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====Author's Note:====
====Author's Note:====
The Hantic language I've been working on for the last ten years has been shelved in favor of its redevelopment through a series of progenitor languages thanks to the diachronitis I contracted by hanging out on the ZBB.  This Hantic site will for the time being focus on the earliest version of the language:  Proto-Hantic.
The Hantic language I've been working on for the last ten years has been shelved in favor of its redevelopment through a series of progenitor languages thanks to the diachronitis I contracted by hanging out (lurking more than posting) on the ZBB.  This Hantic site will for the time being focus on the earliest version of the language:  Proto-Hantic.
==Proto-Hantic Background==
==Proto-Hantic Background==


Hantic, even in the context of the conworld, is not a natural language.  It was specifically and intentionally created by a mythical denizen of the conworld.  In other words, it is a con-conlang.  For a brief description of the longitudinal history of Hantic, see below.  
Hantic, even in the context of the conworld, is not a natural language.  It was specifically and intentionally created, supposedly by a certain mythical denizen of the conworld, the Hant.  In other words, it is a con-conlang.  In con-worldish actuality, it was created by a charlatan who associated his language with the name of the Hant in order to deceive his students into believing he was in possession of arcane knowledge -- so Proto-Hantic could even be described as a con-con-conlang.  


Proto-Hantic is a quasi-philosophical constructed language based on a system of 400 consonantal pairs, each of which, when realized through the six vowels, yields a collection of roots that are related by morphology and by the attributes the pair supposedly encodes.  The system was never intended to be taxonomic or derivationally productive.  The ascription of meaning to the 2400 roots was both arbitrary and pragmatic:  it yielded the necessary terms for using the language as a system of magical incantation, but it did not necessarily provide a complete lexicon for use in everyday life.  Generally speaking, among the six roots from each consonant pair there was at least one verbal root, an adjectival or adverbial root, and a number of nominal roots, though the specific realization depended on the idiosyncrasies of the language creator (mythically reputed to be the Hant).
Proto-Hantic is a pseudo-philosophical constructed language based on a system of 400 consonantal pairs, each of which, when realized through the six vowels, yields a collection of roots that are related by morphology and by the "attributes" the consonantal pair supposedly encodes.  The system was never intended to be taxonomic or derivationally productive -- it was intended merely to give the illusion of systematicity.  The ascription of meaning to the 2400 roots was both arbitrary and pragmatic:  it yielded the necessary terms for using the language as a pseudo-system of magical incantation, but it did not provide a complete lexicon for use in everyday life.  Generally speaking, among the six roots from each consonant pair there was usually one verbal root, an adjectival or adverbial root, and a number of nominal roots, though the specific realization depended on the idiosyncrasies of the language creator.  Later attempts at reconstructing the "system" of vowel alternation will create competing, and hotly debated, theories about the "ablaut" system of the earliest instantiations of the Hantic language.
 
Proto-Hantic, despite its ignoble and deceitful beginnings, will eventually (after about 3000 years of development) evolve into the premier literary and artistic language of the Talliscine civilization, my principal concivilization.
 
NB: ANY of the inflections presented below are subject to immediate revision based upon whether I think sound-change alterations are resulting in phonologies for descendant languages that I like.  As George W. Bush is wont to say, "I am the decider", so sayeth the conlanger.


==Proto-Hantic Phonology==
==Proto-Hantic Phonology==
'''Phonological Inventory:'''
'''Phonological Inventory:'''
NB:  No orthography is necessary since there are no conworld texts in the protolanguage.  Phonological transcription is in X-SAMPA.


