Lahob languages

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Lahob
Lahob-Imuniguronian; Lahobic
Created by
Geographic
distribution
most of Márusúturon
Linguistic classificationOne of Calémere's primary language families
Proto-languageProto-Lahob
Subdivisions
  • Kenaywanic
  • Central Lahobic
  • Łogawenek
  • Nayzehenyn
  • Tłašnelek
  • Chlouvānem

The Lahob languages (also known as Lahou, Lahobic, Neshlenkentian, or Lahob-Imuniguronian; Yeł. Lawo: tławiyuk notłe; Łaȟoḇaror: łaȟoḇu sorä; Chl.: hūlisakhāni dhāḍai (rarely lahāvumi dhāḍai; Nor.: þêukor Lahou, Cer.: šérošu Raó or Lahó) are a large Calémerian language family, most widely spoken on the continent of Márusúturon[1].

There are six currently recognized living Lahob branches, often grouped in two macro-branches:

  • Northern Lahob, Core Lahob, or Lahob proper - an occasionally used, at least geographically relevant, category for the five non-Chlouvānem branches spoken in Northern Márusúturon (mainly the boreal country of Mersefêny):
    • Kenaywanic languages, spoken mainly in far western Mersefêny, including Łōplan and others, but also Kȯtıme Qoşazırme, spoken at Taiga Crane Lake (Kȯt Qoşazırme) in central Kerbellion, the westernmost Core Lahob language and one of the most divergent.
    • Central Lahobic languages, spoken in the Berkill basin and in a few communities in the far southwest (Konyzałay peninsula) of the Koitrûx peninsula; including Łohofál, Sulutamilian Minwan, Łokudár, Dal Ming Wang, and Tłowpedar.
    • Łogawenek languages, spoken in the Firap and Allak basins of Mersefêny, and moribund in far northern Soenjŏ-tave; including ...
    • Nayzehenyn languages, spoken mainly across most of the central, northern, and eastern Koitrûx peninsula, including Yełeshian Lawo, Shershan Lawo, Nahawi, and others;
    • Tłašnelek languages, spoken in the northwest of the Koitrûx peninsula as well as some isolated coastal communities further north and west, both on Gurdugal and on the Márusúturonian mainland.
  • Chlouvānem languages (or Imuniguronian languages), including Chlouvānem and all of its descendants, which is the most spoken and widespread branch, counting for nearly the entirety of all Lahob speakers.
    • The Chlouvānem (or Imuniguronian) branch is traditionally divided into three sub-branches: Northern Imuniguronian, Southern Imuniguronian, and Mūltarhāveyi, the third of which has only recently been recognized as a stand-alone branch, as it was formerly considered a third subdivision of Northern Imuniguronian. Southern Imuniguronian is formed by Chlouvānem, Ancient Western Chlouvānem, and all of their descendants (the majority of Lahob vernaculars of the Inquisition which are not creoles); it is the only branch which has been attested since ancient times. Northern Imuniguronian and Mūltarhāveyi together include eleven vernacular languages spoken in the northwestern corner of the Plain and in the highlands of Mūltarhāvi; these languages have remained unwritten until the early Consolidation Era and have had a large influence from non-Lahob languages of the area as well as from Classical Chlouvānem and share many areal features with the Southern Imuniguronian Khalmāṣi languages (or Northwestern Plain vernaculars), one of the daughter branches of Chlouvānem; these features have long made it difficult to recognize them as distinct branches. Like the majority of vernaculars of the Inquisition, these languages are only ever written in informal settings and exist in a state of diglossia with Standard Chlouvānem. Boxʷǝḷ (bālši in Chl.), a Northern Imuniguronian language of the Sarēdī group, mostly spoken in Dāhuṭrijaiṭa, is by far the most spoken one, with about two million native speakers.

The Lahob family is one of many language families - including the unrelated Kenengyry and Samaidulic families, as well as various not better classified isolates - that most likely originated in the area of Márusúturon between the Carpan and the Skyrdegan seas, roughly between 30° and 40°N. The Urheimat of Proto-Lahob speakers is thought to be either the western shore of the High Ivulit (i.e. modern day Leñ-ṱef or Ebed-dowa) or the area around the Little Ivulit (today southern Leñ-ṱef, Līnajaiṭa, or southern Qualdomailor). From there, the Lahob peoples mainly expanded northwards, up to the taiga of northern Márusúturon, except for a few tribes (notably the Ur-Chlouvānem) who migrated southeastwards, into the Nīmbaṇḍhāra-Lāmberah plain. In most of this area, however, Lahob languages were replaced by the later spread first of Samaidulic and then of Kenengyry languages, so that practically all non-Chlouvānem Lahob languages are spoken in the Northern Márusúturonian taiga, along the Orcish Straits.
The Ur-Chlouvānem eventually settled in the far southern part of the Plains, where they intermixed with the local populations, forming a distinct ethnicity whose main connection with the other Lahob peoples is linguistic rather than genetic. Eventually the Chlouvānem language, one of only two attested ancient Lahob languages[2], became the liturgical language of the Yunyalīlta, which led it to be spread across all of Márusúturon and become, as of today, the most spoken language of the planet.

