The Proto-Western Family and Wìhajǫ̀nę̀ (Old)

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Osia
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The Proto-Western Family and Wìhajǫ̀nę̀ (Old)

Post by Osia »

The Proto-Western Family and Wìhajǫ̀nę̀

I’ve been taking a break from working on my main conlang Lyran and have been doing some diachronic work on a family I had an idea for a while. This family, which I’m calling Western since I can’t think of a better name, is heavily inspired by the Algonquin and Iroquoian languages of North America in phonology and grammar, with obviation, a lack of labials in most descendants, and a tone system with almost 6 members in some languages. The main one I’m working on the most is called Wìhajų̀nį̀, or “that which we speak with (it)”. This post will detail the phonology of Proto-Western and the developments of the daughter languages, along with the phonologies of all of them.

Proto-Western

Proto-Western had a not-too-small phonology with about 20 consonants and only 3 vowels, but this was somewhat detracted upon in the daughter languages.

/*t *kʲ *k *kʷ *ʔ/
/*d *gʲ *g *gʷ/
/*s *h/
/(*m) *n/
/*l *j *ɣ̞ *w/

/*a *i *u/

C(w,j,ɣ)V(w,j,ɣ)(C)

Notes:

Like many Iroquoian languages, a complete lack of labials except /*m/, and /*m/ is only attested in two words /*mama/ “to be the mother of, to give birth”, and /*maja/, “to suck, to breastfeed” (also a noun meaning “breast”). It merges into /*n/ into most daughter languages.

The approximant /*ɣ̞/ was most likely pronounced as [ɰ], but is transcribed this way to avoid confusion with /*w/. It has reflexes as /ʁ/, /ʕ/, /w/, /h/, and /j/ in daughter languages.

The approximant /*l/ was likely pronounced as [ɾ~l] and has similar realizations in daughter languages.

Any consonant could appear in coda or onset, including coda /*h/ and /*ʔ/, and the sequences /*ji/ and /*wu/.
Clusters were rather unrestricted, clusters of /*Ch/ or /*C’/, could occur, and clusters of a semivowel contrasting with a coarticulated consonant could occur as well. Geminated consonants could occur however, and were common, but only for obstruents.

To Proto-Halǔlàq

Proto-Halǔlàq was a late descendant of Proto-Western, and split into two highly similar but unintelligible daughter languages, Wìhajùnį̀ (that which we speak) and Cûhacûncàjù, (they come and speak to us). Note that all names are given in Wìhajùnį̀.
Spoiler:
m/n/_
Ch/C²/_
wT/q/_
Tw/q/_
yT/c/_
Ty/c/_
Tɣ/k/_
ɣT/k/_
wD/gʷ/_
Dw/gʷ/_
yD/j/_
Dy/j/_
Dɣ/g/_
ɣD/g/_
V/N/_([wyɣ])n[C#]
n//_[C#]
V/N/n([jwɣ])_
[nl]/l/_
ɣ/h/_u
w/ɣ/_u
ay/e/_[C#]
ąy/ę/_[C#]
[sTl]t/t²/_
Tk/k²/_
Tq/q²/_
Tc/c²/_
Tʔ/T²/_
a/e/_c[C#]/_c²
e/i/_c[C#]/_c²
a/u/_q[C#]/_q²
e/a/_q[C#]/_q²
ą/ę/_c[C#]/_c²
ę/į/_c[C#]/_c²
ą/ų/_q[C#]/_q²
ę/ą/_q[C#]/_q²
/˧/[VN]_
T/'/[CVN]($)_[C#]/_²
S/h/[CVN]($)_[C#]/_²

˧'/˥/_[C#]
˧h/˥˩/_[C#]
˧/˩/BV_/_$
˥/˩˥/BV_/_$
˥˩/˧˥˦/BV_/_$
D/W/_[C#]
D/T/_
T/c/_[VN]($)j#
T/c/_i#
ɣ/j/_[VN]($)j#
ɣ/j/_i#
T/q/_[VN]($)w#
T/q/_u#
ɣ/w/_[VN]($)w#
ɣ/w/_u#
V/N/C_($)(C)CN#/#C_($)(C)CN#
V//C_($)#/#C_($)#
$//C_#

Some things to note here, such as the loss of /*m/, the production of nasal vowels, some production of geminates, development of tone, and loss of word final vowels. The last change affected nouns mostly due to analogy within the verb complex. Note that the loss of word final vowels reintroduces obstruent codas.