*Plosives:  /p  b  t_d  d_d  t  d  k  g/
*Plosives:  /p  b  t_d  d_d  t  d  k  g/ < p  b  td  dd  t  d  k  g >
*Fricatives:  /f  v  T  D  s  z  x  G/
*Fricatives:  /f  v  T  D  s  z  x  G/ <f  v  th  dh  s  z  x  gh>
*Nasals: /m  n/
*Nasals: /m  n/ <m  n>
*Liquids:  /l  r/
*Liquids:  /l  r/ <l  r>
*Vowels:  /a  e  i  o  u  y/
*Vowels:  /a  e  i  o  u  y/ <a  e  i  o  u  y>
 
NB:  The orthography here is merely for my own benefit in attempting to read what I am creating.  Proto-Hantic was originally written with a logographic writing system that I have not invented yet.  Compound words are separated in this orthography by a hyphen, so this orthography does not present ambiguities with medial consonant clusters in compounds.


'''Vowel Harmony:'''
'''Vowel Harmony:'''
Line 30: Line 35:
'''Syllable Structure:'''  strictly (C)V(C)
'''Syllable Structure:'''  strictly (C)V(C)


In principle, any consonant may articulate against any other consonant within compounds or across word boundaries.  Allophony is not being considered for the protolanguage because it is assumed that the first stimuli for sound-change into the daughter dialects will be allophonic compensations for natural difficulties with consonant clusters.
In principle, any consonant may articulate against any other consonant within compounds or across word boundaries.  Allophony is not being considered in the phonology of the protolanguage because I am assuming that the first stimuli for sound-change into descendant dialects will be allophonic compensations for natural difficulties with consonant clusters within compounds and across word boundaries.


'''Prosody:'''  The language is pragmatically stress-timed with regular stress placed on the root, or in the case of compounds, on the second root.  
'''Prosody:'''  The language is pragmatically stress-timed with regular stress placed on the root, or in the case of compounds, on the second root.  Prosodic stress will (I think) also provide a plausible instigation for sound change, both in stressed and non-stressed segments.


==Morphosyntactic Alignment==
==Morphosyntactic Alignment==
Strict ergative morphological and syntactic alignment.
Strict ergative morphological and syntactic alignment, (as purely ergative as I can make it).
 
NB:  It is my intention that the MSA will also evolve during the development of the language, possibly developing a split- then fluid-S system, and ultimately a system that has both ergative-absolutive and nomitive-accusative features.


'''Core Cases:'''
'''Core Cases:'''
*Absolutive:   
*Absolutive:  sole argument of intransitives, object of transitives, theme of ditransitives  
sole argument of intransitives, object of transitives, theme of ditransitives  
*Ergative:  subject of transitives and ditransitives
*Ergative:  subject of transitives and ditransitives
*Dative:  recipient of ditransitives
*Dative:  recipient of ditransitives
Line 50: Line 56:
*Vocative
*Vocative


Word order is generally VSO, but due to the case system, it is relatively free.  Adverbial phrase order is Time-Manner-Place, and these phrases are generally sentence final, though time adverbials will often precede the verb.  
Word order is generally VSO, but due to the case system, it is relatively free. (I am sort-of assuming that this particular case system will break down fairly quickly, but I don't yet have a rationale for why.) Adverbial phrase order is Time-Manner-Place, and these phrases are generally sentence final, though time adverbials will often precede the verb.  My intent is that the ultimate literary language will have a strict, even rigid, OSV word order.


==Nominal Morphology==
==Nominal Morphology==
'''Noun Classes:'''
'''Noun Classes:'''
*Animate: (intelligent, supernatural, animal, natural forces)  
*Animate: (intelligent, supernatural, animal, natural forces)  
*Insensate: (vegetable and inanimate material)
*Non-animate: (vegetable and inanimate material)
NB:  Only the animate class may take the ergative case.
NB:  Only the animate class may take the ergative case in the protolanguage. (This distinction will eventually be entirely lost, probably.)
'''Number/Definiteness Inflections:'''
'''Number/Definiteness Inflections:'''
*Singular/Indef:  -s
*Singular/Indef:  -s
*Singular/Def:  -l
*Singular/Def:  -0
*Plural/Indef:  -n
*Plural/Indef:  -n
*Plural/Def:  -k
*Plural/Def:  -k


NB:  Nominal roots are inflected first for number and definiteness.  Case inflections are then added to the resulting stem.
NB:  Nominal roots are inflected first for number and definiteness.  Case inflections are then added to the resulting stem.  The vocative is "additive" and can be combined with all of the other cases except the ergative.  When there is the requirement that the vocative and ergative be combined, the fusional prefix is "gho-".


