Battlax

I have been compelled to create yet another phonology sketch. Well, more like a family of four. They're like snacks, only the come out of you rather than going into you.

Proto-form

P	tʰ	ʧʰ	kʰ
	t	ʧ	k
	d	ʤ	ɡ
	s	ʃ	x
m	n	ɲ
w	l	j

Not quite decided what the labial obstruent should be phonetically. Doesn't really matter anyway.

Branch 1

The conservativ one.

Proto-stage

• P → p, conditionally pʰ
• Stop phonation shift the 1st
  • Voiced → aspirated

Insert non-inventory-disrupting changes here.

Until modern stage

• Stop phonation shift the 2nd
  • Aspirated → voiceless
    • except pʰ → f
  • Voiceless → voiced
• l → r

	t	ʧ	k
b	d	ʤ	ɡ
f	s	ʃ	x
v	s	ʒ
m	n	ɲ
w	r	j

Branch 2

More mixing going on in here.

Proto-stage

• P → ɸ → h
• POA shift the 1st
  • Labiodentogenesis (dentalogenesis? dentigenesis?)
    • s → f
    • w → v
  • Sibilants: postalveolar > alveolar
    • also ʧʰ → ts (unaspirated)

Until classical stage

• 1st spirantization
  • v d ɡ → b~β d~ð ɡ~ɣ (B D G)
    • spirant allophones intervocalic
    • additionally: j h → D G or zero
• POA shift the 2nd
  • Conditional labialization of velars
• ts → θ
• z → r
• ɣ ɣʷ → j w

(So where am I going to put a Classical Language on Earth'? Don't feel like doing India, and this doesn't match the Central Asia Sprachbund. Maybe Middle East, this could be Classical Egyptian… There's something in the complex spirant system resembling Ouiqál, so this might indeed fit in the East Mediterranean Sprachbund even if it doesn't have voiceless nasals. That would however mean having to relocate the EMSB relativs of Dork Elvish, maybe to eastern Anatolia. Or am I overdoing the separation? If Tsonboran dies around -4ka at latest, there ought to be plenty of room for this in Persia, too.)

Post-classical stage

• Fricativ voicing messes up & phonemicizes the B D G allophony
  • Check history of English for details?
• 2nd spirantization
  • Aspirate stop → spirant
  • Messes up the previous even better… & we probly get some fairly tasty orthographical arcaisms in the process
• ɲ → j (restoring it as an initial)

Until modern stage

• POA shift the 3rd
  • Labialization contrast of velars shifted to palatalization contrast
    • …after which the palatal ones decay to postalveolar affricates
    • CF Ethiopian'!
    • Contemporary vowels should count too; perhaps via chains like kʷu → ku → ky → ci → ʧi
  • Also in the same palatalization hullabaloo: s z → ʃ ʒ
• Kill interdentals
  • θ → s
  • ð → n, r?
• Remaining ɣ → ɦ

Branch 3

Batfuck.

Proto-stage

• P → f
• x > h (initial)
• ɲ → ŋ (coda), n (initial), nj (medial)
• kʰ → kx
• ɡ → ɽ (I'm pretty sure I need to think up a good explanation for this, just flapping won't cut it)
• Stop phonation shift the 1st
  • voiceless → ejectiv

Middle stage

• x → ʂ
  • kʂ → tʂ
  • elsewhere ʂ → ʃ
• tʼ → ʔ

Until modern stage

• tʂ → ts
• ejecticity ceases to be contrastiv
  • ʧ only, since we've routed tʼ and kʰ…
• ɽ → r

I like how we get /r/ in the final stage out of three completely different original consonants - /l ʤ ɡ/ ;) Well, in general principle anyway. Smaller changes should ensure that SOME /l/'s and /z/'s rhotacize in every branch anyway...