Proto-Quame

Overview

The Pfeuno-K'aitian languages (PfK) are moderately inflecting languages that use mainly suffixing, ablaut, and infixing morphology. They are descended from Proto-Pfeuno-K'aitian (PPfK).

Inspirations: Indo-European, Wakashan, Salishan.

Phylogeny

Proto-Quame

Proto-Quame Proto-Talmic Noble Thensarian Nurian Qelorian Bênôcême Andarin Proto-Pfeunic Proto-North Pfeunic Ancient Wiebian Middle Wiebian Reber Wiebian Gaufian Zwehrer Old Cuatham Cuatham Schnüher Ƨählerbraum Hederdau Brusingian Kagasa Old Whetmer Whetmer Humpback Whelsh Sandscript Sam-I-Am Proto-Naquic Naquian Atzòpic Tizian Proto-Kammalic Kammalian Hmooby-Doo Czechmate geminates > ejectives Dholuomite fricativeless Ubykh Japanese-esque Bantu gib Manx-ish Proto-Shoeic Boot Polish Reboot Polish Kashoebian Sesamic Phoshic Witcanic Adetsib (ʔAdəʔcʼib) Pingit Tuna Sandwich

Phonology

Consonants

The following inventory of consonants is reconstructed for PPfK. The Quichum branch preserves the most archaic consonant inventories, whereas the Kammalic branch is the most innovative.

		Labial	Denti-alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labialized	plain	labialized
Nasal	plain	*m	*n
	glottalized	*mʼ	*nʼ
Plosive	plain	*p	*t			*k	*kʷ	*q	*qʷ	*ʔ
	voiced	*b	*d			*g	*gʷ	*ɢ	*ɢʷ
	ejective	*pʼ	*tʼ			*kʼ	*kʷʼ	*qʼ	*qʷʼ
Fricative			*s	*ł		*x	*xʷ	*x̌	*x̌ʷ	*h
Affricate	plain		*c	*ƛ
	voiced		*z	*λ
	ejective		*cʼ	*ƛʼ
Approximant	plain		*r	*l	*y		*w
	glottalized		*rʼ	*lʼ	*yʼ		*wʼ

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	*i *ī		*u *ū
Mid		*ə
Open		*a *ā

Suprasegmentals

No phonemic pitch, tone or stress existed in PPfK.

Phonotactics

Consonant clusters were allowed and could become complex, as in the Salishan languages.

Grammar

Typology

The basic word order was V2, modifier-modified.

The morphological form of a typical PPfK word can be described as root<infix>-suffix-ending.

Ablaut

Much like in PIE, PPfK had an ablaut system where roots were inflected in different ablaut grades. The ablaut system became more complex in Quame languages as laryngeal infixes yielded new vowels.

Nominals

Proto-Raxo-Talsmic did not distinguish between nouns and adjectives. They both inflected for:

• 5 cases: nominative, (definite) accusative, genitive, dative, predicative
• 2 genders: masculine, feminine
• 3 numbers: singular, dual, plural

Nouns minimally consisted of a root and an optional infix, case/number endings and a classifier suffix. The classifier suffixes play a role in gender assignment in daughter languages.

Declension

Masculine sg: nom. -0

• -0, -a, -ə, -i, -u, uncommonly -ā, -ī, -ū

Feminine sg: nom. -x̌

• -ax̌, -əx̌ > -ā
• -ix̌, -āx̌ > -ē
• -ux̌ > -ō
• -īx̌ > -ī
• -ūx̌ > -ū
• -Cx̌ > -Ca

Dual: nom. -x̌ur

so what if masculine nouns ending in long vowels get reinterpreted as feminine in pquame?

long vowel stems won't be very common

Plural -a- ablaut?

Declension A: plural -Vu

Declension B: plural -Vt

Declension C: plural -n

Declension D: singular *-0-y, pl. *-a-y

Nominal morphosyntax

The PRT nominative and accusative cases differ from the canonical nominative-accusative system in that the accusative case marks only definite or specific direct objects.

Verbs

Verbs were conjugated for subject, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and voice.

• Subject agreement: For each pronoun, and 3rd person m/f/n, and perhaps collective
• Aspects: present, preterite, stative
• Evidentiality: direct, hearsay, unclear memory, quotative, inferential
• Moods: {Indicative, desiderative, jussive, optative}, {mirative, subjunctive}, imperative
• Voices: Active, mediopassive, causative

Ablaut grades

• present: a-grade
• preterite: i-grade
• stative: zero-grade?
• verbal noun: u-grade

TAM affixes

• ⟨n⟩: aorist infix. (Wiobian preterite ⟨n⟩)
• -ƛ-: dynamic affix (progressive -tł- in Naquian, future -t- in Themsarian)
• -eʔ: stative affix

Tense/Agreement suffixes

Imperfect suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-īn		-mēk̓
1.in	-	'	-nci
2	-z	'	-lci
3.animate	-m		-rih
3.inanimate	-ici

Aorist suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-īn		-mēk̓
1.in	-	'	-nci
2	-z	'	-lci
3.animate	-m		-rih
3.inanimate	-ici

Stative suffixes
	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.ex	-nʔe		-moz
1.in	-	'	-toz
2	-zʔe	'	-li
3.animate	-h		-woz
3.inanimate	-z		-toz

Derivational morphology

• ⟨*l⟩ verbalizer
• ⟨*r⟩ nominalizer/adjectivalizer

Some etymologies

• 1: *x̌əm-; *kʷi-x̌əm- 'only one'
• 2: *tił-x̌ur-
• 3: *nazg-
• 4: *λawpʼ-
• 5: *calił
• 6: *sta-x̌əm- 'one more'; *qʷ’əl’
• 10: *q’əyʼ-x̌ur-
• step/level: *naycʼ ('20' in Talsmic)
• stone: *ƛʼerqʷa
• fur, hair, feather: *qʷ’irə
• water: *wjənqa
• day: *m’ul

Sample text

On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses". The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool". Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.