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 | *ɲ | *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 | ||||
Accent
Morphology
Nouns
The basic, or absolutive, form of a noun is the bare stem, with no affixes or modifications. To this stem can be added a variety of affixes. Generally, prefixes are possessives or determinatives, whilst suffixes convert grammatical information such as case.
| Meaning | Prefix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1.sg. possessor | *tə- | *tə-beŋ 'my house' |
| 1.pl. possessor | *wə- | *wə-beŋ 'our house' |
| 2.sg. possessor | *nə- | *nə-beŋ 'your house' |
| 2.pl. possessor | *bə- | *bə-beŋ 'y'all's house' |
| 3rd person possessor | *ī- | *ī-beŋ 'their house' |
| 4th person possessor | *kə- | *kə-beŋ 'their house' |
| Indefinite possessor | *ā- | *ā-beŋ 'someone's house' |
| proximal determiner | *gi- | *gi-beŋ 'this house' |
| medial determiner | *igi- | *igi-beŋ 'that house near you' |
| distal determiner | *agi- | *agi-beŋ 'that house over there' |
| Meaning | Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ergative case | *-ŋa | *dūnə-ŋa 'the person (erg.)' |
| dative case | *-əi | *dūnə-əi 'to the person' Can also be used with motion to |
| locative case | *-in | *beŋ-in 'at the house' Can also be used with motion from |
| comitative case | *-il | *kur-il 'with the chief' |
| partitive case | *-ɲā | *arkʷ-ɲā 'part of the boat' |
| vocative case | *-a | *kur-a 'o chief!' |
| honorific | *-cin | *dūnə-cin 'the person (said with respect)' |
A small quirk of morphosyntax; when a prefix is attached to a word, any suffix is not attached after the words itself, but after the prefix, i.e. *wə-ŋa-kur ('our chief (erg.)') not **wə-kur-ŋa. This includes instances of suffixaufnahme, such as those which commonly occur with the honorific; *wə-cin-ŋa-kur not **wə-ŋa-kur-cin or **wə-cin-kur-ŋa.
Unmarked nouns can be used as a genitive construct state, wherein the possessor comes before the possessed, e.g. *kur-beŋ ('the chief's house'). Occasionally, the 3rd or 4th person possessive pronouns may come before the main noun, depending on the salience of the possessor within the discourse (*kur ī-beŋ or *kur kə-beŋ).
Verbs
The verb template
| conjunct prefixes | stem | conjunct suffixes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3a | 3b | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| direct object | adverb | (converb classifier) | converb | classifier | subject | stem | auxiliary |
Subject and object marking
| Number | Subject | Object | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | |
| 1st person | *t- | *wi- | *-ti- | *-wəh- |
| 2nd person | *n- | *bi- | *-ni- | *-bih- |
| 3rd person | *Ø- | *i- | ||
| 4rd person | *s- | *ki- | ||
| Indefinite | *a- | *a- | ||
| Reflexive | *Ø- | *de- | ||
The third person and fourth person pronominal clitics are used to keep track of multiple third person arguments within discourse, any may also be referred to as the third person proximate and third person obviate respectively. The third person is assigned to the more salient argument, or the argument which has appeared before.
Classifiers
Classifiers are optional prefixes that affect the transitivity or valency of a verb. There are a number of different classifiers for different categories of verbs. Some verbs have an inherent transitivity, which can be changed via classifiers, whilst others require a classifier for both their transitive and intransitive forms.
| IN | Use | Examples | TR | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ra- | Forms intransitive verbs from stems related to motion, or creates stative verbs of position. | *rattes 'I come down' | *e- | Forms transitive verbs from stems related to motion, or creates transitive verbs from root unaccusative verbs of manipulation or change of state. | *yettes 'I lower it' |
| *re- | Forms unaccusative verbs from stems related to manipulation. | *reren 'it comes off', *redək 'it closes' | *c- | Forms transitive verbs from stems related to manipulation, or change of state. | *ictdək 'I close it' |
| *ri- | Forms intransitive verbs denoting a static state from stems related to state. | *ritaidə 'it suffices' | *ca- | Forms transitive verbs from stems denoting a state of change, especially a physical impact, or causative verbs from stems relating to speech or sound. | *icatsakidə 'I scorched it,' *icattasu 'I add it' |
| *e- | Forms unaccusative verbs from stems denoting a state of change, especially a physical impact. | *ekusidə 'it is cut', *esakidə 'it got scorched' | *cə- | Forms causative transitive verbs from stems denoting labour or a physical or mental change of state. | *ticənəskidə 'You woke me up' |
| *i- | Forms intransitive verbs from stems denoting labour or a physical or mental change of state. | *itəskidə 'I wake up' | *ce- | Forms causative transitive verbs from stems denoting physical location or position. | *icetnər 'I put them on the boat' |
In addition, there are three derivative classifiers which can be used to derive verbs from noun and adjective stems.