By number of native speakers, they are the second-largest on the planet (just slightly behind the mostly Védrenian Yombu-Raina languages), however the vast majority of Lahob speakers speak a language belonging to the Chlouvānem branch.
Excluding Chlouvānem (and its daughter languages) with more than 1,9 billion speakers, the other Lahob languages are fairly small by number of speakers, with less than 100,000 speakers collectively: Nordûlaki is the only official language[3], and the main lingua franca, across the area (except for the areas in Soenjŏ-tave), and in the most densely populated areas the vast majority of people are Nordûlaki-speaking descendants of Evandorian colonists. Lahob speakers are mostly clustered in a few villages, rarely exceeding a thousand inhabitants. Central Lahobic and Nayzehenyn are the most spoken among these branches, with the three most spoken languages being, in order, Yełeshian Lawo, Łohof-aðá, and Nahawi.
The situation in the Chlouvānem-speaking areas is almost the reverse, as it is the Dachsprache everywhere across the Chlouvānem Inquisition, in a state of diglossia with thousands of local vernaculars which are either descendants of Chlouvānem itself, Chlouvānem-based creoles, or totally unrelated languages.

Name

The Lahob languages have a few competing names, all ultimately derived from Lahob proper:

  • Lahob, Lahou, or Lahobic all derive from the ethnonym Łaȟoḇ [ɬaˈχɔβ] in Łaȟobarir, through Nordulaki Lahou [laˈhɔʊ̯]; the ultimate origin is Proto-Lahob *ɬakʰober, which is the common self-designation for many Lahob peoples (e.g. Łohof, Łogawe, Łokow, Łoku, Tɬow).
  • Neshlenkentian derives from Łogawe nä łenkänt, meaning either "our family" or "we are a family"; łenkänt is ultimately connected to Proto-Lahob *liŋkajnet, the root for "family" in many non-Chlouvānem Lahob languages.
  • Lahob-Imuniguronian is an outdated term which was common when the relationship between the Core Lahob languages and Chlouvānem hadn't been proved yet; as acceptance of the theory grew, the term Lahob-Imuniguronian was replaced by the simpler Lahob, that had been used for the Core Lahob languages until then. "Imuniguronian" is the English adaptation of imúnigúronen, the Cerian term (common to most Western languages) for "Chlouvānem".

Chlouvānem linguists have largely adopted the Nordûlaki term Lahou as the ethnonym for all Lahob peoples in the form lahāvai; however, the whole of the language family is most often referred to as hūlisakhāni dhāḍai, after the mythological ancestral land of Hūlisakhāna mentioned in early Chlouvānem literature. Curiously, the legend of Hūlisakhāna was probably non-Lahob in origin and the term is most likely not of Lahob origin too.
The form lahāvumi dhāḍai (or the rarer lahau ga dhāḍai) usually refers to what is known as Northern Lahob, Core Lahob, or Lahob proper in Western linguistics, however recently (and especially in Chlouvānem-language papers written by linguists from Qualdomailor, Brono, or the Kenengyry area) some linguists have begun using it for the whole family. Somewhat confusingly, kēhamyuñci lahāvumi dhāḍai, an exact translation of "Northern Lahob languages", is typically used for the Nayzehenyn languages only.

Ethnonyms

It is notable how the vast majority of Lahob peoples have ethnonyms based on two single Proto-Lahob roots, which however are still present in some way in nearly all languages of the family, *ɬakʰober (people) and *wānəme (horde, tribe, group):

  • *ɬakʰober as ethnonym for e.g. the Łaȟob, Łohof, Łokow, Łogawe, Tɬow, Nahawi; also reflexed as e.g. tɬawpe in Bɔni, tłɔwr in Waam (both "family"), şakȯf (house, home) in Kȯtıme Qoşazırme, or chlågbhah (tribe) in Chlouvānem;
  • *wānəme as ethnonym for e.g. the Aem, Bɔni, Wonum, Waam, Bāmn, the -vānem part in Chlouvānem (chlǣvānem originally meant "Golden Horde"), and the -wan in Minwan (min wan meaning "our folk"); also reflected as e.g. wang (group) in Łohof-aðá and womme (village) in Tɬow.

Common characteristics

Distribution of the Lahob branches in their home continent of Márusúturon.

It is difficult to point out general characteristics common to all Lahob languages because of the high divergence between the Core Lahob ones and the Chlouvānem branch. General traits are:

  • A complex morphosyntactic alignment based on triggers, present with seven triggers in Proto-Lahob and retained with no change in classical Chlouvānem, and varyingly modified in other languages, typically with a few less voices (among modern languages, the only ones that retain the full set of triggers are some Southern Chlouvānem languages, notably including the Hālyanēṃṣi vernacular). The most typical trigger system surviving among Core Lahob languages is patient-agent-locative(-instrumental).
  • Unmarked SOV word order (with S being the direct-case argument selected by the trigger) and consistently head-final. A change to SVO has however taken place in the central Core Lahob area (i.e. all Łogawenek languages, most Central Lahobic ones, and a few Nayzehenyn ones) and, independently, in the Near Eastern Chlouvānem languages.
  • All Lahob languages express location by means of numerous verbs with changing prefixes in order to convey the sense of different English prepositions; motion verbs have two series of these prefixes, one lative and one ablative.
  • Verbs are typically a closed class: most Lahob languages have a very small set of verbs in common use, and use many of those as light verbs with other roots in order to form newer meanings; verbs can typically only be formed by other verbs, and only with causative, applicative, or frequentative meanings. Chlouvānem is a partial exception, because while sharing the same restrictions to forming new verbs it has some hundreds of verb roots in common use. Some vernaculars, particularly the Jade Coastal ones, however, have developed on their own traits closer to other Lahob languages, particularly the heavy use of light verbs.

