Old Swuntsim

Sacred Swuntsim/Swadesh list

Old Swuntsim (tiSxwəncim) was the ancient Tsimulh language spoken by the Swuntsim people. It is still used as a liturgical language among religious Swuntsim.

Descendants:

• Modern Swuntsim
• Naquian Swuntsim

GMP

Tsimulh low tone > breathy voice (vowels not devoiced yet; devoiced vowels are partly merged)

Two consecutive breathy vowels > just the first vowel drops.

Satemization

Phonology

Sacred Swuntsim lost Proto-Tsimulh tones.

Consonants

		Bilabial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labialized	plain	labialized
Nasal		m	n
Stop	plain	p	t			k	kw			ʔ
	voiced	b	d			g	gw
	ejective	pʼ	tʼ			kʼ	kwʼ	qʼ	qwʼ
Affricate	plain		c	ξ	č
	voiced		z		j
	ejective		cʼ	ξʼ	čʼ
Fricative			s	σ	š		xw	χ	χw	h
Approximant					y		w	ȝ	ȝw

Vowels

Clear vowels: i u ə a

Grammar

Noun class system got weird - formal noun classes remain but the words semantically shift as in Sanskrit

Nouns

Noun classes

Sacred Swuntsim had a noun class system like the Bantu languages. There were 12 noun classes, which are numbered as follows:

1. ʔə-, pl. cə-
2. bu-, pl. də-
3. p-, pl. əpi-
4. s-, pl. dus-
5. ut-, pl. pσə-
6. ma-, pl. əwə-
7. č-, pl. abi-
8. gu-, pl. N-
9. σi-, pl. wi-
10. t-
11. t’im-
12. pda-

Cases

• Nominative: -0
• Genitive: -s

Verbs

Noun class prefixes

• I = kwə-/kw-
• you (sg) = xwə-/xw-
• we = wə-
• you (pl) = cu-
• Noun class prefixes:
  1. ʔə-, pl. cə-/c-
  2. bu-, pl. də-/d-
  3. p-, pl. əpi-/əp-
  4. s-, pl. dus-
  5. ut-, pl. pσə-/pσ-
  6. ma-/mə-, pl. əwə-/u-
  7. k-/č-, pl. abi-/əb-
  8. gu-, pl. N-
  9. σi-/σ-, pl. wi-
  10. ti-/t-, no plural
  11. t’im-, no plural
  12. pda-/pdə- (common for abstract nouns), no plural

Tense affixes

-s - past tense