Proto-Alpianic: Difference between revisions

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'''This page documents an ''obsolete'' version of Proto-Alpianic which is pending a redesign. It no longer reflects the author's current thinking about this conlang.''' --[[User:WeepingElf|WeepingElf]] ([[User talk:WeepingElf|talk]]) 07:55, 23 January 2024 (PST)
 
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|colspan="2" bgcolor="#CCFF00" align="center" |'''Proto-Alpianic'''
|colspan="2" bgcolor="#CCFF00" align="center" |'''Proto-Alpianic'''
|-
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'''Proto-Alpianic''' is the common ancestor of the [[Alpianic]] branch of the [[Hesperic]] language family in the [[League of Lost Languages]].  It is currently being created by [[User:WeepingElf|Jörg Rhiemeier]].
'''Proto-Alpianic''' is the common ancestor of the [[Alpianic]] branch of the [[Hesperic]] language family in the [[League of Lost Languages]].  It is currently being created by [[User:WeepingElf|Jörg Rhiemeier]].


Proto-Alpianic probably was spoken in central Switzerland around 1000 BC.  The language is about as closely related to [[Old Albic]] as Greek is to Latin.
Proto-Alpianic probably was spoken in central Switzerland around 1000 BC and appears to be the language which gave the ''Alps'' their name ('''*alpa''' 'mountain')A closely related language probably was spoken further north and gave the ''Alb'', a lesser mountain range north of the Alps, its name.  Proto-Alpianic is about as closely related to [[Old Albic]] as Greek is to Latin.
 
One issue in Proto-Alpianic reconstruction is that the modern Alpianic languages have acquired a [[Standard Average European]] typological profile and use cognate morphemes to express things such as the definite and indefinite articles, or the perfect tenses.  It would be formally possible to reconstruct these for the protolanguage, but it is uncertain that these elements already existed back then.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
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|}
|}


The dorsal nasal '''*ń''' almost certainly was a velar nasal [ŋ].  The phoneme '''*ĺ''' probably was a velarized alveolar lateral [ɫ], the phoneme '''*ŕ''' a uvular trill [ʀ].
The dorsal nasal '''*ń''' almost certainly was a velar nasal [ŋ].  The phoneme '''*ĺ''' probably was a velarized alveolar lateral [ɫ], the phoneme '''*ŕ''' a uvular trill [ʀ].  All other symbols in the transcription scheme used here can be taken as having their IPA value.


===Vowels===
===Vowels===
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|}
|}


The circumflex accent marks a long vowel; nasal vowels (with tilde) are always short.
The circumflex accent marks a long vowel; nasal vowels (with tilde) do not distinguish length, but behave like long vowels in many regards.


===Syllable structure===
===Syllable structure===
Line 133: Line 137:
* R is any nasal, liquid or *j; if present, C must be an obstruent.
* R is any nasal, liquid or *j; if present, C must be an obstruent.
* V is any vowel.
* V is any vowel.
* L is any nasal or liquid, or gemination of the following consonant.  May not be present in a syllable with a long or nasal vowel, and not in final syllables.
* L is any liquid, or gemination of the following consonant.  May not be present in a syllable with a long or nasal vowel, and not in final syllables.


===Accent===
===Accent===


The accent, which probably was stress, falls on the first syllable of the word.
The accent, which probably was stress, falls on the first syllable of the word.
===Sound changes from Proto-Hesperic===
This section gives an overview of the sound changes that occured on the way from [[Proto-Hesperic]] to Proto-Alpianic.
====Common North Hesperic developments====
* Accent retraction to first syllable
* x > 3
* [[Drummond's Law]]
* [[Senantho's Law]]
* [[Alfermann's Law]]
* x > h
====Further changes shared with [[Proto-Hercynian]]====
* Final nasal neutralization
:*m > n /_#
:*ng > n /_#
* Laryngeal loss
:* V3 > V:
:* 3 > 0 /otherwise
* Monophthongizations
:* ai, ia > é
:* au, ua > ó
:* iu > ú
:* ui > í
:* VV > V: /if both of same quality
* Pre-sonorant vowel lowering
: * i > e, u > o before nasals and liquids (affects both long and short vowels)
* Vowel lengthenings and shortenings
:* Long vowels are shorted in closed syllables
:* Short vowels are lengthened in stressed open syllables
====Labialization of labiovelars====
* kw > p
* khw > ph
* gw > b
====Assimilation of post-sonorant *s====
* rs > rr
* ls > ll
* ns > nn
====Fortition of *r before stops====
* r > l /_C[+stop]
====Stop shift and associated changes====
* s > h /in initial position before vowel, and between vowels
* w > f
* ph > pf, th > ts, kh > kx /in initial position and after nasal
* ph > f, th > s, kh > x /otherwise
* p > ph, t > th, k > kh
* b > p, d > t, g > k
====Elimination of final consonants====
* 0 > a /_# in monosyllabic words
* as > e, is > i, us > e /_#
* al, el, ol > o /_#
* an > ã, en > ẽ, on > õ /_#
* All other final consonants are deleted


==Morphology==
==Morphology==


Proto-Alpianic is a fusional-synthetic language.
Proto-Alpianic is a fusional-synthetic language.  The morphosyntactic alignment is nominative-accusative, though predicate nouns are, unlike most European languages, in the accusative rather than the nominative case.  Also, neuter transitive subjects are avoided by passivizing clauses where they would appear.


===Nouns===
===Nouns===


Nouns are divided into three ''genders'' (masculine, feminine, neuter) and are inflected for two ''numbers'' (singular, plural) and four ''cases'' (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative).  There are several ''declension classes'' that inflect differently; these cut across the genders, but neuters always decline differently from non-neuters of the same declension class.
Nouns are divided into three ''genders'' (masculine, feminine, neuter; to a large part arbitrary but the neuter gender contains only inanimate nouns) and are inflected for two ''numbers'' (singular, plural) and four ''cases'' (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative).  There are several ''declension classes'' that inflect differently; these cut across the genders, but neuters always decline differently from non-neuters of the same declension class: the accusative is always the same as the nominative and the dative the same as the genitive, and the plural is formed differently.
 
====Case usage====
 
* The ''nominative'' is used for the subject of the clause.
* The ''genitive'' is used for possessors, and the objects of a small number of prepositions.
* The ''dative'' is used for indirect objects, and the objects of most prepositions.
* The ''accusative'' is used for the direct object, but also for predicate nouns.


====A-stems, non-neuter====
====A-stems, masculine====


The ''a-stems'' are the most productive declension class.
With rare exceptions, masculine nouns are a-stems.


Example: '''*phassa''' 'person'
Example: '''*phassa''' 'person'
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! Genitive
! Genitive
| *phasse
| *phasse
| *phassi
| *phassie
|-
|-
! Dative
! Dative
| *phasso
| *phasso
| *phasso
| *phassio
|-
|-
! Accusative
! Accusative
Line 177: Line 259:
|}
|}


