Proto-Almaic
| Proto-Almaic | |
|---|---|
| Rapa'i | |
| Created by | Miguel Bartelsman |
| Reconstruction of | Almaic |
| Region | Almaic plains; Hassjic mountains |
| Era | 5000–3500 a.E. (Lithic) |
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
Proto-Almaic is the common ancestor of all the Almaic languages, a family of languages widespread in the Yolder and Ausmiran continents.
Proto-Almaic is estimated to have been spoken from around 5000 to 3500 a.E., and it's original homeland may have been the Almeran plains from which the language derives its name. Its descendant languages include Angaran and Yohari.
Orthography
| Letter | A a | B b | C c | D d | E e | F f |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /a/, /ã/ [1] | /b/ | /x/ | /d/ | /e/, /ẽ/ [1] | /f/ |
| Letter | G g | H h | I i | K k | Kg kg [3] | – kk [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /g/ | /h/, /-/ [2] | /i/, /ĩ/ [1] | /k/ | /k’/ | /k’/ |
| Letter | L l | M m | N n | Nj nj | O o | P p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /l/ | /m/ | /n/, /◌̃/, /N/ [5] | /ɲ/ | /o/, /õ/ [1] | /p/ |
| Letter | Pb pb [3] | – pp [4] | Q q | R r | S s | T t |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /p’/ | /p’/ | /q/ | /ʀ/ | /s/ | /t/ |
| Letter | Td td [3] | – tt [4] | U u | V v | Z z | ' [6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /t’/ | /t’/ | /u/, /ũ/ [1] | /v/ | /z/ | /ʔ/ |
^1 In words that end with ⟨n⟩, the /n/ is dropped and instead the vowels are nasalized.
^2 /h/ is not pronounced in final position, but ⟨h⟩ is preserved as clitics and affixes reveal the sound.
^3 ⟨kg⟩, ⟨td⟩, and ⟨pb⟩ are only used at the start of a word.
^4 ⟨kk⟩, ⟨tt⟩, and ⟨pp⟩ are only used in the middle of a word, so they have no correct capitalized version.
^5 ⟨n⟩ in coda position can be realized a number of ways: as vowel nasalization in final position or before /ʔ/, or as one of [m], [ɱ], [n], [ŋ], [ɴ], assimilating in place of articulation to the following consonant.
^6 ⟨'⟩ has a single representation regardless of location or capitalization.
Stress is predictable from the orthography, so it is not marked. A written word will always be stressed on the second to last syllable if it ends on an open syllable, otherwise stress will fall on the last syllable.
Phonetics
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palat. | Velar | Uvular | Glot. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unv. | vce. | unv. | vce. | vce. | unv. | vce. | unv. | vce. | unv. | |
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||||||
| Ejectives | p’ | t’ | k’ | |||||||
| Stops | p | b | t | d | k | g | q | ʔ | ||
| Fricatives | f | v | s | z | x | h | ||||
| Liquids | l | ʀ | ||||||||
Vowels
| Front | Center | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rnd | unr. | unr. | |
| Close | i ĩ | u ũ | |
| Mid | e ẽ | o õ | |
| Open | a ã |
Syllable structure
((h)C) V (N)
- C: a consonant, which may be pre-aspirated word-medially.
- V: a vowel
- N: is a nasal consonant with unspecified place of articulation.
Prosody
Stress usually falls on the second to last syllable, unless the word ends in a nasal vowel or preaspirates suffixes, in which case it falls on the last syllable.
Syntax
Proto-Angaric is a specifier-initial, adjunct-mixed, head-final language.
XP → (YP) X'
X' → (ZP) X' or X' (ZP)
X' → (WP) X
Structure rules
Phrase heads are in bold, adjuncts are in gray, optional elements are surrounded by (parentheses) or, if they can be repeated, by {curly braces}
Sentence
- CP
Complement Phrase (CP)
- (NP) VP (C)
- VP NP — Subject backing
Verb Phrase (VP)
- (NP/DP/CP) (NP/DP/CP) V {PP/AdvP} (Aux)
Noun Phrase (NP)
- {PP} (PP/AdjP) N {Adj}
Determiner phrase (DP)
- (NP) D
- (NP)s (NP)o D — Possessive construction
Postposition Phrase (PP)
- (NP/DP/CP) PP
Adverb Phrase (AdvP)
- (AdvP) AdvP
Adjective Phrase (AdjP)
- (AdvP/PP) AdjP
Conjunction Phrase (ConjP)
- XP/ConjP XP Conj
Grammar
Pronouns
- sa – I (1st p. singular)
- sana – we (1st p. plural inc.)