'''Case Inflections:'''
'''Case Inflections:'''
*Absolutive:  0
*Absolutive:  -0
*Ergative:  de-
*Ergative:  de-
*Dative:  -em
*Dative:  -em
Line 75: Line 81:
*Ablative:  -r
*Ablative:  -r
*Instrumental:  -p
*Instrumental:  -p
*Vocative:  v-
*Vocative:  va-


==Verbal Morphology==
==Verbal Morphology==
Verbs conjugate for person, number, and aspect.  Verbal agreement is with the '''absolutive''' argument.
'''Verbal Inflection:'''
Verbs conjugate for person, number, and aspect.  Verbal agreement for person and number is with the '''absolutive''' argument. (This peculiar agreement will probably remain throughout the evolution of the language.)


The persons are the standard 1st, 2nd, and 3rdIt is always understood, however, that the invoker is the 1st person, the invoked is the 2nd, and the 3rd is anything peripheral to the relationship between the invoker and invokedThere is no method for indirect discourse.
NB:  Verbal roots are inflected first for person and numberAspectual and mood inflections are then added to the resulting stemVowel harmony is observed also in verbal inflection.


The numbers are simply singular and plural.  
'''Person:'''
The persons are the standard 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  It is always understood, however, that the "magical" invoker is the 1st person, the "magically" invoked is the 2nd, and the 3rd is anything peripheral to the relationship between the invoker and invoked.  There is no method whatsoever for indirect discourse.


The aspects are punctuative and iterative. [insert explanation here]
'''Number:'''
The numbers are simply singular and plural. (I'm not yet sure how this might evolve.)


There is no morphological tense. Indeed, as a language for magical incantation, the speech act is mostly concerned with the present in the forms of invocation and command. The punctuative aspect can take the meaning of a narrative past in a litany of past acts or accomplished invocations or bindings.
'''Person/Number Inflections:'''
*1st S: -v
*2nd S: -dd
*3rd S:  0
*1st P:  -z
*2nd P:  -dh
*3rd P:  -m


[insert inflections here]
'''Tense/Aspect:'''
The aspects are punctuative and iterative:
*Punctuative aspect indicates that the action of the verb occurs only once.
*Iterative aspect indicates that the action of the verb occurs repeatedly.


Moods are indicative, imperative, and conditional.  There is no irrealis whatsoever.
The punctuative aspect will probably quickly come to be used as a quasi-narrative past.  These aspects will eventually evolve into a system of aorist, perfect, and imperfective aspects with temporal associations and uses.


[insert mood inflections here]
NB:  It is pretty clear that this aspect system will not work with certain verbal types.  I hope that the deficiencies of this system will also provide stimulus to invent among those who would use the language as a language of every-day life.


The language admits no voice-changing operations.
There is no morphological tense in Proto-Hantic.  Indeed, as a language for "magical" incantation, the speech act is mostly concerned with the present in the forms of invocation and command.


==Historical Sketch of the Hantic Languages==
'''Mood:'''
The original a priori language (Proto-Hantic) is invented (legendarily by the Hant) as a pseudo-philosophical language for use in magical incantation.  NB:  In its long history, Hantic will never be spoken as a primary language except for a period of about 90 years by the small sect of Akuroshetic Zealots.
Moods are indicative, imperative, and conditional.  There is no irrealis whatsoever (another exploitable instability).


