Idavic languages
Ashe and Hirst's Shalaian grammar provides the following diachronics:
Phonology
- Consonants: b d ǵ gw G ɓ t’ ḱ’ kʷ’ q’ p t ḱ kʷ q s h ʔ m n l r w y
- Vowels: a i u ā ī ū ō
- Pitch accent: modal (á), creaky (aˀ)
Diachronics
- b > v; ɓ > b; gw > g > γ > x
- Grimm's law: pʰ tʰ ḱʰ kʷʰ qʰ > f θ ʃ x H
- q G q' > H ayin q
- further shifts: kʷ' > kʷ > xʷ
- Vowel shifts: ā > /ɛɪ/ (except before pharyngeals); ō > /əʊ/, u > /ɒ/, iw > /ju:/
- final -ā -ī shorten to -a -i
- Loss of initial glottal stop, then loss of non-prevocalic /r/
- Historical long vowels (also /ɑː/ from historical /ar/) shorten before /ʕ/
Morphology
Tone changes were part of the morphology of Proto-Shalaian, as in Modern Shalaian.
The three genders, the strong and weak declensions and the two sets of possessive markers are all Proto-Shalaian features. Verbs were not inflected for tense or person, and were syntactically verbal nouns; it is thought that verbs developed personal marking later from possessed (even doubly-possessed) verbal noun forms.
Syntax
Proto-Shalaian syntax was AuxVOS, which hints at an older SAuxVO stage.