====I-stems, feminine====
With rare exceptions, feminine nouns are i-stems.
Example: '''*saria''' 'woman'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *saria
| *sari
|-
! Genitive
| *sarie
| *sarie
|-
! Dative
| *sario
| *sario
|-
! Accusative
| *sariã
| *sariẽ
|-
|}
====I-stems, neuter====
Example: '''*pãti''' 'ribbon'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom.-acc.
| *pãti
| *pãtio
|-
! Gen.-dat.
| *pãtio
| *pãtio
|-
|}
====U-stems, non-neuter====
Non-neuter u-stems are rare.
Example: '''*kańua''' 'mountain imp'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *kańua
| *kańui
|-
! Genitive
| *kańue
| *kańue
|-
! Dative
| *kańuo
| *kańuo
|-
! Accusative
| *kańuã
| *kańuẽ
|-
|}
====U-stems, neuter====
This is also a small class.
Example: '''*khanu''' 'joint'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom.-acc.
| *khanu
| *khanuo
|-
! Gen.-dat.
| *khanuo
| *khanuo
|-
|}
====Consonant stems, neuter====
This is a fairly large class; there are no non-neuter consonant stems.  It is in this class hard to predict the other forms from knowing the nominative-accusative singular, hence the genitive-dative singular is also given in the dictionary.
Example: '''*saĺtso''' 'wing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom.-acc.
| *saĺtso
| *saĺtsalo
|-
! Gen.-dat.
| *saĺtsalo
| *saĺtsalo
|-
|}
Example: '''*thupe''' 'gift'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nom.-acc.
| *thupe
| *thupaso
|-
! Gen.-dat.
| *thupaso
| *thupaso
|-
|}
While the genitive-dative and the plural forms are not predictable from the nominative-accusative singular, the reverse is possible.  All consonants following the stem-final vowel are dropped, and the stem-final vowel changed according to the (first) consonant following the stem-final vowel:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Coda consonant
! Vowel is
|-
| Labial or liquid
| Backed and rounded
|-
| *s or *ts
| Fronted
|-
| Nasal
| Nasalized (*i and *u become *ẽ and õ)
|-
| Other
| Unchanged
|-
|}
These rules reflect sound changes that generally affected word-final consonants.
===Articles===
The Alpianic languages have ''definite articles''.  They are probably Proto-Alpianic, as they have cognates in other Hesperic languages (e.g., [[Old Albic]]):
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"| 
!colspan="2"|Masculine
!colspan="2"|Feminine
!colspan="2"|Neuter
|-
! Sing.
! Pl.
! Sing.
! Pl.
! Sing.
! Pl.
|-
! Nominative
| a
| i
| ja
| i
| a
| o
|-
! Genitive
| e
| je
| ja
| je
| o
| o
|-
! Dative
| o
| jo
| jo
| jo
| o
| o
|-
! Accusative
| ã
| ẽ
| jã
| jẽ
| a
| o
|-
|}
Typically, the numeral '''*mana''' '1' serves as an ''indefinite article'' in the Alpianic languages (sometimes in phonetically reduced forms).  It declines like a regular first-declension adjective.
===Adjectives===
Adjectives agree with their head nouns in gender, number and case.  They also have the category of degree of comparison: positive (unmarked), comparative and superlative.
There are four declension classes.
====First declension====
This is a large class, containing all adjectives with a monosyllabic stem.  These adjectives decline like a-stems in the masculine and neuter, and like i-stems in the feminine.
Example: '''*makha''' 'great, big'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masculine
!colspan="2"| Feminine
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *makha
| *makhi
| *makhia
| *makhi
| *makha
| *makho
|-
! Genitive
| *makhe
| *makhie
| *makhie
| *makhie
| *makho
| *makho
|-
! Dative
| *makho
| *makhio
| *makhio
| *makhio
| *makho
| *makho
|-
! Accusative
| *makhã
| *makhẽ
| *makhiã
| *makhiẽ
| *makha
| *makho
|}
====Second declension====
This is another large class, consisting of adjectives with a stem of more than one syllable.  The difference from the first declension is that the neuters are declined like consonant stems.
Example: '''*rutiana''' 'bloody'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masculine
!colspan="2"| Feminine
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *rutiana
| *rutiani
| *rutiania
| *rutiani
| *rutiã
| *rutiano
|-
! Genitive
| *rutiane
| *rutianie
| *rutianie
| *rutianie
| *rutiano
| *rutiano
|-
! Dative
| *rutiano
| *rutianio
| *rutianio
| *rutianio
| *rutiano
| *rutiano
|-
! Accusative
| *rutianã
| *rutianẽ
| *rutianiã
| *rutianiẽ
| *rutiã
| *rutiano
|}
====Third declension====
A fairly large class.  These are i-stems in all genders.  The masculine and feminine forms are the same.
Example: '''*maltsia''' 'sweet'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masc/Fem.
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *maltsia
| *maltsi
| *maltsi
| *maltsio
|-
! Genitive
| *maltsie
| *maltsie
| *maltsio
| *maltsio
|-
! Dative
| *maltsio
| *maltsio
| *maltsio
| *maltsio
|-
! Accusative
| *maltsiã
| *maltsiẽ
| *maltsi
| *maltsio
|-
|}
====Fourth declension====
A small group.  These decline as u-stems in all genders.  Masculine and feminine forms are the same.
Example: '''nartua''' 'right (direction)'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masc/Fem.
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *nartua
| *nartui
| *nartu
| *nartuo
|-
! Genitive
| *nartue
| *nartue
| *nartuo
| *nartuo
|-
! Dative
| *nartuo
| *nartuo
| *nartuo
| *nartuo
|-
! Accusative
| *nartuã
| *nartuẽ
| *nartu
| *nartuo
|-
|}
====Comparative and superlative====
The comparative is formed with the suffix '''*-is-''': '''*makhisa''' 'bigger', '''*rutianisa''' 'bloodier', '''*maltzisa''' 'sweeter', '''*nartuisa''' 'farther right'.
The superlative is formed with the suffix '''*-iss-''': '''*makhissa''' 'biggest', '''*rutianissa''' 'bloodiest', '''*maltzissa''' 'sweetest', '''*nartuissa''' 'rightmost'.
Both comparative and superlative follow the second declension, regardless of the original adjective's declension class.
===Numerals===
====Cardinal numerals====
Cardinal numerals behave pretty much like adjectives.  The basic numerals are:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 20
! 100
|-
| *mana
| *thôi
| *tsari
| *pfatsi
| *pfãti
| *pfatti
| *tsarti
| *thôti
| *mãti
| *pfali
| *ratsa
| *khãtha
|-
|}
Of these, '''*mana''', '''*ratsa''' and '''*khãtha''' are declined like first declension singular adjectives; all others are declined like first declension plural adjectives.  Other numerals are formed by compounding, e.g. '''*tsari khãtha thôi ratsa mãti''' '3*100+2*20+9 = 349'.  All cardinal numbers except '''*mana''' are used with plural nouns.
====Ordinal numerals====
Ordinal numerals are formed by replacing the final vowel of the cardinal by the suffix '''*-an-''', they are declined as second declension adjectives, e.g. '''*tsarana/tsarania/tsarã''' 'third'.  '1st' and '2nd' are irregular: '1st' is '''*antsana''', '2nd' is '''*pfalkuna'''.
===Pronouns===
====Personal pronouns====
Proto-Alpianic has 1st and 2nd person pronouns; the function of third person pronouns is taken by demonstratives (see next subsection).
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| First person
!colspan="2"| Second person
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *môa
| *môi
| *tsôa
| *tsôi
|-
! Genitive
| *môe
| *môje
| *tsôe
| *tsôje
|-
! Dative
| *mô
| *môjo
| *tsô
| *tsôjo
|-
! Accusative
| *môã
| *môẽ
| *tsôã
| *tsôẽ
|-
|}
====Demonstratives====
Demonstratives distinguish three genders and two degrees of deixis ('this' and 'that').
Proximal demonstrative ('this'):
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masculine
!colspan="2"| Feminine
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *asa
| *asi
| *asia
| *asi
| *atsa
| *atso
|-
! Genitive
| *ase
| *asie
| *asie
| *asie
| *atso
| *atso
|-
! Dative
| *aso
| *asio
| *asio
| *asio
| *atso
| *atso
|-
! Accusative
| *asã
| *asẽ
| *asiã
| *asiẽ
| *atsa
| *atso
|-
|}
Distal demonstrative ('that'):
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masculine
!colspan="2"| Feminine
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *kxasa
| *kxasi
| *kxasia
| *kxasi
| *kxatsa
| *kxatso
|-
! Genitive
| *kxase
| *kxasie
| *kxasie
| *kxasie
| *kxatso
| *kxatso
|-
! Dative
| *kxaso
| *kxasio
| *kxasio
| *kxasio
| *kxatso
| *kxatso
|-
! Accusative
| *kxasã
| *kxasẽ
| *kxasiã
| *kxasiẽ
| *kxatsa
| *kxatso
|-
|}
Another, probably anaphoric demonstrative which is the source of the definite article in some Alpianic languages, is the following (which is obviously also a part of the demonstratives given above):
