixes.
In some descendant languages such as Häskä, the nominal grade retained productivity as a derivational method, in fact there arose a triconsonantal root system.
Derivational morphology
Root extensions
There is much evidence that the truly basic roots were CVC~CCV roots, and CVCC~CCVC roots were derived from CVC~CCV via suffixing a third root consonant.
- ngit = to happen
- ngitw~ngtiw = new
Affixes
- ⟨-s⟩: feminine
- Source of breathy voice ablaut in Wdm.
- ⟨ṛ⟩ prefix or infix: non-volitional or passive verbs
- Ashanic *⟨àr⟩, Wdm. ⟨ră⟩, ⟨năr/măr⟩
- ⟨ay⟩ = deverbal noun
- ⟨ang⟩ = place noun
- ⟨aH⟩ = agentive
- b- = agentive
- Wdm. pă- (not productive)
- Tseer ba-
- ha- = resultative (passive in Windermere)
- t- = causative
- Wdm. th- (not productive)
- lä- = denominal verbs
- ʔu- = intensive
- Wdm. th-u-
- ya- = adjectivizer; from ya
'with'
- Wdm. yă-, Tseezh xi-, Häskä yə-
- ⟨ʔ⟩ = negative; the opposite or undoing of X
- not productive in Wdm
Proto-Lakovic syntax
Proto-Lakovic had flexible word order, but the most common word order was VSO.
Triggers
- spe-H t riH Qopr-is (walk-PFV DIR 1SG height-FEM) = I walked up high (neutral)
- xu Qopr-is s<əŋ>pe-H t riH (DIR height-FEM <DEST>walk-PFV IND 1SG) = I walked up high (emphasis on "up high")
Vocabulary
- √bric: speak
- √blek: shine, radiate
- √ked: soft
- √snok: 'to separate'
- Wdm snoach: 'to learn'
- √snek: 'to bite'
- √ŋac: 'in front'
- √ŋic: 'empty'
- √yriš 'hear'
- Wdm. riș 'hear ye!'
- √ʔpor 'high'
- Wdm. ăfur 'noble'
- Tseer ofør 'high'
- √mnot 'to produce, to grow, to give birth'
- *mont-is
- Wdm muad
- *mont-is
- √ptek 'to inhabit, to occupy, to be at'
- *p⟨aH⟩tek
- Wdm fteach 'body'
- *p⟨aH⟩tek
- PLak √dmäy 'to drop, to grant'
- PAsh dàrmày 'rain'
- Wdm. trămäy
- PAsh dàrmày 'rain'
- *√ptsun 'to live'
- *ləkof = human, person
- PAsh √mdäŋ 'to struggle, to fight'
- Wdm. mătäng 'war'
- *ṛ-: nonvolitional
- Wdm -ră-, -năr-
- √tkä' 'to go'
- Proto-Ashanic àrtka < *ṛ-tkä
- Windermere răchta 'to die'
- Tseer adhka 'to go'
- Tsjoen tjo
- Proto-Ashanic àrtka < *ṛ-tkä
- PAsh ksìʔ > Wdm. csie 'star'
- PAsh śkey > Wdm. scey 'bark'
- PAsh ʔmä 'mother'
- Wdm. ăma
- PAsh ʔeb 'father'
- Wdm. ep
- PLak ḷban 'water'
- PAsh àlbon
- Wdm. blon
- Tseer olban, Modern nban
- Häskä əlfon
- PAsh àlbon
- PLak √žän 'to say'
- PAsh šan 'to utter, to say'; šàn 'word'
- Proto-Tumhanic hjàn 'word'
- Schong jahn
- Æ jov?
- Wdm. șän
- Proto-Tumhanic hjàn 'word'
- PAsh šan 'to utter, to say'; šàn 'word'
- PLak √lgän 'straight, upright'
- PAsh àlgan
- Wdm. glan 'straight'
- Tseer ookhan
- PAsh àlgan
Numbers
aHdan, aHrät, atsiw, amsHäk, amsHut
some reflexes of 1, 2 based on *Hadna and *Härta