The following traits are widely found across most Core Lahob languages (which share many grammatical features), but not in Chlouvānem ones:

  • A relatively small phonemic inventory, averaging around 15 consonants (all pulmonic) and 5 vowels (all oral). Tone is not phonemic.
  • Small case systems (if they have case at all), with rarely more than three cases.
    • In all Lahob languages that have it (incl. Chlouvānem ones), the dative doubles as a lative case.


Proto-Lahob

Phonology

Consonants

Proto-Lahob's reconstructed phonemic inventory is almost universally agreed on by Calemerian linguists (apart from the phonemicity of *ŋʷ), with only some doubts about the realizations of certain phonemes. Its consonant inventory was the following:

→ PoA
↓ Manner
Labials Dentals Palatals Velars Labiovelars Laryngeals
Nasals m n ŋ (ŋʷ)
Stops Unvoiced p pʰ t̪ t̪ʰ c cʰ k kʰ kʷ kʷʰ
Voiced b bʱ d̪ d̪ʱ ɟ ɟʱ g gʱ gʷ gʷʱ
Fricatives f v s ɬ š x ɣ h ʕ
Approximants r l j w

The exact quality of the reconstructed phonemes and is unclear. For , the various theories are about substantially close phones such as [ʃ ʂ ɕ] or even [ç]. is much more problematic. In most Lahob languages, this phoneme is only shown by its effect on neighboring vowels, which is different depending on the language but it always backs the vowel, lowers it, or does both. Chlouvānem is the exception as it directly reflects it, without any change in vowel quality, as its infamous /ɴ̆/ phoneme, whose extremely high occurrence is due to Proto-Lahob *ʕ, *l, (often) *ɬ, and *ŋ having all merged into it. As, however, other Lahob languages have a backed or lowered vowel, but never a nasalized one in the contexts where *ʕ is reconstructed, Calemerian linguists think that the Chlouvānem phoneme being nasal is a post-Proto-Lahob development.

Vowels

Proto-Lahob's vowel inventory, on the other hand, is fairly simple, with five pairs of long and short vowels - /a aː e eː o oː i iː u uː/ - plus the two vowels /ɨ ə/. The non-high vowels could also form diphthongs with /ɨ̯ ɪ̯ ʊ̯/, while /i iː/ only could with /ʊ̯/ and /u uː/ only with /ɪ̯/.

Sound correspondences in daughter languages

The following table lists the general reflexes of Proto-Lahob phonemes in the major attested Lahob languages. For sake of brevity, different outcomes caused by splits in earlier times of the language are not noted (e.g. *d having different outcomes in Yełeshian Lawo due to original intervocalic *d being n and secondary intervocalic *d (post-Proto-Nayzehenyn) being r):

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Nayzehenyn Central Lahobic
Yełeshian Lawo Shershan Lawo Łohofál Sulutamilian Minwan
*p p p p f f
*pʰ ħ h, kp1 h, kp1 f, kp1 f, kp1
*b b b, w b, w p, f p
*bʱ bh w, gb1 w, gb1 p, f, gb1 p, gb1
*t t, ṭ2 t t t t, s
*tʰ th, ṭh2 n y s s, t
*d d, ḍ2 d, r, n d, y d, ð d, n, r
*dʱ dh, ḍh2 n y
*c c č, š č, š s s, t
*cʰ ch š š
j ž dž, ž d, ð d, n, r
*ɟʱ jh ž
*k k, c3 k, q2 k k, r, ȟ k, l, s
*kʰ kh, ch3 ħ, ∅ ħ, h
g, j3 g, ∅ g, h k, ð, ȟ, ∅ k, n, s, ∅
*ɡʱ gh, jh3 ħ, ∅ ħ, h
*kʷ ɂ kp kp kp kp
*kʷʰ ph
*ɡʷ ɂ gb gb gb gb
*ɡʷʱ bh
*x h, V̤4, V̤k5 k1, ∅, š k1, ∅, š ∅, l1
h, V̤4, V̤g5 k1, ∅, ž k1, ∅, ž, h
*h h, V̤4 h, ħ ħ, h
*f p h h f f
*w v w, ∅ w, ∅ w w
*s s, š3 s, ∅6 s, ∅6
ṣ, ∅7
*[z] 8, ∅9 z z
*r r, h6, l r, ∅ y, ∅ l, ∅1, 10 l, ∅1, 10
*l l ł ł ł ł
l, chl1

Table notes:

  1. Word-initially.
  2. Usually through assimilation of a following *r.
  3. When followed by *j.
  4. In coda.
  5. Intervocalic.
  6. Word-finally.
  7. Word-initially when followed by *j.
  8. Before voiced consonants.
  9. Adjacent to *d or *dʱ (resulting in , ḍh respectively).
  10. Before stops.

Morphology

First declension

First declension nouns are those also known as *-s nouns, and distinguished four types of stems: o-stems, u-stems, i-stems, and *n-stems (cf. Chlouvānem s-nouns in -as, -us, -is, -oe). Here follows the declension of first declension nouns with a comparison in Chlouvānem and Yełeshian Lawo (a Nayzehenyn language), which only keeps this declension as a relic in a few nouns - not the root *frātos "wind" but, as in the table, *gistoros "young" (> Proto-Nayzehenyn *yestor > ehtu, cf. Chl. giṣṭaras).

Note that Yełeshian Lawo, and all Nayzehenyn languages anyway, keeps the original instrumental plural suffix as an adverb-forming suffix, e.g. ehtuwenik "in the way of a young person". This use of the instrumental plural is considered a Proto-Lahob feature, as it is still found in most other branches, and is also common in Archaic and Early Classical Chlouvānem texts.

