Old Swuntsim
Old Swuntsim (tSxwəcim) was the ancient Tsimulh language spoken by the Swutsim people. It is still often used as a liturgical language among religious Swutsim.
Descendants:
- Talman Swutsim
- Naquian Swutsim
GMP
Tsimulh high tone > breathy voice > (vowels not devoiced yet; devoiced vowels are partly merged)
Two consecutive breathy vowels > just the first vowel drops.
Numbers
Grammar
Noun class system got weird - formal noun classes remain but the words semantically shift as in Sanskrit
Nouns
Noun classes
Sacred Swutsim had a noun class system like the Bantu languages. There were 12 noun classes, which are numbered as follows:
- ʔə-, pl. cə-
- bu-, pl. də-
- p-, pl. əpi-
- s-, pl. dus-
- ut-, pl. pσə-
- ma-, pl. əwə-
- č-, pl. abi-
- gu-, pl. n-
- σi-, pl. wi-
- t-
- t’im-
- pda-
Cases
- Nominative: -0
- Genitive: -s
Verbs
Noun class prefixes
- I = kʷə-
- you (sg) = xʷə-
- we = wə-
- you (pl) = cu-
- Noun class prefixes:
- ʔə-, pl. cə-
- bu-, pl. də-
- p-, pl. əpi-
- s-, pl. dus-
- ut-, pl. pσə-
- ma-, pl. əwə-
- č-, pl. abi-
- gu-, pl. n-
- σi-, pl. wi-
- t-, no plural
- t’im-, no plural
- pda- (common for abstract nouns), no plural
Tense affixes
-s - past tense
Numbers
The numerals 1-9 inflected for noun class; 10 and higher units did not.
1: *-an
2: *-xʷiš
3: *-ʔiyəm
4: *-udzuq
5: *-t'u
6: *-čaydž
7: *-buč'oh
8: *-gwiməʔ
9: *-anay
10: *-kʷ'in