Proto-Cardial

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Proto-Cardial is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Cardial languages. It is estimated to have been spoken around 6.200 BC, and it's asociated to Cardium pottery.

Phonology

Consonants

  Labial Dental Alveolar Velar Uvular Glottal
Sibilant Lateral
Nasals *m *n
Stops Ejective *p' *t' *k' *q'
Voiceless *p *t *k *q
Voiced *b *d *g
Affricates Ejective *ts' *tʃ'
Voiceless *ts *tʃ *tɬ
Voiced *dz *dʒ
Fricatives *s ~ *z? *ʃ ~ *ʒ? *x *h
Liquid *l *r

Maybe *ɫ ~ *lʲ were allophones.

Vowels

  Front Central Back
High *i *u
Mid *e *o
Low *a

The vowel system shows serious difficulties to be reconstructed, this is compounded by the lack of data and extreme vocalic changes in the daughter languages. Many authors have proposed a system of three central vowels that affect the consonants and that alternate between them in patterns of allophony and ablaut, this centralized system is very important to understand the stress.

Centralized System Palatized Central Labialized
High *ʲɨ /i/ *ʷɨ /u/
Mid *ʲə /e/ *ʷə /o/
Low *ʲɐ /æ/ *ʷɐ /a/

Stress

The reconstructed stress patterns is very simple and it is based on the system of centralized vowels as follows, "ə" and "ɨ" allow stress in the last syllable, while "ɐ" does not allow it, so "ɐ" always appears stressed in the penultimate syllable.

In daughter languages the "ɐ" stressed in the penultimate syllable losts the stress and...:

  • disappears in southern Italy and Iberian peninsula.
  • geminates the posterior consonant in the Mediterranean islands and northern Africa.
  • evolves to "ɐʔ" in Alps.
  • the vowel lengthens gaining strength and weakening the vowels of the last syllabe until they disappear in higher stages, in Tartessian.
    • the rest of the daughter families maintain the archaic stress pattern.

Evolution of phonology

Stops and aspirates

Proto-Southern: The cyclic theory is given in several Cardial languages, consists of an exchange of ejectives by voiceless and vice versa. The development of aspirates is: *h > ʔ; *x > h; *χ > h.

Proto-Northern: All voiced evolved to aspirated voiced and ejectives evolved to voiced to take his place, except uvulars and glottal that evolved as follows: *ɢ > ʁ; *q’ > χ; *q > k; *ʔ > ɦ. Aspirates "h", "x" and "χ" are preserved.

Sibilants and affricates

Proto-Southern: The affricates fulfill the cyclic theory, the biconsonantal groups as *SC > CS become as affricated, after fulfilling the cyclic theory. The palatized sibilants evolved to *zʲ > ʑ; *sʲ > ɕ.

Proto-Northern: Palatization in this phonemes is completely losts, just like *t'S- > Sk-; *-t'S- > -S- only in affricate possition. All the affricates become as follows *CS > SC. All sibilants merged with *s.

Nasals and liquids

Proto-Southern: The only change produced is on a labialized nasal, *ŋʷ > m. The liquids remain intact.

Proto-Northern: There is only a change on nasals, *ŋ > nn. The changes on liquids are also minimal, *tɬ- > s-; *-tɬ- > -ɬt-.

Vowels

Proto-Western: It is presupposed of this vowel system to be the original of the group, and it is reconstructed for an urheimat in southern Italy, which would eventually extend to the Mediterranean islands and northern Africa.

  Front (Palatized) Central Back (Labialized)
High *ʲɨ ~ *i *ʷɨ ~ *u
Mid *ʲə ~ *e *ʷə ~ *o
Low *ʲɐ ~ *æ *ʷɐ ~ *a

Proto-Eastern: It seems that the vowel changes are subsequent to the colonization of southern Italy, and seem to be shared by the entire Balkan area.

  Front Central Back
High *i > e > 0 *ɨ > o *u > e
Mid *ə > o *u > e
Low *e > 0 *a *o > u > e
  • Proto-Southern: Only found in Epirus, it is a strange case, it seems to be a serious innovation because southern Italy did not suffer these vowel changes.
  Palatized Central Labialized
High *o *ʷa > 0
Mid *e *ʷa > 0
Low *ʲa > 0 *a *ʷe > 0
  • Proto-Northern: The urheimat is presupossed to be in Slovenia, this system gave rise to the whole northern group.
  Front Central Back
High *ai > ʲi > i *ø > e *au > ʷu > e
Mid *ə > o ~ u *au > ʷu > e
Low *ei > ʲi > i *a *eu > ʷu > e

Morphology

Pronouns

  Singular Plural
1st person Exclusive *ʔɐgɐ ~ *ʔɐkɐ *ŋɐ
Inclusive - *bɐ
2nd person Colloquial *t'u *χa
Respectful *si *χæ
3rd person *sɐ *sɐ?
Demonstrative Proximal *ʔi *hi
Medial-proximal *ʔe *he
Medial-distal *ʔu *hu
Distal *ʔa *ha
Indeterminate *t'ɐ *t'ɐ?
Interrogative/relative Thing (What) *mɐ *mɐ?
Person (Who) *ŋɨʃɐ *ŋɨʃɐ?

Demarcators

Articles

Postopositions

Declension

Verbal paradigm and Classes of respect

Four classes of respect are reconstructed for the proto-cardial. Epirus is the only language that all classes of respect are given.

Polysynthetic order

Casual

Only present in the eastern group.

Subject Direct Object VERB STEM Indirect Object Tense

Polite

The verbal stem suffers an ablaut of Type IIb.

Direct Object Indirect Object Subject VERB STEM Past SECONDARY STEM Non-past

Formal

The verbal stem suffers an ablaut of Type IIa. Does not permit demarcators.

Subject VERB STEM Object Past

Honorific

Only present in the Southern group. The verbal stem suffers an ablaut of Type I. Does not permit demarcators.

Object VERB STEM Subject

Ablaut

  Ablaut Usage
Type I Honorific
Type II A Formal
B Polite

Tense

Pronominal mark

The daughter languages develop new pronouns to mark four genders, inanimate and animate (neuter, masculine and femenine).

Mark of subject

  Singular Plural
1st person Exclusive *-kɐ- *-k'ɐ-
Inclusive - *-bɐ-
2nd person *-t'ə- *-sə-
3rd person Animate *-ʃɨ- *-ʃɨ-
Inanimate *-ŋɨ- *-ŋɨ-
Indeterminate *-mɨ- *-mɨ-

Mark of object

  Singular Plural
1st person Exclusive *-gɐ- *-ŋɐ-
Inclusive - *-mɐ-
2nd person *-χə- *-χə-
3rd person Animate *-sɨ- *-sɨ-
Inanimate *-ʔɨ- *-hɨ-
Indeterminate *-t'ɨ- *-t'ɨ-

Declension of Marks

Scheme of declension Subject Direct Object Indirect Object
Casual Transitive Nominative Accusative Dative
Intransitive Nominative - -
Polite Transitive Ergative Accusative Genitive
Intransitive Intransitive - -
Formal Transitive Agentive Objetive Objetive
Intransitive Agentive - -
Honorific Transitive Direct Direct Direct
Intransitive Direct - -



  ɐ ə ɨ
Nominative
Ergative
Intransitive
Agentive
Direct
Accusative
Objetive
Dative
Genitive

Lexicon