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Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 5:04 pm
by Travis B.
I have not conlanged in a good while, having been focused on my software projects, but I figured I would derive a daughter language for
Proto-rəgyam, the first of a family of daughter languages. I made an abortive attempt at such previously, but I did not like how it was going to turn out, so I abandoned work on it.
For starters, paring down the overgrown vowel system of Proto-rəgyam is a good idea for sound changes to start off with. In Proto-rəgyam it looks like this:
Major Syllables
Monophthongs
The following monophthongs can be short:
front central back
close i ɨ ⟨iu⟩ u
close-mid e ⟨ei⟩ ɘ ⟨eu⟩ o ⟨ou⟩
open-mid ɛ ⟨e⟩ ɜ ⟨eo⟩ ɔ ⟨o⟩
open æ ⟨ae⟩ ɑ ⟨a⟩
or long:
front central back
close iː ⟨ii⟩ ɨː ⟨iiu⟩ uː ⟨uu⟩
close-mid eː ⟨eei⟩ ɘː ⟨eeu⟩ oː ⟨oou⟩
open-mid ɛː ⟨ee⟩ ɜː ⟨eeo⟩ ɔː ⟨oo⟩
open æː ⟨aae⟩ ɑː ⟨aa⟩
Diphthongs
All diphthongs are long:
front end central end back end
front start æi ⟨aei⟩ æɨ ⟨aeiu⟩ æu ⟨aeu⟩
back start ɑi ⟨ai⟩ ɑɨ ⟨aiu⟩ ɑu ⟨au⟩
Stressed Minor Syllables
front central back
close i ɨ ⟨iu⟩ u
open a
Unstressed Minor Syllables
front central back
near-close ɪ ⟨i⟩ ɨ ⟨iu⟩ ʊ ⟨u⟩
near-open ɐ ⟨a⟩
I am thinking of backing the central vowels into unrounded back vowels and losing phonemic vowel length, merging /æ ɛ æː/ as [ɛ], /ɛː e eː æi/ as [e], /i iː/ as [i], /ɑ ɑː/ as [ɑ], /ɔ o ɑu/ as [ɔ], /ɜ ɘ ɜː ɘː ɑɨ/ as [ʌ], /ɔː oː/ as [o], /ɨ ɨː/ as [ɯ], /u uː/ as [u]. Also, I intend on changing /æɨ æu/ to [eɯ eu] and /ɑi/ to [ʌi].
More will follow....
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:10 pm
by Travis B.
That gives the overall monophthong inventory of:
| Front | Back Unrounded | Back Rounded |
Close | i | ɯ | u |
Close-mid | e | | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | ʌ | ɔ |
Open | | ɑ | |
and the following diphthongs:
Front | Back Unrounded | Back Rounded |
ʌi | eɯ | eu |
Another set of changes is the collapse of minor syllables into their following major syllables. The first and most important changes are /p t c k ʔ b d ɟ g/ collapsing into [ʔ], /s h/ into [h], /m n ɲ ŋ/ into [n], and /ɾ l w j/ being elided in minor syllables followed by the elision of the minor syllables' vowels. This is followed by the following changes:
Before | After |
ʔp | pʼ |
ʔt | tʼ |
ʔc | cʼ |
ʔk | kʼ |
ʔb | ɓ |
ʔd | ɗ |
ʔɟ | ʄ |
ʔɡ | ɠ |
ʔɓ | ɓ |
ʔɗ | ɗ |
ʔpʰ | pʰ |
ʔtʰ | tʰ |
ʔcʰ | cʰ |
ʔkʰ | kʰ |
ʔs | tsʼ |
ʔh | ʔ |
ʔʔ | ʔ |
ʔm | ʔm |
ʔn | ʔn |
ʔɲ | ʔɲ |
ʔŋ | ʔŋ |
ʔɾ | ʔɾ |
ʔl | ʔl |
ʔw | ʔw |
ʔj | ʔj |
hp | pʰ |
ht | tʰ |
hc | cʰ |
hk | kʰ |
hb | p |
hd | t |
hɟ | c |
hɡ | k |
hɓ | ɓ |
hɗ | ɗ |
hpʰ | pʰ |
htʰ | tʰ |
hcʰ | cʰ |
hkʰ | kʰ |
hs | s |
hh | h |
hʔ | ʔ |
hm | m̥ |
hn | n̥ |
hɲ | ɲ̊ |
hŋ | ŋ̊ |
hɾ | ɾ̥ |
hl | ɬ |
hw | ʍ |
hj | ç |
np | mb |
nt | nd |
nc | ɲɟ |
nk | ŋg |
nb | b |
nd | d |
nɟ | ɟ |
nɡ | g |
nɓ | b |
nɗ | d |
npʰ | mp |
ntʰ | nt |
ncʰ | ɲc |
nkʰ | ŋk |
ns | nz |
nh | n |
nʔ | n |
nm | m |
nn | n |
nɲ | ɲ |
nŋ | ŋ |
nɾ | nɾ |
nl | nl |
nw | m |
nj | ɲ |
This amounts to a vast expansion in the consonant system, giving the following inventory:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
Voiced nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
Voiceless nasal | m̥ | n̥ | ɲ̊ | ŋ̊ | |
Glottalized nasal | ʔm | ʔn | ʔɲ | ʔŋ | |
Voiced prenasalized plosive | mb | nd | ɲɟ | ŋg | |
Voiced plosive | b | d | ɟ | g | |
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | ɠ | |
Voiceless prenasalized plosive | mp | nt | ɲc | ŋk | |
Voiceless plosive | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
Voiceless aspirated plosive | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | |
Ejective | pʼ | tʼ tsʼ | cʼ | kʼ | |
Voiced prenasalized fricative | | nz | | | |
Voiceless fricative | ʍ | s ɬ | ç | | h |
Voiced prenasalized liquid | | nɾ nl | | | |
Voiced liquid | | ɾ l | | | |
Voiceless liquid | | ɾ̥ | | | |
Glottalized liquid | | ʔɾ ʔl | | | |
Voiced semivowel | w | | j | | |
Glottalized semivowel | ʔw | | ʔj | | |
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:51 am
by mèþru
Is /ʍ/ a genuine fricative or just patterning as one? I f it is the first' I'd write it as /x͡f/
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 9:24 am
by Xwtek
Personally, I don't like /nr/ /nl/ and /nz/ (Try to pronounce it.) They're more likely to be /nd/ /n/ and /ndz/, respectively.