To Wìhajǫ̀nę̀
Spoiler:
jh/s/_
hj/s/_
C²/C/_#
s/c/_i
s/h/_
ki/cɨ/_
ke/ca/_
ɣi/jɨ/_
ɣe/ja/_
ku/qɨ/_
ɣu/wɨ/_
iɣ/ɨj/_
eɣ/aj/_
uɣ/ɨw/_

ki/cɨ/_
ke/ca/_
ɣi/jɨ/_
ɣe/ja/_
ku/qɨ/_
ɣu/wɨ/_
iɣ/ɨj/_
eɣ/aj/_
uɣ/ɨw/_
iɣ/ɨj/_
eɣ/aj/_
uɣ/ɨw/_

k/c/_


ɣ/h/_

i/e/…e
e/i/…i
ĩ/ẽ/_
ɨ̃/ə̃/_
ũ/õ/_

Some more mergers to result in this minimalist phonology:

/t kʲ~k~s kʷ ʔ/ <t c~k~s q '>
/n~ɾ~l j w h/ <n~l j w h>

/a e i ɨ u/ <a e i y u>
/ẽ ã ə̃ õ/ <ę ą y̨ ǫ>
/˥ ˧ ˩ ˧˥ ˥˨ ˨˥˦/ <á a à ǎ â ã>

Allophony:
Stops are voiced word medially, and aspirated word initially.
The /kʲ/ depalatalizes before /i/, but /u/ lowers to /o/ before labiovelars.
The /kʲ/ becomes /s/ before high vowels.
The /ɾ/ is /l/ word medially and word finally, unless it is adjacent to nasal vowels, in which it is /n/.

Syllable Structure:
CV(C)
All consonants can occur in onset and coda, and geminated obstruents excluding the glottal stop are common.

To Wìcûhacǫ̂càjù
Spoiler:
[ae]w/o/_
ey/i/_
ay/e/_
uy/wi/_
iw/yu/_
wT/q/_
Tw/q/_
yT/c/_
Ty/c/_
˧h/˥˧/_
˥˧h/˥˧/_
˥h/˥˧/_
˩h/˥˧/_
˨˥h/˨˥˧/_
˨˥˧h/˨˥˧/_
²//_#
²//#_
[h’]//C_
[h’]//_C
į/ę/_
ų/ǫ/_

As you can see, it is very similar to Wìhajǫ̀nę̀, but has many distinct differences, and is somewhat intelligible to speakers on both sides.

Phonology:
/t~s k kʲ kʷ~p ʔ/ <t~s k c q~p '>
/n~ɾ~l j ɣ w h/ <n~l j w h>

/a e i o u/ <a e i o u>
/ẽ ã õ/ <ę ą ǫ>
/˥ ˧ ˩ ˧˥ ˥˨ ˨˥˦/ <á a à ǎ â ã>

Allophony:
Stops are voiced word medially, and aspirated word initially.
The /kʷ/ lowers /u/ to /o/ before labiovelars.
The /t/ becomes /s/ before /i/.
The /kʷ/ becomes /p/ word finally.
The /ɾ/ is /l/ word medially and word finally, unless it is adjacent to nasal vowels, in which it is /n/.

Syllable Structure:
CV(C)
All consonants can occur in onset and coda, and geminated obstruents excluding the glottal stop are common.

