User:Ceige/Tossaq
Tossaq (Toqyaq) is an Indo-European language with aggressive assimilatory sound changes.
Sound Changes
Pre-Proto-Tossaq
- Diphthongisation of e and o to ie and uo respectively
- Treatment of any vowel + h(1, 2, 3) as ʀǝ
- epenthetic vowels added before and after clusters, with:
- liquids L and R assimilating to the adjacent consonant's manner of articulation e.g. tr- -> ǝtr- -> ǝtt-
- nasals staying unassimilated.
Examples:
- tewt-eh2 -> tjewt-ʀǝ
- drukós -> ǝdduk-uos
Proto-Tossaq
- ie, uo, ʀǝ become ja, wa, ʀa respectively
- metathesis of any second liquid sound to the end of the word, e.g. tjewt- -> tjatw-
- general loss of word final vowels and inflectional endings
Examples
- tjewt-3a -> tjatw(-ʀa)
- ǝdduk-uos -> ǝdduk(-was)
Old-Tossaq
- consonants assimilate to the place of articulation of following liquids (or i/u):
- for plosives: Pw, Pj, Pʀ -> p, t, k (b, d, g, bh, dh, gh etc)
- for fricatives: Fw, Fj, Fʀ -> f, s, h
- for liquids: Lw, Lj, Lʀ -> w, y, ʀ
- for nasals: Nw, Nj, Nʀ -> m, n, ŋ
- front/back distinctions of vowels are lost, e.g. twa, tja, tʀa -> pa, ta, ka
- for open vowels: a
- for closed vowels: ɯ (ı, ǝ in writing)
Examples
- tjatw(-ʀa) -> tap(ʀa)
- ǝdduk(-was) -> ǝbbǝk(was)
Early-Middle Tossaq
- syllabe-final consonants colour the preceding vowel and merge together:
- labials add the ring diacritic, dentals add the trema, e.g. ǝbbǝk -> ǝ̊bbǝk
- in some dialects, velars add the macron, e.g. ǝ̊bbǝ̂k
- voiceless plosives become -q
- voiced plosives lengthen the preceding vowel
- fricatives become -h
- liquids still colour the final vowel, but leave no other direct trace
- nasals become -n
- in summary: -P, -V, -F, -L, -N -> -q, -:, -h, -ø, -n
Examples:
- tap(ʀa) -> tåq(ʀa)
- ǝbbǝk(was) -> ǝ̊ǝ̊bǝ̂q(wäh)
Late-Middle Tossaq
- Vowel colouring results in a new vowel system:
- å ä â a -> o, e, a, æ (where a and æ are often merged)
- ǝ̊ ǝ̈ ǝ̂ ǝ -> ü, i, u, ǝ (where ü and u are often merged, and i and ǝ are also often merged)
Examples:
- tåq(ʀa) -> toq(ʀa)
- ǝ̊ǝ̊bǝ̂q(wäh) -> üübuq(weh)