Yassi: Difference between revisions

|nativename=''yāssǝy cor''

|states=[[w:Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], [[w:People's Republic of China|China]], [[w:Pakistan|Pakistan]]

|speakers=164

|date=1979

|familycolor=Uralic  

|fam2= Para-Samoyedic (?)

|script=[[w:Arabic script|Arabic]], [[w:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]], [[w:Latin script|Latin]]

|notice=

'''Yassi''' is a language spoken in the Yas River Valley in north-eastern [[w:Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], northern [[w:Pakistan|Pakistan]] and western [[w:People’s Republic of China|China]].  

For a long time, Yassi had been seen as one of the languages that belong to the areal Pamir language group. Nowadays it's classified as a [[w:Uralic language|Uralic language]], though its exact relationship to the Uralic subgroups is a matter of debate.  

There are certain words of the basic vocabulary which show a closer relation to [[w:Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic]] than to [[w:Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]] languages, like nǝk (PS *näk- instead of FU *kolme 'three'), mǝkt (PS *mǝktut instead of FU *kutte 'six') and wam (PS *time instead of FU *piŋe 'tooth'). However, research has shown that it's often not possible to derive these words from mainstream Proto-Samoyed: Rather, both Yassi wam 'tooth' and Proto-Samoyed *time 'tooth' seem to go back to PU *sewimä 'tooth'. Furthermore, Yassi pǝn 'comb' is assumed to be a cognate to FU *piŋe 'tooth'. Therefore, and as the subgrouping of the Uralic languages is still controversial, Yassi must remain classified an independent branch of Proto-Uralic.  

Slight differences in pronunciation and vocabulary show that Yassi can be divided in two mutually intelligible dialects. One surrounding the headwaters of River Yas, the other in the lower valley.  

The former dialect has preserved various conservative peculiarities, whereas the latter has been influenced more deeply by neighboring contemporary Iranian languages. Today there’s also a cultural barrier between the two dialects, as the Yassi people in the lower valley have adopted Islam in the last two centuries. They are gradually assimilating into the Muslim majority religiously and linguistically. The isolated Upper-Yassis preserve their traditional society, with both Yassi language and religion.

Nowadays, more speakers use Upper Yassi though its area is less populated than the Lower Yas valley because Lower Yassis take over [[w:Wakhi language|Wakhi]].

===[[w:Vowel|Vowel]]s===

![[w:Front vowel|Front]]

![[w:Central vowel|Central]]

![[w:Back vowel|Back]]

![[w:Close vowel|Close]]

![[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]

![[w:Open vowel|Open]]

|ɑ [ā]

Yassi also has the [[w:diphthong|diphthong]]s /ai/, /ɑi/, /əi/, /ɑw/, /aw/, /oi/, /ui/.

===[[w:Consonant|Consonant]]s===

! [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]]

! [[w:Dental consonant|Dental]]

! [[w:Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]

! [[w:Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]

! [[w:Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]

! [[w:Palatal consonant|Palatal]]

! [[w:Velar consonant|Velar]]

! [[w:Uvular consonant|Uvular]]

! [[w:Glottal consonant|Glottal]]

! colspan=2| [[w:Nasal consonant|Nasal]]

|ɳ [ṇ]

|ŋ [n]

! rowspan=2| [[w:Stop consonant|Plosive]]

! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}

|t̪ [t]

|style="background:#EEE8AA" |ʈ [ṭ]

|style="background:#EEE8AA" | ʔ [']

! {{small|[[w:voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}

|d̪ [d]

|style="background:#EEE8AA" |ɖ [ḍ]

! rowspan=2| [[w:Affricate consonant|Affricate]]

! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}

|t͡s [c]

|style="background:#EEE8AA" |ʈ͡ʂ [č̣]

|t͡ʃ [č]

! {{small|[[w:voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}

|d͡z [j]

|style="background:#EEE8AA" |ɖ͡ʐ [ǰ̣]

|d͡ʒ [ǰ]

! rowspan=2| [[w:Fricative consonant|Fricative]]

! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}

|ʂ [ṣ̌]

|ʃ [š]

|ç [x]

! {{small|[[w:voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}

|ʐ [ẓ̌]

|ʒ [ž]

|ʝ [γ]

|ɣ [γ]

! colspan=2| [[w:Approximant consonant|Approximant]]

|j [y]

! colspan=2| [[w:Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]

| ɺ̢ [ṛ]

The <span style="background:#EEE8AA;padding:0px 2px;">consonants</span> that have been borrowed and are non-native to Yassi, are colour coded. The phonemes /q/, /f/ tend to be replaced by /k/, /p/.

