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Kirtumur: Difference between revisions
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Kirtumur belongs to the eastern branch along with Kērsalur and a few spoken varieties (also called Kirtumur dialects). The most important neighbour outside its close genetic relatives is Cirdamur, which has been in contact with Kirtumur for almost all of its history and both languages influenced each other, this is the most noticeable in their lexical similarity, for example ''supōlum'' "ship", which is a loanword from Cirdamur and has the same root as Kirtumur ''paulim'' "gliding"; or ''cilin'' "healthy" (another Cirdamur loanword) which is a cognate to Kirtumur ''kilin'' "whole, unbroken". | Kirtumur belongs to the eastern branch along with Kērsalur and a few spoken varieties (also called Kirtumur dialects). The most important neighbour outside its close genetic relatives is Cirdamur, which has been in contact with Kirtumur for almost all of its history and both languages influenced each other, this is the most noticeable in their lexical similarity, for example ''supōlum'' "ship", which is a loanword from Cirdamur and has the same root as Kirtumur ''paulim'' "gliding"; or ''cilin'' "healthy" (another Cirdamur loanword) which is a cognate to Kirtumur ''kilin'' "whole, unbroken". | ||
There are two standard forms of written Kirtumur, '''Umunesal''' and '''Erepursal'''. Umunesal developed from the central and partially eastern Umu dialects, that replaced Kērsal (and later also Erepursal) as the elite language, while Erepursal developed based upon a north-western dialect group with a strong Kērsalur influence. | |||
==Dialects== | ==Dialects== | ||
The two distinct varieties ('''Ilusal''' and '''Ruosal'''), usually called Kirtumur dialects, can be considered separate languages, since both are quite different from Kirtumur and are more similar to each other and extinct Kērsal dialects than to Kirtumur. There is yet another dialect, called ''kirtumur erepurnu'', which has more old loanwords from Kērsal and is more conservative, preserving a distinct [y(ː)] sound which became [i] in other dialects. In the north and northeast of Umu Kirtumur dialects merge [s] and [ʃ], leaving only the latter and also tend to pronounce [x] as [h]. They also use ''zela'' or ''hela'' instead of ''ŋala'' "to live" and ''mi'' instead of ''ma'' "not", which is also common in the west and is shared with Ruosal. | The two distinct varieties ('''Ilusal''' and '''Ruosal'''), usually called Kirtumur dialects, can be considered separate languages, since both are quite different from Kirtumur and are more similar to each other and extinct Kērsal dialects than to Kirtumur. There is yet another dialect, called ''kirtumur erepurnu'', which has more old loanwords from Kērsal and is more conservative, preserving a distinct [y(ː)] sound which became [i] in other dialects. Erepursal was based primarily on this dialect. In the north and northeast of Umu Kirtumur dialects merge [s] and [ʃ], leaving only the latter and also tend to pronounce [x] as [h]. They also use ''zela'' or ''hela'' instead of ''ŋala'' "to live" and ''mi'' instead of ''ma'' "not", which is also common in the west and is shared with Ruosal. Dialects from different groups are in some cases so dissimilar as to be unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners. | ||
There are also various sociolects, that vary in levels of prestige with the high nobility speaking almost completely in Kērsalur with Kirtumur grammar and using longer words, while people of a low social class using less complex grammatical structures and more dialectal words in their speech. The Erepur dialect is the only exception as it is associated with religion, viewed as a link between Kērsalur and common Kirtumur, through which people can understand ancient texts and inscriptions. | There are also various sociolects, that vary in levels of prestige with the high nobility speaking almost completely in Kērsalur with Kirtumur grammar and using longer words, while people of a low social class using less complex grammatical structures and more dialectal words in their speech. The Erepur dialect is the only exception as it is associated with religion, viewed as a link between Kērsalur and common Kirtumur, through which people can understand ancient texts and inscriptions. | ||