Proto-Quame

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Overview

The Gamedan languages are moderately inflecting languages that use mainly suffixing and infixing morphology.

Inspirations: Indo-European, Semitic, Native American languages

Phylogeny

Proto-Gamedan (P P' B)
Proto-Talsmic (P F B)
Proto-Central Talsmic

Noble Themsarian?



Qelorian



Proto-Peripheral Talsmic

Snaħħian



Núrian?




Proto-Ractamic (P P' B)
Raxic

Atzòpic



Tizian




Proto-Bonzic

Dili



Upur (an attempt at a language with clitic complexes)



Proto-Koiƛoq̓ic

Beƛoq̓ic


Proto-Wiobic (F B P)

Wiobian?





Phonology

Consonants

An inventory of 35 consonants is reconstructed for Proto-Raxo-Talsmic. The Koiƛoq̓ic/Coytłochic branch preserves the most archaic consonant inventories, whereas the Talsmic branch and Wiobian are the most innovative.

Proto-Raxo-Talsmic reconstructed consonants
Labial Denti-alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labialized plain labialized
Nasal *m *n
Plosive plain *p *t *k *kʷ *q *qʷ
voiced *b *d *g *gʷ *ɢʷ
ejective *p̓ *t̓ *k̓ *k̓ʷ *q̓ *q̓ʷ
Fricative voiceless *s *h
voiced *z
Affricate plain *c
ejective *c̓ *ƛ̓
Approximant *y *w
Liquid *r *l

*m *n *l *r could be syllabic.

Consonant correspondences

PGam *p *b *p̓ *t *d *t̓ *s *z *c *c̓ *ƛ̓ *k *g *k̓ *kʷ *gʷ *k̓ʷ *q *q̓ *qʷ *ɢʷ *q̓ʷ *m *n *l *r *y *w *h
Rax p, u- b ph, hu- t d th z z tz tzh ł l tłh tx x txh qu gu hu c g ch qu gu hu m, -n n l r y u h Ø
PTal *p *b *ɸ *t *d *θ *h *z, *r *s *s *h *λ *t, *k *ł *k *g *x * * * *q *ʁ *χ *q *ʁ *χ *m *n *l *r *j *w *ʔ *h
Wio f p ƀ þ t đ s, ß, r Ø ß ß s z s ɟ h k g ƕ qu w h [ʔ] [ʔ] ƕ qu w m n l r j w [ʔ] [ʔ]
PBon *p *b * *t *d * *x *ɣ *s * *s *z *č *čʼ *k *g * *p *b * *ʔ *ʔ *ʔ *ʔʷ *ʔʷ *ʔʷ *m *n *l *l *y *w Ø Ø
PKoi *p *b * *t *d * *s *z *c * *ł *λ *ƛ *ƛ̓ *k *g * *k *g * *q *ɢ * *q *ɢ * *m *n *l *r *y *w *ʔ *h

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close *i *ī *u *ū
Mid *e *ē *o *ō
Open *a *ā

Suprasegmentals

No phonemic pitch, tone or stress existed in Proto-Gamedan.

Phonotactics

Consonant clusters were allowed, but limited.

Grammar

Typology

The basic word order was SOV.

The morphological form of a typical Gamedan word can be described as root<infix>-suffix-ending.

Nominals

Proto-Raxo-Talsmic did not distinguish between nouns and adjectives. They both inflected for:

  • 9 cases: nominative, (definite) accusative, genitive, dative, locative, ablative-comitative, allative, instrumental, adverbial
  • A noun class system, indicated by different final classifier clitics. Or perhaps an animate-inanimate opposition.
  • 3 numbers: Singular, dual, plural

Nouns minimally consisted of a root and an optional infix, case/number endings and a classifier suffix. The classifier suffixes play a role in gender assignment in daughter languages.

Declension

Case suffixes
Nominative Ø
Accusative *-z
Genitive *-ʔ, *-k
Dative *-ƛ
Locative-Comitative *-ksi
Ablative *-hn
Allative *-cti
Instrumental *-hli
Adverbial *-ʔzi

Nominal morphosyntax

The PRT nominative and accusative cases differ from the canonical nominative-accusative system in that the accusative case marks only definite or specific direct objects. The nominative in PRT also stood for both predicative complements of verbs and predicative nouns (regardless of their case-position). The marking of all predicates with the nominative survives in Raxic and Themsarian (although Raxic has extended the accusative to all direct objects). In later Ractamic languages, where the accusative case had long since lost the definite meaning, predicative direct objects are marked with the accusative case.

Pronouns

Verbs

Verbs were conjugated for subject, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and voice.

  • Subject agreement: For each pronoun, and 3rd person m/f/n, and perhaps collective
  • Aspects: Aorist, habitual, progressive, stative
  • Evidentiality: direct, hearsay, unclear memory, quotative, inferential
  • Moods: {Indicative, desiderative, jussive, optative}, {mirative, subjunctive}, imperative
  • Voices: Active, mediopassive, causative

Personal suffixes:

Imperfect suffixes
Singular Dual Plural
1.ex -īn -mēk̓
1.in - ' -nci
2 -z ' -lci
3.animate -m -rih
3.inanimate -ici


Aorist suffixes
Singular Dual Plural
1.ex -īn -mēk̓
1.in - ' -nci
2 -z ' -lci
3.animate -m -rih
3.inanimate -ici


Stative suffixes
Singular Dual Plural
1.ex -nʔe -moz
1.in - ' -toz
2 -zʔe ' -li
3.animate -h -woz
3.inanimate -z -toz

Derivational morphology

  • *l verbalizer
  • *r nominalizer/adjectivalizer

Some etymologies