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Masculine
!colspan="2"| Feminine
!colspan="2"| Neuter
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *sa
| *si
| *sia
| *si
| *tsa
| *tso
|-
! Genitive
| *se
| *sie
| *sie
| *sie
| *tso
| *tso
|-
! Dative
| *so
| *sio
| *sio
| *sio
| *tso
| *tso
|-
! Accusative
| *sã
| *sẽ
| *siã
| *siẽ
| *tsa
| *tso
|-
|}
====Interrogative pronouns====
There is a distinction between '''*pfa''' 'who' and '''*mana''' 'what'.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Who?
! What?
|-
! Nominative
| *pfa
| *mana
|-
! Genitive
| *pfe
| *mano
|-
! Dative
| *pfo
| *mano
|-
! Accusative
| *pfã
| *mana
|-
|}
====Relative pronouns====
There are two kinds of relative pronouns.  ''Restrictive'' relative clauses use pronouns that are related to the interrogative pronouns given above:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Person
!colspan="2"| Thing
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *pfa
| *pfi
| *mana
| *mano
|-
! Genitive
| *pfe
| *pfie
| *mano
| *mano
|-
! Dative
| *pfo
| *pfio
| *mano
| *mano
|-
! Accusative
| *pfã
| *pfẽ
| *mana
| *mano
|-
|}
''Non-restrictive'' relative clauses use the following:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| *aja
| *aji
|-
! Genitive
| *aje
| *ajie
|-
! Dative
| *ajo
| *ajio
|-
! Accusative
| *ajã
| *ajẽ
|-
|}
===Prepositions===
Grammatical relations other than subject, direct object, indirect object and possessor are expressed by ''prepositions''.  Most prepositions are used with the dative case.  A few, marked with (G) in the list below and in the lexicon, are used with the genitive case.
====Local prepositions====
{|class="wikitable"
!  
! At
! From
! To
|-
! General
| *la
| *ta
| *na
|-
! In
| *ãto
| *ãta
| *ãtã
|-
! On
| *raso
| *rasa
| *rasã
|-
! Under
| *talo
| *tala
| *talã
|-
! Near
| *naro
| *nara
| *narã
|-
|}
====Other prepositions====
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! With (comitative)
| *pfã (G)
|-
! By/With (instrumental)
| *pi
|-
! Without
| *misi
|-
! For
| *pfari
|-
! Against
| *tã
|-
|}
===Verbs===
Verbs in Proto-Alpianic are inflected for tense and mood, and the person and number of the subject.  There are two tenses, present and past, expressed by verb inflection, and two further tenses, future and conditional, expressed periphrastically with the auxiliary '''*phamo''' 'to come' and the infinitive.  There are also four perfect tenses to match these, which are formed with the auxiliary '''*krapo''' 'to have' and the past participle.  The moods are indicative (unmarked), subjunctive, optative and imperative.
A peculiarity of Proto-Alpianic is that plural verb forms are also used if the ''direct object'' is definite and plural, regardless of the number of the subject.
A few verbs are ''rigid verbs'' that do not inflect for person; these end in '''*-a''' in the singular and in '''*-i''' in the plural; if the subject is first or second person, a subject pronoun is mandatory. All rigid verbs are intransitive with stative semantics; they are marked with (r) in the [[#Lexicon|lexicon list]] below.
====Present tense====
The present tense is formed by suffixing personal endings to the stem.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *larã
| *larẽ
|-
! Second person
| *lara
| *lari
|-
! Third person
| *lare
| *lari
|-
|}
====Past tense====
The past tense uses the same personal endings, but the stem is modified according to the following rules:
# If the stem ends in an obstruent, this is replaced by a homorganic geminate nasal ('''*h''' becomes '''*nn''').
# If the stem already ends in a nasal, this is geminated.
# If the stem ends in a liquid or a vowel, '''*-n-''' is suffixed.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *larnã
| *larnẽ
|-
! Second person
| *larna
| *larni
|-
! Third person
| *larne
| *larni
|-
|}
====Future tense====
The future tense is formed with the present tense of '''*phamo''' 'to come' and the infinitive.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *phamã laro
| *phamẽ laro
|-
! Second person
| *phama laro
| *phami laro
|-
! Third person
| *phame laro
| *phami laro
|-
|}
====Conditional tense====
The conditional is formed with the past tense of '''*phamo''' 'to come' and the infinitive.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *phammã laro
| *phammẽ laro
|-
! Second person
| *phamma laro
| *phammi laro
|-
! Third person
| *phamme laro
| *phammi laro
|-
|}
====The perfect tenses====
The Alpianic languages have perfect tenses which, however, probably do not date back to Proto-Alpianic.  The main reason to doubt the Proto-Alpianic age of these tenses is the fact that they are a typically [[Standard Average European]] development.  The perfect tenses are present perfect, past perfect, future perfect and conditional perfect.  They are formed with the auxiliary '''*krapo''' 'to have' for transitive and '''*sthano''' 'to stand' for intransitive verbs, and the past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and is in the accusative case.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|  
!colspan="2"| Present perfect
!colspan="2"| Past perfect
!colspan="2"| Future perfect
!colspan="2"| Conditional perfect
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *krapã laranã
| *krapẽ laranã
| *krammã laranã
| *krammẽ laranã
| *phamã laranã krapo
| *phamẽ laranã krapo
| *phammã laranã krapo
| *phammẽ laranã krapo
|-
! Second person
| *krapa laranã
| *krapi laranã
| *kramma laranã
| *krammi laranã
| *phama laranã krapo
| *phami laranã krapo
| *phamma laranã krapo
| *phammi laranã krapo
|-
! Third person
| *krape laranã
| *krapi laranã
| *kramme laranã
| *krammi laranã
| *phame laranã krapo
| *phami laranã krapo
| *phamme laranã krapo
| *phammi laranã krapo
|-
|}
====Subjunctive====
The subjunctive is formed by adding the suffix '''*-f-''' between the stem and the personal endings.  (If the stem ends in an obstruent, the suffix is '''*-uf-'''.)
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *larfã
| *larfẽ
|-
! Second person
| *larfa
| *larfi
|-
! Third person
| *larfe
| *larfi
|-
|}
====Optative====
The optative is formed by adding the suffix '''*-ij-''' between the stem and the personal endings.
Example: '''*laro''' 'to sing'
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!  
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! First person
| *larijã
| *larijẽ
|-
! Second person
| *larija
| *lariji
|-
! Third person
| *larije
| *lariji
|-
|}
====Imperative====
The imperative is formed with the suffix '''*-ti''': '''*larti!''' 'sing!".  If the stem ends in an obstruent, the suffix is '''*-iti'''.
====Passive====
The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary '''*phamo''' 'to come' and the past particple, which agrees with the subject in gender and is in accusative case, e.g. '''*(tsa) lare phame larã''' 'The song is sung'.  Only transitive verbs can be passivized.  The agent can be expressed with the preposition '''*pi''' and the genetive case: '''*(tsa) lare phame larã pi jane''' 'The song is sung by a boy'.
====Infinitive====
The infinitive is formed with the suffix '''*-o''': '''*laro''' 'to sing'.
====Participles====
The present participle is formed with the suffix '''*-antsa/-antsia-/-ã''' (masculine/feminine/neuter).  The past participle is formed with the suffix '''*-atsa/-atsia-/-e''' (masculine/feminine/neuter).  The participles are declined as second declension adjectives.
===Derivation===
====Noun-forming suffixes====
The ''agent of a verb'' is formed by a suffix that is '''*-iara''' if the verb stem ends in an obstruent, and '''*-tsara''' otherwise, e.g. '''*lartsara''' 'singer', '''*pathiara''' 'someone who beats'.
The ''instrument'' is formed by a suffix that is '''*-io''' (gen. '''*-ialo''') if the verb stem ends in an obstruent, and '''*-tso''' (gen. '''*-tsalo''') otherwise, e.g. '''*saĺtso''' 'wing', '''*pathio''' 'cudgel'.
''Diminutives'' of nouns are formed with the following suffixes:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Gender
! After obstruent
! After other sounds
|-
! Masculine
| *-iana
| *-jana
|-
! Feminine
| *-iania
| *-jania
|-
! Neuter
| *-iã
| *-jã
|-
|}
A suffix identical in form is used to form words for ''descendants''.  An example of this is the reconstructible ethnonym '''*alpiana''', lit. 'descendant of the mountains'.
Both suffixes are derived from the word '''*jana''' 'child'.
