Proto-Dynic
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| Proto-Dynic | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Gaffney McCoy Flancer |
| Setting | Veyn |
Dynic language family
| |
Proto-Dynic is a naturalistic constructed language made for the world of Veyn Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. It is intended to serve as the common ancestor to the largest language family in Veyn, the Dynic family. The language and the family are both named after the shared root for the word 'person' in many Dynic languages, in Aryval, the most common Dynic language; dyn.
Proto-Dynic is a non-diegetic reconstructed conlang; that is, it does not exist within world of Veyn, but rather is framed as a hypothetical reconstruction that linguists may arrive at after studying the Dynic languages of Veyn. Although most of the in-world peoples of Veyn may have a basic understanding that the Dynic languages share a multitude of similarities, and understand the concept that they may have split from a single language in the distant past, they have yet to develop a model of Proto-Dynic. Although it is in fact not a reconstructed language—it was created before/along with it's descendants, it is presented as though it were, for stylistic reasons.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labial | ||||||
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ń | *ŋ | *ŋʷ | ||
| Stop | voiceless | *p | *t | *c | *k | *kʷ | *ʔ |
| voiced | *b | *d | *g | *gʷ | |||
| Fricative | *s | *h | |||||
| Liquid | *r *l | *y | *w | ||||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | *i | *ī | *u | *ū | ||
| Mid | *e | *ē | *ə | *ə̄ | ||
| Mid | *a | *ā | ||||
Pitch accent
Words of four or fewer syllables in Proto-Dynic carry a pitch accent, wherein a high pitch falls on one morae. There is also a so-called dangling accent, where a high pitch appears on the next mora following the word. The placement of the accent is lexical; it is not determined by any phonological processes, and must be specified for each individual word.
Long vowels in Proto-Dynic are considered two morae, thus it is possible for the high pitch to fall on one or the other long vowel morae. In this case, a contour tone is created, either rising or falling depending on where the high-pitch lies.
Morphology
Verbs
Proto-Dynic has a rich system of verbal suffixes. Proto-Dynic verbs use inflection for modal and conjunctional purposes. Other categories, such as voice, tense, aspect and mood, are expressed using optional suffixed auxiliaries, which are also inflected. There are six principle parts from which all other conjugations are derived.
| Verb class | Irrealis | Infinitive | Conclusive | Adnominal | Realis | Imperative | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-stem regular | *réne | *réni | *rénusu | *rénu | *rénsa | *rénə̄ | 'take, tug' |
| s-stem irregular | *báse | *bási | *básu | *básu | *bâsa | *básə̄ | 'hit, strike' |
| i-stem irregular | *mié | *mǐ | *misú | *miú | *misá | *miré | 'look, see' |
| u-stem irregular | *cué | *cuí | *cusú | *cǔ | *cusá | *curé | 'make, do, place' |
| e-stem irregular | *ě | *eí | *esú | *eú | *esá | *eré | 'eat' |
| ə-stem irregular | *kʷê | *kʷə́i | *kʷə́su | *kʷə́u | *kʷə́sa | *kʷə̂ | 'say, speak' |
| a-stem irregular | *daŋʷáe | *daŋʷái | *daŋʷásu | *daŋʷáu | *daŋʷása | *daŋʷáre | 'sing, chant' |
| C-stem stative | *ə̄c-hé | *ə̄c-hí | *ə̄c-sí | *ə̄c-hú | *ə̄c-sá | *ə̄c-hə́re | 'big, large' |
| V-stem stative | *ə́nə-he | *ə́nə-hi | *ə́nə-si | *ə́nə-hu | *ə́nə-sa | *ə́nə-həre | 'small, little' |
Reduplication
Proto-Dynic makes extensive use of reduplication to form the plural of nouns. Generally, the first onset and nucleus of a word are reduplicated, with any long vowels shortened in the reduplicated syllable:
- *kél ('island') → *kekél ('islands')
- *dûnə ('person') → *dudûnə ('people')
- *sáwk ('hawk') → *sasáwk ('hawks')
Reduplication can also be used with uncountable or collective nouns to refer to large or otherwise extreme or emphatic versions of a noun. The same is true of adjectives:
- *sêl ('the ocean') → *sesêl ('the vast ocean')
- *hur-sí ('tall, high') → *huhur-sí ('very tall, very high')
- *ʔə̄c-sí ('large, big') → *ʔəʔə̄c-sí ('huge, enormous')
Occasionally a reduplicated term may carry both of these meanings. For example, *kekél may have the plural meaning 'islands,' or the collective 'land, all the islands, great island, continent.'