Proto-Ryzano-Kestoabacian
| Proto-Ryzano-Kestoabacian | |
|---|---|
| Language Code | PRK |
| Language Family | Ryzano-Kestoabacian |
Phonology
Consonants
| Consonants | Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | Uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n [n̻] | ||||
| Plosive | p [p ~ b ~ ɸ ~ β] | t [t̻ ~ d̻] | k [k ~ x] | q [q ~ χ] | ||
| Fricative | Voiceless | s | ʂ <ś> | g [g ~ ɣ] | ||
| Voiced | z | ʐ <ź> | ||||
| Approximant | l | ɽ [ɽ ~ ɺ] <ŕ> | ||||
| Rhotic | r | |||||
Vowels
| Vowels | Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Short | i [i ~ ɪ ~ ɨ ~ i̯ ~ j] | u [u ~ ʊ ~ u̯ ~ w] |
| Long | iː <ī> | uː <ū> | |
| Mid | Short | e [e ~ ɛ] | o [o ~ ɔ] |
| Long | eː [e̞ː] <ē> | oː [o̞ː] <ō> | |
| Low | Short | a [a ~ ɐ ~ ʌ ~ ə] | |
| Long | aː [aː ~ ɑː] <ā> | ||
Short vowels combine to form long vowels (e.g. /ii/ > /iː/).
Short /i/ and /u/ can become non-syllabic when adjacent to another vowel. For example, “ai” is pronounced as /ai̯/, “ia” as /i̯a/ and “aui” /au̯i/. If another vowel is sandwiched in between /i/ and /u/, either the first or last vowel becomes non-syllabic. This behaviour depends on the dialect of PRK. South PRK prefers non-syllabicising the last vowel, but North PRK prefers the first vowel, so “iai” becomes /i.ai̯/ in the South vs /i̯a.i/ in the North.
Tones
| Unmarked | a |
| Low (à) | à˩ àː˧˩ |
| Rising (á) | ǎ˧˥ ǎː˨˦ |
Tone Movements
In PRK, the position of marked tones are noted by the position relative to the end of the word. Hence, as suffixes are added, the position of the marked tones move. For the root word “létogáiā” (avoid), the marked tones are on the second-to-last and the fourth-to-last syllables. When the suffix “-mēū” is added to form “letogáiamḗū” (I/we usually avoid), the marked tones move along with the addition of new syllables.
Affixation
If a suffix starts with a vowel and is added to a stem that ends in the same vowel, one of the vowels disappears instead of forming a long vowel.
E.g. “màra-“ + “-ana” > “maràna”
If one side is a long vowel, then the long vowel remains.
E.g. “màrā-“ + “-ana” > “màrāna”
Matching vowel sequences also undergo this effect.
E.g. “mareū́a-“ + “-ēuati” > “marēūáti”