Proto-Hantic splits into at least three distinct ritual branches: 1) Proto-Arcanatic (with dialects), in and around Akuroshas in the western south, 2) Cryptic, in the canthic enclaves along the eastern rim of the northern ocean, and 3) Lost, in old communities of the western north that eventually abandoned the Hantic for magical ritual in favor of natural languages.
'''Aspect/Mood Inflections:'''
*Punct. Ind.:  0
*Punct. Imp.:  -at
*Punct. Cond.:  -af
*Iter. Ind.:  -e
*Iter. Imp.: -et
*Iter. Cond.:  -ef


The Proto-Arcanatic dialects are regularized and formalized into the '''Arcanatic''' language as described in the ''Arcanat'' by the Akuroshetic Zealots around the time of the founding of Zaraziin.  This, in slightly variant form, becomes the Hantic of the Ajan, Zaraziin's founder.
'''Voice:'''
Proto-Hantic admits no voice-changing operations, though the final descendant language will, I hope, have a rich voice-changing system with certain of the less-often-used voices having interesting temporal and aspectual associations and uses.


The Cryptic branch develops into the Canthic ritual language in the region of Tallis (the principal canthic enclave.) NB: It is sometimes asserted that Old Canthic may have been spoken as a primary language by those of the canthic who eschewed human shape.
==Pronouns==
Proto-Hantic has a symmetrical system of distal and proximate pronouns, including in the first personA distal 1st person is somewhat odd as a linguistic concept, but it is used heavily in Proto-Hantic:
*to refer to oneself while in an altered state of consciousness (vision quest, out-of-body state)
*to make a mind (distal) / body (proximate) distinction
*to refer to spell/spellcaster, causer/agent distinctions (these alternations are actually fairly elaborated, but I won't bore the reader here).


The Arcantic speakers are dispersed or killed during the destruction of Zaraziin by Akuroshas and the subsequent conquest of Akuroshas by the Aisxros.
In the 2nd and 3rd person, the distal and proximate pronouns are used to refer to persons or objects either distal or proximate to the speaker, as one might expect.


The Ajan and the Remnant of Zaraziin flee to the Court of the Duke upon the Heights in Tallis.  The Ajanic variant of Arcanatic eventually merges with the Canthic into '''Ancient Ajanic'''.  At this point the language is spoken only in Tallis, and even there only as a learned second language -- elsewhere it has been abandoned for natural languages, some of which have now developed their own dead ritual forms.
This distal/proximate distinction in the pronouns will probably eventually be lost.  The 1st person pronouns may evolve into clitics used in a kind of agent/instrument construct state, the 2nd person pronouns into a familiar/polite distinction (maybe), and the 3rd person into demonstratives (probably).


The Skandrian Wars eradicate all but a few of the canthic enclaves and the remnants of the Canthic forms die out.  The wars, though, disperse documents in Ancient Ajanic throughout the East, but the only incipient civilization to take the language into daily use is Coreolas, where it exists alongside a ritual form of the Corelanian natural language.  Peripheral to the Talliscine center of the language, this dialect remains somewhat more conservative.
Demonstrative-like constructions can be achieved in Proto-Hantic by simply stating the appropriate pronoun followed by the substantive.


Early in the reign of the second Amun king, a near complete text of the ''Arcanat'' is rediscovered by Talliscine scholars near the ruins of ancient AkuroshasIn Tallis this results in the re-uptake of many archaic forms into what is now called '''Old Hantic'''From this time Hantic begins to be used as a poetic and literary language in Tallis, alongside its use in magical incantation.
'''Pronouns:'''
*1st prox.: tdu
*2nd prox.: tda
*3rd prox.:  tdo
*1st dist:  lu
*2nd dist:  la
*3rd dist:  lo


Among the crypto-canthic sects (remnant partisans of the canthic in the Skandrian Wars), however, the discovery leads to the reactionary expunging of Arcanatic forms from the Ancient Ajanic in an attempt to reconstruct a pure "Old Canthic". This attempted reconstruction is now known to scholars as the '''Crypto-Canthic'''. The only textual evidence of presumed "Old Canthic" forms dates from this attempted reconstruction.
NB:  Strangely, pronouns are not inflected for number (go figure -- another potential instability to exploit in the development of the language).


