Proto Upper Pamedarian
| Proto-Upper Pamedarian | |
|---|---|
| Language Code | PUP |
| Language Family | Upper Pamedarian |
Proto-Upper Pamedarian was the language spoken by Pamedarian hill peoples around 3000 to 5000 years ago. Phonologically, it has ejectives and retained its lateral fricatives and affricates. In terms of morphology, Proto-Upper Pamedarian has shifted more towards head-finality rather than head-initiality like in its Lower Pamedarian contemporaries. Although PUP nouns do not inflect, PUP still distinguishes number, definiteness and case, which are handled by particles and clitics.
Due to the impenetrable nature of the Jowa mountains, PUP was left relatively isolated and shielded from the linguistic influences of Old Tersamian. Nonetheless, bidirectional exchange of loanwords still existed somewhat.
Phonology
Consonants
| Consonants | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Lateral | ||||||||
| Nasal | m | n | [ɲ] | [ŋ] | |||||
| Plosive | Tenuis | p | t | c | k | q | ʔ <'>¹ | ||
| Aspirated | pʰ <ph> | tʰ <th> | cʰ <ch> | kʰ <kh> | qʰ <qh> | ||||
| Ejective | pʼ <p'> | tʼ <t'> | cʼ <c'> | kʼ <k'> | qʼ <q'> | ||||
| Voiced | b | d | g | ||||||
| Fricative | Tenuis | s | ɬ <sl> | x ~ ɣ ~ χ ~ ʁ <x> | ħ ~ ʕ <hx> | h | |||
| Voiced | z | ɮ <zl> | ʑ <zj> | ||||||
| Affricate | Tenuis | t͡s <tz> | t͡ɬ <tl> | ||||||
| Ejective | t͡sʼ <ts> | t͡ɬʼ <tsl/tzl> | |||||||
| Approximant / Trill | r | l ~ ɫ <l> | j | ||||||
- Not written word-initially.
Vowels
| Vowels | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| High | i ~ ɪ ~ ɨ ~ e <i> | u ~ o ~ ʊ ~ u̯o <u> |
| Low | ɛ ~ ə ~ i̯ə ~ i̯ɛ <e> | a ~ ɑ ~ ɒ ~ ɔ <a> |
Phonotactics
Maximum syllable structure is CV{m,n,l,p,t,k}.
Nasals assimilate to the place of articulation of the next consonant. For example, /np/ > /mp/. If the next consonant is palatal, then the nasal becomes [ɲ], but if it is velar, uvular, pharyngeal or glottal, then the nasal becomes [ŋ].
N{m,p,pʰ,pʼ,b} > mC
N{n,t,tʰ,tʼ,d,s,z,t͡s,t͡sʼ,r,ɬ,ɮ,l} > nC
N{c,cʰ,cʼ,ʑ,j} > ɲC
N{k,kʰ,kʼ,g,x,q,qʰ,qʼ,ħ,ʔ,h} > ŋC
/k/ may also take on the POA of succeeding palatal consonants, becoming /c/. It may also the POA of uvular consonants to become /q/.
k{c,cʰ,cʼ,ʑ,j} > cC
k{q,qʰ,qʼ} > qC
Ejectives and aspirated plosives may be formed in the following manner.
{p,t,k}ʔ > {pʼ,tʼ,kʼ}
{p,t,k}h > {pʰ,tʰ,kʰ}
{p,t,k}{p,t,c,k,q} > {pʼ,tʼ,cʼ,kʼ,qʼ}
Affricates may be formed as such:
t{s,z,{ɬ,ɮ},l} > {t͡sʼ,t͡s,t͡ɬʼ,t͡ɬ}
Prosody
PUP does not have phonemic stress, and the location of stress depends on the dialect of PUP.