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Yełeshian Lawo
o-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural
Direct[4] *frāt-os *frāt-ant *frāt-aj prātas prātāt prāte ehtu ehtuwe
Vocative *frāt-āw prātau
Accusative *frāt-u *frāt-asuj *frāt-ajir prātu prātāṣa prātaih
Ergative *frāt-ej *frāt-ōjo *frāt-ōn prātei prātāya prātān
Genitive *frāt-i *frāt-ajwo *frāt-umi prāti prāteva prātumi ehtuy ehtum
Instrumental *frāt-op *frāt-ōbʱan *frāt-ajnīko prātap prātābhan prātenīka ehtuwenik
Exessive *frāt-ot *frāt-ōmōn prātat prātāmān
Ablative *frāt-ux *frāt-ajnits prātų prātenīs
Translative *frāt-on *frāt-oguš *frāt-ijawr prātan prātaus prātyoh
Dative *frāt-awm *frāt-osām prātom prātasām ehtowe ehtuswe
Essive *frāt-ox *frāt-iŋgin *frāt-egem prātą prātigin prātēm
Locative *frāt-e *frāt-iʕīm prāte prātilīm
u-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural
Direct *kewʕəd-u-s *kewʕəd-u-nt *kewʕəd-āw-s kældus kældūt kældaus koru korwe
Vocative *kewʕəd-u kældu
Accusative *kewʕəd-aw-u *kewʕəd-u-suj *kewʕəd-aw-ir kældavu kældūṣa kældavih
Ergative *kewʕəd-aw-e(j) *kewʕəd-ū-jo *kewʕəd-ū-n kældave kældūya kældūn
Genitive *kewʕəd-aw-i *kewʕəd-owwo *kewʕəd-owmi kældavi kældagva kældǣmi korwe korum
Instrumental *kewʕəd-u-p *kewʕəd-aw-bʱan *kewʕəd-u-nīko kældup kældobhan kældunīka korunik
Exessive *kewʕəd-u-t *kewʕəd-aw-mōn kældut kældomān
Ablative *kewʕəd-u-ux *kewʕəd-u-nits kældų kældunīs
Translative *kewʕəd-u-n *kewʕəd-u-guš *kewʕəd-u-jawr kældun kældugus kælduyoh
Dative *kewʕəd-aw-awm *kewʕəd-u-sām kældavom kældusām korwe koruswe
Essive *kewʕəd-aw-x *kewʕəd-u-ŋgin *kewʕəd-aw-egem kældą kældugin kældavēm
Locative *kewʕəd-aw-e *kewʕəd-u-ʕīm kældave kældulīm
i-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural
Direct *əskutr-i-s *əskutr-i-nt *əskutr-āj-s skuṭis skuṭīt skuṭais kutłi kutłe
Vocative *əskutr-i skuṭi
Accusative *əskutr-aj-u *əskutr-i-suj *əskutr-aj-ir skuṭayu skuṭīṣa skuṭaih
Ergative *əskutr-aj-e(j) *əskutr-ī-jo *əskutr-ī-n skuṭaye skuṭīya skuṭīn
Genitive *əskutr-aj-i *əskutr-ojjo *əskutr-j-umi skuṭayi skuṭajña skuṭyumi kutłey kutłim
Instrumental *əskutr-i-p *əskutr-aj-bʱan *əskutr-i-nīko skuṭip skuṭebhan skuṭinīka kutłinik
Exessive *əskutr-i-t *əskutr-aj-mōn skuṭit skuṭemān
Ablative *əskutr-j-ux *əskutr-i-nits skuṭyų skuṭinīs
Translative *əskutr-i-n *əskutr-i-guš *əskutr-i-jawr skuṭin skuṭigus skuṭyoh
Dative *əskutr-aj-awm *əskutr-i-sām skuṭayom skuṭisām kutłewe kutłiswe
Essive *əskutr-aj-x *əskutr-i-ŋgin *əskutr-aj-egem skuṭę skuṭigin skuṭayēm
Locative *əskutr-aj-e *əskutr-i-ʕīm skuṭaye skuṭilīm
n-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural
Direct *hoʕ-õ *hoʕ-en-ant *hoʕ-en-ī haloe halenāt halenī
Vocative
Accusative *hoʕ-en-u *hoʕ-en-asuj *hoʕ-en-ajir halenu halenāṣa halenaih
Ergative *hoʕ-en-ej *hoʕ-en-ōjo *hoʕ-en-ōn halenei halenāya halenān
Genitive *hoʕ-en-jes *hoʕ-en-wo *hoʕ-õ-mi halenies halemva haloemi
Instrumental *hoʕ-en-op *hoʕ-õ-bʱan *hoʕ-õ-nīko halenap haloebhan haloenīka
Exessive *hoʕ-en-ot *hoʕ-õ-mōn halenat haloemān
Ablative *hoʕ-en-ux *hoʕ-õ-nits halenų haloenīs
Translative *hoʕ-en-on *hoʕ-en-oguš *hoʕ-en-ijawr halenan halenaus halenyoh
Dative *hoʕ-en-awm *hoʕ-õ-sām halenom haloesām
Essive *hoʕ-en-î(x) *hoʕ-õ-gin *hoʕ-õ-gem halen haloegin haloem
Locative *hoʕ-en-je *hoʕ-en-iʕīm halenie halenilīm

Second declension

Second declension nouns are those that end in -m (except for -āj nouns), and also have three different possible stems: o-stems, u-stems, and i-stems. Here follows the declension of first declension nouns with a comparison in Chlouvānem, Yełeshian Lawo, and Tundra Pwaɬasd.