== Grammar ==

Yassi is a S-O-V language, though the word order is not as strict as in English . Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for number (sing./plur.) and case (nominative, accusative, prepositional and genitive). There is no gender distinction.

An old dual is conserved in natural pairs like sirmǝy < *śilmä-k ('eyes') instead of something like †sirmǝl < *śilmä-t.

===== Plural =====

* nominative: '''amǝl''' (‘mothers’) '''iṣ̌tǝl''' ('sons') (< PU *irkä-t)

* accusative: '''mal'''  (‘mothers’) '''iṣ̌tal''' ('sons') (< PU *irkä-t-äm)

* prepositional: '''mat''' (‘to the mothers’) '''iṣ̌tat''' ('to the sons') (< PU *irkä-t-tä)

* genitive: '''malǝy''' (‘of the mothers’) '''iṣ̌talǝy''' ('of the sons') (< PU *irkä-t-äk)

=== Verbs ===

The inflection of verbs includes:

* three persons: first, second and third.

* two numbers: singular and plural.

* three moods: indicative, imperative and optative (in addition to infinitive)

* two tenses: present and past.

==== Present indicative ====

* infinitive (identical to second person singular imperative): '''kac'''

* first person singular: '''kcam'''

* second person singular: '''kcal'''

* third person singular: '''kce'''

* first person plural: '''kcamǝl'''

* second person plural: '''kcalǝl'''

* third person plural: '''kcel'''

== Vocabulary ==

=== Loanwords ===

*kǝbo: cotton (< PYassi *kapāsa, cf. Burushaski γupas, Vedic karpāsa)

*pya: pear (< PYassi *pisā, cf. Burushaski pheṣo)

*cun: blind (< PYassi *čāna, cf. Burushaski śon, Vedic kāṇa)

*Yǝn: a thorp at the well of the Yas River (< PYassi *sina, cf. PYeniseian *siɁn ‘well, spring’)

As more and more researchers think that Burushaski and Yeniseian idioms are genetically related, the last example could prove that (Para-?)Proto-Burushaski still used a cognate to Proto-Yeniseian *siɁn.

Like the Indo-Iranians, the Yassis integrated many words from the language of the BMAC culture. The word ǝga tells us that Yassis had contact with the people of the BMAC before the Indians and Iranians had.

*ǝga: sand (< PYassi *sikā, cf. BMAC *sikā, note that in Yassi, this word has undergone the sound change s > h > ø, whereas the Iranian languages, which also have PIIr. *s > h, show s in this word)

*Kǝzerm: a thorp in the Upper Yas valley (< PYassi *kuhūzarimiya ‘Village of the Moon Goddess’, cf. Bur. kuá, γuá ‘new moon’, Vedic kuhū and BMAC *jharmiya)

When the Yassi people went southwards into their nowaday homeland, they met Indo-Europeans, however it is not clear if they were Indo-Iranians or Iranians. Most favor the latter, but as Yassi has strangely undergone very similar sound changes as other (Eastern) Iranians tongues, it's hard to tell. (Indo-)Iranian loanwords are a bit younger than Yenisey-Burushaski and BMAC words.

*maṇa: apple (< PI *amarnā-)

*pwaštay: book (< PI *paustaka-)

*slǝ: hundred (< PI *satam)

The Iranian numerals from 6 to 10 aren't widely used except for 'las' which is common in the whole Yassi area. Foreign numerals tend to be used more often in the Lower Yas valley. Yassi uses a vigesimal system.  

| one || ǝc ||

| two || kac ||

| three || nac ||

| six || || špaẓ̌

| seven || || ow

| eight || || at

| nine || || nǝ

| ten || || las

| twenty || || wišt

| thirty ||  || laswišt

| forty || || calwex̌t

| hundred ||  || slǝ