To Làjàwìnę̀ʔa:

Làjàwìnę̀ʔa (“they are at the river”), was at first inspired by Abenaki, but I eventually threw that out later. Now I don’t know what but I love the look and feel of it.
Spoiler:
m/n/_
C[h’]/C²/_
[h’]C/C²/_
wT/q/_
Tw/q/_
yT/c/_
Ty/c/_
Tɣ/k/_
ɣT/k/_
wD/gʷ/_
Dw/gʷ/_
yD/j/_
Dy/j/_
Dɣ/g/_
ɣD/g/_
V/N/_([wyɣ])n[C#]
V/N/_([wyɣ])n[C#]
n//_[C#]/#_
V/N/n([jwɣ])_
[nl]/l/_
hl/s²/_
‘/h/_l
ɣ/ʁ/_
uʁ/o/_
iʁ/e/_
įʁ/ę/_
ųʁ/ǫ/_
iw/w/C_#/#(C)C_
wi/w/C_#/#(C)C_
uy/y/C_#/#(C)C_
yu/y/C_#/#(C)C_
Tw/q/_
Dw/gʷ/_
Tj/c/_
Dj/j/_
w//C_/k_
[nl]s/s²/_
s[nl] /s²/_
nn/d²/_
ll/d²/_
D/W/[VN]_[VN]
²//D_
c/ki/_[C#]
j/gi/_[C#]
q/ku/_[C#]
gʷ/gu/_[C#]
N/Ṽ/_
A/O/_(̃)[qw]
A/O/[qw]_
A/O/_(̃)gʷ
A/O/gʷ_
A/E/_(̃)[cjy]
A/E/[cjy]_
we/ö/_
yo/ö/_
ew/ö/_
oy/ö/_
ẽw/ö̃/_
õy/ö̃/_
wi/ü/_
yu/ü/_
iw/ü/_
uy/ü/_
ĩw/ü̃/_
ũy/ü̃/_
ay/e/_
aw/o/_
ãy/ẽ/_
ãw/õ/_
yw/ɥ/_
wy/ɥ/_
u/ü/_...[iüö]
o/ö/_...[iüö]
ü/u/_...[uo]
ö/u/_...[uo]
{y, ø} > {u, o} ...{u, o}

[cq]/k/_
j/g/_
gʷ/g/_

st/s²/_
ts/s²/_

s/z/V_V
s²/s/_
s/h/_[C#]
[tk]/'/_[C#]
h/˦˩/V(̃)_[C#]
'/˩/V(̃)_[C#]
Ṽ/N/_
į/ę/_
ų̃/ǫ̈/_
ų/ǫ/_
[sh]/ʃ/_i
t/tʃ/_i
z/ʒ/_i
[iu]//[CVN]P_P
sy/ʃ/_
ty/tʃ/_
[sh]/ʃ/_i
t/tʃ/_i
z/ʒ/_i

A front-back vowel harmony system develops, and voiced stops are preserved.

Phonology:
/t tʃ k ʔ/ <t c k '>
/d dʒ g/ <d j g>
/s ʃ h/ <s sh h>
/z ʒ/ <z zh>
/n~ɾ~l j w ʁ/ <n~l y w r>

/a e i ø y o u/ <a e i ö ü o u>
/ã ẽ ø̃ õ/ <ą ę ǫ̈ ǫ>

/˥ ˨ ˦˩/ <á a à>

Allophony:
Unvoiced stops and affricates are aspirated word initially.
The /n~ɾ~l/ is realized similarly to its counterparts in other languages.
The /ʁ/ may be realized as /ɢ/ adjacent to nasals.

Syllable Structure:
CV(C)

Only unvoiced obstruents can occur in coda position.