In the reign of the first Varro king, scholars rediscover fragments of the '''Lost Hantic''' and authenticate them as older than the ''Arcanat''The substantial differences between the two ancient forms lead to a reconsideration of the antiquity of the language (it is much older than thought) and shatters the widespread popular belief in Tallis that the Ajan was the HantThe ''Lost Fragments'' precipitate a renaissance in Hantic scholarship and attempts are even made to reconstruct the Cryptic and Proto formsThe explosion of scholarship leads to prescriptive reforms that sediment and codify the language into what is now known as the '''High Classical Hantic'''.
==Relative Clauses==
Proto-Hantic does not have a very robust process for relativizationIt simply uses a relative particle with proximate pronounsThis construct simply incorporates an entire clause in normal word order into the NPThese relativizations look more like appositives than genuine relatives.


Though there is little grammatical change from the High Clissical language up to the present day, there are many identifiable neologisms and new idioms, due to its use as a high-status literary language and to continued, but slow, magical innovation in at least three centers of use:  Tallis, The Court of the Coreolanian Hierophant, and the Convocation of Masters in the northern west.  Each of these schools has a particular dialect that varies somewhat in pronunciation, stress, and idiom.


Up to the beginning of the Great Interregnum, a Hantic Court convenes every ten years in Tallis with representatives of the three schools as judges.  It is the commission of this court to publish a grammar and lexicon authorized by the Talliscine king for each of the three recognized schoolsIn the 160 years of the Interregnum, however, only one new grammar is published, under the auspices of the Talliscine Archmagister, and it only codifies the language for use in the Talliscine Magisterium.  Otherwise the pace of divergence among the three schools is accelerating.  
==Interrogatives==
Proto-Hantic, as a ritual language, does not have a method for interrogation(Yet another instability ripe for invention.)


==The Identifiable Hantic Forms==
[[Category: Conlangs]]
#Proto-Hantic
##Proto-Arcanatic 1
##Proto-Arcanatic 2
##Proto-Arcanatic 3
##Cryptic
##Lost
#Arcanatic
##Ajanic variant
#Canthic
#Old Ajanic
#Old Hantic
##Coreolanic variant
#High Classical Hantic
##Talliscine school
##Coreolanian school
##Horic school

Latest revision as of 12:02, 17 July 2011

Author's Note:

The Hantic language I've been working on for the last ten years has been shelved in favor of its redevelopment through a series of progenitor languages thanks to the diachronitis I contracted by hanging out (lurking more than posting) on the ZBB. This Hantic site will for the time being focus on the earliest version of the language: Proto-Hantic.

Proto-Hantic Background

Hantic, even in the context of the conworld, is not a natural language. It was specifically and intentionally created, supposedly by a certain mythical denizen of the conworld, the Hant. In other words, it is a con-conlang. In con-worldish actuality, it was created by a charlatan who associated his language with the name of the Hant in order to deceive his students into believing he was in possession of arcane knowledge -- so Proto-Hantic could even be described as a con-con-conlang.

Proto-Hantic is a pseudo-philosophical constructed language based on a system of 400 consonantal pairs, each of which, when realized through the six vowels, yields a collection of roots that are related by morphology and by the "attributes" the consonantal pair supposedly encodes. The system was never intended to be taxonomic or derivationally productive -- it was intended merely to give the illusion of systematicity. The ascription of meaning to the 2400 roots was both arbitrary and pragmatic: it yielded the necessary terms for using the language as a pseudo-system of magical incantation, but it did not provide a complete lexicon for use in everyday life. Generally speaking, among the six roots from each consonant pair there was usually one verbal root, an adjectival or adverbial root, and a number of nominal roots, though the specific realization depended on the idiosyncrasies of the language creator. Later attempts at reconstructing the "system" of vowel alternation will create competing, and hotly debated, theories about the "ablaut" system of the earliest instantiations of the Hantic language.

