Mansi

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Proto-Mansi

Vowels are coverable and commonly transcribed as a cubic system distinguishing only [±close], [±front], [±labial], [±long]: hence *i *ii *üü *ï *ïï *u *uu *ä *ää *a *aa *å. Long *üü and short *ï are extremely rare and seem to have no regular etymological origin.

In practice the inventory appears to not been quite that neat: long *ii *ïï *uu are better understood as mid vowels [eː ɤː oː]. (Current transcription: *ee *ëë *uu.)

Consonants: *m *n *ń *-ŋ-, *p *t *ć *k *kʷ, *s *š *-ɣ-, *w *l *ĺ *j, *r

• *kʷ was rare at this stage but did exist: *kʷaal- to hear", *kʷälən "animal hide", *kʷääl- "to wade", *kʷääləɣ "rope", *ëëŋkʷ- "to open", *jeekʷ- "to dance", *ńiŋkʷ "maggot", *sääŋkʷ "hips", *šeeŋkʷ "fog".
  • Update: also all cases of *ü are better analyzable as *äkʷ, *kʷä already by Proto-Mansi. Possibly also *kʷiš "hoop"?
• *š represent both PU *č, and under certain conditions PU *ś.
  • *ś → *š seems to be regular before PU *i *e: *śilmä #śEnə *śečä (or *čečä?) *śepä *śe/êkä *śêðäm #śêrV, EU *śêlə
  • not in *śe(x)rV → *sir
  • also cases of irregular *ä → *i: *śälä- → *šil- (but: *śäkśə → *siɣs; assimilation?)
  • II loans: #śasra → #šaatər, *śëta → *šɤɤt, *śorBa → *šaarp (but *śëlka → *sɤɤl)
  • not normally before *ë *ä *ü: *śëmə *śo/ëðka *śëla- *śäŋkə *śäxə *śüðʲə *śülkə-.
  • also *śuðʲa → *šaĺ, *śa/ora → *šuur-, *śopa → #šop, #śona → #šon, Ug. *soŋkə → *šuum; F. sampi ~ *šupəɣ, H. záp, szőr ~ *#šaapəl, *šäär
  • related? *sejə → *säj (but *sewə- → *tii-)
• There seems to be a soundlaw *p → ∅ before coronals
  • *aptə- *ëptə #Säptə *ipsə *küpsV → *uut- *ëët *säät *ät *kʷät (but N äp?)
  • *sopśə → *taas
  • *čuPčV → *šošəɣ (vs. Khanty #čaapčə(k))

Dialectal developments

(cf. Honti, Kálmán, Sammallahti '88; Zhivlov '06)

• Tavda (Tavdin, South Mansi)
  • *a *ä → *aa *ää / 2nd syllable
  • *ëë → ʌː
    • → eː / _[+palatal]
  • *üü, *ü → [y] (short!)
  • *oo → [uo] (perhaps in part a retention from POU)
  • *ee → ii, except / _r,
  • *ë *u *ä → [ʌ o ɛ]
  • *k → ∅ / ŋ_#
  • Short front vowel redistribution
    • Preliminary cheshirization: *l *n *t → ĺ ń ť / *i_
    • *i → ä
    • *ä → ü / _Cʷ_ (earlier than *ɣ → *w)
    • *ä → i / _j_ (including former *ij but not *ji?), _Ć, ? _š
    • vowel shortening applies only after all this
  • *ow → oː / _C (but not *uw!)
  • *ɣ → j / i_ ë_, → k / C_, → w elsewhere (fronting later than *äj → ij, earlier than *i → *ä: *riɣ- → räj-, but *käj- → kij-)
  • vowel harmony & "thematic verbs" retained
• Core Mansi
  • *ln → nl in "hemp" (but not "tin"?)
  • *aa → *oo
  • *ć → ś
  • lack of vowel harmony
  • Central Mansi
    • *ee → [ie]
    • *ää → *öä
    • *ä → *ää
    • *ü *üü *ii introduced from somewhere (??)
    • Konda (aka East Mansi; Upper, Mid, Lo subdialects)
      • *a *o → ŏă (merged and difthongized)
      • *i *ï *u → [ɪ ə ʊ] (written as ‹e a o›!)
      • *-əɣ → -iː
      • Lower Konda: *ë *ëë → [ɑ ɑː] (elsewhere [ɤ ɤː], cf. North), *ə → [ɒ]
      • Upper + Mid: ∅ → w / #_ʊ, *öä → [oɒ] / _ɣ
      • Upper Konda: *üü → [yö]
      • *k → x / _B (some dial.)
      • *š → s (some dial.)
    • West Mansi (Pelymka, Mid/Lo Lozva, N/S Vagilsk)
      • *a *o → aa oo (cf. *ä → *ää)
      • *oo → [ɵː] (from both PMs *aa, *a)
      • *öä → oa → P/ML [ɔɒ], LL [oɔ], SV [oɑ]; except NV → [yœ]
      • *ï *ëë remain [ɨ ɤː]
      • *Sɣ → Sː
      • Pelymka
        • *a → ä / _ɣ , → o / p_
        • *ë → a (short only!)
        • oaj aaj → aj
        • ŋ → ŋk / _ś, _l (elsewhere?)
        • i → ɨ / š_
  • North Mansi (Upper Lozva, Sosva, Sygva)
    • *k → x / _B (before vowel backing/fronting)
    • *ï → i
    • *a *o → [ɵ] ‹o›
    • *ëë → [ɑː]
    • *ää *ä → *aa *a [ɑː ɑ]
    • *kʷa- → ko-
    • *Sɣ → Sː / _V#
      • Sosva: *š → s
      • Sosva: *oo → [uo]
      • Sosva: *kʷoo- → kuu-

Vowel shortening

In South + West + East: *VV → *V / _CC. Must be an areal development between the three, given vowel quality adjustments fed in per individual 'lects. Subdialectal developments of *ë can well be later though.

• *ä → Central *ää → ä
• *a → West *aa → a
• *o → West *oo → o
• *ää → South ä, East *öä → ö, West *oa → a
• *aa → South a, Central *oo → o
• *ee → South ii → i, Central e
• *ëë → South ë~e, Central ë~a
• *oo → South o, Central uu → u

In one context shortening appears to have applied already in Proto-Mansi.

• *aa → *a / _ɣt
• Secondary shortening that would also have spread to Northern Mansi can be ruled out, since the outcome in Central is *a, not /o/.
• Contrast *aaŋta "spit" → North /oowta/; *jaawt (*jaaŋt?) "bow" → North /joowt/; *kaawt "spruce" → North /koowt/, which still retain the long vowel.
• This could also be a retention of pre-Proto-Mansi *a. Possibly *a vs. *aa was originally rather *ɔ vs. *a (cf. *-a → /aa/ in South).

Some CVC roots also undergo shortening. Could be via simplified CVCC forms or due to regular CVC roots actually being CVCə, or something else entirely. Seems to be mostly a Western phenomenon.

• *poot "pot" → Pel. put (but: plural *poot-ət → puut-ət)
• *aaš "sheep", *taas "net needle", *kool "fish" → Pel. oš, tos, kul (but Konda ooš, toos, xuul!)
• *jeew (?) "tree" → Centr. jiw (NB Khanty *juuk, Smy *jë)