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Yełeshian Lawo Łahoḇarir
o-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct *juɟ-om *juɟ-iwā *juɟ-om-k yujam yujivā yujāk yiž yižuk sur susung
Vocative *juɟ-e yuje
Accusative *juɟ-om-u *juɟ-m-es *juɟ-m-ajir yujamu yujmes yujmaih
Ergative *juɟ-m-ego *juɟ-m-ēn *juɟ-ōm-ūn yujmæ yujmian yujāmūn
Genitive *juɟ-om-i *juɟ-m-ajwo *juɟ-om-nān yujami yujmeva yujaṃrān yižom yižonwe susome susunä
Instrumental *juɟ-om-op *juɟ-o-bʱan *juɟ-om-nīko yujamap yujabhan yujaṃrīka yižonik
Exessive *juɟ-om-ot *juɟ-o-mōn yujamat yujamān
Ablative *juɟ-om-ux *juɟ-m-ajnits yujamų yujmenīs
Translative *juɟ-om-on *juɟ-m-ix *juɟ-m-ent yujaman yujmį yujmēt
Dative *juɟ-om-awm *juɟ-om-sām yujamom yujaṃsām yižom̃e yižuže susumaw sususä
Essive *juɟ-om-x *juɟ-m-enne *juɟ-m-egem yujmą yujmenne yujmēm
Locative *juɟ-om-n(j)aj *juɟ-m-iʕīm yujaṃrye yujmilīm
u-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct *tūl-u-m *tūl-w-iwā *tūl-um-k tūlum tūlvivā tūlūk tuł tułung
Vocative *tūl-w-e tūlve
Accusative *tūl-u-m-u *tūl-w-es *tūl-u-jir tūlumu tūlves tūluyih
Ergative *tūl-u-go *tūl-w-ēn *tūl-u-m-ūn tūluga tūlvyan tūlumūn
Genitive *tūl-u-m-i *tūl-w-ajwo *tūl-u-m-nān tūlumi tūlveva tūluṃrān tułume tułunä
Instrumental *tūl-u-m-op *tūl-u-bʱan *tūl-um-nīko tūlumap tūlubhan tūluṃrīka
Exessive *tūl-u-m-ot *tūl-u-mōn tūlumat tūlumān
Ablative *tūl-u-m-ux *tūl-w-ajnits tūlumų tūlvenīs
Translative *tūl-u-m-on *tūl-w-ix *tūl-u-nt tūluman tūlvį tūlūt
Dative *tūl-u-m-awm *tūl-u-m-sām tūlumom tūluṃsām tułumaw tułusä
Essive *tūl-u-m-x *tūl-u-nne *tūl-u-gem tūlų tūlunne tūlugem
Locative *tūl-u-m-n(j)aj *tūl-u-ʕīm tūluṃrye tūlulīm
i-stems
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct *sgāt-i-m *sgāt-i-iwā *sgāt-im-k ṛgātim ṛgātīvā ṛgātīk
Vocative *sgāt-j-e ṛgātie
Accusative *sgāt-i-m-u *sgāt-j-es *sgāt-i-jir ṛgātimu ṛgāties ṛgātīh
Ergative *sgāt-i-go *sgāt-j-ēn *sgāt-i-m-ūn ṛgātya ṛgātiyan ṛgātimūn
Genitive *sgāt-i-m-i *sgāt-j-ajwo *sgāt-i-m-nān ṛgātimi ṛgātieva ṛgātiṃrān
Instrumental *sgāt-i-m-op *sgāt-i-bʱan *sgāt-im-nīko ṛgātimap ṛgātibhan ṛgātiṃrīka
Exessive *sgāt-i-m-ot *sgāt-i-mōn ṛgātimat ṛgātimān
Ablative *sgāt-i-m-ux *sgāt-j-ajnits ṛgātimų ṛgātienīs
Translative *sgāt-i-m-on *sgāt-j-ix *sgāt-i-nt ṛgātiman ṛgātį ṛgātīt
Dative *sgāt-i-m-awm *sgāt-i-m-sām ṛgātimom ṛgātiṃsām
Essive *sgāt-i-m-x *sgāt-i-nne *sgāt-i-gem ṛgātį ṛgātinne ṛgātiem
Locative *sgāt-i-m-n(j)aj *sgāt-i-ʕīm ṛgātiṃrye ṛgātilīm

*-ōj declension

A class of nouns which ended in *-ōj in their direct case forms had a particular declension, with forms mostly taken from the first and the second declension but varying between the two. The essive and the locative singular are from the third.
Chlouvānem, Yełeshian and Shershan Lawo, and Šlokhowdeš all have many remnants from this class (and in Chl. and Šlk. it is still productive), while other languages may keep the odd irregular noun (as the root used in the example, *gjun-ōj, meaning "foot").