Proto-Hantic, despite its ignoble and deceitful beginnings, will eventually (after about 3000 years of development) evolve into the premier literary and artistic language of the Talliscine civilization, my principal concivilization.

NB: ANY of the inflections presented below are subject to immediate revision based upon whether I think sound-change alterations are resulting in phonologies for descendant languages that I like. As George W. Bush is wont to say, "I am the decider", so sayeth the conlanger.

Proto-Hantic Phonology

Phonological Inventory:

  • Plosives: /p b t_d d_d t d k g/ < p b td dd t d k g >
  • Fricatives: /f v T D s z x G/ <f v th dh s z x gh>
  • Nasals: /m n/ <m n>
  • Liquids: /l r/ <l r>
  • Vowels: /a e i o u y/ <a e i o u y>

NB: The orthography here is merely for my own benefit in attempting to read what I am creating. Proto-Hantic was originally written with a logographic writing system that I have not invented yet. Compound words are separated in this orthography by a hyphen, so this orthography does not present ambiguities with medial consonant clusters in compounds.

Vowel Harmony: Vowel harmony is both progressive and regressive. Based upon the vowel of the root, the vowels of prefixes and affixes will align along a front/back axis. Vowel harmony is broken in compounded roots -- prefixes will align with the first root and suffixes will align with the second.

  • Front vowels: [i] and [y]
  • Back vowels: [o] and [u]
  • Neutral vowels: [e] and [a]

Where an affix does not have a prescribed neutral vowel, the vowel of the affix is [o] for back-vowel roots, [i] for front-vowel roots, [e] for [e]-roots, and [a] for [a]-roots.

Syllable Structure: strictly (C)V(C)

In principle, any consonant may articulate against any other consonant within compounds or across word boundaries. Allophony is not being considered in the phonology of the protolanguage because I am assuming that the first stimuli for sound-change into descendant dialects will be allophonic compensations for natural difficulties with consonant clusters within compounds and across word boundaries.

Prosody: The language is pragmatically stress-timed with regular stress placed on the root, or in the case of compounds, on the second root. Prosodic stress will (I think) also provide a plausible instigation for sound change, both in stressed and non-stressed segments.

Morphosyntactic Alignment

Strict ergative morphological and syntactic alignment, (as purely ergative as I can make it).

NB: It is my intention that the MSA will also evolve during the development of the language, possibly developing a split- then fluid-S system, and ultimately a system that has both ergative-absolutive and nomitive-accusative features.

Core Cases:

  • Absolutive: sole argument of intransitives, object of transitives, theme of ditransitives
  • Ergative: subject of transitives and ditransitives
  • Dative: recipient of ditransitives

Oblique Cases:

  • Locative
  • Genitive
  • Ablative
  • Instrumental
  • Vocative

Word order is generally VSO, but due to the case system, it is relatively free. (I am sort-of assuming that this particular case system will break down fairly quickly, but I don't yet have a rationale for why.) Adverbial phrase order is Time-Manner-Place, and these phrases are generally sentence final, though time adverbials will often precede the verb. My intent is that the ultimate literary language will have a strict, even rigid, OSV word order.

Nominal Morphology

Noun Classes:

  • Animate: (intelligent, supernatural, animal, natural forces)
  • Non-animate: (vegetable and inanimate material)

NB: Only the animate class may take the ergative case in the protolanguage. (This distinction will eventually be entirely lost, probably.)

Number/Definiteness Inflections:

  • Singular/Indef: -s
  • Singular/Def: -0
  • Plural/Indef: -n
  • Plural/Def: -k

NB: Nominal roots are inflected first for number and definiteness. Case inflections are then added to the resulting stem. The vocative is "additive" and can be combined with all of the other cases except the ergative. When there is the requirement that the vocative and ergative be combined, the fusional prefix is "gho-".

