Kava/sound changes
Proto-Subumpamese (???) to Proto-Kava (1900)
Proto-Subumpamese had the consonants
Bilabials: p b m f w Alveolars: t d n l Palatals: y Velars: ḳ k ġ ŋ h g
Each of which could be palatalized and/or labialized. The velars could also appear as prevelars.
- Three-way merger of ṁ ṅ ŋ̇ as /ən/. (later /un/)
- ḳ > q.
- kq qk > qq.
- xhʷ > xʷ.
- śʷ s̀ʷ > sʷ . These sounds when a primordial /h/ sound was both palatalized and labialized. Although there was no plain counterpart, this /sʷ/ sound still retained its labialization.
- ə > u.
- 'e o > i ə. (thus phonemicizing palatalized consonants) This produces the exact same four-vowel system found in Gold: /a i u ə/.
- [i] > [ə] if touching a Q in eihte direction.
- Primordial f > p (spelled /ṗ/ in wordlists).
- Primordial hʷ w > f v.
Proto-Kava evolves a post-palatal stop and fricative, and also a postvelar (but not uvular) stop. Thus it could be said that there are three "k" sounds: front, middle, and back. However, all Subumpamese daughter languages shift the consonant inventory strongly towards the front, resulting in a family of languages that sound somewhat like watered-down Pabappa.
- All of this happened while there still was not an /s/ in the language, which was one of the triggers for the very strong frontward shift. At one point, early proto-Subumapmese had a voiceless fricative inventory consisting of /fʷ ś s̀ x h/ but no [s], even allophonically. All five of these had originated simply as allophones of [h]. There was also a corresponding voiced series.
Proto-Subumpamese can be stated to have been spoken around 1700 AD, not 1200 AD as its short sound c hange list might imply.
Therefore the consonant phonology of proto-Kava (~1700 AD?) was:
Bilabials: p b m Rounded bilabials: pʷ bʷ mʷ fʷ w Alveolars: t d n l Rounded alveolars: tʷ dʷ nʷ lʷ Palatalized alveolars: č ǯ ň ł Palatals: ć ń ś ź y Prevelars: c̀ ŋ̀ s̀ z̀ Velars: k ŋ x g Labialized velars: kʷ ŋʷ Postvelars: q h Labialized postvelars: qʷ
Note: /ň/ = /ñ/; the latter's used because the former isnt on all keyboards.
There still was not an [s], even as an allophone.