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Yeł. Lawo Šlokhowdeš
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct and Vocative *gjun-ōj *gjun-ōj-wā *gjun-ōj-aj junai junaivā junāye
Accusative *gjun-ōj-u *gjun-ōj-es *gjun-ōj-ajir junāyu junāyes junāyaih
Ergative *gjun-ōj-ej *gjun-ōj-ēn *gjun-ōj-ūn junǣ junāyēn junāyūn
Genitive *gjun-ōj-i *gjun-ōj-wo *gjun-ōj-ān junāyi junaiva junāyān
Instrumental *gjun-ōj-p *gjun-ōj-bʱan *gjun-ōj-nīko junaip junaibhan junainīka
Exessive *gjun-ōj-t *gjun-ōj-mōn junait junaimān
Ablative *gjun-ōj-ux *gjun-ōj-ajnits junāyų junǣnīs
Translative *gjun-ōj-n *gjun-ōj-ix *gjun-ōj-ent junain junāyį junāyēt
Dative *gjun-ōj-awm *gjun-ōj-sām junāyom junaisām
Essive *gjun-ōj-xəs *gjun-ōj-nne *gjun-ōj-gem junąis junainne junaigem
Locative *gjun-ōj-aj *gjun-ōj-ʕīm junāye junailīm


Pronouns

Only the first- and second-person pronouns are reliably reconstructible in Proto-Lahob; it probably did not have common third person pronouns nor those differing in formality (which are found in Chlouvānem, most of its descendants, and, in a different way, in many Kenaywanic languages) - the pronoun declension was apparently marginally productive and terms which were used as pronouns were sometimes analogically added to it — first of all, the development of Chlouvānem's 2SG formal equal pronoun tami starting from the Lällshag borrowing tame can be seen in texts from the early centuries of the Second Era; also using nouns instead of pronouns is not uncommon among Lahob languages, as do, without a change in declension, contemporary Chlouvānem, most of its descendants, as well as some Tłašnelek languages.

Like most modern Lahob languages - Chlouvānem is, this time, the exception - the Proto-Lahob second person pronouns distinguished natural gender both in the singular and in the plural; while all plural pronouns have vanished from Chlouvānem (though the 2PL feminine one's direct and genitive cases only are attested in Archaic Chlouvānem), the feminine singular is reflected as the formal superior and the masculine singular as the formal inferior. Some Kenaywanic languages, as e.g. Łōpian, have also simplified the system by only retaining the originally masculine forms.
The dual forms may not be reliably reconstructed (as anywhere in Proto-Lahob morphology) because Chlouvānem is the only attested Lahob language with a dual form (excluding a few of its daughter languages, as well as closely related Western Ancient Chlouvānem).

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Central Lahobic Nayzehenyn Łogawenek Kenaywanic Tłašnelek
Proto-CL Łohofál Sulutamilian
Minwan
Łokudár Proto-N. Yełeshian Lawo Shershan Lawo Nahawi Proto-Ł. Łaȟoḇaror Łogawe Aem Proto-K. Łōpian Proto-T. Kpunnuan
Tłašnelek
*ʕiŋi, *ʕ- "I" lili *oŋi ngi oni oni *eŋ͡mi em̃e em̃ im̃ *eŋ eng en eng *emʲe emь *oŋ͡mi oŋmi
*rowi, *r- "you (masculine sg)" ravi *rōy loy loa roy *roy rwe ya *ruy yuy ruy ruy *rᵞovʲi rъey *law naw
*nomi, *nəj- "you (feminine sg)" nami *noy no noa noy *nay ney *nɔm no na nwŏ *nome *nami nai
*muxmō~mexjō, *mux-/*me- "we" *muma mun mum mun *mɛy me *mɛn nän mye *mᵞen mъen *moȟō mohu
*korin, *kro-/*koj- "you (masculine pl)" *kōn kon kun ku *kran qan kan qan *kɔr kon kar kwŏ *korʲin kerьn *kōn kuki
*nogin, *(ə)ŋg- "you (feminine pl)" nagin *olin ðin onen thi *nawn non nam̃ nam̃ *nɔk nak nwŏk *nokin *nokin noki


Basic cognates

Numbers 1-12

All Lahob languages have a duodecimal numeral system. Here are the numbers from 1 to 12 (1012) in some of them. Note that there is no common word for "zero" (most of them use the word for "nothing"; Chlouvānem has the Lällshag borrowing ajrā). The Proto-Lahob numerals for three and six are based on finger counting, being the word for "finger" and its dual form (some languages have innovated a newer word for finger with a later derivation, cf. Chl. pamuvis, Yeł. Lawo kpim̃í); Kenaywanic and Tłašnelek also have the root *den, "phalanx", for one – which is reflected in all languages' word for Ɛ, *wewʕe-den, or "one phalanx more [to twelve]". It is also notable that *tītijo, used for "eight" in all branches except for Nayzehenyn and Chlouvānem, also means "limbs", referring to legs, feet, arms, and hands.
Nayzehenyn languages have three as a sub-base and their word for twelve is "four fingers" or "four times three".

