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" ← *eštə-; in Permic may be a BF loan
• *ləštaš "leaf" ← *leštə ← IE
• *šəm "7" ← #śeććəmə ← IE? NB irregular medial loss (but could be secondary haplology)

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

The development of *ð, *ðʲ, *t

*ð- → l- *lepə "spleen" ← *ðäpðä	*ðʲ- → l- *leŋəš "bucket" ← *ðʲäŋɜsɜ *lom "bird cherry" ← *ðʲëmə /loɣe-/ "to push" ← *ðʲokka- ? /lümö/ "glue" (which dialect?) ← *ðʲümä	*t- → t- [abundant examples, not included]
*-ð- → ∅ *om "sleep" ← *oðama *kooe- "to weave" ← *kuða- *šooe "duck" ← *śoðka *šüm "hart" ← *šêðäm(ə) *weem "marrow" ← *wiðəm(ə)	-ðʲə → ∅ *šü(j) "coal" ← *śüðʲə (or *śüðə) *u "new" ← *wuðʲə
(no examples of *ð → ð/t!)	*-ðʲa → -ð- *koðe- "to leave" ← *kaðʲa- *šuðe- "to curse" ← *śoðʲa- possibly also: *kʊðaša- "to take off" ← *koðʲɜ- *mooðə "berry" ← ? *meðʲɜ *šoðə "lung" ~ K. šɤĺ (or ~ S. *sōvtē?)

Exceptions: *kəl "handle" ← *käwðə "rope", probably from Permic (note also irregular *ə)

T-loss:

• *müj ← *mêti

T-lenition:

• *jaða- ← *jëta-
• *lööðə ← *rita
• *nuðə ← *nato
• *kuðə ← *kota
• *laðə ← *latu
• *šʏðəkš ← *sitoks (West only, *ð/*ðʲ also poss.)
• *piðə- ← *pitV-
• *wiðe- ← *wetä- "pull"
• *wüðe- ← *wetä- "sow"
• *šüðər ~ P *zoo "axle"
• *šüðə "100" ← IE
• *waðar "udder" ← IE (independantly of FMo *uTar)

T-retention (final, all nouns):

• *pat ← *pata
• *wat ← *wata
• *kit ← *käti
• *wʏt ← *wêti
• *jʏt ← *jEti
• *kut ← *kuxti
• *kot ← *kotwa (or -ðʲw-?)
• rot ← *rotV