Tsimulh languages

Tsimulh languages/Lexicon

The Tsimulh languages (from ciməσ, from *cim 'tribe', pl. of *ʔim 'tribesman') are a Trician language family mainly spoken in Txapoalli. The proto-language is Proto-Tsimulh, which is inspired by Caucasian languages, Tlingit, and the Salish languages.

Todo

• -s: past tense, genitive
• -əσ: some adjectival suffix
• t-...-t for abstract nouns
• -iyad = augmentative
• Reduplication
• relativizer/relative forms for verbs
• m n > Sf. v dh? (-tsiv in Talman Swutsim ~ Tsimulh?)
• dtüžo = water (as a liquid) - Sf. tüdjo
• čtüžo = body of water - Sf. tjtüdjo

More Caucasian phonology?

CVCVCV...

tone > breathy voice > Devoiced vowels?

Phylogeny

• Proto-Tsimulh
  • Sacred Swutsim
    • Talman Swutsim
    • Naquian Swutsim
    • Sjowaazhéñ Swutsim?
    • Bjeheondian Swutsim?
  • Hetomic
  • Pelhyys
  • Idosic
    • Nizutsam (tsim > tsam, idos > izus)
    • Idosian

Urheimat

Somewhere in Txapoalli

Phonology

Phonotactics

Tsimulh phonotactics is dominated by CV syllables.

Any vowel may occur in roots, while vowels in prefixes and suffixes are restricted to /a ə i u/.

Consonants

A lot of consonants, but no liquids!

		Bilabial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labialized	plain	labialized
Nasal		m	n
Stop	plain	p	t			k	kʷ	q	qʷ	ʔ
	voiced	b	d			g	gʷ	ɢ	ɢʷ
	ejective	pʼ	tʼ			kʼ	kʷʼ	qʼ	qʷʼ
Affricate	plain		c	ξ	č
	voiced		z		ž
	ejective		cʼ	ξʼ	čʼ
Fricative			s	σ	š	x	xʷ	χ	χʷ	h
Approximant					y		w

Vowels

6 or 7 vowels

i ü u e ə o a /i ü u e ə o a/

i u a are rather reduced.

Tone

Every syllable had either high or low tone.

Morphology

Nouns

Noun classes

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

1. ʔə-, pl. cə- = humans, spirits
2. bu-, pl. də- = animals and other things that move on their own
3. p-, pl. əpi- = plants and mushrooms; things that grow
4. s-, pl. dus- = collections or large things: scʼaσ 'forest'
5. ut-, pl. pσə- = roughly round, compact objects
6. ma-, pl. əwə- = long objects; tools, instruments, devices
7. č-, pl. abi- = places, locations, slots
8. gu-, pl. n- = various... including fluids (powder, water, liquids, fire, light, waves, wind, ...)
9. σi-, pl. wi- = time periods; events; things that are temporary (e.g. ice)
10. t- = abstractions, manner, way
11. t’im- = infinitives, verbal nouns
12. pda- = -ness, -hood

In Proto-Tsimulh, verbs and determiners agreed with their head nouns in number and noun class. The descendant Tsimulh languages can be divided into 5 types depending on the type of agreement system they have:

• Type A: Traditional, strictly formal (e.g. Sacred Swutsim)
• Type B: Traditional with general animate concords (e.g. Pelhyys)
• Type C: Animacy-based SG/PL-marking (e.g. Talman Swutsim)
• Type D: SG/PL-marking only
• Type E: No concords at all

Cases

• Nominative: -0
• Genitive: -s

Verbs

Noun class prefixes

• I = kʷə-
• you (sg) = xʷə-
• we = wə-
• you (pl) = cu-
• Noun class prefixes:
  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-, no plural
  11. t’im-, no plural
  12. pda- (common for abstract nouns), no plural

Tense affixes

-s - past tense

Numbers

The numerals 1-9 inflected for noun class; 10 and higher units did not.

1: *-an

2: *-xʷiš

3: *-ʔiyəm

4: *-udzuq

5: *-t'u

6: *-čaydž

7: *-buč'oh

8: *-gwiməʔ

9: *-anay

10: *-kʷ'in