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Central Lahobic Nayzehenyn Łogawenek Kenaywanic Tłašnelek
Proto-CL Łohofál Sulutamilian
Minwan
Łokudár Proto-N. Yełeshian Lawo Shershan Lawo Nahawi Proto-Ł. Łaȟoḇaror Łogawe Aem Proto-K. Łōplan Proto-T. Kpunnuan
Tłašnelek
*jemibɨ ~ *denə "one" emibe *yempu yew empu yiw *imbo im̃u im̃o im̃u *zɛmeb sämeḇ zäwm šeme *deno de *ten ti
*doni "two" dani *doni doy dun don *done dun dōn dōn *dɔn don da dwŏ *doni ni *tani tani
*pāmwəj "three" pāmvi *faŋi feng fen han *pɔŋ͡me kpem̃ kpam̃ kpam̃ *paŋ päng pan fang *pᵞamᵞi pъem *pāmwe paw
*nexɬə(te) "four" nęlte *netłet nełe netłe nełë *neetɬo nitłu nētło nīnu *nɛɬ näł näł nyeł *nehɬo nał *neȟtɬo nihtło
*sjuŋko "five" šulka *sunko suk sunku šonë *siŋka sink sink šinka *huŋk hing hun huk *simʲo sumь *šoŋka soka
*pāmujwā "six" (tulūɂa) *famowá fangwá famwá howá *pɔmewɔ́ kpengbé kpegbá kpikpá *pamuwa pämiw pamua fawa *pᵞɑmᵞiwɑ pâmâ *pāmowā pamoa
*cʰīko "seven" chīka *siko sik siku šikë *ʃika šika šik šia *sik siȟ si sik *siko suk *čīka kica
*tītijo ~ *məbuŋo "eight" mbula *tiso tis sisun tišë *g͡buŋ͡ma gbum̃o gbum̃a kpuža *tis tis tis tis *tiyo ti *tīča tica
*mawɟo "nine" moja *mōlo moð munu muthë *mɔdʒa mož m̃až maža *mawz nos nawz ma *mᵞɑzo moz *mōča muca
*tofaʕdo "ten" tålda *tofad tof tofa toha *tafoda tor tahoy tawra *tɔfɑd torf taha twŏϑ *tofᵞɑdo tofъ *tafōta tafuta
*wewʕe-den "eleven" vælden *wālen waðen wane wothi *yɔwdin wedin wahdin warin *wɑdɛn warä waä ŏye *vʲɑden ved *wawaten wate
*māmōwə ~ *nexɬəpāmwəj "twelve" māmei *mamō maw mamu mu *neetɬɔŋ͡me nitłem̃ nēłam̃ nīnwam̃ *mamu näm namu mamu *mᵞɑmᵞo momъ *māmōwo mamo

Miscellaneous words

If the meaning in a daughter language is not specified, then it has not shifted since PLB; if ... appears in a daughter language column it means that the word did not shift meaning but acquired new ones in addition to those it already had.

Proto-Lahob Chlouvānem Central Lahobic Nayzehenyn Łogawenek Kenaywanic Tłašnelek
Proto-CL Łohofál Sulutamilian
Minwan
Łokudár Proto-N. Yełeshian
Lawo
Shershan
Lawo
Nahawi Proto-Ł. Łaȟoḇaror Łogawe Aem Proto-K. Łōpian Proto-T. Kpunnuan
Tłašnelek
*bujnā"father" būnā *pōna pon puna punë *benɔ bem̃e bim̃a pim̃a *buna bin bun bua *pᵞinɑ pъen *ponā pona
*mejnā "mother" meinā *mēna mene mina minë *menɔ mem̃e mim̃a mim̃a *mina nin nin mia *mʲena mьan *mīnā mena
*ŋōntrom "head" lāṇṭam *ŋanto ngat nantu notë *ŋ͡montra m̃ontła m̃ontła m̃uła *ŋonots ngunec nonoc ngonoc *mᵞuntorᵞu mūtrъ *ŋ͡mōnča ŋmuca
*ʕiken "arm" *oken ohen oken oke *ekin ekin ičin īn *ɛkɛn äȟän ää yehye *eken ikn *oken oke
*√ʕiŋ- "to live" √lil- *oŋ- ang- on- an- *eŋ͡m- em̃- im̃- im̃- *ɛŋ- eng- än- yeng- *emʲ/mᵞ- emь- ~ emъ- *oŋ͡m- oŋm-
*√gʷʱi-, "to take care of" √bhi- *ɡ͡bi- gbi- gbi- gbi- *ɡ͡bi- gbi- gbi- kpi- *ɡ͡bi- gbi- gbi- gbi- *ki- ki- *k͡pi- kpi-
*mwerkos "black" murkas *ŋero ngel nel nerë *ŋ͡mereko m̃ereku m̃eyeko m̃iriu *ŋɛrk ngäk näk ngek *mᵞerʲɑ marь *mwēka mwéka
*ɣuŋjā "moon" huliā *ruyà uyá uyá *guyyɔ́ ožwé ožwá wožá *xoja ȟuy goy ea *wumʲɑ mьâ *xonyā hoya
*gistoros "young" giṣṭaras *kitoro kitol sitol kitorë *yestor ehtu ihtu ihtur *ketɔr kedoy kedar keϑwŏ *kitorᵞa kurâ *yešala cihna
*tāmiro "stone" tāmira *tamiro tamil tamil tamurë *tomur tom̃ tomu tumur *tamer tämey tamer tame *tamʲirᵞo temьurъ *tāmila temna
*liŋkajnet "family" *ɬikēnet łihet łisine łikinë *ɬeŋkɛyni łenkey łinkēn ninkēni *ɬeŋkɛnɛt łengkäd łenkänt łekyet *lʲinkene līkne *ɬiŋkēne łikéne
*frātos "wind" prātas *fato fat fat hatë *fwɔt fuwe wat wat *frat rät hrat fat *fʲatɑ fьât *fwāta fwota
*xadono "sun" hånna *rolon oðon onon othu *kalona kano kayon kanun *xɑnd ȟan gan ŏϑ *wadon wodn *xatana hahna
*ʕanaj "island" lanai *anē ane ani ani *ɔney wene wanē wanē *ɑnɛ anä onä ŏi *ɑne ân *onē oné
*siwás "animal" švas *hiwó iwó hiwú iwó *siwá swa siwá šiwá *hew hew ew hyŏ *šiwa šew *šiwa sia
*jetiror "stranger, foreigner" etirah "customer" *yetiru yetil esil yetir *yetir eti itir itiš *zɛter särt zäc šeϑe *itirᵞo iturъ *yetila citina
*ēʕto "trace, footprint" yalta
"symbol, ..."
*āto ato at otë *aata āta āt ēta *ɛt ät ät yet *eta eta *āta ata
*lanisí "braid" lañši
"marriage, ..."
*ɬonisí łonisí "sausage" łonití "chain" łuší "sausage" *ɬanisi łanisi "chain" łanis "rope" naniš "rope" *ɬɑnes "chain" łaner łoz łŏr *lᵞaniší weši *ɬaniši łanisi
*hōwrar "summer" heirah
"year"
*hor ho "heat" ħor hur *urɑ iya ura urŏ

