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==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
=== | ===A Comparison of Language Phonologies=== | ||
====Hurrian==== | ====Hurrian==== | ||
Hurrian appears to have a voicing alternation in word-medial positions for consonants (excluding ts/z). Hurrian distinguishes consonant gemination and vowel length through doubling (in the case of consonants: an-na = anna) or adding in extra vowels (ka-a-an = kān). P/F distinctions are hard to determine from spelling variation in poorly attested words. Final -f alternates with -u after -a-. | Hurrian appears to have a voicing alternation in word-medial positions for consonants (excluding ts/z). Hurrian distinguishes consonant gemination and vowel length through doubling (in the case of consonants: an-na = anna) or adding in extra vowels (ka-a-an = kān). P/F distinctions are hard to determine from spelling variation in poorly attested words. Final -f alternates with -u after -a-. | ||
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! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"|Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal | ! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"|Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Plosives | ||
| p || t || k | | p || t || k | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Affricates | ||
| || ts/z || | | || ts/z || | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Fricatives | ||
| f || s || x | | f || s || x | ||
|- | |- | ||
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! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal !! Guttural | ! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal !! Guttural | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Plosives | ||
| p b || t d ṭ || k g q || ʔ | | p b || t d ṭ || k g q || ʔ | ||
|- | |- | ||
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! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Palatal !! Velar | ! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Palatal !! Velar | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Plosives | ||
| p || t || č || k | | p || t || č || k | ||
|- | |- | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| Open|| || a || | | Open|| || a || | ||
|} | |||
====Elamite==== | |||
Elamite's sound system is not well understood due to the orthography. /h/ was lost by Neo-Elamite, and /e/'s existence is uncertain. There may have been a voicing distinction for plosives, and fricative values are general guesses. Elamite roots at maximum are CVCCVC, but that is normally even then CVNCVC. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal !! Guttural | |||
|- | |||
! Plosives | |||
| p (b?) || t (d?) || k (g?) || | |||
|- | |||
! Fricatives* | |||
| || s z [z] || š [ʃ] || h | |||
|- | |||
! Sonorants | |||
| m w || n l r || y || | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Vowels !! Front !! Central !! Back | |||
|- | |||
| Close || i || || u | |||
|- | |||
| Mid || (e?) || || | |||
|- | |||
| Open|| || a || | |||
|} | |||
====Sumerian==== | |||
Sumerian phonology is also not a closed book, with some claiming the language had a 3-way plosive phonation distinction. The existence of /w/ and /y/ is unknown. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Palatal !! Velar | |||
|- | |||
! Plosives | |||
| p pʰ || t tʰ || || k kʰ | |||
|- | |||
! Affricates | |||
| || ts tsʰ || || | |||
|- | |||
! Fricatives | |||
| || s || š || h | |||
|- | |||
! Sonorants | |||
| m || n l r || || g̃ | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Vowels !! Front !! Central !! Back | |||
|- | |||
| Close || i || || u | |||
|- | |||
| Mid || (e?) || || | |||
|- | |||
| Open|| || a || | |||
|} | |||
===Comparing with hypothetically contemporary languages=== | |||
====Proto-Indo-European==== | |||
Proto-Indo-European proper was already splitting up, or ''had'' split up by the time of the younger languages being compared here. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Dorsal !! "Velar" !! Labialised Back-Velar !! Glottal | |||
|- | |||
! Plosives | |||
| p (b) bʰ || t d dʰ || ḱ ǵ ǵʰ || k g gʰ || kʷ gʷ gʷʰ || (h₁) | |||
|- | |||
! Fricatives | |||
| || s || || h₂ || h₃ || (h₁) | |||
|- | |||
! Sonorants | |||
| m w || n l r || y || || || | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Vowels !! Front !! Central !! Back | |||
|- | |||
| Close || i || || u | |||
|- | |||
| Mid || || ə || | |||
|- | |||
| Open|| e || || o | |||
|} | |||
====Timucua==== | |||
According to the Wikipedia article on this language, it goes back to 2000 BC. I'm not exactly sure ''how'' they figured that out, but hey, might as well include a North-American language for a fun long-range comparison. Note the similarities in phonology to many of the languages above. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Consonants !! Labial !! Dental !! Palatal !! Velar !! Labiovelar !! Glottal | |||
|- | |||
! Plosives | |||
| p || t || č || k || kw || | |||
|- | |||
! Fricatives | |||
| b f || s || || || || h | |||
|- | |||
! Sonorants | |||
| m || n l r || y || || || | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background: DarkSlateGrey; color: white;"| Vowels !! Front !! Central !! Back | |||
|- | |||
| Close || i || || u | |||
|- | |||
| Mid || e || || o | |||
|- | |||
| Open|| e || a || o | |||
|} | |} | ||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
=== === | === === |
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