Zamanic
Zamanic is a fictional branch of the Indo-European family that is an ongoing joint project of Jörg Rhiemeier and Juho Pystynen. It is part of the League of Lost Languages.
Proto-Zamanic developed out of the easternmost part of the Corded Ware horizon and is most closely related to Balto-Slavic, though it also shows some affinity to its former southern neighbour, Iranian. An early stage of Zamanic may be the source of some Indo-European loanwords in Uralic such as *aja- 'to drive' and *porćas 'pig'. The language was later in turn influenced by Uralic and Turkic languages.
The name "Zamanic" is derived from the reconstructed self-designation *zaman < PIE *dhǵhom-on- 'human being'.
Phonology
Zamanic is a satem group (i.e. PIE palatovelars developed into palatals and later into sibilants, and the labiovelars merge with the plain velars) with the RUKI rule (i.e., *s was backed to *š after *r, high vowels and velars).
Consonants
Proto-Zamanic is reconstructed with the following consonants:
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar/ Palatal |
Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless stops/ affricates |
*p | *t | *č | *k |
| Voiced stops/ affricates |
*b | *d | *dž | *g |
| Voiceless fricatives | *f | *s | *š | *x |
| Voiced fricatives | *v | *z | *ž | |
| Nasals | *m | *n | ||
| Liquids | *l *r | |||
| Semivowel | *j |
Vowels
The Proto-Zamanic vowel system consists of full vowels, which may be stressed, and reduced vowels, which never bear the stress.
Full vowels
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unround | Round | Unround | Round | |
| High | *i | *ü | *ï | *u |
| Mid | *e | *o | *ë | *o |
| Low | *ä | *a | &nsbp; | |
|
Sound changes
Merger of voiced aspirates and plain voiced stops
- Dʰ > D
"Thorn" clusters
- TK > K (dental is lost)
Satemization
- ḱ > ć, later > s
- ǵ > dź, later > z
- kʷ > k
- gʷ > g
RUKI rule
- s > š /(i,u,r,k)_
Laryngeals
- Syllabic laryngeals become *i before a high vowel in the next syllable, otherwise *a
- VH > V: (as usual)
- Other laryngeals are lost (as usual)
Syllabic resonants
- R. > iR
Palatalization
- k > č /_V[+front]
- g > dž /_V[+front]
- kj > č
- gj > dž
- tj > č
- dj > dž
Accent
- Retracted to first syllable.
Assorted vowel changes
Short vowels:
- i > ь (ultrashort lax front vowel)
- u > ъ (ultrashort lax back vowel)
- e > ä
- o > a
Long vowels are shortened.
Vowel harmony
- V > [+front] /first vowel is [+front]
- V > [-front] /first vowel is [-front]
This remains a synchronically productive process in some languages. The vowel classes are:
- Front: i e ä ö ü ь
- Back: ï ë a o u ъ
Second accent shift
- Accent shifts rightward to next full vowel is the first syllable contains a reduced vowel.
Fortition of *w
- w > v
Cluster reduction
- pr > f
- br > v
- tr > č
- dr > dž
- sr > š
- zr > ž
- kr > č
- gr > dž
- pl > f
- bl > v
- tl > č
- dl > dž
- sl > š
- zl > ž
- kl > č
- gl > dž
- sp > f
- sf > f
- st > s
- zd > z
- sč > š
- sk > x
- C > 0 /C_#
Morphology
The Zamanic languages are morphologically fusional, like the Balto-Slavic languages, with some agglutinating traits that evolved under the influence of their Uralic and Turkic neighbours.