Comparison sentences

Comparison of sentences in different Lahob languages:

  • English: I ate three fish.
  • Proto-Lahob (reconstructed): *ʕiŋi pāmwəju dalətu juxlāw te.

Chlouvānem languages

  • Chlouvānem: (lili) pāmvyu daltu yųlaute. [ɴ̆iɴ̆i päːmʋju däɴ̆tu jṳɴ̆äʊ̯te]
    • Līlasuṃghāṇi vernacular: lil pœy dolɂee ulat. [ɴ̆iŋ ˌpœːi̯ duɴ̆ˈɁeː ˈyːɴ̆ɐt]
    • Lāltaṣveyi vernacular: li pamb dôltô zuld. [ɴ̆i ˌpamb ˈdɔɴ̆tɔ ˈzuɴ̆d]
    • Lāmberhāti vernacular: lil pamf dôlt julôd. [ɴ̆iw̃ ˌpaɱf ˈdɔɴ̆t ˈdʒuɴ̆ɔð̞]
  • Western Ancient Chlouvānem: (lilǝ) pāmbǝyu dartu yūrwåǝtǝ *[ɴ̆iɴ̆ǝ päːmbǝju därtu juːrwɔʊ̯tǝ] (reconstructed pronunciation)

Central Lahobic languages

  • Łohofál: ngi yułot feng dołit. [ŋi ˈjuɬɔt fɛŋ ˈdɔɬit]
  • Dal Ming Wang: ngi yułut fang dołit. [ŋi ˈjuɬut faŋ ˈdɔɬit]
  • Sulutamilian Minwan: oni ułut fen dołet. [ˈoni ˈuɬut fen ˈdoɬet]
  • Łokudár: oni yułutë han dołitë. [ˈoni ˈjuɬutə han ˈdoɬitə]
  • Tłowpedar: on yołt fan dołit. [ˈɔn ˈjɔɬt fan ˈdɔɬit]

Nayzehenyn languages

  • Yełeshian Lawo: em̃e kpem̃ dałit yułwet. [ˈɛŋ͡mɛ k͡pɛŋ͡m ˈdaɬit ˈjuɬwɛt]
  • Shershan Lawo: em̃ kpam̃ dałit yułwat. [ɛŋ͡m k͡paŋ͡m ˈdaɬit ˈjuɬwat]
  • Nahawi: im̃ kpam̃ tanit yum̃at. [ɪŋ͡m k͡paŋ͡m ˈtanit ˈjuŋ͡mat]

Tłašnelek languages

  • Kpunnuan Tłašnelek: oŋmit paw tałca cohlo. [ˈɔŋ͡mit paw ˈtaɬt͡sa ˈt͡sɔɦlɔ]
  • Temyaonean Tłašnelek: oŋmit po tatła cotło. [ˈɔŋ͡mit pɔ ˈtat͡ɬa ˈt͡sɔt͡ɬɔ]
  • Bōmon Tātō: oŋmit pōm tāša žōło. [ˈɔŋ͡mit poːm ˈtaːʃa ˈʒoːɬo]

External history

The history behind how I created the Lahob languages is somewhat curious: when I created Chlouvānem in my newer version of Calémere, I could not keep the same family I had already vastly developed for Laceyiam. But I didn't really like leaving it as an isolate, so that when I was filling the language infobox on the page for Chlouvānem I wrote down a meaningless "Lahob" on the language family parameter. Eventually I decided I liked the name and built the family around it.
The aesthetic inspirations for the individual non-Chlouvānem language families are varied, but overall I was mostly inspired by the Austronesian and Algonquian families.

Notes

  1. ^ The only core Lahob-speaking territories in other continents, except for the coasts of Gurdugal, are the Kāyīchah islands (geographically in Védren) and a handful of small Tłašnelek-speaking villages in far eastern Gathuráni - an area whose actual classification as Evandor or Márusúturon is disputed.
  2. ^ The other ancient Lahob language to be attested is Western Ancient Chlouvānem (or WAC), which is however extremely closely related to Chlouvānem so that many scholars consider them to be two divergent dialects of the same language; in fact, the two languages only diverged from Ur-Chlouvānem after the migration into the Plain, and they had varying degrees of mutual intelligibility while they were spoken first languages. WAC itself was replaced in official usage by Chlouvānem (albeit much more slowly than unrelated languages of other Chlouvānemized territories), and the present-day Southwestern Plain vernaculars, daughter languages of WAC, still use Classical Chlouvānem as their lingua franca.
  3. ^ Under Mersefênyi laws, municipalities can declare another language as co-official in their territory; however, most of the Lahob-speaking villages are census places in unincorporated territories. Despite this, the Region of East Koitrûx has declared Yełeshian Lawo as a "language of regional importance", the only Lahob language other than Chlouvānem to be officially recognized anywhere on Calémere.
  4. ^ Absolutive in Woŋom.