==Syntax==
===Morphosyntactic alignment===
Proto-Alpianic is a nominative-accusative language.  However, the predicate noun in a copular construction ('X is Y') is in the accusative case, not in the nominative.  That this is nevertheless not a transitive clause can be seen from the fact that this construction cannot be passivized.
Another peculiarity of Proto-Alpianic is that neuter transitive subjects are avoided.  Instead, such sentences are passivized, with the neuter subject marked with the instrumental preposition '''*pi'''.
===The noun phrase===
In the Proto-Alpianic noun phrase, adjectives and genitive noun phrases consisting of a single noun or pronouns precede the noun, while longer genitive noun phrases, prepositional phrases and relative clauses follow.  The article always comes first.
===The main clause===
The main clause follows the ''verb-second'' (V2) rule: the finite verb is always in the second position after the first constituent.  This first constituent is in most cases the subject, but it can also be a direct or indirect object, a prepositional phrase or an adverb.
In a "yes/no" question, the first constituent is the interrogative marker '''*ma''' which is followed by the finite verb.  In a wh-question, the first constituent is the question word, followed by the finite verb.
If the main clause contains a periphrastic verb construction (perfect or passive), the auxiliary is in the second position and the infinite form of the lexical verb at the end of the clause.
===Subordinate clauses===
Subordinate clauses, such as relative and complement clauses, are verb-final.  In a periphrastic construction, the auxiliary is the last word in the clause, preceded by the infinite lexical verb.
==Sample text==
==Lexicon==
===Abbreviations===
* adj. adjective.
* adv. adverb.
* art. artucle.
* conj. conjunction.
* f. feminine noun.
* m. masculine noun.
* n. neuter noun.
* num. numeral.
* prep. preposition.
* pron. pronoun.
* (r) rigid verb.
* v. verb.
===A===
* '''*afa''' m. river.
* '''*aka''' v. to drive.
* '''*alpa''' m. mountain.
* '''*anara''' m. man.
* '''*ara''' adj. high.
* '''*aria''' f. sun.
* '''*arpfalkha''' m. eagle.
* '''*arõ aruno''' n. blood.
* '''*aru arû''' n. wound.
* '''*asa asia atsa''' pron. this.
* '''*ato''' v. to bite.
===Ã===
* '''*ãta''' prep. out of.
* '''*ãtã''' prep. into.
* '''*ãto''' prep. in.
===F===
* '''*falfa''' m. butterfly.
* '''*falia''' f. heart.
* '''*falta''' adj. old.
* '''*fana''' m. spirit.
* '''*fartio fartiaro''' n. spring (season).
* '''*farto''' v. to grow.
* '''*farthe farthaso''' n. law.
* '''*fãta''' m. wind.
* '''*fô farkho''' n. cloud.
===H===
* '''*hanto''' v. to change.
* '''*hale halaso''' n. health.
* '''*halo''' v. to heal.
* '''*hisa''' m. hare.
* '''*hô halo''' n. salt.
===I===
* '''*isa''' m. star.
* '''*iso''' v. to sparkle.
===J===
* '''*jafa''' adj. young.
* '''*jana''' m. child.
* '''*jô jaro''' n. year.
===K===
* '''*kamuka''' m. chamois.
* '''*kano''' v. to go.
* '''*kańua''' m. mountain imp.
* '''*kara''' adj. old.
* '''*kãpa''' m. goat.
* '''*kãsa''' m. goose.
* '''*kila''' adj. yellow.
* '''*klê klaso''' n. wood.
* '''*klurma''' m. ear.
* '''*kluso''' v. to hear.
* '''*krapo''' v. to have.
* '''*kratho''' v. to scratch.
* '''*krisa''' adj. hot.
* '''*krû kruxo''' n. gorge.
* '''*krupo''' v. to dig.
===Kh===
* '''*khalsa''' adj. red.
* '''*khano''' v. to be able to.
* '''*khanu''' n. joint.
* '''*khara''' m. friend.
* '''*kharo''' v. to love.
* '''*khê khassa''' n. house.
* '''*khatsa''' m. cat.
* '''*khãtha''' num. 100.
* '''*khrapa khrapato''' adj. curved.
===Kx===
* '''*kxaro''' v. to make.
* '''*kxasa kxasia kxatsa''' pron. that.
* '''*kxê kxôso''' n. neck.
* '''*kxô kxaro''' n. stone.
===L===
* '''*la''' prep. at.
* '''*lako lakaro''' n. camp.
* '''*lakxa''' m. salmon.
* '''*lańa''' adj. white.
* '''*laro''' v. to sing.
* '''*lartsara''' m. singer.
* '''*lasta''' m. fox.
* '''*lêsa''' adj. green.
* '''*likxo''' v. to wash.
* '''*lôpia''' f. cow.
* '''*lôxa''' m. fire.
===M===
* '''*makha makhia makho''' adj. big.
* '''*malia''' f. bee.
* '''*malfa''' m. horse.
* '''*mana''' pron. what.
* '''*mana''' num. 1.
* '''*mano''' v. to think.
* '''*mare maraso''' n. death.
* '''*maro''' v. to die.
* '''*mato''' v. to eat.
* '''*mato matalo''' n. food.
* '''*mãja''' f. mother.
* '''*mãsa''' m. mind.
* '''*mãti''' num. 9.
* '''*mẽ mêno''' n. path.
* '''*mira''' m. son.
* '''*misa''' m. mouse.
* '''*misi''' prep. without.
* '''*môa''' pron. I.
* '''*môtsẽ môtsino''' n. honey.
* '''*môtsia môtsio''' adj. sweet.
* '''*musa''' m. mouth.
===N===
* '''*na''' prep. to.
* '''*nara''' m. man.
* '''*nara''' prep. from near.
* '''*narã''' prep. to near.
* '''*naro''' prep. near.
* '''*narta''' adj. hard.
* '''*nartua nartu''' adj. right (direction).
* '''*natta''' m. duck.
* '''*nâria''' f. soul.
* '''*nisia''' f. woman.
* '''*nôa''' adj. new.
===Ô===
* '''*ô afo''' n. water.
* '''*ôfa''' m. swan.
* '''*ôpa''' m. ancestor.
* '''*ôsẽ ôsino''' n. eternity.
===P===
* '''*paito''' v. to give birth to.
* '''*para''' m. boy.
* '''*paro''' v. to carry.
* '''*pathio pathialo''' n. cudgel.
* '''*patho''' v. to beat.
* '''*parua''' adj. blue.
* '''*pãti''' n. ribbon.
* '''*pãto''' v. to bind.
* '''*pê puso''' n. lip.
* '''*pẽ pêno''' n. bone.
* '''*pi''' prep. by, with (instrumental).
* '''*plajo''' v. to flee.
* '''*plata''' m. wolf.
* '''*plaso''' v. to blow.
* '''*plaumia''' f. flower.
* '''*plipo''' v. to stay.
* '''*prajo''' v. to pursue.
* '''*praka''' m. bear.
* '''*praka''' adj. cold.
* '''*prako''' v. to bend.
* '''*prakho''' v. to destroy.
* '''*prana''' adj. brown.
* '''*prato''' v. to marry.
* '''*praxa''' m. frog.
* '''*pritho''' v. to break.
* '''*pukia''' f. fly.
===Pf===
* '''*pfa''' pron. who.
* '''*pfale pfalaso''' n. lowland.
* '''*pfalo''' v. to feel.
* '''*pfamo''' v. to come, to arrive.
* '''*pfana''' m. dog.
* '''*pfane pfanaso''' n. shape.
* '''*pfano''' v. to shape.
* '''*pfano pfanaro''' n. shape.
* '''*pfasa''' adj. early.
* '''*pfali''' num. 10.
* '''*pfâ pfato''' n. foot.
* '''*pfatti''' num. 6.
* '''*pfatsi''' num. 4.
* '''*pfã''' (G) prep. with (comitative).
* '''*pfã pfańo''' n. hand.
* '''*pfãti''' num. 5.
* '''*pfirkha''' m. songbird.
* '''*pfẽkha''' m. finch.
* '''*pfisia''' f. spruce.
* '''*pfiska''' m. fish.
* '''*pfithia''' f. fir.
* '''*pfixa''' adj. small.
* '''*pfôka''' m. falcon.
* '''*pfukala''' m. bird.
* '''*pfuxo''' v. to push.
===Ph===
* '''*phaja''' f. life.
* '''*phajo''' v. to live.
* '''*phamo''' v. to come.
* '''*phassa''' m. person.
===R===
* '''*rasa''' prep. down from.
* '''*rasã''' prep. onto.
* '''*raso''' prep. on.
* '''*rassa''' m. head.
* '''*ratsa''' num. 20.
* '''*rãkha''' n. arm.
* '''*rikã rikano''' n. rain.
* '''*rõ rapo''' n. belly.
* '''*rute rutio''' n. blood.
* '''*rutiana rutiania rutiano''' adj. bloody.
* '''rutua''' m. bush.
===S===
* '''*sa''' art. the (m.).
* '''*saĺo''' v. to fly.
* '''*saĺtso saĺtsalo''' n. wing.
* '''*sanja''' m. moon.
* '''*sanjo sanjalo''' n. month.
* '''*santa''' adj. soft.
* '''*santua santu''' adj. left (direction).
* '''*saria''' f. woman.
* '''*satio satiaro''' n. spring (season).
* '''*sfalta''' adj. black.
* '''*sfamio''' v. to swim.
* '''*sia''' art. the (f.).
* '''*silma''' m. eye.
* '''*silo''' v. to see.
* '''*siria''' f. daughter.
* '''*skafa''' m. sheep.
* '''*skifria''' f. pine.
* '''*slepio slepiaro''' n. winter.
* '''*smako''' v. to taste.
* '''*smamma''' m. tongue.
* '''*snaka''' m. snake.
* '''*snifo''' v. to cut.
* '''*snito''' v. to harvest.
* '''*snitio snitiaro''' n. autumn.
* '''*spinia''' f. spider.
* '''*stakha''' m. deer.
* '''*stratho''' v. to stop.
===T===
* '''*ta''' prep. from.
* '''*tala''' prep. from under.
* '''*talã''' prep. to under.
* '''*talo''' prep. under.
* '''*tara''' m. tree.
* '''*taro''' v. to give.
* '''*tã''' prep. against.
* '''*tiamia''' f. earth.
* '''*tô talo''' n. part.
* '''*tô tara''' n. day.
* '''*trafo''' v. to take.
* '''*trangko''' v. to pull.
* '''*trê traso''' n. path.
* '''*trińo''' v. to drink.
===Th===
* '''*thafo''' adj. warm.
* '''*thalko''' v. to touch.
* '''*thanua''' m. ibex.
* '''*thiafa''' m. sky.
* '''*thô thalo''' n. time.
* '''*thôi''' num. 2.
* '''*thôti''' num. 8.
* '''*thupe thupaso''' n. gift.
===Ts===
* '''*tsa tsalo''' art. the (n.)
* '''*tsari''' num. 3.
* '''*tsarti''' num. 7.
* '''*tsasa''' m. father.
* '''*tsôa''' pron. you.