| Classifier | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *ma- | When attached to an adjectival stem, it creates an intransitive verb meaning 'to become (adjective).' These take regular verbal marking, rather than stative verb (adjectival) marking. | *hur-si ('it is high') → *mahurusu ('it becomes high') |
| *me- | When attached to an adjectival stem, it creates a transitive verb meaning 'to make (adjective).' These take regular verbal marking, rather than stative verb (adjectival) marking. | *hur-si ('it is high') → *timehurusu ('I make it high; I heighten it') |
| *pak- | Attaches to noun stems, creating stative verbs meaning 'like a (noun).' These take stative verb (adjectival) marking. | *sauk ('a hawk') → *paksauk-si ('it is like a hawk.') |
Conjugation
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 | *rene | *reni | *renusu | *renu | *rensa | *renə̄ | 'take, tug' |
| s-stem irregular | *base | *basi | *basu | *basu | *bāsa | *basə̄ | 'hit, strike' |
| i-stem irregular | *mie | *mī | *misu | *miu | *misa | *mire | 'look, see' |
| u-stem irregular | *cue | *cui | *cusu | *cū | *cusa | *cure | 'make, do, place' |
| e-stem irregular | *ē | *ei | *esu | *eu | *esa | *ere | 'eat' |
| ə-stem irregular | *kʷē | *kʷəi | *kʷəsu | *kʷəu | *kʷəsa | *kʷə̄ | 'say, speak' |
| a-stem irregular | *daŋʷae | *daŋʷai | *daŋʷasu | *daŋʷau | *daŋʷasa | *daŋʷare | 'sing, chant' |
| C-stem stative | *ə̄c-he | *ə̄c-hi | *ə̄c-si | *ə̄c-hu | *ə̄c-sa | *ə̄c-həre | 'big, large' |
| V-stem stative | *ənə-he | *ənə-hi | *ənə-si | *ənə-hu | *ənə-sa | *ənə-həre | 'small, little' |
The marked conclusive form may be dropped and the bare stem used to signify a conclusive meaning before a pausa.
Auxiliary verbs
- *dəsu
- (perfective aspect • emphatic) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb. Generally used for voluntarily concluded action or states.
- *dəiarusu
- (perfective aspect • continuing importance) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb. Formed of *dəsu + the copula *arusu.
- *nusu
- (negative) Attaches to the irrealis form of a verb. Irregular stem; *n- in the irrealis, infinitive, conclusive, and imperative and *s- adnominal and realis.
*daŋʷae
sing.IRR
-nu
-NEG.CONCL
'They do not sing'
*daŋʷae
sing.IRR
-su
-NEG.ADN
'The one(s) that do not sing'
- *nəsu
- (perfective aspect • emphatic) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb. Generally used to express natural states or actions.
- *kusu
- (past tense) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb. Irregular stem; *k- in the irrealis, infinitive, conclusive, and imperative and *ŋ- adnominal and realis; e.g. *daŋʷáikusu ('they sang') vs. *daŋʷáiŋu ('the one(s) that sang').
- *kiarusu
- (reported past • hearsay • narrative tense) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb. Formed of *kusu + the copula *arusu.
- *ta-si
- (volition • desiderative mood) Attaches to the infinitive form of a verb.
- *nitmītahinə
*ni-
2SG-
t-
1SG-
mī
see.INF
-ta
-DES
-hi
-INF
-nə
-PFV.CONCL
'I wanted to see you.'
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:
- *kel ('island') → *kekel ('islands')
- *dūnə ('person') → *dudūnə ('people')
- *sauk ('hawk') → *sasauk ('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:
- *sēl ('the ocean') → *sesēl ('the vast ocean')
- *hur-si ('tall, high') → *huhur-si ('very tall, very high')
- *ə̄c-si ('large, big') → *əʔə̄c-si ('huge, enormous')
Occasionally a reduplicated term may carry both of these meanings. For example, *kekel may have the plural meaning 'islands,' or the collective 'land, all the islands, great island, continent.'
Development
To Proto-Central Dynic
Diphthongs ending in a palatal glide become long monophthongs, some merging with original *ē, whilst others becoming a new, perhaps more closed version, such as [ɛː], written *ē₂.
- *ē → *ē₁; e.g. *sēl ('sea') → *sē₁l
- *ei → *ē₁; e.g. *iteidə ('I ate it') → *itē₁d
- *əi → *ē₂; e.g. *-dəiarusu (PFV suffix) → *-dē₂arusu
- *ai → *ē₂; e.g. *daŋʷaidə ('I ate it') → *daŋʷē₂d
A similar change occurred with *ə̄ and *əu, however *eu and *au were unaffected.
- *ə̄ → *ō₁; e.g. *nkʷə̄ (speak!) → *inkʷō₁
- *əu → *ō₂; e.g. *kʷəidəu (the one who spoke) → *kʷē₂dō₂ (perhaps [kʷɛ̂ː.dɔː])