Idavic languages

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Ashe and Hirst's Shalaian grammar provides the following diachronics:

Phonology

  • Consonants: b d j g ɓ t’ č’ k’ kʷ’ q’ p t č k kʷ q s h ʔ m n l r w y ʕ
  • Vowels: a i u ā ī ū ō ə
  • Pitch accent: modal (á), creaky ()

Diachronics

  • b > v; ɓ > b; g > għ-, -j; j > ʒ
  • Grimm's law: p t č kʷ q > f θ ʃ x H
  • q G q' > H ayin q
  • further shifts: kʷ' > kʷ > xʷ
  • Vowel shifts: ā > /ɛɪ/ (except before pharyngeals); ō > /əʊ/, u > /ɒ/, iw > /ju:/
  • final -ā -ī shorten to -a -i
  • Loss of initial glottal stop, then loss of non-prevocalic /r/
  • Historical long vowels (also /ɑː/ from historical /ar/) shorten before /ʕ/

Phonotactics

1- or 2- syllabic roots most common: CVC, CVCC, CVCCa, CVCVC, CVCCVC

Morphology

Tone changes were part of the morphology of Proto-Shalaian, as in Modern Shalaian.

The three genders, the strong and weak declensions and the two sets of possessive markers are all Proto-Shalaian features. Verbs were not inflected for tense or person, and were syntactically verbal nouns; it is thought that verbs developed personal marking later from possessed (even doubly-possessed) verbal noun forms.

Nouns

Adjectives

Verbs

The auxiliary

Should be as far from cartesian product as possible. Like Welsh?

  • present: mae e'n, dydy e ddim yn
  • past: mae e wedi, mae e heb, naeth e, na naeth e (which ones?)
  • future: mae e ar, na neith e
Inflection of the preverb
present past future/subjunctive
pos. neg. foc. pos. neg. foc. pos. neg. foc.
direct (verbal) vor mar thom' lōkh larra lōm' zhar't, ∅ bai' zharm'
mirative thwal lizhmer thwal'om' thwakh thwakhra thwakh lōm' thwal zhar't thwal bai' thwal zharm'
hearsay shaf shaf mar shafom' shafakh shafra shaf lōm' shaf zhar't shaf bai' shaf zharm'
inferential tib tib mar tib thom' tílakh tib ra tib lōm' tib zhar't tib bai' tib zharm'
question am maand am thom' okh morra okh thom' ner't ner'bai' nerm'
relativizer (direct) vi dov vi thom' vikh dover vikh thom' ver't do'ft verm'
relativizer (indirect) cha' do'ch cha' thom' chakh do'char chakh thom' char't do'cht charm'
complementizer ith dor ith thom' ian dorn ian thom' naaf dor't naaf thom'
if (real) sher rikh sher thom' shern reen shern thom' wher't reer't wher't thom'
if (irreal or less vivid) roogħ rikh roogħ thom' roogħan reen roogħan thom' roor't reer't roogħ zhar't thom'

Syntax

Proto-Shalaian syntax was AuxVOS:

  • Stative verbs (eventually all intransitives): Aux_i prep VN-w_i S_i (abs/erg in Shal.)
  • Dynamic verbs (eventually transitives): Aux_i prep s_j-VN-w_i O_j S_i (abs/erg in Shal.)
  • Infinitive clauses: prep VN.INF-w_i S_i O ... (nom/acc in Shal.)