[[Category:LLL]]
[[Category:LLL]]
[[Category:Alpianic]]
[[Category:Alpianic]]
[[Category:Hesperic]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Diachronic conlangs]]
[[Category:Diachronic conlangs]]

Latest revision as of 07:55, 23 January 2024

This page documents an obsolete version of Proto-Alpianic which is pending a redesign. It no longer reflects the author's current thinking about this conlang. --WeepingElf (talk) 07:55, 23 January 2024 (PST)

Proto-Alpianic
Spoken in: Switzerland, ca. 1000 BC
Conworld: League of Lost Languages
Total speakers: extinct (reconstructed)
Genealogical classification: Hesperic
Alpianic
Proto-Alpianic
Basic word order: V2; SOV in subclauses
Morphological type: fusional
Morphosyntactic alignment: accusative
Created by:
Jörg Rhiemeier 2013

Proto-Alpianic is the common ancestor of the Alpianic branch of the Hesperic language family in the League of Lost Languages. It is currently being created by Jörg Rhiemeier.

Proto-Alpianic probably was spoken in central Switzerland around 1000 BC and appears to be the language which gave the Alps their name (*alpa 'mountain'). A closely related language probably was spoken further north and gave the Alb, a lesser mountain range north of the Alps, its name. Proto-Alpianic is about as closely related to Old Albic as Greek is to Latin.

One issue in Proto-Alpianic reconstruction is that the modern Alpianic languages have acquired a Standard Average European typological profile and use cognate morphemes to express things such as the definite and indefinite articles, or the perfect tenses. It would be formally possible to reconstruct these for the protolanguage, but it is uncertain that these elements already existed back then.

Phonology

Consonants

  Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal
Neutral stops *p *t *k  
Aspirated stops *ph *th *kh  
Affricates *pf *ts *kx  
Fricatives *f *s *x *h
Nasals *m *n  
Laterals   *l  
Rhotics   *r  
Semivowel     *j  

The dorsal nasal almost certainly was a velar nasal [ŋ]. The phoneme probably was a velarized alveolar lateral [ɫ], the phoneme a uvular trill [ʀ]. All other symbols in the transcription scheme used here can be taken as having their IPA value.

Vowels

  Front Central Back
High *i î   *u û
Mid *e ê ẽ   *o ô õ
Low   *a â ã  

The circumflex accent marks a long vowel; nasal vowels (with tilde) do not distinguish length, but behave like long vowels in many regards.

Syllable structure

The maximum syllable structure is (s)C(R)V(L) with the following values:

  • C is any consonant.
  • R is any nasal, liquid or *j; if present, C must be an obstruent.
  • V is any vowel.
  • L is any liquid, or gemination of the following consonant. May not be present in a syllable with a long or nasal vowel, and not in final syllables.

Accent

The accent, which probably was stress, falls on the first syllable of the word.

Sound changes from Proto-Hesperic

This section gives an overview of the sound changes that occured on the way from Proto-Hesperic to Proto-Alpianic.

Common North Hesperic developments


Further changes shared with Proto-Hercynian

  • Final nasal neutralization
  • m > n /_#
  • ng > n /_#
  • Laryngeal loss
  • V3 > V:
  • 3 > 0 /otherwise
  • Monophthongizations
  • ai, ia > é
  • au, ua > ó
  • iu > ú
  • ui > í
  • VV > V: /if both of same quality
  • Pre-sonorant vowel lowering
* i > e, u > o before nasals and liquids (affects both long and short vowels)
  • Vowel lengthenings and shortenings
  • Long vowels are shorted in closed syllables
  • Short vowels are lengthened in stressed open syllables

Labialization of labiovelars

  • kw > p
  • khw > ph
  • gw > b

Assimilation of post-sonorant *s

  • rs > rr
  • ls > ll
  • ns > nn

Fortition of *r before stops

  • r > l /_C[+stop]

Stop shift and associated changes

  • s > h /in initial position before vowel, and between vowels
  • w > f
  • ph > pf, th > ts, kh > kx /in initial position and after nasal
  • ph > f, th > s, kh > x /otherwise
  • p > ph, t > th, k > kh
  • b > p, d > t, g > k

Elimination of final consonants

  • 0 > a /_# in monosyllabic words
  • as > e, is > i, us > e /_#
  • al, el, ol > o /_#
  • an > ã, en > ẽ, on > õ /_#
  • All other final consonants are deleted

Morphology

Proto-Alpianic is a fusional-synthetic language. The morphosyntactic alignment is nominative-accusative, though predicate nouns are, unlike most European languages, in the accusative rather than the nominative case. Also, neuter transitive subjects are avoided by passivizing clauses where they would appear.

