Hlou-Shum languages

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Hlou-Shum languages/Lexicon

The Hlou-Shum languages (Eevo: bo brits Lloo-Xwm; Hlou: Schmë Ntzog Schlaub-Xul; Ko: lees yoo ndoigh Hloobh-Xoo) are a small family of languages native to Verse:Tricin/Bjeheond. Most modern Hlou-Shum languages are tonal. The proto-language, Proto-Hlou-Shum (PHS), is about 2500 years old. The family is based on the idea of IE languages recast as Hmong-like languages. Hlou-Shum languages had much more importance in the past, but today Tergetian and Rhythoed are more dominant in Bjeheond.

Family tree

  • Proto-Hlou-Shum
    • Hlou (Ntzog Schlaub)
    • Shum (llhau syuun)
    • Ko (lees ndoigh Komh)
    • Clooa (Mois de la Crouet)
    • Liai (hmyg Liaid)
    • Tlu (χμωωβ Τλωδ)
    • (lone polysynthetic nontonal Hlou-Shum language)

Timeline

Proto-Hlou-Shum: 2500 years BP

Writing system

Proto-Hlou-Shum was written with a system of logographs. Hlou, Ku and Shumian developed the logographs separately into their own writing systems.

Phonology

The following presents Schngellstein's reconstruction of Proto-Hlou-Shum.

Phonotactics

The typical Proto-Hlou-Shum word had the structure

(preinitial) + (C)C(r/l)V(C)(C)tone.

Preinitials were unstressed derivational prefixes.

Initials

  • p t ṭ ḱ k ʔ
  • np nt nṭ nḱ nk
  • b d ḍ ǵ g
  • nb nd nḍ nǵ ng
  • f v z s x h (z, s, x as in Basque)
  • tz ts tx
  • ntz nts ntx
  • dz ds dx
  • ndz nds ndx
  • m n ṇ ń y r l w

s-series > ɬ-series in some descendants

Ku and Clooa gain uvulars through velars + r/l.

Nuclei

a e i o u ə ai au ei ou iə uə - a few more vowels for Liai

Nasal vowels?

Coda

Allowed finals: just -ŋ, -k, -h, -ʔ

Cheshirized grammatical particles -> lenition, eclipsis in Ku

Tones

3 tones: -0, -H, -X

Grammar

Proto-Hlou-Shum was head-initial like Vietnamese.

Derivation

TODO: preinitial prefixes

  • l infix?
  • s-: nominalization, "metonymy", adjectivizer
    • louʔ 'spring (season)' > slouʔ 'springlike, where there is spring'
  • : nominalization
    • lou 'to plant' > louʔ 'spring (season)'
  • n- preinitial
  • r- preinitial
  • D- preinitial (dentalizes some consonants in Shum)

Reflexes

Initials

Hlou

pr, br > pʂ > pf in Hlou

kr, gr > sch in Hlou

tr, dr > tr, dr in Hlou

sp, st, sT/str, stl, sc, sk > schm, schn, schnr, schl, schr, sch

stz sts stx > tz ts tx

Shum

s- triggers tone split

b p > bh p

sb sp > b p

np nb > b mh

spr pr > ph p

sbr br > bh bh

nCl, r.Cl > nl or nlh

l > l, D.l > ll

Rimes

Tones

Hlou

  • -ʔ, -H > -b