- sado – we (1st p. plural excl.)
- ika – you (2nd p. singular)
- ikana – you (2nd p. dual)
- ikado – you (2nd p. plural)
- go – he/she (3rd p. singular)
- gona – they (3rd p. dual)
- godo – they (3rd p. plural)
- a – it/that (3rd p. singular)
- ahdo – they/those (3rd p. dual)
- ahna – they/those (3rd p. plural)
- Determiners
- Only an indefinite article is used
- Number
- Marked by particles, three different forms: singular, dual, plural
- Tenses
- Present, unmarked; past and habitual, regularly marked by affixes; future
Samples
Misc. sentences
“Tenju ohdattali 'e sin”
/ˈte.ɲu oh.daˈt’a.li ʔe sĩ/
| tenju | oh=dattali | 'e | sin |
| mister | indf=animal | pat | see |
“The mister sees an animal”
Schleicher's fable
“Ti ohrante, kginja 'e ka hila ohagahi to ohemon 'e sin mo, …”
/ti ohˈʀan.te ˈk’i.ɲa ʔe ka hiˈla o.haˈga.hi to o.heˈmõ ʔe sĩ mo/
| ti | oh=rante, | kginja | 'e | ka | hila | oh=agahi | to | oh=emon | 'e | sin | mo |
| On | indf=hill, | wool | pat | neg | have | indf=sheep | pl | indf=horse | pat | see | pst, |
“On a hill, a wool have-not sheep saw some horses, …”
“…ahdomi za ohppami godo 'e lanjicipu, …”
/ahˈdo.mi za ohˈp’a.mi ˈgo.do ʔe ˌla.ɲiˈxi.pu/
| ahdo=mi | za | oh=pbami | godo | 'e | lanji=cipu |
| 3p=gen | one | indf=wagon | heavy | pat | pull=ipfv |
“…one of them pulling a heavy wagon, …”
“…zakuna ohdakkenvita onjo 'e dakkencipu, …”
/zaˈku.na ohˌda.k’eɱˈvi.ta ˈo.ɲo ʔe ˌda.k’eŋˈxi.pu/
| zakuna | oh=dakken-vita | onjo | 'e | dakken=cipu |
| one:else | indf=carry-nz | big | pat | carry=ipfv |
“…another carrying a big load, …”
“…o zakuna ohnagoh 'e dakkencipu qasi. …”
/o zaˈku.na ˌoh.naˈgo ʔe ˌda.k’eŋˈxi.pu ˈqa.si/
| o | zakuna | oh=nagoh | 'e | dakken=cipu | qasi |
| and | one:else | indf=man | pat | carry=ipfv | fast |
“…and another carrying a man fast. …”
“…Agahi emon 'e vanza mo: …”
/aˈga.hi eˈmõ ʔe ˈvan.za mo/
| agahi | to | emon | 'e | vanza | mo |
| sheep | pl | horses | pat | say | pst |
“…The sheep said to the horses: …”
“…«Sami anke ikado 'e atuza ohnagoh 'e sinsa to emon 'e manttasa.»…”
/ˈsa.mi ˈaŋ.ke iˈkado ʔe aˈtu.za ohˈna.go ʔe ˈsin.sa to ˈe.mõ ʔe manˈt’a.sa/
| sa=mi | anke | ikado | 'e | atuza | oh=nagoh | 'e | sin-sa | to | emon | 'e | mantta-sa |
| 1s=gen | heart | 2p | pat | hurt | indf=man | pat | see-ger | pl | horse | pat | drive=ger |
“…«My soul weeps for you, seeing a man driving horses.»…”
“…To emon vanza mo:…”
/to eˈmõ ˈvan.za mo/
| to | emon | vanza | mo |
| pl | horse | say | pst |
“…The horses said: …”
“…«agahi 'e mihe sadomi anke atuza la 'e mahulo sin:…”
/aˈga.hi ʔe ˈmi.he saˈdo.mi ˈaŋ.ke aˈtu.za la ʔe maˈhu.lo sĩ/
| agahi | 'e | mihe | sado=mi | anke | atuza | la | 'e | mahulo | sin |
| sheep | pat | listen | 1px=gen | heart | hurt | det | pat | when | see |
“…«Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: …”
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.