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 6:31 pm
by Travis B.
mèþru wrote: ↑Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:51 am
Is /ʍ/ a genuine fricative or just patterning as one? I f it is the first' I'd write it as /x͡f/
It is in free variation between being a true fricative and being a voiceless semivowel.
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 6:32 pm
by Travis B.
Akangka wrote: ↑Sat Jan 26, 2019 9:24 am
Personally, I don't like /nr/ /nl/ and /nz/ (Try to pronounce it.) They're more likely to be /nd/ /n/ and /ndz/, respectively.
I haven't finished my sound changes! Those were just the results of that set of changes.
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:34 pm
by Travis B.
As suggested, there are now sound changes to some of the prenasalized consonants, specifically:
Before | After |
nɾ | ndɾ |
nl | ndl |
nz | ndz |
There are also the following changes to the obstruent series:
Before | After |
ɲɟ | ndʒ |
ɟ | dʒ |
ʄ | dʒ |
ɲc | ntʃ |
c | tʃ |
cʰ | tʃʰ |
cʼ | tʃʼ |
ç | ʃ |
The earlier mentioned vowel changes have not happened yet, so before /e eː i iː/ but not /æ æː ɛ ɛː æi æɨ æu/ the following sound changes occur (note that these sound changes are made phonemic by the fact that both /e eː/ and /ɛː æi/ become /e/ even though the former pair causes this change and the latter pair does not):
Before | After |
ŋ | ɲ |
ŋ̊ | ɲ̊ |
ʔŋ | ʔɲ |
ŋg | ɲɟ |
g | ɟ |
ɠ | ʄ |
ŋk | ɲc |
k | c |
kʰ | cʰ |
kʼ | cʼ |
h | ç |
This yields the following consonant inventory:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatoalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
Voiced nasal | m | n | | ɲ | ŋ | |
Voiceless nasal | m̥ | n̥ | | ɲ̊ | ŋ̊ | |
Glottalized nasal | ʔm | ʔn | | ʔɲ | ʔŋ | |
Voiced prenasalized plosive | mb | nd ndz | ndʒ | ɲɟ | ŋg | |
Voiced plosive | b | d | dʒ | ɟ | g | |
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | | ʄ | ɠ | |
Voiceless prenasalized plosive | mp | nt | ntʃ | ɲc | ŋk | |
Voiceless plosive | p | t | tʃ | c | k | ʔ |
Voiceless aspirated plosive | pʰ | tʰ | tʃʰ | cʰ | kʰ | |
Ejective | pʼ | tʼ tsʼ | tʃʼ | cʼ | kʼ | |
Voiceless fricative | ʍ | s ɬ | ʃ | ç | | h |
Voiced prenasalized prestopped liquid | | ndɾ ndl | | | | |
Voiced liquid | | ɾ l | | | | |
Voiceless liquid | | ɾ̥ | | | | |
Glottalized liquid | | ʔɾ ʔl | | | | |
Voiced semivowel | w | | | j | | |
Glottalized semivowel | ʔw | | | ʔj | | |
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:17 pm
by Travis B.
The following diphthong changes occur after the previous ones:
Before | After |
ʌi | əi |
eɯ | əɯ |
eu | əu |
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 4:12 pm
by Travis B.
Of course all this has the effect of collapsing much of the morphology present in Proto-rəgyam and replacing it with initial consonant mutations or simple homophones. Take for instance Proto-rəgyam kɐkʰæ̰m 'kill (v.)' and kʰæ̰m 'dead'; these become kʰɛ̰m (I decided that there is also progressive palatalization from minor syllables' vowels prior to the minor syllable collapse, so ʔɪkʰæ̰m 'dead (resultative)' becomes cʰɛ̰m). On the other hand mɨkín 'food' and kín 'eat' become ŋgín and kín respectively. However, words with multiple prefixes/minor syllables do preserve stressed syllables before the ultimate syllable, e.g. mɨkɐkʰæ̰m 'kill (n.)' becomes mɯkʰɛ̰m.
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:39 pm
by Travis B.
Another change is the increase in the prevalence of compounding. It should be noted that in nouns created through compounding, the same effects upon consonants in minor syllables and consonants in subsequent major syllables take place between final consonants in preceding compounded words and initial consonants in subsequent compounded words.
Re: Making descendants of Proto-rəgyam
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:29 pm
by Travis B.
Further changes are the loss of creaky and breathy voice/tone, with creaky voice/tone merging with high tone and breathy voice/tone merging with low tone. However, before this happens, creaky voice causes the same major syllable-initial consonant change as /ʔ/ and plosives and breathy voice causes the same major syllable-initial consonant changes as /s/ or /h/; this happens after minor syllable loss and subsequent initial consonant cluster reduction changes, however.