Proto-Razaric

Proto-Razaric is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Razaric languages. It is estimated to have been spoken around 4000 BC.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar			Palatal	Velar	Pharyngeal
		Sibilant	Flat	Lateral
Nasals	*m	*n				*ng
Voiceless stops	*p	*t				*k
Voiced stops	*b	*d				*g
Voiceless affricates		*ts	*tr	*tl
Voiced affricates		*dz	*dr	*dl
Voiceles continuants		*s	*rh	*lh
Voiced continuants	*w	*z	*r	*l	*j		*3

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	*i		*u
Mid	*e		*o
Low		*a

Syllable structure

The maximal syllable structure is CVC. Affricates may not occur in codas, but all consonants may occur in onsets.

Accent

The accent falls on the first syllable of the word.

Sound correspondences

The sound correspondences between Proto-Tommian and Proto-Razaric are quite simple.

• Aspirated stops have merged with their unaspirated counterparts.
• The front sibilants are preserved; mid sibilants become rhotics; back sibilants become laterals.
• PT *h becomes PR *3.
• The nasals, liquids and semivowels are unchanged, but post-consonantal *w disappears with changing the following vowels *a and *e into *o and *i into *u.

Morphology

(to be done)

Syntax

All the Razaric languages are head-initial, and there are no signs that this was different in any part of the reconstructible history, so a head-initial word order is to be reconstructed for Proto-Razaric as well.

The Noun Phrase

In the noun phrase, the definite article, if present, comes first. Numerals also predece the noun, but all other modifiers follow.

Examples:

*pinis 3obal
spear M-long
'a long spear'

*ta pinis 3obal
the spear M-long
'the long spear'

*tsang pinistla 3obaltla
two spear-PL M-long-PL
'two long spears'

Genitives just follow the noun:

*pinis ta radrel
spear the hunter
'the hunter's spear'

Such a NP is definite without an article.

Demonstratives are placed at the end of the NP, and a definite article appears:

*ta pinis 3obal taw
the spear M-long this
'this long spear'

*ta tsang pinistla 3obaltla tatla
the two spear-PL M-long-PL this-PL
'these two long spears'

The Clause

There are two types of clauses: finite and infinite. Finite clauses begin with a finite verb; infinite clauses begin with a verbal noun.

Some examples of finite clauses are given in the Verbs section. The word order in the clause probably was fixed: the verb goes first, followed by the subject, the indirect object and the direct object in this order. Some rearrangements may have been possible if verb agreement or animacy (transitive subjects are rarely inanimate) allowed for "reconstructing" the "correct" order. Adverbs and prepositional phrases were usually placed at the end of the clause. If the absolutive argument (intranstive: subject; transitive: object; ditransitive: indirect object) is pronominal, it can be omitted.

Infinite clauses have the same word order as finite clauses, except that the absolutive argument can never be omitted as it is not marked on the verb. The main clause of a sentence is always finite, and it is the only finite clause in the sentence. All subclauses are infinite.

Relative clauses

A relative clause is placed at the end of the noun phrase it modifies. The relative clause is infinite, and the temporal relation between the noun phrase and the relative clause is marked with a relational:

*ta radrel pal tram 3o ta muruk
the hunter from kill he the deer
'the hunter who killed the dear'

*ta radrel min tram 3o ta muruk
the hunter at kill he the deer
'the hunter who is killing the deer'

*ta radrel leng tram 3o ta muruk
the hunter to kill he the deer
'the hunter who shall kill the deer'

Complement clauses

A complement clause is used in a similar way as a relative clause. The verb never agrees with a complement clause, which, as it is preceded by a relational, behaves like a prepositional phrase.

*3obal ta radrel pal tram 3o ta muruk
3M-say the hunter from kill he the deer
'The hunter says that he killed the deer.'

*madabal ta radrel ta majan pal tram 3o ta muruk
3F-tell the hunter the girl from kill he the deer
'The hunter tells the girl that he killed the deer.'

Vocabulary

Abbreviations

• adj. adjective.
• adv. adverb.
• conj. conjunction.
• f. feminine noun.
• m. masculine noun.
• vd. ditransitive verb.
• vi. intransitive verb.
• vt. transitive verb.

3

• *3ar f. inside.

B

• *bal vi. to speak, to say.

D

• *dabal vt. to tell.
• *dim vt. to accompany.
• *dir adj. brave.

Dl

• *dlang f. back.

Dr

• *drak vt. to use.
• *dram f. outside.
• *drel vt. to hunt.

K

• *kedrel f. a hunt.
• *kim f. front.
• *kor f. top.

L

• *leb f. bottom.
• *leng to reach.
• *limin f. cat.

M

• *majan f. girl.
• *mal f. right.
• *mimir m. people.
• *min vt. to stay at.
• *mir m. person.
• *muruk m. deer.

P

• *pal vt. to leave.
• *pim vi. to flee.
• *pin f. left.
• *pinis m. spear.

R

• *radrel m. hunter.

S

• *sir m. tree.
• *sisir m. forest.

T

• tamar m. house.

Tl

• *tlam vi. to hammer.
• *tlatlam m. hammer.

Tr

• *tram vt. to kill.

Z

• *zadrel f. venison.