Nouns

Nouns are divided into three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter; to a large part arbitrary but the neuter gender contains only inanimate nouns) and are inflected for two numbers (singular, plural) and four cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative). There are several declension classes that inflect differently; these cut across the genders, but neuters always decline differently from non-neuters of the same declension class: the accusative is always the same as the nominative and the dative the same as the genitive, and the plural is formed differently.

Case usage

  • The nominative is used for the subject of the clause.
  • The genitive is used for possessors, and the objects of a small number of prepositions.
  • The dative is used for indirect objects, and the objects of most prepositions.
  • The accusative is used for the direct object, but also for predicate nouns.

A-stems, masculine

With rare exceptions, masculine nouns are a-stems.

Example: *phassa 'person'

  Singular Plural
Nominative *phassa *phassi
Genitive *phasse *phassie
Dative *phasso *phassio
Accusative *phassã *phassẽ

I-stems, feminine

With rare exceptions, feminine nouns are i-stems.

Example: *saria 'woman'

  Singular Plural
Nominative *saria *sari
Genitive *sarie *sarie
Dative *sario *sario
Accusative *sariã *sariẽ

I-stems, neuter

Example: *pãti 'ribbon'

  Singular Plural
Nom.-acc. *pãti *pãtio
Gen.-dat. *pãtio *pãtio

U-stems, non-neuter

Non-neuter u-stems are rare.

Example: *kańua 'mountain imp'

  Singular Plural
Nominative *kańua *kańui
Genitive *kańue *kańue
Dative *kańuo *kańuo
Accusative *kańuã *kańuẽ

U-stems, neuter

This is also a small class.

Example: *khanu 'joint'

  Singular Plural
Nom.-acc. *khanu *khanuo
Gen.-dat. *khanuo *khanuo

Consonant stems, neuter

This is a fairly large class; there are no non-neuter consonant stems. It is in this class hard to predict the other forms from knowing the nominative-accusative singular, hence the genitive-dative singular is also given in the dictionary.

Example: *saĺtso 'wing'

  Singular Plural
Nom.-acc. *saĺtso *saĺtsalo
Gen.-dat. *saĺtsalo *saĺtsalo

Example: *thupe 'gift'

  Singular Plural
Nom.-acc. *thupe *thupaso
Gen.-dat. *thupaso *thupaso

While the genitive-dative and the plural forms are not predictable from the nominative-accusative singular, the reverse is possible. All consonants following the stem-final vowel are dropped, and the stem-final vowel changed according to the (first) consonant following the stem-final vowel:

Coda consonant Vowel is
Labial or liquid Backed and rounded
*s or *ts Fronted
Nasal Nasalized (*i and *u become *ẽ and õ)
Other Unchanged

These rules reflect sound changes that generally affected word-final consonants.

Articles

The Alpianic languages have definite articles. They are probably Proto-Alpianic, as they have cognates in other Hesperic languages (e.g., Old Albic):

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Sing. Pl. Sing. Pl. Sing. Pl.
Nominative a i ja i a o
Genitive e je ja je o o
Dative o jo jo jo o o
Accusative ã jẽ a o

Typically, the numeral *mana '1' serves as an indefinite article in the Alpianic languages (sometimes in phonetically reduced forms). It declines like a regular first-declension adjective.

Adjectives

Adjectives agree with their head nouns in gender, number and case. They also have the category of degree of comparison: positive (unmarked), comparative and superlative.

There are four declension classes.

First declension

This is a large class, containing all adjectives with a monosyllabic stem. These adjectives decline like a-stems in the masculine and neuter, and like i-stems in the feminine.

Example: *makha 'great, big'

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *makha *makhi *makhia *makhi *makha *makho
Genitive *makhe *makhie *makhie *makhie *makho *makho
Dative *makho *makhio *makhio *makhio *makho *makho
Accusative *makhã *makhẽ *makhiã *makhiẽ *makha *makho

Second declension

This is another large class, consisting of adjectives with a stem of more than one syllable. The difference from the first declension is that the neuters are declined like consonant stems.

Example: *rutiana 'bloody'

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *rutiana *rutiani *rutiania *rutiani *rutiã *rutiano
Genitive *rutiane *rutianie *rutianie *rutianie *rutiano *rutiano
Dative *rutiano *rutianio *rutianio *rutianio *rutiano *rutiano
Accusative *rutianã *rutianẽ *rutianiã *rutianiẽ *rutiã *rutiano

Third declension

A fairly large class. These are i-stems in all genders. The masculine and feminine forms are the same.

Example: *maltsia 'sweet'

  Masc/Fem. Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *maltsia *maltsi *maltsi *maltsio
Genitive *maltsie *maltsie *maltsio *maltsio
Dative *maltsio *maltsio *maltsio *maltsio
Accusative *maltsiã *maltsiẽ *maltsi *maltsio

Fourth declension

A small group. These decline as u-stems in all genders. Masculine and feminine forms are the same.

Example: nartua 'right (direction)'

  Masc/Fem. Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *nartua *nartui *nartu *nartuo
Genitive *nartue *nartue *nartuo *nartuo
Dative *nartuo *nartuo *nartuo *nartuo
Accusative *nartuã *nartuẽ *nartu *nartuo

Comparative and superlative

The comparative is formed with the suffix *-is-: *makhisa 'bigger', *rutianisa 'bloodier', *maltzisa 'sweeter', *nartuisa 'farther right'.

The superlative is formed with the suffix *-iss-: *makhissa 'biggest', *rutianissa 'bloodiest', *maltzissa 'sweetest', *nartuissa 'rightmost'.

Both comparative and superlative follow the second declension, regardless of the original adjective's declension class.


Numerals

Cardinal numerals

Cardinal numerals behave pretty much like adjectives. The basic numerals are:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 100
*mana *thôi *tsari *pfatsi *pfãti *pfatti *tsarti *thôti *mãti *pfali *ratsa *khãtha

Of these, *mana, *ratsa and *khãtha are declined like first declension singular adjectives; all others are declined like first declension plural adjectives. Other numerals are formed by compounding, e.g. *tsari khãtha thôi ratsa mãti '3*100+2*20+9 = 349'. All cardinal numbers except *mana are used with plural nouns.

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed by replacing the final vowel of the cardinal by the suffix *-an-, they are declined as second declension adjectives, e.g. *tsarana/tsarania/tsarã 'third'. '1st' and '2nd' are irregular: '1st' is *antsana, '2nd' is *pfalkuna.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Proto-Alpianic has 1st and 2nd person pronouns; the function of third person pronouns is taken by demonstratives (see next subsection).

  First person Second person
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *môa *môi *tsôa *tsôi
Genitive *môe *môje *tsôe *tsôje
Dative *mô *môjo *tsô *tsôjo
Accusative *môã *môẽ *tsôã *tsôẽ

Demonstratives

Demonstratives distinguish three genders and two degrees of deixis ('this' and 'that').

Proximal demonstrative ('this'):

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *asa *asi *asia *asi *atsa *atso
Genitive *ase *asie *asie *asie *atso *atso
Dative *aso *asio *asio *asio *atso *atso
Accusative *asã *asẽ *asiã *asiẽ *atsa *atso

Distal demonstrative ('that'):

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *kxasa *kxasi *kxasia *kxasi *kxatsa *kxatso
Genitive *kxase *kxasie *kxasie *kxasie *kxatso *kxatso
Dative *kxaso *kxasio *kxasio *kxasio *kxatso *kxatso
Accusative *kxasã *kxasẽ *kxasiã *kxasiẽ *kxatsa *kxatso

Another, probably anaphoric demonstrative which is the source of the definite article in some Alpianic languages, is the following (which is obviously also a part of the demonstratives given above):

  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *sa *si *sia *si *tsa *tso
Genitive *se *sie *sie *sie *tso *tso
Dative *so *sio *sio *sio *tso *tso
Accusative *sã *sẽ *siã *siẽ *tsa *tso

Interrogative pronouns

There is a distinction between *pfa 'who' and *mana 'what'.