To Unnamed 1

This one is unnamed, but somewhat inspired by Arapaho.
Spoiler:
m/n/_
C[h’]/C²/_
[h’]C/C²/_
wT/q/_
Tw/q/_
yT/c/_
Ty/c/_
Tɣ/k/_
ɣT/k/_
wD/gʷ/_
Dw/gʷ/_
yD/j/_
Dy/j/_
Dɣ/g/_
ɣD/g/_
V/N/_([wyɣ])n[C#]
n//_[C#]
V/N/n([jwɣ])_
[nl]/l/_
[wy]//C_[iuįų]
s/h/_C
qq/pp/_[aouąǫų]
q/p/_[aouąǫų]
ggʷ/bb/_[aouąǫų]
gʷ/b/_[aouąǫų]
kk/qq/_[aouąǫų]
k/q/_[aouąǫų]
gg/ggʷ/_[aouąǫų]
g/gʷ/_[aouąǫų]
cc/kk/_[aouąǫų]
c/k/_[aouąǫų]
jj/gg/_[aouąǫų]
j/g/_[aouąǫų]
p/b/V_V
p/b/_n
n/m/_[pb]
n/m/[pb]_
nw/m/_
wn/m/_
[mb]/m/_N
[mb]/m/N_
[mb]/b/_
h//_
[pɣ]/h/_/_²
pp/p/_
q/ku/_[C#]
gʷ/gu/_[C#]
c/ki/_[C#]
j/gi/_[C#]
q/k/_[uų]
gʷ/g/_[uų]
c/k/_[iį]
j/g/_[iį]
j/y/_
gʷ/w/_
ų/ǫ/_
į/ę/_
ld/d²/_
ll/d²/_
dl/d²/_
bl/d²/_
lb/d²/_
gl/d²/_
lg/d²/_

d/l/_/_²
d²/d/_
ll/d/_
[h’]//C_
[h’]//_C

s/h/_[C#]/_²
T/'/_[C#]/_²
'/̀/V_[C#]
c/ky/_
q/kw/_

ya/ee/C_
wa/oo/C_
ye/ii/C_
wo/uu/C_
we/uu/C_
yą/ęę/C_
wą/ǫǫ/C_
yę/įį/C_
wǫ/ųų/C_
wę/ųų/C_

jo/ii/C_
jV/ii/C_
wV/uu/C_

h/²/[VN]_[C#]
ay/e²/_[C#]
aw/o²/_[C#]
ej/i²/_
ow/u²/_
ąy/ę²/_[C#]
ąw/ǫ²/_[C#]
ęj/į²/_
ǫw/ų²/_
[yw]/²/[VN]_[C#]
The aesthetic of this one and Làjàwìnį̀ʔa were inspired by Japanese to some extent.

Phonology:
/p b~m t d k g ʔ/ <p b~m t d k g '>
/s h/ <s h>
/n~l j w/ <n~l y w>

/a i u/ <a i u>
/aː iː uː eː oː/ <aa ii uu ee oo>
/ã ẽ õ/ <ą ę ǫ>
/ãː ẽː õː/ <ąą ęę ǫǫ>

/˥ ˩/ <á a>

Notes and Allophony
The phonemes /p/ and /d/ have a restricted occurrence, and only occur word medially between vowels.
The long vowels /eː/ and /oː/ may become [ɛɪ~æɪ] and [ɔʊ~ɒʊ], with /iː/ and /uː/ becoming [eɪ] and [oʊ].

I have some other drafts of sound changes in the works, but I'm not posting them because they're highly subject to change right now. I have one which is heavily influenced by the Lyran languages in my conworld, and one inspired by Cherokee. To finish this post off I'll give a chart comparing words in the different languages I have so far.

Code: Select all

English   Proto-Western  Wihajonw  Wicuhacocaju  Lajawine’a  Unnamed 1
man       *dahi          tàh       tâ            daši        lai
woman     *wani          wą̀n       wą̀n           walę        wanę
water     *qay           qe        qe            köü         hee
river     *laya          lày       lày           leya        laya
mouth     *waw           wàw       wàw           wo          woo
tree/wood *qaqqa         qaq       qaq           kokko       hapa
Comments, criticisms, and suggestions are much appreciated!
she/her/hers
ConWorkShop
:eng: : [tick] :esp: : [:S] ASL: [>_<]
[<3] Navajo, Tlingit, Polysynthesis, Semantics
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