Case Inflections:

  • Absolutive: -0
  • Ergative: de-
  • Dative: -em
  • Genitive: -en
  • Locative: -t
  • Ablative: -r
  • Instrumental: -p
  • Vocative: va-

Verbal Morphology

Verbal Inflection: Verbs conjugate for person, number, and aspect. Verbal agreement for person and number is with the absolutive argument. (This peculiar agreement will probably remain throughout the evolution of the language.)

NB: Verbal roots are inflected first for person and number. Aspectual and mood inflections are then added to the resulting stem. Vowel harmony is observed also in verbal inflection.

Person: The persons are the standard 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It is always understood, however, that the "magical" invoker is the 1st person, the "magically" invoked is the 2nd, and the 3rd is anything peripheral to the relationship between the invoker and invoked. There is no method whatsoever for indirect discourse.

Number: The numbers are simply singular and plural. (I'm not yet sure how this might evolve.)

Person/Number Inflections:

  • 1st S: -v
  • 2nd S: -dd
  • 3rd S: 0
  • 1st P: -z
  • 2nd P: -dh
  • 3rd P: -m

Tense/Aspect: The aspects are punctuative and iterative:

  • Punctuative aspect indicates that the action of the verb occurs only once.
  • Iterative aspect indicates that the action of the verb occurs repeatedly.

The punctuative aspect will probably quickly come to be used as a quasi-narrative past. These aspects will eventually evolve into a system of aorist, perfect, and imperfective aspects with temporal associations and uses.

NB: It is pretty clear that this aspect system will not work with certain verbal types. I hope that the deficiencies of this system will also provide stimulus to invent among those who would use the language as a language of every-day life.

There is no morphological tense in Proto-Hantic. Indeed, as a language for "magical" incantation, the speech act is mostly concerned with the present in the forms of invocation and command.

Mood: Moods are indicative, imperative, and conditional. There is no irrealis whatsoever (another exploitable instability).

Aspect/Mood Inflections:

  • Punct. Ind.: 0
  • Punct. Imp.: -at
  • Punct. Cond.: -af
  • Iter. Ind.: -e
  • Iter. Imp.: -et
  • Iter. Cond.: -ef

Voice: Proto-Hantic admits no voice-changing operations, though the final descendant language will, I hope, have a rich voice-changing system with certain of the less-often-used voices having interesting temporal and aspectual associations and uses.

Pronouns

Proto-Hantic has a symmetrical system of distal and proximate pronouns, including in the first person. A distal 1st person is somewhat odd as a linguistic concept, but it is used heavily in Proto-Hantic:

  • to refer to oneself while in an altered state of consciousness (vision quest, out-of-body state)
  • to make a mind (distal) / body (proximate) distinction
  • to refer to spell/spellcaster, causer/agent distinctions (these alternations are actually fairly elaborated, but I won't bore the reader here).

In the 2nd and 3rd person, the distal and proximate pronouns are used to refer to persons or objects either distal or proximate to the speaker, as one might expect.

This distal/proximate distinction in the pronouns will probably eventually be lost. The 1st person pronouns may evolve into clitics used in a kind of agent/instrument construct state, the 2nd person pronouns into a familiar/polite distinction (maybe), and the 3rd person into demonstratives (probably).

Demonstrative-like constructions can be achieved in Proto-Hantic by simply stating the appropriate pronoun followed by the substantive.

Pronouns:

  • 1st prox.: tdu
  • 2nd prox.: tda
  • 3rd prox.: tdo
  • 1st dist: lu
  • 2nd dist: la
  • 3rd dist: lo

NB: Strangely, pronouns are not inflected for number (go figure -- another potential instability to exploit in the development of the language).

Relative Clauses

Proto-Hantic does not have a very robust process for relativization. It simply uses a relative particle with proximate pronouns. This construct simply incorporates an entire clause in normal word order into the NP. These relativizations look more like appositives than genuine relatives.


Interrogatives

Proto-Hantic, as a ritual language, does not have a method for interrogation. (Yet another instability ripe for invention.)