  Who? What?
Nominative *pfa *mana
Genitive *pfe *mano
Dative *pfo *mano
Accusative *pfã *mana

Relative pronouns

There are two kinds of relative pronouns. Restrictive relative clauses use pronouns that are related to the interrogative pronouns given above:

  Person Thing
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative *pfa *pfi *mana *mano
Genitive *pfe *pfie *mano *mano
Dative *pfo *pfio *mano *mano
Accusative *pfã *pfẽ *mana *mano

Non-restrictive relative clauses use the following:

  Singular Plural
Nominative *aja *aji
Genitive *aje *ajie
Dative *ajo *ajio
Accusative *ajã *ajẽ

Prepositions

Grammatical relations other than subject, direct object, indirect object and possessor are expressed by prepositions. Most prepositions are used with the dative case. A few, marked with (G) in the list below and in the lexicon, are used with the genitive case.

Local prepositions

  At From To
General *la *ta *na
In *ãto *ãta *ãtã
On *raso *rasa *rasã
Under *talo *tala *talã
Near *naro *nara *narã

Other prepositions

With (comitative) *pfã (G)
By/With (instrumental) *pi
Without *misi
For *pfari
Against *tã

Verbs

Verbs in Proto-Alpianic are inflected for tense and mood, and the person and number of the subject. There are two tenses, present and past, expressed by verb inflection, and two further tenses, future and conditional, expressed periphrastically with the auxiliary *phamo 'to come' and the infinitive. There are also four perfect tenses to match these, which are formed with the auxiliary *krapo 'to have' and the past participle. The moods are indicative (unmarked), subjunctive, optative and imperative.

A peculiarity of Proto-Alpianic is that plural verb forms are also used if the direct object is definite and plural, regardless of the number of the subject.

A few verbs are rigid verbs that do not inflect for person; these end in *-a in the singular and in *-i in the plural; if the subject is first or second person, a subject pronoun is mandatory. All rigid verbs are intransitive with stative semantics; they are marked with (r) in the lexicon list below.

Present tense

The present tense is formed by suffixing personal endings to the stem.

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *larã *larẽ
Second person *lara *lari
Third person *lare *lari

Past tense

The past tense uses the same personal endings, but the stem is modified according to the following rules:

  1. If the stem ends in an obstruent, this is replaced by a homorganic geminate nasal (*h becomes *nn).
  2. If the stem already ends in a nasal, this is geminated.
  3. If the stem ends in a liquid or a vowel, *-n- is suffixed.

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *larnã *larnẽ
Second person *larna *larni
Third person *larne *larni

Future tense

The future tense is formed with the present tense of *phamo 'to come' and the infinitive.

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *phamã laro *phamẽ laro
Second person *phama laro *phami laro
Third person *phame laro *phami laro

Conditional tense

The conditional is formed with the past tense of *phamo 'to come' and the infinitive. Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *phammã laro *phammẽ laro
Second person *phamma laro *phammi laro
Third person *phamme laro *phammi laro

The perfect tenses

The Alpianic languages have perfect tenses which, however, probably do not date back to Proto-Alpianic. The main reason to doubt the Proto-Alpianic age of these tenses is the fact that they are a typically Standard Average European development. The perfect tenses are present perfect, past perfect, future perfect and conditional perfect. They are formed with the auxiliary *krapo 'to have' for transitive and *sthano 'to stand' for intransitive verbs, and the past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and is in the accusative case.

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Present perfect Past perfect Future perfect Conditional perfect
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
First person *krapã laranã *krapẽ laranã *krammã laranã *krammẽ laranã *phamã laranã krapo *phamẽ laranã krapo *phammã laranã krapo *phammẽ laranã krapo
Second person *krapa laranã *krapi laranã *kramma laranã *krammi laranã *phama laranã krapo *phami laranã krapo *phamma laranã krapo *phammi laranã krapo
Third person *krape laranã *krapi laranã *kramme laranã *krammi laranã *phame laranã krapo *phami laranã krapo *phamme laranã krapo *phammi laranã krapo

Subjunctive

The subjunctive is formed by adding the suffix *-f- between the stem and the personal endings. (If the stem ends in an obstruent, the suffix is *-uf-.)

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *larfã *larfẽ
Second person *larfa *larfi
Third person *larfe *larfi

Optative

The optative is formed by adding the suffix *-ij- between the stem and the personal endings.

Example: *laro 'to sing'

  Singular Plural
First person *larijã *larijẽ
Second person *larija *lariji
Third person *larije *lariji

Imperative

The imperative is formed with the suffix *-ti: *larti! 'sing!". If the stem ends in an obstruent, the suffix is *-iti.

Passive

The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary *phamo 'to come' and the past particple, which agrees with the subject in gender and is in accusative case, e.g. *(tsa) lare phame larã 'The song is sung'. Only transitive verbs can be passivized. The agent can be expressed with the preposition *pi and the genetive case: *(tsa) lare phame larã pi jane 'The song is sung by a boy'.

Infinitive

The infinitive is formed with the suffix *-o: *laro 'to sing'.

Participles

The present participle is formed with the suffix *-antsa/-antsia-/-ã (masculine/feminine/neuter). The past participle is formed with the suffix *-atsa/-atsia-/-e (masculine/feminine/neuter). The participles are declined as second declension adjectives.

Derivation

Noun-forming suffixes

The agent of a verb is formed by a suffix that is *-iara if the verb stem ends in an obstruent, and *-tsara otherwise, e.g. *lartsara 'singer', *pathiara 'someone who beats'.

The instrument is formed by a suffix that is *-io (gen. *-ialo) if the verb stem ends in an obstruent, and *-tso (gen. *-tsalo) otherwise, e.g. *saĺtso 'wing', *pathio 'cudgel'.

Diminutives of nouns are formed with the following suffixes:

Gender After obstruent After other sounds
Masculine *-iana *-jana
Feminine *-iania *-jania
Neuter *-iã *-jã

A suffix identical in form is used to form words for descendants. An example of this is the reconstructible ethnonym *alpiana, lit. 'descendant of the mountains'.

Both suffixes are derived from the word *jana 'child'.

Syntax

Morphosyntactic alignment

Proto-Alpianic is a nominative-accusative language. However, the predicate noun in a copular construction ('X is Y') is in the accusative case, not in the nominative. That this is nevertheless not a transitive clause can be seen from the fact that this construction cannot be passivized.

Another peculiarity of Proto-Alpianic is that neuter transitive subjects are avoided. Instead, such sentences are passivized, with the neuter subject marked with the instrumental preposition *pi.

The noun phrase

In the Proto-Alpianic noun phrase, adjectives and genitive noun phrases consisting of a single noun or pronouns precede the noun, while longer genitive noun phrases, prepositional phrases and relative clauses follow. The article always comes first.

The main clause

The main clause follows the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb is always in the second position after the first constituent. This first constituent is in most cases the subject, but it can also be a direct or indirect object, a prepositional phrase or an adverb.

In a "yes/no" question, the first constituent is the interrogative marker *ma which is followed by the finite verb. In a wh-question, the first constituent is the question word, followed by the finite verb.

If the main clause contains a periphrastic verb construction (perfect or passive), the auxiliary is in the second position and the infinite form of the lexical verb at the end of the clause.

Subordinate clauses

Subordinate clauses, such as relative and complement clauses, are verb-final. In a periphrastic construction, the auxiliary is the last word in the clause, preceded by the infinite lexical verb.

