Mari

My ad hoc reconstruction of Mari vocalism (note: read literature):

• *e *i *o *u *ü *ö = branches agree
  • Hill Mari /ä/ ← *e / _{ŋ, r}_
• reduced high vowels: *ɪ *ʏ *ʊ = Hill (Western) Mari /ə ə ɤ/, Meadow (Eastern) Mari /i y u/
• reduced mid vowels: *ə *ɤ = Hill Mari /ə ɤ/, Meadow Mari /ɤ o/ (no front rounded member?)
  • NB: /ə ɤ/ are more accurately [ə̟ ə̠], or perhaps [e̽ o̽].
• *a *oo = in Hill Mari /a o/, Meadow Mari /o u/
  • /a/ also exists sporadically in Meadow Mari.

The vowel inventories are:

• Me /a e i o u ü ö/
• Hi /a e i o u ü ö ä ə ɤ/
• NW dialects also /ʊ ʏ/

Etymology notes

The development *e_i → *ə appears to be limited to loanwords (so not common inheritance after all?):

• *əšte- "to be in time" ← *ešti-; in Permic may be a BF loan
• *ləštaš "leaf" ← *lešti ← IE
• *šəm "7" ← #śejćimi ← IE? NB irregular medial loss (but could be secondary haplology)

(more frequent in *e_ä-roots, but note *rəwəž "fox" ← *repä ← II)

Eth-loss (from *ð? when trisyllabic?):

• *om "sleep" ← *oðama
• *šüm "hart" ← *šêðäm(i)
• *weem "marrow" ← *wiðim(i)
• *kooe- "to weave" ← *kuða-
• *šüj "coal" ← *śüđʲi (due to i-stem?)
• *u "new" ← *wuðʲi (ditto?)

Eth-retention (from *ðʲ? when bisyllabic?)

• *muðə "berry" ← ? *meðʲV
• *šuðə- "curse" ← *śoðʲa
• *koða- "to disappear" ← *kaðʲa-

T-retention?:

• *šüðə "100" ← IE
• *waðar "udder" ← IE (independantly of FMo *uTar)