Proto-Pulchric
| Proto-Pulchric | |
|---|---|
| Di:nabe puLLeker | |
| Pronunciation | [/dʶi:nabe pulʶ:ekeɾ/] |
| Created by | Praimhín |
| Setting | Rulak |
Pulchric
| |
Proto-Pulchric (native name Di:nabe puLLeker /dʶi:nabe pulʶ:ekeɾ/) is the ancestor of almost all the languages of Rulak.
Introduction
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Dorsal | Laryngeal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | emph. | plain | emph. | plain | emph. | ||||
| Nasal | m /m/ | M /mʶ/ | n /n/ | N /nʶ/ | ng /ŋ/ | NG /ɴ/ | |||
| Stop | tenuis | p /p/ | P /pʶ/ | t /t/ | T /tʶ/ | k /k/ | q /q/ | ||
| voiced | b /b/ | B /bʶ/ | d /d/ | D /dʶ/ | g /ɡ/ | G /ɢ/ | |||
| Fricative | h /h/ | ||||||||
| Trill/Tap | r /ɾ/ | R /ɾʶ/ | |||||||
| Approximant | w /w/ | l /l/ | L /lʶ/ | y /j/ | |||||
Emphatic consonants are uvularized, as in Arabic.
Aspiration is allophonic in voiceless stops. The Luminese dialect aspirates stops more strongly than in the Rencadic dialect.
Gemination
Every consonant except /w j h/ can occur geminated between vowels. Geminate taps are realized as trills.
Gemination is indicated in the orthography by doubling the consonant letter; geminate ng and NG are written nng and NNG respectively.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i /i/ | i: /iː/ | u /u/ | u: /uː/ | ||
| Mid | e /e/ | e: /eː/ | o /o/ | o: /oː/ | ||
| Open | a /a/ | a: /aː/ | ||||
Diphthongs: /ai/ /au/ (written ai au respectively)
Phonotactics
Only CV syllables are allowed, except:
- a geminate consonant can begin a non-initial syllable
- CVC is allowed as the last syllable
Stress
Stress is almost always on the first long syllable, or if no syllable is long, the last syllable in the Rencadic dialect and the first syllable in the Luminese dialect.
Morphophonology
Morphology
Proto-Pulchric has an extremely simple morphology, almost completely isolating.
Nouns
| Baira "leaf" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Baira | Baira emmi |
| Accusative | Baira ta | Baira emmi ta |
| Genitive | Baira i | Baira emmi i |
Proto-Pulchric has other postpositions as well: mi (in), ro (with), po (like), ...
Pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | me: | ko:NGe |
| Second person | tihe | |
| Third person | qel |
Proto-Pulchric lacks second and third person plural forms, so either the singular forms are used or combined with the word emmi (many). The word ko:NGe also means "people, folk" (like German "Leute").
Verbs
| qi:To- "to think" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First person | qi:Ton | qi:Tome |
| Second person | qi:Tod | qi:Tote |
| Third person | qi:Tob | qi:Towa |
| Impersonal | qi:Te:PPi | |
| met- "to eat" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First person | metin | metime |
| Second person | metid | metite |
| Third person | metib | metiwa |
| Impersonal | mete:PPi | |
Proto-Pulchric often uses verbal nouns, which use the suffix -a:t or -or depending on the verb.
Verbs do not inflect for tense in general. There are a few exceptions though. The copula 'to be' inflects as follows:
| "to be" | Present | Past | Future | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| First person | qor | qore | pem | peme | ki:nan | ki:name |
| Second person | qod | qote | pen | pette | ki:nad | ki:nate |
| Third person | qob | qowa | pem | pewa | ki:nab | ki:nawa |
| Impersonal | qore:PPi | peme:PPi | ki:ne:PPi | |||
Syntax
Constituent order
Proto-Pulchric word order is head-final and SVO. In Rencadic dialects it's V2, just like German.
Noun phrase
Noun phrases are head-initial if the modifier is a relative clause and head-final if the modifier is an adjective. The words qel (animate) and Tau (inanimate) are used as relative pronouns.
Daha qel qi:Tob "the person who thinks"