User:Chrysophylax/Proto-Lusanic

Proto-Lúsanic, also Proto-Lusanic, (sometimes abbreviated PLu.), is the reconstructed ancestral language of all the Lúsanian languages, including Aurónian, Finian and the Limbe-Mereian languages. Proto-Lúsanic is classified as being part of the “centum” languages (similarly to Italic, Celtic, Germanic, etc.), having merged the traditional palatovelar and plain series of the Proto-Indo-European plosives.

The reconstruction of Proto-Lúsanic is currently being undertaken but suffers from a lack of recorded sources as written material is mostly attested from one branch (Finio-Dhannic).

Sound changes from Proto-Indo-European

Late Proto-Indo-European

Many of these changes were shared by other branches of the Indo-European family.

• “Palatovelars” merge with the “plain” velars (centumization):

• /ḱ/ → /k/
• /ǵ/ → /g/
• /ǵʱ/ → /gʱ/

• Two adjacent dentals become *ss:

• /dt/ → /ss/
• /tt/ → /ss/
• /dd/ → /ss/

• metathesis of “thorn clusters” (TK > KT, e.g. *h₂rtkos → *h₂rktos)

• Loss of laryngeals before a following vowel:

• /h₁e/ → /e/
• /h₂e/ → /a/
• /h₃e/ → /o/

• Loss of laryngeals after a preceding vowel, lengthening and colouring it:

• /eh₁/ → /ē/
• /eh₂/ → /ā/
• /eh₃/ → /ō/

Early Proto-Lúsanic

• Labiovelars and sequences of velar + *w merge:

• /kʷ/ → /kw/
• /gʷ/ → /gw/
• /gʷʱ/ → /gʱw/

• Sequences of *s + plosive simplify to *ss

• /st/ → /ss/
• /sk/ → /ss/
• /sp/ → /ss/

• *m becomes *n before dentals and at the end of words.

• /m̩d/ → /n̩d/
• /m̩t/ → /n̩t/
• /m#/ → /n#/

• Sequences of a nasal and velar reduce to *nn in a two-step process.

1. velars turn into a nasal velar
   • /nk/ → /nŋ/
   • /ng/ → /nŋ/
   • /ngʱ/ → /nŋ/
2. nasal velars are de-velarized after a nasal
   • /nŋ/ → /nn/

Proto-Lúsanic

• Epethentic *a inserted before syllabic resonants:

• /m̩/ → /am/
• /n̩/ → /an/
• /l̩/ → /al/
• /r̩/ → /ar/

• labiovelar sequences become *w intervocalically:

• /kw/ → /w/
• /gw/ → /w/

• Fricativization and devoicing of syllable-initial velar consonants before *w, *r, *l:

• /kw/ → /hw/
• /gw/ → /hw/
• /gʱw/ → /hw/

• All words become stressed on the first syllable (e.g. *gʰortós → *gʰórtos)

• Lowering of *e to *a if the following syllable has *a (e.g *ésanti → *ásanti)

• Raising of *o after *w

• /wo/ → /wu/

• Voicing of plosives between a resonant and a vowel (RCV > RC_+voicedV)

Late Proto-Lúsanic

These features spread somewhat unevenly among the daughter branches of Proto-Lúsanic, but still probably constituted a single intelligible dialect continuum.

• Voicing of word-medial and word-final *s

• /s/ → /z/

• Loss of word-initial *h when followed by a liquid

• /hl/ → /l/
• /hr/ → /r/