Proto-Pamedarian
| Proto-Pamedarian | |
|---|---|
| Language Code | PP |
| Language Family | Pamedarian |
Proto-Pamedarian is the language spoken by the Pamedarian peoples 5000 to 8000 years before present in the Ältojowa plains. In the language itself, the word Pamedarian (“phametaroa” [pʰamɛtaˈɹˤa]) means “we who convene”, in reference to the way Pamedarians used to resolve issues by debating until a common consensus is reached rather than through democracy.
Proto-Pamedarian’s phonology is inspired primarily by Semitic languages, particularly in their emphatic and uvular consonants. However, its syllable structure is quite simple and final plosives are unreleased, just like many languages in East and Southeast Asia.
Proto-Pamedarian has mixed head-directionality. Nouns typically come last in a noun phrase, but Proto-Pamedarian also has prepositions. Morphologically, Proto-Pamedarian is Nominative-Accusative and VSO in main clauses but this word order becomes SOV in subclauses. Its grammar is mostly isolating, with very little in the way of inflections.
Speakers can usually be divided into Lower and Upper Pamedarians. Upper Pamedarians live higher-altitude regions near or on the Jowa mountains. Their dialect is generally more conservative, preserving the distinction between unreleased stops and normal voiceless stops (i.e. /huk̚a/ and /huka/ are phonemically contrasted). Meanwhile, Lower Pamedarians do not keep this distinction. In addition, final consonants may merge with initial consonants in Lower Pamedarian.
Proto-Pamedarian can be divided into early and late periods. Early Proto-Pamedarian spans the period between 6000 and 8000 years ago while Late Proto-Pamedarian spans 5000 to 6000 years ago. Late Proto-Pamedarian is distinguished by certain consonantal mergers.
Phonology
Consonants
Early Proto-Pamedarian had 39 consonants while Late Proto-Pamedarian had 36. For consonants that have shifted between Early Proto-Pamedarian and Late Proto-Pamedarian, they are written in this format: (early) → (late). For example, mˤ → m means that Early Proto-Pamedarian /mˤ/ became Late Proto-Pamedarian /m/.
| Consonants | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Lateral | ||||||||
| Nasal | Tenuis | m¹ | n¹ ⁵ | ŋ <ŋ/n/on> | |||||
| Pharyngealised | mˤ¹ ² <mo/mo> → m¹ | nˤ¹ ⁵ <no/no> | |||||||
| Plosive | Tenuis | p | t | c | k | q | (ʔ)⁶ | ||
| Aspirated | pʰ <ph> | tʰ <th> | cʰ <ch> | kʰ <kh> | qʰ <qh> | ||||
| Voiced | b | d | ɟ² <dj> → c | g | |||||
| Unreleased | p̚¹ <p/p'> | t̚¹ <t/t'> | (c̚)¹ ³ <c/c'> | k̚¹ <k/k'> | (q̚)¹ ⁴ <q/q'> | ||||
| Fricative | Tenuis | s | ɬ <lh> | x ~ χ <x/kx> | ħ <hx> | h | |||
| Pharyngealised | sˤ <so> | ɬˤ² <lho> → lˤ | |||||||
| Affricate | Tenuis | t͡s <z> | t͡ɬ <tl/t'l> | ||||||
| Pharyngealised | t͡sˤ² <zo> → d͡zˤ | t͡ɬˤ <tlo/t'lo> | |||||||
| Approximant / Trill | Tenuis | ɹ² <r> → r | l | j | |||||
| Pharyngealised | ɹˤ <ro> | lˤ <lo> | jˤ² <jo> → jˀ | ||||||
- /m/, /mˤ/, /n/, /nˤ/, /p̚/, /t̚/ and /k̚/ are the only consonants allowed in coda position.
- These consonants shifted between Early Proto-Pamedarian and Late Proto-Pamedarian.
- Allophone of /k̚/ before /c/, /cʰ/, /ɟ/, /j/, /jˁ/.
- Allophone of /k̚/ before /q/, /qʰ/.
- /n/, /nˤ/ are pronounced as [ŋ] before velar consonants and as [ɴ] before uvular consonants.
- Null onsets in Upper Proto-Pamedarian are treated as having [ʔ] in the onset.
Vowels
Proto-Pamedarian only has 4 vowels.
| Vowels | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| High | i ~ ɪ ~ e <i> | u ~ ʊ ~ o <u> |
| Low | ɛ ~ æ ~ ɜ <e> | a ~ ɑ ~ ɔ <a> |
Phonotactics
Syllable structure is (C)V(C). The onset can take on any consonants, while the coda can only be any of /m/, /mˤ/*, /n/, /nˤ/, [ŋ], [ɴ], /p̚/, /t̚/, [c̚], /k̚/ or [q̚]. Proto-Pamedarian does not have any polyphthongs.
Prosody
Primary stress falls on the last syllable, if any at all.
Secondary stress falls on the last syllable on each highest-level morpheme, unless adjacent to an already stressed syllable.
Assimilation
Consonants assimilate differently in Upper and Lower Proto-Pamedarian. In general, syllable breaks are more well-respected in Upper Pamedarian, hence /huk̚a/ and /huka/ are distinct in Upper Proto-Pamedarian but not in Lower Proto-Pamedarian.
In Upper Pamedarian, a vowel with a null onset are pronounced with a [ʔ] in the onset.
The extent of consonant assimilation is much greater in Lower Proto-Pamedarian.
| Notation | Description |
|---|---|
| V{p̚,t̚,k̚,m,mˁ,n,nˁ}.V > V.{p,t,k,m,mˁ,n,nˁ}V | Codas in the previous syllable become the onset in the next syllable if the next syllable does not have an onset. |
| {p̚,t̚}{x,ħ,h} > {pʰ,tʰ} | /p̚/ and /t̚/ become aspirated if they come before /x/, /ħ/ or /h/. |
| k̚{x,ħ,h} > {x,qʰ,kʰ} | /x/, /ħ/ and /h/ become /x/, /qʰ/ and /kʰ/ respectively after /k̚/. |
| {t̚,k̚}{j,jˁ} > {c,c̚c} | /j/ and /jˁ/ become /c/ and /c̚c/ respectively if after /t̚/ and /k̚/. |
| t̚{s,sˁ,{ɬ,l},{ɬˁ,lˁ}} > {t͡s,t͡sˁ,t͡ɬ,t͡ɬˁ} | /s/ becomes /t͡s/, /sˁ/ becomes /t͡sˁ/, /ɬ/ and /l/ become /t͡ɬ/, while /ɬˁ/ and /lˁ/ become /t͡ɬˁ/ if after /t̚/. |