Old Swuntsim

Sacred Swuntsim/Swadesh list

Old Swuntsim (tiSxwəncim) was the ancient Tsimulh language spoken by the Swuntsim people. It is still used as a liturgical language among religious Swuntsim.

Descendants:

GMP

Tsimulh low tone > breathy voice (vowels not devoiced yet; devoiced vowels are partly merged)

Two consecutive breathy vowels > just the first vowel drops.

Satemization

Phonology

Sacred Swuntsim lost Proto-Tsimulh tones.

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labialized plain labialized
Nasal m n
Stop plain p t k kw ʔ
voiced b d g gw
ejective kwʼ qwʼ
Affricate plain c ξ č
voiced z j
ejective ξʼ čʼ
Fricative s σ š xw χ χw h
Approximant y w ȝ ȝw

Vowels

Clear vowels: i u ə a

Grammar

Noun class system got weird - formal noun classes remain but the words semantically shift as in Sanskrit

Nouns

Noun classes

Sacred Swuntsim had a noun class system like the Bantu languages. There were 12 noun classes, which are numbered as follows:

  1. ʔə-, pl. cə-
  2. bu-, pl. də-
  3. p-, pl. əpi-
  4. s-, pl. dus-
  5. ut-, pl. pσə-
  6. ma-, pl. əwə-
  7. č-, pl. abi-
  8. gu-, pl. N-
  9. σi-, pl. wi-
  10. t-
  11. t’im-
  12. pda-

Cases

  • Nominative: -0
  • Genitive: -s

Verbs

Noun class prefixes

  • I = kwə-/kw-
  • you (sg) = xwə-/xw-
  • we = wə-
  • you (pl) = cu-
  • Noun class prefixes:
    1. ʔə-, pl. cə-/c-
    2. bu-, pl. də-/d-
    3. p-, pl. əpi-/əp-
    4. s-, pl. dus-
    5. ut-, pl. pσə-/pσ-
    6. ma-/mə-, pl. əwə-/u-
    7. k-/č-, pl. abi-/əb-
    8. gu-, pl. N-
    9. σi-/σ-, pl. wi-
    10. ti-/t-, no plural
    11. t’im-, no plural
    12. pda-/pdə- (common for abstract nouns), no plural

Tense affixes

-s - past tense

Numbers