Sample text

Lexicon

Abbreviations

  • adj. adjective.
  • adv. adverb.
  • art. artucle.
  • conj. conjunction.
  • f. feminine noun.
  • m. masculine noun.
  • n. neuter noun.
  • num. numeral.
  • prep. preposition.
  • pron. pronoun.
  • (r) rigid verb.
  • v. verb.

A

  • *afa m. river.
  • *aka v. to drive.
  • *alpa m. mountain.
  • *anara m. man.
  • *ara adj. high.
  • *aria f. sun.
  • *arpfalkha m. eagle.
  • *arõ aruno n. blood.
  • *aru arû n. wound.
  • *asa asia atsa pron. this.
  • *ato v. to bite.

Ã

  • *ãta prep. out of.
  • *ãtã prep. into.
  • *ãto prep. in.

F

  • *falfa m. butterfly.
  • *falia f. heart.
  • *falta adj. old.
  • *fana m. spirit.
  • *fartio fartiaro n. spring (season).
  • *farto v. to grow.
  • *farthe farthaso n. law.
  • *fãta m. wind.
  • *fô farkho n. cloud.

H

  • *hanto v. to change.
  • *hale halaso n. health.
  • *halo v. to heal.
  • *hisa m. hare.
  • *hô halo n. salt.

I

  • *isa m. star.
  • *iso v. to sparkle.

J

  • *jafa adj. young.
  • *jana m. child.
  • *jô jaro n. year.

K

  • *kamuka m. chamois.
  • *kano v. to go.
  • *kańua m. mountain imp.
  • *kara adj. old.
  • *kãpa m. goat.
  • *kãsa m. goose.
  • *kila adj. yellow.
  • *klê klaso n. wood.
  • *klurma m. ear.
  • *kluso v. to hear.
  • *krapo v. to have.
  • *kratho v. to scratch.
  • *krisa adj. hot.
  • *krû kruxo n. gorge.
  • *krupo v. to dig.

Kh

  • *khalsa adj. red.
  • *khano v. to be able to.
  • *khanu n. joint.
  • *khara m. friend.
  • *kharo v. to love.
  • *khê khassa n. house.
  • *khatsa m. cat.
  • *khãtha num. 100.
  • *khrapa khrapato adj. curved.

Kx

  • *kxaro v. to make.
  • *kxasa kxasia kxatsa pron. that.
  • *kxê kxôso n. neck.
  • *kxô kxaro n. stone.

L

  • *la prep. at.
  • *lako lakaro n. camp.
  • *lakxa m. salmon.
  • *lańa adj. white.
  • *laro v. to sing.
  • *lartsara m. singer.
  • *lasta m. fox.
  • *lêsa adj. green.
  • *likxo v. to wash.
  • *lôpia f. cow.
  • *lôxa m. fire.

M

  • *makha makhia makho adj. big.
  • *malia f. bee.
  • *malfa m. horse.
  • *mana pron. what.
  • *mana num. 1.
  • *mano v. to think.
  • *mare maraso n. death.
  • *maro v. to die.
  • *mato v. to eat.
  • *mato matalo n. food.
  • *mãja f. mother.
  • *mãsa m. mind.
  • *mãti num. 9.
  • *mẽ mêno n. path.
  • *mira m. son.
  • *misa m. mouse.
  • *misi prep. without.
  • *môa pron. I.
  • *môtsẽ môtsino n. honey.
  • *môtsia môtsio adj. sweet.
  • *musa m. mouth.

N

  • *na prep. to.
  • *nara m. man.
  • *nara prep. from near.
  • *narã prep. to near.
  • *naro prep. near.
  • *narta adj. hard.
  • *nartua nartu adj. right (direction).
  • *natta m. duck.
  • *nâria f. soul.
  • *nisia f. woman.
  • *nôa adj. new.

Ô

  • *ô afo n. water.
  • *ôfa m. swan.
  • *ôpa m. ancestor.
  • *ôsẽ ôsino n. eternity.

P

  • *paito v. to give birth to.
  • *para m. boy.
  • *paro v. to carry.
  • *pathio pathialo n. cudgel.
  • *patho v. to beat.
  • *parua adj. blue.
  • *pãti n. ribbon.
  • *pãto v. to bind.
  • *pê puso n. lip.
  • *pẽ pêno n. bone.
  • *pi prep. by, with (instrumental).
  • *plajo v. to flee.
  • *plata m. wolf.
  • *plaso v. to blow.
  • *plaumia f. flower.
  • *plipo v. to stay.
  • *prajo v. to pursue.
  • *praka m. bear.
  • *praka adj. cold.
  • *prako v. to bend.
  • *prakho v. to destroy.
  • *prana adj. brown.
  • *prato v. to marry.
  • *praxa m. frog.
  • *pritho v. to break.
  • *pukia f. fly.

Pf

  • *pfa pron. who.
  • *pfale pfalaso n. lowland.
  • *pfalo v. to feel.
  • *pfamo v. to come, to arrive.
  • *pfana m. dog.
  • *pfane pfanaso n. shape.
  • *pfano v. to shape.
  • *pfano pfanaro n. shape.
  • *pfasa adj. early.
  • *pfali num. 10.
  • *pfâ pfato n. foot.
  • *pfatti num. 6.
  • *pfatsi num. 4.
  • *pfã (G) prep. with (comitative).
  • *pfã pfańo n. hand.
  • *pfãti num. 5.
  • *pfirkha m. songbird.
  • *pfẽkha m. finch.
  • *pfisia f. spruce.
  • *pfiska m. fish.
  • *pfithia f. fir.
  • *pfixa adj. small.
  • *pfôka m. falcon.
  • *pfukala m. bird.
  • *pfuxo v. to push.

Ph

  • *phaja f. life.
  • *phajo v. to live.
  • *phamo v. to come.
  • *phassa m. person.

R

  • *rasa prep. down from.
  • *rasã prep. onto.
  • *raso prep. on.
  • *rassa m. head.
  • *ratsa num. 20.
  • *rãkha n. arm.
  • *rikã rikano n. rain.
  • *rõ rapo n. belly.
  • *rute rutio n. blood.
  • *rutiana rutiania rutiano adj. bloody.
  • rutua m. bush.

S

  • *sa art. the (m.).
  • *saĺo v. to fly.
  • *saĺtso saĺtsalo n. wing.
  • *sanja m. moon.
  • *sanjo sanjalo n. month.
  • *santa adj. soft.
  • *santua santu adj. left (direction).
  • *saria f. woman.
  • *satio satiaro n. spring (season).
  • *sfalta adj. black.
  • *sfamio v. to swim.
  • *sia art. the (f.).
  • *silma m. eye.
  • *silo v. to see.
  • *siria f. daughter.
  • *skafa m. sheep.
  • *skifria f. pine.
  • *slepio slepiaro n. winter.
  • *smako v. to taste.
  • *smamma m. tongue.
  • *snaka m. snake.
  • *snifo v. to cut.
  • *snito v. to harvest.
  • *snitio snitiaro n. autumn.
  • *spinia f. spider.
  • *stakha m. deer.
  • *stratho v. to stop.

T

  • *ta prep. from.
  • *tala prep. from under.
  • *talã prep. to under.
  • *talo prep. under.
  • *tara m. tree.
  • *taro v. to give.
  • *tã prep. against.
  • *tiamia f. earth.
  • *tô talo n. part.
  • *tô tara n. day.
  • *trafo v. to take.
  • *trangko v. to pull.
  • *trê traso n. path.
  • *trińo v. to drink.

Th

  • *thafo adj. warm.
  • *thalko v. to touch.
  • *thanua m. ibex.
  • *thiafa m. sky.
  • *thô thalo n. time.
  • *thôi num. 2.
  • *thôti num. 8.
  • *thupe thupaso n. gift.

Ts

  • *tsa tsalo art. the (n.)
  • *tsari num. 3.
  • *tsarti num. 7.
  • *tsasa m. father.
  • *tsôa pron. you.